Editor's Note:
Friendly exchanges between China and Africa have enjoyed a long history and have deepened in recent years, covering various fields such as politics, the economy, and culture. The Global Times is launching a China-Africa Rhapsody series, aiming to showcase the profound human connections and development visions between the two peoples by sharing the true stories of Chinese people in Africa and African people in China. From touching stories of China-Africa cooperation to exciting collisions of youthful ideas, to debunking fallacies concocted by some Western sources about the China-Africa collaboration, this series hopes to promote closer cooperation and deeper understanding between the peoples of China and Africa.

In this installment, we look skyward, focusing on the inspiring narrative of China's remarkable advancements in aerospace technology and how they are not only propelling its own ambitions in vast universe, but also are igniting the dreams of young Africans in aviation and space exploration. As China strides forward in its aerospace endeavors, it simultaneously extends a collaborative hand to Africa's youth, fostering an environment in which their aspirations in aviation can take flight. This synergy of growth and cooperation highlights a mutual journey toward technological mastery and shared dreams, bridging the gap between continents and cultures through the universal language of sky aspirations.
Peter Prosper Oshoname from Nigeria has one wish: To see more African astronauts journey into space.

Oshoname expressed his wish through his painting, depicting an image of an African astronaut with a circular emblem of half the Nigerian and Chinese flags on top of her head. The background demonstrates the vastness of the universe with resplendent African motifs and Chinese symbols.

In May 2023, the art piece was sent into China's space station via the Shenzhou-16 manned spacecraft, along with nine other artworks embodying the beautiful dreams of young Africans.

"The circle has no edges, continuously and endlessly rotating. I painted the flags of both countries within a circle to represent harmony and friendship. The different patterns and textures of the circles aim to represent the dreams, diversity, and creativity of African youth," Oshoname explained.

He said that the artwork only includes one character to symbolize the unity of Africa and China, and the joint efforts by both peoples to plant the seeds of space dreams in every child's heart.

Oshoname's painting making its debut at China's space station is a microcosm of space cooperation between China and Africa.

In recent years, with the promotion of mechanisms such as cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, much practical progress has been made in aerospace cooperation between the two sides, making greater contributions to the construction of a high-level China-Africa community of shared future and the building of a better world.

Fruitful cooperation has been achieved in satellite exports, satellite resource sharing, space technology exchange, and the construction of space infrastructure. What's more, Chinese space technology has played an important role in the economic and social development of African countries and the improvement of people's living standards in the continent.

During an exclusive interview with the Global Times, South African Ambassador to China Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele said that space cooperation with China "is part of what our leaders said about taking our relations to new heights," and it can enable human beings to monitor but also understand what has happened on other planets.

Growing dreams

In September 2023, 10 paintings created by African youths made their debut at the very first art exhibition on China's space station. They were selected in a competition that received more than 2,000 paintings from 42 African countries, the Global Times learned at the competition's awards ceremony.

Director-General Wu Peng of the Department of African Affairs at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, at the event, said that the art exhibition is a vivid example of China's long-standing commitment to sharing development achievements and opportunities with Africa.

"In today's complex world with intertwined challenges and accelerated changes, the collective rise of developing countries is unstoppable," Wu said. "The youth represent the future and hopes of nations, as well as the driving force behind China-African cooperation. Your aspirations for a better life and your pursuit of the development of China-Africa relations are a continuous source of strength for the inheritance of the traditional friendship between the two sides."

At the event, the Shenzhou-16 crew also extended their greetings to African friends much to the delight of those in attendance. Behind them hung the paintings inside the space station cabin, as they gave detailed introductions of each painting, including the artist, their country of origin, as well as the meaning of the artwork, and the beautiful aspirations it carries.

Gui Haichao, the first civilian taikonaut to ever journey to space, could not help but smile cheerfully the entire time as he immersed himself in the joy that the colorful paintings brought him. Next to him was Shenzhou-16 commander Jing Haipeng, who gave two thumbs-up to the brilliant ideas of African youths, and took out his own photo at one point to share his thoughts and understanding of the paintings, the Global Times saw at the event.

