The best way to commemorate Henry Kissinger may well be to remember the importance of diplomacy and the need for great powers to behave responsibly and soberly in their relations with each other, Thomas A. Schwartz, a renowned academician and author of Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography, told the Global Times on Thursday.

As the biography author who spent long time with Kissinger for the book, Schwartz noted that Kissinger's great goal was to "create a structure of peace and stability, and we would honor him by pursuing that effort."

Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger died on Wednesday at his home in Connecticut at the age of 100, Kissinger Associates Inc said in a statement.

He is viewed as an important figure in the China-US icebreaking process in 1972 while his secret trip to China in 1971 paved the way for a thawing of bilateral relations, which ushered in a new era in China-US relations and for the world.

Kissinger was an "intermediary" between China and the US government. He carried messages to Chinese leaders from the US and carried responses back to American presidents. He played a leading role in US foreign policy during the Nixon and Ford presidencies, and his diplomatic ideas continued to have a profound impact on the US government's foreign policy even after he left office.

According to records, since then Kissinger has visited China more than 100 times in his lifetime with his last visit having been made in July 2023 when bilateral ties hit a low point.

"We need more figures, who are in that realm of communicating between the two countries. And we need to have a whole range of institutional dialogues between government, military, and economic officials, so that there is a constant understanding," Schwartz told the Global Times previously.

Schwartz also said that, although Kissinger was 100, he was still surprised when he heard the news of his death.

"Two days ago I watched an interview he did, and he was still sharp and articulate, and his analysis of international issues remained impressive. He seemed indestructible," he said.

Kissinger was known for his longevity as he kept maintained a grueling 15-hour workday and demanding international travel schedule even at the age of 99, according to media reports. On China's social media platforms, some netizens discussed heatedly about his habit of staying up late and eating fried food but can still keep healthy and energetic.

In response to the question about what lessons current and future world leaders should draw from Kissinger's experiences and diplomatic strategies, he underscored negotiation in which Kissinger had strong faith.

"Kissinger firmly believed in negotiation, and he believed in sticking with negotiations even in the most difficult circumstances. He believed that diplomacy was better than hostility, and that nations with different systems could coexist and live together peacefully," he said. "This sounds simplistic, but it really was something he constantly advocated and sought to achieve."

In a previous interview with the Global Times, Schwartz said that a major difference between Kissinger and diplomats in the US today is that, presently "a lot of our diplomats have relatively little sense of the broader range of history. Kissinger had a sense from history that terrible things can happen. And I think American diplomats today sometimes don't recognize the degree of danger that can come from careless diplomacy."

In this sense, Kissinger always had a sense that people needed to be extraordinarily careful in undertaking diplomatic tests, and that people should not treat disputes between nations lightly.

"There is a tendency to think of short-term advantages instead of long-term interests. I think Kissinger had a broader and a longer term sense, partly because he was thinking as a historian, or as someone who has a vision of a longer period, he pointed out," he said.

According to Schwartz, Kissinger hoped that Americans will have a broader historical vision of world stability and a broader understanding of other countries. "I think he would like that to be his legacy: A better understanding of the world and of other countries, and of the need for effective diplomacy to maintain peace."

The Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China (PBC), China's central bank, has been reshuffled, with Wu Qing, new head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and another PBC official and two economists becoming new members.

Meanwhile, Yi Huiman, former CSRC head, and three others withdrew from the committee, according to the PBC website on Tuesday.

This is the first committee reshuffle following the amendment of some rules for the Monetary Policy Committee on January 18.

The amended rules added that the committee will adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China, improve the modern monetary policy framework and report important matters to the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the cabinet.

The Monetary Policy Committee is a consultative body for the making of monetary policy by the central bank, whose responsibility is to advise on the formulation and adjustment of monetary policy and policy targets within a certain period, application of monetary policy instruments, major monetary policy measures and the coordination between monetary policy and other macroeconomic tools.

The committee plays its advisory role on the basis of comprehensive research on macroeconomic situation and the macroeconomic targets set by the central government, according to an introduction on the PBC website.

