The 4th Council Meeting of the Belt and Road News Network.     --Photos People’s Daily

How regional media links can place people at the centre of growth

When media leaders from 42 mainstream organisations across 27 countries gathered in Fuzhou, China, last week for the 4th Council Meeting of the Belt and Road News Network (BRNN), the focus went far beyond policy declarations and press releases.
Beneath the formal proceedings lay a shared recognition that as the global media landscape evolves, stories of cross-border development must touch the everyday lives of real people.
To guide cross-border media work in an era of rapid technological change, the council formally adopted a Joint Statement outlining six core promises for regional media collaboration.

Editor-in-Chief of Lao Press in Foreign Languages (publisher of the Vientiane Times), Mrs Phonesavanh Thikeo, gives her views on what media partnerships should accomplish in practice.

These commitments focus on dialogue to foster an international media network that is defined by openness, inclusiveness, and collaborative innovation, while encouraging shared reporting on poverty reduction, food security, and green development to ensure the fruits of growth benefit all equitably.
Furthermore, the council pledged to encourage respectful dialogue to ensure constructive engagement, value cultural diversity to cement cross-civilisational trust, work together to curb disinformation and bridge the digital divide, and leverage the network for staff exchanges and training to inject vibrant media impetus into high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.
Speaking at the forum, Editor-in-Chief of Lao Press in Foreign Languages (publisher of the Vientiane Times), Mrs Phonesavanh Thikeo, brought a warm, practical, and human-centred perspective to the talks. 
While large-scale infrastructure development and complex trade deals often dominate international headlines, Mrs Phonesavanh reminded delegates that news stories achieve their true power only when they connect directly with readers’ everyday experiences.
“Let us put people at the centre of our reporting and strengthen people-to-people bonds,” she urged her fellow council members.
“We should tell more stories concerning ordinary people, young people, education, tourism, cultural traditions, and development experiences. These stories can help audiences understand not only what is happening in other countries, but also how people live, think, and share common aspirations.”
She said that when journalism consistently highlights real human experiences, media outlets build genuine understanding, trust, and lasting friendship across borders.
To make the news network more active and genuinely helpful for journalists on the ground, Mrs Phonesavanh outlined priorities for future collaboration. 
She advocated moving beyond simple news sharing to hands-on operational teamwork, saying “Beyond sharing news, we should encourage more joint reporting, journalist exchanges, professional training, and cooperation in digital media and new technologies.”
She also advised strengthening the reach of the Silk Road Global News Awards by translating and cross-sharing stories, saying this will “help outstanding journalism reach broader audiences, encourage professional excellence, and create more opportunities for media cooperation”, while opening vital doors for Laos to share its rich heritage and economic progress with the world.
As digital tools rapidly transform how news is consumed across Asia and beyond, the commitments forged in Fuzhou offer a clear path forward for regional newsrooms.

Lao media participants in Fuzhou, China.

By combining technological innovation with grounded human storytelling, media institutions are actively helping turn physical and commercial links into enduring cross-border friendships.
“For Laos, BRNN provides valuable opportunities to share our country’s development, culture, and people with the international community, while learning from the experiences of other member organisations,” Mrs Phonesavanh concluded. 
“Let us work together to turn our network into a stronger platform for cooperation, quality journalism, and friendship among nations.”
Belt and Road News Network (BRNN) was launched as a response to the proposal of “building a news network” by Chinese President Xi Jinping on the occasion of the 1st Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation in 2017, which has won positive response from media organisations worldwide, especially among those along the belt and road route. 
As of June 2026, 321 media organisations from 117 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, North America, and Oceania have joined the network.

By Keoxomphou Sakdavong
 (Latest Update November 13, 2026)