International Media Forum: Chinese Vice Premier Receives 450 Local, Foreign Journalists

The September 21, 2017 meeting was to thank them for covering this year’s Belt and Road Media Cooperation Forum.

Over 460 media practitioners - 303 foreigners and the rest Chinese - on September 21, 2017 met Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli in the Great Hall of the People in the capital, Beijing. Zhang Gaoli is a member of the country’s highest ruling body made up of seven personalities, including President Xi Jinping.

The assembled journalists took part in the Belt and Road International Media Cooperation Forum and the Second Silk Road International Cultural Expo in Dunhuang City, Gansu Province from September 18-20, 2017. Zhang Gaoli recalled that Chinese President Xi Jinping in autumn 2013 proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, and ever since, it has been a huge success. In the face of many challenges gripping the world today, Zhang proposed as solution the building of media of common destiny and community of common destiny.

He said the media’s role in enhancing understanding and cooperation amongst nations cannot be underestimated. Commending the People’s Daily newspaper for organizing the media forum, the Vice Premier described the Belt and Road Initiative as a road of peace, cooperation, openness and prosperity recognized by the international community. “Whatever happens to China’s economy has a huge impact on the rest of the world,” he stated. Concerning China’s economy in the first half of 2017, Vice Premier Zhang said the authorities opted for steady economic growth and are witnessing the r...