The Monetary Policy Committee performs its duty by convening the regular quarterly meeting. On December 27, the committee held its fourth-quarter meeting, stressing that China will step up the implementation of the new monetary policy that it put in place.

The adopted policies include maintaining reasonable and sufficient liquidity, guide reasonable credit growth and a balanced credit supply, and keep the scale of social financing and money supply in line with the set targets for economic growth and consumer price levels.

The success of China's electric vehicles (EV) is "the success of globalization," and Chinese-made EVs are internationally popular due to their good quality, production capacity and cost controls, instead of subsidies, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.

"We hope that the EU side will abide by WTO rules, honor its commitment to market openness, respect the laws of the market economy and the innovation efforts of Chinese enterprises, prudently use trade remedy tools and jointly safeguard China-EU economic and trade cooperation," Wang Wenbin, the spokesperson, said during a regular press conference, when asked about the EU's probe into Chinese EVs.

Across the global EV supply chains, the interests of all parties are intertwined, Wang said, adding that Chinese EVs have contributed to global green and low-carbon development.

As to China's anti-dumping investigations into imported brandy from the EU, Wang reiterated China's commitment to a high level of opening-up and upholding the principles of the market economy and WTO rules, and this will not change.

"We are ready to provide an open, inclusive, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment to foreign companies, including those from the EU, to conduct trade and investment cooperation in China," Wang said.

The Ministry of Commerce (MOCFOM) announced on January 5 that it will launch an anti-dumping probe into some imported brandy from the EU. The investigation was initiated at the request of Chinese companies, an official in charge of the MOFCOM's Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau said.

Upon receipt of the application, the MOFCOM examined it in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations and in compliance with WTO rules, and it held that the application met the requirements for filing an anti-dumping investigation, the official said.

"We will conduct the investigation according to relevant Chinese laws and regulations, as well as WTO rules, in an open and transparent way and safeguard the rights of all stakeholders in the process," Shu Jueting, a spokesperson for the MOFCOM, said on January 12.

China's anti-dumping investigations accord with China's legal framework and the WTO guidelines, and a decision will be based on factual evidence. However, EU investigations into Chinese EVs have not followed the WTO rules and they smack of trade protectionism, Chinese analysts said.

According to the WTO's anti-subsidy regulations, the EU is required to first demonstrate that Chinese EVs have received subsidies and that this has affected local manufacturers. However, the bloc has not proved any receipt of subsidies nor shown that local EU production of EVs has been affected by imports from China, Sun Yanhong, a senior research fellow at the Institute of European Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Some critics in the EU claim that China-made EVs sold in the EU market have a clear price advantage over those made by local manufacturers, but they never mention that Chinese cars sold in the EU are about twice as expensive as those sold in China, industry insiders pointed out.

They added that components such as motors, controllers and chargers used in China-made EVs come from European companies, including but not limited to Bosch, Siemens and Alstom. Chinese EVs producers are also working with European automakers to promote technological innovations.

For example, Bosch on Monday won the approval to start construction of the second phase of a production base for new-energy vehicle components and a self-driving research and development (R&D) center in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, the Suzhou Industrial Park announced on its WeChat account on Tuesday.

Total investment for Bosch's Suzhou production and R&D base will exceed $1 billion. Phase one of the project is expected to begin trial production in September, and formal mass production will be achieved in early 2025.

Analysts said that opening-up has promoted the development of China's EV industry. China has maintained an open and welcoming attitude toward EV companies from around the world, including Volkswagen and Tesla.

TikTok is in the spotlight once again, as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was quoted by media outlets as saying that he wants the government to open an account on the Chinese video-sharing app. It is hoped that Western economies can take this as a chance to promote positive interactions with TikTok and foster a fair, transparent and predictable environment for Chinese companies.

The West's suppression of TikTok is a sheer act of discrimination in the guise of so-called national security. A spokesperson for the German government said on Friday that Berlin still needed to check the situation thoroughly before launching an account, and members of the federal press office could not access the app on their government phones, Reuters reported.

