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5th LD-Writethru-China Focus: BRICS media leaders gather in Beijing for cooperation

Xinhua, December 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

Leaders of 25 media organizations from BRICS countries met to seek cooperation at the first BRICS Media Summit that opened here Tuesday morning.

The summit, with the theme of "Innovation, Development, Cooperation and Trust", was proposed by Xinhua and jointly organized by Brazil Communication Company, Russia Today International Information Agency, The Hindu Group and South Africa's Independent Media.

Liu Qibao, head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said at the summit that the Chinese government is willing to strengthen coordination and collaboration with the four countries and inject new life into the BRICS mechanism.

"Today's summit marks a new stage in media exchange and cooperation within the BRICS framework," said Liu.

The media of BRICS countries should promote peaceful development, cooperation and win-win, according to him.

Better coordination is needed in fighting terrorism, eliminating poverty and hunger, and addressing climate change, he told the meeting.

"Voices for justice and rationality should be amplified and the voices of emerging and developing countries should be strengthened, so as to make governance fairer and more reasonable," said Liu.

He also called on BRICS media organizations to pay good attention to the fast development of emerging media, and strive for innovation to take initiatives in media development.

"We would like to share our experience with as well as learn from each other to better cope with change in the media industry," said Liu.

"We sincerely extend our welcome to more media organizations from other BRICS countries to come to China to communicate and cooperate with us, and establish resident offices," said Liu.

The country will strive to provide better services for them, he added.

In his keynote speech, Xinhua President Cai Mingzhao urged journalists to be better recorders of the times and drivers of reforms in a world which is undergoing unprecedented changes in the post-Cold War era.

BRICS media should promulgate the voices for peace and development, promote the common development of the five-member bloc, and safeguard the common interest of emerging markets and developing countries, he said.

Cai urged BRICS media to deepen concrete cooperation and seek development through innovation. He asked media organizations to join together, voice common wills and enhance BRICS countries' say in the international community.

"It is advisable for BRICS media to carry out exchanges, learn from each other, become partners and lay a solid foundation for BRICS cooperation among the public," he said.

BRICS media must seek development through innovation, speed up restructuring and become partners in promoting media's integrated development, according to him.

Calling the decision to host BRICS Media Summit "of historical significance," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui said media cooperation not noly adds new vitality into the BRICS cooperation, but helps enhance understanding among the bloc's population of over 3 billion.

According to Zhang, BRICS accounted for 21.9 percent of the world economy in 2014, up from 16.2 percent in 2009.

"The ratio is expected to reach 25.77 percent in 2020. BRICS countries have become a powerful driver for global economic recovery."

He urged further media cooperation against the backdrop of a broad economic slowdown in developing countries, and pledged continued support from his ministry.

N. Ram, chairman and publisher of The Hindu Group, said the summit is a significant development in BRICS media cooperation.

"Bringing together our strengths, resources, especially people resources, and spirit of solidarity and cooperation can yield multiplier effects, or dividends in various fields," said Ram.

One day before the summit, co-organizers held a presidium meeting and nodded six initiatives on practical media cooperation among BRICS countries.

They promised to set up a liaison office for BRICS Media Summit, establish BRICS Media Foundation, set up BRICS Media Journalism Awards, hold a joint photo exhibition, train journalists, and build a coordination mechanism for joint coverage of the G20 Summit in 2016. Endite