\n",
+ "title": "001FRONT - SCO to chart course for a shared future",
+ "description": "
PRESIDENT XI JINPING TO ATTEND SCO TIANJIN SUMMIT
\n
Addressing security challenges more effectively and enhancing financial mechanisms will be on the agenda at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2025, as SCO countries seek to strengthen unity, shore up multilateralism and better speak for the Global South nations, observers said.
\n
The summit, which is scheduled for Sunday and Monday in the port city of Tianjin, will bring together President Xi Jinping with more than 20 foreign leaders and 10 heads of international organizations.
\n
Xi will chair the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO and the "SCO Plus" Meeting and deliver keynote speeches.
\n
The event marks the fifth time China has hosted an SCO summit and it will be the largest gathering since the organization's founding.
\n
In a signed article published in People's Daily on Saturday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the SCO "has held 110 important events" since China took over the rotating presidency in July last year.
\n
China seeks to enhance collaboration to build upon the Shanghai Spirit, bolster security, catalyze growth, practice multilateralism and strengthen the development of the SCO, Wang noted. He said that the country is confident that the upcoming summit will be "a great event of friendship, solidarity and fruitful outcomes".
\n
Through the summit, Beijing aims to help the SCO "enter a new stage of high-quality development characterized by greater solidarity, coordination, dynamism and productivity, and to make a greater contribution to building a community with a shared future for humanity", said Wang.
\n
Since its inception in Shanghai 24 years ago, the SCO has grown from its six founding members into a 26-nation family spanning Asia, Europe and Africa — comprising 10 member states, two observer states and 14 dialogue partners. It is now the world's largest regional international organization in terms of both geographical area and population.
\n
Yasiru Ranaraja, founding director of the Belt and Road Initiative Sri Lanka, said that the SCO has become a platform for Global South countries to work together.
\n
"It is very important for the Global South nations to advance the SCO, actively participate in its affairs and further develop it into a more functional organization," Ranaraja said.
\n
At the upcoming Tianjin Summit, leaders of the SCO member states will jointly sign and issue a declaration, approve a development strategy of the SCO for the next 10 years, issue statements marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War II and the 80th founding anniversary of the United Nations and adopt a series of outcome documents on strengthening security, economic, people-to-people and cultural cooperation.
\n
Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in a written interview with Russia Today earlier this month that promoting the establishment of financing support mechanisms, such as the SCO Development Bank, will be among the agenda items.
\n
Sun Zhuangzhi, director of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that the SCO's areas of cooperation encompass several highly promising fields, including digitalization, the green economy and sectors driven by artificial intelligence.
\n
"The organization successfully created a platform that engages more participants and market entities, enhances their interaction and taps into the strengths of the member states," Sun said.
\n
"The SCO embodies the future trajectory of economic growth and technological innovation," he added.
\n
zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
PRESIDENT XI JINPING TO ATTEND SCO TIANJIN SUMMIT
\n
Addressing security challenges more effectively and enhancing financial mechanisms will be on the agenda at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2025, as SCO countries seek to strengthen unity, shore up multilateralism and better speak for the Global South nations, observers said.
\n
The summit, which is scheduled for Sunday and Monday in the port city of Tianjin, will bring together President Xi Jinping with more than 20 foreign leaders and 10 heads of international organizations.
\n
Xi will chair the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO and the "SCO Plus" Meeting and deliver keynote speeches.
\n
The event marks the fifth time China has hosted an SCO summit and it will be the largest gathering since the organization's founding.
\n
In a signed article published in People's Daily on Saturday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the SCO "has held 110 important events" since China took over the rotating presidency in July last year.
\n
China seeks to enhance collaboration to build upon the Shanghai Spirit, bolster security, catalyze growth, practice multilateralism and strengthen the development of the SCO, Wang noted. He said that the country is confident that the upcoming summit will be "a great event of friendship, solidarity and fruitful outcomes".
\n
Through the summit, Beijing aims to help the SCO "enter a new stage of high-quality development characterized by greater solidarity, coordination, dynamism and productivity, and to make a greater contribution to building a community with a shared future for humanity", said Wang.
\n
Since its inception in Shanghai 24 years ago, the SCO has grown from its six founding members into a 26-nation family spanning Asia, Europe and Africa — comprising 10 member states, two observer states and 14 dialogue partners. It is now the world's largest regional international organization in terms of both geographical area and population.
\n
Yasiru Ranaraja, founding director of the Belt and Road Initiative Sri Lanka, said that the SCO has become a platform for Global South countries to work together.
\n
"It is very important for the Global South nations to advance the SCO, actively participate in its affairs and further develop it into a more functional organization," Ranaraja said.
\n
At the upcoming Tianjin Summit, leaders of the SCO member states will jointly sign and issue a declaration, approve a development strategy of the SCO for the next 10 years, issue statements marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War II and the 80th founding anniversary of the United Nations and adopt a series of outcome documents on strengthening security, economic, people-to-people and cultural cooperation.
\n
Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in a written interview with Russia Today earlier this month that promoting the establishment of financing support mechanisms, such as the SCO Development Bank, will be among the agenda items.
\n
Sun Zhuangzhi, director of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that the SCO's areas of cooperation encompass several highly promising fields, including digitalization, the green economy and sectors driven by artificial intelligence.
\n
"The organization successfully created a platform that engages more participants and market entities, enhances their interaction and taps into the strengths of the member states," Sun said.
\n
"The SCO embodies the future trajectory of economic growth and technological innovation," he added.
President Xi Jinping called on Saturday for China and Myanmar to deepen strategic communication and step up efforts to build a community with a shared future.
\n
Xi made the remarks during a meeting with Min Aung Hlaing, acting president of Myanmar.
\n
Xi highlighted Myanmar's role as part of the eastern theater of the World Anti-Fascist War and its status as a key dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, saying that the pauk-phaw friendship (pauk-phaw means fraternal in the language of Myanmar) between China and Myanmar is deeply rooted in the people of both countries and remains ever-fresh over time.
\n
Emphasizing the importance of advancing key projects within the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, Xi called for joint efforts to combat cross-border crimes and maintain peace and stability along the China-Myanmar border. It is important to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals, institutions and projects in Myanmar, he said.
\n
Min Aung Hlaing said that China is Myanmar's good neighbor, which has long supported the country's economic and social development, assisted in its post-disaster recovery and plays a constructive role in maintaining stability in northern Myanmar.
\n
CAO DESHENG
\n
President Xi Jinping said on Saturday that regardless of changes in the international landscape, China and Kazakhstan should remain committed to good-neighborliness, open cooperation for win-win results and joint construction of a community with a shared future, and support each other on their own core interests and major concerns.
\n
Xi made the remarks during a meeting in Tianjin with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
\n
Noting that China and Kazakhstan are strategic partners who can trust and rely on each other, Xi called on both countries to consolidate and expand all-around cooperation to elevate bilateral ties to new heights.
\n
He also called for joint efforts to deepen multilateral coordination, strengthen the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and uphold the international system with the United Nations at the core for a fairer and more equitable international order.
\n
Highlighting the unprecedented level of Kazakhstan-China relations, Tokayev noted the record-high trade volume between the two countries last year and the smooth progress of major cooperation projects.
\n
He expressed Kazakhstan's willingness to continue deepening practical cooperation with China, enhance exchanges and elevate bilateral relations to a higher level.
\n
CAO DESHENG
\n
President Xi Jinping on Saturday called on China and Egypt to promote greater development of bilateral ties and make more contributions to global peace, stability and prosperity, when meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
\n
Noting that Egypt was the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, Xi said the China-Egypt relationship is currently at its best in history.
\n
As the two countries will celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, Xi said both sides should seize this opportunity to advance bilateral ties toward building a China-Egypt community with a shared future in the new era, and inject new momentum into China's relations with Arab and African countries. Xi also highlighted the need for China and Egypt to be close friends in multilateral collaboration, upholding responsibilities of both as major countries of the Global South.
\n
Madbouly said that Egypt values its relationship with China, firmly adheres to the one-China principle, and is willing to strengthen high-level exchanges and expand trade and investment. He also expressed Egypt's commitment to strengthening coordination and cooperation with China in international and regional affairs.
\n
MO JINGXI
\n
President Xi Jinping called on China and Cambodia on Saturday to follow the path of friendship, stand in close unity, and expand cooperation in order to enhance the well-being of the two peoples.
\n
Xi made the remarks when meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet in Tianjin.
\n
China supports Cambodia in safeguarding stability, upholding independence and achieving development and revitalization, Xi said.
\n
The two sides should take resolute measures to crack down on cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud, and safeguard people's safety and property, he stressed.
\n
Calling the Southeast Asian country an ironclad friend, Xi said that the two sides should firmly follow the path of friendship charted by the older generation of leaders of both countries and contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
\n
Hun Manet said that no matter how the international situation changes, Cambodia is committed to friendly policies toward China, upholds the one-China principle and supports the three major global initiatives proposed by China. Cambodia looks forward to working together with China to support each other on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns, he said.
\n
ZHOU JIN
\n
President Xi Jinping said China is ready to work with Nepal to continue the traditional friendship, and promote greater development of the strategic partnership of cooperation featuring everlasting friendship for development and prosperity between the two sides.
\n
Xi made the remarks on Saturday when meeting with Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
\n
This year marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Nepal. Xi said that over the past seven decades, the two peoples have stood together through thick and thin, writing a history of good-neighborliness and friendship.
\n
He called on the two sides to strengthen strategic mutual trust, firmly support each other on issues related to core interests and major concerns, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and jointly advance the Belt and Road cooperation.
\n
Oli said that Nepal-China relations have withstood numerous challenges and have only grown stronger over time. Cooperation with China has significantly contributed to the country's economic and social development, he said.
\n
He also expressed Nepal's commitment to jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthening cooperation with China across various sectors for more positive outcomes.
\n
MO JINGXI
\n
President Xi Jinping expressed China's readiness on Saturday to enhance cooperation with the United Nations and support its central role in international affairs, vowing to uphold genuine multilateralism.
\n
China would like to work with the UN to jointly safeguard world peace and promote development and prosperity, Xi said when meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the port city of Tianjin.
\n
Xi added that China will remain a reliable partner of the world body.
\n
History has revealed that multilateralism, solidarity and cooperation are the right answer to global challenges, Xi said.
\n
The president called for reinvigorating the UN's authority and vitality under the new circumstances so that it can serve as the main platform for countries to coordinate their actions and jointly tackle challenges.
\n
Noting that China injects stability and certainty into the world amid profound changes unseen in a century, Xi pledged to create new opportunities for the world through China's new development.
\n
Guterres said that the UN is ready to strengthen cooperation with China to promote world multipolarity, enhance the representation of developing countries and ensure that the UN can play a greater role in international affairs.
\n
ZHOU JIN
\n",
+ "content": "
Min Aung Hlaing
\n
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
\n
Mostafa Madbouly
\n
Hun Manet
\n
KP Sharma Oli
\n
Antonio Guterres
\n
President Xi Jinping called on Saturday for China and Myanmar to deepen strategic communication and step up efforts to build a community with a shared future.
\n
Xi made the remarks during a meeting with Min Aung Hlaing, acting president of Myanmar.
\n
Xi highlighted Myanmar's role as part of the eastern theater of the World Anti-Fascist War and its status as a key dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, saying that the pauk-phaw friendship (pauk-phaw means fraternal in the language of Myanmar) between China and Myanmar is deeply rooted in the people of both countries and remains ever-fresh over time.
\n
Emphasizing the importance of advancing key projects within the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, Xi called for joint efforts to combat cross-border crimes and maintain peace and stability along the China-Myanmar border. It is important to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals, institutions and projects in Myanmar, he said.
\n
Min Aung Hlaing said that China is Myanmar's good neighbor, which has long supported the country's economic and social development, assisted in its post-disaster recovery and plays a constructive role in maintaining stability in northern Myanmar.
\n
CAO DESHENG
\n
President Xi Jinping said on Saturday that regardless of changes in the international landscape, China and Kazakhstan should remain committed to good-neighborliness, open cooperation for win-win results and joint construction of a community with a shared future, and support each other on their own core interests and major concerns.
\n
Xi made the remarks during a meeting in Tianjin with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
\n
Noting that China and Kazakhstan are strategic partners who can trust and rely on each other, Xi called on both countries to consolidate and expand all-around cooperation to elevate bilateral ties to new heights.
\n
He also called for joint efforts to deepen multilateral coordination, strengthen the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and uphold the international system with the United Nations at the core for a fairer and more equitable international order.
\n
Highlighting the unprecedented level of Kazakhstan-China relations, Tokayev noted the record-high trade volume between the two countries last year and the smooth progress of major cooperation projects.
\n
He expressed Kazakhstan's willingness to continue deepening practical cooperation with China, enhance exchanges and elevate bilateral relations to a higher level.
\n
CAO DESHENG
\n
President Xi Jinping on Saturday called on China and Egypt to promote greater development of bilateral ties and make more contributions to global peace, stability and prosperity, when meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
\n
Noting that Egypt was the first Arab and African country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, Xi said the China-Egypt relationship is currently at its best in history.
\n
As the two countries will celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, Xi said both sides should seize this opportunity to advance bilateral ties toward building a China-Egypt community with a shared future in the new era, and inject new momentum into China's relations with Arab and African countries. Xi also highlighted the need for China and Egypt to be close friends in multilateral collaboration, upholding responsibilities of both as major countries of the Global South.
\n
Madbouly said that Egypt values its relationship with China, firmly adheres to the one-China principle, and is willing to strengthen high-level exchanges and expand trade and investment. He also expressed Egypt's commitment to strengthening coordination and cooperation with China in international and regional affairs.
\n
MO JINGXI
\n
President Xi Jinping called on China and Cambodia on Saturday to follow the path of friendship, stand in close unity, and expand cooperation in order to enhance the well-being of the two peoples.
\n
Xi made the remarks when meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet in Tianjin.
\n
China supports Cambodia in safeguarding stability, upholding independence and achieving development and revitalization, Xi said.
\n
The two sides should take resolute measures to crack down on cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud, and safeguard people's safety and property, he stressed.
\n
Calling the Southeast Asian country an ironclad friend, Xi said that the two sides should firmly follow the path of friendship charted by the older generation of leaders of both countries and contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
\n
Hun Manet said that no matter how the international situation changes, Cambodia is committed to friendly policies toward China, upholds the one-China principle and supports the three major global initiatives proposed by China. Cambodia looks forward to working together with China to support each other on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns, he said.
\n
ZHOU JIN
\n
President Xi Jinping said China is ready to work with Nepal to continue the traditional friendship, and promote greater development of the strategic partnership of cooperation featuring everlasting friendship for development and prosperity between the two sides.
\n
Xi made the remarks on Saturday when meeting with Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
\n
This year marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Nepal. Xi said that over the past seven decades, the two peoples have stood together through thick and thin, writing a history of good-neighborliness and friendship.
\n
He called on the two sides to strengthen strategic mutual trust, firmly support each other on issues related to core interests and major concerns, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and jointly advance the Belt and Road cooperation.
\n
Oli said that Nepal-China relations have withstood numerous challenges and have only grown stronger over time. Cooperation with China has significantly contributed to the country's economic and social development, he said.
\n
He also expressed Nepal's commitment to jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthening cooperation with China across various sectors for more positive outcomes.
\n
MO JINGXI
\n
President Xi Jinping expressed China's readiness on Saturday to enhance cooperation with the United Nations and support its central role in international affairs, vowing to uphold genuine multilateralism.
\n
China would like to work with the UN to jointly safeguard world peace and promote development and prosperity, Xi said when meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the port city of Tianjin.
\n
Xi added that China will remain a reliable partner of the world body.
\n
History has revealed that multilateralism, solidarity and cooperation are the right answer to global challenges, Xi said.
\n
The president called for reinvigorating the UN's authority and vitality under the new circumstances so that it can serve as the main platform for countries to coordinate their actions and jointly tackle challenges.
\n
Noting that China injects stability and certainty into the world amid profound changes unseen in a century, Xi pledged to create new opportunities for the world through China's new development.
\n
Guterres said that the UN is ready to strengthen cooperation with China to promote world multipolarity, enhance the representation of developing countries and ensure that the UN can play a greater role in international affairs.
As Chinese automakers climb global sales rankings, consumers at home and abroad are gaining access to more advanced and affordable green mobility options, experts said.
\n
In the first half of this year, Chinese brands BYD and Geely climbed in the global sales rankings to secure No 7 and 8 among the world's top 10 carmakers, surpassing long-established foreign giants like Honda and Nissan for the first time, according to data gathered by Shanghai-based business media outlet Yicai.
\n
Last year, BYD and Geely ranked No 8 and 10 by sales.
\n
The growth momentum was equally striking. In the January-June period, BYD and Geely recorded year-on-year sales increases of 33 percent and 29 percent, respectively — the fastest among the global top 10. They were also the only two carmakers in the group to post double-digit growth, according to Yicai.
\n
"This reflects the rising global standing of Chinese automakers, driven by robust demand at home and solid performance in export markets," Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, told China Daily.
\n
"Particularly this year, amid global uncertainties, the country's car exports have maintained solid momentum and achieved high-quality growth," Cui said.
\n
According to Cui, China exported 3.48 million vehicles in the first half, up 18 percent year-on-year. Exports of new energy vehicles reached 1.42 million units, a surge of 41 percent year-on-year, and accounted for 41 percent of total exports, seven percentage points higher than the same period in 2024.
\n
"China's NEV exports in the first half outperformed expectations, with plug-in hybrids and hybrid models emerging as new growth drivers, replacing pure EVs as the main engine of export expansion," said Cui.
\n
Chinese plug-in hybrids, supported by a complete supply chain and lower costs, hold a clear cost advantage and are favored by consumers in overseas markets such as Europe, Cui said.
\n
Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed that exports of plug-in hybrid models reached 390,000 units in the first six months, a year-on-year jump of 210 percent, far out-pacing the 40.2 percent growth rate of pure EVs.
\n
The results come from Chinese automakers' accelerated efforts in vertical integration, from in-house batteries to semiconductors, and research and development such as plug-in and range-extended technologies, said Zhang Hong, a senior NEV industry expert at the China Automobile Dealers Association.
\n
"These advances have enabled cost control and performance gains, providing global consumers with more high-quality green mobility options," Zhang said.
\n
Zhang added that Chinese automakers are continuing to sharpen their competitive edge through cost-cutting technologies and economies of scale, creating a virtuous cycle for the industry and therefore benefiting end-users.
\n
"With the continued advance of smart features and wider adoption of intelligent driving, navigation on autopilot technology could soon become standard in models priced around 150,000 yuan ($21,000), while lidar costs may fall to about 1,200 yuan," he said.
\n
Contact the writers at lijiaying@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
As Chinese automakers climb global sales rankings, consumers at home and abroad are gaining access to more advanced and affordable green mobility options, experts said.
\n
In the first half of this year, Chinese brands BYD and Geely climbed in the global sales rankings to secure No 7 and 8 among the world's top 10 carmakers, surpassing long-established foreign giants like Honda and Nissan for the first time, according to data gathered by Shanghai-based business media outlet Yicai.
\n
Last year, BYD and Geely ranked No 8 and 10 by sales.
\n
The growth momentum was equally striking. In the January-June period, BYD and Geely recorded year-on-year sales increases of 33 percent and 29 percent, respectively — the fastest among the global top 10. They were also the only two carmakers in the group to post double-digit growth, according to Yicai.
\n
"This reflects the rising global standing of Chinese automakers, driven by robust demand at home and solid performance in export markets," Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, told China Daily.
\n
"Particularly this year, amid global uncertainties, the country's car exports have maintained solid momentum and achieved high-quality growth," Cui said.
\n
According to Cui, China exported 3.48 million vehicles in the first half, up 18 percent year-on-year. Exports of new energy vehicles reached 1.42 million units, a surge of 41 percent year-on-year, and accounted for 41 percent of total exports, seven percentage points higher than the same period in 2024.
\n
"China's NEV exports in the first half outperformed expectations, with plug-in hybrids and hybrid models emerging as new growth drivers, replacing pure EVs as the main engine of export expansion," said Cui.
\n
Chinese plug-in hybrids, supported by a complete supply chain and lower costs, hold a clear cost advantage and are favored by consumers in overseas markets such as Europe, Cui said.
\n
Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed that exports of plug-in hybrid models reached 390,000 units in the first six months, a year-on-year jump of 210 percent, far out-pacing the 40.2 percent growth rate of pure EVs.
\n
The results come from Chinese automakers' accelerated efforts in vertical integration, from in-house batteries to semiconductors, and research and development such as plug-in and range-extended technologies, said Zhang Hong, a senior NEV industry expert at the China Automobile Dealers Association.
\n
"These advances have enabled cost control and performance gains, providing global consumers with more high-quality green mobility options," Zhang said.
\n
Zhang added that Chinese automakers are continuing to sharpen their competitive edge through cost-cutting technologies and economies of scale, creating a virtuous cycle for the industry and therefore benefiting end-users.
\n
"With the continued advance of smart features and wider adoption of intelligent driving, navigation on autopilot technology could soon become standard in models priced around 150,000 yuan ($21,000), while lidar costs may fall to about 1,200 yuan," he said.
\n
Contact the writers at lijiaying@chinadaily.com.cn
President Xi Jinping has leveraged head-of-state diplomacy to advocate for the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, injecting the forces of peace, stability and progress into the changing and turbulent world, a senior diplomat said on Friday.
\n
The vision, put forward by Xi in 2013, has been translated into practice that involves multilateral engagement and features evolution from development to security and from cooperation to governance, Vice-Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said at a news conference in Beijing on activities marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.
\n
"The vision breaks the 'small circles' rules of bloc politics and goes beyond the hegemonic logic of 'might makes right', providing a new approach to international relations and global governance," said Ma, adding that it transcends the so-called "universal values" unilaterally defined by a handful of Western countries.
\n
Noting that head-of-state diplomacy is the supreme form of diplomacy in China, Ma said that while engaging in in-depth strategic communication with world leaders, Xi has fostered friendly relations with the peoples of various countries, and elaborated on the principles of peaceful development, the path of win-win cooperation, and the strategy of global solidarity to address shared challenges.
\n
The vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity has become an international consensus, he added.
\n
While explaining why China commemorates its Victory Day, which falls on Sept 3, Ma said: "We aim to bear the history in mind, honor the martyrs, cherish peace and strive for a better future. We aim to uphold the correct perspective on World War II and gather strength to maintain peace."
\n
He said that this year also marks the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's recovery from Japanese occupation, a significant victorious outcome of World War II and an important part of the postwar international order.
\n
Attempting to use Taiwan as a means to contain China is akin to playing with fire and those who play with fire will ultimately get burned, he said.
\n
Ma emphasized that the international community's commitment to the one-China principle has become increasingly solid, and that the Chinese people's just cause of opposing "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and striving for complete national reunification has gained widespread understanding and support from the international community.
\n
Reunification unstoppable
\n
The Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and a series of other documents with the force of international law all affirmed China's sovereignty over Taiwan, Ma said, noting that the historical and legal facts that Taiwan belongs to China are indisputable.
\n
"I want to reiterate that the Taiwan question is purely an internal affair for China and brooks no external interference," Ma said, adding that China's ultimate and inevitable reunification is unstoppable.
\n
At Friday's news conference, Ma also called for strengthening, not weakening, the role of the United Nations, saying that reforms are needed to help the world body tackle global challenges.
\n
"Recent years have repeatedly reminded us through major crises that the UN's role must be strengthened, not diminished. Its status must be upheld, not replaced," Ma said.
\n
He stated that the UN's effectiveness depends on member states upholding the UN Charter and observing international law and the basic norms governing international relations.
\n
Ma added that reforms are needed to help the organization better respond to global challenges, especially by boosting the representation and voice of developing countries in international affairs.
\n
"For eight decades, the UN has carried the aspirations of people around the world for peace and development, and remains the most universal, authoritative and representative intergovernmental organization," Ma said.
\n
He noted that despite advances in human civilization, the UN Charter's vision remains far from being fulfilled, particularly undermined by individual countries' unilateralism, wanton withdrawals from treaties and organizations, and the selective use of the UN.
\n
Such practices, he said, have seriously undermined the international order.
\n
Ma said that China has taken the lead in practicing true multilateralism and firmly supports the UN in playing a central role in international affairs.
\n
"As the UN enters its next 80 years, China is ready to work with all parties to strengthen the UN's role and build a more just and equitable system of global governance," he added.
\n
On China-US relations, Ma said that since the beginning of this year, President Xi has had two phone conversations and multiple correspondence with US President Donald Trump, steering the direction of the bilateral ties.
\n
Attempts to pressure or coerce China are unworkable and bound to fail, and efforts to contain China's development and impede the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation are destined to end in failure, he said.
\n
"We are willing to work with the US to move in the same direction to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, maintain communication, manage differences, expand cooperation and continue to explore the right way for the two countries to get along with each other in the new era," he said.
\n",
+ "content": "\n
President Xi Jinping has leveraged head-of-state diplomacy to advocate for the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, injecting the forces of peace, stability and progress into the changing and turbulent world, a senior diplomat said on Friday.
\n
The vision, put forward by Xi in 2013, has been translated into practice that involves multilateral engagement and features evolution from development to security and from cooperation to governance, Vice-Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said at a news conference in Beijing on activities marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.
\n
"The vision breaks the 'small circles' rules of bloc politics and goes beyond the hegemonic logic of 'might makes right', providing a new approach to international relations and global governance," said Ma, adding that it transcends the so-called "universal values" unilaterally defined by a handful of Western countries.
\n
Noting that head-of-state diplomacy is the supreme form of diplomacy in China, Ma said that while engaging in in-depth strategic communication with world leaders, Xi has fostered friendly relations with the peoples of various countries, and elaborated on the principles of peaceful development, the path of win-win cooperation, and the strategy of global solidarity to address shared challenges.
\n
The vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity has become an international consensus, he added.
\n
While explaining why China commemorates its Victory Day, which falls on Sept 3, Ma said: "We aim to bear the history in mind, honor the martyrs, cherish peace and strive for a better future. We aim to uphold the correct perspective on World War II and gather strength to maintain peace."
\n
He said that this year also marks the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's recovery from Japanese occupation, a significant victorious outcome of World War II and an important part of the postwar international order.
\n
Attempting to use Taiwan as a means to contain China is akin to playing with fire and those who play with fire will ultimately get burned, he said.
\n
Ma emphasized that the international community's commitment to the one-China principle has become increasingly solid, and that the Chinese people's just cause of opposing "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and striving for complete national reunification has gained widespread understanding and support from the international community.
\n
Reunification unstoppable
\n
The Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and a series of other documents with the force of international law all affirmed China's sovereignty over Taiwan, Ma said, noting that the historical and legal facts that Taiwan belongs to China are indisputable.
\n
"I want to reiterate that the Taiwan question is purely an internal affair for China and brooks no external interference," Ma said, adding that China's ultimate and inevitable reunification is unstoppable.
\n
At Friday's news conference, Ma also called for strengthening, not weakening, the role of the United Nations, saying that reforms are needed to help the world body tackle global challenges.
\n
"Recent years have repeatedly reminded us through major crises that the UN's role must be strengthened, not diminished. Its status must be upheld, not replaced," Ma said.
\n
He stated that the UN's effectiveness depends on member states upholding the UN Charter and observing international law and the basic norms governing international relations.
\n
Ma added that reforms are needed to help the organization better respond to global challenges, especially by boosting the representation and voice of developing countries in international affairs.
\n
"For eight decades, the UN has carried the aspirations of people around the world for peace and development, and remains the most universal, authoritative and representative intergovernmental organization," Ma said.
\n
He noted that despite advances in human civilization, the UN Charter's vision remains far from being fulfilled, particularly undermined by individual countries' unilateralism, wanton withdrawals from treaties and organizations, and the selective use of the UN.
\n
Such practices, he said, have seriously undermined the international order.
\n
Ma said that China has taken the lead in practicing true multilateralism and firmly supports the UN in playing a central role in international affairs.
\n
"As the UN enters its next 80 years, China is ready to work with all parties to strengthen the UN's role and build a more just and equitable system of global governance," he added.
\n
On China-US relations, Ma said that since the beginning of this year, President Xi has had two phone conversations and multiple correspondence with US President Donald Trump, steering the direction of the bilateral ties.
\n
Attempts to pressure or coerce China are unworkable and bound to fail, and efforts to contain China's development and impede the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation are destined to end in failure, he said.
\n
"We are willing to work with the US to move in the same direction to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, maintain communication, manage differences, expand cooperation and continue to explore the right way for the two countries to get along with each other in the new era," he said.
China's policymakers have emphasized the need to firmly foster a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation and further promote the common prosperity and development of all ethnic groups, at a key Party leadership meeting on Friday.
\n
At the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, which was presided over by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, the country's top leadership deliberated a set of work regulations concerning the Party's ideological and political work, and studied a draft law on advancing ethnic unity and progress.
\n
Recognizing the importance of the regulations, the meeting called for strengthening and improving ideological and political work in light of new circumstances, adapting to evolving social groups and enhancing precision and effectiveness. It also underscored the need to uphold and reinforce the Party's overall leadership in this field.
\n
Regarding the draft law on advancing ethnic unity and progress, it was noted at the meeting that the purpose is to improve the institutional mechanisms for heightening a sense of identity of the Chinese nation and further enhance the unity and cohesion of the Chinese nation, according to a statement issued after the meeting.
\n
The meeting was held following Xi's recent trip to the Xizang autonomous region, where he called for active efforts to build the region into a national model of ethnic unity and progress.
\n
Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the Party has taken fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation as the focus of its work related to ethnic affairs, and achieved new historic successes.
\n
The meeting's participants stressed that continuous efforts should be made to consolidate the common ideological and political foundation for all ethnic groups to strive in unity, uphold the Party's overall leadership and unswervingly follow the correct path of handling ethnic affairs with a distinctively Chinese approach.
\n
They also highlighted the need to properly draft, enact and implement the draft law, and to continuously improve the ability to handle ethnic affairs in accordance with the law.
\n
The meeting also laid out requirements to further enhance workplace safety and disaster prevention, emphasizing that the safety of people's lives must always come first, and that development must never come at the expense of safety.
\n
It was stated at the meeting that safety risks must be prevented and defused in a well-targeted way, and every effort must be made to carry out rescue and relief operations and to promptly and properly resettle affected people.
\n
Since July, heavy rainfall has triggered severe floods and geological disasters in northern China.
\n
According to the Ministry of Emergency Management, various natural disasters in July had affected over 8.9 million people nationwide to varying degrees, causing direct economic losses of 52.15 billion yuan ($7.31 billion).
\n
mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
China's policymakers have emphasized the need to firmly foster a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation and further promote the common prosperity and development of all ethnic groups, at a key Party leadership meeting on Friday.
\n
At the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, which was presided over by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, the country's top leadership deliberated a set of work regulations concerning the Party's ideological and political work, and studied a draft law on advancing ethnic unity and progress.
\n
Recognizing the importance of the regulations, the meeting called for strengthening and improving ideological and political work in light of new circumstances, adapting to evolving social groups and enhancing precision and effectiveness. It also underscored the need to uphold and reinforce the Party's overall leadership in this field.
\n
Regarding the draft law on advancing ethnic unity and progress, it was noted at the meeting that the purpose is to improve the institutional mechanisms for heightening a sense of identity of the Chinese nation and further enhance the unity and cohesion of the Chinese nation, according to a statement issued after the meeting.
\n
The meeting was held following Xi's recent trip to the Xizang autonomous region, where he called for active efforts to build the region into a national model of ethnic unity and progress.
\n
Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the Party has taken fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation as the focus of its work related to ethnic affairs, and achieved new historic successes.
\n
The meeting's participants stressed that continuous efforts should be made to consolidate the common ideological and political foundation for all ethnic groups to strive in unity, uphold the Party's overall leadership and unswervingly follow the correct path of handling ethnic affairs with a distinctively Chinese approach.
\n
They also highlighted the need to properly draft, enact and implement the draft law, and to continuously improve the ability to handle ethnic affairs in accordance with the law.
\n
The meeting also laid out requirements to further enhance workplace safety and disaster prevention, emphasizing that the safety of people's lives must always come first, and that development must never come at the expense of safety.
\n
It was stated at the meeting that safety risks must be prevented and defused in a well-targeted way, and every effort must be made to carry out rescue and relief operations and to promptly and properly resettle affected people.
\n
Since July, heavy rainfall has triggered severe floods and geological disasters in northern China.
\n
According to the Ministry of Emergency Management, various natural disasters in July had affected over 8.9 million people nationwide to varying degrees, causing direct economic losses of 52.15 billion yuan ($7.31 billion).
As Chinese automakers climb global sales rankings, consumers at home and abroad are gaining access to more advanced and affordable green mobility options, experts said.
\n
In the first half of this year, Chinese brands BYD and Geely climbed in the global sales rankings to secure No 7 and 8 among the world's top 10 carmakers, surpassing long-established foreign giants like Honda and Nissan for the first time, according to data gathered by Shanghai-based business media outlet Yicai.
\n
Last year, BYD and Geely ranked No 8 and 10 by sales.
\n
The growth momentum was equally striking. In the January-June period, BYD and Geely recorded year-on-year sales increases of 33 percent and 29 percent, respectively — the fastest among the global top 10. They were also the only two carmakers in the group to post double-digit growth, according to Yicai.
\n
"This reflects the rising global standing of Chinese automakers, driven by robust demand at home and solid performance in export markets," Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, told China Daily.
\n
"Particularly this year, amid global uncertainties, the country's car exports have maintained solid momentum and achieved high-quality growth," Cui said.
\n
According to Cui, China exported 3.48 million vehicles in the first half, up 18 percent year-on-year. Exports of new energy vehicles reached 1.42 million units, a surge of 41 percent year-on-year, and accounted for 41 percent of total exports, seven percentage points higher than the same period in 2024.
\n
"China's NEV exports in the first half outperformed expectations, with plug-in hybrids and hybrid models emerging as new growth drivers, replacing pure EVs as the main engine of export expansion," said Cui.
\n
Chinese plug-in hybrids, supported by a complete supply chain and lower costs, hold a clear cost advantage and are favored by consumers in overseas markets such as Europe, Cui said.
\n
Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed that exports of plug-in hybrid models reached 390,000 units in the first six months, a year-on-year jump of 210 percent, far out-pacing the 40.2 percent growth rate of pure EVs.
\n
The results come from Chinese automakers' accelerated efforts in vertical integration, from in-house batteries to semiconductors, and research and development such as plug-in and range-extended technologies, said Zhang Hong, a senior NEV industry expert at the China Automobile Dealers Association.
\n
"These advances have enabled cost control and performance gains, providing global consumers with more high-quality green mobility options," Zhang said.
\n
Zhang added that Chinese automakers are continuing to sharpen their competitive edge through cost-cutting technologies and economies of scale, creating a virtuous cycle for the industry and therefore benefiting end-users.
\n
"With the continued advance of smart features and wider adoption of intelligent driving, navigation on autopilot technology could soon become standard in models priced around 150,000 yuan ($21,000), while lidar costs may fall to about 1,200 yuan," he said.
\n
Contact the writers at lijiaying@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
As Chinese automakers climb global sales rankings, consumers at home and abroad are gaining access to more advanced and affordable green mobility options, experts said.
\n
In the first half of this year, Chinese brands BYD and Geely climbed in the global sales rankings to secure No 7 and 8 among the world's top 10 carmakers, surpassing long-established foreign giants like Honda and Nissan for the first time, according to data gathered by Shanghai-based business media outlet Yicai.
\n
Last year, BYD and Geely ranked No 8 and 10 by sales.
\n
The growth momentum was equally striking. In the January-June period, BYD and Geely recorded year-on-year sales increases of 33 percent and 29 percent, respectively — the fastest among the global top 10. They were also the only two carmakers in the group to post double-digit growth, according to Yicai.
\n
"This reflects the rising global standing of Chinese automakers, driven by robust demand at home and solid performance in export markets," Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, told China Daily.
\n
"Particularly this year, amid global uncertainties, the country's car exports have maintained solid momentum and achieved high-quality growth," Cui said.
\n
According to Cui, China exported 3.48 million vehicles in the first half, up 18 percent year-on-year. Exports of new energy vehicles reached 1.42 million units, a surge of 41 percent year-on-year, and accounted for 41 percent of total exports, seven percentage points higher than the same period in 2024.
\n
"China's NEV exports in the first half outperformed expectations, with plug-in hybrids and hybrid models emerging as new growth drivers, replacing pure EVs as the main engine of export expansion," said Cui.
\n
Chinese plug-in hybrids, supported by a complete supply chain and lower costs, hold a clear cost advantage and are favored by consumers in overseas markets such as Europe, Cui said.
\n
Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed that exports of plug-in hybrid models reached 390,000 units in the first six months, a year-on-year jump of 210 percent, far out-pacing the 40.2 percent growth rate of pure EVs.
\n
The results come from Chinese automakers' accelerated efforts in vertical integration, from in-house batteries to semiconductors, and research and development such as plug-in and range-extended technologies, said Zhang Hong, a senior NEV industry expert at the China Automobile Dealers Association.
\n
"These advances have enabled cost control and performance gains, providing global consumers with more high-quality green mobility options," Zhang said.
\n
Zhang added that Chinese automakers are continuing to sharpen their competitive edge through cost-cutting technologies and economies of scale, creating a virtuous cycle for the industry and therefore benefiting end-users.
\n
"With the continued advance of smart features and wider adoption of intelligent driving, navigation on autopilot technology could soon become standard in models priced around 150,000 yuan ($21,000), while lidar costs may fall to about 1,200 yuan," he said.
\n
Contact the writers at lijiaying@chinadaily.com.cn
Gao Demin (left), son of Flying Tigers nurse Rita Wong, and Jesse Millett, grandson of US army doctor Clinton Millett, who was stationed in Kunming in 1944-45, share stories at a cultural event titled "Experience China — A Symphony of Stories on China-US People-to-People Friendship" at the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. See story, page 2
Gao Demin (left), son of Flying Tigers nurse Rita Wong, and Jesse Millett, grandson of US army doctor Clinton Millett, who was stationed in Kunming in 1944-45, share stories at a cultural event titled "Experience China — A Symphony of Stories on China-US People-to-People Friendship" at the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. See story, page 2
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has called for persistent efforts and long-term mechanisms to implement the guiding principles of the central Party leadership's eight-point decision on improving conduct.
\n
Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in an instruction to a meeting on Party building held in Beijing on Friday. He emphasized the critical role of Party conduct in shaping its image, and urged greater efforts in Party building to build a well-disciplined workforce with political integrity and ensure that the Party will always live up to the expectations of the people.
\n
Xi's instruction came following a Party-wide education campaign to implement the central Party leadership's eight-point decision on improving work conduct, which started in March.
\n
He highlighted the marked achievements in the education campaign, saying that the lingering and recurring nature of the "four forms of misconduct" within the Party — formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance — calls for determined and sustained efforts to improve Party conduct.
\n
Xi also emphasized the need for targeted and effective approaches to strengthening education on Party conduct, particularly for newly promoted and young officials, as well as those in key positions.
\n
It is important to establish mechanisms to identify problems and resolve them promptly, he said, calling for strengthening supervision, enforcing discipline, leveraging public oversight and addressing violations swiftly.
\n
Xi's instruction was conveyed at the meeting of the Central Leading Group for Party Building, which was convened to summarize the outcomes of the educational campaign, and study and deploy long-term mechanisms to further improve Party conduct.
\n
The meeting was chaired by Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Central Leading Group for Party Building.
\n
Li Xi, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy head of the Central Leading Group for Party Building, attended the meeting.
\n
It was emphasized at the meeting that efforts must be made to strengthen institutional frameworks related to Party conduct and ensure rigorous enforcement of them to translate institutional improvements into effective governance.
\n
caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has called for persistent efforts and long-term mechanisms to implement the guiding principles of the central Party leadership's eight-point decision on improving conduct.
\n
Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in an instruction to a meeting on Party building held in Beijing on Friday. He emphasized the critical role of Party conduct in shaping its image, and urged greater efforts in Party building to build a well-disciplined workforce with political integrity and ensure that the Party will always live up to the expectations of the people.
\n
Xi's instruction came following a Party-wide education campaign to implement the central Party leadership's eight-point decision on improving work conduct, which started in March.
\n
He highlighted the marked achievements in the education campaign, saying that the lingering and recurring nature of the "four forms of misconduct" within the Party — formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance — calls for determined and sustained efforts to improve Party conduct.
\n
Xi also emphasized the need for targeted and effective approaches to strengthening education on Party conduct, particularly for newly promoted and young officials, as well as those in key positions.
\n
It is important to establish mechanisms to identify problems and resolve them promptly, he said, calling for strengthening supervision, enforcing discipline, leveraging public oversight and addressing violations swiftly.
\n
Xi's instruction was conveyed at the meeting of the Central Leading Group for Party Building, which was convened to summarize the outcomes of the educational campaign, and study and deploy long-term mechanisms to further improve Party conduct.
\n
The meeting was chaired by Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Central Leading Group for Party Building.
\n
Li Xi, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy head of the Central Leading Group for Party Building, attended the meeting.
\n
It was emphasized at the meeting that efforts must be made to strengthen institutional frameworks related to Party conduct and ensure rigorous enforcement of them to translate institutional improvements into effective governance.
A staff member makes preparations for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2025 in Tianjin on Thursday. The summit will be held from Sunday to Monday. See more, pages 3, 4
\n",
+ "content": "
A staff member makes preparations for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2025 in Tianjin on Thursday. The summit will be held from Sunday to Monday. See more, pages 3, 4
President Xi Jinping has leveraged head-of-state diplomacy to advocate for the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, injecting the forces of peace, stability and progress into the changing and turbulent world, a senior diplomat said on Friday.
\n
The vision, put forward by Xi in 2013, has been translated into practice that involves multilateral engagement and features evolution from development to security and from cooperation to governance, Vice-Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said at a news conference in Beijing on activities marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.
\n
"The vision breaks the 'small circles' rules of bloc politics and goes beyond the hegemonic logic of 'might makes right', providing a new approach to international relations and global governance," said Ma, adding that it transcends the so-called "universal values" unilaterally defined by a handful of Western countries.
\n
Noting that head-of-state diplomacy is the supreme form of diplomacy in China, Ma said that while engaging in in-depth strategic communication with world leaders, Xi has fostered friendly relations with the peoples of various countries, and elaborated on the principles of peaceful development, the path of win-win cooperation, and the strategy of global solidarity to address shared challenges.
\n
The vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity has become an international consensus, he added.
\n
While explaining why China commemorates its Victory Day, which falls on Sept 3, Ma said: "We aim to bear the history in mind, honor the martyrs, cherish peace and strive for a better future. We aim to uphold the correct perspective on World War II and gather strength to maintain peace."
\n
He said that this year also marks the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's recovery from Japanese occupation, a significant victorious outcome of World War II and an important part of the postwar international order.
\n
Attempting to use Taiwan as a means to contain China is akin to playing with fire and those who play with fire will ultimately get burned, he said.
\n
Ma emphasized that the international community's commitment to the one-China principle has become increasingly solid, and that the Chinese people's just cause of opposing "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and striving for complete national reunification has gained widespread understanding and support from the international community.
\n
Reunification unstoppable
\n
The Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and a series of other documents with the force of international law all affirmed China's sovereignty over Taiwan, Ma said, noting that the historical and legal facts that Taiwan belongs to China are indisputable.
\n
"I want to reiterate that the Taiwan question is purely an internal affair for China and brooks no external interference," Ma said, adding that China's ultimate and inevitable reunification is unstoppable.
\n
At Friday's news conference, Ma also called for strengthening, not weakening, the role of the United Nations, saying that reforms are needed to help the world body tackle global challenges.
\n
"Recent years have repeatedly reminded us through major crises that the UN's role must be strengthened, not diminished. Its status must be upheld, not replaced," Ma said.
\n
He stated that the UN's effectiveness depends on member states upholding the UN Charter and observing international law and the basic norms governing international relations.
\n
Ma added that reforms are needed to help the organization better respond to global challenges, especially by boosting the representation and voice of developing countries in international affairs.
\n
"For eight decades, the UN has carried the aspirations of people around the world for peace and development, and remains the most universal, authoritative and representative intergovernmental organization," Ma said.
\n
He noted that despite advances in human civilization, the UN Charter's vision remains far from being fulfilled, particularly undermined by individual countries' unilateralism, wanton withdrawals from treaties and organizations, and the selective use of the UN.
\n
Such practices, he said, have seriously undermined the international order.
\n
Ma said that China has taken the lead in practicing true multilateralism and firmly supports the UN in playing a central role in international affairs.
\n
"As the UN enters its next 80 years, China is ready to work with all parties to strengthen the UN's role and build a more just and equitable system of global governance," he added.
\n
On China-US relations, Ma said that since the beginning of this year, President Xi has had two phone conversations and multiple correspondence with US President Donald Trump, steering the direction of the bilateral ties.
\n
Attempts to pressure or coerce China are unworkable and bound to fail, and efforts to contain China's development and impede the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation are destined to end in failure, he said.
\n
"We are willing to work with the US to move in the same direction to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, maintain communication, manage differences, expand cooperation and continue to explore the right way for the two countries to get along with each other in the new era," he said.
President Xi Jinping has leveraged head-of-state diplomacy to advocate for the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, injecting the forces of peace, stability and progress into the changing and turbulent world, a senior diplomat said on Friday.
\n
The vision, put forward by Xi in 2013, has been translated into practice that involves multilateral engagement and features evolution from development to security and from cooperation to governance, Vice-Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said at a news conference in Beijing on activities marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.
\n
"The vision breaks the 'small circles' rules of bloc politics and goes beyond the hegemonic logic of 'might makes right', providing a new approach to international relations and global governance," said Ma, adding that it transcends the so-called "universal values" unilaterally defined by a handful of Western countries.
\n
Noting that head-of-state diplomacy is the supreme form of diplomacy in China, Ma said that while engaging in in-depth strategic communication with world leaders, Xi has fostered friendly relations with the peoples of various countries, and elaborated on the principles of peaceful development, the path of win-win cooperation, and the strategy of global solidarity to address shared challenges.
\n
The vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity has become an international consensus, he added.
\n
While explaining why China commemorates its Victory Day, which falls on Sept 3, Ma said: "We aim to bear the history in mind, honor the martyrs, cherish peace and strive for a better future. We aim to uphold the correct perspective on World War II and gather strength to maintain peace."
\n
He said that this year also marks the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's recovery from Japanese occupation, a significant victorious outcome of World War II and an important part of the postwar international order.
\n
Attempting to use Taiwan as a means to contain China is akin to playing with fire and those who play with fire will ultimately get burned, he said.
\n
Ma emphasized that the international community's commitment to the one-China principle has become increasingly solid, and that the Chinese people's just cause of opposing "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and striving for complete national reunification has gained widespread understanding and support from the international community.
\n
Reunification unstoppable
\n
The Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and a series of other documents with the force of international law all affirmed China's sovereignty over Taiwan, Ma said, noting that the historical and legal facts that Taiwan belongs to China are indisputable.
\n
"I want to reiterate that the Taiwan question is purely an internal affair for China and brooks no external interference," Ma said, adding that China's ultimate and inevitable reunification is unstoppable.
\n
At Friday's news conference, Ma also called for strengthening, not weakening, the role of the United Nations, saying that reforms are needed to help the world body tackle global challenges.
\n
"Recent years have repeatedly reminded us through major crises that the UN's role must be strengthened, not diminished. Its status must be upheld, not replaced," Ma said.
\n
He stated that the UN's effectiveness depends on member states upholding the UN Charter and observing international law and the basic norms governing international relations.
\n
Ma added that reforms are needed to help the organization better respond to global challenges, especially by boosting the representation and voice of developing countries in international affairs.
\n
"For eight decades, the UN has carried the aspirations of people around the world for peace and development, and remains the most universal, authoritative and representative intergovernmental organization," Ma said.
\n
He noted that despite advances in human civilization, the UN Charter's vision remains far from being fulfilled, particularly undermined by individual countries' unilateralism, wanton withdrawals from treaties and organizations, and the selective use of the UN.
\n
Such practices, he said, have seriously undermined the international order.
\n
Ma said that China has taken the lead in practicing true multilateralism and firmly supports the UN in playing a central role in international affairs.
\n
"As the UN enters its next 80 years, China is ready to work with all parties to strengthen the UN's role and build a more just and equitable system of global governance," he added.
\n
On China-US relations, Ma said that since the beginning of this year, President Xi has had two phone conversations and multiple correspondence with US President Donald Trump, steering the direction of the bilateral ties.
\n
Attempts to pressure or coerce China are unworkable and bound to fail, and efforts to contain China's development and impede the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation are destined to end in failure, he said.
\n
"We are willing to work with the US to move in the same direction to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, maintain communication, manage differences, expand cooperation and continue to explore the right way for the two countries to get along with each other in the new era," he said.
Kazakhstan-China relations are deeply rooted in centuries of neighborly ties, consistently marked by mutual trust, support, and understanding. Today, this enduring friendship has evolved into a model of strategic partnership and interstate cooperation.
\n
We share over 1,700 kilometers of common border of peace and good-neighborliness.
\n
This strong spirit is well maintained by high-level mutual visits and close political dialogue between the two countries.
\n
Today's impressive development of China under the visionary leadership of an outstanding politician of the global scale President Xi Jinping brings significant benefits and offers unique opportunities to its immediate neighbors, including Kazakhstan.
\n
As we enter a new and promising stage in our shared journey, it is important to reflect on the resilience and depth of our time-tested partnership. In recent years, we have witnessed renewed dynamism, driven by a common vision for the future and strengthened collaboration across all sectors.
\n
Despite global economic challenges, trade and economic cooperation between our countries continue to expand at an impressive pace. In 2024, bilateral trade reached a historic high of $44 billion, solidifying China's status as Kazakhstan's largest trade and economic partner.
\n
Since 2005, Chinese enterprises have invested over $27 billion in Kazakhstan, with nearly 6,000 companies operating in our country today — playing a vital role in technological advancement and industrial modernization.
\n
The destinies of Kazakhstan and China have been intertwined since the days of the ancient Silk Road, and we are now building on this legacy through the development of new transport arteries.
\n
The Belt and Road Initiative, first announced by President Xi Jinping in Astana in 2013, stands as a vivid testament to this historical cooperation.
\n
This modern network of trade and transport route has reinforced Kazakhstan's role as a key Eurasian transit hub and demonstrated China's strong economic confidence.
\n
A prime example of our joint efforts is the rapid development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, or Middle Corridor — the shortest and most sustainable pathway for uninterrupted cargo flows between China, Central Asia, and Europe.
\n
In 2024, the launch of additional Dostyk-Moyynty railway lines will boost Kazakhstan's transit capacity along the China-Europe corridor fivefold. Last year, we also inaugurated a trade and logistics center in Xi'an together with our Chinese partners, further strengthening our connectivity.
\n
Maritime cooperation is equally important. The completion of a container hub at Kazakhstan's Aktau port, in partnership with the management of China's Lianyungang port, has created a container fleet serving Central Asia and the Caspian region, offering a full range of logistics services.
\n
The oil and gas sector remains a cornerstone of our economic ties, including the expansion of the Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline and the modernization and construction of oil refining and petrochemical facilities.
\n
Agricultural cooperation is also expanding rapidly. In 2024, Kazakhstan's agro-food exports to China grew by 10 percent. Chinese investors are actively exploring opportunities in major agricultural processing projects, covering vegetables, grain, corn, and cotton.
\n
Our partnership extends far beyond economics. Cultural ties have always been strong, and following the success of the 2024 "Kazakh Tourism Year in China", this year has been declared the "Year of Chinese Tourism in Kazakhstan". This initiative marks a new chapter in our tourism relations, opening fresh opportunities for exploring each other's traditions, history, and landscapes.
\n
Diplomatically, Kazakhstan and China remain strongly engaged in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
\n
The SCO has become a cornerstone of multilateral cooperation in Eurasia, fostering stability, economic growth, and cultural exchange. As founding members, Kazakhstan and China have worked together to unlock the SCO's potential across its comprehensive regional prosperity agenda.
\n
Under China's current chairmanship, the SCO has intensified efforts to bolster regional security, deepen economic integration and expand cultural and humanitarian ties. These priorities resonate strongly with Kazakhstan's vision for the region.
\n
The upcoming landmark SCO Summit in Tianjin will shape the Organization's future trajectory. It offers a crucial opportunity to align our strategies on pressing global issues and to advance institutional reforms. It will reinforce the SCO's role as a growing source of stability in an increasingly unsettled world. In such a world, the SCO's approach grounded on mutual respect and shared development is more relevant than ever.
\n
As President Xi Jinping rightly noted, China and Kazakhstan are "traveling companions on the path to modernization". Together, they can continue to lead by example, offering proof to the world that shared vision and concerted action can overcome the many challenges of our time.
\n
As Kazakhstan and China stand at the crossroads of history, we are confident that our shared commitment, mutual respect, and joint vision will continue to transform our partnership into new achievements, delivering tangible benefits for both nations and contributing to regional and global prosperity.
\n",
+ "content": "\n
Kazakhstan-China relations are deeply rooted in centuries of neighborly ties, consistently marked by mutual trust, support, and understanding. Today, this enduring friendship has evolved into a model of strategic partnership and interstate cooperation.
\n
We share over 1,700 kilometers of common border of peace and good-neighborliness.
\n
This strong spirit is well maintained by high-level mutual visits and close political dialogue between the two countries.
\n
Today's impressive development of China under the visionary leadership of an outstanding politician of the global scale President Xi Jinping brings significant benefits and offers unique opportunities to its immediate neighbors, including Kazakhstan.
\n
As we enter a new and promising stage in our shared journey, it is important to reflect on the resilience and depth of our time-tested partnership. In recent years, we have witnessed renewed dynamism, driven by a common vision for the future and strengthened collaboration across all sectors.
\n
Despite global economic challenges, trade and economic cooperation between our countries continue to expand at an impressive pace. In 2024, bilateral trade reached a historic high of $44 billion, solidifying China's status as Kazakhstan's largest trade and economic partner.
\n
Since 2005, Chinese enterprises have invested over $27 billion in Kazakhstan, with nearly 6,000 companies operating in our country today — playing a vital role in technological advancement and industrial modernization.
\n
The destinies of Kazakhstan and China have been intertwined since the days of the ancient Silk Road, and we are now building on this legacy through the development of new transport arteries.
\n
The Belt and Road Initiative, first announced by President Xi Jinping in Astana in 2013, stands as a vivid testament to this historical cooperation.
\n
This modern network of trade and transport route has reinforced Kazakhstan's role as a key Eurasian transit hub and demonstrated China's strong economic confidence.
\n
A prime example of our joint efforts is the rapid development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, or Middle Corridor — the shortest and most sustainable pathway for uninterrupted cargo flows between China, Central Asia, and Europe.
\n
In 2024, the launch of additional Dostyk-Moyynty railway lines will boost Kazakhstan's transit capacity along the China-Europe corridor fivefold. Last year, we also inaugurated a trade and logistics center in Xi'an together with our Chinese partners, further strengthening our connectivity.
\n
Maritime cooperation is equally important. The completion of a container hub at Kazakhstan's Aktau port, in partnership with the management of China's Lianyungang port, has created a container fleet serving Central Asia and the Caspian region, offering a full range of logistics services.
\n
The oil and gas sector remains a cornerstone of our economic ties, including the expansion of the Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline and the modernization and construction of oil refining and petrochemical facilities.
\n
Agricultural cooperation is also expanding rapidly. In 2024, Kazakhstan's agro-food exports to China grew by 10 percent. Chinese investors are actively exploring opportunities in major agricultural processing projects, covering vegetables, grain, corn, and cotton.
\n
Our partnership extends far beyond economics. Cultural ties have always been strong, and following the success of the 2024 "Kazakh Tourism Year in China", this year has been declared the "Year of Chinese Tourism in Kazakhstan". This initiative marks a new chapter in our tourism relations, opening fresh opportunities for exploring each other's traditions, history, and landscapes.
\n
Diplomatically, Kazakhstan and China remain strongly engaged in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
\n
The SCO has become a cornerstone of multilateral cooperation in Eurasia, fostering stability, economic growth, and cultural exchange. As founding members, Kazakhstan and China have worked together to unlock the SCO's potential across its comprehensive regional prosperity agenda.
\n
Under China's current chairmanship, the SCO has intensified efforts to bolster regional security, deepen economic integration and expand cultural and humanitarian ties. These priorities resonate strongly with Kazakhstan's vision for the region.
\n
The upcoming landmark SCO Summit in Tianjin will shape the Organization's future trajectory. It offers a crucial opportunity to align our strategies on pressing global issues and to advance institutional reforms. It will reinforce the SCO's role as a growing source of stability in an increasingly unsettled world. In such a world, the SCO's approach grounded on mutual respect and shared development is more relevant than ever.
\n
As President Xi Jinping rightly noted, China and Kazakhstan are "traveling companions on the path to modernization". Together, they can continue to lead by example, offering proof to the world that shared vision and concerted action can overcome the many challenges of our time.
\n
As Kazakhstan and China stand at the crossroads of history, we are confident that our shared commitment, mutual respect, and joint vision will continue to transform our partnership into new achievements, delivering tangible benefits for both nations and contributing to regional and global prosperity.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin from Aug 31 to Sept 1 could turn out to be one of the most successful in the organization's history, not least because the world order is changing, with the West rapidly losing its domination of global affairs, even though some Western leaders continue to desperately cling to the illusion of a unipolar world.
\n
Today's world has become irreversibly multipolar. Asia and Eurasia are regaining their rightful place in the emerging new world order. Against this background, four propitious developments have imparted to the SCO Summit extraordinary significance.
\n
First, the end of the Russia-Ukraine conflict seems closer in sight. Not surprisingly, the conflict may not end in ways the Western powers wanted it to: Seeing Russia defeated, militarily and economically, disrupting Moscow's friendly relations with China, weakening China with sanctions and trade restrictions, and subsequently establishing a NATO-style alliance in Asia was the strategic objective of the neo-imperialists. That goal now lies in tatters.
\n
Second, the United States hoped to prop up India, which joined the SCO along with Pakistan in 2017, as a counterweight to China in its "pivot to Asia" strategy. Giving India a prominent place in the Quad, and projecting the four-country strategic grouping as a future "Asian NATO", was part of its plan to check China's rise. Some influential voices in Washington even urged India to quit the SCO and BRICS in return for a favorable treatment from the Western alliance.
\n
But circumstances prompted India to make timely course-correction, mainly because the US administration didn't spare India in its tariff war. The 50 percent US tariffs to punish India for buying Russian oil have taken effect. Tensions have heightened.
\n
Washington even tried to force New Delhi to stop purchasing Russian oil in a bid to drive a wedge between the two traditional partners. But India couldn't oblige the US for energy security reasons.
\n
On its part, China has stood in solidarity with India against the US' tariff war. Xu Feihong, China's ambassador to India, said: "The United States has imposed tariffs of up to 50 percent on India and even threatened for more. China firmly opposes it. Silence or compromise only emboldens the bully. China will firmly stand with India to uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core."
\n
The thaw in India-China relations is evident from the fact that, after initial ambiguity, New Delhi announced that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the summit as well as meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines.
\n
Third, China has made adroit diplomatic moves in the run-up to the summit to ensure all SCO member states are properly aligned to make the meeting a success. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made fruitful visits to New Delhi, Islamabad and Kabul. As a result, the shadow of the India-Pakistan clash in May is unlikely to fall on the deliberations and outcomes of the summit.
\n
If China's efforts bring about a reconciliation between Pakistan and Afghanistan (which has observer status in the SCO), it will succeed in further promoting "mutual trust, friendship and good-neighborliness" in the region.
\n
And fourth, Wang's visits to three South Asian capitals have raised hopes about the future. In Islamabad, he said the 21st century should be an era of accelerated development and revitalization for Asia, especially South Asia. The fact that China has openly associated itself with the "rise of a new and harmonious South Asia" opens up new possibilities. One of the possibilities is a move toward the resolution of the border disputes between India and China. At the meeting between Wang and Ajit Doval, India's national security adviser, in New Delhi, the two sides agreed to establish an experts' group for exploring "early harvest" solutions in boundary delimitation.
\n
By focusing on solving problems, China's foreign policy fosters result-oriented dialogue among all stakeholders. It is this focus that will likely make the Summit in Tianjin a grand success, following the highly productive BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July, which was in stark contrast to the disarray in the G7 Summit in Alberta, Canada, in June.
\n
The Western alliance is unable to hold together. Washington has been bullying not only countries it considers unfriendly but also its allies. It's time the US realized that the world has changed. Non-Western countries will no longer be bullied.
\n
More than two decades ago, the founding members of the SCO demonstrated their prescience in foreseeing a brighter future for the Global South and using their wisdom to prepare a charter that clearly states its goal: development of multifaceted cooperation to maintain and strengthen peace, security and stability in the region, and promote a new democratic, fair and rational political and economic international order.
\n
In Tianjin, the SCO leaders will surely give this goal a big push.
\n
The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.
\n",
+ "content": "\n\n
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin from Aug 31 to Sept 1 could turn out to be one of the most successful in the organization's history, not least because the world order is changing, with the West rapidly losing its domination of global affairs, even though some Western leaders continue to desperately cling to the illusion of a unipolar world.
\n
Today's world has become irreversibly multipolar. Asia and Eurasia are regaining their rightful place in the emerging new world order. Against this background, four propitious developments have imparted to the SCO Summit extraordinary significance.
\n
First, the end of the Russia-Ukraine conflict seems closer in sight. Not surprisingly, the conflict may not end in ways the Western powers wanted it to: Seeing Russia defeated, militarily and economically, disrupting Moscow's friendly relations with China, weakening China with sanctions and trade restrictions, and subsequently establishing a NATO-style alliance in Asia was the strategic objective of the neo-imperialists. That goal now lies in tatters.
\n
Second, the United States hoped to prop up India, which joined the SCO along with Pakistan in 2017, as a counterweight to China in its "pivot to Asia" strategy. Giving India a prominent place in the Quad, and projecting the four-country strategic grouping as a future "Asian NATO", was part of its plan to check China's rise. Some influential voices in Washington even urged India to quit the SCO and BRICS in return for a favorable treatment from the Western alliance.
\n
But circumstances prompted India to make timely course-correction, mainly because the US administration didn't spare India in its tariff war. The 50 percent US tariffs to punish India for buying Russian oil have taken effect. Tensions have heightened.
\n
Washington even tried to force New Delhi to stop purchasing Russian oil in a bid to drive a wedge between the two traditional partners. But India couldn't oblige the US for energy security reasons.
\n
On its part, China has stood in solidarity with India against the US' tariff war. Xu Feihong, China's ambassador to India, said: "The United States has imposed tariffs of up to 50 percent on India and even threatened for more. China firmly opposes it. Silence or compromise only emboldens the bully. China will firmly stand with India to uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core."
\n
The thaw in India-China relations is evident from the fact that, after initial ambiguity, New Delhi announced that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the summit as well as meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines.
\n
Third, China has made adroit diplomatic moves in the run-up to the summit to ensure all SCO member states are properly aligned to make the meeting a success. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made fruitful visits to New Delhi, Islamabad and Kabul. As a result, the shadow of the India-Pakistan clash in May is unlikely to fall on the deliberations and outcomes of the summit.
\n
If China's efforts bring about a reconciliation between Pakistan and Afghanistan (which has observer status in the SCO), it will succeed in further promoting "mutual trust, friendship and good-neighborliness" in the region.
\n
And fourth, Wang's visits to three South Asian capitals have raised hopes about the future. In Islamabad, he said the 21st century should be an era of accelerated development and revitalization for Asia, especially South Asia. The fact that China has openly associated itself with the "rise of a new and harmonious South Asia" opens up new possibilities. One of the possibilities is a move toward the resolution of the border disputes between India and China. At the meeting between Wang and Ajit Doval, India's national security adviser, in New Delhi, the two sides agreed to establish an experts' group for exploring "early harvest" solutions in boundary delimitation.
\n
By focusing on solving problems, China's foreign policy fosters result-oriented dialogue among all stakeholders. It is this focus that will likely make the Summit in Tianjin a grand success, following the highly productive BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July, which was in stark contrast to the disarray in the G7 Summit in Alberta, Canada, in June.
\n
The Western alliance is unable to hold together. Washington has been bullying not only countries it considers unfriendly but also its allies. It's time the US realized that the world has changed. Non-Western countries will no longer be bullied.
\n
More than two decades ago, the founding members of the SCO demonstrated their prescience in foreseeing a brighter future for the Global South and using their wisdom to prepare a charter that clearly states its goal: development of multifaceted cooperation to maintain and strengthen peace, security and stability in the region, and promote a new democratic, fair and rational political and economic international order.
\n
In Tianjin, the SCO leaders will surely give this goal a big push.
\n
The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War — the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, and progress over regress.