This situation is unlikely to change immediately, but efforts should be made to tackle discrimination. At the very least, Germany should lift its ban on TikTok and allow government employees to have the app on their work phones.

A ban on TikTok won't solve so-called data privacy problems. On the contrary, it will bring new problems and challenges. 

First, if TikTok, the world's most popular video-sharing app, is blocked from Western countries, content creators will suffer significant losses. With TikTok, some influencers are earning substantial amounts of money, many of whom are young people. The internet provides not only a way to cheaply obtain entertainment, but also offers economic opportunities for young people who are more willing to accept new ideas and changes.

Second, protectionist sentiment won't help the internet economy, and will instead impede its growth. A ban on TikTok will restrain market competition, and slow down the development of the internet economy. 

Reuters said in its report that parties such as the Alternative for Germany are already leveraging the TikTok platform to connect with younger voters. However, whether it's a political party in Germany or in other Western countries, if it wants to win young voters, it is not enough to just open a TikTok account. It should give a boost to the internet economy, encourage fair competition, and stop unreasonable suppression of advanced enterprises, including TikTok.

Germany should adopt a strategy to encourage TikTok to invest. Germany's economy has had a rough year: its GDP shrank by 0.3 percent in 2023. Germany, at the forefront of industrial innovation for decades, is struggling to adapt to the digital age. 

The German economy needs to find new growth drivers. The development of new productive forces can cultivate new economic growth drivers and competitive advantages, and provide new impetus for its economy.

In countries like China, the commercialization of internet technologies is pushed by big enterprises such as TikTok's owner ByteDance. Their commercial success is an example of how the commercialization of internet technologies is speeding up. 

Industry 4.0 represents the fourth industrial revolution, driven by the fusion of digital technologies with traditional manufacturing processes. Germany should strengthen cooperation with China in the field of Industry 4.0, which will help leverage Germany's industrial advantages.

If Germany falls into Washington's narrative trap of "national security" and continues to suppress TikTok and other Chinese enterprises, it will miss important cooperation opportunities with China's internet industry.

It will be a test of Germany's wisdom to see if it can capitalize on business opportunities arising from bilateral cooperation with Chinese internet companies and make the cooperation a positive factor for its economic restructuring.

From this perspective, whether the German government will open a TikTok account is not the most important thing. For the German economy, the most important thing is that Germany should lift its ban on TikTok, create and maintain a fair, competitive business environment for Chinese internet enterprises, and encourage both sides to strengthen cooperation in the fields of the internet and the digital economy.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said that arbitrarily putting up barriers can't stop China's innovation, and it urged the US to support companies from all countries to promote technological progress through fair competition.

The remarks came after US chipmaker Nvidia identified Huawei as a top competitor in areas including artificial intelligence (AI) chips, and said that if the US tightens export controls on chips, its competitive position could be further affected in the long term.

"Small yard and high fence" will not stop China's innovation-driven development, nor will it do any good to US companies or the entire semiconductor industry," Mao Ning, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told a press conference on Tuesday.

Mao noted that open cooperation is the core driving force for the growth of the semiconductor industry. China is one of the major semiconductor markets in the world. To fragment the market, destabilize global industrial and supply chains, and stymie efficiency and innovation serves no one's interests.

The US needs to follow the principles of market economy and fair competition, and support companies around the world in advancing science and technology through healthy competition, Mao said.

Nvidia identified Huawei as a top competitor in supplying chips designed for AI, such as graphics processing units, central processing units and networking chips, for the first time in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission last Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Industry observers said the move underscored the rapid ascent of Chinese companies' tech prowess, fueled by their stepped-up research and development (R&D) investment and the explosive demand in the domestic market.

"It shows that China has not been hindered by the US-launched tech war, but has instead made progress by developing its own chip technology and ecosystem," Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

China's AI sector is undergoing a development boom, with the scale of the core industry at 500 billion yuan ($69 billion) and the number of AI enterprises exceeding 4,300, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last year.

While Chinese companies are reducing their reliance on US technology due to escalating chip bans, the curbs have had a negative impact on the business of US companies.

