Witnessed by 150 scientists from eight countries, the International PlateauPlus Association (PlateauPlus) was established Thursday in Beijing, during the PlateauPlus Workshop held by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (ITP) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
PlateauPlus is a platform proposed by Chinese scientists that aims to unite top research institutions and scientists from more than 20 countries across the globe where giant plateaus are located. It is designated to serve as an international platform for mega plateau research and to develop a new model of interdisciplinary and cross-regional global cooperation in Earth system science, read a statement the ITPCAS sent to the Global Times.
The association will focus on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Iranian Plateau in Asia, the Colorado Plateau and Columbia Plateau in North America, the Altiplano Plateau in South America, the East African Plateau in Africa and the Alps in Europe. It will conduct research on the formation and evolution of plateaus, environmental effects, biodiversity changes and human adaptation. It will also decipher the coupling mechanism between plateau uplift and surface environmental changes, and reveal the changes in plateau habitability and human social evolution, according to the ITPCAS. Mega plateaus have significant impacts on the environment, biodiversity, and human survival. Previously, the ITPCAS mainly focused on studying the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which has also attracted many foreign scientists. However, besides the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, other mega plateaus around the world also have a tremendous impact on these aspects. So it's a good idea to unite scientists all around the world to jointly examine all these mega plateaus and find out what factors have played a vital role or how these plateaus affect each other in shaping the current environmental landscape, rivers as well as human migration and adaptation, Ding Lin, an ITP researcher and Academician of the CAS and one of the initiators of PlateauPlus, told the Global Times.
"Although aspects of the orographic development of the Tibetan region are still actively debated, collaboration across disciplines and testing ideas within the rigor of mathematical models are honing our understanding of the highly complex natural processes inherent to the Tibetan geo/ecosystem. If humans are ever going to manage our planet in a responsible and informed way, then the lessons we have learned from Tibetan Plateau research must be applied more widely to other orographically complex systems. These lessons are not just those relating to the science itself, but how we do the research, how we improve our methodologies, how we nurture international collaboration and integrate local knowledge with broader global perspectives," said Robert Spicer, emeritus professor of Earth Sciences at The Open University in the UK.
"We now have a magnificent toolbox of methodologies and ideas that can be used to investigate other plateaus worldwide, so it is time to explore and integrate plateau system research globally," Spicer said. He noted that as a world leader in science, China is very attractive for foreign scientists.
During the two-day PlateauPlus Workshop, global scientists discussed the formation and evolution of plateaus, environmental effects, biodiversity changes, and human adaptation.
Ding said that in the future the ITPCAS will host workshops in different countries, fostering a truly global perspective.
Field excursions in various global mega plateaus will be a crucial part of the journey, offering hands-on experience and deeper insights. A key focus will be engaging more and more local institutions, especially from regions like East Africa and South America, which are currently underrepresented, according to Ding.
Strengthening these connections is essential for a more comprehensive understanding and inclusive approach to the research, he noted.
In mid-December 2022, after China started to ease COVID-19 restrictions that had lasted for three years, the world keenly anticipated a swift and robust recovery in China's economy in 2023. But at a tone-setting economic conference, top Chinese policymakers, while stressing that "an overall recovery and improvement is expected," also offered a sobering assessment of the difficulties that lay ahead.
"Economic work in 2023 will be complex," Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, concluded in a speech at the Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) on December 15, 2022. The meeting, aimed at setting priorities for economic work in 2023, demanded making economic stability a top priority and pursuing steady progress while ensuring economic stability.
As 2023 draws to an end, what transpired in the Chinese economy over the last year is consistent with that assessment. The economy faced serious downward pressure from shrinking demand, supply shocks, and weakening expectations - "triple pressures" as officials put it. But it also mounted an impressive recovery, with the GDP growth rate widely expected to meet or even exceed an initial target of around 5 percent, a remarkable improvement from the previous three years during the pandemic. More crucially, China also achieved solid progress in high-quality development, with the rise of domestic consumption, scientific and technological innovation, and green development.
All told, China's recovery has become one of the biggest highlights for the global economy in 2023 amid a severe downturn and a complex geo-economic situation - China is expected to be the fastest-growing major economy and contribute roughly one-third of global growth, according to Chinese and foreign economists. Beyond the direct contribution to growth, faster growth in China also has positive spillover effects on the rest of the world: A single percentage point of growth in China, on average, increases output in other economies by 0.3 percent over the medium term, according to the IMF.
Behind such a hard-won, impressive outcome are objective and scientific decision-making by Chinese policymakers under Xi's leadership, a series of targeted and effective policies to tackle risks and challenges head-on, as well as the effective execution of those policies - the quintessential Chinese governance model that underpins China's long-running economic miracle, economists said.
This also vividly demonstrated how Xi Jinping's economic thought, which, among other things, stresses high-quality development, is put into practice to address problems and promote high-quality development, they noted.
Hard-won, impressive outcome China's economic recovery was by no means smooth in 2023.
"In fact, the post-pandemic economic recovery was full of difficulties and challenges. Some were unprecedented. Despite all these [challenges], China took a series of measures and deepened reforms and opening-up. We achieved an effective improvement in quality and reasonable growth in quantity," Guan Tao, global chief economist at BOC International under the Bank of China, told the Global Times. "This indeed is a very hard-won outcome."
China's economy grew by 5.2 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters, and the full-year GDP growth rate is expected to exceed the official growth target of around 5 percent. That is a remarkable comeback from a 3 percent rate in 2022 and significantly higher than the average growth rate of 4.5 percent between 2020 and 2022. Globally, a 5-percent growth rate in China would also largely outpace a projected global growth rate of 3 percent, 1.5 percent in advanced economies, and 4 percent in emerging markets and developing economies, according to the IMF.
What's more, international organizations have constantly upgraded China's growth forecasts, in stark contrast to grim predictions hyped by some Western economic pundits and media outlets.
"We recently upgraded our 2023 forecast to 5.4 percent. This forecast was increased by 0.4 percentage points in November," Steven Alan Barnett, senior IMF resident representative in China, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview. "At 5.4 percent growth, China by itself would explain around one-third of global growth in 2023."
Apart from growth in quantity, China's high-quality development also made significant strides in 2023, reflected in the rapid rise of new emerging industries, breakthroughs in critical technologies, the transition toward consumption-led growth, and the expansion of green development.
High-quality development Barnett highlighted China's rapid growth in new industries like electric vehicles (EVs) and green technologies that offered a cushion against other downward pressures. "China, in fact, stands out as a technological leader in the production of green technologies such as solar panels and EVs," he said.
In a remarkable example, China surpassed Japan to become the world's biggest auto exporter in the first quarter of 2023, thanks to the new-energy vehicles (NEVs) sector. In the first 11 months, NEVs output grew by 34.5 percent to 8.426 million units, while sales increased by 36.7 percent to 8.304 million units, according to the latest industry data. More than 64 percent of global NEVs sales were in China during the period, according to the 2023 World New Energy Vehicle Congress.
Also highlighting progress in China's innovation-driven high-quality development, in November, the added value of high-tech manufacturing above designated size increased by 6.2 percent year-on-year, 4.4 percentage points faster than that of the previous month. High-tech products such as solar cells, service robots, and integrated circuits continued their stellar performance, with their output rising 44.5 percent, 33.3 percent, and 27.9 percent, respectively.
That helped promote high-quality development in China's foreign trade, with the upgrade of the export structure. In the first 11 months, China's exports of NEVs, lithium batteries, and solar cells - collectively known as "the three new items" of China's exports - jumped by 41.7 percent to about 79.9 billion yuan.
Also underscoring China's optimizing trade structure, "during a period of declining orders from the US and Europe, China's trade with emerging markets continues to grow," Wei Jianguo, former Chinese vice minister of commerce and executive deputy director of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, told the Global Times.
Another highlight of China's high-quality development is the rise of domestic consumption as the main economic growth driver. In the first 11 months, total retail sales, a main gauge of consumption, grew by 7.2 percent year-on-year to about 42.8 trillion yuan, with a 10.1 percent growth in November. "Consumption explained around 80 percent of growth in the first three quarters of the year," Barnett said.
Innovation-led and consumption-driven growth is a crucial part of China's high-quality development, which is at the front and center of China's economic policymaking. This year's CEWC, held on December 11 and 12, stressed that it is imperative to uphold high-quality development as the unyielding principle of the new era. The phrase has drawn much attention as it resembles the popular Chinese saying "development is the absolute principle," popularized during the decades of reform and opening-up that ushered in China's rapid economic rise.
Decisive top-down leadership
How did China overcome difficulties and challenges and achieve these hard-won gains? Decisive top-down leadership is the key, economists said.
Over the last year, at major meetings and inspection tours across the country, Xi has repeatedly called for efforts to tackle challenges, stabilize growth, and promote high-quality development.
In his speech at the CEWC last year, Xi stressed "We need to bear in mind the overall strategic picture and focus on major problems" and offered clear guidance on how to tackle them. He called for efforts to expand domestic demand, build a modern industrial system, develop the public sector and support the non-public sector, attract and utilize foreign investment, and forestall and defuse risks in areas such as real estate, financial market and local government debt.
This guidance has since turned into policy actions over the last year. Overall, China has adopted proactive fiscal and prudent monetary policies that have supported economic recovery. In the budget adopted in March, consumption, technological innovation, and high-quality development were prioritized.
Throughout the year, Chinese officials both at the central and local levels released an array of policy measures to support consumption, investment, and the private sector.
China also welcomed a long stream of global business executives and hosted many high-level trade fairs to boost cooperation.
Then in July, amid new challenges and weakening expectations, Xi presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC, to set priorities for economic work in the second half of the year. While noting "new difficulties and challenges," the meeting called for solid efforts to expand domestic demand, shore up confidence, and prevent risks. That also led to strong policy measures in the second half of the year, including a plan to issue an additional 1 trillion yuan in treasury bonds in the fourth quarter.
The meeting also stressed that China's economic recovery was a "wave-like" and "zigzag" process. That demonstrated top officials' confidence in the economy, as they are trying to convey a message that China's economy may face high waves but it will always break through and it may zigzag but it will always move forward.
This is very typical of Chinese policymaking - confident in China's development, responsive to new situations, and swift and effective in responding to them, economists said.
"[Top officials] grasp issues in a very objective manner and take measures in a very swift and targeted manner," Guan said.
This has not only helped underpin China's stable economic recovery in 2023 but has also boosted confidence in China's 2024 economic recovery, despite lingering risks and challenges.
"Amid high winds and strong waves in the global economy, China's economy is making solid progress toward the future, forming synergy through optimization and balance, continuously releasing strong development momentum, and demonstrates bright prospects," Cheng Shi, chief economist of ICBC International, told the Global Times.
This year's CEWC, which sets the economic agenda for 2024, noted that some difficulties and challenges must be tackled to achieve further economic recovery and pledged a series of policy measures in a wide range of areas.
"The favorable conditions for China's development outweigh the unfavorable ones, and the overall trend of economic recovery and long-term improvement remains unchanged," it said.
As a Chinese say, "A gift may be small, but its symbolic value is significant," exquisite gifts from around the world not only represent the culture and craftsmanship of their countries of origin, but also bear witness to the historical friendship between China and these nations.
The Central Gifts and Cultural Relics Management Center, located in the heart of Beijing, showcases over 670 representative gifts exchanged between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and government leaders in diplomatic activities since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
These gifts, which embody the profound friendship between the Chinese people and the people of all countries in the world, record the diplomacy of the Party and the country, standing witness to the great journey and brilliant achievements of New China under the leadership of the CPC.
The center features gifts from Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Oceania, encompassing over 100 countries and regions. Each gift tells a story of national culture and history.
