China and Russia could see further improvement in the bilateral trade structure in 2024, with the trade volume projected to reach new heights, a senior business head told the Global Times on Monday.
The remarks came as the two trading partners aim to further facilitate bilateral trade amid robust growth in trading volume, which reached a target of $200 billion in advance last year.
"Besides traditional trade in big-ticket items such as fossil fuels and natural minerals, Russian exports in the agricultural and food processing sectors are promising, and Russia has good strengths in those aspects," said Chen Zhigang, director general of the Russian-Chinese Business Park in St. Petersburg. "It is hoped that China could grant more access for those export items."
In 2023, bilateral trade reached $240.1 billion, surging 26.3 percent year-on-year and achieving the target of $200 billion ahead of schedule, demonstrating the strong resilience and broad prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Russia.
The year-on-year growth rate slowed down to 4.7 percent in the first four months of this year, but Chen said there is still "tremendous potential" for China-Russia trade and that annual trade volume could reach higher than $240 billion.
"Chinese importers have a good appetite for Russian grain, flour, oil seed, pork, beef, poultry and fish, and in these areas Russian exporters have good supply capacity," Chen said, noting that an uptick in Russian agricultural exports to China would contribute to a more balanced trade structure in China-Russia trade.
The logistics hurdles that impeded China-Russia trade in the past have largely been addressed now, Chen said, adding that the roads and railway crossings along the borders have now all opened and customs clearance has seen improvement in efficiency.
Bilateral business visits at the government level, corporate level and local levels have been brisk this year.
The 8th China-Russia Expo is set to start in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, from Thursday to May 21, attracting some 1,400 companies from 44 countries and regions and 21 Chinese provinces, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
In the first four months of this year, China-Europe freight trains departing from China-Russia border cities including Manzhouli in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Suifenhe and Tongjiang in Heilongjiang saw a 7 percent increase, according to data from the China State Railway Group on Monday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Friday that China and Russia have the right to conduct normal economic and trade cooperation, and such cooperation should not come under external interference or constraint.
Lin noted that for a long period of time, the US has suppressed Chinese companies citing "risks to national security," but has failed to produce any evidence.
"We urge the US to stop overstretching the concept of national security, stop politicizing trade and tech issues or using them as weapons, and to stop abusing sanctions to suppress Chinese companies. China will continue to do what is necessary to defend the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies," Lin said.
Xiang Piao Piao's stock price soared on Monday and hit the daily up limit after netizens found one of its products sold in a store in Japan have cup sleeve satirizing Japan's handling of nuclear-contaminated wastewater.
The Chinese milk tea brand has reportedly seen a 400 percent surge on its live streaming sales in China as millions of netizens bought the products from Saturday to Sunday.
A Chinese netizen discovered that MECO fruit tea, a drink under the brand of Xiang Piao Piao, sells products in a store in Japan with slogans on their cup sleeves showing "the ocean is not Japan's sewer" and "0.1 percent of the land pollutes 70 percent of the ocean." The picture was then exposed on Chinese media social platform.
Tens of thousands of simultaneous viewers visited Xiang Piao Piao's live stream over the weekend after the matter went heated, in which three of the six items were sold out during the live. The daily sales of its store have skyrocketed from 2,500 yuan ($346) to 1 million yuan, according to media reports.
The cup sleeves have also been out of stock as the demand is increasing, and it will be replenished at a later date, according to the anchor of the event.
The official Weibo account of Xiang Piao Piao also released a statement on Saturday saying that "our staff are awesome" after its action triggered heated discussion on Chinese social media platforms. According to media report, the president of Xiang Piao Piao said during the live stream on Sunday that he would award 100,000 yuan to the related employees and donate all the income from the live stream from 8 pm to 12 am that night to the Environmental Protection Foundation.
The hotline staff from Xiang Piao Piao said that it was a personal behavior of the employees, not an initiative of the company, according to the 21st Century Business Herald. The Kyowa store in Okubo of Japan also told the media that the store has not sold drinks with such cup sleeves.
