China sees further rise in international influence, ability to inspire, power to shape

By He Yin, People’s Daily

China today is more than the country itself; it is very much a part of the world.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, socialism with Chinese characteristics has crossed the threshold into a new era.
Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, China has overcome many obstacles and challenges, accomplished a great number of big, important undertakings, and scored ground-breaking historic achievements on all fronts.
With a further rise in international influence, ability to inspire, and power to shape, China has written a splendid chapter of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.
Today, the international balance of power is undergoing profound adjustments, unilateralism, protectionism, hegemonism, and power politics are posing greater threats to world peace and development, and the anti-globalization trend is growing. The world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation.
Facing complex and severe international situations and unprecedented external challenges, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has implemented the national rejuvenation strategy within the wider context of once-in-a-century changes taking place in the world.
It is holding high the banner of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and focusing on the central task of serving national rejuvenation and promoting the human progress, to advance major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.
China in the new era follows a path of peaceful development, promotes the building of a new type of international relations, and injects positive energy into the healthy development of international relations.
With a broad vision for the future of the world, China has proposed to build a community with a shared future for mankind, which marks the deep interaction and close relation between China and the rest of the world.
China advocates forging a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, equity, justice and win-win cooperation, and embarks on a new path of state-to-state relations with the preference of dialogue over confrontation and partnership over alliance.
China has actively explored and facilitated the building of a framework of major-country relations that is generally stable and balanced, The country adheres to the policy of building friendship and partnership with neighboring countries and follows the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in conducting neighborhood diplomacy, and stays committed to the principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith and the approach of pursuing the greater good and shared interests in cooperation with other developing countries.
It has forged partnerships with over 110 countries and regional organizations in various forms, building a comprehensive, multilevel, and multifaceted network of global partnerships. The constantly expanding “circle of friends” mirrors the unprecedented frequency of China’s interaction with the rest of the world.
China in the new era remains committed to a win-win strategy of opening-up, injecting new strength into the common development of the world.
Major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics has made important contributions to building a world of common prosperity by promoting open cooperation.
For instance, the major decision to launch the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific process was made at the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, drawing a new blueprint for Asia-Pacific connectivity.
A total of 28 specific outcome documents were issued during the G20 Hangzhou Summit, including the first time to give priority to development in global macro policy framework, the first time to draft an action plan for the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the first time to take collective actions to aid the industrialization of Africa and least developed countries, setting up a new “global benchmark” to the international community.
Besides, China has held four consecutive sessions of the China International Import Expo, during which a series of new measures of opening up were announced.
Over the past 10 years, China has been working actively to promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative. It has established the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the New Development Bank, and the Silk Road Fund and pushed for the high-quality implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
It is believed globally that China, by promoting common development with other countries, is creating a brighter future for global development.
China in the new era holds high the banner of true multilateralism and actively joins the reform of the global governance system.
As the world’s largest developing country and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China firmly safeguards the basic norms governing international relations, promotes democracy in international relations, opposes hegemonism and power politics, and safeguards international equity and justice.
China proposed to build a community of common health for mankind, providing a basis for safeguarding the lives and health of mankind.
With unprecedented ambition and actions to cope with climate change and protect biodiversity, the country charts the course for global ecological civilization and builds a community of life for man and nature.
By proposing and implementing the Global Development Initiative, and the vision of building a global community of development with a shared future, China is steering global development toward a new stage of balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth.
The country has put forward the Global Security Initiative, and is joining hands with all relevant parties to tackle governance issues. The initiative is a vivid practice of the concept of the community with a shared future for mankind in the security area.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appreciates China’s key role in supporting multilateralism and promoting international cooperation and sustainable development. He said the UN’s partnership with China is an important pillar supporting the organization and multilateralism.
“Boundless is the ocean where we sail with the wind.” Chinese ideas, commitments, responsibilities and wisdom help the world cope with present challenges and eye on the building of a better future.
China will always adhere to the path of peaceful, open, cooperative, win-win and inclusive development, and work with the rest of the world to make new contributions to safeguarding world peace and promoting common progress.

U.S. exports inflation, slows global recovery

By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

The Federal Reserve recently raised its benchmark interest rate by another 75 basis points, which marked the fifth time for the U.S. monetary policy decision maker to make interest rate hikes. These back-to-back increases are the biggest since early 1980s.
The radical interest rate hikes have triggered widespread concerns of the international society. As the world is still bothered by COVID-19 resurgences and slow economic pickup, the U.S., passing the pressure and risks of inflation to the rest of the world, will only encumber global recovery.
For some time, the U.S. has seen increasingly severe inflation, which has even reached a new 40-year high. It mirrors the country’s structural problem in economy and failing policies.
Over the recent years, the U.S. has followed trade protectionism and arbitrarily increased tariffs, leading to a rise in the price of imported commodities and services. However, the cost is shouldered by American enterprises and consumers.
To cope with the impacts from COVID-19, the U.S. government launched a large number of fiscal policies and ultra-easy monetary policies, which led to overheated economy and supply-demand imbalance. As a result, the recovery of production lagged behind that of consumption.
As in the 1970s, persistent and repeated negative supply shocks will combine with loose monetary, fiscal, and credit policies to produce stagflation, said Nouriel Roubini, Professor Emeritus of Economics at New York University.
Besides, since the Ukraine crisis, the unilateral sanctions launched by the U.S. against Russia have caused huge impacts on global energy, finance and food sectors, which further disordered supply and industrial chains and exacerbated inflation.
The U.S. needs to adopt problem-oriented strategies to address the inflation issue. However, the Federal Reserve is wishing to ease overheated economy and inflation by boosting interest rates. What the U.S. has done is only casting a shadow over its economic growth.
The back-to-back interest rate hikes have driven up the cost of borrowing, thus containing enterprises’ investment expansion and consumption, impacting the labor market and bringing huge downward pressure to the U.S. economy.
Spanish newspaper Rebelion said in an article that the Federal Reserve is curbing inflation at the sacrifice of the entire economy, which will lower economic growth, accelerate recession and trigger debt crisis. Besides, the U.S. practice cannot stop the rising prices caused by the impacted supply chain.
Countries in the world are interdependent in the era of economic globalization. However, the U.S. cares about only its own short-term interests when making monetary and fiscal policies, which may take the world to an even bigger crisis.
CNN called the interest rate hikes “dollar smile,” but the smile only chills the world. U.S. dollars often appreciates when the U.S. economy is very strong or very weak, and the appreciation makes capital flow back to the U.S., which causes hyperinflation and capital flight for other countries. Emerging markets and developing countries have been the biggest victim every time the U.S. raised interest rate since the Latin American debt crisis.
Undoubtedly, the new interest rate hike will bring capital back to the U.S., and developing countries will face a number of challenges such as stock market fluctuation, depreciation of domestic currency, interest rise in their debts in U.S. dollars, as well as surging cost of raw material imports.
James Morrison, associate professor at London School of Economics and Political Science, noted that the interest rate hikes will definitely place negative impacts on the world and worsen the financial distress of developing countries, as the U.S. dollars is in the center of the international financial system.
The interest rate hikes made by the Federal Reserve also burdened Europe, Japan and other developed economies. French newspaper Les Echos said on its website that the raised benchmark interest rate will force other central banks to follow, which will depreciate euro and exacerbate inflation. As a result, the European economy, already impacted by the Ukraine crisis, will shoulder greater pressure.
As the world’s largest economy, the U.S. should adopt responsible economic andfinancialpolicies and control their spillover effect, so as to avoid exporting inflation and recession risks to the rest of the world.
Facing the economic hegemony of the U.S., emerging markets and developing countries should adopt a long-term perspective, improve the system and rules of international economic governance, and make global governance fairer and more equitable.

