Aiming at sharing China's experiences in cultural heritage conservation with the world, the 2023 World Expo on Cultural Heritage Conservation and Rehabilitation, a gala that highlights numerous A-list Chinese museums, will be held in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, starting from November 23.
The three-day expo includes five exhibiting areas with specified themes like "digital cultural relics," "intangible cultural heritage (ICH)" and "museums."
The star of the event is the "museum" section. It hosts top-notch cultural institutions like the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Sanxingdui Museum in Sichuan Province and also the Dunhuang Academy, a research-and-exhibition in one institution that has nearly 80 years of history in Northwest China's Gansu Province.
Xiang Xinshuang, a cultural heritage researcher in Shanghai, told the Global Times that these museums, with their vast collections, can reflect the "diversity and wide spectrum of Chinese cultural heritages."
"A cultural institution, the Dunhuang Academy, for example, doesn't just show relics, but also embodies the path and mindset that Chinese culturalists use to safeguard the country's cultural treasures," Li Liyang, a museum expert, told the Global Times.
More than 80 exhibitors worldwide will join the upcoming Chengdu cultural fair, Yu Houli, a staff member of one of the expo's organizers, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Sichuan Research Institute (SJTUSRI), told the Global Times.
The fair will see the participation of cultural experts from countries such as France, Poland and Nepal. Yu revealed that Germany and Italy will be the two biggest overseas delegations at the expo, with participants such as the University of Florence and the German-Chinese Association of Artificial Intelligence (GCAAI).
Xiang told the Global Times that compared with the "liberal art" nature of many cultural exhibitors at the event, the natural science-oriented participants like the Polytechnic University of Turin may bring "a new multi-discipline twist to China's cultural heritage conservation."
"It also reflects the trending approach to integrate technology, engineering and digital means into the cultural heritage conservation field. Such an international expo provides abundant opportunities for cross-subject collaboration between China and overseas," Xiang remarked.
The "diversity" of participants does not only reflect their mixed cultural backgrounds, but also participants' professions. Other than scholars, the event also embraces intangible cultural inheritors, architectural studios, and cultural tourism professionals and veterans in the cultural creative industry.
Besides the exhibition section, the Chengdu expo will host over 16 events, including forum discussions stressing subjects like the "Central Axis of Beijing" and "new technologies and materials for conserving ancient buildings," as well as a forum that invites ICH inheritors to share their experiences with each other.
Instead of choosing Chinese mega cities like Beijing and Shanghai, the event has landed in Chengdu, one of Southwest China's most cultural enriched cities. Yu described Chengdu as a "rising star" that contributes to the Chinese cultural economy, especially cultural tourism.
"Because of Chengdu's potential, the event will also be held in 2024 and 2025 in the city," the SJTUSRI staff member told the Global Times.
Including SJTUSRI, the 2023 World Expo on Cultural Heritage Conservation and Rehabilitation is hosted by several organizers like the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration, China Association for Conservation Technology of Cultural Heritage and the China Foundation For Cultural Heritage Conservation.
The event will be held at Chengdu's Western China International Expo City and is scheduled to end on November 25.
Emirati Astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi's mission will continue after his return to Earth to benefit from the scientific experiments he participated in during his six-month mission on board the International Space Station (ISS), according to Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC).
During a virtual news conference today, coinciding with the undocking of the Dragon Spacecraft from the ISS, Salem Humaid AlMarri, Director-General of MBRSC, stated that Sultan AlNeyadi, along with his Crew-6 crewmates, began their journey back to Earth, adding that their spacecraft is projected to touchdown off the coast of Tampa, Florida in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday morning,
AlMarri explained that one of the MBRSC's teams will focus on the safety of the astronauts and their medical rehabilitation to return to normality, which will take a few weeks. He noted that another team will focus on the scientific experiments, while the administrative team will focus on the nature of the mission, administrative and organisational matters, as well as handling discussions with various parties.
Following the undocking, if necessary, a series of orbit-lowering manoeuvres, known as phasing burns, will be executed on the spacecraft to align its ground track with the targeted landing location. Before initiating the deorbit burn, the flight computer will jettison the spacecraft's trunk, a step crucial for reducing its mass and conserving propellant. This will pave the way for the spacecraft's deorbit burn, scheduled to last for 12 minutes.
Upon completion, as the spacecraft re-enters Earth’s atmosphere, it will encounter significant heating and drag, effectively reducing its velocity to a safe point suitable for parachute deployment. At an altitude of 18,000 feet, two drogue parachutes will be deployed, quickly followed by the release of four main parachutes at approximately 6,500 feet. Under the steady guidance of these four main parachutes, the spacecraft is projected to make a gentle splashdown at a speed of 25 feet per second off the coast of Tampa, Florida in the Gulf of Mexico on September 4.
The UAE Astronaut Programme is one of the projects managed by MBRSC under the UAE’s National Space Programme and funded by the ICT Fund of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), which aims to support research and development in the ICT sector in the UAE and promote the country’s integration on the global stage.
Nepal adheres to the one-China policy and will never allow any activities that are detrimental to China's interests, said Nepalese Foreign Minister Narayan Prasad Saud in Beijing on Sunday.
Saud noted that Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda's visit to China will further strengthen the Nepal-China relationship.
"Nepal is firmly committed to China's interests, and we appreciate China's continued support for Nepal's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national freedom," he said.
Saud made the remarks during a speech at a welcome ceremony for Prime Minister Prachanda at the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing on Sunday.
At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Prachanda is paying an official visit to China from September 23 to 30. Prachanda has visited China many times and made important contributions to promoting the development of China-Nepal relations.
Prachanda attended the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on Saturday. During his visit, he will meet with Chinese leaders and discuss many important issues.
Saud said that Nepal and China have a long history of friendship and cultural exchanges dating back centuries. "We are committed to further strengthening and consolidating our relationship based on mutual respect, trust and understanding."
He also commended the remarkable progress that China's economy has made, while noting that there are great opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in various fields, such as trade, investment, hydropower, tourism, mining, poverty alleviation and connectivity.
China is Nepal's second-largest trading partner and an important source of foreign investment and tourism.
"Connectivity is crucial for the economic partnership between China and Nepal. The Nepalese government is committed to maintaining the normal operation of all border ports between China and Nepal, constructing border infrastructure, establishing well-equipped testing and certification laboratories at the China-Nepal border, accelerating the construction of border customs facilities, and considering it a top priority," Saud said.
"We see numerous opportunities to further strengthen economic cooperation and promote the entry of Nepalese products into the Chinese market."
According to Saud, the Nepalese government is fully committed to providing all possible support for foreign companies investing in Nepal.
Nepalese Ambassador to China Bishnu Pukar Shrestha said at Sunday's ceremony that Nepal-China relations hold more significance as the country is aiming to move out of the category of Least Developed Countries in 2026.
"The incredible leap that China has made on the economic front and its eradication of absolute poverty will serve as a best practice example for the development endeavours of Nepal," said Shrestha.
Broadening the horizons of cooperation in the fields of infrastructure development, trade, digital economy, green energy, agriculture, tourism, investment, education and culture will benefit the people of the two countries, which will pave the way forward for bilateral relations, he said.
As the casualties keep climbing in the Gaza Strip, Chinese observers warned a humanitarian crisis in the region is unavoidable if the fighting between Hamas and Israel doesn't stop. The observers also said such a crisis, if caused by atrocities, could trigger a public opinion explosion and reverse the political situation at certain tipping point. At this juncture, the US, which can exert real influence on Israel, is urged to pressure Israel to cool down its offensive in Gaza, instead of further stoking tension in the Middle East.
Western media has been piling pressure on China to condemn Hamas. Chinese observers said that it is illogical to ask China to pick sides in a conflict that's partly caused by Western colonization and exacerbated by US biased Middle East policies. China's impartiality in responding to this crisis remains consistent, said the experts, noting China is also willing to provide convenience for the negotiation between Palestine and Israel if necessary.
The Israeli military said on Thursday it is preparing for a possible ground operation in Gaza but that the political leadership has not yet decided on one. Israeli Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht said on Thursday that forces "are preparing for a ground maneuver if decided."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Wednesday that Israel would "crush and destroy" the Hamas militant group.
According to the AP, the conflict has already claimed at least 2,300 lives on both sides, following an increase in Israeli bombardments on the sixth day since Hamas' surprise attack. More than 338,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Gaza, the UN said, as food, fuel and medical supplies dwindle.
Three Chinese nationals were killed and two are missing in the conflict, the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday, noting that several others are injured. The relevant Chinese diplomatic missions abroad are fully coordinating the treatment of the injured and handling the aftermath for the deceased, said the ministry.
The risk of a humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip is mounting and will become even more likely if the Israeli army launches a ground operation, as Gaza is densely populated and Hamas can easily mingle with civilians, which makes army forces difficult to identify, Tian Wenlin, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.
Soaring death toll and exacerbated dilemma in Gaza will probably lead to overwhelming sympathy toward people in Palestine, whose military power pales in comparison with Israel's. That scenario (public opinion sympathetic to Palestinians) is also what Hamas wants, said Zhu Weilie, the director of the Middle East Studies Institute of the Shanghai International Studies University.
Netanyahu and centrist opposition leader Benny Gantz, a former defence minister and military chief of staff, have agreed to form an emergency unity government, Gantz's National Unity party said on Wednesday. Chinese observers see this union as a signal that Israel is going to take tougher actions against Hamas.
Palestinian medical sources said recently that Israel on Wednesday targeted the western port area of Gaza with several white phosphorus bombs, resulting in hundreds of cases of suffocation. In response, a spokesperson from the UN said on Wednesday that the UN hasn't seen any report of this regard.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday voiced grave concern over the escalating conflict in Israel and Gaza. "I appeal to all parties - and those who have an influence over those parties - to avoid any further escalation and spillover," he told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Tian noted that the US can exert influence on Israel to cool down its continuous offense in the Gaza Strip. However, what Washington is doing is to fuel the already tensed situation by sending warships and unilaterally condemning Hamas, rather than ask Israel to stop bombardment in the Gaza Strip, according to Tian.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Israel on Thursday in a show of support for Israel after Hamas surprise attack. The US could soon have two aircraft carriers in the eastern Mediterranean, US media Politico cited Defense Department officials as saying.
