31 Participate in Chinese media industry seminar

Media practitioners and selected journalists from 13 Belt and Road countries have ended a two-week seminar at the Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua City, in the Zhejiang Province in China.

The programme, which was sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, started from July 18 to 31, 2023.

The seminar for journalism organisation executives drew participants from Ghana, Botswana, Burundi, Lesotho, Nigeria, South Sudan, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Palestine, Samoa, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.  

The participants understudied the Chinese media industry and progress it had made over the years through methods such as lectures, on-site teaching, discussion sessions, visits and cultural activities.

The Belt and Road Initiative, known in China as One Belt One Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organisations.

It is considered a centrepiece of Chinese Leader Xi Jinping’s foreign policy, and forms a central component of his “Major Country Diplomacy” strategy which calls for China to assume greater leadership role in global affairs in accordance with its rising power and status.

Objective

The programme was also aimed at exposing participants to China’s contemporary national conditions, development processes after reforms and opening up of the country, and the management experience of China’s media industry.

The participants were also introduced to production and operation rules of popular short video media, the organisation and operation thinking of Chinese film, TV, newspaper and other media, among other topics.

Cooperation

The Secretary of Committee for Discipline Inspection of the Zhejiang Normal University, Fu Guanfu, said that discussions about the development, current situation and achievements of the media industry in various countries highlighted the need for cooperation in the field of media between China and the Belt and Road countries.

He expressed hope that the experiences of China’s development in different historical periods and visits to “culturally distinctive attractions where you were immersed in great charm of intangible cultural heritage” and the introduction of “vivid practices of Chinese media in telling China’s stories and spreading China’s image had helped you gain a deeper understanding of China.”

Mr Fu, therefore, urged the participants to be a “bridge to facilitate communication between your countries and China”.

“Based on what you have seen, heard and learned during the seminar, and by giving full play to your own strengths, you are expected to introduce China to people around you in an objective and comprehensive manner.

“By joining hands together, we can promote the development of the global media industry,” he added.

The Head of the Zhejiang University team, Prof. Chris Yu Tao, was optimistic that more opportunities would be opened for further interactions with participants, saying “as you have become alumni of the university, I urge you to come home anytime the opportunity offers itself for you to visit China”.

Gratitude

On behalf of the participants, Muhammad Abu Khader from Palestine, thanked the Zhejiang Normal University and the Ministry of Commerce in China for the programme which he said had “enhanced our operational capacity, skills and managerial ability”.

“We have undertaken a programme that has further built our knowledge in highly specialised areas in journalism, communication, skills development and discovered the rich cultural heritage of China,” he added.