MANILA – Amid improving relations between the Philippines and China, the two countries have agreed to further enhance cooperation in the media sector, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said on Thursday.
The commitment was made after China Media Group (CMG) editorial board member Huang Chuanfang paid a visit to Andanar at the Philippine Information Agency headquarters in Quezon City on Thursday.
CMG is a state media conglomerate unifying government-owned China Central Television (CCTV), China National Radio (CNR) and China Radio International (CRI). China Global Television Network (CGTN), a multi-language channel launched by CCTV, is also included in the merger.
During the courtesy call, Andanar expressed hope that the good ties between the two nations’ state-owned media outfits will be sustained, even though Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Ambassador Zhao Jianhua left Manila for a new assignment.
“The cooperation between the Philippine media and Chinese media escalated to levels that are unheard of,” he said.
“We hope that even with the departure of Ambassador Zhao, we can maintain the same good relationship,” he added.
The PCOO currently has multiple bilateral media and communications agreements with the Chinese government, covering commitments to pursue personnel exchanges, workshops, seminars, information exchanges, rebroadcasts, joint production, and mutual visits.
Huang, meanwhile, looked forward to more exchanges in new media.
“Besides the news exchanges and the film cooperation, we expect to have more cooperation in the radio and new media,” he said.
“We will promote cooperation between the Philippine media and Chinese media. We are looking forward to working with you,” Huang added.
Chinese state-owned media outlets fair reporting lauded
Andanar thanked the CMG for the fair coverage of developments in the Philippines by CCTV, CGTN, CNR, and CRI.
He said the good coverage was driven by the closer ties between the two countries under President Rodrigo Duterte’s watch.
“We are very grateful for the commitment of CMG. I experience very good coverage from CCTV, CRI, whenever I go [to] different parts of the world,” he said.
“The relationships of the Philippines and China has elevated to a new level since President Duterte was elected into office,” Andanar added.
Huang, on the other hand, thanked the Duterte government for supporting Chinese journalists, especially when they are seeking requests for interviews, allowing them to have a “deeper” understanding of issues concerning the Philippines.
“We saw our reports by our journalists in the Philippines from CCTV and CRI. From their reports, which are very newsworthy, [they] show us that they have a deeper understanding,” he said. (PNA)
