Li Senhe, CEO of Zaker. [Photo provided to China Daily by Feng Yongbin]

"New media sector will faces more opportunities and challenges in implementing the 'One Belt One Road' initiative and the 'Internet Plus' strategy," said Li Senhe, CEO of Zaker, at the 15th Forum on Internet Media of China being held in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, on Friday.

Zaker is a domestic mobile news application that provides customized news to its users.

As one of the major players in the space of curated information, Zaker was established in December 2010 and has since developed its service on the various mobile platforms, such as iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

The forum, which is led by the Cyberspace Administration of China, provides guidance on what kind of roles media convergence and technological innovations can play in the context of the new situation and new normal, and how Internet media can better help boost the Belt and Road Initiative, turning a new page to take part in building the "One Belt, One Road".

Since 2013, the CPC Central Committee, led by general secretary Xi Jinping, has put forward strategic blueprints, including the Belt and Road Initiative and the "Internet Plus" strategy.

Zhanjiang, the host city of the forum, was a starting point of one of ancient China's earliest maritime trading routes, during the Han Dynasty (206 BC -- AD 220). It is now one of the 15 pivotal cities in the Belt and Road Initiative -- a reference to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives, transport infrastructure projects linking Asia and Europe, proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013.

Li is one of the speakers of the sub-forums, and here we present an exclusive interview with him.

Q: How do you see the future of new media development in implementing the "One Belt, One Road" and "Internet Plus" initiatives?

Li: First of all, the "Internet Plus" strategy has become a top-down design and will receive more policy support from the government, to promote the development of the new media sector. For Zaker, we will be guided by the policies to a healthy development.

Second, the "One Belt, One Road" initiative is one of nation's development strategy for enhancing the cooperation between China and relevant countries. It will provide more cross-border opportunities for both sides' enterprises. New media platforms like Zaker, which have millions of online users, will have the ability to go abroad for cultural exchanges and communications and prepare for business expansion in overseas market.

Third, the fusion of new media and traditional media, in which the traditional media provides content and new media offers technologies, will bring more capital profits and opportunities for both sides as they have complementary advantages.

Fourth, more capital investment will be seen in the new media sector as the development goes further and good products and content will be recognized by the market. More business models have been created in the sector.

Q: What are the opportunities that the initiatives bring to your company? 




L: The "Internet Plus" has become an assistance power for the transformation and upgrade of traditional enterprises. Thanks to the Internet technology, it reduces cost and raises productive efficiency. In addition to the support, accompanied with the rapid growth of Big Data usage, enterprises have become more comprehensible about their target customers.

The combination of traditional media and new media will speed up the transformation of media sector and the upgrade will not only be shown at the capital level, but also includes technology improvement and copyright cooperation.

Q: What are the problems that have to be taken into consideration in the sector?

So far, different kinds of news APPs are seen boosting growth in the market, while the entire industry is getting homogenous. If the service providers cannot find out their key readers, it will be a great challenge for their business.