BEIJING, July 1st (ABP) – Under the patronage of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, China Public Diplomacy Association (CPDA) proceeded on Sunday, June 30, 2024 in Beijing, with the closing ceremony of the China International Press Communication Center (CIPCC) Four-Month Media Exchange Programme which brought together 108 journalists from 97 countries of different continents such as Africa, Asia, Pacific, Europe and Latin America.
In her remarks, Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying first recalled all the activities that have been carried out during the CIPCC four-month programme for the first half of 2024, for the foreign journalists to gain a rich experience and know more about China. These include the coverage of the Two Sessions, visits to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Qianmen, top Chinese companies, and speaking with experts in leading research institutes in Beijing, etc.
Foreign journalists also traveled from capital Beijing to the southernmost Hainan, and from Fujian in the east to Xinjiang in the west. They have left their footprints in 12 Chinese provinces, and seen with their own eyes a vibrant and colorful China.
In Jiangsu province, foreign journalists walked along the Changtai Yangtze River Bridge, the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world, and witnessed the Chinese speed of infrastructure construction. In Zhejiang, they went shopping in Yiwu, and tried out livestreaming e-commerce. They attended “Townhall meetings” of Chinese style, and observed the exercise of China’s whole-process people’s democracy, while in Fujian, they visited the research base on the local tribe in Pingtan, and further learned about the fact that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same family, Vice Foreign Minister Hua recalled.
She also recalled that in Xinjiang, foreign journalists saw how desert turned into green cities, and listened to touching stories on ethnic harmony. ” It showed you a real Xinjiang that is stable, harmonious, prosperous and open to the world “, she said.
Mrs. Hua added that in Sichuan, foreign journalists visited the Chengdu International Railway Port, and felt the pulse of Belt and Road cooperation. ” You bravely tried hotpot like the locals, and had a close encounter with the cute pandas “, she pointed out, recalling that in Shaanxi, they visited the site that used to be the desert, and saw how people there fought desertification with courage and resolve. ” I’m sure you now know more about China than many foreign friends who have come to China dozens of times “, she expressed her belief.
The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs did not fail to recall that on Friday, June 28, 2024, foreign journalists also attended the Conference on the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and listened to President Xi Jinping talking about the importance and relevance of the Five Principles and the Vision of Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind, and announcing eight measures to support cooperation among the Global South countries.
The eight measures announced by President Xi Jinping include establishing a Global South research center; providing 1,000 scholarships under the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Scholarship of Excellence; providing 100,000 training opportunities to Global South countries in the coming five years; launching a Global South youth leaders program; continuing to make good use of the China-U.N. Peace and Development Fund, the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, and the Climate Change South-South Cooperation Fund.
China will work with interested parties to set up a tripartite center of excellence for the implementation of the Global Development Initiative; renew the China-IFAD South-South and Triangular Cooperation Facility, and make an additional Renminbi contribution equivalent to $10 million to be used to support agricultural development of the Global South, and finally, discuss free trade arrangements with more Global South countries, continue to support the WTO’s Aid for Trade initiative, and renew its contribution to the WTO’s China Program.
” China’s high-quality development and high-standard opening up are closely linked to the world. China’s development has and will continue to bring more opportunities for the world and to share opportunities for common development with all countries “, Mrs. Hua underscored, specifying that according to the World Bank, from 2013 to 2021, China contributed 38.6 percent to global growth, which is more than the G7 countries combined.
The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs took the opportunity to express her gratitude to the foreign journalists who, as participants in such programmes in previous years, continue to follow China, report China and tell the world heartwarming stories on China in the new era, and love China after going back to their countries. ” They have contributed to the mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation between China and their home countries and regions “, she stressed, adding that in this age of internet, the world needs more clear-eyed and honest narrators.
For his part, CPDA President Wu Hailong noted that this year marks the tenth anniversary of CIPCC. He expressed his joy to have had over 600 journalists from more than 140 countries who have already taken part in its programme. He also expressed his appreciation for the good times he had with African journalists in Jiangsu province in March of this year, testifying that they enjoyed cherry blossoms’ enchanting beauty in Wuxi, visited the super-large shield machine production workshop and climbed the under-construction world’s longest cable-stayed Changtai Yangtze River Bridge, all of which demonstrate the prowess of China, the great infrastructure builder.
Diplomat Wu Hailong deplored that China is still not perfect. ” China’s economic growth has been unbalanced. China’s economy faces a lot of difficulties and challenges due to internal and external factors “, he said, stressing, however, that on the journey ahead, China strives in unity to build a great modern socialist country in all respects, and firmly adheres to this aspiration. He disclosed that China owes its success to three magic weapons, namely, the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, the greatest strength of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the assiduous and tenacious Chinese People.
He expressed the hope that with the deepening of their observation, knowledge and understanding of China, journalists will continue to introduce the China they really know to their countries of origin, regions and the world with their pens, lenses and languages. ” The China story you told will be more authentic, convincing, credible and easily recognized and accepted, contrary to Western medias that write numerous untruthful stories that defame China and are self-defeating “, he pointed out.
The president of CPDA also hoped that each journalist will become an ambassador to promote the friendly relations between their country and China. Before wishing the journalists a safe trip back home and return to China whenever they get the chance, Wu Hailong promised that CPDA will continue to carry out China International Press Communication Center Programme, inviting more journalists from developing countries and other friendly countries to participate in the project in China.
Representatives of foreign journalists took the floor, one after another, to express the feelings of the participants for having successfully completed the four-month media exchange programme. These are Madam Bridget Chiedu Onchie from Nigeria, Marc John Membrere Savali from Samao, and Gustavo NG., Editor of DANGDAI, Magazine of Argentina, journalist of the 2022 CIPCC programme. They expressed the deep and collective appreciation to the people and government of the People’s Republic of China for their warmth and hospitality.
” The physical structures, ecological friendliness, commitment towards green energy and zero emission, grassroots development, cultural preservation, cuisines, efficient road networks and functional transport system, trees and blossoming flowers that beautify every city, and above all, the hospitable and benevolent nature of the people, formed our own interpretation of Chinese Characteristics “, Mrs. Bridget Chiendu Onchie underscored, pointing out that journalists will rewrite the story about China, especially as it relates to the bilateral relationships between their respective countries and the People’s Republic of China.
She also pointed out that the simplicity of top political officials, including President Xi Jinping, their zeal, highly meticulous organization and crowd control, and the level of socio-economic progress made in every sector of the economy, all formed a great lesson for most of the foreign journalists, especially those from Africa. She did not fail to express the gratitude to the staff of CIPCC for all the efforts they made in favor of the foreign journalists.
Note that the closing ceremony of the CIPCC programme for the first half of 2024 was embellished by different performances of foreign journalists, and ended in a friendly and cheerful atmosphere around a glass of drinks.
