The dragon-scale bookbinding is a traditional Chinese way of bookbinding with a history of over 1,000 years. Passed down from generation to generation, the completed artworks are known to resemble dragons as each page looking like a scale.
The art form, which showcases the art and wisdom of ancient Chinese people, will be on display at a new exhibition featuring new works by inheritor Zhang Xiaodong at Shanghai's UOB Art Gallery.
Zhang's new exhibition Rise, which is set to open to the public in mid-September, reveals his innovation and exploration as the traditional art meets modern life.
His paintings explore the concept of breathing in Chinese art.
A highlight of the exhibition will be his dragon-scale bookbinding version of the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber, a recreation of 230 images of scholar Sun Wen from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time proposed the principles of "zhen shi qin cheng" for China's Africa policy in a speech in 2013 at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Center in Tanzania.
Eleven years have passed since that momentous day in the history of China-Africa ties, but the principles endure. They have not only underpinned China's engagement with Africa in numerous fruitful cooperation projects, but also helped people get closer through exchanges and deepening friendships.
In areas of cultural heritage conservation and archaeology, China and Africa are working together to boost cooperation among Global South countries and contribute to the world with their example. In this issue of the special coverage of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Global Times reporters Li Yuche and Xu Liuliu share more details about the latest updates in this cooperation. A total of 1,223 natural and cultural sites across 168 countries are currently documented in the UNESCO World Heritage List. These sites are diverse, but one category that remains rare among them is hydrological heritage. Such a heritage epitomizes ancient human wisdom for managing waters to develop agricultural civilizations.
The picture of such a rare heritage is expected to be made clearer in the coming years, as the sites of the Rawda Island Nilometer in Egypt and the Baiheliang Ancient Hydrological Inscription in China are applying for a joint World Heritage title in 2026.
'Close inner bond'
Located in Cairo and Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality respectively, one similarity shared between the Rawda Island Nilometer and the Baiheliang Ancient Hydrological Inscription is 1,200-year-old well-preserved history.
The hydrological inscription Baiheliang, also known as the White Crane Ridge, was a 1,600-meter-long stone ridge in the Yangtze River. The stone ridge was dubbed an "underwater wonder" by UNESCO due to its coverage of 160 ancient inscriptions that document the river's water level records dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
The heritage represents how ancient Chinese people infused art into water engineering, since such inscriptions have been done in multiple Chinese calligraphic styles. Fish patterns are also engraved on stone tablets, to which the distance between the fishes' eyes and the water surface was an indicator of the river's lower flow.
When visiting the site in Chongqing, Ahmed Rehema, Associate Minister of Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, said that he was "deeply impressed by the inscriptions and stone fish carvings that were created by Chinese people in more than 1,000 years ago."
While noting the site marks one of the "world's oldest hydrological works of research," underwater archaeologist He Qiyi told the Global Times that human being's ingenuity in water management often dwells in the oldest civilizations in the world with developed agricultural traditions.
Around AD700, Egyptians had also harnessed managing river resources as represented by the Nilometer in Cairo. The Nilometer was used to measure flood levels, and the one on the Rawda Island is iconic because it was a marble octagonal column that was still functional in the 1950s to 1960s.
Ancient texts documenting vegetation growth and water parameters were engraved on the hydrological heritage. Recalling his visit to the site, Jiang Rui, director of the Baiheliang Underwater Museum, told the Global Times that he has seen a "close inner bond" between the two hydrological heritages.
Giving explanations on the two sites' modern value has been a focal issue ever since 2021 when a "feasibility study" of the two sites' application was carried out. In 2023, a Baiheliang-themed academic forum was launched to tackle the major issue of "discovering the two sites' similarities," he told the Global Times.
"We aim to finish the compilation of our joint application in 2025, and make an official application to the UNESCO in 2026," Jiang revealed to the Global Times.
Only a beginning
Years of preparation for the joint project have deepened exchanges between heritage experts in China and Egypt. In his experience of visiting the Baiheliang Underwater Museum, Rehema said that he was able to grasp China's "advanced technologies and mind-sets" for cultural relic conservation.
"Such experiences can inspire us to manage our underwater heritages in Egypt," Rehema emphasized.
In 2009, the Baiheliang Underwater Museum was built as the world's only dive-free museum under the water. It allows visitors to take 90-meter-long escalators in a glass tunnel that goes 40 meters under the Yangtze River.
"Our collaboration with Egypt enhances the developing countries' discourse power in interpreting their importance in protecting cultural heritages worldwide," Jiang said.
