In brief
At the 7th World Media Summit in Beijing, Malaysian news chief Wong Chun Wai announced plans for China to aid Global South media via AI technology and partnerships. He urged the summit to shift focus toward practical cooperation, citing past experiences in Xinjiang as a model. The statement leaves open how these ambitions will materialize in concrete outcomes.
Wong Chun Wai, chairman of Malaysia’s National News Agency Bernama, told Xinhua in Kuala Lumpur that China should become a key partner for the Global South’s media industry, offering its rapidly growing artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and a wide web of international media ties.
Wong is present in Beijing for the 7th World Media Summit, running Nov. 5‑9 under the theme “Media in the Intelligent Age: From Consensus to Action.” He said the gathering is the right moment for China to share tools and know‑how so that editors, reporters and publishers in developing regions can keep pace with technological change.
He invoked Malaysia’s own experiences, noting the country’s proximity to China and the frequency of exchanges that help Malaysian outlets tap into Chinese AI innovations. In particular, he highlighted how AI is already beginning to reshape newsrooms, creating “new opportunities while demanding a rethink of how operations are run.”
During the opening remarks, Wong warned that simply purchasing an AI tool is insufficient. “It’s very easy to buy a tool and put it in your company,” he said, stressing that media houses must consider how AI could fundamentally alter their workflows and editorial processes.
Wong said that the summit’s agenda should reflect the tangible needs of Global South media, calling for concrete projects on technology applications and capacity building. He expressed hope that the conference would act as a venue for practical discussions, through which partners could learn from one another and move forward together.
He recalled his participation in the 6th World Media Summit held in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2024. That event, he noted, left lasting impressions. He described a tour of the cotton fields in Kashgar, where journalists saw machinery at work and heard statements such as “This is the real Xinjiang.” He said visits like that offered “valuable opportunities” for foreign reporters to obtain firsthand exposure to China’s development strides.
Wong envisioned the 7th Summit as a chance to build on that model, aiming to give Global South media a platform to observe China’s AI landscape, to train in its deployment, and to form partnerships that would translate into concrete tools and shared best practices.
He insisted that technological cooperation should also broaden mutual understanding. By inviting Global South outlets to embed ten posts and columnists, China could promote a more balanced representation of its policies and culture, he pointed out.
During the interview, Wong did not elaborate on specific funding mechanisms or partnership frameworks, nor did he detail which AI applications would be prioritized. He also did not confirm whether the summit’s outcomes will result in long‑term engagement or be limited to short‑term workshops.
As the 7th World Media Summit proceeds, observers will watch how the proposed dialogue on AI is translated into actionable support structures for Global South media. While the statements from Wong and the summit's general call for cooperation suggest a bullish outlook, unanswered questions about implementation scope, resource allocation, and the depth of bilateral engagement remain open, as the summit’s reports and future policy documents are still forthcoming.