(June 28, 2012, Conghua, Guangzhou) The 2012 China¬–Australia Media Forum, jointly hosted by the State Council Information Office of China (SCIO) and the Australian News Channel Pty Ltd., was held at the Imperial Springs International Convention Center, Guangzhou. This forum was organized by the China Imperial Springs International Summit and supported by the Australian Embassy in China, Guangdong Provincial Government and Australian Capital Equity (ACE), and Seven Group Holdings Limited. Government officials, heads of leading media, and business leaders and scholars from both countries participated in the forum and carried out extensive and in-depth discussions on the three topics of “Promoting the Comprehensive Growth of China-Australia Relations,” “Strengthening China–Australia Economic and Trade Ties,” and “Communication and Cooperation in the Era of New Mediam,” which enhanced the mutual understanding and cooperation between the two sides.
Chinese organizations represented at the forum included SCIO; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Commerce; State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council; State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television; the Information Office of Guangdong Provincial Government; the Information Office of Guangzhou Municipal Government; People’s Daily; Xinhua News Agency; China Central Television; Guangming Daily; China Daily; Business Daily; Shanghai Media Group; Guangdong Media Group; Guangzhou Daily Group; Nanfang Daily Media Group; Yangcheng Evening News Group; New Express Daily; Minmetals Group; Sinosteel Holdings Co.; Sinosteel International Co., Ltd.; China, China Oil & Foodstuffs Corporation; Huawei Company; and Shanghai Oriental Pearl (Group) Co., Ltd., among others.
Australian organizations represented at the forum included the Consulate-general of Australia in Guangzhou; Australian News Channel Pty Limited; Australian Capital Equity (ACE) and Seven Group Holdings Limited; Channel 7; Chanel 9; Chanel 10 of Australia; The Australian; Australian Financial Review; Sunday Telegraph; Melbourne Times; Media Weekly; and Jinyan Media and Public Relations Company, among others.
Attendees at the opening ceremony included Mme. Qian Xiaoqian, Deputy Director of SCIO; Mme. Lei Yulan, Vice Governor of Guangdong Province; Mme. Frances Adamson, Ambassador of Australia to China; Mr. Mo Gaoyi, Deputy Director General of Publicity Department of CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and Director of the Information Office of Guangdong Provincial Government; Mr. Angelos Frangopoulaos, CEO of Australian News Channel Pty Limited; and Dr. Chau Chak Wing, Chairman of the KINGOLD Group.
In her keynote speech, Mme. Qian Xiaoqian pointed out that this year marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Australia. Over the past four decades, the Chinese and Australian media have played an important role in strengthening the mutual understanding and friendship between the people of China and Australia, and facilitating the stable and sound growth of friendly cooperation between the two countries. Qian noted that this China-Australia Media Forum has dedicated a session to new media, which not only mirrors the growing influence of new media but also the shared aspiration of both sides to strengthen their exchanges and cooperation in this sector. Qian hoped that such exchanges and cooperation between the media of the two countries could be put on a regular basis through mechanism-building, so that both sides can join hands in bringing about fresh progress in their well-rounded cooperation.
Ambassador Frances Adamson pointed out that the growing exchanges and cooperation between China and Australia in economy, trade, investment, culture, and other areas have delivered tangible benefits to the people of both countries. She endorsed the mechanism-based exchanges between the media of the two countries, and emphasized the need to strengthen the people’s mutual understanding and trust and dispel any misgivings by making full use of new media to facilitate the overall growth of China–Australia relations.
Mr. Mo Gaoyi briefed the audience on the development of the Guangdong economy and media. He expressed his hope of expanding cooperation between Guangdong and Australian media in news, culture and other fields, and putting in place an exchange mechanism between the media of both sides.
Mr. Angelos Frangopoulaos reviewed the exchanges between Australian News Channel Pty Limited and its Chinese counterparts and expressed his support for the mechanism-based exchanges of media and his expectations of carrying out more diversified and multi-faceted cooperation with Chinese media such as program-sharing and joint program production.
Dr. Chau Chak Wing, President of Association of Australia China Friendship and Exchanges and Chairman of the KINGOLD Group, is an active advocator of this forum. He has worked tirelessly to advance China–Australia economic and cultural exchanges. Dr. Zhou said, “Media is an important force behind the social progress, a witness and recorder of history, and most importantly, a key driver of historic and social changes. We firmly believe that the media of our two countries have played an important role in helping our people to better understand each other in a more comprehensive, fair and objective light. The cooperation and exchanges of media will undoubtedly advance the cooperation and development of both countries in all fields, thus writing a new chapter in the history of friendly exchanges and the common development of our two peoples.”
This forum was held at the Imperial Springs International Convention Center, which is renowned as the “Boao Forum of Guangzhou.” Located at the Hot Spring Valley Business and Conference Zone south of Conghua city and adjacent to the venue of the equestrian event of the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, the Center has crystallized the defining features of classical oriental architecture with the quintessence of modern design. It brings nature, culture, relaxation and wellness to one place, making it a “legendary resort at the Tropic of Cancer.” Last August, the China–Australia Friendship Forum on Economy and Trade was held here. Since then, the Center has been the focus of worldwide attention. It boasts banquet halls of different sizes, high-end lecture halls and different special meeting rooms, reinforced by specialized equipment for simultaneous interpretation of eight languages, international video conference facilities, and state-of-the-art wireless technologies, making it an ideal choice for international political and economic forums or summits.
Guests from China and Australia spoke highly of the conference and service facilities of Imperial Springs Summit; in particular, they were deeply impressed by the KINGOLD Museum inside the Convention Center. As the largest private museum in southern China, KINGOLD Museum boasts a collection of over 20,000 cultural relics from the ancient dynasties of China, including ceramics, bronzeware, copper enamel artworks, lacquerware, jadeware, dagoba, paintings and calligraphies, inscribed wooden slips, wood engravings, and much more. The time-honored Chinese culture and the profound historic and cultural heritage showcased by these collections truly amazed the knowledgeable guests from the domestic and foreign media.
With the successful convocation of the 2012 China–Australia Media Forum in Imperial Springs, the high-end exchange platform built through the collaboration of Chinese and Australian media will continue to contribute positively to the understanding and cooperation in the economic, trade and cultural fields and to the friendly exchanges between the two countries. Imperial Springs International Conventional Center, as the venue of this grand international event, stood testimony again to an important historic moment.