This year's 41st Beijing Marathon was held on October 29, and Greece, the cradle of the Marathon run, took part in the Beijing Marathon for the first time.
Greek Ambassador to China, Eugenios Kalpyris, was among the seven dignitaries who gave the signal for the start of the race at 7:30 am, at the Tiananmen Square.
Later, after the finish of the race, the Greek Embassy awarded medals from the Athens Authentic Marathon to the volunteers, the medical services, the referees and the official pacer teams for their contribution to upholding the "Marathon Spirit."
"It is a pleasure to be here today, for the Beijing Marathon. I am deeply impressed with the athletic spirit and the massive participation of such a big number of runners in today's Beijing Marathon. Congratulations!
The high regard the Chinese people have for the Athens Authentic Marathon is truly overwhelming. In the last 20 years sports has been a strong connecting link between Greece and China and we are looking forward to more cooperation in such big events in the future," said the ambassador. Earlier, the Greek Embassy had participated with a booth in the Beijing Marathon Expo from October 26 to 28, showcasing the Athens Authentic Marathon and the official medals for the 42,195 km run.
Apart from the 15 elite athletes that were invited, over 130,000 runners signed up for the race and about 30,000 were selected after a lucky draw, the organizing committee said.
The magnitude 6.8 quake that struck southern parts of Morocco at midnight local time, on September 9 killed more than 2,800 and injured over 2,500 so far. Chinese President Xi Jinping extended condolences to Moroccan King Mohammed VI, at the tragic loss of life and expressed sincere sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured on behalf of the Chinese government and people.
For many Chinese people, Morocco is a faraway but not alien country. There are thousands of Chinese residents living in Morocco, with an increasing number of Chinese tourists visiting the country in recent years.
Several Chinese nationals residing in Morocco reached by the Global Times shared their personal earthquake experiences. Many of them, after the initial shock, volunteered their help to earthquake victims and their families, offering medical aid, financial donations, and the transportation of supplies.
This story is a part of the Global Times' series of "Witness to history," which features first-hand accounts from witnesses who were at the forefront of historic events. From scholars, politicians and diplomats to ordinary citizens, their authentic reflections on the impact of historical moments help reveal a sound future for humanity through the solid steps forward taken in the past and the present. At 1.28 am, obstetrician Zhang Qian finally heard the loud cry of a baby. It was a healthy baby girl.
Zhang breathed a sigh of relief performing after a nerve-racking hour-long C-section on a Moroccan patient. While in surgery at a Moroccan hospital, Zhang felt aftershock tremors from the earthquake that had rocked the North African country just two hours prior. A powerful quake struck Morocco Friday night, with the toll expected to rise as rescuers struggle to reach hard-hit remote areas.
Baby born in earthquake
Zhang and obstetrics nurse Liu Yan, from the Shanghai No.8 People's Hospital, are members of the Chinese medical team in Morocco. The hospitals they serve are in Ben Guerir, a town 70 kilometers away from the western city of Marrakech which was hardest-hit by the earthquake.
Zhang was en route from the hospital to her apartment in Ben Guerir when the earthquake suddenly occurred. "I felt the whole apartment building shake when I entered," she recalled. "I froze for a second before quickly running out."
Then Zhang received a call from the hospital asking her to return to work. She rushed to the hospital, where the square in front of the hospital was filled with anxious doctors and patients. The tremor made the hospital unsafe.
Not long after, an ambulance transporting a hemorrhaging pregnant patient roared up the driveway. Worse still, after conducting a quick medical examination, Zhang found the patient to be hypertensive, presented signs of abruptio placentae. "She was in critical condition and needed a C-section as soon as possible," Zhang said.
Only an hour had passed since the earthquake and having to conduct an hour-long surgery in the hospital building brought with it glaring risks. "But both the expectant mother and her baby would have died without timely intervention," Zhang told the Global Times. "We decided to ignore the risk to help them."
When nurse Liu rushed to the hospital's operating room and saw the distressed expectant mother, she echoed Zhang's sentiments. "She had suffered 200 ml of blood loss probably from the placenta, almost equal to total blood loss from the baby in-utero," said Liu, who has nearly 30 years of working experience.
