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Guangzhou . – The ongoing World Media Summit that has gathered dozens of African media representatives will enhance global media outlets’ understanding of China-Africa cooperation, a Ghanaian media executive said.

The summit serves as an important platform for African media outlets to interact with their counterparts across the globe, said Roger Agana, managing director of News Ghana, a leading news website in Ghana.

The summit), held in the city of Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, is beingattended by more than 300 representatives of around 80 institutions, including media outlets, international organisations and think tanks, from nearly 30 countries and regions.

“I am ready to mingle with all of them,” said Agana, who landed in the Chinese city of Guangzhou.

“The world needs to know a real Africa and a real China, and how they cooperated to benefit people on both sides, the China-Africa cooperation in various aspects has set a good example for the whole world, so as African media, we do have a story to tell,” Agana said.

Agana said Africa benefits immensely from the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) due to its role in promoting trade and developing infrastructure on the continent.

“The BRI initiative is a very laudable project that will help us because it is helping to build roads, railways, ports, and airports, which are the infrastructure backbone for trade facilitation on the continent,” he said. 

Organisers believe that the summit has enhanced mutual understanding, deepened friendships, consolidated consensus, and will promote global media cooperation to address challenges and achieve mutually beneficial development.

Iqbal Surve, the chairman of South Africa’s Independent Media, said the summit comes at an opportune time and plays a vital role in providing the truth and presenting both sides of the story, making it “a really important international media summit.”

The summit is “a really, really important occasion” as it brings together global media organizations to share their respective ideas, said Surve, who is attending the summit from Dec. 2 to 8 in the Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Kunming.

Emphasizing the social responsibilities of the media, the chairman underscored the paramount importance of truth as the foundational principle for all media organizations.

Media’s role extends beyond conveying facts, Surve said, adding that it should serve as a catalyst for social-economic change and development.

“If we have one task only as a social responsibility, that task is to ensure that media must be a change agent in the world today, to promote a common humanity and a shared future and shared prosperity,” he added.

Highlighting the crucial importance of effective communication within countries, between countries and across regions to ensure a better understanding of facts and foster collaboration for peaceful coexistence, Surve said, “The role of the media is absolutely critical in that communication.”

As a seasoned media leader who has paid over 20 visits to China, Surve praised Chinese modernization and China’s commitment to mutual development under the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.

In his view, the development of BRICS and the Belt and Road cooperation enabled China’s partners to learn from this modernization so as to achieve common development.  – Xinhua