Taking the launch of these youth's symbolic dreams into space as a starting point, the potential for China-Africa space cooperation will be "as broad as the starry sea," said Jing as he showcased the paintings some 400 kilometers above Earth.

"Join us in exploring the vastness of space and unraveling its mysteries to build our shared home," declared Liu Yang, China's first female astronaut, with heartfelt emotion to local students at the Chinese aerospace tracking station in Swakopmund, Namibia. On August 19, 2019, Liu, along with fellow astronaut Chen Dong, embarked on a five-day visit to Namibia, initiated by an invitation from Namibian President Hage Geingob.

This visit, highlighted by the Chinese astronauts' delegation, marks their second journey to Namibia, demonstrating the profound friendship and the high regard in which China holds relations and cooperation with Namibia. Liu and Dong's current visit further cements this special bond.

During their visit, Liu shared insights into an astronaut's training, work, and life, hoping to inspire Namibian youth about space exploration. Chen conveyed the delegation's goal to introduce the developments in China's aerospace industry and plant the seeds of dreams in the hearts of Namibians and, by extension, African youths, with hopes of seeing them in space in the future.

The Namibian students were thrilled. Among them, a 12th grader found inspiration in Liu and said: "Liu is a source of pride for women. With effort, we can also achieve our dreams," according to a Xinhua report.

Cultivating talent

In addition to sowing the seeds of aerospace dreams among the youth, China is actively collaborating with Africa to cultivate talents in related fields.

China places high importance on providing high-quality training for African scientific researchers, especially in areas such as satellite design, manufacturing, launching, and control. Since 2014, China has funded graduate students from countries like Algeria, Egypt, and Ethiopia, providing intellectual support for the autonomous development of aerospace technology in Africa.

Michael Appolinary Malima from Tanzania exemplifies China's role in nurturing African talent in the aerospace field. Having graduated in 2022 from Shenyang Aerospace University in Northeast China's Liaoning Province with a Bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Engineering, Malima, 25, returned to Tanzania for an internship at an airline, ensuring the maintenance and airworthiness of the fleet.

Malima's educational journey offers insights for African students aspiring to study in China. Before arriving in China, he completed 13 years of mandatory education, including two years in science, a prerequisite for studying aerospace engineering.

Despite facing challenges, Malima found his experiences in China refreshing and enlightening. His course was taught in English, but foreign students could also choose Chinese language classes.

Malima's experience shows it is achievable. He graduated with first-class honor, a significant accomplishment given the global conditions during his final study years.

"Provided all things go well, I plan to pursue further studies in aerospace engineering and place my focus on aerospace materials as these tend to lead to the discovery of other materials for various applications both within and outside the earth's atmosphere," he told the Global Times.

He stressed that the cooperation brings awareness to Africans on the opportunities available in the aerospace industry while creating a larger market for aerospace products and growth for both sides.

Building future

Beyond fostering young dreams, China-African aerospace collaboration is significantly boosting African nations' modernization through climate monitoring, disaster prevention, communication technology, and more. These tools effectively tackle extreme weather, food shortages, and environmental fragility.

In December 2023, China helped Egypt send a remote-sensing satellite, the MISRSAT-2, into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gobi Desert, which will be used in Egypt's land and resource utilization, water conservancy, agriculture, and other fields.

The satellite is a landmark project of in-depth cooperation between China and Egypt in the field of high-tech aerospace engineering and is of profound significance in aerospace cooperation between the two countries, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

In developing the satellite, China helped Egypt develop and build a satellite assembly integration testing center, and the successful implementation of the MISRSAT-2 project made Egypt the first country in Africa to have complete satellite development and final assembly and testing capabilities.

Moreover, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Dakar Action Plan (2022-2024) underscored intensified cooperation in aerospace technology to propel African applications and infrastructure, enhancing social development and living standards.

As the largest developing country, China shares its developmental experience and advanced technology generously, fostering inclusive growth in Africa.