If Washington really wants to mediate the crisis, it should sit both sides down for negotiations, instead of sending warships to the Middle East to boost Israel's morale, Zhu told the Global Times. He said the way the US is stoking tension will prolong the conflict, thus lead to the death of more civilians, as well as bigger humanitarian crisis.
In an interview with Phoenix published on Thursday, Palestinian Ambassador to China Fariz Mehdawi said China has been asking for a collective effort to solve the conflicts in the Middle East, "but has never been accepted by the US unfortunately, because they kept it within the Quartet as if China doesn't exist. They [the Americans] think the Middle East is their own garden, they have to keep control of everything for them … And we are paying the price of this monopoly. In short, it's a selfish foreign policy which is irresponsible in my opinion."
West shifts blame
China remains deeply concerned over the escalating situation which has resulted in numerous innocent civilian casualties and over the serious deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in Palestine, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a Thursday briefing, noting that China will maintain communication with relevant parties to promote ceasefire and help alleviate an unfolding humanitarian crisis.
Zhai Jun, special envoy of the Chinese government on the Middle East issue, on Thursday had a phone conversation with Rafi Harpaz, the Deputy Director General in charge of Asia-Pacific affairs of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Zhai noted that China is deeply concerned over the escalating tension and violence and is saddened by the civilian casualties. China condemns the acts that harm innocent civilians and calls for an immediate ceasefire and cessation of violence.
China has no self-interest in the Palestinian question and has always stood on the side of peace and justice. China sincerely hopes for peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine and is willing to work with the international community to promote peace and create conditions for its realization, said Zhai.
Zhai also had phone calls with Amal Jadou, first deputy minister of foreign affairs of Palestine, and Osama Khedr, assistant minister of the Palestine department in the Egyptian Foreign Ministry separately in recent days.
However, some Western media outlets started to hype China's response to the conflict, and said China stopped short of condemning Hamas. An article published in The Diplomat on Wednesday said that "China's Response to the Israel-Hamas Conflict Reflects Its Longstanding Support for Palestine." US media Politico ran another article calling China's response to Hamas' attack "soft message."
Tian said the Western media is shifting groundless blame to China. "The root of the conflicts is partly the result of the British colonization, and US' long-term disregard of Palestine requests. Now that the bomb Western countries planted a long time ago has exploded, they are blaming China for not condemning Hamas. Where is the logic?" said Tian.
As a matter of fact, the burst of the current Palestine-Israel conflicts is a proof that China's proposal of a two-state solution is the right way, Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.
China's impartiality in Palestine-Israel conflicts remain consistent, said Zhu. China has offered many times to provide convenience for the negotiation between Palestine and Israel, and China will continue to do this if necessary.
Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai reaffirmed China’s resolution in pushing forward the joint campaign against telecom fraud, as he talked with senior officials from the Myanmar government, the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar said on Wednesday.
According to a statement from the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar, Chen met with Yar Pyae, member of the State Administration Council and head of the Home Affairs Ministry in Myanmar, and Than Swe, deputy prime minister and union minister of foreign affairs of Myanmar, in Naypyidaw on Monday and Tuesday.
Both sides made positive comments on the recent joint efforts to combat telecom fraud in Myanmar and analyzed the latest trends in telecom fraud activities in the country.
Chen reaffirmed China’s resolve in combating telecom scams and online gambling crimes, and introduced the strong measures China has taken in recent days.
Chen also expressed appreciation for the transfer of nearly 5,000 suspects involved in fraud crimes in northern Myanmar to the Chinese police by the Myanmar side since September. According to Chen, China will continue to deepen cooperation with Myanmar and will take further actions to effectively safeguard the interests of the people from both countries.
The Myanmar officials said that Myanmar attaches great importance to the serious harms caused by illegal activities and crimes such as telecom and online fraud, as well as China’s stance which has been repeatedly stated on this matter. Myanmar will actively assist and cooperate in disrupting criminal activities and targeting telecom fraud.
Besides, Myanmar will coordinate various relevant departments to further implement the consensus reached between Myanmar and China, as well as with other neighboring countries, and will continue to promote joint actions to safeguard the safety and rights of the people of both countries and create a clear environment for regional exchanges and cooperation.
Wang Qiang (pseudonym) had planned to hold a grand wedding for his 28-year-old son in 2021. Having long been established in the furniture business away from home, Wang, who is in his 50s, wanted to invite as many of his friends and business partners as possible to his hometown, a village in East China's Zhejiang Province, to witness a lavish wedding, which he believed could bring him a sense of pride.
There were nearly 500 names on Wang's guest list. Hosting a 40- to 50-table (each table seats 10 people) wedding, which usually cost hundreds of thousands of yuan, used to be common in the village.
"That was too extravagant and unnecessary." Village official He Xiyang and her coworkers decided to persuade Wang to forego the grand wedding feast. After visiting Wang's home twice, he finally agreed to largely shorten his guest list to just 200.
Recently, many cities and provinces across China have intensified their efforts to rein in exorbitant "bride prices" and extravagant wedding ceremonies as part of nationwide efforts to strengthen the development of public cultural-ethical standards in the country's rural areas and create a "new-era" marriage and childbearing culture.
In Chinese culture, families play an indispensable role in providing care for the elderly and children. They offer emotional and economic support, as well as advancing production, community management, and promoting civilization and morality across society.
