Nigeria Times

By He Yin, People’s Daily

The substantial conclusion of the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) upgrade negotiations was recently announced.

This signified a further deepening of economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN, representing a significant step of the two sides in leading the economic integration in East Asia, and sending a positive signal of the two sides jointly upholding the free trade system.

The deepening of economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN will inject new impetus into the building of a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

The China-ASEAN FTA 3.0 takes into account modern trade practices. It has achieved groundbreaking outcomes and will bring new opportunities to all parties involved.

This upgraded version covers nine areas, encompassing existing fields under the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement as well as emerging areas with significant cooperation potential.

The China-ASEAN FTA 3.0 for the first time included chapters on connectivity in digital economy, green economy and supply chains with the highest standards of all their respective economic and trade treaties.

These outcomes will comprehensively expand the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and ASEAN in emerging areas, further match the two sides’ standards and rules, bring the two sides together to build a safe, stable, unimpeded and effective supply chain cooperation network, and bring the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides to a new level.

The upgraded FTA cooperation will bring stronger and more sustainable development momentum for both sides – two major markets with over 1.4 billion and 600 million people, respectively.

Thanks to the China-ASEAN FTA, China has maintained ASEAN’s largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, while ASEAN has been China’s largest trading partner for 4 consecutive years.

Currently, the issue of global insufficient demand is becoming more prominent, making markets a scarce resource in economic development. With nearly a quarter of the world’s population, the super large market is the biggest support for both sides to promote economic prosperity.

The upgraded version of the China-ASEAN FTA will promote a closer and more organic integration and connectivity between the two major markets of China and ASEAN, which will undoubtedly generate more significant economies of scale, industrial agglomeration effects, and development spillover effects.

ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn said that through the upgrade of the FTA, trade, investment and tourism of the two sides will further grow, bringing positive and significant development and transformation to economic cooperation between ASEAN and China.

The substantial conclusion of the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN FTA upgrade negotiations demonstrated the two sides’ firm commitment to multilateralism and free trade. China and ASEAN are working together to uphold the free trade system, enhance connectivity in production and supply chains, foster new drivers of high-quality development, advance regional economic integration, and continue to serve as a vital engine of global economic growth and a beacon of solidarity and cooperation.

United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres praised the China-ASEAN FTA 3.0, stating that this upgrade will promote global free trade and economic growth.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong views the upgraded FTA as a significant step, especially in an era where protectionism is on the rise around the globe. He said this move sent a clear and important signal to the world that free trade and mutually beneficial market cooperation are crucial.

Continuously expanding high-level opening up is necessary to promote Chinese modernization. Building a globally-oriented network of high-standard free trade areas is a crucial step in establishing a new system for higher-level open economy.

China attaches great importance to the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN FTA upgrade negotiations, actively proposing draft texts on emerging areas such as connectivity in digital economy, green economy and supply chains, which has played a positive and constructive role in reaching consensus in the negotiations.

In the future, China will steadfastly promote high-level opening up, build a high-level, institutionalized agenda of opening up, promote connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region, maintain stable and smooth regional industrial and supply chains, and inject momentum into the economic recovery and sustainable development of the Asia-Pacific region. Open cooperation is the trend of history, and mutual benefit and win-win cooperation are the aspiration of the people. China is willing to work together with ASEAN to continuously promote practical cooperation in various fields, so as to provide more solid support for the common prosperity of the region and the world

By He Yin, People’s Daily

China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.8 percent year on year in the first three quarters of 2024, according to data recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This growth, ranking among the top performers among major global economies, has laid a solid foundation for China to achieve its annual economic target.

This year, the Chinese economy has registered steady growth on the whole, with stable progress made in the development of new quality productive forces and solid advancement of high-quality development. Major economic indicators showed improvements recently. The resilience of the Chinese economy has significantly boosted the confidence of the international market.

In the face of a complex and challenging environment both at home and abroad, the Chinese economy is showing signs of steady progress, injecting certainty and positive energy into the global economic development.

The Chinese government has adopted a series of policies and measures. In particular, a raft of incremental policies launched by some departments are gradually taking effect. Positive factors for the recovery and growth of the Chinese economy are accumulating.

International financial organizations recently raised their forecast for China’s economic growth this year, including Goldman Sachs and UBS. The international community is optimistic about China’s economic prospects, believing the country is able to achieve its target of a GDP growth around five percent.

Singaporean Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong holds that the measures issued by the Chinese government are conducive to lifting confidence and demand, and many Chinese industries have reached world-class standards. It’s very unwise to underestimate China, he added.

The economic performance of China in the first three quarters of this year showed that the country has optimized economic structure and improved the quality of its economy while maintaining steady economic growth.

In the first nine months of 2024, the value added of China’s high-tech manufacturing enterprises above the designated size, or those with annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.81 million), grew by 9.1 percent, and the investment in the high-tech sector was up 10 percent from a year ago.

Production and consumption in wind, nuclear and solar power sectors maintained rapid growth, accelerating the industrial transition toward new energy and green development.

The Chinese manufacturing sector is gaining wider support thanks to its advantages in innovation in high-end, intelligent and green development.

In the first three quarters, China’s export of high-end equipment increased 43.4 percent year on year, and those of integrated circuits, automobiles and home appliances grew by 22 percent, 22.5 percent and 15.5 percent from a year ago, respectively.

The country’s new energy industry is highly in line with the global trend of green development, with the exports of wind turbines and electric vehicles surging 73.9 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

Executive Director of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol recently once again praised the important contributions made by China to the global energy transition, saying that almost every energy story is essentially a China story.

The steady growth of the Chinese economy is good news to the world economy. Currently, the world economic recovery remains shaky. According to the latest report issued by the International Monetary Fund, global growth is lower than the average in the first two decades of the 21st century.

Faced with the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, China steadfastly stands with solidarity, cooperation, openness and win-win cooperation. The country has made stable progress in advancing high-level opening up, burnishing its gold-lettered signboard of benefiting the world. It has constantly promoted high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and actively built better international cooperation platforms such as the China International Import Expo, China International Fair for Trade in Services and China International Consumer Products Expo, to welcome the entries of more quality products into the Chinese market.

In the first three quarters, China saw a record high in its total imports and exports of goods, which for the first time exceeded 32 trillion yuan. It keeps making China an important engine driving the growth of global trade.

The imports of featured fruits, wine and clothing improved by 7.1 percent, 28.9 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively, which effectively met the diverse consumption demand at home.

As China continues releasing the potential of its domestic demand, the huge Chinese market will bring huge opportunities to the world.

China is pushing for in-depth reform and high-quality development by promoting high-standard opening up, broadening the development space for Chinese modernization.

The fundamentals of China’s economic development remain unchanged, and the country’s favorable conditions such as the huge market potential and strong economic resilience remain unchanged.

As policies take effect, China is confident in and capable of achieving long-term stable development, and will keep bringing new impetus and opportunities to the world with its new development.

By Qiu Chaoyi, People’s Daily

At the foot of Moon Hill in Yangshuo county, Guilin, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, China’s first homegrown AS700 civil manned airship, dubbed “Xiangyun,” gracefully took to the skies. After soaring over several scenic spots, the sleek and white airship smoothly landed, marking the successful conclusion of its trial flight.

Recently, the Special Vehicle Research Institute under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the developer of the airship, delivered the airship to Guangxi Guilin Ark General Aviation Co., Ltd. It also inked purchase agreements with the latter and a tourism company for a total of 12 units of the AS700.

This marked the independently-developed Chinese AS700 manned airship achieving the key phases of development, airworthiness certification and delivery, paving the way for its commercial operations.

The AS700 airship is first manned airship independently developed by the AVIC in compliance with the airworthiness regulations of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, with completely independent intellectual property rights.

The first delivered unit of this airship flew from Jingmen, central China’s Hubei province to Guilin in August this year, setting a new long-distance flight record for China’s homegrown manned airships.

The airship also conducted a 15-day trial flight, carrying 306 passengers in total, which verified its safety and reliability, and collected valuable data for future improvements in passenger comfort.

The AS700 airship features a maximum range of 700 kilometers, a flight endurance of 10 hours, a top speed of 100 kilometers per hour, and a maximum altitude of 3,100 meters. It can carry up to 10 people, including one pilot.

The airship achieved three major “firsts.” It is the first airship whose main materials are Chinese independently produced, which helps enhance the supply chain for manned airships; it is the first to introduce an innovative lightweight, cost-efficient envelope design, boosting its market competitiveness; it is the first to adopt a thrust-vectored system, which improves the airship’s adaptability to various takeoff and landing conditions.

In the future, the AS700 manned airship will primarily serve the low-altitude tourism sector. Its unique thrust-vectored system allows for short and vertical takeoff and landing on simple terrains, increasing its operational flexibility. The spacious cabin, with large panoramic windows on both sides, offers passengers an immersive sightseeing experience.

An executive of the Special Vehicle Research Institute of the AVIC noted that the AS700’s development team will take low-altitude tourism as a key demonstration scenario. Through trial operations with early customers, the team aims to make all aspects of the commercial operations more efficient. Additionally, it plans to explore new applications in areas such as urban security, aerial surveying, and emergency rescue, to further expand the business forms of the low-altitude economy.