Small Chinese towns nourish global economy Graphic Analysis: GT

With the sown area of summer grain remaining stable and the yield per unit area increasing, the summer grain harvest in 2024, which increased by 2.5 percent year-on-year, has laid a solid foundation for stable grain production throughout the year, further enabling China to realize its grain output goal and providing support for sustained economic development.

China's output of summer grain totaled 149.78 million tons in 2024, an increase of 3.627 million tons, or 2.5 percent, over 2023 levels, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Friday.

Among them, wheat output stood at 138.22 million tons, an increase of 2.7 percent, or 3.658 million tons, over 2023. Summer grain is the first season of annual grain production in China, a bulk of which is winter wheat.

China has been an active participant in the international agricultural market. In the first half of 2024, China imported $109.54 billion worth of agricultural products, according to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs on Friday.

The sown area for summer grain remained stable at 26.613 million hectares, an increase of 45,000 hectares over 2023. The output of summer grain per unit area was 5,628 kilograms per hectare, an increase of 135.4 kilograms per hectare or 2.5 percent over 2023. Among which, wheat yield per unit area was 5985.8 kilograms per hectare, an increase of 2.6 percent, according to NBS data.

The latest harvest statistics mean that China has completed 23 percent of its annual grain output target - which is set at 1.3 trillion jin (650 million tons).

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the summer grain output accounts for one-fifth, or 20 percent, of annual grain output.

China has always placed food security high on its economic agenda.

China's summer grain harvest in 2024 laid a solid foundation for stable grain production throughout the year, and provided solid support for consolidating and enhancing the good trend of economic recovery and continuously promoting high-quality development, Wang Guirong, an official from the NBS, said on Friday, as posted on NBS website.

In recent years, China has stepped up efforts to protect and develop arable land and stabilized the sown area. These efforts have yielded sustained results and laid a solid foundation for food security, Li Guoxiang, a research fellow at the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Analysts also believe that the increase in harvest and the yield per unit area is largely attributed to the application of new technologies in the farming sector, as China emphasizes the role of scientific and technological development in ensuring food security and promoting rural revitalization.
Aided by increased contributions from agricultural machinery and technology, China has secured a grain harvest of over 650 million tons for the ninth consecutive year in 2023, Xinhua News Agency reported.

In recent years, China has vigorously strengthened scientific and technological innovation and application, and the contribution rate of agricultural scientific and technological progress has increased from 54.5 percent in 2012 to more than 63 percent at present, according to media reports.

Editor's Note:
As the Chinese economy has faced challenges in recent years, some Western officials and media pundits have stepped up their smear campaign against China. They cherry-pick information and distort facts to hype their narratives such as "Peak China," but they always turn a blind eye to China's economic resilience and development potential. In order to set the record straight, the Global Times is launching a multimedia project, including in-depth articles, objective analysis and visual arts, to present a comprehensive and true picture of the economy. This is the ninth installation of the series.
Six mega hydropower stations along the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River -Wudongde, Baihetan, Xiluodu, Xiangjiaba, Three Gorges, and Gezhouba - form the world's largest clean-energy corridor, which spans over 1,800 kilometers with a water level drop exceeding 900 meters.

Now, a total of 110 hydroelectric generators are operational in the corridor, which supplies green electricity to Chinese manufacturers and households, setting a good example of sustainable development for other parts of the world in the low-carbon and green transition.

The Global Times recently made a visit to the Gezhouba Dam and the Three Gorges Dam to discover how China's hydropower sector started from scratch to become a global leader.

The Gezhouba Hydropower Station, located in Yichang, Central China's Hubei Province, was the first large-scale water control project on the main artery of the Yangtze River and was a milestone of China's hydropower generation. The first group of generator units was commissioned in 1981 and it has operated for more than 40 years safely.

By 2021, the 40th anniversary of the operation of Gezhouba Hydropower Station, the cumulative power generation exceeded 600 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), data from China Yangtze Power Co revealed.

The volume of green electricity generated is equivalent to replacing 182.94 million tons of standard coal, reducing carbon dioxide by 499.2 million tons, sulfur dioxide by 96,000 tons, and nitrogen oxide by 107,400 tons, the Global Times has learned.

The power station now possesses 21 power units with a total installed capacity of 2.777 million kilowatts (kW) and an average annual power generation of 15.7 billion kWh, according to official data.

