'One Belt, One Road' offers many opportunities

Reporters take photographs before the media leaders' round-table discussion at Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan on March 26, 2015. [Huang Yiming / China Daily]

China's "One Belt and One Road" strategy, an initiative to promote economic and cultural ties with neighboring countries, will create opportunities for everyone involved, leaders of foreign media organizations agreed on Thursday.

Media leaders also vowed a deeper cooperation to boost cultural exchange and understanding.

Addressing the media leaders' round-table discussion at Boao Forum for Asia, Jiang Jianguo, minister of the State Council Information Office, said the "One Belt and One Road" strategy will benefit all the countries and the media should serve as a bridge to introduce the concept to the world.

"The strategy needs comprehensive introduction from the media in every country. Media cooperation will promote the strategy, which is good for the regional economy and cultural exchange," Jiang said.

China plans to revive the ancient trade routes that connect Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh with western Europe. The country exports a wide range of products, from high-speed railway technologies to labor-intensive manufacturing sectors, to the markets hungry for development along the routes.

More than 80 percent of the media executives attending the forum from countries including China, Russia and the United States, agreed that the strategy will bring more opportunities than challenges to all the economies.

Kazi A.U. Ahmed, director-general of Bangladesh Betar, a radio station in the southern Asian country, said: "With China's economy growing so quickly, deeper economic, military and cultural ties with China will help Bangladesh to increase its regional influence."

The demand for China-related reports is also rising. Ye Maoxi, chairman of UK-based Propeller TV, said: "A large number of Chinese immigrants and people who are interested in the world's second largest economy will bring a new audience to the media."

Cho Joong-shik, editor of business and technology at South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, said the 21st Century Silk Road initiative should also bring opportunities to East Asian economies that have many resources to offer but are not directly on the Silk Road route.

Echoing Cho's view, Tsutomu Ihiai, foreign news editor of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, said: "The open attitude from China, the initiator of the strategy, will help eliminate misunderstandings and create a win-win situation."