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In 1271, the Nepalese artisan Araniko was invited to Beijing to build the White Pagoda at the Miaoying Temple, which later became one of Beijing's most renowned landmarks. In 2017, China sent a professional team to Nepal and, after nearly five years, successfully completed the restoration of the nine-storey Basantapur temple complex at Kathmandu's Durbar Square. These two events, separated by more than 700 years, are a perfect example of exchanges and cooperation in cultural heritage protection between Asian civilizations. It is precisely through this continuous process of contact, exchange and integration that the Chinese civilization has grown and flourished, engraving inclusiveness and peacefulness into its genetic code and bloodstream, shaping an open and all-embracing culture.

We Asian countries are closely connected and share a natural bond of affinity. We have a common cultural lineage and shared dreams for the future. As the largest cooperative media organization in Asia, the Asia News Network must play a guiding role in promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of Asian countries' fine traditional cultures, drawing on the light of civilization to dispel darkness and illuminate the path forward for human society.

We must stay confident in our culture and tell compelling stories about the inheritance, development, exchanges and mutual learning of Asian civilizations. Cultural confidence is a more fundamental, profound, and enduring power. As the world undergoes major changes unseen in a century, we must stand firm on the side that represents the progress of human civilization.

Tell the stories of exchanges and mutual learning among Asian civilizations well. There are countless cultural treasures in Asia, and we have the responsibility to illuminate the shimmering light of civilizations that are hidden deep in the mountains, or in the collective memory of ancient villages, or even lost over the years, so as to make the shared cultural memories of Asian people shine with an even greater luster. We must creatively develop the Asian civilizations through online innovation using the most vivid, fashionable expressions, so that the ancient and modern cultural achievements can be easily disseminated and understood.

Tell the stories of Asian civilizations' contributions to the world well. Taking Asia as the anchor point, we should build a media cooperation network for dialogue between global civilizations, systematically demonstrate the significance of Asian civilizations to the world, spread the shared values therein for all humankind, promote international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, and contribute to the blossoming of different civilizations and the continuation of the flame of the human civilization with "Asian wisdom".

We must stay firm to boost confidence and demonstrate Asia's contributions in promoting the development and prosperity of the world. Development is an eternal theme of human society. The paths to modernization of Asian countries are crafted step by step by the people of these nations, guided by their unique historical, practical, and theoretical logic, which constitute some of the most wonderful and profound Asian stories. In June, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into full effect, which has released significant dividends and provided surging impetus for regional and world economic development. We must stand firm on the right side of history.

Demonstrate the historical responsibility of Asian countries to jointly build a clean and beautiful world. Asian countries have made de-carbonization commitments in accordance with the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, and China, in particular, has made a solemn commitment to the world to achieve its carbon peak, and carbon neutrality, in 30 years. Words must be followed by deeds. Asian countries are shouldering the heavy responsibility of addressing climate change, demonstrating "Asia's role" in protecting the Earth's ecology, and actively working toward building a community with a shared future for all of humanity with the stance of an activist and a doer.

We must strengthen the confidence in our discourse and accelerate the formation of Asia's voice that can match the volume of Asia. Asia's long-term, stable economic growth, cultural prosperity and development have provided the greatest confidence for "telling compelling stories". Asian stories should be written by Asians themselves, rather than by the Western media. This is not only the ideal of the Asia News Network but also a shared mission and responsibility for all Asian media agencies. We must stand firm on the side of fairness and justice.

Adhere to discourse leadership and contribute to the construction of a new global communication order. We must recognize that many Western media outlets still hold a deep-seated bias against Asia. In recent years, Western media's "double standards" in covering major news events, especially their defense of a certain country's hegemony under the banner of "anti-authoritarianism", have aroused alert and antipathy among global audiences. We must explore the construction of a discourse system with Asian features, styles, and ethos, and through narratives that are attractive, compelling and persuasive. We should raise the voice of Asian media to promote the global communication order toward a fairer, more impartial and orderly direction.

Adhere to keeping pace with the times, cultivate opportunities and break new ground through innovative development. We must keep abreast of technological changes, empowering quality content with advanced technologies. Those of the world's younger generation are digital natives and crucial participants of international exchanges. We need to reach out to them, engage in dialogue and win them over with a youthful tone, and use their youthful energy to illustrate Asia's vibrancy, showcasing to the world an image of Asia that is lovely, approachable and full of vitality.

An ancient Chinese saying goes, "with the strength of many, there is no defeat". The Asia News Network will fully implement the action plan for strengthening media exchanges and cooperation adopted at the board meeting on Monday, and continuously attempt to enhance confidence among Asian civilizations, and boost the development and discourse about Asia, by promoting exchanges and mutual learning.

Publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily