On December 15, the China·Yunnan English-language news page jointly published by Yunnan Daily Press Group (YDPG) and Thailand’s The Nation newspaper was launched in Bangkok, Thailand. It marks a new step in cooperative effort between YDPG and Thai mainstream media.

According to a cooperation agreement signed between YDPG and The Nation of Thailand, China·Yunnan will be published twice every month (in the first and third weeks) as an English-language news page in the Thai newspaper.

The news page aims to help Thai people of all circles better understand Yunnan. It will provide them with information on investment and business opportunities and tourism in Yunnan, thus promoting economic and social development in both Thailand and Yunnan.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, Tian Jing, deputy editor-in-chief of YDPG, said an estimated 500,000 Thais visit Yunnan each year, while 900,000 Yunnan people travel to Thailand. Building on the print agreement, the two media outlets plan to establish a cooperative " New Media Alliance " — focusing on digital content — while also opening offices in Bangkok and Kunming.

The New Media Alliance will assemble influential new media and new media groups from both China (Yunnan) and Thailand. Built on the principles of “equality, friendliness, mutual benefit and win-win,” its member press entities will take the lead in sharing news and information within the Alliance, provide links to each other’s websites and spread each other’s important information and commercial advertisements.

For YDPG, the collaboration is also an opportunity to promote Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative. Southeast Asia is an important cog in the Initiative to increase China’s cooperation with other countries across Asia, while also more closely linking the country to Europe and Africa. One goal of the initiative specifically related to Thailand is completion of the long-planned Kunming-Thailand Railway.                        

YDPG was originally founded in 2001. It has established partnerships in the US, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Cambodia since 1995 and now owns 10 overseas news pages. As a subsidiary of Thailand’s Nation Multimedia Group, Nation News Network Company is the publisher of the English-language daily newspaper The Nation. Nation Multimedia Group is the largest integrated media group in Thailand. The Nation has been acting as an independent press operator for 46 years and represents the benchmark of Thai and regional journalism.