Journalists from 18 countries take part in 19-day training activity in China

Journalists from 18 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative gathered in Beijing on Monday to learn more about China's development and cultivate mutual exchanges during a 19-day training program.

As members of the China Global Media Fellowship program, participating foreign journalists will attend presentations on China's latest economic, political, cultural and social developments.

They will visit Beijing, Shanghai and Hunan province, participate in field studies with well-known domestic media groups and exchange their ideas with other media professionals to nurture better mutual understanding.

The training program was jointly launched last year by China Daily, the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and Shanghai International Studies University.

It aims to promote deeper communication between Chinese and foreign journalists and eventually achieve the common development of countries and regions involved in the BRI.

The media plays an important role in building the Belt and Road, said Jiang Jianguo, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

"As President Xi Jinping recently said during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, China hopes to work jointly with other countries to build Belt and Road projects of high quality that benefit all sides and achieve common development," he said.

"We hope the media will have a long-term perspective with mutual respect and trust, and make joint efforts to bring constructive voices to the initiative."

Zhou Shuchun, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, said that reporters and editors are not only witnesses and chroniclers of the times, but also influencers and contributors in the development of society.

"In the face of great changes and uncertainties facing the world, the media along the Belt and Road route should walk together, jointly face risks and challenges, promote the construction of the Belt and Road, and bring greater benefits to people in every country," Zhou said.

Jiang Qingzhe, Party secretary of the University of International Business and Economics, said China is moving into a new era with a promising future, rapid economic development and a society of great vitality.

"China, in the new era, will provide an open platform for media around the world. We are confident of gaining more understanding and trust from the international community through cooperation under the initiative, and will contribute our experiences to the world," he said.

Jiang Feng, Party secretary of Shanghai International Studies University, said the program is a new chapter in telling China's stories to the outside world.

"I hope the program can become a platform for studies and exchanges between media from home and abroad. And it will create more cooperative opportunities in other fields in the future," he said.

Ho Wah Foon, a participant in the fellowship program and an editorial consultant from Malaysia's Star Media Group, said the lectures in the program cover nearly all fields that a foreign reporter should know about China.

"For outsiders, it is good to see that China is opening up and would like to share more with the world on its views and development. It will help us to know the country more," Ho said.

She said the Belt and Road Initiative is currently a well-known term in Malaysia. "Under the initiative, we can see that China is extending help for more countries in need. As a media professional, I think I will write more objective reports on the initiative with a better understanding about China through the program," she said.