China–Central Asia Forum opens new horizons for media
The China–Central Asia News Agencies Forum was held in Astana, organized by Xinhua News Agency with the support of the Presidential Television and Radio Complex of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
Ahead of the event, a bilateral meeting took place between Raushan Kazhibayeva, Director of the Presidential Television and Radio Complex, and Fu Hua, President of Xinhua News Agency. The two sides discussed strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership, amplifying the voice of Central Asian and Chinese media in the global information space, and cooperating in building a community with a shared future for humanity.
Opening the Forum, Kazhibayeva emphasized the significance of the topics on the agenda. According to the Director of the Presidential Television and Radio Complex, Central Asia and China are united not only by geography and economic ties, but also by centuries of cultural affinity, shared traditions, and a mutual desire for peace and understanding.
For centuries, the ancient Silk Road served as a powerful driver of transformation across the Eurasian continent — a role now carried forward by the Belt and Road Initiative, first announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana in 2013.
“Our countries are carrying out large-scale projects in trade, the economy, and transport and logistics. But it is equally important to create a shared information and cultural space that will help us understand one another better,” noted Raushan Kazhibayeva, highlighting the important role of the media in shaping public sentiment and facilitating the exchange of ideas, meanings, and values.
In this context, Kazinform is expanding its presence on Chinese social media. The agency’s official accounts on Weibo and WeChat allow Kazakh news to be distributed quickly and effectively to a broad audience.
“The second Central Asia–China summit, recently held in Astana, has set a strategic course for advancing relations between the countries of our region and China. The task of the media is to support and promote these initiatives in the information space, thereby contributing to the strengthening of the comprehensive strategic partnership between our nations,” Kazhibayeva said.
Fu Hua, President of Xinhua News Agency, praised the achievements of media cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries, noting that it has contributed to deeper mutual understanding and friendship between their peoples.
“Let us use this Forum as an opportunity to discuss cooperation: to jointly plan development, combine efforts, and ensure that the voice of the news agencies of China and Central Asia is heard and clearly understood around the world. This will enable media to contribute to building a community with a shared future,” Fu Hua stated.
To strengthen cooperation, Xinhua has developed a Partnership Program for media outlets and think tanks from the Global South, he said.
“We look forward to active participation from media organizations, research centers, government institutions, companies, and universities across the Global South — including Central Asia — to promote practical cooperation in various fields,” the President of Xinhua added.
The forum also featured remarks by the heads of the Kyrgyz news agency Kabar, Tajikistan’s Khovar, Turkmenistan’s Media-Turkmen, and Uzbekistan’s National News Agency.
Participants discussed ways to advance bilateral and multilateral people-to-people ties, promote joint projects, exchange content, train media professionals, and strengthen the overall capacity of media organizations. They also explored the potential for sharing resources within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The forum addressed evolving approaches to journalism amid the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies and underscored the need to uphold ethical norms and high professional standards.
At the conclusion of the meeting, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Presidential Television and Radio Complex of Kazakhstan and Xinhua News Agency. The document outlines plans for news content exchange, joint training programs and workshops, the development of new multimedia formats, and the promotion of information at both national and international levels.
Earlier, Kazinform News Agency reported that the Head of State congratulated participants of China–Central Asia Media Forum.
