7th World Media Summit opens in Beijing, highlighting media transformation in AI age

INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT

Addressing the opening ceremony, Fu Hua, president of Xinhua News Agency, called on media professionals to share new technologies and applications, exchange experience in using them, and close gaps in AI research, development and understanding.

"We should lead the way in ensuring that all media professionals have a fair chance to benefit from AI," he said.

The 7th World Media Summit Beijing Consensus was adopted at the ceremony. It calls for joint efforts to advance the transformation and development of the global media industry in the AI era.

Recognizing AI's growing role in media development, the consensus commits to advancing the inclusive and responsible application of AI in the media sector so that advances in AI benefit media organizations at all stages of development and in every country.

AFP Chairman Fabrice Fries also stressed the need for inclusive AI development at the summit. "The benefits of this technological revolution should extend far beyond a small number of companies or countries," he said.

Fries called on media organizations, governments, businesses and universities to work together to ensure that AI helps build a healthier, more diverse global information ecosystem. In particular, AI models must be trained on datasets that reflect the diversity of human societies and perspectives, he said.

The World Media Summit was initiated in 2009 and is now a major global platform for media exchange and cooperation. The previous summit was held in 2024 in Urumqi, the capital city of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

For participants from Global South countries, the summit is particularly important in helping their media organizations adapt to the digital era and narrow development gaps.

Abdishakur Ali Ahmed, director of communication strategy at the Somalian Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, said the summit provides a platform for discussion about navigating digital transformation, which is central to Africa's development.

"The summit also offered us a chance to see China's digital transformation firsthand," he said, expressing hope that Somalia and other African countries would deepen cooperation with China to respond to shared challenges.

Luis Alves do Rosario Canhemba, senior director of the Information Office of Mozambique, said stronger international cooperation was essential for the country to facilitate its ongoing digital transformation.

He called for more exchanges on technology and joint efforts to address AI-related risks in the media industry, and expected expanded mutually beneficial cooperation between Mozambique and China as well as other Global South countries.