The 2026 ASEAN-China Media Cooperation Forum was held on June 9 in Shenyang, provincial capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, bringing together around 150 representatives from China and ASEAN countries.
Co-hosted by China International Communications Group (CICG) and the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), the event featured calls from senior officials and media leaders to deepen cross-border media collaboration in the digital age.
Chang Bo, President of CICG, said in his opening remarks that media from China and ASEAN countries should play a greater role in promoting digital economy integration and people-to-people exchanges in the region.
"China and ASEAN have long advanced hand in hand, setting the most successful and dynamic example of regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, and offering a compelling model of how to build a community with a shared future for mankind," said Chang.
Khammone Chanthacthith, Alternate Member of the Central Committee and Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), indicated that the steady advancement of China-ASEAN media cooperation has brought the people of the two sides closer together.
Looking ahead, he said, such cooperation should go deeper and broader, with a stronger emphasis on joint content production, talent development, and experience sharing, to lay a more solid foundation for sustainable regional cooperation.
"Media cooperation serves as a vital pillar in strengthening China-ASEAN relations. Both sides should further enhance the completeness and accuracy of information dissemination, deepen practical collaboration in areas such as content verification, jointly pursue inclusive capacity-building for the digital age, and actively promote constructive, people-centered narratives," said Park Thaveak Amida, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information of Cambodia.
Nararya S. Soeparapto, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs, indicated that in this era of rapid information flows, the media plays an increasingly vital role in fostering mutual understanding and strengthening regional identity. He called on both sides to work together to ensure that media cooperation remains a solid bond of friendship and understanding, contributing to the building of a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future and advancing regional connectivity and resilient development.
"Both sides should seize the opportunities presented by digital transformation and actively promote the application of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, short videos, and live streaming, while deepening cooperation in content production, platform sharing, and industrial collaboration," said Widia Librianti, Officer of the Culture and Information Division of ACC.
Furthermore, two events, namely "ASEAN-China Social Media Content Creator Programme" and "2026 ASEAN-China Youth Cultural Heritage Tour" were launched at the forum.
Since its launch in 2018, the ASEAN-China Media Cooperation Forum has grown into a regular platform for media exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN.
Reporter: Guo Hongda, Yuan Zixiang
Photos provided to South