Sharing the exchange spirits encouraged by the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, apart from Egypt, China has become a partner to African countries in heritage conservation, arts exchange, and archaeology.
Focusing on Paleolithic archeological sites, China and Kenya recently signed a six-year plan starting from 2024 onward to support multiple excavations to be carried out in the two countries.
In 2022, China, for the first time, became the guest country of honor for the Biennale of Contemporary African Art in Dakar, Senegal.
That occasion marked how China and Senegal's long-standing civilizations are still a source of "cultural pride" for contemporary artists, while "making new dialogues regardless of territorial limitations," Yue Jieqiong, the Chinese pavilion's curator at the event told the Global Times.
The 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) commenced on Thursday, showcasing China's determination to further open up to the world and its willingness to share the dividends of its growth. The event witnessed enthusiastic attendance from countries around the world, offering a strong rebuttal to the decoupling efforts by some politicians in the West, analysts said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday sent a congratulatory letter to the 2024 CIFTIS. Xi pointed out that CIFTIS, having been successfully held for 10 years, is a vivid portrayal of the high-quality development of China's services industry and services trade, making positive contributions to the building of an open world economy.
On Thursday, the China National Convention Center and Shougang Park in Beijing were crowded with exhibitors and visitors from around the world, with displays featuring exhibits ranging from artificial intelligence (AI)-powered surgical robots and passenger drones to hydrogen fuel motorbikes, giving the event a tech-driven, futuristic feel, the Global Times observed.
Together with the China Import and Export Fair and the China International Import Expo, which will be held later this year, the CIFTIS underlined China's commitment to opening up its services sector and sharing its vast market potential with the world, Chinese analysts said.
Paulo Jorge Nascimento, Portuguese Ambassador to China, told the Global Times on Thursday that Portugal, having a keen interest in expanding the services trade, has been following CIFTIS for a long time and "now we think it is the right time to set up our first independent booth as the two countries celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations."
The ambassador said that with trade in goods dominating bilateral trade currently, "there is a huge space to increase trade in services between the two countries."
Companies and exhibitors expressed optimism about leveraging China's rapidly growing services sector and benefiting from the country's innovation-driven growth.
A long list of Global 500 firms, including Tesla, Siemens and Amazon, attended the event, which runs from September 12 to 16.
A resolution adopted by the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in July called for adopting innovative measures to boost trade in services, and fully apply the "negative list" for cross-border trade in services.
China's determination to further open up its services sector has resonated well with global companies.
"The world is quite complicated today, and we see stability in China. The recent string of Chinese government policies aimed at further opening up add predictability for us. As a result, we are making plans to further increase our reach in the Chinese market," Wu Haifeng, general manager of Greater China with Norway-based industrial software company Kongsberg Digital AS, told the Global Times on Thursday.
"CIFTIS has significant global influence, as it is currently the world's only national-level, international, and comprehensive platform for services trade. With China recently introducing new measures to further open up its services sector, this year's event is expected to be a key highlight," Huo Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Unlike certain Western politicians pushing for "decoupling" with China in some areas, multinational corporations prioritize investment opportunities and returns, Huo said.
With China's economy still growing at around 5 percent and its emerging industries showing strong vitality, companies won't be passing up investment opportunities in China. "In fact, they're rushing in, worried that other countries might snap up opportunities first. While US-led decoupling efforts may cause some external disturbances, the key lies in the resilience of China's own economic growth and its promising prospects," Huo noted.
The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, said on Sunday that it will work with other government agencies to further advance the opening-up of the services sector.
Former European Central Bank chief and Italian prime minister Mario Draghi presented a report at a news conference in Brussels on Monday, titled "The Future of European Competitiveness." In the report, he calls for EU to "radically change." However, is the "prescription," offered by Draghi amid the EU's extreme anxiety over declining competitiveness, really what Europe needs?
The report's main concern is Europe's declining competitiveness. Europe is facing an unprecedented dilemma now, with sluggish economic growth, declining industrial competitiveness, high unemployment, and low business confidence. As a result, Europe has begun to explore various "prescriptions" for its challenges.
In the 69-page "Draghi's Report," China is mentioned in 25 pages. The report points out that "the EU's competitiveness is currently being squeezed from two sides. On the one side, EU companies are facing weaker foreign demand - especially from China - and rising competitive pressures from Chinese companies." In April, Draghi specifically condemned China for "threatening to undercut" Europe's industrial base by "attempting to capture and internalize all parts of the supply chain in green and advanced technologies."