Nvidia is offering customers samples of its two new AI chips aimed at the China market, its CEO Jensen Huang said, in a bid to defend its market dominance amid the US export curbs, Reuters reported last week.

The offering shows Nvidia's urgent efforts to retain the Chinese market, yet the market reaction to the downgraded chips in China has not been very positive, as potential buyers are concerned that there may be further restrictions after purchase, Xiang said.

According to its results released last Wednesday, Nvidia recorded sales of $1.9 billion in the China market in the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended on January 28, Reuters reported.

That amounted to about 9 percent of total sales, down from 22 percent in the previous quarter when it reported $4 billion in sales in the region.

"This last quarter, our business significantly declined as we…stopped shipping in the marketplace (for China)," Huang said during the earnings call.

China is striving to complete negotiations on version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) in 2024 amid a "rich agenda" for FTA negotiations in a bid to further advance high-standard opening-up, Chinese vice minister of commerce Wang Shouwen told a press conference on Friday. 

China's active engagement in FTA talks reflects China's commitment to deepening economic cooperation and integration and will have a positive impact on both China and the world economy by promoting trade, investment, and regional economic integration, experts said.

The talks on version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN FTA are scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, next week, Wang said.

Additionally, China will also complete FTA negotiations with Honduras, complete FTA upgrade negotiations with Peru and continue to promote the joining of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) this year, Wang said.

In November 2022, China and ASEAN jointly announced the official launch of the negotiations. The two sides agreed that the negotiations will cover fields including trade in goods, investment, and digital and green economy, so as to build a more inclusive, modern, comprehensive, and mutually beneficial China-ASEAN FTA.

"The upgrade of the China-ASEAN FTA caters to the mutual development needs of both China and ASEAN, and will contribute to further enhancing the bilateral trade volume," Zhou Shixin, a research fellow at Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times on Friday.

Bilateral trade between China and ASEAN reached 6.41 trillion yuan ($900 billion) in 2023, with ASEAN maintaining its position as China's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year. China has continued to be ASEAN's largest trading partner for multiple years.

Additionally, the upgrade of the China-ASEAN FTA is expected to drive the upgrades of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and lay a good foundation for China's joining of CPTPP and DEPA, Zhou said.

Wang believes China now has more mature conditionsfor joining the CPTPP, as it has been consistently making efforts to promote deep exchanges with CPTPP members and enhance pilot projects and experiments within its domestic free trade zones, aligning with high-level international standards. 

"We have full confidence and the capability of meeting the high standards set by the CPTPP," Wang said.

China will also continue to engage in free trade negotiations or upgrade negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council, New Zealand, South Korea, and Switzerland to further implement the high-standard free trade zone network, Wang added.

High-standard economic and trade rules, as well as new content such as the lifting of the zero tariff ratio for goods traded, the promotion of telecommunications and healthcare services opening-up, and the expansion of market access for digital products will be included in the new free trade negotiations, Wang said.

"The proactive moves demonstrate China's commitment to further opening its doors and injecting new vitality into the regional economy amid the slowdown in global economic recovery," Zhou said.

2024 is indeed a pivotal year for the enhancement of free trade agreements. China's increasing domestic competitiveness, coupled with the opportunities of the digital and green era, as well as the "decoupling" and supply chain disruptions imposed by the US and the West, call for renewed efforts to upgrade free trade agreements, Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.

"It will not only drive China's economic growth but also contribute to open and inclusive economic globalization," Wang Yiwei added.

2023 saw the RCEP come into full effect and was a fruitful year for China to expand free trade agreements with other partners. 

"In 2023, we signed four new free trade agreements. As of today, we have signed 22 free trade agreements with 29 countries and regions, and trade with those countries and regions accounted for approximately one-third of China's total foreign trade volume," Wang said.

Chinese enterprises enjoyed import duty reductions of 2.36 billion yuan under the RCEP last year. At the same time, import enterprises from RCEP partner countries benefited from preferential treatment worth 4.05 billion yuan when importing products from China, which is a clear and mutually beneficial outcome for both sides, Wang said.

