Speakers and top officials meet during the China-ASEAN Information Harbor Network-Based Cultural Development Forum in Nanning on Sept 18. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Cultural exchanges in the digital age, both online and offline, are set to speed up expansion between China and ASEAN members, according to forum participants in Nanning.

As the region innovates new channels for political and economic cooperation to sustain development amid global uncertainties, more people-to-people exchanges in culture, tourism, science and education will facilitate mutual understanding and trust among people, said Chen Lisheng, president of the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences.

The Silk Road itself has served as a road for exchanges of different cultures and civilizations for centuries, he noted at the 11th China-ASEAN Think Tank Strategic Dialogue Forum on Sept 18.

"A social and cultural community is one of the three major pillars for ASEAN and China, he told the forum in the capital of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. By building such a community, the region will eventually realize people-based strategic design that leads to happiness.

Internet culture drew attention in Nanning at a variety of forums between Sept 11 and Sept 19. Fan Weiping, deputy director of the State Administration of Radio and Television, said earlier that the region will embrace better development opportunities and broader space for cooperation.

At the China-ASEAN Information Harbor Network-Based Cultural Development Forum in Nanning, Fan put forward three proposals: to jointly promote the prosperity and development of internet culture, to promote the construction of international governance systems for internet audiovisual materials, and to conduct cooperation in the internet information technology and industry.

In recent years the State Administration of Radio and Television has attached great importance to the development of the internet audiovisual culture and industry, strengthening the construction of information infrastructure, supporting the creation of internet audiovisual content, and standardizing the order of internet audiovisual communication.

Savankhone Razmountry, vice-minister of the Press, Culture and Tourism Ministry of Laos, said today's young people, who have unfettered access to information through smartphones, have become the majority of users in this technological innovation era. "In the next few years, one of Laos' core strategic goals will be to popularize its culture, tourism and media communication through the internet," he said at the forum on Sept 13.

This forum, where 15 Chinese and foreign guests delivered speeches, explored the paths and methods of exchanges and cooperation of China-ASEAN internet culture around key areas, such as internet animation, internet games, internet audiovisual materials and internet literature.