Chinese President Hu Jintao said Friday that the world media should respect each other and carry out exchanges on an equal footing.

Hu made the remarks while delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Media Summit, which gathered about 300 representatives from more than 170 media outlets from around the world.

"The media should uphold the ideas of equality, mutual trust, mutual benefit and common development, and better facilitate exchanges and cooperation," he said.

He said the media around the world, regardless of the cultural background, abilities and size, should respect and trust each other, treat others as equals, seek common grounds while shelving differences, and learn from each other through exchanges.

He said the world's media should fully consider each other's practical situations, respond to each other's appeals through consultation, take into account each other's interests, keep a balance between competition and cooperation, and strive to be mutually complementary, helpful and beneficial.

"They should share successful experiences, create a favorable environment for development, work together to cope with challenges and seek common development," he said.