On 23 October, the 2020 ASEAN-China Media Cooperation Forum co-organisedby China International Publishing Group (CIPG)and ASEAN-China Centre (ACC)opened in Beijing.Mr. Kung Phoak, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN, Mr. Raja Dato’ Nushirwan Z.A., Ambassador of Malaysia to China,Mr. Pehin DatoRahmani Dato Basir, Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam to China, Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General ofACC, Mr. AriefSuditomo, News Director and Editor-in-Chief of Metro TV Indonesia, Mr. Guo Weimin, Vice Minister of State Council Information Office (SCIO), Mr. Du Zhanyuan, President of CIPG, Ms.Chen Shi, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of CIPG and President of the China Report Press, Ms. Yang Ping, Vice President of Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies,representatives from government, media, academia, business community of AMS and China as well as representatives from international organisations attended the event.

The theme ofthe forum was “upgrading ASEAN-Chinastrategic partnershipthrough mutual assistanceand cooperation”.Participants shared experience with each other and had discussions on future cooperation. They exchanged views on how media of the two sides could give full play to their advantages tohelp fight against COVID-19, recover socio-economic development, and promote the positive energy of ASEAN-China solidarity, so as to contribute to ASEAN-China relations.

Vice Minister Guo Weimin stated that media have witnessed and documented the development of China-ASEAN relations, participated in and promoted the cooperation between the two sides for mutual benefit. Against the backdrop of COVID-19, media from China and ASEAN countries should take on the responsibility to speak out, build consensus and inspire people, so as to create a favorable public opinion environment for regional development and global economic recovery.They should uphold the vision of building a community with a shared future and promote the building of a global community of health for all. Theyshould take digital economy cooperation as an opportunity to elevate economic and trade cooperation to a new level. They should strengthen media exchanges and cooperation to lay a solid foundation of public support for friendly cooperation.

Deputy Secretary-GeneralKung Phoakapplauded China in its efforts towards controlling and mitigating the spread of the pandemic, expressed appreciation for China’s assistance to ASEAN, and commended ASEAN-China Centre for its continuous efforts to promote media exchanges and cooperation as well as people-to-people exchanges between ASEAN and China. He stressed that ASEAN-China economic relations is stronger than ever, that the two sides have nurtured greater friendship between the peoples through forging people-to-people exchanges, and that media exchanges and cooperation have become an integral part of ASEAN-China relations. This year’s Media Cooperation Forum is timely and relevant, as the two sides could discuss how to utilise new digital technologiesto strengthen the role of media, raise public awareness on sustainable development, and further strengthen media’s capacities in developing informative and accurate information and media products.

President Du Zhanyuan mentioned that at present, both China and ASEAN Member States are faced with the dual tasks of epidemic containment and economic growth. Media from both sides can do much to improve the quality and efficiency of China-ASEAN relations. Theyshould make more reports on the positive results of ASEAN-China joint prevention and control measures, increase information sharing on vaccine cooperation, and strengthen regional public health governance. They should leverage the advantages of the media in synergizing digital economy policies, developing new models of the digital economy, and sharing cases of new business models to promote cooperation in digital economy. They should help share useful experience andgood practices in poverty reduction, and contribute wisdom and strength to the cause.

AmbassadorNushirwannoted that among ASEAN’s many dialogue partnerships, ASEAN plus China stands out as the most vibrant pair with the most substantial cooperation.Next year, the two sides will celebrate the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations and step up cooperation. It’s only fitting that the theme of the forum echoes the important role that media plays in nation-building and regional cooperation. Under the new circumstances, media of the two sides should strengthen exchanges on public health, poverty reduction, urbanization and environmental protection. In the face of the challenges posed by the epidemic, they should deepen pragmatic cooperation and explore innovative ways to serve people better.

Secretary-General Chen Dehaistated thatmedia serves as a window and bridge for ASEAN countries and China to share information, enhance mutual understanding and promote practical cooperation. It is even more so against the backdrop of the COVID-19 epidemic.Media from the two sides should focus on pandemic containment and work resumption, follow such topics as digital economy and poverty reduction, tell heartwarming stories of mutual support and friendship, demonstrate outcomes of win-win cooperation and set up a good image for regional cooperation. ASEAN and China should deepen communication in media policy, regulation and development plan, and enhance the depth and width of media cooperation. They should work together to enhance communication capabilities by strengthening technology cooperation, and adapting to the development trend of new media, especially mobile communication, which is becoming more social, personalized and video-based.

Media management members, journalists and think-tank representatives from AMS and China, focusing on the two topics of “new opportunities brought by digital economy to ASEAN-China media cooperation” and “the role of media and think-tank in regional public health governance and poverty elimination”, held in-depth discussions on how toseize the opportunities of digital economy to give a fresh impetus to media cooperation as well as socio-economic development. They also explored ways to enable media toplay a greater role in promoting regional cooperation in public health governance and poverty elimination. All speakers noted that asdigital economy is gaining greater influence across the globe, the media industry is bracing for a revolution featured by both challenges and opportunities. Media of two sides should keep pace with the times in pursuit of innovation-driven development and make greater contributions to deepening ASEAN-China strategic partnership.

At the forum, leaders from China and ASEAN witnessed the launching of multilingual e-book Keywords to Understand China: Targeted Poverty Elimination, which is translated into English, Indonesian, Lao, Thai, and Vietnamese languages.

On the sidelines of the forum,ACC and CIPG signed Memorandum of Understanding for Strategic Cooperation.