\n
The Chinese people, having fought tenaciously for 14 years, won a great victory in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Their victory was the victory of all the peace-loving people in the world.
\n
This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the return of Taiwan to the motherland, which was an outcome of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War. The pivotal role of the Communist Party of China was key to the victory of the Chinese people in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. Throughout the entire course of the war, the CPC stood at the forefront, providing strong political leadership for the Chinese people.
\n
The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was an important part of the World Anti-Fascist War. It started much before the Western theater of World War II and, during the darkest period of the war, tied down almost 70 percent of the Japanese fascist forces at the cost of great sacrifice of the Chinese people, thus making immense contributions to the ultimate victory in the war.
\n
In 1931, the Imperial Japanese Army staged the Sept 18 Incident, eight years before Nazi Germany launched its blitzkrieg against Poland and 10 years before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Throughout the 14 years of the war of resistance against Japanese aggression, the Chinese people made tremendous sacrifices. According to incomplete data, the number of Chinese military and civilian casualties exceeded 35 million, accounting for about one-third of the total casualties in World War II.
\n
Contrary to some claims, Macao was very much a part of the war. As a matter of fact, its residents fought shoulder to shoulder with their mainland compatriots. Overcoming huge difficulties, all segments of Macao society provided accommodation, food and medical care for a large number of compatriots displaced by the war. Macao's patriotic figures such as Ma Man-kei, Ho Yin and Ke Lin broke through the heavy blockades of the Japanese invaders to send supplies and funds to the front line.
\n
A legion of passionate young people from Macao reached the battlefronts in the Pearl River Delta region, including the Dongjiang Column. Patriotic groups from Macao went to great lengths to publicize the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. And the Yellow River Cantata, composed by Macao-born musician Xian Xinghai, became one of the strongest calls for national salvation.
\n
There is therefore a need to uphold the correct historical perspective of World War II. History should not be tampered with or facts blurred, let alone erased.
\n
Yet, driven by geopolitical interests, some countries and politicians are trying to ignore historical facts, downplay China's contributions to the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, glorify colonial rule, and even deny the history of fascist aggression and the brutal crimes committed by the Japanese army. By indulging in such despicable and disgraceful acts, they are not only bringing shame on themselves, but also challenging the United Nations Charter, the postwar international order, and the collective conscience of the world.
\n
But they should be aware that the over 1.4 billion Chinese people will not tolerate any attempts to distort the truth about World War II.
\n
The international system with the UN at its core, in a way, is a manifestation of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and serves as a cornerstone for the postwar world order. China will never tread the path that fascist countries have paved, because that path leads to war, colonization, plunder and exploitation. Instead, China will always stand on the right side of history and hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and win-win results.
\n
China's proposal for building a community with a shared future for humanity and other major concepts and initiatives are a continuation of the valuable experience of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War. We should learn from history, especially from the hard lessons of World War II, draw strength from the great victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, and vow to safeguard peace and jointly build a brighter future for humankind.
\n
The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.
\n",
+ "content": "\n
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War — the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, and progress over regress.
\n
The Chinese people, having fought tenaciously for 14 years, won a great victory in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Their victory was the victory of all the peace-loving people in the world.
\n
This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the return of Taiwan to the motherland, which was an outcome of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War. The pivotal role of the Communist Party of China was key to the victory of the Chinese people in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. Throughout the entire course of the war, the CPC stood at the forefront, providing strong political leadership for the Chinese people.
\n
The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was an important part of the World Anti-Fascist War. It started much before the Western theater of World War II and, during the darkest period of the war, tied down almost 70 percent of the Japanese fascist forces at the cost of great sacrifice of the Chinese people, thus making immense contributions to the ultimate victory in the war.
\n
In 1931, the Imperial Japanese Army staged the Sept 18 Incident, eight years before Nazi Germany launched its blitzkrieg against Poland and 10 years before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Throughout the 14 years of the war of resistance against Japanese aggression, the Chinese people made tremendous sacrifices. According to incomplete data, the number of Chinese military and civilian casualties exceeded 35 million, accounting for about one-third of the total casualties in World War II.
\n
Contrary to some claims, Macao was very much a part of the war. As a matter of fact, its residents fought shoulder to shoulder with their mainland compatriots. Overcoming huge difficulties, all segments of Macao society provided accommodation, food and medical care for a large number of compatriots displaced by the war. Macao's patriotic figures such as Ma Man-kei, Ho Yin and Ke Lin broke through the heavy blockades of the Japanese invaders to send supplies and funds to the front line.
\n
A legion of passionate young people from Macao reached the battlefronts in the Pearl River Delta region, including the Dongjiang Column. Patriotic groups from Macao went to great lengths to publicize the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. And the Yellow River Cantata, composed by Macao-born musician Xian Xinghai, became one of the strongest calls for national salvation.
\n
There is therefore a need to uphold the correct historical perspective of World War II. History should not be tampered with or facts blurred, let alone erased.
\n
Yet, driven by geopolitical interests, some countries and politicians are trying to ignore historical facts, downplay China's contributions to the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, glorify colonial rule, and even deny the history of fascist aggression and the brutal crimes committed by the Japanese army. By indulging in such despicable and disgraceful acts, they are not only bringing shame on themselves, but also challenging the United Nations Charter, the postwar international order, and the collective conscience of the world.
\n
But they should be aware that the over 1.4 billion Chinese people will not tolerate any attempts to distort the truth about World War II.
\n
The international system with the UN at its core, in a way, is a manifestation of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and serves as a cornerstone for the postwar world order. China will never tread the path that fascist countries have paved, because that path leads to war, colonization, plunder and exploitation. Instead, China will always stand on the right side of history and hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and win-win results.
\n
China's proposal for building a community with a shared future for humanity and other major concepts and initiatives are a continuation of the valuable experience of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War. We should learn from history, especially from the hard lessons of World War II, draw strength from the great victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, and vow to safeguard peace and jointly build a brighter future for humankind.
\n
The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.
China will ramp up policy support for the artificial intelligence sector, as it plays an important role in boosting consumption and promoting high-quality economic development, officials and experts said.
\n
The State Council, China's Cabinet, unveiled a guideline on deeply implementing the "AI Plus" initiative on Tuesday, aiming to promote the development and application of AI in multiple fields.
\n
The government will increase investment support for major AI projects, Zhang Kailin, deputy director of the department of innovation and high-tech development at the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a news conference on Friday.
\n
The government will make full use of policies for large-scale equipment upgrading and consumer goods trade-in, central budget investment and local government special bonds to bolster the development of AI, said Zhang.
\n
China will continue to provide "AI vouchers" in fields such as computing power to lower R&D and application costs for innovation entities, while optimizing the allocation of resources.
\n
Through the "AI vouchers" policy, the government utilizes funds from government bonds to pilot and facilitate a virtuous cycle between supply and demand in AI service resources.
\n
"The establishment of common technology platforms, including pilot-scale application bases in key industrial sectors, will pool common and high-quality resources while lowering the barriers to applying new technologies," Zhang said.
\n
For major strategic scenarios, Zhang noted that the government encourages joint research efforts to tackle bottlenecks and obstacles, enhance AI's capability to solve real-world problems, deepening its application in critical fields.
\n
While referring to the popularization of smart devices, Zhang said that the government will continue to support AI-powered consumer products so as to make useful AI technologies and products accessible to the public.
\n
The development and application of AI will help optimize consumption structure, said Huo Fupeng, an NDRC official.
\n
New service consumption scenarios will be further expanded, as AI improves the quality of life in sectors such as culture and entertainment, e-commerce, elderly care and childcare, while extending experience-based and personalized consumption to meet residents' multilevel and diverse needs, Huo said.
\n
New business models in product consumption will continue to emerge as a result, Huo said, adding that the rapid adoption of smart devices, such as smart home products and wearables, will build an all-scenario smart interactive environment.
\n
Meanwhile, AI will accelerate its integration with cutting-edge technologies, such as low-altitude aviation, additive manufacturing and brain-computer interfaces, driving continuous innovation and the emergence of new products and forms, which will further unleash new consumption potential, Huo added.
\n
China's current computing power development still falls short of effectively meeting market demand, said Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
\n
Government-supported "vouchers" can help bridge this demand-supply gap, enabling computing power to play a more active role in AI, Zhou said.
\n
China's accumulated experience in effective development and governance of AI can promote international AI collaboration, enabling the country to share the experiences of digital economic development with other nations, Zhou added.
\n
"AI Plus" is becoming a crucial engine for industrial transformation and upgrading — not only enhancing the quality and efficiency of traditional sectors, but also fostering the growth of strategic emerging industries, said Zheng Nanning, a professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University.
\n
Policies encourage leveraging AI to empower industrial production and accelerating the upgrading of high-end equipment, which help to advance the high-quality development of the industrial internet and smart manufacturing, enhance the core competitiveness of the manufacturing sector and drive the modernization of industrial and supply chains, Zheng said.
\n
Contact the writers at tanguoling@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
China will ramp up policy support for the artificial intelligence sector, as it plays an important role in boosting consumption and promoting high-quality economic development, officials and experts said.
\n
The State Council, China's Cabinet, unveiled a guideline on deeply implementing the "AI Plus" initiative on Tuesday, aiming to promote the development and application of AI in multiple fields.
\n
The government will increase investment support for major AI projects, Zhang Kailin, deputy director of the department of innovation and high-tech development at the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a news conference on Friday.
\n
The government will make full use of policies for large-scale equipment upgrading and consumer goods trade-in, central budget investment and local government special bonds to bolster the development of AI, said Zhang.
\n
China will continue to provide "AI vouchers" in fields such as computing power to lower R&D and application costs for innovation entities, while optimizing the allocation of resources.
\n
Through the "AI vouchers" policy, the government utilizes funds from government bonds to pilot and facilitate a virtuous cycle between supply and demand in AI service resources.
\n
"The establishment of common technology platforms, including pilot-scale application bases in key industrial sectors, will pool common and high-quality resources while lowering the barriers to applying new technologies," Zhang said.
\n
For major strategic scenarios, Zhang noted that the government encourages joint research efforts to tackle bottlenecks and obstacles, enhance AI's capability to solve real-world problems, deepening its application in critical fields.
\n
While referring to the popularization of smart devices, Zhang said that the government will continue to support AI-powered consumer products so as to make useful AI technologies and products accessible to the public.
\n
The development and application of AI will help optimize consumption structure, said Huo Fupeng, an NDRC official.
\n
New service consumption scenarios will be further expanded, as AI improves the quality of life in sectors such as culture and entertainment, e-commerce, elderly care and childcare, while extending experience-based and personalized consumption to meet residents' multilevel and diverse needs, Huo said.
\n
New business models in product consumption will continue to emerge as a result, Huo said, adding that the rapid adoption of smart devices, such as smart home products and wearables, will build an all-scenario smart interactive environment.
\n
Meanwhile, AI will accelerate its integration with cutting-edge technologies, such as low-altitude aviation, additive manufacturing and brain-computer interfaces, driving continuous innovation and the emergence of new products and forms, which will further unleash new consumption potential, Huo added.
\n
China's current computing power development still falls short of effectively meeting market demand, said Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
\n
Government-supported "vouchers" can help bridge this demand-supply gap, enabling computing power to play a more active role in AI, Zhou said.
\n
China's accumulated experience in effective development and governance of AI can promote international AI collaboration, enabling the country to share the experiences of digital economic development with other nations, Zhou added.
\n
"AI Plus" is becoming a crucial engine for industrial transformation and upgrading — not only enhancing the quality and efficiency of traditional sectors, but also fostering the growth of strategic emerging industries, said Zheng Nanning, a professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University.
\n
Policies encourage leveraging AI to empower industrial production and accelerating the upgrading of high-end equipment, which help to advance the high-quality development of the industrial internet and smart manufacturing, enhance the core competitiveness of the manufacturing sector and drive the modernization of industrial and supply chains, Zheng said.
\n
Contact the writers at tanguoling@chinadaily.com.cn
Shoppers browse Pop Mart's latest launch, THE MONSTERS Heart Code Mini Series, at a store in Beijing on Thursday.
\n
On Thursday, collectible toys maker Pop Mart's latest launch — THE MONSTERS Heart Code Mini Series, featuring a pocket-sized version of its iconic Labubu character — became an instant sensation.
\n
Released at 10 pm, the highly anticipated collection sold out within a minute across all official stores. By 11 pm, e-commerce sales had surpassed one million units, sending shock waves through the collectibles market.
\n
Pop Mart's shares opened at HK$330 ($42.35) apiece on Friday, up 5.6 percent, but quickly slipped in intraday trading. Its shares closed 1.11 percent lower at HK$320.80.
\n
The release of the new collection consists of two separate blind-box sets, each containing 14 standard figures and one secret edition. Priced at 79 yuan ($11.07) per blind box, the full set of 14 figures retails for 1,106 yuan.
\n
Speculators quickly capitalized on the frenzy.
\n
On resale platforms, full sets of 14 were being listed for as high as 2,500 yuan. The secret "Heart" figure, in particular, saw its price soar to 1,900 yuan — 24 times the original retail value.
\n
The intense demand comes as no surprise, given Pop Mart's recent financial performance. The company's 2025 interim results report showed a 204.4 percent increase in first-half revenue, reaching 13.88 billion yuan, while its adjusted net profit jumped 362.8 percent to 4.71 billion yuan.
\n
The MONSTERS brand, which includes Labubu, generated 4.81 billion yuan in sales during the same period — a 668 percent year-on-year growth, now accounting for nearly 35 percent of Pop Mart's total revenue.
\n
In the first half, the Chinese market delivered 8.28 billion yuan in revenue, a 135.2 percent year-on-year surge; Asia-Pacific generated 2.85 billion yuan, up 257.8 percent; the Americas contributed 2.26 billion yuan, soaring 1,142.3 percent; and Europe plus other markets added 480 million yuan, higher by 729.2 percent.
\n
Founder Wang Ning introduced the mini Labubu during the company's earnings call, emphasizing its design as a key-chain-ready collectible that can hang from phones, bags, or keys, unlocking new moments of engagement. "Demand for the current line remains enormous, and the IP still has vast untapped value," Wang said.
\n
GF Securities noted that as Gen-Z matures, China's spending mix is shifting: outlays on services are rising steadily, and new categories — emotion-driven and self-reward consumption — are springing up.
\n
Tracking how preferences evolve offers a road map: Chinese consumers are migrating toward purchases that deliver emotional resonance and high value-for-money, signaling a structural pivot to sentiment-centric, quality-first spending, GF Securities said.
\n
wangzhuoqiong@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
Shoppers browse Pop Mart's latest launch, THE MONSTERS Heart Code Mini Series, at a store in Beijing on Thursday.
\n
On Thursday, collectible toys maker Pop Mart's latest launch — THE MONSTERS Heart Code Mini Series, featuring a pocket-sized version of its iconic Labubu character — became an instant sensation.
\n
Released at 10 pm, the highly anticipated collection sold out within a minute across all official stores. By 11 pm, e-commerce sales had surpassed one million units, sending shock waves through the collectibles market.
\n
Pop Mart's shares opened at HK$330 ($42.35) apiece on Friday, up 5.6 percent, but quickly slipped in intraday trading. Its shares closed 1.11 percent lower at HK$320.80.
\n
The release of the new collection consists of two separate blind-box sets, each containing 14 standard figures and one secret edition. Priced at 79 yuan ($11.07) per blind box, the full set of 14 figures retails for 1,106 yuan.
\n
Speculators quickly capitalized on the frenzy.
\n
On resale platforms, full sets of 14 were being listed for as high as 2,500 yuan. The secret "Heart" figure, in particular, saw its price soar to 1,900 yuan — 24 times the original retail value.
\n
The intense demand comes as no surprise, given Pop Mart's recent financial performance. The company's 2025 interim results report showed a 204.4 percent increase in first-half revenue, reaching 13.88 billion yuan, while its adjusted net profit jumped 362.8 percent to 4.71 billion yuan.
\n
The MONSTERS brand, which includes Labubu, generated 4.81 billion yuan in sales during the same period — a 668 percent year-on-year growth, now accounting for nearly 35 percent of Pop Mart's total revenue.
\n
In the first half, the Chinese market delivered 8.28 billion yuan in revenue, a 135.2 percent year-on-year surge; Asia-Pacific generated 2.85 billion yuan, up 257.8 percent; the Americas contributed 2.26 billion yuan, soaring 1,142.3 percent; and Europe plus other markets added 480 million yuan, higher by 729.2 percent.
\n
Founder Wang Ning introduced the mini Labubu during the company's earnings call, emphasizing its design as a key-chain-ready collectible that can hang from phones, bags, or keys, unlocking new moments of engagement. "Demand for the current line remains enormous, and the IP still has vast untapped value," Wang said.
\n
GF Securities noted that as Gen-Z matures, China's spending mix is shifting: outlays on services are rising steadily, and new categories — emotion-driven and self-reward consumption — are springing up.
\n
Tracking how preferences evolve offers a road map: Chinese consumers are migrating toward purchases that deliver emotional resonance and high value-for-money, signaling a structural pivot to sentiment-centric, quality-first spending, GF Securities said.
Staff members of Huanghouyuan Railway Station in Shanxi province follow a mentor-apprentice system to elevate the safety awareness and competence of new employees. The station's innovative training model has sharpened the safety protocols and practical skills of workers, allowing them to swiftly adapt to their posts and boost professionalism.
\n",
+ "content": "
Staff members of Huanghouyuan Railway Station in Shanxi province follow a mentor-apprentice system to elevate the safety awareness and competence of new employees. The station's innovative training model has sharpened the safety protocols and practical skills of workers, allowing them to swiftly adapt to their posts and boost professionalism.
\n",
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+ "creator": "",
+ "pubDate": "Sat, 30 Aug 2025 00:21:04 +0000",
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+ {
+ "title": "005BUSINESS - China looking to leverage big data as force for transformation",
+ "description": "
China will take steps to accelerate the construction of high-quality data sets, and develop the data industry and artificial intelligence, which has been regarded as a main direction for bolstering technological innovation and industrial transformation, according to the country's top data governance regulator.
\n
Liu Liehong, head of the National Data Administration, said data elements are speeding up their integration with economic and social development, injecting momentum into the transformation of various industries and stimulating innovation vitality.
\n
Liu made the remarks during the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2025, which runs from Thursday to Saturday in Guiyang, the capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province.
\n
"In recent years, the rapid development of AI has led to an explosive increase in demand for data, greatly driving the construction of high-quality data sets and accelerating breakthroughs in technologies such as data annotation, data governance, data mining and analysis, and secure circulation," Liu noted.
\n
He said China has favorable conditions for the development of the data industry, given its world-leading data infrastructure, ever-increasing technological innovation capacities, broad application scenarios, high-quality data sets and supportive policy measures, estimating that the country's data industry is expected to maintain strong growth in the coming years.
\n
China's data sector has made great strides during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period. Statistics from the National Data Development Research Institute show that the number of data-related enterprises in China surpassed 400,000 in 2024, while the market scale of the nation's data industry reached 5.86 trillion yuan ($821.6 billion).
\n
According to Liu, the country had built 4.55 million 5G base stations by the end of June, and the number of gigabit broadband users had reached 226 million. China's computational power ranks second in the world.
\n
Looking ahead, he said the country will enhance the supply capacity of data resources, expand the application scenarios of data in key fields, foster data enterprises, and optimize the layout of the data industry so as to facilitate the development of the digital economy and nurture new quality productive forces.
\n
Dong Jialu, vice-governor of Guizhou province, said the province will vigorously develop the computing power industry with a key focus on intelligent computing, as well as develop the data industry and AI industry centered on industry-specific large models.
\n
More efforts will be made to develop the electronic information industry, with a focus on fostering industries such as electronic components, computing hardware manufacturing, and intelligent terminal manufacturing, Dong said.
\n
Often dubbed China's big data hub, the mountainous province of Guizhou is the country's first national big data comprehensive pilot zone, and has been promoting the big data industry as the backbone of the province's high-quality social and economic development.
\n
Zhang Dong, vice-president of China Mobile, said AI is integrating into various areas of the economy and society at an unprecedented speed, and the robust development of AI has brought about new opportunities to the data industry.
\n
Zhang said the company will press ahead with the construction of information infrastructure, provide diversified information services such as computing power, data and models, expand the supply of high-quality data resources, and promote the integrated development of data applications.
\n
China unveiled a plan for the overall layout of the country's digital development in 2023, vowing to make important progress in the construction of a "Digital China" by the end of 2025.
\n
Mei Hong, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said digital transformation in traditional industries, such as manufacturing, transportation and energy, has become the main battlefield in the development of the digital economy.
\n
He underscored the importance of establishing a data elements market, promoting the confirmation of data-related rights, and exploring a data pricing mechanism and value assessment system to give full play to the massive value of data.
\n
According to the National Data Administration, the nation's total data output reached 41.06 zettabytes last year, up 25 percent year-on-year, while the added value of core industries of the digital economy accounted for about 10 percent of GDP.
\n
Contact the writers at fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
China will take steps to accelerate the construction of high-quality data sets, and develop the data industry and artificial intelligence, which has been regarded as a main direction for bolstering technological innovation and industrial transformation, according to the country's top data governance regulator.
\n
Liu Liehong, head of the National Data Administration, said data elements are speeding up their integration with economic and social development, injecting momentum into the transformation of various industries and stimulating innovation vitality.
\n
Liu made the remarks during the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2025, which runs from Thursday to Saturday in Guiyang, the capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province.
\n
"In recent years, the rapid development of AI has led to an explosive increase in demand for data, greatly driving the construction of high-quality data sets and accelerating breakthroughs in technologies such as data annotation, data governance, data mining and analysis, and secure circulation," Liu noted.
\n
He said China has favorable conditions for the development of the data industry, given its world-leading data infrastructure, ever-increasing technological innovation capacities, broad application scenarios, high-quality data sets and supportive policy measures, estimating that the country's data industry is expected to maintain strong growth in the coming years.
\n
China's data sector has made great strides during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period. Statistics from the National Data Development Research Institute show that the number of data-related enterprises in China surpassed 400,000 in 2024, while the market scale of the nation's data industry reached 5.86 trillion yuan ($821.6 billion).
\n
According to Liu, the country had built 4.55 million 5G base stations by the end of June, and the number of gigabit broadband users had reached 226 million. China's computational power ranks second in the world.
\n
Looking ahead, he said the country will enhance the supply capacity of data resources, expand the application scenarios of data in key fields, foster data enterprises, and optimize the layout of the data industry so as to facilitate the development of the digital economy and nurture new quality productive forces.
\n
Dong Jialu, vice-governor of Guizhou province, said the province will vigorously develop the computing power industry with a key focus on intelligent computing, as well as develop the data industry and AI industry centered on industry-specific large models.
\n
More efforts will be made to develop the electronic information industry, with a focus on fostering industries such as electronic components, computing hardware manufacturing, and intelligent terminal manufacturing, Dong said.
\n
Often dubbed China's big data hub, the mountainous province of Guizhou is the country's first national big data comprehensive pilot zone, and has been promoting the big data industry as the backbone of the province's high-quality social and economic development.
\n
Zhang Dong, vice-president of China Mobile, said AI is integrating into various areas of the economy and society at an unprecedented speed, and the robust development of AI has brought about new opportunities to the data industry.
\n
Zhang said the company will press ahead with the construction of information infrastructure, provide diversified information services such as computing power, data and models, expand the supply of high-quality data resources, and promote the integrated development of data applications.
\n
China unveiled a plan for the overall layout of the country's digital development in 2023, vowing to make important progress in the construction of a "Digital China" by the end of 2025.
\n
Mei Hong, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said digital transformation in traditional industries, such as manufacturing, transportation and energy, has become the main battlefield in the development of the digital economy.
\n
He underscored the importance of establishing a data elements market, promoting the confirmation of data-related rights, and exploring a data pricing mechanism and value assessment system to give full play to the massive value of data.
\n
According to the National Data Administration, the nation's total data output reached 41.06 zettabytes last year, up 25 percent year-on-year, while the added value of core industries of the digital economy accounted for about 10 percent of GDP.
\n
Contact the writers at fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn
China has certified a significant addition to its shale gas reserves with the official recognition of a shale gas field in the Jianghan oilfield recently, marking the emergence of another large-scale shale gas resource for the world's second-largest economy amid the trend of steady growth in domestic energy supply.
\n
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec), the world's largest refiner, announced earlier the discovery of more than 165 billion cubic meters of proven shale gas reserves in a field located at the junction of Hubei province in Central China and Southwest China's Chongqing municipality.
\n
The geological structure of the shale gas reserves, found at depths between 3,300 and 5,500 meters, is complex with significant challenges in exploration and development. With technological innovation, the shale gas field has achieved a single-well test production volume of 323,500 cubic meters per day, up from an initial 89,000 cubic meters per day, it said.
\n
Industry experts believe China's energy self-sufficiency is increasingly reliant on domestic oil and gas production, fueled by advancements in exploration and production technologies. This has bolstered the energy resilience of the world's second-largest economy.
\n
With sustained investment in both conventional and unconventional energy sources, Chinese oil and gas firms are aggressively pursuing exploration and development to expand reserves and improve efficiency, said Lu Ruquan, head of the China National Petroleum Corp Economics and Technology Research Institute.
\n
The three major players of China's oil and gas industry: China National Petroleum Corp, China National Offshore Oil Corp and Sinopec, have been stepping up investment in exploration and development in recent years, leading to significant discoveries across various oil and gas fields, he said.
\n
These efforts demonstrably reduced China's reliance on crude oil imports in 2024. The nation's oil and gas sector displayed considerable strength last year, utilizing advanced technologies to ramp up domestic production and lessen dependence on foreign sources, said Lu.
\n
Figures released by the institute reveal that China's total oil and gas output surpassed 400 million metric tons of oil equivalent last year, while total power generation exceeded 10 trillion kilowatt-hours, marking a 5.7 percent increase over the previous year.
\n
Currently, Sinopec has established one shale gas field with reserves above 1 trillion cubic meters, namely the Fuling shale gas field in Chongqing, and four smaller and deep shale gas fields each with reserves exceeding 100 billion cubic meters, including the Hongxing field.
China has certified a significant addition to its shale gas reserves with the official recognition of a shale gas field in the Jianghan oilfield recently, marking the emergence of another large-scale shale gas resource for the world's second-largest economy amid the trend of steady growth in domestic energy supply.
\n
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec), the world's largest refiner, announced earlier the discovery of more than 165 billion cubic meters of proven shale gas reserves in a field located at the junction of Hubei province in Central China and Southwest China's Chongqing municipality.
\n
The geological structure of the shale gas reserves, found at depths between 3,300 and 5,500 meters, is complex with significant challenges in exploration and development. With technological innovation, the shale gas field has achieved a single-well test production volume of 323,500 cubic meters per day, up from an initial 89,000 cubic meters per day, it said.
\n
Industry experts believe China's energy self-sufficiency is increasingly reliant on domestic oil and gas production, fueled by advancements in exploration and production technologies. This has bolstered the energy resilience of the world's second-largest economy.
\n
With sustained investment in both conventional and unconventional energy sources, Chinese oil and gas firms are aggressively pursuing exploration and development to expand reserves and improve efficiency, said Lu Ruquan, head of the China National Petroleum Corp Economics and Technology Research Institute.
\n
The three major players of China's oil and gas industry: China National Petroleum Corp, China National Offshore Oil Corp and Sinopec, have been stepping up investment in exploration and development in recent years, leading to significant discoveries across various oil and gas fields, he said.
\n
These efforts demonstrably reduced China's reliance on crude oil imports in 2024. The nation's oil and gas sector displayed considerable strength last year, utilizing advanced technologies to ramp up domestic production and lessen dependence on foreign sources, said Lu.
\n
Figures released by the institute reveal that China's total oil and gas output surpassed 400 million metric tons of oil equivalent last year, while total power generation exceeded 10 trillion kilowatt-hours, marking a 5.7 percent increase over the previous year.
\n
Currently, Sinopec has established one shale gas field with reserves above 1 trillion cubic meters, namely the Fuling shale gas field in Chongqing, and four smaller and deep shale gas fields each with reserves exceeding 100 billion cubic meters, including the Hongxing field.
China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co Ltd, one of the country's largest insurers, saw an 11 percent year-on-year increase in net income attributable to its parent company to 27.9 billion yuan ($3.91 billion) in the first half of 2025, according to its interim report released late Thursday. The group's operating profit attributable to its parent company also increased by 7.1 percent year-on-year to 19.9 billion yuan.
\n
Yuan strengthens against greenback
\n
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 33 pips to 7.1030 against the US dollar on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
\n",
+ "content": "
Jump in net income for CPIC
\n
China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co Ltd, one of the country's largest insurers, saw an 11 percent year-on-year increase in net income attributable to its parent company to 27.9 billion yuan ($3.91 billion) in the first half of 2025, according to its interim report released late Thursday. The group's operating profit attributable to its parent company also increased by 7.1 percent year-on-year to 19.9 billion yuan.
\n
Yuan strengthens against greenback
\n
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 33 pips to 7.1030 against the US dollar on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
For Japan, the 80th anniversary in early September of its defeat in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War offers a chance to face historical questions justly to move ahead fairly.
\n
A number of Japanese officials and experts expressed that, as an aggressor country, Japan should draw lessons from past wrongs and allow future generations to pass on the truth of war atrocities; otherwise, regional mistrust will persist.
\n
In early August, former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama said that true patriotism means confronting historical facts and acknowledging past mistakes with courage.
\n
At a symposium themed "80 Years since the End of the Pacific War, 80 Years since Japan's Defeat: Toward Building a Peaceful World", he said: "I believe that promoting peace and the development of democracy, based on a profound reflection on history, is the path Japan should follow."
\n
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei said at a news conference on Thursday that Hatoyama will be among the former statesmen invited to attend China's upcoming commemorations on Sept 3.
\n
Hong also said that China urges Japan to reflect deeply upon its crimes of aggression, make a clean break with militarism, and pursue the right path of peaceful development, good neighborliness, and friendship in response to a media query concerning Japan's negative attitude toward the commemorations.
\n
Takakage Fujita, secretary-general of the Association for Inheriting and Propagating the Murayama Statement, said at the symposium earlier that the term "the end of the war" fails to convey historical truth.
\n
Although almost all Japanese media use this expression, the concept cannot reveal the history of Japanese militarism's aggression and colonial rule over China, the Korean Peninsula and other Asian countries, he noted.
\n
Denying aggression
\n
Fujita pointed out that Japan did not thoroughly hold war criminals accountable after the war, and that some senior government officials and former cabinet members have repeatedly denied the history of aggression and colonial rule.
\n
Even though the 1995 Murayama Statement, which acknowledges Japan's wartime mistakes, received positive responses from Asian countries, domestically, opposition to the statement from the Liberal Democratic Party's right-wing factions has persisted to this day.
\n
"It is precisely because some politicians continually make outrageous and revisionist statements that Asian countries have long held doubts about Japan," he added.
\n
Responding to a question on Japan reportedly urging European and Asian countries to refrain from attending the military parade and other events in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a news briefing on Tuesday that China has lodged serious representations with the Japanese side and demanded clarification.
\n
"To view and treat history correctly is an important prerequisite for Japan's post-war return to the international community. It is the political foundation of Japan's relations with neighboring countries, and more importantly, a yardstick for Japan's commitment to peaceful development," Guo said.
\n
Tomoyoshi Kimura, director of the Northeast Asia Dynamics Study Group, said people in Japan still bear a responsibility to inherit and convey historical lessons, as Japan's history of aggression will not disappear.
\n
"We must recognize that, as perpetrators, we bear this responsibility. We need to be fully aware of this and have the resolve to confront history directly," he said.
\n
Atsushi Koketsu, a professor emeritus of Yamaguchi University and a scholar with extensive experience in history education, expressed similar views.
\n
"Many Japanese think, 'I wasn't born during the war, so it has nothing to do with me,' but I often tell my students that although you weren't born then, you have a responsibility to pass down the history of the war; otherwise, it is also a form of guilt," he said.
\n
He criticized Japanese society for dwelling on its own suffering and rarely confronting the roots of these disasters.
\n
Regarding the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Tokyo air raids, Japanese society repeatedly calls for such disasters never to be repeated, Koketsu said. "But the question is, why did these disasters happen? Few people will voluntarily say it was because Japan launched a war of aggression."
\n
"Japan must face and reflect on its history of aggression, transforming painful lessons into a force for peace," Koketsu said. "Otherwise, regional distrust will persist, and history could repeat itself."
\n
Kimura from the Northeast Asia Dynamics Study Group also warned that Japanese society must confront the nation's history of wartime fanaticism.
\n
"If we fail to recognize the period when the entire country clamored for aggression and ignored the tragic plight of the victims, and only see ourselves as victims, it is unacceptable," he said.
\n
Xinhua contributed to this story.
\n
houjunjie@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "\n
For Japan, the 80th anniversary in early September of its defeat in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War offers a chance to face historical questions justly to move ahead fairly.
\n
A number of Japanese officials and experts expressed that, as an aggressor country, Japan should draw lessons from past wrongs and allow future generations to pass on the truth of war atrocities; otherwise, regional mistrust will persist.
\n
In early August, former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama said that true patriotism means confronting historical facts and acknowledging past mistakes with courage.
\n
At a symposium themed "80 Years since the End of the Pacific War, 80 Years since Japan's Defeat: Toward Building a Peaceful World", he said: "I believe that promoting peace and the development of democracy, based on a profound reflection on history, is the path Japan should follow."
\n
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei said at a news conference on Thursday that Hatoyama will be among the former statesmen invited to attend China's upcoming commemorations on Sept 3.
\n
Hong also said that China urges Japan to reflect deeply upon its crimes of aggression, make a clean break with militarism, and pursue the right path of peaceful development, good neighborliness, and friendship in response to a media query concerning Japan's negative attitude toward the commemorations.
\n
Takakage Fujita, secretary-general of the Association for Inheriting and Propagating the Murayama Statement, said at the symposium earlier that the term "the end of the war" fails to convey historical truth.
\n
Although almost all Japanese media use this expression, the concept cannot reveal the history of Japanese militarism's aggression and colonial rule over China, the Korean Peninsula and other Asian countries, he noted.
\n
Denying aggression
\n
Fujita pointed out that Japan did not thoroughly hold war criminals accountable after the war, and that some senior government officials and former cabinet members have repeatedly denied the history of aggression and colonial rule.
\n
Even though the 1995 Murayama Statement, which acknowledges Japan's wartime mistakes, received positive responses from Asian countries, domestically, opposition to the statement from the Liberal Democratic Party's right-wing factions has persisted to this day.
\n
"It is precisely because some politicians continually make outrageous and revisionist statements that Asian countries have long held doubts about Japan," he added.
\n
Responding to a question on Japan reportedly urging European and Asian countries to refrain from attending the military parade and other events in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a news briefing on Tuesday that China has lodged serious representations with the Japanese side and demanded clarification.
\n
"To view and treat history correctly is an important prerequisite for Japan's post-war return to the international community. It is the political foundation of Japan's relations with neighboring countries, and more importantly, a yardstick for Japan's commitment to peaceful development," Guo said.
\n
Tomoyoshi Kimura, director of the Northeast Asia Dynamics Study Group, said people in Japan still bear a responsibility to inherit and convey historical lessons, as Japan's history of aggression will not disappear.
\n
"We must recognize that, as perpetrators, we bear this responsibility. We need to be fully aware of this and have the resolve to confront history directly," he said.
\n
Atsushi Koketsu, a professor emeritus of Yamaguchi University and a scholar with extensive experience in history education, expressed similar views.
\n
"Many Japanese think, 'I wasn't born during the war, so it has nothing to do with me,' but I often tell my students that although you weren't born then, you have a responsibility to pass down the history of the war; otherwise, it is also a form of guilt," he said.
\n
He criticized Japanese society for dwelling on its own suffering and rarely confronting the roots of these disasters.
\n
Regarding the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Tokyo air raids, Japanese society repeatedly calls for such disasters never to be repeated, Koketsu said. "But the question is, why did these disasters happen? Few people will voluntarily say it was because Japan launched a war of aggression."
\n
"Japan must face and reflect on its history of aggression, transforming painful lessons into a force for peace," Koketsu said. "Otherwise, regional distrust will persist, and history could repeat itself."
\n
Kimura from the Northeast Asia Dynamics Study Group also warned that Japanese society must confront the nation's history of wartime fanaticism.
\n
"If we fail to recognize the period when the entire country clamored for aggression and ignored the tragic plight of the victims, and only see ourselves as victims, it is unacceptable," he said.
Displaced Palestinians flee Gaza City toward the southern areas of the Gaza Strip, in Nuseirat, on Thursday. Israel's military on Friday said it was suspending mid-day pauses to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza City, calling it a "dangerous combat zone".
\n",
+ "content": "
Displaced Palestinians flee Gaza City toward the southern areas of the Gaza Strip, in Nuseirat, on Thursday. Israel's military on Friday said it was suspending mid-day pauses to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza City, calling it a "dangerous combat zone".
US President Donald Trump has praised the contributions of Chinese students to colleges across the country and acknowledged that the institutions would struggle without the students' financial support, stating that he would be open to allowing 600,000 Chinese students into US universities as part of trade talks.
\n
Trump first made the comments during a meeting in the Oval Office on Monday with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
\n
"I hear so many stories about 'we are not going to allow (Chinese) students,' but we are going to allow their students to come in. We are going to allow it. It's very important — 600,000 students."
\n
His remarks appeared to be a U-turn on previous moves by the Trump administration earlier in the year to limit foreign and Chinese students already studying or planning to come to US colleges.
\n
The administration considered plans to block foreign enrollment at Harvard University and added to a list of reasons why foreign students should not study in the US.
\n
In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Chinese students, the second-highest source of international students in the US, would see extra vetting and could have the State Department revoke their visas if they were tied to the Communist Party of China.
\n
During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump doubled down on his comments from Monday.
\n
While sitting next to Rubio, he said he was "honored" to have Chinese students in the US, The Associated Press reported.
\n
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Wednesday that China hoped the US would act on Trump's commitment to welcoming Chinese students, stop groundlessly harassing, interrogating or repatriating them, and earnestly protect their legitimate and lawful rights and interests.
\n
However, Trump's comments drew criticism from key figures in his Make America Great Again base, such as US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Laura Loomer, a far-right adviser.
\n
But Trump admitted at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting that international students were, in fact, helping to keep some US schools afloat.
\n
"And you know what would happen if they didn't (come)? Our college system would go to hell very quickly and it wouldn't be the top colleges," Trump said.
\n
International students studying at US colleges and universities contributed $43.8 billion to the economy and supported 378,000 jobs during the 2023-24 academic year, according to data from NAFSA, an association of international educators.
\n
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning warned on Aug 22 that Chinese students arriving in the US recently went through unfair treatment. Some were detained for more than 70 hours and repeatedly forced to answer questions that had nothing to do with their purpose of travel to the US. Some students' visas were even revoked.
\n
Professor James Millward teaches intersocietal history at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Washington, DC, and specializes in Chinese, Central Asian and world history.
\n
"It is important for young people in the US and China to interact and learn about each other … As societies, both the US and China should be encouraging study abroad and other academic and cultural interactions, now more than ever," he told China Daily.
\n
belindarobinson@chinadailyusa.com
\n",
+ "content": "
US President Donald Trump has praised the contributions of Chinese students to colleges across the country and acknowledged that the institutions would struggle without the students' financial support, stating that he would be open to allowing 600,000 Chinese students into US universities as part of trade talks.
\n
Trump first made the comments during a meeting in the Oval Office on Monday with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
\n
"I hear so many stories about 'we are not going to allow (Chinese) students,' but we are going to allow their students to come in. We are going to allow it. It's very important — 600,000 students."
\n
His remarks appeared to be a U-turn on previous moves by the Trump administration earlier in the year to limit foreign and Chinese students already studying or planning to come to US colleges.
\n
The administration considered plans to block foreign enrollment at Harvard University and added to a list of reasons why foreign students should not study in the US.
\n
In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Chinese students, the second-highest source of international students in the US, would see extra vetting and could have the State Department revoke their visas if they were tied to the Communist Party of China.
\n
During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump doubled down on his comments from Monday.
\n
While sitting next to Rubio, he said he was "honored" to have Chinese students in the US, The Associated Press reported.
\n
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Wednesday that China hoped the US would act on Trump's commitment to welcoming Chinese students, stop groundlessly harassing, interrogating or repatriating them, and earnestly protect their legitimate and lawful rights and interests.
\n
However, Trump's comments drew criticism from key figures in his Make America Great Again base, such as US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Laura Loomer, a far-right adviser.
\n
But Trump admitted at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting that international students were, in fact, helping to keep some US schools afloat.
\n
"And you know what would happen if they didn't (come)? Our college system would go to hell very quickly and it wouldn't be the top colleges," Trump said.
\n
International students studying at US colleges and universities contributed $43.8 billion to the economy and supported 378,000 jobs during the 2023-24 academic year, according to data from NAFSA, an association of international educators.
\n
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning warned on Aug 22 that Chinese students arriving in the US recently went through unfair treatment. Some were detained for more than 70 hours and repeatedly forced to answer questions that had nothing to do with their purpose of travel to the US. Some students' visas were even revoked.
\n
Professor James Millward teaches intersocietal history at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Washington, DC, and specializes in Chinese, Central Asian and world history.
\n
"It is important for young people in the US and China to interact and learn about each other … As societies, both the US and China should be encouraging study abroad and other academic and cultural interactions, now more than ever," he told China Daily.
The wife of South Korea's jailed ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol and his former prime minister were indicted on Friday as part of investigations into his administration and his attempt to overcome opposition by declaring martial law. Yoon's wife, Kim Keon-hee, is charged with violating financial market and political funding laws and receiving bribes. Former prime minister Han Duck-soo was charged with abetting Yoon's imposition of martial law, which investigators say amounted to a rebellion, as well as falsifying and destroying official documents, and lying under oath.
\n
VENEZUELA
\n
Tensions rise as US warships arrive
\n
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela are rising amid a large US naval buildup in the Southern Caribbean and nearby waters. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday that there was "no way" US troops could invade Venezuela after Washington deployed five warships and 4,000 troops to the Caribbean to pressure the leader. The Pentagon has not indicated publicly what exactly the US mission will be, but the government has said it can now use the military to go after drug cartels and criminal groups and has directed the Pentagon to prepare options.
\n
MAURITANIA
\n
69 dead as migrant boat capsized
\n
The death toll from a capsized boat carrying migrants earlier this week off the coast of Mauritania has climbed to 69, an official told AFP on Friday. Authorities said the boat came from Gambia and capsized on Tuesday morning off the coast of Mheijrat. Migrants said there had been about 160 people on board the boat, including Senegalese and Gambian nationals. In recent years, Mauritania's waters have become a highway for migrants across sub-Saharan Africa seeking to reach Europe.
\n",
+ "content": "
SOUTH KOREA
\n
Ex-president Yoon's wife, ally indicted
\n
The wife of South Korea's jailed ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol and his former prime minister were indicted on Friday as part of investigations into his administration and his attempt to overcome opposition by declaring martial law. Yoon's wife, Kim Keon-hee, is charged with violating financial market and political funding laws and receiving bribes. Former prime minister Han Duck-soo was charged with abetting Yoon's imposition of martial law, which investigators say amounted to a rebellion, as well as falsifying and destroying official documents, and lying under oath.
\n
VENEZUELA
\n
Tensions rise as US warships arrive
\n
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela are rising amid a large US naval buildup in the Southern Caribbean and nearby waters. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday that there was "no way" US troops could invade Venezuela after Washington deployed five warships and 4,000 troops to the Caribbean to pressure the leader. The Pentagon has not indicated publicly what exactly the US mission will be, but the government has said it can now use the military to go after drug cartels and criminal groups and has directed the Pentagon to prepare options.
\n
MAURITANIA
\n
69 dead as migrant boat capsized
\n
The death toll from a capsized boat carrying migrants earlier this week off the coast of Mauritania has climbed to 69, an official told AFP on Friday. Authorities said the boat came from Gambia and capsized on Tuesday morning off the coast of Mheijrat. Migrants said there had been about 160 people on board the boat, including Senegalese and Gambian nationals. In recent years, Mauritania's waters have become a highway for migrants across sub-Saharan Africa seeking to reach Europe.
Thailand's sacked prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra (center) gestures during a news conference after her dismissal by the Constitutional Court, in Bangkok on Friday.
\n
Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled to dismiss prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office on Friday, after finding her guilty of violating the constitution during a controversial leaked phone call between her and Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen.
\n
Deputy Premier Phumtham Wechayachai and the current cabinet will oversee the government in a caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is elected by the House of Representatives, which could be as soon as next week.
\n
A panel of judges on the Constitutional Court agreed, by a vote of six to three, to strip Paetongtarn of her premiership status, as her actions constituted a serious violation of ethical standards. The court also dismissed her cabinet, but the remaining members will be allowed to continue caretaker duties.
\n
Paetongtarn was suspended from her duties as prime minister on July 1, pending a ruling on an ethics complaint stemming from her divisive handling of a border dispute with Cambodia. Tensions between the neighbors had mounted after soldiers from both countries briefly exchanged gunfire in a disputed border area in June.
\n
A subsequently leaked audio recording revealed that Paetongtarn made a private call to Hun Sen to discuss how to ease bilateral tension, in which she referred to a Thai army commander as an equivalent to "opponent".
\n
The clip led to a petition from 36 senators to the Constitutional Court of Thailand, in which the senators requested that the court suspend Paetongtarn from her role as prime minister. They claimed her remarks showed a lack of responsibility, and the clip raised serious concerns over Thai sovereignty, the military and the people.
\n
The Supreme Court on Friday stated that Paetongtarn had violated the ethical standards that a prime minister is subject to.
\n
It also stated that the prime minister prioritized her personal interests over national interests during the call.
\n
Paetongtarn became the country's youngest-ever prime minister after she was elected last August as Thailand's 31st prime minister.
\n
The 39-year-old Pheu Thai Party leader is the youngest daughter of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose younger sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, also served as prime minister between 2011 and 2014.
\n
After being found guilty, Paetongtarn becomes the third member of the Shinawatra family to be removed from office.
\n
For the upcoming election, potential candidates include Chaikasem Nitisiri from Pheu Thai; Prayut Chan-o-cha, a privy councillor and former prime minister; Pirapan Salirathavibhaga of the United Thai Nation Party; Jurin Laksanawisit of the Democrat Party; and Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, or BJT.
\n
"Appointing a new prime minister… will be difficult and may take considerable time," said Stithorn Thananithichot, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University. "It's not easy for all parties to align their interests. Pheu Thai will be at a disadvantage."
\n
yangwanli@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
Thailand's sacked prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra (center) gestures during a news conference after her dismissal by the Constitutional Court, in Bangkok on Friday.
\n
Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled to dismiss prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office on Friday, after finding her guilty of violating the constitution during a controversial leaked phone call between her and Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen.
\n
Deputy Premier Phumtham Wechayachai and the current cabinet will oversee the government in a caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is elected by the House of Representatives, which could be as soon as next week.
\n
A panel of judges on the Constitutional Court agreed, by a vote of six to three, to strip Paetongtarn of her premiership status, as her actions constituted a serious violation of ethical standards. The court also dismissed her cabinet, but the remaining members will be allowed to continue caretaker duties.
\n
Paetongtarn was suspended from her duties as prime minister on July 1, pending a ruling on an ethics complaint stemming from her divisive handling of a border dispute with Cambodia. Tensions between the neighbors had mounted after soldiers from both countries briefly exchanged gunfire in a disputed border area in June.
\n
A subsequently leaked audio recording revealed that Paetongtarn made a private call to Hun Sen to discuss how to ease bilateral tension, in which she referred to a Thai army commander as an equivalent to "opponent".
\n
The clip led to a petition from 36 senators to the Constitutional Court of Thailand, in which the senators requested that the court suspend Paetongtarn from her role as prime minister. They claimed her remarks showed a lack of responsibility, and the clip raised serious concerns over Thai sovereignty, the military and the people.
\n
The Supreme Court on Friday stated that Paetongtarn had violated the ethical standards that a prime minister is subject to.
\n
It also stated that the prime minister prioritized her personal interests over national interests during the call.
\n
Paetongtarn became the country's youngest-ever prime minister after she was elected last August as Thailand's 31st prime minister.
\n
The 39-year-old Pheu Thai Party leader is the youngest daughter of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose younger sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, also served as prime minister between 2011 and 2014.
\n
After being found guilty, Paetongtarn becomes the third member of the Shinawatra family to be removed from office.
\n
For the upcoming election, potential candidates include Chaikasem Nitisiri from Pheu Thai; Prayut Chan-o-cha, a privy councillor and former prime minister; Pirapan Salirathavibhaga of the United Thai Nation Party; Jurin Laksanawisit of the Democrat Party; and Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, or BJT.
\n
"Appointing a new prime minister… will be difficult and may take considerable time," said Stithorn Thananithichot, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University. "It's not easy for all parties to align their interests. Pheu Thai will be at a disadvantage."
African governments have been urged to integrate the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare systems as a means of bridging the growing disparity in the doctor-patient ratio across the continent.
\n
Speaking during the Africa Premier AI Conference, held in Mombasa, Kenya, innovators pointed out that the continent could learn from the successes of China and the United States in scaling up AI-powered medical services, addressing its overstretched health systems, particularly in rural and underserved communities where access to medical professionals remains limited.
\n
Bill Faruki, founder and chief executive officer of AI company MindHYVE.ai, explained that by leveraging artificial general intelligence and agentic AI, clinical decision support systems can assist licensed medical practitioners in diagnosing conditions and suggesting appropriate treatments.
\n
"AI tools can dramatically extend the reach of the limited healthcare workforce in developing countries like Kenya, where one physician may be responsible for over 10,000 to 12,000 patients," he said.
\n
He also pointed out that the clinical intelligence platform enables one doctor to perform the work of a radiologist, hematologist, pharmacist and oncologist, saving patients from waiting months to see specialists.
\n
"A doctor can see 10 times more patients in the same hour, cutting the cost per patient dramatically," he stated.
\n
Faruki, also founder of Chiron AI — an artificial intelligence system designed to support doctors by automating intake, diagnostics and treatment recommendations — said the platform, which is currently in its trial phase in the US, will be rolled out next year. AI-developed tools can be used to support doctors in handling everything from intake to diagnostics, differential diagnosis and treatment recommendations, Faruki said.
\n
Shehma Khan, vice-president of MindHYVE.ai, said the tests are yielding positive results and are effective in managing major ailments.
\n
"Countries like China and the US have shown that with strong digital infrastructure and investment in AI, you can make healthcare accessible and affordable at scale. We are applying those lessons here in Africa, but tailoring them to local needs," he stated.
\n
Mary Kerema, Kenya's secretary of information and communications technology, e-government and digital economy, reiterated the government's commitment to ensuring that AI in healthcare is adopted responsibly, with safeguards to protect patients before its deployment.
\n
"AI is already being used in Kenya," Kerema noted. "But our responsibility is to make sure it is deployed safely, responsibly."
\n
victor@chinadailyafrica.com
\n",
+ "content": "
African governments have been urged to integrate the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare systems as a means of bridging the growing disparity in the doctor-patient ratio across the continent.
\n
Speaking during the Africa Premier AI Conference, held in Mombasa, Kenya, innovators pointed out that the continent could learn from the successes of China and the United States in scaling up AI-powered medical services, addressing its overstretched health systems, particularly in rural and underserved communities where access to medical professionals remains limited.
\n
Bill Faruki, founder and chief executive officer of AI company MindHYVE.ai, explained that by leveraging artificial general intelligence and agentic AI, clinical decision support systems can assist licensed medical practitioners in diagnosing conditions and suggesting appropriate treatments.
\n
"AI tools can dramatically extend the reach of the limited healthcare workforce in developing countries like Kenya, where one physician may be responsible for over 10,000 to 12,000 patients," he said.
\n
He also pointed out that the clinical intelligence platform enables one doctor to perform the work of a radiologist, hematologist, pharmacist and oncologist, saving patients from waiting months to see specialists.
\n
"A doctor can see 10 times more patients in the same hour, cutting the cost per patient dramatically," he stated.
\n
Faruki, also founder of Chiron AI — an artificial intelligence system designed to support doctors by automating intake, diagnostics and treatment recommendations — said the platform, which is currently in its trial phase in the US, will be rolled out next year. AI-developed tools can be used to support doctors in handling everything from intake to diagnostics, differential diagnosis and treatment recommendations, Faruki said.
\n
Shehma Khan, vice-president of MindHYVE.ai, said the tests are yielding positive results and are effective in managing major ailments.
\n
"Countries like China and the US have shown that with strong digital infrastructure and investment in AI, you can make healthcare accessible and affordable at scale. We are applying those lessons here in Africa, but tailoring them to local needs," he stated.
\n
Mary Kerema, Kenya's secretary of information and communications technology, e-government and digital economy, reiterated the government's commitment to ensuring that AI in healthcare is adopted responsibly, with safeguards to protect patients before its deployment.
\n
"AI is already being used in Kenya," Kerema noted. "But our responsibility is to make sure it is deployed safely, responsibly."
The booth of Bank of China at the third China International Supply Chain Expo.
\n
A staff member from Bank of China's Chongqing Shapingba branch handles cross-border financial services for a customer.
\n
Bank of China Tower is a landmark building in Hong Kong.
\n
The Head Office Tower of BOC is located in Beijing's Xicheng district.
\n
A staff member from BOC showcases the way to use an e-CNY self-service vending machine during an exhibition held in Beijing in 2024.
\n
According to the latest semi-annual report released by Bank of China on Friday, the group achieved an operating income of 329.4 billion yuan ($46.2 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 3.61 percent. Net fee income grew by 9.17 percent year-on-year, while after-tax profit reached 126.1 billion yuan. After-tax profit attributable to the bank's shareholders amounted to 117.6 billion yuan.
\n
The bank's assets and liabilities showed steady growth. Total assets reached 36.79 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.93 percent compared to the end of the previous year. The proportion of high-yield assets, such as loans and bond investments, increased by 2.32 percentage points. Total liabilities amounted to 33.66 trillion yuan, up 4.85 percent from the end of the previous year. The data released also indicate an improvement in the competitiveness of average daily renminbi deposits in the domestic market.
\n
The internationalization of the RMB, as a key part of the opening-up of China's financial industry, can also benefit the nation's dual-cycle development pattern, which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while allowing domestic and international markets to reinforce each other. As a Chinese commercial bank with a high degree of globalization, BOC, leveraging its century of cross-border financial experience and comprehensive cross-border RMB clearing network, said it will continue to contribute to RMB internationalization and serve China's diplomacy, economy and trade.
\n
Cross-border network
\n
Since establishing its first overseas institution, the London Office, in 1929, BOC has been developing globally. Currently, the bank's overseas institutions cover 64 countries and regions across six continents, including 45 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. Leveraging its service outlets in key global regions, BOC bridges cross-border exchanges and economic cooperation.
\n
RMB clearing banks are a significant institutional arrangement to assist the international use of the RMB. Since being appointed as the world's first RMB clearing bank in 2003, BOC has been developing cross-border RMB clearing channels to expand use of the RMB in foreign trade and investment. Currently, the People's Bank of China — the nation's central bank — has authorized 34 RMB clearing banks in 32 countries and regions. BOC operates 16 of these, including all three clearing banks in Africa.
\n
As the internationalization of the RMB accelerates, the demand for its cross-border payment and settlement continues to grow. The Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, as a critical financial infrastructure, is gradually becoming the main channel.
\n
BOC is involved in the construction of the CIPS system. As of 2024, 44 BOC institutions have joined the CIPS as direct participants, while also acting as agents for nearly 700 banking financial institutions worldwide.
\n
Currently, more than 70 percent of global offshore RMB payments are settled in Hong Kong, with the majority processed through the Real Time Gross Settlement in Hong Kong. As Hong Kong's sole RMB business clearing bank and the settlement institution for this system, BOC keeps on promoting such advantages in RMB settlement and clearing. In 2024, BOC's RMB settlement volume in Hong Kong increased by 5.3 times year-on-year.
\n
By strengthening the regional headquarters functions of BOC (Hong Kong), BOC has enhanced its operations in Southeast Asian countries. To date, BOC serves as the RMB clearing bank for Malaysia, the Philippines and Cambodia, while its Vientiane branch has been approved by the Lao central bank to become the first digital RMB clearing bank. Additionally, as a key partner of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, BOC is a major force in promoting the development of Hong Kong's real economy.
\n
Data show that in 2024, BOC handled a total of 1,313.83 trillion yuan in cross-border RMB clearing business, a year-on-year increase of 40 percent. BOC has been repeatedly awarded the "Best RMB Clearing Bank in the Asia-Pacific Region" by The Asian Banker magazine.
\n
Offshore RMB market
\n
The offshore RMB market is a key part of RMB internationalization. BOC promotes the use of RMB for commodity settlement, supports foreign trade enterprises in expanding the cross-border use of the RMB, enhances the RMB's function as an investment and financing currency and expands cross-border RMB application scenarios.
\n
As the world's third-largest copper-producing region, the copper belt spanning the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia has become a gathering place for projects involved in the BRI. To aid exchanges in the region, BOC opened RMB accounts for enterprises there and reviewed processes such as customs clearance, tax reporting and international payments to address practical issues encountered in RMB-denominated settlement.
\n
This aided the enterprises' RMB-denominated copper product sales transactions with Chinese importers. After receiving the RMB payment, the enterprises can use part of the funds through the BOC Zambia branch to procure equipment from China. This has effectively helped the cyclic use of RMB involving settlement, utilization and repatriation.
\n
In Malaysia, BOC adheres to achieving cross-border financial connectivity through the integration of technology, demand and application scenarios. In September 2024, BOC provided a clearing solution for Central Bank of Malaysia, the Bank Negara Malaysia, which has assisted the collaboration between PayNet (a clearing institution run by the Bank Negara Malaysia) and WeChat QR code payments. After that, BOC was appointed as the sole cross-border settlement bank in Malaysia. By the end of March, the average daily transaction volume had reached 12,600, representing a 5.97-fold increase since its launch.
\n
In supporting the BRI, BOC promotes the use of RMB in financing large-scale infrastructure projects and bilateral trade, providing RMB financing support for numerous landmark cooperative projects. Meanwhile, the bank advocates for RMB-denominated pricing and settlement in commodity trading, achieving breakthroughs in transactions involving iron ore, pulp and other bulk commodities.
\n
E-CNY business
\n
Currently, the e-CNY, or digital yuan, is attracting global attention. Unrestricted by geographical limitations, it holds distinct advantages in the field of cross-border payments.
\n
Since late 2017, BOC has been involved in the research and development of the e-CNY, with various business indicators ranked among the leading level in the industry. In 2020, assigned by the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, BOC took the lead in launching e-CNY initiatives in Hong Kong. Currently, more than 1,000 retail outlets accept e-CNY payments.
\n
Initiatives like mBridge — a cross-border payment project involving the Chinese mainland, the Hong Kong SAR, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates — are testing the e-CNY for international trade. BOC has participated in the mBridge project since 2022. At present, BOC's head office in Beijing, all domestic branches, BOC (Hong Kong), its subsidiary in Thailand and the Abu Dhabi branch are involved in the project. Since the project's inception, BOC has led in various dimensions such as transaction volume and value, and has provided liquidity support for multiple participating banks within the mBridge system.
\n
"Taking the mBridge as an example, the introduction of central bank digital currency for clearing has streamlined cross-border remittance paths, reduced processing time and costs associated with intermediary banks and lowered clearing risks, thereby enhancing the efficiency of cross-border RMB payments," said a BOC representative.
\n
"From our practice, digital currency has become a hot spot in cooperation between China and other countries, creating new opportunities for RMB internationalization," said a BOC manager.
\n
RMB internationalization is a long-term and complex process, presenting both new challenges and rare development opportunities. As a pioneer in the global expansion of Chinese finance, BOC said it will consolidate the group's global resources, and give full play to its globalization advantages and its role as the main channel for cross-border RMB business expansion, in a bid to promote the development of the offshore RMB market and support the dual-cycle development pattern.
\n",
+ "content": "
The booth of Bank of China at the third China International Supply Chain Expo.
\n
A staff member from Bank of China's Chongqing Shapingba branch handles cross-border financial services for a customer.
\n
Bank of China Tower is a landmark building in Hong Kong.
\n
The Head Office Tower of BOC is located in Beijing's Xicheng district.
\n
A staff member from BOC showcases the way to use an e-CNY self-service vending machine during an exhibition held in Beijing in 2024.
\n
According to the latest semi-annual report released by Bank of China on Friday, the group achieved an operating income of 329.4 billion yuan ($46.2 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 3.61 percent. Net fee income grew by 9.17 percent year-on-year, while after-tax profit reached 126.1 billion yuan. After-tax profit attributable to the bank's shareholders amounted to 117.6 billion yuan.
\n
The bank's assets and liabilities showed steady growth. Total assets reached 36.79 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.93 percent compared to the end of the previous year. The proportion of high-yield assets, such as loans and bond investments, increased by 2.32 percentage points. Total liabilities amounted to 33.66 trillion yuan, up 4.85 percent from the end of the previous year. The data released also indicate an improvement in the competitiveness of average daily renminbi deposits in the domestic market.
\n
The internationalization of the RMB, as a key part of the opening-up of China's financial industry, can also benefit the nation's dual-cycle development pattern, which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while allowing domestic and international markets to reinforce each other. As a Chinese commercial bank with a high degree of globalization, BOC, leveraging its century of cross-border financial experience and comprehensive cross-border RMB clearing network, said it will continue to contribute to RMB internationalization and serve China's diplomacy, economy and trade.
\n
Cross-border network
\n
Since establishing its first overseas institution, the London Office, in 1929, BOC has been developing globally. Currently, the bank's overseas institutions cover 64 countries and regions across six continents, including 45 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. Leveraging its service outlets in key global regions, BOC bridges cross-border exchanges and economic cooperation.
\n
RMB clearing banks are a significant institutional arrangement to assist the international use of the RMB. Since being appointed as the world's first RMB clearing bank in 2003, BOC has been developing cross-border RMB clearing channels to expand use of the RMB in foreign trade and investment. Currently, the People's Bank of China — the nation's central bank — has authorized 34 RMB clearing banks in 32 countries and regions. BOC operates 16 of these, including all three clearing banks in Africa.
\n
As the internationalization of the RMB accelerates, the demand for its cross-border payment and settlement continues to grow. The Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, as a critical financial infrastructure, is gradually becoming the main channel.
\n
BOC is involved in the construction of the CIPS system. As of 2024, 44 BOC institutions have joined the CIPS as direct participants, while also acting as agents for nearly 700 banking financial institutions worldwide.
\n
Currently, more than 70 percent of global offshore RMB payments are settled in Hong Kong, with the majority processed through the Real Time Gross Settlement in Hong Kong. As Hong Kong's sole RMB business clearing bank and the settlement institution for this system, BOC keeps on promoting such advantages in RMB settlement and clearing. In 2024, BOC's RMB settlement volume in Hong Kong increased by 5.3 times year-on-year.
\n
By strengthening the regional headquarters functions of BOC (Hong Kong), BOC has enhanced its operations in Southeast Asian countries. To date, BOC serves as the RMB clearing bank for Malaysia, the Philippines and Cambodia, while its Vientiane branch has been approved by the Lao central bank to become the first digital RMB clearing bank. Additionally, as a key partner of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, BOC is a major force in promoting the development of Hong Kong's real economy.
\n
Data show that in 2024, BOC handled a total of 1,313.83 trillion yuan in cross-border RMB clearing business, a year-on-year increase of 40 percent. BOC has been repeatedly awarded the "Best RMB Clearing Bank in the Asia-Pacific Region" by The Asian Banker magazine.
\n
Offshore RMB market
\n
The offshore RMB market is a key part of RMB internationalization. BOC promotes the use of RMB for commodity settlement, supports foreign trade enterprises in expanding the cross-border use of the RMB, enhances the RMB's function as an investment and financing currency and expands cross-border RMB application scenarios.
\n
As the world's third-largest copper-producing region, the copper belt spanning the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia has become a gathering place for projects involved in the BRI. To aid exchanges in the region, BOC opened RMB accounts for enterprises there and reviewed processes such as customs clearance, tax reporting and international payments to address practical issues encountered in RMB-denominated settlement.
\n
This aided the enterprises' RMB-denominated copper product sales transactions with Chinese importers. After receiving the RMB payment, the enterprises can use part of the funds through the BOC Zambia branch to procure equipment from China. This has effectively helped the cyclic use of RMB involving settlement, utilization and repatriation.
\n
In Malaysia, BOC adheres to achieving cross-border financial connectivity through the integration of technology, demand and application scenarios. In September 2024, BOC provided a clearing solution for Central Bank of Malaysia, the Bank Negara Malaysia, which has assisted the collaboration between PayNet (a clearing institution run by the Bank Negara Malaysia) and WeChat QR code payments. After that, BOC was appointed as the sole cross-border settlement bank in Malaysia. By the end of March, the average daily transaction volume had reached 12,600, representing a 5.97-fold increase since its launch.
\n
In supporting the BRI, BOC promotes the use of RMB in financing large-scale infrastructure projects and bilateral trade, providing RMB financing support for numerous landmark cooperative projects. Meanwhile, the bank advocates for RMB-denominated pricing and settlement in commodity trading, achieving breakthroughs in transactions involving iron ore, pulp and other bulk commodities.
\n
E-CNY business
\n
Currently, the e-CNY, or digital yuan, is attracting global attention. Unrestricted by geographical limitations, it holds distinct advantages in the field of cross-border payments.
\n
Since late 2017, BOC has been involved in the research and development of the e-CNY, with various business indicators ranked among the leading level in the industry. In 2020, assigned by the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, BOC took the lead in launching e-CNY initiatives in Hong Kong. Currently, more than 1,000 retail outlets accept e-CNY payments.
\n
Initiatives like mBridge — a cross-border payment project involving the Chinese mainland, the Hong Kong SAR, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates — are testing the e-CNY for international trade. BOC has participated in the mBridge project since 2022. At present, BOC's head office in Beijing, all domestic branches, BOC (Hong Kong), its subsidiary in Thailand and the Abu Dhabi branch are involved in the project. Since the project's inception, BOC has led in various dimensions such as transaction volume and value, and has provided liquidity support for multiple participating banks within the mBridge system.
\n
"Taking the mBridge as an example, the introduction of central bank digital currency for clearing has streamlined cross-border remittance paths, reduced processing time and costs associated with intermediary banks and lowered clearing risks, thereby enhancing the efficiency of cross-border RMB payments," said a BOC representative.
\n
"From our practice, digital currency has become a hot spot in cooperation between China and other countries, creating new opportunities for RMB internationalization," said a BOC manager.
\n
RMB internationalization is a long-term and complex process, presenting both new challenges and rare development opportunities. As a pioneer in the global expansion of Chinese finance, BOC said it will consolidate the group's global resources, and give full play to its globalization advantages and its role as the main channel for cross-border RMB business expansion, in a bid to promote the development of the offshore RMB market and support the dual-cycle development pattern.
A woman tries e-CNY services at the Bank of China booth during the 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing.
\n
The panda bond market, in which overseas institutions issue renminbi bonds in China's onshore market, is poised to attract new issuers. On July 22, the Bank of China, as the lead underwriter and lead book runner, assisted Hungary in issuing 5 billion yuan ($698 million) of panda bonds in the Chinese interbank market. This issuance is the largest single sovereign panda bond in the panda bond market and the first five-year sovereign panda bond.
\n
The bond is divided into two tranches: a three-year tranche of 4 billion yuan with a coupon rate of 2.5 percent and a five-year tranche of 1 billion yuan with a coupon rate of 2.9 percent. The issuance marks the deepening financial cooperation between China and Hungary and is of significance for expanding the panda bond market and attracting international issuers, BOC said.
\n
Hungary is the first European country to sign a Belt and Road Initiative cooperation document with China and the partnership between China and Hungary in areas such as trade, finance and green energy has continued to deepen in recent years. In 2017, with the assistance of BOC, Hungary issued its first Bond Connect sovereign panda bond, becoming one of the first batch of Central and Eastern European issuers to enter the Chinese bond market. With cumulative issuance reaching 11 billion yuan, it marks the largest sovereign panda bond issuer in terms of cumulative issuance size and outstanding bond volume.
\n
The Panda Bond is an RMB-denominated bond from a non-Chinese issuer, which is sold on the Chinese mainland. BOC, as the lead underwriter, recently assisted Morgan Stanley in the targeted issuance of 2 billion yuan of five-year panda bonds in the Chinese interbank bond market. This issuance is the first panda bond issued by a company headquartered in the United States. It has attracted subscriptions from a diverse range of investors, becoming an example of high-quality assets for interbank market investors.
\n
As one of China's largest bond underwriters, BOC has been relying on its global bond underwriting and distribution network to serve various entities in issuing multi-currency bonds in domestic and international markets.
\n
As of the end of June, BOC has assisted more than 70 foreign issuers in issuing nearly 300 panda bonds, with a total financing amount exceeding 570 billion yuan.
\n
On Nov 24, 2022, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services issued the first green panda bond in the Chinese interbank market, with an issuance size of 500 million yuan, a term of two years and a coupon rate of 2.9 percent. This is the first green bond issued by Mercedes-Benz outside the European market, and the company is also the first automotive company to issue green panda bonds in China.
\n
In Africa, as the lead underwriter and lead book runner, BOC assisted Egypt in issuing 3.5 billion yuan of sustainable panda bonds in 2023, achieving a breakthrough in panda bonds issuance in Africa. This is also the first sustainable sovereign panda bond and the first sovereign panda bond with a guarantee structure. Since the beginning of 2025, BOC, as the lead underwriter and lead book runner, assisted the African Export-Import Bank in issuing 2.2 billion yuan of panda bonds, achieving the first issuance breakthrough for a multilateral development institution in Africa.
\n
On Nov 14, 2024, Suzano International Finance B.V. issued 1.2 billion yuan of green panda bonds in the Chinese interbank bond market, with a term of three years. This bond issuance is Suzano International Finance B.V.'s first issuance of RMB panda bonds in the Chinese interbank bond market, and it is also the first panda bond issued in South America.
\n
To date, the cumulative issuance of panda bonds has exceeded 1 trillion yuan, becoming a key force for serving high-level opening-up of China. It has enriched the diversified financing systems related to the BRI and attracted international issuers to participate in its regular domestic issuance. As a key participant in the capital market, BOC said it will continue to leverage its global service network and cross-border business advantages to contribute to the opening-up of financial markets.
A woman tries e-CNY services at the Bank of China booth during the 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing.
\n
The panda bond market, in which overseas institutions issue renminbi bonds in China's onshore market, is poised to attract new issuers. On July 22, the Bank of China, as the lead underwriter and lead book runner, assisted Hungary in issuing 5 billion yuan ($698 million) of panda bonds in the Chinese interbank market. This issuance is the largest single sovereign panda bond in the panda bond market and the first five-year sovereign panda bond.
\n
The bond is divided into two tranches: a three-year tranche of 4 billion yuan with a coupon rate of 2.5 percent and a five-year tranche of 1 billion yuan with a coupon rate of 2.9 percent. The issuance marks the deepening financial cooperation between China and Hungary and is of significance for expanding the panda bond market and attracting international issuers, BOC said.
\n
Hungary is the first European country to sign a Belt and Road Initiative cooperation document with China and the partnership between China and Hungary in areas such as trade, finance and green energy has continued to deepen in recent years. In 2017, with the assistance of BOC, Hungary issued its first Bond Connect sovereign panda bond, becoming one of the first batch of Central and Eastern European issuers to enter the Chinese bond market. With cumulative issuance reaching 11 billion yuan, it marks the largest sovereign panda bond issuer in terms of cumulative issuance size and outstanding bond volume.
\n
The Panda Bond is an RMB-denominated bond from a non-Chinese issuer, which is sold on the Chinese mainland. BOC, as the lead underwriter, recently assisted Morgan Stanley in the targeted issuance of 2 billion yuan of five-year panda bonds in the Chinese interbank bond market. This issuance is the first panda bond issued by a company headquartered in the United States. It has attracted subscriptions from a diverse range of investors, becoming an example of high-quality assets for interbank market investors.
\n
As one of China's largest bond underwriters, BOC has been relying on its global bond underwriting and distribution network to serve various entities in issuing multi-currency bonds in domestic and international markets.
\n
As of the end of June, BOC has assisted more than 70 foreign issuers in issuing nearly 300 panda bonds, with a total financing amount exceeding 570 billion yuan.
\n
On Nov 24, 2022, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services issued the first green panda bond in the Chinese interbank market, with an issuance size of 500 million yuan, a term of two years and a coupon rate of 2.9 percent. This is the first green bond issued by Mercedes-Benz outside the European market, and the company is also the first automotive company to issue green panda bonds in China.
\n
In Africa, as the lead underwriter and lead book runner, BOC assisted Egypt in issuing 3.5 billion yuan of sustainable panda bonds in 2023, achieving a breakthrough in panda bonds issuance in Africa. This is also the first sustainable sovereign panda bond and the first sovereign panda bond with a guarantee structure. Since the beginning of 2025, BOC, as the lead underwriter and lead book runner, assisted the African Export-Import Bank in issuing 2.2 billion yuan of panda bonds, achieving the first issuance breakthrough for a multilateral development institution in Africa.
\n
On Nov 14, 2024, Suzano International Finance B.V. issued 1.2 billion yuan of green panda bonds in the Chinese interbank bond market, with a term of three years. This bond issuance is Suzano International Finance B.V.'s first issuance of RMB panda bonds in the Chinese interbank bond market, and it is also the first panda bond issued in South America.
\n
To date, the cumulative issuance of panda bonds has exceeded 1 trillion yuan, becoming a key force for serving high-level opening-up of China. It has enriched the diversified financing systems related to the BRI and attracted international issuers to participate in its regular domestic issuance. As a key participant in the capital market, BOC said it will continue to leverage its global service network and cross-border business advantages to contribute to the opening-up of financial markets.
Su Zhiliang and Chen Lifei visit "comfort women" survivors for interviews, including Wei Shaolan (left) in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in 2008.
\n
Zhou Fenying (middle) in Rugao, Jiangsu province, in 2007.
\n
Li Meijin (right) in Chengmai county, Hainan province, in January 2014.
\n
The "Comfort Women" Statues for Peace, co-created by artists from China and the Republic of Korea, was erected at Shanghai Normal University.
\n
File photo of a "comfort station" in Shanghai. The newly released book contains findings of Su's research team as Japan's war crime evidences.
\n
The four-volume book comprehensively and systematically unveils the details of Japan's "comfort women" system during World War II.
\n
Over 2,100 "comfort stations" across China have been confirmed as being part of Japan's "comfort women" system during World War II. Among the far more than the estimated 200,000 Chinese victims of the system, 358 survivors from the Chinese mainland were discovered, with only seven remaining.
\n
These numbers are the results of the latest findings collected in a four-volume book written by professors Su Zhiliang and Chen Lifei, from the Research Center for Chinese Comfort Women at Shanghai Normal University.
\n
A Comprehensive History of the Japanese Military 'Comfort Women' System is a book of two million words that comprehensively and systematically explores the system's diverse aspects with solid evidence, exhaustively unveiling its background, origin, development process, management, operation, postwar follow-ups, and more.
\n
Released on Aug 14 at the 2025 Shanghai Book Fair to mark the International Memorial Day for Comfort Women, the book includes the married couple's fieldwork and research results conducted over three decades. It aims to close the gap left by those who deny the history and reveal the historical truths that Japan has been trying to bury.
\n
"Comfort women" was the Japanese imperial government's euphemism for women and girls forced into sexual slavery in Japanese military brothels from 1932 to 1945, the end of WWII. They were repeatedly raped and subjected to other forms of abuse and torture by Japanese soldiers. It is estimated that at least 400,000 women and girls were kidnapped, coerced, or duped into sexual servitude by Japanese invaders around the world. A "comfort station" typically referred to a military-run enslavement site for "comfort women" during that period.
\n
Su points out that when the war ended, the Japanese government knew this was a shameful crime and thus systematically destroyed vast archives of evidence related to the system. The world knew very little about this part of history until a victim broke her silence in 1991. On Aug 14 that year, a 67-year-old woman from the Republic of Korea, Kim Hak-sun, courageously came forward to testify that she had been forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military in China and later filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government.
\n
That was also when Su first became aware of the system. His pure motivation and action came a year later when he attended an international academic conference and was asked by a Japanese scholar, "Did you know the Japanese military's first 'comfort station' was established in Shanghai?"
\n
"I was stunned. I specialized in the social history of Shanghai, yet I had never heard of this," recalls Su, who immediately started collecting and studying documents about the system in Japan in 1992. He returned to Shanghai the next year to gather more information about the history and to search for survivors and witnesses.
\n
Despite the astonishing number of victims, it has not been easy to find "comfort women" survivors, as many died during captivity or passed away over time. For potential living survivors, their stories had to be confirmed, which requires concrete proof of every incident, including a recorded first-person narration and material evidence. This meant forcing survivors or their kin to relive their traumatic past, Su says.
\n
"The victims view these traumatic experiences with shame and are unwilling to talk about them. The past had thoroughly changed their whole life. The majority of the survivors suffered from poor health and living conditions, as well as nightmares and lifelong depression or mental disorders," says Su.
\n
Su adds that some survivors would call him at midnight and say that they heard neighbors knocking on the door and calling them "bitches", which turned out to be delusions. Most survivors consistently struggle with hatred or fear of men, and have trouble living a normal, happy family life, such as getting married or having a baby.
\n
"The brutality of the war is most profoundly reflected in the 'comfort women'," says Su.
\n
Evidence has also shown that the victims of Japanese "comfort women" system spread across Asia and beyond, involving people from China, the Korean Peninsula, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as the Netherlands and Russia. In Shanghai alone, the research team confirmed at least 182 "comfort stations", the highest number in the world, according to Su.
\n
"The lack of documented records has made fieldwork extremely important in researching the 'comfort women' system, especially in China. As the original and primary implementation location of the system, China has the most eyewitness accounts and material evidence. It is an unavoidable responsibility for Chinese scholars to carry out this research," says Chen.
\n
Dedicated to researching the system for over 30 years, the couple has been joined by many other domestic and international researchers, scholars and volunteers, including those from Japan. However, Su also warns about today's increasing "dangerous signal" of Japan's stance on these historical truths.
\n
Back in the 1990s, Japanese school textbooks still included references to the "comfort women" system, which is becoming increasingly rare. Japan's current attitude toward this part of history is even more regressive than it was 30 years ago, says Su.
\n
"One major reason is the decline of left-leaning historians and the weakening of progressive forces in Japan. Chinese scholars need to make our voices more powerful and better heard," says Su.
\n
This is also one of Su's team's main goals they hope to achieve through publishing the book. With many newly unearthed historical records and photos unveiled for the first time, they aim to reveal historical truths with practical evidence, urging invaders to reflect on these wartime atrocities.
\n
Through extensive archival research, Su's team solidly established that the "comfort women" system was planned and implemented by the Japanese government and military, and that the victims undoubtedly suffered horrible and inhumane atrocities.
\n
"A basic conclusion we can draw from all this evidence is that the 'comfort women' system is a national crime and atrocity committed by the Japanese government during WWII. It is a fact that should be acknowledged worldwide and admitted by the invaders," says Su.
\n
With the number of living "comfort women" survivors quickly dwindling, Su and Chen — both nearing their 70s — are racing relentlessly against time. In addition to interviews with the survivors and establishing the system's historical facts, the team is also making continuous efforts to care for these women and help improve their lives.
\n
Despite the obstruction from Japanese right-wing forces over the past decade, the team is actively working on the application to be added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
\n
"Only by acknowledging this part of the history can the world, especially the invaders, think about the history, cherish peace, and look toward the future," says Su.
\n
Contact the writer at wangxin2@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "\n
Su Zhiliang and Chen Lifei visit "comfort women" survivors for interviews, including Wei Shaolan (left) in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in 2008.
\n
Zhou Fenying (middle) in Rugao, Jiangsu province, in 2007.
\n
Li Meijin (right) in Chengmai county, Hainan province, in January 2014.
\n
The "Comfort Women" Statues for Peace, co-created by artists from China and the Republic of Korea, was erected at Shanghai Normal University.
\n
File photo of a "comfort station" in Shanghai. The newly released book contains findings of Su's research team as Japan's war crime evidences.
\n
The four-volume book comprehensively and systematically unveils the details of Japan's "comfort women" system during World War II.
\n
Over 2,100 "comfort stations" across China have been confirmed as being part of Japan's "comfort women" system during World War II. Among the far more than the estimated 200,000 Chinese victims of the system, 358 survivors from the Chinese mainland were discovered, with only seven remaining.
\n
These numbers are the results of the latest findings collected in a four-volume book written by professors Su Zhiliang and Chen Lifei, from the Research Center for Chinese Comfort Women at Shanghai Normal University.
\n
A Comprehensive History of the Japanese Military 'Comfort Women' System is a book of two million words that comprehensively and systematically explores the system's diverse aspects with solid evidence, exhaustively unveiling its background, origin, development process, management, operation, postwar follow-ups, and more.
\n
Released on Aug 14 at the 2025 Shanghai Book Fair to mark the International Memorial Day for Comfort Women, the book includes the married couple's fieldwork and research results conducted over three decades. It aims to close the gap left by those who deny the history and reveal the historical truths that Japan has been trying to bury.
\n
"Comfort women" was the Japanese imperial government's euphemism for women and girls forced into sexual slavery in Japanese military brothels from 1932 to 1945, the end of WWII. They were repeatedly raped and subjected to other forms of abuse and torture by Japanese soldiers. It is estimated that at least 400,000 women and girls were kidnapped, coerced, or duped into sexual servitude by Japanese invaders around the world. A "comfort station" typically referred to a military-run enslavement site for "comfort women" during that period.
\n
Su points out that when the war ended, the Japanese government knew this was a shameful crime and thus systematically destroyed vast archives of evidence related to the system. The world knew very little about this part of history until a victim broke her silence in 1991. On Aug 14 that year, a 67-year-old woman from the Republic of Korea, Kim Hak-sun, courageously came forward to testify that she had been forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military in China and later filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government.
\n
That was also when Su first became aware of the system. His pure motivation and action came a year later when he attended an international academic conference and was asked by a Japanese scholar, "Did you know the Japanese military's first 'comfort station' was established in Shanghai?"
\n
"I was stunned. I specialized in the social history of Shanghai, yet I had never heard of this," recalls Su, who immediately started collecting and studying documents about the system in Japan in 1992. He returned to Shanghai the next year to gather more information about the history and to search for survivors and witnesses.
\n
Despite the astonishing number of victims, it has not been easy to find "comfort women" survivors, as many died during captivity or passed away over time. For potential living survivors, their stories had to be confirmed, which requires concrete proof of every incident, including a recorded first-person narration and material evidence. This meant forcing survivors or their kin to relive their traumatic past, Su says.
\n
"The victims view these traumatic experiences with shame and are unwilling to talk about them. The past had thoroughly changed their whole life. The majority of the survivors suffered from poor health and living conditions, as well as nightmares and lifelong depression or mental disorders," says Su.
\n
Su adds that some survivors would call him at midnight and say that they heard neighbors knocking on the door and calling them "bitches", which turned out to be delusions. Most survivors consistently struggle with hatred or fear of men, and have trouble living a normal, happy family life, such as getting married or having a baby.
\n
"The brutality of the war is most profoundly reflected in the 'comfort women'," says Su.
\n
Evidence has also shown that the victims of Japanese "comfort women" system spread across Asia and beyond, involving people from China, the Korean Peninsula, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as the Netherlands and Russia. In Shanghai alone, the research team confirmed at least 182 "comfort stations", the highest number in the world, according to Su.
\n
"The lack of documented records has made fieldwork extremely important in researching the 'comfort women' system, especially in China. As the original and primary implementation location of the system, China has the most eyewitness accounts and material evidence. It is an unavoidable responsibility for Chinese scholars to carry out this research," says Chen.
\n
Dedicated to researching the system for over 30 years, the couple has been joined by many other domestic and international researchers, scholars and volunteers, including those from Japan. However, Su also warns about today's increasing "dangerous signal" of Japan's stance on these historical truths.
\n
Back in the 1990s, Japanese school textbooks still included references to the "comfort women" system, which is becoming increasingly rare. Japan's current attitude toward this part of history is even more regressive than it was 30 years ago, says Su.
\n
"One major reason is the decline of left-leaning historians and the weakening of progressive forces in Japan. Chinese scholars need to make our voices more powerful and better heard," says Su.
\n
This is also one of Su's team's main goals they hope to achieve through publishing the book. With many newly unearthed historical records and photos unveiled for the first time, they aim to reveal historical truths with practical evidence, urging invaders to reflect on these wartime atrocities.
\n
Through extensive archival research, Su's team solidly established that the "comfort women" system was planned and implemented by the Japanese government and military, and that the victims undoubtedly suffered horrible and inhumane atrocities.
\n
"A basic conclusion we can draw from all this evidence is that the 'comfort women' system is a national crime and atrocity committed by the Japanese government during WWII. It is a fact that should be acknowledged worldwide and admitted by the invaders," says Su.
\n
With the number of living "comfort women" survivors quickly dwindling, Su and Chen — both nearing their 70s — are racing relentlessly against time. In addition to interviews with the survivors and establishing the system's historical facts, the team is also making continuous efforts to care for these women and help improve their lives.
\n
Despite the obstruction from Japanese right-wing forces over the past decade, the team is actively working on the application to be added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
\n
"Only by acknowledging this part of the history can the world, especially the invaders, think about the history, cherish peace, and look toward the future," says Su.
Japanese professor Masataka Mori on Aug 20 visits a Harbin museum showcasing Unit 731 war crime.
\n
HARBIN — For Masataka Mori, a former professor of irenology, the study of lasting peace, at Shizuoka University, the ruins of Unit 731 — a germ warfare unit that was clandestinely operated by the Japanese invading army during World War II — are not just a historical attraction, but a testament to atrocities that must never be forgotten.
\n
On Aug 20, the expert, who spent over 40 years researching the notorious Unit 731 and Japan's germ warfare against other countries, led a 20-member delegation to the crime evidence exhibition hall of this infamous biological warfare unit in Harbin, Heilongjiang province.
\n
The delegation, consisting of retired history teachers, documentary directors, agricultural workers, and anti-war activists, traveled from Japan with a shared mission to witness history firsthand and amplify calls for peace back home.
\n
Inside the hall, detailed archives, authentic footage, and material evidence laid bare the crimes against humanity committed by Japanese militarism. The exhibits revealed the structure of Japan's biological warfare units and the horrifying fate of countless marutas, a dehumanizing code name for live experiment victims. Each display stood as a silent witness to these heinous crimes.
\n
At least 3,000 people were killed by human experiments conducted by Unit 731. Japan's biological weapons killed more than 300,000 people in China.
\n
"The lies written in ink can never cover up the facts written in blood," Mori quotes renowned Chinese writer Lu Xun while explaining the displays to the delegation. The crimes of Unit 731 extended beyond ghastly human experimentation to include widespread biological attacks across China.
\n
Mori's connection to the exhibition hall dates back to its founding in 1985. His work has been dedicated to ensuring that Japanese society confronts this dark chapter of history.
\n
"I filmed this," he says. Mori filmed many video testimonies with former unit members, including one from Sadao Koshi, a former driver employed at Unit 731 who transported victims. These recordings serve as invaluable historical evidence.
\n
The group then proceeded to the former site of Unit 731's headquarters, the nerve center of Japan's biological warfare operations. The once heavily guarded building still stands, while behind it lie the remnants of the square-shaped experimental complex.
\n
Jin Chengmin, curator of the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army, emphasized that preserving the site is a core mission to help future generations confront history. On its 40th anniversary, the institution prepared an application for UNESCO World Cultural Heritage status for the site, seeking continued global recognition and support.
\n
During a subsequent symposium, Mori reflected on his four-decade-long struggle. As a history teacher, he was once dismissed for teaching the truth about Japan's war of aggression. Undeterred, he traveled across China to interview survivors and, at great personal risk, persuaded aging Japanese veterans to confess their atrocities on camera.
\n
He received death threats, including envelopes containing razor blades, menacing phone calls, and being followed.
\n
Members of the delegation also shared their connections with the exhibition hall and the city of Harbin.
\n
Masaru Nakano, a former math teacher at Hiroshima Gakuin Junior and Senior High School, worked as a guest researcher at the Harbin Academy of Social Sciences in 2003. He translated several Chinese books into Japanese, providing a critical window into Unit 731 for Japanese readers.
\n
Another member, Akiyoshi Takanashi, a former city councilor from Yokohama who visited the facility a decade ago, was struck by the exhibition hall's technological advancements and new exhibits. Having worked for years on exhibitions related to wartime atrocities, he hopes to share the latest historical evidence and facts with a broader audience.
\n
The delegation signifies a persistent anti-war and pro-peace force within Japanese civil society, says Yang Yanjun, a researcher at the Research Institute of War Crimes Trials and World Peace at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
\n
At a memorial wall in a corridor on the first floor of the former headquarters, bearing 3,000 black stone plaques commemorating those who perished in Unit 731's experiments and biological attacks, the group offered flowers as tribute.
\n
Following the visit, Mori urges more Japanese to visit China, hear the victims' stories, see the historical evidence, and confront the brutality of Japan's past aggression to ensure an accurate understanding of history and prevent its repetition.
\n
The Japanese government's most crucial task is to acknowledge historical facts and explicitly include the truth about its aggression in school textbooks, he says. "Failing this, young people cannot learn this history through formal education, and its absence will lead to the tragedy repeating itself."
\n",
+ "content": "
Japanese professor Masataka Mori on Aug 20 visits a Harbin museum showcasing Unit 731 war crime.
\n
HARBIN — For Masataka Mori, a former professor of irenology, the study of lasting peace, at Shizuoka University, the ruins of Unit 731 — a germ warfare unit that was clandestinely operated by the Japanese invading army during World War II — are not just a historical attraction, but a testament to atrocities that must never be forgotten.
\n
On Aug 20, the expert, who spent over 40 years researching the notorious Unit 731 and Japan's germ warfare against other countries, led a 20-member delegation to the crime evidence exhibition hall of this infamous biological warfare unit in Harbin, Heilongjiang province.
\n
The delegation, consisting of retired history teachers, documentary directors, agricultural workers, and anti-war activists, traveled from Japan with a shared mission to witness history firsthand and amplify calls for peace back home.
\n
Inside the hall, detailed archives, authentic footage, and material evidence laid bare the crimes against humanity committed by Japanese militarism. The exhibits revealed the structure of Japan's biological warfare units and the horrifying fate of countless marutas, a dehumanizing code name for live experiment victims. Each display stood as a silent witness to these heinous crimes.
\n
At least 3,000 people were killed by human experiments conducted by Unit 731. Japan's biological weapons killed more than 300,000 people in China.
\n
"The lies written in ink can never cover up the facts written in blood," Mori quotes renowned Chinese writer Lu Xun while explaining the displays to the delegation. The crimes of Unit 731 extended beyond ghastly human experimentation to include widespread biological attacks across China.
\n
Mori's connection to the exhibition hall dates back to its founding in 1985. His work has been dedicated to ensuring that Japanese society confronts this dark chapter of history.
\n
"I filmed this," he says. Mori filmed many video testimonies with former unit members, including one from Sadao Koshi, a former driver employed at Unit 731 who transported victims. These recordings serve as invaluable historical evidence.
\n
The group then proceeded to the former site of Unit 731's headquarters, the nerve center of Japan's biological warfare operations. The once heavily guarded building still stands, while behind it lie the remnants of the square-shaped experimental complex.
\n
Jin Chengmin, curator of the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army, emphasized that preserving the site is a core mission to help future generations confront history. On its 40th anniversary, the institution prepared an application for UNESCO World Cultural Heritage status for the site, seeking continued global recognition and support.
\n
During a subsequent symposium, Mori reflected on his four-decade-long struggle. As a history teacher, he was once dismissed for teaching the truth about Japan's war of aggression. Undeterred, he traveled across China to interview survivors and, at great personal risk, persuaded aging Japanese veterans to confess their atrocities on camera.
\n
He received death threats, including envelopes containing razor blades, menacing phone calls, and being followed.
\n
Members of the delegation also shared their connections with the exhibition hall and the city of Harbin.
\n
Masaru Nakano, a former math teacher at Hiroshima Gakuin Junior and Senior High School, worked as a guest researcher at the Harbin Academy of Social Sciences in 2003. He translated several Chinese books into Japanese, providing a critical window into Unit 731 for Japanese readers.
\n
Another member, Akiyoshi Takanashi, a former city councilor from Yokohama who visited the facility a decade ago, was struck by the exhibition hall's technological advancements and new exhibits. Having worked for years on exhibitions related to wartime atrocities, he hopes to share the latest historical evidence and facts with a broader audience.
\n
The delegation signifies a persistent anti-war and pro-peace force within Japanese civil society, says Yang Yanjun, a researcher at the Research Institute of War Crimes Trials and World Peace at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
\n
At a memorial wall in a corridor on the first floor of the former headquarters, bearing 3,000 black stone plaques commemorating those who perished in Unit 731's experiments and biological attacks, the group offered flowers as tribute.
\n
Following the visit, Mori urges more Japanese to visit China, hear the victims' stories, see the historical evidence, and confront the brutality of Japan's past aggression to ensure an accurate understanding of history and prevent its repetition.
\n
The Japanese government's most crucial task is to acknowledge historical facts and explicitly include the truth about its aggression in school textbooks, he says. "Failing this, young people cannot learn this history through formal education, and its absence will lead to the tragedy repeating itself."
Fei Wendian, played by actor Zhang Tianyang, the fiance of female protagonist Ning Xiuxiu.
\n
Ning, played by actress Yang Mi, and her husband Feng Dajiao, portrayed by actor Ou Hao, till the land.
\n
A still from This Thriving Land features the two leading actors, Ning and Feng.
\n
Ning Susu, played by actress Xing Fei, younger sister of Ning Xiuxiu.
\n
Ou plays Feng.
\n
A scene from This Thriving Land shows the Feng family engaged in "circling the granary", an agricultural custom practiced on the second day of the second month in the lunar calendar.
\n
From the very first episode, TV series This Thriving Land sweeps viewers into a world where love, loss, and grit unfold against the backdrop of rural China a century ago. This hit period drama celebrates the resilience of its characters and the unbreakable bond with the land that shapes their destinies.
\n
A dramatic incident sets the stage for the unfolding story: Ning Xiuxiu, played by actress Yang Mi, is kidnapped on her wedding day, and her father — the landlord — refuses to pay a ransom. In her absence, her younger sister is married to her childhood sweetheart. The question then arises: after being saved, what choices will she make?
\n
Xiuxiu severs ties with her father in the wake of the tragic event, marries the young farmer Feng Dajiao (portrayed by actor Ou Hao), a secret admirer who saved her from the bandits, and starts a new life with him.
\n
Building on this powerful opening, This Thriving Land, which concluded its initial run on China Central Television's CCTV-8 and streaming platform iQIYI on Aug 23, chronicles the transformation of Tianniu Temple village from 1926 to 1986 in southern Shandong province, capturing the impact of seismic societal changes.
\n
The 36-episode series follows the struggles of Xiuxiu as she transforms from a pampered landlord's daughter and stigmatized "defiled bride" into a tough farmer, mother and leader in guiding fellow village women to cultivate medicinal herbs.
\n
"Xiuxiu suffers a tarnished reputation and is abandoned by her father. It's a hellish beginning for a woman on the cusp of adulthood in the old days," Yang told China Daily in a recent interview. "Yet, she remains resilient and optimistic, struggling to survive amid the turbulent tides of her times. Her kindness, insight, and courage shine brightly in that era, which touches me deeply.
\n
"Xixiu isn't a victim depicted in traditional melodramas. She is like a wild wheat plant determined to take root even in the frozen soil," she adds.
\n
The star, known for her roles in costume and fantasy dramas such as Jade Palace Lock Heart, Chinese Paladin 3, and To the Sky Kingdom, admits that the heroine's "unbreakable vitality" resonates with her, prompting her to take on this brand-new type of role.
\n
"Her vitality isn't brute force, but rather the ability to draw on the wisdom from the land. For example, she buys cattle to resolve conflicts and guides women in growing medicinal herbs," Yang says.
\n
To approach her character, the actress, in addition to studying the script, spent two weeks in a Shandong village, learning from locals to do farm work. She also gained five kilos to make her role look more convincing.
\n
Xiuxiu's personal growth and Dajiao's love and unwavering support for her tugged at people's heartstrings.
\n
Dai Ying, chief producer of This Thriving Land and iQIYI's senior vice-president, says that the show's focus on the heroine's growth — from a landlord's daughter to an independent woman — is a response to the emphasis of women's power in contemporary society.
\n
Many drama fans favorably compare it to this year's South Korean international hit TV series When Life Gives You Tangerines. The intergenerational family saga follows the trials and triumphs of Ae-sun, a poor girl born in Jeju in 1951 who dreams of being a poet, and Gwan-sik, a young man who cherishes and loves her. Confronting societal limitations and harsh realities, Ae-sun holds fast to her childhood dream until she realizes it in her later years.
\n
Dai notes that both TV series found widespread resonance with audiences because they, albeit set in different backgrounds, show that people yearn for genuine emotional connections and believe in their own strength to rise above hardships through faith and love.
\n
Dai also deems that both series, not shying away from portraying suffering in life, interpret people's vitality when grappling with misfortune and highlight the kindness and mutual support among extended family and neighbors in dire circumstances.
\n
A new title to iQIYI's Masterpiece Theatre, This Thriving Land is adapted from part of writer Zhao Defa's 1996 novel Qianquan Yu Juejue (literally Deep Attachment and Decided Severance), which won the prestigious People's Literature Award in 2001. Part of the writer's farmer trilogy, the book, set against the backdrop of the Yimeng Mountains in Linyi, Shandong province, spans four generations and tells of farmers' evolving relationship with the land as times change.
\n
Dai says that iQIYI decided to bring the novel to the small screen because productions focusing on the land and family have been lacking for years in the domestic market. "Such themes may seem old, but they possess great strength and can find strong resonance with people," she says.
\n
Director Liu Jiacheng expressed a similar view.
\n
"Rural area-themed dramas are few, and period dramas of this theme are even fewer. Rural period dramas written with great depth are few and far between," Liu told China Daily in an exclusive interview, saying that he decided to take on the project after reading the first 10 episodes of the screenplay.
\n
TV audiences rave about the drama's vivid presentation of traditional farming customs and farmers' reverence for the land.
\n
"All the agricultural customs that farmers religiously observe in tending their land left a deep impression on me," Yang recalls.
\n
"For example, on the day of lichun, the Beginning of Spring (the first solar term of the year), Feng Er (Xiuxiu's father-in-law, played by actor Lin Yongjian) buries a bamboo tube in the ground to test the soil's vibrancy. The feather, after a moment, floats out of the tube, indicating the pulse and vitality of the earth," Yang says.
\n
Many drama viewers comment that they have seen similar rituals in childhood.
\n
Other customs — "circling the granary" on the second day of the second month in the lunar calendar (people using charcoal ash to draw circles on the ground, in the shape of a granary, to pray for a bumper harvest) and "starting harvest" (people worshiping the land and ancestors before harvesting wheat) on the day of mangzhong, Grain in Ear, the ninth solar term of the year — also inspired nostalgic reverie.
\n
The creators attribute the drama's instant success in part to having evoked Chinese people's collective memory related to farming because the country hails from a deep-rooted agricultural civilization that traces back millennia.
\n
"The land gives life to a myriad of things, and it is the basis for human survival. We want to awaken Chinese people's deep-seated love for the land through this production," says Liu.
\n
He adds that the drama, portraying various characters living on the land, who wrestle with life's struggles, such as natural disasters and war, intends to highlight and salute their diligence, optimism and fortitude.
\n
The director views these qualities as the foundation for the Chinese nation to develop continuously for thousands of years and stand tall among the nations of the world.
\n
"I hope characters in the show can inspire today's people, especially the young, to stay upbeat in difficulties and hardships and never crack under pressure," he says.
\n
Since its premiere on Aug 13, the series has achieved notable highlights. Its content popularity index on iQIYI peaked at 11,018, making it second only to the 2023 smash hit The Knockout, the platform's most popular title up to date.
\n
On Aug 21, the drama topped the streaming charts with a staggering 46.1 percent market share and became this year's first long-form drama that amassed more than 100 million views on demand in a single day, according to data from Enlightent.
\n
This Thriving Land has also been launched globally, available on iQIYI's international app in 10 foreign languages, including English, Arabic, Korean, and Malay.
\n",
+ "content": "\n
Fei Wendian, played by actor Zhang Tianyang, the fiance of female protagonist Ning Xiuxiu.
\n
Ning, played by actress Yang Mi, and her husband Feng Dajiao, portrayed by actor Ou Hao, till the land.
\n
A still from This Thriving Land features the two leading actors, Ning and Feng.
\n
Ning Susu, played by actress Xing Fei, younger sister of Ning Xiuxiu.
\n
Ou plays Feng.
\n
A scene from This Thriving Land shows the Feng family engaged in "circling the granary", an agricultural custom practiced on the second day of the second month in the lunar calendar.
\n
From the very first episode, TV series This Thriving Land sweeps viewers into a world where love, loss, and grit unfold against the backdrop of rural China a century ago. This hit period drama celebrates the resilience of its characters and the unbreakable bond with the land that shapes their destinies.
\n
A dramatic incident sets the stage for the unfolding story: Ning Xiuxiu, played by actress Yang Mi, is kidnapped on her wedding day, and her father — the landlord — refuses to pay a ransom. In her absence, her younger sister is married to her childhood sweetheart. The question then arises: after being saved, what choices will she make?
\n
Xiuxiu severs ties with her father in the wake of the tragic event, marries the young farmer Feng Dajiao (portrayed by actor Ou Hao), a secret admirer who saved her from the bandits, and starts a new life with him.
\n
Building on this powerful opening, This Thriving Land, which concluded its initial run on China Central Television's CCTV-8 and streaming platform iQIYI on Aug 23, chronicles the transformation of Tianniu Temple village from 1926 to 1986 in southern Shandong province, capturing the impact of seismic societal changes.
\n
The 36-episode series follows the struggles of Xiuxiu as she transforms from a pampered landlord's daughter and stigmatized "defiled bride" into a tough farmer, mother and leader in guiding fellow village women to cultivate medicinal herbs.
\n
"Xiuxiu suffers a tarnished reputation and is abandoned by her father. It's a hellish beginning for a woman on the cusp of adulthood in the old days," Yang told China Daily in a recent interview. "Yet, she remains resilient and optimistic, struggling to survive amid the turbulent tides of her times. Her kindness, insight, and courage shine brightly in that era, which touches me deeply.
\n
"Xixiu isn't a victim depicted in traditional melodramas. She is like a wild wheat plant determined to take root even in the frozen soil," she adds.
\n
The star, known for her roles in costume and fantasy dramas such as Jade Palace Lock Heart, Chinese Paladin 3, and To the Sky Kingdom, admits that the heroine's "unbreakable vitality" resonates with her, prompting her to take on this brand-new type of role.
\n
"Her vitality isn't brute force, but rather the ability to draw on the wisdom from the land. For example, she buys cattle to resolve conflicts and guides women in growing medicinal herbs," Yang says.
\n
To approach her character, the actress, in addition to studying the script, spent two weeks in a Shandong village, learning from locals to do farm work. She also gained five kilos to make her role look more convincing.
\n
Xiuxiu's personal growth and Dajiao's love and unwavering support for her tugged at people's heartstrings.
\n
Dai Ying, chief producer of This Thriving Land and iQIYI's senior vice-president, says that the show's focus on the heroine's growth — from a landlord's daughter to an independent woman — is a response to the emphasis of women's power in contemporary society.
\n
Many drama fans favorably compare it to this year's South Korean international hit TV series When Life Gives You Tangerines. The intergenerational family saga follows the trials and triumphs of Ae-sun, a poor girl born in Jeju in 1951 who dreams of being a poet, and Gwan-sik, a young man who cherishes and loves her. Confronting societal limitations and harsh realities, Ae-sun holds fast to her childhood dream until she realizes it in her later years.
\n
Dai notes that both TV series found widespread resonance with audiences because they, albeit set in different backgrounds, show that people yearn for genuine emotional connections and believe in their own strength to rise above hardships through faith and love.
\n
Dai also deems that both series, not shying away from portraying suffering in life, interpret people's vitality when grappling with misfortune and highlight the kindness and mutual support among extended family and neighbors in dire circumstances.
\n
A new title to iQIYI's Masterpiece Theatre, This Thriving Land is adapted from part of writer Zhao Defa's 1996 novel Qianquan Yu Juejue (literally Deep Attachment and Decided Severance), which won the prestigious People's Literature Award in 2001. Part of the writer's farmer trilogy, the book, set against the backdrop of the Yimeng Mountains in Linyi, Shandong province, spans four generations and tells of farmers' evolving relationship with the land as times change.
\n
Dai says that iQIYI decided to bring the novel to the small screen because productions focusing on the land and family have been lacking for years in the domestic market. "Such themes may seem old, but they possess great strength and can find strong resonance with people," she says.
\n
Director Liu Jiacheng expressed a similar view.
\n
"Rural area-themed dramas are few, and period dramas of this theme are even fewer. Rural period dramas written with great depth are few and far between," Liu told China Daily in an exclusive interview, saying that he decided to take on the project after reading the first 10 episodes of the screenplay.
\n
TV audiences rave about the drama's vivid presentation of traditional farming customs and farmers' reverence for the land.
\n
"All the agricultural customs that farmers religiously observe in tending their land left a deep impression on me," Yang recalls.
\n
"For example, on the day of lichun, the Beginning of Spring (the first solar term of the year), Feng Er (Xiuxiu's father-in-law, played by actor Lin Yongjian) buries a bamboo tube in the ground to test the soil's vibrancy. The feather, after a moment, floats out of the tube, indicating the pulse and vitality of the earth," Yang says.
\n
Many drama viewers comment that they have seen similar rituals in childhood.
\n
Other customs — "circling the granary" on the second day of the second month in the lunar calendar (people using charcoal ash to draw circles on the ground, in the shape of a granary, to pray for a bumper harvest) and "starting harvest" (people worshiping the land and ancestors before harvesting wheat) on the day of mangzhong, Grain in Ear, the ninth solar term of the year — also inspired nostalgic reverie.
\n
The creators attribute the drama's instant success in part to having evoked Chinese people's collective memory related to farming because the country hails from a deep-rooted agricultural civilization that traces back millennia.
\n
"The land gives life to a myriad of things, and it is the basis for human survival. We want to awaken Chinese people's deep-seated love for the land through this production," says Liu.
\n
He adds that the drama, portraying various characters living on the land, who wrestle with life's struggles, such as natural disasters and war, intends to highlight and salute their diligence, optimism and fortitude.
\n
The director views these qualities as the foundation for the Chinese nation to develop continuously for thousands of years and stand tall among the nations of the world.
\n
"I hope characters in the show can inspire today's people, especially the young, to stay upbeat in difficulties and hardships and never crack under pressure," he says.
\n
Since its premiere on Aug 13, the series has achieved notable highlights. Its content popularity index on iQIYI peaked at 11,018, making it second only to the 2023 smash hit The Knockout, the platform's most popular title up to date.
\n
On Aug 21, the drama topped the streaming charts with a staggering 46.1 percent market share and became this year's first long-form drama that amassed more than 100 million views on demand in a single day, according to data from Enlightent.
\n
This Thriving Land has also been launched globally, available on iQIYI's international app in 10 foreign languages, including English, Arabic, Korean, and Malay.
Performers with the College of Dance at Shanghai Theatre Academy present marine life-themed work The Pure Blue in Edinburgh earlier this month.
\n
EDINBURGH — Earlier this month, The Pure Blue, a marine life-themed dance drama from the College of Dance at Shanghai Theatre Academy, unfolded on stage in the packed C ARTS venue in Edinburgh. Inspired by the Fish Dance of the Dai ethnic group, the work fused environmental storytelling with Chinese artistic traditions.
\n
"The use of fabric to evoke waves and plastics was subtle but powerful," says Aidan Feldman, a New York-based dancer performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the first time.
\n
Established in 1947, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has grown into one of the world's largest arts festivals, transforming the Scottish capital into one vast stage every August for three weeks. Thousands of performers from across the globe present theater, dance, comedy, music, circus, and experimental work, drawing millions of visitors and industry professionals each year.
\n
Against this lively backdrop of bagpipes, cobblestone streets, and packed venues, this year's Edinburgh festival welcomed a diverse program of Chinese theater, dance, music, children's drama, and multimedia works under the China Focus banner.
\n
From July 30 to Monday, China Focus, in its fifth edition, brought nine original Chinese productions to the Scottish capital in a vibrant display of cultural exchange.
\n
This year's lineup ranges from Echoes, a stage drama exploring the legend of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, to Zhuangzi's Dream, which intertwines philosophy, intangible heritage, and experimental theater.
\n
Other works include Inspired by the Eastern Wind, which merged street dance with Chinese classical aesthetics, a contemporary folk music concert A Panorama of Hunan and AI-enhanced dance productions such as Personalities 4.0.
\n
Tang Yingqi, vice-president of the Center for China Shanghai International Arts Festival, says the program is "a concentrated presentation of how young Chinese artists merge innovation with tradition", noting that some performances sold out immediately after tickets were released.
\n
"This platform helps our artists understand what resonates with international audiences, which in turn refines their creative direction," she says.
\n
"We are not just bringing art. We are also bringing an invitation to enhance dialogue with the rest of the world," she notes.
\n
Chinese Consul General in Edinburgh Zhang Biao describes China Focus as "an important window for showcasing contemporary Chinese art" and calls for deeper exchanges between the two countries.
\n
Zheng Hao, an official with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation, likened cultural exchange to "a bridge that fosters understanding, removes barriers, and builds consensus".
\n
Highlighting the decade-long cooperation between Britain and China across film, television, gaming, music, publishing, museums, and performing arts, Neil Semple, deputy head of Creative Industry at the UK's Department for Business and Trade, says, "We need to find common ground and universal themes for collaboration."
\n
Edinburgh International Festival creative director Roy Luxford, who has attended the Shanghai International Arts Festival, observes a growing shift in Chinese performances toward contemporary and diverse art forms.
\n
"When the world is so complex, we look to our artists for fresh perspectives," he notes.
\n
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society deputy chief executive Lyndsey Jackson also confirms that, "Chinese artists bring work that is innovative and full of stories the world needs to hear".
\n",
+ "content": "
Performers with the College of Dance at Shanghai Theatre Academy present marine life-themed work The Pure Blue in Edinburgh earlier this month.
\n
EDINBURGH — Earlier this month, The Pure Blue, a marine life-themed dance drama from the College of Dance at Shanghai Theatre Academy, unfolded on stage in the packed C ARTS venue in Edinburgh. Inspired by the Fish Dance of the Dai ethnic group, the work fused environmental storytelling with Chinese artistic traditions.
\n
"The use of fabric to evoke waves and plastics was subtle but powerful," says Aidan Feldman, a New York-based dancer performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the first time.
\n
Established in 1947, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has grown into one of the world's largest arts festivals, transforming the Scottish capital into one vast stage every August for three weeks. Thousands of performers from across the globe present theater, dance, comedy, music, circus, and experimental work, drawing millions of visitors and industry professionals each year.
\n
Against this lively backdrop of bagpipes, cobblestone streets, and packed venues, this year's Edinburgh festival welcomed a diverse program of Chinese theater, dance, music, children's drama, and multimedia works under the China Focus banner.
\n
From July 30 to Monday, China Focus, in its fifth edition, brought nine original Chinese productions to the Scottish capital in a vibrant display of cultural exchange.
\n
This year's lineup ranges from Echoes, a stage drama exploring the legend of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, to Zhuangzi's Dream, which intertwines philosophy, intangible heritage, and experimental theater.
\n
Other works include Inspired by the Eastern Wind, which merged street dance with Chinese classical aesthetics, a contemporary folk music concert A Panorama of Hunan and AI-enhanced dance productions such as Personalities 4.0.
\n
Tang Yingqi, vice-president of the Center for China Shanghai International Arts Festival, says the program is "a concentrated presentation of how young Chinese artists merge innovation with tradition", noting that some performances sold out immediately after tickets were released.
\n
"This platform helps our artists understand what resonates with international audiences, which in turn refines their creative direction," she says.
\n
"We are not just bringing art. We are also bringing an invitation to enhance dialogue with the rest of the world," she notes.
\n
Chinese Consul General in Edinburgh Zhang Biao describes China Focus as "an important window for showcasing contemporary Chinese art" and calls for deeper exchanges between the two countries.
\n
Zheng Hao, an official with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation, likened cultural exchange to "a bridge that fosters understanding, removes barriers, and builds consensus".
\n
Highlighting the decade-long cooperation between Britain and China across film, television, gaming, music, publishing, museums, and performing arts, Neil Semple, deputy head of Creative Industry at the UK's Department for Business and Trade, says, "We need to find common ground and universal themes for collaboration."
\n
Edinburgh International Festival creative director Roy Luxford, who has attended the Shanghai International Arts Festival, observes a growing shift in Chinese performances toward contemporary and diverse art forms.
\n
"When the world is so complex, we look to our artists for fresh perspectives," he notes.
\n
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society deputy chief executive Lyndsey Jackson also confirms that, "Chinese artists bring work that is innovative and full of stories the world needs to hear".
The Memorial Hall of the Former Site of the Wuhan Office of the Eighth Route Army in Hubei province hosts an exhibition, Heroic City, Flames of Resistance — Wuhan's War of Resistance History.
\n
Children at the roads named after martyrs of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) in Wuhan.
\n
A photo of the Zhongshan warship from 1912.
\n
The restored vessel at the Zhongshan Warship Museum, Wuhan.
\n
Visitors at the Memorial Hall of the Former Site of the Wuhan Office of the Eighth Route Army.
\n
Wang Lele, 20, a student at Wuhan University in Hubei province, takes city walks one day along Chen Huaimin, Zhang Zizhong and Hao Mengling roads, each named after a martyr of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45). The three roads eventually converge onto Shengli Street, whose name means "victory".
\n
In 1946, this street, once divided by concessions of different countries, was reunified and renamed in commemoration of the victory in the war. This year marks the 80th anniversary of that triumph, a milestone that continues to resonate through the city's streets and memorials.
\n
The Defense of Wuhan, also known as the Battle of Wuhan, was fought from June to October 1938. It was the largest and longest battle of the war which had erupted in full scale the previous year. During the battle, the Communist Party of China and Kuomintang cooperated with each other both on the battlefield and behind enemy lines.
\n
One of the most remarkable episodes took place on April 29, 1938. Chinese pilot Chen Huaimin, 22, shot down a Japanese plane, drawing enemy pilot's fire. Struck, he crashed his burning plane into the aircraft of Japanese pilot Kenichi Takahashi. Both aircraft fell into the Yangtze River, and both young pilots perished.
\n
Continuing her walk along Shengli Street, Wang eventually reaches the riverbank, reflecting on the sacrifice of Chen and other martyrs while taking in the vast, rolling waters of the Yangtze. At the nearby Memorial Hall of the Former Site of the Wuhan Office of the Eighth Route Army, she meets Chen De, the nephew of Chen Huaimin.
\n
"He has dedicated himself to promoting the heroic deeds of Chen Huaimin. He even wrote a song about his uncle and wants to produce a film someday," she says.
\n
For Wang, the visit deepens her sense of gratitude. "These martyrs made immense sacrifices for the victory in the war. They were loyal, righteous and selfless, willing to give up everything for their country. Thanks to them, we live in peace and prosperity today."
\n
Like her, more Wuhan citizens and visitors are "retracing heroes' footsteps" in the community. The Memorial Hall of the Former Site of the Wuhan Office of the Eighth Route Army also launched an initiative to guide students through urban exploration and uncover the stories behind these heroic routes.
\n
"Each heroic road carries the name of a martyr whose story turns textbook narratives into vivid, emotional encounters. Walking through the city is different from traditional, rigid forms of patriotic education, it speaks directly to the younger generation," says Zhou Jing, head of the memorial hall.
\n
The memorial hall recently opened its renovated permanent exhibition Heroic City, Flames of Resistance — Wuhan's War of Resistance History. By skillful use of artifacts, texts, photos, reconstructed scenes and immersive multimedia displays, the exhibition brings to life Wuhan's pivotal role as a "heroic city" during the war.
\n
Zhou believes that Chen Huaimin embodied loyalty, righteousness, integrity and filial devotion — a timeless hero that strikes a chord with today's youth.
\n
"Survival is instinctive, but sacrificing oneself for righteousness is extraordinary. Ask yourself: Could you face death with such resolve? Most wouldn't, and that's precisely why these souls are true heroes," Zhou says.
\n
Wartime stories also reveal humanity across battle lines.
\n
In 1938, on Takahashi's body, a letter from his wife, Mieko, along with her photograph, was discovered. The same year, Chen Huaimin's younger sister Chen Nan wrote a public letter of sympathy, which was published in a Chinese newspaper. She condemned Japanese aggression while expressing compassion for Mieko, and appealed for world peace.
\n
"Chen Nan wrote to her again in 1987. When Mieko finally got to see the letters, she was deeply touched to know that there were strangers who still cared about her grief," Zhou says. "This was never a personal feud, but a matter of national righteousness. Ordinary people everywhere long for peace."
\n
To bring wartime experiences closer, the memorial hall also organizes activities where broadcasters recite letters that heroes wrote to their families. The goal is to reveal the personal side of history.
\n
"Heroes are human, too. Beyond lofty personas, they are ordinary people with spouses, children and parents. Sharing their intimate words makes their sacrifices far more real," Zhou says.
\n
According to her, although the Battle of Wuhan ended in the strategic withdrawal of Chinese forces, it succeeded in inflicting significant casualties and material losses upon the Japanese army. After that, Japan was unable to mount any further large-scale military operations.
\n
Today, Wuhan preserves this pivotal history in numerous museums and memorials. One of the city's most powerful symbols is the Zhongshan warship. Japanese fighter planes sank the vessel in the Yangtze during the battle in 1938. It was submerged for 59 years until it was salvaged in 1997.
\n
The warship was ordered by the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) government from Japan in 1910. Originally named Yongfeng, it was renamed in 1925 in honor of revered revolutionary forerunner Sun Yat-sen. The Zhongshan Warship Museum in Wuhan was later specially built for the warship and opened to the public in 2011, with a collection of more than 7,300 pieces or sets of cultural relics.
\n
"The Zhongshan warship is recognized as the largest movable cultural relic in China, as well as the most significant surviving artifact from the war. Its fate is inseparable from modern Chinese history, making it an invaluable teaching tool for patriotism," says Liu Xinyang, the museum's deputy curator.
\n
The museum is now temporarily closed due to a culture project construction in the community.
\n
"Tourists are deeply moved by the heroic stories and deeds connected to the warship's battle history. They also show strong interest in how it was salvaged, restored, relocated, and later exhibited."
\n
The salvaged cultural relics from the warship are distinctive in features, including nameplates and badges, and shipboard facilities.
\n
"The salvaged weapons and equipment cover almost all major types of light arms used by the Chinese army during the war against Japanese aggression, such as pistols and submachine guns," he says.
\n
"The collection shows that people from all walks of life donated daily essentials to support the troops during the war against Japanese aggression, which serve as a testament to the nationwide resistance at that time."
\n
The museum also houses more than 1,000 wartime telegram manuscripts, carefully preserved in moisture-proof wrapping. Experts are now decoding them, hoping they will yield new insights into the warship's role and the war against Japanese aggression.
\n
This year, the museum is deploying a large-scale artificial intelligence model to enhance collection research, exhibition design, public education, and cultural creative products development. In May, the museum introduced Zhi Xiaolan, an AI guide, designed to offer online tours and detailed explanations of artifacts.
\n
Liu says that cutting-edge technologies including AI and virtual reality offer tourists immersive experiences to learn about the history, such as the reenactment of war scenes.
\n
Contact the writers at xulin@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "\n
The Memorial Hall of the Former Site of the Wuhan Office of the Eighth Route Army in Hubei province hosts an exhibition, Heroic City, Flames of Resistance — Wuhan's War of Resistance History.
\n
Children at the roads named after martyrs of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) in Wuhan.
\n
A photo of the Zhongshan warship from 1912.
\n
The restored vessel at the Zhongshan Warship Museum, Wuhan.
\n
Visitors at the Memorial Hall of the Former Site of the Wuhan Office of the Eighth Route Army.
\n
Wang Lele, 20, a student at Wuhan University in Hubei province, takes city walks one day along Chen Huaimin, Zhang Zizhong and Hao Mengling roads, each named after a martyr of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45). The three roads eventually converge onto Shengli Street, whose name means "victory".
\n
In 1946, this street, once divided by concessions of different countries, was reunified and renamed in commemoration of the victory in the war. This year marks the 80th anniversary of that triumph, a milestone that continues to resonate through the city's streets and memorials.
\n
The Defense of Wuhan, also known as the Battle of Wuhan, was fought from June to October 1938. It was the largest and longest battle of the war which had erupted in full scale the previous year. During the battle, the Communist Party of China and Kuomintang cooperated with each other both on the battlefield and behind enemy lines.
\n
One of the most remarkable episodes took place on April 29, 1938. Chinese pilot Chen Huaimin, 22, shot down a Japanese plane, drawing enemy pilot's fire. Struck, he crashed his burning plane into the aircraft of Japanese pilot Kenichi Takahashi. Both aircraft fell into the Yangtze River, and both young pilots perished.
\n
Continuing her walk along Shengli Street, Wang eventually reaches the riverbank, reflecting on the sacrifice of Chen and other martyrs while taking in the vast, rolling waters of the Yangtze. At the nearby Memorial Hall of the Former Site of the Wuhan Office of the Eighth Route Army, she meets Chen De, the nephew of Chen Huaimin.
\n
"He has dedicated himself to promoting the heroic deeds of Chen Huaimin. He even wrote a song about his uncle and wants to produce a film someday," she says.
\n
For Wang, the visit deepens her sense of gratitude. "These martyrs made immense sacrifices for the victory in the war. They were loyal, righteous and selfless, willing to give up everything for their country. Thanks to them, we live in peace and prosperity today."
\n
Like her, more Wuhan citizens and visitors are "retracing heroes' footsteps" in the community. The Memorial Hall of the Former Site of the Wuhan Office of the Eighth Route Army also launched an initiative to guide students through urban exploration and uncover the stories behind these heroic routes.
\n
"Each heroic road carries the name of a martyr whose story turns textbook narratives into vivid, emotional encounters. Walking through the city is different from traditional, rigid forms of patriotic education, it speaks directly to the younger generation," says Zhou Jing, head of the memorial hall.
\n
The memorial hall recently opened its renovated permanent exhibition Heroic City, Flames of Resistance — Wuhan's War of Resistance History. By skillful use of artifacts, texts, photos, reconstructed scenes and immersive multimedia displays, the exhibition brings to life Wuhan's pivotal role as a "heroic city" during the war.
\n
Zhou believes that Chen Huaimin embodied loyalty, righteousness, integrity and filial devotion — a timeless hero that strikes a chord with today's youth.
\n
"Survival is instinctive, but sacrificing oneself for righteousness is extraordinary. Ask yourself: Could you face death with such resolve? Most wouldn't, and that's precisely why these souls are true heroes," Zhou says.
\n
Wartime stories also reveal humanity across battle lines.
\n
In 1938, on Takahashi's body, a letter from his wife, Mieko, along with her photograph, was discovered. The same year, Chen Huaimin's younger sister Chen Nan wrote a public letter of sympathy, which was published in a Chinese newspaper. She condemned Japanese aggression while expressing compassion for Mieko, and appealed for world peace.
\n
"Chen Nan wrote to her again in 1987. When Mieko finally got to see the letters, she was deeply touched to know that there were strangers who still cared about her grief," Zhou says. "This was never a personal feud, but a matter of national righteousness. Ordinary people everywhere long for peace."
\n
To bring wartime experiences closer, the memorial hall also organizes activities where broadcasters recite letters that heroes wrote to their families. The goal is to reveal the personal side of history.
\n
"Heroes are human, too. Beyond lofty personas, they are ordinary people with spouses, children and parents. Sharing their intimate words makes their sacrifices far more real," Zhou says.
\n
According to her, although the Battle of Wuhan ended in the strategic withdrawal of Chinese forces, it succeeded in inflicting significant casualties and material losses upon the Japanese army. After that, Japan was unable to mount any further large-scale military operations.
\n
Today, Wuhan preserves this pivotal history in numerous museums and memorials. One of the city's most powerful symbols is the Zhongshan warship. Japanese fighter planes sank the vessel in the Yangtze during the battle in 1938. It was submerged for 59 years until it was salvaged in 1997.
\n
The warship was ordered by the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) government from Japan in 1910. Originally named Yongfeng, it was renamed in 1925 in honor of revered revolutionary forerunner Sun Yat-sen. The Zhongshan Warship Museum in Wuhan was later specially built for the warship and opened to the public in 2011, with a collection of more than 7,300 pieces or sets of cultural relics.
\n
"The Zhongshan warship is recognized as the largest movable cultural relic in China, as well as the most significant surviving artifact from the war. Its fate is inseparable from modern Chinese history, making it an invaluable teaching tool for patriotism," says Liu Xinyang, the museum's deputy curator.
\n
The museum is now temporarily closed due to a culture project construction in the community.
\n
"Tourists are deeply moved by the heroic stories and deeds connected to the warship's battle history. They also show strong interest in how it was salvaged, restored, relocated, and later exhibited."
\n
The salvaged cultural relics from the warship are distinctive in features, including nameplates and badges, and shipboard facilities.
\n
"The salvaged weapons and equipment cover almost all major types of light arms used by the Chinese army during the war against Japanese aggression, such as pistols and submachine guns," he says.
\n
"The collection shows that people from all walks of life donated daily essentials to support the troops during the war against Japanese aggression, which serve as a testament to the nationwide resistance at that time."
\n
The museum also houses more than 1,000 wartime telegram manuscripts, carefully preserved in moisture-proof wrapping. Experts are now decoding them, hoping they will yield new insights into the warship's role and the war against Japanese aggression.
\n
This year, the museum is deploying a large-scale artificial intelligence model to enhance collection research, exhibition design, public education, and cultural creative products development. In May, the museum introduced Zhi Xiaolan, an AI guide, designed to offer online tours and detailed explanations of artifacts.
\n
Liu says that cutting-edge technologies including AI and virtual reality offer tourists immersive experiences to learn about the history, such as the reenactment of war scenes.
A qiaopi letter mentions a Japanese air raid on Shantou, Guangdong province.
\n
An exhibition at Shantou Museum highlights qiaopi correspondence in wartime.
\n
During wartime, letters of support from overseas Chinese communities carried more than words of comfort — they embodied a nation's strength and determination to resist invaders.
\n
An exhibition displaying such letters, called qiaopi, is being held in Shantou, Guangdong province, through to the end of September, marking the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War. Held at Shantou Museum, the exhibition titled Letters in Wartime, Attachments to Homeland also highlights the role of the Dongxing remittance route, a financial lifeline during those turbulent years.
\n
Qiaopi, a unique form of correspondence, served as both a letter and money transfers by overseas Chinese people to their families in the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian in the 19th and 20th centuries. These missives often included account books and remittance receipts.
\n
At that time, for countless emigrants, particularly those from Guangdong and Fujian, qiaopi became the primary means of supporting loved ones back home while sharing news, affection and the hope of reunion.
\n
The exhibition sheds light on the vast number of overseas Chinese in North America and Southeast Asia who relied on the secret Dongxing remittance route to send money and related supplies back home to support the war against Japanese aggression.
\n
Chen Jieying, vice-chairperson of All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, says qiaopi letters are not only vivid pieces of family memory, but also an epic that condenses the history of struggle and patriotism of Chinese who lived abroad.
\n
The Dongxing remittance route which passed through Mong Cai in Vietnam and Dongxing in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region emerged after the Pacific War broke out and disrupted traditional remittance channels.
\n
Cai Chiyu, vice-chairman of the Shantou Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, says the Shantou exhibition showcases the devotion of overseas Chinese to their homeland through a selection of cultural relics, historical photos and archives.
\n
In particular, it highlights the magnificent feat of overseas Chinese breaking blockades to open up a financial lifeline, with Dongxing as a hub of resistance.
\n
"As organizers, we hope this event allows more people to understand the historical contributions of overseas Chinese, learn from their patriotism and inherit their spirit of integrity," Cai says.
\n
Before the Pacific War, most remittances and supplies were routed through Southeast Asia — including Thailand and Malaysia — and then on to British-ruled Hong Kong. The Dongxing remittance route ensured that funds and essential supplies continued to flow, bypassing the blockades imposed by the war.
\n
Ma Xuedong, a researcher of culture and history in Shantou, says the Dongxing remittance route was a crucial "blood transfusion line" that sustained the livelihoods of millions of overseas Chinese, with roots in Guangdong's Chaozhou and Shantou and the southern Fujian province.
\n
Ma says this financial artery delivered donations and materials to the rear wartime areas, including Yan'an, a revolutionary base of the Communist Party of China in Shaanxi province. It also facilitated the return of patriotic overseas Chinese to the motherland, many of whom fought in the front lines.
\n
The letters themselves reveal the senders' anguish and resilience. Many accused the Japanese armies of cruelty, urged loved ones to stay safe, and expressed deep concern for the fate of their homeland.
\n
Zhao Yongxing, son of Zhao Kaiqian, a pioneer of the Dongxing remittance route, says he thought of his parents when he saw the qiaopi.
\n
"Back then, my parents' photos were posted all over the street as they were on Japanese wanted list," Zhao says. To him, the exhibition is a way for the public to understand the sacrifices made and the hardships endured.
\n
He adds that the Dongxing route was not just a financial channel but a symbol of resilience and solidarity. It enabled overseas Chinese to remain connected to the motherland and contribute directly to its survival.
\n
Recognized for its historical significance, qiaopi was added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2013.
\n
Yuan Xiaohong, an associate professor from Shantou Polytechnic, says qiaopi letters are valuable materials for studying the history of modern overseas Chinese.
\n
"Eighty years have passed, we still feel the deep longing of Shantou and Chaozhou people living overseas for their families and hometown."
\n
zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
A qiaopi letter mentions a Japanese air raid on Shantou, Guangdong province.
\n
An exhibition at Shantou Museum highlights qiaopi correspondence in wartime.
\n
During wartime, letters of support from overseas Chinese communities carried more than words of comfort — they embodied a nation's strength and determination to resist invaders.
\n
An exhibition displaying such letters, called qiaopi, is being held in Shantou, Guangdong province, through to the end of September, marking the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War. Held at Shantou Museum, the exhibition titled Letters in Wartime, Attachments to Homeland also highlights the role of the Dongxing remittance route, a financial lifeline during those turbulent years.
\n
Qiaopi, a unique form of correspondence, served as both a letter and money transfers by overseas Chinese people to their families in the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian in the 19th and 20th centuries. These missives often included account books and remittance receipts.
\n
At that time, for countless emigrants, particularly those from Guangdong and Fujian, qiaopi became the primary means of supporting loved ones back home while sharing news, affection and the hope of reunion.
\n
The exhibition sheds light on the vast number of overseas Chinese in North America and Southeast Asia who relied on the secret Dongxing remittance route to send money and related supplies back home to support the war against Japanese aggression.
\n
Chen Jieying, vice-chairperson of All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, says qiaopi letters are not only vivid pieces of family memory, but also an epic that condenses the history of struggle and patriotism of Chinese who lived abroad.
\n
The Dongxing remittance route which passed through Mong Cai in Vietnam and Dongxing in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region emerged after the Pacific War broke out and disrupted traditional remittance channels.
\n
Cai Chiyu, vice-chairman of the Shantou Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, says the Shantou exhibition showcases the devotion of overseas Chinese to their homeland through a selection of cultural relics, historical photos and archives.
\n
In particular, it highlights the magnificent feat of overseas Chinese breaking blockades to open up a financial lifeline, with Dongxing as a hub of resistance.
\n
"As organizers, we hope this event allows more people to understand the historical contributions of overseas Chinese, learn from their patriotism and inherit their spirit of integrity," Cai says.
\n
Before the Pacific War, most remittances and supplies were routed through Southeast Asia — including Thailand and Malaysia — and then on to British-ruled Hong Kong. The Dongxing remittance route ensured that funds and essential supplies continued to flow, bypassing the blockades imposed by the war.
\n
Ma Xuedong, a researcher of culture and history in Shantou, says the Dongxing remittance route was a crucial "blood transfusion line" that sustained the livelihoods of millions of overseas Chinese, with roots in Guangdong's Chaozhou and Shantou and the southern Fujian province.
\n
Ma says this financial artery delivered donations and materials to the rear wartime areas, including Yan'an, a revolutionary base of the Communist Party of China in Shaanxi province. It also facilitated the return of patriotic overseas Chinese to the motherland, many of whom fought in the front lines.
\n
The letters themselves reveal the senders' anguish and resilience. Many accused the Japanese armies of cruelty, urged loved ones to stay safe, and expressed deep concern for the fate of their homeland.
\n
Zhao Yongxing, son of Zhao Kaiqian, a pioneer of the Dongxing remittance route, says he thought of his parents when he saw the qiaopi.
\n
"Back then, my parents' photos were posted all over the street as they were on Japanese wanted list," Zhao says. To him, the exhibition is a way for the public to understand the sacrifices made and the hardships endured.
\n
He adds that the Dongxing route was not just a financial channel but a symbol of resilience and solidarity. It enabled overseas Chinese to remain connected to the motherland and contribute directly to its survival.
\n
Recognized for its historical significance, qiaopi was added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2013.
\n
Yuan Xiaohong, an associate professor from Shantou Polytechnic, says qiaopi letters are valuable materials for studying the history of modern overseas Chinese.
\n
"Eighty years have passed, we still feel the deep longing of Shantou and Chaozhou people living overseas for their families and hometown."
Ballet dancers perform at the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning province, to celebrate the Liaoning (Shenyang) Ballet Competition held between Aug 8 and 14.
\n
In front of the grand Dazheng Hall at the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, a ballerina is lifted by her dance partner.
\n
Led by dancers from the Liaoning Ballet, residents and tourists put their ballet skills to the test at a cultural and creative park in Shenyang.
\n
Ballet dancers performing during the award ceremony. The competition gathered more than 400 participants from over 10 countries and regions.
\n
Dancers from the Liaoning Ballet perform the original production Qi Xi, based on the well-known Chinese love story of the cowherd and the weaver girl.
\n
Students take a ballet course at the Liaoning Ballet Dance School in Shenyang.
\n
At the award ceremony at the Liaoning Grand Theatre on Aug 14, dancers from the Liaoning Ballet go through their paces.
\n
Amid the rhythmic hum of machinery at a heavy-industry manufacturing site, an elegant art form has taken root and flourished.
\n
In a striking juxtaposition of industrial might and artistic elegance, Shenyang, Liaoning province, has emerged as an unexpected powerhouse in the world of ballet.
\n
From Aug 8 to 14, the Liaoning (Shenyang) Ballet Competition brought together more than 400 participants from over 10 countries and regions to the Liaoning Grand Theatre for a competition, with a jury of 20 masters of the world stage.
\n
The event transformed the city into a ballet hub, with participants from countries including the United States, Russia, France and Italy converging on the Shenyang stage.
\n
Leading soloist Dias Kurmangazy from the Astana Opera, who won Best Performance, notes that the competition was well organized and offered an invaluable experience.
\n
"Our fellow competitors performed with great skill, but we too gave our all, our energy, artistry and mastery, to represent our country and theater with dignity. Such competitions always bring immense emotions," Kurmangazy says.
\n
Beyond the international spectacle lies a deeper story: Ballet has been quietly thriving in this industrial city for more than four decades, with the Liaoning Ballet established in 1980.
\n
While maintaining classical productions like Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Don Quixote, it has also developed distinctive Chinese ballet brands by producing original Chinese-themed ballets that blend Western techniques with Eastern storytelling, like the modern ballet The Last Emperor.
\n
During the competition, dancers with the Liaoning Ballet performed at various Shenyang landmarks, such as the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, Liaoning Grand Theatre and the bank of the Hunhe River.
\n
Each collision of elegant movement with urban architecture presented the world with a business card rich in historical depth and artistic poetry.
\n
As the competition demonstrated, the industrial city has become a place where tradition and innovation dance together — where steel and en pointe shoes coexist in harmonious rhythm, creating a new cultural narrative for the country's northeastern region.
\n
Serving as a judge at the competition, Austrian ballet dancer and choreographer Vladimir Malakhov speaks highly of the event.
\n
"It is becoming a platform for the exchange of global ballet art, and I am very pleased to witness the prosperous development of ballet here," he says. Widely recognized as an iconic figure in contemporary dance, Malakhov was appointed as the first non-Chinese dean of the ballet department at the Beijing Dance Academy last year.
\n",
+ "content": "
Ballet dancers perform at the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning province, to celebrate the Liaoning (Shenyang) Ballet Competition held between Aug 8 and 14.
\n
In front of the grand Dazheng Hall at the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, a ballerina is lifted by her dance partner.
\n
Led by dancers from the Liaoning Ballet, residents and tourists put their ballet skills to the test at a cultural and creative park in Shenyang.
\n
Ballet dancers performing during the award ceremony. The competition gathered more than 400 participants from over 10 countries and regions.
\n
Dancers from the Liaoning Ballet perform the original production Qi Xi, based on the well-known Chinese love story of the cowherd and the weaver girl.
\n
Students take a ballet course at the Liaoning Ballet Dance School in Shenyang.
\n
At the award ceremony at the Liaoning Grand Theatre on Aug 14, dancers from the Liaoning Ballet go through their paces.
\n
Amid the rhythmic hum of machinery at a heavy-industry manufacturing site, an elegant art form has taken root and flourished.
\n
In a striking juxtaposition of industrial might and artistic elegance, Shenyang, Liaoning province, has emerged as an unexpected powerhouse in the world of ballet.
\n
From Aug 8 to 14, the Liaoning (Shenyang) Ballet Competition brought together more than 400 participants from over 10 countries and regions to the Liaoning Grand Theatre for a competition, with a jury of 20 masters of the world stage.
\n
The event transformed the city into a ballet hub, with participants from countries including the United States, Russia, France and Italy converging on the Shenyang stage.
\n
Leading soloist Dias Kurmangazy from the Astana Opera, who won Best Performance, notes that the competition was well organized and offered an invaluable experience.
\n
"Our fellow competitors performed with great skill, but we too gave our all, our energy, artistry and mastery, to represent our country and theater with dignity. Such competitions always bring immense emotions," Kurmangazy says.
\n
Beyond the international spectacle lies a deeper story: Ballet has been quietly thriving in this industrial city for more than four decades, with the Liaoning Ballet established in 1980.
\n
While maintaining classical productions like Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Don Quixote, it has also developed distinctive Chinese ballet brands by producing original Chinese-themed ballets that blend Western techniques with Eastern storytelling, like the modern ballet The Last Emperor.
\n
During the competition, dancers with the Liaoning Ballet performed at various Shenyang landmarks, such as the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, Liaoning Grand Theatre and the bank of the Hunhe River.
\n
Each collision of elegant movement with urban architecture presented the world with a business card rich in historical depth and artistic poetry.
\n
As the competition demonstrated, the industrial city has become a place where tradition and innovation dance together — where steel and en pointe shoes coexist in harmonious rhythm, creating a new cultural narrative for the country's northeastern region.
\n
Serving as a judge at the competition, Austrian ballet dancer and choreographer Vladimir Malakhov speaks highly of the event.
\n
"It is becoming a platform for the exchange of global ballet art, and I am very pleased to witness the prosperous development of ballet here," he says. Widely recognized as an iconic figure in contemporary dance, Malakhov was appointed as the first non-Chinese dean of the ballet department at the Beijing Dance Academy last year.
Foreign journalists have a group photo taken on Thursday at the media center for the upcoming commemorative events marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.
\n\n
Twenty-six foreign heads of state and government will attend China's Victory Day commemorations, which will include a military parade, on Wednesday as Beijing hopes to use the event to reaffirm its commitment to defending the victorious outcomes of World War II and contributing to world peace and development.
\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin and top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong-un will be among the world leaders attending the commemorations, Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei said at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.
\n
It will be Putin's first visit to China since he held talks with United States President Donald Trump on the Ukraine crisis in Alaska earlier this month. Putin will also attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin, to be held from Sunday to Monday.
\n
His China visit also comes following President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia in May and Xi's attendance at the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War.
\n
Hong said that during that visit, Xi and Putin together sent the strong message that "the history of World War II must not be distorted, the victorious outcomes of World War II must not be denied, and the postwar international order must not be challenged".
\n
Regarding Kim's China visit, Hong said that safeguarding, consolidating and developing relations between China and the DPRK is the firm position of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government.
\n
China stands ready to work with the DPRK to continue to enhance exchanges and cooperation and advance socialist development, coordinate closely on promoting the peace and stability of the region and safeguard international fairness and justice, he said.
\n
Sept 3 is celebrated in China as Victory Day, marking the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on Sept 2, 1945.
\n
The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) was the first war to break out and the longest-running campaign in the World Anti-Fascist War. It resulted in over 35 million Chinese military and civilian casualties.
\n
With regard to a question about some forces in Japan seeking to remove restrictions on its military, including downplaying its history of aggression and even distorting historical truth to paint themselves as a victim of war, Hong said that such acts pose challenges to the post-World War II international order, to human conscience and to all who love peace.
\n
"We urge Japan to face history squarely, reflect deeply upon its crimes of aggression, make a clean break with militarism and pursue the right path of peaceful development, good neighborliness and friendship," he said.
\n
Former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama, who said that Japan should reflect on its stance on history, will be among the former statesmen invited to attend the commemorations.
\n
A total of 50 international friends who have contributed to the war of resistance against Japanese aggression or their families from 14 countries, including Russia, the US, the United Kingdom, France and Canada, will also attend the commemorations.
\n
Wu Zeke, deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group for the Military Parade and a senior officer of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, said at the news conference that the preparations for the V-Day military parade are basically complete.
\n
The parade will feature a wide range of weapons and equipment, much of which will be unveiled for the first time, Wu said, adding that the event will highlight the Chinese military's recent advances in modernization and enhanced combat readiness.
\n
When asked about what message China will send to the world about the military parade, Hong said, "We hold the military parade to show our firm determination to pursue the path of peaceful development, our strong will to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and our great capability to safeguard world peace and tranquility."
Foreign journalists have a group photo taken on Thursday at the media center for the upcoming commemorative events marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.
\n\n
Twenty-six foreign heads of state and government will attend China's Victory Day commemorations, which will include a military parade, on Wednesday as Beijing hopes to use the event to reaffirm its commitment to defending the victorious outcomes of World War II and contributing to world peace and development.
\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin and top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong-un will be among the world leaders attending the commemorations, Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei said at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.
\n
It will be Putin's first visit to China since he held talks with United States President Donald Trump on the Ukraine crisis in Alaska earlier this month. Putin will also attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin, to be held from Sunday to Monday.
\n
His China visit also comes following President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia in May and Xi's attendance at the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War.
\n
Hong said that during that visit, Xi and Putin together sent the strong message that "the history of World War II must not be distorted, the victorious outcomes of World War II must not be denied, and the postwar international order must not be challenged".
\n
Regarding Kim's China visit, Hong said that safeguarding, consolidating and developing relations between China and the DPRK is the firm position of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government.
\n
China stands ready to work with the DPRK to continue to enhance exchanges and cooperation and advance socialist development, coordinate closely on promoting the peace and stability of the region and safeguard international fairness and justice, he said.
\n
Sept 3 is celebrated in China as Victory Day, marking the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on Sept 2, 1945.
\n
The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) was the first war to break out and the longest-running campaign in the World Anti-Fascist War. It resulted in over 35 million Chinese military and civilian casualties.
\n
With regard to a question about some forces in Japan seeking to remove restrictions on its military, including downplaying its history of aggression and even distorting historical truth to paint themselves as a victim of war, Hong said that such acts pose challenges to the post-World War II international order, to human conscience and to all who love peace.
\n
"We urge Japan to face history squarely, reflect deeply upon its crimes of aggression, make a clean break with militarism and pursue the right path of peaceful development, good neighborliness and friendship," he said.
\n
Former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama, who said that Japan should reflect on its stance on history, will be among the former statesmen invited to attend the commemorations.
\n
A total of 50 international friends who have contributed to the war of resistance against Japanese aggression or their families from 14 countries, including Russia, the US, the United Kingdom, France and Canada, will also attend the commemorations.
\n
Wu Zeke, deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group for the Military Parade and a senior officer of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, said at the news conference that the preparations for the V-Day military parade are basically complete.
\n
The parade will feature a wide range of weapons and equipment, much of which will be unveiled for the first time, Wu said, adding that the event will highlight the Chinese military's recent advances in modernization and enhanced combat readiness.
\n
When asked about what message China will send to the world about the military parade, Hong said, "We hold the military parade to show our firm determination to pursue the path of peaceful development, our strong will to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and our great capability to safeguard world peace and tranquility."
Children interact with a robot dog at the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2025, which kicked off on Thursday in Guiyang, Guizhou province.
\n
China will intensify efforts to leverage innovative digital technologies to bolster industrial upgrade and foster strategic emerging and future-oriented industries, as part of its broader push to promote the high-quality development of the digital economy and nurture new quality productive forces, said officials and experts.
\n
They made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2025, which kicked off on Thursday in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province.
\n
The expo, which runs through Saturday, features a diverse range of exchanges and activities, with more than 16,000 guests and 375 enterprises participating.
\n
Hao Mingjin, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, said that heightened efforts should be made to give full play to the role of data as a fundamental resource and an engine for innovation, promote the in-depth integration of the real and digital economies, and accelerate the development of artificial intelligence.
\n
There is a pressing need to further deepen reforms related to the market-oriented allocation of data elements, establish and improve basic data systems, cultivate the data industry ecosystem and expand international cooperation in the digital economy domain, Hao said.
\n
Noting that data serves as a new type of production factor, Zhuang Rongwen, head of the Cyberspace Administration of China, highlighted the significance of cultivating new growth drivers for industrial transformation and upgrading, deeply implementing the "AI Plus" initiative and building a modern industrial system.
\n
He called for efforts to raise people's digital literacy, improve the rules and systems in the digital field, promote efficient, convenient and secure cross-border data flows, and strengthen AI security governance.
\n
China's digital economy has gained strong momentum in recent years. According to the National Data Administration, the country's total data output reached 41.06 zettabytes last year, marking a robust 25 percent year-on-year increase.
\n
Liu Liehong, head of the National Data Administration, said that China has rolled out nearly 30 policy measures related to the development and utilization of public data resources and urban digital transformation. It has also advanced the construction of data infrastructure, such as a national integrated computing power network, while expanding the application scenarios of data in a wide range of sectors, he said.
\n
The added value of China's digital economy is expected to stand at around 49 trillion yuan ($6.9 trillion) by the end of this year, accounting for about 35 percent of GDP, according to Liu.
\n
He noted that the country's total intelligent computing capacity has reached around 780,000 PFlops, ranking second globally. PFlops, or petaflops, is a unit of measurement for computational performance, representing 1 quadrillion floating-point operations per second.
\n
Liu also emphasized the importance of high-quality and large-scale data in advancing the "AI Plus" initiative.
\n
Statistics from the National Data Development Research Institute show that the number of data enterprises in China surpassed 400,000 in 2024, while the market scale of the nation's data industry reached 5.86 trillion yuan.
\n
Xu Lin, Party secretary of Guizhou, said the province will seize the strategic opportunity brought by the explosive growth of AI to vigorously develop the computing power industry with a key focus on intelligent computing, as well as develop the data industry and AI industry centered on industry-specific large models.
\n
Jiang Xiaojuan, a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the application of data across various fields "has injected new momentum into China's industrial development", adding that the industrialization of digital and AI technologies will significantly improve operational efficiency and lower costs.
\n
The digital economy has played a vital role in bolstering the transformation of manufacturing, services, consumption and international trade, and in driving overall economic growth, Jiang said.
\n
Yang Jie, chairman of China Mobile, the world's largest telecom carrier in terms of mobile subscribers, said the scale and quality of data have become a driving force for accelerating AI innovation and breakthroughs.
\n
Yang added that China Mobile is beefing up efforts to increase the supply of high-quality data, boost the efficient circulation of data and speed up the high-level utilization of data, in order to push forward the deeper integration of data with various areas of the economy and society.
\n
Contact the writers at fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn
Children interact with a robot dog at the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2025, which kicked off on Thursday in Guiyang, Guizhou province.
\n
China will intensify efforts to leverage innovative digital technologies to bolster industrial upgrade and foster strategic emerging and future-oriented industries, as part of its broader push to promote the high-quality development of the digital economy and nurture new quality productive forces, said officials and experts.
\n
They made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2025, which kicked off on Thursday in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province.
\n
The expo, which runs through Saturday, features a diverse range of exchanges and activities, with more than 16,000 guests and 375 enterprises participating.
\n
Hao Mingjin, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, said that heightened efforts should be made to give full play to the role of data as a fundamental resource and an engine for innovation, promote the in-depth integration of the real and digital economies, and accelerate the development of artificial intelligence.
\n
There is a pressing need to further deepen reforms related to the market-oriented allocation of data elements, establish and improve basic data systems, cultivate the data industry ecosystem and expand international cooperation in the digital economy domain, Hao said.
\n
Noting that data serves as a new type of production factor, Zhuang Rongwen, head of the Cyberspace Administration of China, highlighted the significance of cultivating new growth drivers for industrial transformation and upgrading, deeply implementing the "AI Plus" initiative and building a modern industrial system.
\n
He called for efforts to raise people's digital literacy, improve the rules and systems in the digital field, promote efficient, convenient and secure cross-border data flows, and strengthen AI security governance.
\n
China's digital economy has gained strong momentum in recent years. According to the National Data Administration, the country's total data output reached 41.06 zettabytes last year, marking a robust 25 percent year-on-year increase.
\n
Liu Liehong, head of the National Data Administration, said that China has rolled out nearly 30 policy measures related to the development and utilization of public data resources and urban digital transformation. It has also advanced the construction of data infrastructure, such as a national integrated computing power network, while expanding the application scenarios of data in a wide range of sectors, he said.
\n
The added value of China's digital economy is expected to stand at around 49 trillion yuan ($6.9 trillion) by the end of this year, accounting for about 35 percent of GDP, according to Liu.
\n
He noted that the country's total intelligent computing capacity has reached around 780,000 PFlops, ranking second globally. PFlops, or petaflops, is a unit of measurement for computational performance, representing 1 quadrillion floating-point operations per second.
\n
Liu also emphasized the importance of high-quality and large-scale data in advancing the "AI Plus" initiative.
\n
Statistics from the National Data Development Research Institute show that the number of data enterprises in China surpassed 400,000 in 2024, while the market scale of the nation's data industry reached 5.86 trillion yuan.
\n
Xu Lin, Party secretary of Guizhou, said the province will seize the strategic opportunity brought by the explosive growth of AI to vigorously develop the computing power industry with a key focus on intelligent computing, as well as develop the data industry and AI industry centered on industry-specific large models.
\n
Jiang Xiaojuan, a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the application of data across various fields "has injected new momentum into China's industrial development", adding that the industrialization of digital and AI technologies will significantly improve operational efficiency and lower costs.
\n
The digital economy has played a vital role in bolstering the transformation of manufacturing, services, consumption and international trade, and in driving overall economic growth, Jiang said.
\n
Yang Jie, chairman of China Mobile, the world's largest telecom carrier in terms of mobile subscribers, said the scale and quality of data have become a driving force for accelerating AI innovation and breakthroughs.
\n
Yang added that China Mobile is beefing up efforts to increase the supply of high-quality data, boost the efficient circulation of data and speed up the high-level utilization of data, in order to push forward the deeper integration of data with various areas of the economy and society.
\n
Contact the writers at fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn
Melina Weber (left) from Germany and Mylene Mathieu from France experience picking mushrooms in Nanhua county, Yunnan province.
\n
Dongchuan Red Land is a rising tourist destination in Kunming, capital of Yunnan.
\n
Michael Hermann from Germany gets his face daubed with straw ash during the Hualian Festival in Qiubei county, Yunnan, while participating in a marathon.
\n
Nathan Jones, a child education expert from the US, demonstrates to children how to visualize sound waves on a wall using lasers at a natural science center he founded.
\n
Clark David James from the United Kingdom poses with the Jinsha River below while hiking in Lijiang, Yunnan province, in May.
\n
Online See more by scanning the code.
\n
Yunnan province has elevated its reputation as China's preferred tourism playground in recent years, with visitors encouraged to embrace the botanical wonderland and treat it as a second home.
\n
At the heart of the tourism success is the southwestern province's stunning scenery and its rich tapestry of ethnic cultures. Celebrated as the "kingdom of plants and animals" and the "world's garden", Yunnan has taken advantage of its enviable reputation for cultural tourism to draw both domestic and international travelers.
\n
In 2024, the province's tourism revenue reached a record 1.14 trillion yuan ($158.7 billion), with 3.9 million long-stay travelers, a 20.7 percent year-on-year increase, according to a Yunnan provincial government report.
\n
From January to November, over 50 percent of visitors came from all across the country, with repeat travelers accounting for 77 percent of all arrivals, the data showed.
\n
In recent years, Wang Ning, secretary of the Communist Party of China Yunnan Provincial Committee, has responded to netizens expressing their love of the province, and invited them to experience in person its tourism slogan-"Yunnan, where your ideal life lives".
\n
"Many ask me what exactly is 'an ideal life, called Yunnan'. I believe beyond the tourism buzz lies the true human touch; moving from online warmth to living warmth," Wang said.
\n
To make this happen, the provincial leadership's upgrade of the tourism sector has included integration of cultural tourism and enhancement of people's well-being.
\n
"Guests should become like family, transforming Yunnan's verdant landscapes and nostalgic charm into a 'sanctuary of belonging' that becomes a second home for multitudes of people," Wang wrote in one of his online responses.
\n
A place to linger
\n
The phrase "an ideal life, called Yunnan" has sparked online discussions, garnering over 26 billion views.
\n
The general response has been positive, with some netizens saying the province is a travel destination that not only captivates visitors, but is also ideal for those seeking authentic living and communion with nature.
\n
In recent years, Yunnan has prioritized upgrades of its tourism products and service models.
\n
Dali, for instance, has hosted over 5,000 destination weddings, while Lijiang facilitated over 200,000 travel photography sessions in the past year.
\n
With rural long-stay tourism the strategic focus, the province has implemented preferential policies — notably comprehensive renovation programs for idle village homes — and is actively promoting this sector, especially for international visitors.
\n
Moswen, a 55-year-old from the United States, has lived in China for over 16 years. For 11 of those years he has made his home in Lijiang. Embracing Chinese culture, he has found family, friendship, and career fulfillment, describing Lijiang as giving him a "sense of belonging".
\n
His journey began in 2008 when he moved to Kunming with his family to study Chinese. In 2013, he was invited by a friend to visit Lijiang.
\n
Moswen discovered the climate has a striking resemblance to Washington State, where cold winters and cool summers are perfect for cherry cultivation. This inspired him to establish an agricultural company. He initially grew cherries and apples before specializing in rootstocks and scion seedlings used in plant grafting, which he now supplies across Yunnan.
\n
"We have forged deep friendships here," he said.
\n
Seven years ago, he met a villager surnamed Wei, from the Naxi ethnicity, who today serves as the company's full-time manager. The two work and dine together every day as colleagues who not only trust, but also like each other.
\n
Every Chinese New Year's Eve, Moswen's family joins Wei's household for Spring Festival celebrations.
\n
Moswen's four children have all grown up in China.
\n
"I find Western food too heavy, and Yunnan's rice noodles and fried rice are my favorites," said his youngest daughter Lily.
\n
Beyond the slogan
\n
Michael Hermann, the chief local representative of an international network of nonprofit organizations, has spent lengthy periods in the province since 2005. He describes Yunnan as both a "postcard and project".
\n
His work in sustainable agriculture, early childhood development, and public health has taken him to 15 prefectures and 35 counties, with programs reaching more than 3 million residents.
\n
"In Yunnan we say, 'the mountains and water are beautiful, and the people are kind and nice,'" he said.
\n
Hermann, like many long-stayers, is taken by the stunning surroundings he encounters on a routine basis.
\n
One day it's the Three Pagodas punctuating Dali's rice-green horizon, another it's running laps around Dianchi, or watching a sunrise over Fuxian Lake's foreshore.
\n
Yunnan is "a true place to slow down, learn, think and reflect", where inner quiet makes the world gentler, he said.
\n
David Blair, a retiree who moved to Yuxi after stints in New York and Washington, DC, appreciates the compactness and convenience of the city, which is surrounded by mountains and lakes and is renowned for its tobacco production.
\n
"The transportation here is so convenient," he said. "Almost every road has a bike lane, and there's high-speed rail in town. Farmers' markets are within walking distance, and prices undercut what you would see in megacities like Beijing and Shanghai, let alone the US."
\n
"Everything in daily life is nice," Blair added. "Once I paid 10 yuan, about $1, for a quick outpatient fix to remove a thorn from my toe."
\n
He also said that he has never felt unsafe walking at night in China. "It's one of the most pleasant lifestyles I've seen in the world, and I have been to more than 60 countries and regions," he said.
\n
Yunnan's marketing line doubles as a development model.
\n
The province's latest tourism campaign has strengthened efforts to combine tourism with food culture, housing, transit, healthcare, learning, and wellness. Policies for towns to better serve the tourism sector have also been established, along with platforms to help locals boost profits.
\n
Yunnan's natural advantages are plentiful. The climate is rarely extreme and biodiversity abounds. All this is complemented by charming man-made structures such as pagodas, terraces and tea roads.
\n
For Yunnan's tourism authorities, however, the new measure of success is not a picturesque view going viral. It's visitors coming to the province and deciding to make it their home. "Guests" becoming "family" is central to their policy.
\n
These foreign long-stayers demonstrate this philosophy and have steadily built a connection with their new home through activities such as market visits, and interaction with their neighbors.
\n
"Stop chasing the superficial, and the world will naturally show you its gentleness and beauty," Blair said.
\n
Cultural attractions
\n
Hermann, the NGO chief, said Yunnan stands out because its culture is lived, not staged. "Temple fairs, market days, and old tea roads are still part of daily life, inviting outsiders to join, and turning quick visits into long stays," he said.
\n
He recalled when he first arrived in the province, touching down at Kunming's Changshui airport. "The pitch for Yunnan's cultural pull begins the moment you step off the plane," Hermann said.
\n
Along the corridors of the airport terminal, billboards featuring panoramic shots do more than sell the scenery.
\n
Women of the Va ethnic group are depicted whirling their hair to drumbeats, Miao dancers circle a bonfire, and a snow ridge rises behind rice terraces. For first-time visitors, the terminal, with its distinctive peacock-shaped roof, doubles as a primer on Yunnan's festivals, different ethnic groups and regional cuisine.
\n
"What attracts me most is its immense diversity and inclusiveness. It embraces everyone, regardless of who you are," said Yin Shushan, a student from Yunnan who attends Peking University in Beijing.
\n
In Dali, he has met many people with nontraditional lifestyles — freelance photographers, organic farmers, and hikers — who all managed to live comfortably.
\n
"It's also home to elites and celebrities who own properties here," Yin said. "Even professors from around the world have settled here, living a 'snowbird' lifestyle between Dali and their hometowns. This coexistence of people from all walks of lifeforms a unique social ecosystem."
\n
Yin said Yunnan's mountainous terrain has helped preserve diverse ethnic traditions and festivals.
\n
"It has the most ethnic minorities in China, each with unique languages, clothing, and celebrations — the Water-Splashing Festival, Torch Festival, even a Rice Noodle Festival. There's literally a festival every month," Yin said.
\n
These celebrations help dissolve barriers between strangers.
\n
"Everyone sings and dances together, creating instant connections and a natural sense of community," Yin said.
\n
"An artist once explained to me during a field visit, ethnic music is free from such constraints — it's purely about personal expression, about their daily life; the ones they love and the joy they gain from families and friends. It's all about innate freedom and authenticity," he added.
\n
Nathan Jones, a children's book author and child education expert from California, has lived in Dali for six years.
\n
"Having spent nearly 25 years in China, with previous stays in Africa, Europe, and North America, I was searching for a place I could truly call home. The community atmosphere here is inclusive and friendly, where everyone treats each other with warmth," he said.
\n
"This environment of growing together and supporting one another is exactly what parents dream of for the next generation," he added.
\n
Contact the writers at weiwangyu@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
Melina Weber (left) from Germany and Mylene Mathieu from France experience picking mushrooms in Nanhua county, Yunnan province.
\n
Dongchuan Red Land is a rising tourist destination in Kunming, capital of Yunnan.
\n
Michael Hermann from Germany gets his face daubed with straw ash during the Hualian Festival in Qiubei county, Yunnan, while participating in a marathon.
\n
Nathan Jones, a child education expert from the US, demonstrates to children how to visualize sound waves on a wall using lasers at a natural science center he founded.
\n
Clark David James from the United Kingdom poses with the Jinsha River below while hiking in Lijiang, Yunnan province, in May.
\n
Online See more by scanning the code.
\n
Yunnan province has elevated its reputation as China's preferred tourism playground in recent years, with visitors encouraged to embrace the botanical wonderland and treat it as a second home.
\n
At the heart of the tourism success is the southwestern province's stunning scenery and its rich tapestry of ethnic cultures. Celebrated as the "kingdom of plants and animals" and the "world's garden", Yunnan has taken advantage of its enviable reputation for cultural tourism to draw both domestic and international travelers.
\n
In 2024, the province's tourism revenue reached a record 1.14 trillion yuan ($158.7 billion), with 3.9 million long-stay travelers, a 20.7 percent year-on-year increase, according to a Yunnan provincial government report.
\n
From January to November, over 50 percent of visitors came from all across the country, with repeat travelers accounting for 77 percent of all arrivals, the data showed.
\n
In recent years, Wang Ning, secretary of the Communist Party of China Yunnan Provincial Committee, has responded to netizens expressing their love of the province, and invited them to experience in person its tourism slogan-"Yunnan, where your ideal life lives".
\n
"Many ask me what exactly is 'an ideal life, called Yunnan'. I believe beyond the tourism buzz lies the true human touch; moving from online warmth to living warmth," Wang said.
\n
To make this happen, the provincial leadership's upgrade of the tourism sector has included integration of cultural tourism and enhancement of people's well-being.
\n
"Guests should become like family, transforming Yunnan's verdant landscapes and nostalgic charm into a 'sanctuary of belonging' that becomes a second home for multitudes of people," Wang wrote in one of his online responses.
\n
A place to linger
\n
The phrase "an ideal life, called Yunnan" has sparked online discussions, garnering over 26 billion views.
\n
The general response has been positive, with some netizens saying the province is a travel destination that not only captivates visitors, but is also ideal for those seeking authentic living and communion with nature.
\n
In recent years, Yunnan has prioritized upgrades of its tourism products and service models.
\n
Dali, for instance, has hosted over 5,000 destination weddings, while Lijiang facilitated over 200,000 travel photography sessions in the past year.
\n
With rural long-stay tourism the strategic focus, the province has implemented preferential policies — notably comprehensive renovation programs for idle village homes — and is actively promoting this sector, especially for international visitors.
\n
Moswen, a 55-year-old from the United States, has lived in China for over 16 years. For 11 of those years he has made his home in Lijiang. Embracing Chinese culture, he has found family, friendship, and career fulfillment, describing Lijiang as giving him a "sense of belonging".
\n
His journey began in 2008 when he moved to Kunming with his family to study Chinese. In 2013, he was invited by a friend to visit Lijiang.
\n
Moswen discovered the climate has a striking resemblance to Washington State, where cold winters and cool summers are perfect for cherry cultivation. This inspired him to establish an agricultural company. He initially grew cherries and apples before specializing in rootstocks and scion seedlings used in plant grafting, which he now supplies across Yunnan.
\n
"We have forged deep friendships here," he said.
\n
Seven years ago, he met a villager surnamed Wei, from the Naxi ethnicity, who today serves as the company's full-time manager. The two work and dine together every day as colleagues who not only trust, but also like each other.
\n
Every Chinese New Year's Eve, Moswen's family joins Wei's household for Spring Festival celebrations.
\n
Moswen's four children have all grown up in China.
\n
"I find Western food too heavy, and Yunnan's rice noodles and fried rice are my favorites," said his youngest daughter Lily.
\n
Beyond the slogan
\n
Michael Hermann, the chief local representative of an international network of nonprofit organizations, has spent lengthy periods in the province since 2005. He describes Yunnan as both a "postcard and project".
\n
His work in sustainable agriculture, early childhood development, and public health has taken him to 15 prefectures and 35 counties, with programs reaching more than 3 million residents.
\n
"In Yunnan we say, 'the mountains and water are beautiful, and the people are kind and nice,'" he said.
\n
Hermann, like many long-stayers, is taken by the stunning surroundings he encounters on a routine basis.
\n
One day it's the Three Pagodas punctuating Dali's rice-green horizon, another it's running laps around Dianchi, or watching a sunrise over Fuxian Lake's foreshore.
\n
Yunnan is "a true place to slow down, learn, think and reflect", where inner quiet makes the world gentler, he said.
\n
David Blair, a retiree who moved to Yuxi after stints in New York and Washington, DC, appreciates the compactness and convenience of the city, which is surrounded by mountains and lakes and is renowned for its tobacco production.
\n
"The transportation here is so convenient," he said. "Almost every road has a bike lane, and there's high-speed rail in town. Farmers' markets are within walking distance, and prices undercut what you would see in megacities like Beijing and Shanghai, let alone the US."
\n
"Everything in daily life is nice," Blair added. "Once I paid 10 yuan, about $1, for a quick outpatient fix to remove a thorn from my toe."
\n
He also said that he has never felt unsafe walking at night in China. "It's one of the most pleasant lifestyles I've seen in the world, and I have been to more than 60 countries and regions," he said.
\n
Yunnan's marketing line doubles as a development model.
\n
The province's latest tourism campaign has strengthened efforts to combine tourism with food culture, housing, transit, healthcare, learning, and wellness. Policies for towns to better serve the tourism sector have also been established, along with platforms to help locals boost profits.
\n
Yunnan's natural advantages are plentiful. The climate is rarely extreme and biodiversity abounds. All this is complemented by charming man-made structures such as pagodas, terraces and tea roads.
\n
For Yunnan's tourism authorities, however, the new measure of success is not a picturesque view going viral. It's visitors coming to the province and deciding to make it their home. "Guests" becoming "family" is central to their policy.
\n
These foreign long-stayers demonstrate this philosophy and have steadily built a connection with their new home through activities such as market visits, and interaction with their neighbors.
\n
"Stop chasing the superficial, and the world will naturally show you its gentleness and beauty," Blair said.
\n
Cultural attractions
\n
Hermann, the NGO chief, said Yunnan stands out because its culture is lived, not staged. "Temple fairs, market days, and old tea roads are still part of daily life, inviting outsiders to join, and turning quick visits into long stays," he said.
\n
He recalled when he first arrived in the province, touching down at Kunming's Changshui airport. "The pitch for Yunnan's cultural pull begins the moment you step off the plane," Hermann said.
\n
Along the corridors of the airport terminal, billboards featuring panoramic shots do more than sell the scenery.
\n
Women of the Va ethnic group are depicted whirling their hair to drumbeats, Miao dancers circle a bonfire, and a snow ridge rises behind rice terraces. For first-time visitors, the terminal, with its distinctive peacock-shaped roof, doubles as a primer on Yunnan's festivals, different ethnic groups and regional cuisine.
\n
"What attracts me most is its immense diversity and inclusiveness. It embraces everyone, regardless of who you are," said Yin Shushan, a student from Yunnan who attends Peking University in Beijing.
\n
In Dali, he has met many people with nontraditional lifestyles — freelance photographers, organic farmers, and hikers — who all managed to live comfortably.
\n
"It's also home to elites and celebrities who own properties here," Yin said. "Even professors from around the world have settled here, living a 'snowbird' lifestyle between Dali and their hometowns. This coexistence of people from all walks of lifeforms a unique social ecosystem."
\n
Yin said Yunnan's mountainous terrain has helped preserve diverse ethnic traditions and festivals.
\n
"It has the most ethnic minorities in China, each with unique languages, clothing, and celebrations — the Water-Splashing Festival, Torch Festival, even a Rice Noodle Festival. There's literally a festival every month," Yin said.
\n
These celebrations help dissolve barriers between strangers.
\n
"Everyone sings and dances together, creating instant connections and a natural sense of community," Yin said.
\n
"An artist once explained to me during a field visit, ethnic music is free from such constraints — it's purely about personal expression, about their daily life; the ones they love and the joy they gain from families and friends. It's all about innate freedom and authenticity," he added.
\n
Nathan Jones, a children's book author and child education expert from California, has lived in Dali for six years.
\n
"Having spent nearly 25 years in China, with previous stays in Africa, Europe, and North America, I was searching for a place I could truly call home. The community atmosphere here is inclusive and friendly, where everyone treats each other with warmth," he said.
\n
"This environment of growing together and supporting one another is exactly what parents dream of for the next generation," he added.
\n
Contact the writers at weiwangyu@chinadaily.com.cn
Editor's Note: This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War. This series of special reports by China Daily presents how and why China cherishes and keeps revisiting the wartime friendship with its foreign friends.
\n
Over 87 years ago, when Japanese invaders embarked on killing and raping in Anqing, the then capital of eastern China's Anhui province, American missionary physician Harry B. Taylor and his colleagues went all out to provide shelter in their hospital in the city to hundreds of Chinese refugees, including women and children.
\n
Taylor, who arrived in Anqing in 1905, served as head of St. James' Hospital, an American missionary hospital in the city.
\n
In June 1938, Japanese troops occupied Anqing and slaughtered civilians, putting those residents who failed to escape in great danger.
\n
The invaders did not take over St. James' Hospital at that time as it was an American property, and many refugees decided to rush into the hospital.
\n
"Taylor instructed the hospital staff to keep the main gate open, allowing refugees to enter for shelter.… Chinese people couldn't leave the hospital because Japanese soldiers were everywhere in Anqing," said Xu Meizhen, an Anqing resident.
\n
Taylor led his American colleagues out of the hospital and managed to procure rice, soybeans and pickles to feed the refugees, Xu said in an article dictated by her and published by Anqing Culture, History Data magazine in 2005.
\n
Taylor also established a small school within the hospital for the refugee children.
\n
"Even today, all those who benefited from Taylor's kindness during the most difficult time in the War of Resistance (Against Japanese Aggression), or their descendants, still hold deep gratitude toward him," Xu said.
\n
After arriving in Anqing in 1905, Taylor became well known among people from near and far as he patiently and fairly treated patients from all walks of life from both China and other nations.
\n
Taylor kept trying to find solutions to deal with the poor medical conditions and the shortage of medical supplies, particularly during World War II.
\n
In the 1930s, James DeWolf Perry, the then presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the US, traveled to China. He visited the St. James' Hospital and endorsed Taylor's "courageous management".
\n
"I found an almost complete lack of equipment and sore need of assistance for Dr. Taylor himself," Perry wrote in an article in 1933 in the missionary magazine The Spirit of Missions.
\n
Love and conscience
\n
Taylor kept documenting what he saw, heard and thought throughout the decades he spent in China.
\n
He detailed his new medical solutions suited to local conditions, as well as Japan's wartime atrocities in various forms, including academic essays published in medical journals and in his autobiography My Cup Runneth Over.
\n
Li Yingqing, the Chinese edition translator of Taylor's autobiography, called him "a man of great compassion", as he "risked his own safety to protect 650 Chinese refugees, most of whom were women and children".
\n
She noted that during an air raid on Anqing by Japanese planes, Taylor joked in Mandarin when performing a surgery: "The bombs aren't addressed to us!" Then he went on and completed the surgery.
\n
"Without any discrimination, he treated Chinese patients from all walks of life and a large number of those wounded in the war," said Li, who is also associate editor-in-chief of Journal of Chuzhou University.
\n
Given the fact that the Japanese forces raped Chinese women and forced them into sexual slavery, leading to the term "comfort women", Taylor, as stated in his autobiography, spared no effort in hiding all the female refugees in the St. James' Hospital from the intruding Japanese soldiers.
\n
When he returned from China to the US on a ship from Shanghai in 1943, Taylor completed a questionnaire submitted to the US government's intelligence agency, the Office of Strategic Services, on Nov 8, 1943.
\n
According to the declassified questionnaire file provided by websites of academic institutions in countries including the US and South Korea, Taylor provided the information that he witnessed regarding "comfort women" in China in the section "B-9, Incidence of Disease".
\n
Instead of the euphemism "comfort stations" for the places where "comfort women" worked, Taylor used the word "brothels", saying that these were "a part of the J. (Japanese) army organization".
\n
He noted that there had been an "increase of venereal disease" in Anqing since the occupation by the Japanese military.
\n
"His statement indicates the Japanese military maintained 'comfort stations' as part of their military system in Anqing, China, and that local residents were also aware of this fact," said the website of the Comfort Women Resource Center of the University of California, Los Angeles.
\n
In addition to this questionnaire, Taylor and his family also left a slew of other materials concerning their stay in China.
\n
The Taylor Family papers — including correspondence, notebooks and printed materials such as The Anking Newsletter and The Shanghai Newsletter in 1927-1944 — were given by his son Dr. Harry B. Taylor Jr. to the University of Virginia Library in 1989.
\n
Zhang Huiqing, deputy director and researcher at the Institute of History Studies of Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said that such precious, relevant archives and documents provided by US missionary hospitals and doctors "can help form a complete chain of evidence and further reveal the atrocities committed by the Japanese forces using irrefutable facts".
\n
Such materials also provide sources for historical research on public health and civilians' life in occupied areas, and can advance studies on tragedies like the Nanjing Massacre, she added.
\n
Currently, most of these materials are preserved in the US and "need further thorough, systematic survey and treatment", she noted.
\n
"In recent years, Japanese right-wingers have intensified their attempts to glorify the war of aggression and denied the atrocities committed by Japanese forces. These precious archives unveil the crimes committed by the Japanese military," she said.
Editor's Note: This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War. This series of special reports by China Daily presents how and why China cherishes and keeps revisiting the wartime friendship with its foreign friends.
\n
Over 87 years ago, when Japanese invaders embarked on killing and raping in Anqing, the then capital of eastern China's Anhui province, American missionary physician Harry B. Taylor and his colleagues went all out to provide shelter in their hospital in the city to hundreds of Chinese refugees, including women and children.
\n
Taylor, who arrived in Anqing in 1905, served as head of St. James' Hospital, an American missionary hospital in the city.
\n
In June 1938, Japanese troops occupied Anqing and slaughtered civilians, putting those residents who failed to escape in great danger.
\n
The invaders did not take over St. James' Hospital at that time as it was an American property, and many refugees decided to rush into the hospital.
\n
"Taylor instructed the hospital staff to keep the main gate open, allowing refugees to enter for shelter.… Chinese people couldn't leave the hospital because Japanese soldiers were everywhere in Anqing," said Xu Meizhen, an Anqing resident.
\n
Taylor led his American colleagues out of the hospital and managed to procure rice, soybeans and pickles to feed the refugees, Xu said in an article dictated by her and published by Anqing Culture, History Data magazine in 2005.
\n
Taylor also established a small school within the hospital for the refugee children.
\n
"Even today, all those who benefited from Taylor's kindness during the most difficult time in the War of Resistance (Against Japanese Aggression), or their descendants, still hold deep gratitude toward him," Xu said.
\n
After arriving in Anqing in 1905, Taylor became well known among people from near and far as he patiently and fairly treated patients from all walks of life from both China and other nations.
\n
Taylor kept trying to find solutions to deal with the poor medical conditions and the shortage of medical supplies, particularly during World War II.
\n
In the 1930s, James DeWolf Perry, the then presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the US, traveled to China. He visited the St. James' Hospital and endorsed Taylor's "courageous management".
\n
"I found an almost complete lack of equipment and sore need of assistance for Dr. Taylor himself," Perry wrote in an article in 1933 in the missionary magazine The Spirit of Missions.
\n
Love and conscience
\n
Taylor kept documenting what he saw, heard and thought throughout the decades he spent in China.
\n
He detailed his new medical solutions suited to local conditions, as well as Japan's wartime atrocities in various forms, including academic essays published in medical journals and in his autobiography My Cup Runneth Over.
\n
Li Yingqing, the Chinese edition translator of Taylor's autobiography, called him "a man of great compassion", as he "risked his own safety to protect 650 Chinese refugees, most of whom were women and children".
\n
She noted that during an air raid on Anqing by Japanese planes, Taylor joked in Mandarin when performing a surgery: "The bombs aren't addressed to us!" Then he went on and completed the surgery.
\n
"Without any discrimination, he treated Chinese patients from all walks of life and a large number of those wounded in the war," said Li, who is also associate editor-in-chief of Journal of Chuzhou University.
\n
Given the fact that the Japanese forces raped Chinese women and forced them into sexual slavery, leading to the term "comfort women", Taylor, as stated in his autobiography, spared no effort in hiding all the female refugees in the St. James' Hospital from the intruding Japanese soldiers.
\n
When he returned from China to the US on a ship from Shanghai in 1943, Taylor completed a questionnaire submitted to the US government's intelligence agency, the Office of Strategic Services, on Nov 8, 1943.
\n
According to the declassified questionnaire file provided by websites of academic institutions in countries including the US and South Korea, Taylor provided the information that he witnessed regarding "comfort women" in China in the section "B-9, Incidence of Disease".
\n
Instead of the euphemism "comfort stations" for the places where "comfort women" worked, Taylor used the word "brothels", saying that these were "a part of the J. (Japanese) army organization".
\n
He noted that there had been an "increase of venereal disease" in Anqing since the occupation by the Japanese military.
\n
"His statement indicates the Japanese military maintained 'comfort stations' as part of their military system in Anqing, China, and that local residents were also aware of this fact," said the website of the Comfort Women Resource Center of the University of California, Los Angeles.
\n
In addition to this questionnaire, Taylor and his family also left a slew of other materials concerning their stay in China.
\n
The Taylor Family papers — including correspondence, notebooks and printed materials such as The Anking Newsletter and The Shanghai Newsletter in 1927-1944 — were given by his son Dr. Harry B. Taylor Jr. to the University of Virginia Library in 1989.
\n
Zhang Huiqing, deputy director and researcher at the Institute of History Studies of Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said that such precious, relevant archives and documents provided by US missionary hospitals and doctors "can help form a complete chain of evidence and further reveal the atrocities committed by the Japanese forces using irrefutable facts".
\n
Such materials also provide sources for historical research on public health and civilians' life in occupied areas, and can advance studies on tragedies like the Nanjing Massacre, she added.
\n
Currently, most of these materials are preserved in the US and "need further thorough, systematic survey and treatment", she noted.
\n
"In recent years, Japanese right-wingers have intensified their attempts to glorify the war of aggression and denied the atrocities committed by Japanese forces. These precious archives unveil the crimes committed by the Japanese military," she said.
China has unveiled a three-year action plan to optimize the layout and structure of academic disciplines in higher education institutions, aiming to better support the country's high-quality development and strategic needs.
\n
The plan, covering the period from 2025 to 2027, was issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee's leading group for education. It calls for the rapid establishment of disciplines targeting strategic emerging industries and future industries.
\n
It also highlights the creation of a national big data platform to align talent supply and demand. The management of discipline catalogs will be overhauled with shorter adjustment cycles and better coordination among postgraduate, undergraduate and vocational disciplines.
\n
The plan supports the development of basic, applied and strategic disciplines; reforms evaluation mechanisms to strengthen the central role of talent cultivation; and improves incentive measures to continuously optimize discipline structures. It stresses enhancing fundamental disciplines and incubating emerging and interdisciplinary disciplines.
\n
Existing disciplines will be adjusted through warnings and corrective measures for those with insufficient social demand, declining education quality or inadequate resources. Teaching content will also be updated, and artificial intelligence will be applied to empower education and teaching.
\n
A guideline issued by the Ministry of Education and four other departments in 2023 set a target to optimize and adjust 20 percent of university majors by 2025 to cultivate new majors aligned with new technologies, industries and models.
\n
In its latest round of changes announced in April, universities nationwide added 1,839 new undergraduate programs for 2025 while suspending enrollment in 2,220 programs and phasing out 1,428 others. By contrast, only 57 majors were adjusted in 2014, underscoring the acceleration of change in recent years.
\n
An official with the ministry's department of higher education said a "green channel" mechanism has been created to allow immediate approval of disciplines linked to the nation's latest strategic priorities, bypassing the usual application requirements. Universities with adequate capacity and resources are guided to conduct feasibility studies and prepare for the establishment of such new majors, the official said.
\n
In September 2024, for example, six universities, including Beihang University, were guided by the ministry outside the normal application period to establish a low-altitude technology and engineering major to meet the rapid development needs of the low-altitude economy, he said.
\n
A total of 120 universities are preparing to add the low-altitude technology and engineering major in 2026, and it is expected to be one of the most popular academic subjects when launched, according to the ministry's application list.
\n
The Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications has introduced more than 10 interdisciplinary majors in recent years, including artificial intelligence, spatial information and digital technology, intelligent interaction design and intelligent medical engineering, according to Huang Zhitong, deputy director of the academic affairs office of the university.
\n
In 2024, the university reorganized and established the School of Intelligent Engineering and Automation, adding an undergraduate program in robotics engineering. Earlier this year, it added the low-altitude technology and engineering major and launched six micro-majors, including 6G mobile communications, intelligent robotics and advanced electronics, Huang said.
\n
The university has also explored integrated development paths for liberal arts through "information +", "digital+" and "artificial intelligence +" educational programs, promoting the construction of new liberal arts specialties under the concept of interdisciplinary integration, he added.
\n
Since 2023, it has collaborated with Beijing Film Academy, the University of International Business and Economics, and China University of Political Science and Law to launch five joint bachelor's degree programs, including "digital media technology + digital media art", "artificial intelligence+ financial technology", and "computer science and technology + accounting". Through such cooperation, Huang said, the university aims to cultivate interdisciplinary and top-tier innovative talent.
China has unveiled a three-year action plan to optimize the layout and structure of academic disciplines in higher education institutions, aiming to better support the country's high-quality development and strategic needs.
\n
The plan, covering the period from 2025 to 2027, was issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee's leading group for education. It calls for the rapid establishment of disciplines targeting strategic emerging industries and future industries.
\n
It also highlights the creation of a national big data platform to align talent supply and demand. The management of discipline catalogs will be overhauled with shorter adjustment cycles and better coordination among postgraduate, undergraduate and vocational disciplines.
\n
The plan supports the development of basic, applied and strategic disciplines; reforms evaluation mechanisms to strengthen the central role of talent cultivation; and improves incentive measures to continuously optimize discipline structures. It stresses enhancing fundamental disciplines and incubating emerging and interdisciplinary disciplines.
\n
Existing disciplines will be adjusted through warnings and corrective measures for those with insufficient social demand, declining education quality or inadequate resources. Teaching content will also be updated, and artificial intelligence will be applied to empower education and teaching.
\n
A guideline issued by the Ministry of Education and four other departments in 2023 set a target to optimize and adjust 20 percent of university majors by 2025 to cultivate new majors aligned with new technologies, industries and models.
\n
In its latest round of changes announced in April, universities nationwide added 1,839 new undergraduate programs for 2025 while suspending enrollment in 2,220 programs and phasing out 1,428 others. By contrast, only 57 majors were adjusted in 2014, underscoring the acceleration of change in recent years.
\n
An official with the ministry's department of higher education said a "green channel" mechanism has been created to allow immediate approval of disciplines linked to the nation's latest strategic priorities, bypassing the usual application requirements. Universities with adequate capacity and resources are guided to conduct feasibility studies and prepare for the establishment of such new majors, the official said.
\n
In September 2024, for example, six universities, including Beihang University, were guided by the ministry outside the normal application period to establish a low-altitude technology and engineering major to meet the rapid development needs of the low-altitude economy, he said.
\n
A total of 120 universities are preparing to add the low-altitude technology and engineering major in 2026, and it is expected to be one of the most popular academic subjects when launched, according to the ministry's application list.
\n
The Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications has introduced more than 10 interdisciplinary majors in recent years, including artificial intelligence, spatial information and digital technology, intelligent interaction design and intelligent medical engineering, according to Huang Zhitong, deputy director of the academic affairs office of the university.
\n
In 2024, the university reorganized and established the School of Intelligent Engineering and Automation, adding an undergraduate program in robotics engineering. Earlier this year, it added the low-altitude technology and engineering major and launched six micro-majors, including 6G mobile communications, intelligent robotics and advanced electronics, Huang said.
\n
The university has also explored integrated development paths for liberal arts through "information +", "digital+" and "artificial intelligence +" educational programs, promoting the construction of new liberal arts specialties under the concept of interdisciplinary integration, he added.
\n
Since 2023, it has collaborated with Beijing Film Academy, the University of International Business and Economics, and China University of Political Science and Law to launch five joint bachelor's degree programs, including "digital media technology + digital media art", "artificial intelligence+ financial technology", and "computer science and technology + accounting". Through such cooperation, Huang said, the university aims to cultivate interdisciplinary and top-tier innovative talent.
Vendors promote fruits through livestreaming platforms at the China-ASEAN fruit trade center in Pingxiang, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Thursday during the 2025 China-Vietnam Border Tourism Festival.
\n",
+ "content": "
Vendors promote fruits through livestreaming platforms at the China-ASEAN fruit trade center in Pingxiang, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Thursday during the 2025 China-Vietnam Border Tourism Festival.
A model in traditional attire hands out flowers to passersby on a pedestrian street in Kunming, Yunnan province, on Wednesday as part of the sixth floral design carnival and Kunming-Taiwan youth exchange event.
\n",
+ "content": "
A model in traditional attire hands out flowers to passersby on a pedestrian street in Kunming, Yunnan province, on Wednesday as part of the sixth floral design carnival and Kunming-Taiwan youth exchange event.
Li Xia manages real-time operations on his farm using a suspended computer screen while lying in bed on Feb 10.
\n
In the picturesque outskirts of northwestern Chongqing, 36-year-old Li Xia, despite grappling with a rare congenital ailment that left him with just a single movable finger and toe, has become a renowned farm owner who runs a smart home farm and is leading fellow villagers toward embracing artificial intelligence.
\n
Self-taught in agricultural internet of things technology, Li is dubbed the "Stephen Hawking of rural Chongqing".
\n
Famed British scientist Hawking (1942-2018) battled ALS throughout his life while making groundbreaking contributions in theoretical physics and cosmology.
\n
Li was diagnosed in childhood with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic neuromuscular disorder. While different from ALS, both conditions can cause muscle weakness and atrophy, sometimes leading to death from complete muscular paralysis. At 32, Li underwent a tracheostomy, as Hawking had. But in a more severe turn, Li's respiratory muscles were impaired, and he has since relied on a ventilator to breathe.
\n
"I never thought I could make it past 30, given that many of my fellow patients died around 20. So now I just want to make the rest of my days count," Li said. After every few sentences, the ventilator prompts him to inhale, causing fluctuations in his voice.
\n
In June, a fresh batch of hydroponically grown celery from his farm — about 5,000 kilograms in total — sold out within a week, bringing in revenue of about 10,000 yuan ($1,400). Another batch has since begun sprouting and is expected to go on sale in mid-September.
\n
Since Li's first crop entered the market in March, after more than three years of experimentation, his farm has attracted wide public attention.
\n
Chongqing Yuchen Farm, located in Shiping village, Mu'er township of Chongqing's Yubei district, specializes in hydroponic vegetable cultivation — a farming method that allows plant growth without soil. The farm now has four greenhouses covering 0.17 hectare.
\n
Inside the greenhouses, automatic shade canopies more than 3 meters high regulate light, while fans circulate air around the celery. Nutrient solution is pumped through pipelines into the hydroponic beds to nourish the plants. In the seedling room, 12 grow lights flicker on simultaneously as more than 30,000 seeds sprout.
\n
From the farm's control room — a converted shipping container — Li manages real-time operations while lying in bed, tubes and ventilator equipment beside him. Using his left index finger to control the mouse and his right index toe to click, he monitors 10 systems displayed on a suspended computer screen.
\n
Meanwhile, his 61-year-old mother, Wu Meidi, walks from greenhouse to greenhouse checking on the crops.
\n
"My son is the brain of the farm, and I am his hands and feet," Wu said.
\n
In addition to caring for Li, Wu handles the farm's daily work — acting as an electrician, planter, machinery technician and crop health manager — all under her son's guidance via video call.
\n
Li's path to science was unusual. He lost the ability to walk and dropped out of school at age 11. But when he borrowed physics textbooks from a neighbor, he became fascinated with electronic mechanics. He taught himself physics and programming using digital technology company Arduino's software and ordered chips online to conduct experiments.
\n
Despite physical challenges and financial hardship, Li stayed optimistic. By working part-time online, he bought his first electric wheelchair at 18, later modifying it for better performance. He also enjoyed traveling with friends and family.
\n
His explorations ended in 2020 when his health declined. His motor functions deteriorated to the point that he only had one functional finger and toe. After undergoing a tracheostomy, his body was tethered to tubes and ventilator support, and he temporarily lost the ability to speak.
\n
Following more than a year of recovery, Li stabilized and returned to his scientific pursuits. Drawing on his programming and IoT skills, he developed an automated irrigation system for his balcony. At 33, he founded Chongqing Yuchen Farm with his mother's support.
\n
After abandoning an early attempt at growing water spinach, Li and Wu succeeded with another variety of spinach, cucumber, Chinese flowering cabbage, lettuce and celery.
\n
"Green, organic, hydroponically grown vegetables offer richer nutrition and a fresher taste compared to soil-grown varieties, making them popular in high-end supermarkets," Li said.
\n
Last summer, he decided to focus on celery, a high-demand vegetable in Chongqing. With its popularity in salads, celery can sell for at least twice the price of soil-grown produce. By the beginning of this year, the farm began turning a profit from the small scale cultivation of celery.
\n
Li's success has drawn support from fellow villagers and local officials, who have offered funding, technology, manpower and marketing help.
\n
"Everyone admires Li," said Ni Jie, the Shiping village chief. "He has introduced smart agriculture to our traditional community, showcasing new technologies and creating jobs."
\n
The local government is considering expanding Li's farm and upgrading nearby facilities to align with his plans.
\n
Li also shares his expertise online, posting practical hydroponics tips on video platform Bilibili, where he has nearly 10,000 followers and more than 13,000 likes. He never talks about his illness in his posts, choosing instead to focus on helping others.
\n
Recently, he was nominated for the Good Samaritan of Chongqing prize for his accomplishments.
\n
Li also advocates for people with rare diseases.
\n
"I hope the public can get to know more about rare diseases," he said. "I've suggested the government include more prescribed medications for rare diseases in medical insurance coverage."
\n
The World Health Organization defines rare diseases as those affecting between 0.65 and 1 per 1,000 people.
\n
More than 300 million people globally are estimated to live with such conditions.
\n
An observation report on rare diseases in China, jointly released on Feb 27 by consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan and the Illness Challenge Foundation, said only about 5 percent of rare diseases worldwide have effective treatment options, and many of the available drugs are prohibitively expensive.
\n
According to the report, China has over 20 million patients with rare diseases.
Li Xia manages real-time operations on his farm using a suspended computer screen while lying in bed on Feb 10.
\n
In the picturesque outskirts of northwestern Chongqing, 36-year-old Li Xia, despite grappling with a rare congenital ailment that left him with just a single movable finger and toe, has become a renowned farm owner who runs a smart home farm and is leading fellow villagers toward embracing artificial intelligence.
\n
Self-taught in agricultural internet of things technology, Li is dubbed the "Stephen Hawking of rural Chongqing".
\n
Famed British scientist Hawking (1942-2018) battled ALS throughout his life while making groundbreaking contributions in theoretical physics and cosmology.
\n
Li was diagnosed in childhood with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic neuromuscular disorder. While different from ALS, both conditions can cause muscle weakness and atrophy, sometimes leading to death from complete muscular paralysis. At 32, Li underwent a tracheostomy, as Hawking had. But in a more severe turn, Li's respiratory muscles were impaired, and he has since relied on a ventilator to breathe.
\n
"I never thought I could make it past 30, given that many of my fellow patients died around 20. So now I just want to make the rest of my days count," Li said. After every few sentences, the ventilator prompts him to inhale, causing fluctuations in his voice.
\n
In June, a fresh batch of hydroponically grown celery from his farm — about 5,000 kilograms in total — sold out within a week, bringing in revenue of about 10,000 yuan ($1,400). Another batch has since begun sprouting and is expected to go on sale in mid-September.
\n
Since Li's first crop entered the market in March, after more than three years of experimentation, his farm has attracted wide public attention.
\n
Chongqing Yuchen Farm, located in Shiping village, Mu'er township of Chongqing's Yubei district, specializes in hydroponic vegetable cultivation — a farming method that allows plant growth without soil. The farm now has four greenhouses covering 0.17 hectare.
\n
Inside the greenhouses, automatic shade canopies more than 3 meters high regulate light, while fans circulate air around the celery. Nutrient solution is pumped through pipelines into the hydroponic beds to nourish the plants. In the seedling room, 12 grow lights flicker on simultaneously as more than 30,000 seeds sprout.
\n
From the farm's control room — a converted shipping container — Li manages real-time operations while lying in bed, tubes and ventilator equipment beside him. Using his left index finger to control the mouse and his right index toe to click, he monitors 10 systems displayed on a suspended computer screen.
\n
Meanwhile, his 61-year-old mother, Wu Meidi, walks from greenhouse to greenhouse checking on the crops.
\n
"My son is the brain of the farm, and I am his hands and feet," Wu said.
\n
In addition to caring for Li, Wu handles the farm's daily work — acting as an electrician, planter, machinery technician and crop health manager — all under her son's guidance via video call.
\n
Li's path to science was unusual. He lost the ability to walk and dropped out of school at age 11. But when he borrowed physics textbooks from a neighbor, he became fascinated with electronic mechanics. He taught himself physics and programming using digital technology company Arduino's software and ordered chips online to conduct experiments.
\n
Despite physical challenges and financial hardship, Li stayed optimistic. By working part-time online, he bought his first electric wheelchair at 18, later modifying it for better performance. He also enjoyed traveling with friends and family.
\n
His explorations ended in 2020 when his health declined. His motor functions deteriorated to the point that he only had one functional finger and toe. After undergoing a tracheostomy, his body was tethered to tubes and ventilator support, and he temporarily lost the ability to speak.
\n
Following more than a year of recovery, Li stabilized and returned to his scientific pursuits. Drawing on his programming and IoT skills, he developed an automated irrigation system for his balcony. At 33, he founded Chongqing Yuchen Farm with his mother's support.
\n
After abandoning an early attempt at growing water spinach, Li and Wu succeeded with another variety of spinach, cucumber, Chinese flowering cabbage, lettuce and celery.
\n
"Green, organic, hydroponically grown vegetables offer richer nutrition and a fresher taste compared to soil-grown varieties, making them popular in high-end supermarkets," Li said.
\n
Last summer, he decided to focus on celery, a high-demand vegetable in Chongqing. With its popularity in salads, celery can sell for at least twice the price of soil-grown produce. By the beginning of this year, the farm began turning a profit from the small scale cultivation of celery.
\n
Li's success has drawn support from fellow villagers and local officials, who have offered funding, technology, manpower and marketing help.
\n
"Everyone admires Li," said Ni Jie, the Shiping village chief. "He has introduced smart agriculture to our traditional community, showcasing new technologies and creating jobs."
\n
The local government is considering expanding Li's farm and upgrading nearby facilities to align with his plans.
\n
Li also shares his expertise online, posting practical hydroponics tips on video platform Bilibili, where he has nearly 10,000 followers and more than 13,000 likes. He never talks about his illness in his posts, choosing instead to focus on helping others.
\n
Recently, he was nominated for the Good Samaritan of Chongqing prize for his accomplishments.
\n
Li also advocates for people with rare diseases.
\n
"I hope the public can get to know more about rare diseases," he said. "I've suggested the government include more prescribed medications for rare diseases in medical insurance coverage."
\n
The World Health Organization defines rare diseases as those affecting between 0.65 and 1 per 1,000 people.
\n
More than 300 million people globally are estimated to live with such conditions.
\n
An observation report on rare diseases in China, jointly released on Feb 27 by consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan and the Illness Challenge Foundation, said only about 5 percent of rare diseases worldwide have effective treatment options, and many of the available drugs are prohibitively expensive.
\n
According to the report, China has over 20 million patients with rare diseases.
A Shanghai court has stated that the convictions of 14 people involved in the theft of trade secrets related to chip technology developed by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon have taken effect, in a ruling that underscores China's commitment to protecting intellectual property rights.
\n
The IPR procuratorial department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Wednesday that the first-instance verdict, which it guided and was handled by a Shanghai prosecuting authority, became effective after the defendants chose not to appeal within the 10-day period. The verdict was announced July 28.
\n
The case involved the illegal acquisition of Wi-Fi chip technology valued at about 317 million yuan ($44 million). The technology was considered crucial to Huawei's competitive edge in the high-tech sector.
\n
Legal experts said the case highlights China's firm stance on judicial protection of IP and sets an important precedent for the protection of trade secrets in the high-tech industry. It also serves as a warning for companies about technology protection in compliance, innovation and talent mobility.
\n
Huawei launched a Wi-Fi chip development project in 2011, later managed by HiSilicon. The company invested substantial resources into long-term independent research and development, acquiring technical information for Wi-Fi chips and implementing confidentiality measures.
\n
One defendant, surnamed Zhang, was a former head of HiSilicon's radio-frequency chip development department. He left the company in February 2021 and founded Zunpai Communication Technology (Nanjing) Co the following month. Around the same time, Zhang recruited four key technical personnel from HiSilicon, appointing them as executives in charge of technical departments. The group, with comprehensive knowledge of Huawei's chip technology, decided to develop Wi-Fi chips similar to HiSilicon's.
\n
To accelerate development and production, Zhang and his team recruited more HiSilicon employees, offering high salaries and career advancement. Seven more joined them. At Zunpai's request, these employees — before and after leaving HiSilicon — used improper means, including screenshots, copying and unauthorized data transfers via WeChat. They also sometimes colluded with two others still employed at HiSilicon to obtain technical information for Zunpai's chip development.
\n
Zunpai experienced rapid growth, raising several hundred million yuan in Pre-A and Pre-A+ funding rounds in 2022. It completed its Series A financing in 2023.
\n
In April 2024, the third branch of the Shanghai People's Procuratorate filed charges against the 14 individuals, including Zhang, who were accused of infringing on trade secrets. The case involved more than 40 items of cutting-edge technical information.
\n
Prosecutors adopted a courtroom education approach, focusing on evidence, legal principles and emotional appeals. Ultimately, all the defendants pleaded guilty voluntarily.
\n
The court sentenced Zhang to six years in prison, fined him 3 million yuan and banned him from the chip industry for five years. Four other key figures received sentences of three to five years and fines between 1.2 million yuan and 1.5 million yuan. The remaining nine were given suspended sentences and fines.
\n
At the enterprise level, Zunpai was ordered to freeze about 95 million yuan in cash assets and destroy all related technologies.
A Shanghai court has stated that the convictions of 14 people involved in the theft of trade secrets related to chip technology developed by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon have taken effect, in a ruling that underscores China's commitment to protecting intellectual property rights.
\n
The IPR procuratorial department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Wednesday that the first-instance verdict, which it guided and was handled by a Shanghai prosecuting authority, became effective after the defendants chose not to appeal within the 10-day period. The verdict was announced July 28.
\n
The case involved the illegal acquisition of Wi-Fi chip technology valued at about 317 million yuan ($44 million). The technology was considered crucial to Huawei's competitive edge in the high-tech sector.
\n
Legal experts said the case highlights China's firm stance on judicial protection of IP and sets an important precedent for the protection of trade secrets in the high-tech industry. It also serves as a warning for companies about technology protection in compliance, innovation and talent mobility.
\n
Huawei launched a Wi-Fi chip development project in 2011, later managed by HiSilicon. The company invested substantial resources into long-term independent research and development, acquiring technical information for Wi-Fi chips and implementing confidentiality measures.
\n
One defendant, surnamed Zhang, was a former head of HiSilicon's radio-frequency chip development department. He left the company in February 2021 and founded Zunpai Communication Technology (Nanjing) Co the following month. Around the same time, Zhang recruited four key technical personnel from HiSilicon, appointing them as executives in charge of technical departments. The group, with comprehensive knowledge of Huawei's chip technology, decided to develop Wi-Fi chips similar to HiSilicon's.
\n
To accelerate development and production, Zhang and his team recruited more HiSilicon employees, offering high salaries and career advancement. Seven more joined them. At Zunpai's request, these employees — before and after leaving HiSilicon — used improper means, including screenshots, copying and unauthorized data transfers via WeChat. They also sometimes colluded with two others still employed at HiSilicon to obtain technical information for Zunpai's chip development.
\n
Zunpai experienced rapid growth, raising several hundred million yuan in Pre-A and Pre-A+ funding rounds in 2022. It completed its Series A financing in 2023.
\n
In April 2024, the third branch of the Shanghai People's Procuratorate filed charges against the 14 individuals, including Zhang, who were accused of infringing on trade secrets. The case involved more than 40 items of cutting-edge technical information.
\n
Prosecutors adopted a courtroom education approach, focusing on evidence, legal principles and emotional appeals. Ultimately, all the defendants pleaded guilty voluntarily.
\n
The court sentenced Zhang to six years in prison, fined him 3 million yuan and banned him from the chip industry for five years. Four other key figures received sentences of three to five years and fines between 1.2 million yuan and 1.5 million yuan. The remaining nine were given suspended sentences and fines.
\n
At the enterprise level, Zunpai was ordered to freeze about 95 million yuan in cash assets and destroy all related technologies.
Editor's Note: Using a blend of words and visuals, this series explores unique communities and reveals the heart of China through food, architecture, craftsmanship, landscapes and traditions.
\n
Every year, from Frost's Descent through the Beginning of Spring, farmers and factories in Xuanwei city, Southwest China's Yunnan province, enter their busiest season curing hams.
\n
What began as a household ritual tied to the farming calendar has evolved into a culinary treasure and a pillar of local economic growth.
\n
Xuanwei ham, one of China's three most renowned varieties alongside Jinhua in Zhejiang province and Rugao in Jiangsu province, boasts nearly a millennium of tradition. With distinct ingredients, techniques, and climate, it blends ancient craftsmanship with modern industry. Its making follows a meticulous process. Producers select hind legs from the indigenous Wujin pigs, which are then cured through a meticulous process of salting, stacking, pressing, and drying.
\n
The hams ferment naturally through the region's unique highland climate — mild winters, cool summers and sharp day-night temperature difference — and are not considered mature until the following Mid-Autumn Festival.
\n
The result is a ham unlike any other. Larger and lighter in aroma than its counterparts, Xuanwei ham reveals rose-red lean meat, ivory-white fat, and bones tinged pink. Its balance of fragrance, tenderness, and savory richness has earned it fame at home and abroad.
\n
On the table, the hams prove endlessly adaptable. "It pairs with almost anything," said Yan Cheng, a master chef in Yunnan.
\n
Stir-fried, it is chewy and aromatic; steamed, it turns soft and mild; boiled or stewed, it enriches the flavor of dishes. From crossing-the-bridge noodles to local cheese dishes, the ham is indispensable.
\n
That versatility may explain why in 1923, Sun Yat-sen, founding father of the Republic of China (1912-49), honored the product for its harmony in food and virtue. For locals, the ham balances salt and meat in the curing process and blends the culinary tradition with innovation.
\n
What was once a seasonal craft is now a thriving industry. Xuanwei is home to 32 certified ham producers, supported by national testing centers and research teams. In 2024, output reached around 70,000 metric tons, generating 11.5 billion yuan ($1.6 billion). The ham accounts for more than one-third of China's total ham market, cementing its place as both a cultural symbol and an economic engine.
\n
Sales channels are expanding quickly. Livestreaming and e-commerce have expanded domestic reach, while trade fairs boost brand visibility. Exports are also on the rise. In the first half of 2025, a local company shipped nearly 4,500 kilograms of ham to Hong Kong, earning more than $130,000. Producers are moving beyond tradition with more than 100 new products, from black-pig luncheon meat to ham pastries.
\n
At the same time, the ham has become a magnet for tourism and agriculture. Newly built ham-themed resorts have attracted over 240,000 visitors, while a national agricultural park is expected to benefit nearly 90,000 residents across 17 townships.
\n
From local curing sheds to global dining tables, Xuanwei ham shows how a humble ingredient can fuel modern prosperity. It remains a taste of history and a key to rural vitalization and proves that with patience, craft, and innovation, tradition can nourish the future.
\n
Contact the writers at guoyanqi@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "\n\n
Editor's Note: Using a blend of words and visuals, this series explores unique communities and reveals the heart of China through food, architecture, craftsmanship, landscapes and traditions.
\n
Every year, from Frost's Descent through the Beginning of Spring, farmers and factories in Xuanwei city, Southwest China's Yunnan province, enter their busiest season curing hams.
\n
What began as a household ritual tied to the farming calendar has evolved into a culinary treasure and a pillar of local economic growth.
\n
Xuanwei ham, one of China's three most renowned varieties alongside Jinhua in Zhejiang province and Rugao in Jiangsu province, boasts nearly a millennium of tradition. With distinct ingredients, techniques, and climate, it blends ancient craftsmanship with modern industry. Its making follows a meticulous process. Producers select hind legs from the indigenous Wujin pigs, which are then cured through a meticulous process of salting, stacking, pressing, and drying.
\n
The hams ferment naturally through the region's unique highland climate — mild winters, cool summers and sharp day-night temperature difference — and are not considered mature until the following Mid-Autumn Festival.
\n
The result is a ham unlike any other. Larger and lighter in aroma than its counterparts, Xuanwei ham reveals rose-red lean meat, ivory-white fat, and bones tinged pink. Its balance of fragrance, tenderness, and savory richness has earned it fame at home and abroad.
\n
On the table, the hams prove endlessly adaptable. "It pairs with almost anything," said Yan Cheng, a master chef in Yunnan.
\n
Stir-fried, it is chewy and aromatic; steamed, it turns soft and mild; boiled or stewed, it enriches the flavor of dishes. From crossing-the-bridge noodles to local cheese dishes, the ham is indispensable.
\n
That versatility may explain why in 1923, Sun Yat-sen, founding father of the Republic of China (1912-49), honored the product for its harmony in food and virtue. For locals, the ham balances salt and meat in the curing process and blends the culinary tradition with innovation.
\n
What was once a seasonal craft is now a thriving industry. Xuanwei is home to 32 certified ham producers, supported by national testing centers and research teams. In 2024, output reached around 70,000 metric tons, generating 11.5 billion yuan ($1.6 billion). The ham accounts for more than one-third of China's total ham market, cementing its place as both a cultural symbol and an economic engine.
\n
Sales channels are expanding quickly. Livestreaming and e-commerce have expanded domestic reach, while trade fairs boost brand visibility. Exports are also on the rise. In the first half of 2025, a local company shipped nearly 4,500 kilograms of ham to Hong Kong, earning more than $130,000. Producers are moving beyond tradition with more than 100 new products, from black-pig luncheon meat to ham pastries.
\n
At the same time, the ham has become a magnet for tourism and agriculture. Newly built ham-themed resorts have attracted over 240,000 visitors, while a national agricultural park is expected to benefit nearly 90,000 residents across 17 townships.
\n
From local curing sheds to global dining tables, Xuanwei ham shows how a humble ingredient can fuel modern prosperity. It remains a taste of history and a key to rural vitalization and proves that with patience, craft, and innovation, tradition can nourish the future.
At the invitation of China, 26 foreign state and government leaders will attend China's V-Day military parade in Beijing on Sept 3, which marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.
\n
These foreign leaders' participation, along with many guests and friends from different countries, speaks volumes about the importance they attach to this meaningful event. Their attendance not only demonstrates the amicable ties their countries have established with China, but also points to their shared recognition of the contribution China made to the World Anti-Fascist War during its long fight against Japanese aggression.
\n
By its very nature, the military parade will showcase the progress the People's Liberation Army has made in its modernization. But it is by no means a show of force for the sake of it. As Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei said at a news conference on Thursday, the parade is meant to demonstrate the strong will and capability of the country to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, not present a threat to any country.
\n
China made a national sacrifice of over 35 million casualties in its fight against the majority troops of Japanese militarism. During 14 years of fierce anti-fascist fighting, China engaged and tied down over two-thirds of the Japanese army, inflicting 70 percent of Japan's wartime military casualties. These efforts significantly contributed to the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War.
\n
What makes the Chinese people and the people of other countries that suffered from Japanese aggression feel uneasy today is the Japanese government's reaction to China's commemorative activities. Instead of facing up to that part of history and showing repentance for what the Japanese aggressors did to the Chinese people and people in the countries they invaded, the Japanese government has sought to persuade foreign leaders not to participate in relevant activities.
\n
China has lodged a representation with Japan over the matter and asked Japan to clarify its actions. However, the Japanese government has remained mute in response to China's request. Any prevarication over the matter, which is a fundamental issue of right and wrong, will expose the fact that Japan is still to establish the right attitude toward that part of its past. Japan will never be able to develop trustworthy ties with its neighbors unless it shows real repentance over its brutal aggression.
\n
The attitude toward the commemorative events has also proved to be a litmus test on the historical outlook and the one-China principle for the Democratic Progressive Party authorities of Taiwan. The DPP authorities have prohibited officials from participating in the events and intimidated and obstructed compatriots on the Chinese island from taking part in the commemorative activities. They have distorted that part of history and denied the pivotal role of the forces led by the Communist Party of China in the war against Japanese aggression.
\n
Taiwan compatriots' participation in the commemorative activities in the Chinese mainland is of unique significance to setting the record straight on that part of history, at a time when the secessionist authorities are trying to distort and even erase the authentic history of the war against Japanese aggression and even glorifying the colonial rule of the Japanese. The victory in the war against Japanese aggression resulted in Taiwan's return to the motherland from Japanese occupation. The successful resistance against Japanese aggression is a shared historical memory of the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
\n
The commemorations should serve as a reminder that compatriots across the Strait are one family with a shared history.
\n
The commemorative activities will also demonstrate that the war against Japanese aggression and the struggle against fascism should be remembered in order to defend world peace. What the Chinese people achieved in the war against Japanese aggression was a significant contribution to victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and world peace. Those trying to distort what China is doing to misportray the country as aggressive are calling white black.
\n
China is committed to pursuing its national rejuvenation through peaceful socialist modernization. Its national defense policies and practices are all defensive and designed to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and core interests. The country has also put forward the Global Security Initiative, which provides a road map for realizing common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable global security, addressing the trust and security deficits amid the moil and roil plaguing the world today.
\n
Sept 3 should be an opportunity to unite all countries and regions to draw lessons from history and work together to protect peace and justice in the world today. Any ulterior moves to take advantage of the occasion to divide the international community should be condemned by all peace-loving nations.
\n",
+ "content": "
At the invitation of China, 26 foreign state and government leaders will attend China's V-Day military parade in Beijing on Sept 3, which marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.
\n
These foreign leaders' participation, along with many guests and friends from different countries, speaks volumes about the importance they attach to this meaningful event. Their attendance not only demonstrates the amicable ties their countries have established with China, but also points to their shared recognition of the contribution China made to the World Anti-Fascist War during its long fight against Japanese aggression.
\n
By its very nature, the military parade will showcase the progress the People's Liberation Army has made in its modernization. But it is by no means a show of force for the sake of it. As Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei said at a news conference on Thursday, the parade is meant to demonstrate the strong will and capability of the country to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, not present a threat to any country.
\n
China made a national sacrifice of over 35 million casualties in its fight against the majority troops of Japanese militarism. During 14 years of fierce anti-fascist fighting, China engaged and tied down over two-thirds of the Japanese army, inflicting 70 percent of Japan's wartime military casualties. These efforts significantly contributed to the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War.
\n
What makes the Chinese people and the people of other countries that suffered from Japanese aggression feel uneasy today is the Japanese government's reaction to China's commemorative activities. Instead of facing up to that part of history and showing repentance for what the Japanese aggressors did to the Chinese people and people in the countries they invaded, the Japanese government has sought to persuade foreign leaders not to participate in relevant activities.
\n
China has lodged a representation with Japan over the matter and asked Japan to clarify its actions. However, the Japanese government has remained mute in response to China's request. Any prevarication over the matter, which is a fundamental issue of right and wrong, will expose the fact that Japan is still to establish the right attitude toward that part of its past. Japan will never be able to develop trustworthy ties with its neighbors unless it shows real repentance over its brutal aggression.
\n
The attitude toward the commemorative events has also proved to be a litmus test on the historical outlook and the one-China principle for the Democratic Progressive Party authorities of Taiwan. The DPP authorities have prohibited officials from participating in the events and intimidated and obstructed compatriots on the Chinese island from taking part in the commemorative activities. They have distorted that part of history and denied the pivotal role of the forces led by the Communist Party of China in the war against Japanese aggression.
\n
Taiwan compatriots' participation in the commemorative activities in the Chinese mainland is of unique significance to setting the record straight on that part of history, at a time when the secessionist authorities are trying to distort and even erase the authentic history of the war against Japanese aggression and even glorifying the colonial rule of the Japanese. The victory in the war against Japanese aggression resulted in Taiwan's return to the motherland from Japanese occupation. The successful resistance against Japanese aggression is a shared historical memory of the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
\n
The commemorations should serve as a reminder that compatriots across the Strait are one family with a shared history.
\n
The commemorative activities will also demonstrate that the war against Japanese aggression and the struggle against fascism should be remembered in order to defend world peace. What the Chinese people achieved in the war against Japanese aggression was a significant contribution to victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and world peace. Those trying to distort what China is doing to misportray the country as aggressive are calling white black.
\n
China is committed to pursuing its national rejuvenation through peaceful socialist modernization. Its national defense policies and practices are all defensive and designed to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and core interests. The country has also put forward the Global Security Initiative, which provides a road map for realizing common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable global security, addressing the trust and security deficits amid the moil and roil plaguing the world today.
\n
Sept 3 should be an opportunity to unite all countries and regions to draw lessons from history and work together to protect peace and justice in the world today. Any ulterior moves to take advantage of the occasion to divide the international community should be condemned by all peace-loving nations.
Multiple countries have maritime disputes in the South China Sea. But only the Philippines is intent on making its dispute with China a potential flash point, mistakenly believing that the shows of support it gets guarantee security rather than mishaps.
\n
In the latest such display, 3,600 troops from the Philippines and Australia, as well as a Canadian Navy contingent and the US Marines, have been conducting exercises in the South China Sea. The 15-day drills, called Alon, a Filipino word for "waves", which conclude on Friday, are anything but what they are claimed to be, as rather than defending peace and prosperity in the region, they only raise tensions by stirring waves in what would otherwise be placid waters.
\n
The largest joint drills to date involving Philippine and Australian forces seem intended to embolden the Philippines to not fear any countermeasures against its dangerous provocations in waters near China's Huangyan Island.
\n
For the same purpose, two days before the drills, the US Navy deployed a guided missile destroyer and a littoral combat ship that sailed about 30 nautical miles (55 kilometers) from the Huangyan Island in what it called a "freedom of navigation operation".
\n
That the Alon exercises mainly include amphibious and land operations as well as live fire exercises indicates their offensive nature, rather than the defensive rationale the participants claim.
\n
With some Philippine politicians still in an apparently uneasy state after the country's recent provocation toward China, the current exercises seem to have served to calm their nerves and instill a new rashness in them, which is exactly why the "make-waves" joint exercises were arranged on such a large scale.
\n
Like a mischievous boy who sets fire to a haystack trembling at the thought of punishment, only to itch to do it again once his big brothers douse the flames, it seems Manila will continue with its incitements. Philippine Navy spokesperson Roy Vincent Trinidad claimed that the Philippines aims to increase the frequency of its joint drills with foreign partners, misleadingly stressing such activities aim to "deter China's aggression" in the South China Sea.
\n
The whole region, including Australia, is well aware that it is the Philippines under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr government that has thrown itself to the embrace of the US, enthusiastically acting as a pawn of Washington in the South China Sea to advance the China containment strategy of the US.
\n
The Marcos government should know that the reason why the waters can still maintain the current basic peace and stability despite its repeated provocations is not because of the US' "protection", but because China has exercised remarkable strategic restraint in the face of the Philippines' affronts.
\n
What the US and other countries that are not parties to the South China Sea disputes bring to the region is not protection, but destabilization.
\n
The US and its allies are attempting to establish reliable regional strategic anchors and footholds for their containment of China. That explains why during Marcos' recent visit to the Pentagon, both he and his US hosts stressed the Philippines' unique strengths in its geopolitical location overlooking the South China Sea to its west and the south of the Taiwan Strait to its north.
\n
This will enable the US military to make a light-front, heavy-back operational deployment in wartime, as the People's Liberation Army Daily said in an analysis of the Alon exercises. Although the Philippines and Australia are being pushed to the front, it is the US that is the puppet master behind them.
\n
China has always remained open to settling the maritime dispute with the Philippines, as well as any other claimant parties, through dialogue and negotiation. But it will resolutely protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and core interests.
\n
Acting against the regional stability, the Philippines is intent on transforming the South China Sea from a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation into one of suspicion, hostility and conflict. That should be opposed by all regional countries.
\n",
+ "content": "
Multiple countries have maritime disputes in the South China Sea. But only the Philippines is intent on making its dispute with China a potential flash point, mistakenly believing that the shows of support it gets guarantee security rather than mishaps.
\n
In the latest such display, 3,600 troops from the Philippines and Australia, as well as a Canadian Navy contingent and the US Marines, have been conducting exercises in the South China Sea. The 15-day drills, called Alon, a Filipino word for "waves", which conclude on Friday, are anything but what they are claimed to be, as rather than defending peace and prosperity in the region, they only raise tensions by stirring waves in what would otherwise be placid waters.
\n
The largest joint drills to date involving Philippine and Australian forces seem intended to embolden the Philippines to not fear any countermeasures against its dangerous provocations in waters near China's Huangyan Island.
\n
For the same purpose, two days before the drills, the US Navy deployed a guided missile destroyer and a littoral combat ship that sailed about 30 nautical miles (55 kilometers) from the Huangyan Island in what it called a "freedom of navigation operation".
\n
That the Alon exercises mainly include amphibious and land operations as well as live fire exercises indicates their offensive nature, rather than the defensive rationale the participants claim.
\n
With some Philippine politicians still in an apparently uneasy state after the country's recent provocation toward China, the current exercises seem to have served to calm their nerves and instill a new rashness in them, which is exactly why the "make-waves" joint exercises were arranged on such a large scale.
\n
Like a mischievous boy who sets fire to a haystack trembling at the thought of punishment, only to itch to do it again once his big brothers douse the flames, it seems Manila will continue with its incitements. Philippine Navy spokesperson Roy Vincent Trinidad claimed that the Philippines aims to increase the frequency of its joint drills with foreign partners, misleadingly stressing such activities aim to "deter China's aggression" in the South China Sea.
\n
The whole region, including Australia, is well aware that it is the Philippines under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr government that has thrown itself to the embrace of the US, enthusiastically acting as a pawn of Washington in the South China Sea to advance the China containment strategy of the US.
\n
The Marcos government should know that the reason why the waters can still maintain the current basic peace and stability despite its repeated provocations is not because of the US' "protection", but because China has exercised remarkable strategic restraint in the face of the Philippines' affronts.
\n
What the US and other countries that are not parties to the South China Sea disputes bring to the region is not protection, but destabilization.
\n
The US and its allies are attempting to establish reliable regional strategic anchors and footholds for their containment of China. That explains why during Marcos' recent visit to the Pentagon, both he and his US hosts stressed the Philippines' unique strengths in its geopolitical location overlooking the South China Sea to its west and the south of the Taiwan Strait to its north.
\n
This will enable the US military to make a light-front, heavy-back operational deployment in wartime, as the People's Liberation Army Daily said in an analysis of the Alon exercises. Although the Philippines and Australia are being pushed to the front, it is the US that is the puppet master behind them.
\n
China has always remained open to settling the maritime dispute with the Philippines, as well as any other claimant parties, through dialogue and negotiation. But it will resolutely protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and core interests.
\n
Acting against the regional stability, the Philippines is intent on transforming the South China Sea from a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation into one of suspicion, hostility and conflict. That should be opposed by all regional countries.
Bureaucracy has increasingly bound the European Union's hands and feet, removing flexibility in its efforts to end the Ukraine crisis.
\n
After its previous 18 rounds of sanctions against Russia failed to bring Moscow to its knees, the bloc is mulling its 19th sanctions package this week, with a conviction that sanctions won't work until they reach a certain level.
\n
Unlike the United States, which links its Russia-related sanctions to its overall geopolitical agenda, the EU's sanctions have not only made it more dependent on the US for energy and security, but also failed to get it an invitation to the negotiation table the US administration is trying to set up between Russia and Ukraine.
\n
The latest sanctions package is to be discussed at an informal EU foreign ministers' meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Friday and Saturday, Bloomberg reported.
\n
Since the meeting is the first of its kind after the European leaders' meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday last week, the EU's focus on "secondary sanctions" on Russia's trading partners might have been prompted by the US, which itself directs a considerable proportion of its sanctions against Russia onto its partners.
\n
But the EU appears to have arrived at the limits of what it can do with its sanctions targeting Russia directly, as Bloomberg observed in its report. Although the bloc hopes these secondary sanctions will prevent third-party countries from circumventing its anti-Russia restrictions, it will necessarily find that almost all the parties it targets in this manner might also be those the US sees as either a competitor, rival or challenge.
\n
In other words, the forthcoming 19th sanctions package will mainly serve the US' interests at the cost of the EU's ties with relevant countries and regions that actually do not threaten its security.
\n
The US, under the current administration, will by no means feel grateful to the EU for doing its bidding. During its trade talks with the US, the EU had to make remarkable concessions in exchange for the US' security guarantees over Ukraine. Yet, the US administration apparently took it as a success of its "art of the deal".
\n
The US' exploitative approach to both its trade negotiations with the EU and the Ukraine crisis means, in its eyes, the EU is by no means an equal partner on either the trade front or the security front, but a gilded club of nations — rich in wealth and rhetoric, but poor in resolve and actions.
\n
After interacting with the US administration for months, that should be a foregone conclusion to the European leaders. But some of them still seem reluctant to accept the way how the EU is treated by a country they see as an ally.
\n
In a speech on the EU's challenges on Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for a united EU speaking in one voice with the ability to stand on its own feet in the face of the competition with other major players on the world stage, including the US.
\n
That's a pertinent call.
\n
"The real challenge is a Europe that does less, but does it better," she said. She correctly pointed out that the EU cannot rely on the US for protection any longer.
\n
By noting that those who now claim the need to emancipate themselves from the US are the ones who have always opposed a policy of independence in terms of defense and security, the Italian leader exposed the contradictions between the words and deeds of some in the EU when it comes to the bloc's strategic autonomy.
\n
It is suggested the EU not only uphold its strategic autonomy, but more importantly develop its own capacity to give that autonomy true meaning in practice.
\n
Doing so would enable it to see the Ukraine crisis more objectively, rather than through a US lens. Calm and rational thinking are needed to solve a crisis that is an interplay of complex historical and present factors.
\n
Simply escalating sanctions will only affect global finance, energy, food, transportation, supply chains and other fields, hampering the already unsteady world economy amid the vicissitudes caused by the US' tariff war.
\n",
+ "content": "
Bureaucracy has increasingly bound the European Union's hands and feet, removing flexibility in its efforts to end the Ukraine crisis.
\n
After its previous 18 rounds of sanctions against Russia failed to bring Moscow to its knees, the bloc is mulling its 19th sanctions package this week, with a conviction that sanctions won't work until they reach a certain level.
\n
Unlike the United States, which links its Russia-related sanctions to its overall geopolitical agenda, the EU's sanctions have not only made it more dependent on the US for energy and security, but also failed to get it an invitation to the negotiation table the US administration is trying to set up between Russia and Ukraine.
\n
The latest sanctions package is to be discussed at an informal EU foreign ministers' meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Friday and Saturday, Bloomberg reported.
\n
Since the meeting is the first of its kind after the European leaders' meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday last week, the EU's focus on "secondary sanctions" on Russia's trading partners might have been prompted by the US, which itself directs a considerable proportion of its sanctions against Russia onto its partners.
\n
But the EU appears to have arrived at the limits of what it can do with its sanctions targeting Russia directly, as Bloomberg observed in its report. Although the bloc hopes these secondary sanctions will prevent third-party countries from circumventing its anti-Russia restrictions, it will necessarily find that almost all the parties it targets in this manner might also be those the US sees as either a competitor, rival or challenge.
\n
In other words, the forthcoming 19th sanctions package will mainly serve the US' interests at the cost of the EU's ties with relevant countries and regions that actually do not threaten its security.
\n
The US, under the current administration, will by no means feel grateful to the EU for doing its bidding. During its trade talks with the US, the EU had to make remarkable concessions in exchange for the US' security guarantees over Ukraine. Yet, the US administration apparently took it as a success of its "art of the deal".
\n
The US' exploitative approach to both its trade negotiations with the EU and the Ukraine crisis means, in its eyes, the EU is by no means an equal partner on either the trade front or the security front, but a gilded club of nations — rich in wealth and rhetoric, but poor in resolve and actions.
\n
After interacting with the US administration for months, that should be a foregone conclusion to the European leaders. But some of them still seem reluctant to accept the way how the EU is treated by a country they see as an ally.
\n
In a speech on the EU's challenges on Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for a united EU speaking in one voice with the ability to stand on its own feet in the face of the competition with other major players on the world stage, including the US.
\n
That's a pertinent call.
\n
"The real challenge is a Europe that does less, but does it better," she said. She correctly pointed out that the EU cannot rely on the US for protection any longer.
\n
By noting that those who now claim the need to emancipate themselves from the US are the ones who have always opposed a policy of independence in terms of defense and security, the Italian leader exposed the contradictions between the words and deeds of some in the EU when it comes to the bloc's strategic autonomy.
\n
It is suggested the EU not only uphold its strategic autonomy, but more importantly develop its own capacity to give that autonomy true meaning in practice.
\n
Doing so would enable it to see the Ukraine crisis more objectively, rather than through a US lens. Calm and rational thinking are needed to solve a crisis that is an interplay of complex historical and present factors.
\n
Simply escalating sanctions will only affect global finance, energy, food, transportation, supply chains and other fields, hampering the already unsteady world economy amid the vicissitudes caused by the US' tariff war.
Editor's Note: By deepening cultural content, innovating products and business models, optimizing visitor experiences and achieving deeper cultural integration, theme parks can upgrade from being "interesting" to becoming "meaningful". Li Xinjian, a professor at the School of Tourism Sciences of Beijing International Studies University, told People's Daily Overseas Edition that this transformation is vital for adapting to the increasingly fierce market competition and meeting visitors' demand for immersive and high-quality experiences. Below are excerpts from the interview. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.
\n
Theme parks, especially those with strong intellectual property attributes, have become hot spots of consumption. China's tourism market and domestic demand provide a solid foundation for their rapid growth. People's expectations for high-quality travel experiences and family-friendly tourism products also support the sector's high-quality development.
\n
The core appeal of tourism is the pursuit of happiness, while the core selling point of theme parks seems to be the value of joy.
\n
Yet, for further high-quality development of theme parks in the new era, policymakers and park operators must first gain a deeper understanding of their essence.
\n
Theme parks are committed to offering joyful emotional value, but the source of this joy requires careful consideration. Is it the thrill and excitement of amusement rides, or the cultural products and experiences distilled from the themes? It is important to include cultural elements in the experience.
\n
Also, when exploring cultural themes, should culture remain at a superficial level of symbols or should it focus on content to be more meaningful?
\n
Given the technological advances and rising demand for immersive experiences, if a theme park remains confined to a combination of "merry-go-round plus shows and parades plus fireworks", it may fail to meet the evolving expectations of customers.
\n
Theme parks that can effectively innovate their product offerings and business models, and improve their service and tourist experience will be better positioned to stand out from the competition.
\n
The increase in demand for theme parks also presents the challenge of overcrowding. This problem can be addressed, to some extent, by using technological innovations while adopting a people-oriented approach.
\n
As theme parks continue to evolve, some small and medium-sized regional parks may find new opportunities for development. Given the greater integration of culture and science with tourism, parks that excel in technological innovation and immersive experiences are likely to become the main gainers.
\n
Future theme parks should continue to focus on content and coordination, and build symbiotic ecosystems. More attention should be given to the clustered development of multiple themed parks and greater efforts are needed to integrate established cultural intellectual properties with local culture. By fully tapping into both national traditional culture and regional cultural heritage, theme parks can effectively shift from emphasizing "fun" to making it more "meaningful".
\n
The shift will encompass the transformation of cultural intellectual properties, media exposure, cultural symbols, visual creativity and storytelling.
\n
Together, these elements are expected to create a market-oriented attraction where visitors will not only engage in recreation facilities but also gain satisfaction from the immersive cultural experience.
\n
This is precisely the objective of theme parks: to serve as a "refueling station" that enriches and brightens life.
\n",
+ "content": "
Editor's Note: By deepening cultural content, innovating products and business models, optimizing visitor experiences and achieving deeper cultural integration, theme parks can upgrade from being "interesting" to becoming "meaningful". Li Xinjian, a professor at the School of Tourism Sciences of Beijing International Studies University, told People's Daily Overseas Edition that this transformation is vital for adapting to the increasingly fierce market competition and meeting visitors' demand for immersive and high-quality experiences. Below are excerpts from the interview. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.
\n
Theme parks, especially those with strong intellectual property attributes, have become hot spots of consumption. China's tourism market and domestic demand provide a solid foundation for their rapid growth. People's expectations for high-quality travel experiences and family-friendly tourism products also support the sector's high-quality development.
\n
The core appeal of tourism is the pursuit of happiness, while the core selling point of theme parks seems to be the value of joy.
\n
Yet, for further high-quality development of theme parks in the new era, policymakers and park operators must first gain a deeper understanding of their essence.
\n
Theme parks are committed to offering joyful emotional value, but the source of this joy requires careful consideration. Is it the thrill and excitement of amusement rides, or the cultural products and experiences distilled from the themes? It is important to include cultural elements in the experience.
\n
Also, when exploring cultural themes, should culture remain at a superficial level of symbols or should it focus on content to be more meaningful?
\n
Given the technological advances and rising demand for immersive experiences, if a theme park remains confined to a combination of "merry-go-round plus shows and parades plus fireworks", it may fail to meet the evolving expectations of customers.
\n
Theme parks that can effectively innovate their product offerings and business models, and improve their service and tourist experience will be better positioned to stand out from the competition.
\n
The increase in demand for theme parks also presents the challenge of overcrowding. This problem can be addressed, to some extent, by using technological innovations while adopting a people-oriented approach.
\n
As theme parks continue to evolve, some small and medium-sized regional parks may find new opportunities for development. Given the greater integration of culture and science with tourism, parks that excel in technological innovation and immersive experiences are likely to become the main gainers.
\n
Future theme parks should continue to focus on content and coordination, and build symbiotic ecosystems. More attention should be given to the clustered development of multiple themed parks and greater efforts are needed to integrate established cultural intellectual properties with local culture. By fully tapping into both national traditional culture and regional cultural heritage, theme parks can effectively shift from emphasizing "fun" to making it more "meaningful".
\n
The shift will encompass the transformation of cultural intellectual properties, media exposure, cultural symbols, visual creativity and storytelling.
\n
Together, these elements are expected to create a market-oriented attraction where visitors will not only engage in recreation facilities but also gain satisfaction from the immersive cultural experience.
\n
This is precisely the objective of theme parks: to serve as a "refueling station" that enriches and brightens life.
Uzbekistan, along with other states, stood at the origins of the formation and strengthening of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the role and significance of which are becoming more visible and important with each passing year. Today its activities affect not only the development of member states, but also the well-being of everyone living in this vast region.
\n
Before moving to the issues of SCO cooperation, I want to dwell on our strategic partnership with China — a country that is extremely close to Uzbekistan in spirit, culture and vital energy.
\n
In recent years, Uzbek-Chinese relations have demonstrated high dynamics, covering key areas from political dialogue and security to comprehensive trade and economic cooperation, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Their consistent strengthening contributes to ensuring stability and sustainable growth in Central Asia and the SCO space.
\n
An important factor in deepening bilateral cooperation is the regular political dialogue of the heads of the two states. In January 2024, during my state visit to China, President of China Xi Jinping and I elevated our relations to an unprecedentedly high level of all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era, and identified key areas of cooperation and interaction in the international arena.
\n
This unprecedented progress in our relations has become possible due to the personal attention and tireless efforts of our dear friend — President Xi Jinping — to further develop and strengthen Uzbek-Chinese comprehensive cooperation. The implementation of all our agreements is ensured by the mechanisms of the Intergovernmental Committee, the Inter-Parliamentary Group and the Strategic Dialogue of Foreign Ministers.
\n
Strengthening mutual political trust and strategic partnership is facilitated by full understanding and consideration of each other's fundamental interests. Uzbekistan firmly adheres to the one-China principle. We are grateful to China for supporting Uzbekistan's efforts to deepen regional cooperation in Central Asia and form the "spirit of Central Asian partnership".
\n
Our countries are also actively cooperating in the fight against the "three forces of evil" — terrorism, separatism and extremism.
\n
Since 2017 bilateral trade turnover increased threefold reaching $14 billion. We aim to increase it to $20 billion in the near future. Over the same period, $24.6 billion Chinese investments were attracted to the country.
\n
An important milestone in the development of industrial cooperation with China was the launch in 2024 of the first enterprise in the country and in Central Asia for the production of BYD electric vehicles, as well as the opening of the Luban Workshop in Tashkent, where Uzbek students acquire modern skills in logistics management and use of information technology.
\n
The Confucius Institutes in Tashkent and Samarkand make a great contribution to the study of the Chinese language and culture in Uzbekistan, upbringing a new generation of Sinologists and specialists with knowledge of the Chinese language.
\n
A significant step toward further deepening people-to-people cooperation was the introduction of a visa-free regime between Uzbekistan and China in June this year. It will facilitate more active and productive contacts between people, and promote business interactions and tourist exchanges.
\n
Today Uzbek-Chinese cooperation is becoming a model of pragmatic and balanced partnership that contributes to the sustainable development of the region and strengthening the position of the SCO as a platform for mutually beneficial multilateral cooperation.
\n
Further developing stable relations between our countries is of particular importance in the context of an increasingly complex international situation. The world system is undergoing profound upheavals. The former order, based on universally recognized norms and principles of international law, is losing its stability.
\n
A large-scale transformation in international relations is accompanied by intensified geopolitical competition and growing conflict potential among major powers, disruption of established balance of power, and the weakening of collective governance mechanisms.
\n
The architecture of global security is becoming less and less capable of coping with increasing volume of challenges and threats, facing a crisis of trust. This leads to even greater fragmentation, which will be difficult to overcome in the near future.
\n
In the world economy, countries are facing rising protectionism, disruptions of traditional supply chains, and the redistribution of production capacities. Competition is intensifying over access to critically important raw materials and technologies, and the struggle for leadership in digital and "green "transformation is increasing. The slowdown of global economic growth, high inflation, and instability in financial markets create additional risks for countries with developing economies, deepening the gap between the centers of global development.
\n
As a result, not only the system of checks and balances, trade and finance, but also the solution of most global problems related to ensuring security, combating poverty, and climate change are under threat.
\n
In Central Asia, the consequences of climate change, food and energy instability are becoming visible challenges, which can become catalysts for large-scale socio-economic upheavals.
\n
Another common challenge is the development of artificial intelligence. Obviously, this is a natural process that cannot be stopped, but our task is to prevent its use for military purposes and transformation into a global threat.
\n
Without any exaggeration, under these conditions the SCO is becoming an attractive and widely demanded model of international collaboration, uniting states on the principles of equality, mutual consideration of interests, and non-interference in internal affairs.
\n
Since its establishment, the SCO has consistently promoted the "Shanghai Spirit" based on mutual trust and benefit, respect for the diversity of civilizations, and the pursuit of joint development. The Organization rejects the outdated concepts of the "Cold War" overcoming zero-sum thinking and the confrontation of civilizations.
\n
The SCO actively promotes and implements the ideas of non-alignment, non-confrontation and nontargeting of third parties, which advocates complete equality of large and small states, achieving consensus through constructive consultations, as well as promoting peace through dialogue and cooperation. This is precisely the source of the Organization's appeal and energy.
\n
The SCO unites states with different political systems, historical and cultural traditions, and levels of economic development, demonstrating the viability of the idea of harmonious coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation.
\n
Today the SCO's "big family" of 10 member states, 2 observers and 14 dialogue partners, covers a vast space in Asia, Europe and Africa. The total territory of the SCO countries exceeds 60 percent of the territory of Eurasia, roughly 42 percent of the planet's population. The share of Organization's countries in the world GDP reaches about 25 percent.
\n
Therefore, the SCO image reflects not only its vast geography in the Eurasian space, but also its intensifying interconnectedness of its member states with global processes, where their role is becoming more significant in forming a new multipolar world.
\n
Another important factor of the growing potential of cooperation has become the strong institutional framework created by the SCO, including over 60 international treaties and over 40 working mechanisms covering a wide range of areas from security to economy, culture and sustainability.
\n
The SCO is constantly in the movement, its evolution potential inexhaustible. Conceptual programs and strategies, as well as new mechanisms and formats of cooperation within the SCO, make a great contribution to strengthening trade, economic and transport interconnectedness, deepening industrial cooperation and technological connectivity, accelerating the processes of our countries' transition to a green and digital economy.
\n
Our Organization is becoming even more united and strong from within due to the unique people-to-people exchange projects aimed at embodying the "Shanghai Spirit "through promotion of public diplomacy, cultural, educational and tourist exchanges.
\n
The SCO has established itself as an active participant in international cooperation and an effective platform for multilateral diplomacy. The Organization is actively developing ties with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as with a number of regional and international structures — including the CIS, BRICS, the EAEU, ASEAN, ECO, CICA, the League of Arab States, etc.
\n
All this testifies to the high degree of maturity and systemic nature of multilateral cooperation. Active institutional development, promotion of multifaceted cooperation and expansion of international relations contribute to strengthening the role of the SCO as a responsible, open and inclusive mechanism serving the cause of global peace, stability and prosperity.
\n
The SCO is not a challenge to existing structures, but a response to the needs of a new, fair world order based not on force, but dialogue. In a world where conflicts and ideological fault lines are growing, it offers a real alternative: mutual respect, dialogue and joint development.
\n
As President Xi Jinping rightly noted that the wheel of history cannot be turned back, it is important to move only forward, and we need a "united world, not a divided one."
\n
Given the current challenges, it is extremely important to avoid making the SCO bloc-oriented and confrontational. Our main goal is not to aggravate the international situation, but to demonstrate a peaceful agenda and use the SCO's capabilities to solve common problems of humanity.
\n
It is precisely this vision that Uzbekistan has been guided by since the very first days of the Organization's formation, advocating for the steady and comprehensive advancement of SCO cooperation. As an active participant of SCO, our country has chaired the Organization four times and made a substantial contribution to its development.
\n
The first Tashkent SCO summit in 2004 was recognized by opening the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS). It also adopted the rules for providing the SCO observer status.
\n
The 2010 SCO summit in Tashkent approved the order of accepting new members and the organizational fundamentals of the SCO's activity.
\n
In 2016, at the third SCO summit in Tashkent, a principal decision was taken on Organization's expansion — accepting India and Pakistan as member states.
\n
Since 2017, Uzbekistan became more active in the Organization, putting forward proposals for the development of practical cooperation between the SCO countries. More than 80 out of 105 initiatives proposed by our country aimed at deepening political, economic, innovative and people-to-people cooperation have been successfully implemented.
\n
An important milestone in the activities of the SCO was undoubtedly the summit in Samarkand in 2022 adopting over 40 significant decisions, agreements, programs and conceptual documents. Among them, special attention was drawn to the fundamental decisions of the heads of state on the second stage of the Organization's expansion — granting Iran the status of a member state, as well as on the beginning of the procedure for admitting Belarus to the SCO.
\n
One of the key priorities of Uzbekistan is to strengthen the role of Central Asia as the core of the SCO. As a result of the expansion, countries of South Asia and the Middle East joined the Organization, and our region became a natural link between the SCO states in the vast Eurasian space.
\n
The development of regional cooperation in Central Asia contributes to the intensification of interaction, strengthening of security and ensuring prosperity of the SCO countries. In 2017, at the initiative of Uzbekistan, the Central Asian process of regional consolidation was launched creating conditions for deepening cooperation.
\n
Thanks to the political will of the Central Asian states, which ensured overcoming numerous topical challenges and the launch of various joint projects, it was possible to create a stable, sustainable policy united with the common goals Central Asia.
\n
This year Uzbekistan is chairing the mechanism of regular meetings of the heads of state of Central Asia. The upcoming "Central Asian Five "summit in autumn this year will be a milestone in the process of forming a New Central Asia, marking the transition from the stage of resolving bilateral interstate issues to a qualitatively new phase of addressing common regional tasks — strengthening regional interconnectedness, overcoming the consequences of climate change, rational use of water resources, enhancing security in the region, developing energy, digital and "green" transformation.
\n
As a result, a more interconnected region, open to international cooperation, is becoming an active participant in the multilateral cooperation of SCO countries. The historic changes in Central Asia acquired an irreversible and sustainable nature, becoming critically important factors in ensuring stability across the SCO space and in the future success of our Organization.
\n
China, as one of the founders of the SCO and its key member is making a great contribution to the development and strengthening of multifaceted cooperation in the framework of the SCO. It has played a decisive role in the institutional and contractual-legal development of the Organization.
\n
The consistent and far-sighted policy of the Chinese leadership, primarily the initiatives of President Xi Jinping, contributed to the successful formation of a modern architecture of cooperation within the Organization.
\n
China actively supports joint efforts to counter terrorism, extremism and separatism, and strengthen the potential of the SCO RATS in Tashkent.
\n
In times of growing geopolitical turbulence, China, within the framework of the Global Security Initiative, promotes the idea of the indivisibility of security, an equal approach to global challenges and the importance of coordinating efforts between the SCO countries. These principles are a guideline for the further development of mechanisms for joint response to crises, cyber threats and transnational crime.
\n
We fully support China's view that Afghanistan is an integral part of overall regional security and an important member of a large SCO family. China calls for intensifying the mechanism of interaction between Afghanistan's neighboring countries and other platforms for helping settle the Afghan issue, increasing humanitarian aid and promoting its economic revival.
\n
In this regard, I would also like to emphasize the fundamental importance of involving Afghanistan, an SCO observer country, in regional trade and economic ties and cooperation to develop interregional connectivity.
\n
For several decades this country has been a hotbed of instability and threats to regional security, but today it is becoming a source of opportunities for developing interregional cooperation. In this regard, Uzbekistan fully supports the Chinese proposal to resume the work of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, which will allow to jointly address issues of both countering security threats and realizing the enormous resource and transit potential of this country.
\n
By putting forward the Global Development Initiative, China makes a significant contribution to the implementation of 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, promotes improved infrastructure connectivity, green and digital transformation.
\n
With its rich cultural heritage and a thousand-year history, China successfully promotes the Global Civilization Initiative, contributing to cultural unity of the peoples of our countries.
\n
China's chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2024-25, declaring the year of 2025 as the Year of Sustainable Development of the SCO, has become a significant contribution to the formation of new drivers of economic growth for countries, including "green" and digital transformation.
\n
The Chinese side firmly supports the role of Central Asia as the core of the SCO, adheres to the course of building trusting, equal and mutually beneficial relations with the countries of the region both bilaterally and within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
\n
China's support for the modernization strategies implemented in the countries of the region is particularly important. I would like to recall that in his speech at the "Central Asia-China" leaders' summit in Xi'an, President Xi Jinping emphasized that "the world needs a stable, prosperous, harmonious, and interconnected Central Asia." At the second summit of this format in Astana, the Chinese leader called for the development and formation of a "China-Central Asia Spirit", which, in our opinion, fully correlates with the "Shanghai spirit" and will contribute to strengthening cooperation within the SCO.
\n
I believe that many readers of this publication may ask themselves: What exactly explains Uzbekistan's interest, and what are the main benefits and practical advantages that our country seeks to gain by participating in the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization?
\n
Firstly, through the SCO our country gains access to the large markets of member states such as China and India, which are among the world's top five economies. The three largest trading partners of Uzbekistan are China, Russia and Kazakhstan.
\n
The SCO countries are also our country's main partners in cooperation in the transport and logistics sphere. The implementation of infrastructure projects in cooperation with the Organization's partners contributes to expanding transit potential and attracting investment into the real economy.
\n
Today, more than 7,500 companies with capital participation from SCO countries are operating in Uzbekistan — this accounts for more than half of all foreign enterprises in the country.
\n
For Uzbekistan, the SCO isn't just an external politics platform but an instrument of implementing national interests. Our participation in its activities isn't an accidental choice, it is a strategically elaborated decision ensuring security, economic growth and sustainable development of our country.
\n
Uzbekistan views the future of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a multifaceted and effective cooperation platform aimed at strengthening economic integration, developing transport infrastructure, promoting "green" initiatives, digital transformation, and expanding humanitarian and social interaction.
\n
Ensuring security remains a key priority for the SCO. Uzbekistan actively advocates expanding cooperation within the framework of the mechanism of meetings of the Secretaries of the Security Councils — this concerns the coordination of law enforcement agencies, exchange of experience in preventing the radicalization of youth, countering cyber threats and suppressing drug trafficking channels. Particular attention is paid to the use of modern technologies, data exchanges and joint training of specialists in the field of security.
\n
In the trade and economic sphere, we advocate the comprehensive disclosure of the SCO's trade and investment potential. We believe that the key areas of this work are the removal of trade barriers, simplification and unification of customs procedures, active involvement of businesses in SCO projects that strengthen the interconnectedness and alignment of the SCO with the goals of the "Belt and Road".
\n
Uzbekistan promotes the support of small and medium-sized businesses, developing innovative industries and introducing modern "green" and digital technologies. An important step is the implementation of joint projects for the development of e-commerce and the creation of "smart" logistics systems, which contributes to sustainable economic growth.
\n
We support proposals to create an effective multilateral mechanism for financial interaction focused on the practical implementation of joint projects within the SCO.
\n
A good start on this path could be creation of "SCO Development Bank", which can become a platform for the implementation of joint infrastructure and technology projects, increase access to financing and stimulate the inflow of investment into the regions of the member states.
\n
The most important area of practical cooperation is strengthening transport and logistics connectivity. For the SCO countries, this is not only a matter of regional development, but also a strategic opportunity to increase competitiveness and integration in the Eurasian space.
\n
In this regard, the construction of "China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan" railway will give new impetus to the development of the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic corridor, allowing for a significant reduction in transport routes between the countries of Central and East Asia. The implementation of the project will ensure a multiple increase in the transit potential of SCO member states and partners, and will enable to radically improve transport connectivity across the entire Organization's space.
\n
Further deepening of cooperation will be facilitated by the integration of the transport strategies of SCO countries with the Belt and Road Initiative and other interregional projects. This will allow to create a synchronized logistics system, increase the efficiency of cargo transportation, and strengthen the role of the SCO as a major transport and logistics hub of Eurasia.
\n
Digitalization is a promising driver of economic growth and integration across the SCO space. We consider it necessary to pay special attention to coordinating efforts to create a unified digital space, exchange best practices, and implement joint projects in the field of the digital economy, the introduction of cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence technologies.
\n
Climate change challenges require closer coordination and practical cooperation among the SCO member states. Uzbekistan consistently advocates expanding partnership in such strategic areas as adaptation to climate change, implementation of "clean" technologies, development of "smart" agriculture and rational use of water resources.
\n
Of particular importance are the works on greening the dried-up bottom of the Aral Sea, creation of "green belts" and public eco-parks, which not only improve the environmental situation, but also serve the interests of the entire region.
\n
Another area of cooperation between Uzbekistan and SCO countries is ensuring food security through the implementation of joint projects in the agricultural sector, introduction of innovative technologies and development of infrastructure for storage and transportation of food products.
\n
Uzbekistan attaches great importance to expanding the SCO's cultural and humanitarian cooperation. Particular attention is paid to joint educational programs, academic exchanges and projects in the field of science, as well as cultural and sports events that not only popularize national traditions, but also create an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect.
\n
Another important area is tourism. The SCO countries are faced with a shortage of high-quality and affordable regional tourism products, constraining the development of the industry. Uzbekistan advocates intensifying interaction between leading tour operators and airlines of the SCO countries and partners.
\n
Today 46 regular passenger flights per week connect Uzbekistan and China and its number will reach 60 by the end of the year.
\n
Uzbekistan continues to consistently advocate the expansion of regional cooperation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including through the SCO mechanisms. The formation of a common platform for the exchange of experience and coordination of efforts within the SCO is important. Such joint work can give new impetus to member states in overcoming poverty, ensuring inclusive and green growth and sustainable development as a whole.
\n
Finally, considering the growing number of participants and the expanding functions of the SCO, improving the structure and mechanisms of the Organization becomes a necessary condition for increasing its effectiveness. Uzbekistan advocates for reforming coordination mechanisms and developing a long-term strategy, with a view of the interests of all countries and contemporary challenges.
\n
Through development of active collaboration within the SCO, Uzbekistan supports the new standard of regional cooperation — based on pragmatism, respect of the national characteristics and strive for sustainable development. Our experience and the region demonstrates: even in the conditions of the growing global uncertainty it's possible to form effective mechanisms of cooperation and humanitarian exchange.
\n
The implementation of joint initiatives with China and other partners allows Uzbekistan to contribute to transforming the SCO into an independent center of attraction in Eurasia. A focus on openness, innovation and multi-level cooperation meets the pressing challenges of our times and creates new opportunities for all member states.
\n
Overall, Uzbekistan's strategic choice is to not merely be part of regional processes, but an active creator of our common future, where the principles of trust and mutual benefit will determine the dynamics of development across the entire vast region.
\n
We look with great anticipation to the SCO summit in Tianjin. I am convinced that its work will be successful and bring meaningful results for all member states. Taking this opportunity, I would like to sincerely extend wishes of peace, well-being and prosperity to the friendly people of great China.
\n",
+ "content": "
Uzbekistan, along with other states, stood at the origins of the formation and strengthening of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the role and significance of which are becoming more visible and important with each passing year. Today its activities affect not only the development of member states, but also the well-being of everyone living in this vast region.
\n
Before moving to the issues of SCO cooperation, I want to dwell on our strategic partnership with China — a country that is extremely close to Uzbekistan in spirit, culture and vital energy.
\n
In recent years, Uzbek-Chinese relations have demonstrated high dynamics, covering key areas from political dialogue and security to comprehensive trade and economic cooperation, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Their consistent strengthening contributes to ensuring stability and sustainable growth in Central Asia and the SCO space.
\n
An important factor in deepening bilateral cooperation is the regular political dialogue of the heads of the two states. In January 2024, during my state visit to China, President of China Xi Jinping and I elevated our relations to an unprecedentedly high level of all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era, and identified key areas of cooperation and interaction in the international arena.
\n
This unprecedented progress in our relations has become possible due to the personal attention and tireless efforts of our dear friend — President Xi Jinping — to further develop and strengthen Uzbek-Chinese comprehensive cooperation. The implementation of all our agreements is ensured by the mechanisms of the Intergovernmental Committee, the Inter-Parliamentary Group and the Strategic Dialogue of Foreign Ministers.
\n
Strengthening mutual political trust and strategic partnership is facilitated by full understanding and consideration of each other's fundamental interests. Uzbekistan firmly adheres to the one-China principle. We are grateful to China for supporting Uzbekistan's efforts to deepen regional cooperation in Central Asia and form the "spirit of Central Asian partnership".
\n
Our countries are also actively cooperating in the fight against the "three forces of evil" — terrorism, separatism and extremism.
\n
Since 2017 bilateral trade turnover increased threefold reaching $14 billion. We aim to increase it to $20 billion in the near future. Over the same period, $24.6 billion Chinese investments were attracted to the country.
\n
An important milestone in the development of industrial cooperation with China was the launch in 2024 of the first enterprise in the country and in Central Asia for the production of BYD electric vehicles, as well as the opening of the Luban Workshop in Tashkent, where Uzbek students acquire modern skills in logistics management and use of information technology.
\n
The Confucius Institutes in Tashkent and Samarkand make a great contribution to the study of the Chinese language and culture in Uzbekistan, upbringing a new generation of Sinologists and specialists with knowledge of the Chinese language.
\n
A significant step toward further deepening people-to-people cooperation was the introduction of a visa-free regime between Uzbekistan and China in June this year. It will facilitate more active and productive contacts between people, and promote business interactions and tourist exchanges.
\n
Today Uzbek-Chinese cooperation is becoming a model of pragmatic and balanced partnership that contributes to the sustainable development of the region and strengthening the position of the SCO as a platform for mutually beneficial multilateral cooperation.
\n
Further developing stable relations between our countries is of particular importance in the context of an increasingly complex international situation. The world system is undergoing profound upheavals. The former order, based on universally recognized norms and principles of international law, is losing its stability.
\n
A large-scale transformation in international relations is accompanied by intensified geopolitical competition and growing conflict potential among major powers, disruption of established balance of power, and the weakening of collective governance mechanisms.
\n
The architecture of global security is becoming less and less capable of coping with increasing volume of challenges and threats, facing a crisis of trust. This leads to even greater fragmentation, which will be difficult to overcome in the near future.
\n
In the world economy, countries are facing rising protectionism, disruptions of traditional supply chains, and the redistribution of production capacities. Competition is intensifying over access to critically important raw materials and technologies, and the struggle for leadership in digital and "green "transformation is increasing. The slowdown of global economic growth, high inflation, and instability in financial markets create additional risks for countries with developing economies, deepening the gap between the centers of global development.
\n
As a result, not only the system of checks and balances, trade and finance, but also the solution of most global problems related to ensuring security, combating poverty, and climate change are under threat.
\n
In Central Asia, the consequences of climate change, food and energy instability are becoming visible challenges, which can become catalysts for large-scale socio-economic upheavals.
\n
Another common challenge is the development of artificial intelligence. Obviously, this is a natural process that cannot be stopped, but our task is to prevent its use for military purposes and transformation into a global threat.
\n
Without any exaggeration, under these conditions the SCO is becoming an attractive and widely demanded model of international collaboration, uniting states on the principles of equality, mutual consideration of interests, and non-interference in internal affairs.
\n
Since its establishment, the SCO has consistently promoted the "Shanghai Spirit" based on mutual trust and benefit, respect for the diversity of civilizations, and the pursuit of joint development. The Organization rejects the outdated concepts of the "Cold War" overcoming zero-sum thinking and the confrontation of civilizations.
\n
The SCO actively promotes and implements the ideas of non-alignment, non-confrontation and nontargeting of third parties, which advocates complete equality of large and small states, achieving consensus through constructive consultations, as well as promoting peace through dialogue and cooperation. This is precisely the source of the Organization's appeal and energy.
\n
The SCO unites states with different political systems, historical and cultural traditions, and levels of economic development, demonstrating the viability of the idea of harmonious coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation.
\n
Today the SCO's "big family" of 10 member states, 2 observers and 14 dialogue partners, covers a vast space in Asia, Europe and Africa. The total territory of the SCO countries exceeds 60 percent of the territory of Eurasia, roughly 42 percent of the planet's population. The share of Organization's countries in the world GDP reaches about 25 percent.
\n
Therefore, the SCO image reflects not only its vast geography in the Eurasian space, but also its intensifying interconnectedness of its member states with global processes, where their role is becoming more significant in forming a new multipolar world.
\n
Another important factor of the growing potential of cooperation has become the strong institutional framework created by the SCO, including over 60 international treaties and over 40 working mechanisms covering a wide range of areas from security to economy, culture and sustainability.
\n
The SCO is constantly in the movement, its evolution potential inexhaustible. Conceptual programs and strategies, as well as new mechanisms and formats of cooperation within the SCO, make a great contribution to strengthening trade, economic and transport interconnectedness, deepening industrial cooperation and technological connectivity, accelerating the processes of our countries' transition to a green and digital economy.
\n
Our Organization is becoming even more united and strong from within due to the unique people-to-people exchange projects aimed at embodying the "Shanghai Spirit "through promotion of public diplomacy, cultural, educational and tourist exchanges.
\n
The SCO has established itself as an active participant in international cooperation and an effective platform for multilateral diplomacy. The Organization is actively developing ties with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as with a number of regional and international structures — including the CIS, BRICS, the EAEU, ASEAN, ECO, CICA, the League of Arab States, etc.
\n
All this testifies to the high degree of maturity and systemic nature of multilateral cooperation. Active institutional development, promotion of multifaceted cooperation and expansion of international relations contribute to strengthening the role of the SCO as a responsible, open and inclusive mechanism serving the cause of global peace, stability and prosperity.
\n
The SCO is not a challenge to existing structures, but a response to the needs of a new, fair world order based not on force, but dialogue. In a world where conflicts and ideological fault lines are growing, it offers a real alternative: mutual respect, dialogue and joint development.
\n
As President Xi Jinping rightly noted that the wheel of history cannot be turned back, it is important to move only forward, and we need a "united world, not a divided one."
\n
Given the current challenges, it is extremely important to avoid making the SCO bloc-oriented and confrontational. Our main goal is not to aggravate the international situation, but to demonstrate a peaceful agenda and use the SCO's capabilities to solve common problems of humanity.
\n
It is precisely this vision that Uzbekistan has been guided by since the very first days of the Organization's formation, advocating for the steady and comprehensive advancement of SCO cooperation. As an active participant of SCO, our country has chaired the Organization four times and made a substantial contribution to its development.
\n
The first Tashkent SCO summit in 2004 was recognized by opening the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS). It also adopted the rules for providing the SCO observer status.
\n
The 2010 SCO summit in Tashkent approved the order of accepting new members and the organizational fundamentals of the SCO's activity.
\n
In 2016, at the third SCO summit in Tashkent, a principal decision was taken on Organization's expansion — accepting India and Pakistan as member states.
\n
Since 2017, Uzbekistan became more active in the Organization, putting forward proposals for the development of practical cooperation between the SCO countries. More than 80 out of 105 initiatives proposed by our country aimed at deepening political, economic, innovative and people-to-people cooperation have been successfully implemented.
\n
An important milestone in the activities of the SCO was undoubtedly the summit in Samarkand in 2022 adopting over 40 significant decisions, agreements, programs and conceptual documents. Among them, special attention was drawn to the fundamental decisions of the heads of state on the second stage of the Organization's expansion — granting Iran the status of a member state, as well as on the beginning of the procedure for admitting Belarus to the SCO.
