Nigeria Times

By People’s Daily

Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to blaze a path of high-quality and sustainable development with more courage and concrete actions, and stressed “writing a new chapter” in striving for the full revitalization of northeast China.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks as he convened a key meeting in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang province.

Observing the overall development of the CPC and the country in a strategic context, Xi profoundly expounded on the significant missions shouldered by northeast China, deeply analyzed the major new opportunities the region faces in its revitalization, and made arrangements for promoting the full revitalization of northeast China on the new journey of the new era. Xi’s remarks charted the course and provided fundamental guidance for the region to embark on a path of high-quality and sustainable development.

Northeast China is an important industrial and agricultural base of the country. It is in a crucial strategic position in ensuring the security of national defense, food, ecology, energy and industries, and thus is vital for the overall development of the country.

China attaches great importance to the revitalization and development of old industrial bases in the northeastern region, and has formulated and issued a document on the full revitalization of old industrial bases in northeast China and other regions.

Northeast China boasts rich resources, solid industrial foundations, favorable geological locations, and significant development potential. Xi said that efforts to build self-reliance and strength in science and technology at higher levels will help the region turn its strengths in science, education and industries into growth advantages; the building of a new development pattern further highlights the region’s significant strategic position; to promote Chinese modernization, northeast China’s role as a strategic pillar needs to be bolstered.

Looking to the future, China should firmly grasp the important mission of northeast China in safeguarding the five major securities (political, economic, military, cultural and social securities) of the country, and firmly grasp the primary task of promoting high-quality development and the strategic task of building new development paradigm.

It is also important to coordinate development and security, adopt goal-oriented and problem-oriented approaches, and consolidate strengths and make up for deficiencies.

Xi also called for more support and stimulating endogenous motivating power, and emphasized the need to blaze a new path for high-quality and sustainable development with tenacity, more courage and concrete actions, so as to write a new chapter for the full revitalization of northeast China.

Xi stressed the importance to promote industrial innovation with sci-tech innovation, and accelerate the development of a modern industrial system with the characteristics and advantages of northeast China. He also noted that the region should prioritize the development of modern agriculture and accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas.

Xi further stressed the need to accelerate the construction of a modern infrastructure system and enhance the level of opening up and cooperation domestically and internationally. He also noted that the overall population quality should be improved so that the revitalization of northeast China on all fronts can be sustained by the high-quality development of the population.

Besides, Xi called for efforts to further improve the political landscape and create a sound business environment.

In the course of fully revitalizing the region, it is a must to develop the real economy, encourage sci-tech innovation, and promote the upgrading of its industries.

Furthermore, the region should serve as a “ballast” in ensuring national food security, integrate itself more deeply into the Belt and Road Initiative, systematically arrange the construction of modern infrastructure system, improve the overall population quality to promote the high-quality development of the population, and develop a cordial and clean relationship between government and businesses across the board, making new breakthroughs in the full revitalization of northeast China.

By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

The latest high-end smartphone recently launched by Chinese tech giant Huawei Huawei has been attracting attention at home and abroad It demonstrates that China’s technological advancements cannot be hindered by U.S. sanctions.

However, the U.S. side remains stubborn, claiming that “the United States should continue on its course of a ‘small yard, high fence’ set of technology restrictions.”

The United States resorts to all means to suppress China’s technological progress, attempting to deprive China of its rights to development. This is a typical act of bullying.

Facts have proven and will continue to prove that America’s descending “technological iron curtain” and “small yard, high fence” approach cannot uphold its technological hegemony. Those who disrupt global sci-tech cooperation and undermine industrial and supply chains will ultimately suffer the consequences of their actions.

In recent years, the U.S. government has repeatedly imposed restrictions on China in the name of so-called national security, in an attempt to suppress China in the field of science and technology.

The U.S. side has claimed multiple times that the “small yard, high fence” approach is not aimed at a broader decoupling, and that areas outside the “small yard” will remain open to China.  However, its regulatory measures have continued to expand in scope and tighten in severity.

The United States has utilized its national power to enact the so-called “CHIPS and Science Act,” set up a semiconductor industry alliance with its allies and the “Chip 4 Alliance,” and issued executive orders for foreign investment reviews.

The country has repeatedly escalated its containment and suppression efforts, resulting in the inclusion of over 1,300 Chinese companies, institutions, and individuals on various sanction lists, even targeting Chinese social media applications. The true intention of the United States is to block China’s technological advancement and impede China’s development through technological decoupling.

