Japan on Tuesday released its annual government foreign policy report, which stressed the importance of Tokyo deepening ties with Washington while also reiterating its policy of promoting a "mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests" with China. 

A Chinese expert said the report indicates that Japan still appears to prioritize maintaining its alliance with the US and has not altered the dual nature of its China policy — one that seems to advocate engagement, cooperation, and dialogue, while simultaneously maintaining a stance of competition, containment, and even confrontation.

The annual government foreign policy report emphasized the importance of Tokyo's push to build a strong rapport and further deepen ties with US President Donald Trump's administration - a view that comes as Japan grapples with how to respond to his decision to slap the US ally with onerous tariffs, the Japan Times reported.

The 2025 Diplomatic Bluebook, presented by Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya at a Cabinet meeting the same day, said that Tokyo will communicate closely with Washington over various issues facing the international community and work to make solid contributions, said the report.

Regarding China, the report reiterated the government's policy of promoting a "mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests" with the world's No.2 economy, a phrase revived in 2024's report after a four-year absence. 

The biggest change in the 2025 Diplomatic Bluebook stems from the series of new challenges posed to Japan by the current US administration's foreign policy, particularly in terms of how to maintain the stability of the US-Japan alliance, Xiang Haoyu, a research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Fundamentally, Japan still prioritizes its relationship with the US and has not altered the dual nature of its China policy - maintaining engagement, cooperation, and dialogue on one hand, while also pursuing competition, containment, and even confrontation on the other," he said.

He further noted that compared with the past, Japan's current approach to China appears more pragmatic and flexible. However, these adjustments, Xiang stressed, are seems to be tactical and expedient rather than a long-term strategic shift.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, visiting Japan for the first time since becoming head of the Belgium-based military alliance in October, was set to hold talks with Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani later Tuesday and with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday, the Associate Press reported.

China's expansion of its armed forces has been "staggering," Rutte claimed on this visit, which was aimed at "projecting" the alliance's power in the Asia-Pacific region, said the AFP.

Rutte's so-called aim of "projecting" the alliance's power in the Asia-Pacific region has laid bare NATO's intention to interfere in the region's security and stability, Lü Chao, an expert at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. He further noted that NATO seems reluctant to see closer ties between China and Japan.

The US wants NATO members to be more involved in the Indo-Pacific region, Rutte claimed. He welcomed US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's recent trip to Japan to ensure Washington's commitment to strengthen its alliance with Japan and presence in the region. 

The Japan Times also reported that Rutte is scheduled to hold talks with Defense Minister Gen Nakatani later Tuesday. Ahead of the meeting, the defense chief referred to Rutte's visit as "very meaningful for furthering security and defense cooperation."

2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. If Japan chooses to emphasize "continuing to promote practical cooperation" with NATO in the Asia-Pacific region at this time, this would have a detrimental impact on regional security, Lü said.

Since Japan states it is promoting a "mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests" with China, it should face up to history and work with China toward the same goals, he added.

A 50-kilogram hydrogen-powered unmanned aerial vehicle developed by China recently completed a 30-hour continuous flight, setting a new domestic record for similar types of aircraft and reaching an internationally leading level in terms of endurance.

The drone, jointly developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industrial Group Co (CAIG) under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), a state-owned aerospace and defense conglomerate, and Tsinghua University, achieved a breakthrough in the integrated design technology of flight, propulsion and control systems based on the output characteristics of hydrogen fuel cells, AVIC said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to AVIC’s release, during takeoff, the aircraft innovatively adopted an autonomous integrated vehicle-mounted release method with an unmanned system consisting of an unmanned ground vehicle and an unmanned aerial vehicle. This system successfully demonstrated and validated its operational capabilities under non-standard runway conditions.

During its flight, the drone equipped with an electro-optical payload is capable of effective ground patrol and surveillance.

Meanwhile, by using a 5G onboard module and public network resources, the drone can transmit in real time the telemetry data and mission payload images to a remote platform, achieving dynamic remote monitoring, says the statement.

This collaborative model combined with front-end inspection and back-end decision-making demonstrates great potential in areas such as emergency communications, environmental monitoring and border patrol. During natural disaster rescue missions, drones can remain airborne for extended periods and provide real-time imagery of affected areas. In terms of smart city management, they, combined with AI algorithms, can automatically identify violations and trigger response procedures, according to some industrial insiders.

Industry insiders added that compared with traditional lithium battery-powered drones, hydrogen energy systems offer higher energy density, longer endurance and zero carbon emissions – perfectly aligning with the needs of green aviation development. The achievement of 30-hour continuous flight capability means that this drone can cover a wider operational range and perform more complex tasks, providing essential hardware support for the expansion of low-altitude economy application scenarios.

Besides, the technical approach for aircraft hydrogen fuel cells differs significantly from hydrogen fuel cells used in automobiles, Shi Xin, an expert from the State Key Laboratory of Catalysis under Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday. He noted that the design of aircraft hydrogen fuel cells focuses on lightweight, high energy density, long endurance and performance in ultra-low temperatures.

Major global producers of hydrogen-powered drones include South Korean Doosan Mobility Innovation, UK’s ISS Aerospace, Japan’s Drone Works, and Israel’s Heven drones. The US’ AeroVironment company successfully built and tested the world’s first liquid hydrogen-powered drone in 2005.

Attracted by the promising market prospects, several Chinese companies have already entered the research, development and production of the hydrogen-powered drone industry, experts said.

CAIG believes that the 50kg-class hydrogen-powered drone will enhance the application scenarios of hydrogen-powered drones in the low-altitude economy, and play a positive role in advancing new business models in low-altitude economy and green aviation, according to the statement.

Recently, a plan spearheaded by the BlackRock to acquire more ports has not only put BlackRock, the "world's largest asset management company," under the spotlight, but has also highlighted the role of ports and maritime transport in global trade.

Data shows that 80 to 90 percent of global trade is completed through maritime transport, yet port operations have been politicized by some countries. Regarding the tactics of these countries to smear Chinese port operations to contain China's development, some experts reached by the Global Times said that China should continue to operate ports with a win-win attitude, fostering mutual benefits to gain the support of more countries.

A hundred ports

Larry Fink, BlackRock's CEO, recently stated that if the current acquisition plan is completed, the company will operate 100 ports worldwide. The related transactions have not yet been finalized and still require approval from multiple regulatory authorities, Reuters reported

Yahoo News reported that after US President Donald Trump claimed that China was interfering with the Panama Canal and expressed his desire to "take it back," Fink personally contacted the White House, stating that if BlackRock acquired the relevant ports, there would be no need for a forceful takeover.

According to Fortune, sources familiar with the matter revealed that Fink had previously spoken with Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and others, ultimately securing the support of the US government.

"The deal wouldn't have come together without Trump's support," said the aforementioned source, Fortune reported.

After the deal was disclosed, BlackRock's relationship with the US government came under question. US media outlets such as Medium reported that when BlackRock was founded in 1988, it was merely a private equity firm and a subsidiary of the BlackStone Group.

Later, BlackRock's business gradually expanded into risk management and asset management. By the end of 1990, the company managed assets worth only $165 billion. When the 2008 global financial crisis hit, BlackRock's managed assets were approximately $1.3 trillion, and now that figure has surpassed $11 trillion.

Prior to the financial crisis I was not even familiar with the name. But in the years after the Lehman [Brothers] collapse [in 2008], BlackRock appeared everywhere. Everywhere!" German journalist Heike Buchter, who had been covering Wall Street for years, told Deutsche Welle in 2015.

The collapse of Lehman Brothers boosted BlackRock's business. The company had numerous experts in mortgage-backed securities portfolios, which led to regular calls from the Federal Reserve. According to The New York Times, after the bankruptcy of investment banks like Bear Stearns in 2008, the New York Federal Reserve hired BlackRock to help oversee billions of dollars in toxic assets originally belonging to these firms.

While assisting the New York government in pricing and selling these assets, BlackRock also helped private clients purchase similar assets. This sparked criticism from US lawmakers and others who worried that the relationship between Wall Street and the government was too cozy, potentially involving conflicts of interest.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Federal Reserve once again turned to BlackRock, with one of its subsidiaries advising the Fed on purchasing billions of dollars in commercial mortgage-backed securities and investment-grade corporate bonds.

BlackRock is "more than just an investment firm - it's a force that shapes economies, influences governments, and drives global markets," reported Medium.

In the 1980s, BlackRock developed an integrated asset management platform called "Aladdin" to manage investment risks and optimize asset allocation. Its users include key institutions like the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.

The "Aladdin" system has even been called "a pillar of modern finance," and its widespread use means that BlackRock not only manages its own $11 trillion in assets but also oversees more than $21 trillion through this system. This also means BlackRock has access to valuable data about global finance, raising concerns about its potential monopoly in the field of risk analysis.

Notably, BlackRock is a major shareholder in many large tech and financial companies, including Apple and Amazon.

BlackRock's influence extends beyond economics. The company plays a key role in shaping public policy. Through lobbying and collaboration with governments, BlackRock impacts decisions ranging from climate policy to corporate regulation.

Deutsche Welle referred to BlackRock as a "secret global power." In July 2024, the UK's The Guardian reported that the Labour party has a plan to "get BlackRock to rebuild Britain." If so, BlackRock might "privatize Britain."

The US oversight organization "Campaign for Accountability," which focuses on public corruption, launched an initiative called the "BlackRock Transparency Project." According to a report released by the project, BlackRock has established close ties with multiple governments to outmaneuver competitors and secure special privileges. Researchers noted that since 2004, researchers note, BlackRock has hired at least 84 former government officials, regulators, and central bankers worldwide.

Maritime transport

BlackRock's acquisition plans over the last two years have underscored the critical role of maritime transport and ports in international trade.

Maritime trade led to the exchange of not only goods but also ideas, languages, religions, and cultures.

Maritime trade has been a catalyst for cultural exchange since ancient times.

Chinese silk and porcelain influenced Western art and fashion, while Indian mathematics and astronomy spread to the Arab world and Europe through trade networks. The introduction of spices revolutionized European cuisine and impacted medicine and preservation. Cultural blending often occurred in international port cities, which became melting pots of diversity.

Shipping is the lifeblood of the global economy. According to an article published on the website of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), a leading global shipping organization, the international shipping industry handles about 90 percent of global trade, with over 50,000 merchant ships engaged in international commerce. The global fleet is registered in more than 150 countries and manned by over a million seafarers of virtually every nationality.

The International Chamber of Shipping believes it is difficult to quantify the value of volume of world seaborne trade in monetary terms, as figures for trade estimates are traditionally in terms of tons or ton-miles, and are therefore not comparable with monetary-based statistics for the value of the world economy.

However, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates that the operation of merchant ships contributes about $380 billion in freight rates within the global economy, equivalent to about five percent of total world trade.

An article published in November 2024 on the website of the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) states that, in terms of trade volume, maritime transport accounts for about 80 percent of global trade; and in terms of value, it accounts for 70 percent of global trade value.

The CSIS article noted that over the last four decades total seaborne trade estimates have quadrupled, from just over eight trillion ton-miles in 1968 to over 32 trillion ton-miles in 2008.

Data released by the German data company Statista in March this year shows that in 2023, the volume of global seaborne trade was estimated to be almost 12.3 billion tons. In 1990, only about four billion tons of goods were loaded in ports worldwide.

In a paper published on the website of Nature magazine in July 2022 titled "Ports' criticality in international trade and global supply-chains," researchers quantified the criticality of the world's 1300 most important ports for global supply chains by predicting the allocation of trade flows on the global maritime transport network.

The researchers link to a global supply-chain database to evaluate the importance of ports for the economy. They found that around 50 percent of global trade in value terms is maritime, which reaches up to 76 percent for the mining and quarrying sector.

Low-income countries and small island developing states disproportionately rely on maritime trade: their maritime import ratios are 1.5 and 2.0 times the global average, respectively. Every dollar flowing through ports contributes an average of $4.3 to the global economy.

The team identifies that ports are vital to both global and national economies. The five largest ports in the world handle cargo that accounts for more than 1.4 percent of global economic output. A total of 94 ports are considered macroeconomically significant to global supply chains, with more than 0.1 percent of global industrial output depending on them.

In global port operations, East Asian ports perform exceptionally well. In 2024, Shanghai Port's container throughput exceeded 50 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), making it the world's first container terminal to surpass the 50-million mark, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Data released by Statista in July 2024 shows that in 2023, eight of the world's 10 busiest container ports were located in Asia. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California are the two largest container ports in the US. Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Hamburg in Germany, and Antwerp in Belgium host Europe's largest ports. Singapore's PSA International is one of the world's leading maritime terminal operators. The company operates multiple ports globally, generating nearly 4.7 billion Singapore dollars in revenue in 2021 (1 SGD is approximately 5.4 CNY).

