Italian Ambassador to China Massimo Ambrosetti recently visited South China's Guangdong Province and met with Chen Jianwen, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Guangdong Provincial Committee and director of the Publicity Department of the Guangdong Provincial Committee.
Ambassador Ambrosetti recalled Italy's long history of cooperative relations with Guangdong. This relationship is rooted in history and has matured over the centuries through the efforts of important historical figures such as Matteo Ricci, he said.
During the meeting, Ambrosetti and Chen discussed deepening trade and cultural exchanges, and strengthening of people-to-people contacts between the two countries. Meanwhile, Ambassador Ambrosetti also met with Sun zhiyang, acting mayor of the Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong . The ambassador recalled the excellent cooperation that has always existed between Italy and Guangzhou, which builds on the friendship that the capital of Guangdong Province has with the Italian cities of Bari, Genoa, Milan, Padua, and Turin.
The ambassador also visited Shenzhen and experienced the rapid development of the city compared to his first visit in 1992. Shenzhen Vice Mayor Wang Shourui introduced its economic and social development situation to the ambassador, while Ambrosetti pointed out that Italy has unrivaled advantages in the fields of industry and fashion, and that there is huge cooperation between Italy and Shenzhen in these fields.
"Italy is the world's fashion capital and has had a positive impact on the design sector in Shenzhen, where the creativity of Italian designers is particularly appreciated. This year, the relation links between Shenzhen and Italy have also been gradually strengthened due to increased direct flights," he alleged.
The ambassador also awarded the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy to Sun Qijie, who is responsible for the Sea World Culture and Arts Center. This is a great honor in Italy, and was awarded to Sun to recognize his contribution to the dissemination of Italian culture in South China.
The Central Conservatory of Music held a China-Argentina Friendship Exchange Concert with the support of the Embassy of Argentina in China and the National University of the Arts in Argentina.
The finale of the concert, "Jasmine Tango," was performed by the Central Conservatory of Music Chinese Chamber Orchestra. This piece was composed for the Tango Art Research and Practice Center project by the Central Conservatory of Music, using the familiar Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower and the well-known Argentine tango Por una Cabeza as the music material. It highlights the diversity of Chinese music, inclusiveness of Chinese culture, and expresses best wishes for the long-lasting friendship between China and Argentina.
Among the numerous tourist destinations in China, a couple surnamed Wang from Yantai, Shandong Province, have set their sights on the Changbai Mountain. "It's cooler up north, and upon arrival, we discovered that not only is the air quality good here, but the water is also clean."
In the hot summer, the temperature in many cities has exceeded 30 C, and in some cases even 40 C. Under the low flying clouds, Changbai Mountain, a summer resort located in Northeast China's Jilin Province, still refuses to shed the dimly silver yarn. The water surface of Heavenly Lake, also known as Tianchi, in Changbai Mountain has just begun to break the ice and melt after more than 200 days of frozen. Compared with the dry heat in the city, the comfortable "cool" here has precisely spawned the "heat" of tourism.
As the temperature rises, the ice on the Tianchi Lake gradually thins, breaks up and melts, and the water also reveals its turquoise appearance.
"So beautiful! Changbai Mountain has always been my heart to punch the clock, fresh air, magnificent landscape, worth the trip," said Wang.
Changbai Mountain is one of the ten most famous mountains in China. Every December, the crater lake Tianchi will begin to freeze , the lowest temperature reaches minus 44 degrees Celsius, until the ice melts around the middle of June of the next year. With the frozen Tianchi Lake ice begins to melt, Changbai Mountain ushered in the summer tourism peak.
As of July 20, 2023, the number of visitors to Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve has exceeded one million, surpassing the one million mark seven days earlier than in 2019, the Global Times learned from the Management Committee of the Changbai Mountain Conservation and Development Zone on Tuesday.
The influx of tourists has not only driven the local tourism economy but also brought more challenges and opportunities for ecological protection and scenic area development.
Breathtaking wonderland
The Changbai Mountain scenic area is located in the northeastern part of China, spanning across the border of Jilin Province and North Korea. It is a vast and picturesque region known for its stunning natural beauty and diverse ecosystems.
The centerpiece of the scenic area is Changbai Mountain, also known as Mount Baekdu in Korean. It is an active volcano and the highest peak in northeastern China, standing at an impressive height of 2,744 meters. The mountain is covered in snow for most of the year, creating a breathtaking winter wonderland. One of the most famous attractions within the Changbai Mountain scenic area is the Tianchi Lake. It is a crater lake formed by volcanic activity and is renowned for its crystal-clear blue waters. Surrounded by lush forests and snow-capped peaks, the lake offers a serene and tranquil atmosphere.
The scenic area is also home to numerous waterfalls, hot springs, and alpine meadows and is rich in biodiversity, with a wide variety of flora and fauna. It is home to rare and endangered species such as the Siberian tiger, red-crowned crane, and Korean pine.
To gear up for tourism boom in peak season, Changbai Mountain scenic area has completed upgrades and renovations in various areas to create a comfortable and safe tourism consumption environment for visitors.
Bao Gang, deputy manager of the Management Committee, told the Global Times that in the past month, the staff of Changbai Mountain have carried out large-scale repairs and renovations on the plank roads in preparation for the peak tourist season. Currently, the refurbished plank roads are open to visitors, providing a comfortable experience for sightseeing.
Han Quan, in his 30s, stood out this recruitment process and joined the driver team at the scenic area. During the training period of over a month, Han gradually adapted to the altitude and local environment. With the guidance of experienced drivers, he gained a deep understanding of the driving routes and can complete a one-way trip within the designated 16-minute time frame.
To effectively alleviate the pressure of tourist flows during the peak season, the management committee limits the ticket sales, and guides tourists to use online booking system and make scheduled entry with different time slots.
"The management committee never blindly increases the limit in pursuit of economic benefits Overtourism would not only exert negative impact on the experience of visitors, but also cause environmental degradation and ruination of fragile natural habitat," Bao said.
Transformation of small towns With its natural scenery, rare species, and folk culture, Changbai Mountain has gained nationwide recognition and attracted tourists from all over the world, leading to changes in the small town Erdaobaihe and improvement in the living standards of its residents.
Sun Minzhong, who lives in Erdaobaihe town, used to be a taxi driver. About 10 years ago, he passed the assessment in the public recruitment conducted by the Changbai Mountain Tourism Management Committee and became a shuttle bus driver at the scenic spot. During each peak tourist season over the past decade, he has driven the specially customized off-road shuttle bus up and down the mountain more than 10 times a day. Through this process of transporting tourists while enjoying the beauty of Changbai Mountain, he has developed a unique attachment to the mountain.
According to his recollection, Erdaobaihe town relied heavily on logging as a source of income many years ago, with many residents making a living as forestry workers. In the Forestry Culture Park in Erdaobaihe town, people can still sense the scenes of workers engaging in forest logging, sawing, lifting, and transporting from the standing bronze statues.
However, now "relying on the mountain for sustenance" has taken on a new meaning. Protecting the forest and developing the tourism industry have become a consensus among more and more residents, and the tourism boom has attracted an increasing number of people from outside settle in the town.
With active policy guidance, a favorable investment and business environment, and breathtaking natural scenery, the catering and homestay industries in Erdaobaihe have rapidly developed, and their capacity to accommodate tourists has gradually increased.
More and more ordinary people like Sun have found ways to improve their quality of life, whether as drivers, forest protection officers, tour guides, homestay staff, or scenic area managers.
When talking about the development of his hometown, Sun is full of gratitude and hope. "Without Changbai Mountain, I wouldn't have this job. When the high-speed railway to Shenyang is completed, there will be even more tourists coming here."
'We become Changbai Mountain people here' Sustainable development serves as the foundation for ecological tourism at Changbai Mountain. The management committee emphasizes ecological protection while promoting ecological tourism and prioritizing ecological conservation.
Starting from 2019, the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve and 12 small hydropower stations in the surrounding area were all dismantled. This move not only alleviated the road traffic pressure in the northern scenic area but also protected the local ecological environment.
In 2022, efforts were made to strengthen coal pollution control, ensuring that four centralized heating companies meet emission standards.
From past to present, one of the most noticeable changes is that the management area of private vehicles has extended to the foot of the mountain. In 2021, the northern section of the Changbai Mountain scenic area relocated its entrance gate to the tourist distribution center in Changbai Mountain Legendary Town, located in the Chibei District. Along the 45-kilometer route from the tourist distribution center to the transfer center in the scenic area, private cars are no longer allowed in this area. Instead, tour buses with a capacity of up to 50 people are taking visitors to their destination. These changes not only alleviate the traffic pressure and reduce waiting times for the visitors, but also minimize human interference with the surrounding environment.
"In the past, people used to say that they had to take train to visit our hometown. Now we have highways, high-speed trains, and air routes. This proves that Changbai Mountain's tourism development has been recognized in recent years," Bao, who graduated from university in 2007 and entered the industry, sees no distinction between outsiders and locals. "We all become Changbai Mountain People here."
According to Bao, there exists a dynamic balance between the maintenance of the ecological environment and human activities. On one hand, the ecological environment requires not only the efforts of scenic area staff but also the adherence to proper visitor behavior by every tourist. On the other hand, a good environment will also encourage tourists to cherish the natural wonder.
On the road departing from the nearby Erdaobaihe town, the Global Times reporter saw wild ducks, deer, and other wildlife, feeling that the harmonious co-existence between humans and nature has already taken shape.
The Global Times learned from the management committee that relying on the advantages of border scenery and folk culture, the management committee will focus building an industrial system for border trade and developing themed tourism such as ecological tourism, hot spring health preservation, summer retreats, and winter ice and snow activities.
"We not only want everyone to see Changbai Mountain during the peak summer tourism season but also want to showcase the beauty of Changbai Mountain throughout the year," said Bao.
Zhou Qian, Chen Zihan, Ji Jiaxin, Xiang Yi, Zhang Yaoyu, Kang Huaishuo from Communication University of China contributed to the story
Since 2012, China has witnessed an extraordinary economic transition, with historic achievements in all aspects of the economy from its size to quality. Such an unparalleled feat does not just happen, especially during a tumultuous period in the global geo-economic landscape and a tough phase in China's economic transformation and upgrading process. It was Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era that guided the country in overcoming various risks and challenges, and in keeping the China economic miracle alive.
As China embarked on the quest to become a great modern socialist country amid global changes unseen in a century, Xi's economic thought has been and will continue to be the guiding principle for development in China for years to come, and have great significance for the world. What is Xi's economic thought? What does it mean for China and the world? To answer these questions, the Global Times has launched this special coverage on Xi's major economic speeches and policies, and how they are put into practice to boost development in China and around the world.
In China's economic policymaking, policymakers and economists often use a rather apt term to describe the integral role the private sector plays in the country's social and economic development: "56789." This refers to private firms' contribution of more than 50 percent to national tax revenue, more than 60 percent to the national GDP, more than 70 percent to technological innovation achievements, more than 80 percent to urban employment, and 90 percent to the total number of enterprises in China.
More than describing private firms' enormous contributions to China's overall development, the phrase also lays bare the weight of the private firms in China's economic policymaking. And yet, whenever private firms, or the Chinese economy, encounter challenges, some at home and abroad levy obsolete claims against China's policy for the private sector. Some foreign media sources describe normal industrial regulation as "crackdowns," while others seek to paint a dire outlook for Chinese private firms.
Evidently, this has, to some extent, led to negative sentiment among some private firms, as private fixed-asset investment shrank by 0.2 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2023, with a 0.6-percent contraction in June alone, according to official data.
This further fueled pessimism toward Chinese private firms and even the Chinese economy as a whole. The IMF said last month that China's economy was slowing due to weaker private investment.
Are Chinese policymakers paying less attention to private firms, or engaging in "arbitrary crackdowns?" Are private firms facing an increasingly grim outlook in China?
After conducting interviews with more than a dozen Chinese private firms, entrepreneurs, and experts, the Global Times found that, while challenges remain, the private sector remains overwhelmingly confident in operation and future growth, pointing to increasing support from policymakers and China's overall economic prospects. Personal care and support for the private sector from President Xi Jinping have become a source of confidence for the country's vast private sector.
Support from top leader
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has, at important meetings and inspection tours around the country, commended the crucial contributions of the private sector to China's social and economic development and voiced unwavering support for the high-quality development of private firms.
"The CPC Central Committee has always considered private enterprises and private entrepreneurs as being in our ranks," Xi said in March, while visiting national political advisors from the China National Democratic Construction Association and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, who were in attendance at the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Wang Yu, a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and chairman of Spring Airlines, was among the national political advisors who were in attendance when Xi visited. "I am very touched!" Wang said at the time, noting that Xi's remarks helped "eliminate any worry among the vast number of private entrepreneurs and set our minds at ease, and greatly boosted our confidence in continuing to overcome difficulties."
In a recent interview, Wang said that a slew of recent policy measures for private firms further demonstrated Xi and the CPC Central Committee's unwavering support for the private sector. "Although China's economy is stabilizing and improving, the external situation is complicated and severe, and it still faces the huge test of 'triple pressures.' Private enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones, have been more affected and impacted. At such a time of difficulty and confusion, the Party and the government have provided firm support and clear guidance," Wang told the Global Times.
On July 19, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council released a guideline on boosting the growth of the private economy, vowing to improve the business environment, enhance policy support, and strengthen the legal guarantee for the development of the private economy. Containing 31 measures, the guideline addressed major challenges faced by the private sector.
On July 24, Xi presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to analyze economic situation and make arrangements for work in the second half of the year. The meeting called for policies and measures to promote private investment and provide private enterprises with an enabling environment. It also stressed upholding the principle of unswerving consolidation and development of the public sector and unswerving encouragement, support, and guidance of the development of the private sector, or "the two unwaverings," which is also a key aspect of Xi's economic thought.
"A series of recent weighty documents will not only strengthen the importance attached to and support for the private economy, but will also provide a stronger policy guarantee for the development of the private economy in the new era through a series of new measures that are normalized and based on the rule of law, and will further stabilize expectations and boost confidence," Li Jin, chief researcher at the China Enterprise Research Institute in Beijing, told the Global Times.
Efforts to tackle challenges
Highlighting the ultra-efficiency of policymaking and execution unique to China's system, and following the remarks and policy guidelines from the top leadership, various ministries have, in recent days, issued a slew of measures to help private firms tackle major challenges and ensure steady, sound development of the private economy.
Last week, eight Chinese ministries issued 28 measures to support the private sector, vowing to provide fair access for private firms to participate in major national projects and technological undertakings, increasing financial and land support, and strengthening the legal protection of the private firms.
On Sunday, the State Taxation Administration announced 28 measures to facilitate tax payments and promote the development of the private sector.
The measures have been well received by private entrepreneurs around the country, who described them as "timely rain" that will help them address major challenges they are facing in a targeted manner.
Chen Xu, chairman of the SENKEN Group, a police appliances manufacturing company in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, said that the company faces relatively big burdens in areas such as tax, research and development (R&D) investment, and rising labor costs, and recently implemented measures address such challenges.
"In particular, measures aimed at providing fair market access for private firms is very helpful for us," Chen told the Global Times, adding that other measures to help protect intellectual property are also very important to the firm, as it spends more than 30 million yuan on R&D each year.
Wang Shaoshao, founder of Ouhua, a small business in Zhejiang that focuses on flowers and related cultural products, said that recent policy measures supporting the land use of private firms greatly help the company, as it seeks to rent land for business activities.
Cai Qinliang, head of a company specializing in Christmas decorations manufacture in Yiwu, Zhejiang, said that exports orders are gradually returning to pre-pandemic levels and other challenges such as surging shipping costs are easing thanks to increased policy support.
"From production to shipment and customs, the policies issued by the government are very conducive to the development of the enterprise, which can ensure that we can clear customs and ship out goods as soon as possible," Cai told the Global Times, noting that recent measures aimed at cutting processing time for tax rebates to less than six working days and extending loans for small businesses, in particular, will help ease firms' financial burdens.
Zhejiang is one of the largest private business hubs in China, with the private sector enterprises accounting for over 70 percent of its economic activity. Zhejiang plays a crucial role in leading national efforts to boost the confidence of private firms, analysts said.
Upbeat on future prospect
Contrary to the rather dark picture painted by certain foreign media outlets, private entrepreneurs expressed confidence in their future outlook, thanks to firm support from the top leadership and concrete measures that help address challenges they face. Moreover, there are emerging signs that point to the resilience of the private sector in face of challenges.
In the first seven months of 2023, exports and imports by the private companies totaled 12.46 trillion yuan, up 6.7 percent year-on-year, becoming a bright spot in China's overall trade in the face of downward pressure, official data showed on Tuesday. This growth rate is significantly higher than the 0.4 percent year-on-year growth rate in China's foreign trade registered for the same period in 2022. Notably, the share of private firms' exports and imports in the country's total foreign trade rose to 52.9 percent.
"In fact, the production and order situation of our company in 2022 has recovered to about 90 percent of the pre-pandemic level, and it is still gradually improving this year and expected to basically return to the pre-pandemic level," Cai with the Christmas decorations manufacturing firm said, also adding, "with strong policy support, we are quite confident in the future."
Chen, chairman of SENKEN, said that despite challenges, the company is moving along steadily with its five-year plan for a listing on the stock market by 2024. It is also actively expanding its overseas market, even after having exported products to more than 60 countries and regions. "The hope is that our brand can be competitive and influential overseas," he said.
And for the private sector, the country's firm support is for long term, rather than a short-term boost measure. "The '56789' feature of the private economy has not changed, and private firms are inseparable from the Chinese economy," Li said, adding that the private sector plays an increasingly crucial role in the country's pursuit of high-quality development and ultimate Chinese modernization.
More forms of long-term policy support are expected for private firms, as Xi put it in March, to boost their confidence and unburden them of their worries, so that they can ambitiously pursue development.
Relations between China and the ASEAN have continued to improve since the establishment of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations in 1991. Over the last 30 years, the China-ASEAN relationship has achieved remarkable development and brought about tangible benefits for more than 2 billion people in 11 countries. China and the ASEAN have pursued the right path of long-standing good-neighborliness and friendship, and common development and prosperity. Recently, Global Times reporters Hu Yuwei, Zhao Juecheng, and Li Xuanmin (GT) interviewed Chinese Ambassador to the ASEAN, Hou Yanqi (Hou), in Indonesia, to get more insights from her on the future pathway of China-ASEAN political and economic relations.
GT: China has signed bilateral cooperation agreements on jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with all 10 ASEAN member states. Over the last 10 years, the ASEAN has been a priority direction and important partner in promoting the BRI. What do you think are the important reasons for the ASEAN's significant achievements in the BRI?
Hou: The ASEAN, as the priority direction and important partner in the co-construction of the BRI, has achieved fruitful cooperation results in the last 10 years. I believe there are several important reasons for this.
First, China and the ASEAN are connected by mountains and rivers, and have a close relationship. They are also comprehensive strategic partners, with solid political and public support for cooperation in various fields.
Second, we have been adhered to the principles of "consultation, co-construction, and sharing," and have promoted development through openness and achieved win-win outcomes. We have achieved complementary advantages in the high-quality construction of the BRI.
Third, we are both determined actors with visions. We prioritize commitments and implementation, ensuring that the achievements of the BRI are tangible and substantial.
The ASEAN has a superior geographical location and plays an important role in regional economic cooperation. But it also faces development bottlenecks such as insufficient infrastructure investment and relatively lagging regional connectivity. The implementation of the BRI has played an important role in breaking these bottlenecks and fully unleashing the development potential of the ASEAN.
China and the ASEAN have signed cooperation documents on aligning the BRI with the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025, thus achieving full consensus on regional connectivity in top-level design. Moreover, BRI effectively fills the funding gap in ASEAN countries' infrastructure construction in areas such as rail, roads, bridges, and ports.
GT: Looking back at the 30-year development of China-ASEAN relations, each time a regional or global crisis occurs, the momentum of cooperation between the two sides becomes stronger and political mutual trust steadily increases. How do you think this enhanced political mutual trust can further strengthen ties? What new positive perspectives can the China-ASEAN cooperation bring to global peace, security, and development?
Hou: Over the last 30 years, China and the ASEAN have established a dialogue relationship that has withstood multiple tests. Political mutual trust between the two sides has continued to increase.
We are pleased to see that the positioning of the bilateral relationship has evolved from a partnership of good neighborliness and mutual trust to a strategic partnership, and finally to a comprehensive strategic partnership established in 2021, achieving leapfrog development.
China and ASEAN countries are actively implementing the consensus reached by their leaders, moving forward along the path of good neighborliness, friendship, and common development, bringing tangible benefits to more than 2 billion people in 11 countries.
Currently, amid an increasingly unstable international and regional situation, China and the ASEAN, as emerging economies, share many common interests in global peace and development.
Both sides advocate for dialogue to manage differences and conflicts, uphold true multilateralism and open regionalism and work together to address regional and global challenges. Both sides also promote regional economic integration to facilitate common development and maintain stable supply chains.
In conclusion, China and the ASEAN are contributors to regional and global peace and security, as well as promoters of development and prosperity.
GT: At the beginning of this year, consultations for the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) officially started, and three rounds of negotiations have been held so far. In what aspects will this version further enhance the level of trade facilitation? What forms of new progress and changes has the China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation experienced?
Hou: The China-ASEAN FTA was launched in 2002, making it China's first free trade area negotiated with a foreign country and ASEAN's first free trade area negotiated as a whole. Over the last 20 years, the China-ASEAN FTA has effectively promoted the rapid growth of trade and investment between China and the ASEAN, and the socio-economic development of both sides.
As of 2022, China became the ASEAN's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years, and the ASEAN has been China's largest trading partner for three consecutive years.
Compared with versions 1.0 and 2.0, version 3.0 will further reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers, promote freer and more convenient trade and investment, and explore strengthened cooperation in new areas such as the digital economy, the green economy, and supply chain interconnectivity, further promoting regional economic integration.
In recent years, as both China and the ASEAN have undergone upgrading in their economies, new trends are emerged. For example, cooperation in the digital economy and green economy is flourishing, becoming important engines driving regional economic growth. China has advantages in digital economy platform construction, as well as in capital, and technology, seeing an unlimited potential for cooperation in digital transformation.
The same is true for cooperation in the green economy. I am pleased to see more Chinese new energy companies investing in Southeast Asia, which will create new momentum for the upgrading of China-ASEAN economic and trade cooperation.
GT: Currently, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is in effect in all 15 signatory countries, marking a new phase of comprehensive implementation for the world's largest free trade area. With the full implementation of this agreement, how will it promote trade between China and the ASEAN region?
Hou: The RCEP is a global free trade area with a total population of nearly 2.3 billion, a GDP of $26 trillion, and a trade volume exceeding $10 trillion. It is a significant achievement in the construction of Asia-Pacific regional economic integration and a vivid example of regional countries sharing development opportunities.
The commitments to open markets for goods, services, and investment by the 15 parties, combined with high-level rules in various fields, will greatly promote the free flow of production factors such as raw materials, products, technology, talent, capital, information, and data within the region, and gradually create a more prosperous integrated regional market.
It can be said that the comprehensive implementation of the RCEP not only creates more favorable conditions for China and the ASEAN to expand trade in goods, but also drives corresponding trade in services, promoting trade facilitation, and improving the business environment.
China will work together with the ASEAN and other RCEP members to continuously promote the high-quality implementation of the RCEP and make greater contributions to regional and global economic recovery.
GT: What significant outcomes do you think were achieved at the China-ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Indonesia in July? Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, also Minister of Foreign Affairs, emphasized at the meeting that regional countries must guard against three negative trends concerning peace and security in the region. How do you think efforts should be made to suppress these negative trends?
Hou: The ministers' meeting in Indonesia achieved significant positive outcomes.
First, the joint statement commemorating the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) was adopted, reaffirming the principles of independence, sovereignty, equality, non-interference, and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
Second, the second reading of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) text was successfully completed, and the guidelines for expediting the conclusion of the COC were adopted, creating conditions for the prompt initiation of the third reading and taking an important step toward its finalization.
In recent years, amidst the impact of the global pandemic and interference from external forces, these achievements have been hard-won. It sends a clear signal to the outside world that China and ASEAN countries have the ability and wisdom to handle the South China Sea issue through joint efforts, making it a sea of peace, friendship, and cooperation.
Third, comprehensive and pragmatic cooperation has continued to advance, including the promotion of negotiations on upgrading the China-ASEAN FTA.
Regarding the second question, I believe the three proposals put forward by Wang Yi at the ministers' meeting are the answer to restraining these three negative trends.
First, it is to effectively support the central role of the ASEAN and consolidate the foundation of peace. We should resolutely oppose the acts of certain countries forming cliques, creating new blocs, and pushing for NATO's involvement in East Asia, and truly uphold the maximum common denominator of the ASEAN centrality position.
Second, it is to work together to build a center of regional growth, continuously advance the construction of the Asia-Pacific FTA, and oppose protectionism, decoupling and disengagement.
Third, it is to adhere to true multilateralism. We should uphold the purposes and principles of the TAC, adhere to the "ASEAN principles" of mutual respect, non-interference in internal affairs, and the proper handling of differences through dialogue and consultation, practice open regionalism and genuine multilateralism, abandon the mentality of binary confrontation, and replace conflict with dialogue and cooperation.
Even since the eruption of the recent Israeli-Palestine conflict, China has taken a proactive role in de-escalation, collaborating with the international community to spare efforts to bring an end to the fighting, safeguard civilian lives, and provide humanitarian aid.
In recent days, the Chinese Government's Special Envoy on the Middle East Issue Zhai Jun has made relentless trips to Middle Eastern countries including Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Jordan in a diplomatic effort to de-escalate the situation and ease hostilities.
Meanwhile, in response to the worsening humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the China International Development Cooperation Agency has pledged an additional 15 million yuan ($2.05 million) in emergency humanitarian supplies. This aid aims to assist those affected by the conflict, in addition to previously allocated $1 million in cash assistance through the Palestinian National Authority and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East.
During a meeting with Zhai on Sunday in Amman, the capital of Jordan, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini, noted that the UNRWA regards China as an important partner, thanks China for its long-standing political support and financial assistance to the UNRWA, appreciates China's emergency humanitarian assistance to Gaza since the conflict, and is willing to strengthen cooperation with China to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as soon as possible.
UNRWA, which was founded in 1949, is mandated to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees. The organization relies on voluntary contributions to finance its operations.
At the Wednesday media briefing, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that "China has no selfish interests in the Palestinian-Israeli issue. We stand for the protection of civilians, a ceasefire and an end to fighting, the opening of humanitarian relief corridors, the prevention of a greater humanitarian crisis, the resumption of political dialogue and negotiation, and the return of the Palestinian issue to the right track of the two-state solution so as to achieve lasting peace and stability in the Middle East."
"As [China assumes] the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council this month and a responsible member of the international community, China will continue to work with the international community to ease the situation, protect civilians, advance humanitarian assistance, and resume peace talks," he said.
The US is plagued with a drug abuse problem more acute than any other countries as 12 percent of global drug users come from the North American country, two times higher than the proportion of its population.
Provisional data indicates that nearly 110,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2022, the highest of all time, and more than two-thirds of the deaths involved the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, as per US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fentanyl-related deaths among children increased more than 30-fold between 2013 and 2021, the Associated Press reported.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, when visiting China in late August, claimed that US hopes to cooperate with China to tackle the rapidly increasing rates of fentanyl overdoses. However, the country simultaneously keeps scapegoating China on the issue, imposing sanctions and filing criminal charges against Chinese enterprises and individuals.
Through an investigation into the US' opioid crisis which reveals the country's legislative and law enforcement failures over the decades, the Global Times found that the US is disinclined to find a radical cure, while scapegoating China as a conduit for mounting anger in American society. All this serves the US' strategic rivalry with China.
Painkiller becomes source of pain
There is nothing new under the sun, and the US' fentanyl crisis is a continuation of its forbearer Oxycodone, a strong, semi-synthetic opioid used to treat moderate to severe pain.
The Netflix TV drama Painkiller released in 2023, adapted from a book published in 2003, revealed how the pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma colluded with US medicinal regulators and developed aggressive marketing tactics to promote its brand name product OxyContin, an extended-release form of Oxycodone, as less likely to cause addiction, raking in tens of millions of dollars.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), charged with the responsibility of prescription drug use regulation, gave OxyContin the green light in 1995 even though neither long-term studies nor assessments of its addictive capabilities had been thoroughly conducted.
Two principal FDA reviewers who originally approved Purdue's application both took positions at the company after leaving the agency. In the following two decades, more FDA staffers involved in opioid approvals left the FDA to work for opioid makers, according to the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics.
Purdue offered kickbacks, paid lecturers, and organized free seminar vacations to doctors to incentivize them to prescribe OxyContin, leading to a tenfold increase in prescriptions for less serious pain, from about 670,000 in 1997 to about 6.2 million in 2002.
As Purdue earned billions of dollars from oxycodone sales, other drug companies took note; when the numerous unnecessary prescriptions were given to chronic pain patients, addiction and overdose deaths soared.
The US' healthcare system also contributed - "Most insurance, especially for poor people, won't pay for anything but a pill," said Judith Feinberg, a professor at West Virginia University with expertise in infectious diseases associated with drug injection.
The US Department of Health and Human Services estimated that about 11 million people in the US consume oxycodone in a non-medical way annually.
Although Purdue was ultimately brought to justice, addicts are not redeemed. The large, ever expanding group of drug dependence, without proper social support and intervention, easily became the victims of new, more powerful drugs - fentanyl, a synthetic opioid which is also FDA-approved and up to 50 and 100 times stronger than heroine and morphine respectively.
Fentanyl, the cheaper to make yet more lethal drug and its close cousins became the biggest drug-related killers in the US in 2016, the Associated Press reported.
The media has reported on how drug users addicted to other substances unknowingly ingest fentanyl, as local dealers sell "traditional" products like cocaine "cut" with fentanyl, or pills containing fentanyl that are "advertised as legitimate prescription drugs."
Incapable legislation, enforcement
With around 4 percent of the world's population, the US consumes 80 percent of the world's opioids.
Why is the US?
The US' drug problem, including the current fentanyl abuse crisis, is deeply rooted in the country's lobbying political structure and ideology, said Zhang Yifei, an associate research fellow at the Institute of American Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The colossal profits bundle pharmaceutical companies with the FDA, sponsored politicians, academic groups, and the media, making the fentanyl crisis a predictable tragedy in the US that has enriched a few at the expense of many lives lost, Zhang said.
Academic institutions provide "scientific proof," media and think tanks propagate said proof, and drug makers lobby the government - this is a very complete and mature chain, Zhang elaborated, "They have various ways to exchange rights and interests through the 'revolving door' system."
Zhang also pointed to "the pan-liberalism trend in the US, which emphasizes the absolute freedom of individuals."
US governments, be they federal or state, are incapable of exercising effective regulation on many issues, although some of them, like drugs and guns, have endangered the public, Zhang said.
When the public demands for freedom of marijuana use, governments and drug companies "hear" these calls and legalize the drug, milking profits from sales. Even in states where marijuana remains illegal, its use is prevalent and law enforcement efforts to curb use are almost nonexistent.
A Chinese national who used to live in North Carolina, told the Global Times that it is common to see people "getting high" in public in broad daylight when the drug is illegal.
In the same way, only until the fentanyl crisis becomes so critical that the public demands for action to be taken, will the government finally act. The first fentanyl-related act passed in Congress in 2017, four years after lawmakers receiving alert on the drug.
When actions are finally taken, they cannot avoid the trap of US' political wrestling.
Lawmakers, during the US' 2023 legislative session, introduced over 600 bills related to fentanyl. However, in a deeply divided country, many of the fentanyl crime laws are notable for attracting bipartisan support, the New York Times reported in June. When Republican-controlled House reviewed a bill on fentanyl trafficking in May, 132 of the 133 vetoes came from Democrats.
Another incongruous approach is the use of "safer" supervised consumption services (SCS) through which people can use pre-obtained drugs "safety" with the support of trained personnel. Funded by public money, it is hard to say whether such facilities can curb overdoses more than treating those with an addiction, not to mention such "legal sites" can mislead youth to believe addiction and drug use are nothing to worry.
Zeng Lidu, a grassroots narcotic control officer in Central China's Hunan Province, told the Global Times that the US approach of control sounds "odd" in China, which, as one of the countries with the most effective drug control, closely monitors the maker rather than potential user.
"Fentanyl has variable structures, making it more difficult than the traditional drugs to crack down on," Zeng told the Global Times. "In our district, only a few chemical plants and hospitals are allowed the use of fentanyl under close supervision. We trace and regulate every step in their use, transportation, and storage of fentanyl."
Experts told the Global Times that many fentanyl precursors are widely used in the chemical industry. China, as a chemical giant, does not have a fentanyl abuse problem at home, which says a lot about the root cause of the American drug disease.
Not cooperation but scapegoating
Out of humanitarianism, China is willing to cooperate with the US in tackling the proliferation of fentanyl and has established a cooperation mechanism with the US on the issue.
China scheduled and controlled all fentanyl-related substance by class in 2019 - the first country to do so in the world, while the US itself is yet to do the same. China formulated three legal documents to support the filing, prosecution, conviction, and sentencing of offenses involving these substances. To reinforce fentanyl testing and monitoring, five sub-centers of the National Drug Laboratory have been established across the country.
But the US in 2020 unilaterally and arbitrarily imposed sanctions on the institute of forensic science under China's Ministry of Public Security and National Drug Laboratory, severely jeopardizing related cooperation.
A new vilification of China popular in the US is that Chinese firms sell commonly used chemicals to a third country, such as Mexico, where fentanyl is manufactured and later sold to the US. Citing this, the US has sanctioned Chinese companies, even including tablet press machine makers.
Analysts stressed the "know your customer" practice that some in the US have been asking about far exceeds UN obligations. According to international practices, it is up to the importing country to ensure that imported goods are not used for illegal purposes, not the exporter. China has no sovereign right over a third country, and Chinese companies are not capable of verifying all buyers of its product.
Zhang Yifei said scapegoating China on fentanyl is an easy and convenient approach for the US government to unleash domestic anger against ineffective drug control.
Through distorted coverage on the issue, domestic media outlets successfully sell "China responsible" narrative to Americans at home. By repeatedly hyping the narrative at international occasions, the US also adds fentanyl into its recipe cooking "China threat."
In this sense, fentanyl is essentially same to long-term smear campaign against China on many topics including human rights in Xinjiang region, Zhang said.
As the presidential elections approach, blaming China for its domestic social handicaps as a political tactic sounds ridiculous, but quite a number of US politicians and voters buy this logic, Zhang noted. As the US' domestic political infighting escalates, chance of cooperation on this area which the US is in urgent need of, may narrow even further.
The Indonesia-China Business Forum and Indonesia Night were successfully held in Beijing to promote Indonesian culture and seek economic cooperation between the two countries.
A total of 250 people from the Chinese business community and various business sectors in Indonesia attended the event.
Indonesian Ambassador to China Djauhari Oratmangun presided over the forum and stated that on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between Indonesia and China this year, the business forum has built a platform for potential cooperation between the two countries.
During the event, China and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening mutual cooperation.
In order to promote Indonesian culture and traditional textile fabrics (Batik), more than 200 entrepreneurs, scholars, and officials from China, Indonesia, and other countries, as well as media professionals, attended the banquet.
In his speech, Oratmangun noted that, "this is the first Indonesian night to be held in China since the start of the epidemic. This Indonesian night will showcase Indonesia's rich and colorful culture, music, traditional dance, coffee, and traditional textile fabrics."
The governor of the Bank Indonesian also presented traditional Indonesian clothing to 16 individuals who have contributed to the promotion of relations between Indonesia and China, including the Indonesian Ambassador to China and his wife, as well as the Indonesian Consul General in Guangzhou.