"Draghi's Report" reflects Europe's overall anxiety. Understandably, Europe is seeking a way out of its current predicament. However, this solution should not involve position China as a target obstructing European development, nor should it come at the expense of China-EU relations. If the EU resorts to such an approach, it would not only fail to help Europe overcome its challenges but could even exacerbate its problems.
Europe's current economic difficulties reveal deep-seated structural defects. In the face of intense market competition, European companies are struggling to transform and adapt to new economic and technological developments, putting them at a distinct disadvantage in the global market. In this context, as China has made significant strides in emerging fields like renewable energy, some European viewpoints, with added pressure from the US, perceive the normal market relationship with China as excessive dependency and risk.
However, this perspective not only obscures Europe's own problems but also conflates competitiveness issues with complex geopolitical games, deepening Europe's economic predicament.
As a matter of fact, China and Europe share deep mutual interests in economic and trade relations, global governance, and politics. Despite their differences, the China-EU relationship enjoys strong endogenous driving force and bright prospects of development. The essence of China-EU cooperation lies in complementary advantages and mutual benefits. China can support Europe in the development of new energy, helping address the bottlenecks Europe faces.
The decline in competitiveness acts like an invisible net, making it difficult for Europe to compete globally. The more anxious Europe becomes, the more clear-minded it should strive to maintain. A simplistic pursuit of protectionism, as the US and EU are currently doing, cannot address the fundamental, deep-seated issues facing Europe. The EU should resolve trade frictions with China through dialogue and consultation, taking into account each other's legitimate concerns, while avoiding retaliatory trade conflicts and preventing a lose-lose situation. Only by doing so can the EU enhance its competitiveness. Europe's "prescription" should not focus on exaggerating how China has "squeezed" Europe's survival space; instead, it should concentrate on fixing its own structural defects.
US legislation barring new drones made by Chinese technology firm DJI in the US “not only undermines American interests but also harms the very industry Congress intends to support,” a DJI spokesperson said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Wednesday.
The US House of Representatives approved on Monday local time a bill to ban the operation of new models of DJI drones in the US.
With less than two months to go before the US’ 2024 presidential and congressional elections, the world’s leading drone maker has become a new target as US lawmakers prepare to introduce up to 28 bills this week targeting China, in what has been dubbed "China Week."
“While it’s disheartening to see public policy discussions once again being swayed by political considerations rather than facts, DJI remains committed to actively engaging with lawmakers to dispel misconceptions about our brand,” the DJI statement reads.
DJI drones are utilized by the US’ federal agencies, local law enforcement, and emergency response teams to keep the communities safe and save lives in the US, the spokesperson said.
The use of DJI drones has also enabled the growth of small businesses in sectors ranging from real estate to agriculture and transport. All of these sectors rely on access to DJI drone technology to support operations, DJI spokesperson stated.
“Legislation that restricts US drone operators' ability to purchase and use the right equipment for their work, based solely on the equipment's country of origin, not only undermines American interests but also harms the very industry Congress intends to support,” the spokesperson said.
As the world’s leading drone maker, DJI accounts for over half of all drone sales in the US.
However, US lawmakers have consistently singled out the company, citing baseless national security concerns that DJI has strongly refuted.
As early as in October 2022, the US Defense Department blacklisted DJI based on the groundless allegation of “ties to the Chinese military.”
“In order to maintain its sci-tech hegemony, the US has been abusing export control measures to wantonly block and hobble Chinese enterprises,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on October 8, 2022 at a routine press conference in Beijing.
“By politicizing tech and trade issues and using them as a tool and weapon, the US cannot hold back China’s development, but will only hurt and isolate itself when its action backfires,” Mao said.
The latest US bill still requires approval from the US Senate before it can be signed into law by the US president, and it would not affect DJI drones already in use within the country, according to media reports.
China delivered its first domestically developed mpox vaccine into clinical trials on Monday. The vaccine, independently developed by the Shanghai Institute of Biological Products, a subsidy of the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), is based on a live, attenuated orthopoxvirus, Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA), the Global Times learned from the group.
According to the institute, the MVA strain has proved its safety and efficacy as a candidate vector for vaccination. The MVA mpox vaccine is produced using a mature cell factory production process, which is stable and reliable in quality. Preclinical studies have shown its safety and its ability to generate effective immune protection against mpox virus in non-human primate models.
Between January 2022 and August 2024, more than 120 countries have reported mpox, with over 100,000 laboratory-confirmed cases reported and over 220 deaths among confirmed cases, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO).
On August 14, the WHO declared mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring countries to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the WHO's highest-level alert, along with the emergence and rapid spread of a new virus strain in DRC named clade 1b.
