Photo: Yao Ying, Director, Opinion Department, China Daily, China

The Eleventh ASEAN Plus Three (10+3) Media Cooperation Forum was held in Kunming, the capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on the afternoon of September 17. Under the theme "Increase Inter-connectivity for Common Development and Shared Benefits," 13 representatives from mainstream media outlets across different countries delivered speeches or keynote speeches centered on this topic. Multiple media guests also engaged in on-site dialogues and exchanges on topics including "Foster New Growth Drivers and Share New Development Opportunities." Yao Ying, director of the Opinion Department of China Daily, delivered a keynote speech at the forum. The following is the full text of the speech:

Distinguished guests and media friends,

Asia is an important cradle of human civilization. This land gave birth to many brilliant ancient civilizations and witnessed long-standing exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. Diversity spurs interaction among civilizations, which in turn promotes mutual learning and their further development - this profoundly reveals the inherent logic of the evolution of Asian civilizations and serves as a cornerstone for Asian countries to build consensus, jointly address global challenges, and share development opportunities.

At present, unilateralism and protectionism are spreading, and the global economy faces uncertainties. As an important engine of global economic growth, Asia has always played a key role as a stabilizer and a source of momentum. The ASEAN Plus China, Japan, and South Korea (10+3) cooperation mechanism has, through years of development, become an important platform for promoting political security, economic synergy, and social and cultural exchanges in East Asia, and an indispensable pillar of regional cooperation. We should continue to advance policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and closer people-to-people bond, and jointly build both an Asian community with a shared future and a community with a shared future for mankind.

Strengthening regional cooperation in Asia and deepening dialogue among civilizations are not only crucial to peace, stability, and prosperity in the region, but also hold profound significance for advancing the reform of the global governance system. Media, as the main channels of information dissemination, bridges of cultural exchange, and promoters of consensus, should take the initiative to act and become a vital force in bridging cognitive divides, enhancing mutual understanding, and promoting common development.

China Daily has always been committed to advancing regional cooperation and cultural exchanges in Asia. Through the Asia News Network (ANN), an important platform, we work closely with 20 mainstream media outlets from 19 Asian countries to tell Asia's stories and break the monopoly of Western narratives. As ANN's core and sole Chinese member, China Daily actively enhances its co-consultation and co-deliberation mechanisms. By jointly planning multimedia reporting projects, sharing quality content, and co-hosting forums on cultural heritage protection, we promote exchanges and mutual learning among diverse civilizations in Asia, highlight their unique charm, spread development stories to the world, and help build a fairer and more equitable international communication order.

In recent years, China Daily has actively embraced the trend of technological transformation, giving full play to the advantages of media convergence and effectively integrating video production and distribution resources among ANN members. We have worked to establish and improve the Asia news video exchange platform. We have also deepened exchanges and cooperation among media peers, attracting over 500 journalists and editors from ANN members to participate in multimedia training organized by China Daily. 

Meanwhile, through high-end platforms such as the Global Strategic Dialogue, we bring together politicians, scholars, business leaders, and media professionals from Asia to contribute their voices, jointly advocating Asian values centered on peace, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness and innovation, and offering Asian wisdom and solutions to the current complex geopolitical landscape and global uncertainties.

President Xi Jinping has pointed out, "To meet our common challenges and create a better future for all, we look to culture and civilization to play their role, which is as important as the role played by economy, science and technology." Media are not only witnesses to exchanges among civilizations, but also important promoters. They should act as amplifiers of dialogue, disseminators of positive energy, and aggregators of regional consensus. China Daily is ready to work hand in hand with media colleagues from the 10+3 countries to achieve the beautiful vision of building a peaceful, prosperous, open, and interconnected Asia. For this purpose, we propose strengthening cooperation in the following four areas:

First, jointly building a content ecosystem and telling compelling Asian stories. We should establish a regular content cooperation mechanism, expand exchanges of high-quality commentaries, in-depth features, and cultural reports, and jointly produce influential multimedia products. By highlighting unique stories in history, culture, livelihood development, and regional cooperation, we can present a vibrant Asia of diversity and coexistence to the world.

Second, strengthening technological empowerment to enhance communication efficiency. In line with the global trend of technological revolution and industrial transformation, we should actively apply frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data to comprehensively optimize news production and dissemination, significantly expanding the reach and influence of Asia's voice. At the same time, we must remain alert to risks such as disinformation and algorithmic bias, ensuring that technology application aligns with journalistic ethics and humanistic values. We should also strengthen exchanges and cooperation in technology governance to ensure technology better serves regional media cooperation and injects new momentum into 10+3 cooperation.

Third, deepening dialogue among civilizations to solidify mutual trust. We should carry out joint projects on protecting and promoting Asia's cultural heritage, and hold forums on civilizations, cultural exhibitions, youth journalist exchanges, think tank cooperation, and cultural interactions among peoples. Such initiatives will deepen mutual understanding and friendship, consolidating public support for 10+3 cooperation.

Fourth, focusing on building consensus to serve regional development. We should adhere to objectivity and fairness in reporting, highlight shared interests and cooperation achievements, and focus on 10+3 priorities such as regional economic integration, supply chain stability, food security, and sustainable development. In this way, we can build development consensus, provide public opinion support for multilateral cooperation, and jointly promote Asia's independent development and open cooperation.

Colleagues, we are living in an era of both challenges and opportunities - unilateralism still casts a shadow, but the tide of multilateral cooperation is unstoppable; the rhetoric of civilizational clashes occasionally resurfaces, but the consensus on mutual learning among civilizations is stronger than ever. The ASEAN Plus Three media cooperation is an important strategic platform for "telling compelling Asian stories and enhancing regional discourse power." Let us uphold our media responsibilities, maintain the spirit of cooperation, convey truth through objective, fair, and comprehensive reporting, and use constructive, inclusive, and innovative narratives to build development consensus. Together, we can contribute the wisdom and strength of media to building a Asia with peace, stability, prosperity and mutually learning.