China’s largest online newspaper, People’s Daily, has expressed its interest in working closely with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in the area of sharing news content about both countries.
Jang Wai-hong, Head of People’s Daily Online, expressed the interest when she paid a courtesy visit to the Managing Director of NAN, Mr Buki Ponle in Abuja on Wednesday.
“This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by the Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Our major focus through this visit is to find out areas of China cooperation under such a framework and we would also want to know the Chinese enterprises, presence and work here in Nigeria and share more stories on the Belt and Road Initiative,’’ Jang said, speaking through an interpreter.
The Belt and Road Initiative is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organisations.
She also said the initiative, among other structures put in place by the Chinese government, would promote bilateral ties and friendship between Nigeria and China.
Jang advised media professionals to focus on truthful and factual reporting and be sensitive to technological development, like artificial intelligence.
More so, Jang said the People’s Daily online was interested in personal exchanges.
“We are also interested in content exchange and we can exchange content together and we are also very interested in personal exchanges.
“In the future, if we have the chance or the opportunity or any programmes, we will be willing to let you know to have people-to-people cooperation,’’ she added.
Responding, Ponle expressed NAN’s willingness to work closely with the online newspaper just as it does with Xinhua News Agency, another Chinese news organization.
“Fortunately, NAN has a partnership arrangement with Xinhua News Agency and through such partnerships, our reporters have been trained through visits to China, scholarships, and training programmes in China and other areas of development and it will still continue.
“It will gladden our hearts to extend such partnership to the People’s Daily newspaper through you and your specific area of development. In terms of skills, reporters, spread, quality production, we have it in NAN.
“In whatever area you want us to continue and expand, we are ready because that is what we believe in.
“I believe that it would be more fruitful that NAN partners with you, with Xinhua, and other news agencies in China because our cultures, ways of life, our thoughts, go in the same direction, even politics and socio-economic development, which we would want to nurture and grow for posterity and for whatever we can benefit and make both countries great in future,’’ NAN MD said.
According to him, NAN focuses on positive reportage and solutions journalism, and has been reporting events happening in China in a positive direction.
“Everything that can bring development, positivity, that can bring closer collaboration between both countries, that is where we focus on,’’ he added.
The managing director said NAN “is engaged in various areas of media activity – from website to multimedia to photography to features, sports reporting to politics, and everything about journalism.
“When you relate with NAN, you relate with every aspect of journalism,” he said.
He identified development communication with a focus on women and children as his area of interest.
He said he was in Beijing in 1995 during the World Conference on Women, and in Cairo, Egypt in 1994 during the International Conference on Population and Development.
People’s Daily newspaper is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Founded in June 1948, it provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of CCP in multiple languages.
The online platform of the newspaper was founded in January 1997, and is a publicly traded media and culture company, with People’s Daily having a controlling stake.
NAN
