The 2012 Australia-China Media Forum, jointly hosted by the State Council Information Office of China (SCIO) and the Australian News Channel Pty Ltd., was held at the Imperial Springs International Convention Center in Guangzhou. This forum was organized by the China Imperial Springs International Summit and supported by the Australian Embassy in China, the Guangdong Provincial Government, Australian Capital Equity (ACE), and Seven Group Holdings Limited.

Government officials, heads of leading media, business leaders, and scholars from both countries participated in the forum and carried out extensive and in-depth discussions on three topics: "Promoting the Comprehensive Growth of China-Australia Relations, " "Strengthening China-Australia Economic and Trade Ties," and "Communication and Cooperation in the Era of New Media." This enhanced understanding and cooperation between the two sides.

Representatives at the forum from the Chinese side included SCIO; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Commerce, State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council; the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television; the Information Office of the Guangdong Provincial Government; the Information Office of the Guangzhou Municipal Government; People's Daily; Xinhua News Agency; China Central Television; Guangming Daily; China Daily; Business Daily; the Shanghai Media Group; the Guangdong Media Group; the Guangzhou Daily Group; the Nanfang Daily Media Group; the Yangcheng Evening News Group; New Express Daily; the Minmetals Group; the Sinosteel Holdings Co.; the Sinosteel International Co., Ltd., China; the China Oil & Foodstuffs Corporation; Huawei Company; and the Shanghai Oriental Pearl (Group) Co., Ltd., among others.

Representatives from the Australian side at the forum included the Consul-general of Australia in Guangzhou; the Australian News Channel Pty Limited; Australian Capital Equity (ACE); Seven Group Holdings Limited; Channel 7, Chanel 9, and Chanel 10 of Australia; The Australian, the Australian Financial Review; the Sunday Telegraph; the Melbourne Times; Media Weekly; and the Jinyan Media and Public Relations Company, among others.

Attending the opening ceremony were Mme. Qian Xiaoqian, Deputy Director of SCIO; Mme. Lei Yulan, Vice Governor of Guangdong Province; Mme. Frances Adamson, Ambassador of Australia to China; Mr. Mo Gaoyi, Deputy Director General of the Publicity Department of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and Director of the Information Office of the Guangdong Provincial Government; Mr. Angelos Frangopoulaos, CEO of the Australian News Channel Pty Limited; and Dr. Chau Chak Wing, Chairman of the Kingold Group.

In her keynote speech, Mme. Qian Xiaoqian noted that this year marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Australia. Over the past four decades, the Chinese and Australian media have played an important role in strengthening mutual understanding and friendship between the people of China and Australia and facilitating the stable and sound growth of friendly cooperation between the two countries. Qian said that the Australia -China Media Forum set a topic for new media, a decision that not only mirrors the growing influence of new media, but also the shared aspiration of both sides to strengthen their exchanges and cooperation in this sector. Qian hoped that such exchanges and cooperation between the media of the two countries could be put on a regular basis through mechanism-building, so that both sides could join hands in bringing about fresh progress in their well-rounded cooperation.

Ambassador Frances Adamson pointed out that the growing exchanges and cooperation between China and Australia in economy, trade, investment, culture, and other areas have delivered tangible benefits to the people of both countries. She endorsed the mechanism-based exchanges between the media of the two countries and emphasized the need to strengthen people's mutual understanding and trust and dispel any misgivings by making full use of new media so as to facilitate the overall growth of China-Australia relations.

Mr. Mo Gaoyi briefed the audience on the development of the Guangdong economy and media. He expressed his hope of expanding cooperation between Guangdong and Australian media in news, culture, and other fields and putting in place an exchange mechanism between the media of both sides.

Mr. Angelos Frangopoulaos reviewed the exchanges between the Australian News Channel Pty Limited and its Chinese counterparts and expressed his support for the mechanism-based exchanges of media and his expectations of carrying out more diversified and multi-faceted cooperation with Chinese media, such as program-sharing and joint program production.

Dr. Chau Chak Wing, President of the Australia China Friendship and Exchange Association (ACFEA) and Chairman of the Kingold Group, is an active advocator of this forum. He has worked tirelessly advance China-Australia economic and cultural exchanges. Dr. Zhou said, "Media is an important force behind social progress, a witness and recorder of history, and most importantly, a key driver of historic and social changes. We firmly believe that the media of our two countries have played an important role in helping our people to better understand each other in a more comprehensive, fair, and objective light. The cooperation and exchanges of the media will undoubtedly advance the cooperation and development of both countries in all fields, thus writing a new chapter in the history of friendly exchanges and the development of our two peoples. "

The forum was held at the Imperial Springs International Convention Center, which is renowned as the "Boao Forum of Guangzhou." Located at the Hot Spring Valley Business and Conference Zone south of Conghua city and adjacent to the venue of the equestrian event of the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, the Center brings together the best features of classical oriental architecture and modern design. It incorporates nature, culture, exhibition, relaxation, and health-maintenance in one place, making it a "legendary resort in the Tropic of Cancer." Last August, the China-Australia Friendship Forum on Economy and Trade was held here, and since then, the Center has been the focus of worldwide attention. It boasts banquet halls of different sizes, modern lecture halls, and different meeting rooms, supported by state-of-the-art equipment for simultaneous interpretation of eight languages, international-quality video conference facilities, and advanced wireless technologies. It is an ideal choice for international political and economic forums or summits.

Guests from China and Australia spoke highly of the conference and service facilities of the Imperial Springs Summit; in particular, they were impressed by the Kingold Museum inside the Convention Center. As the largest private museum in southern China, Kingold Museum boasts a collection of over 20,000 cultural relics from the ancient dynasties of China, including ceramics, bronzeware, copper enamel artworks, lacquerware, jadeware, dagoba, paintings and calligraphies, inscribed wooden slips, wood engravings, and more. The time-honored Chinese culture and the profound historic and cultural heritage that these collections represent have truly amazed knowledgeable guests from the domestic and foreign media.

With the successful convocation of the 2012 Australia-China Media Forum in Imperial Springs, the high-end exchange platform built with the collaboration of Chinese and Australian media will continue to contribute to understanding and cooperation in the economic, trade, and cultural fields and friendly exchanges between the two countries. Imperial Springs International Conventional Center, as the venue of this grand international event, once again stood testament to an important historical moment.

● This article is translated from "2012中澳媒体论坛在广州从都举行" news-rounduped by ISIF.