According to previous reports, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) started to dump the fifth batch of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean on April 19. In Japan's fiscal 2024, which ends in March 2025, TEPCO plans to release a total of 54,600 metric tons across seven rounds, the Japan Times reported.
China has opened a "golden circuit" in developing its new-type energy storage, as a number of provinces are stepping up efforts to apply new-type energy storage technologies, in a bid to advance the green energy transition.
New-type energy storage refers to energy storage technologies, other than pumped storage, in which the main form of energy storage is the output of electricity. In 2024, "development of new-type energy storage" was written into the Government Work Report for the first time.
Experts said on Wednesday that new-type energy storage is becoming a key technology in China's efforts to build new energy and power systems, as well as an important means of promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of energy production and consumption.
In Rudong, East China's Jiangsu Province, the country's first 100-megawatt-hour gravity energy storage project is under construction. Within a month or so, the project will be formally put into operation.
Gravity energy storage is a mechanical energy storage method. Its main principle is to use the surplus power generated by new energy to lift the gravity block for "charging." At times of peak electricity consumption, it will put down the gravity block to "discharge," so as to provide electricity for the power grid.
Baotang Energy Storage Station in Foshan, South China's Guangdong Province, is the largest independent lithium battery energy storage station built in China. It can deliver 430 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of clean electricity to the region every year, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 300,000 tons.
Facing challenges and opportunities of the new power system, China is exploring more means of energy storage. China's first salt cavern compressed air energy storage facility started operations in Jiangsu Province in 2022.
The power station uses electric energy to compress air into an underground salt cavern, then releases air to drive an air turbine, which can generate electricity when needed. The energy storage capacity in each cycle reaches 300,000 kWh, equal to the daily consumption of about 60,000 residents.
Gravity energy storage and compressed air energy storage are typical types of diversified energy storage technologies, known as physical energy technologies, Liu Yong, secretary-general of the Energy Storage Application Branch of China Industrial Association of Power Sources, told the Global Times on Wednesday, adding that chemical energy storage technologies account for more than 90 percent of the international market.
Liu said that progress in compressed air energy storage is expected to have further positive results during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).
Since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, newly installed new-type energy storage capacity in China has directly promoted investment of more than 100 billion yuan ($13.93 billion), driving further expansion of upstream and downstream industrial chains.
As of end-2023, installed new-type energy storage capacity in China stood at 31.39 gigawatts, with a 2.1-hour average energy storage time. During 2023, 22.6 gigawatts of new-type energy storage capacity were installed, up 260 percent year-on-year and nearly 10 times the figure as of end-2020.
At the beginning of this year, the National Energy Administration released a list of 56 new-type energy storage pilot demonstration projects, including 17 lithium-ion battery projects and 11 compressed air energy storage projects. Some of these projects have been connected to the grid, effectively promoting the application of new technologies.
So far this year, the number of registered energy storage projects in Guangdong has increased by more than five times year-on-year, and Jiangsu will have 4 million kilowatts of new-type energy storage integrated into the State Grid this year.
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary, the two sides decided to elevate the current comprehensive strategic partnership to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era, which experts said on Friday will provide new economic and trade cooperation opportunities for the two countries.
Embracing the elevated partnership, China and Hungary will eye strengthened cooperation in infrastructure construction, agriculture, digital economy, green development as well as other emerging industries. Moreover, the two countries' pragmatic and fruitful achievements have set a good example for China's collaboration with other European countries, analysts noted.
"Deeper and precise cooperation will become the key word between the two countries under the all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era, which means both sides will formulate cooperation policies that are more closely aligned with each other's development strategies," Song Wei, a professor from the School of International Relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Friday.
According to the joint statement released by the two countries, emphasis is placed on enhanced cooperation in infrastructure construction under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The two countries are willing to actively promote the construction of the Hungarian section of the Hungary-Serbia Railway, and jointly promote high-level connectivity in Central and Eastern Europe.
In addition, the two sides will support the sound and steady development of the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line, and promote connectivity and trade between China and Hungary.