\n
One of the key priorities of Uzbekistan is to strengthen the role of Central Asia as the core of the SCO. As a result of the expansion, countries of South Asia and the Middle East joined the Organization, and our region became a natural link between the SCO states in the vast Eurasian space.
\n
The development of regional cooperation in Central Asia contributes to the intensification of interaction, strengthening of security and ensuring prosperity of the SCO countries. In 2017, at the initiative of Uzbekistan, the Central Asian process of regional consolidation was launched creating conditions for deepening cooperation.
\n
Thanks to the political will of the Central Asian states, which ensured overcoming numerous topical challenges and the launch of various joint projects, it was possible to create a stable, sustainable policy united with the common goals Central Asia.
\n
This year Uzbekistan is chairing the mechanism of regular meetings of the heads of state of Central Asia. The upcoming "Central Asian Five "summit in autumn this year will be a milestone in the process of forming a New Central Asia, marking the transition from the stage of resolving bilateral interstate issues to a qualitatively new phase of addressing common regional tasks — strengthening regional interconnectedness, overcoming the consequences of climate change, rational use of water resources, enhancing security in the region, developing energy, digital and "green" transformation.
\n
As a result, a more interconnected region, open to international cooperation, is becoming an active participant in the multilateral cooperation of SCO countries. The historic changes in Central Asia acquired an irreversible and sustainable nature, becoming critically important factors in ensuring stability across the SCO space and in the future success of our Organization.
\n
China, as one of the founders of the SCO and its key member is making a great contribution to the development and strengthening of multifaceted cooperation in the framework of the SCO. It has played a decisive role in the institutional and contractual-legal development of the Organization.
\n
The consistent and far-sighted policy of the Chinese leadership, primarily the initiatives of President Xi Jinping, contributed to the successful formation of a modern architecture of cooperation within the Organization.
\n
China actively supports joint efforts to counter terrorism, extremism and separatism, and strengthen the potential of the SCO RATS in Tashkent.
\n
In times of growing geopolitical turbulence, China, within the framework of the Global Security Initiative, promotes the idea of the indivisibility of security, an equal approach to global challenges and the importance of coordinating efforts between the SCO countries. These principles are a guideline for the further development of mechanisms for joint response to crises, cyber threats and transnational crime.
\n
We fully support China's view that Afghanistan is an integral part of overall regional security and an important member of a large SCO family. China calls for intensifying the mechanism of interaction between Afghanistan's neighboring countries and other platforms for helping settle the Afghan issue, increasing humanitarian aid and promoting its economic revival.
\n
In this regard, I would also like to emphasize the fundamental importance of involving Afghanistan, an SCO observer country, in regional trade and economic ties and cooperation to develop interregional connectivity.
\n
For several decades this country has been a hotbed of instability and threats to regional security, but today it is becoming a source of opportunities for developing interregional cooperation. In this regard, Uzbekistan fully supports the Chinese proposal to resume the work of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, which will allow to jointly address issues of both countering security threats and realizing the enormous resource and transit potential of this country.
\n
By putting forward the Global Development Initiative, China makes a significant contribution to the implementation of 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, promotes improved infrastructure connectivity, green and digital transformation.
\n
With its rich cultural heritage and a thousand-year history, China successfully promotes the Global Civilization Initiative, contributing to cultural unity of the peoples of our countries.
\n
China's chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2024-25, declaring the year of 2025 as the Year of Sustainable Development of the SCO, has become a significant contribution to the formation of new drivers of economic growth for countries, including "green" and digital transformation.
\n
The Chinese side firmly supports the role of Central Asia as the core of the SCO, adheres to the course of building trusting, equal and mutually beneficial relations with the countries of the region both bilaterally and within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
\n
China's support for the modernization strategies implemented in the countries of the region is particularly important. I would like to recall that in his speech at the "Central Asia-China" leaders' summit in Xi'an, President Xi Jinping emphasized that "the world needs a stable, prosperous, harmonious, and interconnected Central Asia." At the second summit of this format in Astana, the Chinese leader called for the development and formation of a "China-Central Asia Spirit", which, in our opinion, fully correlates with the "Shanghai spirit" and will contribute to strengthening cooperation within the SCO.
\n
I believe that many readers of this publication may ask themselves: What exactly explains Uzbekistan's interest, and what are the main benefits and practical advantages that our country seeks to gain by participating in the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization?
\n
Firstly, through the SCO our country gains access to the large markets of member states such as China and India, which are among the world's top five economies. The three largest trading partners of Uzbekistan are China, Russia and Kazakhstan.
\n
The SCO countries are also our country's main partners in cooperation in the transport and logistics sphere. The implementation of infrastructure projects in cooperation with the Organization's partners contributes to expanding transit potential and attracting investment into the real economy.
\n
Today, more than 7,500 companies with capital participation from SCO countries are operating in Uzbekistan — this accounts for more than half of all foreign enterprises in the country.
\n
For Uzbekistan, the SCO isn't just an external politics platform but an instrument of implementing national interests. Our participation in its activities isn't an accidental choice, it is a strategically elaborated decision ensuring security, economic growth and sustainable development of our country.
\n
Uzbekistan views the future of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a multifaceted and effective cooperation platform aimed at strengthening economic integration, developing transport infrastructure, promoting "green" initiatives, digital transformation, and expanding humanitarian and social interaction.
\n
Ensuring security remains a key priority for the SCO. Uzbekistan actively advocates expanding cooperation within the framework of the mechanism of meetings of the Secretaries of the Security Councils — this concerns the coordination of law enforcement agencies, exchange of experience in preventing the radicalization of youth, countering cyber threats and suppressing drug trafficking channels. Particular attention is paid to the use of modern technologies, data exchanges and joint training of specialists in the field of security.
\n
In the trade and economic sphere, we advocate the comprehensive disclosure of the SCO's trade and investment potential. We believe that the key areas of this work are the removal of trade barriers, simplification and unification of customs procedures, active involvement of businesses in SCO projects that strengthen the interconnectedness and alignment of the SCO with the goals of the "Belt and Road".
\n
Uzbekistan promotes the support of small and medium-sized businesses, developing innovative industries and introducing modern "green" and digital technologies. An important step is the implementation of joint projects for the development of e-commerce and the creation of "smart" logistics systems, which contributes to sustainable economic growth.
\n
We support proposals to create an effective multilateral mechanism for financial interaction focused on the practical implementation of joint projects within the SCO.
\n
A good start on this path could be creation of "SCO Development Bank", which can become a platform for the implementation of joint infrastructure and technology projects, increase access to financing and stimulate the inflow of investment into the regions of the member states.
\n
The most important area of practical cooperation is strengthening transport and logistics connectivity. For the SCO countries, this is not only a matter of regional development, but also a strategic opportunity to increase competitiveness and integration in the Eurasian space.
\n
In this regard, the construction of "China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan" railway will give new impetus to the development of the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic corridor, allowing for a significant reduction in transport routes between the countries of Central and East Asia. The implementation of the project will ensure a multiple increase in the transit potential of SCO member states and partners, and will enable to radically improve transport connectivity across the entire Organization's space.
\n
Further deepening of cooperation will be facilitated by the integration of the transport strategies of SCO countries with the Belt and Road Initiative and other interregional projects. This will allow to create a synchronized logistics system, increase the efficiency of cargo transportation, and strengthen the role of the SCO as a major transport and logistics hub of Eurasia.
\n
Digitalization is a promising driver of economic growth and integration across the SCO space. We consider it necessary to pay special attention to coordinating efforts to create a unified digital space, exchange best practices, and implement joint projects in the field of the digital economy, the introduction of cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence technologies.
\n
Climate change challenges require closer coordination and practical cooperation among the SCO member states. Uzbekistan consistently advocates expanding partnership in such strategic areas as adaptation to climate change, implementation of "clean" technologies, development of "smart" agriculture and rational use of water resources.
\n
Of particular importance are the works on greening the dried-up bottom of the Aral Sea, creation of "green belts" and public eco-parks, which not only improve the environmental situation, but also serve the interests of the entire region.
\n
Another area of cooperation between Uzbekistan and SCO countries is ensuring food security through the implementation of joint projects in the agricultural sector, introduction of innovative technologies and development of infrastructure for storage and transportation of food products.
\n
Uzbekistan attaches great importance to expanding the SCO's cultural and humanitarian cooperation. Particular attention is paid to joint educational programs, academic exchanges and projects in the field of science, as well as cultural and sports events that not only popularize national traditions, but also create an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect.
\n
Another important area is tourism. The SCO countries are faced with a shortage of high-quality and affordable regional tourism products, constraining the development of the industry. Uzbekistan advocates intensifying interaction between leading tour operators and airlines of the SCO countries and partners.
\n
Today 46 regular passenger flights per week connect Uzbekistan and China and its number will reach 60 by the end of the year.
\n
Uzbekistan continues to consistently advocate the expansion of regional cooperation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including through the SCO mechanisms. The formation of a common platform for the exchange of experience and coordination of efforts within the SCO is important. Such joint work can give new impetus to member states in overcoming poverty, ensuring inclusive and green growth and sustainable development as a whole.
\n
Finally, considering the growing number of participants and the expanding functions of the SCO, improving the structure and mechanisms of the Organization becomes a necessary condition for increasing its effectiveness. Uzbekistan advocates for reforming coordination mechanisms and developing a long-term strategy, with a view of the interests of all countries and contemporary challenges.
\n
Through development of active collaboration within the SCO, Uzbekistan supports the new standard of regional cooperation — based on pragmatism, respect of the national characteristics and strive for sustainable development. Our experience and the region demonstrates: even in the conditions of the growing global uncertainty it's possible to form effective mechanisms of cooperation and humanitarian exchange.
\n
The implementation of joint initiatives with China and other partners allows Uzbekistan to contribute to transforming the SCO into an independent center of attraction in Eurasia. A focus on openness, innovation and multi-level cooperation meets the pressing challenges of our times and creates new opportunities for all member states.
\n
Overall, Uzbekistan's strategic choice is to not merely be part of regional processes, but an active creator of our common future, where the principles of trust and mutual benefit will determine the dynamics of development across the entire vast region.
\n
We look with great anticipation to the SCO summit in Tianjin. I am convinced that its work will be successful and bring meaningful results for all member states. Taking this opportunity, I would like to sincerely extend wishes of peace, well-being and prosperity to the friendly people of great China.
Iran's decision to allow inspectors from the UN nuclear agency to its plant may signal a cautious move to ease increasing pressure mounted again by the US and the European powers, who have threatened to reinstate sanctions following little progress in diplomatic talks so far.
\n
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi told lawmakers on Wednesday that the return of International Atomic Energy Agency's inspectors to Iran, confirmed by IAEA chief Tuesday, was solely to monitor the scheduled refueling of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, stressing that cooperation with the UN agency will fully comply with Iranian law, Tasnim News Agency reported.
\n
He said that "no final text has yet been approved" on the new cooperation framework with the IAEA. Tehran has said repeatedly that cooperation will take "a new form" in the future.
\n
During a visit to Washington on Wednesday, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the return of inspectors was important, confirming his agency was on hand to watch the fuel replacement at the Bushehr nuclear reactor earlier that day.
\n
IAEA inspectors left Iran after Israel launched its unprecedented attack on June 13, a day after the release of an IAEA report on Iranian facilities. Israel struck nuclear and military facilities as well as residential areas and killed more than 1,000 people, and was joined later by the Pentagon with raids on nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.
\n
Iran fought back and sealed a ceasefire on June 24. But the attacks forced Iran to suspend its cooperation with the IAEA, citing the agency's failure to condemn the Israeli and US attacks.
\n
The US and the E3, which refers to the three major European powers, the UK, France and Germany, agreed to set an Aug 31 deadline for invoking the snapback mechanism if Iran fails to meet several conditions, including resuming nuclear negotiations with the US and allowing UN inspectors access to its nuclear sites. But a Reuters report on Thursday cited a diplomatic source as saying the imposition of sanctions may begin sooner.
\n
The snapback mechanism, embedded in UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, allows participants in the nuclear agreement to restore the UN sanctions against Iran in case of what they claim to be "significant nonperformance "by Tehran.
\n
If implemented, the measure would again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalize any development of its ballistic missile program.
\n
'No legal ground'
\n
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Thursday that the E3 has no legal ground to trigger the snapback mechanism under the 2015 nuclear deal, stressing they have failed to honor their commitments for the past seven years, Tasnim News Agency reported.
\n
He told state television on Wednesday night that if snapback was triggered, interaction with the IAEA would be "completely affected and halted".
\n
"We have told the E3 that if this happens, Europe will, in effect, remove itself from the diplomatic arena and dialogue with Iran," he said, adding Iran would then only hold discussions within a UN Security Council framework.
\n
Iran insists that the US, which unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018, forfeited its right to trigger the snapback mechanism, while the European trio have also lost standing after years of failing to honor their own commitments under the accord.
\n
The permanent representative of Russia to the international organizations in Vienna has questioned the logic of the E3's decision to activate snapback mechanism of JCPOA, warning that the move will complicate matters further.
\n
"If snapback happens tomorrow, the situation around the Iranian nuclear program will become much more complicated, to put it very gently," Mikhail Ulyanov said in a post on his X account on Wednesday night.
\n
cuihaipei@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
Iran's decision to allow inspectors from the UN nuclear agency to its plant may signal a cautious move to ease increasing pressure mounted again by the US and the European powers, who have threatened to reinstate sanctions following little progress in diplomatic talks so far.
\n
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi told lawmakers on Wednesday that the return of International Atomic Energy Agency's inspectors to Iran, confirmed by IAEA chief Tuesday, was solely to monitor the scheduled refueling of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, stressing that cooperation with the UN agency will fully comply with Iranian law, Tasnim News Agency reported.
\n
He said that "no final text has yet been approved" on the new cooperation framework with the IAEA. Tehran has said repeatedly that cooperation will take "a new form" in the future.
\n
During a visit to Washington on Wednesday, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the return of inspectors was important, confirming his agency was on hand to watch the fuel replacement at the Bushehr nuclear reactor earlier that day.
\n
IAEA inspectors left Iran after Israel launched its unprecedented attack on June 13, a day after the release of an IAEA report on Iranian facilities. Israel struck nuclear and military facilities as well as residential areas and killed more than 1,000 people, and was joined later by the Pentagon with raids on nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.
\n
Iran fought back and sealed a ceasefire on June 24. But the attacks forced Iran to suspend its cooperation with the IAEA, citing the agency's failure to condemn the Israeli and US attacks.
\n
The US and the E3, which refers to the three major European powers, the UK, France and Germany, agreed to set an Aug 31 deadline for invoking the snapback mechanism if Iran fails to meet several conditions, including resuming nuclear negotiations with the US and allowing UN inspectors access to its nuclear sites. But a Reuters report on Thursday cited a diplomatic source as saying the imposition of sanctions may begin sooner.
\n
The snapback mechanism, embedded in UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, allows participants in the nuclear agreement to restore the UN sanctions against Iran in case of what they claim to be "significant nonperformance "by Tehran.
\n
If implemented, the measure would again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalize any development of its ballistic missile program.
\n
'No legal ground'
\n
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Thursday that the E3 has no legal ground to trigger the snapback mechanism under the 2015 nuclear deal, stressing they have failed to honor their commitments for the past seven years, Tasnim News Agency reported.
\n
He told state television on Wednesday night that if snapback was triggered, interaction with the IAEA would be "completely affected and halted".
\n
"We have told the E3 that if this happens, Europe will, in effect, remove itself from the diplomatic arena and dialogue with Iran," he said, adding Iran would then only hold discussions within a UN Security Council framework.
\n
Iran insists that the US, which unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018, forfeited its right to trigger the snapback mechanism, while the European trio have also lost standing after years of failing to honor their own commitments under the accord.
\n
The permanent representative of Russia to the international organizations in Vienna has questioned the logic of the E3's decision to activate snapback mechanism of JCPOA, warning that the move will complicate matters further.
\n
"If snapback happens tomorrow, the situation around the Iranian nuclear program will become much more complicated, to put it very gently," Mikhail Ulyanov said in a post on his X account on Wednesday night.
Children become emotional as they listen to speakers during a candlelight vigil at a park for victims of the shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Wednesday.
\n
MINNEAPOLIS — An assailant armed with three guns fired through stained-glass windows into a Catholic church where parish school students were attending Mass on Wednesday, killing two children and wounding 17 other people, officials said.
\n
The shooting ended when the lone suspect, identified as Robin Westman, 23, "took his own life" at the rear of the church, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara, who declined to offer a possible motive for the attack.
\n
A videotaped message by the suspect showed Westman struggled with depression and was fascinated by the perpetrators of past mass shootings.
\n
FBI Director Kash Patel said his agency was investigating the attack as an "act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics".
\n
Two victims, aged 8 and 10, were slain where they sat as the gunfire turned the morning Mass into pandemonium. It sent worshippers diving behind pews for cover while older children scrambled to shield younger ones, officials said. At least two of the church exits were blocked by wooden planks barricaded outside the doors, O'Hara said.
\n
The violence struck at the start of an all-school Mass held annually on the first Wednesday of the academic year at Annunciation Catholic School.
\n
"This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping. The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible," O'Hara said.
\n
In addition to the two children killed, 17 other people were struck by gunfire — 14 of them students aged 6 to 18 and three parishioners in their 80s, O'Hara said.
\n
A 2017 yearbook from the school showed that Westman, who went by the first name Robert at the time, had been a student there, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
\n
Online videos reviewed by Reuters showed the text of a suicide note in which the shooter expressed feeling depressed and wanting to carry out a mass shooting. Names of previous school shooters were scrawled on a rifle magazine, along with erratic and wide-ranging political grievances.
\n
In a statement on X, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the suspect was "claiming to be transgender".
\n
Appearing with the police chief and other officials at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey cautioned against bringing gender politics into the tragedy. Frey also cited the easy availability of firearms as a root cause of mass shootings that are commonplace in the United States.
\n
The shooting at Annunciation, a parochial school with about 395 students, marked the 146th incident of gun violence at a place of primary or secondary education since January, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database.
\n",
+ "content": "
Children become emotional as they listen to speakers during a candlelight vigil at a park for victims of the shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Wednesday.
\n
MINNEAPOLIS — An assailant armed with three guns fired through stained-glass windows into a Catholic church where parish school students were attending Mass on Wednesday, killing two children and wounding 17 other people, officials said.
\n
The shooting ended when the lone suspect, identified as Robin Westman, 23, "took his own life" at the rear of the church, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara, who declined to offer a possible motive for the attack.
\n
A videotaped message by the suspect showed Westman struggled with depression and was fascinated by the perpetrators of past mass shootings.
\n
FBI Director Kash Patel said his agency was investigating the attack as an "act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics".
\n
Two victims, aged 8 and 10, were slain where they sat as the gunfire turned the morning Mass into pandemonium. It sent worshippers diving behind pews for cover while older children scrambled to shield younger ones, officials said. At least two of the church exits were blocked by wooden planks barricaded outside the doors, O'Hara said.
\n
The violence struck at the start of an all-school Mass held annually on the first Wednesday of the academic year at Annunciation Catholic School.
\n
"This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping. The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible," O'Hara said.
\n
In addition to the two children killed, 17 other people were struck by gunfire — 14 of them students aged 6 to 18 and three parishioners in their 80s, O'Hara said.
\n
A 2017 yearbook from the school showed that Westman, who went by the first name Robert at the time, had been a student there, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
\n
Online videos reviewed by Reuters showed the text of a suicide note in which the shooter expressed feeling depressed and wanting to carry out a mass shooting. Names of previous school shooters were scrawled on a rifle magazine, along with erratic and wide-ranging political grievances.
\n
In a statement on X, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the suspect was "claiming to be transgender".
\n
Appearing with the police chief and other officials at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey cautioned against bringing gender politics into the tragedy. Frey also cited the easy availability of firearms as a root cause of mass shootings that are commonplace in the United States.
\n
The shooting at Annunciation, a parochial school with about 395 students, marked the 146th incident of gun violence at a place of primary or secondary education since January, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database.
People watch a wildfire burning in Castrillo de Cabrera, northwestern Spain, on Aug 16.
\n
Climate-warming emissions from wildfires across the European Union have reached record high this year, with more than 1 million hectares burned since January, an area larger than Cyprus.
\n
Fires across the continent, especially in Spain and Portugal, have emitted about 38 million tons of carbon dioxide so far, surpassing Sweden's annual CO2 output, according to the European Forest Fire Information System, or EFFIS.
\n
That total is more than double the 20-year average for this point in the year, EFFIS reported.
\n
Spain and Portugal are enduring their worst wildfire season on record, with August blazes killing at least seven people, displacing thousands, and destroying homes and crops as the peninsula baked under heat waves.
\n
Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at the EU's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, told The Guardian newspaper the fires sweeping the Iberian Peninsula this month have been "exceptional".
\n
"The large quantities of smoke — and especially PM2.5 — released into the atmosphere have resulted in severely degraded air quality locally, and further afield across the Iberian Peninsula and parts of France."
\n
He added that in Spain, fire-related emissions this year are already about four times the average annual total.
\n
A total of 1.028 million hectares have burned across the EU so far this year, the highest year-to-date since records began in 2006, and already exceeding the previous full-year high of about 998,000 hectares in 2017.
\n
Spain and Portugal account for about two-thirds of the EU's burned area, according to a Reuters analysis of EFFIS data, which show a spike in fires between Aug 5 and Aug 19, coinciding with a 16-day heat wave in the Iberian Peninsula.
\n
Cristina Santin Nuno, a fire scientist with Spain's National Research Council, was quoted by The Guardian as saying the "perfect conditions "for large, dangerous wildfires are occurring more often due to climate change and land-use practices. "It is sad and scary — my home region is burning right now — but not surprising, really," she said.
\n
She added that a "catastrophic "wildfire season is unlikely every year, but the likelihood of record-breaking seasons is increasing annually.
\n
It is "highly probable" the record in 2025 will be broken again within a few years, she said. "This is a new reality. And the sooner we realize it, and take action to be more resilient to these types of wildfires, the better."
\n
jonathan@mail.chinadailyuk.com
\n",
+ "content": "
People watch a wildfire burning in Castrillo de Cabrera, northwestern Spain, on Aug 16.
\n
Climate-warming emissions from wildfires across the European Union have reached record high this year, with more than 1 million hectares burned since January, an area larger than Cyprus.
\n
Fires across the continent, especially in Spain and Portugal, have emitted about 38 million tons of carbon dioxide so far, surpassing Sweden's annual CO2 output, according to the European Forest Fire Information System, or EFFIS.
\n
That total is more than double the 20-year average for this point in the year, EFFIS reported.
\n
Spain and Portugal are enduring their worst wildfire season on record, with August blazes killing at least seven people, displacing thousands, and destroying homes and crops as the peninsula baked under heat waves.
\n
Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at the EU's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, told The Guardian newspaper the fires sweeping the Iberian Peninsula this month have been "exceptional".
\n
"The large quantities of smoke — and especially PM2.5 — released into the atmosphere have resulted in severely degraded air quality locally, and further afield across the Iberian Peninsula and parts of France."
\n
He added that in Spain, fire-related emissions this year are already about four times the average annual total.
\n
A total of 1.028 million hectares have burned across the EU so far this year, the highest year-to-date since records began in 2006, and already exceeding the previous full-year high of about 998,000 hectares in 2017.
\n
Spain and Portugal account for about two-thirds of the EU's burned area, according to a Reuters analysis of EFFIS data, which show a spike in fires between Aug 5 and Aug 19, coinciding with a 16-day heat wave in the Iberian Peninsula.
\n
Cristina Santin Nuno, a fire scientist with Spain's National Research Council, was quoted by The Guardian as saying the "perfect conditions "for large, dangerous wildfires are occurring more often due to climate change and land-use practices. "It is sad and scary — my home region is burning right now — but not surprising, really," she said.
\n
She added that a "catastrophic "wildfire season is unlikely every year, but the likelihood of record-breaking seasons is increasing annually.
\n
It is "highly probable" the record in 2025 will be broken again within a few years, she said. "This is a new reality. And the sooner we realize it, and take action to be more resilient to these types of wildfires, the better."
People swim at the Grenelle safe bathing site on the Seine on its opening day, in Paris on July 5.
\n\n
On a blazing August morning in Paris, I joined a queue that snaked around one full city block. The air shimmered with heat, yet the crowd waited with patience that seemed almost ceremonial. Dogs tangled their leashes among children, friends chatted idly, couples shared pastries, and still the line advanced in quiet order, with nobody complaining.
\n
It was not the launch of a new iPhone, nor an exhibition at the Louvre, but something closer to human nature. At the head of the line lay a stretch of river water, roped off by wooden pontoons and lifeguard towers: a swimming pool carved from the Seine.
\n
Yes, both local Parisians and tourists in the line were waiting for the last half-hour to swim in the Seine, before which they had waited for more than a hundred years.
\n
Past the security gate, a surge of bodies moved with purpose — some darting to changing rooms, others stripping down to swimsuits they had worn beneath their clothes. The bravest raced onto the floating platforms, pausing just long enough to glance at the water before plunging in. Cheers rose with every splash.
\n
This is one of three official bathing sites newly opened along the Seine, each part of an ambitious project to restore public swimming in the river. Since July 5, the Seine, which was long forbidden to swimmers due to pollution, has been declared safe again.
\n
In the weeks since, the pools have become magnets. Residents arrive with families in tow, tourists stumble upon them with wide-eyed delight, and the queues remain as long as they were on day one. The Seine, that liquid spine of Paris, has finally been returned to the people who live beside it.
\n
Few rivers are as entangled with the identity of a city as the Seine is with Paris. The Eiffel Tower presides over its banks, Notre-Dame rises from its central island, while the Louvre, Les Invalides, and the famed cafes of the Left Bank all sit within earshot of its flowing waters.
\n
For centuries, Parisians treated the river not just as scenery but as a part of daily life, with washerwomen working along its edges and children leaping from bridges in summer. Floating bathhouses multiplied during the 19th century, where citizens could swim in cordoned-off sections of the river. In 1913, the French national diving championships took place right here, in the middle of Paris.
\n
Then came the rupture. Industrial waste, untreated sewage, and river traffic so fouled the waters that scientists detected it contained exceedingly high amounts of E.coli.
\n
In plainer words, the Seine had too much poop in its water.
\n
My friend Yang Yong, a professor of environmental sciences, said that the percentage of E.coli in the Seine might have been high for a long time before the 1920s. "They just started analyzing it at that time," he said with a schadenfreude smile.
\n
That is essentially why in 1923 the city issued an outright ban on swimming and turned the once people's playground into a forbidden zone.
\n
Generations grew up knowing the Seine only as a sight to be admired, not touched. Efforts to reverse the damage moved slowly, often mired in politics. In 1988, Jacques Chirac, then mayor of Paris, vowed he would one day swim in the Seine to prove it had been cleaned.
\n
Chirac later became president of France, but even his promise dissolved into empty air.
\n
It was not until 2015, when Paris secured the 2024 Olympic Games, that urgency finally arrived. Determined to stage open-water events in the heart of the city, officials poured 1.4 billion euros ($1.62 billion) into cleaning the river. Skeptics mocked the effort, among which one US magazine even used a big headline on July 30, 2024: "Paris Spent $1.5 Billion Cleaning Poop Out of the Seine, and It's Still Too Dirty for Olympic Swimming".
\n
Magically, when the Games began, athletes swam in the Seine without incident. The stage was set for the public to follow.
\n
Wave of emotion
\n
The reopening has unleashed a wave of emotion. Fan Fan, a longtime Paris resident of Chinese descent, told me she had brought her entire family, from toddlers to grandparents, to claim a spot on opening day. For her, the chance to swim in the Seine felt like both a civic ritual and a family memory in the making.
\n
But the Seine is also drawing outsiders. Of the two dozen people I spoke with in line, eight had traveled from other parts of Europe specifically to swim here; three had even taken connecting flights. "There's only one Paris, and only one Seine," several tourists said.
\n
By late morning, lifeguards began pacing nervously along the pontoons, scanning the water as novice swimmers clutched brightly colored floats. When the pools reached capacity, officials closed the gates, leaving newcomers to lean against the river railing. Some craned their necks to watch the swimmers inside. Others pulled out phones to capture the spectacle: hundreds of bodies colliding, floating, laughing — a vision of chaotic joy that had been absent from the river for more than a century.
\n
The return of swimming is not only a gift of recreation but a symbol of environmental recovery. For decades, the Seine embodied the costs of industrialization, a reminder that progress could poison as easily as it could uplift. To dip into its waters today is to participate in a story of resilience — of ecosystems slowly coaxed back to life, of a city reimagining its relationship with nature.
\n
For now, the Seine's return feels both extraordinary and fragile, a triumph that could just as easily slip away if vigilance lapses. Yet the sight of children splashing under the gaze of Notre-Dame suggests something lasting has shifted: Parisians are reclaiming their river not as backdrop, but as a part of their lives.
\n
When I returned at 4 pm, weary from a day of reporting elsewhere in the city, the line was still there — just as long, just as patient. The sun had shifted, the shadows longer, but the atmosphere had not changed. Paris was still waiting for the Seine, and the Seine was finally waiting for Paris.
\n
Contact the writer at zhangzhouxiang@chinadaily.com.cn.
People swim at the Grenelle safe bathing site on the Seine on its opening day, in Paris on July 5.
\n\n
On a blazing August morning in Paris, I joined a queue that snaked around one full city block. The air shimmered with heat, yet the crowd waited with patience that seemed almost ceremonial. Dogs tangled their leashes among children, friends chatted idly, couples shared pastries, and still the line advanced in quiet order, with nobody complaining.
\n
It was not the launch of a new iPhone, nor an exhibition at the Louvre, but something closer to human nature. At the head of the line lay a stretch of river water, roped off by wooden pontoons and lifeguard towers: a swimming pool carved from the Seine.
\n
Yes, both local Parisians and tourists in the line were waiting for the last half-hour to swim in the Seine, before which they had waited for more than a hundred years.
\n
Past the security gate, a surge of bodies moved with purpose — some darting to changing rooms, others stripping down to swimsuits they had worn beneath their clothes. The bravest raced onto the floating platforms, pausing just long enough to glance at the water before plunging in. Cheers rose with every splash.
\n
This is one of three official bathing sites newly opened along the Seine, each part of an ambitious project to restore public swimming in the river. Since July 5, the Seine, which was long forbidden to swimmers due to pollution, has been declared safe again.
\n
In the weeks since, the pools have become magnets. Residents arrive with families in tow, tourists stumble upon them with wide-eyed delight, and the queues remain as long as they were on day one. The Seine, that liquid spine of Paris, has finally been returned to the people who live beside it.
\n
Few rivers are as entangled with the identity of a city as the Seine is with Paris. The Eiffel Tower presides over its banks, Notre-Dame rises from its central island, while the Louvre, Les Invalides, and the famed cafes of the Left Bank all sit within earshot of its flowing waters.
\n
For centuries, Parisians treated the river not just as scenery but as a part of daily life, with washerwomen working along its edges and children leaping from bridges in summer. Floating bathhouses multiplied during the 19th century, where citizens could swim in cordoned-off sections of the river. In 1913, the French national diving championships took place right here, in the middle of Paris.
\n
Then came the rupture. Industrial waste, untreated sewage, and river traffic so fouled the waters that scientists detected it contained exceedingly high amounts of E.coli.
\n
In plainer words, the Seine had too much poop in its water.
\n
My friend Yang Yong, a professor of environmental sciences, said that the percentage of E.coli in the Seine might have been high for a long time before the 1920s. "They just started analyzing it at that time," he said with a schadenfreude smile.
\n
That is essentially why in 1923 the city issued an outright ban on swimming and turned the once people's playground into a forbidden zone.
\n
Generations grew up knowing the Seine only as a sight to be admired, not touched. Efforts to reverse the damage moved slowly, often mired in politics. In 1988, Jacques Chirac, then mayor of Paris, vowed he would one day swim in the Seine to prove it had been cleaned.
\n
Chirac later became president of France, but even his promise dissolved into empty air.
\n
It was not until 2015, when Paris secured the 2024 Olympic Games, that urgency finally arrived. Determined to stage open-water events in the heart of the city, officials poured 1.4 billion euros ($1.62 billion) into cleaning the river. Skeptics mocked the effort, among which one US magazine even used a big headline on July 30, 2024: "Paris Spent $1.5 Billion Cleaning Poop Out of the Seine, and It's Still Too Dirty for Olympic Swimming".
\n
Magically, when the Games began, athletes swam in the Seine without incident. The stage was set for the public to follow.
\n
Wave of emotion
\n
The reopening has unleashed a wave of emotion. Fan Fan, a longtime Paris resident of Chinese descent, told me she had brought her entire family, from toddlers to grandparents, to claim a spot on opening day. For her, the chance to swim in the Seine felt like both a civic ritual and a family memory in the making.
\n
But the Seine is also drawing outsiders. Of the two dozen people I spoke with in line, eight had traveled from other parts of Europe specifically to swim here; three had even taken connecting flights. "There's only one Paris, and only one Seine," several tourists said.
\n
By late morning, lifeguards began pacing nervously along the pontoons, scanning the water as novice swimmers clutched brightly colored floats. When the pools reached capacity, officials closed the gates, leaving newcomers to lean against the river railing. Some craned their necks to watch the swimmers inside. Others pulled out phones to capture the spectacle: hundreds of bodies colliding, floating, laughing — a vision of chaotic joy that had been absent from the river for more than a century.
\n
The return of swimming is not only a gift of recreation but a symbol of environmental recovery. For decades, the Seine embodied the costs of industrialization, a reminder that progress could poison as easily as it could uplift. To dip into its waters today is to participate in a story of resilience — of ecosystems slowly coaxed back to life, of a city reimagining its relationship with nature.
\n
For now, the Seine's return feels both extraordinary and fragile, a triumph that could just as easily slip away if vigilance lapses. Yet the sight of children splashing under the gaze of Notre-Dame suggests something lasting has shifted: Parisians are reclaiming their river not as backdrop, but as a part of their lives.
\n
When I returned at 4 pm, weary from a day of reporting elsewhere in the city, the line was still there — just as long, just as patient. The sun had shifted, the shadows longer, but the atmosphere had not changed. Paris was still waiting for the Seine, and the Seine was finally waiting for Paris.
\n
Contact the writer at zhangzhouxiang@chinadaily.com.cn.
South-South trade cooperation could offer relief to many countries grappling with the United States-imposed tariffs, said South African officials and business leaders.
\n
Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter, South Africa's ambassador to the World Trade Organization, said some countries are struggling to accept the shift from a unipolar to multipolar world, noting that some countries in the Global North are disregarding the very trade rules they once crafted and championed.
\n
"I can say without doubt that South-South cooperation can succeed depending on how we structure the relations for mutual benefit," Mlumbi-Peter said.
\n
"It is important to enhance relations because what we see with tariffs, offers opportunities to strengthen relations between countries of the South. We should change the structure of the relations to promote investment that strengthens our capacity to create jobs and grow the economy."
\n
She said the cooperation among the Global South countries should be complementary, boost production, and promote technology transfer.
\n
Mlumbi-Peter noted that China has introduced a zero-tariff policy, granting duty-free access to 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations.
\n
She said South Africa is in talks with China to take advantage of the zero tariffs and also expand the sale of local products to the Chinese market.
\n
South Africa plans to offer incentives to Chinese companies participating in the beneficiation of critical minerals within a special economic zone to boost the development of the electric vehicle industry in South Africa, Mlumbi-Peter said.
\n
Beneficiation is the process of treating ore or similar material from the earth to improve it.
\n
She said that on Friday, South African government officials will meet Chery, a Chinese car manufacturer, to negotiate potential investment deals in the country.
\n
She said that for South-South cooperation to succeed, countries should come up with alternative development models such as BRICS, whose members are currently drafting their 2030 economic strategy.
\n
Wamkele Mene, secretary-general of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, said 49 out of Africa's 55 countries have signed onto the agreement, committing to eliminate trade barriers, while 24 have already gazetted it.
\n
He noted that Africa along with Global South regions such as Latin America and the Gulf, presents vast trade opportunities.
\n
For Africa's domestic market, Mene stressed the need to tackle market fragmentation, harmonize rules, address infrastructure gaps, and strengthen production capacity.
\n
"International investment by China in Africa has been transformative, we need an intensive infrastructure that supports trade," he said.
\n
Mene said that African countries should adopt the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System to enable trade in local currencies.
\n
He said South-South cooperation could help counter what he described as the "onslaught on the predictability of the economy "caused by tariffs.
\n
Wolfe Braude, manager at Agricultural Business Chamber, said the tariffs have hit the agricultural sector in South Africa hard.
\n
He said some stakeholders believe it may not be sustainable in the long term to rely on the US market, adding the sector is increasingly looking to expand trade with countries in the Global South.
\n
"We have to diversify, we have to find additional markets. We are expecting some deals to be signed to export to the Middle East and Asia. China has an enormous potential for our products," Braude said.
\n
Commercial benefits
\n
He said the South African agricultural sector welcomed the consensus reached at the recent BRICS summit in Brazil to deepen the intra-BRICS cooperation, noting the sector anticipates significant commercial benefits from the grouping.
\n
Braude said that while there is strong potential in traditional markets such as Africa, the United Kingdom, the European Union, BRICS members, and the wider Global South, trade agreements must be mutually beneficial.
\n
He also acknowledged government efforts to secure new trade deals on behalf of the sector.
\n
Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, CEO of the South African Institute of International Affairs, said the tariffs also present opportunities for countries to strengthen trade among themselves.
\n
She noted that economies in Asia, ASEAN, and Latin America are among the world's fastest-growing, offering significant potential.
\n
Sidiropoulos added that Africa, the European Union, Gulf countries, Southeast Asia, and BRICS partners also provide promising avenues for expanded trade.
\n
She said the tariffs have compelled countries to accelerate strategies to diversify their markets, creating an opportunity to deepen South-South cooperation in a way that also supports development.
\n
"We must work together across the developing world to build stronger industrial capacity, particularly in Africa. Asia is a growing economic hub, and that is where opportunities lie," Sidiropoulos said.
\n
She agreed with Mene that boosting intra-African trade will require tackling market fragmentation, increasing intra-African investment, and building stronger regional value chains.
\n",
+ "content": "
South-South trade cooperation could offer relief to many countries grappling with the United States-imposed tariffs, said South African officials and business leaders.
\n
Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter, South Africa's ambassador to the World Trade Organization, said some countries are struggling to accept the shift from a unipolar to multipolar world, noting that some countries in the Global North are disregarding the very trade rules they once crafted and championed.
\n
"I can say without doubt that South-South cooperation can succeed depending on how we structure the relations for mutual benefit," Mlumbi-Peter said.
\n
"It is important to enhance relations because what we see with tariffs, offers opportunities to strengthen relations between countries of the South. We should change the structure of the relations to promote investment that strengthens our capacity to create jobs and grow the economy."
\n
She said the cooperation among the Global South countries should be complementary, boost production, and promote technology transfer.
\n
Mlumbi-Peter noted that China has introduced a zero-tariff policy, granting duty-free access to 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations.
\n
She said South Africa is in talks with China to take advantage of the zero tariffs and also expand the sale of local products to the Chinese market.
\n
South Africa plans to offer incentives to Chinese companies participating in the beneficiation of critical minerals within a special economic zone to boost the development of the electric vehicle industry in South Africa, Mlumbi-Peter said.
\n
Beneficiation is the process of treating ore or similar material from the earth to improve it.
\n
She said that on Friday, South African government officials will meet Chery, a Chinese car manufacturer, to negotiate potential investment deals in the country.
\n
She said that for South-South cooperation to succeed, countries should come up with alternative development models such as BRICS, whose members are currently drafting their 2030 economic strategy.
\n
Wamkele Mene, secretary-general of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, said 49 out of Africa's 55 countries have signed onto the agreement, committing to eliminate trade barriers, while 24 have already gazetted it.
\n
He noted that Africa along with Global South regions such as Latin America and the Gulf, presents vast trade opportunities.
\n
For Africa's domestic market, Mene stressed the need to tackle market fragmentation, harmonize rules, address infrastructure gaps, and strengthen production capacity.
\n
"International investment by China in Africa has been transformative, we need an intensive infrastructure that supports trade," he said.
\n
Mene said that African countries should adopt the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System to enable trade in local currencies.
\n
He said South-South cooperation could help counter what he described as the "onslaught on the predictability of the economy "caused by tariffs.
\n
Wolfe Braude, manager at Agricultural Business Chamber, said the tariffs have hit the agricultural sector in South Africa hard.
\n
He said some stakeholders believe it may not be sustainable in the long term to rely on the US market, adding the sector is increasingly looking to expand trade with countries in the Global South.
\n
"We have to diversify, we have to find additional markets. We are expecting some deals to be signed to export to the Middle East and Asia. China has an enormous potential for our products," Braude said.
\n
Commercial benefits
\n
He said the South African agricultural sector welcomed the consensus reached at the recent BRICS summit in Brazil to deepen the intra-BRICS cooperation, noting the sector anticipates significant commercial benefits from the grouping.
\n
Braude said that while there is strong potential in traditional markets such as Africa, the United Kingdom, the European Union, BRICS members, and the wider Global South, trade agreements must be mutually beneficial.
\n
He also acknowledged government efforts to secure new trade deals on behalf of the sector.
\n
Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, CEO of the South African Institute of International Affairs, said the tariffs also present opportunities for countries to strengthen trade among themselves.
\n
She noted that economies in Asia, ASEAN, and Latin America are among the world's fastest-growing, offering significant potential.
\n
Sidiropoulos added that Africa, the European Union, Gulf countries, Southeast Asia, and BRICS partners also provide promising avenues for expanded trade.
\n
She said the tariffs have compelled countries to accelerate strategies to diversify their markets, creating an opportunity to deepen South-South cooperation in a way that also supports development.
\n
"We must work together across the developing world to build stronger industrial capacity, particularly in Africa. Asia is a growing economic hub, and that is where opportunities lie," Sidiropoulos said.
\n
She agreed with Mene that boosting intra-African trade will require tackling market fragmentation, increasing intra-African investment, and building stronger regional value chains.
Ambassador Amar Bendjama of Algeria holds a photo of a baby who died of hunger while speaking during the Security Council open briefing on the situation in the Middle East, at the UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday.
\n
All members of the United Nations Security Council, except the United States, have demanded an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territories to halt the spread of the Gaza famine while Washington downplayed postwar discussions.
\n
Famine dominated the Security Council agenda on Wednesday at its emergency meeting. Over half a million people are facing starvation and death, and there are urgent concerns that the number could exceed 640,000 by the end of September, according to Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya.
\n
The same day, however, US President Donald Trump presided over a meeting on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and postwar plans with former British prime minister Tony Blair and former Middle East envoy Jared Kushner, where a senior White House official downplayed it as a "simple policy meeting", Reuters reported.
\n
Msuya read out a statement on behalf of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher.
\n
She said virtually no one in Gaza "is untouched by hunger" and at least 132,000 children under the age of 5 are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition between now and mid-2026.
\n
The number of those at risk of death among them has now tripled to over 43,000. For pregnant and breastfeeding women, that number is predicted to surge from 17,000 to 55,000.
\n
On Aug 22, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Famine Review Committee confirmed that famine is now occurring in Gaza and is projected to expand further to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September.
\n
Msuya acknowledged an uptick in aid entering Gaza and limited commercial traffic has also resumed in the past weeks, which helped bring down prices of key commodities. However, they "remain elevated and largely out of reach for much of the population".
\n
At a news briefing on Wednesday, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General Eden Bar Tal rejected the IPC report, saying it "is forged for political purposes".
\n
Tal also accused the IPC of manipulating and ignoring data, breaking its own rules, and saying it "hid contradictory evidence".
\n
"That report was fabricated for a purpose — to support Hamas' fake starvation campaign," he said.
\n
In July, Trump publicly acknowledged that starvation was happening in Gaza while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously said otherwise.
\n
Haydar Oruc, a former researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Turkiye, said that it was expected that a decision would be made at the Security Council meeting on Wednesday to end the famine in Gaza immediately.
\n
"However, due to the negative stance of the US and Israel, the issue was sidetracked, as it had been during Security Council meetings discussing ceasefire resolutions," Oruc told China Daily.
\n
Issue sidetracked
\n
Despite the UN report, Oruc said the Security Council was prevented from taking further action. This was based on the Israeli claim that there was no famine in Gaza and humanitarian aid entering Gaza was being stolen by Hamas, he said.
\n
"While it is clear that the famine declared by the IPC in Gaza is not due to natural causes, as were those declared in other regions, but rather is man-made and therefore requires human intervention to end," Oruc said.
\n
Oruc said he believed "no part of Gaza is immune to famine".
\n
Gaza's health authority has recorded four deaths "due to famine and malnutrition" over the past 24 hours, including two children, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday. This brings the number of hunger-related deaths in the enclave to 317, including 121 children, since fighting intensified.
\n
"It should not be forgotten that famine could affect all of Gaza and that a major humanitarian crisis will occur in Gaza if the conditions for famine are not eliminated," said Oruc.
\n
"The easiest way to end the famine in Gaza is to ensure that Israel immediately accepts a ceasefire and allows humanitarian aid to enter Gaza without delay. Therefore, the UN Security Council must focus on this and avoid unnecessary inaction," Oruc said.
\n
"Otherwise, the UN will be as responsible as Israel and the US for the mass deaths that will occur in Gaza," he added.
\n
jan@chinadailyapac.com
\n",
+ "content": "
Ambassador Amar Bendjama of Algeria holds a photo of a baby who died of hunger while speaking during the Security Council open briefing on the situation in the Middle East, at the UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday.
\n
All members of the United Nations Security Council, except the United States, have demanded an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territories to halt the spread of the Gaza famine while Washington downplayed postwar discussions.
\n
Famine dominated the Security Council agenda on Wednesday at its emergency meeting. Over half a million people are facing starvation and death, and there are urgent concerns that the number could exceed 640,000 by the end of September, according to Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya.
\n
The same day, however, US President Donald Trump presided over a meeting on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and postwar plans with former British prime minister Tony Blair and former Middle East envoy Jared Kushner, where a senior White House official downplayed it as a "simple policy meeting", Reuters reported.
\n
Msuya read out a statement on behalf of Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher.
\n
She said virtually no one in Gaza "is untouched by hunger" and at least 132,000 children under the age of 5 are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition between now and mid-2026.
\n
The number of those at risk of death among them has now tripled to over 43,000. For pregnant and breastfeeding women, that number is predicted to surge from 17,000 to 55,000.
\n
On Aug 22, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Famine Review Committee confirmed that famine is now occurring in Gaza and is projected to expand further to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September.
\n
Msuya acknowledged an uptick in aid entering Gaza and limited commercial traffic has also resumed in the past weeks, which helped bring down prices of key commodities. However, they "remain elevated and largely out of reach for much of the population".
\n
At a news briefing on Wednesday, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General Eden Bar Tal rejected the IPC report, saying it "is forged for political purposes".
\n
Tal also accused the IPC of manipulating and ignoring data, breaking its own rules, and saying it "hid contradictory evidence".
\n
"That report was fabricated for a purpose — to support Hamas' fake starvation campaign," he said.
\n
In July, Trump publicly acknowledged that starvation was happening in Gaza while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously said otherwise.
\n
Haydar Oruc, a former researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Turkiye, said that it was expected that a decision would be made at the Security Council meeting on Wednesday to end the famine in Gaza immediately.
\n
"However, due to the negative stance of the US and Israel, the issue was sidetracked, as it had been during Security Council meetings discussing ceasefire resolutions," Oruc told China Daily.
\n
Issue sidetracked
\n
Despite the UN report, Oruc said the Security Council was prevented from taking further action. This was based on the Israeli claim that there was no famine in Gaza and humanitarian aid entering Gaza was being stolen by Hamas, he said.
\n
"While it is clear that the famine declared by the IPC in Gaza is not due to natural causes, as were those declared in other regions, but rather is man-made and therefore requires human intervention to end," Oruc said.
\n
Oruc said he believed "no part of Gaza is immune to famine".
\n
Gaza's health authority has recorded four deaths "due to famine and malnutrition" over the past 24 hours, including two children, Al Jazeera reported on Thursday. This brings the number of hunger-related deaths in the enclave to 317, including 121 children, since fighting intensified.
\n
"It should not be forgotten that famine could affect all of Gaza and that a major humanitarian crisis will occur in Gaza if the conditions for famine are not eliminated," said Oruc.
\n
"The easiest way to end the famine in Gaza is to ensure that Israel immediately accepts a ceasefire and allows humanitarian aid to enter Gaza without delay. Therefore, the UN Security Council must focus on this and avoid unnecessary inaction," Oruc said.
\n
"Otherwise, the UN will be as responsible as Israel and the US for the mass deaths that will occur in Gaza," he added.
Rwanda and Mozambique have signed a "peace and security "agreement during a visit by the southern African leader to Kigali on Wednesday, as their forces battle a long-running insurgency in Mozambique's north. Contacted by AFP, the Rwandan Defense Forces spokesman, Ronald Rwivanga, said there were "no details yet" about the deal. However, it comes as attacks in Mozambique have multiplied. Rwandan leader Paul Kagame welcomed the deal.
\n
SOUTH KOREA
\n
Mobile phones to be banned in schools
\n
South Korea has passed a bill banning the use of mobile phones in school classrooms nationwide, officials said on Thursday, joining other countries in efforts to curb social media use among minors. South Korea has recently sought to tighten rules on electronic devices in schools, citing concerns over smartphone addiction among students. The bill, which will take effect in March next year, bans the use of smart devices, including mobile phones, in classrooms and was passed on Wednesday, a National Assembly spokeswoman told AFP.
\n
UNITED STATES
\n
White House fires health agency head
\n
The US administration confirmed on Wednesday it had fired Susan Monarez, the head of the top US public health agency after she refused to step down during a standoff with vaccine skeptic Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The escalating dispute over Kennedy's sweeping overhaul of US vaccine policy also led to the resignation of five other senior officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a union representing some of the agency's workers.
\n",
+ "content": "
AFRICA
\n
Rwanda, Mozambique sign peace agreement
\n
Rwanda and Mozambique have signed a "peace and security "agreement during a visit by the southern African leader to Kigali on Wednesday, as their forces battle a long-running insurgency in Mozambique's north. Contacted by AFP, the Rwandan Defense Forces spokesman, Ronald Rwivanga, said there were "no details yet" about the deal. However, it comes as attacks in Mozambique have multiplied. Rwandan leader Paul Kagame welcomed the deal.
\n
SOUTH KOREA
\n
Mobile phones to be banned in schools
\n
South Korea has passed a bill banning the use of mobile phones in school classrooms nationwide, officials said on Thursday, joining other countries in efforts to curb social media use among minors. South Korea has recently sought to tighten rules on electronic devices in schools, citing concerns over smartphone addiction among students. The bill, which will take effect in March next year, bans the use of smart devices, including mobile phones, in classrooms and was passed on Wednesday, a National Assembly spokeswoman told AFP.
\n
UNITED STATES
\n
White House fires health agency head
\n
The US administration confirmed on Wednesday it had fired Susan Monarez, the head of the top US public health agency after she refused to step down during a standoff with vaccine skeptic Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The escalating dispute over Kennedy's sweeping overhaul of US vaccine policy also led to the resignation of five other senior officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a union representing some of the agency's workers.
Women pose during the women's marathon as part of the celebration of Emirati Women's Day, organized by Dubai Sports Council at the Dubai Mall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday. Emirati Women's Day was founded in 2015 to award the efforts and celebrate the achievements of Emirati women. The day is marked annually in the UAE on Aug 28.
\n",
+ "content": "
Women pose during the women's marathon as part of the celebration of Emirati Women's Day, organized by Dubai Sports Council at the Dubai Mall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday. Emirati Women's Day was founded in 2015 to award the efforts and celebrate the achievements of Emirati women. The day is marked annually in the UAE on Aug 28.
When Gay Yuen immigrated from Hong Kong to Los Angeles' Chinatown at the age of 6, she dreaded history class. She spoke no English, and her textbooks offered no trace of Chinese like her. Even in high school, US history skipped over the Chinese immigrants who had crossed oceans, built railroads and worked in the mines of the 19th century.
\n
Decades later, Yuen serves as the board chair of the Friends of the Chinese American Museum in LA, which seeks to recover those erased stories.
\n
"What I've learned in these 20 years is a history that was never taught in school," she said. "And the longer I stayed with the museum, the more I realized that such a museum is so needed here, locally, statewide and nationally."
\n
Yuen emphasized that the museum's role is not only to document overlooked history but also to "honor those who illuminate the Chinese people and the contributors to making that history in America".
\n
Her own journey, from rejecting to preserving history, reflects the museum's work in shining a light on the experiences of Chinese Americans and inspiring the next generation. That mission was highlighted at its 29th annual Historymaker Awards, where the 2025 honorees were recently announced in LA.
\n
Among them, Brandon Tsay received the Dr Dan S Louie Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award for courageously disarming a shooter, preventing further tragedy shortly after 11 people were killed in Monterey, California, in 2023.
\n
The Art and Activism Award went to rapper and poet Jason Chu, whose work amplifies the voices of Asian Americans. As co-curator of the museum's spoken-word exhibition (Be) Spoken, he brought together pioneers and emerging artists. "Our heroes and our next generation — their voices are in the museum today," Chu said.
\n
Role models
\n
"They are our leaders and mentors who have advanced our Southern California Chinese American communities and serve as role models for our next generation," said the museum's co-founder Munson Kwok. "And they are voices of legacy trailblazers and bridge builders."
\n
One of the most solemn recognitions went to the 1871 Memorial Project, which received the Judge Ronald S W Lew Visionary Award. Lew was the first Chinese American appointed to the federal bench outside of Hawaii. The initiative seeks to memorialize the Chinese Massacre of 1871, when a mob lynched 18 Chinese men and boys in Los Angeles, one of the darkest episodes in the city's history.
\n
Michael Woo, president of the project and the first Asian American elected to the LA City Council, explained that the memorial will be an immersive urban landmark across multiple downtown sites. Sculptures inspired by banyan trees, along with interpretive installations, audio tours and augmented reality features, will educate the public about this tragic chapter in LA history.
\n
"The idea of a memorial is not just a statue on a pedestal, but a sequence of sites that keeps the memory alive while creating a unique urban landmark," Woo told China Daily. "It's about raising public awareness, not just about history, but especially at a time when there are authorities who are trying to erase history."
\n
For Congresswoman Judy Chu, the museum's work carries national significance. "It's shed light on the discrimination that Asian Americans have faced, and it's even more vital to do this now with the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes, xenophobic attacks on immigrants and the rollback of language access for those with limited English proficiency," Chu said.
\n
She noted that without the Chinese American community's efforts, the US people might forget that the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 institutionalized discrimination for six decades, or overlook the contributions of Chinese railroad workers whose labor helped bind the nation's infrastructure and economy.
\n
renali@chinadailyusa.com
\n",
+ "content": "
When Gay Yuen immigrated from Hong Kong to Los Angeles' Chinatown at the age of 6, she dreaded history class. She spoke no English, and her textbooks offered no trace of Chinese like her. Even in high school, US history skipped over the Chinese immigrants who had crossed oceans, built railroads and worked in the mines of the 19th century.
\n
Decades later, Yuen serves as the board chair of the Friends of the Chinese American Museum in LA, which seeks to recover those erased stories.
\n
"What I've learned in these 20 years is a history that was never taught in school," she said. "And the longer I stayed with the museum, the more I realized that such a museum is so needed here, locally, statewide and nationally."
\n
Yuen emphasized that the museum's role is not only to document overlooked history but also to "honor those who illuminate the Chinese people and the contributors to making that history in America".
\n
Her own journey, from rejecting to preserving history, reflects the museum's work in shining a light on the experiences of Chinese Americans and inspiring the next generation. That mission was highlighted at its 29th annual Historymaker Awards, where the 2025 honorees were recently announced in LA.
\n
Among them, Brandon Tsay received the Dr Dan S Louie Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award for courageously disarming a shooter, preventing further tragedy shortly after 11 people were killed in Monterey, California, in 2023.
\n
The Art and Activism Award went to rapper and poet Jason Chu, whose work amplifies the voices of Asian Americans. As co-curator of the museum's spoken-word exhibition (Be) Spoken, he brought together pioneers and emerging artists. "Our heroes and our next generation — their voices are in the museum today," Chu said.
\n
Role models
\n
"They are our leaders and mentors who have advanced our Southern California Chinese American communities and serve as role models for our next generation," said the museum's co-founder Munson Kwok. "And they are voices of legacy trailblazers and bridge builders."
\n
One of the most solemn recognitions went to the 1871 Memorial Project, which received the Judge Ronald S W Lew Visionary Award. Lew was the first Chinese American appointed to the federal bench outside of Hawaii. The initiative seeks to memorialize the Chinese Massacre of 1871, when a mob lynched 18 Chinese men and boys in Los Angeles, one of the darkest episodes in the city's history.
\n
Michael Woo, president of the project and the first Asian American elected to the LA City Council, explained that the memorial will be an immersive urban landmark across multiple downtown sites. Sculptures inspired by banyan trees, along with interpretive installations, audio tours and augmented reality features, will educate the public about this tragic chapter in LA history.
\n
"The idea of a memorial is not just a statue on a pedestal, but a sequence of sites that keeps the memory alive while creating a unique urban landmark," Woo told China Daily. "It's about raising public awareness, not just about history, but especially at a time when there are authorities who are trying to erase history."
\n
For Congresswoman Judy Chu, the museum's work carries national significance. "It's shed light on the discrimination that Asian Americans have faced, and it's even more vital to do this now with the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes, xenophobic attacks on immigrants and the rollback of language access for those with limited English proficiency," Chu said.
\n
She noted that without the Chinese American community's efforts, the US people might forget that the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 institutionalized discrimination for six decades, or overlook the contributions of Chinese railroad workers whose labor helped bind the nation's infrastructure and economy.
A group of media workers take photographs of a giant robot hand at Robot World in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area on June 17.
\n
As Beijing prepares to host the 42nd IASP World Conference on Science Parks and Areas of Innovation from Sept 16 to 19, the nation's capital is poised to showcase its cutting-edge advancements in technology and innovation.
\n
With the theme "Elevating excellence: innovation spaces driving high-quality development", the conference will explore how innovation spaces contribute to social, economic and technological progress.
\n
The IASP, or International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation, is a network of innovation ecosystems that brings together managers of science parks, research parks, innovation districts, knowledge cities and other innovation spaces. Its mission is to drive growth, internationalization and effectiveness for its members.
\n
In an era marked by rapid technological advancements and economic globalization, spaces such as science parks and innovation districts have emerged as vital catalysts for progress. These areas not only foster innovation and aid the application of scientific advances but also play a significant role in enhancing regional innovation capabilities, improving industrial structures and promoting employment.
\n
Beijing is home to leading research institutions, tech giants and a thriving startup ecosystem, offering an ideal setting for the conference.
\n
"For IASP delegates, Beijing offers a unique opportunity to explore, innovate and be part of something truly extraordinary," said the association. "Whether networking with professionals or experiencing the city's dynamic mix of old and new, every moment is sure to inspire."
\n
Beijing is working to establish itself as a global center for scientific and technological innovation. In recent years, the city has achieved remarkable milestones in this endeavor. In 2024, Beijing boasted 431 highly cited scientists. The city's research and development investment intensity has remained above 6 percent for six years in a row, placing it among the leading global innovation cities. Additionally, the Nature Index showed that Beijing has remained the world's top science city since 2016.
\n
Beijing is leveraging an innovation and application ecosystem consisting of Zhongguancun Science City, Huairou Science City, Future Science City and the Demonstration Area for Innovation-based Industrial Clusters to drive its scientific initiatives. Each area has distinct strengths: Zhongguancun focuses on global high-end innovation; Huairou features scientific infrastructure; Future Science City targets future industries such as synthetic biology for manufacturing; and the demonstration area assists the application of scientific achievements from the three science cities.
\n
To better commercialize research outcomes, Beijing has developed an online and offline innovation service platform. This includes the International Center for Science and Technology Innovation website, which consolidates resources from the four areas to enhance connectivity and resource sharing.
\n
Beijing is also encouraging social organizations to support the coordinated development of the four areas. Collaborations include strategic partnerships for technology application and resource matching. The ZGC Intellectual Property Protection Center has assisted more than 400 companies from the four areas with fast-track patent applications.
\n
Yin Li, secretary of the Communist Party of China Beijing Committee, emphasized the need to strengthen the coordinated development of these four areas to cultivate new quality productive forces. He noted that it is crucial to stabilize foundational industries such as finance, information and technology services while developing high-tech industries like artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, new energy vehicles, pharmaceuticals and robotics.
\n
The Demonstration Area for Innovation-based Industrial Clusters comprises Beijing's Shunyi district and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town. Over the past three decades, Beijing E-Town has transformed from an industrial area spanning 3.83 square kilometers into a hub for high-tech industries covering more than 220 sq km, housing over 100,000 businesses.
\n
Dong Qichao, deputy director of the Beijing Science and Technology Commission, said: "Beijing E-Town has highly concentrated industrial resources and diverse application scenarios that complement the strong innovation capabilities of key laboratories. We will further integrate technology and industry, turning enterprises' needs into scientific questions for researchers to address, ensuring that technology transitions swiftly from the lab to the industry to serve the country's strategic needs."
\n
In 2024, 290 research outcomes from the three science cities realized real-world applications in the Demonstration Area for Innovation-based Industrial Clusters. In 2025, the number is expected to be no fewer than 600.
A group of media workers take photographs of a giant robot hand at Robot World in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area on June 17.
\n
As Beijing prepares to host the 42nd IASP World Conference on Science Parks and Areas of Innovation from Sept 16 to 19, the nation's capital is poised to showcase its cutting-edge advancements in technology and innovation.
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With the theme "Elevating excellence: innovation spaces driving high-quality development", the conference will explore how innovation spaces contribute to social, economic and technological progress.
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The IASP, or International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation, is a network of innovation ecosystems that brings together managers of science parks, research parks, innovation districts, knowledge cities and other innovation spaces. Its mission is to drive growth, internationalization and effectiveness for its members.
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In an era marked by rapid technological advancements and economic globalization, spaces such as science parks and innovation districts have emerged as vital catalysts for progress. These areas not only foster innovation and aid the application of scientific advances but also play a significant role in enhancing regional innovation capabilities, improving industrial structures and promoting employment.
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Beijing is home to leading research institutions, tech giants and a thriving startup ecosystem, offering an ideal setting for the conference.
\n
"For IASP delegates, Beijing offers a unique opportunity to explore, innovate and be part of something truly extraordinary," said the association. "Whether networking with professionals or experiencing the city's dynamic mix of old and new, every moment is sure to inspire."
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Beijing is working to establish itself as a global center for scientific and technological innovation. In recent years, the city has achieved remarkable milestones in this endeavor. In 2024, Beijing boasted 431 highly cited scientists. The city's research and development investment intensity has remained above 6 percent for six years in a row, placing it among the leading global innovation cities. Additionally, the Nature Index showed that Beijing has remained the world's top science city since 2016.
\n
Beijing is leveraging an innovation and application ecosystem consisting of Zhongguancun Science City, Huairou Science City, Future Science City and the Demonstration Area for Innovation-based Industrial Clusters to drive its scientific initiatives. Each area has distinct strengths: Zhongguancun focuses on global high-end innovation; Huairou features scientific infrastructure; Future Science City targets future industries such as synthetic biology for manufacturing; and the demonstration area assists the application of scientific achievements from the three science cities.
\n
To better commercialize research outcomes, Beijing has developed an online and offline innovation service platform. This includes the International Center for Science and Technology Innovation website, which consolidates resources from the four areas to enhance connectivity and resource sharing.
\n
Beijing is also encouraging social organizations to support the coordinated development of the four areas. Collaborations include strategic partnerships for technology application and resource matching. The ZGC Intellectual Property Protection Center has assisted more than 400 companies from the four areas with fast-track patent applications.
\n
Yin Li, secretary of the Communist Party of China Beijing Committee, emphasized the need to strengthen the coordinated development of these four areas to cultivate new quality productive forces. He noted that it is crucial to stabilize foundational industries such as finance, information and technology services while developing high-tech industries like artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, new energy vehicles, pharmaceuticals and robotics.
\n
The Demonstration Area for Innovation-based Industrial Clusters comprises Beijing's Shunyi district and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town. Over the past three decades, Beijing E-Town has transformed from an industrial area spanning 3.83 square kilometers into a hub for high-tech industries covering more than 220 sq km, housing over 100,000 businesses.