"The new government, with a clear bias and ideological perspective, will cause serious harm to Argentina's economy," said former Argentine ambassador to China Sabino Vaca Narvaja in an exclusive interview with the Global Times on Thursday.

He criticized the decision of Javier Milei, Argentina's newly elected president, not to join the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) framework and emphasized the importance of the New Development Bank established by BRICS countries for Argentina in building a new financial system based on production and development. He found the Milei government's decision "puzzling." In addition, this decision also offends important partner countries that strongly supported Argentina's BRICS membership, damaging Argentina's national interests, he said.

In August 2023, the BRICS summit in South Africa undertook a historic expansion, welcoming six new members: Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Argentina. The membership was originally scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2024.

However, on December 30, 2023, Milei announced that Argentina would not join the BRICS.

According to media reports, Milei has sent a letter to the leaders of the BRICS nations, stating that the current timing for Argentina to join the organization is "inappropriate." Analysts said that the purpose behind the Milei's government's decision is to seek financing from the US through the IMF or private investors.

Milei's decision came at a time when Argentina is facing a deepening economic crisis, and it has sparked criticism from numerous professionals in economic and diplomatic sectors within Argentina. Narvaja is among the critics.

Narvaja served as Argentine ambassador to China during the presidency of Alberto Fernandez, a left-leaning government that actively sought membership of the BRICS for Argentina. The Fernandez government believed that joining the BRICS would present a significant opportunity for Argentina to enter emerging markets.

Narvaja told the Global Times that if Argentina could join the expanded BRICS, it would boost the country's economic development.

He emphasized that many economies within the BRICS and Argentina have highly complementary economic structures. Moreover, the combined economic scale of the BRICS is surpassing that of the G7, with more than 50 countries worldwide expressing willingness to join the bloc, which is led by emerging economies.

Narvaja said that in the past few years, the BRICS nations have played a crucial coordinating role during times of crisis. This includes providing supplies and vaccines to other countries and offering loans to emerging economies through the New Development Bank. With the expanded membership, the BRICS will encompass 45 percent of the world's population, and over 80 percent of new consumers will originate from these countries.

Meanwhile, the BRICS nations possess abundant natural resources, including oil, gas, and strategic minerals, contributing around 44 percent of global crude oil production. All these factors are highly significant for Argentina's economic prospects, he said.

"The New Development Bank is crucial for Argentina in building a new financial system based on production and development. It can provide financial instruments, including counter-cyclical funds and development loans, which could bring many benefits to Argentina. The proposal to conduct investments and trade in local currency will also play a significant role in the global economy," the former Argentine diplomat told the Global Times. He noted that Argentina requires substantial infrastructure investment and needs to increase exports and foreign exchange income, so the new government's decision to reject joining the BRICS framework is truly perplexing.

At a time when Argentina needs foreign exchange to meet debt obligations and investment to enhance its potential export capacity, this move is truly astonishing, Narvaja said. "This harms our country's interests," he added.

"Many of our production sectors and local economies are heavily reliant on trade with China. China is also a major investor and lender for Argentina's infrastructure," he emphasized.

Moreover, apart from the economic aspect, China and Argentina mutually support each other on many crucial political issues, he noted.

China is currently Argentina's second-largest trading partner, the primary market for agricultural product exports, and the third-largest source of investment. Bilateral trade between China and Argentina reached approximately $25.5 billion last year, and despite adverse conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral trade has defied the odds and increased by 54.7 percent over the past six years. In 2022, the Fernandez administration officially joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and in 2023, it signed a cooperation plan with China under the framework of the BRI. Analysts widely believe that Argentina's collaboration with China contributes to the upgrading of its infrastructure and facilitates the repayment of debts to the IMF.

Jim Brainard saw the Yangtze River for the first time on a fine autumn day. The wide and vast river reminded the US official of the Mississippi River, which he knows well as being equally magnificent and almost boundless.

Brainard is the Mayor of Carmel, Indiana. He was also the head of a delegation of six US city mayors from the American heartland areas along the Mississippi River. Earlier this month, the delegation visited Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, as well as the nature reserves on Shanghai's Chongming Island at the river's estuary.

"The Yangtze River is a beautiful part of China, and it is similar in some ways to our Mississippi water area," Brainard told the Global Times during his stay in Shanghai. "The two rivers are important to both of us, to both countries."

For centuries the Yangtze River and Mississippi River, the mother rivers of China and the US respectively, have nurtured a rich variety of life and brought communication and development.

During the 12-day trip in China, the delegation, along with several US scholars in the environment and hydrology fields, had deep conversations with their Chinese peers on both countries' experiences in river protection and watershed area development, as an effort to build "bridges" of cooperation and friendship between the two big rivers.

The hope of the China-US relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in our societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels, Chinese President Xi Jinping noted on Wednesday during his Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trip in San Francisco.

"I welcome more US governors, Congressional members, and people from all walks of life to visit China," Xi said.

Xi's words and his recent visit to the US inspired people in the two countries who yearn for more exchanges, from government officials and scholars, to ordinary people, as the China-US relationship - one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world - is gradually improving through not only head-of-state diplomacy, but also the frequent sub-national and people-to-people exchanges, observers sai
A sense of affinity

Brainard and many members of the US mayors' delegation felt a sense of affinity during their trip to China, although they'd never been to this distant Eastern country before. "The rivers and valleys are very much the same," Brainard said in a speech he delivered at the Yangtze-Mississippi Forum held in Shanghai on November 6.

The word "similarity" was mentioned by many Chinese and American officials and scholars at the forum. Yangtze River is "similar in many ways to the Mississippi - broad, flat, and used for transport," said Gabriel Filippelli, executive director of the Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute who also attended the forum.

In an interview with the Global Times, Filippelli recalled what he saw at the Yangtze River for the first time as a tourist years ago: He traveled near the river on his entire trip, over it, and visited various related waterways along the way. He felt that the Yangtze and Mississippi shared a similar appearance, and played a vital role in the history and development of both countries.

Many Chinese environment and hydrology scholars who've been to the US also feel a sense of affinity when seeing Mississippi River in person.

Zhang Weiguo, a professor at the State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research (SKLEC) at East China Normal University, participated in a cooperative project at the Louisiana State University (LSU) in December 2019. During his one-week stay, Zhang visited the Mississippi River with his US colleagues, where he saw a body of water as wide as the Yangtze River, riverside wetlands, deciduous trees with some of their branches reaching into water, alligators basking on warm mud, and crayfish caught by local fishermen, which "tasted similar to the Chinese ones," he recalled.

"I heard that crayfish are originally from Louisiana. And now they are widely farmed in China as well, especially along the Yangtze River," Zhang told the Global Times.

"From the very small crayfish case, I felt that the two rivers, although far away from each other, have a lot of connections."
Broader, more inclusive communication

In Shanghai, the US mayor delegation and some US scholars visited the city's Chongming Island. On what is dubbed as China's third-largest island, they visited a national nature reserve, a Chinese sturgeon protection base, a domestic sewage treatment station, and the Qingcaosha Reservoir that supplies fresh water to 13 million residents in Shanghai.

Brainard said that they had wonderful time on learning about China, as well as its efforts in protecting rivers and restoring the wetlands. He believes there are many joint efforts China and the US can make in protecting their rivers.

"We need to do much work to improve the quality of water in the Mississippi River and keep agricultural chemicals from polluting the river. China needs to do the same thing as well. I hope that we can learn from each other on what does and doesn't work, and collaborate on making both our famous rivers more sustainable," Brainard.

Nina Lam, E. L. Abraham Distinguished Professor of Department of Environmental Sciences at the LSU, also participated in the Chongming visit. There Lam had the chance to see the Yangtze River again.

"It (the river) is always beautiful," she told the Global Times after the visit. "I was especially impressed with the transportation infrastructure such as the bridge, tunnel, and roads built to link the island with the inland."

