The inaugural event of Vision China, a series of talks organized by China Daily, was held at the University of International Business and Economics on the evening of Jan 22.

US specialist on China Robert Lawrence Kuhn, China Daily writer Andrew Moody and China Global Television Network host Liu Xin shared their thoughts on China’s new era with an audience of more than 500 from home and abroad.

Also present at the event were Guo Weimin, vice-minister of the Information Office of the State Council; Zhou Shuchun, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily; Jiang Qingzhe, Party chief of the UIBE; Zhao Jianguo, head of the international communication bureau of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee; and Zhang Jianmin, head of the translation and interpretation department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; as well as some embassy officials. The event’s theme was “New era through my eyes”, and it was broadcast by China Daily on the internet.

“Vision China is an innovative approach by China Daily to tell China’s stories to the world and make China’s voice better heard,” Guo Weimin said. “It’s a new action to show China’s new look in the new era.”

Zhou said in his opening speech that China Daily organized the event to salute, embrace, expound on and communicate China’s new era. He said the national English newspaper of China will always keep a watchful eye on key issues in the development of China and the world.

“We’re committed to exploring the global significance of Chinese stories, sharing with the world China’s experience, wisdom and solutions to push forward the common development of the whole world,” Zhou said.

Kuhn, who has studied China for nearly 30 years, said that China’s new era is full of changes, opportunities and challenges, and under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has set the trajectory, in all vital areas, of the country’s domestic development and international engagement for the next 30-plus years, to midcentury.

“When future historians reconstruct the long history of China, they will likely circle our years as an epochal period of transition and transformation,” Kuhn said.

Moody discussed his understanding of the new era’s influence in the echoes he hears from other countries. “China’s entering into a new era could be a momentous turning point in world history. … China’s new era is a new and confident China striding forward into a world that it itself would play a large part in shaping,” Moody said.

Liu shared her work experience and talked about a reporter’s mission in the new era. China’s entering into the new era proves the validity and rationality of its development path, showing its confidence in its path, theories, institutions and culture. It consolidates reporters’ confidence in telling fantastic Chinese stories based on China’s successful practices, she said.

Jiang said after the event that the three speakers showed different angles and perspectives on the same topic, which is a meaningful way to help college students better understand China and the world in the new era.

The Vision China talks will continue focusing on Chinese topics that have global significance and invite distinguished speakers for speeches and interaction with audiences, according to its organizers.