Editor's Note:

Since 2012, China has witnessed an extraordinary economic transition, with historic achievements in all aspects of the economy from its size to quality. Such an unparalleled feat does not just happen, especially during a tumultuous period in the global geo-economic landscape and a tough phase in China's economic transformation and upgrading process. It was Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era that guided the country in overcoming various risks and challenges, and in keeping the China economic miracle alive.

As China embarked on the quest to become a great modern socialist country amid global changes unseen in a century, Xi's economic thought has been and will continue to be the guiding principle for development in China for years to come, and have great significance for the world. What is Xi's economic thought? What does it mean for China and the world?

To answer these questions, the Global Times has launched this special coverage on Xi's major economic speeches and policies, and how they are put into practice to boost development in China and around the world.
This year's two sessions - China's annual legislative and political consultative sessions - officially concluded on Monday, after national lawmakers and political advisers spent a week or so, on mapping the country's social and economic development blueprint for 2024 and beyond.

Often described as one of the most important political events, the two sessions, during which a slew of development goals are determined, offer a critical window for the world to view the latest economic trends and policy priorities in the world's second-largest economy.

More importantly, Chinese President Xi Jinping's agenda and major speeches during the two sessions provide the most crucial insights into the development path of the Chinese economy.

During this year's two sessions, Xi participated in three deliberations or group discussions with national lawmakers and political advisers, during which he also delivered important speeches. And a key theme emerged from these meetings and speeches: The Chinese top leader has put new quality productive forces front and center in China's economic agenda in 2024 and for many years to come.

As a relatively new concept that was first put forward by Xi during an inspection tour of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province in September 2023, new quality productive forces has become a key phrase in China's political lexicon in recent months. Xi's emphasis on the phrase further highlighted its significance in China's economic policymaking and China's future development paths, as officials across the country have and will continue to roll out measures to boost innovation and generate new productive forces.

China's pursuit of new quality productive forces, which place the main focus on innovation and technological self-reliance, comes as China's economy faces a profound transformation from old growth drivers to sustainable ones, and as the global geo-economic situation has grown increasingly complex - characterized by the US' relentless technological crackdowns and growing protectionism. Therefore, developing new quality productive forces is critical for China's sustainable, high-quality development, Chinese lawmakers, political advisers, and economists said.

Top leader's focus at two sessions

During each year's two sessions, Xi often visits and holds meetings with national lawmakers and political advisors, and delivers major speeches on key national issues. This year, the Chinese president made three such visits, in line with the number made during the two sessions in 2023.

On the afternoon of March 5, Xi participated in a deliberation with fellow lawmakers from East China's Jiangsu Province during the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature.

Xi called for focusing on high-quality development as a top priority, urging efforts to step up innovation, foster emerging industries, adopt forward-thinking plans to develop future-oriented industries, and improve the modernized industrial system. He stressed the development of new quality productive forces according to local conditions, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The top leader also made remarks about developing new quality productive forces or related issues such as technological innovation at the other two such deliberations he participated in.

On March 6, Xi participated in a joint group meeting during the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top political advisory body. Xi called on political advisors and all people in the science and technology sector to strengthen basic research and apply basic research, strive to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, and create new drivers to develop new quality productive forces.

Then on March 7, Xi attended a plenary meeting of the delegation of the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police Force at the second session of the NPC. He stressed deepening reform to comprehensively enhance strategic capabilities in emerging areas. He also said that China's drive to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces has provided rare opportunities for the development of strategic capabilities in emerging areas.

The successive remarks about the new quality productive forces on three different occasions accentuated the top leader's focus on the issue and its importance in China's economic development, not just this year but in the years to come, national lawmakers, political advisers, and experts said. "The concept offers guidance for our country to take advantage of the historical opportunity of a new round of technological upgrade and aims to develop strategic emerging industries and future industries," Guo said.

Developing new quality productive forces is a decisive step in the economy's high-quality development course, Guo Guoping, an NPC deputy and a vice director of the Key Laboratory of Quantum Information of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times.

New quality productive forces refers to innovation-led, advanced productivity that is freed from traditional economic growth mode and productivity development paths, is high-tech, high efficiency and high quality, and is in line with the new development philosophy, Xi said during a group study session of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in February, stressing that developing new quality productive forces is an endogenous requirement and a pivot of high-quality development.
From concept to action

Thanks to the top leader's focus, while the concept of new quality productive forces has only been around for a few months, it has been rising rapidly in China's political and social lexicon and has become a buzzword across the country. More importantly, it has already been put into action in China's economic policymaking.

The Central Economic Work Conference in December 2023, which set top economic policy priorities for 2024, also heightened the development of new quality productive forces. New quality productive forces also became the subject of the first group study session held by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee this year, according to Xinhua.

This year's Government Work Report also highlighted efforts to develop new quality productive forces. According to the report, China will strive to modernize its industrial system and develop new quality productive forces at a faster pace. It also said that China will step up research on disruptive and frontier technologies, and will launch an AI Plus initiative.

The top leader's emphasis on new quality productive forces was echoed throughout the two sessions, where lawmakers and political advisers enthusiastically talked about the concept and vowed to make great efforts in developing new quality development.

Shan Zenghai, an NPC deputy and chief engineer of Chinese construction equipment giant Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG), who participated in the deliberation of the Jiangsu delegation on March 5, said he was inspired by the top leader's remarks on new quality productive forces.

"The encouragement from top leadership greatly boosted our confidence in sticking to innovation-driven growth, bolstering the real economy and promoting high-quality development," Shan told the Global Times.

Zhou Bin, another NPC deputy from Yancheng, Jiangsu, who also attended the deliberation, told the Global Times that Xi's important remarks on new quality productive forces have offered scientific guidance for opening up new development tracks and shaping new development momentum.