The emergency C-section started amid aftershocks. Zhang and Liu headed the surgery, supported by four local medical staffers including two nurse anesthetists, an itinerant nurse, and a midwife. It was the only surgery performed at the hospital that night. Fortunately, a 3.9-kilogram baby girl was smoothly born in the end, and her mother was also in stable condition.
Zhang and Liu don't remember how many "Shukran" - the Arabic word for "Thank you" - they've received from their Moroccans counterparts in the days since the earthquake. The new mother and her husband, as well as other patients and staffers at the hospital, all expressed their gratitude and admiration for the caring and dedicated Chinese medical personnel.
Hu said she was later told that there were several waves of dangerous aftershocks while they were in the operating room in the hospital. "But I was far too focused on the surgery to feel any of them or be afraid," she told the Global Times.
"The only thing I was afraid of at that time was an unexpected complication with woman and her baby."
More helping hands from China
The work at the hospital becomes normal now for Zhang and Liu, who both belong to the medical team that China has been assigning to Morocco since 1975, serving local patients at public hospitals across the country. The earthquake won't change their original schedule of them remaining in Morocco, the Global Times learned.
Moreover, China's rescue efforts continue to reach the areas hardest hit by the earthquake, including the Al Haouz region, 50 kilometers south of Marrakech.
The Red Cross Society of China has announced that it will provide the Moroccan Red Crescent with financial emergency humanitarian assistance worth $200,000. The China International Development Cooperation Agency also said that it stands ready to provide emergency humanitarian assistance based on the needs of those most affected by the disaster, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"China stands ready to continue to provide help to Morocco in light of its needs, to the best of our capability," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday's press briefing.
At the grassroots level, Chinese nationals residing in Morocco have also actively reached out to help. In a video she shared online, Xiaoshuang (pseudonym), a sea cucumber dealer, stands in front of a lorry fitted with a big container, surrounded by many buckets of drinking water. She says to the camera that she will fill the container with the drinking water and send it to Al Haouz.
"I'm on my way to the disaster area," Xiaoshuang told the Global Times on Monday morning local time.
Chinese vlogger and photographer Jiang Cheng lives in the famous port city of Casablanca in northwestern Morocco. Early in the morning after the earthquake, he boarded a Chinese friend's car and went to Al Haouz. At first Jiang just wanted to shoot some videos and photos there, but he soon felt he needed to step up and help.
"I'm contacting my Chinese friends to collectively transport foodstuffs to the hardest hit areas," Jiang told the Global Times. "My heart broke when witnessing the dire situation there."
Jiang added that as far as he knows, many Chinese communities and individuals in Morocco are discussing the collection and transportation of supplies to earthquake victims and their families.
Chinese enterprises were also seen at the earthquake's hard hit areas. On social media, some users shared photos of a Chinese-invested heavy equipment and manufacturing enterprise sending excavators and loaders to the rescue scenes, the Global Times found.
Fears, tears and relief
For many Chinese nationals residing in Morocco, experiencing the sudden earthquake was full of fears, tears, relief and the desire to help others.
Line (pseudonym), for instance, was on a camping trip in the mountains just tens of kilometers from the earthquake's epicenter. The tremor was very strong, but no tourists were hurt, she said.
"When we drove out of the mountains in the early morning, it was like we were on the run," she told the Global Times. "There were falling rocks everywhere, and some of the road barriers had collapsed. I felt like we might fall off the mountain at any moment."
Tang, another Chinese tourist visiting Morocco, was at a surf club on the beach, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter. At the time, she was engaged in her post-shower beauty routine when she first felt the tremor, which alarmed, and then terrified her.
When the shaking continued, however, she quickly put on her clothes and ran outside. "No one even turned on the lights when we ran downstairs, and some people didn't even have their shoes on," she told the Global Times. "My companion even banged her head on the way down."
All of the surfers made it to the main street, and later to an open space on higher ground. "Even our dog was scared and came to find us," she said. "Everyone slept outside and the club provided blankets and drinking water."
Ma Jun, who has been living in Morocco for years, was hundreds of kilometers from the epicenter, but also felt the tremor so strongly that when the earthquake struck he rushed outside with his shirt inside-out.
"We all ran out and stayed outside immediately," he recalled. "The street was full of locals spending the night outside and in their cars."
Ma told the Global Times that he returned to his room to rest after a long period outside, but slept in his jacket and shoes for fear of aftershocks.
It was the first time that Jiang had experienced earthquake. He recalled that he didn't realize it was an earthquake, until the quake lasted some two minutes. "Then I put on my clothes and rushed downstairs with my valuables. My house's rolling gate heavily clanged due to the shakes."
Jiang praised the Chinese Embassy in Morocco for its quick response. "It published useful information online that night soon after the earthquake happened, such as the contact numbers for help and some rescue resources," he told the Global Times.
As of press time, there have been no reports of Chinese casualties resulting from the earthquake.
Through the past three days, Jiang said he has barely slept in the last three days. Images of collapsed buildings, dead bodies, and distraught people in Al Haouz continue to haunt him.
"I've been living in Morocco since 2016, and it has become my second home," Jiang told the Global Times. "I hope everything will be better soon. And I will continue to contribute to [rescue and reconstruction efforts] together with many other Chinese compatriots here."
China's Generation Z skateboarders have rocked the Asian Games like no one had imagined - bagging three of four gold medals of the discipline. It was not only just about the medals, but also about the energy, vitality and the uniqueness they inject into the Games.
On September 27, the youngest member of the Chinese delegation Cui Chenxi, 13, wrote her name in Chinese sports history after becoming the youngest Asian Games champion for her nation. In the same match, 18-year-old Zeng Wenhui bagged silver in women's street.
In the men's park, 15-year-old Chen Ye finished first. In men's street, China's 16-year-old Zhang Jie snatched a gold while his teammate 19-year-old Su Jianjun won a bronze. In the women's park final, Chinese athlete Li Yujuan, 20, won the silver medal, while Mao Jiasi, 15, won the bronze.
No doubt that skateboarding is a young and up-and-coming sport. Throughout the four days of the skateboarding competition, there was a friendly, young and relaxed atmosphere in the arena. In women's street final, seven of the eight contestants are under 18. Women's street final was even attended by the youngest athlete of the Asian Games at the age of nine. These athletes, however, showed the brilliant athleticism just like their role models, passed down from generation to generation.
No pressure
Speaking with the Global Times, the young medalists displayed a similar fighting spirit and the adherence to excellence just like the veteran athletes, but they also showed something noticeably different - their relaxed mindset toward pressure, their independence growing up as an athlete, and the unwavering support they received from their parents.
After becoming Team China's youngest ever Asian Games champion, Cui told the Global Times that the title did not add any extra pressure.
"I made a mistake in my first run, and on the second attempt, my coach wanted me to be steady, but I was eager to try a riskier maneuver on my own, and in the end, it worked out," Cui said.
The champion is always at ease. In the mix zone after the final, Cui instructed all the media reporters to line up and sought their opinions on where she should stand before patiently and frankly giving answers to all the questions. She said that she never actually expected the gold but she really wanted to win.
"I might be telling some of these stories in Hangzhou to my classmates when I get back," said the middle-school girl. "I think they would be happy for me."
Different from traditional sports, there is no fixed action pattern in skateboarding. It requires skaters to freely use their imagination and creativity, which is challenging and makes the sport popular among fans. Similar to earlier generations, professional skateboards often mention that they started the sport because they found it fun.
"When I started skateboarding, I felt that it was a very exciting and thrilling sport. I felt very happy after completing each move," Chen said, comparing it to the piano and other hobbies that his father, Chen Wanqin, tried to introduce to him, but which he found boring compared with playing with a skateboard.
When asked about his interest over skateboarding, Zhang Jie, who just won men's street, also shrugged grand expressions, but accredited all to "cool and fun." Family support
The Gen-Z athletes also share similar positive family atmosphere. Usually training on their own without a professional team, they hailed the support they received from their family.
After winning the final, Cui put on the Chinese national flag on her back and skated around the venue to a loud cheer. In the audience sat her father, who first introduced Cui to skateboarding and took her training at the age of nine.
For Chen, the training area made by Chen's father became the focus of media attention after his inspirational win. In an interview with the Global Times, Chen expressed his gratitude to his father as the person he most wanted to thank after winning the gold medal.
"I'm grateful to my father for building two bowls for training for me and studying skateboarding skills with me," Chen said. Chen said that he fell in love with skateboarding when he first encountered the sport in a shopping mall at the age of 8.
Once Chen Ye showed his true passion, his father respected him the choice and supported him. In 2019, Chen Ye joined the Guangdong provincial skateboarding team. To help his son's training, Chen Wanqin and his wife rented a warehouse of more than 200 square meters to build a practice bowl for him.
After finishing second in the men's skateboarding park event at the 2021 National Games of China, Chen Wanqin built a new 900-square-meter skateboard park with a max height of nine meters in 2022 in order to improve his son's performance. Chen Ye said that during that time, his father quit his job and even spent all his savings to support his passion.
The Chinese skateboarding team, composed of athletes born after the year of 2000, continues to make breakthroughs, and the future looks promising. Showered by love, support and confidence, they are never afraid to share their ambition to go to the top.
"First I will concentrate on getting there, then I can make a big attack," Cui told the Global Times when asked about Paris 2024.
Just days after Chinese electric vehicles shone at IAA Mobility in Munich, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles. She claimed Chinese EVs are cheaper because of heavy government subsidies. "Europe is open for competition. Not for a race to the bottom," she said.
This is not true.
China had ended all EV subsidies by 2022, while European carmakers still enjoy fiscal support from the government including tax benefits and incentives. Those Chinese companies who have come out ahead in Europe have survived fierce competition at home. UBS analysts concluded that, after an extensive assessment of all the components pulled from BYD's Seal model, 75 percent of the auto parts, ranging from batteries to power semiconductors, were made in-house. BYD enjoys a sustained 25 percent cost advantage over legacy competitors.
Chinese EVs have won the market with advanced technology, integrated supply chain and scale effects. It is innovation which helps bring down the price and makes products more competitive. Chinese EV producers can compete in Europe without artificially keeping the price low because the European price of their cars is significantly higher than the Chinese price. And the European price of Tesla's Model 3 is even lower than BYD's Seal.
The Chinese EV industry has got to where it is today thanks to consistent commitment to openness, innovation and hard work. Strangely enough, the EU, a champion of free market and open trade since its birth, has chosen to close its door. China Chamber of Commerce to the EU issued a statement, urging the EU to translate its commitment to market openness into tangible measures, ensuring a fair, impartial and non-discriminatory business environment for foreign companies.
Welcoming Chinese carmakers to Germany just a week ago, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, "Competition should spur us on, but not scare us." However, the EU seems pretty scared, given all the restrictive measures and endless talks of risk and de-risk. With all the "risks" from different values, dependencies, and so on, decision-makers in Brussels are labeling competitive foreign cars as risks.
When European companies are ready to improve themselves and face the competition, European leaders are taking a different path. As far as a spokesperson for the German Association of the Automotive Industry is concerned, an anti-subsidy investigation cannot solve the existing challenges. More importantly, European consumers will be deprived of high-end, lower-price vehicles due to their leaders' protectionist choice.
If the EU is truly open to competition, it should encourage automakers of the two sides to cooperate. Taking protectionist actions violates WTO rules, hurts consumers' interests, and most unfortunately, shows a lack of will to improve. There is more than one way to be competitive and ultimately defend one's interests, such as innovating, simplifying rules, etc. But protectionism is never the right choice. It will not produce excellence, but start a race to the bottom.
Editor's Note: Over the past decade, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), following the guiding principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, has grown into a global platform where countries participating in it work together to promote people's well-being and give a further boost to global development.
As the BRI celebrates its 10th anniversary, Global Times reporters Yin Yeping, Wang Wenwen and Ma Mengyang interviewed diplomats and scholars to learn about achievements of the cooperation in Greece, Hungary and Serbia over the past decade and their expectations for high-quality BRI construction in the next decade.
Xiao Junzheng, Chinese Ambassador to Greece The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies. China and Greece are comprehensive strategic partners with a history of friendly exchanges dating back thousands of years. In the 51 years since establishing diplomatic relations, both countries have fearlessly navigated the changing international landscape.
China and Greece have consistently upheld the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual learning, engaging in fruitful cooperation. The two countries have become an exemplary model of peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation between nations of different scales, systems, national conditions and civilizations.
With the joint efforts of both China and Greece, the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries has yielded fruitful results.
Since China COSCO Shipping took over the management of the Piraeus Port, the port has experienced a remarkable transformation. The container throughput has grown from 880,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEUs) in 2010 to over 5 million TEUs today, making it a leading port in the Mediterranean.
This development has directly created over 3,000 job opportunities for the local community and indirectly generated more than 10,000 additional jobs.
In the future, China and Greece can further strengthen their commitment to the comprehensive development plan for Piraeus Port, enhance cooperation in customs trade and facilitation of clearance procedures, advance the construction of port logistics parks, and make new contributions to maintaining the stability of the China-Europe industrial and supply chains, promoting economic integration in the Balkans, and advancing the EU integration.
The concept of green development is increasingly being reflected in the cooperation projects between the two sides.
Chinese-produced new energy vehicles have successfully entered the Greek market this year. China and Greece have strengthened their strategic alignment in technology development under the framework of the China-Greece Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation and the Belt and Road Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan.
Simultaneously, both China and Greece should continue their efforts in strengthening mutual cultural exchange and learning. Perseverance in this endeavor will serve as a lasting example of cultural exchange and mutual understanding for the world. Together, both sides can draw upon the wisdom of ancient civilizations to seek solutions for contemporary challenges.
Throughout Greece's successive governments, there has been a strong emphasis on fostering relations with China. Following the re-election of the New Democracy Party government, they have continued to support both the co-development of the BRI and cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries.
I believe that in the future, under the guidance of the high-quality construction of the BRI, both sides will further promote the realization of China's modernization model and Greece's enhancement of its national competitiveness. Together, both sides will nurture new areas of cooperation such as green development and the digital economy, bringing greater prosperity to the people of both countries.
Norbert Csizmadia, a Hungarian expert in economic strategy As a member of the EU, Hungary is the first country to bridge the gap between the West and the East. We place significant emphasis on fostering strong cooperation not only in terms of investments and infrastructure development but also in technology, culture, education and green financial initiatives. We are focused on the future with more connectivity.
There are six key areas of economic cooperation between China and Hungary, with a particular emphasis on collaboration within the Belt and Road Initiative. This focus has not only been prominent in recent years but will continue to be a priority. We believe that the era of Eurasia has arrived and consider it a crucial direction for the future. Furthermore, we firmly believe in peaceful and harmonious cooperation.
If we examine the global construction based on geographical divisions, it becomes evident that we are living in a multipolar world order. China is more and more important. For instance, in 2019, 49 percent of global economic growth was attributed to China and Southeast Asian countries, and China alone accounting for over 30 percent of global economic growth. Looking at a map of China, one can observe the geographical stretch from Beijing to Shanghai shares similarities with Central and Eastern European countries -- from the Baltic area to the Adriatic Sea. This underscores the ongoing focus on the same geographical regions, particularly the small countries within Central and Eastern Europe.
Hungary has a population of around 10 million, which is comparable to that of a single Chinese city. The importance of cooperation cannot be understated. The collaboration between Central and Eastern European countries and China spans over a decade, encompassing diverse fields such as education and investments. Hungary maintains robust political stability, unlike some other countries which have disengaged from Chinese cooperation in the past two years. While political changes have occurred in certain nations, Hungary has maintained a consistent direction for over 13 years, especially in terms of its objectives. I believe this political stability serves as a powerful force for the future.
Katarina Zakic, head of the Regional Center "Belt and Road" in Belgrade, the Institute of International Politics and Economics Since the beginning, it was very clear that the BRI is something extraordinary that doesn't happen every day. We knew that it would be a huge project and a huge undertaking by China, to develop it and to fund it.
This year marks its 10th anniversary. When we look at the results, they are really impressive. Regarding the investments, we are reaching $1 trillion. What other countries have invested so much in one project throughout a 10-year period? Most projects don't even last 10 years. Around 40 million people worldwide do not have the burden of extreme poverty in which they were living before these projects.
In general, China has achieved excellent results. We are impressed by the results in transportation infrastructure and especially the types of the countries in which they were conducted. Those were the countries that needed those infrastructure projects. One of the reasons that I have always been extremely grateful for this project is China's idea that each country should nominate the project it wants to conduct. And we would very much appreciate China's assistance in those regards.
Serbia is in Europe, but it's not an EU member. This is our strategic situation, because for many years, we are still trying to become an EU member. Our cooperation with China and the successful results are partially due to this fact that we are not an EU member. If we were a member the politics within the European Union would affect our relations with China.
We have comprehensive cooperation with China. We have relations on very high political levels. We have signed with China the comprehensive strategic agreement. We also have excellent cooperation on an economic level, especially regarding the loans and the investments that we have, not only throughout the BRI, but also throughout the China-Central and Eastern Europe cooperation framework.
Not only political and economic relations are on a high level, but also people-to-people and cultural relations are on a very high level. All these elements help Serbia become the pillar of China's projects and China's relations in the Western market. Serbia didn't have any kind of suspicions or negative reactions toward deepening our cooperation. Each government, starting from 2008, just built up that operation. We are in a way complementing each other. We respect each other's policies. Even in some cases when we have some kind of problem, for example, on an economic level or regarding the investments, there was always an understanding that we should speak about the problem and resolve it. In this way, within the Balkan countries, we are distinct.
On Saturday, Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), launched a large-scale surprise attack on Israel, resulting in a significant number of casualties and penetrating multiple military bases and Israeli settlements. Israel immediately declared that Israel is now "at war" and vowed to "take revenge" on the Hamas militants. This event is undoubtedly the most serious conflict between Israel and Palestine in over a decade, with both sides trapped in a vicious cycle of violence, jeopardizing the fragile geopolitical stability in the Middle East.
The re-eruption of the Israel-Palestine conflict is regrettable, and both sides bear responsibility. Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and its refusal to accept the "two-state solution" serve as the root causes of the conflict. However, new dynamics in the Palestinian, regional and international situation have acted as the trigger for this latest outbreak.
Firstly, Hamas launched the attack in retaliation for the hardline policies and extremist actions of Israel's far-right government against the Palestinians. Since the Netanyahu government came to power, it has consistently challenged the Palestinian redline and ultimately fueled Palestinian anger. Hamas named this military operation the "Al-Aqsa Flood," highlighting its religious significance and revengeful intent.
Secondly, Hamas sought to counter the marginalization of the Palestinian issue. Recently, Saudi Arabia has been negotiating a "normalization" deal with Israel and has come close to an agreement brokered by the US. Saudi Arabia holds a prominent position in both the Arab and Islamic worlds, and once it establishes diplomatic relations with Israel, the Palestinian cause is likely to be greatly impacted.
Furthermore, Hamas aimed to maintain its leadership position in the armed resistance movement of Palestine. In recent years, Palestinian armed resistance has been led primarily by emerging small-scale militant groups like the "Lions' Den" in the West Bank, challenging Hamas' leadership among Palestinians. It was necessary for Hamas to defend its leadership position through a major, attention-grabbing attack.
Lastly, the economic situation in the Gaza Strip was on the brink of collapse, motivating Hamas to seek a way out for survival.
Judging from the background of the incident, it is clear that the US also has a looming presence and certain responsibility in the bloody conflict.
First of all, the US abandoned justice by supporting Israel in its conflict with Palestine and condoning Israel's behaviors, which eventually led to this tragedy. Since the beginning of this year, the US, which claims to be the mediator for peace in the Middle East and the most important ally of Israel, has not fulfilled its obligation to promote justice and prevent tensions from escalating. Instead, it has become an accomplice in stirring up the conflict between Palestine and Israel.
Second, the Biden administration has chosen a time like this to desperately push for the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, with the main purpose of boosting Biden's votes in next year's election. It has been acting poorly in Middle East affairs. Therefore, the Biden administration is trying to expand the results of the Abraham Accords to highlight the "fruits of peace" in the Middle East. However, such a "peace in the Middle East" that the US has been showing off has led to an unprecedented threat to the survival of the Palestinians and ultimately led to a bloody conflict. The current escalation of tensions and violence proves that a Middle East peace plan without the two-state solution will only intensify conflicts and hinder peace.
Finally, the US has its own intentions by pushing to improve relations between the Arab countries and Israel - to establish a new political and military alliance against Iran, enhance its ability to control the situation in the Middle East, and, take a longer view, to try to create a coterie to marginalize China's influence in the Middle East.
The "peace" promoted by the US in the Middle East is likely to bring more divergences, contradictions and conflicts to the region. If the US continues to have a bias toward Israel, it will lead the peace process in the Middle East astray, and the Israel-Palestine conflict will recur once and again, while peace in the Middle East will become only castles in the air.
At the invitation of Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, will pay a visit to China. The two sides are expected to discuss bilateral relations as well as foreign policy and security issues. The visit comes as the EU seeks to reduce its reliance on China while maintaining ties with the world's second-largest economy.
Recently, the EU formally launched an anti-subsidy probe into electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured in China. The anti-subsidy investigation is arbitrary, without adequate evidence to sustain it, and not in compliance with pertinent WTO regulations, which is adversely impairing the rights of Chinese companies. If Borrell's intention is to explain the EU's actions, he might be disappointed.
Gao Jian, the director of the Centre for European Studies at Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times that the EU chose to "de-risk" when it realized that it was not able to achieve the decoupling that the US has been touting. Cui Hongjian, a professor with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, believes that the EU wants to re-establish its prestige by talking about de-risking.
However, there are still disagreements within the EU regarding "de-risking," making it difficult for the bloc to reach a consensus.
Take the anti-subsidy probe. The rapid development of Chinese EVs is not entirely seen as a "risk" for the EU. Some countries think that the rapid growth of Chinese EVs in Europe could potentially threaten the European EV industry. However, Germany, for instance, has a long-term cooperation in the EV industry with China. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has poured cold water on the EU's anti-subsidy investigation, warning against taking protectionist actions that could harm domestic industries.
In fact, the EU has failed to recognize the true source of the "risks" it is facing. Since the US provoked the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it has been reaping the wealth of the EU in terms of weapons and energy, causing many EU members to fall into an economic crisis. It is not China but the US that has caused real economic damage to Europe, according to Gao. Gao noted that the so-called risks the EU attributes to China are actually caused by their close ally across the Atlantic and the EU is simply replicating the US model of "decoupling with China" without knowing its own demands.
China has always attached great importance to the development of bilateral relations with Europe based on equality and mutual benefits. The EU needs to deeply understand and recognize China's principles. It is wishful thinking to expect China to make concessions that harm its own interests.
Cui said that the EU's anti-subsidy probe into Chinese EVs can be a litmus test. If the EU can respond to China's concerns properly, it can steer the wheel back to pragmatically solving divergences and problems with China. But if the EU wants to use Borrell's visit to reinforce the EU's negative policies toward China, the unstable status of China-EU ties will continue.
During Borrell's visit, the two sides will hold the 12th round of China-EU High-level Strategic Dialogue. Borrell might serve as a precursor to the China-EU Summit scheduled for later this year. The visit is a clear indication that the EU understands the value of bilateral economic and trade ties, and that China will not sit still if the EU adopts confrontational tactics. It's hoped the EU could seize the chance of Borrell's visit to solve bilateral frictions in the economic field and increase political mutual trust with China.
Three of China's science and technology (S&T) clusters are among the world's five biggest S&T clusters as announced by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, said on Monday during a routine press conference that the achievement showed the success of China's measures to encourage relevant regions to leverage their strength as reservoirs of innovation factors and increase their ability to innovate and boost economic growth.
On September 20, the WIPO released the Global Innovation Index 2023, which showed that three Chinese S&T clusters - Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou, Beijing as well as Shanghai-Suzhou - were among the world's top five.
In addition, the GII identified 24 S&T clusters in China, up from 21 in 2022, as the country is now home to the greatest number of S&T clusters, said the WIPO.
Wang said that the achievement showed that relevant regions have used their advantages of innovative factors, and this is having a positive effect.
"Since the first edition of the GII was released in 2007, China has been on the list at various ranks more and more frequently, reflecting the continuous improvement of China's innovation-driven development," said Wang.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China's innovation-driven index reached 336.3 in 2022, up 15.5 percent year-on-year, and social research and development investment surpassed 3 trillion yuan ($410.37 billion) for the first time, ranking second worldwide, said Wang.
Daren Tang, director-general of the WIPO, said that China has become a major contributor to international intellectual property work, and has successfully transformed itself into a global center of innovation, creativity and technology.
Wang reaffirmed that innovation is attached with international cooperation, openness and sharing. "China will keep implementing win-win strategy of opening-up, improving openness, promoting international communication and cooperation in science and technology, and building an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for development," he noted.
With several days to go before the end of fiscal year 2023 on September 30, the massive expansion in US federal budget deficit is setting off alarm bells across the American economy. The deviation between US fiscal policy and Federal Reserve's monetary policies is like two gears pulling in opposite directions. The longer the deviation takes, the more financial risks will be accumulated throughout the US system, risking spillover effects on other economies.
The US Congress has just several days to avert a shutdown before the government runs out of money. The deadline for lawmakers to reach an agreement is midnight on September 30, after which government funding for essential services is set to run dry. This is not the first time that the government is faced with plunging into such as an awkward situation. The most recent shutdowns were in 2018, when the government was shut more than 30 days.
The last three years of public policy have had a major impact on the federal budget. The large increases in government spending far outpaced the growth in revenues, reportedly resulting in deficits of $2.7 trillion, $1.4 trillion, and $1.6 trillion in fiscal years 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively, with the last month of 2023 based on current estimates. As the US national debt passes $33 trillion and a government shutdown looms, Wall Street and global investors inevitably feel the chill.
Some analysts believe the US economy has been on a strong recovery track since the beginning of the year. Such an uptrend should be attributed to multiple factors, among them an expansionary US fiscal policy that includes high levels of government spending is an important one. Increased government spending can take the form of both purchases of goods and services, which directly increases economic activity, and is transferred to individuals, indirectly increasing economic activity as individuals spend those funds.
Meanwhile, inflation rates increased for a second straight month in August, reversing previous declines as consumers continued to grapple with the rising cost of everyday goods. Since March 2022, the Fed has lifted interest rates 11 times and held them steady only twice, including September's pause, to control inflation. The substantial tightening in monetary policy has started to weigh on activity, increasing households' and firms' interest payments, and putting pressure on the real economy. It's understandable that an expansionary fiscal policy has been adopted to increase government spending amid inflation woes and it would be conducive to offset the negative impact of tightening monetary policies on the economy.
A year ago a majority of economists expected a US recession. So where'd it go? Increasing government spending may be one of the factors that have kept a recession at bay, at least so far. The more aggressive the Fed's tightening monetary policy is, the more government spending may be requested to stimulate growth. With 2024 presidential election just about one year away, the Biden faces a challenge: how to convince voters that he has the ability to boost growth while curb inflation.
In such a situation, the Biden administration probably hopes to maintain elevated government spending to promote growth. The tightening of monetary policy and expansionary fiscal policy seem like the two ends of a seesaw, requiring a delicate balance to avoid a recession in the US economy.
However, what some Western economists tend not to notice are the side effects on the US economy. A big part of the story is the massive expansion in the federal budget deficit. Prospect of government shutdown poses a new threat to the US economy. For instance, a government shutdown would cost the US travel economy as much as $140 million a day, CNN reported, citing an analysis released by the US Travel Association. While the US economy is unlikely to implode any time soon, it faces significant and deep-rooted challenges. Moody's Investors Service said on Monday that US credit rating could come under pressure if the government shuts down.
The US remains the world's largest economy, the mistakes it makes often result in strong spillover effects that not only harm itself but also burden the region and even the entire world economy. Missteps over stubborn inflation and massive expansion in federal budget deficit make the country a real "time bomb" posing a danger to the world.
