On November 16, with the theme of "Cooperation, Inclusion and Win-win Outcomes", the 4th China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Media Forum was held in Beijing. The Forum was hosted by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and co-organized by China Economic Net and the Pakistan-China Institute.

 

In her speech, Wang Dongmei, Executive Secretary of All-China Journalists Association, pointed out that the mechanism-based dialogue between China and Pakistan is very important. It is of great significance to send out the common voices of the two countries and to tell the stories of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor provides rich materials for the Chinese and Pakistani media. The media of the two countries should uphold the main tone of objectivity and impartiality, firmly safeguard the common interests of the two countries, and timely and accurately convey information. It is hoped that the media of both countries will present more reports on lively stories from CPEC construction via social media, mobile terminals and other platforms. 

 

H.E. Masood Khalid, Pakistani Ambassador to China, said that the media staff in China and Pakistan are interacting more and more. In this information age, the media play an important role in telling good stories concerning Belt and Road Initiative and CPEC to the local people and the international community. It can promote communication between media staff in China and Pakistan through training, seminars, cooperation projects, etc. The media can be used as a bridge to promote mutual understanding and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor construction.

 

Ding Shi, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Economic Daily, said in his speech that the media should play a role in promoting China-Pakistan friendship and promoting the construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Generally speaking, the media of China and Pakistan hold positive attitudes towards the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, but there are also discordant notes in the world, questioning the purpose and achievements of the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and stirring anti-CPEC sentiment. At this time, the mainstream media of the two countries should play an active guiding role.

 

Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman of Pakistan-China Institute, said that the global economic and political forces are undergoing a transformation. The 21st century is the century of Asia. Under this background, China's peaceful rise is an important development engine for developing countries. He believes that the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping, based on connectivity and win-win cooperation, is the most important development and diplomatic initiative.

 

As one of the achievements of the Forum, H.E. Masood Khalid and Hu Kaihong, Director General of the Press Bureau, the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the CPC(State Council Information Office), awarded the "China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Golden Anchor Award" to the media staff. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Golden Anchor Award, initiated by China Economic Net, was officially launched in September this year. The awards are designed to encourage the Chinese and Pakistani media to report objectively, truthfully and vividly on CPEC, and to establish media exchange mechanism between the media of the two countries, and between the media and the society, promoting the smooth and efficient implementation of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects. In addition, China Economic Net and the Pakistan-China Institute jointly initiated the establishment of the CPEC instant information exchange mechanism.

At the one-day Forum, more than 100 people from the government agencies, media outlets,enterprises and universities of China and Pakistan, including Mr. Pervaiz Rashid, Senator, former Federal Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Ms. Shazra Kamran, Former Member of National Assembly, Pakistani Delegate to UNESCO, Mr. Muneer Kamal, Ex-Chairman of Pakistani Stock Exchange, Mr. Munir Ahmed Jan, DirectorGeneral,Planning and Development Gwadar Port Authority, Mr. Murtaza Solangi, Journalist, former Director General of Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, Mr. Mustafa Sayed, Executive Director of Pakistan-China Institute, Mr. Wu Weizheng, Deputy Head, Economic and Social News Department, People's Daily, Mr. Guan Xinguo, Deputy Director of International News Department, Xinhua News Agency, Mr. Shen Weixing, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Guangming Daily, Mr. Jiang Heping, Deputy Director of News Center, CGTN(China Global Television Network), Mr. Tian Bing, Director, International News Department, China News Service, Mr. Chen Guojun, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Xinjiang Economic Newspaper, Mr. Tang Mengsheng, Director of Pakistan Research Center, Peking University, Mr. Li Xiguang, Director of Pakistan Research Center, Tsinghua University, Zhou Rong, Senior Research Fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University of China, Financial Commentator for China Economic Net, former Guangming Daily correspondent in Pakistan, Zhou Yuan, Head of Urdu Department, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Liu Yunyun, Assistant Executive Editor of Beijing Review, and Wang Cong, Chief Correspondent, Global Times, attended the Forum and had extensive exchanges.