Many officials vowed to take concrete actions to develop new quality development forces. Wu Qingwen, an NPC deputy and mayor of Suzhou, Jiangsu, said the city has the foundation, the condition, and the responsibility to take a lead in developing new quality productive forces, vowing to step up scientific and technological (sci-tech) innovation and bolster the city's high-end equipment, biomedicine, new energy industries among others, and create "new engines" such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Solid progress, great potential

When it comes to sci-tech innovation and the development of new growth drivers, China has already made great strides, thanks to the focus and support from the top leadership, national lawmakers, political advisers, and experts said.

Despite various challenges, including the US' relentless crackdown campaign, China has already become an innovation power. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on Thursday, China remained the leader in international patent applications, followed by the US, Japan, South Korea, and Germany.

At the end of 2023, the number of high-value invention patents held on the Chinese mainland had exceeded 1.66 million, an increase of 25.7 percent year-on-year, and the number of effective high-value invention patents acquired in strategic emerging industries had reached 1.17 million, accounting for 70 percent of the total, according to Xinhua.

Also highlighting the steady progress in and importance of forming new growth drivers is the fact that the shift in China's three most popular exports. In the past, the three most popular items China exported were clothes, furniture, and home alliances, which were relatively low-value and labor-intensive; however, new-energy vehicles, solar batteries, and lithium-ion batteries have become China's tech-intensive and green "new three," with a combined export value of 1.06 trillion yuan ($150 billion) in 2023, jumping 29.9 percent year-on-year.

Moving forward, the development of new quality productive forces has great potential in China, as its huge marketplace ensures full testing, application, and evolution of new technologies and new business models, Xu Jiuping, a professor at Sichuan University and a member of the National Committee of the 14th CPPCC, told the Global Times, pointing to the support of national innovation policies.

Underscoring such policy support, the central government has pledged to allocate 370.8 billion yuan ($51.51 billion) for science and technology in 2024, an increase of 10 percent, with a focus on basic research, applied basic research, and national strategic tasks in science and technology, according to the budget adopted at the two sessions.

Editor's Note:

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Wednesday. Wang called on the two countries to further enhance and develop their all-weather strategic cooperative partnership during the meeting. Ahead of Dar's visit, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Prof. Ahsan Iqbal (Iqbal) kicked off a visit to Beijing on May 8. Iqbal's visit is the first high-level visit of a Pakistani official to China since the new government came to power in March. At a press conference on May 9 at the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing, Prof. Iqbal shared his opinions on the relationship and cooperation between China and Pakistan with Global Times reporters Leng Shumei and Xie Wenting (GT). He also shared the new government's expectations for the construction of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
GT: Your visit is the first high-level of a Pakistani official to China under the new government. What is the significance and key objectives of your visit?

Iqbal: It is my great privilege to visit China after the new government was voted into office. This is the first high-level visit to be followed by a visit by the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Then, hopefully very soon the Prime Minister of Pakistan is also likely to visit China.

Pakistan and China have enjoyed a unique relationship and diplomatic history. This is a relationship which is always moved in an upward trajectory. This has never seen any autumn. There has always been spring in this relationship. Every season, the garden of friendship between Pakistan and China has blossomed with new colorful flowers of cooperation and understanding between the people of Pakistan and China and the two ironclad brother countries.

The significance of my visit is that this is a new government after the elections. This is our first engagement with the Chinese leadership at a senior level. In this engagement, we are trying to crystallize and define the parameters of the phase two of the CPEC, on which the Chinese side had indicated its willingness to move forward and Pakistan is also very committed to moving forward. We have discussed some high-priority projects that can be immediately started to give a jump start to kick off the second phase of the CPEC.

We hope that during my visit, with discussions with Chinese leadership, we will be able to work out a road map to implement the second phase of CPEC with the same spirit and momentum, with which we were able to complete the first phase, which had a very big impact on Pakistan.

GT: How has the CPEC benefited Pakistan in the first phase and how does Pakistan plan to enhance cooperation with China in the second phase of the CPEC under the new government?

Iqbal: In 2013, when we kicked off the CPEC, Pakistan was facing severe energy shortages of up to 16 hours per day. And Pakistan's economy and security situation had many challenges. We can never forget that at that time China displayed its trust and confidence in the economy and the people of Pakistan and started a $46 billion project to help Pakistan overcome its difficulties between 2013 and 2018.

Within five years, we were able to harness over $25 billion worth of projects, which helped us establish new power projects of up to 8,000-megawatt capacity, upgrade our logistics and construct new motorways to improve connectivity between Pakistan and China.

Recently we celebrated a decade of the CPEC and we can take a lot of pride in the decade of the CPEC. The CPEC has helped Pakistan transform its energy sector infrastructure sectors and also created over 2 million jobs. It has helped Pakistan acquire new technology as thousands of Pakistani engineers and workers were trained in these projects. It has helped to connect several parts of the country so that the fruits of development can be shared across various regions of Pakistan.

As to how to broaden cooperation from phase one to phase two, particularly, what is important now for us is three aspects. One is the agricultural sector. How do we expand our cooperation to bring new technology into the agricultural sector to enhance productivity of Pakistan? Second is how do we enhance industrial cooperation? Particularly, there is a strong case for relocation of Chinese industries to Pakistan where labor costs in China have increased and Pakistan offers a very attractive environment for relocation to the CPEC that we are setting up. And that will also help us to transform from an agrarian economy to an industrial economy, which is one of the key future goals.

In this industrialization, we also want to focus on exports: How to have an export-led growth in Pakistan. So, there will also be more cooperation at the level of exports to help Pakistan develop its exports and special economic zones.

The third area is technology because China has leadership and many new fourth-generation industrial revolution technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), which is a very important new platform for the future economies and digital economies. So, Pakistan is also preparing its national action plan for the adoption of AI. We will also benefit greatly in this area from China.

