Chen Siqi

vankochensq@163.com

SHENZHEN Daily signed a three-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pakistan’s Daily Kasoti and Kasoti Digital on the eve of the Asia-Pacific Media Forum (APMF) to promote media cooperation. Amjad Aziz Malik, editor-in-chief of both, signed the agreement within a day of his arrival in Shenzhen.

The MoU paves the way for news and photo content sharing, joint reporting, special publications, and digital media collaboration between the two parties.

The deal also prompted expressions of interest from other international media organizations. Aleksei Urazov, head of international cooperation at Russia’s National Media Group, called for closer ties in global communication. Muhammad Zahir Shah from Pakistan’s BOL TV also proposed mutual reporting and content sharing on behalf of his network. Donovan Martin SR., CEO and editor-in-chief of Canada’s Daily Scrum News, said: “We really need more co-creation.”

Firsthand encounter

with a ‘city of miracles’

For Malik, Shenzhen offered a perspective no amount of online research could provide. After spending 48 hours in the city, he regretted not having visited sooner. “You can find everything online, but the scene is something different when I see everything on my own,” he said, describing first-hand reporting as one of the core values of journalism.

A journalist with more than 40 years of experience, Malik began his career as a sports reporter and has witnessed the industry’s transformation from print to television and, more recently, digital media. He believes digital media will shape the future of journalism and said he was impressed by Shenzhen Daily’s ability to combine its print heritage with a digital operation.

Malik also expressed hope that closer media ties could help attract more Shenzhen investment and high-quality supply chains to Pakistan.

Human side

of journalism

“AI saves time, but it can never replace human connection,” Martin from Canada’s Daily Scrum News, said. Martin argued that journalism cannot remain confined to screens. Reporters need to go into the field, meet people and capture the emotions and nuances that algorithms cannot fully convey.

He called for media cooperation to move beyond simply republishing each other’s content, suggesting joint interviews, the sharing of original footage and jointly planned features that could allow audiences in different countries to better understand one another.

From exchange

to co-creation

“We still have a lot of room to grow,” said Aleksei from Russia’s National Media Group, adding that when media organizations work together on storytelling, mutual understanding can develop naturally. Over the past year, he said, he had seen how collaboration among creators from different countries could generate fresh narratives and new ways of seeing one another.

He also urged media to focus more on entertainment popular with youth — video games, short dramas, role-playing. Russia and China both have vibrant animation, film and pop-culture scenes, he said, and media ties could bring these to broader, younger audiences.

Building a cooperative media framework

The partnerships aim to go beyond content sharing. Shenzhen Daily’s English resources, multilingual platforms and tech-sector ties — combined with partners’ local expertise and networks — will drive in-depth coverage on green development, the digital economy and tech innovation for broader audiences across multiple countries.

A single media agreement has grown into a broader framework among news outlets — a concrete step toward the Asia-Pacific Media Forum’s vision of shared prosperity through media consensus and action.