For instance, a model of the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood given by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2019 is an architectural masterpiece. It is strikingly opulent in appearance. It also witnessed the moment when two heads of China and Russia make the decision to elevate their relations to a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for a New Era."
The porcelain swans gifted by former US president Richard Nixon to late Chairman Mao Zedong stand out in the center's exhibition hall. One swan is resting, and the other is spreading its wings, symbolizing a hope for peace and friendship.
The meeting between Mao and Nixon in February 1972 marked the end of longstanding hostilities between China and the US. It was a major event in the history of China-US relations and had a significant impact on the international situation.
Before that, in 1971, the famous "Ping Pong Diplomacy" marked the beginning of the "thaw" in China-US relations. Behind the swans are a set of table tennis paddles and a ball presented to premier Zhou Enlai by a US Detroit businessmen. The paddles, which show a dove with an olive branch in its beak and the words "a generation of peace," express an appreciation for the "Ping-Pong Diplomacy" between China and the US.
Additionally, another distinctive exhibition hall prominently displays state gifts presented by China at major diplomatic events. These are quintessentially Chinese style and include cloisonné, white porcelain, silk and even copies of "The Analects of Confucius."
Besides these precious gifts, the exhibition also features over 40 photographs and nearly 100 documents, extracts, and new media materials. Focusing on major diplomatic events since the founding of New China, it illustrates China's diplomatic journey.
Notable among these are a telegraph paper from October 2, 1949, marking the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Soviet government and the Chinese government, and a telegram from the United Nations recognizing the People's Republic of China's legitimate seat.
Gifts received by China's leaders illustrate one aspect of the diplomatic history of our Party and country. They show witness to the great journey and brilliant achievements of the People's Republic of China under the Party's leadership and demonstrate the profound internship that exists between China and the governments, parties, peoples, and international organizations of the world. At the same time, they demonstrate China's outstanding contributions to the safeguarding of world peace and development.
These gifts tell the story of the friendly exchanges between China and other countries and of China's efforts in promoting the development of a global community with a shared future.
The total number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza has surpassed 10,000 since the latest round of Hamas-Israel conflict started on October 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged for a humanitarian ceasefire amid the unfolding catastrophe in Gaza that grows more dire with each passing hour. Will a ceasefire be possible? How do external factors, such as unconditional US support of Israel, play into this conflict? What's the deadlock in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? Global Times reporters Xie Wenting and Bai Yunyi (GT) spoke with Ex-Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy (Levy), the president of the US/Middle East Project and got answers to these pressing questions and more. GT: Pentagon and some US officials have voiced that they do not support a ceasefire in the current Palestine-Israel conflict, saying that it only benefits Hamas. What's your take on it?
Levy: The US military and American politicians are in the same place on this, but the US is quite isolated in the world. In this regard, its allies in Europe and Israel have taken a similar position. However, when the United Nations voted for an immediate truce, only 14 countries, including Israel and the US, voted against this resolution.
Now, what is worrying is this statement that only Hamas would benefit from a ceasefire. It's a very curious statement. We think that approximately 10,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Gaza in less than 4 weeks. The accurate number seems to be about 4,000 children. For the Americans to say that only Hamas will benefit suggests that they place no value on Palestinian civilian lives. I believe many people are shocked, including those in the US by the fact that there is such a blatant and transparent position, which values one life differently from another. I think this is a very bad moment for the US on the international stage.
I understand the argument which sets forth that if there is a ceasefire, Israel will not be able to continue its military effort against Hamas. However, there are two things. First, we cannot conduct that military effort in violation of all international norms, laws, and conventions. There are rules even in war. Just like the resistance against an illegal occupation, which is legal, armed resistance is legal against an illegal occupation. But it has rules. So self-defense by Israel also has rules. You cannot pretend that these rules don't exist. Second, history tells us that if people are kept depressed like this, you cannot defeat them militarily. It's a very counterproductive and dangerous American position.
GT: Based on your analysis, what is likely to happen in the coming days? What's the worst scenario that you fear may happen?
Levy: It's an interesting question. In recent days, Israel has proceeded with its ground operation inside Gaza. ?The reason it is incredibly congested and densely populated with Palestinians in such a confined area is due to the fact that Israel forcefully relocated the Palestinians to this region between 1947 and 1949.
What is Israel aiming to achieve? They have surrounded Gaza City, dividing it. Israeli military officials have stated that they may need to remain in Gaza for three months to carry out military operations. Afterward, there would be a residual presence, with Israel potentially remaining in Gaza for another nine months. This suggests that the Israelis lack a clear plan.
We tend to think of the Israeli military as a very strategic and powerful force, which it certainly is. Israel is an undeclared nuclear power with nuclear arms, and it receives guaranteed support from the US for acquiring the most sophisticated weaponry. Israel also has its own arms industry.
However, it came as quite a shock that Israel's security doctrine is based on deterrence, which includes early warning and military preponderance for domination. This security doctrine is unlikely to succeed if they continue to try to maintain permanent control over another people, especially considering the opposition they face from much of the region. As a result, this security doctrine is bound to collapse. Although they may attempt to reassert it, it is destined to fail.
No one in Israel is providing an answer to the question you asked. Do they think they will stay there permanently? Will Palestinians allow for some outside force to come and take control? An outside force may want to intervene. Therefore, there is no real answer, suggesting a high level of dysfunction in Israeli strategic thinking. It seems their plan is to inflict as much damage as possible until the world intervenes, and then reassess the situation.
However, we must also acknowledge that the individuals currently leading this operation in Israel have been greatly discredited due to what happened on October 7. This significant failure and terrible incident have led to the assumption that there will be an inquiry into what occurred on that day. Consequently, many people may be forced out of their positions. These individuals are prolonging the war because once it ends, their personal careers will come to an end as well.
GT: Do you still see a possible ceasefire in the near future?
Levy: The pressure for a ceasefire might grow more quickly. Maybe Israel will manage to keep going for so long, but it's very risky because the longer it goes on in Gaza, the more likely there will be a regional explosion.