China exported 5.22 million vehicles in 2023, becoming a leading car exporter in the world. Of all vehicle exports, about one-third were new-energy vehicles (NEVs), totaling 1.773 million units, up 67.1 percent year-on-year, according to statistics the General Administration of Customs released on Friday.

The export figure reflects the remarkable achievements China's auto industry has made in the transition to auto electrification and intelligence, which will also accelerate the transformation process of the global automobile sector, industry insiders said.

Such industrial transition was showcased by the latest high-tech products developed by Chinese carmakers unveiled at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held from January 7 to 10 in Las Vegas.

For example, an affiliate of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng revealed its "flying car" concept model at the event. The electric vertical takeoff and landing car will be available for preorder from the fourth quarter of 2024, with the goal of delivering the first shipment by the fourth quarter of 2025, the company said.

The industrial transition to electrification and intelligence also enabled BYD to overtake Tesla to become the world's biggest EV maker in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Industrial chain upgrading

An industry insider surnamed Zhang told the Global Times that, currently, almost all China-made cars, especially NEVs, are intelligent ones as they are equipped with smart functions such as autopilot and voice control. "It is somehow embarrassing for Chinese automakers to unveil a new car without intelligent features."

China's auto output exceeded 30.16 million units in 2023, up 11.6 percent year-on-year, and sales exceeded 30.09 million units, up 12 percent, according to data the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) released on Thursday. Both output and sales set new records, ranking first in the world for 15 consecutive years, the CAAM said.

In particular, China produced 9.587 million NEVs in 2023, up 35.8 percent year-on-year. Sales of NEVs reached 9.495 million units, up 37.9 percent, making the NEV penetration rate at 31.6 percent, according to the CAAM.

The production of intelligent cars can drive a lot of industries, including software, hardware, chips, sensors, industrial data and more. A car is a larger application terminal than a mobile phone, and can boost the development of many high-tech industries, and vice versa, Zhang said.

A typical smart car is equipped with about 1,700 chips, a manager of a Chinese chip part supplier who works closely with the auto industry told the Global Times.

"The chip industrial chain is a long one. When it combines the automobile industrial chain, you can imagine how many upstream and downstream enterprises are connected and boosted," the manager said on condition of anonymity.

According to a recent report published by AskCI Consulting Co, a Chinese industrial consultancy, China's automotive chip market size was about 79.46 billion yuan ($11.1 billion) in 2022, and is expected to reach 90.54 billion yuan in 2024.

"China's significant uplift in the production and exports of cars means that smart parts and software will be boosted, which will help shore up the position of Chinese automobile part suppliers in the global value chain," the above-quoted Zhang said.

So far, large-scale NEV industrial hubs have been in the making in the Yangtze River Delta in East China, the Pearl River Delta in South China and the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle in Southwest China.

These NEV hubs have attracted more than 1,000 domestic and foreign enterprises, forming a complete and organic collaborative industrial chain and supply chain system for NEVs - covering the whole chain of basic materials, parts, and vehicle production.

Leading globally

Industry insiders pointed out that the production and sales of intelligent cars in China, which is now at the forefront of the global market, have fueled the development of the entire industrial chain and related technologies.

Zhang cited LiDAR, dubbed as the "eyes" for cars. Chinese suppliers produce and ship hundreds of thousands of sets every month for domestic and foreign carmakers.

Nearly 600,000 LiDAR units were shipped to passenger vehicles in 2023 in China alone, according to industry media HiEV, up from about 160,000 in 2022.

"The LiDAR market was first led by US suppliers, such as Velodyne. But its marketplace was soon largely replaced by RoboSense Technology Co and Hesai Technology, two Chinese lidar manufacturers. Their success was largely boosted by the massive Chinese auto market," Zhang said, adding that Chinese lidar is now commonly used in foreign car brands too.

RoboSense unveiled the newest in its M Platform line of sensors, which are deployed for advanced driver assistance and autonomy, at this year's CES event.

