Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road: Fostering Global Understanding and Collaboration
Organized as part of a large event that brought together over 200 media and institution representatives from more than 80 countries, this specific meeting gathered journalists from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. All responded to the invitation to dialogue around a central question: how can media accompany, enlighten, and sometimes even reinvent the cooperation dynamic driven by the "Belt and Road" Initiative?
The Press - On the sidelines of the "2025 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road" held on September 16 and 17 in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, a parallel session titled "Media Cooperation Dialogue on Belt and Road" brought together journalists and experts from around the world.
The session took place in a spirit of dialogue, cooperation, and openness. Information professionals from China, the United Kingdom, Kuwait, Nigeria, Italy, Tunisia, Russia, Iran, Brazil, Kenya, Pakistan, Mexico, and other countries participated in the discussions. All shared their experiences, visions, and questions about the role of media in the development and perception of the "Belt and Road" initiative, also known as "the Belt and Road".
Three Axes for Thinking About Media Cooperation
Three major themes structured the debates. The first focused on "media collaboration for high-quality cooperation within the Belt and Road framework". Speakers emphasized the need for balanced and pluralistic coverage of this initiative to overcome the often polarized representations conveyed by certain dominant narratives. Media cooperation, they recalled, should not be limited to the simple transmission of information but should be part of a dynamic of co-creating content, promoting mutual understanding between the peoples concerned.
The second axis of reflection focused on "Dynamic China and the Belt and Road Initiative". Several participants insisted on the importance for foreign media to better understand the internal developments of contemporary China, its economic, social, and cultural transitions, in order to propose a more nuanced narrative of its international role.
In this perspective, the Belt and Road would not be just an infrastructure or economic connectivity project, but also a reflection of the country's profound transformations and its relationship with the rest of the world.
Finally, and no less importantly, the third theme highlighted "short creative videos and intercultural resonance". In the era of digital platforms, social networks, and rapid consumption of content, short formats are imposing themselves as powerful tools for transnational communication.
Journalists and experts shared their experiences in producing accessible, engaging, and culturally sensitive videos capable of reaching young and diverse audiences. Short videos thus become a vector of proximity, shared storytelling, and cultural dialogue.
A Space for Exchange Beyond Borders
Beyond the richness of the exchanges, this parallel session was an opportunity to highlight the growing willingness of media from the Global South to actively participate in the construction of an alternative global narrative, less centered on traditional poles of influence. In this sense, Kunming was more than just a meeting place: a space for co-construction, where the plurality of perspectives was affirmed as a necessity in the media treatment of the Belt and Road initiative.
Media cooperation, in this context, presents itself not only as a strategic challenge but also as an ethical and professional opportunity to rethink the role of information in a world in transition. Faced with global challenges, the media have a key role to play: building bridges, illuminating areas of shadow, and allowing authentic resonance between cultures.
And through this parallel session, the Kunming forum demonstrated that intercultural dialogue, when based on solid media foundations, can open up new perspectives for more just and balanced international cooperation.
Organized by People's Daily in collaboration with the Yunnan Communist Party Committee and the provincial government, the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road was held in Kunming on September 16 and 17. Under the theme "Shared Media Responsibility for Exchanges and Mutual Learning between Civilizations", the event aimed to strengthen links between international media and promote more balanced cooperation in addressing issues related to the Belt and Road Initiative.
It is also useful to recall that since its first edition in 2014, this forum has become a major platform for dialogue between media from the Global South and those from BRI partner countries, with the ambition of promoting a more inclusive, multipolar, and locally sensitive narrative. More than 200 representatives from 87 countries participated in this edition, which was also marked by award ceremonies, thematic workshops, and field visits aimed at strengthening mutual understanding.
