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Europe-China Media Exchange Tour

Pilot Project: 'Inside China Today'

24 - 28 October 2011
Chengdu, China

At the invitation of the municipal government of Chengdu, the inaugural Europe-China Media Exchange Tour, entitled ‘Inside China Today’, was held in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, from 24-29 October 2011. ISD took 12 senior journalists from the UK, Germany and France to work with a group of eminent Chinese journalists.

The tour was designed in two parts. During two ‘immersion days’ participants worked in mixed Chinese- European groups researching articles by interviewing relevant individuals and visiting sites in and around Chengdu, a city that constitutes a fast-growing metropolis in western China and its most important commercial centre. This was followed by a two-day symposium, where participants  discussed their experiences from the immersion days, and compared their working methods, research results and how this experience influenced their view on pertinent issues and the wider Chinese region. This led onto a discussion on the role and influence of the media in relations between Europe and China.

A series of dinner and lunch meetings gave participants the opportunity to meet more intimately with a variety of significant figures from both the public and private sectors in Sichuan Province. On the final day of the meeting a separate workshop, led by an experienced UK journalism trainer, was organised for a separately-invited group of young Chinese journalists.

This project was supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation.

Participants reflected on a a variety of topics upon their return. Click the following links to read their articles:

Anne McElvoy, The Economist

Anne McElvoy, The London Evening Standard

Martin Ivens, The Sunday Times (paywall)

Kathryn Hopkins, The Times (paywall)

Kathryn Hopkins, The Australian (reprint) (paywall)

Paul Webster, The Observer

Ulli Kulke, Die Welt

Ulli Kulke, Die Welt (2)

Werner Girgert, Berliner Zeitung