Nigeria Times

By Michael Oduro

A significant announcement recently captured attention across African social media: China has granted zero-tariff treatment to all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations.

This move comes at a critical time, as global protectionism rises and the international trade environment faces unprecedented challenges. China’s move has created a significant opportunity for Africa to expand exports and accelerate industrialization. 

As an African journalist living and working in China, I have gained intimate, firsthand insights into the potential impact of this policy. 

In recent years, I have noticed how African products are gradually becoming more visible in Chinese daily life. Ethiopian coffee, Ghanaian shea butter, Kenyan tea — products that once felt distant are now available on major e-commerce platforms and increasingly appearing in supermarkets and specialty stores across China. Crucially, they are finding a warm reception among Chinese consumers.

It is no exaggeration to say this zero-tariff policy is reshaping the structure of China-Africa trade, opening new commercial pathways, and fostering a deeper appreciation among Chinese consumers for the quality of African goods. By lowering trade costs and expanding market access, China is effectively opening its doors — the world’s largest consumer market — to African farmers, businesses, and entrepreneurs more directly than ever before. Rooted in the principle of shared prosperity, this initiative fully demonstrates China’s commitment to supporting Africa’s economic development and its deeper integration into the global trading system.

Africans understand profoundly the historical difficulties African products have faced in penetrating global markets. For years, Africa’s foreign trade has been constrained by structural bottlenecks that severely undermined its international competitiveness. 

High tariffs, complicated customs procedures and weak cross-border logistics have often squeezed profit margins long before products even left the continent. 

Simultaneously, protectionist policies and additional tariffs imposed by some developed economies further compounded Africa’s trade challenges.

Given this context, China’s announcement of zero-tariff treatment for these 53 nations struck me as a powerful potential accelerator for development. It offers African goods unprecedented efficiency and reach into the vast Chinese market.

My coverage of last year’s 8th China International Import Expo left a lasting impression, particularly the debut of a dedicated exhibition zone for products from least developed countries. Seeing African specialties showcased there was deeply moving. Many African entrepreneurs told me the expo provided unmatched exposure for their products, and they eagerly anticipated the opportunities the zero-tariff policy would bring. Today, that anticipation is translating into tangible purchase orders and genuine benefits for African producers.

Of course, policy dividends do not automatically guarantee development. African countries must act proactively and seize the opportunity. Key steps include improving cross-border logistics, aligning products with Chinese market quality standards, and developing distinctive goods tailored to Chinese consumer preferences to transform policy advantages into concrete economic gains.

From my vantage point in China, I’ve witnessed African entrepreneurs tackling market challenges with impressive resolve. They are strategically positioning themselves within the Chinese market, adapting to consumer demands, and scaling up production. A growing number of African business leaders are blending entrepreneurial drive with strategic clarity, striving to convert potential into tangible improvements in livelihoods across the continent.

Through years of study and work in China, and participation in various Sino-African economic, trade, and cultural exchange activities, I’ve also felt a strong mutual desire for respect and cooperation. This embodies the true value of the China-Africa partnership — one built on solidarity and shared development.

The year 2026 marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and African countries. The zero-tariff policy vividly demonstrates China’s efforts to practice the principles of the country’s Africa policy — sincerity, real results, amity and good faith, and to pursue the greater good and shared interests. It reflects China’s openness, sense of responsibility, and belief in shared prosperity.

The “zero-tariff express” has started running. The challenge now is for African countries to seize this historic opportunity by strengthening their industrial foundations, improving logistics infrastructure, ensuring product quality, and building competitive brands that resonate with the Chinese consumers. 

With the strong foundation of China-Africa friendship and mature cooperation mechanisms already in place, African countries are fully capable of turning the advantages of zero tariffs into tangible economic and social benefits.

The future has already arrived. And Africa, without question, is beginning to pick up speed.

By Yang Zhilin

Terms like “AI agent” and “token” are becoming commonplace, reflecting how once-niche open-source AI projects are now spawning entirely new business models and market opportunities.

Amid this wave of technological transformation, China’s homegrown large models are advancing rapidly and finding broader real-world applications, injecting fresh momentum into the intelligent economy while increasingly serving as a foundation for global innovation.

As a core engine driving the next technological revolution and industrial upgrade, AI is now approaching a critical stage of development. In programming, for example, AI has already demonstrated enormous potential in code design, writing, testing and deployment. For many knowledge-intensive tasks, AI now performs at levels comparable to human professional experts.  

There is broad industry consensus that AI will significantly boost productivity in the coming years, becoming an increasingly capable in both professional and personal contexts.

In the past, discussions about China’s internet and digital economy largely focused on the country’s vast user base and diverse application scenarios. Those advantages have continued into the AI era. In March this year, China’s daily token usage surpassed 140 trillion, marking more than a 1,000-fold increase in just two years. The number of users of generative AI has exceeded 600 million, or 42.8 percent of the total Chinese population. Crucially, China has developed a new generation of self-developed large models capable of competing with the world’s leading systems, solidifying its role as an increasingly important contributor to global AI innovation.

China’s large models are advancing on multiple fronts: not just in quantity, but also in quality, real-world adoption and global influence. Examples include their top-tier performance on international AI benchmarks, rapid progress in multimodal capabilities, and the evolution from single agents to agent clusters.

Last year, Chinese open-source large models topped global downloads. In a recent technical report, our team redesign the residual connection, a key component of the Transformer architecture, from its underlying logic, marking the first such redesign in a decade. This has unlocked new evolutionary horizons for model training and has sparked widespread discussion at home and abroad. The new technology not only enables a broader range of domestic chips to be effectively used for large-model inference, but also reduces overall operating costs.

Chinese open-source models today boast advantages in both quantity and quality. They are increasingly setting benchmarks in global model evaluations and important samples for overseas research institutions, while gaining greater international influence. 

Kimi, the large model developed by our team at Moonshot AI, has gained substantial traction in the global market due to its strong cost-performance ratio. It has become a high-productivity tool for numerous overseas developers and end-s, with paid API (Application Programming Interface) calls and other key business metrics showing robust growth.

We believe Chinese open-source models offer a distinct path from closed, proprietary systems. They are well-suited for widespread global adoption and can foster a healthy, open ecosystem — one that drives worldwide AI progress through collaboration and shared innovation. As the adage goes, “many hands make light work.”

The rapid evolution of large models also requires patience, persistence and long-term commitment. Technological breakthroughs never happen overnight. Throughout the process of exploration, solving one problem often leads directly to the next. Only by confronting challenges head-on and steadily working through them can we continue making meaningful progress along the long road of AI development, with persistent efforts eventually delivering substantial long-term returns.

For thousands of years, humanity has sought new ways to push beyond the boundaries of knowledge. Today, AI has the potential to become one of the most powerful tools for achieving that goal. By pursuing solid foundational innovation and embracing an open and collaborative mindset, we aim to provide accessible AI technologies to the world and contribute greater Chinese insights and strength to the future of global innovation.

(Yang Zhilin is founder and CEO of Kimi developer Moonshot AI. The article was compiled and edited from an interview with People’s Daily reporter Gu Yekai.)

By Wu Xian

Recently, a Japanese student learned about the historical facts of the Nanjing Massacre at an international school and later expressed feelings of remorse at home. Instead of encouraging reflection, the student’s father reacted with fury. He posted on social media calling for a “boycott of international education” and attempted to mislead his daughter using distorted historical records promoted by Japan’s right wing.

Even more alarming was the response online. Large numbers of Japanese netizens echoed his views. Some falsely claimed that teaching the historical facts amounted to “brainwashing children,” while others demanded tighter government oversight of international schools to prevent students from learning about this period of history.

Such an absurd episode raises an unsettling question: faced with well-documented historical facts, why have such distorted perceptions become so widespread on Japanese online platforms?

Behind this phenomenon lies years of systematic manipulation by Japan’s right-wing forces.

One method has been the creation of a dark industrial chain of online opinion manipulation. 

According to an investigation by Japan’s The Asahi Shimbun, the Japanese crowdsourcing platform CrowdWorks has long paid netizens to deliberately collect or use AI to generate smear content. Such false narratives label Chinese people as uncivilized, brand them as anti-Japanese, and even claim the Nanjing Massacre is a lie.

They exploit right-wing narratives that distort history and stoke confrontation as a means to chase online traffic and monetary gains, forming a fully fledged malicious industrial chain.

Leveraging online platforms, Japanese right-wing forces manufacture rumors and spread extremist remarks in a systematic, industrialized way. This has left many Japanese netizens, already misled by distorted historical views, further unable to reflect on and condemn the wars of aggression.

Another driving force has been the role of Japan’s right-leaning government in amplifying such narratives.

The widespread circulation of distorted historical views and anti-China rhetoric in Japanese society did not emerge on its own. According to available statistics, since 2015, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has allocated more than 56 billion yen ($356 million) under programs labeled “strategic international information dissemination,” much of which has reportedly been used to promote negative narratives about China overseas.

This has included funding foreign media outlets, think tanks and online influencers to spread claims such as “China reopens historical wounds” or “stirs anti-Japanese sentiment.” The aim is to confuse international public opinion and whitewash Japan’s wartime history.

Public funds intended for domestic welfare have, according to these reports, been diverted to amplify right-wing narratives. This has contributed to an online environment where distorted historical views, particularly targeting younger generations, are systematically reinforced.

By continuously smearing China and exaggerating the so-called “China threat,” Japanese right-wing forces seek to manufacture regional tensions and create public support for loosening the constraints of Japan’s pacifist constitution, expanding the role of the Self-Defense Forces and increasing overseas military involvement.

From distorting the history of World War II and glorifying aggression to hyping external threats and fostering security anxieties, these efforts all serve a broader strategic ambition: reviving militarist thinking and paving the way for Japan to pursue the status of a major military power.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, also known as the Tokyo Trials. Yet eight decades of historical judgment, moral reflection and legal restraint have failed to fundamentally change the entrenched historical revisionism of Japan’s right-wing forces or erase their lingering militarist mindset.

Instead, aided by the rapid evolution of new media and AI technologies, Japan’s right-wing forces are continuously upgrading their methods of manipulating public opinion and expanding the reach of historical revisionism, militarism and extreme nationalism. These narratives now spread more pervasively across online spaces, shaping public perceptions in increasingly sophisticated ways.

The lessons of history are still fresh. Japan’s right-wing forces manipulate online public opinion to create disturbances, drum up support for military buildup and war preparedness, and fuel efforts to break away from the postwar international order. Such moves only mislead and poison its own people, split social consensus, heighten strategic mutual suspicion in the region, and ultimately leave Japan discredited by the international community.

(Wu Xian is an associate researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.)

By Ding Duo

On May 6, Japan fired Type 88 in the joint military exercise “Balikatan” between the U.S. and the Philippines, the first time Japan launched offensive missiles overseas after World War II.

More troubling still, the Japanese government took advantage of the joint drill as cover to formally revise its “three principles on transfer of defense equipment and technology” and their implementation guidelines, dramatically loosening restrictions on arms exports to the point where, in principle, nearly all defense equipment can now be transferred overseas. 

Cloaked in rhetoric about a “severe security environment” and “mutual support among partner countries,” the move effectively hollowed out Japan’s longstanding limits on weapons exports.

Recently, the Japanese government also convened its first expert panel meeting to discuss revisions to the three key security documents. At the meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi went so far as to claim that revising the documents was work that would determine the future of the Japanese nation, calling on Japan to prepare for “new ways of warfare” and even for “protracted warfare.” 

Such remarks completely stripped away the facade of Japan’s so-called “exclusively defense-oriented policy” and laid bare the adventurist ambitions of what can only be described as a “neo-militarism.”

These dangerous developments once again show that Japan’s right-wing forces are accelerating the country’s remilitarization process. The push toward “neo-militarism” is no isolated phenomenon. Rather, it is part of a deliberate and organized effort to break through the postwar peace framework, with potentially grave consequences.

First, these actions undermine the postwar international order. 

The UN Charter and Article 9 of Japan’s constitution both impose clear constraints on Japan’s military development. Yet today, Japan is steadily dismantling those restraints and reducing them to little more than empty words. The international community must remain vigilant: will Japan repeat its historical mistakes and once again become a source of instability in East Asia?

Second, Japan’s military adventurism is emboldening right-wing forces. 

As the country continues down this path, rational anti-war voices are increasingly sidelined while militarist thinking resurfaces. This trend poses a deep and lasting threat to regional peace. As thoughtful voices within Japan have warned, “to forget the wounds of war is to plant the seeds of future disasters.”

Third, Japan’s actions are undermining regional peace and stability. 

Japan has repeatedly deepened military coordination with certain regional countries while expanding cross-regional cooperation with NATO. In doing so, it continues to inject instability into East Asia, raising the risks of confrontation and conflict and seriously damaging the broader environment for regional peace.

At the core of these developments lies Japan’s persistent regression in its understanding of history. Recently, Takaichi sent a ritual offering to the Yasukuni Shrine in the name of “prime minister,” where 14 convicted Class-A war criminals of World War II are enshrined. The act openly defied the shared understanding of the international community regarding Japan’s wartime aggression and once again exposed the deeply entrenched distortions in the historical outlook of some Japanese politicians. A country unwilling to face its history honestly can hardly be trusted to genuinely safeguard peace.

The intertwining of historical revisionism and military expansionism has made Japan’s accelerating remilitarization a reality, posing a tangible threat to peace and stability across the Asia-Pacific. All countries that value regional peace must remain highly alert. The hard-won peace of the region must never be sacrificed to Japan’s dangerous militaristic adventurism.

(Ding Duo is director of the Research Center for International and Regional Issues at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies.)

By Guo Jiping

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump will pay a state visit to China from May 13 to 15.

After many twists and turns, China-U.S. relations have arrived at a new historical juncture. The year 2026 carries special significance for both countries. China is embarking on its 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), while the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary. 

Amidst increasing global uncertainty and volatility, the international community looks to Beijing, hopeful that this high-level engagement will offer clarity and stability for the future trajectory of China-U.S. relations.

Observers note that over the past decade, the relationship has weathered two significant periods of strain. The first began in 2018 with the U.S. initiation of trade tariffs against China. Stabilization was achieved only after extensive dialogue and complex interactions spanning several years. The second period of tension occurred more recently in 2025. Remarkably, the cycle from rising friction to renewed stability unfolded within just a few months this time.

The progression from years-long to months-long stabilization cycles, and from repetitive friction-dialogue patterns towards clearer strategic direction and consensus-building, reflects China’s consistent approach: readiness to negotiate combined with firm adherence to principles and clear boundaries. China’s demonstrated resilience has garnered international respect and created conditions conducive to resolving differences through dialogue.

Today, China-U.S. dialogue occurs on a more equitable basis. Communication is increasingly pragmatic, with clearer articulation of respective bottom lines. This resilience suggests the potential for a new, more stable chapter in the relationship.

Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role. Last year, when a wave of tariff tensions rattled the world, the two presidents steered China-U.S. economic and trade ties back on course. 

Under the guidance of the consensus reached by the two presidents, the teams from both sides have so far held six rounds of consultations and are currently engaged in a new round of talks. 

Since the meeting between the two heads of state in Busan last October, China-U.S. relations have generally maintained a stable and improving momentum — a trend widely welcomed by both peoples and the international community.

The strategic guidance provided by the two heads of state helps identify “dangerous reefs” ahead in China-U.S. relations. The Taiwan question is the most important and most sensitive issue at the very core of China-U.S. relations, and it concerns the political foundation of bilateral ties. 

Xi has repeatedly elaborated China’s principled position on the Taiwan question to Trump, emphasizing that Taiwan is China’s territory, and China must safeguard its own sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will never allow Taiwan to be separated. Clearly defining principles and bottom lines is precisely the responsible approach needed to prevent serious risks in China-U.S. relations.

The aspiration of the Chinese and American business communities to deepen ties and cooperation has never changed. At present, more than 7,000 Chinese-funded enterprises operate in the United States, while about 80,000 American-invested enterprises are active in China. 

These firm choices made at the forefront of the market clearly and powerfully demonstrate the true nature of China-U.S. economic and trade relations: mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. 

As China enters the 15th Five-Year Plan period, its commitment to high-quality development and high-standard opening up will create broader incremental space for China-U.S. cooperation.

The will of the people stands as a profound and enduring force shaping the trajectory of China-U.S. relations. Whether at those pivotal moments when China and the United States seized every moment to break the ice, or when bilateral relations slid to a low ebb, the sincere aspiration of the two peoples for mutual understanding and friendship has never changed.

As exchanges deepen and produce tangible results, perceptions are improving positively. More Americans are actively participating in fostering people-to-people friendship, contributing greater rationality and constructive perspectives to the relationship.

In the face of profound changes unseen in a century, China and the United States, as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the world’s two largest economies, shoulder even greater responsibilities. Promoting global development, safeguarding peace and security, and improving global governance all require cooperation between the two countries. 

This year, China will host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the U.S. will host the G20 Summit. Whether the two sides can demonstrate the vision and responsibility expected of major countries, and deliver more tangible benefits to the world, bears directly on the well-being of both peoples and the future of humanity.

China-U.S. relations cannot return to the past, but they can move toward a better future. Both sides should proceed from a sense of responsibility to history, to the people, and to the world, and explore ways to build a strategic, constructive, and stable China-U.S. relationship featuring mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation.