By Austin Maho
The opening ceremony of the 2025 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road, held in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, from September 15 to 16, 2025. The Forum featured speeches by key figures emphasizing the role of media in fostering international cooperation and development under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The forum had the theme “Shared Media Responsibility for Exchanges and Mutual Learning among Civilisations” and saw participation from over 200 representatives from 87 countries and 165 media outlets.
Speakers included Zheng Jianbang, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress; Yu Shaoliang, President of People’s Daily China; Li Yang, China’s Vice Minister of Transport; and Chen Jianwen, Editor-in-Chief of People’s Daily. They highlighted the growing media coverage of BRI success stories and the necessity for the media to act as recorders and promoters of development achievements and global cooperation.
The key themes and policy proposals from the opening speeches focused on:
- Promoting media cooperation for reporting the development successes and partnerships under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
- Supporting peaceful development and global initiatives such as the Global Development, Security, Civilization, and Governance Initiatives promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
- Expanding cooperation through people-to-people exchange, joint media projects, and talent development.
- Leveraging digital technologies like AI and 5G for media innovation and ethical journalism.
- Emphasizing the role of media in telling stories about poverty alleviation, climate change, biodiversity, technological innovation, and building a community with a shared future between China and ASEAN.
- Encouraging practical media collaboration in projects like the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route to enhance connectivity and economic cooperation.
The opening speeches stressed the importance of unity among media organizations, digital transformation, and a commitment to truthful, constructive communication to support sustainable development and cooperation among BRI members.
Key speakers at the opening sections includes, Tong Zhiyun, vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Yunnan Provincial Committee, who delivered a keynote address stressing the necessity for upholding peaceful development and supporting global initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping. The global initiatives these initiatives are in respect of Global Development, Security, Civilization, and Governance Initiatives. He called for expanding media cooperation areas and uniting media forces through exchanges, joint projects, and talent development. He also emphasized the digital transformation of media with technologies like AI and 5G to enhance storytelling and ethical journalism.
Other key speakers at the opening ceremony included:
- Zheng Jianbang, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, who officially inaugurated the forum and highlighted the importance of media in disseminating development achievements related to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
- Wang Yubo, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee and Governor of Yunnan Province, emphasized the media’s irreplaceable role in enhancing mutual trust, building consensus, and advancing the BRI.
- Chen Jianwen, Editor-in-Chief of People’s Daily, stressed the forum as a platform for international media organizations to collaborate and promote stories of development, cultural exchange, and common prosperity along the Belt and Road. He accentuated Yunnan’s role as a gateway to South and Southeast Asia and its blend of cultural diversity and economic openness.
- Yu Shaoliang, President of People’s Daily China, and Li Yang, China’s Vice Minister of Transport, also spoke about the BRI’s global impact, with Li Yang focusing on transport and logistics partnerships like the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route to boost China-Europe cargo flows.
The speakers collectively called for stronger international media cooperation to serve as storytellers of the Belt and Road’s successes, support peaceful development, promote cross-cultural understanding, and leverage digital technologies for enhanced journalism. They urged the media to build broad momentum for win-win cooperation and shared media responsibility for exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations
The forum also underscored the media’s crucial role in promoting mutual understanding, telling compelling stories of poverty alleviation, technological innovation, biodiversity conservation, and climate change, and supporting the building of a community of shared future for mankind.
Overall, the opening ceremony set the tone for deeper media collaboration in covering the Belt and Road Initiative’s development and fostering people-to-people exchanges across the participating countries and regions .
