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CPC Central Committee Adopts Resolution on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively

The 20th Central Committeeof the Communist Party ofChina （CPC） adopted a resolutionon further deepeningreform comprehensively toadvance Chinese modernizationat its third plenarysession held in Beijing fromJuly 15 to 18， 2024.Xi Jinping， Li Qiang， ZhaoLeji， Wang Huning， Cai Qi，Ding Xuexiang and Li Xiattended the session.

EXCHANGES

“China supports the Europeanintegration process， the EuropeanUnion’s （EU） development andgrowth， and its adherence to strategicindependence. China believesthat the Netherlands will encouragethe European side to viewChina in an objective and rationalway and play a constructive role inmaintaining the sound and stabledevelopment of China-Europe relations.China is willing to strengthencooperation with the Netherlandsto jointly safeguard the stabilityof the global industrial and supplychains.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi saidduring a phone call with the Netherlands’new Foreign Minister CasparVeldkamp on July 11， 2024.

“The current international situationis characterized by intertwinedchanges and chaos， and maintainingthe stable developmentof China-Germany relations willcontinue to inject certainty andpositive energy into the world.China and Germany have strongeconomic complementarity andbroad prospects for cooperation.Both sides should continue tobuild trust and clear up misgivingsthrough dialogue and cooperation，properly handle differences， jointlyaddress various global challenges，and promote world peace anddevelopment.”

Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li said whenmeeting with the visiting Chairman ofthe German-Chinese ParliamentaryGroup of German Bundestag Hans-PeterFriedrich， on July 15， 2024.

Xi Jinping Meets Hungarian PM Viktor Orban

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on July 8， 2024.

Xi noted that during his state visit to Hungary two months ago， bilateral relations were elevatedto an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era， which gave new historicalsignificance to the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic ties thisyear and injected strong impetus into the high-level development of China-Hungary relations.

Xi said that the two countries should maintain high-level exchanges， deepen political mutualtrust， strengthen strategic communication and coordination， continue to firmly support eachother， strengthen practical cooperation in various fields， advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation，and continue to enrich the bilateral all-weather comprehensive strategic partnershipfor a new era to better benefit the people.

Xi congratulated Hungary on assuming the rotating presidency of the European Union （EU）and said there is no geopolitical contradiction or fundamental conflict of interests between Chinaand the EU. China-EU relations are of strategic significance and global influence and shouldmaintain steady and sound development.

Xi said that next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic tiesbetween China and the EU， adding that the two sides should stay committed to the correct pathof bilateral partnership with cooperation as the defining trend， continue to promote two-wayopening-up， strengthen international coordination， and contribute to world peace， stability， development，and prosperity. It is hoped that Hungary， as the holder of the rotating EU presidency，will play a positive role in promoting sound and stable development of China-EU relations andfacilitating constructive interactions.

Orban said that in the face of the current turbulent international situation， China has putforward a series of constructive and important initiatives， proving with its own concrete actionsthat China is an important stabilizing force for world peace.

Orban said that Hungary highly appreciates and values China’s role and influence and is willingto maintain close strategic communication and coordination with China. Hungary is willingto take the rotating EU presidency as an opportunity to actively promote the sound developmentof EU-China relations.

Li Qiang Holds Talks with Vanuatu’s PM

On July 12， 2024， Chinese Premier Li Qiangheld talks with Prime Minister of the Republic ofVanuatu Charlot Salwai， who was on an officialvisit to China， at the Great Hall of the People inBeijing.

Li said that over the past 42 years since theestablishment of diplomatic ties， China andVanuatu have always respected each other， worked in solidarity and coordination，strengthened their traditional friendship， deepened their political mutual trust， andachieved fruitful results in practical cooperation.

Li said China is willing to work with Vanuatu to further consolidate the politicalfoundation of bilateral relations， continue to support each other on issues involvingeach other’s core interests and major concerns， tighten the bond of mutually beneficialand win-win cooperation， push the China-Vanuatu comprehensive strategicpartnership to a new level， and bring more tangible benefits to the two peoples.

Salwai said that Vanuatu attaches great importance to Vanuatu-China relations，thanked China for its long-term sincere assistance， and congratulated China on itsgreat achievements.

