"There is a large room and potential for cooperation between Chinese and African media," said Guo Weimin, vice minister of the State Council Information Office of China, as he addressed the China-Africa Media Forum held on Aug. 14 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The China-Africa Media Forum is held on Aug. 14, 2017, in Johannesburg, South Africa. [Photo/China SCIO]
The forum was hosted by the State Council Information Office and co-organized by Xinhua News Agency and Independent Media Group of South Africa. It aimed to boost understanding and exchanges between Chinese and African media agencies and increase fair media coverage of both sides.
Guo Weimin, vice minister of the State Council Information Office of China, addresses the China-Africa Media Forum on Aug. 14, 2017, in Johannesburg, South Africa. [Photo/China SCIO]
Guo said media agencies serve as an important bridge between China and African countries to promote their friendship and facilitate people-to-people exchanges.
In his speech, Guo encouraged Chinese and African media organizations to explore cooperation on news coverage, personnel training and cultivation, and urged the two sides to coordinate their reporting and agenda setting efforts in order to increase the voices of developing countries.
The minister also called on Chinese and African media organizations to counter balance Western media reporting, which has a tendency to label the continent as poor, disease-ridden and war-torn.
Lin Songtian, the Chinese ambassador to South Africa, speaks at the China-Africa Media Forum on Aug. 14, 2017, in Johannesburg, South Africa. [Photo/China SCIO]
Lin Songtian, the Chinese ambassador to South Africa, said media agencies should provide honest accounts of the China-Africa cooperation, offer guidance to public opinion, identify opportunities and promote the mutually beneficial relationship.
"African and Chinese media should work towards common development," Lin said. "We have to build the positive image of our relations, share our common values, friendship and common interest."
"Both sides should stand up and loudly tell people of the world who their true and reliable friend is," he said.
Kevin Ritchie, regional executive editor of Independent Media, speaks at the China-Africa Media Forum on Aug. 14, 2017, in Johannesburg, South Africa. [Photo/China SCIO]
Kevin Ritchie, regional executive editor of Independent Media, said the forum can offer an opportunity to forge bonds, learn from one another, discuss the shortcomings the media agencies might have and find solutions to problems that are common to both sides.
He said that the two sides should fulfill a most critical role in empowering the public by giving them the most complete information possible, which would allow them to look at the news clearly and objectively and form their own opinions.
Olanrewaju Timothy Kola, a journalist with the Sun Newspaper in Nigeria, said the Chinese media is more interested in telling the African story from the African perspective, rather than the hand-down script of the Western media which see nothing good about the continent except stories of wars, conflicts and crime.
Kang Bing, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily, speaks at the China-Africa Media Forum on Aug. 14, 2017, in Johannesburg, South Africa. [Photo/China SCIO]
Still, Kang Bing, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily, said that current China-African media exchanges have much room for improvement.
He pointed out that coverage on both sides by the media organizations is far from adequate for the Chinese and African public to have a good understanding of one another.
With the theme of "Talk Heart to Heart, Work Hand in Hand," the forum revolved around three topics for discussion: understanding and connectivity, coordinated cooperation, and joining hands for a shared future.
About 20 editors and journalists from African countries and China participated in the forum and shared their opinions at speaking events.