\n
Dong Qichao, deputy director of the Beijing Science and Technology Commission, said: "Beijing E-Town has highly concentrated industrial resources and diverse application scenarios that complement the strong innovation capabilities of key laboratories. We will further integrate technology and industry, turning enterprises' needs into scientific questions for researchers to address, ensuring that technology transitions swiftly from the lab to the industry to serve the country's strategic needs."
\n
In 2024, 290 research outcomes from the three science cities realized real-world applications in the Demonstration Area for Innovation-based Industrial Clusters. In 2025, the number is expected to be no fewer than 600.
Zhongguancun Science City's pavilion at the 26th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo held in 2024.
\n
Zhongguancun Science City, located in the northwest of Beijing, has demonstrated remarkable achievements in artificial intelligence and innovation ecosystem upgrades during the first half of 2025, according to Beijing Evening News.
\n
The area hosts 70 percent of the city's AI unicorn companies and has helped deliver 944 million yuan ($132 million) for enterprises through incubators, while advancing the construction of 12 industrial parks, including a future energy industrial park. Unicorn companies refer to startups with valuations of $1 billion or more.
\n
Zhongguancun Science City spans the Haidian Park area, covering 174 square kilometers, and extends to the whole of Haidian district and parts of Changping district, including Life Science Park. It serves as a core area for building Beijing into a global center for scientific and technological innovation.
\n
Haidian district is home to 1,900 AI companies, including 26 unicorns. In the first half, 6,902 new tech enterprises were established.
\n
The growth of Zhongguancun Science City is supported by prestigious universities and research institutions such as Peking University, Tsinghua University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which provide robust basic research resources. Flexible institutional frameworks in research organizations like the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence and the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences continually inject vitality into the area.
\n
Zhongguancun Science City has been the launchpad for tech companies like Baidu, Xiaomi and Lenovo, which have gained global recognition. Emerging leaders such as Byte-Dance, Cambricon and Megvii have also risen from this hub. Meanwhile, international giants like Microsoft, IBM and SAP have established research and development centers in the area.
\n
Notably, nine of the top 10 global open-source AI models hail from China. The leading model, GLM-4.5, was developed by the Haidian-based unicorn company Zhipu AI.
\n
AI has become a pivotal force in reshaping the global innovation landscape and economic structures. As a national and global hub for AI talent, Zhongguancun Science City has introduced several measures to accelerate the development of a globally influential AI industry. These initiatives focus on policy, computing power, data, applications and ecosystem development.
\n
Computing power serves as the infrastructure and foundation for AI development, while data act as the "raw material" for training AI. To enhance computing power, the Beijing AI public computing power platform ecosystem was launched in March.
\n
On the data front, after Beijing was designated in 2024 as a pilot zone for the basic institutional framework for data, the country's first high-end data annotation demonstration base has been launched in Zhongguancun Science City. The Data Circulation, Utilization and Value-Added Collaboration Network, an AI model corpus center, and a new data operations platform portal have also become operational or are under construction.
\n
In terms of application, national-level demonstration bases for AI in education, law and medicine are forming in Haidian district. Noteworthy cases, such as the Zidongtaichu intelligent services platform for scientific research, are being implemented, driving innovation through scenario-based initiatives.
\n
Zhongguancun Science City continues to focus on its function as a platform for original, independent innovation, playing a leading role in Zhongguancun's pioneering innovation efforts and Beijing's high-quality development.
\n",
+ "content": "
Zhongguancun Science City's pavilion at the 26th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo held in 2024.
\n
Zhongguancun Science City, located in the northwest of Beijing, has demonstrated remarkable achievements in artificial intelligence and innovation ecosystem upgrades during the first half of 2025, according to Beijing Evening News.
\n
The area hosts 70 percent of the city's AI unicorn companies and has helped deliver 944 million yuan ($132 million) for enterprises through incubators, while advancing the construction of 12 industrial parks, including a future energy industrial park. Unicorn companies refer to startups with valuations of $1 billion or more.
\n
Zhongguancun Science City spans the Haidian Park area, covering 174 square kilometers, and extends to the whole of Haidian district and parts of Changping district, including Life Science Park. It serves as a core area for building Beijing into a global center for scientific and technological innovation.
\n
Haidian district is home to 1,900 AI companies, including 26 unicorns. In the first half, 6,902 new tech enterprises were established.
\n
The growth of Zhongguancun Science City is supported by prestigious universities and research institutions such as Peking University, Tsinghua University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which provide robust basic research resources. Flexible institutional frameworks in research organizations like the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence and the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences continually inject vitality into the area.
\n
Zhongguancun Science City has been the launchpad for tech companies like Baidu, Xiaomi and Lenovo, which have gained global recognition. Emerging leaders such as Byte-Dance, Cambricon and Megvii have also risen from this hub. Meanwhile, international giants like Microsoft, IBM and SAP have established research and development centers in the area.
\n
Notably, nine of the top 10 global open-source AI models hail from China. The leading model, GLM-4.5, was developed by the Haidian-based unicorn company Zhipu AI.
\n
AI has become a pivotal force in reshaping the global innovation landscape and economic structures. As a national and global hub for AI talent, Zhongguancun Science City has introduced several measures to accelerate the development of a globally influential AI industry. These initiatives focus on policy, computing power, data, applications and ecosystem development.
\n
Computing power serves as the infrastructure and foundation for AI development, while data act as the "raw material" for training AI. To enhance computing power, the Beijing AI public computing power platform ecosystem was launched in March.
\n
On the data front, after Beijing was designated in 2024 as a pilot zone for the basic institutional framework for data, the country's first high-end data annotation demonstration base has been launched in Zhongguancun Science City. The Data Circulation, Utilization and Value-Added Collaboration Network, an AI model corpus center, and a new data operations platform portal have also become operational or are under construction.
\n
In terms of application, national-level demonstration bases for AI in education, law and medicine are forming in Haidian district. Noteworthy cases, such as the Zidongtaichu intelligent services platform for scientific research, are being implemented, driving innovation through scenario-based initiatives.
\n
Zhongguancun Science City continues to focus on its function as a platform for original, independent innovation, playing a leading role in Zhongguancun's pioneering innovation efforts and Beijing's high-quality development.
The High Energy Photon Source project in Huairou Science City.
\n
With a vision to become a world-class innovation hub by 2050, Beijing's Huairou Science City is home to state-of-the-art large-scale science facilities and a growing community of elite scientists, according to a report by China Discipline Inspection and Supervision News.
\n
This year, Huairou Science City has made new progress, including the global sharing of 16 scientific facilities, having provided over 1.43 million hours of access. Additionally, four large-scale science facilities have passed national inspections and are now officially operational.
\n
Huairou Science City hosts various science facilities, including the High Energy Photon Source project, which covers an area equivalent to 90 football fields. With trial operation expected to begin by the end of this year, the facility is capable of emitting light 1 trillion times brighter than the sun and will provide high-quality light for scientists in aerospace, energy, biomedicine and other fields.
\n
According to a representative of Huairou Science City, the area has entered a new phase focused on operation and is rapidly forming a cluster of key scientific infrastructure, with all 29 facilities from the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) now in research mode and all eight new facilities from the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) under construction.
\n
As the urban infrastructure improves, the number of scientists in Huairou Science City continues to rise, currently totaling 26,000. This includes 86 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and 39 highly cited scientists.
\n
The science city is committed to meeting the needs of its researchers by providing diverse housing options, enhancing infrastructure and developing a high-quality education and healthcare system alongside a robust cultural service mechanism.
\n
A key project in the city is the City Lounge, which includes facilities for research, incubation, tech services, hotels, apartments, amenities and cultural activities, complemented by parks to create a multifunctional, people-centered public space.
\n
Supported by quality infrastructure and services, Huairou Science City has attracted high-level talent.
\n
In 2014, Liu Yongliang relocated from Zhongguancun to Huairou with the Institute of Electronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, becoming one of the first researchers to settle in Huairou Science City. Today, he serves as the head of traveling-wave tube technology at the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
\n
"The Institute of Electronics has been dedicated to the research of space traveling-wave tubes since its establishment in 1956, bringing together key talents from various institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to address major national tasks," Liu told China Discipline Inspection and Supervision News.
\n
Huairou Science City is home to national research institutions, prestigious research universities and leading technology enterprises. Notably, more than 20 national research institutions have established their presence in Huairou. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have relocated to the area, and approximately 16,000 faculty members and students from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences have also joined this thriving scientific community.
\n",
+ "content": "
The High Energy Photon Source project in Huairou Science City.
\n
With a vision to become a world-class innovation hub by 2050, Beijing's Huairou Science City is home to state-of-the-art large-scale science facilities and a growing community of elite scientists, according to a report by China Discipline Inspection and Supervision News.
\n
This year, Huairou Science City has made new progress, including the global sharing of 16 scientific facilities, having provided over 1.43 million hours of access. Additionally, four large-scale science facilities have passed national inspections and are now officially operational.
\n
Huairou Science City hosts various science facilities, including the High Energy Photon Source project, which covers an area equivalent to 90 football fields. With trial operation expected to begin by the end of this year, the facility is capable of emitting light 1 trillion times brighter than the sun and will provide high-quality light for scientists in aerospace, energy, biomedicine and other fields.
\n
According to a representative of Huairou Science City, the area has entered a new phase focused on operation and is rapidly forming a cluster of key scientific infrastructure, with all 29 facilities from the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) now in research mode and all eight new facilities from the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) under construction.
\n
As the urban infrastructure improves, the number of scientists in Huairou Science City continues to rise, currently totaling 26,000. This includes 86 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and 39 highly cited scientists.
\n
The science city is committed to meeting the needs of its researchers by providing diverse housing options, enhancing infrastructure and developing a high-quality education and healthcare system alongside a robust cultural service mechanism.
\n
A key project in the city is the City Lounge, which includes facilities for research, incubation, tech services, hotels, apartments, amenities and cultural activities, complemented by parks to create a multifunctional, people-centered public space.
\n
Supported by quality infrastructure and services, Huairou Science City has attracted high-level talent.
\n
In 2014, Liu Yongliang relocated from Zhongguancun to Huairou with the Institute of Electronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, becoming one of the first researchers to settle in Huairou Science City. Today, he serves as the head of traveling-wave tube technology at the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
\n
"The Institute of Electronics has been dedicated to the research of space traveling-wave tubes since its establishment in 1956, bringing together key talents from various institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to address major national tasks," Liu told China Discipline Inspection and Supervision News.
\n
Huairou Science City is home to national research institutions, prestigious research universities and leading technology enterprises. Notably, more than 20 national research institutions have established their presence in Huairou. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have relocated to the area, and approximately 16,000 faculty members and students from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences have also joined this thriving scientific community.
The pavilion of Future Science City at the 26th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo held in 2024.
\n
In the first half of 2025, Beijing's Future Science City achieved notable advancements in industrial space development, the introduction of key projects and the construction of roads and residential facilities, enhancing its appeal as a livable and work-friendly environment.
\n
Noteworthy accomplishments include the registration of more than 190 new enterprises, the completion of 26 key roads and the delivery of nearly 8,000 settlement homes.
\n
In the first half, Future Science City expanded its industrial spaces to host high-quality projects. The first phase of the Future Star Industrial Park is now operational. Its second phase has been completed and passed quality inspections. Chinese carmaker Nio has established a delivery center in the industrial park.
\n
The Life Valley (International) Bioengineering Innovation Center completed its first phase, with the second phase finishing its exterior construction. This center aims to become a model for biopharmaceutical collective economic development, integrating research, pilot production and support services. The first phase of the Robotics Industrial Park completed its main structural work, setting the stage for the clustering of robotics companies.
\n
According to the Beijing Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, the city plans to build five new specialized industrial clusters for small and medium-sized enterprises this year, with two located in Future Science City: the synthetic biology manufacturing cluster and the applied optics intelligent manufacturing cluster in Changping district.
\n
While building infrastructure, Future Science City is also attracting businesses. In the first half, more than 190 new companies registered in the area, and over 40 enterprises such as Lan-Divine and Anko Group set up operations there.
\n
The Synthetic Biology Manufacturing Technology Innovation Center commenced operations, welcoming its first five teams, with nine projects slated to move in. Collaborations with universities are also underway, with Tsinghua University's innovations being introduced to the Energy Valley in Future Science City.
\n
Infrastructure development is also accelerating, making Future Science City more livable. In the first half of this year, 26 key roads were completed. Yingcai Nanyi Street opened, providing seamless transfers to Metro Line 17.Additionally, 26 new roads started construction, enhancing connectivity for industrial spaces and residential projects.
\n
Ecological projects have also progressed, with the completion of 3D-printed buildings in the second phase of Wenyuhe Park's Future Intelligence Valley, the unveiling of the Future Creek Valley in the core area of the Energy Valley, and the completion of Zhixin Park.
\n
In education, the main structures of Future Science City Second Kindergarten and Beijing Normal University Changping Experimental School have been topped off, and construction has begun on Beijing Normal University Future Experimental School.
\n
In commercial establishments, Changping district's first Sam's Club is expected to open by year-end. Nearly 10 new businesses opened in the Interspace Harbor commercial street during the first half of this year.
The pavilion of Future Science City at the 26th China Beijing International High-Tech Expo held in 2024.
\n
In the first half of 2025, Beijing's Future Science City achieved notable advancements in industrial space development, the introduction of key projects and the construction of roads and residential facilities, enhancing its appeal as a livable and work-friendly environment.
\n
Noteworthy accomplishments include the registration of more than 190 new enterprises, the completion of 26 key roads and the delivery of nearly 8,000 settlement homes.
\n
In the first half, Future Science City expanded its industrial spaces to host high-quality projects. The first phase of the Future Star Industrial Park is now operational. Its second phase has been completed and passed quality inspections. Chinese carmaker Nio has established a delivery center in the industrial park.
\n
The Life Valley (International) Bioengineering Innovation Center completed its first phase, with the second phase finishing its exterior construction. This center aims to become a model for biopharmaceutical collective economic development, integrating research, pilot production and support services. The first phase of the Robotics Industrial Park completed its main structural work, setting the stage for the clustering of robotics companies.
\n
According to the Beijing Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, the city plans to build five new specialized industrial clusters for small and medium-sized enterprises this year, with two located in Future Science City: the synthetic biology manufacturing cluster and the applied optics intelligent manufacturing cluster in Changping district.
\n
While building infrastructure, Future Science City is also attracting businesses. In the first half, more than 190 new companies registered in the area, and over 40 enterprises such as Lan-Divine and Anko Group set up operations there.
\n
The Synthetic Biology Manufacturing Technology Innovation Center commenced operations, welcoming its first five teams, with nine projects slated to move in. Collaborations with universities are also underway, with Tsinghua University's innovations being introduced to the Energy Valley in Future Science City.
\n
Infrastructure development is also accelerating, making Future Science City more livable. In the first half of this year, 26 key roads were completed. Yingcai Nanyi Street opened, providing seamless transfers to Metro Line 17.Additionally, 26 new roads started construction, enhancing connectivity for industrial spaces and residential projects.
\n
Ecological projects have also progressed, with the completion of 3D-printed buildings in the second phase of Wenyuhe Park's Future Intelligence Valley, the unveiling of the Future Creek Valley in the core area of the Energy Valley, and the completion of Zhixin Park.
\n
In education, the main structures of Future Science City Second Kindergarten and Beijing Normal University Changping Experimental School have been topped off, and construction has begun on Beijing Normal University Future Experimental School.
\n
In commercial establishments, Changping district's first Sam's Club is expected to open by year-end. Nearly 10 new businesses opened in the Interspace Harbor commercial street during the first half of this year.
The Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday it would continue to help foreign trade enterprises in China to better secure business orders and expand into diversified overseas markets, while strengthening service guarantees and helping them address various risks and challenges.
\n
The ministry said it will help promote better and more direct implementation of policies for exporters and stabilize their confidence and expectations, He Yongqian, a spokeswoman for the ministry, said during a news conference in Beijing.
\n
"We will further increase support for foreign trade enterprises in areas such as finance and employment to ensure their production and contract fulfillment," said He.
\n
She added that in response to new situations and new issues emerging in foreign trade, the ministry would further strengthen policy research. The ministry will also listen to enterprises' problems and needs, and actively help them resolve issues.
\n
Meanwhile, Li Chenggang, China's international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce and vice-minister of commerce, plans to meet with relevant US officials in Washington, after his visit to Canada from Sunday to Wednesday.
\n
China is willing to work with the United States to continue to give full play to the role of the Sino-US economic and trade consultation mechanism. China is willing to resolve issues through equal dialogue and consultation, and jointly safeguard the healthy, stable and sustainable development of Sino-US economic and trade relations, the ministry said.
\n
The US and China have agreed to continue to extend their tariff pauses on each other for 90 days, since Aug 12, after trade talks by their top negotiators in late July in Stockholm, Sweden. The two sides had agreed to keep the tariffs at current levels.
\n
Liu Ying, a researcher at Renmin University of China's Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, said Li's visit to the US sends a positive signal of both sides' readiness to re-engage at a sensitive moment in global trade. Beijing's willingness to work with Washington through established consultation mechanisms reflects a pragmatic approach to manage disputes and rebuild trust.
\n
"Such a dialogue is essential to contain uncertainties, reduce the spillover of geopolitical frictions into business activities, and stabilize the long-term trajectory of Sino-US economic and trade relations," Liu said.
\n
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co, a US tire manufacturer, said a stable and healthy Sino-US economic and trade relationship is essential for driving mutual economic growth and innovation, as evidenced by the substantial trade volumes and job creation it supports.
\n
Nathaniel Madarang, president for the Asia-Pacific region at Goodyear Tire and Rubber, said that a stable relationship allows US companies like Goodyear to tap into China's vast manufacturing capabilities and consumer market. Over 1 million US jobs are tied directly to trade with China, which helps foster employment and economic resilience on both sides.
\n
"By reducing trade barriers, US companies like Goodyear can achieve cost efficiencies and expanded global reach," he added.
\n
Contact the writers at zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
The Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday it would continue to help foreign trade enterprises in China to better secure business orders and expand into diversified overseas markets, while strengthening service guarantees and helping them address various risks and challenges.
\n
The ministry said it will help promote better and more direct implementation of policies for exporters and stabilize their confidence and expectations, He Yongqian, a spokeswoman for the ministry, said during a news conference in Beijing.
\n
"We will further increase support for foreign trade enterprises in areas such as finance and employment to ensure their production and contract fulfillment," said He.
\n
She added that in response to new situations and new issues emerging in foreign trade, the ministry would further strengthen policy research. The ministry will also listen to enterprises' problems and needs, and actively help them resolve issues.
\n
Meanwhile, Li Chenggang, China's international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce and vice-minister of commerce, plans to meet with relevant US officials in Washington, after his visit to Canada from Sunday to Wednesday.
\n
China is willing to work with the United States to continue to give full play to the role of the Sino-US economic and trade consultation mechanism. China is willing to resolve issues through equal dialogue and consultation, and jointly safeguard the healthy, stable and sustainable development of Sino-US economic and trade relations, the ministry said.
\n
The US and China have agreed to continue to extend their tariff pauses on each other for 90 days, since Aug 12, after trade talks by their top negotiators in late July in Stockholm, Sweden. The two sides had agreed to keep the tariffs at current levels.
\n
Liu Ying, a researcher at Renmin University of China's Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, said Li's visit to the US sends a positive signal of both sides' readiness to re-engage at a sensitive moment in global trade. Beijing's willingness to work with Washington through established consultation mechanisms reflects a pragmatic approach to manage disputes and rebuild trust.
\n
"Such a dialogue is essential to contain uncertainties, reduce the spillover of geopolitical frictions into business activities, and stabilize the long-term trajectory of Sino-US economic and trade relations," Liu said.
\n
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co, a US tire manufacturer, said a stable and healthy Sino-US economic and trade relationship is essential for driving mutual economic growth and innovation, as evidenced by the substantial trade volumes and job creation it supports.
\n
Nathaniel Madarang, president for the Asia-Pacific region at Goodyear Tire and Rubber, said that a stable relationship allows US companies like Goodyear to tap into China's vast manufacturing capabilities and consumer market. Over 1 million US jobs are tied directly to trade with China, which helps foster employment and economic resilience on both sides.
\n
"By reducing trade barriers, US companies like Goodyear can achieve cost efficiencies and expanded global reach," he added.
\n
Contact the writers at zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn
Staff members from State Grid Hotan conduct X-ray inspections on hybrid gas insulated switchgear equipment for a 220 kilovolt transmission line in Hotan prefecture in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Hotan currently has nine geographic information system substations, allowing new technology to perform precise equipment "health checks", and displaying the allure of digital and intelligent empowerment.
\n",
+ "content": "
Staff members from State Grid Hotan conduct X-ray inspections on hybrid gas insulated switchgear equipment for a 220 kilovolt transmission line in Hotan prefecture in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Hotan currently has nine geographic information system substations, allowing new technology to perform precise equipment "health checks", and displaying the allure of digital and intelligent empowerment.
Guests interact at the 7th China-Arab States Expo held in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region.
\n
China's economic ties with Arab nations are evolving beyond the traditional realms of fossil energy, infrastructure and agriculture, as the two sides deepen their collaboration in emerging sectors such as the digital economy, artificial intelligence and green energy, officials and executives said on Thursday in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region.
\n
As the global economy grapples with a multitude of uncertainties, the deepening cooperation between China and Arab nations, rooted in principles of win-win outcomes, is poised to provide fresh impetus for the development of both sides, while also contributing to the growth of the global economy, they said at the start of the four-day 7th China-Arab States Expo.
\n
The economic profiles of China and Arab nations seamlessly align, and the development trajectories between the two sides are well-suited to forge a mutually beneficial relationship, said Yuan Xiaoming, assistant minister of commerce.
\n
In the first seven months of the year, China's imports of crude oil from Arab nations accounted for over 40 percent of its total crude oil imports, while its imports of natural gas, refined oil and metal ores from the Arab world also saw significant increases, providing crucial support for China's stable energy supplies, said the General Administration of Customs.
\n
During the same period, China's exports of mechanical and electronic products to Arab nations reached 557.66 billion yuan ($78.12 billion), up 22 percent year-on-year, accounting for nearly 60 percent of China's total exports to the region.
\n
"In a significant shift in global economic dynamics, Arab states are increasingly orienting their strategic focus eastward, with China emerging as a primary partner for their development and stability goals," said Li Shaoxian, director of the China-Arab Research Institute at Ningxia University.
\n
Li said the Arab world's robust demand for infrastructure construction, energy structure transformation, digital economy and healthcare has provided new momentum and vast untapped markets for Sino-Arab economic and trade cooperation.
\n
To this end, this year's expo has seen the introduction of dedicated exhibition areas for the digital economy and artificial intelligence, as well as a specialized green energy applications zone, attracting the participation of some of China's most prominent technology and energy companies.
\n
Despite its vast oil reserves, Arab nations have remained committed to optimizing their energy structure and advancing a clean energy transition.
\n
"The Arab region is one of the world's best-endowed areas for solar and wind resources, providing it with unparalleled conditions for the development of clean and renewable energy," said Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
\n
At the same time, China has built a leading position in photovoltaic and wind power technologies, boasting advanced know-how and extensive experience in these sectors, creating a complementary relationship with Arab nations in the pursuit of clean and renewable energy solutions, Zhou said.
\n
The expo has served as a bridge, linking the distinct advantages of both sides to unlock greater collaboration potential, said Ahmed Mustafa Fahmy, head of the League of Arab States' China Representative Office.
\n
Specialty agricultural products from the region, such as dates, olive oil and spices, have captivated Chinese consumers with their pure quality and cultural flair, while China's 5G equipment, new energy vehicles and smart home appliances have precisely aligned with the Arab world's digital transformation and consumption upgrade demands, he said.
\n
The combination of China's technological capabilities and Arab nations' policy support — as well as their significant market potential — creates the perfect recipe for success, he added.
\n
The expo is seeing participation from all 22 Arab nations for the first time this year. The event is scheduled to run from Thursday until Sunday in Yinchuan.
\n
Contact the writers at wangkeju@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
Guests interact at the 7th China-Arab States Expo held in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region.
\n
China's economic ties with Arab nations are evolving beyond the traditional realms of fossil energy, infrastructure and agriculture, as the two sides deepen their collaboration in emerging sectors such as the digital economy, artificial intelligence and green energy, officials and executives said on Thursday in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region.
\n
As the global economy grapples with a multitude of uncertainties, the deepening cooperation between China and Arab nations, rooted in principles of win-win outcomes, is poised to provide fresh impetus for the development of both sides, while also contributing to the growth of the global economy, they said at the start of the four-day 7th China-Arab States Expo.
\n
The economic profiles of China and Arab nations seamlessly align, and the development trajectories between the two sides are well-suited to forge a mutually beneficial relationship, said Yuan Xiaoming, assistant minister of commerce.
\n
In the first seven months of the year, China's imports of crude oil from Arab nations accounted for over 40 percent of its total crude oil imports, while its imports of natural gas, refined oil and metal ores from the Arab world also saw significant increases, providing crucial support for China's stable energy supplies, said the General Administration of Customs.
\n
During the same period, China's exports of mechanical and electronic products to Arab nations reached 557.66 billion yuan ($78.12 billion), up 22 percent year-on-year, accounting for nearly 60 percent of China's total exports to the region.
\n
"In a significant shift in global economic dynamics, Arab states are increasingly orienting their strategic focus eastward, with China emerging as a primary partner for their development and stability goals," said Li Shaoxian, director of the China-Arab Research Institute at Ningxia University.
\n
Li said the Arab world's robust demand for infrastructure construction, energy structure transformation, digital economy and healthcare has provided new momentum and vast untapped markets for Sino-Arab economic and trade cooperation.
\n
To this end, this year's expo has seen the introduction of dedicated exhibition areas for the digital economy and artificial intelligence, as well as a specialized green energy applications zone, attracting the participation of some of China's most prominent technology and energy companies.
\n
Despite its vast oil reserves, Arab nations have remained committed to optimizing their energy structure and advancing a clean energy transition.
\n
"The Arab region is one of the world's best-endowed areas for solar and wind resources, providing it with unparalleled conditions for the development of clean and renewable energy," said Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
\n
At the same time, China has built a leading position in photovoltaic and wind power technologies, boasting advanced know-how and extensive experience in these sectors, creating a complementary relationship with Arab nations in the pursuit of clean and renewable energy solutions, Zhou said.
\n
The expo has served as a bridge, linking the distinct advantages of both sides to unlock greater collaboration potential, said Ahmed Mustafa Fahmy, head of the League of Arab States' China Representative Office.
\n
Specialty agricultural products from the region, such as dates, olive oil and spices, have captivated Chinese consumers with their pure quality and cultural flair, while China's 5G equipment, new energy vehicles and smart home appliances have precisely aligned with the Arab world's digital transformation and consumption upgrade demands, he said.
\n
The combination of China's technological capabilities and Arab nations' policy support — as well as their significant market potential — creates the perfect recipe for success, he added.
\n
The expo is seeing participation from all 22 Arab nations for the first time this year. The event is scheduled to run from Thursday until Sunday in Yinchuan.
Chinese power operators are using more high-tech to better serve clients in reducing the cost of energy. In Xuzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, the power supplier has used big-data-driven strategies to deliver energy efficiency diagnostics to nearly 40 enterprises, saving them some 170,000 yuan ($23,940) in power-factor-adjustment charges. At Wanjin Textile, the cut reached 5,000 yuan. Aiming to "serve clients in conserving energy and boosting efficiency, and expand public value-added services", staff members from State Grid Xuzhou leveraged their professional expertise and big-data technologies to mine information deeply, building a power-factor curve model and developing a customized, data-visualization tool that helps frontline employees in delivering extended services efficiently.
\n
Yuan strengthens against greenback
\n
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 45 pips to 7.1063 against the US dollar on Thursday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
\n",
+ "content": "
Big data helping firms cut power cost
\n
Chinese power operators are using more high-tech to better serve clients in reducing the cost of energy. In Xuzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, the power supplier has used big-data-driven strategies to deliver energy efficiency diagnostics to nearly 40 enterprises, saving them some 170,000 yuan ($23,940) in power-factor-adjustment charges. At Wanjin Textile, the cut reached 5,000 yuan. Aiming to "serve clients in conserving energy and boosting efficiency, and expand public value-added services", staff members from State Grid Xuzhou leveraged their professional expertise and big-data technologies to mine information deeply, building a power-factor curve model and developing a customized, data-visualization tool that helps frontline employees in delivering extended services efficiently.
\n
Yuan strengthens against greenback
\n
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 45 pips to 7.1063 against the US dollar on Thursday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
Leading Chinese e-commerce and food delivery players are taking a step back from discount wars, as Meituan, Taobao, Ele.me and JD all pledged in August to rein in aggressive price-cutting, promising to shift the focus from burning cash to building a fairer, more sustainable digital economy.
\n
The coordinated move follows mounting pressure from regulators. Just weeks earlier, China's top market watchdog, along with four other government agencies, summoned the country's leading platforms to a closed-door meeting.
\n
The message was blunt: stop the race to the bottom, clean up unfair practices and protect the rights of consumers, merchants and delivery workers.
\n
In response, these major platforms rolled out a flurry of promises. They pledged to plan subsidies more carefully, avoid irrational promotions and stop selling goods and services far below cost. They were also told to strengthen internal compliance, shoulder more social responsibility and engage in open, orderly competition.
\n
Meituan was the first to go public, releasing an open letter titled Prospering the Industry Ecosystem, Resisting Disorderly Competition via its WeChat account.
\n
"We will firmly regulate promotional activities and eliminate unfair competition," it said. Subsidies, the company emphasized, must follow antitrust rules, be disclosed transparently and never distort the market by driving prices far below cost.
\n
The company also said it would safeguard the interests of small and medium-sized merchants, ensure equal access to subsidies and uphold vendors' right to set their own prices. Its stated goal: to build a multi-stakeholder ecosystem that benefits consumers, vendors, delivery workers and the platform alike.
\n
JD echoed the sentiment in an internal bulletin, saying it would "resist vicious competition" and instead compete on service and innovation. "Subsidies should not be a race to the bottom. We believe in winning users through quality, price and service — not by burning cash," it said. JD promised to lean on technology and supply chain upgrades to secure long-term growth and consumer trust.
\n
Alibaba-owned Taobao and Ele.me issued a joint statement, pledging to "resolutely oppose malicious competition and jointly foster a win-win ecosystem". They promised to make subsidies more targeted, to avoid wasteful campaigns, and to respect merchants' rights to be informed, to choose and to set prices independently.
\n
Li Mingtao, chief e-commerce analyst at the China International Electronic Commerce Center, called the move "proactive", saying it addressed early signs of risk in the food delivery sector.
\n
"All these efforts sent a clear signal on regulating market behavior and set an example for fostering a healthier, more orderly platform economy," Li said.
\n
The wave of commitments comes as Beijing sharpens its oversight of the platform economy. These efforts tie into broader policy priorities.
\n
At last December's Central Economic Work Conference, leaders called for tighter supervision of monopolistic practices and disorderly competition. The 2025 Government Work Report also reinforced those goals, pushing for a unified national market and the removal of entry and exit barriers.
\n
Pan Helin, an economist and a member of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's expert committee, said that the daily order volume of these platforms surged from around 100 million orders at the start of May to roughly 250 million by the month's end.
\n
"This expansion wave is reshaping the industry's competitive logic, but competition itself is not the enemy," he said.
\n
Healthy competition, Pan explained, is about more than coupons or subsidies, and is about adjusting the revenue share among platforms, merchants and delivery riders, all without burdening consumers.
\n
chengyu@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
Leading Chinese e-commerce and food delivery players are taking a step back from discount wars, as Meituan, Taobao, Ele.me and JD all pledged in August to rein in aggressive price-cutting, promising to shift the focus from burning cash to building a fairer, more sustainable digital economy.
\n
The coordinated move follows mounting pressure from regulators. Just weeks earlier, China's top market watchdog, along with four other government agencies, summoned the country's leading platforms to a closed-door meeting.
\n
The message was blunt: stop the race to the bottom, clean up unfair practices and protect the rights of consumers, merchants and delivery workers.
\n
In response, these major platforms rolled out a flurry of promises. They pledged to plan subsidies more carefully, avoid irrational promotions and stop selling goods and services far below cost. They were also told to strengthen internal compliance, shoulder more social responsibility and engage in open, orderly competition.
\n
Meituan was the first to go public, releasing an open letter titled Prospering the Industry Ecosystem, Resisting Disorderly Competition via its WeChat account.
\n
"We will firmly regulate promotional activities and eliminate unfair competition," it said. Subsidies, the company emphasized, must follow antitrust rules, be disclosed transparently and never distort the market by driving prices far below cost.
\n
The company also said it would safeguard the interests of small and medium-sized merchants, ensure equal access to subsidies and uphold vendors' right to set their own prices. Its stated goal: to build a multi-stakeholder ecosystem that benefits consumers, vendors, delivery workers and the platform alike.
\n
JD echoed the sentiment in an internal bulletin, saying it would "resist vicious competition" and instead compete on service and innovation. "Subsidies should not be a race to the bottom. We believe in winning users through quality, price and service — not by burning cash," it said. JD promised to lean on technology and supply chain upgrades to secure long-term growth and consumer trust.
\n
Alibaba-owned Taobao and Ele.me issued a joint statement, pledging to "resolutely oppose malicious competition and jointly foster a win-win ecosystem". They promised to make subsidies more targeted, to avoid wasteful campaigns, and to respect merchants' rights to be informed, to choose and to set prices independently.
\n
Li Mingtao, chief e-commerce analyst at the China International Electronic Commerce Center, called the move "proactive", saying it addressed early signs of risk in the food delivery sector.
\n
"All these efforts sent a clear signal on regulating market behavior and set an example for fostering a healthier, more orderly platform economy," Li said.
\n
The wave of commitments comes as Beijing sharpens its oversight of the platform economy. These efforts tie into broader policy priorities.
\n
At last December's Central Economic Work Conference, leaders called for tighter supervision of monopolistic practices and disorderly competition. The 2025 Government Work Report also reinforced those goals, pushing for a unified national market and the removal of entry and exit barriers.
\n
Pan Helin, an economist and a member of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's expert committee, said that the daily order volume of these platforms surged from around 100 million orders at the start of May to roughly 250 million by the month's end.
\n
"This expansion wave is reshaping the industry's competitive logic, but competition itself is not the enemy," he said.
\n
Healthy competition, Pan explained, is about more than coupons or subsidies, and is about adjusting the revenue share among platforms, merchants and delivery riders, all without burdening consumers.
As consumer demand becomes more diverse in China, export-oriented companies are shifting their focus to the home market for new opportunities.
\n
Market watchers said these companies — backed by government policies promoting deeper integration between domestic and overseas trade — are increasingly pivoting toward the home market to tap both the vast potential of China's consumers and to hedge against risks from unilateral measures abroad.
\n
One such company is Rongcheng Molin Outdoor Technology Co Ltd, a Rongcheng, Shandong province-based recreational vehicle (RV) manufacturer.
\n
Liu Chunfeng, the company's production director, said the firm's ratio of domestic to overseas output is currently about one to nine, and is expected to reach roughly one to one within five years.
\n
"But if we expand into the domestic market, we need to build an entirely new production line, because the requirements at home and abroad differ significantly," said Liu. "Because water, electricity and gas systems differ, we have to completely reconfigure the factory layout, including details such as where the vehicle doors are placed."
\n
The standards vary on both sides, so the engineering and design processes must also be adapted accordingly, he added.
\n
Rongcheng Compaks RV New Energy Vehicle Co Ltd, another RV producer in Rongcheng, saw its export volume reach 4,000 units in the first seven months of this year, up more than 10 percent year-on-year.
\n
Liu Shaoxun, the company's president, said China's growing RV market — particularly in its southwestern and northeastern regions — is prompting the firm to design models tailored for domestic demand and refine them in line with local consumer preferences.
\n
Such adjustments are increasingly common across industries as companies look to balance domestic and overseas demand.
\n
Guan Lixin, a researcher specializing in marketing at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said a resilient domestic market not only cushions exporters against rising geopolitical headwinds, but also provides firms with the scale to innovate and expand — a key advantage in sustaining China's long-term trade prospects.
\n
To help exporters tap the domestic market, the Ministry of Commerce has engaged with industry associations, leading retailers and distributors to explore ways to expand sales channels at home.
\n
As part of its latest initiative, the ministry has introduced high-quality export products into supermarkets, brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platforms across the country, while also incorporating them into the consumer goods trade-in program.
\n
Many companies long rooted in China's home market are also accelerating their push abroad. The growing international recognition of Chinese standards is helping them link the domestic and global markets more effectively.
\n
TGOOD Electric Co Ltd, a Qingdao, Shandong-based manufacturer of electric transformers previously focused on the domestic market, plans to make exports account for more than 30 percent of its total business within three to five years.
\n
"We have built a solid foothold in some domestic niche markets, and with our export orders doubling each year over the past two years, we are now moving quickly to build a new plant focused on overseas demand," said Li Guangzhi, the company's vice-president.
\n
Li noted that in the first half of this year, Saudi Arabia formally recognized test reports for its products issued by a certification body in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. This allows 35-kilovolt gas-insulated switchgear — previously required to be certified in Europe — to be approved in China instead, significantly reducing costs.
\n
"Many foreign clients have begun to acknowledge Chinese standards, and this has greatly strengthened our confidence in expanding abroad," he added.
\n
zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
As consumer demand becomes more diverse in China, export-oriented companies are shifting their focus to the home market for new opportunities.
\n
Market watchers said these companies — backed by government policies promoting deeper integration between domestic and overseas trade — are increasingly pivoting toward the home market to tap both the vast potential of China's consumers and to hedge against risks from unilateral measures abroad.
\n
One such company is Rongcheng Molin Outdoor Technology Co Ltd, a Rongcheng, Shandong province-based recreational vehicle (RV) manufacturer.
\n
Liu Chunfeng, the company's production director, said the firm's ratio of domestic to overseas output is currently about one to nine, and is expected to reach roughly one to one within five years.
\n
"But if we expand into the domestic market, we need to build an entirely new production line, because the requirements at home and abroad differ significantly," said Liu. "Because water, electricity and gas systems differ, we have to completely reconfigure the factory layout, including details such as where the vehicle doors are placed."
\n
The standards vary on both sides, so the engineering and design processes must also be adapted accordingly, he added.
\n
Rongcheng Compaks RV New Energy Vehicle Co Ltd, another RV producer in Rongcheng, saw its export volume reach 4,000 units in the first seven months of this year, up more than 10 percent year-on-year.
\n
Liu Shaoxun, the company's president, said China's growing RV market — particularly in its southwestern and northeastern regions — is prompting the firm to design models tailored for domestic demand and refine them in line with local consumer preferences.
\n
Such adjustments are increasingly common across industries as companies look to balance domestic and overseas demand.
\n
Guan Lixin, a researcher specializing in marketing at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said a resilient domestic market not only cushions exporters against rising geopolitical headwinds, but also provides firms with the scale to innovate and expand — a key advantage in sustaining China's long-term trade prospects.
\n
To help exporters tap the domestic market, the Ministry of Commerce has engaged with industry associations, leading retailers and distributors to explore ways to expand sales channels at home.
\n
As part of its latest initiative, the ministry has introduced high-quality export products into supermarkets, brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platforms across the country, while also incorporating them into the consumer goods trade-in program.
\n
Many companies long rooted in China's home market are also accelerating their push abroad. The growing international recognition of Chinese standards is helping them link the domestic and global markets more effectively.
\n
TGOOD Electric Co Ltd, a Qingdao, Shandong-based manufacturer of electric transformers previously focused on the domestic market, plans to make exports account for more than 30 percent of its total business within three to five years.
\n
"We have built a solid foothold in some domestic niche markets, and with our export orders doubling each year over the past two years, we are now moving quickly to build a new plant focused on overseas demand," said Li Guangzhi, the company's vice-president.
\n
Li noted that in the first half of this year, Saudi Arabia formally recognized test reports for its products issued by a certification body in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. This allows 35-kilovolt gas-insulated switchgear — previously required to be certified in Europe — to be approved in China instead, significantly reducing costs.
\n
"Many foreign clients have begun to acknowledge Chinese standards, and this has greatly strengthened our confidence in expanding abroad," he added.
China's top private companies are betting big on innovation for growth, as they scale up their businesses and navigate mounting global economic uncertainties, according to a new report.
\n
The latest annual report on the top 500 private firms in China by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) covers 6,379 Chinese private companies with annual revenue of more than 1 billion yuan ($137 million) each in 2024.
\n
Among these, the largest 500 firms have emerged as a bellwether for the country's private sector, according to the 27th edition of the report, which was released on Thursday.
\n
The threshold to make the top 500 list rose to 27.02 billion yuan, with total revenue hitting a record 43.05 trillion yuan, the report showed.
\n
Average revenue per company climbed 2.7 percent to 86.1 billion yuan. Of these, 105 firms topped the 100 billion yuan mark and 11 surpassed 500 billion yuan. Assets swelled to 51.15 trillion yuan, with 97 companies holding more than 100 billion yuan each.
\n
Net profits totaled 1.8 trillion yuan, up 6.5 percent, with 34 firms earning more than 10 billion yuan each. Average return on equity stood at 10.6 percent. Governance has tightened, with over half introducing strategic or financial investors, including domestic and foreign capital.
\n
Global exposure is growing for leading Chinese private firms.
\n
Twenty-nine of these companies have made it to the latest Fortune Global 500, while combined overseas revenue jumped nearly 15 percent to 3.19 trillion yuan. Export earnings also rose 5.2 percent to 1.77 trillion yuan, and overseas assets topped 2.44 trillion yuan.
\n
Despite a challenging environment, the companies have ramped up spending on technology and research and development. Total R&D expenditure among the top 500 reached 1.13 trillion yuan, with more than 1.15 million dedicated researchers.
\n
Nearly three-quarters of these are manufacturing firms, with strong footprints in strategic industries including new materials, renewable energy, advanced electronics, high-end equipment, electric vehicles, and energy-saving technologies.
\n
Investment in strategic emerging sectors is accelerating.
\n
The survey counted 309 companies deploying capital across 627 projects in areas from green tech to AI-driven manufacturing. Digital and low-carbon transitions are also moving fast: 64 percent have formal digitalization plans, 83 percent are pursuing green upgrades, and two-thirds report improved efficiency from digital tools.
\n
Gao Yunlong, president of the ACFIC, said: "The figures show that China's private sector is moving from speed to quality, with innovation as the key differentiator.
\n
"It's not just about bigger numbers — it's about sharper technology, smarter governance and a stronger global presence."
\n
The report comes as China signals stronger support for private enterprise, including a private economy promotion law.
\n
According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of the end of September last year, China had over 55 million registered private companies, accounting for 92.3 percent of all businesses. They contribute more than half of the country's tax revenue, over 60 percent of GDP and over 80 percent of urban employment.
\n
Wang Peng, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said: "A swarm of private firms — not State-run or big names — are emerging from China, pulling off unexpected technological feats and, in some areas, even outmaneuvering global titans.
\n
"While many Western countries, including the United States, are still considering how to restrict China's technological rise, Chinese private enterprises are rewriting the rules, pioneering innovations that redefine the entire industry," Wang said.
\n
Xu Guanju, chairman of Transfar Group, a leading chemicals manufacturer, said that amid intense market competition, private enterprises at this new stage of development must not only consolidate their market presence, but also prioritize technological advancements, including the development of new quality productive forces.
\n
"China's efforts in supporting private enterprises will help foster breakthroughs in product innovation, application innovation, foundational research and original cutting-edge technologies," said Xu.
\n
chengyu@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "\n
China's top private companies are betting big on innovation for growth, as they scale up their businesses and navigate mounting global economic uncertainties, according to a new report.
\n
The latest annual report on the top 500 private firms in China by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) covers 6,379 Chinese private companies with annual revenue of more than 1 billion yuan ($137 million) each in 2024.
\n
Among these, the largest 500 firms have emerged as a bellwether for the country's private sector, according to the 27th edition of the report, which was released on Thursday.
\n
The threshold to make the top 500 list rose to 27.02 billion yuan, with total revenue hitting a record 43.05 trillion yuan, the report showed.
\n
Average revenue per company climbed 2.7 percent to 86.1 billion yuan. Of these, 105 firms topped the 100 billion yuan mark and 11 surpassed 500 billion yuan. Assets swelled to 51.15 trillion yuan, with 97 companies holding more than 100 billion yuan each.
\n
Net profits totaled 1.8 trillion yuan, up 6.5 percent, with 34 firms earning more than 10 billion yuan each. Average return on equity stood at 10.6 percent. Governance has tightened, with over half introducing strategic or financial investors, including domestic and foreign capital.
\n
Global exposure is growing for leading Chinese private firms.
\n
Twenty-nine of these companies have made it to the latest Fortune Global 500, while combined overseas revenue jumped nearly 15 percent to 3.19 trillion yuan. Export earnings also rose 5.2 percent to 1.77 trillion yuan, and overseas assets topped 2.44 trillion yuan.
\n
Despite a challenging environment, the companies have ramped up spending on technology and research and development. Total R&D expenditure among the top 500 reached 1.13 trillion yuan, with more than 1.15 million dedicated researchers.
\n
Nearly three-quarters of these are manufacturing firms, with strong footprints in strategic industries including new materials, renewable energy, advanced electronics, high-end equipment, electric vehicles, and energy-saving technologies.
\n
Investment in strategic emerging sectors is accelerating.
\n
The survey counted 309 companies deploying capital across 627 projects in areas from green tech to AI-driven manufacturing. Digital and low-carbon transitions are also moving fast: 64 percent have formal digitalization plans, 83 percent are pursuing green upgrades, and two-thirds report improved efficiency from digital tools.
\n
Gao Yunlong, president of the ACFIC, said: "The figures show that China's private sector is moving from speed to quality, with innovation as the key differentiator.
\n
"It's not just about bigger numbers — it's about sharper technology, smarter governance and a stronger global presence."
\n
The report comes as China signals stronger support for private enterprise, including a private economy promotion law.
\n
According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of the end of September last year, China had over 55 million registered private companies, accounting for 92.3 percent of all businesses. They contribute more than half of the country's tax revenue, over 60 percent of GDP and over 80 percent of urban employment.
\n
Wang Peng, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said: "A swarm of private firms — not State-run or big names — are emerging from China, pulling off unexpected technological feats and, in some areas, even outmaneuvering global titans.
\n
"While many Western countries, including the United States, are still considering how to restrict China's technological rise, Chinese private enterprises are rewriting the rules, pioneering innovations that redefine the entire industry," Wang said.
\n
Xu Guanju, chairman of Transfar Group, a leading chemicals manufacturer, said that amid intense market competition, private enterprises at this new stage of development must not only consolidate their market presence, but also prioritize technological advancements, including the development of new quality productive forces.
\n
"China's efforts in supporting private enterprises will help foster breakthroughs in product innovation, application innovation, foundational research and original cutting-edge technologies," said Xu.
Employees install power cables on a transmission tower in Chuzhou, Anhui province, on July 29.
\n\n
China's electricity consumption reached a historic high in July, surpassing 1 trillion kilowatt-hours for the first time, driven by strong demand from production and consumption sectors.
\n
The country's total power consumption reached 1.02 trillion kWh in July, a year-on-year increase of 8.6 percent, said the National Energy Administration.
\n
Often seen as a key indicator of economic activity, the record electricity consumption — which is also a global first — was propelled by strong performance in manufacturing and retail sectors as well as a surge in demand for cooling during the peak summer months.
\n
Industry experts believe the record is a clear indication of the vitality and resilience of the world's second-largest economy.
\n
This increase highlights a robust and widespread economic rebound, with growth seen in industrial, commercial and residential sectors, indicating a positive outlook for near-term growth, said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.
\n
"Electricity usage directly reflects activity in factories, commercial establishments and households. This surge unequivocally confirms that the world's second-largest economy is not just recovering, but demonstrating significant vitality and resilience."
\n
Chen Yaning, director of the power supply and demand analysis division of the China Electricity Council's statistics and digital intelligence department, said that rapid growth in commodity sales and manufacturing investment has contributed to the increased electricity consumption.
\n
The relatively stable domestic demand, the growth of new quality productive forces and an unexpected rebound in industrial production and exports also led to the record consumption, Chen said.
\n
According to the council, equipment manufacturing and consumer goods manufacturing related to new quality productive forces maintained strong resilience of late.
\n
In June alone, electricity consumption in the vehicle, general and special equipment, and computer and communication manufacturing sectors grew rapidly, it said.
\n
In addition, popular sectors such as artificial intelligence, software, information technology services and new energy vehicle manufacturing drove high growth in power consumption in related industries as well.
\n
Accelerating the construction of a unified national power market is expected to further optimize power resource allocation nationwide, said Yang Kun, executive vice-chairman of the council.
\n
The State Grid Energy Research Institute's Economic and Energy Demand Research Institute expects China's total electricity consumption will reach 10.3 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2025, setting another record high. This projection underscores the continued growth of the Chinese economy and the increasing electrification of various sectors, including transportation and industry.
\n
Electricity consumption in the services sector is projected to rise by 9.5 percent this year, making it a key contributor to overall power demand growth, it said.
\n
This increase is driven by policies designed to boost spending, a continued rebound in traditional consumption patterns, and the development of new areas and opportunities for consumption.
\n
The institute highlighted the ongoing need for sophisticated grid management and market reforms to accommodate the changing energy landscape.
\n
The rise of renewable energy in China's power mix is not without its challenges. Integrating intermittent sources like wind and solar into the grid requires significant investments in grid infrastructure, energy storage and demand-side management. China has been actively addressing these challenges through technological innovation and policy support, it said.
\n
The record consumption is not solely attributable to traditional drivers, but also the increasing role of renewable energy sources in meeting China's growing power needs.
\n
The country's ambitious push toward green energy is transforming its energy landscape, with renewable energy capacity and generation reaching unprecedented levels.
\n
The speed and scale of China's renewable energy capacity expansion during the past five years were "unprecedented", said Wang Hongzhi, head of the National Energy Administration.
\n
The share of renewable energy in its total installed power generation capacity has risen from 40 percent to approximately 60 percent during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, with wind and solar power experiencing "leapfrog development" in annual installations, Wang said.
\n
Non-fossil energy sources increased by 1 percentage point annually, while coal consumption decreased by the same margin, he added.
\n
zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
Employees install power cables on a transmission tower in Chuzhou, Anhui province, on July 29.
\n\n
China's electricity consumption reached a historic high in July, surpassing 1 trillion kilowatt-hours for the first time, driven by strong demand from production and consumption sectors.
\n
The country's total power consumption reached 1.02 trillion kWh in July, a year-on-year increase of 8.6 percent, said the National Energy Administration.
\n
Often seen as a key indicator of economic activity, the record electricity consumption — which is also a global first — was propelled by strong performance in manufacturing and retail sectors as well as a surge in demand for cooling during the peak summer months.
\n
Industry experts believe the record is a clear indication of the vitality and resilience of the world's second-largest economy.
\n
This increase highlights a robust and widespread economic rebound, with growth seen in industrial, commercial and residential sectors, indicating a positive outlook for near-term growth, said Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University.
\n
"Electricity usage directly reflects activity in factories, commercial establishments and households. This surge unequivocally confirms that the world's second-largest economy is not just recovering, but demonstrating significant vitality and resilience."
\n
Chen Yaning, director of the power supply and demand analysis division of the China Electricity Council's statistics and digital intelligence department, said that rapid growth in commodity sales and manufacturing investment has contributed to the increased electricity consumption.
\n
The relatively stable domestic demand, the growth of new quality productive forces and an unexpected rebound in industrial production and exports also led to the record consumption, Chen said.
\n
According to the council, equipment manufacturing and consumer goods manufacturing related to new quality productive forces maintained strong resilience of late.
\n
In June alone, electricity consumption in the vehicle, general and special equipment, and computer and communication manufacturing sectors grew rapidly, it said.
\n
In addition, popular sectors such as artificial intelligence, software, information technology services and new energy vehicle manufacturing drove high growth in power consumption in related industries as well.
\n
Accelerating the construction of a unified national power market is expected to further optimize power resource allocation nationwide, said Yang Kun, executive vice-chairman of the council.
\n
The State Grid Energy Research Institute's Economic and Energy Demand Research Institute expects China's total electricity consumption will reach 10.3 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2025, setting another record high. This projection underscores the continued growth of the Chinese economy and the increasing electrification of various sectors, including transportation and industry.
\n
Electricity consumption in the services sector is projected to rise by 9.5 percent this year, making it a key contributor to overall power demand growth, it said.
\n
This increase is driven by policies designed to boost spending, a continued rebound in traditional consumption patterns, and the development of new areas and opportunities for consumption.
\n
The institute highlighted the ongoing need for sophisticated grid management and market reforms to accommodate the changing energy landscape.
\n
The rise of renewable energy in China's power mix is not without its challenges. Integrating intermittent sources like wind and solar into the grid requires significant investments in grid infrastructure, energy storage and demand-side management. China has been actively addressing these challenges through technological innovation and policy support, it said.
\n
The record consumption is not solely attributable to traditional drivers, but also the increasing role of renewable energy sources in meeting China's growing power needs.
\n
The country's ambitious push toward green energy is transforming its energy landscape, with renewable energy capacity and generation reaching unprecedented levels.
\n
The speed and scale of China's renewable energy capacity expansion during the past five years were "unprecedented", said Wang Hongzhi, head of the National Energy Administration.
\n
The share of renewable energy in its total installed power generation capacity has risen from 40 percent to approximately 60 percent during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, with wind and solar power experiencing "leapfrog development" in annual installations, Wang said.
\n
Non-fossil energy sources increased by 1 percentage point annually, while coal consumption decreased by the same margin, he added.
Vegetable farmers transport harvested cabbage in mountainous Yuntaihuang village, Yichang's Zigui county, Hubei province, on Wednesday. As a major off-season cultivation area, the village's unique geographical and ecological advantages create an ideal natural greenhouse for high-altitude off-season vegetables.
\n",
+ "content": "
Vegetable farmers transport harvested cabbage in mountainous Yuntaihuang village, Yichang's Zigui county, Hubei province, on Wednesday. As a major off-season cultivation area, the village's unique geographical and ecological advantages create an ideal natural greenhouse for high-altitude off-season vegetables.
China's green efforts are reshaping the global future of mobility and energy, with electric vehicles and charging infrastructure leading the way, said industry experts.
\n
"China is moving rapidly toward electrification, at a pace nine times faster than the global average," said Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Beijing-based non-profit environmental organization.
\n
Ma made the remarks at an event hosted by the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing-based think tank.
\n
Ma said that as the penetration rate of EVs in China now approaches 50 percent, the country is expanding its push beyond passenger cars to heavy-duty trucks, broader transport systems, and even industrial and lifestyle electrification.
\n
"The country's low-carbon transition is advancing at a steady pace," he said.
\n
According to data from the China Machinery Industry Federation, a notable milestone was reached in NEV market penetration in the first half of this year, hitting 44.3 percent, an all-time high for the period.
\n
"More than half of the world's new energy vehicles are now on China's roads, reflecting how green mobility and clean energy consumption are becoming deeply rooted in everyday life," said Du Zhongming, head of the electricity bureau at the National Energy Administration.
\n
NEA data show that during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), China built the world's largest EV charging network. As of the end of July, the country had 16.7 million charging points — equivalent to two chargers for every five EVs.
\n
"In the collective effort to achieve carbon neutrality and zero emissions goals, China's EV industry is expected to make a major contribution," said Wang Yang, founder and CEO of charging service provider NaaS Technology, at the CCG event.
\n
That is because Chinese expertise in EV technology, charging infrastructure and operational platforms is increasingly being shared worldwide, Wang added.
\n
She also highlighted the role of digital technology in transforming energy systems. "The future of EV charging will be driven not by human choice but by algorithms. For example, artificial intelligence will help determine which stations have free capacity or which routes are most energy-efficient, reducing the burden on drivers," Wang said.
\n
According to the executive, China's extensive deployment of new energy solutions is generating vast amounts of data, forming the foundation for AI-enabled innovation in the sector.
\n
"I believe the country will not only remain at the forefront of the new energy industry but also lead globally in applying AI to the energy sector — from algorithms and computing power to large language models," Wang said, adding that as a major charging service platform, NaaS aims to connect upstream and downstream players in the charging ecosystem to boost overall industry efficiency.
\n
lijiaying@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
China's green efforts are reshaping the global future of mobility and energy, with electric vehicles and charging infrastructure leading the way, said industry experts.
\n
"China is moving rapidly toward electrification, at a pace nine times faster than the global average," said Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Beijing-based non-profit environmental organization.
\n
Ma made the remarks at an event hosted by the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing-based think tank.
\n
Ma said that as the penetration rate of EVs in China now approaches 50 percent, the country is expanding its push beyond passenger cars to heavy-duty trucks, broader transport systems, and even industrial and lifestyle electrification.
\n
"The country's low-carbon transition is advancing at a steady pace," he said.
\n
According to data from the China Machinery Industry Federation, a notable milestone was reached in NEV market penetration in the first half of this year, hitting 44.3 percent, an all-time high for the period.
\n
"More than half of the world's new energy vehicles are now on China's roads, reflecting how green mobility and clean energy consumption are becoming deeply rooted in everyday life," said Du Zhongming, head of the electricity bureau at the National Energy Administration.
\n
NEA data show that during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), China built the world's largest EV charging network. As of the end of July, the country had 16.7 million charging points — equivalent to two chargers for every five EVs.
\n
"In the collective effort to achieve carbon neutrality and zero emissions goals, China's EV industry is expected to make a major contribution," said Wang Yang, founder and CEO of charging service provider NaaS Technology, at the CCG event.
\n
That is because Chinese expertise in EV technology, charging infrastructure and operational platforms is increasingly being shared worldwide, Wang added.
\n
She also highlighted the role of digital technology in transforming energy systems. "The future of EV charging will be driven not by human choice but by algorithms. For example, artificial intelligence will help determine which stations have free capacity or which routes are most energy-efficient, reducing the burden on drivers," Wang said.
\n
According to the executive, China's extensive deployment of new energy solutions is generating vast amounts of data, forming the foundation for AI-enabled innovation in the sector.
\n
"I believe the country will not only remain at the forefront of the new energy industry but also lead globally in applying AI to the energy sector — from algorithms and computing power to large language models," Wang said, adding that as a major charging service platform, NaaS aims to connect upstream and downstream players in the charging ecosystem to boost overall industry efficiency.
A view of the booth of Yum China at the third China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing in July.
\n
Customers dine at a McDonald's store in Wuhan, Hubei province, in August 2024.
\n\n
Fast-food brand Subway's recently opened store in Shanghai marked its 1,000th outlet in China, with the restaurant chain on track to reach its target of 4,000 stores in the country in the next 20 years.
\n
The development marks a shift for Subway in China, spurring rapid expansion in a market that was previously dominated by global quick-service giants such as McDonald's and KFC.
\n
From its debut in 1995 until mid-2023, Subway's growth in China had been slow, reaching only 500 stores over 28 years. In contrast, competitors like McDonald's and KFC opened thousands of locations, capitalizing on the growing middle-income group and urbanization of tier-1 and tier-2 cities in the country.
\n
However, Subway's fortunes took a sharp turn for the better in June 2023, when the company signed a transformative franchise agreement with Shanghai-based Furuishi Enterprise Development Co Ltd, which accelerated its footprint, leading to an explosion of new store openings. Within just two years, Subway added nearly 500 new locations, a total comparable to its combined growth over the previous three decades.
\n
Subway is expected to open about 300 new stores by the end of this year. Under the new agreement, Subway stores in China have adopted the direct operating model, rather than the previously used franchising model, allowing faster expansion, better brand-building capability and higher profit margins for the brand.
\n
This rapid expansion reflects the broader surge in Western fast-food chains across China. According to the Hongcan Industry Research Institute's 2025 Western Fast-Food Report, the number of Western fast-food outlets in China reached 325,000 by March 2025, growing 6.6 percent year-on-year.
\n
Subway's robust performance mirrors this trend, as Subway China CEO Zhu Fuqiang said that new locations are becoming profitable within their first year, with first-half 2024 sales increasing by more than 30 percent year-on-year. Even excluding the impact of new openings, Subway's existing restaurants posted a healthy 20 percent growth in the second half of 2023.
\n
The rapid pace of Subway's expansion in China is echoed by the performance of other international quick-service chains. Yum China Holdings Inc, the parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut, reported solid results in its latest quarterly earnings release.
\n
Total system sales for the second quarter of 2025 grew 4 percent to $2.8 billion, with 336 net new store openings, pushing the company's total store count to nearly 17,000 by June 30. Operating profit grew 14 percent year-on-year to $304 million, a second-quarter record high.
\n
Yum China CEO Joey Wat attributed much of the company's success to its digital innovations and an expanding footprint.
\n
"We are continuously exploring ways to broaden our addressable market," said Wat. She said KFC's expansion of KCOFFEE cafes to over 1,300 locations and Pizza Hut's upgraded menu have significantly contributed to sustained growth.
\n
Delivery sales grew 22 percent, contributing roughly 45 percent of total company sales, and digital sales hit $2.4 billion, accounting for an impressive 94 percent of total sales.
\n
Furthermore, Yum China's membership program, which has about 560 million members across KFC and Pizza Hut, has proven instrumental in driving repeat business, with member sales accounting for 64 percent of system sales.
\n
McDonald's has also seen marked success in the Chinese market, with executives reporting meaningful improvements in both market share and same-store sales. The company opened a net 407 new restaurants in the first half of 2025, maintaining a pace of at least two new locations per day.
\n
This expansion is part of McDonald's long-term roadmap to reach 10,000 locations by 2028. McDonald's Corp Global CFO Ian Borden said that chicken products have become a key traffic driver for the brand, which continues to gain share not only in chicken, but across the broader fast-food sector.
\n
McDonald's remains optimistic about China's growth potential.
\n
In a recent statement, McDonald's China highlighted its loyalty program as a key factor in its performance, with the company noting that the program had become a "best-practice model" for its global operations.
\n
By year-end, McDonald's plans to enter the Ningxia Hui autonomous region and Qinghai province, achieving 100 percent coverage of all provincial-level administrative areas on the Chinese mainland. The chain is expected to open 1,000 new restaurants this year.
\n
Meanwhile, Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of quick-service chain Burger King, is also making strides in China. CEO Joshua Kobza highlighted the progress at Burger King China in the second quarter of 2025, where same store comparable sales turned positive, and unit economics improved quarter-over-quarter.
\n
The wider Western quick-service food chain boom in China, as evidenced by the performance of McDonald's, Yum China and Subway, also highlights the changing consumption patterns and eating habits of Chinese consumers, according to industry research.
\n
Roolee Lu, director of food & drink and food services, Mintel China, said since the start of 2025, restaurant revenue has shown only modest growth, and consumer confidence has improved only slightly. However, leading brands have continued their expansion over the past 12 months.
\n
"Western-style quick-service chains have fared best. Their mature, standardized operating systems, sharp price-value positioning and relentlessly refreshed menus allowed them to deliver the steadiest growth in an otherwise sluggish landscape," said Lu.
\n
Major chains have increasingly turned to discounting: McDonald's 9.9 yuan ($1.38) burger-and-snack deals, Pizza Hut's buy-one-get-one offers, and, in late 2024, McDonald's announced its 2025 Value Year campaign, while Pizza Hut launched its value-oriented WOW sub-brand.
\n
"These giants leverage scale and brand power to protect margins, even as they trade margin for traffic," she added.
\n
Yet, Western food faces growing competition. Against the backdrop of surging "China-chic" dining trends, 18-24 year olds are drifting away from Western fare, said Lu.
\n
In Mintel's 2023 fast-food study, this group's preference for Western food has fallen to parity with, or even below, Chinese cuisine. More worrying, this same demographic shows the highest likelihood of becoming ultra-frequent users of Chinese fast food.
\n
If this trend persists, Western brands risk losing market share among the demographic that once fueled their growth, said Lu.
\n
wangzhuoqiong@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
A view of the booth of Yum China at the third China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing in July.
\n
Customers dine at a McDonald's store in Wuhan, Hubei province, in August 2024.
\n\n
Fast-food brand Subway's recently opened store in Shanghai marked its 1,000th outlet in China, with the restaurant chain on track to reach its target of 4,000 stores in the country in the next 20 years.
\n
The development marks a shift for Subway in China, spurring rapid expansion in a market that was previously dominated by global quick-service giants such as McDonald's and KFC.
\n
From its debut in 1995 until mid-2023, Subway's growth in China had been slow, reaching only 500 stores over 28 years. In contrast, competitors like McDonald's and KFC opened thousands of locations, capitalizing on the growing middle-income group and urbanization of tier-1 and tier-2 cities in the country.
\n
However, Subway's fortunes took a sharp turn for the better in June 2023, when the company signed a transformative franchise agreement with Shanghai-based Furuishi Enterprise Development Co Ltd, which accelerated its footprint, leading to an explosion of new store openings. Within just two years, Subway added nearly 500 new locations, a total comparable to its combined growth over the previous three decades.