The two sides spoke highly of the development of the China-Europe Railway Express between China and Hungary, and agreed to establish an inter-governmental cooperation mechanism on the China-Europe Railway Express, promote infrastructure connectivity, and jointly take practical measures to ensure the security of the transport routes and improve the quality and efficiency of the China-Europe Railway Express, so as to provide important support for deepening economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
"From the Hungary-Serbia Railway to China-Europe Railway Express, infrastructure cooperation has promoted cross-border connectivity which then helps related countries become embedded in the European and global value chain, reducing the cost of logistics and personnel," Song noted.
Moreover, the two sides recognized the huge potential in agricultural cooperation between them and will strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation between agricultural enterprises of both sides, widen market access, promote the cooperation of "small and beautiful" projects, and strengthen cooperation in areas such as animal health and joint research and development of deep processing technologies for agricultural products.
In the latest achievement in bilateral agricultural cooperation, China's General Administration of Customs announced on Friday that it has allowed, effective immediately, the import of Hungarian fresh cherries that meet the relevant requirements.
According to the statement, the two sides will promote orderly cooperation in emerging fields including clean energy, artificial intelligence (AI), mobile communication technology and nuclear energy and technology. They will deepen cooperation in digital economy and green development, foster new drivers of trade and economic growth, expand the scope and depth of economic and trade cooperation, and jointly safeguard the stability and security of industrial and supply chains.
The two sides will also further deepen cooperation in finance, encourage financial institutions of both sides to provide financing support and financial services for trade and investment cooperation, further tap the cooperation potential in green finance and other fields, and continue to jointly issue green Panda bonds.
"The joint statement covers a wide range of cooperation fields, including economy, science and technology, and culture, showing the comprehensive and multi-dimensional character of China-Hungary cooperation," Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.
Looking ahead, Wang noted that with the transformation of the global energy structure, cooperation in the field of clean energy is particularly important. China and Hungary can develop in-depth cooperation in the fields of solar energy and wind energy. Moreover, there are also high expectations that collaboration in AI and mobile communication technology will be enhanced.
Wang said the pragmatic cooperation between China and Hungary provides a successful example of cooperation between China and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. This model of cooperation can serve as a reference and a model for other countries and promote cooperation and development in the region as a whole.
"In the context of geopolitical tensions, especially the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Central and Eastern Europe itself is facing a series of challenges, and strengthening cooperation with China is conducive to its independent development and regional stability," Song noted.
China's foreign ministry's office in Hong Kong slammed the latest remarks of the US Consul General Gregory May, who criticized judicial cases in the Chinese city and openly supported anti-China and anti-Hong Kong figures including infamous rioter Jimmy Lai. Experts said the responsibility for improving US-China relations, including those with Hong Kong, lies with the US side, which should refrain from meddling in Hong Kong affairs.
A spokesperson for the Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) expressed strong opposition and condemnation toward the remarks made by May, according to a statement published on the website of the office late Thursday night.
Certain anti-China organizations and politicians in the West remain resentful of Hong Kong's shift from chaos to governance and now to prosperity. Under the guise of academic discussions, they actually intervene and discredit Hong Kong's political democracy, judicial fairness, and human rights conditions, which is neither objective nor fair, the spokesperson said.
With Hong Kong entering a new phase of economic revitalization and development, any external interference is destined to fail, the spokesperson noted, advising the US to recognize the reality, position itself appropriately, refrain from stirring trouble, and return to the right path of fostering healthy and stable development of China-US relations through concrete actions.
While China and the US are attempting to stabilize bilateral relations, May said during a webinar hosted by a Washington think tank Center for Strategic & International Studies on Thursday night that the US aims to stabilize relations with China, including those with Hong Kong.
He also suggested that if Hong Kong leaders cease their "expanding crackdown" and return to the provisions and spirit of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, the US government would respond positively and attempt to improve Hong Kong-US relations, local media outlet Ming Pao reported.
The US official also criticized the Hong Kong government's stated goal of combating "soft resistance," arguing that it is actually using extrajudicial means for "soft suppression," according to the media report.
Based on May's comments, the US is trying to find an "exit strategy" in the face of being unable to change the situation in Hong Kong. However, if the US demands that Hong Kong admit to "mishandling" matters, Hong Kong will naturally refuse since that would be untrue, Lau Siu-kai, a consultant from the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies who is also a senior policy advisor, told the Global Times on Friday.
