The 5th China Media Group (CMG) Forum was held in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality on Wednesday.
Jointly hosted by the CMG and the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government, this year’s forum was held under the theme “Upholding and Reshaping: The Media’s Mission in the Intelligent Era”. Around 300 representatives from government agencies, international organizations, media institutions, Chinese and foreign think tanks, multinational companies and other sectors attended the event.
Chinese President Xi Jinping highly values media innovation and the development of an integrated all-media communication landscape, said Yuan Jiajun, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, in his speech at the forum.
Xi’s congratulatory letter to the inaugural CMG Forum charted the course for the future development of the media industry, Yuan said, adding that the forum will inject strong momentum into media innovation and development.
President Xi has emphasised that “artificial intelligence should be an international public good that benefits all humanity,” Shen Haixiong, vice minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and president of CMG, noted.
This year marks the beginning of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period and is also a critical juncture as global artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates its transition from technological vision to industrial reality, Shen said, adding that CMG is committed to transforming the immense potential of technology into a force for communication that benefits all and enriches humanity.
He also said CMG will further explore the possibilities for telling China’s stories to the world by harnessing the power of innovation.
Tshilidzi Marwala, rector of the United Nations University and under-secretary-general of the United Nations, noted that AI, while reshaping news production, has also posed new challenges to the authenticity of information, which call for an international consensus on global AI governance that ensures technologies remain people-centred and used for the common good.
Participants of the forum said AI is having a profound impact on the media landscape and public opinion ecosystem. They called for advancing the application of AI in news reporting, cultural communication and public services, while accelerating media transformation through innovation.
Multiple leaders of international organizations and news outlets have also sent video messages to the forum, expressing their expectations that the event will deepen mutual learning among global media, jointly shape the value framework in the intelligent era, uphold the bottom line of responsibility in the application of technology, and build a healthy, open and sustainable new global media ecosystem.
As a key outcome, the forum introduced an initiative that makes the following proposals for global media. First, defend the truth and uphold the foundational values of journalism and communication. Second, embrace inclusiveness and mutual learning, and promote exchanges among different civilisations. Third, lead with foresight and jointly respond to the questions posed by the transformations of our time. Fourth, leverage technology to empower media development and jointly create a better future.
Multiple important projects were also announced at the forum, including Central Audiovisual Media 3.0, a tool that centrally schedules and precisely manages hundreds of intelligent media tools, three reports on AI development and governance, and “Fact Hunter,” a global verification platform.
CGTN