"As the world's first lidar company to achieve mass production of automotive-grade solid state LiDAR, in parallel with remarkable milestones in production and delivery, CES 2024 is the perfect stage to launch the latest cutting-edge solutions in our M Platform," said Steven Qui, Robosense's CEO and founder, in a statement the company sent to the Global Times.

"Alongside our key partners, RoboSense is providing attendees an inside look into how we are making the commercialization of LiDAR a reality," Qui said.

Hesai, which also participated in the CES 2024, has recently completed the construction of a new research and development (R&D) center of nearly 70,000 square meters in Shanghai for manufacturing named Maxwell, the company told the Global Times.

"Our new Maxwell facility is not a traditional manufacturing facility but an advanced R&D center where we design and build automated lidar production lines, which can then be easily replicated across our global network of manufacturing facilities," said David Li, co-founder and CEO of Hesai.

The facility includes the world's most advanced lidar testing lab and will utilize many smart industrial robots allowing for the automation of over 100 production processes with an automation rate of 90 percent and a 45 second cycle time per lidar unit, according to Hesai.

A Chinese manufacturer of high-precision positioning products told the Global Times that the company is planning to set up new production lines in early 2024 to better supply the domestic and overseas markets, given the fast-developing automobile industry.

"We are upgrading our positioning products to meet automakers' need, especially in level 3 autonomous driving," the manufacturer said.

According to national standards, there are six levels of autonomous driving ranging from level 0 to level 5. Starting from level 3, vehicles are considered conditionally autonomous.

The year 2024 is expected to be the Year One of the explosive development of autonomous driving technology, analysts said.

Although compared to the US, China is a relative latecomer in the field of autonomous driving, China has been catching up very fast and has amassed some comparable strength- vis-à-vis the US - over the past three years, Zhang Xiang, director of the Digital Automotive International Cooperation Research Center at World Digital Economy Forum, told the Global Times.

"The next three years will be a critical period for the commercialization and large-scale application of high-level autonomous driving features in China," Zhang the director said.

As the farce of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's absence continues to unfold, the Pentagon revealed on Tuesday local time that the key cabinet member had undergone surgery for prostate cancer and had suffered complications.

Austin sits only below President Joe Biden in the chain of command for the US military and Biden learned about the diagnosis of prostate cancer only on Tuesday, according to the White House.

Days after Austin's unannounced hospitalization shocked the White House, Americans as well as the world, this lag in notifying a serious diagnosis again proves the dysfunction in the US' chain of command and control, Lü Xiang, an expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Austin may have kept his health situation secret for the sake of his own career, but for the administration system, it is a huge loophole, Lü said.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was on vacation in Puerto Rico when she was abruptly told to assume some of Austin's responsibilities on January 2. She was informed of the situation on January 4, the same day as Biden knew.

If Austin can keep his health situation a secret within the cabinet, he can also keep other information secret, Lü noted.

Considering the US is a global power with prominent military presence overseas, such a shortcoming in governance is not only a threat to US security, but also poses a major risk to global security, Lü said.

The Pentagon confirmed that Austin remained hospitalized on Tuesday. A spokesperson did not provide an update for when he would be discharged, but claimed Austin has full access to required secure communications capabilities and continues to monitor the US Department of Defense's operations, media reported on Wednesday.

Biden also has "complete confidence" in his defense secretary and plans to keep him in his position through his term, according to CNN on Tuesday.

Analysts said Biden may be inclined to keep Austin in the post at first as personnel changes amid whiting-hot presidential election campaigns could impact Democrats negatively, but such "protection" is likely to frustrate American voters and has already incurred fierce attacks from the Republicans.

Lü believes the farce of internal politics will also cause shock waves for US diplomacy.

The incident and potential personnel change adds to uncertainty in US foreign policy, and China, which the US describes as a competitor, has prepare for the uncertainty and future risks. The US' global image is again under question and its allies in different geopolitical blocs, be it QUAD or AUKUS, will have to carefully weigh US promises and actual commitment, Lü noted.

Hong Kong residents began lining up in front of polling stations across the city early on Sunday morning as the city kicked off its first large-scale election since the introduction of new electoral reforms, which requires that only patriots can administer the city. Over 1 million voters had cast their votes, equal to a turnout of 24.53 percent as of 19:30 pm.

