Chongqing—At the 2026 Yangtze River Civilization Forum in Chongqing, Thiago Tanji, Second Vice-President of the National Federation of Journalists of Brazil (FENAJ), calls for deeper media cooperation between Brazil and China to protect shared river heritage and promote sustainable development.

"The Yangtze and the Amazon are not only natural resources that may need to be protected, but they are paths for the future of humanity," said Tanji.

A River That Built a Civilization

Reflecting on his journey along the Yangtze, Tanji described the experience as both a privilege and a revelation. "As a journalist and as a Brazilian, for me it is a great privilege to be here, navigating through the waters of the Yangtze River," he said. "It's amazing how a society with thousands of years has been built, and how a natural resource like the Yangtze River has a central role in building this civilization."

Traveling along the river and visiting its cities, Tanji said, made clear that the Yangtze has been the backbone of Chinese civilization. But he stressed that the river's significance extends far beyond its landscape. "We are not talking only about a very beautiful landscape, although there is a very beautiful landscape of the Yangtze River, but I think the truly important thing is the human resource," he said. "The Yangtze is made by humans. I think this is the most amazing thing that we can learn."

He noted that the Yangtze River "is not only about the past, but about the present and the future," with the river, its cities, and its civilization "looking for a future with development but also with sustainability."

Two Rivers, One Mission

Drawing a direct parallel between the Yangtze and the Amazon, Tanji said the two rivers share the same essential meaning despite their geographic distance. "They have the same sense," he said. He emphasized that awareness of protecting these natural treasures must go hand in hand with social development. "We strongly have the awareness that we have to protect this treasure for us, but also to think about social development for the populations that live in these regions."

A concrete example, he said, lies in species protection and fishing practices. In Brazil, the pirarucu, a large fish species in the Amazon, is subject to seasonal fishing bans to allow it to reproduce. "It is a fundamental law that is needed to sustain these species," Tanji said, describing it as a model of how "we can learn from each other to understand how it is possible to think about these futures."

He noted that the Yangtze, "in past years, has truly had a rebirth as a natural resource," and that while the Amazon context differs, "the Yangtze has special lessons for us."

The Strategic Role of Journalism

Tanji underscored journalists' responsibility to bridge civilizational divides and share realities across borders. "As journalists, we have to understand reality; we have to share this reality with our public," he said. He praised the strategic role of Chinese communication professionals in discussing sustainable development and the Yangtze's central role in today's reality, calling it "an important thing to do as journalists."

He expressed pride in collaborating with the Western China International Communication Organization (WCICO) on a documentary about the Yangtze and the Amazon. "I think it is a first step," he said. "But I think we can do more." He proposed developing permanent exchange programs, joint news projects, and international training initiatives, adding that "our organizations can work together."

At the forum, the WCICO presented the "When the Yangtze Meets the Amazon" initiative, an extension of the 2025 China-Egypt dialogue that produced When the Yangtze Meets the Nile. The new initiative includes a co-produced documentary titled Rivers in Harmony.

A Shared Horizon

Tanji noted that Brazil is a relatively young country compared to China's millennia-old civilization. "The word 'Brazil' has been known for about 500 years, and we are talking here in the Yangtze about a reality of 5,000 years," he said. This contrast, he suggested, makes exchange all the more valuable. "We have a strong opportunity to know the places, to share our thoughts with people of different cities, different experiences."

His message at the forum was unequivocal: the Yangtze and the Amazon are living pathways of civilization, development, and sustainability, and they offer a shared horizon for humanity's future.