Traditional Chinese customs drew more attention from the world after the UNESCO inscribed the Spring Festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of the traditional new year, on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on Wednesday. 

With the growing popularity of Spring Festival worldwide and its recognition by UNESCO, experts believe that more Chinese traditional folk customs will gain worldwide popularity in the future, as many of them, including Spring Festival, carry the Chinese philosophy of harmony and pursuit of wellbeing, a common aspiration of people around the world.  

At a press briefing on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Lin Jian expressed congratulations over Spring Festival's UNESCO intangible heritage inscription. 

Lin stated that the Spring Festival is the oldest and the most important traditional festival in the Chinese culture. "The festival is always a time for family reunion and ringing in the new year. We have many Spring Festival traditions such as writing the character Fu which means good fortune, hanging Spring Festival couplets, making dumplings and watching dragon dance and lion dance performance, which I believe many of you are familiar with."

The Spring Festival embodies peace, amity and harmony which are values cherished by the Chinese nation and civilization, which makes it a festival that is meaningful for China and can be enjoyed by the world, Lin said. 

"In about six weeks, we will celebrate the Spring Festival of the Year of the Snake. We welcome all journalists here and friends from all over the world to come and experience the rich and wonderful Spring Festival culture. We very much hope that the festival's cultural message will contribute to a world of less conflicts, harmony among civilizations, and amity between peoples of the world. Hope the Spring Festival will be a moment of joyfulness shared by all," Lin said. 

According to an on-site report from China Central Television, representatives from countries around the world expressed their heartfelt congratulations on Spring Festival's UNESCO recognition during the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, taking place in Paraguay.

Dozens of representatives from dozens countries stood up and approached the Chinese delegation to shake hands and offer their congratulations. Some representatives could even fluently say "Happy Spring Festival" in Chinese. Chinese sides' return gesture was also full of "New Year spirit" - red envelopes containing blessing cards, symbolizing the joy of successfully inscribing the Spring Festival as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage and sharing it with more people, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

On Twitter, netizens from different countries swarmed into UNESCO's post on X, expressing their excitement and congratulations over the Spring Festival's inscription as a world intangible heritage, in both English and Chinese. 

As the oldest and most important traditional holiday in Chinese culture, the Spring Festival is reaching out to the world. 

According to spokesperson Lin Jian, Spring Festival is a public holiday in almost 20 countries and celebrated in various ways by about one-fifth of humanity. Furthermore, the 78th UN General Assembly decided to list the Lunar New Year as a UN floating holiday.

Xiao Fang, head of the Department of Anthropology and Folklore Studies at Beijing Normal University, believed that the inscription of Spring Festival demonstrates the world's recognition and respect for traditional culture.  

It is a jubilant time for Chinese people, and China is also generous in sharing its excellent traditional culture with people around the world, Xiao said. 

According to the expert, the popularity of Spring Festival around the world comes from its strong lifestyle appeal. Whenever local people encounter the Chinese community in their country, they can feel a charming atmosphere.

Nowadays, during Spring Festival, people continue the tradition of hanging up red lanterns, setting off fireworks and fixing red scrolls with rhyming phrases on their doors to ward off evil spirits and attract good luck. Paper-cuts, the dragon dance, Temple Fair and lantern festival events, are also related activities forming the happiest of days in a year. 

The Spring Festival's UNESCO inscription will also make it possible for more Chinese traditional folk customs to gain worldwide popularity and recognition, Xiao added. 

Common values and pursuit

With the addition of Spring Festival, China now has 44 cultural elements or practices recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

China's vice minister of Culture and Tourism, Rao Quan, who led the Chinese delegation at the UNESCO session on Wednesday, said the inclusion of the Spring Festival on the UNESCO list will help promote the universal values of peace and harmony and highlight the important role of intangible cultural heritage in sustainable development, according to Xinhua. 

Chinese experts believe that the Spring Festival is not only a cultural and historical bond connecting the collective memories and emotions of Chinese people at home and abroad, but also contains the common values and pursuits that belong to all mankind, including harmony and unity between human beings and nature, as well as the expectations for a better life.

The global influence of Spring Festival is expanding year by year, and its cultural influence will become even greater as a UNESCO recognized intangible heritage, which emphasizes the humanity behind it, Xiao said. 

According to the expert, the greatest philosophy carried by the Spring Festival is the concept of peace and harmony of the Chinese civilization, and the pursuit of wellbeing and fostering cross-cultural understanding during a jubilant festive atmosphere. 

"Such values are significant in the current chaotic world plagued by multiple conflicts," Xiao added. 

Veteran folk custom expert Li Hanqiu told the Global Times on Thursday that the festival embodies hope as people welcome Spring. 

The Spring Festival aligns with the value of ecology, and tells human beings to coexist with nature in a harmonious way, he remarked.

Spring Festival is a time for bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new - a new way of life, new exploration, new achievements and new ideals, which are the common aspirations of all mankind, Li said. 

"No matter who holds what position in the new US government, it does not change the fact that Taiwan is part of China," Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office responded on Wednesday to an inquiry over Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te's recent remarks, which claimed that several key members of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet, including Marco Rubio, who has been nominated as Secretary of State, have strong ties with Taiwan and the relations between the island and the US are "at their best in history."

Lai persistently relies on the US to seek "Taiwan independence," but he will inevitably face the tragic outcome of being abandoned," said Chen. 

In response to proposals by officials from the US and some EU countries to transfer nuclear weapons to Ukraine, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday that China is highly concerned about the issues of nuclear risks arising from the Ukraine crisis and has repeatedly emphasized that nuclear weapons must not be used, and a nuclear war must not be fought.

Mao urged all parties to remain calm and exercise restraint under the current circumstances, promote the deescalation of situation and reduce strategic risks through dialogue and consulation.

The New York Times reported on November 21 that some unidentified Western officials had suggested that the US President Joe Biden is considering providing Ukraine with nuclear weapons before he leaves office, according to Reuters.

China has entered a stage of high-quality development marked by green and low-carbon initiatives, giving rise to new green professions and a growing demand for specialized talent.

The 2022 edition of the "Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China" identifies 134 green professions, comprising about 8 percent of all occupations. Data indicates that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), China will require 550,000 to 1 million professionals for its dual-carbon initiative, which aims to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

Currently, however, only around 100,000 individuals are employed in these fields, leaving a substantial talent gap, the China Youth Daily reported.

The Global Times interviewed people working in the emerging environment-related professions to share their stories of contributing to a greener China.

Guardians of carbon reduction

Controlling corporate carbon emissions is a key strategy for many countries to achieve their carbon neutrality goals. In the global green transition, trading carbon emission allowances has become mainstream.

Carbon emissions managers, an emerging profession, play a crucial role. They are responsible for monitoring, accounting, verifying, trading and consulting on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

A 33-year-old employee of the Shenzhen Emissions Exchange, surnamed Chen, works on carbon trading and near-zero carbon projects. Formerly in the financial sector, Chen pivoted to this field in 2020 after recognizing the potential of carbon trading following China's announcement of its dual-carbon goals.

"Our responsibilities go beyond facilitating carbon trading for companies," he explained. "We also design energy-saving and emissions-reduction solutions, assist companies in optimizing production processes and promote renewable energy use to lower emissions."

The rapid growth of green professions has outpaced the supply of qualified professionals, creating a significant talent gap. For example, many companies struggle to recruit experts in environmental, social and governance practices or carbon footprint analysis. To address this, some organizations are developing talent in-house or collaborating with partners, Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, noted.

Beyond the positions that need specialized background, the growth of the circular economy and the popularization of low-carbon lifestyles have encouraged more individuals to find a career in the green industry.

Su Yu, 25, is a smartphone recycling and quality control engineer in the Zhuanzhuan Group's intelligent inspection center in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province. He tests over 200 second-hand phones daily for screen functionality. These recycled devices reduce resource waste and contribute to the circular economy.

By the end of 2023, the platform of Zhuanzhuan had facilitated a cumulative carbon reduction of 4.11 million tons and saved 5,625 GWh of energy, equivalent to the annual consumption of 470,000 Chinese households.

"Through standardized quality inspection services, we enable more idle smartphones to be effectively recirculated, which not only reduces resource waste but also contributes to the development of the circular economy. It is a highly meaningful job," Zhang, a colleague of Su, told the Global Times.

Green 'doctors'

At a university in northern China, air conditioning is automatically turned on and off based on students' class schedules and the weather conditions. The emergence of building energy conservation and emission reduction consultants has led to the development of a "green plan" for the entire campus, which includes upgrading to the most suitable energy-saving facilities and creating an intelligent system that allows equipment to operate autonomously. The campus, as a result, has achieved an annual reduction in carbon emissions of approximately 3,500 tons.

Liu Yimin, a senior engineer at a company subordinate to the China Academy of Building Research, likens the role of a "building energy conservation and emission reduction consultant" to that of a "doctor for building energy consumption."

He told the Global Times that the main responsibility of this profession is to identify the causes of high energy consumption and carbon emissions in buildings and to propose effective and feasible solutions to address these "ailments."

Liu said that to become a building energy conservation and emission reduction consultant, one must master the fundamental knowledge of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, be familiar with the composition and operation of various systems, and possess knowledge in energy auditing and carbon emission calculation. Moreover, a consultant needs to understand energy consumption simulation and constructing mathematical models.

By making buildings "green," a new profession dedicated to wetland restoration, has gained popularity in China in recent years.

The Caijia river basin in Beijing's Yanqing district is one of the large-scale forest wetland sections in the city's first round of the million-acre plain afforestation project. It is also an early wetland restoration project designed by Zhang Manyin's team.

