In ancient times, shells served as decorations, tools, religious artifacts and currency, as well as canvases for art. However, archaeological evidence of this practice has been scarce, and research in this area has been lacking.

Recently, Chinese scholars for the first time recreated images of shell paintings from over 2,000 years ago, based on findings at an archaeological site dating from the Warring States period (475BC-221BC). 

A paper authored by Professor Luo Wugan and a team from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and several other universities was recently published in the prestigious Journal of Cultural Heritage. It traces the history of shell paintings, a unique art form, back to at least the Warring States period in China.

Observations through three-dimensional video microscopy revealed that the production of the shell paintings began with precise delineation and positioning of images using raised lines. This technique is reminiscent of methods widely used in jade carving. The intricacy and precision of the craftsmanship on such small and fragile shells is highly impressive.

Subsequent comprehensive analysis using X-ray fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy revealed the various pigment components used in the colored decorations of the shell paintings: the vibrant red pigment was sourced from cinnabar, the fresh green hue was attributed to malachite, and the deep, mysterious black color derived from the use of charcoal.

Technological archaeological research on shell paintings also indicates that this distinctive art form seemed to flourish in northern China during the Warring States period, with its influence extending into the Han dynasty. These shell paintings also exhibit a rich variety of subjects, with lifelike characters and sophisticated compositions, making them of immense historic, scientific and artistic value.

Throughout the course of 2023, leaders from many Latin American countries have visited China, highlighting the importance attached to cooperation between China and Latin America. In line with frequent high-level interactions, there has been a continuous deepening of people-to-people exchanges between China and Latin America. Although the vast Pacific Ocean is a massive physical barrier between China and Latin America, the long-standing interactions have laid a solid foundation for the enduring friendship between the two regions. The 16th China-LAC Business Summit was held in Beijing in November, and the China-Latin America Think Tank Cooperation Dialogue was also held simultaneously as an important part of the summit. From December 11 to 13, the first China-LAC Military Medicine Forum will be held in Beijing.

Relevant polls and interviews with locals conducted by Global Times reporters indicate that people in Latin America particularly appreciate China's economic and technological development, and look forward to deepening cooperation and sharing development with China. A young Argentine woman who has studied Chinese for 6 years and previously worked for a Chinese company, said, "I believe the future is in China!"

Wish to join China's development

The Pew Research Center released a survey report in July covering 24 countries' views on China, including Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina in Latin America. Its statistics showed that in these countries, over 30 percent of the respondents view China as a global economic leader, and nearly half of them believe that China's economic development is a good thing.

Elias, a Chinese immigrant residing in Argentina for 13 years, shared with the Global Times, "Economic challenges have persistently troubled Argentina, and many locals feel that China's economic growth is rapid. Witnessing the skyscrapers and high-tech products in China online, numerous Argentinians aspire to learn Chinese, aiming to secure job opportunities. This interest is particularly pronounced among Argentinian businessmen and farmers who are eager to explore whether China's economic development can help their own success."

The economic relationship between China and Latin America is highly complementary. According to data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, China has consistently been Latin America's second-largest trading partner since 2012.

In 2022, the trade volume between China and Latin America edged on $500 billion, maintaining high-speed growth for six consecutive years. Currently, China has signed free trade agreements with five Latin American countries, including Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Nicaragua.

Due to its high cost-effectiveness and technological advantages in new energy vehicles (NEVs), China's automotive industry has gained favor among Latin Americans. China has ascended to become Brazil's second-largest source of automobile imports, with Chinese automakers like Chery, JAC, and Geely steadily establishing a presence in the Brazilian market over the past decade. Emerging players such as Great Wall Motors and BYD are also making notable strides.

As a natural extension of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Latin America has become an important participant in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). So far, 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries have signed cooperation agreements with China on the BRI, deepening and strengthening cooperation in various fields between China and Latin America.

In Peru, many have pinned high hopes on the Chancay Port project, which is currently under construction by a Chinese company. The Chancay Port is located about 80 kilometers from the capital Lima, and the first phase of the project is expected to be completed in November 2024, according to media reports. The Global Times learned that the project will open up a new key route between Asia and South America. It will strengthen Peru's position as a regional transportation hub and provide a permanent investment attraction and create employment opportunities in the future.

Besides, projects invested in and constructed by Chinese companies are also helping improve quality of life and solve quotidian challenges for people in Latin America. Due to low precipitation and high salinity in the groundwater, the indigenous community in Joao Camara, Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil, regularly faced drinking water shortages. In February, a public welfare project for desalination of brackish water, invested in and constructed by a Chinese company was officially inaugurated. Using China's own products and advanced technology, the project can provide more than 75 metric tons of pure drinking water a day, which meets international sanitary standards, benefiting more than 3,000 locals, and has won much praise.

The joint 40-meter radio telescope project between China and Argentina has now been installed and launched, which is of great significance for the cooperation, research, and talent exchange and cultivation between the two countries in this field. A professor from the National University of San Juan in Argentina told the Global Times, "We sincerely thank China for coming here to build the telescope. If we were to rely solely on our own project funding, we wouldn't even be able to maintain the basic operation of the observatory."

In recent years, more Chinese companies have entered the Latin American market, stimulating the vitality of industries such as infrastructure and transportation in these countries, and creating a large number of job opportunities. Many Latin Americans now see learning Chinese as a key to opening up career paths. Celeste used to work for a branch of Huawei in Argentina. After studying Chinese for six years, she won an award in the Chinese Bridge competition and received a scholarship to study at Jilin University. She told the Global Times excitedly that she believes that "the future is in China!"

Challenges in telling China stories

Thanks to centuries of Chinese migration to the Latin American region, the legacy of China is not entirely unfamiliar to many in the area. Folk exchanges between China and Peru can be traced back over 400 years to the Galeón de Manila, when overseas Chinese first settled in Peru. In November, CHIFA UNION, a Chinese restaurant in Lima, marked its centenary. This Chinese restaurant brand is ubiquitous across Peru, and nearly every Peruvian can name a few popular Chinese dishes.

Beyond Chinese cuisine, overseas Chinese have brought the tradition of celebrating the Spring Festival to Latin America. Various cities in Brazil have officially designated the Spring Festival as a holiday. The Spring Festival temple fair in Argentina has gained recognition as a well-known cultural brand in the local area, attracting over 200,000 participants from Argentina in 2023. Peruvian media outlets frequently publish articles analyzing zodiac culture and annual fortune at the end of each year.

At the same time, the prosperous development of modern Chinese culture allows Latin American people to have a more comprehensive understanding of China. Short videos, for example, have become an important channel for Latin American people to learn about China. The "China-Latin America, Neighbors Across the Ocean" short video competition was held from May to August 2023, and 11 winners from 9 Latin American countries were invited to China to participate in exchange and training programs. Mao Dou (screen name), a Mexican musician and short video creator, was one of the winners. He told the Global Times that his childhood dream was to visit China and that he has harbored a long-time desire to live in the country of his dreams.

At the largest Lima International Book Fair in Peru in August this year, books on China's poverty alleviation, Chinese children's books, and China's economy attracted particular attention from Peruvian readers.

However, there are still challenges in sharing and spreading the Chinese story in Latin America. Global Times reporters stationed in Latin American countries have found that local people still hold many stereotypes and misunderstandings about China. Ding Ding, a Chinese student studying in Mexico, told the Global Times that the internet is filled with complex information, some biased or malicious. For instance, TikTok videos featuring Japanese cuisine sometimes have misleading titles like "authentic Chinese food," and many Mexicans believe it without question. Ding stated, "Some Mexicans even bring up fake news they saw on television years ago and ask me if Chinese rice is made of plastic."

According to the Global Times correspondent in Brazil, mainstream media in the largest country in South America generally lacks correspondents stationed in China. When reporting on Chinese news, they often rely on quotes from Western media sources, which makes objective reporting virtually impossible. Some Brazilians even believe that "China is a traditional and conservative Buddhist country." Jiang Shixue, director of the Center for Latin American Studies of Shanghai University, told the Global Times that currently, the biggest challenge is that China's voice may not necessarily reach Latin America. Compared to Western media, the influence and coverage of Chinese media in Latin America is still insufficient.

Strengthen people-to-people exchanges

The Global Times has found that many Latin Americans are concerned about the low cost of Chinese products, and believe that their government needs to introduce policies to protect domestic enterprises.

Liu Xuedong, a professor of economics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said that Chinese imports had indeed affected local processing industries and employment opportunities in the past, leading to some negative views of China among the local population. However, he emphasized that with more cooperation projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Chinese companies entering Latin America, making positive contributions to the region's development, the impression of China among local people is continually improving.

Surveys conducted by Western polling agencies also indicate that the perception of China by some Latin Americans is, to some extent, influenced by the West. For instance, Pew Research shows that the proportion of people in Latin America with positive views on China is relatively close to those with negative views. While many Latin Americans recognize China's technological achievements and its image as an economic and political power, some who are distant from China express concerns about China's so-called "military diplomacy."

In response, experts believe that as China-Latin America cooperation increases and people-to-people exchanges strengthen, the perception of China among those with negative views will also change.

The perception of China by the people of traditional Latin American powers such as Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico is complex and can also be influenced by the ruling party, said Jin Xiaowen, a researcher at the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China. And whether or not they have actually been to China has a significant impact on the "China view" of Latin Americans, Jin added, noting that Chinese companies are an important force in promoting people-to-people exchanges between China and Latin American countries.

Pakistani Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque inaugurated the Pakistan National Pavilion and attended the opening ceremony of the 9th Sichuan Agricultural Expo in Chengdu on October 28. Hu Yun, vice governor of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, presided over the opening ceremony.

The exhibition hall introduced famous tourist attractions in Pakistan and more than 10 Pakistani companies showcased some agricultural products. The exhibition hall attracted great interest from participants.

Pakistan is the guest of honor of this expo. The ambassador emphasized in his speech that Pakistan and China have established a solid bilateral relationship based on political mutual trust, strategic communication and practical cooperation. He also stressed the close cooperation between Pakistan and Sichuan, including through their sister cities.

Pakistan's participation in the 2023 CIIE will inject new impetus into the ongoing agricultural cooperation between Pakistan and China. Recently, the two sides reached five important agricultural agreement on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures, granting Pakistan access to the $30 billion market for cooked beef, dairy products, chili peppers, cherries and other livestock products, which will help Pakistan expand its exports to China.

China's economy continued to gain momentum, getting off to a robust start in the first two months of 2024, with industrial output, fixed-investment and retail sales all posting better-than-expected results, official data showed on Monday.

With the government's intensified stimulus taking effect, the economy continued to recover and turn for the better in the first two months of the year, Liu Aihua, a spokesperson with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said at a press conference on Monday.

In January and February, the total value-added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 7 percent year-on-year, or 0.2 percentage points faster than that of December 2023, according to data released by the NBS on Monday.

During the two months, gross retail sales reached 8,130.7 billion yuan ($1,129.5 billion), up by 5.5 percent year-on-year, in which, online retail sales reached 2,153.5 billion yuan, up by 15.3 percent year-on-year.

Fixed assets investment in the first two months reached 5,084.7 billion yuan, up by 4.2 percent year-on-year, 1.2 percentage points higher than last year's growth.

"The better-than-expected 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.

During the "two sessions" early this month, China set a growth target of around 5 percent for its economy in 2024, which exceeds expectations of some international institutions, demonstrating that the country's policymakers remain confident in maintaining stable growth in the world's second-largest economy despite downward pressure both at home and abroad.

Cao said that he has full confidence in the country's realizing this year's GDP growth target of around 5 percent, though more efforts are needed to focus on high-quality development.

He said 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 AI.

In the first two months this year, China's urban surveyed unemployment rate averaged at 5.3 percent.

"We should be aware that the external environment is becoming more complex, severe and uncertain, while domestic effective market demand remains insufficient and the foundation for economic recovery and growth needs to be further consolidated," Liu said.

"We must effectively boost economic vitality, prevent and defuse risks, improve public expectations, constantly consolidate and build the momentum of economic recovery and growth and continue to effectively pursue higher-quality economic growth and appropriately increase economic output," Liu said.

China announced Thursday to waive visa requirements for citizens from six European countries, including Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg, signaling the country's commitment to attract more foreign visitors, effective on March 14.

In another step to facilitate visits by foreign travelers, the State Council, China's cabinet, released a notice on Thursday, asking banks and payment and clearing entities to strengthen cooperation to continuously improve and expand mobile payment services, with a particular focus on improving mobile communication and payment services for foreigners coming to China.

The notice also urged to improve payment services for international consumers in various tourism and entertainment venues, both online and offline. It aims to support internet platforms associated with essential services to enhance the payment experience for foreigners in China across different business sectors.

Shortly after the notice, Alipay, a major Chinese payment platform, issued a statement on Thursday, stating that it has been working to improve payment services for foreign nationals. Specifically, it has raised transaction limit for international users, with the maximum single transaction limit increased from $1,000 to $5,000 and the maximum annual transaction limit increased from $10,000 to $50,000. It also plans to introduce new services such as multi-lingual translation.

The move is expected to attract more foreign tourists to visit China. Following the announcement, online travel platforms have reported changes in related data and have pledged to offer improved services for overseas visitors.

According to data from Trip.com Group, a major online travel service platform in China, flight capacity from Hungary to China has doubled compared to the same period in 2019, while flights from Belgium are operating at about 90 percent of their 2019 levels. The trends suggest a rapid increase in travelers from those countries to China.

The move is expected to boost inbound tourism, serving as a primary facilitator for foreign tourists entering China by removing a major hurdle, Li Mengran, a manager at Beijing Utour International Travel Service Co, highlighted the positive impact of the visa exemption policy on tourism in a statement sent to the Global Times.

The announcement has also led to a surge in search volume for international flights on platforms including Tongcheng Travel, with a nearly fourfold increase in ticket searches for listed visa-free countries as of 12 pm Thursday.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced the news at a press conference on sidelines of the ongoing two sessions on Thursday. He appealed for reciprocal visa exemptions for Chinese citizens.

"We hope that all countries will offer identical visa convenience to Chinese citizens, as we work together to create a streamlined network for cross-border exchanges. This will accelerate the restoration of international passenger flights, allowing Chinese citizens to travel on a whim and ensuring foreign friends feel at home," he said.

The expanded visa-free policy signals China's active and determined opening-up policy, which will not only accelerate tourism, but also facilitate people-to-people exchange and trade between China and Europe, Qin Jing, vice president of Trip.com Group said.

Qin also mentioned various initiatives, including improvements to entry payment systems, aiming to further facilitate inbound tourism. She called on tourism operators to prepare for a surge in visitors by developing tourism products, providing bilingual services, and improving service levels to accommodate the anticipated growth in inbound tourism.

In December 2023, China implemented a trial visa-free entry for citizens from six countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. By January 9, visa-free entries from these countries had reached 147,000, with orders for China tourism during the Spring Festival period doubling compared to the same period in 2019, according to Trip.com Group data.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday night local time arrived in Egypt, the first leg of his four-nation Africa tour this week. This is the 34th consecutive year when a Chinese foreign minister has visited Africa as their first overseas trip at the beginning of the year.

Coming shortly after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi's successful reelection in December 2023, and amid the already 100-day Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Middle East, Wang's visit is of great significance, Chinese analysts said. They predicted that further coordinating their positions concerning hot-spot issues, especially the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, and its spillover in the region such as the Red Sea turmoil, will be high on the agenda during Wang's exchanges with Egyptian officials.

China and Egypt are to explore the potentials of their bilateral and multilateral cooperation in a variety of fields under multilateral frameworks that include the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and BRICS, analysts said on Sunday.

On Sunday, President Sisi met with Wang Yi in Cairo. The Egyptian president expressed gratitude for China's strong support for Egypt's social and economic development, noting significant achievements in jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative.

He reaffirmed Egypt's commitment to the one-China principle and opposition to interference in China's internal affairs.

Wang Yi thanked Egypt for supporting China's rightful stance. China appreciates Egypt's active response to the Belt and Road Initiative and will remain to be a long-term, reliable strategic partner in Egypt's development and revitalization. China aims to strengthen the alignment of development strategies and practical cooperation for greater achievements, working together toward modernization, Wang said.

Both sides agreed to continue strengthening communication and collaboration within frameworks such as BRICS and the United Nations. Wang Yi stated that Egypt, as an Arab, African, Islamic, and developing major country, is congratulated on becoming a new member of BRICS.

They also exchanged views on the Palestinian-Israeli situation, agreeing on the need for an immediate cease-fire and preventing further conflict escalation. A joint statement regarding the situation was issued.

During the visit, Wang Yi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry also discussed and signed the second five-year plan for the China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership.

Wang Yi, in a joint press conference with Shoukry after their talks, expressed deep concern over the recent rapid escalation of the situation in the Red Sea, and called for an end to attacks on civilian ships.

At the same time, China believes that the UN Security Council has never authorized any country to use force against Yemen, and actions should be avoided that would add fuel to the tension in the Red Sea and increase the overall security risks in the region. It must be emphasized that the tension in the Red Sea is a prominent manifestation of the spillover of the Gaza conflict, Wang said.

The urgent task is to quickly quell the war in Gaza to prevent the conflict from further expanding or even getting out of control. All parties need to jointly maintain the safety of the Red Sea waterway in accordance with the law, while genuinely respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Red Sea coastal countries, including Yemen, he noted.

Egypt is the first African nation Wang would visit during his current Africa trip, which is of significance, coming so soon after President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi's successful reelection. The Egyptian government has launched development plans and targets, including attracting investment and boosting tourism, to tackle the country's economic challenges, He Wenping, a director with the Institute of West Asian and African Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Regarding bilateral and multilateral cooperation, Zhu Yongbiao, executive director of the Research Center for the Belt and Road at Lanzhou University, told the Global Times that the conversation will be carried out within the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, as well as under the BRICS framework.

BRICS inducted five new member countries - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran and Ethiopia - into the bloc in early January 2024. The integration of new member states marked a major expansion for the bloc originally founded by Russia, Brazil, China, and India in 2006, and later joined by South Africa in 2011.

Wang's visit seeks to implement the outcomes of the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue held in August, 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa, according to Zhu.

China announced at the 2023 Leaders' Dialogue it would launch the Initiative on Supporting Africa's Industrialization, the Plan for China Supporting Africa's Agricultural Modernization and the Plan for China-Africa Cooperation on Talent Development, as part of the efforts to chart the course for China-Africa practical cooperation in the next stage and help Africa bring its integration and modernization into a fast track, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

China and Africa will host the ninth ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in China in 2024, which will likely take place in Beijing towards the end of the year.

FOCAC is hailed by the international community as an epitome of an efficient and effective platform for South-South cooperation and is a springboard for Africa and China to firmly support each other in strengthening development interests and collaboration in international affairs, as well as at multilateral occasions.

China-Egypt cooperation covers various fields, including infrastructure like development of the new Egyptian capital, railway projects and space collaboration with the launch of Egypt's second satellite. There is also cooperation in oil development, with new oil fields discovered in Egypt, as well as in aviation and technology, He Wenping said.

Wang's visit will further align the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with Egypt's 2030 development vision. Egypt's new government has many plans in motion, including tourism cooperation and dealing with their foreign exchange shortage, which might involve trade and import of non-Egyptian agricultural products. All these areas are expected to feature in the bilateral discussions and potential cooperation agreements, He explained.

The Xihoumen Highway and Railway Bridge in East China's Zhejiang Province marked phased progress when 18 drill piles belonging to pier No 5 of the bridge, each with a diameter of 6.3 meters - the world's largest - were injected with cement on Sunday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The final cement injection was completed on Sunday, according to CCTV.

Since drilling work began in July last year, workers overcame technological challenges in the construction of the drill piles, which have the world's largest diameter, measuring 84 meters in length, of which a 37-meter-section is plunged firmly into bedrock beneath choppy water at a maximum depth of 60 meters in the area. 

The completion of the cement injection at pier No 5 was completed ahead of schedule, according to the report.

The Xihoumen Highway and Railway Bridge, dubbed the world's longest super sea-crossing bridge with a total length of 3,118 meters, and connecting Zhoushan's Jintang and Cezi islands, is among a total of 10 landmark projects Zhejiang Province is undertaking to boost regional connectivity. 

The bridge will allow trains travel at speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour and will link up with Zhoushan, Zhejiang's last city not connected by rail.

The bridge has a main span of 1,488 meters. Its width, at 68 meters, is also the world's widest for a dual-purpose sea bridge. 

As China rings in 2024 with a bang, a number of Chinese localities including East China's Anhui and Central China's Hunan provinces have launched a new round of major projects, reflecting a robust start to the new year, which Chinese experts describes as an encouraging sign for economic growth.

Volkswagen's announcement that no evidence of forced labor was found in its supply chain in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region not only refutes lie spun by some anti-China forces in the West, it also reflects an intensified tussle between European business and political circles, as the latter politicizing human rights issues runs counter to market rules and European companies' interests, said Chinese experts. They also warned Europe against following the US in weaponizing claims of "forced labor," as such move will hurt Europe's interests more than the US.

The audit on Volkswagen's jointly owned plant in Xinjiang was carried by Loening Human Rights & Responsible Business GmbH, among the site's 197 employees in SAIC-Volkswagen (Xinjiang) Automotive Co.

The audit encompassed on-site document checks in Urumqi city as well as interviews with staff and executives of the legal entity in Xinjiang. Several on-site inspections, including walkabouts of the outdoor premises of the plant were also part of the auditing process.

As of November 1, 2023, the legal entity had 197 employees, of which 150 employees are of Han ethnicity, accounting for 76.1 percent, and 23.9 percent of employees are ethnic minorities including Uygurs.

Loening said that the employees are qualified, having worked for the company for a long time of up to 10 years, have a low work intensity and are being remunerated above the average in the region. Overtime work is next to non-existent.

There were no indications of any use of forced labor among the employees at the plant, it said.

The result serves as a strong rebuttal to certain Western countries' smear campaign hyping the claims of "forced labor" in Xinjiang, as the audit process was conducted independently, in accordance with US and European standard and in line with the truth, a professor specializing in human rights issues at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times.

Earlier this year, Volkswagen investors demanded that the carmaker request cooperation from SAIC to conduct an independent audit of labor conditions at the site in Xinjiang, Reuters reported. Volkswagen's China chief Ralf Brandstaetter said there was no evidence of human rights violations or forced labor when he toured the site in February.

Big German companies, such as Volkswagen, have become targets of blame by some forces in Europe over human rights issues in China, because Germany has the closest trade cooperation with China within the EU, said Cui Hongjian, a professor with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance with Beijing Foreign Studies University. He said that those forces intend to use big corporations to pressure Germany and they believe once Germany changes its stance on China, it would help form a tougher stance against China within the EU.

Cui noted that the Volkswagen case has proved that the tendency in EU using political issues to poison cooperation has repulsed the European business circle. Big European companies now find the judicial and legal environment they thrived on has been eroded by certain China hawks in the EU, noting that cases such as forcing companies to prove their innocence will be repeated as long as some in Europe still see China as a threat.

In September 2022, the European Parliament proposed a regulation to ban products made using forced labor, including child labor, in the European Union (EU) internal market. However, the regulation has stalled, as member states struggle to agree on a common position that would allow inter-institutional negotiations to begin.

Part of the rationale behind Europe's "forced labor" move is to push for supply chain reconstruction, which might run against market rules as well as companies' interests, said Yan Shaohua, a research associate professor at the Center for China-Europe Relations, Fudan University. He noted that Volkswagen's example mirrors a tussle between business and political circles in Europe and helps to clear some misperceptions toward Xinjiang in Europe.

Dispel misunderstanding

"Forced labor" topic has been frequently abused by Western countries, especially the US, to pressure foreign companies who do business with China and Chinese companies. Similar to Volkswagen, US shoe company Skechers had a batch of its products manufactured in China seized by US customs, citing the so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, the Global Times learned from sources in 2022.

In order to meet the demand of the US customs, Skechers organized an independent investigation conducted by a third party, which found no evidence to support the "forced labor" allegations.

In September, US Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that it added three Chinese companies - Xinjiang Tianmian Foundation Textile Co Ltd, Xinjiang Tianshan Wool Textile Co. Ltd, and Xinjiang Zhongtai Group Co. Ltd - to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List for their business practices involving "persecuted" minorities in Xinjiang, media reported.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that China has made clear time and again that the allegations of "forced labor" in Xinjiang are nothing but an enormous lie propagated by people against China to smear our country's image.

