The 2017 Media Forum on Belt and Road Initiative kicked off in the Chinese city of Dunhuang, a key transit point in the ancient Silk Road, on Tuesday. Representatives of media outlets and think tanks from 126 countries including Nepal are participating in one of the largest regular international media forums.

Hosted by the People’s Daily, the event is attended by the representatives of over 300 media outlets and think tanks across the globe.

The forum has been held for three times since 2014. Last year, the forum attracted participants from 212 mainstream media outlets from 101 countries. The event is meant to push forward the positive role of media in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative.

This year’s media forum is an event held under the spirit of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in May.

Delivering a keynote speech, Yang Zhenwu, president of the People’s Daily, said a centre to strengthen cooperation among domestic and international media on the Belt and Road will be established by the People’s Daily.

Addressing the forum, Robin Li, co-founder and CEO of Baidu, said young people now access and exchange more videos than any time before. “It is time for the traditional media to adapt themselves.”

Li is one of the pioneers and leading figures in China’s Internet industry. Since founding the company in January 2000, Robin has led Baidu to be China’s largest search engine, with over 70 percent market share. Baidu is the largest Chinese search engine globally and the second largest independent search engine in the world.