Nigeria Times

By Luo Shanshan, People’s Daily

The sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) is scheduled to be held offline between Nov. 5 and 10 in Shanghai.

The event will be joined by guests from 154 countries, regions and international organizations. Over 3,400 exhibitors and 394,000 professional visitors have registered to attend the event, representing a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels. Hundreds executives of Global Fortune 500 companies and industry-leading enterprises are poised to attend the expo, exceeding the previous levels.

The country exhibition of the sixth CIIE will comprehensively showcase the willingness of relevant parties to engage in open cooperation.

A total of 69 countries and three international organizations have confirmed their participation in the country exhibitions, of which 11 countries will make their debuts and 34 will participate in offline exhibitions for the first time. Honduras, Kazakhstan, Serbia, South Africa and Vietnam will serve as guest countries of honor.

The area of the China Pavilion this time will be expanded to 2,500 square meters, the largest it has been in the history of the CIIE.

The quality and efficiency of the Business Exhibition will be significantly improved. The Business Exhibition will cover an area of about 367,000 square meters, on which 289 Global Fortune 500 companies and industry-leading enterprises will showcase their products and services. All the three figures outnumber the previous levels.

The biggest 10 names in the automobile industry, the world’s 10 major industrial electrical companies, 10 medical equipment manufacturers, three mining giants, top four grain traders and top five shipping companies have confirmed plans to attend.

The Business Exhibition focuses on high-quality development and quality life. The exhibition areas dedicated to cutting-edge technologies such as low-carbon energy and artificial intelligence, as well as lifestyle and consumer products, will experience a growth of 30 percent in size. Over 400 new products, technologies, and services will be showcased in these areas.

Thirty-nine government trade groups established by local governments and relevant departments, as well as four industrial trade groups will join the exhibition. Together, they comprise over 750 sub-groups.

“We will engage in close cooperation with all relevant parties, and go all out to build a high-standard, high-quality and high-level global trade fair, so as to offer more market, investment and growth opportunities for parties attending the event, and build cohesion for joint development,” said Sheng Qiuping, China’s Vice Minister of Commerce.

As a platform promoting high-level opening up, the CIIE signals a strong voice for opening up. A batch of high-end equipment, green products and biological technologies are expected to be launched at the sixth CIIE, and Ecuador’s yellow dragon fruit, Benin’s pineapple will start entering the Chinese market via this event.

The CIIE is an international public good shared by the world. It fully demonstrates the true multilateralism upheld by China, as well as the country’s vision to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

The Hongqiao International Economic Forum (Hongqiao Forum), focusing on global openness as an international public good, will continue releasing the World Openness Report 2023 and the World Openness Index, and keep serving as a platform of high-end dialogue and exchange for the international political, business and academic communities.

The Hongqiao Forum will host 22 sub-forums this year covering global hotspots such as green development, digital economy and intelligent technology. Over 300 big names from the international political, business and academic communities are expected to attend the forum and deliver speeches.

Hua Yuan, vice mayor of Shanghai, noted that Shanghai will accelerate its efforts to build itself into a hub for imported commodities, and the number of “6+365” Permanent Exhibition and Trade Platforms of the CIIE has been expanded to 60. Shanghai is working to turn exhibitors into investors, and has introduced action plans to optimize its business environment for six years in a row.

According to Hua, the actual use of foreign capital of the metropolis jumped from $16.67 billion in 2018 to nearly $23.96 billion last year, with a five-year total hitting $101.3 billion, 20.5 percent higher from the last five-year period.

As the world’s first import-themed national-level exhibition, the CIIE has become a major international platform for promoting the integration of the Chinese and global markets, fostering industrial integration, stimulating creativity, and facilitating mutual learning of rules and regulations.

The Ministry of Commerce will work with relevant departments to implement multiple measures to expand the imports of quality products and facilitate high-quality trade development, said Sheng.

China will keep strengthening policy support, ensuring stable operations at every stage of bulk commodity imports, and increasing the imports of energy resources and agricultural products.

The Ministry of Commerce, together with relevant departments, will revise a catalogue of encouraged technology and product imports to support enterprises in expanding imports of advanced technologies, essential equipment, and key components, promoting industrial restructuring and optimization.

China will keep releasing the potential of imports. This year, China has implemented provisional import tax rates for 1,020 commodities. In accordance with the effective free trade agreements and preferential trade arrangements, agreed tax rates are applied to certain imported goods originating from 29 countries or regions under 19 agreements, further reducing the level of tax rates. The positive role of cross-border e-commerce in retail imports is being leveraged to continue unlocking the potential of consumer goods imports.

China will keep enhancing exchanges at the CIIE. It will fully leveraging the role of major trade platforms such as the CIIE, amplify the spillover effects of various exhibitions, and facilitate the entry of more high-quality goods, technologies, and services into China. This will promote business exchanges and connections, and allow more enterprises to share the opportunities of the Chinese market.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced eight major steps China will take to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation at the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), injecting confidence and impetus into jointly creating a prosperous future.

The eight major steps include concrete goals, as well as important cooperation initiatives and institutional measures – building a multidimensional Belt and Road connectivity network, supporting an open world economy, carrying out practical cooperation, promoting green development, advancing scientific and technological innovation, supporting people-to-people exchanges, promoting integrity-based Belt and Road cooperation, and strengthening institutional building for international Belt and Road cooperation.

These major steps are in line with promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, as well as the sustainable development of Belt and Road countries.

The steps have evoked strong resonance from all relevant parties. Some said the eight major steps inspire every participant in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and demonstrate China’s commitment to practical cooperation and sharing opportunities. Some said these steps provide guidance for deepening Belt and Road international cooperation.

The eight major steps manifest the synergy of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Belt and Road countries have formed synergy among their policy coordination and development planning through international cooperation. Aiming for high-standard, sustainable and people-centered progress, they deliver benefits to all the people with fruitful results and contribute to their social and economic development.

China will speed up the high-quality development of the China-Europe Railway Express and vigorously integrate ports, shipping and trading services under the “Silk Road Maritime.”

It will establish pilot zones for Silk Road e-commerce cooperation and enter into free trade agreements and investment protection treaties with more countries.

The country will remove all restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector and hold the Global Digital Trade Expo annually. It will promote both signature projects and “small yet smart” livelihood programs.

Besides, China will host the Liangzhu Forum to enhance dialogue on civilizations with BRI partner countries.

Promoting connectivity, mutual benefit, common development, cooperation and win-win outcomes, the BRI will continue to gather positive energy for development.

International observers noted that these Chinese measures will further promote international trade and investment, foster global economic growth and make new contributions to improving global economic governance.

The eight major steps focus on the new development of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

To pursue the philosophy of open, green and clean cooperation is an essential requirement for promoting the high-quality development of the BRI. China will continue to deepen cooperation in areas such as green infrastructure, green energy and green transportation,  step up support for the BRI International Green Development Coalition, and implement the Green Investment Principles for the Belt and Road.

China will continue to implement the Belt and Road Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan, hold the first Belt and Road Conference on Science and Technology Exchange, and increase the number of joint laboratories built with other parties to 100 in the next five years.

China has put forward the Global Initiative for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance. It stands ready to increase exchanges and dialogue with other countries and jointly promote the sound, orderly and secure AI development in the world.

Together with its cooperation partners, China released the Achievements and Prospects of Belt and Road Integrity Building and the High-Level Principles on Belt and Road Integrity Building.

It is believed globally that Belt and Road cooperation on digital and green development is painting a promising picture of economic growth, win-win cooperation, and common prosperity for participating countries.

The eight major steps improve mechanisms for high-quality Belt and Road international cooperation.

China will work with its BRI partner countries to strengthen the building of multilateral cooperation platforms covering energy, taxation, finance, green development, disaster reduction, anti-corruption, think tank, media, culture and other fields. China will continue to host the BRF and establish a secretariat for the Forum.

According to a chair’s statement of the third BRF, China has launched together with its cooperation partners more than 20 multilateral dialogue and cooperation platforms. The measures will play an important role in promoting mechanism construction and the implementation of projects.

Kirill Babaev, director of the Institute of China and Modern Asia at the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted that the eight major steps announced by Xi will make the BRI achievements more impressive in the future.

“Belt and Road cooperation, robust and fruitful in its first decade, is now full of dynamism and vitality. We must embark with drive and enthusiasm on the new journey toward another golden decade,” Xi said.

As long as all parties make continuous efforts, the BRI will surely embrace higher-quality and higher-level development, providing impetus for economic growth and common development of the world.

By Huan Yuping, People’s Daily

Since the outbreak of the latest round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the escalating situation has drawn global attention. The large-scale civilian casualties and worsening humanitarian crises are questioning the conscience of humanity.

Currently, the fighting continues and lives are still being lost, and the spillover effect is impacting regional peace and stability.

The international community generally hopes that the parties to the conflict will cease fire and return to the track of negotiation as soon as possible, so as to create opportunities for peace and prevent an even worse humanitarian disaster.

In recent days, the number of casualties resulting from the conflict has continued to rise, and the living conditions of the people in Gaza have been deteriorating.

A deadly blast at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza has resulted in heavy casualties. Such acts of killing and maiming innocent lives must be unanimously rejected and condemned by the international community.

Faced with a complex and extremely urgent situation, all parties must prioritize the value of life and conscience of humanity.

Military actions should not go beyond self-defense or impose collective punishment on civilians. Protecting civilians in armed conflicts is a red line defined by international humanitarian law, and the indiscriminate use of force is unacceptable.

The parties to the conflict should adhere to international law and international humanitarian law, including ensuring the safety of civilians and detainees, opening humanitarian corridors, and preventing an even worse humanitarian disaster.

The history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has repeatedly demonstrated that the conflict cannot be resolved with military means, and responding to violence with violence will only lead to a vicious cycle.

The parties to the conflict should exercise restraint, immediately cease fire, and seek dialogue. All relevant parties in the region should maintain calm and restraint, uphold objectivity and fairness, promote de-escalation of the conflict, and avoid greater impacts on regional and international security.

The international community should take action to oppose any actions that harm civilians, and actively encourage peace talks. United Nations, especially the UN Security Council, must shoulder its responsibility, focus on humanitarian concerns, clearly call for practical measures to a ceasefire, an end to violence, protection of civilians, and the formation of a binding international consensus.

As long as the fighting continues, it will be impossible to avoid further violations of international humanitarian law. Without a full ceasefire, any humanitarian aid will only be a drop in the bucket.

If the current fighting in Gaza is allowed to drag on, the end result will not be a complete military victory for any side, but a wider humanitarian disaster and a more serious crisis.

Currently, the international community is expecting the UN Security Council to play a role in de-escalating the conflict and preventing humanitarian crises. However, a few major countries, while verbally emphasizing the need for the Security Council to take appropriate actions, have triggered doubts about their true intentions through their voting positions on relevant draft resolutions.

In recent years, the international landscape and the situation in the Middle East have undergone numerous changes, with certain major countries pulling the strings in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This has led to the gradual marginalization of the Palestinian issue, and relevant UN resolutions have not been effectively implemented.

The current Palestinian-Israeli conflict serves as a painful reminder to the international community that the Palestinian issue has always been at the core of the Middle East issue. Without a just and equitable resolution to the Palestinian issue, lasting peace in the Middle East is unlikely to be achieved.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a long-standing and complex issue, intertwined with disputes over territory, ethnicity, and religion. The difficulty in resolving the conflict lies fundamentally in the prolonged denial of the Palestinian people’s right to statehood, right to existence, and right to return.

Israel has the right to statehood, and so does Palestine. the fundamental approach to addressing the Palestinian question is the implementation of the two-state solution, and promoting the establishment of the timetable and roadmap for restoring the legitimate rights of the Palestinian nation.

The two-state solution, recognized by the international community, is that the Palestinians have their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the borders from 1967.

The international community generally supports the resumption of negotiations between the two sides based on the principles of “land for peace,” relevant UN resolutions, and the two-state solution.

Despite the differences between the two sides in terms of implementation, the two-state solution remains the only consensus-based approach to resolving the issue.

After the outbreak of the current conflict, the international community has once again come to the profound realization that the true implementation of the two-state solution is essential for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and bringing genuine peace to the Middle East.

Some said that any solution that deviates from the two-state solution is not feasible, and some believed that there is no alternative to the solution for resolving the issue. Some voices thought that a just and lasting resolution to the Palestinian issue could not be achieved without implementing relevant UN Security Council resolutions and establishing an independent State of Palestine.

On the issue of Palestine, China always stands on the side of peace, justice, international law, the common aspirations of most countries, and human conscience.

Currently, China is in communication with the relevant parties to prevent the escalation of conflict and humanitarian disasters, and will continue to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip through the UN and bilateral channels.

China will support all efforts conducive to the implementation of the two-state solution and seeks a comprehensive, just, and lasting resolution to the Palestinian issue, in order to achieve peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel.

To act responsibly for peace and lives is a shared duty among all peace-loving and fair-minded nations. In the face of ongoing conflicts and escalating humanitarian disasters, major countries, in particular, need to uphold objectivity and fairness, promote a prompt ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, and explicitly call for the implementation of the two-state solution, so as to eliminate the fertile ground for violence and play a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East.

By Wang Zheng, Liu Wenxin, People’s Daily

In the first three quarters, the total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 4 percent year on year, 0.2 percentage points higher than that of the first half year.

China’s industrial production has achieved stable growth, with continuous optimization of industrial structure and positive development momentum in the manufacturing sector. The overall industrial economy has shown signs of stabilization and recovery.

“The proportion of value-added output of manufacturing to GDP remained relatively stable in the first three quarters this year. Manufacturing investment continued to grow, with the growth rate gradually increasing since July,” said Zhao Zhiguo, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

In August, profits made by industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 17.2 percent year on year. Both operating income and profits have turned positive, indicating a faster recovery in enterprise performance. In particular, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) achieved significant progress.

In the first three quarters, China fostered 12,000 specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce new and unique products and 200 featured SME clusters, which played an important role in reinforcing and upgrading weak links in the industrial chains.

According to Zhao, investment in manufacturing kept growing in the January-September period. In particular, the investment in high-tech manufacturing increased by 11.3 percent year on year in the first three quarters, and has kept a double-digit growth for 36 consecutive months. Additionally, the decline in industrial exports has narrowed, Zhao added.

Specifically, basic industries have maintained steady growth. The value added of equipment manufacturing went up by 6.0 percent, 2.0 percentage points faster than that of the whole industrial enterprises above the designated size. In September, the electrical machinery, chemical, electronic, and automotive industries contributed nearly 60 percent to the overall industrial growth.

At the same time, emerging industries showed strong momentum. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) in the first three quarters reached 6.31 million and 6.27 million units, growing 33.7 percent and 37.5 percent year on year, respectively. NEVs accounted for 29.8 percent of the total sales of new vehicles.

The new materials industry embraced vigorous and accelerated development. The total output value of the sector maintained double-digit growth in the first nine months this year. Breakthroughs were made in the development of a number of key materials, including high-temperature superconducting materials and perovskite solar cells.

Photovoltaic products and aerospace equipment achieved rapid growth, while the shipbuilding industry continued to lead globally in three major indicators.

“We have been vigorously accelerating the development of advanced manufacturing. In the first three quarters, the investment growth in high-tech manufacturing was 5.1 percentage points higher than that in the overall manufacturing sector,” said Zhao. During the same period, the production of solar cells and charging piles went up by 63.2 percent and 34.2 percent, respectively.

The recently concluded Hangzhou Asian Games just showcased a variety of innovative applications that amazed global viewers. These included 8K livestream, virtual reality game viewing, a stereoscopic transparent mesh screen, ground projections, massive video interactions inside and outside the venues, and 360-degree replays. These cutting-edge technologies provided an immersive and multi-perspective visual feast for audiences worldwide.

The extensive use of digital technologies has brought profound changes to the production models and forms of traditional industries, effectively promoting comprehensive data circulation.

“Currently, as enterprises accelerate digital transformation, intelligent factories are built massively and with higher quality. Nearly 10,000 digital workshops and smart factories have been constructed nationwide,” said Zhao.

Emerging information technologies like industrial internet are seeing rapid application and integrated into 45 major categories of the national economy, empowering the digital, networked and intelligent transformation and upgrading of the real economy.

New scenarios, solutions and models of intelligent manufacturing are helping enhance quality and efficiency of industries. In recent years, the core sectors of China’s AI industry have grown steadily, with over 4,400 enterprises. Innovative achievements like smart chips, development frameworks and general large models continue to emerge. Cloud computing, intelligent computing and supercomputing have developed in a coordinated way. China now ranks second globally in terms of computing power, and major projects are advancing rapidly, including one that aims to channel more computing resources from the eastern areas to the less developed western regions.

So far, the 5G technology has been applied in 67 major categories of China’s national economy. The number of projects employing 5G and industrial internet exceeds 7,000 nationwide, and there are 2.22 billion users of mobile internet of things terminals.

The close integration of AI and manufacturing has significantly empowered the transformation and upgrading of the real economy, said Tao Qing, an official with the MIIT.

He explained that AI, represented by large models, is characterized by rapid technological innovation, wide application, and intense international competition. It is profoundly changing manufacturing production models and economic forms, demonstrating its ability to empower industries, Tao added.

By Liu Zhiqiang, People’s Daily

China’s GDP grew 5.2 percent year on year in the first three quarters of 2023, reaching 91.3 trillion yuan (about $ 12.7 trillion), according to statistics recently released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The growths in the first, second and third quarters were 4.5 percent, 6.3 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively.

In the first three quarters, China’s economy withstood downward pressure and continued to recover, said Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the NBS, during a press conference on Oct. 18.

Particularly in the third quarter, multiple sectors and indicators showed positive changes, and the trend of overall economic recovery has become even more prominent, he added.

Deducting the base effect, the average two-year growth in the January-September period this year stood at 4.4 percent, 1.1 percentage points higher than the Q2 figure. China’s GDP increased by 1.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in Q3, 0.8 percentage points higher than that of the second quarter.

Whether looking at year-on-year growth in the third quarter or cumulative growth in the first three quarters, China was among the top-performing major economies, Sheng said.

Employment performance was better. In the first three quarters, the surveyed urban unemployment rate nationwide was 5.3 percent, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared to the same period last year, and it improved month by month. In September, this figure stood at 5 percent, 0.2 percentage points down from August.

Overall price levels remained stable. In the January-September period, China’s consumer price index (CPI) went up moderately by 0.4 percent, and the producer price index (PPI) for industrial products fell by 3.1 percent year on year, with a narrowing decline for three consecutive months.

In particular, in September, the PPI decreased by 2.5 percent year-on-year, nearly 3 percentage points less than the lowest point in June, indicating a stable and improving domestic demand.

High-quality development was steadily advanced. For example, innovation momentum remained abundant. In the first three quarters, investment in high-tech industries grew 11.4 percent year-on-year, with the production of electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells maintaining rapid growth. Also, resident income increased steadily. In the first three quarters, the per capita disposable income of residents nationwide was 29,398 yuan, up 5.9 percent in real terms after deducting price factors, higher than GDP growth.

“These positive changes fully demonstrated that China’s economy has continued to recover and improve in the first three quarters, and also highlighted the tremendous resilience, potential, and vitality of the Chinese economy,” Sheng said.

Looking ahead, Sheng said growth will likely pick up in the fourth quarter given the continued recovery trend and stimulus policy measures taking effect gradually. “We are very confident in achieving the annual target,” he said.

Consumption will continue to recover and improve. Sheng Laiyun explained that in the first three quarters, commodity consumption, service consumption, and household consumption expenditure have steadily rebounded, and local governments are accelerating the implementation of policies to promote consumption. Additionally, improvement in employment and growth in residents’ income have laid a foundation for the recovery and growth of consumption, he added.

The industrial economy also bounced back steadily. In the first three quarters, the value-added industrial output of enterprises above designated size grew 4 percent year on year. In Sheng’s view, a series of operational indicators have also released positive signals: purchasing managers’ index returned to expansion territory; PPI declines narrowed for 3 consecutive months; industrial profits turned positive in August; in the first three quarters, the capacity utilization of industrial enterprises was 74.8 percent, and the sales-output ratio of industrial enterprises above designated size was 96.8 percent, up 0.4 and 0.6 percentage points respectively from the first half. “Some of the positive changes in the economic sphere are preliminary, and the sustainability of these changes needs further observation. The foundation for stable economic recovery still needs to be consolidated,” said Sheng. He added that in the next stage, it is crucial to ensure policy implementation and further cement the foundation for