ASEAN Participants Visit China's Anhui Province for Media and Digital Industry Exchange

Participants from ASEAN countries, including Cambodia, and other developing nations, engaged in a significant experience exchange and educational tour in Hefei, Anhui Province, China, focusing on new media and internet audio-visual industries. The program, sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, was themed 'New Media Capacity Building to Promote High-Quality Industrial Development for ASEAN Countries.' The meeting specifically highlighted 'Building New Media Capacity for Female Media Officials' and 'Promoting High-Quality Industrial Development.' Mr. Chen Ping, President of the Anhui Online Audio-Visual Association, emphasized Anhui Province's long history and rich culture, noting its seven national historical and cultural cities, three UNESCO World Heritage sites, and seven UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage items, alongside 99 national intangible cultural heritage items and numerous folk arts like Huangmei opera. Beyond its ancient culture, Mr. Chen stated that Anhui Province has also made rapid strides in the digital economy. Currently, the province's online audio-visual media industry comprises over 2,000 companies, employing more than 50,000 people and serving over 45 million users. This aligns with the national trend, where the sector across China has approximately 1.099 billion users and a market size exceeding 1.28 trillion yuan. During the visit, delegates also toured the Ziyunshan (Baohe) Cultural and Innovation Industrial Park, a key national experimental center in China for the integration of culture and technology, as well as radio, television, and film technology innovation. This 79-square-kilometer park, inaugurated in March 2025, now hosts over 8,000 cultural and digital enterprises. In just over a year since its launch, these enterprises have generated a total revenue of 65.5 billion yuan (an increase of over 22% compared to the previous year), with a target to push the industry's scale to over 100 billion yuan by 2027. Mr. Chen further asserted that geographical distance notwithstanding, cooperation and joint efforts will serve as a bridge connecting Anhui Province with the world. He expressed expectations that this exchange and educational tour would mark the beginning of closer cooperation among relevant parties, further advancing the media and digital industries. Source: AKP Khmer