Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing on Wednesday to attend the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima and pay a state visit to Peru at the invitation of President of the Republic of Peru Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra.

Xi will deliver an important speech at the meeting to elaborate on China's important measures to deepen reform and opening up and propositions on advancing Asia-Pacific cooperation. China stands ready to work with other parties to deliver on the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 in an all-round and balanced way, strive for positive outcomes of this meeting, provide new impetus for advancing regional economic integration and promoting the growth of Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world, and jointly build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said on November 8.  

Lima, the capital of Peru, has officially entered the "APEC moment," with billboards on the streets promoting the theme of the meeting - "Empower. Include. Grow." - and flags of APEC economies flying high in front of key event venues. 

Reflecting the deep bond between China and Peru, locals were quick to share their connections to China and extend warm welcome to Chinese guests once they heard reporters are from China. An APEC Peru 2024 worker at Lima's Jorge Chavez International Airport told the Global Times his grandmother was Cantonese, and although he hasn't been to China, he feels "close to China."

Another hotel staff member named Sergio told the Global Times that China is seen as a very friendly country in Peru with a rich historical tradition, and he added that he enjoys watching Chinese kung fu films.

In interviews with the Global Times on Tuesday local time, APEC officials and locals in Peru voiced strong expectations for the upcoming leaders' meeting to explore and enhance cooperative opportunities in the Asia Pacific region. Many also showed significant interest in China's proposals to be raised at the meeting, given the country's influential role in regional cooperation.

"This is a pivotal year. There's an expectation to see meaningful advancements on key issues," Carlos Kuriyama, director of the APEC Policy Support Unit, told the Global Times at the media center on Tuesday, emphasizing that while trade flows among some Asia Pacific economies remain robust, various challenges require joint efforts to address. 

During the discussions, leaders from APEC's 21 member economies, which together account for almost two-thirds of world GDP and half of global trade, will tackle core challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region, including climate change, sustainable energy solutions, digital economy transition, and trade facilitation. Leaders and ministers will discuss policies that could help economies overcome these current challenges while promoting innovation and inclusiveness, an APEC official statement said. 

Kuriyama highlighted China's important role in Asia Pacific as well as global cooperation. "China's role is very important, not just in APEC, but for whole world," noting that China is advocating for the free, open trade, citing China's free trade agreement with Peru as a model. 

In the first ten months of 2024, China's trade with other APEC economies achieved a historic level of 21.27 trillion yuan ($2.94 trillion), making up 59.1 percent of China's total trade value during the same period, according to official data on Wednesday.   

"We are very excited to see new possibilities of investment here in Peru. I think that's the main interest that we have," Juan Aurelio Arévalo Miró Quesada, editor-in-chief of El Comercio, a Peruvian newspaper, told the Global Times at the APEC media center in Lima on Tuesday.

"We always had a very close relationship with China," pointing to historical background of Chinese immigration to Peru, cultural exchanges and diverse Chinese investments across various fields. "So, we are very close to China."

Unique value

As one of the most influential and extensive multilateral cooperation platforms in the Asia-Pacific region, APEC was established in 1989 with the goal of enhancing trade openness and fostering sustainable economic growth.

According to Marco Balarezo, Peru's ambassador to China, an expected turnout of 5,000 delegates at the APEC Leaders' Meeting, 1,200 CEOs and leaders in the APEC CEO Summit which may be among the largest gatherings in the history of APEC, per CGTN. 

Liu Chenyang, director of the APEC Study Center of Nankai University in Tianjin, told the Global Times that Peru has prioritized empowering vulnerable economic actors in their transition from informal to formal participation in the global economy, the first time in history.

This reflects a strong call from emerging economies for inclusive development, and places greater prominence on enhancing the integration of vulnerable economic actors into formal economic frameworks such as regional economic cooperation and economic globalization, Liu said.

Wang Youming, director of the Institute of Developing Countries at the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing, said that the APEC gives developed and developing countries a unique opportunity for extensive engagement, and creates a valuable platform for exchange to address critical global challenges across economic, financial, and industrial sectors.

Emerging economies and developed countries have different perspectives and respective concerns on global affairs and pacing challenges, Wang said, "Through exchanges at the multilateral mechanism, there is an opportunity to reach consensus and jointly find ways to solve problems."

