Pretoria – South Africa will use the upcoming 3rd Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation to drive cooperation between that country and the African continent.
“The central aim of the forum will be to implement the agreements reached at the FOCAC Summit in Johannesburg and further strengthen exchanges and cooperation between China and Africa on media related matters,” said Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) acting Director General, Donald Liphoko, on his arrival in Beijing, on Monday.
Liphoko will represent the country on behalf of Communications Minister Faith Muthambi.
Established in 2000, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) aims to promote multi-state ties and cooperation between China and Africa.
Liphoko is scheduled to deliver a speech on behalf of Minister Muthambi at the opening ceremony of the three-day forum held under the theme ‘Win-win cooperation, common development’.
The forum aims to deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and promote the development of a new China-Africa strategic partnership.
After the opening ceremony, deliberations will centre on policy exchange on broadcasting and film between China and Africa, media cooperation and capacity building as well as digitisation and development of new media.
Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC)
China regards South Africa as a key partner in advancing its relations with the African continent.
Last year, the FOCAC summit was held in Johannesburg to cement bilateral economic ties. China has rapidly grown to become South Africa’s single largest trading partner and in turn, South Africa is entrenched as China’s largest trading partner in Africa.
The Johannesburg Declaration announced during the FOCAC summit also took into account the African Union’s first 10-year implementation plan of Agenda 2063, which is a continental vision for an African continent that is united, peaceful, prosperous and which moves towards industrialisation and value-addition, infrastructure development and greater intra-African trade.
Ministerial workshop on media development
Last year, Minister Muthambi visited China to attend the Ministerial Workshop on Development and TV Media for developing countries.
The workshop focused on the development and management of radio and TV media exchanges and cooperation between China and other developing countries.
It further introduced the development of Chinese radio and TV industry to participants of the workshop from theory to practice.
The 10-day long workshop gave the host country an opportunity to share its achievements and experience on reforms, management and development of provincial-level radio and TV media, media convergence and media reform and development, as well as the development of China’s TV news reports.
Speaking exclusively with SAnews at the workshop, Zimbabwean Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa, said the China Central Television (CCTV) should open an English-language news channel in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region to tell China and the world the good story of the rise of Africa-China economic performance.
“We believe that if CCTV can establish a production centre in SADC, the Chinese and the people of the world will be able to see the SADC region and Africa as a continent of intelligent, hardworking and peace loving people.
“Through the CCTV production centre, the world would be shown the true picture of a continent with many economic opportunities,” she said.
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