He Ping
President of All-China Journalists Association
Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed media colleagues and friends:
Good morning! It is a great pleasure to gather here in the millennia-old Song dynasty city of Ganzhou in Jiangxi Province with media friends from Belt and Road countries and around the world.
On behalf of All-China Journalists Association and the presidium of the Belt & Road Journalists Network, I extend a warm welcome to all participants of this forum.
Ganzhou, a city rich in history and open spirit, once served as a key node on the ancient maritime Silk Road, and today has become an important hub in the Belt and Road Initiative. It offers the world a window into China, allowing all to appreciate the unique charm of cultural exchange between China and other nations.
First, I would like to share the origin of the Gan River, which is formed by the confluence of the Zhang and Gong Rivers. This confluence symbolizes a profound truth: only when rivers merge can they surge forward with immense power. This imagery brings to mind the theme of our forum: “Promoting Civilizational Dialogues and Global Modernization with Power of Journalists”.
President Xi Jinping recently pointed out that exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations are essential for civilizations to flourish and for human progress to be made. Currently, amid an international situation where transformations and turbulence are interwoven and humanity stands at a new crossroads, there is an ever-pressing need for civilizations to transcend estrangement through exchanges, and to transcend clashes through mutual learning.
Humanity needs communication, and civilizations require dialogue. For media across nations, this is a critical challenge—one that demands our collective response. I offer a few reflections on this subject.
First, we must unite our efforts for shared development, laying the foundation for civilizational progress. Development is the primary task of every nation, embodying people’s aspirations for a better life and serving as the material basis for the advancement of civilization. Currently, China is pursuing a path of modernization with its own characteristics to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Guided by President Xi Jinping’s vision, we uphold the values of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit. As we pursue our own modernization, we also strive to contribute to global modernization.
Over the past 76 years since the founding of the People’s Republic, China has risen from extreme poverty to become the world’s second‑largest economy. During this time, China has contributed about 30% to global economic growth and 70% to poverty reduction worldwide. Despite current challenges to globalization—rising unilateralism, protectionism and fragmented decoupling—China remains committed to an open-door policy and mutually beneficial cooperation, injecting stability into an uncertain world.
A great way benefits all. China’s promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative has gained broad international support because we share development opportunities with all, especially those in the Global South. From over 110,000 China-Europe freight train journeys to the opening of the Chancay Port in Peru, from Eurasia to Africa, the Americas and Oceania, landmark infrastructure and community-focused projects alike demonstrate a clear conclusion: the Belt and Road originates in China, but its benefits and opportunities are shared globally.
As the Belt & Road Journalists Network, we have a responsibility to unite and inspire media in all countries to focus on shared development. We should highlight the eight high-quality Belt and Road cooperative actions and tell the stories of joint consultation, construction and sharing. By doing so, we can support the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and advance global modernization through public influence.
Second, we should build bridges for exchange and mutual learning, fostering civilizational prosperity. Human civilizations are diverse and radiant, neither superior nor inferior, but each unique. We must celebrate each culture’s beauty, engage in a two-way dialogue of mutual appreciation, and grow together.
Diversity begets exchange; exchange fosters mutual learning; mutual learning drives progress. This historical logic of civilization is also the media’s duty.
Building the Belt and Road requires not only infrastructure—hardware connectivity—but also people-to-people bonds—the soft dimension. We must carry forward the spirit of the Silk Road, making cultural exchange and mutual learning a bridge for friendship, a force for social progress, and a bond for world peace. We must dismantle cognitive barriers to understanding, correct prejudices that block hearts, and break down spiritual walls that hinder human interaction, demonstrating the power of journalism in conveying shared human values.
Third, we must raise our voice for peace and cooperation, safeguarding the future of civilization. China’s path to modernization is peaceful. In a world marked by turmoil and increasing geopolitical tension, China remains steadfast in its foreign policy of maintaining global peace and promoting shared development, dedicated to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, acting as a builder of peace, contributor to global development, and defender of international order.
History teaches us valuable lessons. Printing—one of China’s Four Great Inventions—spread across the world via the Silk Road, yet the historically renowned Commercial Press in China was destroyed by air bombing during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of China’s victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the global fight against fascism. Recalling this brutal chapter, China, as the front-line of the East, joined the forces of international justice to defeat fascism and defend human peace. Those who have endured war cherish peace most deeply. True peace is not merely a pause in war, but a lasting conclusion.
Peace brings hope, and cooperation generates shared success. Reflecting on the past can guide the future. As media professionals, we must take our stand on the right side of history. We must speak out for peace, reject war; call for unity, resist division; advocate cooperation, oppose confrontation; uphold equality and mutual benefit, challenge dominance and bullying. In doing so, we give voice to the justice needed for a world that is lasting in peace, universal in security, flourishing, open, inclusive and clean.
Ladies and gentlemen, friends, the road ahead is solid and boundless. We may not know how profoundly each article or report can shape the world, but we do know that when every wave joins, it creates a mighty force.
This is precisely why our efforts here, to foster deeper dialogue and shared understanding among different civilizations and to build consensus, carry profound significance.
Thank you all!