Nigeria Times

By He Yin, People’s Daily

China’s GDP grew 4.5 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2023, according to statistics released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics on April 18.

The sound performance was said to be a solid start of the Chinese economy in 2023 by international community, and the world is confident about China’s long-term economic resilience and vitality. It is believed that China will continue injecting strong impetus into global recovery.

This performance was a hard-won result achieved in an external environment that was volatile and grave.

Since this year, as the country has achieved a smooth transition in COVID-19 response and front-loaded the policies to stabilize growth, employment and commodity price, it has accumulated more positive factors.

Multiple international organizations and investment institutions had lifted their forecast on China’s economic growth this year.

After the Q1 performance was released, global media outlets, seeing the energy and vitality of the Chinese economy, described it with “recovery,” “rebound,” and “prosperity.”

The encouraging momentum of rebound of the Chinese economy has laid a solid foundation for the country to achieve its annual targets. Both Citigroup and Societe Generale have raised their forecast on China’s annual growth since the release of the country’s Q1 performance. This once again indicated the recent remarks by World Bank Group President David Malpass that global growth is expected to be weak this year, but China will be an exception to the slowdown.

Consumption, one of the three major driving forces of China’s economic growth, played a prominent role in the country’s economic development in the first quarter and demonstrated the dynamic internal impetus of the Chinese economy.

China’s retail sales of consumer goods went up 5.8 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year, and the retail sales of services maintained double-digit growth in the same period. Final consumption contributed 66.6 percent to the economic growth, much higher than the whole-year figure in 2022.

The third China International Consumer Products Expo was held recently in south China’s Hainan province. Over 1,000 products under 300 global brands made their debut at the event. It fully proved that to explore the huge potential of the Chinese consumption market is a consensus of global enterprises.

China is witnessing continuous expansion of consumption scenarios, improved consumption expectation, growing market sales and obviously rebounding service consumption. An Associated Press report said that China’s economic growth is accelerating with consumption boost.

A foreign scholar noted that China’s bright economic prospects come from more flexible and higher-quality development.

Since this year, China has actively given play to the key role of investment to drive high-quality development. It expanded investment in key areas and livelihood sectors, and witnessed sound growth in manufacturing investment. In particular, the investment in high-tech manufacturing jumped 15.2 percent.

China’s commitment to high-quality development is mirrored by the country’s growing solar and wind power generating capacity as well as the soaring sales of new energy vehicles, said Chief executive officer Shakeel Ahmad Ramay of the Asian Institute of Eco-civilization Research and Development in Pakistan.

Senior executives of multinational corporations have paid frequent visits to China this year, with many enterprises announcing to expand their investment in China. In the first two months, China’s foreign direct investment, in actual use, reached $40 billion, and the figure is keeping growing.

It has become a broad consensus that advancing with China is advancing with opportunities, and investing in China is investing in the future.

The encouraging momentum of rebound of the Chinese economy has provided more opportunities for the rest of the world.

In the first quarter, China’s foreign trade of goods went up 4.8 percent year on year. In particular, trade with countries along the Belt and Road surged 16.8 percent, while that with other participating countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership rose 7.3 percent.

In the same period, China’s outbound shipments of solar batteries, lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles surged 66.9 percent on a yearly basis. Cross-border e-commerce and other new businesses also saw rapid growth. This well explains the supportive role played by new drivers in the foreign trade sector.

In its latest annual trade statistics and outlook report, the WTO lifted its forecast for global trade growth in 2023 to 1.7 percent from the previous estimate of 1.0 percent, saying China is a “key factor” of this increase and the release of the demand for consumption will promote global trade growth. A Bloomberg report noted that the growth in China’s exports boosted economic prospects and suggested that global growth may be better than expected.

The good start of the Chinese economy this year once again proved that fundamentals of China’s  economic growth remain unchanged, and China’s advantages of its large-scale market and complete industrial system remain unchanged.

China has the confidence and ability to sail the giant ship of the Chinese economy steadily ahead against all winds and waves, and make even greater contributions to the global economy.

By Liu Zhiqiang, People’s Daily

China’s GDP reached 28.5 trillion yuan (about $4.14 trillion) in the first three months this year, up 4.5 percent year-on-year or an increase of 2.2 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2022, according to data released by the China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday,April 18.

China’s national economy made a good start this year, said NBS Spokesperson Fu Linghui at a press conference.

Fu, also the director general of the Department of Comprehensive Statistics of the NBS, explained that as the country has achieved a smooth transition in COVID-19 response and front-loaded the policies to stabilize growth, employment and commodity price, it has accumulated more positive factors.

The Chinese economy enjoyed strong impetus for development in terms of consumption, investment and export.

Since this year, the country’s policies to promote consumption have produced continuous effects, and the market saw a prominent rebound, Fu noted, adding that consumption has played a more important role in driving economic growth.

According to him, final consumption contributed 66.6 percent to the country’s economic growth in the first quarter, higher than the whole-year figure in 2022 and the largest driver of economic growth.

As the diminishing impacts from COVID-19 expand consumption scenarios, transport, catering, entertainment and tourism consumption saw rapid growth. In the first three months of this year, the revenue of China’s catering industry saw a year-on-year uplift of 13.9 percent.

In the first quarter, China’s fixed-asset investment went up 5.1 percent year-on-year, playing a positive role in driving economic growth. Manufacturing investment saw a 7 percent expansion, maintaining a sound momentum for growth and obviously higher than the growth of overall investment. In particular, investment into high-tech manufacturing sectors expanded by 15.2 percent.

Since this year, regions across the country have worked actively to advance infrastructure construction. In the January-March period, infrastructure investment increased by 8.8 percent year-on-year, laying a solid foundation for future development.

“Investment has been on a steady trajectory of growth this year, with a continuously optimized structure, which is conducive to promoting economic growth and long-term development,” Fu said. According to him, China will focus more on improving the quality of investment and further stabilize non-state investment.

China has vigorously pursued more stable and higher-quality foreign trade and actively expanded trade with emerging markets and developing countries along the Belt and Road.

In the first quarter, the country’s total foreign trade increased 4.8 percent year-on-year. In particular, exports went up 8.4 percent upon a high aggregate last year. Its trade with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partners grew 16.8 percent, and that with other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) grew 7.3 percent, with an 20.2 percent rise in exports.

Fu said China’s growth was a hard-won result given the slowing economic growth of the world and external uncertainties. China’s foreign trade has maintained its strong resilience and vitality despite pressure and challenges, and it is possible for the country to achieve its goal of stabilizing foreign trade and improving its quality this year with stabilizing policies, he remarked.

China’s economy has maintained a sound momentum for growth this year, which lays a solid foundation for the country to reach its annual development goals, Fu told the press conference.

The country is witnessing a gradually increasing endogenous momentum for development, and is expected to embrace better economic recovery this year, he said.

Responding to the so-called deflation worries, Fu noted that deflation refers to a continuous fall in the general price level, often accompanied by reduced money supply and economic recession.

“Generally speaking, deflation is not occurring in China,” Fu said, citing a mild uptick in the consumer price index, rapid growth in the money supply and a fast economic rebound.

The spokesperson attributed the eased CPI growth rate in Q1 to a drop in food and energy prices, and a decline in automobile prices, among others.

“Market supply and demand remained generally stable. For the next stage, the prices will recover steadily and there will be no deflation concerns in China,” he said.

At present, the international environment remains complicated and the global growth is slow, Fu said, adding that there are many unstable and uncertain factors. China is seeing sound economic recovery, but is still restricted by insufficient demand and prominent structural problems. It still needs to consolidate the foundation for economic recovery.

Fu noted that China will keep acting on the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, promote a full economic recovery, and effectively pursue higher-quality growth and appropriately increase economic output, so as to set the stage for building a modern socialist country in all respects.

By Zou Xiang, People’s Daily

The third China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) was held in Haikou, capital of south China’s Hainan province between April 10 and 15.

The expo had an exhibition area of 120,000 square meters this year, up 20 percent from the previous edition. More than 3,300 brands from 65 countries and regions were displayed at the event, and over 1,000 products under 300 global brands made their debut.

These figures indicate the CICPE’s influence, as well as the huge attractiveness of the Chinese market.

China has always been committed to its fundamental national policy of opening to the outside world and pursued a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up. It strives to create new opportunities for the world with its own development .

The CICPE offered a broad platform for global enterprises to showcase themselves. It is an important channel for them to better connect with the Chinese market and share development opportunities.

China boasts a huge and multi-tier compound consumption market featuring rapid growth. Last year, China imported consumer goods worth 1.93 trillion yuan ($280 billion), up over 100 percent from 2012, and the import via cross-border e-commerce grew 4.9 percent year on year to 560 billion yuan.

China has hosted a number of grand trade fairs over the recent years, including the China International Import Expo, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, the China Import and Export Fair and the CICPE, creating massive opportunities for global enterprises to enter the Chinese market and share China’s development achievements. These events have made the Chinese market a shared market for all global players. It is believed that a more open China will inject even stronger impetus into the recovery of the global economy.

China cannot develop in isolation from the world, and the world also needs China for its development.

China’s economy accounts for over 18 percent of the world’s total, and its contribution to global economic growth averaged 38.6 percent during the 2013-2021 period. It is the world’s largest trading country in goods and services, and boasts the world’s largest and most complete industrial system as well as strong industrial supporting capacity. This is what makes China confident in its high-quality economic development, and an important reason for the international community to be optimistic about the country’s economic prospects.

China will unswervingly open up to the outside world, no matter how the international situation may change. China will only open itself wider to the world. It will provide a better environment and better services to all. For global enterprises that are committed to developing in China, investing in China means a better future.

Profound changes unseen in a century are evolving rapidly in the world. A new round of technological revolution and industrial reform is reshaping the global economic structure. Meanwhile, the world economic recovery remains sluggish and regional conflicts and disturbances are frequent.

Responsibility, cooperation, solidarity, openness and inclusiveness are particularly important in adversity. A successful CICPE proved that openness and cooperation are still the trend of history and win-win cooperation is still what people aspire to. Only through mutual assistance and win-win cooperation and jointly building an open world economy, can countries achieve strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth of the world economy.

The bird view of the Hainan International Convention and Exhibition Center, the venue for the third CICPE, looks like a sea gull spreading its wings to welcome guests from all over the world.

China’s economic development in the past was achieved through opening up to the outside world; if it is to achieve high-quality economic development in the future, it must open up even wider.

On a new journey, China will strengthen open cooperation, build a closer economic tie with the rest of the world, keep improving trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, steadily expand institutional opening up, and foster a market-oriented and world-class business environment governed by a sound legal framework. It will surely bring more opportunities to other countries and inject more positive energy into global economic development.

By Li Jie

China’s foreign trade, after experiencing a 7 percent year-on-year drop in January this year, went up 8 percent and 15.5 percent in the following two months, respectively. It manifests the country’s confidence in ensuring steady and high-quality foreign trade growth against a complicated background.

Recently, Chinese enterprises just wrapped up their exhibition at The World Smart Energy Week 2023 running from March 15 to 17 at the Tokyo International Exhibition Center features top-notch energy technologies and products in various categories. Many of them engaged in the new energy sector have signed major deals and met with new and old partners.

Japan is an important market for Chinese new energy products. Many Japanese companies have cooperated with their Chinese suppliers for over a decade.

“Chinese enterprises rushed to visit their Japanese clients at the earliest time possible immediately after China optimized its COVID-19 response last December,” said Meng Jing, general manager of the business department of Grand International Exhibition Co., Ltd., the company that led the Chinese enterprise delegation to Japan this time.

A high passion for joining overseas exhibitions has been observed among Chinese enterprises. The total exhibition area of Chinese enterprises at The World Smart Energy Week was expanded to 7,000 square meters from 2,000 square meters last year.

According to Meng, Chinese enterprises shone through at The World Smart Energy Week, thanks to their delicately decorated booths, well-prepared exhibits and sales strategy. Compared with that at the event held before COVID-19, the number of visitors this year rose 10 percent. Chinese new energy enterprises just received high attention.

Market expansion and order seeking have remained keywords for the Chinese foreign trade sector this year. Some regions have sent business delegations overseas for business negotiation and exhibitions, and some hosted brick-and-mortar economic forums, trying to gain an initiative as external demand weakens.

Expanding the foreign trade market is important for relevant enterprises. According to statistics, 457,000 foreign trade enterprises in China registered import and export performance in the first quarter, up 5.9 percent from a year ago.

In the first three months, China’s trade with ASEAN, its largest trading partner, stood at 1.56 trillion yuan ($226.15 billion), up 16.1 percent year-on-year, 11.3 percentage points higher than the country’s overall trade growth rate. It accounted for 15.8 percent of China’s total foreign trade in the same period.

China’s trade with the EU, the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea reached 1.34 trillion yuan, 1.11 trillion yuan, 546.41 billion yuan and 528.46 billion yuan, respectively, during the three-month period, accounting for 35.6 percent of the country’s foreign trade.

From January to March, China’s imports and exports with economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative surged 16.8 percent year-on-year to account for 34.6 percent of its foreign trade, while trade with other participating countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership rose 7.3 percent from the first quarter of 2022. The country’s total imports and exports with emerging markets in Latin America and Africa grew 11.7 percent and 14.1 percent, respectively.

Bai Ming, a senior researcher with a Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) think tank, believes that developing countries and ASEAN make a huge market, and foreign enterprises should take the opportunities of the China-ASEAN free trade area and the RCEP to work for win-win results.

As the Philippines ratified the RCEP agreement, the trade pact has taken effect for all 15 member countries, which significantly widens market access for Chinese enterprises. Wang Shouwen, vice commerce minister and China international trade representative at the MOFCOM, noted that relevant departments are still negotiating over and signing new deals of free trade, to create a better external environment for China’s foreign trade.

As a barometer of China’s foreign trade, the China Import and Export Fair, also dubbed as the Canton Fair, is currently being hosted in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong province. The event has resumed physical exhibition and is joined by hundreds of thousands of exhibitors from more than 220 countries and regions.

“The Canton Fair is a hot destination for global products and merchants. It is where the flows of personnel, logistics, capital and information gather. It has forcefully promoted the development of trade, investment, consumption, tourism and catering,” said Chu Shijia, head of the China Foreign Trade Center, at a recent press conference.

A study showed that the Canton Fair contributed to the development of local economy by 1:13.6, which fully indicates the event’s important role in serving global trade, promoting Chinese-foreign connection and driving economic development.

By He Yuche, Qin Ruijie, People’s Daily

“Look! There are bharals on our right side!” Ge Yihong shouted on a vehicle heading to Helan Mountain in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Three bharals were drinking water leisurely by a creek. In the distance, there was Helan Mountain covered in a shade of green.

Ge, 60, is the head of a sanitation station in Shitanjing neighborhood, which sits in the hinterland of Helan Mountain in Dawukou district, Shizuishan of Ningxia.

Helan Mountain is an important physical boundary in China and a vital ecological barrier in the northwest region of the country. It is also an important source of coal resources.

The mountain’s landform had been severely damaged since 1950s as a result of massive unregulated mining activities.

In 2018, a pilot project aiming at holistic conservation and restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands officially kicked off on the east slope of the mountain, and three years later, Helan Mountain’s ecological and environmental governance was jointly recommended as one of the 10 classic examples of ecological restoration with Chinese characteristics by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Today, holistic restoration has been completed at 214 sites in and around the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve, which cover a total area of 405,000 mu, or 27,000 hectares.

Ge was born and raised in a mining area on Helan Mountain, and has been working there since he grew up. The massive mining activities in the past were still a fresh memory for the man.

“There was no trace of red deer or bharals at all. The shirts we wore could be blackened fast by the coal ash. Local residents didn’t dry their clothes outdoor,” he recalled.

Since 2017, Ningxia has made huge efforts to restore ecology in Helan Mountain. All open-pit coal mines in mining areas were shut down, and the mining rights to 83 sites were canceled. Besides, 561 poorly managed and polluting small enterprises at the foot of the mountain were closed.

What followed was the treatment of mines. To prevent soil erosion, coal gangues that piled up nearly 100 meters were leveled and thus turned into “terraced fields.” These “terraced fields” were later covered with nearly 50 centimeters of earth, which helped the black and barren mountain gain the capability to grow vegetation. Besides, the original landform of the mountain was restored to lower the risks of landslides and debris flows.

Today, new “peaks” have been forged on treated areas. “They heal the ‘scars’ that were left. Only by sound treatment, can we have the possibility to further green the mountain,” Ge told People’s Daily.

Helan Mountain is a rock mountain covered by thin earth. Therefore, it’s uneasy to grow vegetation on it. The annual precipitation there stands at around only 200 to 300 millimeters, but the annual evaporation is more than 10 times of that. How to expand the green area became the top issue of treatment after mines were shut down on the mountain.

In 2018, forest authorities of Shizuishan, in collaboration with Ningxia University and other research institutions, launched a series of experiments on Helan Mountain and decided to plant cold-resisting, drought-resisting and salt-tolerant trees on the mountain, such as Korshinsk pea shrub, Salix cheilophila, Siberian elm, Pinus sylvestris and black locust.

Tree planting activities are now commonly seen in the treated areas and along the roads on the mountain. “We planted Armenian plums at the foot of the mountain in the previous years, and this year we plan to green the areas covered by coal cinders,” said Zhang Tingxie, head of an ecological forest farm of Shizuishan.

By Huan Yuping, People’s Daily

The United States recently held the so-called second “Summit for Democracy,” which was said to be an “ideological” meeting by U.S. media.

At the summit, the U.S. government once again acted to split the world into two camps of what it defined as “democracies and non-democracies.” However, the U.S., claiming supremacy over others and following hegemony to serve the interests of none other than itself, has nothing to do with democracy. What it does is to provoke bloc confrontation.

There is no democratic system that can claim to be superior to others. No country is qualified to act as the judge of democracy. All peoples should and are able to independently develop a path of democracy with the characteristics of their own country, thus contributing their wisdom and strength to enriching the diversity of democracy.

Democracy means “rule by the people” or “sovereignty of the people.” It is not abstract, but a concrete phenomenon that is constantly evolving. There is no fixed model of democracy. Every form of democracy is the result of the development of human political civilization under certain historical conditions.

There are more than 200 countries and regions, and over 2,500 ethnic groups in the world. Different histories, national conditions, ethnic groups and customs give birth to different civilizations. Such diversity and differences have decided that there are no identical political systems in the world, and neither is there a political model that fits all.

Each country’s political system is unique based on different national conditions. A country’s political system is chosen by its people and is the result of a long-term process of evolution and improvement on the basis of its history, cultural traditions, and economic and social development.

History and reality have shown time and again that copying other countries’ political systems and democratic models will not work. More importantly, it will even lead to social unrest, national division, deaths and the overthrow of regimes, and ruin the future and destiny of the country.

Many non-Western countries developed their democratic systems based on the basic principle of democracy and their national conditions, thus achieving sound governance.

From a historical perspective, the development of democracy in the U.S. was a step forward. However, over the years, its democracy has become alienated and degenerated, and it has increasingly deviated from the essence of democracy and its original design. The halo of its self-proclaimed “global beacon of democracy” has long lost its luster.

The U.S. today is troubled with messy and chaotic practices of democracy, and the nature of money politics and oligarchy is constantly exposed. According to OpenSecrets statistics, the total cost of the 2022 state and federal midterm elections was nearly $17 billion, the highest in history, exceeding the annual GDP of over 70 countries in 2021.

Democracy is meant to be used to solve problems faced by the people. However, the governance capability of American democracy has been on a constant decline.

Politicians run on slogans and empty promises, but never make good on their promises. Most ordinary voters are mobilized only in voting, and then they are neglected and cannot have any real influence on political decisions. Their voices and appeals for democracy are even considered a “noise.”

This has led to a growing disillusionment with American democracy. Americans’ pride in their democracy has dropped sharply, from 90% in 2002 to 54% in 2022, according to a joint Washington Post-University of Maryland survey. A Pew Center poll said 65 percent of Americans believe that the American democratic system needs major reforms, while 57 percent of respondents believe the U.S. is no longer a model of democracy.

Democracy is the right of the people in every country, rather than the prerogative of a few nations. Assessing the myriad political systems in the world against a single yardstick and examining diverse political structures in monochrome are in themselves undemocratic. Launching so-called “democratic transition” in other countries is to trample on the spirit of democracy.

More and more countries have realized today that to find a development path that suits themselves, they must stay alert to the dangerous act of the export of U.S. democracy.

Without regard to huge differences in the level of economic development and in the historical and cultural backgrounds of countries around the world, the U.S. seeks to impose its own political system and values on other nations, which has placed many countries and regions in turbulences, conflicts and wars.

As suggested by a foreign media outlet, democracy has long become a weapon of massive destruction for the U.S. to attack countries with different views.

The current U.S. administration has ignored lessons of history, the chaos of American democracy and the rejection of the overwhelming majority of countries to being kidnapped by the hypocritical “concept of democracy” of the U.S. It has kept fabricating and selling the trumped-up narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism.”

Such practices of advancing its own geostrategy under the disguise of “democracy” are destined to be abandoned by the times.

President of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations Richard Haass called the “Summit for Democracy” a “bad idea,” saying American democracy is hardly a model for others.

Democracy is a common value of humanity. Countries should respect the cultural diversity of civilizations, carry forward the common value of humanity, sincerely support all efforts to independently explore a path to democracy, and enhance mutual learning on democracy based on mutual respect and equality, so as to push for the continuous development of democracy and build a world where all countries appreciate the culture and values of others as do to their own.

By Huan Yuping, People’s Daily

The United States recently held the so-called second “Summit for Democracy,” which was said to be an “ideological” meeting by U.S. media.

At the summit, the U.S. government once again acted to split the world into two camps of what it defined as “democracies and non-democracies.” However, the U.S., claiming supremacy over others and following hegemony to serve the interests of none other than itself, has nothing to do with democracy. What it does is to provoke bloc confrontation.

There is no democratic system that can claim to be superior to others. No country is qualified to act as the judge of democracy. All peoples should and are able to independently develop a path of democracy with the characteristics of their own country, thus contributing their wisdom and strength to enriching the diversity of democracy.

Democracy means “rule by the people” or “sovereignty of the people.” It is not abstract, but a concrete phenomenon that is constantly evolving. There is no fixed model of democracy. Every form of democracy is the result of the development of human political civilization under certain historical conditions.

There are more than 200 countries and regions, and over 2,500 ethnic groups in the world. Different histories, national conditions, ethnic groups and customs give birth to different civilizations. Such diversity and differences have decided that there are no identical political systems in the world, and neither is there a political model that fits all.

Each country’s political system is unique based on different national conditions. A country’s political system is chosen by its people and is the result of a long-term process of evolution and improvement on the basis of its history, cultural traditions, and economic and social development.

History and reality have shown time and again that copying other countries’ political systems and democratic models will not work. More importantly, it will even lead to social unrest, national division, deaths and the overthrow of regimes, and ruin the future and destiny of the country.

Many non-Western countries developed their democratic systems based on the basic principle of democracy and their national conditions, thus achieving sound governance.

From a historical perspective, the development of democracy in the U.S. was a step forward. However, over the years, its democracy has become alienated and degenerated, and it has increasingly deviated from the essence of democracy and its original design. The halo of its self-proclaimed “global beacon of democracy” has long lost its luster.

The U.S. today is troubled with messy and chaotic practices of democracy, and the nature of money politics and oligarchy is constantly exposed. According to OpenSecrets statistics, the total cost of the 2022 state and federal midterm elections was nearly $17 billion, the highest in history, exceeding the annual GDP of over 70 countries in 2021.

Democracy is meant to be used to solve problems faced by the people. However, the governance capability of American democracy has been on a constant decline.

Politicians run on slogans and empty promises, but never make good on their promises. Most ordinary voters are mobilized only in voting, and then they are neglected and cannot have any real influence on political decisions. Their voices and appeals for democracy are even considered a “noise.”

This has led to a growing disillusionment with American democracy. Americans’ pride in their democracy has dropped sharply, from 90% in 2002 to 54% in 2022, according to a joint Washington Post-University of Maryland survey. A Pew Center poll said 65 percent of Americans believe that the American democratic system needs major reforms, while 57 percent of respondents believe the U.S. is no longer a model of democracy.

Democracy is the right of the people in every country, rather than the prerogative of a few nations. Assessing the myriad political systems in the world against a single yardstick and examining diverse political structures in monochrome are in themselves undemocratic. Launching so-called “democratic transition” in other countries is to trample on the spirit of democracy.

More and more countries have realized today that to find a development path that suits themselves, they must stay alert to the dangerous act of the export of U.S. democracy.

Without regard to huge differences in the level of economic development and in the historical and cultural backgrounds of countries around the world, the U.S. seeks to impose its own political system and values on other nations, which has placed many countries and regions in turbulences, conflicts and wars.

As suggested by a foreign media outlet, democracy has long become a weapon of massive destruction for the U.S. to attack countries with different views.

The current U.S. administration has ignored lessons of history, the chaos of American democracy and the rejection of the overwhelming majority of countries to being kidnapped by the hypocritical “concept of democracy” of the U.S. It has kept fabricating and selling the trumped-up narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism.”

Such practices of advancing its own geostrategy under the disguise of “democracy” are destined to be abandoned by the times.

President of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations Richard Haass called the “Summit for Democracy” a “bad idea,” saying American democracy is hardly a model for others.

Democracy is a common value of humanity. Countries should respect the cultural diversity of civilizations, carry forward the common value of humanity, sincerely support all efforts to independently explore a path to democracy, and enhance mutual learning on democracy based on mutual respect and equality, so as to push for the continuous development of democracy and build a world where all countries appreciate the culture and values of others as do to their own.

By Liu Shi’an, People’s Daily

In Shanghai, various approaches have been forged to build democracy at the primary level, which enable citizens to make suggestions or advice and conduct broad consultation centering on issues concerning their own interests and rights.

This well coordinates interests of different parties, resolves disputes and makes the urban communities more stable and harmonious.

The Chunjiang residential complex in Wuliqiao sub-district, Huangpu district of Shanghai was built nearly 40 years ago. It was once troubled by a series of problems, such as a dilapidated carport for non-motorized vehicles and pitted fitness paths.

The residents had a strong aspiration to renovate the complex, said Zhang Chengjun, Party head of the Longhua neighborhood of Wuliqiao, which administers the Chunjiang residential complex. However, residents’ opinions and interests varied, Zhang told People’s Daily, saying it’s a problem that often hinders the renovation of old residential complexes.

In 2019, the Chunjiang residential complex started employing a system that combines hearings, coordination meetings and appraisal meetings to improve its living environment.

The renovation of the residential complex concerned the practical interests of all the 300 households living in it, so it was important to maximize the convergence of interests.

Therefore, the Party branch and neighborhood committee of the Longhua neighborhood decided to solicit opinions from all residents, and a renovation plan was finalized and announced after hearings joined by residents.

