By Gifty Amofa, GNA
Beijing (China), July 11, GNA – The China International Communication Group (CICG) has opened a three-week training programme for 27 mainstream media practitioners from 10 developing countries.
Sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce (MoFCOM) of the People’s Republic of China, the 2026 programme has brought together participants from Ghana, Guyana, Kenya, South Sudan, Costa Rica, Grenada, Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Kazakhstan and TĂĽrkiye.Â
The programme, organised by the CICG’s Institute of International Studies and Advanced Training (IISAT), seeks to strengthen international media exchanges and provide participants with a deeper understanding of China’s development and communication approaches to help change the narrative of how China had been portrayed.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Mr Han Liqiang, Deputy Director of CICG-IISAT, said this year’s programme coincided with the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the fifth anniversary of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) proposed by President Xi Jinping.
“Over the past century, the CPC has united and led the Chinese people in sustained efforts to advance the rapid progress of Chinese-style modernisation,” he said.
“Throughout this journey, China has stayed true to its original aspiration and borne the world in mind. It has consistently prioritised working hand in hand with developing countries to pursue shared prosperity and has remained a participant, contributor and beneficiary of global development.”
Mr Han said the GDI had, over the past five years, addressed global development challenges while responding to countries’ aspirations for shared development.
He said the initiative focused on areas including poverty reduction, food security, green transition and infrastructure connectivity, which closely aligned with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“Through pragmatic actions, it has helped break development bottlenecks and address weak links, offering China’s solutions to support the development of all countries, especially developing nations,” he said.
Mr Han noted that China continued to advance high-standard opening-up by sharing development opportunities and contributing to global progress through its modernisation drive.
“I believe that through this cross-cultural media exchange programme, we will deepen friendship, build consensus on development and jointly promote balanced global growth,” he said.
Amid the growing global uncertainty and transformation, Mr Han observed that the rise of developing countries had become an irreversible trend, stressing that they deserved a stronger voice and greater participation in global governance reforms.
“As a developing country itself, China shares similar development realities, aspirations and practical concerns with other developing nations,” he said.
Mr Han reaffirmed China’s commitment to working with other countries to uphold multilateralism, promote equitable and orderly multipolarity, advance inclusive economic globalisation and build what China describes as “a community with a shared future for mankind.”
He said the training would serve as a window through which participants could gain a comprehensive, first-hand understanding of China while fostering mutual understanding, trust and cooperation among developing countries.
He said CICG-IISAT, a comprehensive institution specialising in international communication, was committed to telling China’s story through multilingual publications and communication platforms that showcased the country’s history, culture, reform and development achievements.
“Our work spans six major areas: high-end international communication, publishing, media outreach, research and consulting, people-to-people exchanges and industry services.
“Each year, we publish more than 4,000 titles in over 40 languages and produce 36 periodicals in 14 languages,” he said.
Mr Han disclosed that CICG had organised international book launches, reader forums, seminars and promotional activities in more than 40 countries across five continents.
The organisation also operated four regional international communication centres covering the Americas and Western Europe; Africa; Central and Eastern Europe, Central and South Asia; and the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen global media cooperation, he said.
“The IISAT, where I serve, is CICG’s dedicated platform for international media exchange. Over the years, we have invited numerous media professionals from different countries to China for study visits and exchanges, and organised nearly 100 seminars for media professionals from developing countries,” he added.
Mr Han later unveiled the multi-volume publication, Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, compiled and published by CICG.
The five-volume work had been translated into 44 languages, distributed in more than 180 countries and regions, and collected by over 1,700 major libraries as well as more than 500 mainstream bookstores and online platforms worldwide, he said.
Mr Song Xiaoyuan of the Teaching and Research Office of CICG-IISAT said the training programme would feature lectures, field visits, panel discussions and cultural activities.
Speaking on behalf of the participants, Ms Parvana Aliyera from Azerbaijan expressed appreciation to the organisers for the opportunity.
She said that in today’s interconnected world, responsible journalism and effective communication were more important than ever, adding that building the capacity of media professionals, particularly those from developing countries, was essential.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe