by Liu Qiyu; Wang Xiaotong

The 9th China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Media Forum is held on December 24. [Photo/CEN]

BEIJING, Dec 25 (China Economic Net) - The 9th China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Media Forum was held in a hybrid format (online + offline) in Islamabad and Beijing on December 24. With the theme "Strengthen Media Cooperation, Advance the Construction of the Upgraded Version 2.0 of CPEC", the forum was hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and co-organized by China Economic Net and Pakistan-China Institute.

Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, reviewed his involvement in China-Pakistan exchanges in three capacities as a student, a government official and a minister, emphasizing that China-Pakistan friendship is time-tested and ever-strengthening. He pointed out that the advent of the digital age has transformed the way information is disseminated, and disinformation and information warfare have become global challenges. He proposed establishing a China-Pakistan joint fact-checking forum to promptly counter false reports. The minister reaffirmed that Pakistan will remain committed to strengthening China-Pakistan media cooperation, and invited the private sector to tell the story of China-Pakistan cooperation together.

Zheng Qingdong, President and Editor-in-Chief of Economic Daily, noted that over the past decade, CPEC has evolved from a blueprint into a tangible reality, embarked on a new journey of its upgraded Version 2.0, and established itself as a model of mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Pakistan. He stated that it is the mission entrusted by the times and an unshirkable responsibility of the media to tell the story of CPEC with depth, vividness and resonance and create a sound public opinion environment for this common cause. He emphasized that the media of the two countries should forge ahead hand in hand as promoters of development, pass on the torch of bilateral ties as guardians of friendship, and work together in solidarity as partners in global good governance.

Jiang Zaidong, China's Ambassador to Pakistan, stated that the CPEC Media Forum has grown alongside the Corridor since its establishment a decade ago. The Forum has created a sound public opinion environment for CPEC's development, while the advancement of CPEC has injected a steady stream of impetus into the Forum's vitality. He expressed the hope that the media of the two countries will keep abreast of the vivid practices in the upgraded version of CPEC, acting as interpreters of the two nations' development achievements, disseminators of CPEC's construction outcomes, and promoters of the ironclad China-Pakistan friendship.

Shezra Mansab Ali Kharal, Pakistan's Minister of State for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, said that since her first visit to China in 2016, she has participated in inter-party exchanges, youth delegation visits and media forums, giving her a firsthand understanding of the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. She pointed out that China's concept of win-win cooperation, especially its pragmatic cooperation with the Global South, stands in sharp contrast to certain confrontational thinking in the international community. In terms of media cooperation, she appealed to both sides to further strengthen collaboration and jointly establish a rapid information response mechanism to effectively address the challenge of disinformation.

Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman of Pakistan-China Institute, pointed out that disinformation and fake news have become major factors affecting national security and international public opinion. China and Pakistan face similar challenges in this field, making it necessary to strengthen media collaboration and establish a rapid information response mechanism. He expressed his expectation that through media forums, youth exchanges and think tank cooperation, the public opinion foundation between the two countries will be continuously consolidated, and China-Pakistan friendship will progress steadily and endure.

At the forum, representatives from media, think tanks and business circles of the two countries, including Yang Chunyan, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Foreign Languages Press under China International Communications Group, Hamid Mir, Senior Journalist of Pakistan's Geo News, Liu Zongyi, Director of the Center for South Asia Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, Mohammad Malick, Senior Journalist of Pakistan's ARY News, Hu Pingping, Journalist and Associate Senior Translator at the Asia-Africa Language Programs Center of China Media Group, and Liu Yonggang, Senior Executive of China Three Gorges South Asia Investment Limited, conducted extensive and in-depth discussions on ways to deepen China-Pakistan media cooperation under the current international and regional situation.

About 200 high-level officials, media and think tank representatives, and other professionals from China and Pakistan attended the event. Established in 2015, the CPEC Media Forum is committed to deepening media cooperation between China and Pakistan and jointly telling the story of CPEC and China-Pakistan cooperation. Having successfully completed nine editions to date, it has become an influential platform for exchange between the media of the two countries.