Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said on Wednesday that China and Pakistan are deepening collaboration on the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with a focus on green energy and technology cooperation, among others.
Iqbal arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a visit, in the first high-level visit by a Pakistani official to China since Pakistan’s new government came to power. During the visit, Iqbal also held meetings with various Chinese officials.
“China is a historical friend of Pakistan, and has supported us in difficult times,” Iqbal said as he arrived in Beijing, according to a press release sent to the Global Times on Wednesday.
Iqbal said that in the first phase of the CPEC, Pakistan’s energy and infrastructure sectors were upgraded, and in the second phase, the agriculture, industry, green energy and technology sectors will be promoted.
In terms of green energy cooperation, Iqbal said in a meeting with China’s Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong in Islamabad on Tuesday that Pakistan’s aim is to establish industrial zones for the manufacturing of electric cars in collaboration with China, leveraging Pakistan's competitive advantages to reduce overall production costs and create employment opportunities for Pakistani workers, according to a separate press release.
During meetings in Beijing, Iqbal also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the high-quality development of the CPEC, outlining future cooperation in such priority sectors as information technology, agriculture modernization, textiles, minerals and renewable energy.
Iqbal also revealed details about enhanced security measures taken by Pakistan to ensure the security of Chinese personnel, according to the press release.
The Philippine government has been overdrawing on its reputation and national credibility on issues related to the South China Sea, saying one thing and doing another and constantly flip-flopping, Chinese analysts said after Philippine officials accused China of "violating wiretapping law" over a phone conversation in which a Philippine navy official agreed to a "new model" for resupply missions concerning Ren'ai Jiao.
A transcript of the supposed recording of a phone call between the Chinese side and the Philippines' Western Command (WESCOM) Commander Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos on January 3 was revealed by media in recent days, in which Carlos agreed to a "new model" for resupply missions concerning Ren'ai Jiao.
The transcript which documented the phone conversation between the Chinese side and Carlos on January 3 has been confirmed to be true, the Global Times has learned from a source familiar with the affair on Wednesday. Following the conversation, the Philippine side adhered to the "new model" in the subsequent resupply mission, only delivering essential daily supplies to the grounded warship, and notified the Chinese side in advance.
Based on the "new model" arrangement and humanitarian principle, the Chinese side permitted the Philippine resupply operation, said the source.
However, thereafter, the Philippine side reneged on its promise. Not only did it fail to notify the Chinese side in advance of its resupply activities, but it also attempted to transport construction materials to the illegally grounded vessel, deliberately causing trouble and maliciously hyping up the situation.
The China Coast Guard has firmly restricted the Philippine's illegal resupply activities, according to the source.
On Wednesday, Philippine defense chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr. told reporters that the audio recording had "violated" the country's Anti-Wire Tapping Law.
Teodoro also claimed that they are leaving the department of Foreign Affairs to find out the truth behind the incident, threatening that the person responsible for the recording will "be expelled," according to media reports.
Teodoro's remarks sound more like chicanery when facing undeniable facts, as the transcript of the "new model" is true, said Chinese analysts.
At a press conference on May 6, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian also gave a briefing on the situation, saying that early this year, the Chinese and Philippine sides agreed on a "new model" for resupply missions concerning Ren'ai Jiao after multiple rounds of discussions through diplomatic channels and the Armed Forces of the Philippines WESCOM.
The Philippine military made repeated confirmations that the "new model" had been approved by all key officials in the Philippines chain of command, including the Secretary of National Defense and the National Security Advisor. On February 2, the Philippines carried out one resupply mission under this "new model" before abandoning it, said Lin.
The Chinese proverb "listen to what they say, watch what they do" seems fitting when considering the recent reactions of senior officials in the Philippines. It appears that the country has habitually been overdrawing on its government's reputation and national credibility on relevant issues, saying one thing and doing another, presenting one face in public and another in private, constantly flip-flopping, Ding Duo, a deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Law and Policy at the China Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times.