Lau believed that the responsibility for improving US-China relations, including those with Hong Kong, lies with the US side, which should refrain from meddling in Hong Kong affairs. The US official told a webinar that American companies in Hong Kong are still interested in investing there, but some are concerned about potential instability following the implementation of Article 23 of the Basic Law and the legislation on critical infrastructure security expected later this year, according to the local media report.
Businesses worry that some offenses under Article 23 are vaguely defined, leading to uncertainty for businesses and individuals, May noted, emphasizing that American companies expect the Hong Kong government to firmly and clearly reaffirm that the internet will remain free and open, and that Hong Kong will avoid strict information control, preventing foreign companies from having operational difficulties.
National Security together with a safe, fair, proper and harmony use of the internet and electronic media, continuously contributes the prosperity of the city. The internet is never an extraterritorial forum or should be isolated from widespread of violence and illegal propaganda or materials, Chu Kar-kin, a veteran commentator based in the HKSAR and member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, told the Global Times on Friday.
"The HKSAR government has devoting efforts to contribute to the business environment, reputation and image. May should not defame Hong Kong and never interfere in Hong Kong's internal affairs and judicial system by inserting external pressure based on subjectivity and bias," Chu said.
The fundamental national policies toward Hong Kong outlined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration have been fully implemented in the Basic Law, and the UK has no sovereignty, jurisdiction, or supervisory rights over Hong Kong after its return to the motherland, Willy Fu, a law professor who is also the director of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong & Macao Studies, told the Global Times on Friday.
Over recent years, the UK, the US, and anti-China nations have intervened in Hong Kong's internal affairs in various ways. They mistakenly regard the Joint Declaration as a legal basis for the Basic Law of the HKSAR and demand that China fulfill "obligations" stipulated in the Joint Declaration, Fu said.
"They also use the declaration to criticize China's enactment and implementation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong. These actions entirely confuse the original intent, nature, and status of the Joint Declaration. China's consistent stance is that the UK has no right to use the declaration as an excuse to interfere in Hong Kong after its return," the legal expert said.
Some lawmakers in Hong Kong also voiced strong opposition to the US Consul General's remarks. Lawmaker Nixie Lam Lam said in a statement issued on Friday that some American politicians continue to ignore the deep societal divisions in their own country, suppress dissenting students, and restrict freedom of speech, yet focus on commenting on other nations' internal affairs to divert global attention away from these issues.
"Anti-China rioter Jimmy Lai and other infamous anti-China figures have long played the role of traitorous clowns, deliberately slandering Hong Kong and fabricating false stories to solicit international sympathy with ulterior motives," Lam said, noting that Hong Kong's political democracy has continuously improved, freedoms and human rights are fully protected, economic development is steadily recovering, and society is orderly.
The lawmaker also pointed out that May and the US government have long disparaged Hong Kong affairs, including the National Security Law for Hong Kong and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
"I believe such remarks show that US criticism of Hong Kong is completely unfounded, ignoring the fact that every country has national security laws," Lam said.
May further claimed that the upcoming Cybersecurity Law would directly impact the free flow of information in Hong Kong, but his comments on a law that hasn't even been enacted are entirely fabricated and alarmist, which indicates that the US' comments about Hong Kong are purely political and are not based on facts, the lawmaker added.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is set to continue, as Israel warned Palestinians to evacuate from Rafah and the Israeli military prepared for an attack on the southern city on Palestine's border with Egypt. Experts said on Monday this will surely cause large numbers of civilian casualties, and the latest development in the situation proves that the US-dominated mediation has failed once again.
Although analysts doubted that Israel can realize the goal of "eradicating Hamas," they said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet would like to see the war extended, until they see Donald Trump winning the US presidential election at the end of this year. They added that this is the only chance for the Netanyahu administration to stay in power, and unfortunately, more civilians in Gaza will die, and the US will just refuse all demands to stop military aid to Israel.
