China, Africa media seek greater voice internationally

By Richard Kerama

Media experts and stakeholders drawn from China and several African countries met during a seminar on China-Africa media co-operation in Nairobi on Monday.

Guided by the theme “Enhance China-Africa Media Co-operation for Shared Dreams,” participants discussed the respective positions and roles of Chinese and African media in the world, the current situation of China-Africa media co-operation as well as opportunities and challenges.

They also discussed ways to further promote China-Africa relations in order to realise shared dreams through media co-operation.

African countries present included Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Africa, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. The overriding message at the seminar held on Monday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nairobi was that Africa should work with China  to have a greater voice.

Principal Secretary for Information, Communications and Technology, Joseph Tiampaty, and His Excellency Liu Guangyuan, the Chinese ambassador to Kenya, graced the event.

Ambassador Liu announced that China plans to set up a “China-Africa Press Exchange Centre” in China and invited the African media to set up offices in China to acquire first-hand information.

“With first-hand information, Chinese and African media have the capacity and responsibility to comprehensively introduce a China-Africa traditional friendship and mutually beneficial co-operation in an impartial, rational and positive manner,” he said.

Liu added: “They also have the responsibility to clarify false comments that maliciously slander China-Africa relations and put forward feasible and constructive suggestions to safeguard and promote the friendship between China and Africa.”

He said the Chinese and Africans were eager to learn from each other as a vital opportunity for the China-Africa media co-operation to flourish.

The ambassador acknowledged efforts of the 1.3 billion Chinese working hard to realise the ‘Chinese Dream’ of national renewal and pointed out that it was similar to the one billion Africans committed to the ‘African Dream’ of gaining strength from unity.

He averred that Africa has become an integral whole with shared destinies and urged the media to work together to realise both peoples’ dreams.

Kenya’s acting Director of Information, Olewe Owiti, said it was unfortunate that Africa and China have in the past been victims of negative reports by the international media.

“Media co-operation between Africa and China provides a powerful platform to address media imbalance that has resulted from domination by Western media,” he said.

The seminar was organised by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Kenya and the Inter Region Economic Network in line with the China-Africa Joint Research and Exchange Plan.