The 7th District Council (DC) Election is selecting 176 district councilors from district committees and 88 local district councilors from a pool of 399 candidates. Over 600 polling stations were set up across the city to serve about 4.33 million electors, and a total of 18 District Committees constituency polling stations for constituency voters. 

A number of candidates, voters and Hong Kong analysts told the Global Times on the voting day that the election was fiercely competitive and "very colorful." Because every candidate has to be a patriot, it is believed this election will have a positive impact on Hong Kong's future and its governance. 

Vote for better community

At about 8 am on Sunday, Global Times reporters visited several polling stations located on Robinson Road in Hong Kong Island, Yau Ma Tei in Kowloon and other places, seeing that the staff at the polling stations were already ready and waiting at the entrances to the polling stations. 

Large and small signboards and posters for the District Council election were hung up everywhere to guide voters. There were also staff outside the polling station to assist the elderly or other voters in need. Before voting officially started at 8:30 am, voters were already waiting outside the polling station.

At around 9:15 am on Sunday, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive John Lee and his wife Janet Lee Lam cast their votes at the polling station at 2 Robinson Road, Raimondi College. 

This year's DC election is of great significance because the district council was hijacked in the past and some district council members openly advocated "Hong Kong independence" and did things that endangered national security, Lee said at a press briefing shortly after he cast his vote. 

"As we improve district governance, the purpose of the entire plan is to return the district council to its original intention, which is to be a non-political organization with patriots' participation as our district councilors and will not betray national interests, Hong Kong interests, and regional interests," Lee said. 

Therefore, everyone must take this DC election seriously, make good use of your vote, and elect a district councilor who, first, loves the country and loves Hong Kong; second, is a district councilor who will serve you well, Lee said, calling on the public to cast their votes on Sunday. 

Lee also noted that under the new electoral system, the government also has a duty performance monitoring system to ensure that the elected district councilors will be competent, meet the needs of the public and achieve the expected work levels.

The restructured DC will be a DC that implements the principle of "only patriots administering Hong Kong." It is the last piece of the puzzle for us to implement this principle and ensure that the entire governance system of Hong Kong complies with the requirements of One Country, Two Systems, Lee said. 

Michael Ngai, a Hong Kong entrepreneur, arrived at the polling station early in the morning and lined up. After voting, he told the Global Times that he was very happy to see that people from different backgrounds and political parties could become candidates in this election. 

"I'm even more happy that all the candidates this time were patriotic, holding the same ideals and having good intentions to serve society," he said, noting that the candidates' professional abilities and their experience and achievements in serving society in the past few years are the basis for choosing whom to vote for.

A major difference for the DC election this year compared to that in 2019 is that candidates are running for the public good now rather than using the DC to push a political agenda, a 46-year-old local resident surnamed Chan told the Global Times at the polling station in Yaumatei Catholic Primary School on Sunday morning, adding that "We hope that they will work to solve our problems and difficulties in the community."

The DC election in 2019 was described as the most chaotic and dangerous election in Hong Kong's history, as some polling stations were encircled by anti-government forces and rioters attacked ordinary residents who voted for pro-establishment candidates. The offices of almost all patriotic candidates were destroyed and set on fire by rioters, and their families and volunteers were targeted or even attacked. 

However, local authorities have not relaxed their vigilance on this year's voting day. The Global Times reporters noticed there were police patrolled outside multiple polling stations to prevent potential disruptive incidents. 

According to local media reports, during the DC election, more than 10,000 police officers were to be dispatched to polling stations, important infrastructure and crowded places across Hong Kong. Each polling station had at least two police officers stationed there. In addition, the anti-terrorism special service team were reportedly conducted "high-profile anti-terrorism patrols" in densely populated areas to prepare for all incidents.

The computer system at polling stations across Hong Kong malfunctioned on Sunday evening, as the electronic voter registration system became temporarily unavailable. Long queues were seen outside the polling stations at some districts due to the malfunction. The Electoral Affairs Commission announced around 10 pm an extension of the voting deadline to the midnight.

