(Photo/Weng Qiyu from People’s Daily Online)

The 2018 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road kicked off in Bo’ao, southern China's Hainan Province, on Oct. 30, with the theme of “Co-construction and Sharing; Cooperation towards Win-win Results.”

The opening ceremony was attended by 256 guests from 90 countries and international organizations, as well as 205 media outlets.

Ji Bingxuan, the vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of National People’s Congress (NPC), speaks at the opening ceremony of the forum. (Photo/Weng Qiyu from People’s Daily Online)

The Belt and Road Initiative has provided a Chinese solution to global cooperation, improvement of global economic governance, common prosperity and the construction of a community with a shared destiny for mankind, Ji Bingxuan, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), said in a speech delivered during the opening ceremony of the forum.

Ji called on media present to spread the Silk Road spirit of peace, prosperity, openness, innovation, and civilization, and to draw a delicate picture of the Belt and Road.

Jiang Jianguo, deputy head of the publicity department of the CPC Central Committee, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road. (Photo/Weng Qiyu from People’s Daily Online)

The Belt and Road cooperation is a Chinese scheme as well as a global public product, said Jiang Jianguo, deputy head of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. He said media should give better play to its role in recording, participating in, and promoting Belt and Road construction.

Li Baoshan, President of People’s Daily, speaks at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road. (Photo/Weng Qiyu from People’s Daily Online)

Li Baoshan, President of People’s Daily, said the co-construction of the Belt and Road had provided a platform and a necessary approach for global governance and economic globalization. The construction of the B&R focuses on economic development and doesn’t seek political goals; it is based on opening up and cooperation and is above protectionism, Li said.

B&R construction is dedicated to achieving mutually beneficial cooperation and win-win results, not zero-sum outcomes. Additionally, it upholds international rules and doesn’t start a new model, Li added.

Liu Cigui, Party chief of Hainan, delivers a speech to the opening ceremony of the 2018 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road. (Photo/Weng Qiyu from People’s Daily Online)

Liu Cigui, Party chief of Hainan, sent a warm invitation to media representatives to join in the construction of the Hainan pilot free trade zone and the free trade port with Chinese characteristics. He also called on media representatives to jointly build a Belt and Road platform for media exchange and cooperation.

Officials from Chinese ministries, various provinces, and heads of state-owned and private-owned companies also attended the opening ceremony of the forum.