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Practices resulting in the collective punishment of the family members of convicted criminals should be abolished, as they contradict the principles and spirit of the Constitution, China's top legislature said on Tuesday.Earlier this year, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislative body, received some residents' suggestions requesting a review of local notices in which some criminals' spouses, children, parents and close relatives had been restricted in education, employment and social insurance.The residents flagged the restrictions as collective punishments, calling for a stop to such practices."Following a review, we deemed the notices not consistent with the Constitution, nor with laws on education, employment and social insurance, so we urge relevant departments to abolish the documents," said Shen Chunyao, head of the NPC Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission.He mentioned the issue while introducing and explaining a report on normative document review to lawmakers at an ongoing session of the NPC Standing Committee."Criminals should be liable and punished for their own misconduct, meaning that others shouldn't be implicated in the penalties. It is a basic principle of rule of law in modern society," said Shen.To prevent similar situations and ensure compliance with the rule of law, he added that self-examination should be supported and encouraged across the country.Data released by the report showed that the NPC Standing Committee received 2,827 such suggestions requesting reviews of potentially problematic documents, such as administrative regulations and judicial interpretations, from residents and organizations this year.Meanwhile, 1,319 normative documents were also submitted by government departments and judicial authorities to register at the NPC Standing Committee's General Office, according to the report.Shen said that the commission meticulously reviewed all registered documents and public suggestions, with intensified oversight on whether they align with the Constitution, in order to uphold the authority of the fundamental law and guarantee its implementation.Documents that conflict with the Constitution have been addressed by urging timely corrections, abolitions or replacements with new provisions, he said.In addition, the commission has also required the modification of inconsistencies with higher-level laws in local regulations related to livelihood and the environment, so as to better protect people's legitimate rights and strongly fight pollution, he added.In the report, a number of residents and enterprises suggested reviewing some regulations made by local governments that completely ban the sale and use of fireworks.After a review, the commission found that there are no prohibitive provisions for the sale and use of fireworks in the Air Pollution Prevent and Control Law, as well as in the firecracker safety management regulation formulated by the State Council. Instead, governments at county or above level are given the right to designate restricted or prohibited times and areas for setting off fireworks.It can be seen that the complete ban is inconsistent with the law and the higher-level document, so local regulations should be modified, Shen said, adding that the regulation makers have agreed to revise them in a timely manner.On Monday, a 22-article draft decision on improving the system for recording and reviewing normative documents was also submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for deliberation.While further clarifying what documents are identified as normative documents, the draft states that documents should be handed over to the NPC Standing Committee within 30 days of being made public.Reporter: Cao Yin

A group of South Korean students are suing the government because their college admission examination ended 90 seconds earlier than scheduled.因在参加高考时被提前90秒收走试卷，韩国学生将政府告上法庭。They are asking for 20 million won each - the cost of a year's studying to retake the exam.他们要求每人获赔2000万韩元，这也是他们复读一年所需的费用。The error affected the rest of the students' exams, their lawyer says.涉事考生律师说，这一失误影响了学生们的其他考试。The country's college admission test, known as Suneung, is an eight-hour marathon with back-to-back papers in multiple subjects.韩国高考又称为韩国大学修学能力考试（简称“修能”），是一场长达八小时的马拉松测试，多个科目连轴开考。The Suneung is one of the hardest exams in the world.“修能”考试是全球难度最高的考试之一。A number of measures to help students concentrate are taken during the annual event such as closing the country's airspace and delaying the opening of the stock market.在一年一度的考试期间，韩国采取了诸多措施帮助学生集中注意力，例如，关闭国家领空、推迟股市开盘。The results of this year's exam were released on 8 December.今年的考试成绩于12月8日公布。The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday by at least 39 students, claims that the bell rang earlier at a test site in the capital Seoul during Korean - the first subject of the exam.这起由至少39名学生于19日提起的诉讼称，在首尔某考点，第一科韩语考试期间铃声提前响起了。Some students protested immediately, but say the supervisors still took their papers away. The teachers recognised the mistake before the start of the next session, and gave the one and half minutes back during the lunch break but they could only mark blank columns left on their papers and were not allowed to change any existing answers.一些学生立即提出抗议，但他们表示监考官仍拿走了他们的试卷。老师们在下一科考试开始前意识到了这个错误，并在午休时间给学生一分半钟的时间，但他们只能填写未作答的题目，不允许更改任何现有答案。The students said they were so upset that they could not focus on the rest of the exam, Yonhap news agency reports. Some reportedly gave up and returned home.据韩联社报道，学生们表示，他们非常沮丧，无法集中精力参加剩下的考试。据报道，一些人放弃考试回家了。Their lawyer Kim Woo-suk told local media that education authorities had not apologized.考生们的代理律师金宇锡告诉当地媒体，教育部门并没有道歉。Public broadcaster KBS quoted officials who said the supervisor in charge of the specific test center had misread the time.韩国广播公司KBS援引官员的话称，负责该考场的监考官看错了时间。This is not the first time students have sued over a bell rung too early. In April, a court in Seoul awarded 7 million won ($5,250; £4,200) to students who claimed they were disadvantaged at the 2021 Suneung exam because their bell rang about two minutes earlier.这已经不是韩国考生第一次因被提前收卷而提起诉讼了。2021年韩国“修能”考试时，交卷铃声提前大约两分钟响起。今年4月，首尔一家法院受理了此案件，并判决给受害学生700万韩元（约3.8万元人民币）的补偿。Suneungn.韩国大学修学能力考试（简称“修能”）

Three new high-speed train routes became operational on Tuesday, promoting social and economic development, improving the quality of people's lives and showcasing China's expertise in building high-speed railways in varied and difficult terrain, according to the operator, China State Railway Group.据中国国家铁路集团，三条新的高速列车路线已于周二投入运营，促进了社会和经济发展，提高了人民生活质量，并展示中国在多变复杂地形中建设高速铁路的专业知识。A sleek new bullet train tore through the rugged terrain of southwestern China's Sichuan province at 350 kilometers per hour on Tuesday, completing a high-speed loop in the southern part of the province.周二，一列闪亮的高铁列车以每小时350公里的速度穿过四川省崎岖的地形，完成了四川省南部的高铁环路。The 261-km line will boost tourism, linking the provincial capital of Chengdu with Zigong, which is famed for its dinosaur fossils, and the white spirits brewing city of Yibin.这条全长261公里的高铁将促进旅游业的发展，将省会成都与以恐龙化石闻名的自贡和以五粮液出名的宜宾连接起来。In the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of southern China, another high-speed route, designed for speeds up to 350 km/h, also began operations on Tuesday.在中国南部的粤港澳大湾区，另一条设计时速高达350公里的高速路线也于周二开始运营。The 162-km line connecting Shantou and Shanwei in Guangdong province is significant as a coastal route within China's expansive high-speed rail network.这条全长162公里的线路连接广东省汕头市和汕尾市，是中国庞大的高铁网络中重要的沿海线。On Tuesday, a substantial section of the line, linking Shantou South with Shanwei, was inaugurated. The final 20 km of the entire route, incorporating an undersea tunnel in Shantou Coastal Bay, is currently under construction. The timetable for its full opening has not been undisclosed.周二，连接汕头南和汕尾铁路的大部分沿线站点开通。整条铁路的最后20公里，包括汕头海湾的海底隧道，目前正在建设中。全面开放的时间尚未公布。The third high-speed rail line inaugurated on Tuesday is located in East China's Fujian province. The 92-km line, designed for speeds up to 250 km/h, connects Longyan and Wuping in Fujian. It is a pivotal segment of a larger railway network linking Fujian with Guangdong.周二开通的第三条高铁线路位于中国东部的福建省。这条全长92公里的线路设计时速高达250公里/小时，连接福建龙岩和武平，是连接福建和广东的大型铁路网的关键部分。The three lines, though located in different parts of China, all involved construction under challenging conditions.这三条线路虽然位于中国不同地区，但在建设时，都克服了在极具挑战性的条件限制。According to China State Railway Group, the country now has trains running at the highest commercial speeds and boasts the greatest variety of operational scenarios, thus transforming the nation from a follower of high-speed rail development to a true leader in technologies.据中国国家铁路集团，中国现存的高速列车的运行速度是最高商业速度，运营场景最为多样化，中国已经从高铁发展的追随者，转变为真正的技术领导者。China has developed the most comprehensive technologies and gained the richest railway management experience and operational know-how in the world, according to the company.据该公司称，中国已经研发了世界上最全面的技术，拥有世界上最丰富的铁路管理经验和运营知识。Zhao Xianghong, deputy director of the science, technology and information research institute of the China Academy of Railway Sciences, said, "China is a world leader in some aspects of high-speed railway development."铁道科学研究院科学技术信息研究所副所长赵向红表示：“中国的高速铁路发展在某些方面已经处于世界领先地位。”In Sichuan, the engineering feat involved tackling the notoriously challenging topography, featuring treacherous mountains, deep valleys and snaking rivers. As Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai once wrote, traversing Sichuan's roads was akin to "scaling the heavens".在四川，这项浩荡的工程需要应对具有挑战性的地形，包括险峻的山脉、深谷和蜿蜒的河流。正如唐代诗人李白曾经写过的那样，进入四川的道路“难于上青天”。But engineers conquered the terrain, building 231 bridges and 29 tunnels along the new line, surpassing past global challenges in high-speed rail construction in the mountains, China State Railway Group said.但中国国家铁路集团表示，工程师们克服了地形造成的困难，在新线路沿线建造了231座桥梁、29条隧道，解决了过去全球在山区建设高铁的挑战。In Fujian, the new line passes through a national park, along gas pipelines and through the karst area, which made construction challenging. Engineers tackled the problems by adopting innovative methods, said Li Hongbin, a senior engineer at China Railway Design Corp.在福建，新线路穿过国家公园、天然气管道和喀斯特地貌，施工极具挑战性。工程师们通过创新，采取新方法，解决了这些问题，中国铁路设计公司高级工程师李洪斌（音译）说。Tunnels and bridges account for about 83 percent of the newly opened section, he said.他说，隧道和桥梁约占新开通路段的83%。The construction of the line in Guangdong also presented challenges due to the coastal environment, characterized by high salinity and humidity. Overcoming these difficulties in the complex hydrogeological setting was crucial. Technical hurdles were addressed through the construction of key infrastructure elements, including the Aojiang River Mega Bridge and the Huilai Tunnel, according to China State Railway Group.由于铁路沿海，具有高盐度和高湿度的特征，这给广东线的建设也带来了挑战。在复杂的水文地质环境中克服这些困难至关重要。据中国国家铁路集团称，通过建设包括鳌江特大桥、惠来隧道在内的关键基础设施，建筑团队解决了技术障碍。The expanding network of China's high-speed railway has greatly benefited people living along the route. Luo Dan, a Chengdu native, is planning a holiday by train over the New Year.中国高铁网络不断扩大，使沿线人民受益匪浅。成都本地人罗丹（音译）正计划在新年期间乘火车度假。"The new line in Sichuan forms a high-speed loop linking several tourism attractions in the province, such as Zigong and Leshan. I won't be driving to the places, since the train service is so fast and convenient now," said the 33-year-old. 

There’s nothing more comforting than a nice hot meal on a cold winter day, especially when you’re out and about. But what if you have no way of heating your lunch or ordering a hot meal? That’s where the world’s first microwave bag comes into place.寒冷的冬日里，没有什么比热乎乎的美食更能安慰人心，尤其是在外奔波的时候。但如果你没办法加热午餐或点热食外卖怎么办？这就是世界首款“微波包”诞生的意义。Made out of an innovative conductive fabric developed by Japanese company Sanki Consys Co. Ltd., the Willtex‘Willcook’ bag looks like your average laptop bag, but it can heat up whatever you have stored inside to a temperature of 80 degrees Celsius in just 5 minutes. The bag itself weighs just 160 grams, while the rechargeable battery pack powering it weighs an extra 120 grams.Willtex公司的这款名为Willcook的微波包采用日本企业Sanki Consys研发的新型导热面料制成，看上去和普通的电脑包没什么两样，但是却可以在短短5分钟时间内将包内的食物加热至80摄氏度。包包自重仅160克，给包包供电的可充电电池组重120克。The true innovation behind the Willcook microwave bag is the stretchable fabric that generates heat just by drawing power from a battery pack. The revolutionary fabric has the same flexibility and lightness as regular cloth, yet provides quick and uniform heating.这款Willcook微波包的真正创新之处在于它所采用的可伸缩面料只需通过电池供电就能产生热量。这种革命性面料和普通面料一样轻盈有弹性，还能快速且均匀地加热。The inside of a Willcook microwave bag reaches 80℃in 5 minutes after being powered on, but users can set the temperature between 40℃and 250℃via a smartphone app called Hotopia. The included battery pack lasts for 8 hours on a full charge and has a small, dedicated pocket on the side of the bag.通电之后，Willcook微波包的内部在5分钟内就能达到80摄氏度，但用户可以通过智能手机应用Hotopia在40摄氏度到250摄氏度的范围内调节。包内的电池组充满电后可以续航8小时，电池放在微波包侧面的一个专用小口袋里。The insulating properties of its innovative fabric also make the Willcook bag great for keeping drinks cool in the summer.Willcook微波包采用的这种新型面料的隔热性能让其也很适合在夏天存放冷饮。Regular clothn. 普通面料

This year, the ChatGPT, or Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer, set off a new wave of artificial intelligence usage. As generative artificial intelligence is more and more used widely, the technology is generating a buzz in the world.Especially, the large language model breakthrough and the generative AI  provide advanced production tools for enterprises to achieve product and process innovation, lead enterprises and industries into a new stage of intelligent innovation, as well as change people's work and life.Business magazine Forbes said the global AI market size is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 37.3 percent from 2023 to 2030, and is expected to contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.Another report from the market consultancy IDC said China's AI market size will reach $14.75 billion in 2023, with the figure expected to hit $26.44 billion in 2026.Let's take a look at how AI is changing people's lives.EducationBased on technologies of text recognition and general natural language processing, AI can quickly and accurately identify images, text, and various functional areas, and through deep learning, repeated training and correcting to adjust its thinking and judgment logic, as well as teach the AI some "standards" to grade paperwork, and summarize error-prone contents to enhance their teaching efficiency and quality.In China, some driving schools are using AI training system to simulate the real driving scene, and give strict and precise instructions to help the trainee learn driving skills.Autonomous vehiclesThe AI is used to build self-driving car to improve the in-vehicle experience and provide additional systems such as emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and driver-assisted steering.Nowadays, some companies such as Tesla, Baidu, and Huawei have used machine learning to train computers to think and evolve like humans when it comes to driving in any environment and object detection to avoid accidents.Text and picture processingAs AI continues to improve to comprehend natural language and images, it can effectively resolve customer issues and respond inquiries to provide 24/7 support.Currently, the AIGC, or AI-generated content tool, can be used in chatting, translation, writing, picture processing and so on.HealthcareThe AI finds diverse applications in the healthcare sector, such as helping detect diseases, identifying cancer cells, and using the combination of historical data and medical intelligence for the discovery of new drugs.Recently, doctors at the Chongqing University Cancer Hospital worked with the AI team to complete a thyroid tumor resection. During the surgical planning, the AI automatically identified the lesions, and provided multidimensional information such as 3D reconstruction of the surgical area.