\n
Subway is expected to open about 300 new stores by the end of this year. Under the new agreement, Subway stores in China have adopted the direct operating model, rather than the previously used franchising model, allowing faster expansion, better brand-building capability and higher profit margins for the brand.
\n
This rapid expansion reflects the broader surge in Western fast-food chains across China. According to the Hongcan Industry Research Institute's 2025 Western Fast-Food Report, the number of Western fast-food outlets in China reached 325,000 by March 2025, growing 6.6 percent year-on-year.
\n
Subway's robust performance mirrors this trend, as Subway China CEO Zhu Fuqiang said that new locations are becoming profitable within their first year, with first-half 2024 sales increasing by more than 30 percent year-on-year. Even excluding the impact of new openings, Subway's existing restaurants posted a healthy 20 percent growth in the second half of 2023.
\n
The rapid pace of Subway's expansion in China is echoed by the performance of other international quick-service chains. Yum China Holdings Inc, the parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut, reported solid results in its latest quarterly earnings release.
\n
Total system sales for the second quarter of 2025 grew 4 percent to $2.8 billion, with 336 net new store openings, pushing the company's total store count to nearly 17,000 by June 30. Operating profit grew 14 percent year-on-year to $304 million, a second-quarter record high.
\n
Yum China CEO Joey Wat attributed much of the company's success to its digital innovations and an expanding footprint.
\n
"We are continuously exploring ways to broaden our addressable market," said Wat. She said KFC's expansion of KCOFFEE cafes to over 1,300 locations and Pizza Hut's upgraded menu have significantly contributed to sustained growth.
\n
Delivery sales grew 22 percent, contributing roughly 45 percent of total company sales, and digital sales hit $2.4 billion, accounting for an impressive 94 percent of total sales.
\n
Furthermore, Yum China's membership program, which has about 560 million members across KFC and Pizza Hut, has proven instrumental in driving repeat business, with member sales accounting for 64 percent of system sales.
\n
McDonald's has also seen marked success in the Chinese market, with executives reporting meaningful improvements in both market share and same-store sales. The company opened a net 407 new restaurants in the first half of 2025, maintaining a pace of at least two new locations per day.
\n
This expansion is part of McDonald's long-term roadmap to reach 10,000 locations by 2028. McDonald's Corp Global CFO Ian Borden said that chicken products have become a key traffic driver for the brand, which continues to gain share not only in chicken, but across the broader fast-food sector.
\n
McDonald's remains optimistic about China's growth potential.
\n
In a recent statement, McDonald's China highlighted its loyalty program as a key factor in its performance, with the company noting that the program had become a "best-practice model" for its global operations.
\n
By year-end, McDonald's plans to enter the Ningxia Hui autonomous region and Qinghai province, achieving 100 percent coverage of all provincial-level administrative areas on the Chinese mainland. The chain is expected to open 1,000 new restaurants this year.
\n
Meanwhile, Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of quick-service chain Burger King, is also making strides in China. CEO Joshua Kobza highlighted the progress at Burger King China in the second quarter of 2025, where same store comparable sales turned positive, and unit economics improved quarter-over-quarter.
\n
The wider Western quick-service food chain boom in China, as evidenced by the performance of McDonald's, Yum China and Subway, also highlights the changing consumption patterns and eating habits of Chinese consumers, according to industry research.
\n
Roolee Lu, director of food & drink and food services, Mintel China, said since the start of 2025, restaurant revenue has shown only modest growth, and consumer confidence has improved only slightly. However, leading brands have continued their expansion over the past 12 months.
\n
"Western-style quick-service chains have fared best. Their mature, standardized operating systems, sharp price-value positioning and relentlessly refreshed menus allowed them to deliver the steadiest growth in an otherwise sluggish landscape," said Lu.
\n
Major chains have increasingly turned to discounting: McDonald's 9.9 yuan ($1.38) burger-and-snack deals, Pizza Hut's buy-one-get-one offers, and, in late 2024, McDonald's announced its 2025 Value Year campaign, while Pizza Hut launched its value-oriented WOW sub-brand.
\n
"These giants leverage scale and brand power to protect margins, even as they trade margin for traffic," she added.
\n
Yet, Western food faces growing competition. Against the backdrop of surging "China-chic" dining trends, 18-24 year olds are drifting away from Western fare, said Lu.
\n
In Mintel's 2023 fast-food study, this group's preference for Western food has fallen to parity with, or even below, Chinese cuisine. More worrying, this same demographic shows the highest likelihood of becoming ultra-frequent users of Chinese fast food.
\n
If this trend persists, Western brands risk losing market share among the demographic that once fueled their growth, said Lu.
Customers visit a Massimo Dutti store at a shopping center in Tianjin on Aug 26.
\n
Massimo Dutti, sister brand of Zara and the high-end unit of Spanish fashion group Inditex, is maintaining steady growth in China with two new store openings in July in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, and Tianjin.
\n
China remains a strategic market, with expansion driven by two main pillars: optimizing its store network through selective openings and renovations, and strengthening omnichannel capabilities to create a seamless online-offline shopping experience, said Eugenio Bregolat, president of Inditex Greater China.
\n
In January, the brand reopened its renovated Chongqing MixC store. The new Xi'an outlet, which opened on July 17, featured a 10-day pop-up experience in partnership with concept store Watch Whisky Coffee, designed to showcase the brand's urban-inspired style and high-quality products.
\n
Massimo Dutti positions itself as a refined, urban label — distinct from sister brand Zara's youth-oriented, trend-driven image — targeting customers who value timeless designs, quality fabrics and attention to detail.
\n
"With the development of China's economy, we have observed a growing emphasis on quality, safety and sustainability among customers," said Bregolat. "We continuously adapt our designs and products to meet the evolving needs of our customers."
\n
He added that Chinese consumers have developed a deeper understanding of fashion — no longer blindly chasing trends, but engaging with fashion as a means of self-expression and self-affirmation.
\n
According to Euromonitor International, retail value sales in the womenswear sector in China rose 2 percent in current terms in 2024 to 1.06 trillion yuan ($150 billion).
\n
"The Chinese market still holds enormous untapped consumption potential — the very reason global brands refuse to look away," said Cheng Weixiong, a fashion analyst and founder of Shanghai Liangqi Brand Co Ltd.
\n
However, China's womenswear market has become so competitive in recent years that shoppers now jump to the wallet-friendly "dupes", with an ultra-efficient supply chain collapsing the timeline from factory floor to store shelf, accelerating homogenized styles and popping every pricing bubble, Cheng said.
\n
Cheng added that mid-to-premium European and US fashion houses still command premiums through distinctive aesthetics, constant research and development in materials, and strong storytelling, while many domestic players lacking identity or technical depth are quickly sidelined.
\n
To engage more deeply with local consumers, Massimo Dutti is tailoring products for Chinese tastes while introducing global limited collections. For Spring Festival, it launched a "Year of the Snake" limited edition with a campaign by fashion photographer Leslie Zhang. In April, a global capsule collection debuted at its Shanghai Nanjing West Road store.
\n
Digital channels are a growing focus. The brand has launched official flagship stores on Tmall and JD.com and maintains brand accounts on RedNote and WeChat to engage directly with consumers.
\n
E-commerce and short-video platforms are seen as key traffic drivers for China's apparel sector. "Recognizing that younger generations predominantly engage with brands online, we continue to expand our digital presence to offer more diversified touchpoints," Bregolat said.
\n
Analyst Cheng added that the Chinese consumer base remains vast and alluring, but foreign brands must fully embrace the nation's e-commerce boom — tapping digital ecosystems and platform efficiencies — to survive in this race.
\n
Massimo Dutti's supply chain strategy combines global sourcing with proximity manufacturing in Spain, Portugal, Turkiye and Morocco, allowing close collaboration with nonexclusive suppliers, reduced carbon footprints and achieving rapid product turnaround.
\n
The company said this approach, supported by short production runs, offers flexibility and control, enabling it to produce a wide range of responsible fashion. Its integrated inventory management system enables services such as in-store pickups for online orders, cross-channel returns and shipping from nearby retail locations.
\n
The push in China comes as parent company Inditex reported modest growth in its latest quarter. During the first quarter of 2025, sales rose 1.5 percent year-on-year to 8.3 billion euros ($9.66 billion), gross profit climbed 1.5 percent to 5 billion euros, and EBITDA increased 1 percent to 2.4 billion euros.
\n
With Chinese consumers placing greater emphasis on quality, safety, sustainability and self-expression, the brand said it will continue adapting designs and introducing Asia-specific collections, including modernized Chinese-style pieces.
\n
"Fashion trends in the Chinese market inspire and inform our collections that better cater to Chinese customers," said Bregolat.
\n",
+ "content": "
Customers visit a Massimo Dutti store at a shopping center in Tianjin on Aug 26.
\n
Massimo Dutti, sister brand of Zara and the high-end unit of Spanish fashion group Inditex, is maintaining steady growth in China with two new store openings in July in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, and Tianjin.
\n
China remains a strategic market, with expansion driven by two main pillars: optimizing its store network through selective openings and renovations, and strengthening omnichannel capabilities to create a seamless online-offline shopping experience, said Eugenio Bregolat, president of Inditex Greater China.
\n
In January, the brand reopened its renovated Chongqing MixC store. The new Xi'an outlet, which opened on July 17, featured a 10-day pop-up experience in partnership with concept store Watch Whisky Coffee, designed to showcase the brand's urban-inspired style and high-quality products.
\n
Massimo Dutti positions itself as a refined, urban label — distinct from sister brand Zara's youth-oriented, trend-driven image — targeting customers who value timeless designs, quality fabrics and attention to detail.
\n
"With the development of China's economy, we have observed a growing emphasis on quality, safety and sustainability among customers," said Bregolat. "We continuously adapt our designs and products to meet the evolving needs of our customers."
\n
He added that Chinese consumers have developed a deeper understanding of fashion — no longer blindly chasing trends, but engaging with fashion as a means of self-expression and self-affirmation.
\n
According to Euromonitor International, retail value sales in the womenswear sector in China rose 2 percent in current terms in 2024 to 1.06 trillion yuan ($150 billion).
\n
"The Chinese market still holds enormous untapped consumption potential — the very reason global brands refuse to look away," said Cheng Weixiong, a fashion analyst and founder of Shanghai Liangqi Brand Co Ltd.
\n
However, China's womenswear market has become so competitive in recent years that shoppers now jump to the wallet-friendly "dupes", with an ultra-efficient supply chain collapsing the timeline from factory floor to store shelf, accelerating homogenized styles and popping every pricing bubble, Cheng said.
\n
Cheng added that mid-to-premium European and US fashion houses still command premiums through distinctive aesthetics, constant research and development in materials, and strong storytelling, while many domestic players lacking identity or technical depth are quickly sidelined.
\n
To engage more deeply with local consumers, Massimo Dutti is tailoring products for Chinese tastes while introducing global limited collections. For Spring Festival, it launched a "Year of the Snake" limited edition with a campaign by fashion photographer Leslie Zhang. In April, a global capsule collection debuted at its Shanghai Nanjing West Road store.
\n
Digital channels are a growing focus. The brand has launched official flagship stores on Tmall and JD.com and maintains brand accounts on RedNote and WeChat to engage directly with consumers.
\n
E-commerce and short-video platforms are seen as key traffic drivers for China's apparel sector. "Recognizing that younger generations predominantly engage with brands online, we continue to expand our digital presence to offer more diversified touchpoints," Bregolat said.
\n
Analyst Cheng added that the Chinese consumer base remains vast and alluring, but foreign brands must fully embrace the nation's e-commerce boom — tapping digital ecosystems and platform efficiencies — to survive in this race.
\n
Massimo Dutti's supply chain strategy combines global sourcing with proximity manufacturing in Spain, Portugal, Turkiye and Morocco, allowing close collaboration with nonexclusive suppliers, reduced carbon footprints and achieving rapid product turnaround.
\n
The company said this approach, supported by short production runs, offers flexibility and control, enabling it to produce a wide range of responsible fashion. Its integrated inventory management system enables services such as in-store pickups for online orders, cross-channel returns and shipping from nearby retail locations.
\n
The push in China comes as parent company Inditex reported modest growth in its latest quarter. During the first quarter of 2025, sales rose 1.5 percent year-on-year to 8.3 billion euros ($9.66 billion), gross profit climbed 1.5 percent to 5 billion euros, and EBITDA increased 1 percent to 2.4 billion euros.
\n
With Chinese consumers placing greater emphasis on quality, safety, sustainability and self-expression, the brand said it will continue adapting designs and introducing Asia-specific collections, including modernized Chinese-style pieces.
\n
"Fashion trends in the Chinese market inspire and inform our collections that better cater to Chinese customers," said Bregolat.
The inaugural International Olympiad ArtScience Exhibition held at Beijing's Songzhuang Art Center.
\n
Folding a Snowflake, cocreated by Pei Haozheng and Cao Yuxi.
\n
The exhibition brings together 13 leading cross-disciplinary artists from different countries, and over 1,000 participants from hundreds of institutions.
\n
Another still from Spring is Hope.
\n
Top and above: Pei's works from Folded Space series. Middle: A still from Chen Duo's video art work Spring is Hope.
\n
In the dim glow of Beijing's Songzhuang Art Center, a "pupil of light" slowly forms — 12 spotlights flare to life in sequence, their beams bending through a circle of crystal lenses until an eye gazes back at the viewer.
\n
The installation, Flying Starry Eyes, is the latest creation of artist Li Bo. At its core is a cutting-edge caustics algorithm, usually confined to the realm of optical engineering. Li has transformed it into a vessel for memory.
\n
Each lens is etched with microscopic convexities that redirect light, projecting a fleeting gaze that seems to appear, vanish, and reappear with time.
\n
For Li, that gaze is not abstract: it carries the weight of her father's final look before his passing, a moment that could not be held but has been refracted into permanence.
\n
"Those glances, impossible to grasp yet etched deep within me, are like these crystal-like lenses — hidden in time, almost imperceptible, until a beam of light calls them forth," she says.
\n
Debuting at the inaugural International Olympiad ArtScience Exhibition, the installation is more than a fusion of art and algorithm. Here, technology does more than illuminate — it remembers.
\n
Li's work is part of a larger conversation — one that organizers have dubbed the "Olympics of ArtScience". Supported by the Sci-Art Association, a renowned interdisciplinary organization, the exhibition brings together 13 leading cross-disciplinary artists from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, and beyond, alongside over 1,000 participants from hundreds of institutions.
\n
The event celebrates humanity's shared pursuit of technology and aesthetics, framed as an innovative continuation of the Olympic spirit in the realms of creativity and innovation. Running through Sept 10, the exhibition is not confined to Songzhuang. A parallel online gallery allows global viewing, and a traveling edition is planned for the National Speed Skating Oval, the "Ice Ribbon" of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and Los Angeles, the headquarters of the International Olympiad ArtScience Committee, the exhibition's guiding unit.
\n
Among the standout works, Tech Art Map by Qiu Zhijie, dean of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, sketches a sweeping panorama of art-technology integration. Folding a Snowflake, a new media installation by Cao Yuxi, visual director of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony, reconstructs the beauty of nature and humanity through technology, weaving Eastern philosophy with digital art.
\n
Other contributors include Chen Baoyang, Chen Duo, Dong Shuchang, Dou Dou, Hu Haijie, Jin Yuanshan, Li Hong, Yang Song, and Zhang Xiaoli, with works spanning installations, crafts, paintings, videos, photography, and artificial intelligence-generated content.
\n
Pei Haozheng, curator of the exhibition, adds his own series of deployable installations, including Between Chaos and Order and Folded Space, which use geometric forms to explore the philosophy of space.
\n
Pei describes the exhibition as both a tribute to human civilization and a vision for the future. Guided by forward-looking themes such as "sustainable development", "cross-disciplinary innovation", and "tech ethics with humanistic care", the exhibition echoes the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, positioning art and technology as forces capable of addressing global challenges.
\n
Pei outlines three directions he sees shaping the future of art-science integration. The first is the use of advanced technologies — AI, digital twins, virtual reality, sustainable materials — imbued with philosophical depth and emotion, breaking the stereotype of "cold technology".
\n
He adds, "The second is a paradigm shift toward cross-disciplinary collaboration: deep partnerships between artists, scientists, engineers, and philosophers generating new forms of knowledge and creativity."
\n
The third direction is practical application in society. "Some works on display have already attracted collaborations with design institutes and tech companies. The exhibition is not only a showcase of achievements but also an accelerator for translating ideas from academia into practice."
\n
Alongside the curated exhibition, the competition section presents over 1,000 outstanding entries from the International Olympiad ArtScience Contest. These span digital generative art, light-tech 3D handcrafts, digital media and video, interactive design across online and offline platforms, painting, printmaking, and intangible cultural heritage projects.
\n
On the technology side, categories include robotics, drones, AI, 3D printing and intelligent fabrication, as well as programming and algorithm-based works.
\n
"This year's theme is 'Infinity'," Pei explains. "From a letter, to an old book, a camera lens, a pair of straw sandals, a box of microscope slides. … These ordinary objects, these special exhibits that witness the artists' growth, symbolize the countless failures we endure, the boundless nature we observe, the fathomless starry skies we dream of, the measureless mountains and seas we traverse, and the endless attachments we carry within.
\n
"Here, science is no longer a cold equation, and art is no longer confined to canvases or stages. When the two converge, they ignite a creativity capable of changing the world," he says.
\n
Contact the writer at liyingxue@chinadaily.com.cn
\n",
+ "content": "
The inaugural International Olympiad ArtScience Exhibition held at Beijing's Songzhuang Art Center.
\n
Folding a Snowflake, cocreated by Pei Haozheng and Cao Yuxi.
\n
The exhibition brings together 13 leading cross-disciplinary artists from different countries, and over 1,000 participants from hundreds of institutions.
\n
Another still from Spring is Hope.
\n
Top and above: Pei's works from Folded Space series. Middle: A still from Chen Duo's video art work Spring is Hope.
\n
In the dim glow of Beijing's Songzhuang Art Center, a "pupil of light" slowly forms — 12 spotlights flare to life in sequence, their beams bending through a circle of crystal lenses until an eye gazes back at the viewer.
\n
The installation, Flying Starry Eyes, is the latest creation of artist Li Bo. At its core is a cutting-edge caustics algorithm, usually confined to the realm of optical engineering. Li has transformed it into a vessel for memory.
\n
Each lens is etched with microscopic convexities that redirect light, projecting a fleeting gaze that seems to appear, vanish, and reappear with time.
\n
For Li, that gaze is not abstract: it carries the weight of her father's final look before his passing, a moment that could not be held but has been refracted into permanence.
\n
"Those glances, impossible to grasp yet etched deep within me, are like these crystal-like lenses — hidden in time, almost imperceptible, until a beam of light calls them forth," she says.
\n
Debuting at the inaugural International Olympiad ArtScience Exhibition, the installation is more than a fusion of art and algorithm. Here, technology does more than illuminate — it remembers.
\n
Li's work is part of a larger conversation — one that organizers have dubbed the "Olympics of ArtScience". Supported by the Sci-Art Association, a renowned interdisciplinary organization, the exhibition brings together 13 leading cross-disciplinary artists from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, and beyond, alongside over 1,000 participants from hundreds of institutions.
\n
The event celebrates humanity's shared pursuit of technology and aesthetics, framed as an innovative continuation of the Olympic spirit in the realms of creativity and innovation. Running through Sept 10, the exhibition is not confined to Songzhuang. A parallel online gallery allows global viewing, and a traveling edition is planned for the National Speed Skating Oval, the "Ice Ribbon" of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and Los Angeles, the headquarters of the International Olympiad ArtScience Committee, the exhibition's guiding unit.
\n
Among the standout works, Tech Art Map by Qiu Zhijie, dean of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, sketches a sweeping panorama of art-technology integration. Folding a Snowflake, a new media installation by Cao Yuxi, visual director of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony, reconstructs the beauty of nature and humanity through technology, weaving Eastern philosophy with digital art.
\n
Other contributors include Chen Baoyang, Chen Duo, Dong Shuchang, Dou Dou, Hu Haijie, Jin Yuanshan, Li Hong, Yang Song, and Zhang Xiaoli, with works spanning installations, crafts, paintings, videos, photography, and artificial intelligence-generated content.
\n
Pei Haozheng, curator of the exhibition, adds his own series of deployable installations, including Between Chaos and Order and Folded Space, which use geometric forms to explore the philosophy of space.
\n
Pei describes the exhibition as both a tribute to human civilization and a vision for the future. Guided by forward-looking themes such as "sustainable development", "cross-disciplinary innovation", and "tech ethics with humanistic care", the exhibition echoes the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, positioning art and technology as forces capable of addressing global challenges.
\n
Pei outlines three directions he sees shaping the future of art-science integration. The first is the use of advanced technologies — AI, digital twins, virtual reality, sustainable materials — imbued with philosophical depth and emotion, breaking the stereotype of "cold technology".
\n
He adds, "The second is a paradigm shift toward cross-disciplinary collaboration: deep partnerships between artists, scientists, engineers, and philosophers generating new forms of knowledge and creativity."
\n
The third direction is practical application in society. "Some works on display have already attracted collaborations with design institutes and tech companies. The exhibition is not only a showcase of achievements but also an accelerator for translating ideas from academia into practice."
\n
Alongside the curated exhibition, the competition section presents over 1,000 outstanding entries from the International Olympiad ArtScience Contest. These span digital generative art, light-tech 3D handcrafts, digital media and video, interactive design across online and offline platforms, painting, printmaking, and intangible cultural heritage projects.
\n
On the technology side, categories include robotics, drones, AI, 3D printing and intelligent fabrication, as well as programming and algorithm-based works.
\n
"This year's theme is 'Infinity'," Pei explains. "From a letter, to an old book, a camera lens, a pair of straw sandals, a box of microscope slides. … These ordinary objects, these special exhibits that witness the artists' growth, symbolize the countless failures we endure, the boundless nature we observe, the fathomless starry skies we dream of, the measureless mountains and seas we traverse, and the endless attachments we carry within.
\n
"Here, science is no longer a cold equation, and art is no longer confined to canvases or stages. When the two converge, they ignite a creativity capable of changing the world," he says.
The Chinese term, cuzhi daye, literally meaning thick stems and broad leaves, can also imply carelessness and boorishness. In his 1980 painting, Lotus of Thick Stems and Big Leaves, late ink master Liu Haisu applied bold strokes and smudged color, seemingly in a crude manner, to depict a lotus pool view with vigor and poetic resonance.
\n
The Liu Haisu Art Museum in Shanghai, where Liu lived and worked, on Thursday opened a long-awaited exhibition, Scenting the Trail, surveying his explorations in the flower-and-bird style of classic Chinese painting. Works on show, including Lotus of Thick Stems and Big Leaves, feature ink as well as oil, reflecting Liu's pioneering effort to blend Eastern and Western art traditions.
\n
9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. 1609 Yan'an Xi Lu, Shanghai. 021-6270-1018.
\n
Seeking truth
\n
Huang Binhong (1865-1955) traveled to Guangdong province and Hong Kong, in South China, several times seeking inspiration for his ink works. These paintings have returned to where they were conceived, in Shenzhen Art Museum, Guangdong, at Where Truth Resides, an exhibition highlighting Huang's creative dialogues with nature. Nearly 200 works are on show through to Dec 7, from the collection of Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou where Huang spent most of his life.
\n
Considered a pioneer of modern Chinese ink art, Huang drew from the country's diverse landscapes and followed the long-standing practice of learning from nature. At the same time, he sought to reform brushwork in landscape painting, developing a unique style that remains a subject of study for art historians and collectors.
Portraiture of historic figures has become a central focus for the sculptor Li Xiangqun. He spent three years working on Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), a group of four figurines of the dynasty's prominent artists — Huang Gongwang, Wu Zhen, Ni Zan and Wang Meng. Using fiberglass, lacquer mixed with pigments, and minimized facial details, the sculptures convey a modernist, minimalist aesthetic.
\n
They are now on view in Oriental New Charm, Art Collections by Tsinghua Professors, at Zero Art Center in Beijing until Sept 21. The exhibition features works of six professors, including Li, of the Academy of Arts and Design of Tsinghua University. It features three artists of repute, Du Dakai, Liu Jude and Chen Hui, who push the boundaries of ink art, often incorporating techniques from other media. And it shows Dong Shubing and Ma Wenjia whose sculptures accentuate an Eastern poetic sensibility.
\n
10 am-6 pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Zhongyi Jie Street, 798 Art Zone, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5978-9931.
The Chinese term, cuzhi daye, literally meaning thick stems and broad leaves, can also imply carelessness and boorishness. In his 1980 painting, Lotus of Thick Stems and Big Leaves, late ink master Liu Haisu applied bold strokes and smudged color, seemingly in a crude manner, to depict a lotus pool view with vigor and poetic resonance.
\n
The Liu Haisu Art Museum in Shanghai, where Liu lived and worked, on Thursday opened a long-awaited exhibition, Scenting the Trail, surveying his explorations in the flower-and-bird style of classic Chinese painting. Works on show, including Lotus of Thick Stems and Big Leaves, feature ink as well as oil, reflecting Liu's pioneering effort to blend Eastern and Western art traditions.
\n
9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays. 1609 Yan'an Xi Lu, Shanghai. 021-6270-1018.
\n
Seeking truth
\n
Huang Binhong (1865-1955) traveled to Guangdong province and Hong Kong, in South China, several times seeking inspiration for his ink works. These paintings have returned to where they were conceived, in Shenzhen Art Museum, Guangdong, at Where Truth Resides, an exhibition highlighting Huang's creative dialogues with nature. Nearly 200 works are on show through to Dec 7, from the collection of Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou where Huang spent most of his life.
\n
Considered a pioneer of modern Chinese ink art, Huang drew from the country's diverse landscapes and followed the long-standing practice of learning from nature. At the same time, he sought to reform brushwork in landscape painting, developing a unique style that remains a subject of study for art historians and collectors.
Portraiture of historic figures has become a central focus for the sculptor Li Xiangqun. He spent three years working on Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), a group of four figurines of the dynasty's prominent artists — Huang Gongwang, Wu Zhen, Ni Zan and Wang Meng. Using fiberglass, lacquer mixed with pigments, and minimized facial details, the sculptures convey a modernist, minimalist aesthetic.
\n
They are now on view in Oriental New Charm, Art Collections by Tsinghua Professors, at Zero Art Center in Beijing until Sept 21. The exhibition features works of six professors, including Li, of the Academy of Arts and Design of Tsinghua University. It features three artists of repute, Du Dakai, Liu Jude and Chen Hui, who push the boundaries of ink art, often incorporating techniques from other media. And it shows Dong Shubing and Ma Wenjia whose sculptures accentuate an Eastern poetic sensibility.
\n
10 am-6 pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Zhongyi Jie Street, 798 Art Zone, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5978-9931.
From left: A renowned piece by late veteran painters Xiao Feng and his wife Song Ren, The Dawn, captures the historic night in 1949 when the People's Liberation Army marched into Shanghai. Their work Doctor Bethune, an image of the Canadian physician who served and died in China during WWII. Song's painting, Little 8th Route Army Heroes.
\n
The Xiao Feng Art Museum's inaugural show in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Children of the Era: The Art Exhibition of Xiao Feng and Song Ren.
\n
Acclaimed painters Xiao Feng and his wife Song Ren.
\n
In the Xiao Feng Art Museum in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, two of late artist Xiao Feng's favorite sayings are etched into the walls: "Life and tradition nurture art", and "Art is by the people, for the people".These words distill the essence of his eight-decade journey in art, a path defined by conviction, resilience, and devotion to his country.
\n
Xiao, a renowned Chinese painter who passed away in July at 93, left behind more than memories. In April, when the museum opened its doors to the public, he donated 503 works created by himself and his wife, fellow artist Song Ren, who died earlier this year in March.
\n
"This museum was my father's final wish," says his daughter Xiao Ge, now the museum's deputy director. "He believed that art comes from the people, and should be returned to his country and the people."
\n
Her words echo the couple's life story. "My parents emerged from the smoke of gunpowder, having lived through the wars of the last century. They used painting to document the changes of the era," she says.
\n
Born in the turbulent 1930s, both Xiao Feng and Song came of age amid revolution and war. At just 11 years old, Xiao Feng joined the Xin'an Touring Troupe, a teenage art group led by the Communist Party of China in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45). Song grew up in revolutionary bases, sketching war-themed paintings as a child. These early experiences instilled in them an unshakable resilience and deep patriotism, qualities that was later infused in their art.
\n
Much of their work centered on China's revolutionary history, a genre that dominated the country's art scene during the 1950s. One of their best-known pieces, The Dawn, captures the historic night in 1949 when the People's Liberation Army marched into Shanghai.
\n
Rendered in layers of gray, the canvas depicts soldiers resting in the streets under neon lights, careful not to disturb residents. Walking among them are commanders Chen Yi and Su Yu, gazing at their exhausted troops with pride.
\n
At the center sits a veteran leaning against a statue, a young recruit's head resting on his knee. That teenager is widely regarded as a self-portrait of Xiao Feng.
\n
In Xiao Feng's representative works, Chen Yi, the commander of the New Fourth Army to which he belonged, often served as the "main character" in his paintings. He painted scenes of Chen leading the New Fourth Army to survey the Yangtze River crossing in 1938 and standing amid the reeds contemplating tactical actions.
\n
These portraits were not mere images but reflections of the loyalty and admiration Xiao Feng felt for his commander.
\n
In 1950, with the approval of Commander Chen, Xiao Feng and some members of the Xin'an Touring Troupe were sent to study at the National College of Art in Hangzhou, now known as the China Academy of Art. After three years, in 1954, Xiao Feng passed a rigorous examination and went to study at the Repin Academy of Fine Arts in the former Soviet Union for six years.
\n
That period was formative. He created Farewell to Jiangnan, a painting drawn from his wartime ordeal. Jiangnan refers to the southern regions of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
\n
During an ambush in the marshes, his feet froze, nearly requiring amputation — until an elderly villager cradled them in his arms to warm them. The work immortalizes not only the cruelty of war but also the kindness that sustained survival.
\n
It was also in the former Soviet Union that Xiao Feng and Song Ren's partnership solidified, both as husband and wife and as collaborators in art. Together they painted Doctor Bethune, an image of the Canadian physician who served and died in China during the war. The work was later included in primary school textbooks, searing itself into the collective memory of generations.
\n
Xu Jiang, vice-chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, said that the couple created a large number of outstanding paintings, most of which are related to their revolutionary experiences and memories. These works preserve the cultural perspective and deep artistic passion that were nurtured during revolutionary upheavals.
\n
"The 'book' of the couple's artistic careers is not an easy read, yet it is quite moving. The emotional impact lies in its ability to highlight the characteristics of the era and to present the genuine and sincere strength of a generation," said Xu at the opening ceremony of the Xiao Feng Art Museum in April.
\n
Beyond his artistic pursuits, Xiao Feng made significant contributions to art education in China as a long-serving leader at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou from 1983 to 1996.During his tenure, he recruited promising young artists, founded China's first institution dedicated to fiber art, and welcomed internationally renowned artists to lecture. These decisions helped cultivate a new generation of creative talent and pushed the boundaries of art education.
\n
Fan Di'an, chairman of the China Artists Association, says that Chinese art in the 20th century developed with the tides of history. Veteran artists who participated in creation, education and organization played crucial roles. Xiao Feng stands out among them.
\n
More than 80 of the couple's works are now on display at the Xiao Feng Art Museum. The museum's inaugural show, Children of the Era: The Art Exhibition of Xiao Feng and Song Ren, spans historical scenes, daily life, and vast landscapes of the motherland. Through bold brushwork and subtle tones, the paintings capture both the hardships and the spirit of endurance that defined their generation.
\n
Since its opening, this uniquely shaped art museum has quickly attracted a large number of young visitors. Located just a few kilometers from the famed West Lake, the museum receives over 1,000 visitors each day.
\n
"This is quite remarkable for an art museum, especially one that features exhibitions on revolutionary history. We didn't expect this," says Xiao Ge.
\n
She notes that many initially come to admire the building but soon find themselves drawn to the paintings. In the process, they gain exposure to the country's revolutionary history and an appreciation for realist art.
\n
Meng Yunsheng, director of the museum, says: "From the wartime era to the period after liberation, Xiao Feng's 80 years of artistic creation have always remained close to the people. His art museum is not only a treasure trove of art but also a base for patriotic education."
\n
Contact the writer at dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn
From left: A renowned piece by late veteran painters Xiao Feng and his wife Song Ren, The Dawn, captures the historic night in 1949 when the People's Liberation Army marched into Shanghai. Their work Doctor Bethune, an image of the Canadian physician who served and died in China during WWII. Song's painting, Little 8th Route Army Heroes.
\n
The Xiao Feng Art Museum's inaugural show in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Children of the Era: The Art Exhibition of Xiao Feng and Song Ren.
\n
Acclaimed painters Xiao Feng and his wife Song Ren.
\n
In the Xiao Feng Art Museum in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, two of late artist Xiao Feng's favorite sayings are etched into the walls: "Life and tradition nurture art", and "Art is by the people, for the people".These words distill the essence of his eight-decade journey in art, a path defined by conviction, resilience, and devotion to his country.
\n
Xiao, a renowned Chinese painter who passed away in July at 93, left behind more than memories. In April, when the museum opened its doors to the public, he donated 503 works created by himself and his wife, fellow artist Song Ren, who died earlier this year in March.
\n
"This museum was my father's final wish," says his daughter Xiao Ge, now the museum's deputy director. "He believed that art comes from the people, and should be returned to his country and the people."
\n
Her words echo the couple's life story. "My parents emerged from the smoke of gunpowder, having lived through the wars of the last century. They used painting to document the changes of the era," she says.
\n
Born in the turbulent 1930s, both Xiao Feng and Song came of age amid revolution and war. At just 11 years old, Xiao Feng joined the Xin'an Touring Troupe, a teenage art group led by the Communist Party of China in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45). Song grew up in revolutionary bases, sketching war-themed paintings as a child. These early experiences instilled in them an unshakable resilience and deep patriotism, qualities that was later infused in their art.
\n
Much of their work centered on China's revolutionary history, a genre that dominated the country's art scene during the 1950s. One of their best-known pieces, The Dawn, captures the historic night in 1949 when the People's Liberation Army marched into Shanghai.
\n
Rendered in layers of gray, the canvas depicts soldiers resting in the streets under neon lights, careful not to disturb residents. Walking among them are commanders Chen Yi and Su Yu, gazing at their exhausted troops with pride.
\n
At the center sits a veteran leaning against a statue, a young recruit's head resting on his knee. That teenager is widely regarded as a self-portrait of Xiao Feng.
\n
In Xiao Feng's representative works, Chen Yi, the commander of the New Fourth Army to which he belonged, often served as the "main character" in his paintings. He painted scenes of Chen leading the New Fourth Army to survey the Yangtze River crossing in 1938 and standing amid the reeds contemplating tactical actions.
\n
These portraits were not mere images but reflections of the loyalty and admiration Xiao Feng felt for his commander.
\n
In 1950, with the approval of Commander Chen, Xiao Feng and some members of the Xin'an Touring Troupe were sent to study at the National College of Art in Hangzhou, now known as the China Academy of Art. After three years, in 1954, Xiao Feng passed a rigorous examination and went to study at the Repin Academy of Fine Arts in the former Soviet Union for six years.
\n
That period was formative. He created Farewell to Jiangnan, a painting drawn from his wartime ordeal. Jiangnan refers to the southern regions of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
\n
During an ambush in the marshes, his feet froze, nearly requiring amputation — until an elderly villager cradled them in his arms to warm them. The work immortalizes not only the cruelty of war but also the kindness that sustained survival.
\n
It was also in the former Soviet Union that Xiao Feng and Song Ren's partnership solidified, both as husband and wife and as collaborators in art. Together they painted Doctor Bethune, an image of the Canadian physician who served and died in China during the war. The work was later included in primary school textbooks, searing itself into the collective memory of generations.
\n
Xu Jiang, vice-chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, said that the couple created a large number of outstanding paintings, most of which are related to their revolutionary experiences and memories. These works preserve the cultural perspective and deep artistic passion that were nurtured during revolutionary upheavals.
\n
"The 'book' of the couple's artistic careers is not an easy read, yet it is quite moving. The emotional impact lies in its ability to highlight the characteristics of the era and to present the genuine and sincere strength of a generation," said Xu at the opening ceremony of the Xiao Feng Art Museum in April.
\n
Beyond his artistic pursuits, Xiao Feng made significant contributions to art education in China as a long-serving leader at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou from 1983 to 1996.During his tenure, he recruited promising young artists, founded China's first institution dedicated to fiber art, and welcomed internationally renowned artists to lecture. These decisions helped cultivate a new generation of creative talent and pushed the boundaries of art education.
\n
Fan Di'an, chairman of the China Artists Association, says that Chinese art in the 20th century developed with the tides of history. Veteran artists who participated in creation, education and organization played crucial roles. Xiao Feng stands out among them.
\n
More than 80 of the couple's works are now on display at the Xiao Feng Art Museum. The museum's inaugural show, Children of the Era: The Art Exhibition of Xiao Feng and Song Ren, spans historical scenes, daily life, and vast landscapes of the motherland. Through bold brushwork and subtle tones, the paintings capture both the hardships and the spirit of endurance that defined their generation.
\n
Since its opening, this uniquely shaped art museum has quickly attracted a large number of young visitors. Located just a few kilometers from the famed West Lake, the museum receives over 1,000 visitors each day.
\n
"This is quite remarkable for an art museum, especially one that features exhibitions on revolutionary history. We didn't expect this," says Xiao Ge.
\n
She notes that many initially come to admire the building but soon find themselves drawn to the paintings. In the process, they gain exposure to the country's revolutionary history and an appreciation for realist art.
\n
Meng Yunsheng, director of the museum, says: "From the wartime era to the period after liberation, Xiao Feng's 80 years of artistic creation have always remained close to the people. His art museum is not only a treasure trove of art but also a base for patriotic education."
\n
Contact the writer at dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn
Representatives from the government, media and film industry unveil the sixth Lushan International Romance Film Week, to be held from Sept 5-11, at a news conference in Beijing.
\n
Among China's many picturesque mountains and rivers, one stands out for its unique blend of natural beauty and romantic symbolism: Lushan Mountain in Jiangxi province.
\n
This picturesque site rose to national fame in 1980, when the film Romance on Lushan Mountain captivated audiences across the country. The movie not only introduces breathtaking images of Lushan's mist-shrouded peaks and verdant valleys, but also features a landmark moment in Chinese cinema — a screen kiss that broke long-standing taboos around on-screen intimacy. For many, it marked the beginning of a more open era in China's domestic film industry.
\n
Now, Lushan Mountain is set to host a love-themed film week, enchanting tourists with cinematic tales of romance amid its breathtaking scenery.
\n
The sixth Lushan International Romance Film Week will be held from Sept 5 to 11, with the theme Fall in Love Through Films. The event aims to promote a deep integration of film and tourism through various activities, including screenings of classic romance movies and immersive cultural and tourism experiences.
\n
Li Longwu, director of the Jiangxi provincial film bureau, hopes the event will remind audiences of the emotional power of cinema, encourage them to discover love, believe in love, and to love courageously with the help of movies.
\n
The 1980 blockbuster Romance on Lushan Mountain tells the story of the daughter of a retired Kuomintang general who comes back from the United States to visit Lushan Mountain and falls in love with the son of a People's Liberation Army general. Despite their contrasting backgrounds and the political tensions between their families, the two fall deeply in love.
\n
The film's stunning cinematography captures the natural splendor of Lushan while conveying a hopeful message about love transcending social and ideological boundaries. More than 40 years later, it is still shown daily in a hillside cinema on Lushan Mountain.
\n
The Lushan Scenic Area Management Bureau reports that, on average, approximately 250 out of every 10,000 visitors choose to relive its romance on screen.
\n
Since 2020, the Lushan International Romance Film Week has become an annual event each September. It combines screenings of Chinese and international romance films featuring well-known actors, creative exchanges, and industry forums. The broader vision is to harness Lushan's cultural heritage and tourism resources to build a lasting reputation as a global landmark for romantic films.
\n
"Lushan has been hosting the romance film week for several years in a row, aiming to create a cultural brand as the 'Mountain of Love'. We hope to further blend film culture with the unique scenery of the area," says Xiong Duming, mayor of Lushan.
\n
In the lead-up to this year's festival, the Top Ten Romance Films of the New Century recommendation event, supported by the China Film Critics Association, has already begun. This event invites audiences to vote for the 10 most representative romantic films released between 2000 and 2024, chosen from a list of 50. The selected works, along with other films, will be shown during the week at multiple venues across Lushan, from indoor cinemas to outdoor theaters nestled in the landscape.
\n
Adding star power, celebrity couple Chen Jianbin and Jiang Qinqin have been named ambassadors for this year's film week. Chen, a director and actor, says that Lushan Mountain is not only a culturally significant mountain but also a "sacred mountain" of love for many, thanks to the film Romance on Lushan Mountain.
\n
"Love needs nurturing, and films need great works. We look forward to witnessing more touching love stories come to life and spread through the magic of cinema in this enchanting place," Chen says.
\n
Lushan Mountain is renowned for its stunning natural beauty and rich cultural heritage. As a UNESCO World Heritage site, it boasts breathtaking landscapes with towering peaks, deep valleys and lush greenery. It has also been a source of inspiration for countless poets, artists and scholars over the centuries.
\n",
+ "content": "
Representatives from the government, media and film industry unveil the sixth Lushan International Romance Film Week, to be held from Sept 5-11, at a news conference in Beijing.
\n
Among China's many picturesque mountains and rivers, one stands out for its unique blend of natural beauty and romantic symbolism: Lushan Mountain in Jiangxi province.
\n
This picturesque site rose to national fame in 1980, when the film Romance on Lushan Mountain captivated audiences across the country. The movie not only introduces breathtaking images of Lushan's mist-shrouded peaks and verdant valleys, but also features a landmark moment in Chinese cinema — a screen kiss that broke long-standing taboos around on-screen intimacy. For many, it marked the beginning of a more open era in China's domestic film industry.
\n
Now, Lushan Mountain is set to host a love-themed film week, enchanting tourists with cinematic tales of romance amid its breathtaking scenery.
\n
The sixth Lushan International Romance Film Week will be held from Sept 5 to 11, with the theme Fall in Love Through Films. The event aims to promote a deep integration of film and tourism through various activities, including screenings of classic romance movies and immersive cultural and tourism experiences.
\n
Li Longwu, director of the Jiangxi provincial film bureau, hopes the event will remind audiences of the emotional power of cinema, encourage them to discover love, believe in love, and to love courageously with the help of movies.
\n
The 1980 blockbuster Romance on Lushan Mountain tells the story of the daughter of a retired Kuomintang general who comes back from the United States to visit Lushan Mountain and falls in love with the son of a People's Liberation Army general. Despite their contrasting backgrounds and the political tensions between their families, the two fall deeply in love.
\n
The film's stunning cinematography captures the natural splendor of Lushan while conveying a hopeful message about love transcending social and ideological boundaries. More than 40 years later, it is still shown daily in a hillside cinema on Lushan Mountain.
\n
The Lushan Scenic Area Management Bureau reports that, on average, approximately 250 out of every 10,000 visitors choose to relive its romance on screen.
\n
Since 2020, the Lushan International Romance Film Week has become an annual event each September. It combines screenings of Chinese and international romance films featuring well-known actors, creative exchanges, and industry forums. The broader vision is to harness Lushan's cultural heritage and tourism resources to build a lasting reputation as a global landmark for romantic films.
\n
"Lushan has been hosting the romance film week for several years in a row, aiming to create a cultural brand as the 'Mountain of Love'. We hope to further blend film culture with the unique scenery of the area," says Xiong Duming, mayor of Lushan.
\n
In the lead-up to this year's festival, the Top Ten Romance Films of the New Century recommendation event, supported by the China Film Critics Association, has already begun. This event invites audiences to vote for the 10 most representative romantic films released between 2000 and 2024, chosen from a list of 50. The selected works, along with other films, will be shown during the week at multiple venues across Lushan, from indoor cinemas to outdoor theaters nestled in the landscape.
\n
Adding star power, celebrity couple Chen Jianbin and Jiang Qinqin have been named ambassadors for this year's film week. Chen, a director and actor, says that Lushan Mountain is not only a culturally significant mountain but also a "sacred mountain" of love for many, thanks to the film Romance on Lushan Mountain.
\n
"Love needs nurturing, and films need great works. We look forward to witnessing more touching love stories come to life and spread through the magic of cinema in this enchanting place," Chen says.
\n
Lushan Mountain is renowned for its stunning natural beauty and rich cultural heritage. As a UNESCO World Heritage site, it boasts breathtaking landscapes with towering peaks, deep valleys and lush greenery. It has also been a source of inspiration for countless poets, artists and scholars over the centuries.
\n \n \n A primary school in Shanghai has drawn widespread attention after reports revealed it has just 22 students across five classes, but 23 full-time teachers.\n \n \n
\n \n \n According to a local official bulletin published in April, Sanqiao Primary School in Pudong New Area is listed as having five classes with 22 students, giving it a teacher–student ratio of nearly one-to-one. A notice on the school's official WeChat account also stated that only one new first-grade class will be admitted in 2025.\n \n \n
\n \n \n \n The figures quickly went viral, with some netizens describing the setup as a \"luxurious one-on-one tutoring arrangement\n \n \n \n \n \"\n \n \n \n \n , while others criticized it as a waste of educational resources.\n \n \n \n
\n \n \n A staff member from the Pudong district government's student enrolment and examination center confirmed that the data about the school was accurate. Every school can only recruit students from their designated catchment areas, and for Sanqiao \"the number of age-appropriate children in the actual catchment area is just this many\", the staff member said.\n \n \n
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\n \n \n The decline in student numbers has been particularly dramatic in Sanqiao's case because several residential communities in the school's catchment area were recently demolished and relocated, the staff member explained.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Education expert Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said Sanqiao's case is mainly the result of several residential communities in the school's catchment area recently undergoing relocation, which does not represent the overall situation in Shanghai.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Xiong rejected the idea that \"having more teachers than students\" means wasting resources. With primary education now expected to balance moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education, it is unrealistic to expect one or two teachers to cover all subjects, he noted.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Looking ahead, Xiong predicted that more small-scale schools with only a few dozen or around 100 students will emerge in both cities and rural areas. Improving school standards and promoting small-class teaching, he added, should be the way forward.\n \n \n
\n \n \n As the new school year approaches, many parents are increasingly concerned about \"back-to-school syndrome.\"\n \n \n
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\n \n \n Heading back to school sparks an upswing in anxiety for many children. The average child's school day is packed with potential stressors: separating from parents, meeting academic expectations, managing peer groups, and navigating loud, crowded school hallways and cafeteria, to name just a few of many challenges. That's why it's typical for children to experience some anticipatory anxiety leading up to the new school year — and for parents to notice a rise in worries.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Back-to-school syndrome presents in various ways. Children may suddenly complain of stomachaches or headaches, lose their appetite or become unusually irritable. Some may have trouble sleeping at night, frequently visit the bathroom without a clear reason, or exhibit tic disorders, such as excessive blinking, throat clearing or repetitive mouth sounds.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Experts advise against scolding children when they resist going to school, as it is ineffective. \"Instead of rushing to resolve their anxiety or forcing them to cope, it's crucial to allow children to manage their feelings at their own pace,\" said Lee Moon-soo, a professor of psychiatry at Korea University Guro Hospital. \"If parents acknowledge their concerns and engage in open conversations, children will feel more emotionally secure.\"\n \n \n
\n \n \n Against the backdrop of Qinhuang Lake and the city skyline, the Chengdu World Games officially opened on Thursday night, themed \"Boundless Sports, Countless Wonders\".\n \n \n
\n \n \n The opening ceremony reached its climax when the final two torchbearers - Chinese waterskiers Xu Lu and Alu Xiaobo — glided across the water behind powerboats, carrying torches passed to them by snooker player Ding Junhui and Olympic and TWG trampoline champion Dong Dong. Xu and Alu then lit the main cauldron, designed as a water-shaped spout rising from the lake, as fireworks lit up the sky in a dazzling display.\n \n \n
\n \n \n As the largest-ever edition, the Chengdu World Games has attracted a record 6,679 total participants, including athletes and officials, from 116 countries and regions. The 3,942 athletes will compete in 256 events across 34 sports.\n \n \n
\n \n \n China has sent its largest-ever delegation: 489 members, including 321 athletes. The Chinese athletes, which has also included para-athletes for the first time, are competing in 152 events across 28 sports and making its debut in 12, including cheerleading, flying disc and powerboating.\n \n \n
\n \n \n A video of rabbits bouncing on a trampoline has gone viral on social media, garnering millions of views and shares over platforms. It started on July 27 when a TikTok user posted a video with the caption, \"Just checked the home security cam and… I think we've got guest performers out back!\"\n \n \n
\n \n \n First, as the video starts, pay close attention to two bunnies on the left-hand side of the trampoline. What initially looks like two grey rabbits sitting side-by-side, unnaturally warps into a single bunny, which bounds away.\n \n \n
\n \n \n A similar transformation occurs with two other rabbits around the five-second mark.\n \n \n
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\n \n \n To spot the subtle flaw, focus on the leftmost rabbit as it starts to run across the trampoline. The rabbit jumps up and obscures another rabbit sitting on the back edge, which has vanished by the time the first rabbit lands.\n \n \n
\n \n \n \n A fact-checking platform Snopes stated that\n \n \n \n \n the account that posted the video previously shared at least one video (archived) generated by Google's artificial video generator \"\n \n \n \n \n \n Veo\n \n \n \n \n \", as evidenced by a watermark on the footage.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Despite the subtle hints and the account's unusual behaviour, many people still found themselves falling for the clip.\n \n \n
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\n \n \n Some commenters even joked that they had thought only their parents would fall for fake AI content. One wrote: \"A few years ago I was laughing at my mother for believing AI.\" Another joked: \"I'm getting scammed when I'm older.\"\n \n \n
\n \n \n Experts say there are many reasons why this was so believable\n \n \n \n \n , such as surveillance footage providing a sense of authenticity. Before AI became popular, security footage was viewed as a reliable record, according to CBS News Confirmed.\n \n \n
\n \n \n \n \n \n \n 图源：新浪微博@七三一官方微博截图\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n A Chinese historical drama titled\n \n \n \"731,\"\n \n \n which revisits the horrific World War II-era human experiments conducted by Japan's notorious germ warfare unit 731, is set to premiere on Sept 18, sources associated with the film have said.\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
\n \n \n 二战期间，侵华日军第七三一部队在哈尔滨市平房区以“给水防疫”为名，秘密研制细菌武器，抓捕平民、抗日志士等进行活体实验，成为日本军国主义实施细菌战的铁证。\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Unit 731, a top-secret biological and chemical warfare research base, was established in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang province, and served as the nerve center for Japanese biological warfare in China and Southeast Asia during WWII.\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 图源：\n \n \n \n \n \n 新浪微博@七三一官方微博截图\n \n \n \n \n \n \n 据新华社报道，主创团队介绍，影片讲述了当地小贩王永章等人被强行抓入“特设监狱”，侵华日军以“配合健康检查与防疫研究即可换取自由”的虚伪承诺，欺骗他们遭受冻伤实验、毒气实验、活体解剖等极端折磨的故事。\n \n \n
\n \n \n According to the film's director Zhao Linshan, it tells the story of Wang Yongzhang, a local vendor, and others who were imprisoned and lured by false promises of freedom in exchange for cooperation with health checks and disease prevention research.\n \n \n
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\n \n \n Instead, they became victims of brutal medical experiments carried out by the occupying Japanese forces -- including frostbite testing, gas exposure and vivisection.\n \n \n
\n \n \n “日本侵略者给中国人民带来了沉重灾难，这是不容忘却的历史。”侵华日军第七三一部队罪证陈列馆馆长金成民说，\n \n 影片展现绝境下中国人不屈的反抗精神，警醒世人铭记历史、捍卫和平。\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \"This is a history that must never be forgotten,\" said Jin Chengmin, a historical adviser for the film and head of the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army.\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \"The film reveals the inhumane atrocities committed by the invading Japanese army through the eyes of ordinary civilians, while highlighting the unyielding resistance spirit of the Chinese people in the face of despair,\" Jin said. \"It serves as a powerful reminder to safeguard peace.\"\n \n \n \n \n \n 定档消息发出后\n \n \n \n \n 相关话题引发关注\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n 网友：真相不能忘！\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
\n \n \n A master's graduate surnamed Yang in Zhengzhou, Henan province has taken social media by storm with his artistic take on\n \n shaobing\n \n (Chinese flatbread), amassing over 400,000 followers within just two months.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Yang, a young postgraduate from North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, started a\n \n shaobing\n \n business after quitting his previous job. Using just a utility knife, he sculpts the dough into elaborate shapes ranging from firearms like Desert Eagles to popular cartoon characters such as Labubu and Hello Kitty.\n \n \n
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\n \n His stall has become particularly popular among children, who jokingly refer to it as a \"flour arsenal\". Daily queues form as soon as he opens for business, with some elderly customers reportedly waiting up to two hours to buy his creations for their grandchildren.\n \n
\n \n What began as a custom request from a child has blossomed into a viral phenomenon, with each piece meticulously hand-carved using only a utility knife — a skill he attributes to the spatial imagination honed during his engineering studies.\n \n
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\n \n Remarkably, Yang prices each artistic flatbread at just 1 yuan ($0.14), despite their intricate designs. \"I initially sold them for 3 to 5 yuan but lowered the price to make them affordable for children,\" he explained.\n \n
\n \n \n His Douyin bio — \"Unemployed civil engineering grad selling\n \n shaobing\n \n \" — underscores the unconventional career pivot that has sparked heated debate online.\n \n \n
\n \n While many applaud his creativity and defiance of \"elite job\" stereotypes, critics question whether street vending justifies his education. Undeterred, Yang sees his venture as liberation. \"Traditional civil engineering didn't suit me,\" he shared, adding that livestreaming and content creation now fuel his entrepreneurial ambitions. His story resonates with a growing cohort of Chinese youth redefining success beyond conventional career tracks.\n \n
\n \n \n \n Dead to Rights\n \n \n \n \n \n ,\n \n \n a film set during the Nanjing Massacre,\n \n \n \n \n \n opened in domestic theaters on July 25\n \n \n \n \n \n .\n \n \n \n \n Marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), the film revisits one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II through the perspective of a group of unsung heroes.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Set against the Nanjing Massacre, the film follows a group of civilians sheltering in a photo studio.\n \n \n
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\n \n \n Forced to develop a Japanese military photographer's film to survive, they accidentally uncover photographic proof of the atrocities. Initially focused on mere survival, they ultimately risk everything to preserve the evidence and expose the war crimes.\n \n \n
\n \n \n The most powerful core of this film lies in its tearing open the veil of history, allowing me an outsider to viscerally empathize wth the unimaginable suffering endured by the Chinese nation during the catastraphe. It doesn't shy away from the darkness, nor does it gloss over the pain. It confronts the nation's scars with immense artistic courage.\n \n \n
\n \n \n China's 2025 summer box office, including presales, exceeded 5 billion yuan on Sunday. Daily box office takings have remained above 100 million yuan for 10 consecutive days. On Saturday alone, ticket sales hit 293 million yuan, setting a new single-day high for this year's summer movie season.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Leading the charts is Universal's \"Jurassic World Rebirth,\" with 541 million yuan in ticket sales, followed by Chinese comedy \"The Lychee Road,\" which has grossed 468 million yuan. Other top performers include Japanese animated movie \"Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback,\" Peter Chan's crime drama \"She's Got No Name\" and the sports film \"F1 The Movie\" starring Brad Pitt.\n \n \n
\n \n \n \n On Tuesday, the United States announced a decision to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) by the end of December 2026. This marks the third time Washington has exited UNESCO.\n \n \n \n
\n \n \n According to a statement by the US State Department, the withdrawal was prompted by what Washington perceived as UNESCO's tendency to \"advance divisive social and cultural causes,\" particularly regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict.\n \n \n
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\n \n \n \n The US exit will take effect at the end of December 2026.\n \n \n \n
\n \n \n Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO expressed regret over the US decision, calling it inconsistent with the fundamental principles of multilateralism.\n \n \n
\n \n \n UNESCO said the US exit was regrettable but came as no surprise. \"However regrettable, this announcement was expected, and UNESCO has prepared for it,\" Azoulay said in a statement.\n \n \n
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\n \n \n \n \"We have implemented major structural reforms and diversified our funding sources. Thanks to the efforts made by the Organization since 2018, the decline in US financial contributions has been effectively offset,\" she stated.\n \n \n \n
\n \n \n Earlier Tuesday afternoon, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed on his X account France's \"unwavering support\" for UNESCO. He called UNESCO a \"universal guardian of science, the ocean, education, culture, and world heritage.\"\n \n \n
\n \n \n \n France, as the host country and a founding member of UNESCO, regrets the US decision to quit UNESCO, the spokesperson of the country's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.\n \n \n \n
\n \n \n \n S\n \n \n \n ince Donald Trump's second term in office started early this year, the Trump administration had announced its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Human Rights Council.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Health authorities said all affected children received treatment, with nearly all now discharged after their blood lead levels dropped by around 40 percent on average. The government is covering medical costs and has set up a monitoring program to track the children's recovery.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Seventeen officials have been placed under disciplinary investigation, and 10 others, including senior health and education officials in Tianshui city and its Maiji district, Gansu province, face formal accountability procedures, according to a report released on Sunday.\n \n \n
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\n \n \n Authorities said the kindergarten was operating without a license and that local education and market supervision departments failed to carry out oversight. Some officials are suspected of accepting bribes and favors from the kindergarten's investor. Disciplinary and criminal investigations have been launched against officials, including the head of the provincial health commission and the mayor of Tianshui.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Authorities found that the kindergarten's management had instructed staff to add brightly colored but inedible industrial pigments to foods such as corn rolls and jujube cakes (steamed buns), to make them look more appealing to children and parents.\n \n \n
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\n \n \n Two samples from Peixin — a tricolor red date sponge cake served at breakfast and a corn roll with sausage served at dinner — failed to meet food safety standards. The samples contained lead levels of 1,052 milligrams per kilogram and 1,340 milligrams per kilogram, respectively, far above the national limit of 0.5 milligram per kilogram.\n \n \n
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\n \n \n On Sunday, officials revealed in a report that six had been arrested on suspicion of producing toxic and harmful food.\n \n \n
\n \n \n AI hallucination occurs when an AI model generates false or illogical information that is not based on real data or events, but is presented as fact. Hallucinations can lead to significant consequences when people use AI for tasks with the potential for high-stakes consequences.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Launched by Fudan University and sponsored by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in China, the Youth Innovation Competition on Global Governance (YICGG) is an international competition that encourages youths from around the world to develop innovative global governance solutions.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Apart from having the required curriculum, Science and Technology Branch of\n \n \n \n \n Beijing Academy\n \n \n \n \n focus more on teaching science and technology. The school is guided jointly by the\n \n \n \n \n Beijing Academy\n \n \n \n \n Educational Group and five nearby universities.\n \n \n
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\n \n \n With the five universities giving students access to their labs and arranging for lectures by their professors, the school aims to rear talents interested in science and technology.\n \n \n
\n \n \n Faced with the challenges of the economic globalization, where cross-cultural dialogue has an important place, education is booming increasingly globalized.\n \n \n
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\n \n \n Ever since the concept of Education for International Understanding was proposed by UNESCO, this dialogue has been highlighted by the government.\n \n \n
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\n \n \n The Ministry of Education of China has repeatedly pointed out that the development of core competencies for Chinese students is required to be in line with the world education reform, and strengthens the international competitiveness of China's education.\n \n \n
\n \n \n \n Recently, an influencer launched a creative writing challenge where participants were randomly assigned past national college entrance exam essay prompts. A construction worker was assigned\n \n \n \n \n \"My Mother\"—the 1957 gaokao composition topic.\n \n \n \n
\n \n \n \n He wrote:\n \n \n \n \n \"The grass on my mother's grave turns green\n \n \n \n \n ,\n \n \n \n \n then yellow\n \n \n \n \n ;\n \n \n \n \n yellow\n \n \n \n \n ,\n \n \n \n \n then green—just like my longing. Year after year, it never fades. I'\n \n \n \n \n ve become a father and then a grandfather, yet it's been over thirty years since I last called out '\n \n \n \n \n Mom'.\n \n \n \n \n I keep thinking, when the day comes that I can no longer haul cement, I'\n \n \n \n \n ll return to the village and lie down beside that mound of earth. Maybe then, if I call for my mother again, she'll hear me.\"\n \n \n \n
\n \n \n \n When asked about the essay, the worker\n \n \n \n \n ,\n \n \n \n \n surnamed An,\n \n \n \n \n said: \"\n \n \n \n \n This composition reflects\n \n \n \n \n my family's truth—it'\n \n \n \n \n s my own\n \n \n \n \n lived experience.\"\n \n \n \n \n He recalled how his mother cared for him and his seven siblings. \"\n \n \n \n \n The prompt '\n \n \n \n \n My Mother'\n \n \n \n \n felt deeply moving,\"\n \n \n \n \n he explained. \"\n \n \n \n \n That's what compelled me to pour my heart into this writing.\"\n \n \n \n
\n \n This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.\n \n \n \n \n
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\n \n Today, July 7, is etched in history with the Lugou Bridge Incident (1937) in Beijing, when Japanese troops attacked Lugou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge) and the defending Chinese troops rose to fight the enemy. The event triggered China's full-scale war of resistance against Japanese aggression, also a main Eastern theater of the World Anti-Fascist War.\n \n
\n \n \n Japan has never fully reflected on its aggressive acts and war crimes before and during World War II. Right-wing forces have repeatedly downplayed or glorified this history, promoting revisionist narratives that blur public understanding of World War II.\n \n \n
\n \n ACBL每年授予青年选手的“King of Bridge”奖项，这次落户一位华人青年牌手龚致远（Nathan Gong）。这一奖项是奖励在青少年桥牌活动中做出杰出贡献的青少年牌手，从比赛成绩、推广桥牌等维度进行评选。龚致远曾经代表美国青年队参加世青赛并且获得了好成绩，同时他也在桥牌社区做了很多有意义的工作。上次获得与此类似的“Queen of Bridge”奖项的也是华人，林安然（Amber Lin）。\n \n
Foreign journalists have a group photo taken on Thursday at the media center for the upcoming commemorative events marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.
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Twenty-six foreign heads of state and government will attend China's Victory Day commemorations, which will include a military parade, on Wednesday as Beijing hopes to use the event to reaffirm its commitment to defending the victorious outcomes of World War II and contributing to world peace and development.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong-un will be among the world leaders attending the commemorations, Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei said at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.
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It will be Putin's first visit to China since he held talks with United States President Donald Trump on the Ukraine crisis in Alaska earlier this month. Putin will also attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin, to be held from Sunday to Monday.
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His China visit also comes following President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia in May and Xi's attendance at the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War.
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Hong said that during that visit, Xi and Putin together sent the strong message that "the history of World War II must not be distorted, the victorious outcomes of World War II must not be denied, and the postwar international order must not be challenged".
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Regarding Kim's China visit, Hong said that safeguarding, consolidating and developing relations between China and the DPRK is the firm position of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government.
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China stands ready to work with the DPRK to continue to enhance exchanges and cooperation and advance socialist development, coordinate closely on promoting the peace and stability of the region and safeguard international fairness and justice, he said.
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Sept 3 is celebrated in China as Victory Day, marking the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on Sept 2, 1945.
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The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) was the first war to break out and the longest-running campaign in the World Anti-Fascist War. It resulted in over 35 million Chinese military and civilian casualties.
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With regard to a question about some forces in Japan seeking to remove restrictions on its military, including downplaying its history of aggression and even distorting historical truth to paint themselves as a victim of war, Hong said that such acts pose challenges to the post-World War II international order, to human conscience and to all who love peace.
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"We urge Japan to face history squarely, reflect deeply upon its crimes of aggression, make a clean break with militarism and pursue the right path of peaceful development, good neighborliness and friendship," he said.
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Former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama, who said that Japan should reflect on its stance on history, will be among the former statesmen invited to attend the commemorations.
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A total of 50 international friends who have contributed to the war of resistance against Japanese aggression or their families from 14 countries, including Russia, the US, the United Kingdom, France and Canada, will also attend the commemorations.
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Wu Zeke, deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group for the Military Parade and a senior officer of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, said at the news conference that the preparations for the V-Day military parade are basically complete.
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The parade will feature a wide range of weapons and equipment, much of which will be unveiled for the first time, Wu said, adding that the event will highlight the Chinese military's recent advances in modernization and enhanced combat readiness.
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When asked about what message China will send to the world about the military parade, Hong said, "We hold the military parade to show our firm determination to pursue the path of peaceful development, our strong will to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and our great capability to safeguard world peace and tranquility."
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