Inauguration ceremony of Shandong International Communication Center held in Jinan

The inauguration ceremony of Shandong International Communication Center was held on November 26 in Jinan, capital of China’s Shandong province.

In recent years, Shandong has been deeply implementing the important instructions of general secretary Xi Jinping, focusing on serving the overall situation of the country’s foreign affairs, creating cultural vibes, accelerating the construction of a strong province in international communication, solidly promoting external publicity, continuously advancing the Nishan Forum on World Civilizations, launching a number of high-quality works such as “Life at the Yellow River Delta” and striving to take the lead and open new horizons in better telling stories of China. The establishment of the Shandong International Communication Center is a major measure for Shandong to thoroughly implement general secretary’s series of important expositions on strengthening and improving international communication under the new situation. Based in Shandong, serving the whole country, and embracing the world, Shandong International Communication Center will build itself into a high-standard and high-starting-point international communication platform that integrates international communication, external publicity content production, international cultural exchanges, talent cultivation, international communication research, and external discourse innovation. This platform will surely have a widespread influence at home and abroad and will help better tell stories of China from the perspective of Shandong.

The major projects for Shandong’s external communication in 2024 were launched at the launching ceremony as well as the key documentaries and cultural programs of Shandong International Communication Center in 2024.

Ahmed Nadeem, Secretary-General of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, delivered a video speech in which he expressed his great expectations for cooperation between the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union and Shandong Radio and Television Station and Shandong International Communication Center, with hopes to jointly boost cultural exchanges, promote program diversification, and contribute to international communication.

Yan Ni, deputy director-general of the International Cooperation Department of Chinese National Radio and Television Administration, stated that the establishment of the Shandong International Communication Center is a strategic consideration to implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and to shape a new pattern of external publicity, and that it is an extremely important strategic task. Shandong International Communication Center should focus on new media, target overseas audiences, and enrich multi-lingual communication to let the world better understand Shandong and China.

Xi Yanchun, deputy head, in charge of routine work at the Publicity Department of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee, director-general, General Office of Shandong Provincial Commission for Guiding Cultural and Ethical Progress, Information Office of Shandong Provincial Government, expressed in her speech that the establishment of Shandong International Communication Center is a specific action to implement the important instructions of general secretary Xi Jinping. It means that Shandong’s international communication work has a center for agenda planning, a flagship for media to go global, a base for research and interpretation, and a cradle for talent cultivation. We should take the opportunity of establishing the Shandong International Communication Center to explore new paths for local external publicity to serve the national overall situation, establish new mechanisms for internal and external publicity to connect and empower each other, create new brands for distinctive and effective external communication, and build new platforms with complete functions and innovative vitality. We should cooperate with all sectors of society to communicate with the world and jointly better tell stories of China from the perspective of Shandong, thus contributing Shandong’s strength to “presenting a better China to the world”.

Lyu Peng, Party secretary and president of Shandong Radio and Television Station said that Shandong Radio and Television Station has been, based on a global perspective, innovating international expression, continuously focusing on international communication, and actively building an international communication system with all forms of media in recent years. Many high-quality works such as the documentaries “Life at the Yellow River Delta” and “Mount Tai” have been broadcast overseas, and the users of sdchina.com come from more than 100 countries and regions around the world. Shandong Radio and Television Station will fully leverage its own advantages and integrate the province’s external publicity resources to build the Center into a leading platform for international communication with extensive influence at home and abroad.

At the inauguration ceremony, Shandong Radio and Television Station signed framework cooperation agreements for international communication with China Daily, China News Service, CICG Center for Europe and Asia , China Intercontinental Communication Center, and Phoenix Satellite TV Program Production Department , as well as a broadcast agreement for the documentary “Li Bai” with general director of the National Broadcasting Corporation of the Kyrgyz Republic, and an international cooperation memorandum for the documentary “Mount Tai” with Sunny Side of the Doc. At the same time, the English channel of Shandian News and the Russian channel of sdchina.com were launched.

Present at the ceremony were also relevant responsible persons from Kyrgyzstan National Television and Radio Broadcasting Corporation, relevant persons in charge of People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Daily, China News Service, China International Communications Group, China Intercontinental Communication Center, international communication centers from Fujian, Sichuan, Henan, and Heilongjiang, member units of Shandong Provincial External Publicity Work Joint Conference, departments directly under provincial jurisdiction, publicity departments of the CPC committees of 16 cities in Shandong Province, as well as trainees from the province-wide training class on strengthening international communication capacity building, and reporters from central media stationed in Shandong Province, National Geographic, Phoenix Satellite Television, and major provincial media such as Dazhong News Group and Xinhuanghe APP.