The U.S. approach goes against the general trend of open cooperation in science and technology. The country overestimates its own capabilities and underestimates China’s determination to achieve technological innovation.

Looking back at history, China’s development has always been based on its own strength, from its early development in scientific and defense capabilities, to recent achievements in manned spaceflight, quantum communication, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, and chips.

Countless facts have already proven that restrictions and suppression can never stop China’s development, but only enhance its determination and ability to achieve self-reliance and technological innovation.

Today, China’s independent innovation capabilities have been greatly strengthened, and cutting-edge sci-tech outcomes continue to emerge. New industries and business forms, such as new energy and artificial intelligence, are flourishing.

In the face of blockades and suppression, China does not engage in self-isolation or self-seclusion, but instead strengthens international cooperation in sci-tech innovation in all aspects. It actively integrates into the global innovation network and enhances its own technological innovation capabilities through open cooperation.

Many international observers have pointed out that the countercurrent of decoupling cannot stop China’s innovation-driven pace.

Arbitrarily suppressing China’s technological development will not make the United States better, but will greatly weaken its global competitiveness.

China boasts the world’s largest semiconductor market, accounting for about one-third of global chip sales, which is the result of mutually beneficial cooperation between Chinese and foreign companies.

John Neuffer, president and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association, recently said that China is very important to the U.S. semiconductor industry, as it is an important part of the supply chain and a large customer base.

Forcing U.S. companies to stay away from the Chinese market not only harms the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies but also backfires on the United States itself.

According to an estimation by the Boston Consulting Group, U.S. companies could lose 18 percentage points of global share and 37 percent of their revenues, if the U.S. completely bans semiconductor companies from selling to Chinese customers, effectively causing a technology decoupling from China. These drops in revenue would inevitably lead to the loss of 15,000 to 40,000 highly skilled direct jobs in the US semiconductor industry.

An article in the U.S. magazine The National Interest pointed out that tightened restrictions on technology exports to China have reduced the income of U.S. semiconductor companies and jeopardized their research and development budgets.

The United States must accept fair competition if it wants to maintain global leadership in the high-tech industry. It should not use unscrupulous methods to maintain its technological supremacy, deprive other countries of their development rights, or disrupt the global industrial and supply chains for its own interests.

China does not shy away from or fear competition. However, China believes that competition should contribute to mutual promotion and common improvement, and it should be in line with the interests and expectations of both sides and the international community.

China firmly opposes any attempts to contain, suppress, or undermine under the guise of competition. China’s development goal is to continuously improve itself and enable the Chinese people to live a happier and better life. No one can deprive the Chinese people of their legitimate right to development.

Scientific and technological innovation is a symbol of human progress and should serve the international community. To truly play the role of scientific and technological innovation in promoting the progress of human civilization, all parties must demonstrate a broad vision and a sense of responsibility.

The U.S. insistence on descending the “technological iron curtain” will only blind itself; its insistence on building “small yard, high fence” will eventually trap itself. China will continue to follow the trend of open cooperation, and steadfastly promote high-level technological self-reliance and self-improvement.

By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

In recent years, the United States has always emphasized “competition” when discussing China-U.S. relations, as if competition has become the dominant theme and even the sole focus of the relationship.

From the “competitive, collaborative and adversarial” rhetoric to the “invest, align and compete” strategy, competition has become the main tone of U.S. policy towards China.

The various measures taken by the United States clearly demonstrate that the so-called “competition” has become synonymous with comprehensive containment, unrestricted suppression, and relentless pressure on China.

As two major countries, it is normal for China and the United States to compete in areas such as trade and technology. Such competition should be fair and reasonable, conducted in a benign and regulated manner, with boundaries and prohibited areas. It should not disregard the rules of the market economy and basic principles of international relations. Core interests should not be used as tools for competition or provocative means.

The United States, under the guise of competition, has used its national machinery to suppress other countries, attempting to sacrifice the interests of other nations and hinder their development and progress in order to seek its own competitive advantage. This approach completely deviates from the true essence of competition and only exposes a zero-sum mindset and Cold War mentality.

The United States shows no intention of engaging in fair competition. It recklessly wields the stick of sanctions, forcefully promotes “decoupling” and so-called “de-risking.” Driven by ideological bias, it generalizes the concept of national security, imposes excessive regulations and scrutiny, and builds “small yard, high fence” around its own interests. It fabricates a false narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism,” creates an encirclement against China, coerces other countries to take sides, and incites confrontation, disruption, and undermines peace. It constantly provokes China on core issues such as the latter’s political system and territorial sovereignty, seriously violating the basic principles of international relations and damaging the political foundation of China-U.S. relations.

The United States employs all means to hinder China, essentially aiming to deprive the Chinese people of their right to choose their own development path, their right to pursue a better life, their right to achieve legitimate development, their right to build national unity, and their right to develop normal relations with other countries.

America’s perception of competition as the entirety of its relationship with China is fundamentally flawed, and this stems from a directional problem in its understanding of China.

The United States consistently portrays China as the “most serious competitor,” the “most significant long-term challenge,” the “most significant geopolitical challenge,” the “most significant systemic challenge,” and the “only competitor with both the intention and capability to reshape the international order.” It is using its own template of hegemony to mirror China and misjudging China based on the trajectory followed by traditional Western powers.

Viewing the world from a zero-sum perspective, one sees division, competition, and conflicts; viewing the world from a perspective of shared destiny, one sees openness, cooperation, and win-win outcomes. The erroneous perceptions and actions of the United States not only disregard the reality of interdependence between China and the United States, but also distort the history of cooperation and mutual benefit between the two countries, dangerously impacting China-U.S. relations.

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat recently warned that U.S. policy towards China is becoming a major issue for the world.

China and the United States bear a special responsibility for global peace, stability, and development. The world needs an overall stable China-US relationship.

The two countries should start from the perspective of shared interests and the future of humanity, and compete in such areas as who can govern their nations better and ensure the well-being of their own people, who can provide greater impetus for global post-pandemic recovery and growth, who can offer more public goods in addressing climate change, who can provide better solutions to regional hotspot issues, and who can make the planet safer, more peaceful, and more prosperous for the 8 billion people living on it, including both Chinese and American citizens.

The Earth is vast enough to accommodate the independent development and shared prosperity of both China and the United States. The United States should abandon zero-sum games and Cold War mentality, break free from the logic of competition and confrontation, and work with China in the same direction with a sense of responsibility towards history, the people, and the world, so as to realize mutual respect, peaceful co-existence and win-win cooperation.

Only by doing so, both countries can learn from each other, make progress together, shoulder international responsibilities as major countries, and contribute their wisdom and strength to global peace and development.

By Li Ya’nan, Yang Shuobi, Xiang Zifeng, People’s Daily

China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is working to build itself into a beautiful Xinjiang that is united, harmonious, prosperous, and culturally advanced, with healthy ecosystems and people living and working in contentment.[1] 

Today, China-Europe freight trains are running across this important node along the Silk Road, constantly releasing development potential; the autonomous region’s economic structure is continuously optimized with upgrading traditional industries and new emerging sectors; the prospering green industries are taking the economic development onto a new level.

In Sangong township, Huocheng county, Ili Kazakh autonomous prefecture of Xinjiang, stevia plants were thriving along a national highway. These plants have seen a remarkable price increase, soaring from just over 10 yuan ($1.37) per kilogram to nearly 300 yuan.

In a workshop of a Xinjiang-based biotech firm, a production line of stevia leaf purification was running at full capacity. Zhou Meng, chairman of the company, told People’s Daily that stevia leaf is a natural and high-quality sweetener, which is 300 to 400 times sweeter than sucrose, but its calorie is only 1/300 of white sugar.

Stevioside extracted from stevia leaves is widely used in the pharmaceutical and food industries.

The biotech firm is a key technological innovation company in Xinjiang. So far, the company has built two production lines for stevioside and has a complete set of supporting equipment.

Flower-related industries covering lavender, rose and peony are continuously expanding in Xinjiang, increasing the income for local residents.

In Ma Zhongliang’s shop in Sigong village, Lucaogou township, Huocheng county, various lavender processed products were neatly displayed on shelves, including essential oils, dried flowers, and pillows.

In 2010, Sigong village started developing the lavender industry, established a specialized cooperative, and introduced essential oil processing enterprises. Gradually, a distinctive industry chain was formed, covering lavender cultivation, development, sales, and the recycling of lavender straws. Over 300 local farmers transformed from “farmers” to “merchants.”

With the continuous increase in the added value of lavender, in 2022, the per capita income of villagers in 718 households reached 22,000 yuan, approximately 2,000 yuan higher than the per capita income of the entire township.

