SANYA, Hainan, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Asian media leaders gathered in the southern Chinese city of Sanya Monday to share views on media interconnectivity in building a more open and innovative Asia.

Huang Kunming, head of the Publicity Department of the Communis Party of China Central Committee, made a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Media Leaders Summit for Asia during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018.

China is willing to join hands with Asia and the world to continue to seek new ways to innovate and share the gains of development, as it celebrates its 40th anniversary of reform and opening up this year, Huang said.

An open and innovative Asia, and a prosperous and developing world provide a grand stage for media from all countries to advance together and showcase themselves, he said.

He asked Asian media outlets to uphold the call of the era, promote the innovative spirit, build consensus on cooperation, push for dialogues between nations and spread the voice of Asia.

They should play an active role in encouraging and applauding the revitalization of Asia, telling the stories of Asian innovations and the cooperation and win-win relations of the countries, in order to fully play the role of guiding positive opinion, and help build a beautiful world and a beautiful Asia, Huang said.

While addressing the summit, He Ping, editor-in-chief of Xinhua News Agency, said that Asia has long been in a weak position in the international discourse system.

"The lack of discourse power or media influence is mismatched with Asia's important contributions to world economic growth and its positive role in the cause of peace and development," He said.

It is both the responsibility of Asian media organizations and the expectation of the world that the imbalance between the muted "voice of Asia" and the continent's significance will be addressed, showing the world a real, multidimensional and comprehensive Asia, he said.

Adhering to the principle of connecting China with the world, Xinhua has strengthened exchanges and cooperation with media organizations in Asia and other continents, he said, noting that Xinhua has established a media cooperation mechanism among BRICS countries, the Belt and Road Economic Information Alliance, and the World Media Summit.

"We would like to join with our media peers in all countries to explore the application of digital, mobile and intelligent media. With more news products that could be read, heard and watched, and are also interactive, sharable and experiential, we can present the world a more colorful, united, harmonious and fast developing Asia," he said.

COOPERATION AND INNOVATION

"Over the past two decades, almost half of the world's poor population have managed to escape poverty in Asian-Pacific countries. In the past four decades, more than 680 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty, accounting for 70 percent of the global poverty reduction during this period," said Shafqat Jalil, director-general of Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation.

The Chinese development experience has yielded beneficial lessons, he said, adding that Asia being the most populous region of the world provides ample opportunities for cooperation.

B.R. Deepak, professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, said learning from the experiences from different civilizations is important.

He said a multilateral learning is crucial, such as the circulation of ideas, innovation, commodity and people. Meanwhile the connectivity has to be inclusive.

"In the circulation, media can play a bigger, better and more positive role," he said. "We need a mechanism such as the media summit this time to enhance people-to-people bonding to deepen understandings."

Innovation is the driver for growth, media leaders and experts said.

Zhou Shuchun, editor-in-chief of China Daily, suggested that media sharpen its competitiveness through innovation.

Asia has the fastest growing market of social media. China has already had the world's most active new media industry and apps. Technology has greatly shortened the gaps between Asian media and the Western media, he said, noting that it is now a historical development opportunity for Asian media.

Phinij Jarusombat, president of the Thai-Chinese Cultural and Relationship Council, said he was delighted to see that Asian media are gradually having the capacity to speak out Asia's own words on the global stage.

"The summit is a great opportunity to promote interconnectivity between Asian media," he said. "I look forward to seeing more global media organizations next time."

The opening ceremony was attended by more than 300 people, including over 140 leaders of major media outlets from 40 Asian countries, as well as scholars on culture and other representatives.