Why Our Roofing Tiles Are the Most Sought-after in Nigeria – Sinoma Fabcom Ltd


Leading roofing sheet manufacturer SINOMA FABCOM Structural Limited says its stone-coated steel roofing tiles are the most sought-after by Nigerian builders because of their quality, thickness, durability and comparative affordability.
Qiuhuai Lei, Sales Manager of the Chinese company made this know while speaking to newsmen on the sidelines of the 2022 ARCHIBUILT EXPO organized by the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) at the Shehu Musa Yaradua Center in Abuja on Thursday.
The sales manager stated that the company’s coloured stone-coated steel roofing tiles and coloured steel long-span roofing sheets have a life span of forty years because they are produced with the best raw materials in the industry.
He said, “SINOMA is the first company to manufacture Stone Coated Roofing Tiles in Nigeria. We have two factories, one in Abuja and the other in Ogun state with a total capacity to produce three million square metres annually. We hope to increase our production capacity to five million annually after completing our production line. 
“We offer our customers a forty-year warranty. Our products are manufactured exclusively in Nigeria with the best quality materials compared to our competitors in the industry. The thickness, durability and affordability of our products make our roofing sheets the most patronized in the country at the moment.
“Our sheets can be used for any kind of building such as homes, plazas, hospitals, banking halls, schools and so on.”
Affiliated to Sinoma International Engineering Material Group Company Limited, FABCOM Structural Limited was established in 2014. It specializes in the manufacture of high-quality Coloured Stone Coated Steel Roofing Tilles and Colored Steel Long Span Roofing Sheets.
Through constantly providing customers with high-quality products and one-stop service, FABCOM has rapidly grown into a well-known enterprise and industry leader which integrates design and research, manufacturing, installation and construction and international trade in Africa.

Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy provides fundamental philosophy, guide to action for China’s diplomacy in new era

By He Yin, People’s Daily

China has raised a series of far-reaching initiatives and visions over the recent years, bringing new inspirations, vitality and hopes to the world that has entered a period of new turbulence and transformation.

These initiatives and visions have triggered broad attention and received active responses and wide support from the international society.

Some said that major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics has provided a new worldview featuring holistic thinking, global mindset and humanity.

Some said that China, opposing the law-of-the-jungle mentality, all forms of power politics and hegemony, and zero-sum games, has paved a new path of win-win development.

Since the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress in 2012, facing the turbulent international situation, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has put forward a series of new ideas, new propositions and new initiatives with Chinese characteristics, which grasp the pulse of the call of our times and lead the trend of human progress. They are what constitute Xi Jinping Thought on Socialist Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, or Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy for short.

As an important part of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy has given clear answers to a series of key questions in theory and practice, namely, what kind of world and what type of international relations China should promote; what kind of foreign policy best serves China, and how China is to conduct diplomacy in the new era.

The Thought provides the fundamental philosophy and guide to action for China’s diplomacy in the new era, contributes China’s wisdom and proposals to solving major global problems, and builds consensus and pools strengths for promoting human development and progress.

Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy shows a profound understanding of historical rules and the trend of the times.

It charts the course for advancing major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. It follows historical and dialectical materialism, adopts a right approach to history, to the overall picture and to China’s role, and reveals the innate laws of human progress amid international vicissitudes.

Facing the changes of the world, of our times and of history, China has drawn a series of important conclusions, including that the world is undergoing changes unseen in a century and has entered a period of new turbulence and transformation.

As China’s relationship with the rest of the world is changing, the country has had a science-based analysis of the changing external environment. China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for development, but there are new changes in the opportunities and challenges the country faces. Opportunities are more strategic and malleable, while challenges are more complex and overarching

These strategies provided the solid theoretical basis for developing major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. They created a broad space for combining the interests of the Chinese people with the common interests of the people in the rest of the world, and for promoting China’s development while advancing China’s interaction and win-win cooperation with other countries.

Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy bears in mind global development and steers the trends of the times.