The Gezhouba Hydropower Station continues to play a pivotal role in improving the energy structure in Central China, mitigating the pressure on coal and oil supply, and stepping up the safe operation of power grids in Central China and East China.

Mega water project

After nearly half a century of planning and construction, the world's largest clean-energy corridor was completed in December 2022, with the Baihetan Hydropower Station, located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in Southwest China, becoming fully operational.

"The water from the Yangtze River passes through six hydropower stations in turn, which means that every drop of water level is used to produce electricity six times," a manager of the operator at the Baihetan hydropower station told the Global Times.

The manager said that one cubic meter of water can produce 0.25 kWh of green electricity through the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Power Station. With the joint operation of all six hydropower stations, up to 2 kWh of electricity can be produced by one cubic meter of water, which increases operational efficiency by eight-fold.

The total installed capacity of the six hydropower stations has already hit 71.695 million kilowatts, producing about 300 billion kWh of clean electricity annually, which can meet the annual electricity demand of 360 million people, the Global Times has learned.

By February 2024, the cumulative power generation of the six mega hydropower stations exceeded 3.5 trillion kWh, equivalent to saving more than 1 billion tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide by more than 2.8 billion tons, providing strong momentum for China's economic development.

According to calculations based on 713.7 kWh of electricity consumed for every 10,000 yuan of GDP created, the six cascade hydropower stations have created more than 48 trillion yuan ($6.6 trillion) of output value for China's economic development, an industry insider told the Global Times.
Clean and sustainable

As of the end of April this year, China's cumulative installed power generation capacity has reached 3.01 billion kW, an increase of 14.1 percent year-on-year, well ahead of a forecast published in a report by the National Energy Administration (NEA) released in 2022, which said that it expected China's installed power generation capacity is likely to exceed 3 billion kW by the end of 2025.

Hydropower development is among China's ramped up efforts to accelerate the green transition. In recent years, China has devoted itself to boosting the use of sustainable and renewable new energy sources to replace fossil fuels, typically coal.

As a result, in 2023, the installed capacity of renewable energy generation in China historically exceeded that of thermal power generation, according to statistics from the NEA.

Electricity generated by renewable energy accounted for more than one-third of China's total electricity generation in 2023, as the replacement of fossil-fuel powered energy by renewable green energy sources has continued to advance.

The development of renewable energy in China not only provides a solid energy guarantee for domestic economic development, but also contributes Chinese expertise and solutions applicable for the global renewable energy development and other countries' green and low-carbon transformation, analysts said.

More than electricity

As the Yangtze River Basin has become an important part of electricity generation, in June 2023, the "Initiative of E-Yangtze River" was jointly released by the Ministry of Transport and 13 provinces and cities.

The initiative aims to help realize China's dual carbon targets - peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, and to accelerate the development of clean hydropower in the Yangtze River Basin, as well as renovation of the ships, ports and related industries along the river.

Many new-energy-powered vessels, such as pure electric, hydrogen-fueled and LNG-fueled ships, have been built and are now operating throughout the Yangtze River Basin.

For example, the Yangtze River Three Gorges 1, the world's largest pure electric cruise ship, began commercial operations in Hubei's Yichang on March 31, 2022.

The electric ship is seen being charged at the wharf overnight, with electricity generated from the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Power Station. It can travel 100 kilometers on a single charge, Ye Yong, general manager of the Tourism Development Division at the Three Gorges Tourism Group, the operator Yangtze River Three Gorges 1, told the Global Times.

"Electric ships can also act as huge mobile power banks that store electricity generated at non-peak hours. In the past, without efficient energy storage equipment, electricity generated at night was largely wasted," said Ye.

Aside from power generation, the dams along the Yangtze River also provide room for reverse regulation, navigation improvement and other comprehensive benefits.

The Global Times learned that the six cascade hydropower stations have raised water levels in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, allowing large cargo ships to enter waterways that were once too shallow to navigate.

In 2023, the Three Gorges hub in Hubei Province transported 172.34 million tons of cargo through water shipment, an increase of 7.95 percent year-on-year, setting a record high, the Global Times has learned.

The surveyed average urban unemployment rate in China came in at 5.1 percent in the first half of 2024, down 0.2 percentage points from the same period last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday.

The country's employment situation has maintained stability in the first half of 2024, a spokesperson with the NBS noted on Monday.

