SANTIAGO, Nov. 25 -- The Xinhua News Agency is ready to work together with colleagues in Latin America and the Caribbean to deepen exchanges and cooperation, Cai Mingzhao, president of Xinhua News Agency has said.
Cai made the remarks during a keynote speech at the China-Latin America Media Summit, held in Santiago, Chile.
Xinhua was the first Chinese media organization to enter Latin America, with its Havana bureau established in 1961. Since then, it has set up a total of 21 bureaus in 19 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, said Cai.
Xinhua provides an important channel to broadcast China's news and information to Latin America, and to report Latin America to the rest of the world, he said.
Cai said, Xinhua has over 200 media subscribers in Latin America, and the Caribbean, including Notimex, EBC of Brazil and Telam of Argentina, as well as more than 200 non-media subscribers including the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Peruvian Ministry of Culture.
"Xinhua, with more than 50 years' presence in Latin America, is ready to play a larger role in shaping a China-Latin America and Caribbean community of common destiny," he said.
The China-Latin America relation is at its all-time best, said Cai. As usual, Xinhua will work actively to cover the Latin American and the Caribbean people's endeavors in pursuing national prosperity, promote mutually-beneficial cooperation among China, Latin America and the Caribbean countries, and deepen our friendship, he added.
Cai said the Media Summit is another expansion of the overall China-Latin America cooperation, following a ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum and the China-Latin America and Caribbean Year of Cultural Exchange.
"The dissemination of news and information through the media is conducive to cementing friendship between the Chinese and Latin American people and therefore to building a solid foundation for the sound development of bilateral ties," said Cai, adding that he would make three proposals to strengthen exchanges.
"Firstly, we should enhance media dialogue and make the summit a routine event," said Cai. "The opening of the China-Latin America Media Summit marks the beginning of a new stage in our media exchanges and cooperation."
"I suggest we make the summit a routine event and, if possible, we take turns to chair it. Xinhua, on its part, is willing to work on the building and development of the summit," he added.
"Second, we should deepen personnel exchanges and expand friendship among China, Latin American and Caribbean journalists," he said.
According to Cai, the Xinhua News Agency is ready to work together with colleagues in Latin America and the Caribbean to deepen exchanges and cooperation.
"We can try, for instance, to conduct joint interviews and consolidate coverage of major news events, and encourage bilateral and multilateral personnel exchanges," he added.
"Xinhua is ready to invite a certain number of reporters and editors each year from Latin American media organizations under cooperation to carry out interviews and exchanges in China so as to build a bridge for further China-Latin America and Caribbean collaboration," he said.
"Thirdly, we should promote development through innovation and expand cooperation in new media," said Cai.
He explained that "we are ready to host, in China, a seminar on China-Latin American and the Caribbean media development through innovation, an event that will consist of field surveys and workshops, and will feature candid discussions on ideas and practices pertaining to the media's innovation."
After 85 years of development, Cai said Xinhua has evolved into one of the world's leading news and information service providers. With 15,000 employees and 240 offices worldwide, "we have set up a global news and information gathering network, and publish more than 5,800 stories in eight languages daily for our 50,000-plus subscribers worldwide," said Cai.
"Today, the cooperation between Xinhua and Latin American media organizations has more solid foundations and faces better opportunities. Let us work together to bring our bilateral ties to a brighter future," said the Xinhua president.