Nigeria Times

By Yang Yanfei, People’s Daily

A small county inhabited by 100,000 people in east China just created this unbelievable miracle – nurturing over 40,000 bakers in the past 30 years and opening 16,000 bakeries across the country. It boasts a bakery industry whose annual output nears 30 billion yuan ($4.14 billion), and has incubated a series of well-known bakery brands such as Bao’s Pastry and Zankee.

As a matter of fact, Zixi county in Fuzhou, Jiangxi province, is not very “talented” in developing the bakery industry. It is surrounded by the Dajue Mountain, the western foothills of the Wuyi Mountains. About 80 percent of its land is mountainous terrain.

The initial development of the bakery industry in Zixi county relied heavily on the expertise and influence of local skilled individuals.

Zhang Xiewang is exactly one of them.

Zhang, who once attended relevant skill training sessions organized by the military unit he served in, retired together with his comrade-in-arms Hong Tao in 1987. The two raised about 10,000 yuan and opened the first bakery in Yingtan, Jiangxi province.

After weathering the challenges of starting a new business, their venture began to thrive. Therefore, they ventured back to their hometown, carrying their hard-earned capital, to open more bakeries.

With their success, friends and relatives began knocking on their doors, seeking experiences of running a successful bakery business. The duo welcomed them wholeheartedly, imparting their knowledge and skills without reservations.

In the span of a few years, they had mentored and trained over 100 apprentices, with the parents of Bao Caisheng, founder of the now internet-famous Bao’s Pastry, among their first batch of students.

Ever since, a strong “bakery force” has been gradually formulated and began venturing into all parts of China.

Initially, bakers from Zixi who ventured out primarily operated family-run bakeries, such as husband-and-wife or sibling partnerships, which were relatively easy to establish. However, they subsequently faced a myriad of challenges, including difficulties in securing funding, acquiring baking skills, and generating profits.

“For the industry to thrive, going solo is not viable,” said Xu Quanlong, who had expanded his bakery business to Hangzhou in Zhejiang province and Kaifeng in Henan province. At the invitation of relevant departments of Zixi county, he returned home and founded a bakery training center, where he has trained over 10,000 bakers to date.

Zixi county has taken strategic measures to drive the growth of its bakery industry, including inviting successful entrepreneurs who had ventured out to establish training centers in the county, formulating industry standards, and encouraging financial institutions to provide “bakery loans” and other financial products and services to small and micro businesses.

The county has identified the bakery industry as a key driver for developing its local economy. It has even established a dedicated bakery industry development office to systematically implement a series of supportive measures.

“In recent years, branded bakery products have become mainstream in the market. To better embrace this trend, we need to concentrate our efforts,” said Zeng Changhua, head of the bakery industry development office.

In recent years, the county has been exploring a cluster-based development approach for its bakery industry. After “Zixi Bread” was approved as a collective brand in 2018, a bakery technology development company was established in the county to advance brand development and operations.

To support brand building, the county holds bakery industry forums, bakery festivals, and other events on a regular basis, promoting new products and facilitating industry exchanges.

Building upon its growing reputation, the county established a bakery industrial park. The park has been joined by a meat floss processing plant with a daily output of 100 tons and a premix flour factory with an annual production capacity of 6,000 tons, which are able to serve over 300 bakeries within a 300-kilometer radius. Supporting enterprises producing chocolate, frozen semi-finished goods, and cream have also joined the industrial park.

“The cluster-based development approach enables not only efficient supply but also better cost and quality control,” Zeng said. “With the ability to improve product quality, we are confident in the development of our brand.”

Inside the spacious and well-lit standardized factory buildings of the bakery industrial park, workers have designated roles – some shape the dough, others handle slicing. Under the warm golden glow of the ovens, the bread takes on an enticing color.

In an office, a large screen divided into 16 sections displays real-time footage from various store locations. Computers store data on ingredients, production, logistics, and sales.

“We have a clear record of the circulation of bread right from the production line,” said Qian Haihua, general manager of the bakery technology development company.

By analyzing sales data feedback from different regions, the company can accurately gauge market trends to guide the next day’s production plan and provide basis for product design and development.

“The bakery industry sees rapid product renewal. Our company phases out three to five slow-moving products every month,” Qian told People’s Daily.

Leveraging data support, Zixi’s bakery industry is pioneering an integrated system integrating online platforms, retail stores, customer services and modern logistics to improve the supply chain and service capabilities through intelligent upgrades.

“The bakery business in Zixi has grown from nothing to a big industry. It was initially driven by our fellow townsmen, and later expanded through public services and a conducive institutional environment,” said Zeng.

“Now, with the bakery industry as a backbone, we aim to explore synergies with organic agricultural production, cultural tourism, and other related industries,” Zeng noted.

By Lyu Shaogang, People’s Daily

Nestled amidst towering skyscrapers and bustling streets, the Guangdong Neilingding-Futian National Nature Reserve, located in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province, is the only one of its kind located in the heart of a city, offering a tranquil view adorned with lush mangrove trees and graceful birds in flight.

Shenzhen, a densely populated megacity in south China’s Guangdong province, boasts rich biodiversity. It has recorded 2,218 species of wild vascular plants, 651 species of native vertebrates, and serves as a wintering ground for approximately 100,000 migratory birds annually.

In 2022, Shenzhen was awarded the title of “Biodiversity Charming City.” In September 2023, the world’s first international mangrove center was established there.

How can a megacity effectively balance environmental protection and economic development to achieve harmonious coexistence between human and nature? See how Shenzhen has actively pursued a development path that safeguards urban ecological resources and protects urban biodiversity.

In January 2024, a Chinese white dolphin was spotted in Shenzhen’s Yantian port, attracting significant attention.

Chinese white dolphins have high standards for water quality, and their frequent sightings in Shenzhen’s waters demonstrate the effectiveness of the city’s ecological governance.

It’s not just the white dolphins. In the Guangdong Neilingding-Futian National Nature Reserve, the expansive mangrove forests provide favorable habitats for a variety of bird species and have become an important wintering ground for migratory birds.

The nature reserve is home to 353 species of higher plants, including 20 species of mangroves from nine families. It has recorded 272 bird species, including 60 species under key state protection such as the black-faced spoonbill.

“With a comprehensive system of nature reserves, including marine areas, wetlands, and forests, Shenzhen has effectively protected its most representative ecological resources,” said an official with the municipal planning and natural resources bureau of Shenzhen.

According to the official, Shenzhen is home to 25 different types of nature reserves, including 23 on land and two in the sea.

In 2005, Shenzhen established the basic ecological control line, encompassing half of the city’s land area. Based on this, approximately 24 percent of the land area and 19 percent of the marine area were included in the ecological protection red lines to maximize ecological protection efforts.

Shenzhen’s Dapeng New District has incorporated 73.5 percent of its total land area into the ecological control line since its establishment. Today, embraced by the sea on three sides, Dapeng New District boasts a forest coverage of over 77 percent and is recognized as the most biodiverse area in Shenzhen.

To strengthen biodiversity conservation, it is crucial to protect, restore, and manage ecological resources in line with local conditions.

“The Maozhou River was black and smelly,” said a resident surnamed Li who has been living in Shenzhen’s Bao’an District for over a decade.

Today, the water quality of the Maozhou River has improved, thanks to the upgrading and renovation of old pipeline networks, increasing supervision over unauthorized discharges from companies, and regular monitoring of water bodies. As a result, the river’s biodiversity continues to flourish, with the long-lost blue-tailed shrimp and endangered aquatic ferns coming back.

“While advancing urban development, we collect and protect plant resources, and when appropriate, we help them return to nature and expand their populations,” said Wang Hui, deputy head of the Fairylake Botanical Garden in Shenzhen.

Through ex-situ conservation, the garden has protected 440 plant species under key state protection, as well as 757 rare and endangered plant species.

To create a more favorable habitat for a variety of species, it is important to build social consensus and engage the public in biodiversity conservation efforts.

On the shores of the Dapeng Bay in Shenzhen, a group of people has been dedicated to coral planting, protection, and restoration since 2012.

Wang Xiaoyong, secretary general of the Shenzhen Dapeng Coral Conservation Volunteer Federation in Dapeng New District, has been involved in coral planting for over 10 years.

Through its collaboration with government departments, the federation has established two pilot coral protection areas at sea, successfully planted over 6,000 corals and rescued over 500 fragments of damaged corals in Daya Bay in Shenzhen.

These efforts highlight Shenzhen’s commitment to promoting social participation in ecological conservation.

In recent years, Shenzhen has made significant efforts to build itself into a “city of nature education,” hosting a range of nature education activities to promote public engagement in conservation efforts. The city has 23 nature schools, 49 nature education centers, and 200,000 environmental volunteers.

By Luo Shanshan, People’s Daily

At GE Healthcare’s Beijing Imaging Equipment Manufacturing Base in Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, five batches of raw materials for producing a new type of diagnostic equipment have just arrived and been put into use.

“These raw materials are essential components for our new equipment,” said an employee from Beijing GE Hualun Medical Equipment Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of General Electric Company (GE).

“They hit the production line immediately after being cleared from customs, which increased the efficiency of our supply chain,” the employee added.

According to him, the company has been able to implement its global strategy at a faster pace thanks to the increasingly favorable business environment in China.

He noted that over the past 6 years, the company has outperformed its total production from the last 20 years, with two-thirds of the CT scanners sold globally coming from the company’s Beijing facility.

In Suzhou New District, east China’s Jiangsu province, a new factory of Suzhou Hybiome Biomedical Engineering Co. Ltd. (Hybiome), invested and controlled by French multinational vitro diagnostic company bioMérieux, has just been completed.

To build Hybiome into a prominent player in vitro diagnostics, the factory is planned to produce 1,000 fully automated chemiluminescence immunoassay systems per year, with an annual output value of 1 billion yuan ($137.86 million).

Over the past more than 40 years of reform and opening up, China has emerged as the world’s second-largest economy, remained the world’s top manufacturing hub for 14 consecutive years and the top trading nation for 7 straight years. The country undoubtedly plays an indispensable role in global industrial and supply chains.

This year, foreign companies continue to enjoy broader prospects in China. According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, the number of newly established foreign-invested firms in China hit 12,000 in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, up 20.7 percent year on year. In the same period, the actual foreign direct investment (FDI) in China stood at 301.67 billion yuan.

In terms of the structure of FDI, the country’s high-tech manufacturing sector attracted 12.5 percent of the FDI inflow in the first quarter, up 2.2 percentage points compared to that in the same period last year.

Behind the decisions of multinationals to intensify their presence in China is their confidence in the country’s ability to sustain sound economic growth.

For instance, Standard Chartered Securities (China) Limited, a wholly foreign-owned securities company affiliated with Standard Chartered, has commenced securities business in Beijing. The largest Apple store in Asia has officially opened in Shanghai. The China-Saudi Arabia ethylene project has entered the full construction stage in Zhangzhou, east China’s Fujian province, with a total investment of 44.8 billion yuan.

China boasts a complete industrial system, a super-large market, and a stable social environment. The Chinese economy has strong resilience, tremendous potential and great vitality, and the fundamentals sustaining its long-term growth remain unchanged. It has become the favored investment destination for many foreign businesses.

The 2024 Kearney Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index report released in April by Kearney, a global management consulting firm, upgraded China’s ranking from seventh to third.

Besides, for the second time in the 26-year history of the FDI Confidence Index, Kearney includes an exclusive emerging market ranking to give business leaders insights into which emerging markets are most appealing to investors now and over the next three years. China ranks first on the 25-market list.

As China advances a broader agenda of opening up across more areas and in greater depth, and works to expand institutional opening up with regard to market access and the service sector, a more transparent and predictable business environment is being created for foreign companies to develop in the country.

According to a survey of more than 600 foreign-funded companies conducted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in the first quarter this year, over 70 percent of them are optimistic about the development prospects of the Chinese market over the next five years, and more than 50 percent believe the Chinese market has become more attractive.

Foreign businesses always say that investing in China is investing in the future, which has got a new meaning. New quality productive forces, marked by innovation and taking a substantial increase in total factor productivity as its core hallmark, are becoming increasingly attractive in global industrial development.

On April 26, German carmaker BMW announced an additional investment of 20 billion yuan in its production base in Shenyang, capital of northeast China’s Liaoning province. The investment will be used for upgrading as well as technological innovation of the Dadong plant of BMW Group’s joint venture in China, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. (BBA). The plant will lay the foundation for the localized production of a new generation of BMW models expected to roll off the production line in 2026.

Oliver Zipse, chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, said that the new generation of BMW models heralds a new era of personal intelligent mobility driven by innovation and technology.

“By 2026, the first new-generation BMW vehicle made in China will roll off the production line in Shenyang. The investment underlines the importance of China in BMW’s transition towards an intelligent and connected automotive future as well as our confidence in China’s long-term economic prospects,” Zipse said.China will never drag its feet on reform and opening up. As the second largest economy in the world, China will undoubtedly provide new momentum and opportunities for the world with its continuous development and greater openness.

By Zhu Hong, Weng Yufei, Ardak, People’s Daily

During a break from farm work, Seytnisa Mamat pulled out her phone to track the shipping status of the items she bought online.

“The detergents I bought have arrived. Let me go and get them,” the woman said, hurrying towards a courier service station in her village.

On the shelves of the station, parcels were stacked neatly. They were shipped from all parts of China, including Hebei, Shanxi, Zhejiang, Shandong and Guangdong…

Based on a pick-up code sent to her phone, Seytnisa Mamat walked to the corresponding shelf and soon found her parcel.

Seytnisa Mamat lives in Keshlak village, Ishkul township of Yarkant county, Kashgar, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Last year, online shopping gained popularity there. Picking up express parcels became a source of delight for villagers.

In the past, bazaars, a type of marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, were the only place where Seytnisa Mamat and her fellow villagers could buy stuffs. However, the limited variety of products available at bazaars was no longer sufficient to meet everyone’s needs.

Later, when courier services were extended to the county town, some villagers would use their relatives’ addresses there for online orders, only able to pick up their parcels when visiting the town.

“It was beyond my imagination that we could receive express parcels in such a remote place, with free shipping,” Seytnisa Mamat told People’s Daily, in a delighted tone.

How remote is the place where Seytnisa Mamat lives?

If she buys an item from Yiwu, east China’s Zhejiang province, it has to travel about 4,000 kilometers first to reach Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and then keep going around 1,500 kilometers before arriving at Keshlak village.

How is it possible for Seytnisa Mamat to get this item shipping-free, after all it has to travel 5,500 kilometers?

“The key lies in the lowered transportation costs,” said an official with the postal administration of Xinjiang.

Since last year, postal and courier enterprises have joined forces with e-commerce platforms to implement a collective shipping model, which integrates resources across transportation, sorting, and delivery processes, significantly boosting parcel handling efficiency and reducing operational costs, according to the official.

Merchants used to face high costs when they sent parcels to Xinjiang. Today, commodities bought by Xinjiang consumers on e-commerce platforms are distributed first to transit warehouses in different places such as Hangzhou in Zhejiang province and Xi’an in the northwest province of Shaanxi, and then be shipped to their destinations in Xinjiang.

If a village generates sufficient parcel volume, a “village bulk” would be created, which means all the parcels to the village will be shipped directly from a transit warehouse, thus avoiding sorting and repackaging in Urumqi. This greatly saves time and lowers costs.

Besides, the lowered logistics cost is also attributed to China’s efforts to shift more freight transport from road to railway. On March 26 this year, the first intermodal express train loaded with containers of e-commerce goods departed from Xi’an, and reached Urumqi 38 hours later.

According to Yue Wei, director of operations at the Urumqi branch of China United International Rail Containers Co., Ltd., the Xi’an-Urumqi train route is around five hours faster than road transportation, improving delivery speed by 12 percent while reducing freight costs by approximately 57 percent. After arriving in Urumqi, parcels carried by the train are then distributed to villages via a “last-mile” delivery network, Yue said.

At a courier transfer center of delivery company J&T Express in Yarkant county, baskets labeled with village names were neatly arranged on the floor.

“Once the parcels arrive, we directly sort them into the corresponding baskets, pack them up and send them out. Delivery to the villages is possibly even faster than to the county town,” said Zhang Haitao, head of the Yarkant office of J&T Express.

Wang Xiaohu, director of the Kashgar postal administration, told People’s Daily that since last year, express delivery services in Kashgar have significantly improved, with free shipping services extended to over 2,000 villages.

“Xinjiang has established e-commerce public service centers, logistics distribution centers, and village-level courier stations. Over 800 e-commerce service sites are integrated with postal and courier functions,” said an official with the Xinjiang postal administration.

This will promote e-commerce development in rural Xinjiang and facilitate more agricultural products from the autonomous region to reach markets outside Xinjiang, the official explained.

By Jin Ruiting

Recently, some American politicians have been continuously hyping up the false narrative of “overcapacity” in China’s new energy industry.

They wrongly claimed that China has excessive production capacities in new energy vehicles (NEVs), lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products, asserting that the so-called “overcapacity” has posed negative impacts on global markets. Such claim is not fact-based and goes against the overall trend of economic globalization.

As a matter of fact, the “overcapacity” narrative is a well-worn tactic of the United States to undermine other countries’ competitive industries, which is driven by a hegemonic mindset.

“Overcapacity” doesn’t exist at all in China’s new energy industry.

China’s new energy industry has higher capacity utilization rates than other countries. An opinion piece from Just Auto, a London-based magazine providing global automotive industry news and analysis, shows that in 2023, the capacity utilization rates of auto companies in China such as BYD Group, Tesla’s Shanghai factory, and SAIC Group were around 80 percent. In comparison, Hyundai Motor’s capacity utilization rate was only 23 percent, and Kia Motor’s was only 25 percent.

The current production capacity of the global new energy industry is far from sufficient to meet the market demand.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global demand for NEVs will reach 45 million units by 2030, which is more than three times the global sales in 2023 and nearly five times the production in China in 2023. The global demand for power batteries will reach 3,500 GWh by 2030, which is more than four times the global volume in 2023 and more than five times the production volume in China in 2023.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), in order to achieve the Paris Agreement goals, the global cumulative photovoltaic installed capacity needs to exceed 5,400 GW by 2030, which is nearly four times the global cumulative installed capacity in 2023 and about nine times the cumulative installed capacity in China in 2023.

The “overcapacity” narrative contradicts economic common sense.

According to economic law, countries participating in the global division of labor based on their comparative advantages is an important path to improve the global allocation of resources and an important way to improve productivity and people’s wellbeing.

In recent years, China’s new energy industry has achieved rapid development through vigorous market competition and continuous technological innovation – a fact evident to the international community.

China has always adhered to the principles of opening up and sharing, forming close industrial chain cooperation with various countries. This has promoted the improvement and upgrading of the global industrial chain, providing strong momentum for the new energy industry worldwide.

Labeling China’s new energy industry with “overcapacity” goes against the international division of labor and violates the principles of free trade and fair competition. It ignores the vital role of international trade in improving the wellbeing of people around the world.

China’s strengths in the new energy industry have been hard-earned through true capabilities and competitiveness.

China enjoys a comparative advantage stemming from its complete range of sectors and categories in manufacturing. China has been the world’s top manufacturing country for 14 consecutive years, with the added value of the manufacturing sector accounting for around 30 percent of the world’s total in 2023.

In the new energy sector, the country has developed a complete industrial chain encompassing material research, engineering design, manufacturing management, and final assembly and systems integration.

China benefits immensely from its vast domestic market and rich diversity of application scenarios. In 2023, both production and sales of China’s NEVs exceeded 9 million units, maintaining robust growth momentum. China’s huge consumer market provides a favorable environment for the research, development, and upgrade of new energy technologies.

Offering high-quality and affordable green products for countries worldwide, China has made a vital contribution to the global green and low-carbon transition.

(Jin Ruiting is a researcher with the Institute of Macroeconomic Research of the National Development and Reform Commission)

By He Yin, People’s Daily

The 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) unanimously adopted a resolution proposed by China to establish the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations. According to the resolution, June 10 was designated as the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations.

The resolution advocates respecting the diversity of civilizations and calls for equal dialogue and mutual respect among different civilizations. It fully reflects the core essence of the Global Civilizations Initiative (GCI) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The unanimous support from the international community for setting up the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations demonstrates that the GCI conforms to the trend and meets the demand of the times.

In March 2023, Xi proposed the GCI, stressing the importance to advocate the respect for the diversity of civilizations, the common values of humanity, the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

In today’s world where the futures of all countries are closely connected, the GCI offers answers to important questions such as how different civilizations should get along and where the human civilization is headed. It contributes Chinese wisdom and solutions to promoting mutual learning among civilizations and advancing the progress of human civilization.

China’s proposal to establish the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations at the UNGA helps implement the GCI and has injected positive energy into addressing common challenges faced by humanity.

China is committed to promoting mutual understanding, respect, and trust among nations, and seeks to build consensus on peaceful development through cultural exchanges and mutual learning.

In this year alone, the GCI has been incorporated into bilateral documents between China and over a dozen countries including Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Tunisia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Serbia, and Hungary, gaining increasingly widespread recognition and support.

In today’s world that has entered a new period of turbulence, multiple challenges and crises are intertwined. The international community has come to a deeper understanding that exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations contribute to enhancing understanding, trust, and cooperation, providing important impetus for human development and progress.

The resolution of the UNGA states that all civilizational achievements are “the collective heritage of humankind.”. It emphasizes “the crucial role of dialogue” among civilizations in maintaining world peace, promoting common development, enhancing human well-being, and achieving collective progress. This resolution reflects the universal aspiration of countries around the world to uphold equality and inclusiveness, and to maintain the diversity of world civilizations.

The resolution invites all member states and UN agencies to commemorate the International Day.

China will closely collaborate with all parties to organize diverse and vibrant activities for dialogue among civilizations. It will advocate for respecting the diversity of civilizations, promote the common values of humanity, value the inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and actively promote people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, so as to achieve common prosperity and progress of human civilization.

The unanimous support from the international community for setting up the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations demonstrates that Chinese ideas and solutions are increasingly gaining international consensus.

No matter how the international landscape changes, China will stand firmly on the right side of history and on the side of human progress, and will advocate vigorously peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit. It will uphold the shared values of humanity, promote the implementation of the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI) and the GCI, and build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity.

The public goods provided by China to the international community gather humanity’s broadest common understanding of building a beautiful world, bringing prosperity and stability to the world and creating substantive benefits for the people.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed the United Nations’ high appreciation for China’s firm commitment to multilateralism and support for the GDI, GSI and GCI proposed by Xi, reaffirming the United Nations’ strong commitment to deepening cooperation with China.

The world today is living through accelerating changes unseen in a century, with frequent regional conflicts and disturbances. Global issues are becoming more acute. All parties need to strengthen dialogue and cooperation, to jointly inject stability and positive energy into the turbulent international situation.

China, starting from a righteous position and walking a path of great virtues, will keep working with relevant parties to implement the GDI, GSI and GCI, and resolutely build a community with a shared future for mankind.