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.

Silk road breeds opportunities

The building of the Silk Road economic belt will become a magnet for news reporting, as it involves over 40 Asian and European countries and regions with a combined population of 3 billion. Media moguls at the forum said that the revival project has become a platform to enhance media cooperation, and will continue to be an opportunity to strengthen mutual understanding among countries and regions along the "Silk Road".

Kubanychbek Taabaldiev, proprieter of Kabar National News Agency, said that by better grasping the concept and details of building the Silk Road economic belt, Kabar, the state media of Kyrgyzstan, could better convey to its people China' s policies and the promising future of the project.

As the project gains steam, Asian and European countries have seen increasing interaction in media cooperation, which injects vitality into multilateral relations, according to Gao Jin, proprietor of Romania's Overseas Chinese Newspaper of Europe.

For Anton Marinin, proprietor assistant of Beijing office of Itar-Tass, the Silk Road is an economic road, and also an important channel for cultural exchanges as it once was in ancient times. In a display of his expectations, the expert said Itar-Tass is actively building a Chinese website for deeper and more effective communication among Asian and European countries.

Responsibilities ahead

Opportunities aside, experts said the media take up a heavy responsibility in building the belt. Yan Wenbin, director of China News for World Service Department of Xinhua News Agency told the audience that it is the media's responsibility to jointly safeguard regional stability and mutual development.

He suggested that media representatives at the forum improve current communication mechanism and urged more accuracy and objectivity in news reporting.

Yan was echoed by Myeonggwon Jo, proprietor of Xinhua News of the Republic of Korea, who said more overseas media and business delegate visits to Xinjiang should be organized to help them better understand the landlocked region.

To build the Silk Road economic belt, telling interesting stories about China and legacies of countries along the Silk Road serves to boost understanding and confidence among Asian and European countries, said Xia Chunping, deputy Chief Editor of China News Agency.

(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2014)