This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bangladesh. On December 22nd, the Sino-Bangladeshi Media Symposium and the Launch Ceremony of the Bilingual Micro-Documentary Series “Journey to the World” were successfully held in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. In attendance were over 20 representatives from Bangladeshi mainstream media, self media, academia, Chinese overseas media institutions, and Chinese enterprises operating in the country. Discussions centered on how to share the stories of China and Bangladesh through cooperation between media. The Sichuan International Communication Center (SICC) has reached the intention of cooperation with Jamuna TV and signed contributor agreements on-site with journalists with New Nation, anchors with Jamuna TV, and Bangladesh’s self media representative Uplift Bangladesh. In the years to come, cooperation will be deepened in content sharing, joint production, technical exchanges, and talent training. At the event, the Bangladesh Creator Hub was launched as part of the “Inspiration” Global Freelance Creator Program. The hub will empower local citizens to capture development and cultural exchanges through photography and videography, enabling Bangladeshi voices to share authentic stories of China-Bangladesh cooperation.

From Contributors to the Creator Hub: Enhancing the Collective Power in Disseminating Chinese Stories

The Sino-Bangladeshi Media Symposium was co-hosted by the SICC and Dhaka Bypass Expressway Development Company, and has received robust support from the World Sinology Center. The event aims to explore how Chinese and foreign media join hands to narrate touching stories of economic and trade exchanges and people-to-people exchanges between China and Bangladesh. Taking the Dhaka Bypass Expressway project as its focal point and themed around “enterprises going global + international communication”, the Symposium sought to harness media’s power to contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

As a subsidiary of Shudao Investment Group Co., Ltd., Sichuan Road & Bridge (Group) Co., Ltd. serves as the investor, constructor, and operator of the Dhaka Bypass Expressway project. This landmark initiative represents the first highway PPP (public-private partnership) project implemented since the promulgation of Bangladesh’s PPP Act, the first fully enclosed expressway project in Bangladesh, and yet another fruit of the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.

“I am quite familiar with China, and every report I make is dedicated to objectively telling the stories between the two countries.” During the keynote speech session, Al Mamun Harun Ur Rashid, a senior journalist from Bangladesh’s mainstream English-language newspaper “New Nation” and a long-time friend who has reported extensively on Sino-Bangladeshi stories, shared his personal experiences with China. He stated that under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, a series of projects, including the Dhaka Bypass Expressway, have effectively improved local connectivity, promoted regional development, and enhanced people’s livelihoods. Media outlets, Harun emphasized, are supposed to shoulder important responsibilities in this process by delivering professional, objective, vivid, and in-depth reports to help the peoples of both countries gain a deeper understanding of each other.

“As ordinary people who once just watched the news, we have grown into content creators beloved by many. This journey is inextricably linked to China’s infrastructure efforts.” As a representative of overseas contributors to the SICC, Bangladeshi vlogger Uplift Bangladesh, who has nearly one million followers on social media, vividly shared the story of their account, which focuses on Bangladesh’s new infrastructure projects. Uplift Bangladesh also highlighted the real data changes they have documented: “In the past, traveling from northern Bangladesh through downtown Dhaka to Madanpur in Chittagong would take 2 to 3 hours; but after the Dhaka Bypass Expressway opened to traffic, the journey has been reduced to about 30 minutes.” Today, the comment section of Uplift Bangladesh’s account has turned into a communication bridge between local residents and Bangladesh’s new infrastructure projects. Plenty of citizens leave suggestions and feedback there, which the relevant contractors and government departments are actively reviewing and adopting.

At the event site, the Inspiration · Bangladesh Creator Hub under the “Inspiration” Global Freelance Creator Program was officially unveiled. Co-established by the SICC and Dhaka Bypass Expressway Development Company, the hub will collaborate with multiple Chinese enterprises operating in Bangladesh to jointly empower more Bangladeshi citizens to vividly share stories of China-Bangladesh cooperation and exchanges through photography and videography, thereby promoting grassroots exchanges and emotional connections between the peoples of the two countries. According to statistics, the “Inspiration” Global Freelance Creator Program has so far attracted more than 350 creators from over 30 countries and regions, such as the United States, France, Brazil, and Spain.

