The awards ceremony of the fourth Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Short Video Competition was held online on Dec. 28. It was livestreamed and featured a metaverse venue where participants joined the event in digital form.

The competition was organized by the China Public Diplomacy Association, News Center of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, Global Times Online (Huanqiu.com), Cyberspace Administration of Jiangsu Province, co-organized by Cyberspace Administration of Wuxi Municipality, Wuxi Foreign Affairs Office, Cyberspace Administration of Wuxi’s Xishan District and assisted by Hodo Group. 

Voting system of the short video competition was exclusively offered by Kuaishou, and the competition also partnered StarTimes and Inmyshow Digital.

A series of awards were issued at the ceremony, including the Integration of Civilizations Award, Popularity Award, Voice of the Generation Z Award, Public Benefit Activity Award and Most Beautiful BRI Co-builders Award. 

Some participants watched award-winning short videos at the ceremony in person, while some visited the event’s metaverse venue or joined it via livestreaming.

In the metaverse venue of the awards ceremony, a digital collectible was launched, which reflects the vision of Belt and Road countries to further deepen their friendship and people-to-people bond.

Zhang Yong, who’s in charge of the Cyber Communication Bureau of the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, said at the ceremony that the BRI, as a vivid practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind, connects China’s development with that of other developing countries and provides a new channel for promoting connectivity and cross-regional cooperation among participating countries. 

Luo Linquan, vice president of the China Public Diplomacy Association, said the China-proposed BRI creates opportunities for the entire world, and projects under the initiative have not only facilitated local communities, but also created win-win results for BRI countries and promoted mutual learning among civilizations.

Ma Zheming, deputy director of the News Center of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, noted that a series of infrastructure projects have been built overseas by Chinese enterprises in accordance with Chinese standards over the past nine years under the initiative, and the stories about them are a bridge of cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.

Li Qiufeng, member of the standing committee of the CPC Wuxi Municipal Committee, said Wuxi is committed to integrating itself into the BRI construction so as to build “a Wuxi of the world.” It will further enhance its efforts in transport connectivity, international capacity cooperation as well as trade, economic and cultural exchanges, to expand its opening up both extensively and intensively, Li added.

With an increasing appeal, the competition enjoys a high international reputation and influence. It is a witness to the development and achievements of the BRI in the past nine years. 

The entries submitted to the competition showcase the new development opportunities brought about by the Belt and Road cooperation and tell splendid stories of people-to-people bond and the same future shared by the world.

Since it was kicked off in 2019, the competition has constantly expanded its “circle of friends.” The fourth Belt and Road Initiative Short Video Competition, which officially started on March 24 this year, solicited over 1,000 entries from nearly 100 countries and regions. They have gained a total of a billion views globally, and 100 million of them came from overseas.

These videos demonstrate how BRI projects have stimulated local economy, what changes these projects have brought to local communities and how China and other BRI countries are closely connected by the initiative. They also mirrored China’s practical assistance for other developing countries, as well as the profound friendship between Chinese cities and specific Belt and Road countries.

Apart from a China competition zone, the fourth Belt and Road Initiative Short Video Competition set three sub-divisions in Argentina, the Philippines and Cambodia, and all of them were welcomed by local communities.