BRICS media leaders highlight cooperation in face of common challenges

Dakota Legoete, a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, speaks at the opening ceremony of the Sixth BRICS Media Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 19, 2023. [Xinhua]

While some countries attempt to monopolize the international discourse and weaponize the media to attack other sovereign states, the BRICS media have demonstrated that the media should be committed to promoting world development, rather than becoming a tool to provoke wars, Legoete said.

Media of BRICS countries bear the responsibility of being the "chief storytellers" of BRICS cooperation, Fu said. "We should fully report on the innovative explorations of BRICS countries in their modernization endeavors, tell vivid stories of BRICS countries' deepening reforms, improving people's well-being, and developing green energy."

Echoing Fu's proposals, Wang Min, director of CHN Energy, said media serve as an important force for social progress and media empowerment is indispensable to ensuring energy security and accelerating the green and low-carbon transition in BRICS countries.

Supported and witnessed by the BRICS media, the energy cooperation among BRICS countries has been deepened and the momentum of development has been continuously enhanced, Wang said, noting that CHN Energy has been actively engaging in such cooperation with fruitful results.

Jose Juan Sanchez, chief of Brazil's financial and agricultural information provider CMA Group, stressed the importance of credible and impartial news information. "Communication among BRICS media is crucial, and the member countries should seek sustainable development in economic, environmental and social areas," he said.

Christopher Mutsvangwa, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and ZANU-PF secretary for information and publicity, speaks during a releasing event at the 6th BRICS Media Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa. [Xinhua]

News media produce cultural products and carry the cultural mission of promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, said Fu, who called for BRICS media outlets to promote equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among different civilizations.

As a member of the forum's presidium and home to the forum's liaison office, Xinhua is willing to provide strong support for the effective operation of this mechanism and offer solid support for the steady and sustained progress of media cooperation among BRICS countries, Fu said.

The forum, which runs into Sunday, gathers around 200 participants from around 100 media outlets, think tanks and international organizations from about 30 countries.

At the forum, New China Research (NCR), the think tank of Xinhua News Agency, released two research reports entitled "Toward Modernity: The Value of Xi Jinping's Economic Thought" and "The 'Second Integration' that Transforms China -- Theoretical Innovation and Practice in Building the Modern Civilization of the Chinese Nation." (Video reporters: Zhang Zhihuan, Yin Jiajie, Li Shuting, Liu Chunhui, Tian Hongyi; video editors: Liu Ruoshi, Zhang Yuhong, Liu Yutian, Lin Lin)