In a vegetable packaging workshop of a trading company in Xinjiang’s Tacheng, fresh vegetables such as bell peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes were being loaded onto trucks. The freshly picked vegetables could make their way to the dining tables of Kazakh families the next day.

According to Yu Xinli, manager of the company who has been engaged in fruit and vegetable foreign trade for over 20 years, the company exports an average of about 80,000 tons of fruits and vegetables from the Baketu Port in Tacheng every year. About 40 percent of goods are local sources, bringing benefits to local farmers.

“We have two harvests in a year, and the earnings from each mu of greenhouse can reach 50,000 yuan,” he said.

The increased income comes from opening up. In December 2013, the Baketu Port, which is just 12 kilometers away from downtown Tacheng, opened the country’s first “green channel” specifically for the quick customs clearance of agricultural and sideline products. Since then, the clearance process has become much faster.

“There is almost no need to wait,” Yu said.

On May 18, the number of inbound and outbound freight vehicles at the Horgos highway port, Ili Kazakh autonomous prefecture, exceeded 1,000 for the first time, reaching 1,099. The figure was less than 300 in 2019.

Ports in Xinjiang are always kept busy by China-Europe freight trains and cargo trucks fully loaded with containers, which is a miniature of the autonomous region’s ongoing efforts to expand its opening up.

According to statistics, the total value of foreign trade in Xinjiang reached a staggering 183.16 billion yuan in the first seven months of this year, an increase of 59.3 percent over the same period last year.

Along a road on the outskirts of the Taklamakan Desert, rows of solar panels were glistening, bringing new hopes to the autonomous region.

In a photovoltaic power station run by State Power Investment Corporation in Luopu county, Hotan, a leader of an installation team was busy inspecting solar panels. This year, he led some 20 villagers to install solar panels for the power station, and each one of them could earn an average of approximately 10,000 yuan a month.

As the largest new energy power generation project in Hotan, it is expected that the annual average power generation of this photovoltaic power station can reach 360 million kilowatt-hours. During the construction period, the power station employed about 1,500 workers, of which 1,000 were local people in Lopu county.

Xinjiang’s arid and sunny climate with strong winds and sandstorms has become a driving force for the green transformation in the autonomous region. By improving the energy structure and introducing green and low-carbon industries, Xinjiang’s new energy industry has taken new steps towards high-quality development.

In 2010, Xinjiang had no photovoltaic power generation and the installed capacity of wind power was only 1 million kilowatts. Through continuous development, as of mid-July this year, Xinjiang’s installed capacity of new energy had exceeded 50 million kilowatts, accounting for over 40 percent of the total installed capacity.

According to estimation, by 2025, Xinjiang’s total installed capacity of grid-connected new energy is expected to exceed 116 million kilowatts, with wind and solar power projects becoming the main source of new installed capacity. This will inject new momentum into economic growth and the achievement of the “dual carbon” goal.

---

https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202308/26/content_WS64e9ffb4c6d0868f4e8ded9c.html

By Sun Longfei, People’s Daily

China House, a service complex for the ongoing Hangzhou Asian Games opened on Sept. 22 in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province.

In the 2,000-square meter facility, precious artifacts, texts, images and videos, and interactive technological installations are displayed, showcasing the development of Chinese sports culture and the journey of China hosting the three Asian Games.

In recent days, both domestic and foreign visitors, as well as local residents, have been hitting the China House to learn about the history of the Asian Games and experience traditional Chinese crafts such as fan-making and stone rubbing.

Inside an antique vermilion door, four Chinese characters “Zhong Guo Zhi Jia” which mean “China House” stand out starkly against a painted mountain landscape.

In exhibition hall, the 1990 Beijing Asian Games torch, signed award ceremony uniforms of Olympic champions, and an animated Chinese painting masterpiece “A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains” are displayed.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and Acting President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Raja Randhir Singh were among the first guests of the China House when it opened. They both showed a strong interest in Chinese traditional culture.

In a tea culture exhibition area, Bach tasted tea while learning about the tea-making process. He said he was surprised to learn that tea leaves, apart from being brewed into a drink, can be eaten directly.

China House is a comprehensive service facility organized and operated by the equipment center of the General Administration of Sport of China. Since its establishment at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, China House has been one of the favorite service facilities for Chinese athletes during major international multi-sport events such as the Olympic Games and the Asian Games.

“The connotation of the China House has become increasingly enriched, and it has now become a window for promoting Chinese culture,” said Yu Jianyong, director of the equipment center of the General Administration of Sport of China and director of the market development department of the Chinese Olympic Committee.

After more than 10 years of continuous exploration, China House has built a platform for promoting the spirit of Chinese sports and showcasing the image of China. While promoting exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations, it has gradually become familiar with and welcomed by the international sports community, Yu noted.

The China House at the Hangzhou Asian Games has set up an interactive area for national fitness for the first time, where a domestically developed smart sports system connects sports hardware with servers, and two large electronic displays present real-time outdoor sports scenes. Participants can join a cycling challenge without leaving their homes.

Adjacent to the interactive area, there is a skeleton training system, the same one used by the Chinese national skeleton team in the Beijing Winter Olympics. It enables ordinary people to experience the speed and excitement of the Winter Olympics on a 1:1 modeled Winter Olympics skeleton track.

The China House is becoming increasingly popular and attractive. It gives everyone the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of Chinese sports, culture, and technology.

By Du Yifei, People’s Daily

The 19th Asian Games is in full swing in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province.

Inside competition venues, athletes from participating countries are striving for excellence, constantly breaking Asian and even World records. Outside the venues, a special record has also been made by an environmental campaign.

The campaign, titled “1kg from everyone to help make the Asian Games carbon neutral,” has been joined by over 100 million people, thus obtaining a Guinness World Records certificate for having the most participants in an environmental campaign in a one-year period.

In April 2022, the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (HAGOC) announced it would hold the first-ever carbon-neutral Asian Games. Working with relevant departments, it launched the “1kg from everyone to help make the Asian Games carbon neutral” campaign on Ant Forest, the official green public welfare platform of the Games, with an aim to encourage low-carbon lifestyles.

According to the rules, people can gain “green energy” to contribute to the Games’ carbon neutrality through green activities like low-carbon traveling, reducing paper and plastic use, promoting energy efficiency, and recycling.

For every kilogram of “green energy” contributed to the Games, the Ant Group, the operator of the Ant Forest, will purchase an equal amount of “carbon credits” from the carbon market and donate them to the HAGOC, thus helping neutralize the carbon emissions generated by the Hangzhou Asian Games.

This environmental campaign, which has received an active response across society, is a miniature of a green Asian Games. The vision of green, low-carbon and sustainable development has been integrated throughout the Hangzhou Asian Games since the first day of its preparations.

The Games has achieved full green electricity supply at all venues for the first time in Asian Games history, and used methanol fuel for the primary cauldron tower at the opening ceremony for the first time, and transformed abandoned mines into the Shaoxing Keqiao Yangshan Sport Climbing Center for the Asian Games. The “carbon-zero engineers” have made specific suggestions to reduce energy use at each venue.

With the concept of the green Asian Games being translated into concrete green actions, it is believed the green ideas of the Hangzhou Asian Games will continue to gain momentum and motivate more people to practice green and low-carbon lifestyles, and thus leave a significant mark in the history of the Asian Games.

By Huan Yuping, People’s Daily

In today’s era, every second is what Karl Marx referred to as “world time”. The futures and interests of countries are intertwined and deeply interconnected.

On Sept. 28, 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the general debate of the 70th Session of the United Nations(UN) General Assembly and delivered an important speech, in which he proposed the common values of the whole mankind for the first time – peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, saying the values are the lofty goals of the UN.

The common values of the whole mankind reveals the greatest possible convergence of interests among different systems, different civilizations and different countries, building consensus for the advancement of human civilization and driving the creation of a better future for humanity.

Despite differences among countries in history, culture, institution and level of development, their peoples do subscribe to the common values of humanity for peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom.

Peace and development are the common endeavors of people from all countries and serve as the foundation for pursuing all other values. They are crucial conditions for enhancing the well-being of people.

Fairness and justice are the shared ideals of people from all countries, reflected in the normative requirements of establishing a sound and reasonable order within a nation and among nations.

Democracy and freedom are the common aspirations of people from all countries and are important indicators of the progress of human civilization.

The common values of the whole mankind transcend the barriers of civilizations, nationalities, systems, and political parties. They condense and summarize the basic consensus of values shared by all humanity and have gained widespread recognition from the international community. Promoting peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom as the common values of the whole mankind has been enshrined in joint declarations of China and many other countries.

History and reality both prove that embracing these common values with an open and inclusive spirit is essential for promoting the development and progress of human society.

The common values of the whole mankind are inclusive, advocating for a broad understanding of values by different civilizations and respecting the exploration of value realization by peoples of different countries. The common values of the whole mankind are concretely and practically embodied in the pursuit of people’s interests.

To promote the common values of the whole mankind, it is necessary to advocate for cultural exchanges and mutual learning.

Diversity makes human civilization what it is, and provides a constant source of vitality and driving force for world development. No civilization in the world is superior to others; every civilization is special and unique to its own region. Civilizations can achieve harmony only through communication, and can make progress only through harmonization. Only by letting cultural exchanges transcend estrangement, mutual learning transcend clashes, and coexistence transcend feelings of superiority, can the world promote continuous progress of civilizations and draw a magnificent picture of human history.

The world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. It is undergoing major shifts, division and regrouping, leading to more uncertain, unstable and unpredictable developments. Only by adhering to the common values of the whole mankind can the world propel the wheels of history towards a brighter future.

Human suffering caused by regional conflicts and wars continues around the world. There are still approximately 735 million people suffering from hunger globally. The UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals consist of 169 specific targets, but only 15 percent are on track, and many goals are even experiencing setbacks.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world is at a time when humanity faces huge challenges – from the worsening climate emergency to escalating conflicts, the global cost-of-living crisis, soaring inequalities and dramatic technological disruptions.

In order to achieve peace and development, the international community should adhere to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, establish a new vision of security featuring common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, respect the development rights of all countries, restore development to the center of the international agenda, and jointly cultivate new global development momentum.

In order to achieve fairness and justice, efforts should be made to strive for equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules. International rules should be based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and jointly written and maintained by all. The representation and voice of developing countries should be strengthened in international affairs.

In order to achieve democracy and freedom, the international community should respect and support the development paths independently chosen by different peoples, support countries in exploring democratic development paths based on their national conditions, and jointly enrich the development of human political civilization.

The common values of the whole mankind are not only the common wealth of human civilization, but also the key to solving the challenges of the times. As the proposer of these common values, China will continue to work together with all parties to actively practice them, walk the path of common development, respond to the challenges of the times, promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and create a better future for the world.

By Li Yang, Zheng Yi, People’s Daily

Among the 40 sports at the Hangzhou Asian Games, nine are non-Olympic, including mind sports go, chess, bridge, and e-sports, martial arts jujitsu, Kurash, and karate, as well as squash, cricket, sepak takraw, kabaddi, Wushu, dragon boat, and softball.

Many of these events carry distinct Asian characteristics and thus build a stage to showcase the blending of sports and cultures.

At the cricket venue of the Hangzhou Asian Games, cheers frequently arose from the stands.

“We bought tickets to several cricket matches. Cricket is hugely popular in India, just like table tennis in China. We’ve been watching cricket games and playing cricket since we were young,” said Batra, an Indian spectator who came to Hangzhou for the Asian Games.

Asia is vast in territory with a large population, diverse cultures and a long history.

“The selection of non-Olympic sports at the Asian Games fully considered the popularity of different sports across Asia,” said Zhu Qinan, director of the competition department of the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee.

For instance, Wushu, sepak takraw, cricket, jujitsu and Kurash carry regional characteristics of East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia respectively, he explained.

These non-Olympic sports have enriched the competitions at the Asian Games and interpret the beauty of diversity of Asian sports, Zhu remarked.

The Asian Games is like a window, which not only brings regionally popular sports into public view, but also facilitates cultural exchanges and mutual learning between different cultures.

At the sepak takraw games of the Hangzhou Asian Games, whether scoring or making a turnover, players from both teams would gather in a circle on either side of the court, join hands with their teammates, and shout out loud together.

“This was my first time watching a sepak takraw match. I felt the teamwork essence of this sport,” a spectator from Jinhua, Zhejiang province said.

The roster of non-Olympic sports at each Asian Games has been quite dynamic, with certain sports “rotating in and out” over the years and new ones frequently making debut appearances.

“The Asian Games has always maintained an open and inclusive attitude, continuously embracing emerging sports that are popular and carry the features of the times,” said Liu Mingyi, a professor with Wuhan Sports University.

In his opinion, this kind of flexible arrangement helps the Asian Games maintain appeal and get closer to the general public.