"Economic growth, especially continuous recovery in the labor-intensive services sector provides solid support for steadily expanding employment. Policies to prioritize employment continue to produce results, while the boom of emerging industries and new business models give a boost to new types of jobs," the spokesperson said.

Since the second quarter, the country's unemployment rate has stabilized at 5 percent, with wholesale and retail consumption, catering and hospitality, and transport and other service industries seeing gains in created jobs, the NBS data showed.

The artificial intelligence boom has led to significant increases in both job opportunities and compensation, as demand for tech talent remains high in China.

In the first half of the year, China's national per capita disposable income of households reached 20,733 yuan ($2,855), marking a nominal growth of 5.4 percent year-on-year. Real growth was 5.3 percent after deducting price factors, the data showed.

Employment has been a priority for the policymakers. This year, China aims to create over 12 million jobs in urban areas and keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate at about 5.5 percent.

The government has rolled out multiple measures to ensure a robust job market this year and provide more assistance to key groups, which includes college graduates and migrant workers.

In May, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security unveiled a plan to offer community-level jobs for 34,400 college graduates this year, including jobs in education, agriculture, medical care and other sectors.

China has invested 11.5 billion yuan so far this year to generate 250,000 jobs for rural residents, said the National Development and Reform Commission earlier.

With endeavors from all sectors of society, the 226-meter-long dike breach at Dongting Lake, China's second-largest freshwater lake in Central China's Hunan Province, was sealed on Monday night with the restoration work proceeding from both land and water.

Zhang Yingchun, an executive vice governor of Hunan Province, said during the briefing that great efforts have been made to proceed the repairs to the breach as quickly as possible, with 485 personnel as well as 3,180 dump trucks and 85 vessels of all types being put into use without interruption.

The restoration of the dike, which started on Saturday afternoon, has accelerated since Sunday morning after the water level differences in and outside the breach narrowed and the water flow slowed down.

Rescue forces dumped rocks and raw materials into the water from four barges that contain 2,000 cubic meters of rock, while also combining the river closure measures of transverse dumping and end dumping. With these methods, experts estimated that the dike can be rebuilt at a speed of 3-4 meters per hour, the equivalent of 60 meters to 80 meters each day.

As the repairs proceeded in an orderly manner, the gap narrowed and the water flow speeded up, which caused the dumped sand and gravel to be easily washed away, increasing the difficulty of plugging the gap, an employee from China Anneng Construction Group Corp Ltd, one of the main forces undertaking the repair operation, told the Global Times on Monday.

Zhang Lirong, chief engineer from Anneng added during the Monday briefing that the biggest difficulty is that the breach with a width of 226 meters and an average water depth of more than 10 meters constitute a significant amount of work with diversified blocking material sources and long distance of transportation.

To address these difficulties, blocking materials are dumped from both land and water routes and the traffic was coordinated to assure the transportation of the materials.

"We have developed a plan to simultaneously use land and water routes for dumping and blocking, based on the conditions of the site's roads and waterways. We are enhancing traffic guidance and on-site coordinated command, and optimizing the techniques for mixing and dumping various material sources," Zhang said.

These difficulties were soon resolved in an orderly manner, according to Zhang.

Two cases of dike piping were identified on Monday morning at the 14.35-kilometer-long embankment, viewed as "the second line of defense" located between the breached dike in Tuanzhou township and the next dike in southern Qianlianghu township.

The main function of the embankment is to prevent the next embankment area from being flooded by acting as a barrier when a breach or overflow occurs in the forefront dike.

PLA officers and soldiers in Hunan Province rushed to the scene to carry out the emergency operations, according to the China Central Television (CCTV) Military Report.

Several dump trucks carrying sand and gravel arrived at the scene in less than 15 minutes. In addition, large self-unloading barges quickly transported a large amount of rocks and raw materials to the section of dike where the piping occurred.

According to experts from Hunan Provincial Department of Water Resources, the piping has been brought under initial control through efforts made by more than 300 rescue personnel, including armed police and firefighters who conducted emergency operations under the guidance of experts from the provincial department of water resources.

The PLA Southern Theater Command Air Force on Sunday night dispatched more than 700 officers and soldiers and 46 vehicles to Yueyang to carry out flood control and rescue tasks. Moreover, the PLA air force carried out tasks of patrolling and enforcing the dikes and production and life resumption tasks.

China's Ministry of Water Resources on Monday conducted consultation analyses and assessed the rainfall, water conditions, and flood situations in the Yangtze River, Huaihe River, and Yishu River basins, maintaining the Level-III flood control emergency response for East China's Anhui and Jiangxi provinces and Central China's Hubei and Hunan provinces, maintaining the Level-IV flood control emergency response for Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, East China's Shandong and Jiangsu provinces and Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, CCTV reported on Monday.

It is expected within the next 24 hours, water levels in Luoshan section, Dongting Lake, Taihu Lake in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River will recede below warning levels whereas the water levels in Lianhuatang in Yueyang, the section between Jiujiang and Datong River, Poyang Lake and Xiushui county will remain above warning levels.

Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, has signed an order to commend an outstanding military unit and an individual.

Troop 92950 of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was honored with a first-class merit citation.

Liu Aijun of the Army Engineering University of the PLA was honored a third-class merit citation in defense-related science and technology.

The Two AIs: Artificial Intelligence and Artistic Intelligence forum, organized by the China Academy of Art, was held on Saturday in Shanghai. As an essential part of the 2024 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC 2024), the forum attracted scholars, artists and technical experts from around the globe to explore the deep integration of artificial intelligence and art.

This forum delved into the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and artistic intelligence and also showcased the achievements of the China Academy of Art in promoting interdisciplinary integration and industry-academia research collaboration.

"AI's threat to humanity still comes from humans themselves. Artificial intelligence is not designed to mimic humans, nor to replace them. It has its own future, which is diverse and open," said Gao Shiming, president of the China Academy of Art.

Gao emphasized that the more advanced AI becomes, the more humanity needs artistic intelligence.

The China Academy of Art announced its continued commitment to collaborating with various sectors of society to explore new paths for high-quality development, contributing to the sustainable development of AI globally.

Professor Zhang Zheng, director of Amazon Web Services' (AWS) Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Lab, discussed the challenges of artistic creation in the era of large models, highlighting the importance of critical thinking.

"Compared to AI, humans are driven by an innate curiosity that allows us to think more deeply and explore broader unknown territories. The key is to cultivate critical thinking," Zhang noted.

Other speakers addressed the symbiotic relationship between art and technology from a historical perspective, pointing out the current lack of artistic context in AI-generated works.

Some examined AI as a new medium, stressing the importance of balance and creative control. Others argued for the need to maintain human individuality in the AI era and cautioned against over-reliance on AI technology.

Editor Notes:

February 24, 2024 marked two years since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which now still shows no signs of abetting. How do ordinary Ukrainians live in the midst of the conflict? The Global Times recently interviewed several Ukrainians who said that while the supply of goods in Kiev is relatively adequate, many people have lost their jobs or seen a significant decline in income. Many have had to change their way of life to adapt to frequent air raids and explosions. The healthcare and education sectors have also been impacted.

Those interviewed in Ukraine said that the conflict has completely changed their lives and their outlook on the future. "Almost everyone around me has lost someone they love," said one interviewee. Another young Ukrainian woman said that she no longer thinks about the future because "tomorrow may never come."

This story is a part of the Global Times' "Witness to history" series, which features first-hand accounts from witnesses who were at the forefront of historic moments. From scholars, politicians and diplomats to ordinary citizens, their authentic reflections on the impact of historical moments help reveal a sound future for humanity through the solid forward steps taken in the past and the present.
After the outbreak of the conflict, Anna Smirnova and her husband moved from the countryside to the capital, Kiev, as they thought it would be relatively safer there. However, they still had to frequently seek shelter due to air raids, which have become a common occurrence over the last two years.

What's more dangerous, for her, is that "sometimes we are asleep and fail to hear the air raid alert in time, but the subsequent explosion wakes us up. Since we don't have time to get to the shelter, we can only lie on the floor, putting some pillows over and around us (as protection)," Smirnova told the Global Times.

She has lived in anxiety and fear every day for the last 700 days. Her experience is representative of many in Ukraine. After the outbreak of the conflict, almost all underground spaces in Kiev were converted into shelters, from larger city metro stations to smaller basement levels of office buildings and restaurants, according to media reports.

On January 2, humanitarians in Kiev counted over 30 explosions in the city alone, according to a UN report. According to a recent survey of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, children in cities in the frontline areas of Ukraine have spent between 3,000 and 5,000 hours equivalent to between four and almost 7 months - hiding in basements and underground metro stations over the last two years.

The conflict has also completely changed Smirnova's daily schedule. She is now more accustomed to sleeping during the day while remaining awake at night. She works from home in the early morning and at night, as during the daytime, she may have to stay in shelters.

"I started working from home after the beginning of the conflict, because I feel safer. My office is full of glass; this is quite dangerous when there is an attack or air alert, and people might get injured easily because of this office design," she said, adding that her current life and working style have greatly affected her health.

Despite facing constant danger, several interviewees in Kiev told the Global Times that the city's order is relatively stable, and there are no signs of shortages in the market, especially of food, vegetables, and other basic necessities. However, over the last two years, prices have increased significantly, while many people's incomes have decreased due to the impact of the conflict.

While Smirnova's salary remains constant, she has found that her purchasing ability has decreased as commodities become more expensive and the prices for many daily essentials and foods in supermarkets have roughly doubled compared to two years ago and continue to rise.

According to her, a dozen eggs that cost 30 Ukrainian hryvnias ($0.79) previously now cost 60 hryvnias. The same goes for bread. People dare not spend money as they did in peacetime. "Everyone wants to save some money because we are afraid of the future."

Anastasiia Kupryk, 22, is not as lucky as Smirnova. Kupryk now works at a skincare product store in a shopping mall in Kiev, but business has suffered, leading to a significant reduction in her income.

She told the Global Times that she now looks for extra work every day to earn more money, especially more stable work, but it is difficult to land such a job.

A Reuters report in February pointed out that a profound challenge for Kiev is that trying to recruit more people into the military could further damage the already war-ravaged economy.

Live in the moment

Before the outbreak, Kupryk lived in Borodyanka, a peaceful and beautiful small town in central northern Ukraine. In her eyes, it was once a peaceful and beautiful town, but now large areas of land have been reduced to ruins.

Her own home was destroyed in the bombings, and now she can only temporarily live in Kiev. Some of Kupryk's relatives still live in Borodyanka but their lives are much harder than before. People are also trying to do some reconstruction work, but progress is very slow, according to her.

In Borodyanka, she lost her mother and her ex-boyfriend, painful memories she still avoids touching upon to this day. "At that time, I couldn't do anything. I was powerless. Later, I realized that war is not just happening on the battlefield, among soldiers - it is a huge threat and pain to civilians," the young Ukrainian woman told the Global Times. "All of my friends and relatives have lost someone they love."

According to a study conducted by the World Bank, the United Nations, and the European Commission, some 3.7 million Ukrainians have been internally displaced by the fighting and another 5.9 million are still displaced outside of Ukraine. Many children have lost their opportunity for education due to the conflict. According to data from the UNICEF in August 2023, only about one-third of school-age children in Ukraine were able to attend school regularly, read a Reuters report.

The conflict has even profoundly changed the way people talk to each other.

Smirnova said that the topics among people on the streets are mainly about the conflict. In Kupryk's view, even the "atmosphere" in the city seems to have changed as tense emotions consume everyone and every conversation.

For Kupryk, aside from losing loved ones, the biggest change the war has brought is that she no longer plans for the future. "Now I only plan what to do 2 to 3 hours ahead every day. I don't even think about the whole day, let alone talk about a week, a month, or a year," she told the Global Times.

Before the conflict erupted, Smirnova and her husband had planned to have a child and renovate their apartment. However, both of these plans have been put on hold. In her view, investing in a house during wartime is very risky, and having a child is even more challenging because bringing a new life into this world means taking on enormous responsibility.

She is even afraid to take antidepressants again. "Shortly after the outbreak, I needed to take antidepressants, but the closure of many pharmacies made it difficult to buy these medications. The situation has improved a lot now, and in Kiev, it is not very difficult to buy basic medications other than antibiotics. But when the doctor suggested me continuing taking these medications, I dared not start the treatment again because I was afraid that one day, pharmacies would close again."

"It has completely changed my life," Smirnova said. "I now look at life from different angles. I live in the present because tomorrow may never come."
Grim peace prospect

"Ukraine, two years on: Exhaustion at home, fatigue abroad, but the fight continues," read a recent commentary piece in The Guardian.

"A year ago, there was still cautious optimism about the counteroffensive. But hopes of a breakthrough were dashed and Russia's capture of the eastern city of Avdiivka last week was its biggest gain since the capture of Bakhmut last May," the Guardian article went on to say.

The former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said recently that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has now entered a phase characterized by stalemate and attrition.

Analysts pointed out that the prolonged conflict in Ukraine has begun to wear on many Western nations, resulting in a divided stance on extending additional support to the country. The recent Palestinian-Israeli conflict has further diverted the attention of the West, especially the US, limiting their ability to prioritize the situation in Ukraine.

They pointed out that the upcoming US presidential elections in November are also seen as the biggest variable in the trajectory of the conflict.

A January survey conducted across 12 EU countries found that pessimism about the conflict's outcome was being fueled by Ukraine's failed counteroffensive. A recent Gallup poll found out that nearly half of the US public believes their country is spending too much on Ukraine.

A Pew Research Center survey released in December 2023 showed that the share of Americans who believe the US is giving "too much support to Ukraine" has grown steadily over the last two years, especially among Republicans.

The percentage of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who believe the US is providing too much aid to Ukraine has increased to 48 percent. This marks a slight uptick from June, when it was at 44 percent, and a significant increase from earlier stages in the war, according to the Pew report.

A 60-billion-US-dollar package of aid to Ukraine is currently stalled in US Congress by right-wing Republicans. EU countries reached an agreement in early February to offer Ukraine 50 billion euros in assistance. This deal was secured after Hungary withdrew its veto threats. However, transforming this dedication into readily accessible ammunition for soldiers on the front lines remains a challenge.

In February 2024, compared to October 2023, the percentage of Ukrainians who believe that the West is growing tired of Ukraine has increased from 30 percent to 44 percent, according to a survey from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology conducted from February 17 to 23, Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported.

However, the Ukrainians interviewed maintain a strong will to resist, even though they also understand the helplessness of the situation. They hope for assistance from the West, but many struggle to grasp the complex geopolitics behind the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

As the conflict in Ukraine drags on, it is not just Ukraine that is suffering. The longer the fighting continues, the more likely it will become a problem for the US as well. Rising energy, industrial, and commodity prices will impact people around the world. While the US may see temporary gains from arms and energy sales, in the long term, the US dollar could lose its strength and the country's global dominance could diminish, analysts noted to the Global Times.

"If one day, peace can come again, I hope to regain my previous aspirations. My husband and I will renovate our little home and have a child. We will strive to resume a complete life," Smirnova told the Global Times.

The collaboration between China and the European Union in the realm of climate change has seen significant advancements. This cooperation has increasingly become a highlight of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides, according to an official from China's top environmental authority on Sunday.

"Climate change is a common challenge facing all of humanity. Both China and the EU, as influential developing and developed economies, respectively, attach great importance to addressing climate issues," Pei Xiaofei, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), told the Global Times at the ministry's monthly press conference on Sunday.

The two sides have a solid foundation for climate cooperation. In recent years, they have issued joint statements on climate change, jointly initiated ministerial meetings on climate action, and signed and implemented a memorandum of understanding on enhancing carbon emission trading cooperation, conducting fruitful policy dialogues and practical cooperation. 

"Climate change cooperation has increasingly become a highlight of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Europe," he noted.

From April 8 to 11, a delegation representing climate envoys from the European Union and member states France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark successfully visited China. 

During their visit, Special Envoy Liu Zhenmin and Deputy Minister Zhao Yingmin met with their European counterparts to discuss the focal points of the multilateral climate process, respective climate policies and actions, and China-Europe climate cooperation, according to Pei.

"Both sides agreed to implement the important consensus of Chinese leaders, deepen climate dialogue and cooperation, and jointly promote global climate governance," he introduced.

In 2020, China and the EU decided to establish a China-EU High-level Environment and Climate Dialogue and a China-EU High-level Digital Cooperation Dialogue, and forge China-EU green and digital partnerships.

This action not only enriches the strategic content of China-EU cooperation but also provided a systematic framework for China and Europe to jointly address the challenges of the era, Pei said.

China is willing to work with Europe to deepen planning cooperation in areas such as international climate negotiations, carbon markets, climate adaptation, and climate finance, and to make a positive contribution to the global response to climate change, he said.

According to the Dutch Embassy in China, the envoys learned about the impacts of climate change on China and visited the State Grid Corporation of China to discuss challenges and solutions related to integrating renewable energy into the power grid. 

The embassy's report highlighted that this visit marked a crucial step in China-Europe climate diplomacy and laid the groundwork for successful future cooperation. Constructive and regular dialogue between the EU and China is deemed essential for enhancing mutual understanding.

