Nigeria Times

By He Yin, People’s Daily

Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 19 chaired the first China-Central Asia Summit and delivered a keynote speech in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi province. The summit was also attended by heads of state of the five Central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The six heads of state reviewed the history of friendly exchanges between China and Central Asia, took stock of their cooperation outcomes, summed up successful experiences, and built new consensus, charting a blueprint for the future development of China-Central Asia relations.

Facing profound changes unseen in a century, and bearing in mind the fundamental interests and bright future of the peoples, the six countries are determined to foster an even closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future, which will bring more benefits to the peoples and make greater contributions to regional peace and development.

The China-Central Asia relationship is steeped in history, driven by broad actual needs, and built on solid popular support. The relations are brimming with vigor and vitality in the new era.

For millennia, the people of China and Central Asia have complemented and learned from each other, creating the glories of the ancient Silk Road. Since the two sides established diplomatic relations, they have always respected each other, enjoyed good neighborliness, and worked in partnership and solidarity for mutual benefit through thick and thin. Their state-to-state relations have grown from ones of good-neighborliness to strategic partnerships, and then to a community with a shared future, achieving historic leapfrog development.

In today’s world, transformations unseen in a century are accelerating; the international and regional situation is changing in profound and complex ways; both opportunities and challenges are unprecedented. At this critical historical juncture, the China-Central Asia Summit follows the trend of win-win cooperation, which is in line with the fundamental interests of the peoples and is conducive to the development and revitalization of the six countries.

In his keynote speech, Xi proposed four points on what Central Asia the world needs, four principles in building a China-Central Asia community with a shared future and eight points for good planning, development and progress of China-Central Asia cooperation.

It marked the first comprehensive and systematic exposition on China’s foreign policy toward Central Asia by China’s top leader in the new era. It has won high recognition and received warm responses from the heads of state of the five Central Asian countries, and offered fundamental guidance for building an even closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

Building an even closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future is the most important political outcome of the summit, which demonstrates to the world the determination of China and Central Asia to renew their millennia-old friendship and open up new vistas for the future.

Xi said in his keynote speech that the world needs a stable, prosperous, harmonious and interconnected Central Asia. He stressed the sovereignty, security, independence and territorial integrity of Central Asian countries must be upheld, their people’s choice of development paths must be respected, and their efforts for peace, harmony and tranquility must be supported.

His remarks strongly resonated with the leaders of Central Asian countries. During the summit, they voiced firm support for each other to choose a development path compatible with their national conditions, firmly uphold their core interests including sovereignty, independence, security and territorial integrity, and oppose interference in others’ internal affairs.

Central Asian countries fully recognize the significance of the Chinese path to modernization for the world’s development, and reiterate their firm commitment to the one-China principle. As forces for peace and justice, China and Central Asian countries, with mutual understanding and joint efforts, will surely inject more positive energy and stability into this complicated and volatile world.

During the summit, China and five Central Asian countries signed seven bilateral and multilateral documents as well as over 100 cooperation agreements in various fields. The achievements and impacts of the summit were unprecedented.

The China + Central Asia (C+C5) cooperation mechanism is a result of China and Central Asian countries moving in the same direction. It conforms to the development of the region, the trend of the times and the aspiration of the peoples, enjoying strong endogenous impetus and broad development prospects.

The summit established a comprehensive framework for the mechanism. Taking the opportunity of this summit, the six countries have officially inaugurated the China-Central Asia Summit Mechanism, with China and Central Asian countries taking turns to host the biennial summit.

Head-of-state diplomacy will keep offering strategic guidance on enhancing top-level planning and coordination for China-Central Asia relations.

The first China-Central Asia Summit was a grand meeting that blended history and the future. Xi’an, as the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, has once again become a starting point in the new era witnessing the joint efforts of China and Central Asian countries to create a brighter future.

The summit demonstrated unity, creativity and efficiency, creating a new platform and opening up new prospects for China-Central Asia cooperation. It marked a new milestone in the development of China-Central Asia relations.

