Yang Zhenwu, president of the People's Daily, gives a speech at the Seventh 10+3 Media Cooperation Forum on Tuesday. Photo: Courtesy of the People's Daily

Media professionals from China, Japan, South Korea, 10 Southeast Asian countries and four South Asian countries called on media organizations Tuesday to help promote the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative, and by extension cooperation in East Asia, at a media forum held by the People's Daily in Beijing.

Yang Zhenwu, president of the People's Daily, flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC), told participants that the 10+3 Media Cooperation Forum is a great platform for media cooperation in the region, and that it was held in the spirit of the ancient maritime silk road, promoting peaceful cooperation, mutual benefits and win-win results, openness and inclusiveness.

Yang suggested that the media present take the initiative to cover common interests among different countries and report disputes and conflicts objectively so as to reduce misjudgment and expand consensus.

The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Indonesia in October last year. The proposed path runs through the Strait of Malacca to India, the Middle East and East Africa.

China has provided strong support for the project, including signing a memorandum of understanding in October to establish the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank with other 20 countries in the region, and pledging in November to contribute $40 billion towards the establishment of a Silk Road Fund, Yang said.

The initiative's development will also rely on mutual understanding between different countries, in which media will play an irreplaceable role, said Li Jun, assistant minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Indonesian Ambassador to China Soegeng Rahardjo echoed Li, saying that "media can bring more people's support for the cooperation and help us find solutions to certain problems."