Lastly, we also want to expand educational and technical exchange programs. I think close to 27,000 [Pakistani] students are studying in China; China has become a major destination for Pakistani students for higher education and we would like this cooperation to further expand and also to have greater partnership or twinning arrangements between Pakistani universities and Chinese universities so that they can undertake joint research in the areas of cooperation, particularly like agriculture, industrial cooperation, and export development of Pakistan.
GT: In March, there was terrorist attack that led to the deaths of Chinese nationals. What measures will Pakistan take to protect the safety of Chinese people and projects in your country?

Iqbal: There are enemies of the CPEC; enemies of Pakistan-China friendship, who are trying to stop the progress of the CPEC. The recent unfortunate terrorist incidents were sponsored by such elements who want to create obstacles in the way of the CPEC's progress.

First of all, I offer my condolences to the families of those Chinese workers who were targets of this terrorist action; the whole Pakistani nation is in mourning. We consider Chinese engineers and workers in Pakistan as our special guests. They are working for the development of Pakistan. So, no Pakistani ever can even dream of causing any harm to any Chinese person on Pakistani soil. These incidents are sponsored from across the border.

I want to assure you that we have taken further measures to enhance security for Chinese people in Pakistan. On the projects where there are large numbers of Chinese workers, we have also tried to minimize their land travel from project sites. We will moving them either by helicopters to give them added security, or we shall also now enhance the security in terms of the support of paramilitary forces, and the police and also strengthen the protocols of securities.

And the message for those who want to put obstacles in the path of our friendship through such dirty tricks is very clear that such attacks cannot stop the progress of the CPEC. It cannot stop the progress of the BRI. It cannot stop progress of friendship between the ironclad brothers Pakistan and China.

GT: What is your comment on the so-called "debt trap" narrative over the BRI?

Iqbal: Pakistan has benefited from financing by China. The whole disinformation about whether the CPEC or the BRI are debt traps has nothing grounding in reality. As a matter of fact, the CPEC has benefited Pakistan's economy immensely.

GT: The capacity of the new energy vehicles (NEVs) is still far from meeting market demand especially in developing countries. How will Pakistan cooperate with China to develop NEVs in the future?

Iqbal: NEVs are China's strength. China is the leader now in electric vehicles. So, we are seeking to transform our transportation sector with the help of China because we also have set up goals to have a greater share in our transport for electric vehicles to reduce pollution in our cities.

During my visit, I'm meeting some Chinese companies, which are interested in setting up plants in Pakistan to manufacture new-energy automobile buses. And, particularly our interest is to have buses that will clear pollution from our cities, which are electric buses. This will be a priority item for us for the future.

GT: When will the visit of the Pakistani Prime Minister take place and what will the highlights of the visit be?

Iqbal: You have to wait for the final declaration at the time of the visit, but I can only say that we are hopeful that this will be a very productive visit because this is not an ordinary visit. This is a visit by the Prime Minister of Pakistan to Pakistan's best and the dearest country that is the most reliable friend. This is happening at a time when the new government has come in and it is dedicated to taking on the CPEC's second phase with full commitment and full momentum. So, there will be happy outcomes from the visit.

As 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic relations, exchanges in core sectors such as aerospace, nuclear energy and trade have already realized fruitful achievements, while the development of emerging fields such as new energy and the digital economy are likely to become new growth engines for propelling bilateral cooperation, French enterprises and Chinese experts said.

Observers also highlighted France's relatively independent policy toward China and China's vast market potential as major advantages in consolidating bilateral exchanges. 

Unlike some other European countries, whose economic policies have been strongly influenced by the US, France has a strong level of independence with its policy toward China, as it highly values the world's second-largest economy as a major market and production base for French enterprises, Sun Yanhong, a senior research fellow at the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.

In addition, the strong cultural confidence of the two sides and deep people-to-people and cultural exchanges have made China-France relations more stable than in the case of some other European countries, said Cui Hongjian, a professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance with Beijing Foreign Studies University. 

France is China's third-largest trading partner in the EU while China remains France's fourth-largest global trading partner. In the first quarter of 2024, bilateral trade totaled 127.22 billion yuan ($17.99 billion), according to data from China's General Administration of Customs. From 2019 to 2023, China's trade with France grew 5.9 percent annually. 

Specifically, France is China's largest source of agricultural imports from the EU with a total import value of 10 billion yuan and increases in products such as dairy, pork and wine during the first quarter.

China remains a crucial supplier of a wide range of consumer goods for France, as exports of home appliances to France grew 30.6 percent year-on-year while exports of toys increased by 28 percent, official data showed. 

Besides the consolidated cooperation in traditional fields, experts expect the rapid development of emerging industries will likely create new growth points to further advance bilateral cooperation. 

Sun sees cooperation potential in industries related to the digital economy and green transformation, as Europe has been involved in these sectors, with both advantages and shortcomings that can be made up through collaborating with China. 

France has relatively insufficient production capacity, and it has a talent gap in research and development in new energy. China can provide corresponding help and the two countries have complementarity in the sector, Sun said, adding that the green transformation will offer more opportunities for both sides to explore new potential in sectors like agriculture. 

French enterprises are also upbeat about continuously deepening cooperation with their Chinese counterparts in emerging sectors with confidence and positive outlook amid the celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and France. 

"We honor our role in supporting China's strong economic growth and green transition as one of the first multinational environmental services companies in the market," Sabrina Soussan, chairman and CEO of SUEZ, told the Global Times in a recent interview, adding that China remains a key market and strategic partner for the company. 

Soussan highlighted significant partnerships signed in the presence of the two countries' leaders, and these projects aimed at transforming waste into renewable energy and pioneering electric vehicle battery recycling. These are critical for China's green transition. "I believe that by collaborating with local partners, we leverage our combined strengths to significantly advance China's green and low-carbon transition," Soussan said. 