Lu Hongzhou, head of the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, told media on Monday that although the current outbreak focused on the DRC, the possibility cannot be ruled that the 1b lineage had spread globally, which requires our heightened attention.
Based on the current prevention and control measures and domestic epidemic monitoring system, the likelihood of a rapid increase in mpox infections in China remains relatively low, Lu said, while calling for the public to remain vigilant.
After nearly a month of speculation, German media reported on Saturday that two German warships are scheduled to transit the Taiwan Straits in mid-September. This move, if it takes place, will likely be seen as a muscle-flexing move and a nod to the US' Asia-Pacific policies, Chinese experts said, adding that it will be perceived by China as an unfriendly gesture, likely casting a shadow on Beijing-Berlin ties.
The two German warships will become the first German naval vessels to pass through the Taiwan Straits in 22 years, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Saturday, citing unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships' passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal.
Germany's defense ministry declined to comment, Reuters reported.
The possible transit of German warships through the Taiwan Straits aligns with Germany's policy, which seeks to enhance Berlin's engagement in the region. This move also serves as a strategic gesture to play up to the US and NATO, particularly in light of the US' efforts to counter China's influence in trade and to secure greater American support for European security, an anonymous research fellow from China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations told the Global Times.
In November 2023, US and Canadian warships passed through the Taiwan Straits. The Chinese People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command organized naval and aviation forces to be on high alert to track and monitor the US and Canadian vessels through their entire course and handle them in accordance with the law and regulations.
If the German warships make such a move, it will be seen by China as a gesture of "flexing muscles" and an unfriendly move, said the expert, noting that it will surely cast a shadow on Beijing's ties with Berlin.
When asked for comment on German warships' scheduled transit through Taiwan Straits, a spokesperson from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on August 20 that Taiwan question is China's internal affair.
China has always been opposed to the undermining of China's territorial sovereignty and security under the guise of freedom of navigation, said the spokesperson.
The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) concluded in Beijing on Friday with significant achievements made. In addition to reaching a clear political consensus on enhancing all-round cooperation, China and African countries drafted a blueprint for future cooperation, and China also proposed 10 partnership actions with Africa to advance modernization in the next three years, sending a powerful message of joint development, analysts said.
They also noted that the summit showcased unwavering confidence in the unity and cooperation of the Global South and unveiled a new chapter for building a community with a shared future for humanity.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday met with African leaders and representatives attending the summit including President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, Chairman of Sudan's Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, President of Madagascar Andry Nirina Rajoelina, Gambian President Adama Barrow, Liberian President Joseph Nyumah Boakai, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, and President of the Republic of Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso.
The bilateral meetings are a continuation of intensive meetings between Chinese and African leaders before and during FOCAC, highlighting how the friendship between China and Africa will also contribute to their joint cooperation, advancing the construction of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future and injecting new momentum into the development of China-Africa relations, analysts said.
The 2024 Summit of the FOCAC, which kicked off on Wednesday, has achieved complete success, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday.
Wang also highlighted achievements in four areas - bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China have been elevated to the level of strategic relations, the overall characterization of China-Africa relations has been elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era, six major proposals to advance China-Africa modernization have been put forward, and a blueprint for action to advance China-Africa cooperation has been drawn up.
China and Africa also agreed to oppose prejudice, address historical injustice and advance modernization to make it benefit all people, Wang said, noting that the summit has demonstrated the Global South's firm confidence in solidarity and cooperation.
Joseph Kahama, Secretary General of the Tanzania-China Friendship Promotion Association, said that President Xi introduced new dynamic initiatives for Africa that will benefit the continent's industrialization, development, and regional and global peace.
During the speech delivered by President Xi, in which he proposed 10 partnership actions with Africa to advance modernization in the next three years, the audience burst into applause several times! That shows how inspiring Chinese initiative is and how much it aligns with the needs of African people, said Han Jinghua, chairman of Jiayou International Logistics Co., Ltd.
New prospects
This year's FOCAC session also includes business-to-business matchmaking sessions, allowing Chinese companies that are just starting to extend their business to Africa to efficiently connect with demand-side partners and engage with local enterprises.
"The dynamics of China-Africa cooperation are accumulating in more and more fields, and we will continue to contribute the strength of AI enterprises to China-Africa economic and trade cooperation," a spokesperson of 4Paradigm, one of the leading AI platform companies in China that attended sideline events of the summit, told the Global Times.
This reunion of the China-Africa family has also highlighted new features of China-Africa cooperation, said Yang Baorong, director of African Studies of the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noting that many African leaders, before arriving in Beijing, visited various other places and enterprises across China to promote concrete cooperation and deepen exchanges with different regions of China.
