Africa, China Media Synergy Crucial to Foil Disinformation, Says Ethiopian Amb. Teshome

China's media synergy is crucial to foil disinformation peddled by outside interest groups concerning Sino-Africa cooperation, Ethiopia's Ambassador to China, Teshome Toga, said.

The 5th Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation was held in Beijing in the presence of high government officials from the Chinese government, ambassadors of African countries as well as journalists from both sides.

In his remarks on the occasion, Ambassador Teshome said both African and Chinese media should strengthen their cooperation while urging the media to tell their own stories from their own perspectives.

Addis Ababa August 27/2022 /ENA/This strongly counters the distorted and too often misleading narratives peddled by outside interest groups regarding Africa-China Cooperation, he added.

"I believe the way to do it more efficiently and effectively is if we can further enhance and strengthen our collaboration through co-production of programs."  

The ambassador further stated that the cooperation should enfold news coverage, content creation, channel building, leadership and staff training as well as knowledge and technology exchange programs.

According to him, all of these areas of cooperation must be based on the principles of equality, mutual benefits, and win-win cooperation under the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) framework.

Ambassador Teshome urged both African and Chinese media to collaborate and show the true images of the economic, cultural, social and other realities of the Africa-China partnership.

These media institutions must strive to promote mutual understanding and enhance the strong bond between the two people through different networks and platforms, he noted.  

In his congratulatory message sent to the fifth Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on media outlets in China and African countries to become catalysts for people-to-people exchanges.

He added that media outlets on both sides should be guardians of equity and justice to jointly advocate global development.  

Noting that China and African countries are a community with a shared future, the president  said media outlets should strive to enhance mutual trust and cooperation while working for world peace.