Belt and Road News Network (BRNN) was launched as a response to the proposal of “building a news network” by Chinese President Xi Jinping on the occasion of the 1st Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation in 2017, which has won positive response from media organizations worldwide, especially among those along the belt and road route.

On April 23, 2019, the First Council Meeting of BRNN was held, marking the substantial progress and the start of institutional work of the organization. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to the meeting. The first council meeting deliberated and voted to pass BRNN basic documents, including the BRNN Charter, the Council’s Rules of Procedure and the Annual Work Plan (2019-2020). The website and mobile application of BRNN were launched on the occasion.

The first council was composed of 40 media organizations from 25 countries and People’s Daily assumed the chair, responsible for convening council meetings, coordinating and supervising major issues. The Secretariat of BRNN is based in People’s Daily, responsible for everyday operation and council decision execution.

Since its inception, BRNN has been following a Silk Road spirit featuring peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit with policy coordination, connectivity of infrastructure, unimpeded trade, financial integration and closer people-to-people ties as its main goals and made efforts as follows: 1) launch the multilingual BRNN website and mobile application platform; 2) carry out various activities such as the BRNN media workshops, forums, meetings and joint reporting trips; 3) launch the Silk Road Global News Awards(SRGNA); 4) promote MoUs between members to enhance news cooperation and collaboration; 5) launch news aggregation and distribution service; 6) release an open letter Together We Fight the War of Pandemic, Together We Build the Silk Road of Health in six languages when the pandemic was raging.

On December 19, 2022, the Second Council Meeting of BRNN was held in Beijing. Li Shulei, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, delivered a speech at the meeting via video link. Representatives of 38 council members from 23 countries took part in the meeting online or offline. People’s Daily, as the BRNN council chair, delivered a report on the work of the first BRNN council. The meeting passed the amended Council’s Rules of Procedure, and agreed to add new members to the second Council. Representatives discussed and made suggestions on how to give better play to BRNN and better promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges. The second council of BRNN is composed of 42 media organizations from 27 countries.

The final evaluation of the first SRGNA was held on the meeting, following the first round of evaluation by academic committees and reevaluation by the judging committee. Among 4,485 entries collected from 80 countries and regions, 19 won the awards of five categories including the news report Kazakhstan Belt and Road Initiative: The Road to Somewhere. Mushahid Hussain Syed, head of Pakistan’s Friends of Silk Road Club and chairman of the Pakistan-China Institute, was given the Special Contribution Award. SRGNA has won recognition from BRNN members for its professionalism and authority.

In April 2024, the 2nd Silk Road Global News Awards began its call for submissions. The awards comprise four categories: Best Reporting, Best Photography, Best Video, and Best Innovation.

On Aug. 29, 2024, the third council meeting of the Belt and Road News Network took place in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. Representatives of 30 council members from 16 countries attended the meeting. During the meeting, the council announced its updated list of members, with a new total of 41 media organizations from 26 countries. Representatives from the council members engaged in in-depth discussions on how to better leverage the role of the network and promote mutual understanding and people-to-people exchanges among countries.

Through the joint efforts of all parties involved, the network's influence and cohesion have continued to grow, making it an important media cooperation platform under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. As of July 2025, 300 media organizations from 111 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, North America, and Oceania have joined the network.