A think tank report titled "China-EU Cooperation on Environment and Climate: Progress and Prospects" was released globally on Friday. Noting green as the distinctive color of China-EU cooperation, the report said this cooperation not only enriches and develops the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, but also directly advances the environmental governance, trade and investment of both sides, benefiting the entire world.

Amid China's efforts to bolster high-quality opening-up, observers said that China will remain a hot destination for investment from Europe, backed up by supportive measures, while suggesting more targeted measures for further expanding cooperation. 

For instance, new areas could be explored when it comes to expanding market access, such as developing the economy targeting the elderly, which France and Europe have much experience in, Cui told the Global Times on Sunday.  

In the first two months of 2024, France's actual investment in China increased by 585.8 percent year-on-year, according to data from China's Ministry of Commerce. 

A track-laying machine made a rumbling sound as concrete sleepers are placed on the roadbed. Two-hundred-meter-long rails extend and fall steadily onto the sleepers through a mix of manual labor and high-tech machinery.

This has become a common scene during track-laying construction on the Hungarian section of the Hungary-Serbia railway, the flagship cooperative project under China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Here, extended railway lines are connecting scattered cities into an accessible and dynamic network, linking Hungary and Serbia, two Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries ever closer together.

Engaged in a wide range of fields such as transportation, high-end manufacturing and mining, Chinese companies have been actively promoting economic development in the regional countries. The companies bring with them advanced technology, high-tech equipment, modern management concept, and integrate them to better meet local development needs, contributing to the economic growth and improvement of the people's livelihood there.

As the BRI now enters its second golden decade, this week's state visits by China's top leader chart the course for cooperation between China and the two CEE countries in their respective pursuit of high-quality development.

A number of Chinese companies rooted in Serbia and Hungary for many years have recently shared with the Global Times how they have achieved win-win cooperation and development under the BRI framework. The companies are looking forward to embracing new opportunities for high-quality development in the two countries.

Promotion of synergy

Along a section of the Hungary-Serbia railway in Hungary, which is been built by a Chinese company, track laying work is progressing smoothly. Since the job officially commenced at the end of May last year, about 70 percent of track laying work within the section has been completed, with the overall project completion rate exceeding 55 percent, the Global Times learned from China Railway Hungary-Serbia Railway Project Management Department, the Chinese company participating in the construction of the Hungarian section of the railway project.

By the time of its completion, the regional transportation network will be significantly improved, providing greater convenience for both passengers and cargo delivery across the CEE economies.

The Hungary-Serbia railway could well illustrate how China's BRI projects can help promote the regional economic synergy.

At a heavy equipment manufacturing plant in Ruma, Serbia, excavators and haulage vehicles were seen navigate through the site, accompanied by the rhythmic sounds of welding, cutting, and hammering. Amid this activity, workers diligently carry out tasks such as reinforcing steel bars and pouring foundation concrete, ensuring an organized and efficient work flow.

China Construction First Group has participated in the construction of the new factory project. With a keen focus on meeting the deadline, they aim to complete the prefabricated components during the second half of 2024. Once finished, this facility, owned by the Chinese company Haitian Group, will serve as a pivotal manufacturing hub for equipment like injection molding machines in the European region, the Global Times learned from China Construction First Group.

Chen Shuai, deputy general manager of the Fifth Construction Co, China Construction First Group, told the Global Times that the company is seizing the opportunity presented by the successful execution of the factory project in Serbia, to facilitate the expansion of China's industrial manufacturing capacity overseas.

As the bilateral strategic partnership relations deepen, Chen holds strong expectations for further tapping into the potential for deeper cooperation for Chinese companies in Serbia.

Specifically, they will ramp up efforts to capitalize on the burgeoning development of infrastructure in Serbia, participating in projects spanning roads, bridges, tunnels, and renewable energy production, among other industrial lines, Chen said.

Serbia Zijin Copper DOO in Bor, Serbia, a joint venture between China's Zijin Mining Group and Serbia, sets a good example of how the BRI prompts greater synergy in the regional development. By the end of 2023, the copper mine project in Bor had amassed investments totaling $2.498 billion, nearly double the promised investment of $1.26 billion in 2018, the company told the Global Times.

With a cumulative copper production of 356,000 tons and gold production of 9.8 tons, the project contributed nearly $500 million in taxes and fees and made a social contribution of $850 million, according to the company. Also, it created over 9,000 jobs. In 2023, the company achieved export revenues of around $720 million, significantly promoting the mutual development of stakeholders in Serbia.

Looking ahead, the company plans to add $1.2 billion in new investments in the next three years. The goal is to increase copper production of the copper mine in Bor from currently 120,000 tons per year to 220,000 tons per year by 2030, the company said.

High-quality growth

As the BRI embarks on its new journey after10 years of golden development, more possibilities will emerge in the cooperation between China and the regional countries.

The meetings between the top leaders of China and the regional countries this week have set the tone for deepening the bilateral ties while pushing the cooperation toward high-quality development.

In the joint statement signed on Wednesday between China and Serbia, both sides vowed to take the opportunity of entering a new stage of high-quality development in the joint construction of the BRI. They aim to deepen and expand cooperation in various fields, including trade, investment, technology innovation, digitalization, and telecommunications.

Meanwhile, China and Hungary are also expected to sign multiple cooperation agreements following the important meetings between leaders of the two countries, injecting new momentum into the development of bilateral relations.

In a recent interview with the Global Times, Chinese Ambassador to Hungary Gong Tao said that, in the future, both sides will continue to promote high-quality joint construction of the BRI, focusing on key areas such as digital economy, green development, and information technology.