The head of Dhaka Bypass Expressway Development Company stated that the model of Chinese enterprises going global has evolved from mere engineering construction and delivery to value co-creation under the principles of “joint construction, extensive consultation, and shared benefits”. The head expressed his hope that this co-established creator hub will serve as a pivotal opportunity to build a “bridge of hearts” for people-to-people connectivity, enabling the authentic stories of infrastructure development and the deepening of emotional bonds to be witnessed and appreciated by the world.

From “Going Global” to “Connecting with the World”: Optimizing Pathways for International Communication Outreach

From Sichuan to the rest of China, “going global” has become an irresistible trend. What inspiring stories lie behind these booming overseas sectors? And how can the challenges encountered on the path to globalization be effectively addressed? The bilingual micro-documentary series “Journey to the World”, meticulously produced by the SICC, is dedicated to answering these questions of our time. To date, the filming crew has followed the footsteps of Sichuan enterprises venturing abroad, visiting countries such as Australia and Uzbekistan. This time in Bangladesh, the focus is on the Dhaka Bypass Expressway invested in and constructed by Sichuan Road and Bridge (Group) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Shudao Investment Group Co., Ltd. The series will comprehensively showcase the touching chapter of China-Bangladesh cooperation, from building “bridges” to constructing “roads”, and from making “material exchanges” to forging “heartfelt bonds”.

As a key highlight of the event, the third episode of the bilingual micro-documentary series “Journey to the World” officially commenced filming. It will subsequently be jointly broadcast on mainstream local media and new media platforms in Bangladesh, including Jamuna TV and Uplift Bangladesh.

As one of the participants in this documentary, Salauddin Ahmed, a journalist from Jamuna TV, which boasts 50 million followers across online platforms, expressed his anticipation for both countries’ media to further showcase the touching details of how infrastructure improvements have tangibly transformed the lives of ordinary people. He also looks forward to strengthened cooperation in the future, particularly in areas such as content exchange, personnel training, and especially the empowerment of news production through AI.

Wang Jianbing, Chief of the Dhaka Bureau of China Media Group (CMG), stated that he looks forward to intensified cooperation between Chinese and Bangladeshi media through increased personnel exchanges and joint reporting. Through authentic and comprehensive coverage, as well as sharing across multi-layered media channels, such efforts are able to help break stereotypes held by the outside world regarding the socioeconomic development of the two countries.

The event also attracted prominent scholars from Bangladesh’s top institutes. “Communication should not be merely one-sided output; it must focus on what local people prefer,” said Professor Mohammad Mainul Islam from Dhaka University. He believes that, in addition to highlighting infrastructure construction, the documentary should incorporate more soft cultural elements, such as the humanities, history, and modern lifestyles of both countries, as sources of creative inspiration. This approach would help build deeper emotional connections between China and Bangladesh.

Professor Sayema Haque Bidisha, Deputy Principal of Dhaka University, noted that the documentary should focus on disseminating shared values and ideals. For instance, in content creation, it could exhibit interactions between Chinese and Bangladeshi employees on the project, demonstrating mutual understanding and recognition of each other’s values. By doing so, it is possible to lay a solid communication foundation for long-term cooperation between the two sides.

The head of the SICC responded on site, stating that Sichuan, as a major province in western China, has always been actively engaged in China-Bangladesh economic, trade, and cultural exchanges and cooperation. The SICC is willing to serve as a window for Bangladeshi people to understand China and experience Sichuan, promoting the co-narration of stories between the two countries and achieving resonance in the hearts of our peoples. Moving forward, the SICC will continue to uphold its mission of “telling the stories of Sichuan enterprises going global and conveying China’s voice of opening-up”. Furthermore, it will center on typical projects and individual stories from Sichuan enterprises in their international expansion, leveraging micro-documentaries, joint Sino-foreign productions, media cooperation, localized activities, and the development of a global creator network. The SICC is committed to optimizing pathways for international communication outreach, and showcasing China’s global governance philosophy of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits.