PHOTO NEWS

Scenes from the 7th CIIE

Visitors line up to sampleSpanish ham in theFood and AgriculturalProduct Section of the7th China InternationalImport Expo （CIIE） inShanghai， China onNovember 6.

1. Two visitors pose with the mascot of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and Paralympics at the French Pavilion of the 7th CIIE in Shanghai on November 5.

2. An E20 electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft （eVTOL） manufactured by the Shanghai-based company Volant Aerotech on display at the 7th CIIE on November 7.

3. Leading medical technology company Olympus showcases its state-of-the-art intelligent medical solutions at the 7th CIIE on November 8.

4. Participants at the Saudi Arabia Pavilion of the 7th CIIE on November 5.

5. An AI-powered robotic arm serves drinks in the Siemens exhibition area at the 7th CIIE on November 6.

EXCHANGES

“China and Canada have differentpolitical systems， which is a choicemade by their respective people androoted in each other’s history andculture. Both sides should adhereto mutual respect and seek mutualbenefit and win-win results. The twocountries share extensive commoninterests and do not have conflictsof fundamental interests. We hopethat Canada will work with Chinato meet each other halfway， viewChina’s development objectively andrationally， and do more things thatare conducive to the development ofbilateral relations and the enhancementof mutual understanding andtrust between the two peoples， so asto promote cooperation and reducedifferences between the two countries.”

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said whenmeeting with Canadian Foreign MinisterMelanie Joly on November 15， 2024.

“Since the establishment of diplomaticrelations 74 years ago， China andSwitzerland have worked togetherto foster the spirit of equality， innovation，and win-win cooperationand set a good example of friendlycoexistence and mutually beneficialexchanges between China and theWest. China is ready to work withSwitzerland to deliver on the importantcommon understandings reachedbetween the leaders of the twocountries， deepen mutually beneficialcooperation in various fields， jointlysafeguard world peace and stability，and promote development andprosperity.”

Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li said duringa China-Switzerland political consultationat the vice-foreign ministerial levelwith State Secretary of the Swiss FederalDepartment of Foreign Affairs AlexanderFasel on November 12， 2024.

Xi Jinping Calls for Building a Just World at G20 Summit

On November 18， President Xi Jinping attended the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro，Brazil.

During discussions on the “fight against hunger and poverty” at the first session ofthe summit， President Xi spoke about “Building a Just World of Common Development.”

President Xi pointed out that a transformation on a scale not seen in a century isaccelerating across the world today， and humanity is facing unprecedented opportunitiesand challenges as a result. As leaders of major countries， G20 leaders should notlet their vision be blocked by fleeting clLF8O/vIABcJWdcfnTWDW4qAg6p+ZdK2IZ9suU3qi+uk=ouds. Rather， they must see the world as onecommunity with a shared future， shoulder their historic responsibilities， take historicalinitiatives， and move history forward.

Xi said that at the Hangzhou Summit， China placed development at the center of theG20’s macroeconomic policy coordination for the first time. The Rio Summit this yearhas chosen the theme “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet，” and decidedto establish a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. From Hangzhou to Rio， G20leaders have been striving to realize one and the sames/fZ3ol6hKA7DYEvuXnqLg/uay8GaD1REu8sD7wJx3Y= goal， that is， to build a just worldof common development.

China has lifted 800 million people out of poverty and met the poverty reductiontarget of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ahead of schedule. Theseachievements are the fruit of the strenuous， unified efforts of the Chinese governmentand people， Xi said.

He said China’s story is proof that developing countries can eliminate poverty， thata weaker bird can fly high when there is the endurance， perseverance， and the strivingspirit that enables water drops to erode rocks over time and turns blueprints intoreality. If China can make it， other developing countries can make it too. This is whatChina’s battle against poverty says to the world.

Xi stressed that China will always be a member of the Global South， a reliable longtermpartner of fellow developing countries， and a doer and go-getter working for thecause of global development. China will go forward hand in hand with fellow developingcountries toward modernization.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. China is ready to take stepstogether with all parties to build a just world of common development， leave poverty inthe past， and turn vision into reality， Xi concluded.

Li Qiang Meets with Italian President Sergio Mattarella

Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at theGreat Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9， 2024.

Li said China-Italy relations have maintained healthy and stable development，exchanges and cooperation in various fields have been deepened， and new practicalresults have been achieved. China is ready to work with Italy to take theopportunity of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensivestrategic partnership between the two countries， continue to carry forward theirtraditional friendship， strengthen all-round mutually beneficial cooperation， andpush bilateral relations to a higher level.

Li said China is willing to work with Italyto promote two-way opening up， improvethe level of bilateral trade and investmentfacilitation， expand the fields and depth ofcooperation between small and mediumsizedenterprises， create new growth pointsof cooperation in innovation and greenfields， better achieve mutual benefit andwin-win results， and jointly promote developmentand prosperity.

Mattarella said Italy attaches greatimportance to developing friendly relations with China and looks forward toworking with China to implement the important consensus reached by leaders ofthe two countries， deepen practical cooperation in trade， investment， small andmedium-sized enterprises， green development， and climate change， strengthenexchanges and mutual learning in culture， education， and other fields， and pushfor sustained and in-depth development of bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.

Ding Xuexiang Meets with Azerbaijani President Aliyev

On November 13， 2024， Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang， also a member ofthe Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of ChinaCentral Committee， met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku， Azerbaijan.

Ding conveyed cordial greetings and best wishes from Chinese President XiJinping to Aliyev. He noted that since the establishment of diplomatic relationsbetween China and Azerbaijan 32 years ago， mutual political trust has beenstrengthened， and the bilateral relationship has become increasingly mature.

He said China is willing to work with Azerbaijan in the spirit of sincere mutualtrust and mutual benefit to strengthen political guidance and deepen comprehensivecooperation. In this way they can achieve their respective development andrevitalization goals.

He extended China’s congratulations on Azerbaijan’s successful hosting ofthe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Baku. He alsoexpressed China’s readiness to work with Azerbaijan to make joint contributionsto the international efforts to build a beautiful planet and realize the sustainabledevelopment of the world.

Aliyev emphasized that Azerbaijan and China are true strategic partners engagedin frequent high-level exchanges with bilateral cooperation steadily progressing.

He said Azerbaijan places great importance on its relationship with China， supportsthe major initiatives proposed by Xi， and is willing to actively collaboratewith China on the Belt and Road Initiative.

“President Xi Jinping has congratulated President-Elect of the U.S. Donald Trump. President Xi pointed outthat history tells us that both China and the U.S. standto gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.

A China-U.S. relationship with stable， healthy， andsustainable development serves the common interestsof the two countries and meets the expectations of theinternational community. Hope the two sides will workin the principles of mutual respect， peaceful coexistence，and win-win cooperation， to enhance dialogueand communication， properly manage differences andexpand mutually beneficial cooperation， and to findthe right way for China and the U.S. to get along witheach other in the new era to the benefit of the twocountries and the world.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at aregular press conference on November 7， 2024

“By bringing in this offensive strategic weapon， thePhilippines is enabling a country outside the regionto fuel tensions and antagonism in this region andincite geopolitical confrontation and arms race. Sucha move is provocative and dangerous， and it is anextremely irresponsible choice to its own people andpeople of all Southeast Asian countries， to history，and to regional security. What the region needs ispeace and prosperity， not the missile system or confrontation.We once again urge the Philippines to heedthe call from regional countries and their peoples，correct its wrongdoings as soon as possible， quicklypull out the Typhon missile system as publicly pledged，and stop going further down the wrong path.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regularpress conference on November 14， 2024

ECONOMY/SOCIETY

Small and Medium-SizedEnterprises ReleasePositive Signals

Small and medium-sized enterprises（SMEs） are an important forcein promoting innovation， creatingemployment， and improving people’slivelihoods. At present， a cultivationsystem for industrial clusters ofthese enterprises in China has beenpreliminarily formed with 300 clustersat the national level and over 1，000 atthe provincial level.

The latest data shows that SMEshave recovered at the beginning of thefourth quarter.

Tentative Deals at CIIE Worth US $80.01 Billion

The seventh China InternationalImport Expo （CIIE） concludedin Shanghai on November10. This year’s CIIE saw a total ofUS $80.01 billion worth of tentativedeals reached for one-yearpurchases of goods and services，an increase of two percent fromthe previous year.

This year， the Business & EnterpriseExhibition maintainedits massive scale of over 360，000square meters， hosting 3，496 exhibitorsfrom 129 countries andregions， both numbers surpassingthose from the previous year.Notably， 297 Fortune Global 500and industry-leading companiesparticipated in the event， markinga new record. A total of 186exhibitors and organizationsjoined the expo for the seventhconsecutive time. Besides this， atotal of 450 new products， technologies，and services had theirfirst debut in China， includingover 100 global debuts.

Many innovative measureswere also taken. Focusing onthe development of new qualityproductive forces， a newmaterials zone was built forthe first time， covering highvalue-added products such aselectronic materials， biomaterials，and other special materials.More than half of the exhibitorsin the automotive exhibitionarea showcased their latesttechnologies.

Tax， Fee Reduction Policies to Support Innovation

From January to September，policies supportingscientific and technologicalinnovation and the developmentof manufacturing industriesled to reduction in taxesand fees and tax refund worthRMB two trillion， according tothe latest data released by the State Taxation Administration.

Among the policies， thosesupporting increased investmentin science and technology，commercialization of researchresults， and introduction andtraining of talents have reducedtaxes and fees， and created taxrefund amounting to RMB 893.7billion.

To support the innovativedevelopment of enterprises，the tax department has alsoimplemented the policy ofreducing corporate incometax by 15 percent for hi-techenterprises. During the period，policies supporting hitechenterprises and emergingindustries， such as reducingcorporate income tax by 15percent and exempting newenergyvehicles from vehiclepurchase tax， reduced taxes byRMB 302.5 billion.

Home Appliance Trade-ins Grow Consumption

In a significant push tostimulate consumer spending，the Ministry of Commerce（MOC） rolled out anexpansive trade-in policy inAugust that covers multiple sectors.

Consumers are encouraged to replace their old home applianceswith new ones. Eight categories of home applianceswith high energy efficiency， including refrigerators， washingmachines， televisions， air conditioners， and computers， enjoytrade-in subsidies.

Each individual consumer can receive subsidies for oneitem in one category， but the subsidies for each item cannotexceed RMB 2，000 （US $280.28）.

As of October 15， around 10.13 million consumers hadbenefited from the ongoing program， under which the centralgovernment provided them with more than RMB 13.17 billionin subsidies， driving sales of RMB 69.09 billion， the MOC said.

The trade-in is not simply a replacement of similar products，but a trend towards higher end， smarter， more environmentallyfriendly， and more personalized needs.

New Zone Opens for Cross-Border Tourism

China got its first crossbordertourism cooperationzone when the China-Vietnam Detian-Ban GiocWaterfall zone went intooperation on October 15，2024.

Called Detian in Chinaand Ban Gioc in Vietnam，the natural landmark straddlesthe border betweenthe two countries. In 2015they signed an agreementfor joint preservation anddevelopment of this touristresort. Accordingly， an areaof two square kilometerswas set aside on each sideto establish a cross-bordertourism cooperation zone，which opened to the publicon a trial basis in September2023.

Under this cooperationmode， the resort has increasedits visitor-receivingcapacity from 500 to 1，000people daily， and extendedits opening hours from10：00-17：00 to 9：00-18：00.The process and proceduresfor visitors enteringit have also been simplified.For instance， many canbe completed on mobilephones or on site with nofurther documents requiredfor passport-holkc1sV8hjk8JZ4J8PM/5YuA==ders.

Xizang Turning Greener

Over the past years， Xizang hasintensified efforts in ecologicalconservation and restoration. Theseinclude an extensive afforestationprogram， an urban greening initiative，and the creation of a naturereserve system consisting mainlyof national parks. Today， naturereserves cover 36 percent of theregion.

In 2023 alone， an additional80，000 hectares of forests wereplanted， increasing forest coverageto 12.31 percent; it also addressedover 409，000 hectares of grasslanddegradation， expanding fractionalvegetation coverage on grasslands to48.02 percent. Other environmentalindicators were also among the bestglobally， and more than two millionfarmers and herders now receiveenvironmental subsidies from thegovernment.

By the end of 2023， Xizang led thecountry in the number of large andmedium-sized wild animals. Thepopulation of Tibetan antelopes hasexceeded 300，000 and the numberof Tibetan red deer， once deemedextinct， has recovered to over 800.

Meanwhile local green industriesare growing stronger， and cleanenergy now accounts for more than90 percent of the installed capacityof power generation.

Guidelines to Support Childbirth

China will double down itsefforts to encourage and supportchildbirth， including improvingthe maternity leave system andsupporting high-quality， affordablechild care options.

According to a circularreleased by the General Officeof the State Council， localauthorities will be guided toinclude individuals in flexibleemployment， migrant workersand those working in new formsof job positions in the nation'smaternity insurance program aspart of a broader effort to builda fertility-friendly society andweave a stronger safety net forfamilies looking to have a baby.

Efforts will be made to ensurethat maternity-related time-off，including paid maternity leave，additional maternity leave， pater-nity leave and child care leave，is fully implemented. Authoritiesare required to coordinatefunding from multiple sourcesand establish a reasonablecost-sharing mechanism， aswell as strengthen supervisionof implementing the guidelines.

China plans to improveits overall reproductive andpediatric services as well asexpand the scope of medicalreimbursement to include certainlabor pain relief methods，assisted reproductive technologiesand more pediatricmedicines.

The circular emphasizes theneed to increase governmentsubsidized，affordable childcare services eUFpPug5euIOc7kKNb+ARBZ8vtsCPZpCwMm+Qd6qqKp0=specially forthose under three， and simultaneouslydevelop communitybasedchild care centers andchild care facilities at workplacesand homes.

China recorded a populationdecline for the secondconsecutive year in 2023，primarily because of a decreasein the number of women ofreproductive age and low willingnessto have babies.

14，689

A total of 14，689 China-Europefreight trains operated from January toSeptember in 2024， representing yearon-year growth of 13 percent， ChinaState Railway Group Co. announcedrecently. In this period， the trainscarried 1.57 million 20-foot equivalentunits （TEUs） of cargo， up 11 percentyear-on-year. In September alone， thetrains made 1，633 trips and carried171，000 TEUs of cargo. Since January，the number of China-Europe railfreight trips exceeded 1，600 for sevenconsecutive months. This freight trainservice connects China with 226 citiesin 25 European countries

Lost Chinese Cultural Relics Returned by Italy

A total of 56 Chinese culturalrelics have been returned fromItaly， China's National CulturalHeritage Administration（NCHA） announced on November9.

The return signifies yetanother instance of successfulcooperation between China and Italy within the frameworkof their bilateral agreementaimed at preventing theillegal import and export ofcultural relics， the administrationnoted.

It follows the previous repatriationof 796 Chinese culturalrelics from Italy in March 2019.

In October 2022 and April2024， the Italian Carabinierinotified China about the seizureof 56 suspected Chinesecultural relics.

Upon receiving this information，the NCHA provideddetailed identification and therequired documentation to theItalian authorities.

Through diplomatic channels，China then officiallyrequested the return of thesecultural relics. Italy subsequentlymade the decision to return the56 artifacts.

Most of them were foundto have been unearthed in theprovinces of Gansu， Qinghai，and Shaanxi in China.

Among them is paintedpottery of the Majiayao culturedating back more than 5，000years， which provides valuablematerial evidence for the studyof the origin and early developmentof the Chinese civilization.

The returned artifacts alsoinclude pottery figurines fromthe Han （202 B.C.- A.D. 220） andTang （618-907） dynasties andanimal-shaped ceramic itemsfrom the Yuan Dynasty （1271-1368）.

Amid China's intensifiedefforts to recover cultural relicslost overseas， more than 2，100pieces or sets of artifacts havebeen successfully brought backin the past 12 years.

NCPA Operetta Die Fledermaus

Date： November 27-December 1， 2024

Venue： National Center for the Performing Arts

The operetta Die Fledermaus isconsidered one of the most popularmasterpieces by Johann Strauss Jr. Itis said that the operetta was stagedfor more than 80 times in a row followingits premiere in 1874. Die Fledermausis characterized by a conciseand interesting plot， lively characters，witty banter， beautiful “Vienna-style”music， and multiple styles of dance. Anoptimistic attitude advocating “l(fā)ovingand enjoying life” permeates the operetta，making it a resounding successworldwide and leading to numerousstagings to this day.

National Ballet of China Swan Lake

Date： December 5-8， 2024

Venue： National Center for the Performing Arts

Swan Lake holds extraordinarysignificance for the National Balletof China over its rich history of 65years. The organization has maderemarkable achievements in personneltraining， repertoire expansion， balletpopularization， and education. Many ofits members， including ballet dancers，musicians， and stage artists， havestood out conspicuously in variousinternational professional competitionsand among global superstars. In itsrepertoire are more than 200 Chineseand foreign ballets， some of which havebeen listed as Chinese art classics andinternational cultural brands.

China， France Deepen Cooperation on Cultural Heritage Preservation

Northwest Normal Universityin China's Gansu Province andFrance's Foundation for CulturalHeritage Science （Fondation desSciences du Patrimoine） recentlysigned an agreement to strengthentechnological cooperation incultural heritage preservation， theuniversity said on November 8.

Under the agreement， the twowill foster exchanges and cooperationin higher education andresearch， with a particular focuson collaborative activities in theinterdisciplinary field of culturalheritage analysis technologies.

They plan to share researchoutcomes and promote theexchange and dissemination of scientific knowledge. Theywill establish a joint laboratoryfor cultural heritage preservationmethods and instruments，conducting research to supportheritage conservation in bothcountries.

"This agreement aims toprovide advanced scientific andtechnological support5ec6364af997f49bbd1c390eacd96d9d7aeb0d955d7d9d83f77f9c494844ed3c in the fieldof cultural heritage conservation，involving the protection of muralsand other heritage works，"said Emmanuel Poirault， generaldirector of the foundation.

"We have been advancingscientific exchanges and projectcollaborations with France incultural heritage preservation.This agreement will enhanceGansu's research capabilities incave art and relic conservation，"said Lu Zhenjiang， an officialfrom the provincial science andtechnology department.

This year marks the 60thanniversary of the establishmentof diplomatic relations betweenChina and France.

Ma Shinian， vice presidentof the university， said this newagreement serves as an importantstep in deepening Sino-French cooperation in culturalheritage preservation.

Story of China's Only Empress Premieres in Europe

The exhibition Wu Zetian： TheOnly Female Emperor of Chinadebuted on October 25 at thePrincessehof National Museum ofCeramics in Leeuwarden， a city innorthern Netherlands.

Kris Callens， general directorof the museum， laid emphasis onthe extraordinary life of Wu Zetian（624-705） and her historicalsignificance. "She is truly uniquein world history， and we want theEuropean public to know her，" hesaid， expressing special admirationfor "all the wonderful ceramics"featured in the exhibition.

A collaborative effort betweencultural institutions of China andthe Netherlands， the exhibitionshowcases 105 artifacts from eight Chinese museums.

It depicts Wu's ascent from thestatus of an ordinary woman tothe rank of the highest ruler duringthe Tang Dynasty （618-907），from a first-person perspective.

The display includes exquisiteitems such as pottery figurines，jewelry， bronze mirrors， porcelain，and gold and silver wares.

These artifacts are contextualizedwithin the historicaland social landscape of the TangDynasty， vividly illustrating Wu'sremarkable and tumultuous life.

Callens highlighted the exhibition'suniqueness， noting thatseveral pieces have never beforebeen displayed in Europe. "This isa European premiere and we arevery proud of that，" he stated.

"We aim to build bridgesbetween civilizations throughculture，" he added.。

The exhibition runs until May 25.