As long as the conflict continues, the pro-Palestine protests in universities in the US and many other major Western countries will continue, and this will surely damage the image of the Joe Biden administration, as all of this proves that Biden is refusing to try his best to stop Netanyahu, experts said. They noted that the pro-Palestine protesters are mostly Democratic voters, and after a series of conflicts with US police, many of them might realize that political elites in the Democratic Party are just using them and failing to deliver what they are asking for. If they don't vote for Biden, Trump will have a chance to win, and this is exactly what Netanyahu is waiting for, they said.
Israel's military has issued a call for residents in eastern Rafah to "evacuate immediately," one day after the country's defense minister told troops inside Gaza to expect "intense action in Rafah in the near future," CNN reported on Monday.
A CNN stringer in east Rafah said that people were terrified and in a state of panic after the evacuation order from the Israeli military. Video footage showed people in the city packing cars and donkey-drawn carts with belongings.
Earlier, a Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported "noticeable progress" in cease-fire talks for Gaza, but Israel did not send a delegation, the AP reported.
The bloodshed continued on Sunday as three Israeli soldiers were killed in a rocket attack claimed by Hamas' armed wing near Rafah, where Palestinian health officials said at least 19 people were killed by Israeli fire on the same day, Reuters reported.
Netanyahu on Sunday doubled down on his rejection of Hamas' demand for an end to Israel's war against it in exchange for freeing the hostages it holds, saying that such a move would "keep Hamas in power in Gaza and pose a threat to Israel," the Times of Israel reported on Sunday.
Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times on Monday that the main difficulty facing cease-fire talks is that Israel wants to eradicate Hamas after it releases the detained Israelis, while Hamas wants a sustainable cease-fire to ensure the group stays alive.
Another key reason behind the failure of the US mediation is that Washington is adopting a problematic stance: On the one hand, it wants to respond to both internal and external pressures by pushing Israel and Hamas toward a deal, on the other hand, the US will unconditionally provide military aid to Israel, and both of them want Hamas to be eradicated, Liu said.
Ma Xiaolin, dean of the Institute for Studies on the Mediterranean Rim at Zhejiang International Studies University, told the Global Times on Monday, "Netanyahu understands that if he accepts the cease-fire, he and his cabinet will have to face consequences, as the goal that they promised of eradicating Hamas has not been realized, and this will be considered a failure in Israel, but the ground attack against Rafah will inevitably result in more civilian deaths."
No matter how many civilians are killed by Netanyahu and his army, the US will unconditionally defend Israel, despite Washington occasionally complaining about the ruthless behavior of Israeli military forces, experts said.
Although Israel will be heavily criticized if it launches a massive attack against Rafah, as long as the Biden administration refuses to stop military aid, Israel will be immune to criticism and condemnation, and will be able to do whatever it wants in Gaza, while the US, especially the Biden administration, will face the pressure and pay the price for Israel, experts noted.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Paris on Sunday afternoon local time, the first stop of his visit to three European countries. In a written speech on Sunday upon his arrival for a state visit to France, Xi said over the past 60 years, China-France relations have long been at the forefront of China's ties with major Western countries, setting a good example for the international community of peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation between countries with different systems.
The development of China-France relations has not only brought benefits to the two peoples, but also injected stability and positive energy into the turbulent world, Xi said in the written speech.
Xi's visit to France comes at a time when this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. Analysts believe the visit will boost leadership exchanges, strengthen political trust and offer an opportunity for China-Europe relations to move forward in a stable and steady manner.
"President Xi will have comprehensive and in-depth strategic communication with French President Emmanuel Macron on China-France and China-Europe relations, encourage France to uphold strategic autonomy and openness in cooperation, so as to drive Europe to form a more independent, objective, and friendly understanding of China and resist negative trends such as 'de-risking' and 'reduced dependence' on China," Chinese ambassador to France Lu Shaye told a press briefing on April 29 after China made the announcement of the visit.
Pierre Picquart, an expert in geopolitics and human geography from the University of Paris-VIII, told the Global Times that Xi's visit is significant on three levels.
