CHINA FORGES NEW GLOBAL MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS

GSMN’s Editor-in-Chief, Abbey Makoe, attended the 4^th CMG Forum in Shandong, China, as a panelist. Below is his report.

China, the world’s second largest economy, has set its sights on formulating media and communication partnerships across the global south.

This became abundantly clear during the 4^th Global Media Group (CMG) Forum that was held in the scenic countryside town of Qufu in the Shandong province.

It was a glittering event, attended by media experts, representatives of the industry, China-based ambassadors and diplomats and government representatives from as far as Brazil, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Africa, Latin America and across Asia – there were virtually everybody in the media signing up to the South-South cooperation.

Mr Lin Wu, the Communist Party of China’s Secretary for Shandong Provincial Committee who is also Chairman of the Standing Committee of Shandong Provincial People’s Congress, led a flurry of speeches. He was accompanied by Mr Wei Changmin, the Deputy Director-General of the Publicity Department of the CPC’s Shandong Provincial Committee. Mr Lin explained at the outset that China seeks collaborations as part of the country’s foreign policy of a shared future and mutual benefits characterized by empowerment of the weak by the strong.

There was also a strong a strong African presence led by the Kenya Broadcasting Cooperation’s CEO, Ms Agnes Nguna, and Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation’s Director-General, Dr Ayub Rioba Chacha. Head of Nigeria’s public radio service, Voice of Nigeria, Jibrin Ndace, was also in attendance along a host of delegates from Francophone Africa. Dr Veysel Binbay represented the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union.

The Global North was also well represented, with top executives delivering remarks, including from Reuters, CNBC International, Euro News and AFP. Among the thinks-tanks was the German-based International Schiller Institute. International delegations totaled up to 100, matched by a similar number of domestic participants.

The theme of the forum was “Exchange, Mutual Learning, Technology Empowerment. The Power of Civilization in Transformation and Development”.

China Media Group (CMG) was established in 2018. It is one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. Its global reach and operation are massive. It operates an extensive broadcasting network that includes 51 television channels, eleven of which are international. It also operates 22 radio frequencies that target largely domestic audiences, and also programming in 82 languages for global audiences. CMG has bureaus in 71 countries and regions, including South Africa. CMG’s international news agency is CCTV, which provides video news services to over 5000 media organizations world-wide.

The Forum also had an IT exhibition that included robotics. However, it was dominated by the China Global Television Network (CGTN) AIHub. The AIHub was described as the “first collaborative creation platform deeply integrated with AI technology”. It also aims “to provide global audiences with accurate and timely news coverage as well as rich audio-visual services, promoting communication and understanding between China and the world, and enhancing cultural exchanges and mutual trust between China and other countries”.