Nigeria Times

By Yan Ke, Sun Chao, People’s Daily

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, inspected Changsha, capital city of central China’s Hunan province on March 18, which has drawn more attention to this “cyberstar” city.

Changsha has made itself a great example showing how cultural advancement and economic development are integrated and mutually reinforcing each other.

As a city among the first batch of state-level famous historic and cultural cities in China, Changsha boasts profound cultural heritage. At the same time, it is home to a large number of trendy internet-famous brands, which leads to prosperous urban consumption. Many young tourists from outside the city would merge into the bustling crowds in downtown Changsha, even before dropping off their suitcases, just to visit the stores they have long coveted.

Building upon the Hunan culture, which stresses practicality, Changsha has well blended its culture into the hustle and bustle of the urban life. The popularity of “cyberstar” cities exactly stems from their vitality in cultural economy.

Culture endows economic development with profound humanistic value. Cultural economy encompasses the processes of cultural economization and economic culturalization, which essentially involve the integration and mutual development of culture and economy.

Modern China Tea Shop is a local bubble tea brand in Changsha that has gained fame across the entire country. Why are so many tourists traveling to Changsha just to take a sip of its bubble tea?

Lyu Liang, the founder of the bubble tea brand, said that they once spent over 100,000 yuan ($13,890) to purchase the copyright of a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) portrait, solely for making innovative designs of bubble tea cups.

“Culture is the most nourishing soil for a brand,” Lyu said.

Culture empowers the economy and paints the humanistic feature of a city.

In Changsha, the most bustling commercial areas are often the ones with a long history. Historical and cultural sites, including the Chaozong Street, the Taiping Street, and the Duzheng Street, have been revitalized through urban renewal. Passing through tranquil residences of historical figures, tourists in the city will find themselves surrounded by vibrant and trendy stores. These streets, deeply rooted in the cultural heritage of Changsha and yet exuding a fashionable atmosphere, have become the most dynamic places in Changsha at night.

Economic development vitalizes culture and injects new vitality into a city’s innovation.

The dazzling neon at the foot of the Yuelu Mountain, the internet-famous bookstores on Juzizhou Island, and the bustling night markets all depict the youthful and energetic image of Changsha.

In 2022, the population of Changsha increased by 181,300. As a city that leads economic development in Hunan province, Changsha has recently set a new goal of building itself into a global research and development center. The attractiveness to talents, fueled by the city’s vibrant energy, is one of its important driving forces.

The Changsha Huagu Opera theater has gained 3.5 million views at the first livestreaming performances on short video platform Douyin in September 2022, which is 70 times more than the number of in-person audience it receives in a year. Today, many Gen-Zers who enjoy the Huagu Opera are also hitting the theaters to feel the charm of the traditional art form.

Profound yet dynamic, ancient yet youthful, the zeitgeist of Changsha reflects the inclusiveness and pioneering spirit of Hunan, as well as progressive spirit of the Chinese nation – staying on the right course without following the beaten track and respecting traditions but not obsolete practices.

By Qin Ruijie, People’s Daily

In the village of Hongya in Longde county, Guyuan, northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region, a bonfire crackled merrily on a lively night. Young people and children gathered around the fire, mustering their courage to run, jump, and leap over the flame, welcoming the arrival of spring.

“Liaogan” is a folk custom in northwest China, said Yang Guoquan, a resident in the village, adding that jumping over the bonfire symbolizes warding off illness and disasters.

“Once the Liaogan Festival is over, spring will arrive,” Yang said. “The best Liaogan activities in Guyuan are in our Old Lanes.”

“The more vibrant our folk customs are, the happier the villagers feel, and the more tourists come. Some say it is the cultural essence of the Old Lanes that has allowed us to profit from the cultural industry,” Yang told People’s Daily.

The “Old Lanes” Yang referred to is an old street in Hongya village, which is covered by bluestone pavement and lined on the two sides with stone walls whose crevices are filled with yellow mud. The traditional architectural style of the Liupan Mountain area where the Hongya village is located, is well preserved

In 2010, Longde county launched a renovation plan to protect the well-preserved residential houses along the old street and named the street “Old Lanes.” In 2016, the second phase of renovation of Hongya village began, transforming this national-level traditional village into a scenic area.

Though the village was turned into a scenic area, the villagers still had to live there. Therefore a meeting was held to discuss the future of the village.

“In the past, we all made a living by farming,” said Zhang Hongsheng, the Party head of the Hongya community. It were the village cadres that brought back tourism experiences from other villages that encouraged Hongya to develop tourism, Zhang recalled.

Soon after, many agritainment businesses sprang up along the Old Lanes. Yang started a B&B hotel with an investment of 50,000 yuan ($6,946.28), while villager He Gong converted his courtyard into a restaurant, building 18 private dining rooms.

However, when the villagers calculated their accounts, most of them found themselves operating at a loss.

“Business was decent at first, but it gradually declined. The Old Lanes lacked tourist attractions, making it difficult to retain visitors for long,” a villager said.

“These small courtyards looked nice, but the quality was still not up to par,” said another.

To help solve the problem, villagers voiced their various ideas. “It’s not enough for us to have just a scenic area. We need something special and unique to attract visitors,” said He, suggesting they capitalize on the “old” of the Old Lanes by tapping into its cultural heritage.

Once this direction was set, concrete plans followed – opening traditional handicraft workshops, introducing exhibitions of Longde’s intangible cultural heritage, promoting local specialty hot pot dishes… Yang also leveraged his paper-cutting skills, opening a paper-cutting workshop.

Holding the paper with his left hand, scissors in his right, Yang made a big cut for the basic outline, then meticulously carved out intricate patterns. In no time, a Chinese character “chun” (spring) in the shape of a peach emerged from his cuts.

“Paper-cutting was just a hobby of me, and I never thought it could become something big when combined with tourism,” said Yang, who is now a municipal-level inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of paper-cutting. The popularity of his workshop has livened up his B&B hotel.

Nowadays, paper-cutting is not the only intangible cultural heritage in the Old Lanes. During the initial renovation, eight connected old courtyards in Hongya village were preserved, exhibiting traditional intangible cultural heritage items like Wei-style brick carvings, local folk celebration, Yang-style clay sculptures, and more. Each courtyard has its unique attraction, and together they form an interconnected cultural space.

“Activities are frequently held in the courtyards, with live demonstrations of clay sculpting, face mask painting, and shadow puppetry performances. The melodious tunes of local opera are more attractive than any hawking,” said Zhang.

The cultural attractions have boosted business. Visitors are streaming into the Old Lanes year-round, and He’s courtyard restaurant is always packed. “During the peak period in summer, our daily revenue can reach 20,000 yuan,” said He.

Nowadays, the Old Lanes scenic area has 48 businesses, including calligraphy and painting studios, restaurants, B&B hotels, and gift shops. The annual average disposable income there has risen from just a few thousand yuan before the renovation to 26,000 yuan in 2023. In 2022, the scenic area welcomed around 350,000 visitors and generated a direct revenue of 20 million yuan.

“The charm of Hongya village lies in its vibrant culture,” said Zhang. Many scenic villages across China have become purely commercial spots, while Hongya village has preserved a rare authenticity, he added.

By Li Hui

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has dragged on for over two years, with prospects for peace remain uncertain. The prolonged hostilities not only exacerbate the suffering of the people in both countries but also pose unpredictable risks and challenges to the region and the world at large.

Therefore, there is a growing international call for peace and dialogue. Many countries have proposed initiatives and plans aimed at restoring trust, resolving the crisis, and rebuilding peace. China highly appreciates these efforts and hopes that a consensus can be forged among all parties to explore a solution to the conflict.

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a responsible major country, China takes an objective and just position on the Ukraine issue, and works actively to promote peace talks.

Since the full escalation of the Ukraine crisis, Chinese President Xi Jinping has personally had in-depth communication with leaders of countries including Russia and Ukraine, and has put forward four principles, called for joint efforts in four areas and shared three observations on Ukraine, which outline China’s fundamental approach to the crisis.

One year after the full escalation of the Ukraine crisis, China formulated and released China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis, which covers 12 aspects including respecting the sovereignty of all countries, abandoning the Cold War mentality, ceasing hostilities, resuming peace talks and more.

As the Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs, I have been engaged in a series of diplomatic activities regarding the Ukraine crisis over the past year. Last May, I went to Europe for the first round of shuttle diplomacy. In August, I attended a meeting in Jeddah on the Ukraine crisis, and I also met intensively with representatives from various parties in Beijing to exchange views.

China’s efforts to restore peace and achieve a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis have been widely recognized and highly appreciated by the international community.

After a year of communication with various parties, my greatest impression is that, despite the ongoing uncertainties and prominent conflicts, war is not good for the vast majority of countries, and achieving peace is the common aspiration.

In this regard, I recently embarked on a second round of shuttle diplomacy to Russia, Ukraine, and other European countries involved, with the aim of exchanging views and building consensus with all parties on promoting a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis.

During this visit, three impressions stood out to me.

Firstly, it is crucial to build consensus for a ceasefire and an end to the fighting. Conflicts and wars produce no winner. History has shown that all wars can only be resolved through negotiations ultimately. Every bit of consensus accumulated brings us closer to the dawn of peace, while every day of conflict adds to the risks in the world.

China has consistently supported and expected both Russia and Ukraine will act in the fundamental and long-term interests of their peoples, meet each other halfway, and resume direct dialogue as soon as possible, so as to achieve a ceasefire at an early date.

China is willing to create all necessary conditions for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. China supports an international peace conference that is to be held in due course, recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, and is attended by all parties on an equal footing for fair discussions on all peace plans.

Secondly, the spillover risks of the crisis must be controlled. The Ukraine crisis, as the largest geopolitical conflict in Europe since World War II, has severely impacted relations between major countries and the global governance system.

The crisis has exacerbated instability in the global industrial chain, leading to serious concerns regarding energy security, food security, nuclear security, cross-border infrastructure security, humanitarian crises, and other issues. These have significant impacts on global peace and development.

The prolonged and complex nature of the Ukraine crisis may give rise to various security risks that are not in the interest of all parties. A ceasefire and an end to the conflict as soon as possible is the right way to solve the problem.

Thirdly, the mistake of the Cold War must be avoided repeating. The Ukraine crisis has complex historical and realistic factors. The Cold War has been over for more than 30 years, but the Cold War mentality is still firmly rooted in some countries, strengthening military alliances, and provoking bloc confrontation, which ultimately led to the crisis.

China believes that the security of a country should not be pursued at the expense of others, the security of a region should not be achieved by strengthening or expanding military blocs, and the legitimate security interests and concerns of all countries must be taken seriously and addressed properly.

Only by abandoning the Cold War mentality, promoting dialogue and negotiation among all parties on an equal footing, and building a balanced, effective, and sustainable European security architecture, can long-term stability be achieved in Europe.

At the same time, we firmly oppose any attempt by individual countries to use conflicts to seek selfish gains, force others to take sides, threaten to decouple and sever supply chains, build “small yard and high fence,” and attempt to repeat the mistake of bloc confrontation.

There is no panacea for defusing the crisis. However, I firmly believe that a political solution is the best and only way to address the Ukraine crisis, which is the most important conclusion of my shuttle diplomacy this time.

Both Russia and Ukraine are important strategic partners of China with long-standing friendly and cooperative relations. China does not have selfish interests or seek to put up exclusive blocs. It has not added fuel to the fire or taken advantage of the situation.

The international community should adhere to the vision of a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, take each other’s legitimate security concerns seriously, and promote the building of a balanced, effective, and sustainable security architecture for the region and the world, in order to jointly safeguard world peace.

Peace, like air and sunshine, is hardly noticed when we are benefiting from it. But none of us can live without it. Making the world peaceful, stable and safe is the strong desire of all people, the common responsibility of all countries, and more importantly, the right direction for the advancement of our times.

As a Chinese proverb puts it, it takes more than one cold day to freeze three feet of ice. There is no simple solution to the Ukraine crisis. Long as the journey is, we will reach our destination if we stay the course; difficult as the task is, we will get the job done if we keep working at it.

China is ready to work with all peace-loving and progressive forces in the world to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis and achieving peace. We will always stand on the side of peace and dialogue, that is, the right side of history.

 (Li Hui is the Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs)

source：People’s Daily

By Cheng Yuanzhou, People’s Daily

After meals were packed, weighed, and mounted to drones, these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) took off under unified control, and arrived at office buildings across an overpass in just two minutes. They autonomously delivered the meals and returned.

The delivery drone fleet has become a spectacle in a commercial area in Longgang district, Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province.

“In this commercial area, the drones deliver over 300 orders every day. During the lunchtime, they take off and land almost every minute,” said Yan Yan, head of public affairs for drone operations at Meituan, a Chinese shopping platform for locally found consumer products and retail services.

According to Yan, Meituan has opened multiple drone routes in Shenzhen, delivering a total of over 200,000 orders to communities, office buildings, tourist attractions, hospitals, and universities. The platform has established a community drone delivery model that is able to delivery orders to destinations within 3 kilometers in 15 minutes.

In fact, food delivery by drones is no longer a novelty in Shenzhen. From sightseeing to urban security, from medical assistance to emergency rescue, and from agricultural and forestry protection to power line inspections, the low-altitude economy is finding more and more application scenarios in Shenzhen.

For instance, taking a helicopter ride operated by Heli-Eastern has become a convenient transportation option for citizens going from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport to areas like Guangming and Pingshan districts of Shenzhen; a “lifeline” for transporting blood products via drones from the Shenzhen Blood Center to hospitals in Nanshan and Bao’an districts has been established; at the power transmission management office of Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau Co., Ltd., 5G-enabled drones have been employed regularly in high-voltage cable terminal inspection on transmission towers.

“Shenzhen has listed the low-altitude economy as one of the 20 key strategic emerging sectors for development. The city aims to drive the development of this new sector with technological innovation and by creating more application scenarios,” said Zhao Ke, an official of the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Transport.

According to Zhao, Shenzhen has opened 126 low-altitude air routes and established 89 unmanned aerial vehicle takeoff and landing points. Last year, the city saw 600,000 flights of cargo drones and 20,000 flights of helicopters, Zhao said.

Yang Jincai, chairman of the Shenzhen UAV Industry Association, revealed that by 2023, Shenzhen reported low-altitude economy output of 96 billion yuan ($13.35 billion), and was home to over 1,700 companies engaged in the industry. The city has developed a complete industrial chain covering drone R&D, design, manufacturing, operation and support.

Currently, Shenzhen holds a market share of over 70 percent in the consumer drone sector globally, and 50 percent in the industrial drone sector.

The rapid development of the low-altitude economy in Shenzhen is attributed to the city’s strategic efforts to seize development opportunities and continuously improve relevant policy systems.

In 2017, Shenzhen became a comprehensive demonstration zone for the general aviation industry. In 2019, measures were introduced to designate airspace for micro and light UAVs. On Feb. 1 of this year, regulations on the promotion of the low-altitude economy in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone officially came into effect, normalizing the development of the low-altitude economy in terms of infrastructure, flight services, industrial applications, technological innovation, and safety management.

Zhao said that the first phase of a project on promoting infrastructure for intelligent low-altitude integration in Shenzhen is currently accelerating its pace. The project aims to preliminarily establish an infrastructure network, air connectivity network, flight route network, and service network to support the low-altitude economy.

Besides, innovative platforms such as a smart air traffic operation laboratory are also being constructed. In the future, Shenzhen will gradually carry out UAV operations and integrated flight verification, as well as develop regulations, standards, and norms for low-altitude flights.

On March 18, the Global Media Dialogue took place in Abuja, Nigeria. Organized by the China Media Group Africa and the University of Abuja, the event focused on “Enhancing China-Africa Cooperation in New Quality Productive Forces to Realize High-Quality Growth.”

Around 50 people attended, including political party representatives, government officials, scholars, media representatives, and students from the University of Abuja. They discussed ways to deepen China-Africa cooperation and capitalize on development opportunities by aligning China’s strategies with African needs.

（ABDUL RASHEED NA’ALLAH，VICE CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA）

During the dialogue, Abdul Rasheed Na’Allah, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, expressed hope to benefit from China’s development plans. He emphasized the university’s willingness to deepen cooperation, particularly in aerospace and agricultural science.” The University of Abuja has established an innovation center and hopes to jointly promote the research and development of New Quality Productive Forces with China, thereby leading Nigeria development and progress” Na’Allah said.

（Wang Yingqi, Minister-Counselor (Economic & Commercial) of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria）

On his part Wang Yingqi, Minister-Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, highlighted China’s shift towards high-quality development and its willingness to work with Nigeria to foster new productive forces. Mr Wang said “In the past ten years, China’s innovation ranking has improved significantly – its new energy, high-end equipment, and biotechnology have improved significantly. The proportion of emerging industries in the economy continues to increase.”

He noted that “The cooperation between Nigeria and China in economy, investment and trade is in a leading position among African countries. China-Nigeria cooperation has made positive contributions to the healthy development of economic globalization. China is willing to work with Nigeria to jointly cultivate new productive forces and create new development pattern.”

（YABAKI.SANI, CHAIRMAN OF THE ACTION DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF NIGERIA）
Also in attendance was Yabagi Sani, chairman of the Action Democratic Party of Nigeria. He stressed the complementary nature of China and Africa’s resources and advantages, proposing deeper cooperation to promote high-quality development. According to him – “China has rich experience in the field of digital economy and e-commerce. China can help African countries achieve digital transformation in industries such as finance, medical care and education, and promote Africa to accelerate economic growth and achieve leapfrog development.”

（JIBRIN BABA NDACE, DIRECTOR GENERAL/CEO – VOICE OF NIGERIA）

Jibrin Baba Ndace Director General/CEO of Voice Of Nigeria, commended policies like the Belt and Road Initiative for promoting infrastructure development and economic integration in Africa. “The new productivity and high-quality development strategies proposed by China are of far-reaching significance, which will bring China-Africa cooperation into a new stage, and will further unleash the huge potential of China-Africa cooperation through innovation and capacity building” Ndace noted.

（ALI ADAMU, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY, TRADE AND INVESTMENT OF NIGERIA）

Ali Adamu, Deputy Director of the Industrial Development Department of Nigeria’s Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, emphasized the need for Nigeria to improve productivity with China’s assistance, especially in advanced manufacturing.
“Nigeria needs to improve productivity with the help of China. China’s experience in advanced manufacturing can help Nigeria accelerate the pace of industrialization”.

（Guests’ free discussion session）

During the interactive session, participants highlighted the importance of manufacturing and industrialization for Africa’s development, suggesting African countries actively attract investment from Chinese enterprises. Overall, participants appreciated the dialogue as a valuable platform for understanding China’s new trends and enhancing exchanges between Nigeria and China.

By Xu Peiyu

Jujube farmer Ding Taiping in Xiawa township, Binzhou, east China’s Shandong province recently made some new friends – students of a “science and technology backyard” (STB) program that studies the cultivation of jujubes from China Agricultural University.

“I’ve been growing jujubes for many years, but this is the first time I’ve interacted with university students in the fields,” said Ding.

He said he thought it would be impossible for these students, who had never set foot in the field, to solve farmers’ problems when the STB was established in the township earlier this year.

“But after spending some time together, they’ve actually tackled some challenges that had troubled me for a long time. Particularly by combining traditional ‘local methods’ with new techniques through standardized cultivation practices, efficiency has improved significantly,” Ding told People’s Daily.

The STB is a practical and integrated talent cultivation model that China Agricultural University began exploring in 2009. It dispatches postgraduate students in agricultural majors to the field, where they, based on what they have learned theoretically, study and solve real-world problems in agricultural and rural development, with an aim to cultivate high-level agricultural talents and serve the modernization of agriculture and rural areas.

Since the first STB program was launched in 2009, this model has soon gained widespread recognition, attracting an increasing number of research institutes and universities to join in, including Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University (NAFU).

In 2021, NAFU set up a STB program for the studies of vegetable technologies in Jingyang county, Xianyang, northwest China’s Shaanxi province, which serves three counties and 17 demonstration agricultural parks in Xianyang.

Zhang Mingke, associate research fellow at NAFU and chief expert at the Jingyang STB, said the program develops and introduces new crop varieties, and studies techniques such as efficient cultivation and facility soil secondary salinization improvement and restoration.

New varieties and technologies developed by the program have been introduced to 12 counties and districts in Shaanxi province, as well as Qinghai province and Ningxia Hui autonomous region. They have been applied on over 1.52 million mu (around 101,333 hectares), generating over 200 million yuan ($27.8 million) in economic benefits, Zhang told People’s Daily.

“Over the past more than a decade, the STB model has pioneered a new path of deep integration between scientists and farmers, and close collaboration between technology and industry. This has unleashed the potential of increasing farmers’ incomes, while cultivating a high-quality agricultural talent pool that is rooted in rural areas,” said Zhong Denghua, Party head of China Agricultural University.

To date, over 1,200 STBs have been set up by 74 institutions across the country, which involve more than 2,700 experts and 5,200 postgraduate students. According to incomplete statistics, these STBs have introduced and made innovations on 284 green agricultural production technologies, which are applied on a total area of 566 million mu and have increased income or cut costs by over 70 billion yuan.

While emerging across China, the STBs have also been sharing their experiences with the rest of the world.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been promoting the STB model globally for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023, hailing it as a typical case of assisting smallholder farmers.

Last September, FAO official Selvaraju Ramasamy visited Quzhou county in north China’s Hebei province, where China’s first STB was established. He was impressed to learn that local farmers were actually “experts” in technology and marketing and were able to earn over 2,800 yuan per mu annually.

“Remarkable! This demonstrates the value of promoting the STB model worldwide,” he exclaimed.

In 2019, China Agricultural University launched a training program to cultivate young African talents that would help improve smallholder production in Africa. Augustine Talababi Phiri, an  agronomist from Malawi, joined the program.

Last November, three STBs were established in Malawi. Thanks to his knowledge learned and experience gained in China, Phiri was appointed the head of a STB in Lisasadzi, Malawi’s Kasungu District, promoting the Chinese model locally.

A staff member of China Agricultural University told People’s Daily that the training program has nurtured 72 agriculture-related graduate students from over 10 African countries so far.

African farmers said they welcome the STBs and hope these programs can bring practical technologies to help them grow more food.

Moreover, NAFU has taken the lead in establishing the Silkroad Agricultural Education and Research Innovation Alliance, which has been joined by 106 scientific and educational institutions and enterprises from 18 countries so far.

Zhang said the universities are responsible for the research, development, and talent support related to crop varieties, products, and technologies, while local governments organize order-based production. Chinese enterprises then demonstrate the achievements and procure the products, achieving deep integration of production, education, research, and application.

“In the next step, NAFU and China Agricultural University will cooperate with the FAO, as well as relevant countries’ agricultural departments and enterprises to establish more STBs and cultivate more young talents willing to work on the frontline of agricultural production,” Zhang said.

By Cheng Yuanzhou, People’s Daily

After meals were packed, weighed, and mounted to drones, these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) took off under unified control, and arrived at office buildings across an overpass in just two minutes. They autonomously delivered the meals and returned.

The delivery drone fleet has become a spectacle in a commercial area in Longgang district, Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province.

“In this commercial area, the drones deliver over 300 orders every day. During the lunchtime, they take off and land almost every minute,” said Yan Yan, head of public affairs for drone operations at Meituan, a Chinese shopping platform for locally found consumer products and retail services.

According to Yan, Meituan has opened multiple drone routes in Shenzhen, delivering a total of over 200,000 orders to communities, office buildings, tourist attractions, hospitals, and universities. The platform has established a community drone delivery model that is able to delivery orders to destinations within 3 kilometers in 15 minutes.

In fact, food delivery by drones is no longer a novelty in Shenzhen. From sightseeing to urban security, from medical assistance to emergency rescue, and from agricultural and forestry protection to power line inspections, the low-altitude economy is finding more and more application scenarios in Shenzhen.

For instance, taking a helicopter ride operated by Heli-Eastern has become a convenient transportation option for citizens going from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport to areas like Guangming and Pingshan districts of Shenzhen; a “lifeline” for transporting blood products via drones from the Shenzhen Blood Center to hospitals in Nanshan and Bao’an districts has been established; at the power transmission management office of Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau Co., Ltd., 5G-enabled drones have been employed regularly in high-voltage cable terminal inspection on transmission towers.

“Shenzhen has listed the low-altitude economy as one of the 20 key strategic emerging sectors for development. The city aims to drive the development of this new sector with technological innovation and by creating more application scenarios,” said Zhao Ke, an official of the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Transport.

According to Zhao, Shenzhen has opened 126 low-altitude air routes and established 89 unmanned aerial vehicle takeoff and landing points. Last year, the city saw 600,000 flights of cargo drones and 20,000 flights of helicopters, Zhao said.

Yang Jincai, chairman of the Shenzhen UAV Industry Association, revealed that by 2023, Shenzhen reported low-altitude economy output of 96 billion yuan ($13.35 billion), and was home to over 1,700 companies engaged in the industry. The city has developed a complete industrial chain covering drone R&D, design, manufacturing, operation and support.

Currently, Shenzhen holds a market share of over 70 percent in the consumer drone sector globally, and 50 percent in the industrial drone sector.

The rapid development of the low-altitude economy in Shenzhen is attributed to the city’s strategic efforts to seize development opportunities and continuously improve relevant policy systems.

In 2017, Shenzhen became a comprehensive demonstration zone for the general aviation industry. In 2019, measures were introduced to designate airspace for micro and light UAVs. On Feb. 1 of this year, regulations on the promotion of the low-altitude economy in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone officially came into effect, normalizing the development of the low-altitude economy in terms of infrastructure, flight services, industrial applications, technological innovation, and safety management.

Zhao said that the first phase of a project on promoting infrastructure for intelligent low-altitude integration in Shenzhen is currently accelerating its pace. The project aims to preliminarily establish an infrastructure network, air connectivity network, flight route network, and service network to support the low-altitude economy.

Besides, innovative platforms such as a smart air traffic operation laboratory are also being constructed. In the future, Shenzhen will gradually carry out UAV operations and integrated flight verification, as well as develop regulations, standards, and norms for low-altitude flights.

By Shi Renxuan

The separatist activities for “Taiwan independence” are the most destructive elements to the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi when answering questions from Chinese and foreign media about China’s foreign policy and external relations recently.

To truly safeguard cross-Strait peace, the world must unequivocally oppose “Taiwan independence.” The stronger the commitment to the one-China principle is, the greater the guarantee for the peace across the Strait will be, said Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

This solemn stance on the Taiwan-related issues made by the Chinese government has given a serious warning to the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces and external forces behind them, once again sending a powerful message that the historical trend of upholding the one-China principle is unstoppable.

Taiwan is China’s Taiwan. The elections in Taiwan held this January are just local elections in one part of China. The result does not change, even in the slightest terms, the basic fact that Taiwan is part of China. Nor does it change the historical trend of Taiwan’s return to the motherland.

Since the elections ended, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokespersons promptly shared the reaction of the international community to the elections. In just a few days, more than 100 countries and international organizations have reaffirmed their commitment to the one-China principle and their support for China in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia said in a statement that Serbia, in accordance with its consistent policy and advocacy for adherence to the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, supports the one-China principle, that it does not recognize the statehood of Taiwan.

The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade reaffirmed Hungary’s commitment to the one-China principle in the country’s foreign policy.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, Prime Minister of Nepal, said Nepal opposes “Taiwan independence,” never allows others to use Nepal’s territory to engage in any activities that harm China’s interests, and opposes any interference in the internal affairs of other countries.

The spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that the Russian side opposes any form of Taiwan’s independence, and called on all outside forces to refrain from provocative actions undermining regional stability and international security.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China, and any election or action carried out in Taiwan should not affect this fact.

Leaders of the Maldives, Sierra Leone and other countries issued joint press communiques or joint statements with the Chinese side during their visits to China, reaffirming their commitment to the one-China principle, opposition to external interference in China’s internal affairs, and support of all efforts made by China to achieve national reunification.

These voices of justice and peace reflect the broad consensus of the international community in firmly upholding the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations, and embody the trend of the times and of history.

The one-China principle is what underpins peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Whatever changes take place in Taiwan, the basic fact that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China will not change; the Chinese government’s position of upholding the one-China principle and opposing “Taiwan independence” separatism, “two Chinas” and “one China, one Taiwan” will not change; and the international community’s prevailing consensus on upholding the one-China principle and long-standing and overwhelming adherence to this principle will not change.

A few countries, out of geopolitical considerations and ideological confrontation, have chosen to stand in opposition to the vast majority of countries in the international community, obscuring and hollowing out the one-China principle. While paying lip service to not supporting “Taiwan independence,” they announce arms sales to Taiwan and collude with the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces.

The Democratic Progressive Party authority has obstinately adhered to the separatist position of “Taiwan independence” and refused to recognize the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus. It made provocations in pursuit of “independence” in collusion with external forces. Such acts of undermining the one-China principle are despicable and deplorable. These are the root causes of the tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

The Chinese government and people have a clear stance on such plots and tricks. Whoever engage in “Taiwan independence” on the island will be held accountable by history. Whoever in the world connive at and support “Taiwan independence” will get burned for playing with fire and taste the bitter fruit of their own doing.

Standing up for the one-China principle is the right thing to do. It has the overwhelming support of the international community and represents the prevailing trend of the world. A total of 183 countries have established diplomatic relations with China based on the one-China principle. Taiwan’s number of so-called “diplomatic allies” has been reduced to 12, and these countries only account for less than 0.3 percent of the world’s population. It’s obvious to see which one represents the mainstream and the general trend.

On Jan. 15 this year, the day after the elections in Taiwan concluded, the Nauru government announced its recognition of the one-China principle and severed the so-called “diplomatic relations” with the Taiwan authorities. The country said it is willing to resume diplomatic relations with China.

On Jan. 24, China and Nauru signed a joint communique on the resumption of diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level. Nauru’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Lionel Aingimea said during his visit to China that the one-China principle is an irresistible trend in the world.

It is believed that more members of the international society will see the historical trend and choose to establish or resume diplomatic relations with China. The international community’s prevailing consensus on upholding the one-China principle will become more solid. The Chinese people’s just cause of opposing “Taiwan independence” separatism and external interference and striving for national reunification will win more understanding and support.

Some day, there will be a family photo of the whole international community in which all members uphold the one-China principle. It is only a matter of time.

(Shi Renxuan is an observer of international affairs.)