TEHRAN-The 5th World Media Summit (WMS) opened on Sunday in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

More than 450 participants from 101 countries and regions, including representatives of 197 mainstream media outlets, think tanks, government agencies, diplomatic missions to China, UN agencies and international organizations attended the 5th WMS.

Mohammad Mahdi Rahmati and Mohammad Sarfi, the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Tehran Times respectively, are also attending the event.

Co-hosted by Xinhua News Agency and the provincial governments of Guangdong and Yunnan, the summit, themed “Boosting Global Confidence, Promoting Media Development,” will continue until December 8 in the cities of Guangzhou and Kunming.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Hu Heping, executive deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called on media outlets to stay unbiased, promote mutual learning between civilizations, and deepen pragmatic cooperation to contribute their wisdom and strength to building a community with a shared future for humanity and building a better world.

Fu Hua, executive chairman of the WMS and president of Xinhua News Agency, called on media outlets to build consensus and boost confidence in development, uphold objectivity and truth to enhance media's credibility, and deepen exchanges and collaboration to contribute to building an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity.

UN Undersecretary-General Melissa Fleming and other guests also delivered speeches to the ceremony. They agreed that as humanity is facing a lot of global challenges, only by deepening communication and strengthening cooperation can we boost confidence and build a shared future.

A document titled “Joint Statement for the 5th World Media Summit” was released at the opening ceremony. During the summit, attendees will hold discussions on human development and security, new technological opportunities and challenges, media and market in the new era and other topics. They will also visit a number of places in the provinces of Guangdong and Yunnan and hold exchanges.
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