Telling China's story to the world

Jiang Jianguo, minister of the State Council Information Office, delivers a speech at the China Spokespersons Forum in Shanghai on Saturday. ZHANG HENGWEI/CHINA NEWS SERVICE

Editor's note: The China Spokespersons Forum was held in Shanghai on Saturday by the State Council Information Office and China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong. The theme of the forum is how to tell China's story in a good way, and how to be a good spokesperson. The following are excerpts of some of the speeches:

Jiang Jianguo, minister of the State Council Information Office

In his important talk on the Communist Party of China's publicity work, General Secretary Xi Jinping expounded on the role, responsibilities, guidelines and principles of public information work as well as the tasks and requirements, and the fundamental guarantees for it.

In the early 1980s, China officially launched its spokespersons system. Over the past three decades, spokespersons have worked in the front line of publicity work, as witnesses, participants, facilitators and contributors to China's reform, opening-up and modernization. The development of the Party's publicity work has accompanied China's opening-up and modernization, and it continues to display the distinctive characteristics of China and the times.

First, it embodies the people-oriented stance of the Communist Party of China and the government. People are the masters of the nation, and they have the right of being informed, participate in, and supervise the nation's undertakings. The purpose of releasing information is to let people better understand the thoughts and deeds of the Party and the government; to make official decisions seen, heard, participated in and supervised, so as to win support from the people.

Second, it embodies the development of the nation's governance system and governance capability. Institutionalization of the government's releasing of information is part of modern governance and the capability of governance. The modernization of a nation's governance is a systematic project and a complicated procedure. A government's information work lays a foundation for governance and is a precondition for it.

Third, it embodies the confidence and openness of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Nowadays the world is a community of shared destiny and interests. The international community is paying more attention than ever to China, so we need to tell the world with facts and authority how China is contributing to the world and help the world understand China.

I would like to take this forum as an opportunity to express my views on how to tell China's story in a good way, and how to be a good spokesperson, which is also the theme of this forum. I believe that a good spokesperson should be confident and capable of using all media to convey China's message in a timely and effective way.

First, China's opening-up and development, growing national power and rising international status mean its spokespersons should have confidence when delivering their message.

Second, China's spokespersons should have good all-round knowledge and respect the principles of good public relations: respecting the public and responding to questions in a timely and credible manner.

Third, they should release information in a timely manner so as to accurately guide public opinion without exaggeration or shrinking from the truth. In short, they should be the right voice at the right time, delivering the right information in the right way.

Fourth, although the various media channels are a challenge, they are also an opportunity. The challenge is the diversity of media makes greater demands on spokes-persons, while the opportunity lies in effectively using the different media to convey information to different audiences-to tell pro-found truths in popular ways.