Photo: Pei Jianrong, Deputy Director, Department of China News for World Service, Xinhua News Agency, 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." Pei Jianrong, Deputy Director of Department of China News for World Service under the Xinhua News Agency, delivered a keynote speech at the forum. The following is the full text of the speech:

Distinguished Deputy Editor-in-Chief Cui Shixin, esteemed guests, ladies, gentlemen and friends,

Good afternoon!

I am very pleased to gather with you in the "Spring City" of Kunming to talk about friendship, cooperation, and the future. I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to the People's Daily for inviting the Xinhua News Agency to attend the Eleventh ASEAN Plus Three (10+3) Media Cooperation Forum, and to extend my sincere greetings to all media colleagues present.

In Kunming, the aroma of coffee and Pu'er tea blends into a unique urban flavor, reflecting the touching scene of the harmonious coexistence of diverse cultures. Here, we exchange ideas and wisdom on topics such as "Foster New Growth Drives and Share New Development Opportunities" and "Build Consensus and Enhance People-to-People Bonds in East Asia," which are of special significance.

As President Xi Jinping pointed out, "When Asia fares well, the whole world benefits." We all belong to Asia, sharing a common homeland, interests, and opportunities, as well as common values and aspirations. The profound oriental wisdom provides inexhaustible nourishment and strength for regional countries to meet challenges and promote development together.

China, Japan, and South Korea, together with ASEAN, are geographically close, emotionally connected, and culturally linked, with long-standing history of exchanges. As the world undergoes accelerated changes unseen in a century and the international landscape becomes more complex and turbulent, it is imperative for Asian media to pool wisdom and strength to promote common development, and to voice the strong call of the times for building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Friendship, which derives from close contact between the people, holds the key to sound state-to-state relations. The 10+3 cooperation at the state level has made important contributions to regional stability and development. Media serve as a bridge in fostering closer people-to-people bonds within ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea, playing an important and unique role.

The Xinhua News Agency is China's official state news agency and an international news agency. It is also the country's only media-based national high-end think tank. It has built a communication matrix that includes news release wires in Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Thai, and other languages, with websites, apps, and social media accounts, boasting over 1 billion followers across various social media platforms.

We have branches in Japan, South Korea, and every ASEAN member state, and have conducted wide-ranging, multi-level cooperation with local media and think tanks. We have built long-term and close partnerships with Kyodo News in Japan, Yonhap News Agency in South Korea, the Malaysian National News Agency, Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, the Mass Communication Organization of Thailand, Indonesia's Centre for Strategic and International Studies, and the Royal Academy of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, among others. We are willing to continue strengthening connectivity, deepening exchanges and cooperation, leveraging our 15-language advantage, and telling compelling stories about the friendship and cooperation among Asian countries.

On this occasion, I would like to share three thoughts on how to strengthen media cooperation among Asian countries.

We should work to improve our narrative capability. We need to further enhance communication, showcase the development achievements of Asian countries with authentic, multidimensional and diverse narratives, build an independent narrative system, break the dominance of Western discourse, and strive to enhance the global influence of the voice of Asia.

We should embrace the wave of technological change. We need to make full use of the rapid development and widespread application of generative artificial intelligence, which has brought about a new round of media revolution; further expand exchanges and cooperation in the application of new media technologies, while realizing that AI governance concerns the future of all humanity. Mainstream media around the world, including those in Asia, should actively participate in formulating rules and standards for AI to better guide the healthy and positive development of technology.

We should strengthen media dialogue and exchanges. Sincerity is the key to a lasting friendship. Last week, Xinhua, together with the Communist Party of China (CPC) Yunnan Provincial Committee and the Yunnan Provincial People's Government, co-hosted the Global South Media and Think Tank Forum 2025. About 500 guests from over 110 countries and various international and regional organizations attended the forum and visited various places in Yunnan, enjoying the beautiful scenery and experiencing the real China. We should continue to make good use of media exchange platforms, deepen cultural connectivity through dialogue and exchanges, demonstrate vivid practices of mutual learning among civilizations, and contribute media strength to building a community with a shared future with neighboring countries.

Ladies, gentlemen and friends!

Let us take this forum as an opportunity to build consensus, strengthen solidarity and cooperation, create a better future together, jointly writing a new chapter in Asian media cooperation.

Finally, I wish this forum a complete success!

Thank you all!