According to Zhang, this wetland was not designed as a particularly large water surface in the conventional sense, but rather consists of multiple winding streams and marshes. Zhang, who has participated in numerous wetland restoration projects, is the proponent of the new profession "Wetland Protection and Restoration Engineering Technician." In 2022, this profession was included in the National Occupational Classification Directory. "Our country is increasingly emphasizing wetland protection and restoration, providing support from various aspects such as legal and supporting systems, financial investment, and engineering technical talent assurance," said Zhang.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian announces:

At the invitation of Iran’s First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council Zhang Guoqing will visit Iran from December 3 to 4.

Xi, Macron inscribe prefaces to exhibition of China's Tang Dynasty in France

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Brasilia on Tuesday for a state visit to Brazil.

He was warmly welcomed upon his arrival by the Chief of Staff of the Brazilian Presidency Rui Costa, along with several other senior Brazilian officials.

An all-female local Batala band greeted him with vibrant drumbeats, dressed in full attire and brimming with enthusiasm.

Xi traveled to Brasilia after attending the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

A total of 763 Chinese nationals suspected of cross-border telecom fraud have been transferred from Myanmar to China after being apprehended in Myanmar's Tangyan region, marking another significant breakthrough in China's cooperation with Myanmar, according to China Central Television (CCTV) on Thursday.

Since 2023, more than 53,000 Chinese nationals suspected of telecom fraud have been captured, and all large-scale telecom fraud industrial parks in northern Myanmar bordering China have been dismantled.

To intensify crackdowns on telecom fraud targeting China from northern Myanmar, eliminate scam hideouts, and apprehend suspects, China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) recently strengthened law enforcement cooperation with local authorities in Myanmar. For the first time, a total of 1,079 suspects involved in cross-border telecom fraud were captured in Myanmar's Tangyan area, including 763 Chinese nationals, according to CCTV news.

Since the launch of a specialized operation by MPS in 2023, criminals have increasingly shifted their activities to more regions in Myanmar. They continue to recruit or lure individuals from China to illegally leave the country and engage in telecom fraud, leading to serious violent crimes such as illegal detention, intentional injury, and even kidnapping and murder, which pose significant threats to the safety and property of Chinese citizens.

MPS has directed Yunnan police to maintain close cooperation with Myanmar's local law enforcement. A joint operation in Tangyan led to the capture of 763 Chinese suspects involved in telecom fraud, including 69 fugitives on China's most-wanted list, on Sunday, the report said. 

A large number of tools used in the crimes, such as computers, mobile phones, and scam scripts were also seized. The suspects and evidence were handed over to Chinese authorities through the Yonghe port in Lincang,Southwest China's Yunnan Province.

An MPS spokesperson stated that authorities will continue to maintain high-pressure enforcement against cross-border telecom fraud, particularly in areas where scam operations are concentrated. Efforts to enhance law enforcement cooperation with Myanmar will be intensified to resolve telecom fraud crimes targeting China.

In March, Chinese and Myanmar police conducted their first joint law enforcement operation in the Muse region of Myanmar, arresting over 800 telecom fraud suspects.

In May, the ministry said 49,000 criminal telecom and internet fraud suspects had been handed over by Myanmar to China's custody since July 2023.

Chinese President Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on Saturday morning after attending the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and the 19th G20 Summit and paying state visits to Peru and Brazil.

Xi's entourage, including Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and foreign minister, returned on the same flight.

Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, among others, saw Xi off at the airport when his flight left after a technical stop in Casablanca, Morocco.

The Philippine side, in collusion with external countries, carried out frequent military exercises in the South China Sea to sow discord and provoke confrontation. Such actions disrupt peace and stability in the South China Sea and undermine the interests and well-being of people in the region, Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, told a press conference on Friday.

Zhang made the remarks in response to a question about Philippine Navy spokesperson's remarks that the joint naval exercises frequently held by the Philippines, the US and other Western powers were helping reign in "aggressive" Chinese actions in the South China Sea, and that the Philippine government signed into law the so-called Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act to commit to "rule-based international order."

Zhang said the Philippine side attempted to solidify the illegal arbitral award on the South China Sea through domestic legislation, to include China's Huangyan Dao, most islands and reefs of China's Nansha Qundao and their adjacent waters into the Philippine's maritime zones.

Such acts severely violate China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea and harm other countries' right to navigation and shipping. The Chinese side firmly opposes this, said Zhang.

Zhang emphasized that the Asia-Pacific welcomes those who share the pursuit of peaceful development, not those who create troubles and conflicts. China urges the Philippine side to immediately stop spreading false narratives, refrain from any unilateral action that may expand and complicate disputes, and return to the right track of settling disputes through dialogue and negotiation, he said.

The Chinese military will take strong and resolute measures to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, counter infringements and provocations, and preserve peace and stability in the South China Sea, said Zhang.