The LEADERSHIP Media Group has joined other organisations to strengthen media collaboration through an exchange programme aimed at boosting China-Africa cooperation for mutual benefits.
The event entitled “A Civilisation Symphony and a Digital Dream-Builder: ‘African Partners’ was organised by the China Media Group (CMG) and hosted in Beijing, the Chinese capital on August 31, 2024, ahead of the 2024 Summit of the Forum for China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing.
The FOCAC summit commenced on September 4 and will end on September 6.
Since the inception of the FOCAC in 2000 and the China-Africa Development Fund in 2006, China’s economic ties with Africa have deepened significantly.
The media event was also to promote cultural exchanges and mutual learning in the digital age.
The gathering attracted over 200 participants, including representatives from international organisations, media outlets, newspapers, think tanks and other sectors from China and more than 20 African countries.
Several African leaders, including Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera, and Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan, shared messages via video where they expressed their support for enhanced media exchanges and practical cooperation between China and Africa.
Ugandan President Museveni said that China is an important partner of Africa and expressed his appreciation for the activities organised by CMG.
He expressed hope for increased connections between young people from both regions to build stronger future relationships.
The Central African Republic President Touadera also commended the cultural exchange event organised by CMG, expressing confidence that it would serve as a major platform for cultural dialogue, and wishing it success.
Seychelles President Ramkalawan also conveyed his support, emphasising the value of deepening media exchanges and practical cooperation between the two countries.
China’s ongoing comprehensive reforms create new opportunities for strengthening the China-Africa comprehensive strategic partnership, said Shen Haixiong, the vice minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and President of CMG.
He said that CMG aims to bridge cultural exchanges between China and Africa and promotes these narratives globally.
Shen noted that effective China-Africa media partnerships depend on engaging storytelling, close collaboration and innovation.
CMG leverages over 320 African cooperation resources to enhance cross-cultural communication, and is advancing a 5G+4K and 8K+AI technology to improve media quality and productivity.
CMG also seeks to collaborate closely with its African partners to exchange cultural insights, support modernisation and jointly build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future, Shen added.
According to China’s Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong, the theme of the upcoming 2024 Summit of the FOCAC is “Joining Hands to Advance Modernisation and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future.”
He noted that the summit will introduce new initiatives, including enhanced China-Africa media and cultural cooperation.
Chen hopes media from both sides will highlight the deepening China-Africa friendship, mutual benefits and joint modernisation efforts.
He also called for the coverage of the summit’s new ideas and initiatives and emphasised the importance of promoting peace, justice, and shared development.
Politicians from several African countries, including South Africa, the Republic of the Congo, Cote Ivoire, Senegal, Egypt, Burundi and Cameroon, sent video messages expressing their hope that African and Chinese media will strengthen cooperation across various fields and work together to share the story of China-Africa development.
The event introduced Close Friends Across Continents, a CMG-produced documentary showcasing China-Africa achievements in science, technology, economics and cultural exchanges.
It will air on CCTV- 4 and CGTN’s English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian channels during the summit, with additional broadcasts in many African countries.
Since August 15, the promo has been featured on 1,297 outdoor screens, 19 national TV stations and 13 new media websites, reaching nearly 1.4 billion people across 54 African countries.
In recent years, CMG has been continuously hosting a variety of film and television exhibitions that have been well-received by African audiences.
Four Chinese films have already been screened in Egypt and Tanzania, and 10 African films will be shown on university campuses in Beijing, Xian and Chengdu.
During the event, CMG established a cooperation mechanism with 11 leading media organisations in East Africa.
This mechanism will focus on programme sharing, joint interviews and productions, high-quality programme exhibitions, annual news releases, think tank collaborations and cultural exchanges.
A consensus document on the media cooperation mechanism was also released at the event. The initiative, launched by CMG and 64 major African media organisations from 25 countries, aims to build a high-quality China-Africa media partnership.
It seeks to objectively amplify the voice of the Global South and collaboratively create a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.