There have been exchanges between local militias and either American or Israeli forces. The US has positioned its warships off the coast, so the US could get dragged into this war. Iran could also get dragged into this war. The rest of the world is looking at this and saying we have quite a lot of crises.
Besides, there are other arguments as to why there may be a ceasefire sooner rather than later. First, things are deteriorating across the rest of the Palestinian arena in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Second, civilian casualties are reaching alarming levels. Third, this conflict is causing the US and the West to appear increasingly isolated. Fourth, the more destruction inflicted upon Gaza, the more challenging it will be to rebuild the region. Fifth, Israel lacks a plan for the aftermath of the conflict. Therefore, there are numerous reasons why a ceasefire is becoming more likely. Lastly, the longer the war persists, the less feasible it becomes to release the prisoners held in Gaza, increasing the likelihood of their death.
However, the US is not forcing Israel into a ceasefire at the moment. Israel remains angry, vengeful, and confused. It is not agreeing to a ceasefire, but I think this dynamic can shift. Many people are asking the question: How long can Israel maintain its reservists away from their employment? Much of the Israeli economy is at a standstill. Israel is beginning to lose soldiers in Gaza. The deaths of Israeli soldiers increase every day. These are the two tensions. There is a lot of criticism inside the US, within Biden's own party, that he is not pushing for a ceasefire. So it's possible that Israel will have several more weeks, but it's also very likely that the pressure will increase to end this sooner.
GT: You once were an Israeli peace negotiator. Over the years, the Israeli-Palestinian issue has been in a prolonged deadlock and even marginalized. What do you think are the reasons behind this?
Levy: There were basic parameters outlined for a deal, which would not be an ideal solution. Essentially, the idea was for Palestinians to accept a state in only 22 percent of the former mandate area, as Palestine had been colonized and Israel had established its own settler colony. The agreement entailed Israel's withdrawal, allowing for the creation of a Palestinian state. Due to the US' significant influence and strong relationship with Israel, it was expected that the US would ensure the achievement of this deal. However, this never materialized. Instead, Israel continued to place more and more illegal settlers in the land designated for the Palestinian state.
If you are occupying another territory, there are rules. There is international law. You are not allowed to move your civilian population into the territory. Israel violated this and many other international laws. So, instead of securing this deal, Israel continued to deepen the occupation. For the Palestinians, the main Palestinian faction, Fatah, which is the other party to Hamas, controlled the piano. The people who made the deal with Israel expected to get a state and stopped using armed struggle, negotiating instead. They became less and less credible in the eyes of their own people because things kept getting worse. So, Hamas kept getting stronger.
When we were negotiating, we understood some of these dynamics. We thought we could achieve a deal. To be honest, quite often we were negotiating with ourselves because there were different views on the Israeli side. You had a more pragmatic, realist Israeli position. You had a more ideological Israeli position or maximalist Israeli position. We never put forward a deal that would have led to peace, and the Americans, instead of ensuring it happened, actually made sure Israel was not held accountable when Israel refused to pursue the peaceful option. So, this is how it collapsed, but it has been collapsed now for a long time.
For a long time, there have been no serious peace efforts. What we hear are people saying "two states," but these words are meaningless. There is no accountability for Israel in preventing the establishment of two states. Furthermore, the situation on the ground has worsened. The collapse of the international architecture is evident, as the process has been monopolized by the US. Occasionally, the Quartet (comprising the UN, EU, Russia, and the US) has been involved, and sometimes Arab states have participated. However, the US and Israel have consistently worked to marginalize the Quartet, paralyze the UN Security Council, and improve Arab-Israeli relations without addressing the Palestinian issue.
All of these things were not serious. All of these things made peace less likely. All of those things were proof that we need a different international architecture. This can't be left just to the US.
GT: From your point of view, what is the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue?
Levy: There are four main points to consider. First, Palestinian politics is dysfunctional and not representative of its people. The opportunity to include Hamas within the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was hindered by the interference of countries like the US and Israel. Therefore, it is crucial to allow Palestinians to rebuild their political system and remove any obstacles. Friendly third countries should support and encourage this process, as the collapse of Palestinian politics has contributed to the current situation.
Second, if Israel believes it can act without consequences, it will continue to do so. The US' guarantee of Israeli impunity and lack of accountability has fostered a culture of war and excessive actions by Israel. This has led to strategic miscalculations, as Israel believed it could control millions of Palestinians without granting them rights or a state, which many consider to be an apartheid system.
Israel's confidence in its actions stems from the assurance provided by the US. So the second thing that needs to happen is for Israel to understand that there is a choice to be made and that there are costs for continuing to treat the Palestinians like this.
Third, we cannot leave this just to the US. We need this to be recognized as a major global crisis. The Israeli-Palestinian issue is part of the global crisis. This is not a marginal issue. We need other states, such as the G20 or the BRICS, parts of the Global South, and parts of the Arab world, to get more engaged so that there is some balance in how America manages this issue. We need a new contact group or a new architecture. This is true of many things in the world, but it is now particularly true of this crisis.
Finally, with the involved parties themselves, we need to clarify that the traditional position is for two states, but the international community is open to considering other ideas as long as they recognize the rights and equality of all people. We must encourage the parties to see each other as human beings and to acknowledge the reality of their situation.
Some may argue that Israel cannot negotiate until Hamas is destroyed, while others may question how Palestinians can negotiate with Israel when it has caused the deaths of thousands of children. However, this is the nature of conflict, and the path to stability lies in politics and negotiations. Instead of imposing a solution, we must emphasize that a situation through which one people live with rights and another people live without rights is unacceptable.
If Israel refuses to withdraw its settlements, perhaps a one-state solution could be considered. Similarly, if Palestinians insist on the return of refugees, maybe we can revisit the idea of two states. The key is to provide options and encourage the parties to engage in political discussions. These are my suggestions.
As of October 22, over 1.4 million people were displaced and over 6,000 fatalities have been reported amid the latest round of the Israeli-Palestinian armed conflict. Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, warns and armed conflicts have characterized relations between the two sides. Historically, Jews and Arabs, who created concurrent Jewish and Arab civilizations respectively have, until the 20th century, coexisted peacefully before the emergence of seemingly irreconcilable differences.
The Global Times will publish a series of in-depth reports on the "Past and Present of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," exploring the historical, religious, and cultural clashes, delving into the various wars and internal struggles between Israelis and Palestinians, and analyzing the power struggles triggered by external influences from Europe and the US, in an attempt to clarify how the past has influenced the present Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
One land, two names
"We will not leave, we will not leave, we will not leave, and we will remain on our land," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday when addressing the Cairo Peace Summit. He warned of any attempts to displace people from the war-torn Gaza Strip, and attempts to displace Palestinians from their homes, media sources reported. Following the outbreak of this round of conflict, Israel demanded that approximately 1.1 million residents in the northern Gaza evacuate to the south to facilitate military operations to eliminate the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a deep struggle, intertwined with historical and religious narratives that have shaped its course for generations," read a Fox News article on October 12.
"Central to this conflict is the land of historical and religious significance to both Jewish and Palestinian communities. The Bible plays a pivotal role, with its promise of the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham. For Jewish people, this territory represents the biblical Promised Land, where their forebears settled following their exodus from Egypt … From a Palestinian perspective, their connection to the land is also rooted in biblical heritage, tracing their origins back to the ancient Canaanites and Philistines," read the Fox News article.
Canaan, the ancient name for Palestine, lies at the intersection of three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe, including what is now Israel, Jordan, Gaza, and the West Bank. According to Israeli historical books, Semites who migrated from the Arabian Peninsula migrated to the area from about 3000 BC to 2500 BC, and both Semitic Jews and Arabs once lived here.
According to publicly available information, ancient Jews originated in the Mesopotamian plain approximately 4,000 years ago. They later migrated to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, known as the Crescent, to escape natural disasters. They then migrated again to the eastern part of the Nile Delta in Egypt due to famine. According to Israeli historical books, around the first half of the 13th century BC, Jewish people, who were unwilling to be enslaved, left Egypt under the leadership of Moses and wandered in the Sinai Peninsula desert for more than 40 years before being led into Canaan by Joshua. Similarly, in the late 13th century BC, another large group called the "Sea Peoples" or Philistines entered Canaan and named the land "Philistia," meaning "the land of the Philistines." In the 5th century BC, Greek historians began using the term "Palestine" to refer to this region.
Around 1000 BC, Jewish people established the Kingdom of Israel in Canaan. The second king of the kingdom, King David (1010 BC-970 BC), is also reported to have led the capture of Jebus (Jerusalem). As with the construction of the palace and the temple of Yahweh, Judaism became the state religion. The scope of the Jewish "Promised Land" also changed due to King David's expansion. According to the Bible, the promised land for God's chosen people was roughly the territory that lay between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean, read a New York Times article. During King David's reign, his kingdom extended from deep within the Sinai Peninsula to the Euphrates River, including large areas of present-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. This is reflected in the description of the Promised Land in the Five Books of Moses, according to publicly available materials.
According to media reports, records show that in around 931BC, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah (the origin of the term "Jewish") existed in tandem. Around the same time, the Philistines occupied the southern coastal plain of Israel. In around 722 BC, the Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and as an ancient geographical term, "Israel" ceased to exist. Over a century and a half later, the Kingdom of Judah was also overthrown, and many of its inhabitants were exiled to Babylon. Subsequently, this land was conquered by ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. In 4 BC, 6 AD, 66 AD, and 132 AD, the local Jewish population staged multiple uprisings against Roman occupation, but they were brutally suppressed. From 70 AD to 132 AD, most Jews were forced to leave Canaan, marking the end of the Jewish people's settlement in the region. In 135 AD, after suppressing the uprising, the Roman Empire abolished the province of Judea and merged it with the province of Syria to eliminate memories associated with the Jewish people.
In the year 637 AD, the Arabs defeated the Eastern Roman Empire army and Palestine was incorporated into the Arab Empire. During the Umayyad dynasty (661 AD to 750 AD), Jerusalem, which was once a holy site for Judaism and Christianity, became one of the three major holy sites of Islam, along with Mecca and Medina. Present-day Jerusalem, with an area of only 126 square kilometers, is home to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount for Jews, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Via Dolorosa for Christians.
According to an article published on the news website The Conversation, "Israel" and "Palestine" are two names for one land. "Israel" first appears near the end of the 13th century BC within the Egyptian Merneptah Stele, referring apparently to a people (rather than a place) inhabiting what was then "Canaan," read the article.
"Palestina took its name from the coastal territory of the ancient Philistines, enemies of the Israelites (ancestors of the Jews). Subsequent to the Islamic conquest of the Middle East in the seventh century, Arab peoples began to settle in the former 'Palestina.' Apart from about 90 years of Crusader domination, the land fell under Muslim control for just under 1,200 years. Although Jewish habitation never ceased, the population was overwhelmingly Arab," said the article.
Genesis of Zionism
Palestine became a part of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. After World War I, the defeated Ottoman Empire, which was allied with Germany, reluctantly handed over the region, including Palestine, to British mandate rule. In the late 19th century, the Zionist movement, particularly among European Jews who feared extinction, began to emigrate in large numbers to the Palestinian-inhabited areas.
Zionism, also known as Jewish nationalism, takes its name from Mount Zion, a small hill outside the Old City of Jerusalem, symbolizing the ancestral homeland of Israel. Despite the industrial revolution and modernization, anti-Semitism and discrimination against Jews in Europe persisted. Increasingly, secular European Jews supported the idea of returning to their own homeland and establishing a Jewish state, even though a large number of Jews at the time did not endorse the idea of national restoration. Followers of Zionism believed that only by establishing a purely Jewish state could the fate of oppression and exile that Jews had endured for nearly two millennia be resolved. However, it cannot be ignored that their desired destination, Palestine, was not an "uninhabited land," and the idea of a purely Jewish state inevitably clashed with the basic rights of the indigenous Arab population. The founders of Zionism attempted to reach an agreement with the Ottoman Empire, which would overrule the existence of Palestine at the time, but were unsuccessful. As a result, they focused their efforts on gaining support from Western powers.
World War I brought a significant turning point to the once stagnant Zionist movement. Chemist Chaim Weizmann, who had made important contributions to the British army during the war, became the leader of the Zionist movement. He united with Jewish elites such as the Rothschilds and gained the support of the British government.
However, although the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the war and the UK began its mandatory colonial rule in Palestine, the British did not promptly fulfill their promise to the Jewish people. Instead, they tightened restrictions on Jewish immigration.
At the same time, Palestine witnessed a wave of immigration of Jewish people facing persecution in Eastern Europe. Prompted by the wave of immigration, the leaders of the Zionist movement considered finding a piece of land in Argentina to be their homeland, and the British government also proposed allocating land from its colony, Uganda for a Jewish settlement. However, due to the special religious and historical significance of Palestine, especially Jerusalem, to the Jewish people, the Zionist movement ultimately insisted that returning to Palestine was the only truly satisfactory outcome for the establishment of a homeland.
Far from this decision bringing a satisfactory outcome, it marked the beginning of suffering. Starting from the late 1920s, Arab nationalists, began to push back against the Zionist movement. They organized armed attacks on Jewish settlements and pressured the British to completely close Jewish immigration channels. As the strategic importance of oil increased, the British turned against Jewish people and supported the Arabs, causing further chaos.
The rise of the Nazi regime in Germany and the outbreak of World War II accelerated the "return" of Jews to Palestine. The brutal fact that 6 million Jews perished in the German Nazi-mandated holocaust during the war quickly changed the mainstream opinion in Europe and America, leading to support for the establishment of Israel. Exhausted and depleted from the war, the UK had no choice but to adjudicate the Palestine issue to the United Nations. In November 1947, UN Resolution 181 on the partition of Palestine was passed, marking the official establishment of an Arab state and a Jewish state in the region. This resolution was met with jubilation by the Jewish people, but the allocation of about 55 percent of the land to Israel and the subsequent opposition from Palestinians and other Arab countries sparked controversy.
Hope for peaceful coexistence
On the second day after Israel declared its independence, the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 broke out. By the end of the war in 1949, Palestinians had lost nearly four-fifths of the territory allocated to them by the United Nations, and over 750,000 people were displaced from their homes. The core issues of territory, refugees, the status of Jerusalem, and Jewish settlements have created significant disagreements between Israelis and Palestinians, becoming obstacles to peace talks.
Today, with the exception of very few countries, the rights and political status of the Jewish people are guaranteed. Against this backdrop, how to promote progress within Israel along the only viable and nonviolent path, and save both Palestinians and Israelis from "imminent catastrophe", are questions that many historians contemplate. Some of them believe that the prolonged turmoil is a result of negligence toward the interests of the Palestinian population during the nation-building process. They argue that Zionism, as an ideological mission for the establishment of Israel, should not supersede the rights of other minority groups in any subsequent system.
Some observers believe that throughout history, the Jewish people have endured great suffering but have also achieved great accomplishments, becoming a driving force in the progress of global civilization. The Palestinian people, on the other hand, have inherited the tragic fate of the Jewish people, who have been without a country, wandering for nearly 2,000 years. Today, Hamas represents the extreme aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish a state on equal footing with Israel. As long as this goal is not achieved, there will be people who will follow the path of Hamas. As China has consistently maintained, the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies in the "two-state solution," which means establishing an independent Palestinian state. Only through this can peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel be achieved, and harmony between the Arab and Jewish nations be realized.
Chinese tech company EHang Holdings Limited has begun to sell its self-developed unmanned electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft EH216-S on Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao at a cost of 2.39 million yuan ($332,032) per unit, the Global Times observed on Monday.
He Tianxing, a deputy president of EHang, told the Global Times that it was not only for online sale, but also aimed to inform the public the development potential of low-altitude economy in the future.
The EH216-S last December obtained the standard Airworthiness Certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, which marked the eVTOL aircraft becoming eligible for commercial operation.
EH216-S Passenger-Carrying UAV System Obtains Standard Airworthiness Certificate from CAAC and the Certified Aircraft Delivered to Customer in Guangzhou.
Aside from its main selling points including its small size, easy take-off, landing and re-charge ability, as well as quietness, EHang made multiple backups for core parts such as propellers, electric engine, flying control system and batteries.
The Government Work Report released during the recently concluded two sessions earlier this month stated that China will foster new growth engines in fields such as biomanufacturing, commercial spaceflight, and the low-altitude economy.
Analysts pointed out that low-altitude transport can help reduce waste once ground transport has reached its limit in megacities.
Following the announced policy, many cities have taken measures to develop the sector. As the country's first trial province for low-altitude air space management, Southwest China's Sichuan Province simplified low-altitude flight test applications. East China's Anhui also crafted rules to develop low-altitude economy, stating to accelerate the development of the industry in Hefei and Wuhu, two major cities there.
In addition, Shenzhen city in South China's Guangdong Province has published a set of documents and government regulations supporting the development of the low-altitude economy in the province, according to Xinhua News Agency.
As of 2025, the output value of low-altitude economy in China is estimated to reach 3 to 5 trillion yuan, according to a recent survey by the International Digital Economy Academy.
The US' so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) is one of the most notorious laws of the 21st century. It is essentially a tool used by US politicians to destabilize Xinjiang and curb China's development, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday, responding to US suspension of garment imports from the Philippines on suspicion that cotton used is involved in "forced labor" in Xinjiang.
So-called "forced labor" in Xinjiang is the lie of the century concocted by anti-China forces to create forced unemployment and poverty in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Friday during a routine press conference.
"Such a lie is a tool used by US politicians to destabilize Xinjiang and curb China's development," said Wang.
Wang shared several examples during the press conference, which clearly showed that what the US has done on Xinjiang violated human rights under the banner of "human rights protection."
One example was a private clothing company in Xinjiang, which employed more than 2,200 people as of the end of 2018, with ethnic minority employees accounting for more than 95 percent. However, due to the impact of the US and Western sanctions, the main partners of the company have cancelled all orders in 2019, resulting in direct losses of over 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) and a reduction in employees to less than 500 people. At present, most of the factory and equipment owned by the enterprise remains idle, and it is barely able to maintain its operation through domestic orders.
Another example is a Xinjiang hair ornament production enterprise which saw its order volume decrease by 40 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, after being sanctioned by the US. The company's production and operations have continued to deteriorate.
While it used to produce 50 million hair ornament products annually, with an annual export volume reaching $30 million in 2022, it also made a great contribution to solving local employment.
Wang also cited a villager living in Xinjiang's Kashi, who found a job in a wholly foreign-funded enterprise doing trade in Central China's Hunan in September 2019, with a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan. In 2020, due to the impact of the US sanctions, the enterprise canceled the labor contract with the villager, which forced the villager to return to his/her hometown to make a living, and the monthly income was greatly reduced.
In addition, for the sake of so-called compliance, some US companies have unilaterally terminated the supply of medical products purchased from Xinjiang, seriously affecting the right to life and health of the Xinjiang people, Wang noted.
"Facts have proved that the so-called UFLPA is in essence a tool used by US politicians to destabilize Xinjiang and curb China's development. It not only seriously infringes on the human rights of the people in Xinjiang, but also seriously disrupts the stability of the global industrial and supply chain, and seriously undermines international economic and trade rules. It is one of the most notorious evil laws of the 21st century," the spokesperson said.
Wang also called on the international community to firmly resist the wrongful actions of the US, which smears other countries, interferes in their internal affairs, oppresses their enterprises and stifles their development under the pretext of "human rights." China will continue to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.
A Hong Kong research center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has unveiled its latest artificial intelligence (AI) model for the healthcare industry, providing efficient clinical diagnosis and helping doctors in complex neurosurgery.
The development highlights the increasingly close academic collaboration between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, showcasing the country's leading position in the sector.
Developed by the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) of the CAS Hong Kong Institute of Science and Innovation, the CARES Copilot 1.0 model offers physicians enhanced accuracy in data retrieval. It can generate information and citations from academic sources, with data accuracy up to 95 percent, CAIR said on Monday.
Using the AI model for complement surgery, image navigation, and medical robotics in clinics, operating rooms and research institutes can directly assist medical staff in dealing with emergencies. They are able to provide supervision and early warnings and prevent risks during surgical procedures, Danny Chan Tat-ming, head of the neurosurgery division at the Department of Surgery in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was quoted as saying.
The CARES Copilot system is designed to work with smart medical devices, providing trustable and explainable AI for surgery. It is able to process surgical data across modalities, including images, text, voice, video and ultrasound.
The performance of the Copilot 1.0 system was strictly tested using the challenging Zero-shot Top Token Selection standard, across five public datasets and two proprietary neurosurgical knowledge evaluation datasets, according to the research team of the CARES Copilot 1.0 AI model.
"We aim to integrate the Copilot 1.0 AI model with smart medical devices in the future, based on CAIR's achievements in medical robotics. The center is now collaborating with Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing, and the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou on these subjects," Xu Jun, a senior manager at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The CARES Copilot 1.0 system exemplifies CAIR's unique position and academic background, reflecting the close academic cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.
According to CAIR's official website, the center was established under a memorandum of understanding signed between the Hong Kong SAR Government and the CAS. It is part of the Hong Kong Institute of Science and Innovation, the CAS' first affiliated branch outside of the Chinese mainland.
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is further advancing technological cooperation. In August 2023, China's State Council issued a plan to develop the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, aiming to deepen scientific and technological collaboration in the Greater Bay Area.
China is preparing to pilot opening-up of internet data centers, an official from Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Friday, against the backdrop as China is boosting a high-level reform and opening-up.
Jin Zhuanglong, minister of MIIT made the remarks at the Ministers' Corridor at second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), as China kicked off the two sessions this week.
The remarks also came after the Government Work Report delivered by Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday, when Li said that China will further shorten the negative list for foreign investment. All market access restrictions on foreign investment in manufacturing will be abolished, and market access restrictions in services sectors, such as telecommunications and healthcare, will be reduced.
Promoting new industrialization needs to deepen reform and expand opening-up. China has announced to completely lift restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, while the MIIT is preparing to pilot the opening of value-added telecommunications services such as internet data centers, Jin said.
He said MIIT is promoting the deep integration of informatization and industrialization, including the advanced construction of 5G computing power and other information facilities, and also creating a number of Chinese-made brands with international influence.
Creating national-level manufacturing innovation center is also mentioned in his remarks, as Jin said China is vowing to quickly form new quality productive forces and expand advanced manufacturing clusters.
The opening of internet data centers has a close connection with the big data, and it will be a big help to promote China's artificial intelligence (AI) industry in technology competition, Liu Dingding, a Beijing-based tech analyst, told the Global Times on Friday.
The internet data center refers to a device network center that performs data storage, processing and interaction in a specific physical space. In China, the data center industry is dominated by basic telecom operators and third-party internet data center operators, among which third-party internet data center service providers have become the main participants.
A report released by Cyberspace Administration of China showed that by the end of 2022, data centers in use nationwide now have more than 6.5 million standard racks, with the total computing power ranking second in the world.
Chinese experts also projected that China's high-quality development in 2024 and medium to long term will be driven by new quality productive forces such as AI, digital economy and other innovation industries and Chinese economy will remain a major destination for foreign investment and a major engine driving global growth.
In October 2023, China announced that it will remove all restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector. The annual central economic work conference also emphasized the importance of improving market access for the telecommunications and medical industries.
Chinese experts said that lifting restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector will help attract more foreign investment to China's manufacturing industry, and also promote China's manufacturing industry for a higher level of modernization.
In his first public appearance before media since taking his new post, Wu Qing, head of China's securities watchdog, outlined on Wednesday his plan to ensure the stable development of the capital market, the world's second largest, and vowed to beef up institutional buildup and to better ensure investor protection.
Chinese analysts noted that the institutional and holistic approach outlined by the head of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), who takes a harsh tone on illegal behavior while being considerate to small investors, is a pragmatic approach that suits the market reality, and is set to boost market confidence, stabilize expectations and shore up the overall investment value of China's capital market.
A number of delegates to the ongoing two sessions also contributed their thoughts on the topic, which is under the global media spotlight and has become a target for Western doomsayers in recent weeks.
Wu's appearance at the press conference, held during the ongoing two sessions, along with several other top government officials in charge of China's economic and trade affairs, is one of the highlights of the political event, as ensuring the stability of the capital market was mentioned in the Government Work Report for the first time following a period of turbulence in the Chinese A-share market ahead of China's Spring Festival holidays in February.
The Government Work Report, delivered by Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday at the opening meeting of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, set a growth target of around 5 percent for the country's economy in 2024.
Notably, the report pointed out that "the underlying stability of the capital market should be enhanced."
Giving his insight on how to ensure the stable development of the capital market, Wu the CSRC chairman, who is one day short of completing his first month in the new post, said enhancing institutional buildup and attracting long-term investment into the market will be among the measures to be taken to accomplish the task outlined in the Government Work Report.
Acknowledging that market operation has its own rules and should not be interfered with under normal circumstances, Wu told the press conference that the regulator "won't hesitate to act to correct extreme situations when the market seriously deviates from its fundamentals, irrational and violent fluctuations occur, liquidity is exhausted, market panic occurs and serious draining of confidence appears."
The first-time ever mentioning of enhancing the underlying stability of the capital market sends a strong signal of China's commitment to building itself into a financial powerhouse and sets the tone for the future development in related fields, delegates to the two sessions said.
Outside of the two sessions venue, Chinese scholars also shared their views on what Wu had said at the press conference.
Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the announcement made by CSRC chairman Wu, with an emphasis on both strength and toughness, laid out a clear-cut vision on improving the construction of fundamental institutions and better regulating the capital market, and is a "pragmatic approach in line with reality."
"The dual emphasis by the CSRC on strengthening regulation and bolstering investor protection are set to improve the stability and quality of the Chinese capital market," Dong noted.
Dong said that the emphasis on protecting small and medium-sized investors addresses the root of the problem facing China's capital market, as their ranks formed the ultimate source of long-term funding for the Chinese A-share market.
The stock market has drawn much attention during this year's two sessions, with members, legislators, and officials putting forward practical and broad-perspective suggestions and motions on stabilizing the capital market, Xi Junyang, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Wu's remarks at the press conference will be heard by both domestic and overseas investors, Xi Junyang noted. "And his remarks, including protecting investors' interests, lifting the quality of listed companies, and implementing a stricter delisting system, are conducive to boosting investor confidence and the overall investment value of China's capital market."
"We can expect proactive measures to be announced in these areas," Xi Junyang said.
The Government Work Report set priorities and the direction for this year's economic work, and also offers much-needed reassurance to the capital market, Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund Management Co, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"The stock market is a barometer of a country's economy," Yang said. "Stepped-up macro-policies and stable economic recovery will contribute to a rebound in the A-share market."
A note of reassurance
With the sound development of the capital market a matter of vital concern, delegates to the two sessions are also contributing their ideas, with some pointing out that the Government Work Report has brought "a certain sense of reassurance to the market."
"The Chinese equities market was on a turbulent ride at the beginning of 2024, so the statement in the Government Work Report gives investors a sense of encouragement as well as a certain sense of reassurance," Fang Jie, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of Hubei University of Economics, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
There is a lot of work to be done to improve the underlying stability of the capital market and ensure its sound development, and first and foremost is to continue shoring up the macroeconomy, which provides a foundation for market performance, noted Fang, who has also served as the deputy secretary general of Wuhan government in Central China's Hubei Province and the director of the Wuhan Financial Work Bureau.
Chinese financial authorities also need to further carry out sweeping market reforms, such as creating more innovative capital market products to help release market vigor, and improve the systemic design of the capital market through measures such as increasing the transparency of listed companies' information disclosure and carrying out holistic supervision over the A-share market, Fang said.
Yang Chengzhang, a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and chief economist with Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, told the Global Times on Wednesday that in order to ensure the stable development of the capital market, the government should also continuously put efforts and resources into stemming risks in the property sector, local debt and small and medium-sized financial institutions, as these three sectors are major sources of concern for capital market investors in 2023.
The Government Work Report's call to tackle risks in key areas and beef up security in key sectors will help ease excessive worries and curb the pessimistic outlook in the market, according to Yang Chengzhang.
In order to promote the sound development of the capital market and protect investors' rights and interests, the CSRC has held symposiums to solicit opinions and suggestions on improving the basic system of the capital market, strengthening the protection of the rule of law, and it has also paid visits to listed firms to help them address difficulties to achieve high-quality development.
Since Wu took office, the Chinese A-share market has recovered much of its losses from the recent cycle, finishing at 3,039.93 points at the Shanghai bourse and 9,395.65 points at the Shenzhen bourse on Wednesday.
Following robust travel and tourism activity during the eight-day Spring Festival holidays, the Chinese economy is off to a good start.
Preliminary economic indicators suggest that China is poised to achieve a good start in the first quarter, Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, said at the same press conference.
Zheng revealed that industrial power use grew at 9.7 percent in the January-February period, exports are likely to grow 10 percent year-on-year, indicating robustness in the economy.