In addition to China, other regional countries and the international community have sufficient reason to believe that "political commitments" made by the Philippine government are no longer credible, and that the Philippines is perceived as an untrustworthy nation in international relations, said Ding.
As China announced the extension of its visa-free policy for 12 countries until the end of 2025, analysts noted that the measures will significantly boost inbound tourism, which also demonstrate China's commitment to fostering people-to-people exchanges and determination to opening up.
At a joint meeting with the press with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China has decided to extend the short-stay visa exemption policy for citizens of 12 countries including France to the end of 2025.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a regular press conference on Tuesday that by December 31, 2025, citizens from the 12 countries will be able to visit China for business, sight-seeing, transit and other purposes for up to 15 days without having to apply for a visa.
The 12 countries are France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg.
China's efforts to facilitate foreigners visiting the country has delivered positive initial results. According to the National Immigration Administration, trips by foreign nationals reached 13.1 million in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 305.2 percent. Among them, the number of visa-free foreigners entering China reached 1.98 million, up 266.1 percent compared to last year.
"The extension of the short-term visa-free policy until the end of 2025 will undoubtedly further boost confidence and enthusiasm for traveling to China, and will contribute to the growth of inbound tourism as well as aid in the prosperity of the industry," Dai Bin, President of the China Tourism Academy, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The move also showcases China's unwavering commitment to openness and its strong belief in the potential of tourism development, Dai said, noting that the extension exemplifies the resilience and determination of China in embracing the world with open arms.
"We have witnessed a surge in travel bookings - about 40 percent - to China since the visa-free policy for French citizens was effective. With the extension of the visa-free policy, it is expected that more bookings will come," a manager surnamed Fang at a Paris-based travel agency, told the Global Times on Tuesday. Fang said that most bookings to China came from elderly people, but the extended visa policy would appeal to more young people to visit China.
"Meanwhile, as the Olympic Games approaches, bookings from Chinese tourists have also increased, especially travel products for small groups. We have launched products such as a two-day tour in Provence departing from Paris," said Fang.
In addition to extending the visa-free period, China is actively promoting the opening and resumption of international routes to facilitate the increased movement of people. According to media reports, direct flights between Shanghai and Marseille will officially open on July 2, providing the first direct air passage for the two sister cities.
Bahrain will also open direct flights to China starting from May 28, and direct flights between China and Mexico will resume on May 11.
Dai noted that the expansion of air routes and transportation capacity not only enhances convenience for travelers but also lowers travel costs, thereby fostering the growth of inbound tourism. "More travel agencies are expected to intensify their efforts in promoting overseas tourism," he said.
China's increase in direct flights sends a clear message that we are willing to take all effective measures to facilitate international exchanges and also demonstrates the country's determination to welcome visitors from across the world, Dai said.
By implementing more open policies in areas such as visas, air routes, and payment convenience, China's efforts in inbound tourism will not only boost consumption and drive economic growth, but also foster cultural exchanges and interactions among people, helping to establish China's image as a confident, open and inclusive major country, analysts said.
At the same time, with the increasing number of tourists visiting China, the foreign nationals will have the opportunity to develop a more thorough, comprehensive, and authentic understanding of the country, they said.
Looking ahead, with the upcoming China-US high-level dialogue on tourism, as well as the implementation of various activities under the Kazakhstan tourism year in China and the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, it is anticipated that inbound and outbound tourism will rebound to the level of 2019 by the end of 2024 or early 2025, Dai noted.
The latest research findings in a document detailing the personal information of Japanese Army Unit 731 members and their involvement in Japan's infamous germ warfare during the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) have been made public for the first time recently. The document is seen as a great source of academic value and practical significance in deepening research on Japan's bacteriological warfare program during the war.
According to the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army, the 69-page document clearly recorded these soldiers' involvement in the criminal activities since their joining in the Unit 731, and provides record of personnel allocation and dispatch between Japan's infamous biological and chemical warfare, Central China Television (CCTV) reported Sunday. The exhibition hall is located in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
The archival material, entitled the "personal information declaration form of Unit 731 headquarters," was previously stored at the National Archives of Japan and was brought by researchers in 2023 to the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army for translation and study.