As China grapples with a low fertility rate, an increasingly aging population, and uneven cross-regional population growth, the concept of a "new-era" marriage and childbearing culture was proposed to meet people's aspirations for better lives with proactive measures to help foster childbearing-friendly environments and contribute to advancing Chinese modernization with support for the high-quality development of the population.
A pilot project was thus rolled out across the country with the aim to promote marriage and childbearing at appropriate ages, improving prenatal and postnatal care services, encouraging couples to share child-rearing responsibilities, and curbing the high costs of betrothal gifts and other outdated marriage customs.
Lower marriage costs The city of Huzhou, where Wang Qiang's hometown - Xiaoyuan village - is located, is just one among 20 cities selected for in the first batch of the pilot project.
A village in Huzhou's Anji county, Xiaoyuan has a population of 3,000 inhabitants. Villagers enjoy a decent life thanks to the development of a distinctive local white tea economy, with a per capita net income of nearly 40,000 yuan ($5529.1) in 2019, official data showed.
Nonetheless, high marriage costs were a huge burden to local families in earlier years with costs excluding the expensive wedding venues and the "bride price." The wedding celebration alone would cost as much as 100,000 to 200,000 yuan, village official He Xiyang told the Global Times.
He explained that before the new-era marriage and childbearing culture was introduced, an "extravagant but common" wedding in the village would include a feast for 400-500 guests, brand-name cigarettes and alcohol, wedding venue arrangements and decorations, renting luxury cars, and the hiring of a famous wedding host.
Some families even blew money on inviting a singer of some renown to perform, or renting drones to take photos and videos at the wedding, she added.
The high wedding expense could cost a young man's several years of wages. "Most of the time they had to turn to their parents," she said. "For the less affluent families, borrowing money to fund the wedding festivities was a usual occurrence."
To reduce wedding expenditure especially in rural areas, in September 2022, eight national departments jointly issued a notice to address the problems of excessive "bride prices" and extravagant wedding ceremonies, rolling out a special work plan for a nationwide campaign.
In February, the country unveiled a key policy document or the No. 1 central document for 2023, vowing to launch a special campaign against problems including extravagant wedding ceremonies.
Xiaoyuan village established a working team in 2020, promoting frugal and small-sized wedding, birthday ceremonies, and funerals among local residents. "For a wedding, we suggest that the couple keep the number of guests at around 200," said He.
He said she and her colleagues sometimes go to local hotels (wedding celebration venues) to find out how many tables are booked for an upcoming wedding there, and then estimate the number of invited guests. If the number largely exceeds the recommended guidelines, they then pay a visit to the soon to be married couples and their families, persuading them to downsize the ceremony.
Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of engaged couples are easily persuaded, as downsizing the wedding enables them to reduce the budget by at least tens of thousands of yuan.
"More importantly, today's young people are pragmatic; they don't like to keep up with the Joneses as much as the elder generations do, nor do they think holding a frugal wedding makes them lose face," He noted.
The corrupt custom of high "bride prices" has also faded in Xiaoyuan village with the concept of gender equality gradually taking root in the hearts of local residents, said He.
Gender equality matters
In a traditional and somewhat outdated concept, men usually contribute financially to a marriage, while women contribute time and energy in housework and child-rearing instead.
Chinese demographers reached by the Global Times pointed out that an obvious negative effect of this concept is that many young Chinese people, especially women, are reluctant to get married. Lots of self-proclaimed women who opt out of marriage have said on Chinese social media sites that they fear married life due to the loss of independence and being trapped in household affairs.
The decline in marriage rates is a natural result of social development, said Xu Tianli, head of the Shanghai Marriage Introduction Organization Administration Association.
With more women becoming socially and economically independent, marriage is no longer regarded as a way for women to make a living by relying on their husbands, Xu told the Global Times.
Therefore, the lowering of wedding costs and curbing of objectifying women through "bride prices" being advocated for in China's new-era marriage and childbearing culture, are important steps toward gender equality in marriage, as they signal that men should contribute more in housework and child-rearing, "rather than simply shrinking such responsibility, and giving money to their wives like arrogant bosses," a demographer told the Global Times on condition of anonymity.
It is worth noting that in practice, people should emphasize both the rights and duties of men, the demographer noted. "Cracking down on high 'bride prices' does not mean that men are acquiescing in not taking responsibility for raising children," he added, as new-era marriage and childbearing culture highlights gender equality, and stresses that parents should share in child-rearing responsibilities.
In the latest effort, the China Family Planning Association announced in May the launch of the second pilot project in 20 cities to further build the new-era marriage and childbearing culture.
Ningde in East China's Fujian Province, for instance, was among the latest batch of pilot cities. It recently released a series of posters publicizing the culture. One of the posters, showing the cartoon images of a young couple and three children on it, reads: "Husband and wife jointly share parenting responsibilities."
In Anji county in pilot city Huzhou, volunteers shared with the Global Times a case of in which they convinced a disgruntled wife to give her negligent husband a second chance. The husband in question "neither worked nor looked after the children after an entrepreneurial attempt failed."
The volunteers are from "the magpie bridge guardian league," a nonprofit group under the Anji Social Organization Service Center that was built to help couples deal with marital issues and conflicts. The volunteers educated the husband to take on his family responsibility, and shared with him recruitment information.