China's major railway ticket booking platform 12306 showed that, as of 15:00 on Dec 17, tickets for a number of trains are sold out, including those departing from Beijing to Wuhan, Nanjing to Hefei, Hangzhou, Chengdu to Chongqing, and Xi'an, as train tickets officially went on sale on Dec 16, the first day available to book trains for the 2024 New Year's Day holiday, China Securities Journal reported on Tuesday.据《中国证券报》12月19日报道，中国铁路大型售票平台12306数据显示，截至12月17日15时，从北京出发前往武汉，南京出发前往合肥、杭州，以及成都出发前往重庆、西安等城市的多趟列车车次已显示“售罄”。12月16日，2024年元旦假期首日火车票正式开售。Data from Chinese travel agency Tongcheng Travel showed on the first day of the New Year's Day holiday (Dec 30), tickets for short-distance travel in urban areas such as Beijing to Tianjin, Shanghai to Nanjing, Shenzhen, Guangdong province to Guangzhou, and Chongqing to Chengdu are in high demand. The travel demand is mainly to visit relatives.国内旅行机构同程旅行数据显示，元旦假期首日（12月30日），核心城市群的短途线路车票较为紧俏，比较热门的线路主要有：北京至天津、上海至南京、深圳至广州、重庆至成都等，出行需求主要以探亲为主。According to research institute of Tongcheng Travel, travelers who are visiting relatives and ice-snow tourism will heat up destinations such as Harbin, Shenyang, Urumqi and Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia autonomous region in Northeast and Northwest China, as well as Zhangjiakou in North China.同程研究院认为，元旦假期探亲与旅游客流叠加，同时受冬季冰雪旅游热的带动，预计哈尔滨、沈阳、乌鲁木齐、呼伦贝尔以及张家口等冰雪游目的地人气将大幅上升。In terms of hotel booking, home stays and hotel rooms for New Year's Eve are popular choices for tourists. As of now, orders for 2024 New Year holiday home stays in popular cities on Tujia, a home stay online platform, increased nearly four times year-on-year. Data from travel portal Qunar also showed hotel rooms for Dec 31 - Jan 1 in Harbin, Nanjing, Wuhan, Shanghai and Beijing, especially those in luxury hotels, have higher bookings. Tickets for Universal Beijing Resort, Disneyland in Shanghai and Hong Kong, Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai Guangdong province and Harbin Ice and Snow World are rapidly booking out in advance.从酒店预订情况来看，特色民宿和跨年夜酒店是游客的热门选择。截至目前，途家民宿平台上热门城市2024年元旦假期民宿的订单同比增长近4倍。旅游门户网去哪儿数据显示，哈尔滨、南京、武汉、上海和北京的跨年夜（12月31日-1月1日）酒店，特别是豪华型酒店预订量较高。北京环球度假区、上海迪士尼乐园、香港迪士尼乐园、珠海长隆海洋王国、哈尔滨冰雪大世界等景区的门票提前预订量较高。In addition, Tongcheng Travel's data also showed that the popularity of domestic islands travel on its platform for the New Year's Day holiday increased by 72 percent year-on-year, and the popularity of Southeast Asian islands travel increased by three times year-on-year.同城旅行数据还显示，平台上元旦假期国内海岛游热度同比上升72%，东南亚海岛游热度同比上升了3倍。Luxury hotelsn. 豪华型酒店

Despite temperatures still lingering below freezing, the sound of children reading out loud has started echoing inside the temporary shelters for the affected population after the earthquake in Jishishan county in Gansu province.Several rescue teams, in collaboration with local schoolteachers, have set up "tent schools" for children in affected villages, so that schooling can continue in the wake of the disaster.On Dec 21, at the settlement point for earthquake-affected residents in Shiyuan village, members of the Gansu Forest Fire Brigade set up a tent school teaching science, health and culture."Due to the earthquake's impact, children can't attend school. To make the best use of this time, we opened tent schools teaching children while ensuring their safety," said Zhang Peng, a member of the brigade.There are 10 students in each class in Shiyuan, with each lesson lasting 30 minutes. Depending on the on-site conditions, additional courses such as physical education, mathematics and art will be introduced, Zhang said.Han Yongping, 36, the principal of Shiyuan Village Primary School, is responsible for psychological counseling and teaching Chinese courses. He emphasizes the need to calm the children and their parents first, providing psychological counseling to help them move beyond the shadows of the earthquake and overcome fear.For many children and adults, this is their first experience with an earthquake, he said.The primary school has six grades, 107 students and 12 teachers. Han said that the school conducts emergency drills once a week. Just a day before the earthquake, students were taught safety emergency science, how to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, and how to respond during an earthquake.Han said there has been no news of any injured students or teachers.After the earthquake, he and his colleagues contacted each student's parents to ensure that their basic needs were met.The school is considering online classes to make up for the missed lessons and is preparing to apply to the higher education authorities to establish a temporary school for the children.The original teaching building has developed cracks due to the earthquake and is unsafe, the principal said. The teachers there are planning to utilize available desks and chairs to ensure that no child misses a lesson.The establishment of temporary schools requires strict safety measures, ensuring post-earthquake safety and addressing issues related to the use of fire and electricity, he said.Han and his colleagues plan to return to the teaching building, while ensuring safety, to retrieve the students' textbooks.All teachers are at the disaster settlement point, and after confirming the safety of their homes, they are all involved in the transportation of emergency supplies, he said."The disaster has happened, but life and students' study must go on. We need to respond positively, take proactive self-rescue measures, and not just wait for assistance," said Han.Han lives about 40 kilometers away from the school. On the night of Dec 18, he stayed at the school, and since then, he has been living in a tent, and hasn't returned home. Despite hearing the news his own house had collapsed, the principal said that he was most concerned that his parents, wife and children were unharmed during the earthquake.At 3 am on Dec 19, three hours after the earthquake struck, the Gansu Provincial Department of Education sent a task force to Jishishan county for emergency response and rescue efforts.At 5:10 am on Dec 19, the task force held an online coordination meeting at the Jishishan county education bureau, establishing a front-line command center with five earthquake relief teams. Three assessment teams were dispatched to the three most severely affected townships to investigate the impact on teachers and students and assess damage to students' homes.Both Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture and Jishishan county organized specialized teams to comprehensively assess schools within their jurisdiction. The county assessed 243 schools with over 48,000 students, while the prefecture assessed 2,048 schools with more than 498,000 students. Students from Jishishan county's boarding schools have all been evacuated and relocated.Gansu's education authorities also convened a meeting to review and coordinate efforts.They activated emergency plans to ensure the smooth progress of the 2024 postgraduate admissions examination on Saturday and Sunday.The provincial department of education guided the Linxia prefecture education bureau to assess examination centers in Linxia, conducting a thorough check on invigilators, examiners and their families. Meanwhile, a dedicated team was formed to contact all 1,240 examinees from Jishishan county, ensuring their participation in the exam as scheduled.Ma Yonghong, deputy director of the education bureau of Jishishan county, said that all local teachers were arranged to go to relocation sites for psychological counseling and teaching a

The Chinese character zhen, meaning "vitalize", was named the nation's most popular character related to domestic affairs this year, while the character wei, meaning "risk" or "crisis", was chosen as the hottest for international topics.The characters are among a list of popular words, as well as phrases, collected in an annual assessment organized by agencies including the Ministry of Education's National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center and the Commercial Press publishing house.Organizers explained that "vitalize" represents an upward trend and a gesture of trying to make an effort, and that's the spirit one should have, whether it's a country or an individual, when facing challenges and obstacles.Meanwhile, it pointed out that internationally, the world's path has come to a crossroads amid wars and conflicts, sluggish economies, a widening gap of development and a worsening environment.Organizers called for looking for opportunities hidden in the crises, and using dialogue and cooperation to handle differences in order to build a fair, better world.In addition to characters, gaozhiliang fazhan, or high-quality development, was chosen as the key domestic phrase of the year, while ChatGPT was named the annual phrase in international topics.This year marked the 18th time for such a list to be published. Over the last month, the same organizers also revealed the top 10 popular phrases, online catchphrases and new words.Last year, Chinese words for "stable" and "20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China" were the most popular domestically, while those for "battle" and "Russia-Ukraine conflict" were the hottest internationally.Some countries and regions using Chinese characters also held similar events to summarize 2023. For example, Japan selected the character "taxation". Malaysia chose "expensive". China's Taiwan chose the character for "lack" for island affairs, while "integration" or "blend" was chosen for cross-Strait events. Such assessment events displayed the cultural recognition among Chinese language users globally and made the language more influential, organizers said.Reporter: Liang Shuang

Shenzhou XVII crew members conducted their first spacewalk on Thursday, completing a host of tasks outside the Tiangong space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency.The agency said in a news release that mission commander Senior Colonel Tang Hongbo and crew member Lieutenant Colonel Tang Shengjie returned to the Wentian science module at 9:35 pm after floating seven-and-a-half hours outside the colossal orbital station. The third crew member, Lieutenant Colonel Jiang Xinlin, stayed inside Tiangong to provide support, it said.It was the 14th spacewalk conducted by Chinese astronauts.During the operation, Tang Hongbo and Tang Shengjie fulfilled preset tasks such as an experimental repair operation on the Tianhe core module's solar wings, according to the agency.This spacewalk was the second for Tang Hongbo, who is also the first person to return to the Tiangong space station.It also made Tang Shengjie, now 34, the youngest Chinese astronaut with spacewalk experience, the release said.The agency said there are a lot of science and technology assignments for the Shenzhou XVII crew to perform in coming months, adding that they are scheduled to carry out several spacewalks during the remaining days of their stay in orbit.The astronauts, who are the sixth group of Tiangong inhabitants, arrived at the colossal flying outpost on Oct 26 to take over from their Shenzhou XVI peers.Since their arrival, the astronauts have examined and maintained equipment, tested extravehicular suits and made preparations for their first spacewalk. They have also carried out exercises on manipulation of robotic arms, emergency evacuation and medical response, as well as conducted a host of science and technology tasks, according to the agency.Orbiting about 400 kilometers above Earth, Tiangong currently consists of three major components — the Tianhe core module and the Wentian and Mengtian science lab modules — and is connected with two visiting craft, the Shenzhou XVII crew ship and the Tianzhou 6 cargo [email protected]

Located in Shanxi province, China, Yungang Grottoes are like a thousand-year-old historical book carved on cliffs and rocks. They witnessed the changes of time and recorded the stories, exchanges, and integrations among people of various ethnic groups. Meet Hang Kan, the esteemed director of the Yungang Research Institute. Discover the enduring romance of archaeology and the story between Hang Kan and the ancient marvel!

A bonfire at a temporary shelter in Jishishan county, Gansu province, near the epicenter of Monday's magnitude 6.2 earthquake, rekindled among survivors the hope of rebuilding their lives after the disaster as they endured frigid temperatures in the remote mountains of northwestern China.周一（12月18日），甘肃省集石山县发生了6.2级地震，在一个靠近震中的临时避难所，在西北地区寒冷的气温下，与篝火一同点燃的，是幸存者们重建生活的希望。Huddled inside a tent with her family, Ma Nuer, a resident of Kexinmin village, located near the epicenter, recalled how their house turned into a pile of rubble within a matter of seconds.位于震中附近的大河家镇克新民村村民玛努尔（音译）与家人挤在帐篷里，回忆起他们的房子顷刻间倒塌的场景。"The quake struck just before midnight. My husband, our two sons and I rushed to the nearest exit—a window—and jumped out. Our house collapsed in front of our eyes in 10 seconds or so," the 32-year-old woman said.“地震发生的时候差不多已经半夜了。我、丈夫和两个儿子冲到最近的逃生口（窗户），然后跳了出去。差不多只花了10秒钟，我们的房子就在我们眼前塌了”玛努尔说道，她今年32岁。The family spent the first few hours after the disaster shivering in the open. "The rescuers arrived and put up tents for us. We were given noodles and baked buns."地震发生后的几个小时里，玛努尔和家人在露天的空地上等待救援，瑟瑟发抖。“救援人员找到我们，为我们搭起帐篷。给我们发了面条和烤面包。”Ma said she knows that rebuilding their lives from scratch won't be an easy task, but the swift mobilization of aid for the survivors has given her immense hope.玛努尔说，她知道从零开始重建生活并不容易，但对幸存者们的援助迅速及时，给了她巨大的希望。"I don't know what happened to our belongings, or whether we can salvage anything at all. But at least tonight, my family and I have fire and a shelter to keep us warm," she said.“我不知道屋子里的物品已经成了什么样子，也不知道我们能不能找回到哪怕一丁点东西。但至少今晚，我和我的家人有火烤，有避难所住。”她说。Kexinmin village, which has a population of around 1,400 people, is among the areas hardest hit by the quake in Jishishan county, which is located in Gansu's Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture. Hundreds of displaced villagers were relocated to three temporary shelters by Tuesday evening.克新民村约有1400民村民，是甘肃省临夏回族自治州积石山县地震灾区受灾最严重的地区之一。到周二晚上，数百名流离失所的村民被重新安置到三个临时避难所。As of Wednesday morning, the earthquake had killed more than 130 people and injured hundreds in Gansu and neighboring Qinghai province.截至周三上午，地震已在甘肃和邻近的青海省造成130多人死亡，数百人受伤。An inspection conducted at the Liujiaxia Hydropower Station showed that the dam and other facilities, including the spillway structures, were functioning normally, the team said. China's first megawatt hydropower station is located around 50 kilometers from the epicenter. The quake was strongly felt in the area, which prompted a level IV emergency response.中国第一座百万千瓦级水电站——刘家峡水电站距离震中50.7千米，震感强烈。地震发生后，该水电站第一时间启动地震灾害Ⅳ级应急响应。经全面检查，大坝、以及包括溢洪道结构在内的刘家峡水电厂主辅设备运行正常。Search and rescue efforts ended at 3 pm on Tuesday, and priority work now includes treating the injured and rehabilitating the displaced, the team said at the news conference.救援小组在新闻发布会上表示，搜救工作于周二下午3点结束，当务之急是救治伤员和安置受灾群众。By Wednesday morning, 130,000 relief items, including tents, stoves, quilts and folding beds, had been sent to thequake-stricken areas.截至周三上午，已有13万件救援物资被送往地震灾区，包括帐篷、火炉、被子和折叠床。A total of 87,076 people from 20,457 households had been relocated to temporary shelters, according to the Gansu provincial emergency management department.据甘肃省应急管理厅称，共有20457户，87076人被转移到临时避难所。Adequate food and heating arrangements have been made at these shelters. Provisional dwelling units are being set up to ensure each household has at least one fully insulated tent for the winter. Daily necessities, water and electricity will be guaranteed at these relocation sites, according to the department.这些避难所配备有足够的食物和取暖设备。目前正在建设临时住房，确保每户家庭至少有一个完全隔热的帐篷过冬。该部门称，这些搬迁地点的日常必需品、用水和用电将得到保证。Wang Xihong, a member of an emergency rescue team administered by the Gansu branch of Red Cross Society of China, said he arrived at Kexinmin village around 3 am on Tuesday and has been working nonstop since, looking for trapped residents, removing debris on roads and setting up shelters.甘肃省红十字应急救援队成员王喜红（音译）说，他于周二凌晨3点左右抵达克新民村，到达后立即开展救援工作，寻找被困居民，清除道路上的碎片，并修建避难所，一刻也没有停下。"I need to catch a few winks of sleep, but taking a break is not on my mind right now. We have to help as many people as possible. Our top priority is keeping everyone warm in this frigid weather," he said.“我本来需要眯一会儿，但现在容不得我停下来休息。我们必须尽全力帮助更多的人。在这样寒冷的天气下，我们首先要保证每个人都可以保暖。”他说。Early Wednesday, a truck loaded with 1,440 quilts and 150 folding beds arrived at Kexinmin. "We still need more quilts and jackets to keep the chill out at night," Wang said.周三一早，一辆载有1440床被子和150张折叠床的卡车抵达克新民村。“夜晚，我们还需要更多的被子和夹克来抗寒，”王喜红说。The insulated tents being set up for quake survivors are designed to last at least three months, according to Wang. "More equipment and materials are being transported to build outdoor toilets and infrastructure to ensure clean water," he added.根据王喜红的介绍，为地震幸存者搭建的隔热帐篷要能够使用三个月以上。他补充说：“正在运输更多的设备和材料，用于建造室外厕所和基础设施，确保水源干净。”To ensure smooth supply of relief materials to the affected areas, the Gansu transportation department swiftly cleared highways, expressways and rural roads that were buried in debris during the quake. Green channels have been set up at toll stations l

President Xi Jinping pledged support to the Russian people in choosing their own path of development on Wednesday, while calling for more robust bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, energy and connectivity.During a meeting in Beijing with visiting Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Xi said the two nations should continue to enrich their bilateral cooperation by giving full play to the advantages of political mutual trust, economic complementarity, infrastructure connectivity and people-to-people exchanges.He highlighted the need for joint efforts to safeguard the security and stability of industrial and supply chains.The president hosted Mishustin, who is making his second visit to China this year for a regular meeting between Chinese and Russian heads of government, at the Great Hall of the People. The two also met during Xi's state visit to Russia in March.Xi said the two nations have already met the target of increasing annual bilateral trade to $200 billion in the January-November period, a target set jointly by him and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which demonstrated the strong resilience and broad prospects of mutually beneficial cooperation.He stressed that upholding and building up bilateral ties was the strategic choice made by both sides based on the fundamental interests of their peoples.Xi expressed Beijing's readiness to work with Moscow to take the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year as a new starting point to continuously expand the positive effects of the high-level political relationship.In doing so, both nations can continue to jointly move forward in the process of comprehensively promoting economic and social development and realizing national rejuvenation, he added.Xi underlined the strong resilience, vast potential and broad room for maneuver of the Chinese economy, saying that its long-term positive fundamentals remain unchanged.He reiterated Beijing's commitment to promoting high-quality development and high-level opening-up, which he said will provide new opportunities for the development of all countries, including Russia.The president called for joint efforts to ensure that the China-Russia Cultural Year in 2024 and 2025 is a success, including steps to design and carry out a variety of rich and colorful cultural and people-to-people exchange activities.The goal is to consolidate social and public support for the everlasting friendship between the two countries, he explained.The Russian prime minister stressed Moscow's readiness to further tap into potential and expand cooperation in areas such as trade, energy and connectivity.He conveyed the condolences of the Russian government and people to Xi regarding the magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck Gansu and Qinghai provinces late on Monday night, saying that Russia is willing to provide rescue assistance as needed.Xi expressed his gratitude, saying that President Putin and many foreign leaders sent messages of condolences after the earthquake.China is making every effort to carry out rescue efforts and is doing its best to protect the lives and property of the people, he said, adding that the rescue forces and materials in the disaster-stricken areas are sufficient, and the basic well-being of local residents has been guaranteed.The people in the affected areas will surely be able to overcome the disaster and rebuild their homes under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, he added.Xu Poling, director of the department of Russian economy of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the high level of ties and strong political mutual trust between Beijing and Moscow have been evident in the frequent meetings between leaders from both countries.He explained that trade between the two nations has grown exponentially and become more balanced, adding that bilateral trade could reach a historic high of $230 billion this year."There is even greater room for bilateral cooperation in industrial goods and supply chains," he said.Reporter: Xu Wei

East Buy, a subsidiary of private tutoring giant New Oriental that successfully transitioned to a live­streaming e-commerce company, removed Sun Dongxu as its executive director and CEO, and named New Oriental's founder Yu Minhong as its chief executive.新东方由教育公司成功转型为直播电商公司，其旗下的东方甄选免除了孙东旭的执行董事兼首席执行官职务，并任命新东方创始人俞敏洪为首席执行官。The appointment, which was confirmed by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange late on Sunday, came after a dispute involving the company's most influential livestreamer, Dong Yuhui, intensified last week, leading the Hong Kong-listed company to suffer billion-yuan losses on the stock market within days.香港交易所于周日（12月17日）晚间证实了这一人事变动。此前，新东方与其头牌主播董宇辉的纠纷愈演愈烈，导致新东方的股票市值在几天内蒸发数十亿元人民币。Industry experts said it is time for companies to reevaluate their star-oriented business model and strengthen internal management, in order to drive the country's burgeoning livestreaming e-commerce sector to be more rational and healthier.业内人士认为，企业应该重新评估明星主导的商业模式，加强内部管理，推动中国的直播电商行业朝着更加理性、健康的方向发展。Dong, who was formerly an English teacher at New Oriental Group, went viral as a livestreamer in June last year thanks to his insightful and humorous hosting style. He soon amassed a huge number of followers, who bought products from East Buy just because of him. His followers on Chinese short-video platform Douyin hit a staggering 20 million as of Sunday.董宇辉曾是新东方集团的英语老师，去年6月，凭借富深入浅出、幽默风趣的主持风格，他以网络主播的身份走红。他很快就聚集起庞大的粉丝群体，粉丝们因为他而购买东方甄选的产品。截至周日，他在短视频平台抖音上的粉丝数量已经达到了2000万之高。The latest dispute started after the editorial team of East Buy said on Dec 6 that the script used by Dong during livestreaming was written by the team and not by the star alone. It quickly prompted a group of online shoppers and many of Dong's fans to question the company for taking credit for his work and longtime efforts.本次纷争始于12月6日，东方甄选的编辑团队表示，董宇辉在直播中的台词是由团队攥写的，而不是他自己。这很快让一些直播购物消费者和董宇辉的粉丝质疑新东方不认可董宇辉工作和长期努力。On Tuesday, Sun Dongxu, then CEO of East Buy, said in a livestream that neither the editorial team nor Dong had behaved appropriately, adding that Dong is treated well by the company and draws a steep annual salary.周二，时任东方甄选首席执行官的孙东旭在一次直播中表示，编辑团队和董宇辉的行为都欠妥，并补充说董宇辉在公司的待遇良好，年薪不菲。Sun also condemned the "fandom culture", noting that netizens often attack a company because of their idol. He triggered a wave of anger among netizens with his remarks and aggressive approach during the livestream, including hurling his cellphone onto a table.孙东旭还谴责“粉丝文化”，指出粉丝们经常因为他们的偶像而攻击其公司。他在直播中言论激烈，咄咄逼人，还将将手机摔在桌上，引起网友们的不满。Many netizens said they felt offended by Sun's behavior. They said they felt like employees being rebuked by their boss, instead of being respected as consumers.许多网友表示，孙东旭的行为冒犯了他们，让他们觉得自己像是被老板斥责的员工，而没有受到消费者该有的尊重。Later, both Sun and Yu, the founder of New Oriental, as well as Dong, apologized for the incident and clarified that the script used for the livestream was written by both the editorial team and Dong.后来，孙东旭、新东方创始人俞敏洪，以及董宇辉都为此事道歉，并澄清直播使用的台词是编辑组和董宇辉共同攥写的。However, this didn't stop the stock price of the Beijing-based company from plunging to HK$26.25 ($3.69) per share on Friday from HK$32.75 on Dec 6. The number of followers on Easy Buy's Douyin account was 28 million as of Sunday, a significant drop from over 31 million a week ago.然而，新东方股价的下跌仍然没有停止，从12月6日的32.75港元暴跌至周五（12月15日）的每股26.25港元（3.69美元）。截至周日，东方甄选抖音账号的粉丝数量为2800万，远低于一周前的3100余万。Zhang Yi, chief analyst at market consultancy iiMedia Research, said, "The incident is basically an internal strife over making a balanced profit distribution between leading live­streamers and companies or MCN (multichannel network) agencies that manage livestreamers."艾媒咨询CEO兼首席分析师张毅表示，“这起事件本质上是一场内部冲突，即在头牌主播与其管理主播公司（MCN）之间利润分配的问题。”The East Buy case is not a stray incident, Zhang said, adding that many livestreaming e-commerce companies are star-oriented and rely hugely on a top livestreamer to attract customers and make profits, as can be seen from the emergence of Li Jiaqi, a top beauty and cosmetics livestreamer well-known as "lipstick king".张毅说，此次东方甄选的风波并非偶然事件，许多直播电商公司都是以流量主播为导向，特别是头部主播，以此来吸引客户和盈利。有“口红王子”之称的李佳琦是美妆产品直播行业的头号主播，他也曾卷入类似的纠葛。Livestreaming has become deeply entrenched in people's lives in the country over the past years. Data from iiMedia Research showed that the market scale of China's live­streaming e-commerce sector reached 1.43 trillion yuan ($200 billion) last year, up 19.5 percent year-on-year.过去几年，直播已经成为中国人民日常生活的重要组成部分。艾媒咨询的数据显示，去年中国直播电商行业的市场规模达到1.43万亿元人民币（2000亿美元），同比增长19.5%。On Saturday night, Yu and Dong appeared in a livestream in order to prevent the incident's impact from further spilling over. Yu admitted that East Buy had been plunged into "chaos", and removing Sun from his current position was due to a series of mistakes he made while performing his management duties.周六晚上，俞敏洪和董宇辉“合体”直播，以防止事态进一步恶化。俞敏洪承认，东方甄选内部已经陷入“混乱”，撤销孙东旭当前的职务是出于他在履行管理职责时犯下一系列错误的考虑。"Sun will continue to work in other positions in New Oriental," Yu said, emphasizing that Dong had never been asked to leave.“孙东旭将继续在新东方的其他职位上工作，”俞敏洪表示，并强调从未要求董宇辉离

China's emergency response system swung into action on Tuesday to send rescue workers and provide aid in the wake of the magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck northwestern China late Monday, killing at least 100 people and injuring more than 700.周一（12月18日）凌晨，中国西北地区发生6.2级地震，国家救灾应急二级响应启动，调派救援人员展开援助。该地震已经造成至少100人死亡，700多人受伤。The national mobilization took place swiftly after an instruction was issued in the early hours of the morning by President Xi Jinping, calling for all-out search and rescue efforts, proper arrangements for those affected and further efforts to prevent secondary disasters.习近平总书记高度重视，并作出重要指示，要求全力开展搜救，及时救治受伤人员，最大限度减少人员伤亡，防范次生灾害，各路救援力量迅速集结，展开救援。The earthquake—the nation's deadliest in nine years—struck just before midnight on Monday at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers in Jishishan county in Linxia, Gansu province, about 5 kilometers from the boundary with Qinghai province, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.中国地震台网中心表示，此次地震是九年来中国发生的最严重的地震，发生在周一（12月18日）午夜的甘肃省临夏市集石山县，距离青海省边界约5公里，震源相对较浅，为10公里。The quake severely damaged houses and roads, and knocked out power and communication lines, according to provincial officials. As of press time on Tuesday, the death toll in Gansu was 113. Thirteen others were confirmed dead in Qinghai, in an area north of the epicenter.甘肃省称，地震严重破坏了房屋和道路，并摧毁了电力和通信线路。截至周二（12月19日）发稿时，甘肃省的死亡人数为113人。震中以北的青海地区另有13人死亡。Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has instructed local authorities to rescue and treat those injured in a timely manner to minimize casualties, and closely monitor the situation and weather changes in the high-altitude affected areas to prevent secondary disasters.中央军委主席、国家主席习近平强调要全力开展搜救，及时救治受伤人员，要严密监测灾情和高海拔地区的天气变化，防范次生灾害。He has also urged allocation of relief supplies to the quake-stricken areas as soon as possible, repair of damaged infrastructure such as electricity, communication, transportation and heating facilities, and proper accommodation of the affected people to ensure their basic living needs.他还敦促尽快向地震灾区分配救援物资，修复电力、通信、交通和供暖设施等受损基础设施，并为受灾民众提供住宿，保证灾民基本生活需求。As instructed by Xi, the State Council, China's Cabinet, has sent a working group to the quake-stricken region to help guide disaster relief work.根据习近平总书记的指示，国务院已派出工作组前往地震灾区，帮助指导救灾工作。The People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police Force have been instructed to collaborate with local authorities to carry out emergency rescue and disaster relief work, and do their utmost to ensure the safety of people's lives and property.人民解放军、武警部队会同地方开展抢险救灾工作，尽最大努力保障人民群众生命财产安全。Premier Li Qiang has also issued instructions on quake relief work. He has urged quick assessment of the damage, proper evacuation and rehabilitation of the affected people, and timely release of information.李强总理还就抗震救灾工作作出指示。他敦促迅速评估损失，疏散和安顿受灾人员，并及时向社会发布信息。As part of the orderly relief management, emergency supplies such as tents and folding beds have been sent to the affected areas in Gansu and Qinghai.作为有序救灾的一部分，帐篷和折叠床等应急物资已送往甘肃和青海的灾区。The Ministry of Emergency Management and the Ministry of Finance have allocated 200 million yuan ($28 million) to support quake relief efforts in the two provinces.财政部、应急管理部紧急向甘肃、青海两省预拨中央自然灾害救灾资金2亿元，支持地方开展抗震救灾工作。While 150 million yuan will be used to support relief work in Gansu, 50 million yuan will aid relief efforts in Qinghai, the ministries said in a statement.财政部、应急管理部在一份声明中表示，其中的1.5亿元人民币将用于支持甘肃的救灾工作，剩余的5000万元人民币将用于青海的救灾工作。Rehabilitation英/'ri:hə,bili'teiʃən/ 美/ˌrihəˌbɪləˈteʃən/n. 重建，恢复

Just a short train ride from Beijing, Tianjin is bursting with new and cutting-edge technologies. From the world’s first zero-carbon terminal, to new energy cars, to advances in surgical tech, Tianjin has it all! Join China Daily reporters Nathan and Steph as they explore some of what this unique city has to offer. #PotsideChats

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake that jolted an ethnic county in Northwest China's Gansu province midnight Monday has killed 118 people in Gansu and neighboring Qinghai province, according to local earthquake relief headquarters.According to China Earthquake Networks Center, the quake jolted at 11:59 pm Monday and has a focal depth of 10 km. The epicenter Liugou township is about 8 km from the county seat of Jishishan Bao'an, Dongxiang, Sala autonomous county in Linxia Hui autonomous prefecture, Gansu.Witnesses told Xinhua the earthquake has caused damages on houses, roads and other infrastructures. Several villages have suffered power failures and disruption of water.According to local meteorological authorities, the daily low temperature in Jishishan is reported to reach minus 10 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.The provincial fire and rescue department has sent 580 rescuers aided with 88 fire engines, 12 search and rescue dogs, more than 10,000 sets of equipment to the disaster area.The railway authority has suspended passenger and cargo trains passing through the quake zone and ordered a safety check of railway tracks.Hu Changsheng, Party chief of Gansu, and Ren Zhenhe, governor of Gansu, have rushed to the disaster area to command rescue and relief.Source: Xinhua

Four-year-old panda twins Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan, the first giant pandas born in Germany, arrived in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Sunday, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding said.After a farewell ceremony at Zoo Berlin earlier this month attended by visitors, the pandas were put on a flight to China on Saturday afternoon. Staff members from the German zoo accompanied the twins on the flight.As agreed to by China and Germany, the twins were sent to the Chengdu base, an institution for panda scientific research and breeding."The birth of the first giant pandas in Germany was not only a personally moving experience, but also a highlight in my professional career as a zoo veterinarian and zoo director that nothing will easily eclipse," said Andreas Knieriem, the head of Zoo Berlin.Born on Aug 31, 2019, the panda twins had their fourth birthday this summer. In 2017, the twins' parents Meng Meng and Jiao Qing were sent to Berlin from Chengdu, and were the only two giant pandas in Germany at the time.At birth, the twins were as light as a bar of chocolate and were dependent on their mother's care, according to the zoo.The twins have "brought Berliners and many tourists a lot of joy in recent years", said Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner at the farewell ceremony. "It's time to say goodbye."Zoo Berlin recently released a collection of video footage on social media platforms showing the twins' growth over the past four years.The zoo also launched a campaign to collect paintings and illustrations of the twin pandas. Fans in Germany sent their submissions this month, which were sent to China along with the twins.Zoo Berlin said it will not be too hard for the panda parents to be without the twins as they have been living separately for two years.The period between one and three years is the most active stage of a giant panda's development when they spend most of their time playing, exploring, and climbing trees. Captive male giant pandas become sexually mature around the age of six. After moving to China, the twins are expected to be able to find mates.According to the zoo, their staff who accompanied the pandas will explain to their Chinese colleagues how to communicate with Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan through hand gestures.This year, at least 17 pandas have been returned to China from overseas countries, including the United States, France and Japan.According to the Sichuan provincial forestry and grassland bureau, most of the pandas were returned this year due to the expiration of agreements. Some of the returns were delayed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a large number of pandas coming back this year.Source: Xinhua

he emerging COVID-19 subvariant JN.1 has been detected on the Chinese mainland and will likely become the dominant strain in the future, but it does not pose a substantial risk to public health, experts said on Sunday.JN.1, which is of the same lineage as the Omicron subvariant BA.2.86, is the latest strain to catch the attention of global health experts. It has spread to at least 40 countries and regions and accounts for 30 percent of currently circulating variants, up from 4 percent in early November, according to the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control.China reported the first JN.1 domestic case in November, and as of Tuesday, seven domestic infections had been detected.However, the administration said that currently, the dominant strain is EG.5 and its sublineages."The prevalence of JN.1 now is extremely low, but under the influence of international circulation of the emerging strain and imported cases, the possibility of JN.1 becoming the dominant strain on the mainland cannot be ruled out," the administration added.Chang Zhaorui, a researcher at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the ratio of cases with BA.2.86 — which includes JN.1 — among total infections is very low, but has been rising fast since last month, which is in line with the global trend.China has reported a total of 160 BA.2.86 infections since August, but no severe cases have been reported, Chang said at a news conference in Beijing on Sunday."The World Health Organization has determined that its risk of causing severe symptoms is low and its public health risk is low," she said, adding that experts in China have also said the variant poses a relatively low risk to public health."So far, China has found no unknown or novel pathogens and bacterium of respiratory illness," she added.The virus that causes the COVID-19 disease is among several pathogens that experts said have contributed to a surge in respiratory illnesses in China this winter.Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission, said that the number of hospital visits with respiratory illnesses nationwide has been declining in recent days, as a result of efforts made in increasing fever clinics and hospital beds, as well as mobilizing grassroots and traditional Chinese medicine facilities to handle more patients."Fever clinics at grassroots medical institutions have handled 44 percent of total fever clinic visits nationwide," he said.Mi also suggested that the public wear masks, take personal protective measures and get vaccinated to prevent influenza and other respiratory diseases.Chang, the China CDC researcher, advised changing masks after visiting hospitals or coming in close contact with anyone suffering from respiratory illnesses.Though some people wear cotton masks to weather the winter chill, Chang said that such masks cannot protect against respiratory pathogens. People are also being advised not to wear multiple masks.Reporter: Wang Xiaoyu

The world's authority on color has spoken: 2024 is the year of "Peach Fuzz."世界权威色彩机构潘通公布2024年度流行色为“柔和桃”。Pantone describes the orange-pink hue as gentle, warm and cozy, subtly sensual and heartfelt.潘通色彩研究所形容这种橘粉色柔和、温暖、舒适，带点小性感，而且很贴心。Peach Fuzz, a "velvety peach tone" is meant to represent "our desire to nurture ourselves and others" and "whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body, and soul."潘通在介绍“柔和桃”的时候说道，这种“天鹅绒般柔和的桃色”意在代表“我们关爱自己和他人的愿望”，这种“无所不包的精神将会充实我们的身心和灵魂”。Pantone's colors of the year end up shaping product development and consumer decisions in fashion, industrial and interior design, product packaging and other industry areas.潘通的年度流行色最终会影响产品研发方向、消费者购买时装的选择、工业和室内装潢、产品包装和其他产业领域。"At a time of turmoil in many aspects of our lives, our need for nurturing, empathy and compassion grows ever stronger as does our imaginings of a more peaceful future," said company vice president Laurie Pressman. We needed a color "whose gentle lightness and airy presence lifts us into the future," Pressman added.潘通副总裁劳里·普雷斯曼表示：“在一个生活的许多方面都受到影响的动荡年代，当我们期待一个更加和平的未来时，我们对滋养、共情的需求也变得前所未有的强烈……我们需要一种温柔轻盈又梦幻的颜色，支持着我们走向未来。”Many on social media agreed with the pick, describing it as beautiful and refreshing. Others panned the color as boring, out-of-touch and unflattering.许多人都在社交媒体上为“柔和桃”点赞，认为这个颜色美丽又清新。但也有一些人认为这个颜色乏味、落伍、不衬肤色。One tongue-in-cheek critique characterized the peach as "a very democratic shade considering it doesn't look good on anyone."一位网友半开玩笑地表示“柔和桃”是“非常平等的颜色，因为谁穿这种颜色的衣服都不好看”。Tongue-in-cheek 英/'tʌŋin'tʃi:k/ 美/ˌtʌŋɪnˈtʃik/adj. 开玩笑的

A new policy simplifying immigration for international travelers in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will create more business opportunities and promote the coordinated development of airports in the southern region, according to officials from the GBA.粤港澳大湾区官员表示，粤港澳大湾区国际旅客入境流程的简化将带来更多商机，促进华南机场的协调发展。The "Fly from Hong Kong via Zhuhai" policy, which took effect on Tuesday, allows travelers arriving at Zhuhai Jinwan Airport on the Chinese mainland to travel via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to Hong Kong International Airport to fly to overseas destinations without going through immigration in Hong Kong.自12月12日“经珠港飞”政策生效起，旅客便可以由大陆的珠海金湾机场，经港珠澳大桥，抵达香港国际机场，然后飞往国外，而无须办理香港入出境手续。The same service applies in reverse, with people flying into Hong Kong from overseas being able to transfer to mainland cities via the HZMB and Zhuhai Airport without the need to undergo Hong Kong immigration procedures.反过来也是如此，从国外飞往香港的旅客可以经由港珠澳大桥和珠海机场，到达国内目的地，无需办理香港出入境手续。"The project not only provides more options for international travel, but also plays an active role in supporting the development of the GBA and the building of a world-class airport cluster by giving full play to the connecting role of the HZMB and taking advantage of the complementary resources of Hong Kong and Zhuhai airports," said Vivian Cheung Karfay, chief operating officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong.香港机场管理局首席营运总监张李佳蕙表示：“该政策不但让旅客有更多国际出行的选择，更充分发挥了港珠澳大桥的贯通连系作用，借助港珠两地机场资源整合互补，支持大湾区发展，为国家建设世界级机场群。”While Hong Kong International Airport has direct connections with nearly 200 international destinations, Zhuhai Airport has air routes with nearly 90 mainland destinations.香港机场直飞境外近200个国际目的地，珠海机场也有近90个内地航线。To ensure smooth implementation of the policy, a designated channel has been set up at the checkpoint for inspection of passengers, said Lin Meihong, a senior border control official at the HZMB.港珠澳大桥边检站政委林美红表示，为确保政策落地后能够顺畅实施，港珠澳大桥边检站在珠港出入境方向设置了专用查验通道。Shuttle bus services will be provided to travelers for transit flights. Mainland passengers traveling overseas will be able to board the bus at the Zhuhai Port of the HZMB after completing immigration and go directly to the Skypier Terminal of HKIA, where they will then head to the boarding gates of their flights.过境航班的旅客还可以享受接驳巴士服务。前往海外的内地旅客，在完成出入境手续后，可在港珠澳大桥珠海口岸登上接驳巴士，直接前往香港国际机场海天中转大楼，然后前往航班登机口。Michael Yuen, general manager of hub development at AAHK, said that currently there is one bus running from the HZMB to HKIA every hour from 10 am to 7 pm, but the frequency of bus services will be increased in accordance with the number of travelers in the future.香港机场管理局航空枢纽发展总经理阮英杰表示，现在，从上午10时至晚上7时，每小时有一班巴士从港珠澳大桥开往香港国际机场，日后会根据客流量增加巴士班次。The development of the aviation industry in the GBA is gaining momentum, with the 11-city cluster comprising nine Guangdong cities plus the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions ramping up efforts to build a world-class airport cluster to fuel business growth.粤港澳大湾区航空业发展势头强劲，由广东省9个城市及港澳特别行政区组成的城市群正在大力建设世界级机场集群，推动经济业务增长。Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area n. 港珠澳大湾区

President Xi Jinping reiterated on Wednesday China's commitment to peaceful development and its policy of friendship and partnership with neighboring countries, and said that the nation is willing to share the more benefits of Chinese modernization with neighboring countries.Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in Hanoi, Vietnam, during a meeting with representatives of Chinese and Vietnamese youth and people who have contributed to bilateral friendship.He told the meeting's participants that China follows the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in its relations with neighboring countries.As China strives to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts by pursuing Chinese modernization, Xi said that what the country is pursuing is not modernization just for China itself. "We are ready to share more of the benefits of Chinese modernization with our neighbors."He emphasized that building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance is a major strategic decision that both countries have made to revitalize world socialism and ensure their long-term stability and security.Xi called for carrying forward the traditional friendship between the two countries, and contributing to the enduring peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region.He pointed out that both countries' development is credited, in part, to a peaceful, open and inclusive Asia-Pacific."The Asia-Pacific is the place which we call home. It is a source of power driving global growth. Openness, inclusiveness and mutually beneficial cooperation are the right course to follow," Xi said."We should strive to build an Asia-Pacific community, create more momentum to boost solidarity and make advances, and make greater contributions to making the region more harmonious and prosperous," he added.Xi highlighted the need to enhance solidarity and cooperation in order to jointly promote the socialist cause being pursued by both countries.He said that with remarkable economic and social advances, China and Vietnam demonstrate to the world that they have found the right development paths."Our two parties are both Marxist parties that bear in mind the overall interests of the world, and our two countries are both responsible members of the international community," Xi said, calling for both sides to stand up for international fairness and justice, and contribute to global development.General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong and his wife, Ngo Thi Man, joined Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at the meeting.Trong said at the meeting that Vietnam and China have always firmly supported each other in the cause of national independence, liberation and socialist construction.Since they established a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership 15 years ago, political mutual trust between the two countries has been strengthened and practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results, he said.He expressed the hope that the young people of both countries will inherit the profound friendship forged by the older generations of leaders of both countries, and inject new vitality into the long-term and stable development of bilateral ties.Xi flew back to China later Wednesday after wrapping up his two-day state visit to Vietnam.Reporter: Cao Desheng

During his state visit to Vietnam, President Xi Jinping received a warm welcome in #Hanoi. China Daily reporter Peng Yixuan joined the enthusiastic crowd, interacting with representatives from both countries. Check out what went on behind the scenes in her video.

Beijing and Hanoi highlighted on Tuesday their shared commitment to building a bilateral community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, as the two sides reached key consensuses to elevate their ties during President Xi Jinping's state visit to Vietnam.The commitment was made by Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, during their talks in Hanoi.Trong held a grand welcoming ceremony, including a 21-gun salute and a guard of honor, for Xi, who is making his first visit to Vietnam in six years on Tuesday and Wednesday.The two leaders jointly viewed an exhibition of cooperation documents signed between the two nations, covering over 30 sectors including the joint building of the Belt and Road, cooperation in border inspection and quarantine, the digital economy, transportation, defense and security cooperation, and maritime cooperation.During their talks at the seat of the CPV Central Committee, Xi called Trong "my old friend and good friend", saying that China firmly supports Vietnam in continuing to advance the cause of socialist construction.China has always viewed China-Vietnam relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, regarding Vietnam as a priority direction for neighborhood diplomacy, he said.Xi expressed his belief that with the joint efforts of both sides, ties between Beijing and Hanoi will enter a new stage, characterized by higher political mutual trust, more concrete security cooperation, deeper win-win cooperation, more solid popular foundations, closer multilateral coordination and better management of differences.The socialist construction of China and Vietnam will steadily move forward, making new contributions to the stability, development and prosperity of the region and even the world, he added.Xi put forward proposals in six aspects on building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future.He said the two sides should maintain the right orientation in politics, adhere to high-level strategic guidance, strengthen the exchange of experience over party and state governance and firmly support each other on issues related to respective core interests and major concerns.In terms of security, Xi called for stronger mutual trust, saying that safeguarding national political security should be prioritized to ensure that the socialist system remains unchanged for both nations.He stressed the need to make every effort to prevent and resolve various political security risks, saying that Beijing firmly supports Hanoi in maintaining social stability and national unity. China believes that Vietnam will continue to support China in opposing external interference and firmly advancing the cause of national reunification, he added.The president made an appeal for an upgrade in the quality of bilateral pragmatic cooperation, pledging to share the opportunities from China's modernization and seek joint development with Vietnam.China will continue to encourage Chinese enterprises to invest and start businesses in Vietnam, and the nation hopes that Vietnam will provide a favorable business climate for Chinese enterprises, he said.He called for greater investment in a range of fields, including agriculture, education and healthcare, as well as sectors such as youth tourism and at local levels.Xi urged closer collaboration between Beijing and Hanoi on international and regional issues, saying that both nations should attribute their remarkable development not only to the results of their own efforts, but also to an open and inclusive world, especially a peaceful and stable environment in the Asia-Pacific region.China does not form exclusive small circles or engage in group politics or bloc confrontation, he said, adding that Beijing is willing to strengthen multilateral cooperation with Hanoi, uphold true multilateralism, and increase the voice and influence of developing countries in international affairs.As for maritime issues, the Chinese president stressed the need to properly manage differences, adding that both sides should actively explore and implement more maritime cooperation projects, strive to promote joint maritime development, and transform challenges arising from maritime issues into opportunities for deepening cooperation.Trong noted during the talks that Xi is an outstanding world leader who enjoys widespread support among the Chinese people, as well as a comrade and friend respected and admired by the Vietnamese people.He stressed that Vietnam firmly adheres to the one-China principle, recognizes Taiwan as an inseparable part of China, supports the cause of Chinese reunification, and resolutely opposes any form of "Taiwan independence" activities.He underscored his nation's adherence to an independent and autonomous foreign policy, saying that the development of relations with Beijing is Hanoi's top priority and strategic choice.

Snow: Transportation, water supply services face pressure雨雪天气：交通、供水服务面临压力China's northern and central regions are experiencing heavy snowfall and plummeting temperatures, which are posing serious challenges for public transportation and water supply services, and have prompted many schools to suspend classes.华北地区和中部地区正在经历一轮降雪和降温过程，给公共交通和供水服务带来严峻挑战，多所学校宣布停课。The National Meteorological Center on Monday renewed its blue warning — the lowest level of alert in a four-tier system — for cold waves across the country.中国国家气象局周一继续发布寒潮蓝色预警，该预警为四级气象预警中的最低一级。From Wednesday through Friday, blizzards are forecast in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces, with some areas expected to see more than 10 centimeters of snow cover on Sunday, the center said.气象局预报，周三到周五，山西、陕西、河南等省份将出现暴雪天气，周日，局部地区积雪厚度将超过10厘米。The weather will bring a significant drop in temperatures across several regions, including Northwest and Southwest China and parts of South China. Some areas may see temperatures plummet by more than 14 C.寒潮将引起全国多地大幅降温，包括西北、西南以及局部南方地区。一些地区的气温下降幅度将超过14℃。Beijing's first snowfall this winter arrived early on Monday, covering the Chinese capital in a mantle of white overnight and plunging the city into freezing temperatures, with even colder weather looming this week.周一凌晨，北京迎来了今年冬天的初雪，一夜之间，首都银装素裹，地冻天寒。而本周内，北京的气温还会继续下降。The city typically sees its first snow of the season between late November and February. More snowfall is expected this week, with temperatures forecast to plummet as low as -20 C.北京的冬季初雪一般在每年的11月底到次年的2月出现。本周内北京还将降雪，预计温度将降至-20℃。The Chinese capital last saw similarly frigid weather on Jan 7, 2021, when the mercury dropped to -19.6 C. Beijing's all-time low of -27.4 C — a record set on Feb 22, 1966 — remains unbroken.北京上一次出现类似的寒冷天气还是在2021年1月7日，当时的温度低至-19.6℃。而有史以来，北京的最低温度是1966年2月22日的-27.4℃。On Monday, Beijing's weather bureau warned of road icing in large parts of the city, with authorities restricting traffic on some expressways or partially closing sections.周一，北京市气象台发布道路预警信号，对部分高速公路采取交通管制措施，同时封闭部分路段。By 10 am, more than 60 flights had been canceled at the Beijing Capital International Airport. Railway authorities enforced speed limits on lines connecting Beijing and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, causing delays in train arrival and departure schedules. Services on more than 180 bus routes in the city were also suspended in the morning.截至上午10点，北京首都国际机场已有60多个航班被取消。铁路部门对京广高铁上下行列车采取限速运行措施，导致途经该区段的部分旅客列车晚点运行。北京近180条公交线路停运。Beijing's subway ran additional trains during peak hours on Monday, and extend the duration of its services on urban lines by 40 minutes and on suburban lines by one hour in anticipation of traffic disruptions caused by the heavy snowfall.为应对大雪造成的交通中断，北京地铁在周一高峰时段增开列车，延长市区线路高峰运力40分钟，郊区线路高峰运力1小时。In Central China's Henan province, schools suspended classes for the day in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, which recorded 14.2 millimeters of precipitation with a snow depth of 10 cm, as well as in Anyang.在中部地区的河南省，郑州和安阳的学校采取临时停课措施。郑州降雪量为14.2毫米，积雪深度10厘米。Lyu Xiaona, chief forecaster at the provincial meteorological office, warned of road icing, frozen power lines, low temperatures and strong winds. "Henan was expected to see two rounds of snowfall. The first spell happened on Sunday. The second is expected to start on Tuesday night," Lyu said.河南省气象台首席预报员吕晓娜提醒，预计将出现道路结冰、电线结冰、低温和强风现象。“预计河南将出现两轮降雪。周日将出现第一轮降雪。第二轮预计将于周二晚上开始。” 吕晓娜说。In Jinan, the capital of East China's Shandong province, authorities issued an advisory recommending off-peak working schedule to alleviate traffic pressure on the roads. Government departments and other organizations were urged to implement flexible working hours, except for essential services. Many schools held classes online on Monday.山东省济南市发布“应对强降雪天气实行错峰上下班倡议书”，建议错峰上班，缓解道路交通压力。除保障城市正常运转和便民服务岗位外，其他机关及企事业单位人员实行错峰上下班。周一，多校实施线上教学。Northeast China's Heilongjiang province was hit particularly hard over the weekend, with temperatures dropping between -25 C and -30 C in some areas on Sunday. The frigid weather is expected to last the whole week.本周末，黑龙江省受到极寒天气的严重影响，周日部分地区的气温降至-25℃至-30℃。未来一周，极寒天气预计将持续。Plummeting temperatures are posing serious challenges to water supply services. Emergency repair teams have been dispatched to areas where water pipes have been reported frozen, according to state broadcaster China Central Television.气温骤降给供水服务带来了严峻挑战。据中国中央电视台报道，紧急维修队已派往出现水管冻结的地点。In North China's Shanxi province, heavy snowfall and low temperatures have disrupted public transportation services. Special traffic control measures have been implemented on highways covered in snow, CCTV reported.在山西省，大雪和低温影响了公共交通服务。据中央电视台报道，交警对积雪路段以及结冰路段实施交通管控措施。Blizzard英/'blɪzəd/ 美/'blɪzɚd/n. 暴风雪

The number of children with respiratory illness visiting hospital pediatric departments is trending downward in China, health officials said on Sunday, adding that a recent nationwide surge in respiratory disease cases had not disrupted normal healthcare services.12月10日，国家卫健委表示，我国呼吸系统疾病儿童的儿科就诊数量呈下降趋势，并补充说，最近全国范围内呼吸系统疾病病例的激增并没有扰乱正常的医疗服务秩序。China has experienced a surge in respiratory disease this winter, driven by co-circulation of multiple pathogens. Young children have been hit hard, stretching the capacities of pediatric facilities in some regions.今年冬天，多种病原体流行感染，中国呼吸道疾病病例激增。幼儿受到的影响最为严重，一些地区的儿科门诊爆满。Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission, told a news conference that the number of visits to large hospitals by child patients with respiratory illness is gradually falling.国家卫健委新闻发言人米锋在新闻发布会上介绍，儿童呼吸道疾病诊疗量整体呈现波动下降趋势。"The increase in visits to pediatric hospitals and pediatric departments at general hospitals has also slowed down," he said.他表示：“部分大型儿童专科医院和综合医院儿科诊疗量增加的情况得到一定缓解。”Mi said the overall volume of hospital visits by people with respiratory illness is at a stable level nationwide, thanks to efforts to channel mild cases to grassroots medical facilities, add capacity at pediatric and fever clinics and extend their operation hours.米锋表示，由于将轻症病例分流至基层医疗机构，并增加儿科和发热门诊的容量，延长门诊时间，全国呼吸系统疾病就诊量总体处于稳定水平。"Normal medical services across the country are not affected," he said.他说：“全国整体正常医疗服务没有受到影响。”Mi said continuous efforts will be made to facilitate partnerships and the transfer of patients between general hospitals and community clinics, and guide patients to seek medical services that fit the severity of their condition.米说，将不断促进综合医院与社区诊所之间的合作和患者转移，并引导患者寻求符合病情的医疗服务。"Middle and primary schools, nursery care and elderly care homes, social welfare facilities and venues seeing large flows of people should implement ventilation and sanitation work, strengthen health monitoring and urge people to take personal protective measures to reduce the risk of infection," Mi said.“中小学、幼儿园和养老院、社会福利机构和人流较大的封闭场所应定期通风换气，加强健康监测，并敦促个人采取个人措施，降低感染风险，”米锋说。Health experts have said that pathogens spreading this winter include the virus that causes COVID-19, influenza, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and respiratory syncytial virus.卫健委专家表示，今年冬天传播的病原体包括导致新冠肺炎、流感、肺炎支原体和呼吸道合胞病毒的病原体。Xia Gang, an official at the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control, said some local governments had initiated flu vaccination services as early as July, ahead of the peak flu season.国家疾控局卫生免疫司司长夏刚介绍，从7月份开始，各地接种单位就已经陆续启动了流感疫苗接种服务，早于流感流行季。"This year's flu vaccine supplies have grown significantly compared to last year and are sufficient to meet demands," he said, adding that the elderly are particularly susceptible to progressing to severe flu cases and should be prioritized for vaccination.“今年流感疫苗生产供应量比去年有了明显增加，可以满足群众需求，”他说，并指出，老年人感染流感病毒之后特别容易发展为重症病例，应优先接种疫苗。Peng Zhibin, an official from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said flu vaccination campaigns should also be stepped up among students and staff members on campuses.中国疾控中心传染病管理处呼吸道传染病室主任彭质斌认为，还应加强在校学生和教职员工的流感疫苗接种。"Students, teachers and other staff members should not continue going to class after falling sick, so as to prevent them from infecting others," she added.“学生、教师和其他工作人员在生病后不应带病上课，以免感染他人，”她补充说。Peng also suggested that members of the public should wear masks when taking public transport.彭质斌还建议市民在乘坐公共交通工具时佩戴口罩。A guideline on wearing masks released by the administration on Saturday said infected people and visitors and staff members at hospitals, nursery care and elderly care facilities should wear them.根据周六发布的一份口罩佩戴指南，医院、幼儿园和老年护理机构的感染者，访客和工作人员应佩戴口罩。Mycoplasma pneumonian. 支原体肺炎

China's consumer prices dropped for the second consecutive month in November, indicating still-weak demand and backing the case for further policy support, including a likely reduction in the reserve requirement ratio for banks, economists said on Sunday.Despite challenges and headwinds, they expressed optimism over the potential for a growth rebound next year given some recent signs of stabilization. They expect to see more measures rolled out to boost domestic demand, spur consumption, help deliver presold homes and help local governments get on the right track on financial issues.The meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, which was held on Friday, indicated that solid steps will be taken to effectively enhance economic vitality, prevent and defuse risks, and improve social expectations as part of the nation's efforts to promote economic growth in 2024.The meeting emphasized the need to consolidate and enhance the momentum of economic recovery, and strive to promote overall improvement in economic operations to achieve both qualitative and quantitative growth. Further efforts will be made to expand domestic demand to form a virtuous cycle of mutual promotion between consumption and investment.Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday offered the latest official snapshot of the pressures facing the economy, as the country's consumer price index — a main gauge of inflation — dropped by 0.5 percent year-on-year in November after a 0.2 percent dip in October.The growth in core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices and is deemed a better gauge of the supply-demand relationship in the economy, came in at 0.6 percent year-on-year in November, the same as October.Xiong Yuan, chief economist at Guosheng Securities, said the drop in consumer prices indicates the still-weak internal driving force, insufficient demand and low confidence, leaving open the possibilities of further interest rate cuts and a reduction in the reserve requirement ratio as early as this month."Although the economy is gradually stabilizing, the foundation for recovery is not yet solid," Xiong said. "More policy support is likely this year, including pledged supplementary lending, allocating some of the 2024 quota for local government special bonds in advance and further easing of homebuying curbs in first-tier cities."Noting that Friday's meeting has set the tone for China's economic work next year, Xiong said the nation will implement expansionary policies to stimulate the economy and will likely set its 2024 annual growth target similar to this year's goal of about 5 percent.Citing the negative CPI growth and the steps mapped out at the key meeting, Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank, said that expanding domestic demand will be among the key priorities to bolster the economy, and consumption will play a fundamental role in driving economic growth."It is essential to expand consumption by increasing household income," Wen said. "Efforts should be made to stimulate purchases of big-ticket items, such as cars and electronics, while promoting consumption in services such as sports, leisure and cultural tourism."The NBS data showed that China's producer price index, which gauges factory-gate prices, dropped by 3 percent from a year ago in November, following a 2.6 percent fall in October.Ding Yue, deputy general manager at Zolix, a Beijing-based supplier of optical instruments, said that industrial companies still face pressures amid lackluster demand, expecting to see further steps to boost market confidence and support the development of the real economy.Wen, from China Minsheng Bank, said that China's CPI will likely register positive growth in February with stronger policy support, while the PPI may continue to remain in the negative territory for the next few months amid subdued external demand.Considering the lackluster demand for industrial products, Zhou Maohua, an analyst at China Everbright Bank, said that more steps are needed to boost domestic demand and spur consumption."The focus should be placed on boosting investment, creating more jobs and improving people's incomes," he said. "It is advisable for policymakers to roll out measures to encourage consumption of big-ticket items and facilitate smooth domestic production and sales channels."Reporter: Ouyang Shijia

据美国有线电视新闻网12月4日报道，“Rizz”当选牛津大学出版社的2023年年度词汇。“Rizz”——新兴网络常用俚语，意为“风格、魅力、吸引力”，或“吸引情感伴侣的能力”。[Photo/pexels]Derived from the word “charisma,” “rizz” refers to a person’s ability to attract a romantic partner through “style, charm or attractiveness,” dictionary publisher Oxford University Press (OUP) said in its announcement Monday. The word received more than 32,000 votes from the public, OUP added.牛津大学出版社4日表示，“rizz”以32000多票当选年度词汇，这个词源自“charisma（魅力）”，指的是一个人通过“风格、魅力或吸引力”吸引情感伴侣的能力。“Rizz” soared in popularity earlier this year, after Spider-Man actor Tom Holland was asked by Buzzfeed what the secret to his rizz was. His answer? “I have no rizz whatsoever. I have limited rizz.”今年早些时候，《蜘蛛侠》演员汤姆·霍兰德在接受Buzzfeed采访时被问到他的“rizz(魅力)”秘密是什么，“rizz”一词从此走红。霍兰德回答：“我没有任何魅力，我的魅力有限。”The publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary added that the word can also be used as a verb, in the phrase “rizz up,” meaning to attract or chat up a person.牛津大学出版社称，“rizz”也可以用作动词，短语“rizz-up”表示吸引或搭讪一个人。While word of the year contenders do not need to be new words, they must have a significance to the year in question. OUP said its 2023 shortlist was chosen to “reflect the mood, ethos, or preoccupations of the year.”虽然年度词汇的候选词不一定要是新词，但必须对所讨论的年份具有重要意义。牛津大学出版社表示，其2023年年度词汇的入围名单是为了“反映今年的情绪、风气或关注点”。OUP’s experts shortlisted eight words, which were put into competing pairs for the public to vote on. From the resulting four finalists, the experts did one last analysis, before picking “rizz” as the winner.入选牛津大学出版社年度词汇的单词共八个，这些单词被分成两组，供公众投票。专家们对最终入围的四个单词进行分析，最终选出“rizz”作为2023年年度词汇。The other finalists were “prompt,” the instruction given to an artificial intelligence program that influences the content it creates; “situationship,” which means a romantic partnership that is not considered to be formal or established; and lastly, “Swiftie” - the name given to an avid fan of singer Taylor Swift.最终入围名单还包括“prompt(提示词)”，即对人工智能程序发出的指令，影响或决定其生成的内容；“situationship（状态恋情）”，意思是一种非正式的、尚未交往的情侣关系；“Swiftie”——歌手泰勒·斯威夫特的狂热粉丝的名字。来源：CNN

China's top legislature has pledged to increase communication with lawmakers, with optimized measures for them to perform their duties so that their suggestions can be effectively implemented and turned into methods to promote social governance.The pledge was made by a commission with the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress at a seminar in Zhengding, Hebei province, on Tuesday and Wednesday.While introducing the handling of suggestions submitted by lawmakers to this year's annual NPC session, the commission invited a number of NPC deputies, NPC special committees and government agencies for tackling the proposals to further exchange opinions, in order to ensure problems mentioned in the advice can be truly solved.Submitting motions and suggestions are some of the primary duties of the deputies, who are required to put forward advice they receive about the country's governance and development in all fields during or after the annual NPC session.The NPC Standing Committee collects and reviews suggestions, and then transfers them to relevant NPC committees and government departments to deal with.Data released at the seminar showed that NPC deputies raised 8,314 suggestions this year, mainly focusing on facilitating people's livelihood and accelerating the establishment of a new development pattern and the promotion of high-quality growth.After analysis, the suggestions were handed over to 204 departments for further handling, the commission said, adding that the handling has been completed and replies on the proposals have been sent to NPC deputies.The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, for example, handled 981 suggestions, including those on grain supply, agricultural science and technology, rural vitalization and village reforms.To improve the quality of the handling, the ministry organized subordinates to visit more than 20 provinces to learn about difficulties in agricultural industries and conduct surveys.It also increased calls and face-to-face talks with NPC deputies, so as to figure out what they were concerned about in detail and find the right solutions to their problems.On July 4, Wei Qiao, an NPC deputy from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, observed a group of departments led by the ministry carrying out research on farms in her hometown. They were dealing with her suggestions for improving rural talent and developing agricultural technology.As a deputy with seven years of work experience in agriculture, she welcomed the joint research, adding that it helps solve problems more effectively and means her voice had been heard by the authorities.The commission said that it will continue taking the whole-process people's democracy approach to serve deputies in duty performance, encouraging them to make more high-quality suggestions and providing easier channels for them and departments to exchange opinions.In February last year, the NPC Standing Committee launched an online platform for deputies to contact and communicate with departments for handling proposals.Reporter: Cao Yin, Zhang Yu

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A Chinese tea chain has stopped the sale of its recently released range of merchandise that features depictions of Buddhist artwork due to it potentially violating Chinese law concerning the commercial promotion of religion.由于涉嫌违反宗教事务条例，一家中国奶茶连锁店已经下架其最近推出的一系列以佛教艺术为特色的商品。On Nov 28, Hey Tea released co-branded tea and merchandise with the Jingdezhen China Ceramics Museum in Jiangxi province featuring images of ceramic Luohan sculptures. The collaboration, named Hey Buddha, featured three of the ceramic sculptures exhibited at the museum depicting the 18 Arhats, or Luohan in Chinese, from Buddhism.11月28日，喜茶与江西景德镇中国陶瓷博物馆联名发布了以陶瓷罗汉雕塑为主题的联名茶拿铁及周边产品。此次合作名为“佛喜杯”，以博物馆展出的三件陶瓷雕塑为特色，描绘了佛经中的十八罗汉。Among them, the Thinking Luohan gained internet notoriety earlier this year after memes of a photo of it with the added text "speechless" went viral. Taming Tiger Luohan and Happy Luohan from the series also went viral, becoming the other two designs from the collaboration.今年早些时候，一张配有“无语”的“沉思罗汉”照片在网络上疯传，引发了网友的谴责。在该系列中，此次合作的另外两款设计“伏虎罗汉”和“欢喜罗汉”也在网络上走红。Hey Tea printed the images of the three Luohan ceramic sculptures on special paper cups designed for its tea latte beverages in the series. Other merchandise included fridge magnets and stickers. With the younger generation increasingly interested in Buddhist culture, the collaboration quickly became a hit on social media.喜茶为此系列的奶茶拿铁设计了专门的纸杯包装，并将三罗汉陶瓷雕塑的图像印在这些包装上。参与联名的商品还有冰箱贴和贴纸。随着年轻人对佛教文化越来越感兴趣，此次联名很快在社交媒体上引起热议。On Friday, the Shenzhen Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau informed the tea chain, which is headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, that the collaboration could be seen as an act of commercial promotion in the name of religion, which is in breach of China's Regulation on Religious Affairs, media outlet ThePaper.cn reported on Sunday.据澎湃新闻周日报道，上周五，深圳市民族宗教事务局通知总部位于广东省深圳市的喜茶公司，此次联名涉嫌以宗教名义进行商业宣传，违反了中国《宗教事务条例》。A directive introduced in 2017 to specifically tackle the issue of the commercialization of Buddhism and Taoism also prohibited commercial promotion in the name of Buddhism and Taoism.2017年，一项专门针对佛教和道教商业化问题的规定出台，明令禁止以佛教和道教的名义进行商业推广。A bureau staff member said Hey Tea had been very cooperative. By Sunday, it had removed all paper cups and merchandise from the collaboration from its outlets across the nation.民族与宗教事务局一名工作人员表示，喜茶积极配合整改。截至周日，喜茶已经下架了全国各地门店的所有纸杯包装和联名商品。Hey Tea's alleged violation of regulations on religious affairs became one of the most discussed topics on social media on Monday.喜茶涉嫌违反宗教事务规定的话题成为周一社交媒体上热议话题之一。Li Yanqin, who bought a tea latte from the collaboration, said she thought the paper cup with a Thinking Luohan was just for a laugh at first, but then she found herself in an awkward situation when she finished the drink.购买了联名款拿铁的李艳琴（音译）表示，起初，她以为带有“沉思罗汉”的纸杯只是为了搞笑，喝完拿铁才意识到事情没那么简单。"I don't know if I should throw away the cup or not," she said. "I am not a follower of Buddhism, but I don't think it's a respectable thing to just toss the cup in the bin because there is an image of Luohan on it. Now, I still have it on my desk." She said companies should be respectful of all religions and their followers.“我不知道我该不该扔掉纸杯，”她说。“我不是佛教徒，但我觉得把印有罗汉像的纸杯扔进垃圾桶会亵渎神明。直到现在，我还把这个纸杯放在桌上。”她认为，商业公司应该尊重所有宗教及其信仰者。Some people said Hey Tea only used the images of ceramic Luohan sculptures, which are just works of art from the perspective of many people, meaning the allegation of a breach of regulations could be flawed.也有人认为，喜茶只是使用了陶瓷罗汉雕塑的图案。对很多人来说，这些罗汉雕塑只是艺术品，不赞同指控喜茶违反宗教事务条例。Jingdezhen China Ceramics Museumn. 景德镇中国陶瓷博物馆

A safety guideline for the use of driverless vehicles in public transportation is expected to further bolster China's leading position in the popularization and commercialization of self-driving technology, experts said.The guideline, issued on Tuesday by the Ministry of Transport, applies to autonomous vehicles for both passenger and freight transportation services such as taxis, buses and trucks. It covers vehicles with various degrees of automation and mandates that they carry at least one driver or security inspector.Autonomous vehicles for freight transportation and taxis with conditional automation systems are required to carry one driver. With the approval of local governments, fully autonomous taxis can operate in designated areas with one security inspector remotely overseeing them, the guideline said.Security inspectors should receive professional training in self-driving technology in a timely manner, master the provisions of road traffic safety laws and regulations, and have the ability to take manual control of such vehicles in case of emergencies, according to the guideline.It stipulated that one security inspector should not oversee more than three autonomous vehicles at a time, and that these vehicles should operate only in designated areas that have undergone road traffic safety assessment.Self-driving technology should be used cautiously for passenger transportation services, the document said, adding that driverless buses should operate on fixed routes with simple road conditions and driverless taxis should operate in areas with good traffic conditions, where risks are more manageable.For freight services, the technology should be employed for point-to-point highway transportation or on safe and controlled city roads. Transporting dangerous goods using autonomous vehicles is prohibited.Operators using driverless vehicles for public transportation should be certified, and they should ensure their vehicles have eye-catching patterns, colors, signs or words to clearly inform other drivers of the vehicles' autonomous status.The operators should also notify the passengers about the vehicles' self-driving functions, safety features and emergency escape routes through signs and videos, according to the guideline."The guideline is of great significance in promoting the development of autonomous buses," Bai Wenxi, chief economist at IPG China, was quoted as saying by Beijing Business Today.Bai said the guideline will help improve public awareness and acceptance of self-driving technology, as it provides standardized operation procedures and safety measures to make driverless buses safer and more reliable, and also offers policy support and legal protection.Pan Jun, a senior consultant at Bain & Company, said the popularity of autonomous buses might be influenced by factors such as the comprehensiveness of the legal framework and the technical standard system, market size, cost and economic efficiency."With continuous progress in technology and policies, autonomous buses are expected to be widely used in the near future, and even gradually replace traditional buses to become an important part of urban public transportation," Pan said.Acknowledging the long-term prospects, China took self-driving technology as an important direction in the future transformation and upgrading of the automotive industry in 2015, and unveiled a draft strategy for innovation and development of intelligent vehicles in 2018.The strategy was jointly issued by 11 central government departments, eliminating potential hurdles in cross-departmental collaboration in automotive, telecommunication and mapping services.As one of the few countries to roll out policies on autonomous vehicles at the national level, China has encouraged local authorities to formulate their respective management regulations and supportive policies, and step up the application and promotion of autonomous vehicles.As one of the pilot cities for the coordinated development of smart city infrastructure and intelligent vehicles, Shenzhen in Guangdong province issued the first regulation on intelligent vehicle management last year.Beijing started the construction of autonomous driving pilot areas in 2020, and in 2022, launched China's first demonstration area for commercial self-driving vehicle services in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, where robotaxi operators can charge fares and driverless vehicles can operate with the help of sensing devices and internet of things.

The number of college graduates in China is expected to reach 11.79 million next year, a year-on-year increase of 210,000, according to the Ministry of Education.教育部表示，2025年中国大学毕业生人数预计达到1179万人，同比增加21万人。Local authorities and higher education institutes are being urged to take multiple measures to promote their employment, which should be the priority of their work, the ministry said in a circular released on Tuesday.教育部于12月5日发布通知，敦促地方政府及高等教育机构采取多种措施促进大学毕业生就业，并将其视为工作的重中之重。With collaboration among multiple departments, more resources including job positions, funding, training and services will be provided to college graduates, it said.各部门应合作为大学毕业生提供更多资源，包括工作岗位、资金、培训与服务。A total of 26 measures were unveiled to promote the employment and entrepreneurship of the nation's college graduates next year, such as expanding job opportunities in grassroots positions and encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises to recruit more graduates.新公布的26项措施旨在促进2025年全国大学毕业生的就业与创业，具体措施包括扩大基层岗位就业机会，鼓励中小企业招聘更多的毕业生。Universities should have employment-focused staff and develop market-oriented and socialized employment channels to provide graduates with more high-quality job information.高校应建设以就业为导向的人才队伍，发展市场化、社会化就业渠道，为毕业生提供更多优质就业信息。Smart Education China, a national platform for employment services, will be promoted to strengthen accurate recommendations for job openings.国家智慧教育公共服务平台是全国性就业服务平台，能够精准推荐空缺职位。Modern information technology should be applied to provide students with personalized, precise and convenient employment guidance, the circular said.教育部通知称，应运用现代信息技术，为学生提供个性化、精准、便捷的就业指导。The circular stipulates the role of government-related positions in creating jobs.通知也规定了政府相关岗位在创造就业中的作用。Exams for recruitment in government agencies and State-owned enterprises, as well as further education enrollment, should be arranged as early as possible to leave graduates more time for job seeking.政府机关、国有企业招聘考试及继续教育招生，均应尽早安排，以为毕业生提供更多时间找工作。Authorities at the local level are expected to develop grassroots employment projects, and attract more graduates to find jobs and start businesses in the central and western areas of the nation.地方政府有望发展基层就业项目，吸引更多毕业生前往中西部地区就业创业。The project of guiding graduates to land jobs in urban and rural communities should be further implemented to enhance grassroots management, it said.应进一步实施就业工程，引导毕业生前往城乡社区，以加强基层管理。Graduates majoring in medicine are encouraged to supplement the rural doctor team under preferential policies. Green channels are expected to open for graduates who are willing to join the army, according to the circular.响应号召加入农村医疗队伍的医学专业毕业生将享受优惠政策。根据通知，国家预计为志愿参军的毕业生开放绿色通道。Universities should strengthen career education and employment guidance, helping graduates to establish a correct outlook on career and success.高校应加强职业教育与就业指导，帮助毕业生树立正确的职业观、成功观。Students need to enhance employability and obtain job opportunities through internships and practice.学生应通过实习与实践提升就业能力，获得就业机会。More attention should be given to graduates from vulnerable groups such as poverty-stricken families or people with disabilities, it added.通知补充说明，应给予家庭贫困或残疾人等弱势群体毕业生更多关注。China has spent over 200 billion yuan ($27.5 billion) to stabilize employment and promote entrepreneurship this year, China Central Television reported earlier.中国中央电视台前期报道，中国2024年已投资超过2000亿元人民币(约合275亿美元)以稳定就业、促进创业。The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said in October that about 10.22 million new jobs had been created in urban areas in the first nine months of the year.人力资源和社会保障部10月份表示，今年前9个月城镇新增就业岗位约1022万个。However, Minister Wang Xiaoping said last month that the nation is still under pressure to promote the employment of college graduates due to their increasing population, reaching 11.58 million this year.然而，部长王晓萍11月表示，2024年大学毕业生人数达到1158万，国家仍然面临着促进大学毕业生就业的压力。 Reporter: Zhao YimengSmart Education Chinan.国家智慧教育公共服务平台The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Securityn.人力资源和社会保障部

China's parcel delivery sector has set a record by handling more than 120 billion items this year, demonstrating its strong resilience and showcasing the country's improving consumer market, the State Post Bureau said on Tuesday.12月5日，国家邮政局表示，中国快递业务量突破1200亿件，创历史新高，这展现出中国快递业的发展韧性，体现了中国消费市场不断向好发展。It is also a reflection of the nation's stable and positive economic momentum, the bureau added.国家邮政局补充说，这也反映了中国经济的发展稳中向好。"Now, China has become the most dynamic express delivery market in the world, and the parcel delivery business in China has become a calling card of the country," said Bian Zuodong, deputy head of the bureau's market inspection department.“如今，中国的快递市场已成为世界上最具活力的市场，中国的快递业务已成为中国的一张名片，” 国家邮政局市场监管司副司长边作栋说。According to a report released by the bureau last month, more than 200 billion parcels are expected to be handled globally this year.根据国家邮政局上个月发布的一份报告，预计今年全球将处理超过2000亿个包裹。China's parcel delivery sector continued to grow rapidly this year. Since March, the number of parcels handled each month has reached a record 10 billion. In 2013, the annual figure was under 9.2 billion.今年，中国的快递行业继续快速增长。自3月以来，每月处理的包裹数量已达到创纪录的100亿件。2013年，这个数字还不到92亿。"The volume of express delivery business (in China) has increased from about 10 million a year to 10 million a month," Bian said, adding that the expansion of the parcel delivery network has benefited people across the nation.“（中国）快递业务量已从每年约1000万件增加到每月1000万件，”边作栋指出，快递服务网络的扩大惠及全国各地的居民。"Express delivery promotes circulation and serves people's livelihoods. It has become a 'barometer' of economic development reflecting economic vitality. It is also an important factor in narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas and promoting common prosperity," he said.他说：“快递促进流通，服务民生。已经成为反映经济活力的经济发展‘晴雨表’。这也是缩小城乡差距、促进共同富裕的重要因素。”The growing number also reflects China's economic vitality, he added.他还补充说，不断增长的快递服务量也反映了中国的经济活力。"The growth of express delivery comes from the improvement of consumer demand. The business has also become one of the important indicators of China's economic development," Bian said.“快递的增长来自于消费者需求的改善。快递业务也已成为中国经济发展的重要指标之一，”边作栋说。"The recovery of the macroeconomic environment in China has promoted demand for express delivery services," Bian said.“中国宏观经济环境的复苏促进了对快递服务的需求，”边作栋说。Since the beginning of this year, China's economy has steadily recovered, while production and consumption demand have gradually picked up, he said.他说，今年以来，中国经济稳步复苏，生产和消费需求逐步回升。According to the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to October, online retail sales of physical goods in China reached 10.3 trillion yuan ($1.44 trillion), accounting for 26.7 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods.根据国家统计局的数据，1月至10月，中国实物商品在线零售额达到10.3万亿元人民币（1.44万亿美元），占社会消费品零售总额的26.7%。"The rapid growth of market sales and service consumption has not only provided opportunities for the express delivery industry to better play its supporting role, but also provided opportunities for the sector's sustained high-quality development," Bian said.“市场销售和服务消费的快速增长，不仅为快递行业更好发挥支撑作用提供了机遇，也为行业持续高质量发展提供了机遇，”边作栋说During the "Double 11" period, the online shopping festival in November which caused a peak in parcel deliveries from Nov 1 to Nov 16, China handled 7.77 billion parcels, a year-on-year increase of 25.7 percent.11月，在“双11”期间，购物狂欢节使11月1日至11月16日的包裹递送量达到高峰，中国快递服务量达到 77.7亿个包裹，同比增长25.7%。China's parcel delivery sector handles a daily average of about 350 million packages, he said.他说，中国的快递服务行业平均每天处理的包裹数量约为3.5亿个。According to the bureau's big data platform, a package from Kunming, Yunnan province, which was sent at 6:26 pm on Monday, was the nation's 120 billionth parcel of 2023.根据国家邮政局的大数据平台，12月4日下午6时26分从云南省昆明市寄出的一个包裹是中国2023年第1200亿个包裹。The parcel, containing a bouquet of lilies, was ordered from an online store by a customer surnamed Zhang in Chengdu, Sichuan province.这个包裹里一束百合花，是由四川省成都市一位姓张的顾客从一家网店订购的。At 3:39 pm on Tuesday, Zhang received the flowers.第二天下午3时39分，张女士收到了这束百合花。"I placed the order yesterday afternoon, and it was fast," she said, while opening the wrapping to check her order.“我是昨天下午下单的，快递的速度很快，”她一边说，一边打开包装检查她的订单。Zhang said she often buys flowers and other daily goods online.张女士说，她经常在网上购买鲜花和其他日常用品。"The prices are better, and there is more choice online," she said.“电商的价格更好，也有更多的选择，”她说。The record-breaking flowers took a bullet train from Kunming to Chengdu, according to Li Weichen, head of the Sichuan office of SF Express, the major parcel delivery company that handled the 120 billionth parcel.负责运送第1200亿个包裹的公司是顺丰速运，该公司四川办事处负责人李伟辰（音译）说，这束鲜花通过高铁从昆明运送至成都。Since the company started cooperating with the high-speed rail service, parcels between Sichuan and Yunnan can be delivered just one day after an order is placed, instead of two days previously.自从顺丰速运与高铁服务合作以来，四川和云南之间的包裹可以在下订单后一天送达，而之前的不是两天。"It is faster and greener," said Zeng Jing from SF Express.“高铁更快，也更环保,”顺丰速运的曾静（音译）说。 Reporter: Luo WangshuThe State Post Bureaun. 国家邮政局Parcel delivery sectorn. 快递服务业

China's top health authority on Monday required localities to "exhaust all means" to increase pediatric service capacity and stock up on pediatric medications and relevant medical materials to cope with a spike in respiratory illnesses among children.周一，国家卫健委要求各地“竭尽所能”提高儿科服务能力，并储备儿科药物和相关医疗材料，以应对儿童呼吸疾病激增的情况。All grassroots medical institutions should be open to child patients and are forbidden from turning them away, the general office of the National Health Commission said in a circular released on its website.国家卫健委总办公室在其网站发布的通知中表示，所有基层医疗机构应面向儿童患者开放，不得拒诊。"Community healthcare centers in cities seeing surging demand should also extend hours on weekdays by one to three hours or set up additional service periods on weekends based on their capability," said the commission.“在需求激增的城市社区卫生中心，根据医院容纳患者能力，还应在工作日延长一至三小时或在周末增设额外的门诊时段，” 卫健委表示。Rural and community health centers should be guided to set up separate sections for pediatric services, and they should organize general physicians who have received training on pediatric diseases to see child patients.农村和社区卫生中心应设立专门的儿科服务区，并引导经过儿科疾病培训的全科医生为儿童患者提供门诊服务。Each community or village healthcare center should be paired with a pediatric department at a higher-level hospital. Experienced medical professionals will be allocated to grassroots facilities to provide pediatric services and train staff on key skills, including emergency care, prompt identification of severe symptoms and venipuncture — the process of inserting a needle into a child's vein.每个社区或村庄的卫生中心应与更高级别医院的儿科部门配对。将经验丰富的医疗专业人员分散到基层医疗机构，提供儿科服务并培训医务工作者的关键技能，包括急救护理、及时识别严重症状的能力，以及静脉注射——即对儿童进行静脉扎针的能力。Localities are also required to equip grassroots facilities with thermometers, nebulizers, antibiotics, antivirals, as well as pediatric medicines for easing cough and phlegm.各地还需为基层卫生设施配备体温计、雾化器、抗生素、抗病毒药物，以及止咳化痰的儿科药物。These requirements have been raised as China is battling a surge in respiratory illness fueled by the circulation of different pathogens including influenza, the COVID-19 disease and mycoplasma pneumoniae.由于我国呼吸道疾病激增，包括流感、新冠疫情和支原体肺炎等不同病原体的传播，因此国家卫健委提出了这些要求。Children have appeared to be affected particularly hard this winter as parents have found difficulties obtaining hospital appointments or have to endure long waiting periods at major pediatric hospitals. Despite authorities' appeal to the public to visit primary health institutions first rather than going straight to large hospitals, concerns have emerged over the community clinics' capability and capacity in handling pediatric patients.今年冬季，儿童受到的影响似乎尤为严重，因为父母难以预约门诊，或不得不忍受较长的重点儿科医院等待时间。尽管政府呼吁公众优先于基层卫生机构就诊，而非直接前往大型医院，但人们对社区诊所吸纳儿科患者的能力和容量有所担忧。Wang Huaqing, chief immunization planning expert at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said late last month that influenza and rhinovirus are the most prevalent among toddlers aged 1 to 4, and for children aged 5 to 14, influenza, mycoplasma pneumonia and adenovirus are the most common.中国疾病预防控制中心的首席免疫规划专家王华清11月底表示，1到4岁的幼儿中，流感和鼻病毒最为普遍，而5到14岁的儿童中，流感、支原体肺炎和腺病毒最为常见。Tong Zhaohui, vice-president of the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, suggested a child who begins developing a fever to visit a community hospital to first take a rapid antigen test, which can identify whether they contracted a respiratory virus or a bacterial infection like mycoplasma pneumonia. They can also get regular antivirals and drugs there.首都医科大学附属北京朝阳医院副院长童朝晖建议，开始发烧的孩子首先应该去社区医院进行快速抗原测试，以确定他们是否感染了呼吸疾病病毒或类似支原体肺炎的细菌感染。他们还可以在社区医院获得常规的抗病毒药物和药物。"However, for kids who have had a fever for more than three days or have shortness of breath, they should visit pediatric hospitals," he said during an interview with China Central Television on Sunday evening.“但是，发烧超过三天或呼吸急促的患儿应该去儿科医院，”上周日晚间，他在接受中国中央电视台采访时表示。Tong added that most doctors at primary health institutions are trained in general medicine and are capable of dealing with common respiratory illnesses in children.童朝晖补充说，大多数基层卫生机构的医生都接受了全科医学培训，能够处理儿童常见的呼吸道疾病。"It is important for them to access prompt treatment at medical facilities nearby, and in this way, parents and kids can save the trouble of lining up at large hospitals, where the risk of cross-infections is higher," he said.“对患者来说，及时在附近的医疗机构接受治疗非常重要，这样父母和孩子就能避免在大型医院排队等候，在大型医院，交叉感染的风险更高，”他说。The commission also said in the newly released notice that grassroots medical facilities should play a role in meeting demands for pediatric services, easing pressure on major hospitals seeing large volume of visitors, as well as monitoring health conditions of and expanding vaccination among key populations.卫健委还在新发布的通知中表示，基层医疗机构应在满足儿科服务需求、减轻大型医院患者压力，以及监测和扩大关键人群的疫苗接种方面发挥作用。According to the document, fever clinics at grassroots clinics should also keep surveillance of the situation of respiratory disease and report data to higher authorities swiftly.根据该通知，基层诊所的发热门诊还应对呼吸系统疾病的情况进行监测，并迅速向上级报告数据。Pediatric medicationsn.儿科药物The National Health Commissionn.国家卫健委

President Xi Jinping pledged on Monday to constantly deepen the relationship between China and Belarus, saying that Beijing is willing to strengthen strategic coordination with Minsk, firmly support each other and promote pragmatic cooperation.Xi made the remarks during a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Both leaders exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis, among other things.Lukashenko arrived in Beijing on Sunday, his second visit to China within the year. Xi recalled Lukashenko's state visit to China at the end of February, saying during that visit, they reached an important consensus on promoting the high-level development of China-Belarus relations.Xi said that over the year, the political mutual trust between the two countries has been further consolidated and their international coordination has become closer.China always views its relations with Belarus from a strategic and long-term perspective, firmly supports Belarus in following the development path that suits Belarus' national conditions, and opposes interference by external forces in the internal affairs of Belarus, he added.Xi pointed out that more than 150 countries have signed Belt and Road Initiative cooperation documents in the past decade.Mentioning the eight major steps he announced at the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in October to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, Xi called on Belarus to continue its active participation in joint building of the Belt and Road and gain more substantial development opportunities from it.Xi said the two sides should make greater efforts to implement projects such as the China-Belarus Industrial Park, a landmark cooperation project within the Belt and Road framework, and push for more results in industrial cooperation between the two countries.Both sides should work to enhance cross-border transportation, promote economic, trade, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, expand collaboration in education, healthcare, sports and tourism, support youth exchanges and cooperation, and enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, he added.Noting that China and Belarus are important forces participating in the reform and development of the global governance system, Xi underlined the need for both countries to strengthen coordination and cooperation within multilateral mechanisms, such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and promote the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.Lukashenko said that Belarus is firmly committed to developing friendly relations with China. It is willing to maintain close high-level exchanges with China, firmly support each other, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, strengthen international and multilateral strategic coordination, and push for greater development in their all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership, he said.Belarus sincerely hopes that China will continue to develop and become stronger, which is conducive to the cause of global peace and progress, Lukashenko said.He added that the initiatives proposed by President Xi, including the Belt and Road Initiative, are great endeavors that truly gather international consensus and cooperation, and his country will continue to actively participate in them.China is the second-largest trading partner of Belarus. In the first three quarters of this year, the trade volume between the two countries amounted to $6.45 billion, a year-on-year increase of 83.6 percent, according to the Foreign Ministry.Reporter: Cao Desheng

A visa-free entry policy adopted by China for ordinary passport holders from six countries has been hailed by experts and industry insiders for demonstrating the country's determination to boost tourism and economic exchanges.Since Friday citizens of France, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Spain have been able to enter China without a visa for business, tourism, family visit and transit purposes for up to 15 days, China's Foreign Ministry said. The new rules will be in place for at least a year.On Friday 2,029 passport holders of the six countries entered China visa-free, 12.5 percent more than on Thursday, the National Immigration Administration said."This is a positive and timely development," said Wang Xuan, deputy head of the Department of Hospitality at the University of Surrey in Guildford, southern England."The introduction of visa-free travel not only shows China's willingness to welcome more visitors but also offers real benefits, saving time and money, for visitors from those listed countries."It is also a strong pull factor for China to attract more desirable tourists who might be making their 2024 holiday plans during the Christmas season."Jens Hildebrandt, chief representative of the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Beijing, said the visa-free entry policy, which sends a positive message, is "highly valued" by German companies.Josep Maria Gomes, an international business developer at the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce in Spain, said the measure would make business visits easier, given that China remains attractive to businesses in Spain, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.Great potential"China has always been a focus for us and is a country that's always in our internationalization plans because it is not only a country with great potential … but also a country where our companies must be present," Gomes said.Andy Eastham, head of public relations and communications at Wendy Wu Tours, the largest operator of tours to China in the UK, said the move represents China's readiness to further open up to the world."It is a positive move from China to say 'We're open, we're ready and we want more inbound tourism.' Obviously we are anticipating that more countries, including the UK, will be added to the list."Eastham highlighted an increased interest in China from UK customers recently, with more inquiries coming through, and he said the agency is adding capacity for tours in China next year to cater to soaring demand.Such a positive sign is not only seen in the UK. Trip.com, an international online travel agency owned by one of China's biggest travel service providers, Trip.com Group, said the number of bookings from Europe to China had risen 663 percent in the first 10 months compared with last year, and by almost 29 percent compared with 2019.British Airways, the UK's flag carrier airline, also welcomed the policy, saying the measures enhance international travel."We are committed to facilitating seamless travel experiences for our passengers and adapting to changes in global travel policies," it said.The airline operates 22 weekly flights between the UK and the Chinese mainland. It said it is committed to playing its role in "strengthening this important travel corridor", with measures including doubling the size of Mandarin-speaking cabin crews and refreshing inflight entertainment systems.The visa-free entry policy is China's latest effort to improve its visa policies. Earlier last month it expanded its visa-free transit policy to 54 countries to include citizens of Norway. In July China resumed visa-free entry for citizens of Singapore and Brunei.At the beginning of the year China scrapped all COVID-19 testing requirements to give easier access to foreigners traveling to the country.Reporter: Zheng Wanyin

President Xi Jinping has urged Shanghai to focus on construction of international centers of economy, finance, trade, shipping and science and technological innovation, and to step up building itself into a modern socialist international metropolis.Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during an inspection tour of Shanghai from Tuesday to Saturday.The trip marked Xi's sixth visit since 2012 to Shanghai, a vanguard of reform and opening-up and a pioneer of innovative development. During the inspection tour, Xi visited the Shanghai Futures Exchange, an exhibition on Shanghai's sci-tech innovations and a government-subsidized rental housing community.Observers said Xi's recent inspection tour of Shanghai sent a clear message that China will continue to promote finance to better serve the real economy, strengthen scientific and technological innovation and adhere to the people-centered approach in urban development.When Xi visited the Shanghai Futures Exchange in Pudong New Area on Tuesday, he emphasized that the objective of building Shanghai into an international financial center is clear, steady progress has been made and the prospects are bright.The president's visit to the exchange came less than a month after the central financial work conference held in October in Beijing. The conference called for promoting the high-quality development of China's financial industry and building up the country's financial strength.While visiting an exhibition in Zhangjiang Science City in Pudong New Area, Xi learned about the municipality's sci-tech innovations and achievements in the past 10 years.Xi said that to promote Chinese-style modernization, it is essential to have the strategic support of science and technology, education and talent. Shanghai should take the lead in expediting its journey toward becoming a globally influential center for technological innovation, he said.By 2025, Shanghai's expenditure on research and development is expected to account for around 4.5 percent of the city's gross domestic product, according to a city plan. It also aims to host more than 26,000 high-tech enterprises and about 560 foreign-funded research and development centers by 2025.Another highlight of Xi's inspection tour of Shanghai was his visit to a residential community in Minhang district that is dedicated to providing affordable rental housing for new urban residents and young people. He chatted with local residents and learned about their living conditions.Housing affordability is taken into full consideration in Shanghai's affordable rental housing system, with a variety of rental types available, ranging from a bed in a dorm room to a private room or an apartment. To create a more livable environment for tenants, the residential communities are also outfitted with various service facilities such as shared kitchens, cafes, gyms and convenience stores.Xi has more than once emphasized the need to prioritize livability in urban development and to leave the best resources to the people.On Friday morning, Xi heard work reports by officials from the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and the municipal government.Addressing the meeting, he underlined the need for Shanghai to improve the city's core competitiveness and strengthen scientific and technological innovation to make breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields.Xi urged Shanghai to enhance the construction of modern financial infrastructure and expand high-level opening-up in the financial sector, in order to allow finance to better serve the real economy as well as technological innovation and the joint building of the Belt and Road.Efforts should be made to implement the strategy of upgrading the pilot free trade zone and to promote the high-quality development of the international trade center, he said.Xi also emphasized the importance of promoting pioneering and all-around reform and opening-up in Shanghai. He called for steadily expanding institutional opening-up in terms of rules, systems, standards and management, and comprehensively promoting high-level opening-up in cross-border trade in services and investment.While returning to Beijing on Sunday, Xi visited a revolutionary memorial hall in Yancheng, Jiangsu province. He stressed the need to rely closely on the people and continuously advance the great cause of building a strong country and realizing national rejuvenation.Reporter: Cao DeshengVanguard英/ˈvænɡɑːd/美/ˈvænɡɑːrd/n.领导者，先锋Pudong New Arean.浦东新区Shanghai's affordable rental housing systemn.上海保障性租赁房制度

Despite the tepid growth reported by China's major internet companies, online discounter PDD Holdings, the parent company of e-commerce platform Pinduoduo, beat third-quarter revenue forecasts as it continued to capture more value-conscious Chinese consumers.In addition, its cross-border online marketplace Temu has witnessed a surge in popularity among overseas shoppers, experts said.Pointing out that the country's consumer market is gradually recovering and showcasing immense growth potential and resilience, they said that Chinese online retailers should build up flexible supply chain systems and provide cost-effective shopping experiences for consumers by leveraging innovative digital technologies.PDD Holdings' growth in the domestic market has outstripped that of competitors such as Alibaba Group Holding and JD, which can be largely attributed to the deep discounts rolled out before the Singles Day shopping spree, industry insiders said. The shares of the United States-listed company soared 18.04 percent on Wednesday, taking its market value to $184.7 billion, close to Alibaba's $195.4 billion.PDD Holdings said on Tuesday night that its revenue jumped 93.9 percent year-on-year to 68.84 billion yuan ($9.7 billion) during the July-September period, while its net income attributable to ordinary shareholders reached 15.54 billion yuan in the third quarter, an increase of 47 percent year-on-year.Chen Lei, chairman and co-CEO of PDD Holdings, said in an earnings call with investors that with the introduction of a series of policies to spur consumption, the company is seeing robust demand. "We can see that consumption upgrades are not only about quality but also about price, and it is the balance of quality and price that consumers care about most," Chen said.The company's better-than-anticipated financial results can be partly attributed to the rising popularity of Temu, its cross-border e-commerce platform. Launched in the US in September last year, Temu offers discounted products shipped directly from China, and is now present in more than 40 countries in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania.Chen said PDD hopes to leverage the supply chain capacities it has accumulated over the past years to create a new channel that enables consumers from different countries and regions to directly purchase products from factories, providing more flexible and personalized supply chains and more cost-effective shopping experiences.He added that the company has also continued to invest in areas such as agricultural and supply chain technology, and core research and development capabilities.PDD's surging revenue contrasts with the slowing growth of Chinese e-commerce giants including Alibaba and JD in the third quarter. Alibaba reported 9 percent year-on-year revenue growth to reach 224.79 billion yuan during the quarter, while the net revenue of JD increased 1.7 percent from a year ago.Seeing PDD's exceptional financial performance, Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba, said on an internal network of the company that he believes Alibaba will innovate in response. Ma congratulated PDD's efforts over the past few years, saying the era of artificial intelligence-powered e-commerce has just begun, which offers both an opportunity and a challenge for everyone.Mo Daiqing, a senior analyst at domestic consultancy Internet Economy Institute, said PDD Holdings' strong financial performance indicates improved consumer sentiment and the continuous recovery of China's consumption market.Mo said Chinese online retailers have ramped up efforts to offer steep discounts and adopted low-price strategies to obtain a new breed of users and improve user loyalty and repurchase rates. "The platform that can offer products at competitive prices, fast delivery and good shopping experience will gain an upper hand in this fierce competition," she added.Li Mingtao, head of the research institute at the China International Electronic Commerce Center, said, "As a new form of foreign trade, Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms represented by Temu can help establish a direct and definitive connection between manufacturers and consumers by applying advanced digital technologies such as big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence."He added that manufacturers can better learn about and grasp the needs of consumers via these platforms, adjust production in a timely manner, and reduce inventory, which will be conducive to improving the competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing enterprises on the global stage.

Kissinger: He always tried to 'think in long-range terms'Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, who helped to change the course of history by playing a pivotal role in normalizing United States-China relations, passed away at his home in the US state of Connecticut on Wednesday at age 100."The world has lost a tireless advocate for peace. America has lost a towering champion for the national interest. I have lost a cherished friend and mentor," Winston Lord, Kissinger's top aide in the 1970s, told China Daily.At dawn on July 9, 1971, Kissinger and Lord entered Chinese airspace aboard a Pakistani plane. The clandestine trip, which resulted in a Chinese invitation to then US president Richard Nixon, resulted in top leaders from the US and China meeting in February 1972 for the first time in two-and-a-half decades — a period during which the two countries were, in Kissinger's words, "at war, near war".The trip also helped lay the foundation for today's international geopolitical structure.The Nixon visit was followed by a prolonged period of what Kissinger called "cooperative coexistence" that saw China rising to be a dynamic element in the world economy and the US "easing out of its pain at the outcome of the Vietnam War", according to Lord.The passing of Kissinger, who had been the last surviving member of Nixon's Cabinet, comes at a time when China and the US are working to improve what Kissinger deemed "the world's most consequential bilateral relationship".In July, two months after Kissinger celebrated his 100th birthday, the centenarian traveled to Beijing, where his host reminded him of what had happened there 52 years before."It was in July 1971 in the same place — Villa No 5 of Diaoyutai State Guesthouse — that you and Premier Zhou Enlai had a meeting to start the normalization process," President Xi Jinping told Kissinger.Some of the most intense hours of that visit and a subsequent one in October 1971 were spent between Kissinger and Zhou as the two negotiated a draft of what would become known as the Shanghai Communique."Today, more than 50 years later, the communique is still being invoked as one of the foundations of our relationship, while most communiques disappear within weeks," said Lord, who was US ambassador to China from 1985 to 1989.In a message of condolence, Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng wrote, "History will remember what the centenarian has contributed to China-US relations, and he will always remain alive in the hearts of the Chinese people as a most valued old friend."Recalling his 1972 meeting with Mao Zedong, Kissinger said the Chinese leader spoke allegorically, in "a Socratic manner", and "had the quality of being at the center of wherever he stood", adding that "it moved with him wherever he moved".In December 1975, Mao told visiting US president Gerald Ford that his secretary of state, Kissinger, "has been interfering in my internal affairs".When asked to elaborate, the 82-year-old chairman answered, "He does not allow me to go and meet God.""That would be too powerful a combination if he went there," Kissinger, who was also present, told Ford.On May 27, 1923, Heinz Alfred Kissinger was born in the German city of Fuerth in northern Bavaria, the son of a schoolteacher and a homemaker. In 1938, five years after Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany, Kissinger fled from home with his Jewish parents and younger brother. He would return, first in a US Army intelligence role in 1944 before Germany's defeat in World War II and then, years later, as Nixon's national security adviser, bleakly admitting that "my (left-behind) relatives are soap".Many, including Walter Isaacson, former editor of Time magazine and author of the book Kissinger: A Biography, argue that this traumatic childhood experience explained Kissinger's preoccupation with peace and order, and had influenced the formation of his realist approach to foreign policy — a view that Kissinger himself did not share."The political persecutions of my childhood are not what control my life", he once said.Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger is greeted by students and faculty of Nanjing University on June 23, 2007, during the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. [Photo by Song Qiao / For China Daily]Scottish American writer-historian Niall Ferguson, who had immersed himself in Kissinger's private papers, correspondence and academic writings from Harvard, where Kissinger was a student and later a professor, sought to fathom the man in his 2015 book Kissinger 1923-1968: The Idealist."The idea of Kissinger as the ruthless arch-realist is based on a profound misunderstanding," Ferguson wrote, pointing to Kissinger's undergraduate thesis "The Meaning of History", in which the aspiring intellectual, after having studied the 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant, said, "Peace is therefore th

Ancient Chinese navigator Zheng He set sail from Jiangsu, which sits at the intersection of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. From ancient times to the present, what efforts has Jiangsu made in connecting China to the world? China Daily reporter Peng Yixuan and her friends explore Jiangsu to find the answers.

One of China's most beautiful roads and one of its most eco-friendly canals are in #Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, which is also home to the endangered white dolphin, and the love-it-or-hate-it #durian. The interconnectivity of Guangxi and #ASEAN member states has significantly helped boost the local economy and cross-cultural exchanges. Follow China Daily reporters Stephanie and Nathan as they take a closer look at this unique region. #PotsideChats

A Chinese mainland spokesman stressed on Wednesday that "Taiwan independence" means war, amid concerns that the candidates of the Democratic Progressive Party for the island's coming leadership election, both known for their support for "independence", will increase tensions across the Taiwan Strait.As the election for the Taiwan regional leader, which takes place every four years, approaches in January, candidates from the island's three major political parties have recently announced their running mates and completed the registration process.The DPP's Lai Ching-te, who currently serves as the island's deputy leader, announced earlier this month that Hsiao Bi-khim, "Taiwan's representative to the United States", will serve as his running mate for the position of Taiwan's deputy leader.In August, Lai, who declared himself as a "pragmatic worker for 'Taiwan independence'", made a "transit" through the United States during a trip to South America, despite strong objections from the mainland. Hsiao has been included in the mainland's list of die-hard "Taiwan independence" separatists.Lai recently claimed that the 2024 Taiwan regional leadership election will determine whether "Taiwan will return to the path of relying on the mainland or standing with countries around the world".Chen Binhua, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said Lai's remarks reflect his true colors as a "pro-independence" advocate, and that "Taiwan independence" means war.The "pro-independence" candidates will only harm the interests and well-being of the people on the island, jeopardize peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and harm Taiwan's future, Chen said."At present, Taiwan is facing a critical choice between peace and war, prosperity and decline," he said, adding that it is hoped that Taiwan compatriots will firmly oppose "Taiwan independence" and promote the return of cross-Strait relations to the correct path of peaceful development.People from the island have expressed concerns that the pair will only push Taiwan into a deep abyss and further escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait.Chen, from the Taiwan affairs office, said that on the political basis of adhering to the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence", the mainland is willing to work together with Taiwan's political parties, groups and people from all walks of life, to strengthen exchanges and cooperation.He said that cooperation in fields such as tourism and education between the two sides depends on a healthy and sound environment for cross-Strait relations.As long as cross-Strait relations return to the track of peaceful development, tourism and exchanges in other fields between the two sides can fully resume normalcy, he added.Chen emphasized that the 1992 Consensus is the common political foundation for cross-Strait dialogue and negotiation. "There are no obstacles for any political party or group in Taiwan to communicate with us, as long as they uphold the political foundation of the 1992 Consensus," he said.Reporter: Zhang Yi

The influence of Chinese scientific journals has been on the rise over the past decade, based on indicators such as the number of international citations and inclusion in renowned international databases, according to the Blue Book on China's Scientific Journal Development (2023).Released by the China Association for Science and Technology in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on Wednesday during the 18th Forum on Development of China's STEM Journals, this year's blue book is the seventh in an annual series recording and reflecting the development of Chinese scientific and technological journals.The citations of Chinese scientific journals written in English reached 882,600 in 2021, up 338.29 percent compared with 2015, and the citations of Chinese scientific journals written in Chinese reached 692,600, up 128.31 percent, the annual blue book showed.The Scientific Citation Index, or SCI, is an important database for gauging the performance of papers, and foreign authors have been publishing more papers in Chinese journals over the past decade. They accounted for 9.53 percent of papers in such journals in 2013, rising to a peak of 19.76 percent in 2020. Last year, they accounted for 18.11 percent.As of May, Scopus — the world's largest abstract and citation database — had indexed 1,197 Chinese journals, accounting for 4.47 percent of the total number of journals indexed worldwide.The number of indexed Chinese journals in various disciplines has been increasing every year, with Earth and planetary sciences, energy science, engineering technology, materials science, biological science and environmental science considered strong disciplines.More than 603,000 papers were published in the 1,197 journals from 2019 to 2022, accounting for 5.61 percent of the world total, and they were cited more than 2.12 million times. That gave China a CiteScore — based on Scopus data — of 3.9, ranking the nation fifth in the world behind the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany.Cheng Zongming, a professor at Nanjing Agricultural University and chief editor of the Journal of Horticultural Research, said the number of Chinese journals ranked in the world's top quartile has been increasing and will keep increasing."As far as I know, more than 10 Chinese journals now rank first in their respective disciplines. This achievement is closely related to the national strategy and the improvement of China's scientific and technological level, as well as the solid foundation of researchers," he said.In such an environment, the development of Chinese scientific journals has reached the threshold of becoming world-class, with a solid foundation for success, Cheng added.Last year, China's expenditure on research and development exceeded 3 trillion yuan ($422 billion) for the first time, with the proportion of basic research investment exceeding 6 percent for the fourth consecutive year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.Shu Wei, vice-president of the China Association for Science and Technology, said that more excellent papers and major scientific research achievements published in Chinese journals are expected to be seen.High-quality and internationalized teams should be cultivated and deep collaboration among the industry, academia and scientific journal communities should be promoted, he added.The number of papers published by Chinese authors in journals included in the SCI grew from about 215,000 in 2013 to more than 740,000 last year, surpassing the US and ranking first in the world, the blue book showed. Papers by Chinese authors in such journals were cited nearly 2 million times last year, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the global total.The blue book also showed that the number of SCI papers published by Chinese authors was approximately 20 times the number of papers published by Chinese SCI journals last year, which means that a large number of Chinese authors' achievements rely on overseas scientific journals for publication, and the capacity of domestic scientific journals to carry top-notch achievements is still far from enough.From 2018 to 2022, China has issued 115 new scientific journals, of which 99 are in English.Reporter: Yan Dongjie

A truce between Israel and Hamas will be extended by two days, mediator Qatar said hours before the pause was due to end, as more hostages were freed from Gaza in exchange for the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners."The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip," said a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson on Monday on X, formerly Twitter.The sides agreed to extend their truce through Wednesday, with another two planned exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.Deeming the extension as "a glimpse of hope and humanity" in the middle of the conflict, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "I strongly hope that these will enable us to increase even more the humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza that (are) suffering so much."As the rotating president of the UN Security Council for November, China will hold a Security Council high-level meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on Wednesday.On Monday, Israel confirmed that Hamas released another 11 captives in the Gaza Strip, while 33 Palestinians released by Israel arrived early on Tuesday in the West Bank town of Ramallah.Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, special forces and Israel Security Agency, or ISA, forces are currently accompanying 11 released hostages in Israeli territory, the statement read. "After they undergo an initial medical assessment, our forces will escort them until they are reunited with their families."They were released 52 days after being taken hostage by Hamas militants in their deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct 7. Of the about 240 hostages captured by Hamas, less than one-third have been released so far, according to the IDF.Under the original four-day truce deal, Hamas will release 50 Israelis in exchange for some 150 Palestinians from Israel. The humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip entails a cessation of hostilities and an increased flow of aid trucks carrying relief supplies and fuel through the Rafah crossing.Swap DealMonday's release brings to 51 the number of Israelis freed under the truce, along with 19 hostages from other nationalities, The Associated Press reported. So far, 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released.US businessman Elon Musk, who's been under fire for endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory and wider accusations of hatred flourishing on his social media platform X, visited Israel on Monday.Musk met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who lambasted him over content on the platform previously known as Twitter. Herzog told Musk that the entrepreneur has "a huge role to play" to combat antisemitism.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit the region later this week for the third time since the start of the conflict, and is expected to press for an extension of the truce and the release of more hostages.Israel imposed a total blockade of Gaza at the start of the conflict and had only allowed a trickle of humanitarian aid to enter before the cease-fire, leading to widespread shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel to power generators amid a territory-wide power blackout.The UN says the truce made it possible to scale up the delivery of food, water and medicine to the largest volume since the start of the conflict. But the 160 to 200 trucks a day is still less than half of what Gaza was importing before the fighting, even as humanitarian needs have soared."My clothes are all wet, and I am unable to change them," said Alaa Mansour, who was sheltering at a hospital in central Gaza. "I have not drank water for two days, and there's no bathroom to use."

New techniques and multidisciplinary measures should be applied to intervention in adolescents' mental health, an expert said in response to the grim psychological issues affecting students in China.Qiao Zhihong, secretary-general of the recently established National Advisory Committee for Students' Mental Health, said key factors affecting adolescents' mental health include the education system, a fading family core and the social environment.The score-oriented education system ignores students' personalities by evaluating all students with a single standard, said Qiao, who is also Party chief of the faculty of psychology at Beijing Normal University.The system pushes everyone to keep working harder without achieving any individual benefit."Children lose the fun of life and learning due to the pressure and are very likely to have mental health issues," he said.In 2020, nearly 25 percent of adolescents in China were reported mildly or severely depressed, and at least 30 million children and adolescents under the age of 17 faced emotional or behavioral problems, according to a report published by the Institute of Psychology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.About half of those depressed in China were school students, while 41 percent of them suspended schooling because of mental illnesses, according to a bluebook about depression in the nation last year.The absence of core family members resulting in single-parent families, for example, or the frequent absence of one parent, can cause children mental problems, Qiao said."Affected by the pressure of education, the twisted care some parents give to their children casts a shadow on their mental health," he said.Parents are expected to respect children's feelings more, rather than only making demands and putting pressure on them, he suggested.In addition, the internet also poses threats to children's mental health. "What happens far away may affect our emotions and trigger negative thoughts about the world. These can pass to children, or they could learn more by themselves."The biggest challenge to mental health work is the lack of professional teams. Schools and parents have made few effective moves on the issue, Qiao said.All students at BNU, the cradle of future teachers, are asked to learn educational psychology in an effort to enhance teachers' abilities to deal with mental health problems, he added.The National Advisory Committee for Students' Mental Health was established earlier this month to boost the country's ability to tackle students' mental health through consultation and assistance in decision-making.Resources from various fields including education, health and non-profit organizations should be integrated to boost the development of adolescents' mental health, Qiao said.Led by the Ministry of Education, the committee is responsible for research, consultation, monitoring, evaluation and scientific popularization of mental health work in universities, middle schools and primary schools.BNU professor Dong Qi, and Lu Lin, president of Peking University Sixth Hospital, were appointed as heads of the committee for a four-year term.Higher education institutes, middle schools, health authorities and hospitals are involved in the committee.At least one evaluation of students' mental health and one major event to address concerns should be organized every academic year in each of the seven designated regions.Reporter: Zhao Yimeng

Malaysia's new visa-free policy for Chinese travelers is a positive response to China's announcement that it will grant unilateral, visa-free entry to travelers from six countries including Malaysia, tourism industry insiders said.The move will also boost travel to Malaysia, they added.Malaysia's visa-free policy for up to 30 days for Chinese travelers will take effect on Friday, China Central Television reported.Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a news conference in Beijing on Monday that China is pleased to see Malaysia's visa-free policy for Chinese travelers. He said that China and Malaysia are friendly neighbors whose friendship has been witnessed by history.He also said that China and Malaysia will embrace the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations next year, and the visa-free policy will further boost the communication of people from the two countries.Tourism industry insiders and travel agencies noted that China extended a friendly gesture to the world by optimizing entry policies for international travelers from some countries, aiming to improve the nation's high-quality development and opening-up, and such goodwill was expected to receive a positive response from the market. That, in turn, will lead to economic benefits in the future, they added."We've seen growing searches and bookings of tour products to Malaysia on our platform. Chinese travelers will get easier and quicker access to Malaysia after the policy takes effect, which will also accelerate the sales of our products," said Qi Chunguang, vice-president of travel portal Tuniu.Searches for and bookings of trips to Malaysia also show strong, growing momentum on other travel portals. For example, online travel service provider Qunar said that, as of Sunday night, searches for trips to Malaysia had doubled on its platform compared with the previous week. Travel portal LY.com said that searches for Malaysian tour products have so far increased by 173 percent month-on-month on the platform.Nonetheless, China still faces difficulties in resuming its inbound tourism, which was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a report released in September by the World Tourism Alliance, China saw 18 million entries in the first half of 2023 — roughly 12 percent of the figure for the same period in 2019, before the outbreak.Facing fluctuations in the growth of inbound tourism and the not-yet fully recovered outbound tourism market, China has made continuous efforts to optimize entry policies for international travelers to revitalize the tourism industry and deepen opening-up for better economic development.China's Foreign Ministry announced on Friday the granting of unilateral, visa-free entry to travelers holding ordinary passports from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia.Under the policy, citizens of the six countries can enter China for business, tourism or family trips, and also for transit purposes, without a visa for up to 15 days. The policy will start on Friday and expire on Nov 30, 2024.In July, China resumed visa-free entry for up to 15 days to citizens of Singapore and Brunei. The policy had been suspended since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic."We and many other tourism companies all feel very excited about the optimized entry policies," said Liang Jianzhang, chairman of the board at Trip.com Group. "We hope that more practical moves can be taken to improve the entry policies, internet use and mobile payment to strengthen China's competitiveness in the world's tourism market."Reporter: Cheng Si

Health authorities in China said on Friday that no unknown pathogens have been detected amid a recent surge in infectious respiratory illnesses and that they have already held a meeting with the World Health Organization on the recent domestic epidemic situation.Hu Qiangqiang, a spokesman for the National Health Commission, said that all respiratory cases cataloged in China's monitoring system and reported by hospitals are caused by known pathogens.China has registered an increase in seasonal respiratory diseases since mid-October, fueled by the simultaneous circulation of influenza viruses, mycoplasma pneumoniae bacteria, the respiratory syncytial virus and adenoviruses, among other pathogens.Children are among the worst affected this winter, with pediatric hospitals saying they are handling a record number of patients and waiting time in the outpatient department is often more than three hours.Hu said the health commission held a videoconference on Thursday about infectious respiratory cases with WHO officials, which was also attended by experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Children's Health.During the conference, Chinese experts briefed all the attendees on the recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China and the country's efforts in monitoring pathogens, diagnosing diseases and prescribing treatment as well as offering health advisories, according to a statement released by the commission.China and the WHO also communicated on epidemiology, pathology and clinical symptoms of infectious respiratory illnesses, and said they plan to keep exchanging information.To deal with the surging number of patients, Hu said the commission has instructed localities to implement stratified care. It has also boosted the ability of grassroots facilities to diagnose and treat normal cases while keeping tabs on signs of severity.Children with mild symptoms have been advised to seek treatment at community clinics or under pediatricians at general hospitals, instead of visiting pediatric hospitals, he said.Also on Friday, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council released a circular aimed at beefing up containment measures for COVID-19 cases and pathogens in the coming months.According to the circular, China will likely see simultaneous circulation of multiple respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, influenza and mycoplasma pneumoniae infections, this winter and in spring.The risk of a rebound in COVID-19 cases this winter remains, although the current epidemic situation is stable, it said.Meanwhile, cases of influenza and mycoplasma pneumoniae infections have been on the rise since October. Flu cases are expected to register a peak in the coming months, while mycoplasma pneumoniae infections will continue to spread fast in some regions.The circular emphasized using different sources of data from online reporting systems, fever clinics, sentinel hospitals and laboratory test results as part of efforts to strengthen monitoring of and early warning against contagious diseases.In addition, personal protection measures and health monitoring efforts at nursery care and elderly care homes as well as schools should be reinforced, and vaccination campaigns targeting the elderly, people with preexisting diseases and children should be intensified, it said.Localities are instructed to allocate medical resources to fit intensity of regional epidemic situations and strengthen the supply of key medications, especially pediatric drugs.Epidemic control measures at ports such as measuring body temperatures of inbound passengers, carrying out epidemiological investigations and medical screenings should also be strictly implemented, it added.Reporter: Wang Xiaoyu