Taking the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting as an opportunity, China stands ready to remain committed to upholding true multilateralism and open regionalism, create more opportunities for Asia-Pacific partners with high-quality development and high-standard opening up, and work with others to build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future featuring openness and inclusiveness, innovative growth, connectivity, and win-win cooperation, said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Wednesday at a regular press briefing. 

Growing role

Beyond the diplomatic sphere, the Chinese business community places significant emphasis on economic cooperation within the Asia-Pacific region.

Zhang Shaogang, Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), told the Global Times the CCPIT is leading a substantial business delegation to participate in the APEC CEO Summit in Peru.

According to Zhang, the delegation includes over 120 representatives from more than 60 Chinese companies across various sectors such as infrastructure construction, energy, finance, bio technology, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and international trade.

With this visit, the Chinese business delegation aims to advocate for an open Asia-Pacific economy, explore pathways to advance sustainable development in the region; and share thoughts and ideas on shaping next-generation rules for AI, digital trade, green development, and other emerging sectors, Zhang said.

"We hope APEC economies prioritize these policy recommendations to embody open regionalism genuinely. It is also very essential for some economies to refrain from building walls and erecting barriers and focus on creating fair, and favorable conditions for regional business cooperation," Zhang said. 

According to the Ministry of Commerce, China's trade with APEC economies reached $3.74 trillion in 2022, accounting for 59.7 percent of China's overall trade. Eight of China's top 10 trading partners are APEC economies.

China is the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. A total of 15 APEC economies have signed free trade agreements with China.

Some analysts pointed out that from an early participant in globalization, China has become an active facilitator or even a leading one.

Joining APEC's market opening mechanism is a milestone for China's integration into regional cooperation and the continuous promotion of high-level opening up. In turn, it has also provided enormous opportunities for the economic and trade development of the entire Asia-Pacific region. And that makes APEC a practical platform for building a community with a shared future for mankind.

"The key advantage of APEC is that it brings together both the Global North and South, serving as a forum that links them, especially the US, China and Russia. APEC isn't just about the Global South. It includes a large number of countries from the Global South, but also from other parts of the world. There isn't another organization quite like it that brings regional cooperation in this way," Jayant Menon, a senior fellow at the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told the Global Times. 

Theo Schunck, Executive Secretary of the Instituto Rio Metropole, told the Global Times that emerging economies play a crucial role in APEC meetings, as they can bring innovative perspectives and solutions to global challenges, and represent a significant share of global economic growth. 

They bring a new dynamic to the world economy, promoting innovation, inclusive growth and sustainability, Schunck said. 

An unmanned combat system of robo-wolves, or quadrupedal robots, developed by China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC), has attracted wide attention with its cutting-edge design and advanced combat concepts at this year's Airshow China being held in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province.

Reporters from the Global Times on Sunday interacted with these quadrupedal robots at the Airshow's ground dynamic display area. After the field vehicle carrying quadrupedal robots was parked, a number of these types of robots got off the vehicle themselves and began interacting with the GT reporters following the commander's instructions.

The Global Times learnt from the CSGC that these robo-wolves are named for their ability to perform in cluster operations like wolves. They are capable of providing integrated cluster combat tactics for special operations detachments and infantry detachments.

These quadrupedal robots, based on a general-purpose platform, feature high mobility and adaptability in complex terrains. They are equipped with capabilities such as walking alongside people, overcoming high obstacles and climbing stairs in complex terrains, and can walk in most terrains.

With a total weight of 70 kilograms, robo-wolves enable applications in multifunctional and various scenarios by equipping various payloads, a staff member from CSGC told the Global Times on Sunday.

The staff member said that they are currently developing a new mode for air-ground collaborative operations in unmanned clusters based on groups of ground-based robo-wolves and airborne drones. The robo-wolves can also carry drones to operate jointly, the staff added.

The cluster system of robo-wolves consists of multiple types of bionic quadrupedal robots, including integrated strike quadrupedal robots, reconnaissance and detection quadrupedal robots, transport quadrupedal robots, and operation and disposal quadrupedal robots, the Global Times learned. These quadrupedal robots are capable of performing complex clearance tasks in town streets, factories, mines, caves and other scenarios in a coordinated manner.

The system is composed of a carrier or control vehicle, coupled with a number of multi-type quadrupedal robots.