"The couple decided to give their marriage another go after the husband reflected on his shortcomings, and promised to better care for the family, and secured a job at a furniture company," the service center's director Ye Wubin told the Global Times. In the past, women bore the vast majority of child-rearing responsibilities, and many men, especially in some male chauvinism-influenced areas, employed a largely hands-off approach to child-rearing and housework, said Zhou Haiwang, a research fellow and deputy director at the Institute of Urban and Demographic Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
"It is necessary to further promote the idea of equality between men and women, and call on the two sides to bear parenting responsibilities together," Zhou told the Global Times.
Better child-rearing support
New-era marriage and childbearing culture encourages people to respect childbearing, and to marry and have children at appropriate ages. To boost fertility, authorities and related organizations across China are trying hard to offer better child-rearing supports to reduce stress and ease the burden on parents.
Last week, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and the National Healthcare Commission said that they have allocated 7.5 million yuan in special funding to support companies in providing childcare assistance for their employees.
Zheng Qiaoxing, a staffer at the Ningde Family Planning Association, told the Global Times that the association's subsequent work mainly focuses on publicizing the new-era marriage and childbearing culture to residents, and provide families in need with better nursery and child-rearing support.
The association has launched a "sunflower parent-child room" project in Ningde. Some 93 parent-child rooms have been built under the project in communities and villages citywide, open to local babies aged zero to three and their parents for free.
The parent-child rooms regularly hold parenting lectures, parent-child activities, and child health check-up. "It is so convenient for me to learn about infant health from medical personnel at the parent-child room built in my village," young mother Lin Weiwei, a resident of Ningde's Anban Village, told the Global Times. "My daughter also enjoys the music and handwork lessons there," she added.
Many other Chinese cities, such as Shanghai and Zhengzhou in Central China's Henan Province, have also launched similar nonprofit nursery projects to help busy parents take care of their babies, the Global Times reporter learned.
The supportive policies of building a marriage- and childbearing-friendly society are just the very first step, said Zhou. "The decline in fertility is a long-standing global problem, and we have a long way to go."
A tourism promotion event was held at the Italian Cultural Center in Beijing, to help boost mutual exchanges between China and Italy. Italian Ambassador to China Massimo Ambrosetti addressed the event.
The ambassador emphasized that, Italy is famous for its food and wine, its cities of art, and its fashion brands, but these are not the only advantage points of Italian tourism. "We have many lesser-known but equally authentic and important places and therefore need to promote in-depth travel experiences in these areas as well," said he.
In the first half of 2023, the Italian Embassy and Consulates in China processed more than 50,000 visas, and more than 3 million traveled to Italy in 2019, and "we are now aiming to reach and exceed the 2019 figure in 2024."
The event was co-hosted by the Italian National Tourist Board and Italian Embassy in China. Promotional events were also held in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing.
In his report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, proposed to comprehensively advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization - the modernization of a huge population, of common prosperity for all, of material and cultural-ethical advancement, of harmony between humanity and nature, and peaceful development.
Advancing Chinese modernization is a systematic endeavor and also an exploratory undertaking. It is through this framework that we wish to illustrate the process of the Chinese path to modernization through a series of landmark projects, touching stories, and grand visions.
Xi stressed building a Beautiful China at the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection held in Beijing on July 17 and 18, calling to support high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment, and accelerate the advancement of modernization featuring harmony between humanity and nature.
In this installment, Global Times reporters visited the world's first offshore wind turbine crop in an intertidal zone located in East China's Jiangsu Province to learn about how its development process epitomizes technical breakthroughs in Chinese modernization, and how such breakthroughs provide the world with valuable successful experiences in clean energy. With the rhythmic hum of spinning blades slicing through the salty sea breeze, rows of white giants stick out of the Yellow Sea like something out of a science fiction novel. This is the world's first crop of offshore wind turbines in an intertidal zone - the Longyuan Rudong Offshore Demonstration Wind Farm - in East China's Jiangsu Province, an area characterized by rapid industrialization and urbanization.
For senior engineer Ji Xiaoqiang, this crop of windmills is not only a technological marvel, but a childhood dream come true. Today, a total of 150 turbines generate 900 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power more than 223,000 households. Such results bring comfort to Ji, whose childhood memories are filled with occasional large-scale blackouts.
Each turbine is a testament to China's unwavering commitment to stably harnessing the power of nature while serving industrialization needs, and China's wise solutions to a cleaner future for many developing countries in the world.
China has accelerated its pace in implementing clean energy solutions, building the world's largest clean power generation system, exporting successful lessons, becoming an important force in promoting global clean energy development, and committing to making green, affordable electricity truly accessible to millions of households. Huge potential to be tapped
Visiting the Longyuan Offshore Demonstration Wind Farm, Global Times reporters were impressed by the colossal turbines fitted to each windmill, as well as the size of the blades, each of which is half the size of the Eiffel Tower.
How did Chinese engineers manage to transport these giants from land to sea using domestically innovated technologies?
Ji Xiaoqiang, deputy director of the offshore engineering department at the Jiangsu Longyuan Offshore Wind Power Co, Ltd (Longyuan Power), affiliated with the China Energy Investment Corporation, explained that the turbines are partially assembled on shore, and then shipped out to sea where each blade is attached with surgical precision to the top of a turbine. Every angle must be accurate to generate maximum power.
On a narrow 90-meter-high operating platform hanging over the Yellow Sea, Ji makes his rounds at the wind farm, carefully inspecting and servicing the turbines - a job not for the faint of heart.
"Sticking chopsticks in tofu" is the most vivid metaphor for the intertidal wind power foundation construction.
China has abundant offshore wind energy storage. According to China's National Meteorological Bureau's estimates, the sea area within the 5 to 25-meter water depth line, or intertidal zone, has a potential generating capacity of about 200 million kilowatts. That means one hour of electricity generation could power at least 92 million homes for a year, according to calculation.
Take Jiangsu as an example. Its coastal area has abundant, peaceful wind resources, and strong grid structures, making it a great choice for the development of a wind power industry, Ji told the Global Times. But offshore exploration is far more difficult than onshore.
With small supporting industries and equipment subjects to capricious Western controls, China's offshore wind power development lagged in the early stages. Ji and his fellow engineers have long been trying to figure out how to change the game.
It wasn't until 2011 that Ji and his team finally found the answer which marked the start of the era of large-scale Chinese offshore wind power generation. A difficult conquest
Initially, Ji and his colleagues attempted to choose concrete-poured foundations as they typically would for onshore windfarms. However, experience on land is hard to transfer. Even a millimeter-level deviation in verticality could pose a risk of hundreds of tons of generator towers collapsing into the sea, Ji said.
"We learned that the mainstream foreign solution was to put a sleeve at the connection between the foundation and the tower, fill it with the grouting material, and use the sleeve to balance the inclination. This sleeve acts as a key piece of equipment, like a 'waist,' for balancing the entire body of the generator. However, high-strength grouting material for the sleeve was not available domestically at that time, and relying on imports was too expensive and not wise for commercial use," Ji explained.
Against this backdrop, Ji and his team deliberated with experts, brainstormed multiple solutions, and finally created an innovative pile driver, which is like a giant hand that can grip a single pile and keeps it vertical when it is hammered into the seabed, maintaining the verticality error rate at below 0.2 percent.
This eliminates the need for a transition sleeve and grouting material, dramatically reduces overall costs, and increases construction speed, fully meeting the needs of large-scale construction.
"It's a historic moment for our offshore wind power in China, and this innovative solution is now widely used in the domestic market. This can be learned by many countries that are eager to develop clean energy at a high speed," Ji said.
Such innovative attempts are never smooth sailing. This plan encountered failures in its first two attempts. It nearly cost the project all early investment, and Ji was also dogged by doubts expressed at home and abroad.
But it did not deter this young engineer. He quickly made adjustments to the solution, and polished the details with his team. It wasn't until days later, when cheers erupted after a successful third pile drive, that Ji set off firecrackers that he'd been saving for that very moment.
Ji looked at the wind turbines, which his team nicknamed "white dolphins," emerging from the seaside in front of him and sighed with relief that people would not experience power outages caused by unstable voltage and industrial power overloads as he did as a child.
Ji told the Global Times that the marginal cost of wind power is relatively low, and China's solution is a good reference for coastal countries.
Harmony with nature
Along the coast of Rudong, flying birds and sea windmills decorate the distant skyline. Bird watching enthusiasts from across the country gather here as the sun sets, to observe rare birds such as the spoon-billed Snipe, armed with state-of-the-art cameras, a beautiful and impressive scene.
Harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature is a basic principle in China's ecological civilization construction and a distinct feature of China's vivid and effective practice along its path to modernization.
Moreover, ecological civilization is a new requirement in the realization of harmonious development between humanity and nature. Such a principle is also upheld by China's offshore wind power development.
In 2012, Longyuan Power, for example, signed China's earliest marine ecological restoration agreement with local governments for offshore wind farms. At present, it has made an investment of about 56 million yuan in ecological conservation in Jiangsu Province, for Yellow Sea breeding and release efforts, wetland environmental improvement, bird protection facility construction, and marine environment tracking and monitoring.
Technology export
On June 28, with the completion of the final blade's mounting, the world's first 16-megawatt offshore wind turbine was successfully installed in East China's Fujian Province on the offshore wind farm owned by the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG).
China's approach to offshore wind from scratch offers a solution to many countries, especially with regard to coastal regions, on how they can personalize their own energy development with innovative technologies, to achieve harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature, which are part of a global community of shared future.
In 2022, China's wind power installed capacity reached 365 million kilowatts, ranking first in the world for the 13th consecutive year. The figure was about 1.4 times that of the EU at the end of 2020 and 2.6 times that of the US, according to data released by China's National Energy Administration.
China's cost-effective offshore wind power technology marks a historic leap in the country's wind power from following others to be a world leader. China has also exported some homemade wind turbines to countries including Thailand, Turkey, and Kazakhstan.
While some Western countries like the US are using various means to seize energy resources around the world, such as stealing oil from Syria, China is packaging and sharing advanced energy technologies and solutions with many developing countries.
China's efforts to promote sustainable development and energy security for all nations demonstrate a commitment to global well-being and a departure from the narrow-minded, short-term thinking of some Western powers.
This stark contrast highlights the self-serving development model of Western countries versus China's concept of a global community of shared future.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized dozens of diplomatic envoys to visit Urumqi, Kashi and Aksu in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in early August. Foreign envoys had in-depth exchanges with residents from various ethnic groups and experienced the economic and social development of the region.
A total of 25 ambassadors from countries such as the Commonwealth of Dominica, Myanmar, Iran, Samoa and Mexico participated in the event. They spoke highly of Xinjiang's stability, economic development and prosperous culture. "People in Xinjiang are enjoying a happy life," they said, and affirmed how Xinjiang-related lies fabricated by certain Western media outlets do not correspond to the real situation.
Located in the hinterland of Asia, Xinjiang used to an important hub on the ancient Silk Road that connects East and West. As China expands its high-level opening-up to the outside world, Xinjiang has been transformed from a relatively closed inland area into a frontier of opening-up to the outside world. Iranian Ambassador to China Mohsen Bakhtiar believes that Xinjiang plays an irreplaceable role in the Belt and Road Initiative.
People from all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have created a diverse and colorful culture. The Kizil Caves of the Thousand Buddhas in the Aksu region has endured thousands of years of baptism, and the stunning murals in the cave show the colorful culture of this land.
"China has made every effort to protect the original appearance of the Buddhist caves and murals, and it has embraced the diverse cultures of various regions," said a diplomat from the Peruvian Embassy in China.
The Xinjiang-related lies fabricated by some Western media sources do not correspond to the real situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese Government is committed to preserving the culture and languages of ethnic minorities in the region, foreign envoys said.
Italian scholar Eusebio Filopatro (pseudonym) never expected his pseudonym would make him the center of a news incident. When the Global Times (GT) was maliciously attacked and slandered by certain Italian and Western media outlets for publishing his signed article under the pseudonym Eusebio Filopatro, while being accused of fabricating "a fictional character" to create "fake news," this Italian scholar was confused: Anonymity should not be an issue - you can use Google searching the key words "anonymous" or "anonymous source" and "New York Times" or "Reuters," and you will see that almost all Western media outlets rely on anonymous sources routinely. So why does the use of pseudonyms become a problem when it comes to Chinese media?
When GT sharply countered the smear campaign spearheaded by Western media outlets, this Italian scholar was greatly excited.
He stated that he would be honored to provide more analyses that meet the standards of GT and have them published in the future. However, he also noted that he would continue to contribute such content under his Eusebio Filopatro pseudonym especially when discussing more controversial matters.
A request for anonymity
In early August, the Italian scholar submitted an article to GT regarding Italy's intention to withdraw from the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In the article, he expressed different views from those expressed by Italy's ruling elites. He pointed out that China's size, its trading figures, and its other partners will not be determined by Western policies and actions, and that the West's "de-risking" campaign will only make the West strangle itself in "splendid isolation." He called on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to visit China to experience a power that does not project ideological and domestic policy preferences on partners, believing Italy's China policy should not be predetermined before hearing from the Chinese side.
Considering domestic public opinion sentiments in Italy, the scholar insisted on having the article published anonymously. He was well aware that speaking the truth about Italy's potential withdrawal from the BRI in the current domestic Italian public opinion atmosphere was risky.
Out of respect for the author and in the interest of his safety, GT agreed to publish this article under his pseudonym, Eusebio Filopatro.
However, the article was maliciously attacked by a number of Italian and Western media outlets after its publication. Italian media outlet Le Formiche claimed that it couldn't find any personal information about the author online, dismissing him as a "fictional character" created to "spread fake news." The Chinese version of RFI also published an article entitled "Italian media outlet questions Chinese state media use of fake people and fake news to criticize Rome's withdrawal from the BRI," amplifying the malicious attacks and rumors from the Italian media outlets against GT.
The slanderous reactions from Le Formiche and a few other Western media outlets have proven the validity of the concerns raised by the Italian scholar and the current deterioration of Western public opinion. Italian and Western media outlets have demonstrated a dogged determination to uncover the identity of the dissenting author.
In response to their malicious efforts, GT published an article on August 14 entitled "Why did a pseudonym cause some Western media outlets to react so strongly?," pointing out that the author requested the use of a pseudonym precisely because of his deep understanding of the nature of Italian and Western media outlets, with the resultant backlash having validated the author's concerns.
"In light of the intimidations and smearing recently suffered by Professor Alessandro Orsini and former ambassador Elena Basile for having expressed views that understood and defended Italy's national interests differently from Italy's ruling elite, I prefer to remain anonymous, and I will try to establish my authenticity with the Italian press in due time," Filopatro told GT.
"This 'pseudonym incident' involving the Italian author allows us to see more clearly that when it comes to attacking and smearing China, some Western media outlets have gone hysterical and fanatical, becoming accomplices in suppressing the truth and rational voices," reads GT's response article.
Nie Shujiang, an associate professor at the Guangming School of Journalism and Communication at the China University of Political Science and Law, endorsed the Global Times' approach. He expressed his belief that scholars using pseudonyms or publishing articles anonymously in the media is commonplace internationally and the Global Times simply and impeccably followed the internationally accepted practice.
"Everyone knows Mark Twain, but how many people know his real name was Samuel Clemens? George Kennan published an essay under the pseudonym X in the Foreign Affairs magazine. Elena Ferrante is currently the most popular and mysterious writer in Italy, whose true identity remains a mystery. Why do the Italian media outlets never question this?" Nie asked.
He emphasized that it is a hypocritical and unfair double standard that Western media outlets themselves use pseudonyms or anonymous sources but accuse Chinese media outlets of "creating fake news" when the latter do the same. Nie also lauded the response by the Global Times as "timely, positive, and proactive," as it set the record straight and positively contributed to international public opinion.
Li Haidong, a professor with the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told GT that Western media outlets often cite "anonymous sources" or "certain experts" in their reporting while discrediting Chinese media outlets for doing the same. This demonstrates some Western media's lack of basic respect for Chinese media. "They consistently employ a superior and arbitrary logic to judge the practices of Chinese media, which is unhealthy," Li said. Rational voices being suppressed
The response article from the Global Times quickly sparked fiery rejoinders in Italy. Alessandro Orsini, an Italian political analyst who has been a target of public opinion attacks due to his alleged pro-Russia views, with over 130,000 followers on Facebook, caught wind of GT's response article and commented on his Facebook account that what GT has reported about political intimidation in Italy is true, that GT is a serious and important outlet, and that he is pleased to have been mentioned as someone who cares for Italy's national interests.
The viewpoints expressed in GT's response article, which highlighted the suppression of truth and rationality in Italian public opinion, was also supported by Italian netizens. "Everybody talks about it, even foreign newspapers talk about it, [but] only by us the truth is hushed… And even if we wanted, we could not say it, because they keep us under close watch! Is this democracy or what?" one Italian netizen demanded.
Shen Yi, a professor in international relations at Fudan University, told the Global Times that the criticism of the Italian government's potential withdrawal from the BRI by an Italian scholar writing under a pseudonym reminded him of the famous story, "The Emperor's New Clothes."
"The Italian scholar was playing the role of a faceless mass on the road and hoping to shout out in an anonymous way that the emperor is actually naked," Shen said.
The so-called de-risking practice of Italy's withdrawal from the BRI is completely against its own interests. The benefits that Italy can gain from cooperating with China are obvious. By leaning toward the US, Italy might actually gain nothing, Shen said, noting that Italy is not only brainwashed but also delusional by not allowing others to speak the truth.
Li said that it's a pervasive phenomenon in some Western countries that the deteriorating domestic public opinion has led to scholars and other knowledgeable individuals to fear openly calling for rational relations with China. Western public opinion currently exhibits a "witch hunt mentality," and there is a very strong "political correctness" present in some Western media that is always against China. This puts individuals who want to express objective and rational opinions in an extremely disadvantageous position, making it difficult or even impossible for them to openly express their views. By contrast, information that demonizes China spreads everywhere.
'White flag' raised by Italian media
Six days after Le Formiche accused the Global Times of fabricating the character "Eusebio Filopatro," the Italian media outlet Faro di Roma published a commentary article by Eusebio Filopatro, discussing the Wagner incident in Russia. The Eusebio Filopatro writing for Faro di Roma is the very Eusebio Filopatro who contributed to the GT in the first place. On August 17, L'Antidiplomatico published Filopatro's explanation about his anonymous article on GT and the subsequent smears GT suffered at the hands of Italian and Western media outlets. In the article, he stated that when faced with an article that differs from the mainstream position, attention shouldn't be focused too much on the author's identity but rather on the viewpoints expressed. Linking the author to "propaganda" is itself a form of intimidation and potential violence, violating the principles of freedom of speech and debate, Filopatro wrote.
In view of GT's response article and Filopatro's explanation, Le Formiche was compelled to publish a response. It had to acknowledge the existence of the anonymous author. However, it still attempted to discredit GT by referring to it as a "Party newspaper" and claimed that GT had failed to explicitly state that the author of the article was using a pseudonym.
Filopatro told GT that many columnists and Italian journalists he is in contact with publish under pseudonyms themselves, with the fact sometimes made explicit, and sometimes not.
"The claim by Formiche that there is a rule about revealing and explaining pseudonyms in Western press, and that GT should 'learn' from it, is completely false and made up, only to discredit GT and, in particular, my BRI article on GT," he said.
He also added that "Formiche basically raised a white flag, as they admitted that Eusebio Filopatro exists and is a foreign policy analyst for Italy and the EU."
After reviewing the whole incident, Filopatro said, "For me, this has been a very positive experience. Many more Italian readers have reflected on the termination of the [BRI-relating] Memorandum of Understanding. The right of GT to use pseudonyms and anonymity, just like every other newspaper, has been vindicated."
However, when asked if he would be willing to appear in Chinese or Italian media in the future under his real identity, he still expressed reservations, stating his preference to continue using his pseudonym: "I do not fancy being called 'a slimy piece of excrement,' nor do I wish to have my face displayed on Italy's main newspaper as a sort of 'public enemy' or 'voice of the propaganda.' Neither do I wish to have my actions questioned in parliament as a sort of national problem. Hence, I consider Italy's public debate unfree, and I prefer to maintain a pseudonym."
Chinese experts who are following this matter said that the incident has damaged the credibility of the Italian media, exposing a bias and double standard toward Chinese media. It also reveals the hidden political persecution mechanisms in the Western society, causing people to be afraid of speaking the truth and face repercussions for speaking the truth, which is a social tragedy, analysts warned.