Salwai said Vanuatu abides by the one-China principle， supports China on issuesconcerning Xinjiang， Hong Kong， Xizang， and the South China Sea， supports theconcept of building a community with a shared future for humanity and a series ofglobal initiatives put forward by China， and is willing to actively participate in thehigh-quality Belt and Road cooperation， deepen exchanges and cooperation in variousfields， and work for closer multilateral coordination.

Wang Yi Holds Talks with Belarusian FM Maksim Ryzhenkov

On July 8， 2024， Chinese Foreign Minister WangYi， also a member of the Political Bureau of the CommunistParty of China Central Committee， held talkswith Foreign Minister of Belarus Maksim Ryzhenkov inBeijing.

Wang expressed China’s willingness to deepen highlevelexchanges， strengthen strategic synergy， anddeepen all-round cooperation with Belarus to advancetheir all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership.

Wang congratulated Belarus on becoming a member of the Shanghai CooperationOrganization （SCO）， saying that China is willing to take the opportunity ofassuming the rotating presidency of the SCO to work with all parties to jointly carryforward the Shanghai Spirit， strengthen coordination and cooperation， and makethe organization stronger and more practical.

Ryzhenkov said that Belarus attaches great importance to Belarus-China relations，and China is the first country he visited after taking office as foreign minister.Belarus is ready to work with China to implement the important consensus andplans made by the two heads of state and to expand practical cooperation in variousfields.

Ryzhenkov thanked China for supporting Belarus in joining the SCO. He said thatBelarus will continue to participate deeply in the series of global initiatives proposedby China.

ECONOMY/SOCIETY

Central Bank Rolls Out More Innovative Tools to Ensure Liquidity

China’s central bank saidrecently that it will carry outtemporary bond repurchaseagreements， or reverse repos， amove analysts said will diversifyChina’s monetary policy toolkitto ensure stable financial marketoperations， while signalingthe improvement of a marketbasedsystem for interest rateregulation.

In order to maintain liquidityin the banking system andimprove the accuracy andeffectiveness of open marketoperations， the People’s Bank ofChina will conduct temporarybond repurchases， or reverserepos， depending on the marketsituation between 4 pm and 4：20pm each work day， according tothe central bank.

These temporary overnightoperations will be conductedthrough bidding， with their interestrates based on the sevendayreverse repos.

A repo， or repurchase agreement，is a process in whichthe central bank sells bondsto financial institutions andpromises to buy them back inthe future.

Marking yet another innovationin the central bank’smarket operations， followingplans to conduct treasury bondborrowing operations， the movewill diversify the central bank’smonetary policy toolkit whileboosting market-based interestrate reform， analysts said.

China’s ExpressDelivery CompaniesNationwideHandled 80 BillionParcels in H1

China’s express delivery firmsnationwide handled 80.16 billionparcels during the first halfof the year （H1）， according tothe State Post Bureau.

Since the beginning of thisyear， China’s courier sector hascontinued to develop rapidly，with 13 billion parcels handledeach month on average. Courierstraveling between urban andrural areas and high-speed intelligentsorting lines demonstratethe development momentumand vitality of the industry.

The express delivery industrycontinues to enrich servicescenarios， expand service areas，and improve service quality.On the one hand， China promotesthe construction of ruraldelivery logistics systems tosend agricultural products fromthe village to the city. On theother hand， it extends servicesfrom the consumption field tothe production field in order toprovide manufacturing enterpriseswith in-factory logistics，warehousing and distributionservices.

Meanwhile， by opening orincreasing international regularfreight routes， express deliverycompanies aim to create a safe，reliable， independent and controllableinternational logisticssupply chain system， allowingmore Chinese goods to be sentoverseas， and providing moreconvenient services for theimport of foreign goods.

China AchievesRecord High NEVRegistrations in H1

A record high of 4.4 millionnew-energy vehicles （NEVs）were newly registered in Chinain the first half of 2024， bringingthe total number of NEVson the country’s roads to 24.72million by the end of June， accordingto official data.

This represents a year-onyearincrease of 39.41 percentin new registrations. As of June2024， China had 440 millionmotor vehicles in operation，including 345 million cars. Allelectriccars dominate theNEVs， with 18.13 million in use，accounting for 73.36 percent ofthe total NEVs.

Additionally， 13.97 millionnew drivers received theirlicenses in the first half of 2024.The total number of licenseddrivers in China now stands at532 million， with 496 million ofthem being car drivers.

Across the country， 96 citiesboast more than 1 million carseach， an increase of eight citiescompared to the same periodof 2023. Among them， 43 citieshave over 2 million cars， while26 cities have more than 3 millioncars.

Notably， car numbers inChengdu， Beijing， and Chongqingeach exceed 6 million， whileShanghai， Suzhou， and Zhengzhoueach have over 5 million.

Steady Improvementin Child Healthcare

At a recent press conference，China’s National HealthCommission disclosed thatChina’s child healthcare hasseen steady improvementsover the past several years，leading to better health ofChinese children. At presentthere are 158 children’shospitals and 3，082 maternaland child healthcare centersoperating across the country.The number of pediatricianshas increased to 205，800， up74.4 percent from that of 2015.“The core health indicators ofChinese children are above theaverage levels of upper-middle-income countries，” said anofficial from the commission.

With child healthcare partof its Healthy China Initiative，China has launched a numberof programs in this aspect overthe past several years， includingimproving the safety of mothersand newborn babies， preventionof birth defects， health managementfor children aged 0-6，postnatal care， and response tohealth issues such as myopia，overweight， and autism.

China has enhanced healthcarefacilities at the primarylevel， established two nationaland five regional medicalcenters （with 14 more inthe pipeline） for children， andhas been working on a tiereddiagnosis and treatment systemthat integrates quality medicalcare resources for all kinds ofhospitals.

Building aGreener China

On the 30th World Dayto Combat Desertificationand Drought， which fell onJune 17， the National Forestryand Grassland Administrationbriefed the media aboutChina’s progress in thisaspect. “So far the Three-North Shelterbelt Programhas completed afforestationof 32 million hectares andaddressed grassland degradingof 85.3 million hectares. As aresult， regions covered by thisprogram （northwest， north，and northeast China） haveincreased their forest coveragefrom 5.05 percent in 1978 to13.84 percent at present andreduced the rate of degradedgrassland from 85 percent in2004 to current 70 percent，said Tang Fanglin， deputy chiefof the administration.

According to Lu Qi， chiefscientist at the Chinese Academyof Forestry， high technologyhas played a critical rolein the success of the Three-North Shelterbelt Program.For instance， 15 high-techpilot zones have been createdfor the three landmark projectsof the program. He alsohighlighted the importance ofapplying advanced technologyto establish an integratedmonitoring system， breeddrought-resistant tree andgrass species， and developsand-retaining models，smart bush trimming equipment，and efficient irrigationtechnologies.

200 Million Tonnes

By the end of 2023， the total storage capacity of low-temperature and nearlow-temperature grain warehouses nationwide had climbed to 200 milliontonnes， and the comprehensive loss rate of state-owned grain warehousesremained at or below one percent， according to the National Food and StrategicReserves Administration. China is promoting green grain storage technologiesin its grain warehouses， covering such aspects as temperature control， internalcirculation， and comprehensive pest control.

China， France JoinForces to ProtectBiodiversity

To mark the 60th anniversary ofthe establishment of diplomatic tiesbetween their countries， the ChineseAcademy of Sciences and the FrenchNational Center for Scientific Researchestablished the Sino-FrenchInternational Research Network onBiodiversity in Beijing in June. Thenetwork will be dedicated to addressingcritical global challenges，including biodiversity loss， diseasetransmission， and ecosystem dysfunction.

Zhu Chaodong， a professor at theChinese Academy of Sciences’ Instituteof Zoology， said it is importantfor the world to tackle the issue ofbiodiversity loss because it is closelylinked with climate change and humanhealth issues.

Yvon Le Maho， a professor at theHubert Curien Multidisciplinary Instituteand University of Strasbourg，said the research network providesneeded opportunities for scientiststo broaden their perspectives tofacilitate their understanding.

The research network will offeryoung researchers and universitystudents from China and Franceopportunities to study and take fieldtrips together.

Cross-BorderE-commerce Up

During the past five years，China’s cross-border e-commercetrade has increased bymore than 10 times， People ’sDaily reported， quoting HeYadong， spokesman for theMinistry of Commerce， duringa news conference.

Preliminary statistics showthere are more than 120，000cross-border e-commerceentities in the country， atleast 1，000 cross-border ecommerceindustrial parks，and over 2，500 overseas warehouseswith a total area ofmore than 30 million squaremeters. More than 1，800 overseaswarehouses with a totalarea of over 22 million squaremeters serve cross-border ecommerce.

The development of crossbordere-commerce， overseaswarehouses， and other newforeign trade infrastructure isfast， the growth potential islarge， and the driving effect isstrong.

The ministry said it willfacilitate industrial development，relying on China’s 165cross-border e-commercecomprehensive pilot zones，combined with the industrialendowments and location advantagesof various places， todrive more enterprises in theindustrial belt to use crossbordere-commerce to participatein international trade.

CULTURE

National Ballet of ChinaThe Red Detachment ofWomen （60th Anniversary）

Date： August 1-4， 2024

Venue： National Center for

the Performing Arts

Six decades after the premiere of TheRed Detachment of Women in 1964， theNational Ballet of China's sixth-generationperformer of the heroine Wu Qionghua carrieson the legacy of her predecessors withan exuberant and youthful performance ofthe ballet. Based on the film with the samename， the ballet consists of seven episodes.It begins with Wu Qionghua’s escape from alife of slavery under her cruel landlord NanBatian. Wu joins a legendary all-female RedArmy battalion， led by commander HongChangqing on Hainan Island during the civilwar in the early 1930s.

Shanghai DramaticArts CentreDrama Le Père （Father）

Date： August 15-18， 2024

Venue： National Center for the

Performing Arts

As her elderly father gradually loses hisability to live independently， Anne bringshim to live with her and her boyfriend andtends to his daily necessities. Her father，suffering from Alzheimer’s disease， vacillatesbetween humorous disposition and aconfused state of mind. “Reality” graduallydissolves in his mind， creating many problemsbetween him and his daughter. Annefaces the tremendous pressure of filiallove and shouldering her responsibility tofamily. She is forced to make an “appropriate”decision. Her father struggles hard forsurvival， but will he be able to decide hisown fate？

Art and Literatureof ComicsCelebrated in Spain

Prominent illustrators andwriters from China and Spaingathered in Barcelona of Spainon June 27 to celebrate the artand literature of comics fromboth countries.

The event “A World of Comics— Closer to Chinese andSpanish Literature and Illustration”was held in the EspaiSol room of Barcelona’s Nordtrain station.

Chinese comics artists XiaoLin Manga and Nie Jun， as"well as writer Cai Jun sharedtheir thoughts， methods， andexperiences at a roundtablediscussion with Spanish comicsartists， writers， and publishers.

“Comics are very powerful，possessing a language that hasno borders. I think the mostimportant part of this type ofexchange is that people canlearn each other’s thoughtsthrough comics，” Nie said.

The illustrator pointed outthat while Western comics arevery popular among youngpeople in China， demand forChinese comics in Europe isalso increasing. Nie’s work hasbeen published in France and"will soon hit bookshelves inDenmark.

Munir Hachemi， a Spanishwriter who also lectures at PekingUniversity， said comics areideal for showing how differentChinese contemporary cultureis from outdated preconceptionsthat often persist inforeign societies.

The event also saw theinauguration of an exhibitionof the same name that will rununtil July 27， displaying some200 pieces of artwork by artistsfrom Spain， China， and otherparts of the world.

The event was part of the“Get to Know China” initiativecreated by China’s State CouncilInformation Office.

“Publishers say that most ofthe demand is for manga， bothChinese and Japanese. Thesedays， Asian culture is muchmore present in Europe thanbefore， in food， fashion， music，literature ... everything，” Spanishcomics artist Igor Sarraldesaid

The UNESCO also participatedin the event， since China’sNanjing， and Spain’s Barcelonaare part of its Cities of Literaturenetwork.