Media forum on China's Belt and Road kicks off

A media forum on China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative kicked off in the Chinese city of Dunhuang, a key transit point in the ancient Silk Road, on Tuesday, attended by representatives of media outlets and think tanks from 126 countries, including Nepal, a media report said.

Hosted by the People's Daily, the event is being attended by representatives of over 300 media outlets and think tanks across the globe, the Kathmandu Post reported.

Earlier this month, Nepal Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara, during a visit to Beijing, said his country is committed to undertake several big ticket infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The media forum has been held thrice since 2014. Last year, the forum attracted participants from 212 mainstream media outlets from 101 countries. The event is meant to promote the positive role of media in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative. This year's media forum is being under the spirit of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

Delivering a keynote speech, Yang Zhenwu, president of the People's Daily, said a centre to strengthen cooperation among domestic and international media on the Belt and Road will be set up by the People's Daily.

Addressing the forum, Robin Li, co-founder and CEO of Baidu, said young people now access and exchange more videos than anytime before. Robin is one of the pioneers and leading figures in China's Internet industry. Since founding the company in January 2000, Robin has led Baidu to be China's largest search engine, with over 70 percent market share. Baidu is the largest Chinese search engine globally and the second largest independent search engine in the world.

--IANS

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