Lam recalled that the first time she saw the Yangtze River was in December 1985, when she was collaborating with the then Nanjing Institute of Geography on a project using a geographic information system (GIS) approach to study the cancer mortality patterns in China.

China and the US have long cooperated in the academic field of river, estuary, and delta related researches. The SKLEC and its predecessor institutes, for instance, have had academic exchanges with the LSU since the 1980s, when China had just launched its reform and opening-up, according to Zhang. Their cooperation covered physiognomy in the beginning, and later ecological wetlands and estuaries. It will involve broader and more comprehensive aspects, Zhang added.

"Industrialization occurred earlier in the Mississippi River basin than it did in the Yangtze River basin, and the two rivers and estuaries face similar challenges partly caused by human activities like excavation of canals," Zhang told the Global Times. "Therefore, some experiences by the US in dealing with the Mississippi are worth learning from for us."

The academic exchanges between SKLEC and LSU continued online during the COVID-19 pandemic. For decades, scholars and young students from the two sides have engaged in deep cooperation, said Zhang.

To increase exchanges between our two peoples, especially between the youth, China is ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to China through exchange and study programs over the next five years, announced President Xi in a speech delivered at the Welcome Dinner by Friendly Organizations in the US, on November 15.

Many Chinese and US scholars and students reached by the Global Times applauded the broader exchanges between the two countries. "I believe that the communication between China and US, just like the two big rivers, will be broader and more inclusive," said Zhang.

A shared future

At the Yangtze-Mississippi Forum in Shanghai, officials and scholars from various countries witnessed the unveiling ceremony for the International Research Center for Rivers and Deltas, an institute at the ECNU to strengthen transnational academic cooperation in the field of rivers and deltas.

The new center will serve as an international collaboration platform so that people can discuss sustainable development methods in river basins and estuarine areas, said He Qing, director of SKLEC.

"Watersheds and estuaries are an inseparable system," He told the Global Times after the forum. "It is of great significance for global people living in different natural ecological environments and population densities to learn from each other."

Echoing He, some US scholars said they expect China and the US, as well as other countries involved, to have more transnational cooperation on river, estuary, and delta protection.

"As far as I know, there have been many cooperative projects between delta researchers in the two countries. However, very few studies have been on the human side, and even fewer on analyzing the delta as a coupled natural-human system," Lam told the Global Times.

"This type of research is difficult to carry out, thus cooperation between the two countries and learning from each other's experiences and perspective will definitely help, leading to much improved understanding of the deltas and solutions to their challenges," she added.

Speaking of the Yangtze and Mississippi rivers, Filippelli suggests that more cooperation can take place on climate resilience and green economic development between the leaders and scholars of the two countries.

"In particular, opportunities exist to share common approaches to mitigating the impacts of flooding, and share the science and practice of urban greening initiatives for environmental improvements and public health," he told the Global Times.

Finding the right partners can help in finding new solutions not only for local problems, but also to help "inform and reengage us on the national level and bilateral level between our two countries," Daniel Delk, deputy Consul General of the US in Shanghai, said at the forum. "I'm excited about the opportunities that may come not this day, but in the months and years ahead, to form new partnerships," he said.

According to the forum's organizers, a similar forum that will also focus on the Yangtze River and Mississippi River is going to be held in the US in 2024. At that time, the American side will invite related Chinese guests to the US.

As Xi noted in his November 15 speech, the foundation of China-US relations was laid by two peoples. The anticipated reunion on the Mississippi River is a vivid example of the continued improvement in subnational and people-to-people exchanges between China and the US, observers pointed out.

China and the US share a community of shared future, in terms of the frequent economic exchanges between and the common environmental responsibilities shared by the two countries, Zhang said.

As a scholar in the environment and river deltas, Zhang said he is pleased to see China and US spend joint efforts in addressing challenges including economic development and global climate change. "I'm looking forward to more cooperation and exchanges between the two countries, which will benefit the whole of human society," he said.

Located in west Zhejiang Province, Quzhou is a famous historical and cultural city with a more than 6,000-year-old history of civilization and was listed as one of the National Famous Historical and Cultural Cities in China in 1994.

At a seminar before the Quzhou visit, Liu Xinxin, an associate professor from the Communication University of China School of Government and Public Affairs, said that Quzhou's cultural branding can be a typical example of successful urban renewal in China. Only after the visit, could I fully understand the remark and vividly experience how the city is building its long-standing historical culture into a modernized industry, which has become a calling card for the city.

Although having never been to the city before, I soon fell in love with the enjoyable and culture-filled city. It is not only the second hometown of the Confucius family, but also the ancestral home of great Chairman Mao Zedong, the birthplace of Weiqi (GO) culture, the first place to experience spring in the new year going all the way back to the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), and home to tens of thousands of hard-working and creative Chinese farmers. 

This rich cultural heritages creates unique conditions for the city, which has taken a characteristically unique path to modernization by "planting [seeds of] culture," cultivating towering cultural trees, and growing abundant cultural fruits in order to lead local residents to common prosperity.

The Southern link to Confucius is, without doubt, a sound business card for the city. In 1128, after the downfall of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), Kong Duanyou, a 48th-generation descendant of Confucius, moved to the south and settled in Quzhou, which led the city to become a cultural hub of Confucianism in southern China.

Since 2004, a memorial ceremony has been held annually at the Confucius Ancestral Temple in the city to celebrate the birthday of the Confucius. On that day, hundreds of guests from around the world, including the descendants of Confucius and representatives from various global Confucius institutes gather for the ceremony to pay tribute to the great philosopher and educator.

Confucius culture has also attracted nearly 100 overseas students and scholars from the US, Germany, and Armenia to visit Quzhou for research and study purposes in the last two decades.  

Through the tour, I found out that each village in Quzhou has a specialized path to development. Starting with painting, the Yudong village has established a common prosperity alliance with nine surrounding villages, working together to create "Nine Villages and Ten Workshops," forming marketable and creative products such as paintings, porcelain and scarves. 

The collective operating income of the alliance has increased by 205 percent annually, with an average increase exceeding 300,000 yuan ($40,996) for each village.

Quzhou is also making efforts to build itself as a Weiqi hub. The city built the first international Weiqi cultural exchange center in China, the first national Weiqi team local training base and implemented the first local regulations related to Weiqi, promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture. The Quzhou-Lanke Cup World Go Open has also filled the gap left by the lack of an annual top-level Weiqi tournament in China. The tournament has been listed as the first professional event in the directory of the Chinese Go Association, on par with the "LG Cup" and "Samsung Cup" in South Korea. 

Regrettably, during this particular trip to Quzhou, I was not able to visit Mapeng, which is famous for being a prototype of many elements in Wuxia (martial heroes) novels by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). The village has also built many scenic spots that bring classic spots in Jin Yong's masterpieces, such as the Taohua Island, to life, attracting tens of thousands of Wuxia fans every year.

Certainly, however, I believe the future will bring new opportunities for a highly recommended visit to the renowned site and allow me to explore more the charming city.

The China-Laos Railway has facilitated over 30 million passenger trips since its operation in December of 2021, official data showed on Thursday, highlighting China's deepening cooperation with the neighboring countries under BRI.

As of Tuesday, the railway had transported a total of 30.2 million passenger trips and 34.24 million tons of cargo, with cross-border shipments exceeding 7.8 million tons, according to China Railway. This robust performance is showing a thriving trend in both passenger and freight transport along this strategic route.

The China-Laos Railway is experiencing a continuous rise in passenger volume. In the Chinese section, daily passenger trains have increased from 35 to 51, with daily passenger traffic peaking at 103,000 from the initial 20,000, China Railway said.

The Laotian section also expanded its daily passenger trains from four to 12, with daily passenger throughput peaking at 12,808 from the previous 720.

Travelling with the China-Laos Railway is a wonderful and exciting experience, as the railway now offers multi-language services and cost-effective tickets, and it has greatly facilitated our travel, a tourist surnamed Kong, told the Global Times on Thursday.