It is believed that with joint efforts, China’s relations with Central Asian countries will forge ahead like a ship braving all winds and waves, offer new vitality to the development and revitalization of the six countries, inject strong, positive energy to peace and stability of the region, and make new contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

By Meng Haiying, People’s Daily

In a breeding base of Haoyue Group, a leading beef product company, 800 fattening cattle are eating, pacing or enjoying massage therapies with the melodious sound of the piano.

Big data plays a key role in the operation of this clean tech-ish breeding base, which covers 15,000 square meters in Changchun, northeast China’s Jilin province. Every cattle has a QR code that shows its age, vaccination record, and even how much forage it has consumed and how much weight it has put on during each stage of its growth.

These cattle, known as Woking black cattle, are a patented breed of Haoyue Group, which differ from normal beef cattle in terms of both breeding techniques and environment.

According to an executive of Haoyue Group, each of the cattle weighs about 750 to 850 kilograms and results in beef of approximately 450 kilograms on average. The beef is sold in five grades in accordance with quality, with the price ranging from 90 yuan ($12.84) to 2,600 yuan per kilogram, which means the beef part of a cattle is worth over 130,000 yuan, equivalent to the price of a regular passenger car.

Technology and human resource are key to agricultural modernization. Haoyue Group has improved the quality of cattle breeds and secured germplasm resources with sci-tech innovation, as well as reformed its breeding structures and optimized the breeding process with big data.

Supported by agricultural mechanization and intelligence, the company has developed the traditional cattle beef industry into an industrial chain that involves breeding, cattle farming, beef processing and sales.

This exactly mirrors the high-quality, high-production and low-consumption characteristics of precision agriculture, and is a miniature of modern agricultural development. It has significance for the application of technologies in other fields of agriculture.

Animal husbandry supported by digital technology is able to better satisfy people’s needs and thus embraces a huge market.

Despite the impact of multiple factors, the output value of Haoyue Group bucked the trend over recent years. The beef bred and produced in its breeding base, assisted by digitalization, is now highly recognized by the market. It is a result of higher demands from consumers for healthy and quality products.

In recent years, Chinese consumers have improved their living standards, upgraded consumption concepts and optimized their dietary structure. Driven by digital opportunities, industrial development and product improvement will certainly create a more prosperous market.

The animal husbandry industry, upon upgrading, would accelerate low-carbon circulation and green development, and enjoys huge development potential.

The “No. 1 central document” for 2023 released by China’s central authorities urged more vigorous development of silage and accelerated utilization of straws in animal husbandry.

Jilin has launched a program that encourages farmers to take eco-friendly corn straws as cattle feed and guides them to breed cattle with technology. The province has developed an intelligent and digital platform for animal husbandry. As a result, more farmers and breeders have changed their methods and improved farming efficiency, embracing a green development path.

Every part of a cow or bull is profitable. Apart from beef, cow leather can be made into valuable shoes, bags and jackets, and also be sold to automakers for automotive interiors. The bones and cartilage of the animal are a source of calcium powder and chondroitin sulfate, and heparin sodium can be extracted from the lungs and small intestines. Besides, biological valves processed from bovine pericardium can also simulate human valve functions.

Today, empowered by industrialization and big data thinking, Jilin has developed a complete industrial chain involving cattle breeding, ruminant feed, food processing, biomedicine, leather making and organic fertilizer industries.

The prosperity of the cattle industrial chain reflects the vitality of agricultural modernization and the broad space of diversified intensive processing in the animal husbandry sector. The province will embrace longer industrial chains and bigger industrial clusters by promoting integrated development of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries, collaborating all sectors along the chain and expanding the development paths with digital technologies.

By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

To hype the so-called “China threat” is a “script” written by Japan, the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven (G7), for the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

Recently, the leader of Japan once again made irresponsible remarks during an interview, saying China is seeking unilateral changes to the status quo by force.

Making use of the G7 Hiroshima summit, the Japanese side has repeatedly fanned up the so-called “China threat” to demonstrate its “leadership” and the “solidarity” of the G7, which is indeed facing a number of problems.

Such practice of instigating bloc confrontation for private interests will only make Japan’s neighboring countries in Asia more vigilant and further reveal to the international community the disgraceful role played by Japan.

Taiwan’s return to China is a component of the post-war international order. It is written in black and white in the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation.

Japan, as a country whose militarists once launched wars of aggression, should have exercised caution in its words and deeds. However, for some time, some forces in Japan have vigorously advocated that “Any contingency for Taiwan is a contingency for Japan,” and even erroneously identified Taiwan as “important for Japan’s security and the stability of the international community,” trying to make the Taiwan question an international issue.

By provoking China on issues concerning the country’s core interests, Japan has grossly interfered in China’s domestic affairs and blatantly challenged the post-war international order.

Despite the remarks by the leader of a European country that Europe should not get involved in the Taiwan question, Japan is trying to kidnap all other members of the G7 with the Taiwan question, which is a disrespect to them.

By hyping the so-called “China threat,” Japan hopes to find excuses to break free from the military restrictions imposed on it over crimes of aggression committed by Japanese militarism in history.

Its written in the Potsdam Proclamation released in 1945 that Japan will eliminate militarism and establish a peaceful government.

Following the exclusively defense-oriented strategy, the ban on the right to collective self-defense and giving up the right to launch wars are promises made by Japan to the rest of the world.

However, the country has been revising its defense strategy over the recent years to break free from the Peace Constitution.

In December last year, Japan updated three security and defense-related documents including the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Strategy and the Defense Buildup Program, declaring that it has acquired the “counterstrike capability,” or “enemy base strike capabilities.” This meant that Japan abandoned the “exclusively defense-oriented” strategy and deviated from the Peace Constitution.

By taking China as an “unprecedented strategic challenge” and fanning up the so-called “China threat,” Japan is trying to get rid of the restrictions from the Peace Constitution and find excuses to expand its military strength.

As an Asian country, Japan is passionate about being a “pioneer” in protecting American hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region, which seriously threatens regional peace and stability. The United States announced that it will “shape the strategic environment in which China operates,” and Japan just fell into line with the United States and did the United States’ bidding.

Japan has completely forgot the humiliation of being forced to accept the Plaza Accord and turned a deaf ear to the rational voices in the country to oppose the constitutional revision and military build-up.

Japan intends to spearhead NATO’s foray into the Asia-Pacific. Last year, the country took part in a NATO summit for the first time, and now it is planning to open an NATO office in Tokyo, which clearly reveals its intention to introduce the alliance to the Asia-Pacific.

Asia is one of the most peaceful and stable regions in the world and a promising land for cooperation and development. It’s not an arena for geopolitical contest. Japan’s remarks and practices have alerted the international community, especially countries in the Asia-Pacific.

Japan has ulterior motives by roping in other G7 members. It is eager to shake off the institutional restrictions formed after the World War II and become a “normal” country. Hosting the G7 summit is considered an opportunity for the country to demonstrate its “big-country ambition.”

However, as a Japanese media outlet analyzed, the global influence of the G7 today is not as big as it used to be. It’s ill-conceived for Japan to embolden itself by roping in other G7 members.

If Japan really wants to become a responsible member of the international society as it has claimed, it should take concrete actions to win trust from its neighboring countries in Asia and the rest of the international community, rather than giving empty slogans.

Japan also has the intension to have other G7 members endorse its plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.

During a press conference of the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment held last month, the Japanese side claimed that the steady decommissioning progress including the release of treated water into the ocean “will be welcomed.” However, Steffi Lemke, Germany’s Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, slammed the claim, saying she “cannot welcome the release of the treated water.”

The Japanese plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea violates the international obligations of Japan. The country will only make itself more distrusted if it keeps asking for endorsement from other countries.

In history, Hiroshima once shouldered huge trauma as a result of the war of aggression waged by Japanese militarists. Today, Japan is turning a blind eye to history and playing dangerous geopolitical games when the world is facing challenges, which is extremely irresponsible for the Japanese people and the international community.

The Japanese government should listen carefully to the voices of justice from its people. They don’t want Hiroshima, a city once took an atomic bomb, to be utilized politically, and don’t want Japan to be an accomplice of war.

By Wu Huimin

China’s consumption scenarios of foreign trade have been constantly widened thanks to the development of digital technologies, such as AI-assisted real-time translation, remote equipment trouble-shooting and traceable technology in production, packaging, shipping and sales processes.

Experts believe that digital trade, as a new form in the trade sector, is expanding new space for foreign trade upgrading

In an exhibition area of an intelligent international freight system of Cainiao, the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, a batch of digital services is displayed.

Visitors can get a clear path of an express parcel from China to its overseas destination by just typing a few parameters into the system. All important logistics nodes are marked along the path on the screen.

An employee of Cainiao told People’s Daily that with this system, every logistics link has become traceable, from domestic warehouses to ports and overseas warehouses, and in end-range delivery.

The 133rd China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, was recently held in south China’s Guangdong province. Apart from arranging offline booths, many exhibitors also set up live broadcasts in the venue, interacting with their clients via livestreaming.

“We have opened online business on international trade sites including Alibaba, and promoted our operations on overseas social media platforms. Thanks to these efforts, our business is constantly expanding,” said Wang Li, founder of exhibitor Shenzhen Maiqijia Home Co., Ltd., an early player in the e-commerce sector.

Over recent years, digital technologies have opened up new arenas, constantly contributing to the high-quality development of China’s foreign trade.

Sun Yuning, vice minister of the General Administration of Customs of China, noted that cross-border e-commerce has become a new engine of the country’s foreign trade development and an important part of China’s high-quality development, with its volume doubling from 1 trillion yuan ($142.12 billion) in 2018 to 2.11 trillion yuan in 2022.

While expanding its volume, the sector has also witnessed a huge improvement in its quality, with more and more commodities manufactured in China entering the global consumer market through cross-border e-commerce, Sun added.

Regions across China are actively engaging in the development of digital technologies, embracing new business forms of foreign trade.

Hangzhou in east China’s Zhejiang province has built an AI innovative development pilot zone, a national financial technology innovation and development pilot zone and a world-class demonstration center for cross-border e-commerce.

Jiangsu province, which neighbors Zhejiang, launched measures to promote digital trade, vowing to establish a digital trade sector for its international trade single-window system and build a statistical system for digital trade.

Today, more and more foreign products are entering Chinese families thanks to the application of digital technologies.

A number of ambassadors, consuls and counselors to China have joined livestream marketing activities in the country since 2020, recommending products from their countries to Chinese consumers.

The transformation and upgrading of China’s foreign trade not only benefits the country itself, but also brings opportunities to the rest of the world.

So far, China has signed the Digital Silk Road memorandums of understanding for cooperation with over 10 countries and advanced the Silk Road E-commerce bilateral cooperation mechanism with more than 20 countries. This indicates the deepening cooperation on digital trade between China and other countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative.

China is the world’s largest market of digital consumption. The digital economy has profoundly changed the ways of work and life of the Chinese people, and introduced new visions to the rest of the world.

Experts believe that the implementation of the Digital Silk Road will promote the development of cross-border e-commerce and is conducive to making employment more diversified and flexible in relevant countries.

China’s development in digital trade has brought dividends to many countries around the world. More and more countries are expecting to cooperate with China in the sector.

An official with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) noted that China enjoys huge potential in e-commerce development, and cross-border e-commerce is able to further improve the openness and inclusiveness of the market.

The SCO hopes to strengthen cooperation among its members, especially in the fields of e-commerce and digital economy, by sharing China’s practical experiences, the official added.