Guided by the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China maintains peaceful cooperation in the new era, stays committed to a development path with Chinese characteristics, and opposes the beaten track of big powers in seeking hegemony.

China works actively to build a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, equity, justice and win-win cooperation, blazing a new trail in relations between countries and fostering a global network of partnerships.

China has always advocated peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, which are the common values of humanity, which is beyond the historical limitations of the so-called universal values.

The country put forward the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), advocates extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and guides the reform of the global governance system with equity and justice. It abandons the outdated zero-sum games and the “winner takes all” approach.

Given the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, geopolitical conflicts with global impacts and other challenges that have emerged in recent years, only by building a community with a shared future for mankind can the international society respond to current changes and promote historical progress.

Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy upholds justice and makes clear the missions of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.

China in the new era steadfastly calls for solidarity over division, inclusiveness over exclusiveness, win-win cooperation over monopoly, cooperation over confrontation, and stability over conflicts.

China follows true multilateralism and promotes democracy in international relations. It has set a good example of solidarity against the COVID-19 pandemic and is taking concrete actions to build a community of common health for mankind.

The country proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Security Initiative (GSI), and is working to foster a global community of development with a shared future and a global community of security for all.

It firmly moves forward in tandem with all progressive forces around the world and takes concrete actions to add stability and certainty to this volatile world. It is widely believed around the world that China is a key force safeguarding world peace and has made important contributions to maintaining international equity and justice.

Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics follows the leadership of the CPC and the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. China has broken new ground in its diplomatic endeavors amid profound global changes and turned crises into opportunities amid complex situations on the international stage, making comprehensive and historic achievements.

China’s visions and schemes offer prompt answers to the questions of the times and are guiding the profound changes unseen in a century to turn toward a direction that’s conducive to human progress.

The vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind has been included in multiple international documents such as UN resolutions; 149 countries and 32 international organizations have joined the BRI; the GDI has been responded by more than 100 countries and international organizations including the UN; Over 70 countries have expressed their support for the GSI.

At this critical juncture of historical development, China firmly stands on the right side of history and the progressive side of mankind, holding high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and win-win cooperation, so as to make contributions to world peace and development.

While pursuing happiness for the Chinese people and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the CPC has also contributed to human progress and world harmony.

Embarking on a new journey, major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics will keep following Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, implement the national rejuvenation strategy within a wider context of the once-in-a-century changes taking place in the world, and make even greater contributions to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics benefits whole world

By He Yin, People’s Daily

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics has made vigorous and determined endeavors and achieved comprehensive and historic progress.

The vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind serves as a great banner pointing the way forward for our times and humanity; high-quality construction of the Belt and Road injects important impetus into the development of participating countries; the Global Development Initiative guides the international society to revitalize global development; and the Global Security Initiative provides comprehensive schemes for the world to cope with international security challenges.

China in the new era always considers its own growth in the context of the common development of all humanity and binds the interests of its people to the common interests of all peoples across the world. It firmly stands on the right side of history and the progressive side of mankind. Following a path of peace and development, the country is benefiting the world and winning support from the people.

The greatness of a cause lies not only in that it is just and massive, but that it is not smooth sailing. An important reason for China’s having made remarkable achievements in diplomacy in the new era is that it has played an important role in guiding the international community to tide over difficulties and jointly move forward in the changing world.

Over the past 10 years, the world has been faced with a grave and complex international situation and unprecedented external risks and challenges. The international balance of power is undergoing profound adjustments; unilateralism, protectionism, hegemonism, and power politics are posing greater threats to world peace and development; the backlash against globalization is growing. The world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation.

At the critical historical juncture, China is facing up to challenges. It champions opening up over isolation, pursues mutual benefit instead of zero-sum games, and stands up for fairness and justice. It always injects positive energy into the promotion of world peace and development.

Proposing the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China in the new era is leading the international society to grasp the trend of history and pave a path that leads to bright prospects.

The vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind complies with the fact that the interlinking and interdependence between countries is more frequent and intimate than ever before, charting the course for the world that is currently at a crossroads.

Since the vision was put forward, China has constantly enriched its connotation. The country is committed to building a new type of international relations based on mutual respect, equity, justice and win-win cooperation, as well as an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity. China’s proposal to build a community with a shared future in multiple fieldshas expanded international consensus on the major vision and played a larger role in promoting human progress.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres once said that the purpose of practicing multilateralism is to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

China in the new era actively puts into practice the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind. It is maintaining world peace and development with concrete actions, steering the world toward a brighter future.

Actions are important to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Over the past 10 years, China has actively participated in the reform and development of the global governance system. It has worked to safeguard the international system centered on the UN, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China has upheld and practiced true multilateralism, and worked actively to make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced, and beneficial for all.

China has played a constructive role in the political resolution of regional and international hotspot issues, and it has been a positive force on issues such as climate change, poverty reduction, counterterrorism, cyber security, and regional security. In combating COVID-19, China has engaged in international cooperation and launched the largest global emergency humanitarian operation since the founding of the People’s Republic, providing supplies, medical support, and vaccine assistance for many countries, especially developing countries, and engaging in vaccine cooperation with a number of them.

Today, the country is more and more recognized as a promoter of world peace, contributor to global development, and upholder of the international order. The international society believes that China’s development is a great cause that promotes human progress.

“Our world is full of both hope and challenges. We should not give up on our dreams because the reality around us is too complicated; we should not stop pursuing our ideals because they seem out of our reach,” said general secretary Xi Jinping of the CPC Central Committee.

Currently, the impacts of major changes and a pandemic unseen in a century are being combined, and factors of instability, uncertainty and insecurity are increasing in the international situation. Despite it, peace and development remain the unchanging theme of the times, the aspiration of people across countries for a better life remains unchanged, and the historical mission for the international community to pursue solidarity and win-win cooperation remains unchanged.

On the new journey, China will keep working with the international society to build great synergy through win-win cooperation, overcome the various challenges along the way, and march toward the goal of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

CHINA General Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria is apolitical, says Chamber

The China General Chambers of Commerce In Nigeria has debunked the trending news on social media that it has endorsed a presidential candidate as purportedly claimed by one by Mr Hong Jung, claiming to be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Chamber.

The Chamber, in a statement it issued on October 4, stated that the refutal became expedient in order to avoid any form of misunderstanding between the Chinese and Nigerian people, adding that “the Chinese Mr Hong
Jung who appears in the above social media post is not the CEO of the China General Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria, and he does not have the authority to speak for the Chamber and therefore all his actions and statements are his own personal opinions.”

The statement said: “The name of the Chamber is the China General Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria. Since its official establishment in Nigeria in July 2011, the Chamber has been committed to serving Chinese and Nigerian enterprises, promoting China-Nigeria economic and trade cooperation, and promoting economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

“The Chamber is a non-profit organisation that never participates in political activities. Over the years the Chamber of Commerce has been highly appreciated and supported by people from all walks of life in China and Nigeria, and has developed into a bond of economic and trade cooperation between China and Nigeria and has served as a bridge of friendship between China and Nigeria.

“The China General Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria will continue to assist Chinese and Nigerian enterprises, strengthen cooperation, forge a closer China-Nigeria community of shared future, and help China-Nigeria relations achieve higher-quality development.”

Wicker weaving injects new vitality into rural development in E China’s Shandong

By Li Rui, People’s Daily

Wicker weaving, a Chinese national intangible cultural heritage, has been well developed into an industry in Boxing county, Binzhou, east China’s Shandong province, contributing to rural vitalization.

The online sales of wicker products reported by the county’s Wantou village alone reached 460 million yuan ($63.92 million) in 2020. Over 10,000 people were directly engaged in the business, and the business also created more than 60,000 relevant jobs for residents from surrounding villages.

In 2021, Wantou was honored as a “million-yuan village” by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, which meant its collective income from the featured business notched up 1 million yuan.

Boxing County made its name as a major base of wicker production. Its history of wicker weaving dates back more than 800 years ago. Wicker weaving has long been a traditional industry in the county.

Wicker products made in the county are soft, economical and environmentally friendly. They carry distinctive local features and styles, and the technique was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in May 2011.

In recent years, a group of craftspeople in the county have worked to improve wicker weaving skills and make their products more innovative. As a result, the old craft has taken on a new look.

For instance, craftsman JiaLiuyuan from Boxing weaved over 10,000 burr puzzles with wicker and made them into a huge lantern as tall as a person. Later, the septuagenarian made a series of delicate handicrafts using wicker, such as weaved tigers, pavilions and ancient structures.

Wicker weaving is not only used to make handicrafts. It is also employed in construction. The Spanish Pavilion at the World Expo 2010 held in Shanghai was an example. It had a wicker facade over a steel structure, which made it look like waves from a distance and a basket from above.

This huge “basket” was weaved by Sun Jianguang from Chongde village, Boxing County, with numerous slices of wicker in 2009. The precision was controlled at a millimeter level, and the work went through 10 procedures such as antiseptic treatment, drying and shaping.

Instead of employing traditional techniques, Sun developed new ones and tackled a series of challenges in anticorrosion and fireproofing. The whole project took Sun and his team three months and consumed 120 tons of wicker.

When the facade was completed, Sun said their efforts were worthwhile because they presented wicker weaving to the world.

After the World Expo 2010 concluded, Sun kept digging into wicker weaving skills for green and innovative construction. He used his new techniques in B&B buildings, festive archways and sculptures in scenic areas.

“I must keep innovating to instill more cultural connotation in architecture and revitalize the culture of wicker weaving,” Sun said.

Apart from making innovations in wicker products, craftspeople in Boxing County have also expanded the promotion and sales channels of their products through e-commerce. Villagers are now selling their products via online shops and livestream platforms, which also helps expand the influence of the traditional skill.

Over recent years, Boxing County has built a grass and wicker weaving-themed industrial park and inked cooperative agreements with universities and colleges to jointly develop featured wicker products.

The industrial park is listed as an internship base for university students, where senior craftspeople would give lectures to students.

It is also a complex that works as both an exhibition area and a processing base, and gathers a number of e-commerce companies and express service centers. Generating creative ideas, it is injecting new impetus into the development of the wicker weaving industry.

Convenience stores deliver robust performance as retail sector slows

By Wang Wenzheng

The Chinese retail sector, especially the supermarket business, has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic since early 2020.

However, convenience stores bucked the trend.

The sales of Chinese convenience stores have maintained a rapid growth of more than 10 percent for three consecutive years, according to a recent report jointly released by the China Chain Store and Franchise Association and KPMG.

Total convenience stores sales in Chinawere 349.2 billion yuan ($48.5 billion) in 2021, up 17.7 percent year on year, the report said.

Compared with bigger-sized supermarkets and department stores, convenience stores feature longer operation hours and a high degree of automation. They are very popular in densely-populated megacities where large numbers of business districts and office buildings are constructed.

What’s more, with better services, lower prices and more diversified commodities, convenience stores are winning more shares today in lower-tier markets.

They have played a critical role in the supply of consumer goods since the outbreak of COVID-19, thanks to their wide distribution and mature supply chain. The report said consumers prefer brick-and-mortar retailers that are close to them and less crowded due to the pandemic, and that’s why convenience stores have come into favor.

Besides, convenience stores also enjoy many advantages in the new retail model of one-click ordering. They are able to deliver food, beverages, fruits and vegetables, groceries, as well as medicines to the doorsteps of consumers within an hour through third-party deliverers or their own logistics systems.

According to statistics, in the first seven months of this year, convenience stores saw a year-on-year growth of 39 percent in orders on Meituan, a Chinese shopping platform for locally found consumer products and retail services. One-click ordering has become a new choice for consumers.