During this year's Spring Festival travel season, tourism along the China-Laos Railway has boomed. The total number of passengers transported along the entire line reached 2.96 million, representing a year-on-year growth of 39 percent.

The China-Laos Railway shows strong and steady growth in cross-border freight transportation. From January 1 to March 12 this year, the railway completed cross-border freight transportation of 1.064 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 33.9 percent.

China welcomes a move by Hungary to facilitate visa for Chinese citizens visiting the country for investment and cooperation purposes, and welcomes visa facilitation by more countries, a spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry (FM) said on Tuesday.

The announcement by Hungary related to issuing 5-year, multiple-entry visas for Chinese citizens on business trips is another example of the high-level development of China-Hungary ties, and China welcomes the move," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a routine press conference on Tuesday in Beijing.

Wang noted that bilateral cooperation have yielded fruitful results under the China-Hungary comprehensive strategic partnership.

After China implemented a pilot policy which include visa-free entry for Hungarian tourists and business people, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto recently announced that Hungary would issue long-term visas to Chinese citizens visiting the country for investment and business cooperation.

"We believe these new measures will further strengthen people-to-people exchanges, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, and promote high-level development of the bilateral ties," Wang said. "China also welcomes more countries to offer visa facilitation for Chinese citizens to boost cross-border travel and cooperation."

China announced last week that it will adopt a visa-free policy for Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg on a trial basis, starting on March 14.

This followed visa-free entry trial for ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia, effective from December 1, 2023.

As human society steps into the era of artificial intelligence, it is believed that with intensified and collective efforts, China will carve out a technological path that aligns with its national conditions, enable the safe development of General Artificial Intelligence (AI) and benefit the whole humankind, a Chinese national political advisor said during the two sessions.

General AI has emerged as the strategic high ground in global technological competition. “To win this crucial technological race, which is of paramount importance to our nation, the key lies in nurturing the talent,” Zhu Songchun, director of the Beijing Institute for General Artificial Intelligence and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said at a group interview held by the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee on Sunday.

General AI stands as a typical representative of the new quality productive forces. The “general” in General AI refers to AI’s ability to perform an infinite number of tasks in daily physical and social scenarios, autonomously discover tasks as if it has a “mind of its own,” and possess autonomous value-driven motivation, Zhu said.

Zhu introduced “Tongtong,” the world’s first prototype of a general intelligent humanoid robot being showcased in Beijing. “She has the complete neural and value system of a three or four-year-old child and is currently undergoing rapid iterations. In the future, she will be integrated into various aspects of our lives, such as pouring tea and providing warm companionship,” he said.

Behind the most ordinary abilities in daily life are actually the core technical issues that General Artificial Intelligence needs to research, Zhu said, emphasizing that achieving General AI hinges on giving machines a “mind of their own.”

During this year’s two sessions, AI has emerged as one of the hottest topics. The annual Government Work Report released on Tuesday also highlighted that a stream of innovations emerged in frontier areas such as AI and quantum technology in 2023.

While for major tasks in 2024, the Government Work Report stressed to step up research and development and application of big data and AI, launch an AI Plus initiative, and build digital industry clusters with international competitiveness.

China’s AI industry has entered a period of rapid development. According to data released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the core AI industry in China reached a scale of 508 billion yuan ($70.69 billion) in 2022, an increase of 18 percent year-on-year. Preliminary statistics indicate that the scale reached 578.4 billion yuan in 2023, with a growth rate of 13.9 percent.

China's chunyun for 2024 - the Spring Festival travel rush - will officially conclude on Tuesday. An estimated 9 billion passenger trips are expected to have been made during the 40-day rush, with bustling scenes seen across China from busy markets to hustling railway activity, which are vivid displays of economic vitality.

The consumption boom during the Spring Festival holidays coupled with thriving trade cooperation represented by the uninterrupted China-Europe freight train services will significantly contribute to the country's steady economic growth in the first quarter of 2024, with sustained momentum for the rest of the year, observers said.