According to an article published on the World Bank's website in June 2024, the 2023 Container Port Performance Index collects more than 182,000 vessel calls and about 381 million twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs) for the full calendar year of 2023. Looking at the top-performing ports, Yangshan Port in Shanghai ranked first for the second consecutive year, Salalah Port in Oman maintained second place, Cartagena Port in Colombia rose to third, Tangier-Mediterranean Port in Morocco stabilized at fourth, and Tanjung Pelepas Port in Malaysia ranked fifth.

Geopolitical pawns

According to a Bloomberg report in August 2024, along with the development of maritime trade, maritime ports have evolved from trading posts and naval bases into "economies within economies," powering globalization, serving as critical hubs for energy flows, and clustering industrial production, warehousing, and distribution.

"It's now much clearer that ports are geopolitical assets and that emphasis hasn't always been there," Peter de Langen, the owner and principal consultant of Ports & Logistics Advisory, based in Malaga, Spain, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

Regarding BlackRock's plan to acquire 43 ports, some US media outlets commented that it could reshape global maritime infrastructure and trigger a seismic shift in US-China competition.

According to media reports, after World War II, the US was the world's sole maritime superpower, with its port management and shipbuilding at the forefront globally. However, over the past 40 years, US companies have gradually withdrawn from global shipping and port operations, shifting focus upstream in the value chain for higher financial returns. Yet, when other countries, including China, heavily invested in port construction to boost economic development, Washington expressed significant displeasure.

The New York Times published an article in January, which claimed that China's influence over global ports had raised concerns among US officials.

Some US media outlets had also hyped up "cranes threat," claiming that cranes exported by Chinese companies to the US "are equipped with cellular modems that can be remotely controlled," which "may pose a covert national security risk" to the US.

The US government has also alerted maritime stakeholders of foreign companies manufacturing, installing, and maintaining "port equipment that creates vulnerabilities to global maritime infrastructure information technology and operational technology systems." In addition, Reuters reported on March 20 that the US government is drafting an executive order that would rely on funding from a US Trade Representative proposal to levy fines of up to $1.5 million on China-made ships or vessels from fleets that include ships made in China.

"These are baseless claims, " He Weiwen, executive director of the China Association of International Trade and senior researcher at the Center for China and Globalization, told Global Times. He noted that the US accusations regarding China's port operations are aimed at smearing China and containing its development. The US believes China's normal trade, investment, and shipping cooperation abroad threatens the US because Washington wants to maintain its sole dominance.

A maritime expert told the Global Times on condition of anonymity that some US media outlets continuously smear Chinese port operations to pave the way for restoring the US' hegemony or dominance in global maritime trade.

He believes that, in the face of US' containment efforts, China must first maintain resolve and confidence: China's international maritime trade volume already accounts for nearly one-third of global maritime trade, and this share will continue to rise in the future, naturally giving China greater influence. Furthermore, China should continue to operate ports with a win-win attitude, fostering mutual benefits to win the support of more countries.

China's cyberspace administration, in coordination with sports authorities, is ramping up efforts to regulate online sports fan communities, according to a report from the official WeChat account of the Cyberspace Administration of China on Wednesday.

Measures have been taken to crack down on incitement, disputes and verbal abuse. Over 1.6 million pieces of illegal or non-compliant content have been removed, with 3,767 accounts shut down. 

The campaign aims to foster a positive online environment for athlete preparations and the smooth hosting of sporting events, the report noted.

Wang Dazhao, a Beijing-based sports commentator, rebuked extreme fan behaviors and called for fans to adopt a rational attitude toward the results of a sporting event.

"It's desirable to support all athletes on the international stage no matter who wins the title," Wang told the Global Times.

By focusing on curbing harmful activities by "fan leaders" and self-media accounts, authorities have shut down 1,376 accounts linked to "fan leaders," who fueled conflicts and organized offline gatherings. 

Additionally, 1,500 self-media accounts that spread rumors and maliciously hype fan fiction that creates fake relationships between athletes have been penalized.  

Social media platforms have also been urged to close 531 fake accounts that impersonated athletes and coaches, and to dismantle 3,226 fan groups and 336 forums that promoted irrational support. 

Furthermore, 123 illegal products, including forged athlete signatures, and six shops selling athletes' personal information have been taken offline.  

To prevent relapses, platforms are optimizing community rules and removing features that encourage unhealthy behaviors, such as lists that rank athletes' appearances. 

Authorities vowed to deepen oversight, urging platforms to enforce stricter content moderation and penalize negligent operators. It also called on netizens to reject extreme fan culture and focus on supporting sportsmanship.

Li Yan, Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo, passed away in Beijing on February 27, 2025, at the age of 52, Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Li Yan was born on December 16, 1972, in Luoyang, Central China's Henan Province. She joined the Communist Party of China in June 1994 and began working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in August 1996. In June 2023, she was appointed as the Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo, Xinhua reported.

During her working at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she had successively worked in Department of Western European Affair, Chinese Embassy in Belgium, Chinese Embassy in Poland, China's Permanent Mission to UN, according to Xinhua.

A China-Russia-Iran meeting on the Iranian nuclear issue started in Beijing on Friday morning, CCTV News reported.

China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu chairs the meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, according to China's Foreign Ministry.

A day before the trilateral meeting, Ma met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi, and said that China attaches great importance to the development of China-Iran relations and is willing to work with Iran to implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries.

Ma also reaffirmed China's commitment to firmly supporting each other's core interests, deepening cooperation in various fields, and advancing the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Iran.

Gharibabadi emphasized that Iran views its relationship with China from a strategic perspective and looks forward to continued mutual support and the safeguarding of shared interests.

The two sides held in-depth discussions on the Iranian nuclear issue. Ma said that China will uphold an objective and fair stance, actively promote dialogue and negotiations, and continue to play a constructive role in the political resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue.

The Iranian diplomat highly appreciated China's efforts in facilitating dialogue on the issue and expressed Iran's willingness to strengthen communication and coordination with China to advance the political resolution process.

In response to a media question about China's expectations for the meeting, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated on Thursday that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a party to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), China calls for an appropriate resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue through political and diplomatic means, and efforts of safeguarding the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and promoting peace and stability in the Middle East.

The Beijing meeting will be China's latest diplomatic effort with the aim of enhancing communication and coordination on the issue and creating conditions for resuming dialogue and negotiation at an early date, Mao said.

The Tianqiao People's Hospital, a second-class hospital in Jinan, East China's Shandong Province, has been ordered to stop unauthorized use of cell therapy in tumor treatment. Further actions will be taken based on the investigation results in accordance with laws and regulations, local medical authorities said on Sunday.

Both immune cell and stem cell therapies are key areas in global medicine, with increasingly abundant research results. However, their effectiveness or safety is still largely in the verification stage. The high incidence of cancer and the growing population of cancer patients have created a huge clinical demand and commercial market, leading to profit-driven irregularities, according to The Paper.

The immune cell therapy involves extracting immune cells from a patient's body, culturing and expanding them in vitro, and then reinfusing them back into the patient, according to the report by The Paper. This process is akin to increasing the number of "soldiers" attacking tumor cells, thereby enhancing the patient's ability to fight cancer.

However, driven by interests, these cell technologies, which are still at the research stage, are used by some institutions for profit, advertised as miracle drugs or technologies, with patients being treated as experimental targets.

In response to media reports of Tianqiao People's Hospital unapproved implementation of immune cell clinical treatment, Jinan immediately assembled a joint investigation team under the municipal health commission and including multiple departments such as the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, to investigate the hospital, according to a statement released by the team on Sunday.

After preliminary investigation, the Tianqiao People's Hospital was confirmed to have used unapproved cell therapy. The hospital has been ordered to halt such treatment immediately, and further actions will be taken following legal review, according to the statement.

In response to a media inquiry regarding Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent remarks on India-China ties in a podcast interview, in which he emphasized dialogue over discord, and also noted that differences two neighboring countries are also natural, but our focus is to ensure that these differences don't turn into disputes. That's what we actively work toward, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday that Prime Minister Modi's recent positive remarks on China-India relations are appreciated. 

In October last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi held a successful meeting in Kazan, providing strategic guidance for improving and developing China-India relations. In recent months, both sides have earnestly implemented the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries, strengthened exchanges and practical cooperation at various levels, and achieved a series of positive outcomes, said Mao.

Mao said that in the 2,000-year history of China-India interactions, friendly exchanges and mutual learning have been the mainstream, contributing significantly to world civilization and human progress. 

As the two largest developing countries, China and India share the common task of national development and revitalization. They should foster mutual understanding, mutual support, and mutual achievement, which aligns with the fundamental interests of their combined 2.8 billion people, meets the shared aspirations of regional countries, and follows the historical trend of the rising Global South. This approach also benefits global peace, stability, and prosperity, said Mao. 

Mao also noted that being partners in mutual achievement and realizing "a cooperative pas de deux of the dragon and the elephant is the only right choice for China and India." China is willing to work with India to fully implement the consensus reached by their leaders, take the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to advance exchanges and cooperation across various fields and levels, and promote the healthy and stable development of China-India relations.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the need to strengthen ties with China despite past tensions, advocating dialogue over discord and cooperation over conflict during an interview with MIT research scientist and podcaster Lex Fridman, which was released on Sunday. Modi also underscored that India and China should engage in healthy and natural competition rather than confrontation,according to Indian media reports. 

Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Thursday that China is willing to collaborate with Britain to consolidate the positive momentum towards stabilizing and improving bilateral relations.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said this during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Wang first conveyed the cordial greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Starmer, saying the successful meeting between Xi and Starmer at the end of last year has launched the process of improving and developing China-Britain relations.

Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the recent China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue has produced fruitful results and exchanges at all levels have been resumed, Wang said.

This demonstrates the huge potential of practical cooperation between the two countries, and also fully proves that the Labour government's rational and pragmatic policy towards China is in line with the interests of the country and people and conforms to the trend of the times, he said.

He said China stands ready to work with Britain to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, deepen and expand cooperation in infrastructure, trade and investment, clean energy and other fields, bringing more benefits to the people of both countries.

Wang noted that the world is becoming volatile and changes unseen in a century are unfolding at a faster pace. As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and Britain should strengthen strategic communication, enhance mutual understanding and trust, demonstrate their responsibilities as major countries, and deepen cooperation in key areas concerning the future of humanity, including climate change, artificial intelligence, and green development, thus to contribute greater certainty and stability to the world, he said.

Starmer asked Wang to convey his sincere greetings to Xi, noting that the current cooperation between Britain and China in various fields has made positive progress. He added that he looks forward to candid and constructive dialogues between the two countries to promote the sustained and stable development of Britain-China relations.

During his visit to Britain, Wang also met with Jonathan Powell, British prime minister's national security adviser, and co-chaired the 10th China-UK Strategic Dialogue with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

The first twin giant panda cubs born in Hong Kong made their public debut at Ocean Park Hong Kong on Sunday. According to HK 01, a Hong Kong-based news website, the first group of visitors entered Ocean Park at 10 am to see the twin cubs, and also had the opportunity to see their parents, Ying Ying and Le Le.

Live coverage from HK 01 showed a large crowd of visitors waiting outside Ocean Park on Sunday morning. The first visitor reportedly arrived as early as 6 am. Some visitor brought panda-themed toys.

The park arranged for the public to queue from 10 am to 3 pm to visit the pandas, with an estimated 5,000 people expected daily. Each visitor is allowed to stay for about five minutes, reported Radio Television Hong Kong.

"I arrived at the Ocean Park around 9:30 am, and there were already many people. I didn't get to see panda cubs until around 10:30 am. When I came out at noon, I noticed that the waiting time remained around an hour. Despite the large crowds on the first day, the park's management was well-organized," a 25-year-old panda enthusiast surnamed Wu told the Global Times.

In the livestream on Ocean Park's official website, the twin panda cubs were seen lounging on a tree and playfully interacting.

"The panda cubs are both adorable and lively since the morning," said Wu. Taking advantage of the weekend, Wu had made a special trip from Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province to Hong Kong to catch a glimpse of the panda cubs in the first wave. Her RedNote profile and posts are dedicated to pandas, and she also posted three new videos of the cubs on Sunday, which quickly gained numerous likes.

The pair of giant panda cubs was born last August and their parents are Ying Ying and Le Le, the giant pandas gifted by the central government to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

During the panda cubs debut ceremony at Ocean Park on Saturday, HKSAR chief executive John Lee Ka-chiu said that Ying Ying is the oldest first-time mother among giant pandas globally. He also stated that the HKSAR government will collaborate with the central government to promote panda conservation efforts and offer a unique experience for both locals and visitors, reported the Xinhua News Agency.

At the Saturday event, Ocean Park presented a video showing the growth of the twin pandas. When born, the female cub weighed about 122 grams, and the male cub weighed around 112 grams. Under the care of the park's team, which provides round-the-clock attention, both cubs have each grown to over 10 kilograms.

The twin cubs have not yet been officially named, and the public has been referring to them as "elder sister" and "younger brother."

Lee also announced the launch of a naming contest, encouraging residents to propose names based on the cubs' physical traits, personalities, interactions, and the endearing moments in their daily lives. The results will be announced in the first half of this year.