China has decided to impose countermeasures against two Canadian organizations as well as 20 personnel from these organizations in accordance with the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, according to a statement published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday. The decision took effect on December 21, 2024. 

"China's countermeasures have a very clear delineation of responsibility, aimed at non-governmental organizations that ignore facts, and Canada should not keep playing an inglorious role in spreading misinformation targeting China," Wang Jiang, a deputy director of the Institute of China's Borderland Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The countermeasures include freezing all movable and immovable property and other types of assets of the two Canadian organizations "Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project" and "Canada Tibet Committee" within China's territory and prohibiting organizations and individuals within China's territory from engaging in any transactions or cooperation with them. 

Additionally, movable and immovable property and other types of assets of certain individuals from the two Canadian organizations will be frozen within China's territory. Organizations and individuals within China are prohibited from engaging in transactions, cooperation, or other activities with them personally. In addition, they will not be issued visas and will be denied entry into China, including the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions.

Wang pointed out that in recent years, the West has continued to spread misinformation targeting China's Xinjiang. Canada has played an inglorious role in this process, constantly hyping and slandering human rights situation in Xinjiang and Xizang to attack and smear China. Such misinformation campaign forms the broader context of the current events.

Current Canadian government policies and its stance toward China differ significantly from those of the past, adopting a more aggressive and confrontational approach, especially on issues related to Xinjiang and Xizang, Wang said.

"Canada's actions are an attempt to use human rights issues in Xinjiang and Xizang to enhance its international presence and strengthen its influence in global diplomacy and ideological discourse," he said.

Some Western countries have begun to adopt a more pragmatic attitude toward China in their engagements, as they started to realize playing the "human rights card" brings no significant benefits to their national interests. In contrast, Canada has gone in the opposite direction, becoming increasingly conspicuous, Wang added.

A total of 20 individuals are involved in the measures. Among them, personnel related to the "Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project" include Executive Director Mehmet Tohti, Policy and Advocacy Director Jasmine Kainth, legal advisors David Matas, Sarah Teich, John Packer, Clive Ansley, Yonah Diamond, Justine Bernatchez and Linden Dales, and Policy Advisors Charles Burton, Margarett Mccuaig Johnston, Marcus Kolga and Scott Simon, as well as research advisors Conor Healy and Geoffrey Aharon, making a total of 15 people.

Personnel related to the "Canada Tibet Committee" include Chair Samphe Lhalungpa, Vice Chair Luisa Durante, Executive Director Sherap Therchin, Board Member Eliza von Baeyer, and Community Engagement Manager Youngdoung Tenzin, making a total of 5 people.

As part of the ASEAN-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges, the 2024 "Family of the Maritime Silk Road" ASEAN online celebrity conference was held in Haikou, South China's Hainan Province, on Thursday. Internet celebrities from 10 ASEAN countries with a total of nearly 100 million followers participated in the conference. They shared personal stories and experiences in China through self-made videos, fostering friendly exchanges and solidarity between China and ASEAN. 

From interviews with several internet celebrities from ASEAN, reporters from the Global Times explored their perspectives on China, their personal stories, and the benefits of China-ASEAN cooperation.

Seeing is believing

"I was a little worried before I came to China, as a foreigner, I was afraid that there would be much restriction or I would be excluded. But after I came here, I realized that China is indeed very inclusive," Han Bing, a Thai influencer who previously studied at Nanjing University, told the Global Times on Thursday. Han believes that China's inclusiveness demonstrates a mentality that only comes from a major country, which gives him the freedom to express himself and pursue his dreams in China.

A Singapore-based internet celebrity, Shantay, visited China for the first time in 2018, "Before that I had only heard that Shanghai was highly developed, but when I was physically arriving, I was stunned," Shantay said. "At that time, while most of the world remained cash-paying, Shanghai was already almost completely transformed into a cashless payment city, leaving me with the impression that China was more advanced than I had imagined." Shantay added.

Una is an internet celebrity from Indonesia with about 21 million followers, and the conference marked her first visit to China. Una told the Global Times that before she came to China, many of her followers asked her why she was visiting China and what she expected, "We never know if we never try," Una replied. Now Una can't wait to update her social media platforms and update her followers and those who don't understand why she visited China about how wonderful and picturesque Haikou is.

China in Their Eyes

When the Global Times asked Shantay to describe China in one word, she chose "powerful." "Power comes from growth and innovation, and China has improved tremendously over the last 10 year. It really taking the world by stun," said Shantay. 

Echoing Shantay, Una also described China as a "powerful" country, which everyone would like to pay attention to. "China holds unique and magical characteristics, and in Indonesia, if someone says they are in China, we will know that he or she is going to be successful in China soon," Una told GT.

"The whole world is speaking Chinese" is a lyric from the famous Chinese girl group "SHE," which Shantay used to describe China. Shantay said in Singapore nowadays children are learning English and Chinese, and she feels that Chinese is increasingly popular worldwide because the influence of Chinese culture is growing. "The next line of the lyrics is 'the words spoken by Chinese people will make the world listen carefully,' and I am confident that it will be achieved in the future as well," Shantay said.

The Best of Both Sides

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, noted in July's ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting that China and ASEAN, who are friendly neighbors and close partners, have seen the building of a China-ASEAN community with a shared future being steady and fruitful, benefiting 2 billion people on the two sides while greatly promoting common development, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Han said that for him, the greatest benefit of China-ASEAN cooperation is the visa-free policy between China and Thailand. The visa waiver has made it easier for people to travel between the two countries, said Han, which has also boosted personal exchanges between both countries.

Vietnam, another socialist neighbor, shares cultural and social affinities with China. Last year, the two countries announced the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, ushering in a new stage in their ties, according to Xinhua.

For her part, Bella, an internet celebrity from Vietnam, said she has benefited considerably from the cooperation between China and Vietnam in the field of education. "Studying in China will bring a lot of opportunities; it is the cooperation between countries that makes educational exchanges possible."

"For a travel-orientated online celebrity, I have enjoyed the most from the cooperation between China and Russia including visa convenience and increases in flights, allowing me to travel to and from China very smoothly," a Russian influencer, Cody Miller, told the Global Times.

Shi Zhongjun, secretary-general of the ASEAN-China Centre, said on Thursday that internet celebrities can become ambassadors of goodwill to present the real story of win-win cooperation between ASEAN and China to the international community, while gathering positive energy for regional development, to convey to the world the confidence of ASEAN and China in cooperation and development in a truthful, accurate and comprehensive manner.

Talking about how to promote people-to-people exchanges with her role as an internet celebrity, Shantay expressed her interest in trying on traditional Chinese dresses, like cheongsams and Tang suits, noting these would help her fans better appreciate classical Chinese culture around the world. Bella said that the exchanges between people are a vital approach to enhance relations between citizens. She will post more videos of her travels in China on social media in the future, showing more people the beauty and delicacies of China and the hospitality of the Chinese people. Miller, meanwhile, said he would introduce more of what China is doing to protect the environment in his videos, bringing more people to know about China's vision and its contributions.

The way of interaction among major powers has always existed; the question is under what background and international context this interaction takes place, and what values we need to promote in order to meet the demand of each nation's strategic development, a Chinese scholar said at Global Times Annual Conference 2025, themed "Moving forward in Partnership: Resonance of Values between China and the World," held in Beijing on Saturday. 

There are three characteristics of major power relations this year: first, domestic political factors have fermented to create new uncertainties in the foreign policies of major powers; second, divergences and controversies over core strategic issues are deepening; third, the US' interest-centered approach and protectionism may exacerbate to challenge the global economic and trade situation, said Zhu Feng, dean of school of international studies at Nanjing University.

Zhu said that as the world's second-largest economy, China's understanding of the global order and its rules is evolving, especially regarding its relations with the world. The essence of major power interactions lies in understanding changes in relationship between us and the world, and identifying China's key international interests during this transformation. A rising China influencing and reshaping the world is not an overnight process; it requires long-term and sustained efforts.