This time, the GT reporter had an opportunity to see a formation formed by two integrated strike-type quadruped robots, one reconnaissance and detection-type quadruped robot, and one transport-type quadruped robot. It supports a combat radius of up to two kilometers, an endurance of up to three hours, and a maximum of 30 self-organizing network nodes.

Using the cluster warfare concept, this system enables interconnectivity, information sharing and dynamic autonomous collaboration among humans, vehicles, and robots. The system also possesses an integrated unmanned combat capabilities in complex environments for investigation, combat, destruction, evaluation and protection.

In addition, the system provides effective solutions to the problems associated with poor communication capability, weak assault capability, limited access, weak cross-layer mobility and weak single-unit combat effectiveness in the complicated environments like urban areas and plateau mountains, which in turn enables the special forces and infantry detachments to be provided with clustered and integrated combat tactics.

"If there were eight Swiss rolls, how would you share them?" This question has been put to Chinese husbands by their wives over recent days, sparking buzz online. 

The story started with a video posted by a blogger online. In the video, the blogger said that there was a box of Swiss rolls at home totaling 8, and her daughter, son, and husband each ate two. Later that night, after the children had gone to bed, the blogger decided to eat the remaining two Swiss rolls, but before she could take a bite, her husband criticized her. 

The reason for the criticism, according to her, was that her husband suggested that parents should set an example by eating more regular meals and fewer snacks, and that if she ate the last ones, the kids would miss out.

Once the video gained attention, many netizens used the story to playfully 'interrogate' their husbands, leading to a flood of humorous responses.

"If the Swiss rolls are delicious, I wouldn't even know there was a box, and if they're awful, I'd eat seven and a half myself," one husband joked in response. 

Meanwhile, some independent women suggested in the comment thread, "be financially independent with yourself to buy whatever you want."

After the video went viral, many online speculated that the clip was staged to gain attention. The blogger posted on Sunday that she and her husband have had some recent arguments, but insisted the video was genuine.

Campaign of Donald Trump said that the former US president has accepted the invitation from incumbent President Joe Biden to meet at the White House to discuss the transition of presidential power, after Trump was elected as president of the US, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Thursday.

The specific date for the meeting between Trump and Biden has not yet been announced, but a spokesperson for Trump's campaign indicated that the meeting "will take place very soon" and noted that Trump "greatly appreciates" the congratulatory phone call from Biden on Wednesday, according to CCTV.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Wednesday delivered a concession speech at Howard University in Washington, DC, saying that she is proud of the campaign and stressing that "when we lose an election, we accept the results," Xinhua reported.

The vice president emphasized the importance of accepting the election results. She confirmed that she had spoken with Trump and congratulated him on his victory, noting that her administration would facilitate a peaceful transfer of power. 

US Justice Department officials have been evaluating how to wind down the two federal criminal cases against Trump before he takes office to comply with long-standing department policy that a sitting president can't be prosecuted, two people familiar with the matter tell NBC News, CCTV reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he had a phone call with Trump, and both sides agreed to maintain close dialogue and develop cooperation, according to CCTV. 

Amid ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, Chinese experts at a seminar on Tuesday highlighted illegal claims by nations like the Philippines, along with external interventions and provocations against China, as key sources of instability and turbulence in the region. Some noted the risk of a large-scale conflict in the South China Sea remains low, but they predicted that the Philippines may continue low-intensity maritime frictions with China during the US' government's transition period after the presidential election.

What are the root causes of the current instability in the South China Sea? Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, attributed it to three main factors: first, the US has openly picked sides on the issue, standing against China; second, some claimant countries are trying to solidify their interests via illegal ways; and third, the 2016 South China Sea Arbitration ruling has almost completely denied China's reasonable claims of its rights in the South China Sea.

Hu Bo, director of South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI), said that China's claims to sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea have remained consistent since 1947. Since the late 1990s, China's policy has focused on "shelving differences" and maintaining the status quo. "If there has been any change, it is in China's enhanced capability and resolve to protect its rights, so it can launch stronger countermeasures against external provocations. If the parties concerned cannot shelve differences, peace in the South China Sea remains elusive," the expert said at the forum organized by Beijing-based think tank SCSPI.

Scholars believe that US' intervention and its intensifying military deterrence are significant contributors to regional turmoil. Since 2009, US policy has shifted from relative neutrality to direct involvement in South China Sea disputes, particularly under the "Pivot to Asia," rebalance to Asia, and "Indo-Pacific strategy," which have increased US military presence in the region. "It is an objective fact that the South China Sea was generally more stable from the end of the Cold War until 2009, when US attention was minimal," Hu argued.

ASEAN countries possess unique wisdom for managing territorial sovereignty and maritime rights disputes, prioritizing regional peace and stability through conflict prevention and management approaches. This approach aligns with China's traditional methods in handling international disputes, as noted by Lei Xiaolu, a professor of law with the China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies.

Experts also highlighted numerous fallacies in the 2016 arbitration ruling regarding treaty interpretation and evidence assessment. Zheng Zhihua, an associate Professor at the Japan Research Center of Shanghai Jiaotong University, pointed out that it distorted the nature of territorial sovereignty disputes and failed to resolve the issues between China and the Philippines, exacerbating tensions instead.

Scholars assessed the future situation in the South China Sea, particularly during the US government transition period. Hu believes the situation is less tense than portrayed by some countries and media, and a large-scale conflict is unlikely in the foreseeable future, indicating a room for consensus between China and the US on the South China Sea issue. The Philippines aims to exploit US-China strategic competition, but its attempts to draw the US to help Manila infringe on China's rights have not gained significant traction in the US, according to Hu.

Ding Duo, a deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Law and Policy at the China Institute for South China Sea Studies, predicts that during the US government transition period, the Philippines may continue with "low-intensity" maritime frictions with China, and its negative rhetoric against China is expected to continue.

The Philippine military opened two weeks of combat drills on Monday that will include "seizing an island in the disputed South China Sea." More than 3,000 Filipino army, navy and air force personnel take part in the maneuvers, which include live-fire drills using artillery and assault rifles and beach landing drills, the Voice of America reported.

Wu told the Global Times that the Philippines' maneuvers could be interpreted as a significant "face-saving gesture" in light of the withdrawal of its Coast Guard vessel 9701 from the Xianbin Jiao in the South China Sea. The scholar suggested that while such small-scale military exercises in the region do not pose a direct threat to China, it is essential to remain vigilant against potential security risks. 

"The South China Sea is not without military activity, but the Philippines should avoid politicizing its military activities, and should not use peace maintenance as a pretext to advance its own interests," Hu told the Global Times. 

Finnish President Alexander Stubb kicked off his four-day state visit to China on Monday. Juha Tuominen, chairman of Finncham China Beijing, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on Monday that the visit will definitely boost cooperation, including collaboration in sustainability, between Finnish and Chinese companies.

Stubb arrived in Beijing on Monday afternoon, which also marked the day of the 74th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, China Central Television reported. 

China and Finland have been steadily advancing their relations as the pair decided to establish a new type of future-oriented partnership in 2017, which was unique in China's foreign relations. 

Stubb will discuss bilateral relations as well as the war between Russia and Ukraine and other security issues, his office said in a statement, Reuters reported.

In recent years, in particular, China has made notable strides in green transformation and the digital economy, areas in which Finland hopes to draw lessons from China's experience, Wang Yiwei, a professor at the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Monday. 

As a country that has long prioritized green initiatives and climate change response, its policy focus aligns with China's proposal to develop new productive forces, thus creating significant opportunities for collaboration, Wang said.

The Finnish business community sees this state visit as an important signal on trade relations between the two countries, and "it will definitely boost cooperation between Finnish and Chinese companies as well," Tuominen said.

China remains an important market for Finnish companies, Tuominen said, noting that the collaboration in sustainability between Finnish and Chinese companies is an important area for both sides. 

Also, Finnish companies from other industries such as healthcare, digitalization and consumer products see the Chinese market as one of the important markets for international expansion, the chamber head said.

Stubb's visit is the first since Finland joined NATO in April last year, becoming the group's 31st member. While elaborating on whether the move will have an impact on China-Finland ties, Wang said China hopes Finland remains vigilant against the dangerous trend of an eastward expansion by the group, which undermines the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific. Helsinki is expected to play a unique role in this regard by engaging in more constructive dialogue with China and serving as a bridge to curb such a dangerous trend, he noted. 

