Islamabad, December 26( INP): On behalf of Xinhua News Agency and Xinhua Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for taking the time to attend our Function on “Xinhua All Media Services.” Some of our guests from media drove here from Lahore, and some arrived here by plane from Karachi, which reflects the Pakistani media’s affirmation of and support for Xinhua’s development in this country. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of you once again. At the same time, I hope that through this function, our friends from media will know more about Xinhua and our news and information products, so that our products can better serve you.

Founded in 1931, Xinhua News Agency is the state press agency of the People's Republic of China and also an international news agency. Xinhua has 180 overseas branches, including seven regional bureaus such as Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau, Middle East Regional Bureau, Europe Regional Bureau, etc. Xinhua delivers more than 7,000 pieces of news products in the form of texts, photos, graphics, audios, and videos in 12 languages. Followers of Xinhua accounts on international social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are over 120 million. In recent years, Xinhua has been actively applying advanced science and technology to its news production and has launched Xinhua News Robot, artificial intelligence news anchor, and an intelligent production system named Magic.

Ladies, gentlemen, and dear friends,

Pakistan and China are “iron brothers.” Xinhua also attaches great importance to reports related to Pakistan. Adhering to reporting concepts including objectivity, authenticity and fairness, Xinhua has been portraying the real image of Pakistan to the Chinese people, recording every major progress of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), conveying the Pakistani people’s friendliness towards Chinese people. Xinhua has also been actively reporting Pakistan's important role in the international fight against terrorism, Pakistan's great efforts for regional peace and stability, and the Pakistani people's yearning for economic development and peace.

Many of our guests from media are from organizations which are users of Xinhua news products. You have long been projecting the true and comprehensive image of China to the Pakistani people. During Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to China in October, Xinhua and Independent News Pakistan (INP) signed an agreement on launching Xinhua Pakistan Service under which Xinhua English Service stories will be translated into Urdu. Xinhua Pakistan Service is aimed at building an information bridge to deepen the mutual understanding and the traditional friendship between the two peoples, so that more Pakistani people can get to know China and how CPEC helps ordinary Pakistani people to realize their dreams in a language they can understand.

Ladies, gentlemen, and dear friends,

The friendship between China and Pakistan is precious. The media plays an irreplaceable role in deepening mutual understanding and consolidating the friendship between the two peoples. Under the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan, CPEC has entered into a new phase which focuses on industrial and socio-economic cooperation. The media of China and Pakistan are facing rare opportunities in promoting CPEC, deepening the friendship between the two peoples and strengthening cooperation and exchanges.

The media of both countries should stick to values including objectivity, authenticity and fairness in their reporting, accurately grasp the significance of CPEC in terms of promoting economic and social development, improving people's livelihood, contributing to regional and world economies and safeguarding regional peace. The media of both countries should report the achievements and contributions of CPEC comprehensively and clearly, making the smooth implementation of CPEC closer to the hearts of the two peoples.

At the same time, Xinhua also hopes to cooperate with Pakistani media in cutting-edge technologies and their applications such as intelligent editorial department and Live Cloud, so as to jointly enhance reporting capabilities to achieve better development. Xinhua is very willing to provide more high quality news services to the Pakistani media. Xinhua also welcomes Pakistani media friends to visit Xinhua headquarter and branches and cooperate in exchange visits, joint interviews, training, think tank research and other fields to further enhance mutual understanding and friendship.

As 2020 approaches, I wish you all good health and success in your work in the new year.