With fast delivery, diverse commodities and high distribution density, more and more convenience stores are employing one-click ordering to seek integrated online-offline development.

The report showed that 88 percent of convenience stores in China launched online services last year, up from 29 percent in 2016. Over 70 percent of them launched online services in cooperation with a third party, according to the report.

In May last year, the Ministry of Commerce said the country would build 15-minute community life circles and introduce more convenience stores into neighborhoods. It also encouraged major enterprises to give a boost to the sector in terms of branding, standard-setting, management and services. It also stated that major enterprises shouldcooperate with local governments and communities to further integrate themselves into urban public services.

Beijing is seeing an accelerated and integrated development of consumer services. According to an official with the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau, the Chinese capital had over 90,000 providers of consumer services at the end of last year, including convenience stores and barbershops. They covered almost all communities in Beijing.

In Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu province, large numbers of charging poles, convenience stores and wet markets have been built, which not only smooths the “micro cycle” of the urban economy, but also facilitates the life of the citizens.

Insiders believe that convenience stores, seeking high-quality development, will go beyond the scenarios of traditional retailing and become a “generalist” in consumer services.

China’s Mars rover reveals structure of Martian subsurface

By Wu Yuehui, People’s Daily

The Mars rover Zhurong of China’s first Mars exploration mission, Tianwen-1, touched down at its pre-selected landing area in Utopia Planitia, a vast Martian plain, and started its work on May 15, 2021.

Utopia Planitia, the largest recognized impact basin on Mars, might have been an ocean in the past, which suggests that the red planet could once have had a habitable environment.

A joint study was carried out by the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the National Space Science Center of the CAS and Peking University based on data sent back by Zhurong.

According to the study, which was published on Nature on Sept. 26, there are two fining-upwards sequences under the Martian regolith at Zhurong’s landing area, which might reveal substantial geological events happening as early as 3.5 to 3.2 billion years ago.

Researchers found no direct evidence for the existence of liquid water within the radar detection depth range, but the presence of saline ice cannot be ruled out.

Detailed information about Mars’ underground structure and physical property is an important foundation for the study of Martian geology and environmental changes. It is an important part of Mars exploration.

Chen Ling, a researcher at the CAS Institute of Geology and Geophysics, noted that Zhurong is equipped with a ground-penetrating radar that is able to construct detailed and high-resolution subsurface image profiles, which helps mankind obtain a deeper understanding of Utopia Planitia’s evolution, the distribution of underground water and ice, and other key scientific issues about the red planet.

The ground-penetrating radar on Zhurong is the first one of its kind to carry out a mission in Utopia Planitia.

So far, four in-situ ground-penetrating radar surveys have been launched on extraterrestrial planets. In particular, China’s Chang’e-3 and Chang’e-4 probes detected the shallow subsurface structure of the near and far sides of the Moon, and the U.S. Perseverance and China’s Zhurong completed their missions on Mars last year. Perseverance surveyed the edge of the Jezero crater as deep as 15 meters, and Zhurong explored 80 meters beneath the subsurface in the southern part of Utopia Planitia.

The Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center unveiled exploration data obtained by Tianwen-1, which offered solid data support for Martian studies. Scientists constructed a detailed, high-precision subsurface structure image profile based on radar data collected by the Zhurong rover in its first 113 Martian days along the roughly 1,171-meter traverse of the rover.

Speaking of the two fining-upwards sequences, Chen told People’s Daily that the first one, extending from 10 to 30 meters, is shown to contain rocky blocks, presumably having taken shape in approximately the past 1.6 billion years, and their clast sizes increase with depth.

The second one, within the depth range of 30 to 80 meters, is composed of larger rocky blocks, representing an older, probably more substantial geological event happening as early as 3.5 to 3.2 billion years ago, Chen noted, adding that it may be shaped by major flooding that took place in the southern part of Utopia Planitia.

Apart from the detection of Mars’ underground structure and physical property, another major target of Zhurong is to see whether there is water or ice buried deep under the Martian subsurface in the southern part of Utopia Planitia.

According to radar imaging, liquid water was not detected up to 80 meters underground, and a thermal simulation suggested that the Martian soil 100 meters deep could not stably contain liquid water, nor sulfate or carbonate brines, although the presence of saline ice cannot be ruled out.

The finding this time is an original outcome generated by data obtained by Tianwen-1’s first Mars exploration mission. It revealed the detailed structure and physical property of the shallow subsurface in the landing area of the Zhurong rover, provided new evidence suggesting the presence of liquid water activity on Mars, and offered significant clues to a closer understanding of the geological evolution, and the environmental and climate changes on Mars.

Schools in China’s Hebei province achieve fruitful results in sports-education integration

By Shi Ziqiang, People’s Daily

Pride is always shown on the face of Fang Zhihong when it comes to the topic of Olympics, because the schools in Jingxiu district, Baoding, north China’s Hebei province, where Fang serves as the head of the local education and sports bureau, have nurtured 12 Olympic and world champions, 14 Asian champions, 23 top athletes at state level and over 150 first-class athletes at state level.

Tian’e Primary School is the first school in Jingxiu district that owns a standard 200-meter patinodrome. According to principal Cui Hongyu, roller skating has been listed as a school-based curriculum since 2008, and six years later, the school started cooperating with a local roller skating club. In 2016, the school was named the roller skating training center of Baoding.

“Students can receive professional training from the club, and our school also established roller speed staking and skating societies for amateurs, which provide regular training courses,” Cui introduced.

Since 2018, the school has established a “featured class” of roller skating for first graders that offers professional training courses, and it has supplied over 40 skaters for the roller skating team of Baoding over the recent couple of years.

The sports-education integration of Jingxiu district started with the “featured classes,” developed because of the establishment of sports-themed schools, and flourished thanks to school-sports club cooperation, said GuoLiying, deputy head of Jingxiu district’s education and sports bureau.

According to Guo, 24 out of the district’s 30 kindergartens, primary and secondary schools have established partnerships with 40 commercial sports clubs.

So far, Jingxiu district has established a sports training system that involves students in primary, secondary and high schools, which enables students at all ages to join sports training and makes the training more systematic and science-based.

Early this fall semester, a swimming contest was launched for the students of Class 3, Grade 2 at Lekai Primary School in Jingxiu district. Eight participants stood out from the crowd after two rounds of competitions. They will join the school swimming championship to be held this October on behalf of their class.

Ma Fuping, principal of the primary school told People’s Daily that classes of the school hold sports contests every week, and the winners will be able to join higher-level games.

“For instance, third grader Hu Jinni has made it to the provincial youth swimming championship held this August and ranked first in the U9 4×50 meters freestyle relay heat,” Ma said. Currently, the girl is preparing for the finals in Hengshui, another city of Hebei.

To promote youth sports, Jingxiu district has established a well-organized system of sports events on the basis of respecting students’ individual wills and development.

“Regular games make students eager for competition and help them make training plans for themselves,” Guo said. It is with such a mechanism that outstanding athletes are developed, Guo added.

Li Bingjie, gold medalist of swimming at the Tokyo Olympic Games, was a student of Xinshichang Primary School in Jingxiu district, and it was her great performance in school swimming competitions that earned her the opportunity to join the Hebei provincial swimming team and the Chinese national swimming team, according to Guo.

Fang told People’s Daily that the district is cooperating with the municipal sports bureau and associations to hold youth sports events, and teaming up with the provincial sports bureau to host provincial games and those for the entire Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Besides, it also works with the General Administration of Sports, the Federation of University Sports of China and national sports associations to organize state-level sports events.

Since this year, Jingxiu district has held three national events, two provincial events, one municipal events and two district events. These sports events have established a fantastic platform for sports-loving students, and offered them more opportunities for their future careers.