China’s top cyberspace regulator announced Thursday the launch of a two-month nationwide campaign to address illegal and harmful content on local online discussion platforms, particularly those hyping extreme incidents and disasters and spreading rumors and misinformation about public policies and social issues. 

The special campaign will regulate content and services across diverse areas including social networking, short videos, livestreaming, e-commerce, search engines, group buying reviews on local online platforms and within mobile applications, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement released on its official WeChat account on Thursday. 

The cyberspace watchdog will tackle negative content and online behaviors that spread hostility online such as using local hot topics related to housing, education, healthcare and food safety to hurl malicious insults, slander, and stigmatize regions, professions, and groups, promoting negative emotions including pessimism and fear to incite group antagonism. 

According to CAC, the authority will target the sensationalizing of occasional extreme incidents, heatedly discussed events, disasters and accidents, events forcibly linked to history or labeled with specific regions, remarks promoting biased or discriminatory views to stir regional tensions. 

Meanwhile, the special campaign will also crack down on online rumors and misinformation related to public policies and social welfare, fabricated disasters, accidents, and incidents designed to spark public panic. 

According to the CAC, when local emergency events occur, some people distort or fabricate the causes, details and developments of the incidents to produce sensational conspiracy theories. Some even impersonate parties involved in the incidents, relatives, or other related personnel to publish false information, seeking attention from the netizens. They create tragic personas, fabricate distressing stories, and stage videos of tragic experiences to exploit public sympathy. 

Besides, the explicit and vulgar content such as posts, images, short videos and livestreaming with clear sexual innuendoes or provocative language will also be regulated by the cyberspace watchdog. Content such as explicit novels, animation and provocative pictures with real models to promote adult products will be cleared up.

Moreover, the cyberspace watchdog will crack down on illegal and criminal activities such as prostitution and swindling that induce online users via mobile applications through online groups, QR codes and social networking accounts in the name of matchmaking, dating, offline companionship, travel partners, massage service and rental information.  

In addition, the special campaign will also regulate paid review services. Such activities include hiring people to create ratings and reviews and coordinating bulk positive reviews to manipulate rankings to fake popularity among products, catering services and hotels.

The CAC emphasized that cyberspace regulators in localities should fully recognize the importance of this campaign in ensuring a healthier online ecosystem and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of internet users. 

Foreign intelligence agencies have been conducting remote sensing detection on China through high-precision satellites, with the intention of observing and stealing secrets from space in recent years, China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) revealed on Wednesday.

"Space security represents a frontier in the expansion of national security from traditional domains to emerging fields in the new era. It is a crucial aspect of safeguarding national strategic interests and demonstrating national security capabilities," the MSS said in an article published on its official WeChat account on Wednesday. 

It stressed that space security holds significant and far-reaching strategic and overall importance for defending the country's sovereignty, safety and development interests. 

The MSS stated that intelligence agencies of certain countries have conducted infiltration activities toward China's aerospace sector, using bribery, networking and coercion to target Chinese researchers. Their objective is to steal the cutting-edge advancements in aerospace technology.

The national security agencies, together with relevant departments, have investigated and dealt with several illegal cases in which the cutting-edge advancements in the aerospace field were stolen through bribery, coercion and manipulation, effectively dealing a blow to foreign intelligence agencies, according to the MSS.

As space technology becomes increasingly mastered by more countries and private entities, the security landscape in the realm of space has undergone significant changes. 

In the past, high-precision satellites with intelligence and reconnaissance value were controlled by only a few government agencies, which limited the scope of intelligence they could gather. 

Nowadays, however, many commercial entities possess high-resolution optical satellites, as well as satellites capable of capturing data across other spectrums, which can obtain intelligence images comparable to military-grade imagery from the Cold War era, Wang Yanan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

These entities may not be directly governed by any military, but they can be utilized by government agencies through commercial contracts. This means that the direction of such intelligence information can become quite complex, Wang said. 

Moreover, the platforms for these satellites to capture images in orbit have a very broad range, allowing for continuous global coverage 24/7. This means that nations are now facing a substantial shift in the security situation, the expert noted. 

Therefore, national security organs need to adapt their handling of related affairs in response to these changes.

From a technical standpoint, a comprehensive prevention of such open-source intelligence is quite challenging. "Like deploying an eye suspended at hundreds of kilometers high, potentially disguised as a commercial satellite, it would be difficult to employ strong countermeasures or to cover all areas extensively," Wang said. 

One feasible approach is to move certain activities involving national secrets indoors, while more targeted preventive measures will need to be studied to improve its efficiency.

Observers added that in light of these new circumstances and challenges, the awareness of national security prevention needs to be adjusted accordingly. 

There should be a re-evaluation and classification of security information, focusing security resources on the most critical and valuable intelligence rather than broadly scattering resources across a wide area, which may yield diminishing returns in the new context, Wang said. 

Space is increasingly becoming a key area for economic growth, military conflicts and national security. Major powers around the world have all placed growing significance on the development of space.

As a result, the competition for space resources is growing increasingly intense, as space exploration confronts a scarcity of orbital and spectrum resources. High-speed debris, including abandoned satellites and rocket remnants, is proliferating in space, heightening the risk of a collision with a spacecraft, said the MSS.

The arms race in space is also intensifying, with some Western countries establishing space combat forces and honing their space operational capabilities, often positioning China as their primary competitor in this domain. 

They promote theories of space dominance and engage in an arms race, exerting considerable effort to suppress and contain China, thereby threatening the peaceful environment in space, according to the MSS.

Yu Huaying, who was accused of child trafficking, was sentenced once again to death on Friday by Intermediate People's Court of Guiyang in Southwest China's Guizhou Province in the first-instance verdict of a retrial.

Yu was also deprived of her political rights for life, and had her personal property confiscated, per the verdict. According to reports from The Paper, victims and their relatives, including Yang Niuhua and Chen Jianghai, attended the hearing to listen to the verdict.

The court verdict stated that evidence regarding Yu's abduction and trafficking of 17 children are clear. Yu engaged in premeditated child trafficking, seeking opportunities to find children in Guizhou, Yunnan provinces and Chongqing Municipality. After committing the crimes, she quickly transferred the children to Handan in North China's Hebei, where they were sold through intermediaries. The means of committing the crimes were highly consistent, and through repeated trafficking over a long period of time, a complete criminal chain of child trafficking was formed.

The evidence in the case confirmed that Yu played a pivotal role and was the principal perpetrator and should be punished according to all the crimes she participated in, per the court.

The court also said Yu was captured in 2004 by public security authorities for abducting children in Yunnan. At that time, she was using a fake identity and did not confess to her crimes. She was sentenced under the false ID to eight years. In June 2022, after being arrested by the public security authorities of Guiyang again, Yu still did not voluntarily confess to the criminal facts and showed no signs of remorse.

The defendant Yu Huaying trafficked 17 children, resulting in the separation of 12 families and the severing of familial bonds. The parents of the 17 children have endured years of hardship in their search for their children. After failing to find them, some parents succumbed to depression to death, while others experienced broken marriages and shattered families, according to the court verdict.

The consequences of Yu's crimes are particularly severe and should be punished harshly according to the law. Although the defendant pleaded guilty in court and showed some signs of remorse, this is not sufficient to warrant a lighter sentence. There is insufficient evidence to confirm whether Yu abused the children during the trafficking, but this does not affect the sentence of Yu, according to the verdict.

Yu's case has captured nationwide attention since she was arrested again in 2022.

In September 2023, the Guiyang Intermediate People's Court had initially sentenced Yu Huaying to death for the crime of child trafficking, noting that the circumstances were particularly severe and had a particularly negative impact. On November 28, 2023, the case was heard in the second instance at the Guizhou Provincial High People's Court.

On January 8, 2024, the High People's Court of Guizhou Province made a second-instance ruling in the case of Yu Huaying, sending it back for retrial. The court found that the original judgment had overlooked other criminal facts related to Yu's child trafficking, and some facts were unclear.

On October 11, 2024, the retrial of Yu's child trafficking case was held, during which the prosecution increased the number of children allegedly trafficked by Yu from 11 to 17. The prosecuratorate recommended a death sentence for Yu, according to media reports.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Tuesday afternoon inspected Dongshan County in Zhangzhou City, east China's Fujian Province.

He visited Aojiao Village of Chencheng Township, the Gu Wenchang memorial hall and the Guandi cultural industrial park.

During the visits, Xi learnt about local efforts to advance rural revitalization across the board, carry forward the revolutionary traditions and strengthen the protection of cultural heritage.