During recent years, China has actively promoted cooperation with the CEE countries under the BRI. This initiative has yielded tangible benefits for the region, effectively enhancing connectivity between China, Eastern Europe, and the broader European region, Song Wei, a professor from the School of International Relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Thursday, describing China-CEE cooperation as a role model for cross-regional collaboration.

Despite the marked progress, economic development in CEE is still encountering some challenges, including poverty reduction, and how to achieve faster economic modernization in the region, according to Song.

Song emphasized that amid the pursuit of high-quality cooperation and partnership, China will remain committed to further supporting CEE countries in integrating them into the global value chain.

Specifically, Song said that enhancing mutual investment programs, including on setting up joint investment funds, would incentivize more local enterprises in CEE to participate in the BRI.

The countries in the region are eager to draw from China's successful developmental experiences. Therefore, both sides may intensify efforts to collaborate on a series of training programs and exchanges, facilitating mutual learning and development in the future, Song said.

"The commitment aims to foster closer economic and trade ties between China and the CEE economies, assisting the region to better tackle its corresponding challenges in the future," Song said.

China's special envoy for climate change Liu Zhenmin will travel to the US from May 7 to 16 for talks with his US counterpart. The first formal talks between climate envoys from both countries carry great significance as it is expected they can continue and extend the positive exchange between the two countries in addressing climate change, according to observers, while also warning that the coming US presidential election could cloud the future cooperation.

Liu will lead a delegation for talks with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Podesta, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said Tuesday.

The ministry said that Liu will exchange in-depth views on the "The Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis," which was issued by two countries in November last year; and other consensuses, as well as promote practical results in advancing China-US climate cooperation.

During this visit, Liu will also engage in discussions with relevant United Nations departments, as well as local governments and think tanks in the US, on topics related to climate change and other issues.

China will aim to extend cooperation on issues including energy, the circular economy and efforts to curb greenhouse gases beyond carbon dioxide, Liu told Bloomberg last month.

"Common ground means that both the US and China want to continue to lead this global process to respond to climate change," he said. "We have to cooperate as far as possible." The nations "also need to respect each other on all issues," according to Liu.

Energy transition, non-CO2 greenhouse emission such as methane, along with other issues are likely to top Liu's talks with Podesta, as those topics are of mutual concerns and energy transition is facing grave challenge amid complicated international situation, Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Ma believed trade issues will also top the list of discussion as the US has been using trade protectionism in key products and technologies for low-carbon transformation.

Podesta previously laid out the clearest declaration yet of the Biden administration's willingness to upend global trading rules — which the US fostered — to achieve its twin objectives of limiting carbon emissions and Chinese dominance of key industries, Bloomberg reported.

Liu and Podesta, both appointed to their roles in January, have spoken virtually and met in person briefly at the Petersburg Climate Dialogue in Berlin in April.

The strong personal connection between their predecessors Xie Zhenhua and John Kerry has kept climate talks between China and US alive even when bilateral relations spiraled to a low point, experts said.

The first formal talks between two climate envoys carry great significance as it is hoped they can continue and extend the positive exchange on climate issues between China and US, Ma said, noting that the strong bond doesn't come easy, and it needs time to establish the mutual trust.

Yet there's also concern that the coming US presidential election could cloud future cooperation. Speaking with Bloomberg, Liu said "I definitely hope that the American people will support the government to stay in the climate change process, stay in the Paris Agreement, even if Trump wins the next election…Not to repeat the mistake that they made during his last administration."

Ma said that US' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement another time will not only disrupt climate collaboration between Beijing and Washington; it is also likely to greatly set back global effort in tackling global warming. The uncertainty, however, highlighted the importance of dual-track communication between two countries, which comprises both exchange between central government level and sub-national, and non-governmental cooperation, according to Ma.

California Governor Gavin Newsom paid a visit to China in November last year. In a press release issued addressing his visit, Newsom's office said his trip prioritized three goals -- advancing climate action and cooperation, promoting economic development and tourism, and strengthening cultural ties.

On his trip, California signed five Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with China's National Development and Reform Commission, the provinces of Guangdong and Jiangsu, and the municipalities of Beijing and Shanghai, according to the release.

"These MOUs advance California and China's work on climate policy and help set the stage for national discussions and partnerships," the release read.

Editor's Note:

"Cognitive Warfare" has become a new form of confrontation between states, and a new security threat. With new technological means, it sets agendas and spreads disinformation, so as to change people's perceptions and thus alter their self-identity. Launching cognitive warfare against China is an important means for Western anti-China forces to attack and discredit the country. Under the manipulation of the US-led West, the "China threat theory" has continued to foment.

Some politicians and media outlets have publicly smeared China's image by propagating false narratives such as the "China economy collapse theory" and "China virus threat theory," in an attempt to incite and provoke dissatisfaction with China among people in certain countries. These means all serve the seemingly peaceful evolution strategy of the US to contain China's rise and maintain its hegemony.

The Global Times is publishing a series of articles to systematically reveal the intrigues of the US-led West's cognitive warfare targeting China, and expose its lies and vicious intentions, in an attempt to show international readers a true, multi-dimensional, and panoramic view of China.

This is the seventh installment in the series.
The US' recent escalated tech war against China, which attempted to cut China off from high-end chips, has inadvertently harmed its own chip giants. The US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo attended the annual Reagan National Defense Forum (RNDF) in California on December 2, asserting a need for more funding for her department to stop China from catching up on cutting-edge semiconductors. She also told Bloomberg on Monday that the US will take the "strongest possible" action to protect its national security, when asked how the Commerce Department will respond to a recent "chipmaking breakthrough" in China.

Weeks ago, the US' leading chip designer Nvidia reportedly forecast a "significant drop" in its China sales in the fourth quarter, due to an upgraded US chip ban announced in October.

