WUXI, China, May 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Focusing on the future of intelligence and media convergence, the 2021 China International Intelligent Communication Forum (CIICF), jointly organized by China Media Group (CMG) and Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government, took place in Wuxi of eastern China’s Shen Haixiong, Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and CMG President and Chief Editor, and Wu Zhenglong, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Governor of Jiangsu Province, attended the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered speeches. The opening ceremony was also attended by Zhang Aijun, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Deputy Head of the Publicity Department, Peng Jianming, Member of the CMG Editorial Board and General Manager of CMG General Manager’s Office, and Chen Jiangang, Secretary General of Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government.

Huang Qin, Secretary of the CPC Wuxi Municipal Committee, Yves Leterme, former Prime Minister of Belgium, Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, Gong Xixiang, Member and Secretary General of the Party Leadership Group of Xinhua News Agency, and Jian Qin, Deputy General Manager of China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd. also delivered speeches at the event.

In his speech, Shen Haixiong stated that as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping pointed out, next generation artificial intelligence is flourishing worldwide, bringing fresh impetus to economic and social development, and profoundly changing our mode of production and way of life. An integrated national cross-sectoral branded event in intelligent communication, the forum is dedicated to establishing an international communication platform to further consolidate consensus and jointly promote high-quality development in the global intelligent communication industry.

Shen Haixiong said that the era of intelligent communication is promoting in-depth media convergence and closer people-to-people ties all around the world, and is distinguished by richness of information and extensive information sharing. CMG, upholding the principle that "even giant corporations must keep themselves up to date", is strategically building a "5G+4K/8K+AI" landscape, and accelerating the pace towards its goal of building a world-class new-type mainstream media group.

He added that efforts are required to deepen scientific and technological innovation and jointly create opportunities for changes in media. It is essential to stay open and inclusive so as to promote exchanges and mutual understanding between civilizations and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind. It also requires further attention to reject bias and narrow-mindedness, and communicate objective and impartial news and information to the world.

Wu Zhenglong said in his speech that General Secretary Xi Jinping highlighted the mission for Jiangsu "to set a model and lead the way" on our new journey to the new era of development. Jiangsu is set to seize the opportunities presented by this new stage of development, implement new development ideas and build up new development paradigm. It will take the initiative to adapt itself to new situation and new requirements along with the development of the IT sector, working actively to seize opportunities, address challenges and navigate through the waters. Jiangsu will leverage intelligent communication to better serve economic development and people’s livelihood, practically fulfilling its mission to construct an economically developed, prosperous, and modern province with favorable environment and highly civilized society.

Wu Zhenglong stressed that Jiangsu considered the intelligent communication forum as an opportunity to utilize intelligence as a driver, intermediary and concentrator to facilitate the sound development of the intelligent communication industry and construct a globally-oriented intelligent communication platform.

Huang Qin stated that the forum was successfully opened to not only provide a high-end platform for enabling media innovation with intelligent technologies, but also inject strong impetus into the development of digital and cultural industries in Wuxi. Wuxi will employ advanced technologies to guide the sound development of intelligent communication, and establish a national hub of digital and cultural industries worth up to 100 billion yuan. The city will strive to create a national demonstration base for the integration of culture and technology, and develop into a culturally developed city of greater leadership, cohesion and influence.

Yves Leterme, former Prime Minister of Belgium, extended congratulations via video to the forum on its successful opening. He said that technological developments contributed to the wide global coverage of information and communication technologies. Initiatives such as the Belt and Road have offered a wealth of opportunities internationally for world citizens to learn more about their own cultures and reach out to other civilizations around the globe.

Siddharth Chatterjee said that he was honored to participate in the forum in his capacity as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China. He saw the world as a collection of diverse cultures. Different countries should be more inclusive, seek common ground while putting differences aside, and pool together the wisdom of our mankind to promote sustainable development.

Gong Xixiang observed that media competition has shifted onto a path of intelligent communication. It urges us to embrace the era of intelligent communication, make breakthroughs in this crucial stage of integrated media convergence and development, and pursue a new future for new-type mainstream media. That requires efforts to seize the trend of innovation and development, persist with the duty and mission of media, and build greater capacity for integrated development in the era of intelligent communication.

According to Jian Qin, China Mobile is now vigorously implementing its "5G+" plan in order to accelerate the integration of information technology into all industries, and to better serve the public. Moving ahead, China Mobile stands ready to strengthen external cooperation, create a ubiquitous intelligent communication landscape, enrich the supply of high-quality content, safeguard network and information security, and promote continuous innovation of intelligent communication in terms of content and models.

At the forum opening ceremony, CMG launched the special project on 4K/8K UHD restoration of classic video materials concerning the history of the CPC.

The participating guests also witnessed the signing of a strategic cooperation framework agreement between CCTV.com and Wuxi City.

At the opening ceremony, keynote speeches were delivered by Peng Jianming, Du Xiaogang, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Wuxi Municipal Committee and Mayor of Wuxi, Cao Guowei, Chairman and CEO of Sina and Chairman of Weibo, and other guests. They shared views and opinions on the prospects of intelligent media, technological applications, and their real-world impacts, along with cutting-edge achievements in this field.

The opening ceremony was also attended by relevant department heads of CMG and the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government, together with experts in artificial intelligence, 5G communications, and other fields at home and abroad, media industry leaders, and entrepreneurial representatives.

Themed "New Era, Intelligent Communication", the forum was celebrated with one main opening summit and three sub-forums to highlight international vision and Chinese style, and was dedicated to establishing a high-end open platform for communication and cooperation. CMG’s innovative applications for building a new strategic "5G+4K/8K+AI" landscape were also on display on the site.