The renovation needed huge coordination efforts. For instance, the upgrading of water supply facilities in the residential complex was a big project, and relevant excavations might inconvenience the residents. Besides, renovating the pump house would probably cut off the water supply.

After rounds of negotiations and discussions, the residents had finally reached consensus to ensure the smooth progress of the renovation project.

As the renovation was about to be finished in September 2020, the residential complex hosted an appraisal meeting, inviting the resident representatives, the property management company and the residents’ committee to evaluate the renovation results.

The residential complex, apart from introducing the system that combines hearings, coordination meetings and appraisal meetings, has adopted responsibility, commitment and notification systems. Before the renovation started, it hosted meetings for soliciting public opinions, negotiations and better oversight.

“These all well explained the consultative democracy at the primary level,” said Zhang Qian, deputy director of the Wuliqiao sub-district committee.

By practicing whole-process people’s democracy, Shanghai has connected democratic elections, consultations, decision-making, management and oversight, solving a large batch of problems that needed to be addressed for the people.

Dong Yunhu, director of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai People’s Congress, noted that Shanghai, with a strong sense of responsibility and a sense of mission, will keep innovating ideas, measures and carriers, so as to build Shanghai into a best example for practicing the whole-process people’s democracy.

Shanghai has built more than 5,500 contact points where citizens can communicate with deputies to the Shanghai People’s Congress and the National People’s Congress (NPC). Thanks to these contact points, a batch of pressing difficulties and problems that were of great concern to the people were resolved. Over the past five years, 43,000 meetings, communications and talks were held between deputies and citizens in the contact points.

The Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) has kept following the resolution of major livelihood issues over the recent years. It has conducted special oversight on the renovation and renewal of old residential complexes and buildings for three consecutive years.

It has launched special inspection on the implementation of 16 livelihood projects, which was joined by 813 members of the committee. A general inspection report and 16 sub-report were delivered, and 485 suggestions made, which largely promoted the implementation of policies and decisions made by the municipal government.

Focusing on the drafting of nearly 100 regulations, such as Shanghai’s municipal data regulation, urban renewal regulation and residential property management regulation, the CPPCC Shanghai Municipal Committee has organized its members to join the consultation on legislative issues, so as to make legislation more science-based and democratic.

By Wang Yantian, Sun Guangyong, People’s Daily

On the morning of April 13, 2023, an olive green Fuxing bullet train was ready to leave the Kunming South Railway Station, southwest China’s Yunnan province, and kick off the cross-border passenger service of the China-Laos Railway.

The D887 high-speed train officially departed on 8:08 am and went all the way south, carrying the joy of both the Chinese and Lao peoples. An hour later, the D888 train left Vientiane for Kunming.

Now it takes passengers only less than a day to go from Kunming to the Lao capital, or the other way around, which has injected new vitality to the China-Laos Railway, a railway of friendship.

The China-Laos Railway was officially put into use on Dec. 3, 2021. Linking China’s Kunming, Pu’er and Xishuangbanna, as well as Luang Prabang and Vientiane of Laos, it has become a golden logistics channel that connects China and Laos and even Southeast Asia at large after 16 months of operation. It vitalizes regional economic and trade cooperation and exchanges.

“The shipping cost for cargo transport between Kunming and Vientiane has been lowered by 40 percent to 50 percent since the China-Laos Railway opened, and that for domestic shipping in Laos by 20 percent to 40 percent,” said Jin Zhiyuan, general manager of Sinotrans, a major freight service provider along the China-Laos Railway. According to him, the company will send over 100 containers to China through the railway.

So far, 25 Chinese provinces have launched cross-border trains along the China-Laos Railway, which reach Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore and other countries and regions along the Belt and Road. The number of cargo categories has been expanded from 10 to over 2,000, including electronic and photovoltaic products as well as cold-chain fruits. The value of cargos transported has exceeded 17 billion yuan ($2.48 billion).

The transport efficiency and capacity of the China-Laos Railway have significantly improved. The time of customs clearance for cargos transported along the route has been reduced to five hours from more than 40.

The potential of this railway has been constantly released since this year. In the first quarter, the railway transported 5.16 million tons of cargos, up 215 percent year on year. In particular, 1.1 million tons were transnational , which was nearly three times the amount from a year ago.

The cross-border passenger service launched this time is of important significance to facilitating the flow of people along the railway and to promoting the development of the Chinese and Lao tourism.

It is learned that a train departs from both Kunming and Vientiane each day, and the whole trip costs 10.5 hours, including the time spent on going through customs.

“To better serve cross-border passengers, there are Chinese and Lao standard power sockets under each set of chairs on the train, information display, radio and service signs are offered in Chinese, Lao and English,” said Zhao Yingjing, conductor of the first cross-border passenger train along the railway.

It is reported that the tickets for the passenger service were sold out in just 20 minutes after they were released.

“The tourism industry has sensed the new market created by the China-Laos international passenger service,” said Yang Jiechen, head of a Thailand-based tourism company. According to him, the train trip from China’s Mohan port to Laos and Thailand is expected to become a hot tourism route.

The China-Laos Railway, like a “key” to the Indochina Peninsula, has opened an economic channel connecting China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The railway not only has improved the transport infrastructure of Laos, but also will drive the country’s economic development, said a Lao PhD student of Yunnan University, who names himself Wen Pengyu in Chinese.

By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

On April 13, 2021, Japan unilaterally decided to release the Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. Over the past two years, both the Japanese people and the international community have expressed strong concerns over the possible impacts of the decision.

Today, out of its own private interests, the Japanese government still intends to push ahead with its plan in total disregard of the global public interests and international law. It refuses to respond to the concerns of the international community, going further down the wrong path.

On March 11, 2011, a nuclear accident of the highest level occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Three reactor cores were melted and damaged, releasing a large amount of radioactive materials.

China and other neighboring countries of Japan expressed deep sympathy for the heavy disaster and offered timely humanitarian assistance to the Japanese government and people.

However, more than 10 years later, the Japanese government turned a deaf ear to the voices of the international community and decided to discharge the nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea, transferring the risks to all mankind. Such a practice is bitterly disappointing.

The wastewater had full contact with the melted cores during the Fukushima nuclear accident. It contains over 60 radionuclides, including carbon-14, iodine-129 and other radionuclides with extremely long half-lives.

The Japanese side claimed that the treated water to discharge is diluted, but it doesn’t plan to control the total volume of radionuclides. It said the treated water is harmless, but it is not willing to discharge the water into its own rivers or reuse it in Japan for alternative purposes, in manufacturing and agriculture for instance, as required by Pacific island countries. Japan’s move is totally self-deception.

The Japanese plan to release nuclear wastewater into the sea places Japan’s own interests above the public interests of the world. No such plan has been implemented in human history.

Japan should have conducted full consultations with stakeholders and international agencies to determine a safe disposal plan. However, it unilaterally announced the plan to release the wastewater into the sea, and gave limited authority to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Task Force. It only allowed the team to evaluate its decided plan, and then claimed that the IAEA has “recognized” the plan of Japan.

Many countries have asked Japan to consider other options, such as long-term storage of the wastewater, but it has been totally ignored by the Japanese side due to economic considerations. The arrogant and irresponsible practice of Japan has a long-term negative impact on the country’s reputation.

Until now, the Fukushima nuclear accident has generated more than 1.3 million tons of nuclear-contaminated water, which is expected to be discharged into the ocean over a period of 30 years. The impact of the entire process is highly uncertain.

Nuclear-contaminated wastewater contains many radionuclides which cannot be treated effectively with existing technologies. Some long-lived radionuclides may spread with ocean currents and form a bio-concentration effect, which will multiply the total amount of radionuclides in the environment. The reliability of Japan’s Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) and related projects, in the long run, is still in doubt.

According to statistics released by Japan this March, 70 percent of the treated wastewater still failed to meet the standards. Once released into the sea, the radioactive materials of the nuclear-contaminated wastewater will spread to most of the Pacific Ocean and, in 10 years, to the waters across the world, causing immeasurable harm to the marine environment and marine animals.

The discharge of nuclear wastewater into the sea has a global impact. According to provisions in general international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Japan has the obligation to take all possible measures to prevent pollution of the environment, the obligation to notify and fully consult with states likely to be affected, the obligation to assess and monitor the environmental impact, the obligation to take precautions to minimize hazardous effects, the obligation to ensure transparency, and the obligation to engage in international cooperation.

However, the Japanese side has been shunning its responsibilities and obligations under various pretexts. It updates countries unilaterally on its preparation for the discharge, and has never comprehensively responded to the science-based questions raised by technical departments from China and Russia. The country cannot win the trust from the international community.

Japan’s practices on the disposal of nuclear-contaminated wastewater, an issue concerning major international public interests, are far from the expectations of the international community.

Japan should immediately stop its preparations for releasing the nuclear wastewater into the sea, carry out full and meaningful negotiations with its neighboring countries and international organizations, and seek the optimal solution, so as to ensure the contaminated wastewater is treated in a science-based, open, transparent and safe manner under strict supervision from the international society.