"On the economic front, this trip could pave the way for reaching trade agreements and promoting mutually beneficial investments in key sectors such as technology, innovation, energy and infrastructure. Diplomatically, this visit provides an ideal platform to strengthen coordination and collaboration between China and France on major global challenges such as climate change, international security and public health. On cultural and educational level, this trip could open up new opportunities for cooperation in the fields of education, research and culture, thereby strengthening exchanges between our peoples and deepening their mutual understanding," Picquart said.
Commemorative events
The national flags of China and France have been raised at one end of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées as well as on the street in front of Les Invalides.
On Sunday afternoon, near the Arc de Triomphe in the center of Paris, many local Chinese residents and Chinese students waved the national flags of China and France to welcome President Xi. The red banners that read "Long live China-France friendship" and "Wish President Xi a successful visit to France" were very eye-catching. Some also staged dragon and lion dances in show of a joyful atmosphere.
Prior to Xi's visit, several events had been held in preparation for Xi's visit as well as to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France.
The Second Forum on China-France Global Governance was jointly held on Thursday by the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies and China-Europe-America Global Initiative. Themed "Deepening global governance reforms, jointly building the future of multilateralism," the forum invited more than 100 Chinese and French scholars to share their views on the role of China and France in building a more just world.
Pascal Boniface, director of the Paris-based Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, told the Global Times at the event, hoping that Xi's visit can address such issues as preserving multilateralism, as "we are at a time when we have the war between Russia and Ukraine, the war in Gaza and a lot of turmoil in the Middle East."
On Friday, a symposium themed "Exchanges and Mutual Learning between the Chinese and French Civilizations: Review and Outlook," was jointly organized by the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the Paris-based National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations. Around 100 researchers from the two countries held discussions on the practice of cross-cultural exchanges between China and France and scientific and technological innovation and the future of civilization.
Antoine Broussy, director of the Charles de Gaulle Foundation, told the Global Times that many commemorations are taking place in Paris.
Seeking common interests
Sixty years ago, France became the first Western country to establish diplomatic relations with China. Broussy believes it was "the result of a rational analysis of the geopolitical situation at the time." Then French president, General Charles De Gaulle who made the decision, was a strong advocate for "strategic autonomy" of France. Nowadays, France's call for "strategic autonomy" of both France and Europe has been repeatedly coming from French President Macron.
When co-chairing the 25th China-France Strategic Dialogue in Paris in February with French President's Diplomatic Counselor Emmanuel Bonne, Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, said China supports Europe in strengthening its strategic autonomy and holding its future in its own hands.
Nonetheless, the "strategic autonomy" of Europe has rarely been endorsed by Washington. During Macron's visit to China last year when he warned Europe against being drawn into a conflict between the US and China over Taiwan, US magazine Foreign Policy called strategic autonomy "a French pipe dream."
He Zhigao, a research fellow with the Institute of European Studies of CASS, told the Global Times that the US wants to hold tight control of Europe to tie it to the Western camp led by Washington.
"If Europe views China from a global perspective that could benefit the world, then China is an opportunity. But if it stands by US' side, then China must be a challenge," said He, adding that China's engagement with Europe is for the common development.
As of 2021, China has been the largest Asian country in terms of investment and job creation in France for three consecutive years, according to a report by Business France. China-France exchanges in core sectors such as aerospace, nuclear energy and trade have already realized fruitful achievements, and the development of emerging fields such as new energy and the digital economy are likely to become new growth engines.
Sun Keqin, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times that France also views China as an important external force to achieve strategic autonomy, as France has another ambition of strengthening France's leadership of Europe.
Xin Hua, director and chair professor of the Center for European Union Studies, Shanghai International Studies University, believes China-France relations serve as the ballast stone of China-Europe relations.
"France is one of the most important core members of the EU and its strategic orientations play a decisive role in the EU's integration process and the strategic and security pattern of the European continent. As long as China and France maintain positive interaction, China-Europe relations will stay stable," said Xin.
The death toll has risen to 48 after part of an expressway collapsed in Meizhou, South China's Guangdong Province, on early Wednesday morning, and the DNA of another three people are yet to be identified, according to a press conference held by local Meizhou authorities on Thursday.
As of 2pm on Thursday, it has been determined that the disaster caused 23 vehicles to collapse into a sunken area of road, with 78 drivers and passengers have been confirmed after search and rescue efforts.
Thirty injured are receiving treatment in hospital, and none are in life-threatening condition. No foreigners have been found among the casualties, Meizhou city Mayor Wang Hui told a press conference.
Several vehicles were buried under mud following the incident, making it impossible to immediately locate the trapped vehicles and individuals, according to Wen Yongdeng, the Communist Party secretary for the Meizhou emergency management bureau, at the press conference.
The acciden happened occurred around 2:10 am on the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in Meizhou. The collapsed section measures 17.9 meters long and covers an area of 184.3 square meters, officials confirmed.
Aerial photos show one side of the expressway had caved in, causing vehicles to roll down a slope.
The disaster-stricken landslide area is narrow and elongated, with the majority of the collapsed vehicles concentrated near the landslide zone. Due to the heavy rainfall over recent days, the soil at the site is loose, making it difficult for large-scale rescue equipment to access the core rescue area, said Wen.
According to Wen, several vehicles caught on fire, adding to the complexity of the rescue efforts. Most of the vehicles were buried under a considerable depth of mud during the collapse. Prolonged heavy rainfall has led to a high saturation level of the soil at the rescue site, increasing the likelihood of secondary disasters during the rescue operation.
Data shared at the press conference showed that, since April, Meizhou has experienced multiple heavy rainfall events, with the city's average cumulative rainfall reaching 621.7 millimeters, 2.49 times more than the same period in a typical year. This surpasses the historical record for April rainfall since meteorological records began in 1980.
The rescue and aftermath work continues. At the rescue site, there are 577 rescue personnel and 84 mechanical units had been leading the rescue effort, including forces from public security, firefighting, emergency response, and healthcare sectors.
The first forum of China-Serbia Culture Communication was held in Belgrade on Monday local time, where some 50 scholars, government and industry representatives discussed the history of bilateral cultural exchanges, the dialogue between civilizations as well as new opportunities under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Culture exchange is an integral part of China-Serbia relations and has played a positive role in facilitating mutual understanding and the friendship between the two peoples, Tang Dasheng, cultural counselor from the Chinese Embassy in Serbia, said when he addressed the forum and expected the event could help scholars, think tanks and universities in the two countries further push forward bilateral cultural exchanges, according to a press release that the forum organizer sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.
Bojan Lalic, director of the Institute for Belt and Road in Belgrade, shared his insights on Serbia's experience in participating in the BRI, and noted the two countries could strengthen cooperation on digital economy and green development under the framework.
Li Jiashan, an expert on culture development at Beijing International Studies University, pinpointed areas of culture trade which have great potential, including publishing, stage performance and software services.
The forum was co-hosted by the Institute for Belt and Road and China's Capital Normal University.
Jelena Gavric, a director, interpreter and blogger, delivered a video message to the forum. Gavric received her bachelor and master's degrees at Chinese universities and has always upload Vlogs on Chinese platform Bilibili to share her experience in both countries and trans-cultural observation.
Gavric developed an interest in China from Chinese TV dramas in her teenage years, self-studied Chinese language and finally became a culture ambassador. As a member of a younger generation, she is proud of contributing to bilateral cultural exchanges with her educational background, skills and interest, Gavric told the Global Times.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Serbia, the first in eight years, during his three-nation European trip from May 5 to May 10. Xi will hold talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to exchange views on bilateral relations and international and regional hotspot issues of mutual interest and discuss an upgrade of the China-Serbia relationship while charting a future course for bilateral relations, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Katarina Zakic,head of Regional Centre for Belt and Road at the Institute of International Politics and Economics, told the Global Times that the visit is a significant of the strong political relations between China and Serbia.
Hailing the "steel (or ironclad) friendship" that China and Serbia share, Zakic said that in addition to strong political ties, the two countries continue to build mutually beneficial economic, cultural, educational, scientific, and people-to-people relationships. Bilateral cooperation is extensive and covers a wide range of fields, the expert said.
