The 5th World Media Summit (WMS) has kicked off in Guangzhou, China.

The 5th WMS has gathered over 450 participants from 101 countries and regions, including representatives of 197 mainstream media outlets, think tanks, government agencies and diplomatic missions to China, and UN agencies and international organizations.

Azerbaijan is represented by Executive Director of the Media Development Agency Ahmad Ismayilov, Chairman of the AZERTAC Board Vugar Aliyev, Head of the Section on Foreign Media Affairs of the Department for Work with NGOs and Communication of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Orkhan Sattarov.

Themed "Boosting Global Confidence, Promoting Media Development," the summit will address topics including bolstering media confidence, coping with opportunities and challenges presented by new technologies, exploring new markets in the digital age, and striving for a shared future in global media cooperation.

Speakers included Hu Heping, Executive Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party, Wang Weizhong, governor of Guangdong province, Fu Hua, President of Xinhua News Agency, Sue Brooks, Reuters Managing Director, First Deputy Director General of TASS agency Mikhail Gusman. Speeches mainly centered around active news exchange, application of artificial intelligence, challenges facing journalism etc.

The summit will run until December 8 with plenary and panel sessions.

Co-initiated by a collection of media organizations with global influence -- including Xinhua News Agency, the Associated Press, Reuters, TASS Russian News Agency, the first summit, organized by Xinhua, was held in Beijing in 2009.

With Moscow hosting the second in 2012, followed by the third in Doha, Qatar, in 2016, and Beijing in 2021 for the fourth summit via video link, the World Media Summit has demonstrated its commitment to inclusivity and a diverse representation of global media perspectives.