Media gurus on Sunday weighed in on responsibilities and opportunities in building the Silk Road economic belt as thousands throng to Urumqi, capital of northwest China' s Xinjiang, to attend the 4th China-Eurasia Expo (CEE) that will focus on the belt' s construction.

Building the Silk Road economic belt is not only a newsworthy event itself, but also a precious opportunity to deepen multinational media cooperation, which contributes to mutual understanding among countries and region along the route, said Cui Yuying, deputy director of the Information Office of China's State Council, at the Asia and Europe News Media Forum, a CEE's key sideline event that concluded on Sunday.

The economic belt, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Central Asia in September 2013, eyes the cultural revival of the Silk Road, which historically links China with Central Asia and Europe, as a way of developing political and economic ties.

The concept of the belt has been credited with driving media exchanges for countries and regions along the Silk Road. In 2013, 24 cities from eight countries along the route inked the Urumqi Consensus, vowing to build mechanisms of dialogue and communication, and deepen exchanges in news reporting.

"Such exchanges are conducive to higher levels of reporting," according to Cui.

Cui underlined media responsibilities alongside the project, urging media representatives from more than 20 countries to take to heart the maxim that they are not only witnesses to the big project, but also messengers that should spread positive energy in society.

"Only in this way can we truly lay a solid foundation for the Silk Road economic belt," she said.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)