Significant election

This DC election is an important part of implementing "only patriots administering Hong Kong" and reshaping Hong Kong's political order and governance structure, Lau Siu-kai, a consultant from the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies who is also a senior policy advisor, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

Patriotic groups and individuals have actively participated, and the competition was fierce. In particular, the active participation of many young people with higher academic qualifications was eye-catching, Lau said. 

Before the election, the HKSAR government and patriotic groups actively invested [resources] in publicity and mobilization work, showing "unprecedented unity and cooperation," Lau said. "I believe this will have a positive significance for Hong Kong's future good governance and the stability and long-term implementation of One Country, Two Systems, he added. 

In response to some foreign media's descriptions of this election such as "just a show" or "marginalizing opposition figures," Lau said that a "colorful election" refers to the "colorful colors within the patriotic camp," and does not necessarily have to include candidates who do not accept Hong Kong's new policies. 

Only those who belong to the political order can be considered "colorful" by running for election. From this perspective, the candidates for this election come from different professions, backgrounds and groups, and are indeed quite diverse, he said. 

Over the past few days, the Global Times found that during this DC election, there was indeed fierce competition among different candidates, but at the same time the atmosphere was harmonious, completely different from the 2019 DC election, which was rife with mutual abuse, criticism and serious social confrontation. The main competition now is about "political platform" and their ability to serve the community.

Taking the most competitive Wan Chai constituency as an example, it is surprising that several "competing" candidates met together to canvass for votes on the streets. 

"This DC election is much more intense than the previous term, or even every term," Jeff Wong Sau-tung, a candidate from the district, told the Global Times. 

All candidates are working hard to improve residents' lives, he said. For example, he is committed to work to solve the rat problem in Wan Chai and add more bus lines to the area. 

Another candidate, Nicholas Muk Ka-chun, told the Global Times that in 2019, some candidates did not appear in the community at all on weekdays, but most of the candidates this time have rich service experience in order to win public support. For example, he began to actively participate in the community's anti-epidemic work and distributed supplies to local people in 2020.

The turnout is the focus of attention from all walks of life. In order to encourage more people to vote, in recent days, many officials of the HKSAR government and many celebrities from Hong Kong's political and business circles have come to the streets, restaurants and buildings to distribute leaflets and cheer for the candidates. 

The composition, voter base and voting system of this DC election are different from those of the 2019 District Council election. Therefore, it is not appropriate to directly compare the cumulative turnout rates of the two elections, David Lok, chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, told reporters at the polling station in Yaumatei. 

He also said he was confident the election would be conducted in an open, honest, and fair manner, and that the polling and counting of votes would be smooth and completed within a reasonable time.

The turnout in the first four hours was considered to be good. If the overall turnout rate is similar to the voting in the 2021 Legislative Council (LegCo) election, it would be a relatively satisfactory result, former LegCo president Jasper Tsang told reporters on Sunday. 

The social atmosphere in this DC election is completely different from that in 2019. At that time, there was "smoke of wars everywhere" and some people said they were afraid to come out to vote. Now the social atmosphere is peaceful, which is conducive for voters to be willing to come out to vote, Tsang added.  

"The level of voting turnout is not an important indicator to measure the effectiveness of the new election. What is more important is to see the impact of the DC reform on Hong Kong's political stability, governance efficiency, regional governance level and other aspects," Lau said. 

At this stage, opposition forces and their supporters still account for a large number of Hong Kong voters. Opposition forces are not eligible to run because they do not meet the standards of "patriots administering Hong Kong," and the above-mentioned people are resistant to Hong Kong's new political structure. It is not surprising that they adopt a passive boycott of this election, he said. 

However, the expert believes that judging from local elections in other countries around the world and Hong Kong's past DC elections under normal circumstances, it is a good result if the turnout rate is no lower than 25 percent. 

"As patriotic forces continue to grow and Hong Kong's governance gradually achieves results, I believe that the turnout in DC elections will increase in the future," he said.