On October 17, the 2026 Belt and Road Journalists Forum was held in Nanjing. Mo Gaoyi, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of the State Council Information Office of China, attended and addressd at the event. He Ping, President of the All-China Journalists Association, gave the keynote speech. Zhou Hongbo, Member of the Standing Committee of CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Secretary of CPC Nanjing Municipal Committee; and Xu Ying, Member of the Standing Committee of CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Head of the Provincial Publicity Department, also delivered speeches. Tan Zhemin, President of Nanjing University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Chen Zhi, Editor-in-Chief of People's Daily overseas; Gao Shiming, Vice Chairman and Secretary of the Secretariat of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles; Xi Yanchun, Vice President of Xinhua News Agency; Jiang Haiqing, Member of the Editorial Board of China Media Group; Xing Yuhao, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Guangming Daily; and Tang Weibin, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Economic Daily, among others, attended the event. Cui Shixin, Executive Vice President of the All-China Journalists Association, presided over the opening ceremony.

The 2026 Belt and Road Journalists Forum was organized by the All-China Journalists Association, the Publicity Department of CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee, and the Nanjing Municipal People's Government. It was co-hosted by the Jiangsu Journalists Association, the Xinhua Daily Media Group, and Nanjing University. During the opening ceremony of the main forum, Tan Zhemin and other leaders and guests jointly launched the Global South Journalists Workshop Program.

Tan Zhemin and other leaders and guests jointly launch the Global South Journalists Workshop Program

On October 18, the first event of the Global South Journalists Workshop Program began at NJU. Wu Xu, Secretary-General of the Belt and Road Journalists Network and Executive Secretary of the All-China Journalists Association, along with Chen Yunsong, Deputy Chair of NJU CPC Council, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.

The workshop, themed "AI Empowering the Silk Road, Connecting the World across Rivers and Seas", invited nearly 40 young journalists and students from Global South countries to participate. It aimed to align with the evolving trend of AI-driven transformation in communication, foster understanding through intellectual exchanges among Chinese and foreign young media professionals, and collaboratively craft a new chapter of Silk Road narratives in the digital age.

At the opening ceremony, Wu Xu expressed hope that participants could engage in deep exchanges and mutual learning, consolidate a consensus among Global South countries through intellectual dialogue, and continue to serve as seed ambassadors of support and cooperation within the Global South journalism community. She encouraged them to convey diverse voices and share stories of solidarity and joint development among Global South nations, contributing to the establishment of a more just and equitable international public opinion order. Chen Yunsong stated that he hoped the three-day workshop would allow participants to grasp the critical role of Global South media in international communication and cultural interaction. He added that participants, through understanding and re-examining the diversity of global civilizations, the excellence of Chinese traditional culture, and the vibrant practices of Chinese modernization, could explore new narrative pathways for Global South media in the smart digital age, amplifying the "voices from the South" on the global stage.

On the first day of the workshop, Chen Yunsong gave a lecture titled "Observing Civilizations from Afar: Cultural Integration and Communication in the Digital Intelligence Era", while Zhu Feng, Executive Director of NJU's Collaborative Innovation Center of the South China Sea Studies and Professor at the School of International Studies, lectured on "The Objectives and Contributions of the Belt and Road Initiative." Later in the day, participants visited the University History Museum and the School of Journalism and Communication and engaged in discussions and exchanges with representatives from Chinese media.

Chen Yunsong delivers a special lecture.

Zhu Feng delivers a special lecture.