Changing preconceptions

Players from Vici Gaming, a professional Chinese e-sports organization founded in 2012, warm up before a game with Russian team Jekabasher in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on Tuesday. [Photo by Du Lianyi/China Daily]

Young people stole the limelight at the second China-Russia New Media Forum held in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Tuesday.

E-sports games were apparently a highlight of the forum. Seven Chinese players from Vici Gaming, a professional Chinese e-sports organization founded in 2012 in Shanghai, competed with the Russian team Jekabasher in games of Dota 2 and FIFA 2017.

Ma Xiao, 21, the leader of the Chinese team who competed in Dota 2, said the game enhances communication between players from different countries.

"China is a top country in e-sports while Russia represents a rising new power in the field. Both Chinese and Russian people have accomplished great achievements in Dota 2. And we hope to learn more from each other. The higher the level of competition, the better the contest will we be for e-sports lovers."

Ma added: "For instance, the sharp observation of details and effective teamwork are strong points we could learn from Russian peers."

"E-sports has a big following in China and is expected to further expand Chinese market," said Chinese player Deng Zhuopei.

Members of Russian team Jekabasher cheer each other before a Dota 2 game with a Chinese team. The final result was 1:1. [Photo/China Daily]

Deng has been playing the FIFA series for 16 years. In addition to a stable high income and rising fame, he enjoys representing China in e-sports and competing with others on the international stage.

"My success in e-sports has attracted many young people to follow suit. Some of them have transformed themselves from amateur e-sports lovers into professional players like me."

Russian e-sports player Sergey Bontarenko, 21, expressed his appreciation for Chinese players.

"It is my first time to play Dota 2 competition with Chinese players. Some of them are born to be e-sports players and the skills they have utilized in gaming really impresses me," he said.

"As the e-sports industry has been gaining momentum in recent years, more and more competitions take place worldwide. I cherish every chance to play with and learn from other countries' players, and I dream of being a top-class e-sports player one day," he added.

In 2003, electronic gaming was recognized as China's 99th athletic event by the General Administration of Sport of China, and the Olympic Council of Asia announced in April that it will include e-sports as an official medal event at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

"E-sports play a significant role in enriching the traditional sporting culture and are bound to win over more young fans if standard rules are applied," said Ding Dong, director of the Sport Information Center of General Administration of Sport of China.

To coincide with the forum, five Chinese college students were selected from more than 20 universities nationwide to participate in an eight-day media innovation camp to discuss the new trends, new media and new technology with five Russian students.

They also produce a video clip on the Don River and its culture.

"The process of making a video is tiring, but interesting. I managed to gain much hands-on experience and also came to understand more about the hardships of working in the media," said Lan Juxin, a student from the Communication University of China.

Dubover Denis Anatolievich, head of the Department of Media Management and Production of the Don State Technical University, was the instructor at the camp.

According to him, what impressed him most was that the students of different nationalities could successfully find a common language thanks to their creativity and curiosity to learn new things.

"New media technology is one of the most useful channels to bring young people closer. And I have talked with many of the camp students and they told me that after jointly making the video, it altered the preconceptions they had of another," Anatolievich said.

"It is important for young media people to strengthen their communication and exchange ideas with each other," said Zhou He, deputy editor-in-chief of People.cn.