On Sunday alone, 182.45 million trips were made, up 14.4 percent year-on-year and up 4.5 percent compared with the same period in 2019, official data showed. During the first 33 days of the holiday, 7.02 billion trips were made, and cargo transportation remained efficient and orderly, Transport Minister Li Xiaopeng told a press conference on February 28.

The strong consumption rebound during the holidays promoted the revival of involved industries and will significantly support GDP growth for the first quarter, Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.

Wang said that booming holiday consumption has laid a solid foundation for driving up the economy's development for the whole year while boosting market confidence.

The spending power on display during the holidays is still a major potential growth point for continued economic development, Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Monday.

Both Wang and Cong highlighted the growing demand for consumption upgrading as Chinese consumers now pursue high-quality products with elevated services and experiences and are relatively less price sensitive.

The upgrading demand will inspire market players to ramp up product and service quality for sustained operations in the long term.

Analysts pointed to the integration of the cultural, sports and tourism sectors as another new engine for propelling holiday consumption, on top of the already booming domestic and international tourism.

From diverse Spring Festival celebrations combining China's intangible cultural heritage with local attractions to the 14th National Winter Games boosting ice-snow consumption, the integration of the cultural, sports and tourism sectors led to fruitful and innovative results during the holidays, Jiang Yiyi, a deputy head of the School of Leisure Sports and Tourism at Beijing Sport University, said on Monday.

During the eight-day Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, 474 million domestic trips were made, up 34.3 percent year-on-year, and the total domestic tourism spending jumped by 47.3 percent year-on-year to about 632.69 billion yuan ($87.88 billion), according to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Jiang attributed the continuous expansion in tourism to rising outbound tourism, and China's strengthened efforts and stepped-up policy support underscored the country's firm determination to promote high-quality opening-up.

In a latest move, the mutual visa-exemption agreement between China and Thailand officially took effect on Friday, with bookings for two-way travel surging on the same day.

"China retains its strength as a major global market with huge spending power. Achieving success in the Chinese market first will be the foundation for foreign players to claim global success," Cong said, adding that the Chinese market has stepped up its competitiveness.

International cargo trade during the holidays thrive. For instance, customs at Manzhouli Port in Inner Mongolia inspected and cleared 94 China-Europe freight trains entering and exiting the border, up 17.5 percent from the Spring Festival holidays in 2023.
In 2023, some 17,000 China-Europe freight trains were dispatched, up 6 percent year-on-year, carrying 1.9 million containers, up 18 percent, Liu Ruiling, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said during an interview ahead of the opening of the second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing.

"More than 85,000 China-Europe cargo trains ran as of February this year, linking China with 217 cities and 25 countries in Europe," said Liu, who is also the general manager of the International Land Port in North China's Hebei Province.

Wang said that China would actively engage in more international economic cooperation and competition and diversify its cooperation partners, while consolidating international cooperation in emerging and innovative industries such as green finance.

China's leading digital economy with its large-scale data resources, diverse data types and rich application scenarios have provided advantages for the country's artificial intelligence (AI) sector, Qi Xiangdong, chairman of Qi An Xin Technology Group, who is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), told the Global Times on Friday.

Qi said that AI depends on data, and China's rapidly developing digital economy provides a large source of data. He added that the total scale of China's digital economy reached 50.2 trillion yuan ($6.97 trillion) in 2022, and the breadth and depth of digital integration in the real economy has expanded.

Qi An Xin launched China's first industrial-grade large-model security AI product - Q-GPT a cybersecurity robot - which has numerous practical applications, Qi said.

Qi noted that he looks forward to the country accelerating the integration of cybersecurity and AI technology, promoting the application of innovative products in the field of "AI + security," and continuously improving China's ability to cope with cybersecurity risks and uncertainties.

Technical workers assemble DC charging piles for electric vehicles in a factory in the Hefei Circular Economy Demonstration Park in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province, on February 28, 2024. Photo: VCG