China's climate envoy Liu, before the visit, told the Global Times at an event in South China's Hainan Province that "our exchanges aim to strengthen the sharing of experiences in responding to climate change. The dialogue between China, Europe, and the US mainly focuses on how to effectively maintain measures against climate change and the multilateral process of global climate change."

After the Philippines repeatedly denied the "Gentleman's Agreement" and was later refuted by China with solid evidence, Manila has started a new political performance. On Wednesday, around 200 people on board five commercial fishing vessels set off from the Philippines, sailing toward the waters of Huangyan Dao under the banner of "defending rights," with an expected arrival on Thursday. The Philippine government has dispatched coast guard ships to escort this so-called "civilian fleet," and some Western media outlets have quickly picked up the story. This well-coordinated and professional approach is something we have seen in several previous incidents where the Philippines has stirred up trouble in the South China Sea.

Before departing, the Philippine Coast Guard deliberately emphasized that they have "nothing to do with the Philippine government," while the organizers loudly proclaimed their actions to be "civilian" and "peaceful." Such strenuous preparation has just given themselves away, revealing they know well that the move to challenge Huangyan Dao is neither a civilian action nor a peaceful one. What they are truly doing is using Philippine "fishermen" as a backdrop to provoke incidents, attempting to interfere with the normal law enforcement of the China Coast Guard and the regular fishing activities of Chinese fishermen. At the same time, they aim to gain sympathy from the international community through Western media, smear China, and incite a new round of friction or even confrontation between China and the Philippines at Huangyan Dao.

Noticeably, the so-called "civilian organization" behind this activity is far from being genuinely civilian. Its spokesperson previously publicly stated that all of the organization's activities are supported by the Philippine military. Additionally, media reports have revealed that this organization is funded by relevant American institutions. Therefore, this show is actually another act in the US' Project Myoushu in the South China Sea. Through this project, the US aims to increase its interference in the South China Sea situation, smear the law-enforcement actions of the China Coast Guard, encourage relevant countries in the South China Sea region to adopt a tough stance against China, and undermine the peaceful situation that China and other regional countries have been striving to establish. Thus, although this organization deliberately downplays its political nature on its website, it is essentially a business deal between Filipino politicians and Washington.

Huangyan Dao has always been China's territory. China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Dao and its adjacent waters. China, as a party with absolute advantages in all aspects, has shown enough goodwill and patience toward the Philippines. China made a goodwill arrangement in 2016 for Filipino fishermen to fish with a small number of small fishing boats in the adjacent waters of Huangyan Dao, while China continues to oversee and monitor relevant activities of the Filipino fishermen in accordance with law. China has shown its utmost patience and tolerance toward the Philippines.

On one hand, the current Philippine government has accepted China's goodwill arrangement, but on the other hand, it greedily attempts to seize more benefits. It has used the urgent desire of the US to intervene in the South China Sea situation to support itself. China has always been against bullying small countries by big powers, but it will not accept any political blackmail from any country. Regarding the Philippines' show on Huangyan Dao, China has issued a clear warning: "If the Philippines abuses China's goodwill and infringes upon China's territorial sovereignty and jurisdiction, we will defend our rights and take countermeasures in accordance with the law. Relevant responsibilities and consequences shall be borne solely by the Philippines." China has always been low-key in its actions, but it will follow through with its words. Manila should understand and take in the meaning and weight of these words.

When Global Times reporters interviewed locals in the Philippines not long ago, many fishermen expressed unwillingness to participate in the Philippines' provocative actions against China. Even some US media outlets discovered during on-site interviews in the Philippines that local farmers praised a China-funded irrigation project. The outcome of the latest performance on Huangyan Dao is not difficult to predict: It will not have any impact on China's normal exercise of sovereignty on Huangyan Dao, but will only show the international community another act of lack of credibility by Manila. Not only does China see this clearly, but regional countries and the international community also see it very clearly. The current situation in the South China Sea is generally stable, and peace and cooperation are the mainstream in the region. In response to Manila's adventurism, other ASEAN countries have in general kept their distance.

There is an ancient Chinese saying: "A gentleman's acquaintance is as light as water, and a villain's acquaintance is as sweet as alcohol." Manila should carefully consider who is applauding its show in the South China Sea, giving it one sugar cube after another, and where these things that do not belong to it will ultimately push it.