China has "consistently accounted for approximately 20 to 25 percent of data center revenue," according to the Nikkei. Responding to the tightened controls, which ban Nvidia from exporting its A800 and H800 GPUs to China, Nvidia said it is developing newly compliant chips for the Chinese market. The new chips will comply with the controls but will probably be less competitive, industry insiders pointed out.

The US is waging a long, lose-lose "chip war" against China. Following a raft of controls announced in October 2022 on exports of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, the US Commerce Department, in October this year, updated and broadened its export controls to stop China from acquiring advanced computer chips.

Worse still, apart from directly clamping down on Chinese market and chip enterprises, the US has also carried out vicious "public opinion sanctions" against China's semiconductor industry in recent years, so as to tarnish the image of Chinese tech companies, and to diminish China's progress in the chip field through various cognitive warfare tactics, the Global Times found.

An in-depth look at much of the US media's coverage of China's semiconductor industry in the last few years reveals a list of underhanded tactics employed in the US' chip field warfare against China.
Defamation

Making groundless Intellectual Property (IP) theft accusations against Chinese tech companies, such as "stealing chip designs" and "stealing manufacturing tech," serve US' defamation attempts against China. With lies and rumors, they try to mislead the public that China's rise in the chip field has mainly been achieved by "stealing" US technology, so as to manufacture a motive to support the US government's chip blockade on China.

In recent years, reports of Western tech companies charging their former Chinese employees for stealing secret chip tech have appeared in US media coverage from time to time, giving readers a false impression of Chinese companies' or employees' frequent theft of technology.

Most of these stories only contained one-sided sources, and lack follow-up reports. No independent investigations were conducted nor was the Chinese side reached for a response, further amplifying the voices attacking China, the Global Times found.

Fox Business, for instance, reported in January 2022 that cutting-edge Dutch semiconductor circuit manufacturer ASML accused one of its former Chinese employees of stealing its technology. Without any balanced sources, the story concluded in a politically loaded sentence: "In recent years, many Chinese nationals living in the US have been accused of stealing business practices and trade secrets on behalf of Beijing."

The Chinese company involved, Dongfang Jingyuan Electron Limited (DJEL), later denied the claim in a statement in February 2022. But none of the US media outlets mentioned the denial in related coverage.

China's scientific and technological achievements are not made through theft or robbery, noted then Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian in February 2020, responding to a question raised by media sources about China's comment on the US side's accusation of "stealing US scientific achievements."

Statistics showed that between 2009 and 2019, Chinese scientists published 2.6 million papers in international journals, ranking second in the world, mentioned Zhao. He criticized that certain people in the US "have ulterior motives in cooking up China's so-called theft of US scientific and research outcomes."

Belittlement

Sometimes, US media's reports on China's chip industry take on an arrogant tone. They revel in China's high-tech enterprises' seemingly "difficult" situation under the US' sanctions, so as to depict China's "dependence" on imported chips, and dismiss the achievements China has made in the field of cutting-edge technology.

The latest US expansion of export controls on advanced chips "will make it difficult for China to develop in that sector," stated the VOA on October 19.

Chinese industries will "hit a wall" in 2025 or 2026 if they can't get next generation chips or the tools to make their own, the Associated Press quoted a tech industry consultant Handel Jones as saying in an April 4 article. China "will start falling behind significantly," the article claimed, which was later echoed by many other US media outlets.

Some naysayers even maliciously linked China's efforts in chip development with its temporary slowdown in economic growth, trying to portray China as a country that no longer has the strength, at least economically, to break through the US' edge-cutting chip blockade.

Contrary to the gloomy outlook forecasted by some US media outlets, Chinese insiders reached by the Global Times said they are optimistic about the future of the country's chip industry.

And some data may prove their optimism to be well informed. Nearly half of all machinery equipment tenders by Chinese foundries from January to August 2023 were won by local manufacturers, according to an analysis of 182 tenders by Huatai Securities in September, Reuters reported on October 18. It also cited a report by CINNO Research, which showed that equipment-related revenue among China's top 10 domestic equipment manufacturers grew by 39 percent year-on-year for the first half of 2023, representing $2.2 billion in sales.

"There is definitely huge progress happening in the Chinese semiconductor equipment space, as reflected in the strong revenue growth metrics," Reuter quoted a semiconductor analyst as saying.

Fearmongering

Contrary to the previous trick of belittling China's achievements in the chip field, US media and politicians are also accustomed to fear-mongering, exaggerating China's chip development and its impact on the world, especially on the US-led West.

The "China chip threat theory" has become a favorite fearmongering tactic frequently employed by the US government and media sources. They extensively report the rise of China's chip tech, but distort China's international image and frame Chinese high-tech companies as shady operatives, exaggerating the consequences of the loss of the US chip monopoly, while portraying the blocking and suppression of China as reasonable behavior.

For example, according to an article titled "Think tank urges US to get even stricter with China over chips" published in the American Journal of Transportation in October, the Washington-based Silverado Policy Accelerator claimed that China is building up massive production capacity of foundational chips. "Now, Silverado warns, the Asian superpower is showing signs of undercutting prices of its Western competitors in this market."

The Global Times found that the US officials and media sources even intentionally associate chips with the military and defense industry, and politicize the purpose of Chinese chips, calling on their domestic enterprises and other countries to join forces against China.

As early as 2021, the Financial Times reported that the National Security Commission, a US congressionally mandated commission concluded that the country could potentially lose its advantage in the semiconductor industry due to the rapid development of China's chip industry.

According to the Financial Times, the co-chairman of the commission stated that the US currently enjoys a "two-generation lead" over China in terms of semiconductors, but urgent action is needed to prevent the loss of this edge.

The 756-page report issues by the commission outlines how artificial intelligence can assist the US and consumers in various fields but warns that with China's investment in advanced technology, the potential of artificial intelligence is transforming into a "moment of strategic vulnerability."

However, such baseless slander only starkly reveals the ambitions of the US government.

At the RNDF, Raimondo stated that US companies will need to adapt to the priorities of US national security, including in export controls on semiconductors implemented by the US Department of Commerce, the VOA reported.

According to the VOA, previously, after the US Department of Commerce announced plans to restrict exports of more chips designed by companies such as Nvidia to China, Raimondo explained that the new measure is aimed at hindering China's military development. "The updates are specifically designed to control access to computing power, which will significantly slow the PRC's development of next-generation frontier model, and could be leveraged in ways that threaten the US and our allies," she said.

The US media establishment, politicians, and business figures have consistently shown hostility and malice in their statements regarding China's chip industry, Fu Liang, a Beijing-based tech analyst, told the Global Times.

Fu noted that for a long time, there has been much chatter about the threat of Chinese chips to the US economy and technological leadership without concrete evidence, and a flagrant abuse of the concept of "national security" in order to maintain their hegemonic rule.

US pays the piper

"Overly broad, unilateral controls risk harming the US semiconductor ecosystem without advancing national security as they encourage overseas customers to look elsewhere," stated the US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) on October 17, in a response to the updated export control.

Just as per the SIA's worries, the US' semiconductor curb targeting China, as well as the cognitive warfare it launched against China in the chip field, has led to more harm to its own chip companies rather than being beneficial, Chinese industry observers told the Global Times.

In the long run, the US itself will have to pay the piper, they noted.

Even though Nvidia will design new chips for the Chinese market, the chips may no longer have an advantage over their Chinese counterparts under the US sanctions, said Xiang Ligang, a veteran analyst in the telecom industry. "We all know that it's not impossible for China to produce its own AI chips," he told the Global Times.

The US' upgraded controls on advanced chips may lead Chinese companies to switch to domestic chips, which will stimulate the development of domestic AI chips, and eventually push the Chinese market away from US exporters, said Xiang.

Since the series of cognitive battles waged by the US have extended to the chip field, Fu noted that it is inevitable for politicians and the media establishment to cooperate with government sanctions in order to safeguard US interests against the current backdrop of China-US technological competition.

"However, this extreme pressure measure has not achieved the desired effect," Fu said.

Observers pointed out that although the US government's suppression of China's semiconductor industry will continue, US companies still value the Chinese market. Only through win-win cooperation in technology can confidence be injected into global development, they 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.

China's economy starts off 2024 on strong footing, with an array of key indicators in the first two months beating market expectation by a wide margin, fueled by a spending spree in the Spring Festival holidays, ramped-up efforts in building new quality productive forces and the effects of macro policies implementation. Observers said the upbeat data offer an encouraging sign that the world's second-largest economy is not only consolidating the recovery momentum but also picking up pace.

The industrial output grew 7 percent year-on-year in the first two months, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, well above the 5 percent forecast from analysts polled by Reuters. It is also the fastest since March 2023.

The strong start in 2024, which presages a raft of bright spots ranging from high-tech to consumption of this year's growth path, also rebuts squarely recent skepticism and badmouths on Chinese economy hyped by certain Western media. It projects great confidence in China's economic trajectory toward a growth rate of around 5 percent in 2024, a goal set by this year's Government Work Report that Chinese officials believe - albeit faced with external and internal headwinds - will come to fruition "with earnest endeavors."

In January-February period, retail sales expanded 5.5 percent from the same period last year, versus a Reuters forecast of 5.2 percent, while fixed-asset investment also gained 4.2 percent in year-on-year terms, surpassing market estimates of 3.2 percent.

"With the macro policies taking effect, China's national economy has continued to recover and turn for the better in the first two months," NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua said at a press briefing of the State Council Information Office on Monday.

Recovery momentum

"The positive macro-economic indicators reflect that the country's GDP growth rate in the first quarter of this year will be higher than 5 percent, and that the economy is bottoming out after facing constant growth pressure seen in the past 10 years or so," Cao Heping, an economist at Peking University, told the Global Times on Monday.

For the first time in a number of consecutive months, the overall gauges on industrial, service and investment all topped the forecasts and displayed a considerable level of gains. And those headline indexes point to a strengthening recovery momentum that is buoyed by restorative growth and, more importantly, multiple new positive factors beyond, according to analysts.

For example, the 5.5-percent jump in the retail sales in the first two months, which though seem to be a moderate number taking account of last year's high base effect, shed light on the indigenous vigor and potential of China's massive consumer market, particularly in entertainment, tourism, cultural, sports and vehicle categories.

During the eight-day Spring Festival holidays in February, nationwide domestic tourism reached 474 million trips, an increase of 19 percent compared with pre-COVID level in 2019, while total expenditure amounted to 632.7 billion yuan, up 7.7 percent from the same holiday period in 2019.

It is forecasted the spending boost will prevail throughout the year, as more stimulus policies take effect and the "pandemic-scarring effect" continues to diminish. China last week unveiled a plan to promote large-scale renewal of equipment and the trading-in of consumer goods, opening up a market worth trillions of yuan and further giving consumption a leg up.

Tian Yun, a veteran economist based in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday the economic recovery has also shown signs of tilting toward a more "even and balance" mode at the beginning of the year, especially in the demand side, whose recovery - though still lags behind the supply side - has been in a quick catch-up.

Fixed-asset investment, which grew 4.2-percent in the first two months, has "bottomed out" despite a drag by property sector, according to Tian, while ascribing the turnaround partly to the issuance of additional 1-trillion-yuan special treasury bonds in the fourth quarter.

In January-February period, investment in high-tech industries rose 9.4 percent year-on-year, a drastic rise that aligns with this year's economic blueprint laid out during the two sessions, which put the development of new quality productive forces as a core mission.

To reinforce and fast track the recovery in the demand side, Tian suggested that Chinese policymakers to "frontload" part of special-purpose bonds in the first half of 2024.

The Government Work Report stated that China plans to issue ultra-long special treasury bonds starting this year and over each of the next several years. One trillion yuan ($139 billion) of such bonds will be issued in 2024.

In 2023, fixed-asset investment staged a growth of 3 percent, NBS data showed.

In terms of supply, Liu Aihua said at the press briefing that industrial production will continue to play a ballast role in the national economy. She highlighted new drives from China's elevating innovation capacity amid manufacturing upgrade and transformation, in addition to traditional edges such as a complete industrial chain as well as the sheer size of the market.

Confidence behind the target

Following the set-up of an annual GDP growth target in early March, Chinese doomsayers have been gone to great lengths to raise doubts on the likelihood of the country to achieve a 5-percent goal. So the highly-anticipated economic data at the start of the year also timely draws out an objective and comprehensive picture on China's economic course, proving that the country is running on abundant engines - which certain Western media outlets ignore, that arguably outweigh unfavorable conditions, analysts said.

While acknowledging a bunch of downward pressures including "complex, severe and uncertain external environment and insufficient domestic effective demand," Liu stressed that China has conditions and enough support to hit the around 5-percent GDP growth target, and will realize the goal "through earnest endeavors."

Liu said Chinese authorities attach great importance to the challenges that could pose barriers to development. They also stand with great confidence and maintain strategic focus to cope with difficulties, promote sustained economic recovery, and translate the expected economic development goals into reality.

Han Baojiang, a professor at Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, told the Global Times that Chinese policymakers are sober and they have articulated clear approach to economic development. "As long as we improve our economy, enhance people's livelihoods, and ensure employment, it is probably the most effective way to deal with all challenges."

Cao also voiced full confidence that the country will realize this year's GDP growth target of around 5 percent, though he said more effort is needed to focus on high-quality development.

To shield against potential headwinds, Cao suggested that authorities should continue to promote the transition in overall economic structure, focus on developing new quality productive forces, like new industries to be propelled by artificial intelligence.

Analysts warned against the property downturn, which they said is likely to persist for some time this year. In the first two months, China's property investment dived 9 percent year-on-year, NBS data showed.

Also, the increasingly volatile external environment calls for Chinese policymakers to reach more into the toolbox to stabilize and shore up internal demand, according to Tian. Liu said the country's solid economic fundamentals, the accumulation of many positive factors and the government's stimulus measures will continue to propel the economy to rebound and improve.

Tian predicted that China will continue making an "immense" 30 percent contribution to the world economy on condition that the 5-percent GDP growth goal is achieved, making it the second-largest only after the US.

China's integrated circuits (IC) or semiconductor chips export surged by nearly 30 percent in the first two months of 2024 amid the country's efforts to climb up the global technological ladder, despite mounting assaults by the US and its allies to slow down China's technology rise. 

IC exports reached 160.71 billion yuan ($22.33 billion) during the first two months of 2024, with an annual increase of 28.6 percent, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Thursday. 

IC exports were among a number of high-tech products that have experienced robust growth during the January-February period. 

Beside IC, the exports of automatic data processing equipment increased by 7.3 percent year-on-year to reach 195.45 billion yuan and auto exports soared by 15.8 percent from the same period last year to reach 111.89 billion yuan. 

The robust growth of high-tech products reflect that China's efforts in transforming and upgrading its industries is paying off , and the tech suppression by a number of Western countries have largely failed and have actually boosted China's tech competitiveness as the country put more efforts in achieving self-sufficiency in high-tech products such as chips, analysts said. 

China's chip self-sufficiency rate may increase to 30-35 percent as many domestic chipmakers have expanded manufacturing since the US launched its tech war against China several years ago, said Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance.

Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, said at a press conference held during the ongoing two sessions that China's economy was off to a good start in the first quarter this year, with preliminary economic indicators such as electricity use, exports, and bank loans pointing to a strong recovery of the economy.

The Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department has recently released a notice seeking public opinions on the draft amendment of the regulations on the reward and protection of volunteer personnel who behave righteously in the province, in which the regulations stipulate that those sacrificed their lives will be awarded an additional one-million-yuan ($139,454) compensation for their righteousness.

South China's Guangdong Province aims to establish regulations that honor and protect the brave and righteous volunteer personnel, creating a more favorable environment for volunteer activities, according to the regulations. The public can submit feedback and suggestions to the provincial authorities before January 30.

In addition to receiving the corresponding awards given by the state and province for the individuals who have performed brave acts, the Guangdong provincial government will award a one-time bonus. For those who are completely unable to work will be awarded a bonus of 800,000 yuan, and those who win the title of national righteous and brave will be awarded a prize of 200,000 yuan, according to the regulations.

The act of bravery in the regulations refers to the actions of individuals who don't have legal responsibilities or obligations, but who, intervene in illegal and criminal activities or engage in rescue, emergency response and other actions, for protecting national and public interests, or others' life and property safety.

Citizens are encouraged to take appropriate and effective actions to carry out the acts of bravery, including stopping illegal and criminal activities that endanger national security, public safety, or disrupt social order, according to the regulations.

The regulations also stipulate county- or above-level governments within the province should reward those individuals who conduct acts of bravery such as releasing notification of commendation, awarding prizes and awarding the title of honor.

In order to ensure those individuals' legitimate rights, the regulations also stipulate that any organization or individual, who witnesses someone who is injured by performing a heroic act, should promptly inform the public security organs and medical institutions, and take measures to assist in treatment and provide aid. Medical institutions should prioritize treatment, and can not refuse or delay treatment.

The country has been making efforts to make sure the legitimate rights of those individuals who conduct brave acts are protected. In June 2023, a young deliveryman Peng Qinglin jumped off a high bridge to save a drowning woman in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province. Hangzhou authorities awarded Peng the title of honor and a cash prize as well.