Fourth Council Meeting of Belt and Road News Network held in Fuzhou

Delegates attend the fourth Council Meeting of the Belt and Road News Network in Fuzhou, Fujian Province on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. (Photo: Jiang Yushi/People's Daily)

Representatives of 38 media organizations from 23 countries gathered in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province on Tuesday to plan the next stage for the Belt and Road News Network (BRNN).

People's Daily, which chairs the network, presented the third council's work report. Since the council took office in August 2024, the report said, it has rallied media from participating countries around practical cooperation, held to core principles while innovating and made fresh progress across BRNN's work. That has widened media backing for the joint building of the Belt and Road Initiative and given cooperation new momentum.

The BRNN now has 327 media members from 120 countries, up 19 percent on 2024, the report said. It has grown on three counts at once: size, coverage and intake of new members.

The report said the network has become an established platform for international media cooperation and a flagship public diplomacy brand under the Belt and Road cooperation framework.

Looking ahead, the council plans to focus on four things: widening membership while raising its quality, trying new forms of media exchange, responding to the changes intelligent technologies are bringing and extending the international reach of its awards.

Delegates reached broad consensus on lifting the quality of the network's work and adopted the Joint Declaration of the Fourth Council Meeting of the Belt and Road News Network.

It sets out six pledges: stay true to the founding mission and share the responsibilities of the times, focus on development that benefits everyone, safeguard peace and rational public debate, learn from one another and promote exchanges among civilizations, make sound use of intelligent technologies to build consensus on governance and deepen cooperation to bring together strengths from many sides.

The meeting also published the roster of the fourth council, which has 42 media organizations from 26 countries. Council members held in-depth discussions on how to get more out of the network, better run the international Silk Road Awards and strengthen people-to-people bonds between countries. They pledged to keep the Silk Road spirit alive and work together as chroniclers, promoters and builders of the Belt and Road Initiative.

They also said they would deepen understanding and friendship among peoples and make new and greater contributions to a community with a shared future for humanity and to world peace and prosperity.