China, LatAm media to cooperate more

BUENOS AIRES — Representatives from more than 100 media outlets from China and Latin America and the Caribbean on Monday agreed to boost cooperation.

Participants in the China-Latin America and the Caribbean Media Forum, held in Argentina's capital under the theme "Deepening media cooperation, contributing to building of a China-LAC community with a shared future", discussed ways to promote cooperation for the benefit of both regions.

Organized by China's Xinhua News Agency and Argentina's Federal System of Media and Public Content, the three-day event drew representatives from 13 Chinese media outlets and more than 100 news agencies from more than 20 Latin American and Caribbean nations.

The forum tabled such topics as "the media's role in pragmatic cooperation between China and Latin America and the Caribbean" and "creating a China-Latin America and the Caribbean media communication platform through new media cooperation".

The "creation of a community of shared future between China and Latin America will favor mutual understanding, as well as greater cooperation and exchange between the media, sharing information through truthful, integral, objective and balanced coverage," the organizers said in a statement following the forum.

Hernan Lombardi, head of Argentina's Federal System of Media and Public Content, said that in a world "full of challenges and opportunities," it is essential to promote greater understanding between China and Latin America.

"The media have decisive importance in the formation of public opinion in our societies, so boosting exchange is bound to be beneficial," Lombardi said.

Iary Gomez Quesada, general manager of Costa Rican newspaper group Diario Extra, said that media cooperation between China and Latin America could promote cultural exchange and strengthen mutual understanding.

The television station of the group has recently introduced two Chinese TV series, which showcase Chinese culture and evoked huge responses among viewers, the general manager said.

Nestor Marin, editor-in-chief of Cuban news agency Prensa Latina, spotlighted his agency's close ties with Chinese media since its establishment in 1959.

"Help and cooperation have been factors that have contributed to bringing those who are geographically distant closer together," Marin said.

According to Marin, one challenge facing media in Latin America is how to optimally gather and broadcast information about the Belt and Road Initiative and "the impact of China's presence in Latin America".