Qiu Yuanping, director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, addresses the Ninth Forum on the Global Chinese Language Media, Sept. 10, 2017. (Photo: China News Service/Zhang Bin)

(ECNS) -- Qiu Yuanping, director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, has called on Chinese language media around the world to play an active role in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Qiu made the statement at the opening ceremony of the Ninth Forum on the Global Chinese Language Media, held in Fuzhou City, capital of East China's Fujian Province, on Sunday.

She called for overseas Chinese media to advocate for and spread the spirit of the Belt and Road Initiative, China's proposal to build a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in cooperation with related countries.

She said overseas Chinese media could promote the information sharing, policy discussions, cultural integration, and exchange of people between China and other countries in the initiative.

Overseas Chinese media outlets also had a part to play in helping disseminate information, building interconnectedness between China and other countries, assisting overseas Chinese spiritually, and creating a favorable international opinion of China, according to Qiu.

"You are the participant, witness and recorder of this great age," Qiu told the attendants.

Representatives from 430 Chinese media outlets based in more than 60 countries and regions attended the forum. The theme focused on the opportunities and challenges overseas Chinese media face in regard to the country's Belt and Road Initiative, media innovation, and cultural confidence.

In her speech, Qiu also announced other measures to improve information and resource-sharing among overseas Chinese media, including the inclusion of 100 media outlets in an app serving overseas Chinese.