The US and some Western media closely followed this year's FOCAC summit, with some amplifying clichéd narratives such as "debt trap."
Economists have pointed out that the US and some Western countries promote the "debt trap" narrative due to biases and fears that China's growth and cooperation with Africa might reduce their influence in the continent. They are also reluctant to see the successful and complementary development between China and Africa, said Yang.
The success of China-Africa cooperation stems from the alignment between China's infrastructure capabilities and Africa's industrial needs. China's diverse industries provide significant advantages, addressing crucial demands on the continent.
Han of Jiayou International Logistics Co., Ltd, also refuted the "debt trap" narrative, saying that such hyping stems from a "sour grapes" mentality.
China's investments in Africa not only create local jobs and increase tax revenues but also consider each country's specific circumstances for debt relief or deferral, so that local governments can better utilize their fiscal revenues and form a healthy, sustainable cycle of development, Han said.
On August 15th, State Grid Taizhou Power Supply Company adopted its pioneering "power protection and prefabrication" method during the capacity expansion operation of the distribution transformer at Qiaoyangyang No. 2 Substation, successfully resolving the issue of reverse overload caused by renewable energy sources in the transformer area.
Notably, the prefabricated transformer installation took just 30 minutes, one-sixth of the time required for traditional installation methods. Furthermore, the number of on-site workers was reduced from 9 to 6, and the entire process was completed without disrupting the consumption and grid connection of photovoltaic power generation. With the significant increase in distributed photovoltaic systems connected to the grid, reverse overload issues on power lines have become more frequent.
In May this year, Taizhou Power Supply Company organized a joint research team of relevant professionals to develop a "Power Protection + Prefabrication" method specifically for low-voltage live-working operations on photovoltaic reverse overload lines. This method enables automatic and rapid switching of lines when low-voltage distribution cabinets are disconnected from the grid, allowing for the consumption of generated electricity. After the transfer of low-voltage loads, operators use prefabricated modules to dismantle the original transformer and install a new transformer through modular hoisting.
This transforms the traditionally complex installation process on distribution poles into a relatively simple and rapid modular assembly, significantly enhancing the safety of live-working operations while drastically reducing power outages. On August 15, the on-site operators transported various modules, which had been prefabricated and assembled in advance at a factory, to the Qiaoyangyang No. 2 Substation work site. Upon connecting the energy storage vehicle to the line and disconnecting the low-voltage distribution cabinet, the mobile energy storage vehicle was linked to photovoltaic power generation customers.
With the cooperation of cranes and spider lifts, the operators assembled prefabricated modules such as transformers, fuse holders, grounding flat irons, and lead wires. The entire capacity expansion operation was completed in just 2.5 hours. During this time, nearly 160 kW of reverse photovoltaic load from the transformer area was seamlessly connected to the energy storage vehicle for consumption without any disruption.
China and India should enhance cooperation in the green transformation, as China's advanced production capabilities in electric vehicles (EVs) and related battery products align well with India's needs for its nascent EV industry and the fruitless "Make in India" initiative, Chinese experts said.
India's Tata Motors will reportedly source battery packs for its passenger EVs from Octillion Power Systems, a major battery pack maker, Indian news outlet Livemint.com reported on Wednesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The reported move would end the practice of buying them solely from group company Tata AutoCompSystems, the report said.
Tata Motors' decision comes amid a challenging EV market for the company, and this shift aims to address performance issues, and diversify its supply and technology base, the report said.
Chinese companies lead the global EV market with their complete supply chain and advanced technology. To build a competitive edge in the green sector, India's best option is to collaborate with China, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Thursday.
India holds a significant potential for the green transformation. However, EV market penetration remains minimal compared with internal combustion cars due to the higher cost of EVs, primarily driven by the battery pack, as reported by Indian media.
Octillion Power Systems has supplied more than 1 million battery systems to customers around the globe, according to the company's official website.
The move by the Indian carmaker shows that the market, rather than political factors, drives business decisions. Companies continue to pursue market-oriented approaches driven by demand and growth needs, Qian said.
A number of Chinese industry players, such as BYD, are doing business in India, either by exporting products or by forming partnerships with local companies, as the South Asian country pursues green development.
"It is hoped that Tata Motors' initiative will serve as the latest positive example for further cooperation between Chinese and Indian companies, supporting India's green transformation and the 'Make in India' initiative, which has been a failure, while offering new opportunities for Chinese companies in the Indian market," Qian said.