Washington is determined to spin "forced labor" lie in order to strip China from the global supply chain, as Xinjiang remains a relatively small market for the US. However, Xinjiang's market is much more important for Europe, thus if Europe follows the US to weaponize "forced labor" claims, European companies and its economy will feel the pinch, Cui said.

In 2021, Xinjiang recorded around 261.8 billion yuan ($41 billion) in foreign trade with EU countries in the first 11 months of the year, up 30 percent year-on-year.

As agreed between China and the EU, the 24th China-EU Summit will be held in Beijing on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Monday.

Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China said that as usual, human rights issue will be discussed between the two sides. "The Volkswagen case has proved that the reckless smearing of China and politicians' thwarting of China-Europe cooperation out of ideological prejudice has provoked antipathy among Europe's business communities, while the public is eager to get a more rational and objective picture of China."

Chinese private aerospace firm iSpace completed the country's first reusable launch vehicle test on Sunday. The achievement marks a milestone in China's development of space technology.

The Hyperbola-2 is the company's latest model for reusable launch vehicle tests. During the flight, the vehicle reached an altitude of 343.12 meters, with a flight time of 63.15 seconds, and landed with a landing speed of 1.1 m/s and a landing attitude angle of 1.18 degrees.

The rocket had its first stage test flight on November 2, with a well-controlled descent and touchdown. I-Space then spent less than 20 days on preparation and maintenance work for the rocket.

The test flight verified the reuse capability of a full-size liquid-oxygen-methane rocket and its reliability for low-altitude descent and touchdown, as well as the testing process, norms, and standards. It also verified the company's rocket recovery system, marking a step forward in the global market of reusable launch vehicles.

The successful test flight of the Hyperbola-2 rocket represented more than just a technological breakthrough for iSpace. In the field of reusable launch vehicles, large companies including SpaceX and Blue Origin have established dominant technology advantages. The success of the iSpace test signals that the Chinese company is making strides in the emerging market.

China has continuously invested in the space sector and maintains advancements in key areas. On Sunday, the Yaogan-39 satellite was successfully launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, marking the completion of the 500th flight mission of China's most iconic Long March series rockets.

China's private companies have been increasingly involved in the development of space technology in recent years. On Saturday, Landspace successfully launched a Zhuque-3 rocket with three satellites, Honghu, Honghu-2, and Tianyi-33, marking the first time the startup company has sent satellites into orbit.

The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced on Thursday the global opening of the next generation artificial sun, "China Circulation-3," after the group's affiliated Southwestern Institute of Physics signed an agreement with the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The initiative invites scientists worldwide to come to China and collaborate toward the shared goal of pursuing "artificial sun energy."

The "China Circulation-3" is currently China's most advanced and largest-scale nuclear fusion device, also referred to as China's next generation "artificial sun." 

In August this year, it successfully achieved high-constraint operation mode under a plasma current of 1 million amperes, marking a significant advancement in China's magnetic confinement nuclear fusion device, propelling it to the forefront of international research. 

Over the years, the Southwestern Institute of Physics has been deeply involved in the development of key components for ITER, the world's largest "artificial sun" project, CNNC said, and together overcame numerous engineering and technical challenges.

This involvement of the Chinese institute has led to the accumulation of extensive experience in the construction, debugging, operation, and maintenance of fusion devices, laying a solid foundation for China to integrate with international advanced technology and eventually construct its own fusion reactor. 

Due to the similarity in the principles of the two experiments, the openness of "China Circulation-3" will not only focus on addressing key technical issues of interest to the ITER but will also enhance China's research and development capabilities and foster talent development.

In April this year, the other Chinese "artificial sun," the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), which is also the world's first fully superconducting tokamak device in operation, saw a major breakthrough as it achieved a high power, stable, 403-second steady-state long-pulse high confinement mode plasma operation, setting a new world record for steady-state high confinement mode operation of a tokamak device.

Developer of the EAST, the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that they are aiming to use the EAST to generate fusion power before the centenary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, which falls in 2049.