Guests experience intangible cultural heritage at the 2026 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road, held in Fuzhou, Fujian province, on Nov 3-4. [Photo provided to CHINA DAILY]

Belt and Road cooperation has evolved into a widely welcomed global public good, and international media outlets should jointly tell the stories of the Silk Road to enhance people-to-people bonds, international media representatives said at a forum.

Co-hosted by People's Daily and the People's Government of Fujian province, the 2026 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road took place on Nov 3-4 in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, drawing more than 200 foreign delegates from 182 media outlets and institutions in 100 countries and international organizations.

Hu Heping, executive vice-minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the Silk Road spirit has yielded fruitful achievements despite rising global instability, giving fresh impetus to global peace and development.

Since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed in 2013, it has evolved from a Chinese proposal into a global undertaking, bringing together 150 countries and 30 international organizations, and resulting in more than 4,000 cooperation projects worldwide, Hu said.

He emphasized that these results proved that the BRI aligns with global trends and enjoys broad public support, and that global media outlets should continue to promote the Silk Road spirit and actively promote the BRI's contributions to global development.

Guests experience intangible cultural heritage at the 2026 Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road, held in Fuzhou, Fujian province, on Nov 3-4. [Photo provided to CHINA DAILY]

Yu Shaoliang, president of People's Daily, said that given the different stages of development and cultural backgrounds of BRI partner countries, BRI reporting must adopt local perspectives, communicate with empathy and use language that resonates with global audiences to dismantle misconceptions and forge closer emotional bonds.

Amid international uncertainties, the media must maintain an objective stance and provide accurate coverage that reflects people's shared aspirations for prosperity, and leverage the power of the media to build global consensus on development cooperation.

Pavel Negoitsa, general director of Russia's Rossiyskaya Gazeta, said that over the past 13 years, the BRI has grown into an unprecedented global initiative in its scale of participation, breadth of projects, investment and the hope it has inspired across continents.

He said that despite complex challenges such as trade frictions, the BRI stands as an ambitious, long-term vision that promotes the flow of goods, capital, people, and ideas guided by the principles of peace, openness, and mutual benefit.

Saadia Shariff, chief marketing officer of Pakistan's Jang Media Group, said the BRI is about more than trade figures; it is a vision of connecting people, which manifests in Pakistan as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which has delivered tangible results.