CAIRO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Media plays an influential role in shaping visions and conveying what is truly happening, a senior official of Egypt's state-run Al-Ahram newspaper told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Tarek el-Sonoty, deputy editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram, who virtually attended the World Media Summit (WMS) on Monday organized by China's Xinhua News Agency, said the gathering has helped achieve "a kind of communication, exchange of ideas and cooperation between media outlets, especially in developing countries and China."
It has also contributed to shaping the visions of the African and Arab citizens regarding what is truly happening in China, Sonoty said.
"This is because media is the real bridge between peoples," he said, stressing that media plays an influential role in conveying what is happening on the ground economically, socially, culturally and politically.
Media in general has greatly changed after the COVID-19 pandemic, as people have become more dependent on social media outlets and news websites than printed newspapers, he noted.
Calling the current global media landscape "confusing" due to numerous rumors, inaccurate news and misinformation broadcast by various media outlets for political and economic purposes, Sonoty said the smear campaigns launched by Western media outlets against China are meant to obstruct the progress of the Asian country "that has become a very big economic power."
Sonoty, also an expert on Asian affairs, said Western media outlets often come up with false news and reports on what is happening in China's Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang to undermine the country's stability.
"I have visited China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region three times, as well as many other regions in China, and met with many Muslims and visited many mosques there, and I found that there is real harmony within the Chinese society," he said.
"It is the role of the Egyptian, the Arab and the African media, in cooperation and coordination with the Chinese media, to convey the true picture of what is happening in China," he emphasized.
"The relations between China and Egypt in the media field are very good and broad, and Egypt's media interest in China started many years ago," Sonoty noted.
With an ever-deepening bilateral relationship, media cooperation between the two countries has recently seen a massive leap with "positive and fruitful results," he said, citing cooperation protocols signed between Egyptian and Chinese media outlets as examples.
Sonoty, who has attended several forums and meetings in Beijing and other Chinese cities with Arab, African and international media delegations in the presence of Chinese officials and media outlets, highlighted China's keenness on boosting its relations with developing countries, especially African, Arab and Latin American ones.
The official added that he believes "the coming period will see more cooperation" between China and other developing countries, including Egypt. Enditem