The academic circles have long believed that after the then Japanese government announced its unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945, Unit 731 was withdrawn, in its entirety, back to Japan. However, the latest findings in the newly released document show that when the main force withdrew, 52 people did not return to Japan along with the unit.
According to Jin Shicheng, a researcher with the exhibition hall, when Unit 731 received the evacuation order, some of the unit members might have been in other parts of China or on official duties elsewhere, instead of at their headquarters in Harbin, thus, they were unable to return to Japan with the headquarters.
After all Japanese overseas troops returned to Japan, soldiers had to fill in the personal information declaration forms to have their military status recognized and their pensions claimed.
According to the released personal information declaration form, 14 of the 52 members who failed to withdraw with the headquarters were arrested and detained within territory belonging to the Soviet Union, 38 members concealed their identities and hid away in various parts across China. After the end of World War II, they returned to Japan as individuals and filled out the personal information declaration forms.
The 69-page document contains complete records of the 52 soldiers' information, including their names, arms of services, dates of enlistment, their affiliation to the unit before the end of the war, and their military history at the end of the war.
This document clearly recorded the involvement of the registrants in a series of criminal activities from their joining in the Unit 731, as well as their movements between different units. It also recorded their activities and trajectories between August of 1945 and their returns to Japan.
From their trajectories, the researchers found clues to the personnel flow between the Unit 731 and the Japanese army's Kwantung Army Chemical Department, also known as Unit 516, established in in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang.
According to Jin, Unit 516 served as the headquarters for Japan's chemical warfare operations during the Japanese invasion of China, while the Unit 731 served as the headquarters for germ warfare.
According to the document, one of the 52 members was transferred from Unit 516 to Unit 731 in 1945, demonstrating the new discovery of the close links and personnel flow between the germ and chemical warfare units of the Japanese Imperial Army, Jin noted.
The new findings detailed in the document also show that the Unit 731 and a Harbin-based medical university during the illegitimate regime of Manchukuo, a puppet state established by Japanese invaders to control Northeast China from 1932 until 1945, jointly cultivated young soldiers.
The document shows that four members of Unit 731 were sent to the medical university for three years of the so-called medical training as military family students from Japan and they returned to Unit 731 after graduation from the medical university.
According to Jin, the complete documentary information of the four members once again proved that the medical universities in the northeastern region of China during the puppet Manchukuo regime served as an extension of Unit 731's medical crimes, collaborating with Unit 731 in conducting human experiments and bacteriological warfare.
The human experiments and bacteriological warfare conducted by Unit 731 were the result of a top-down, organized, premeditated, and systematic group crime integrated with cooperation among the military, academia, government, and medical sectors in Japan, Jin said.
The personal information declaration forms also revealed for the first time that the Unit 731 also contained intelligence agent positions.
This document serves as a new element for the primary historical record and core document of Unit 731, provides important evidence for studying issues such as the overall structure of Unit 731, its post-war trajectory, and war responsibility, holding significant academic value and practical significance for deepening research on the Japanese bacteriological warfare, according to the exhibition hall.
In mid-December 2022, after China started to ease COVID-19 restrictions that had lasted for three years, the world keenly anticipated a swift and robust recovery in China's economy in 2023. But at a tone-setting economic conference, top Chinese policymakers, while stressing that "an overall recovery and improvement is expected," also offered a sobering assessment of the difficulties that lay ahead.
"Economic work in 2023 will be complex," Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, concluded in a speech at the Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) on December 15, 2022. The meeting, aimed at setting priorities for economic work in 2023, demanded making economic stability a top priority and pursuing steady progress while ensuring economic stability.
As 2023 draws to an end, what transpired in the Chinese economy over the last year is consistent with that assessment. The economy faced serious downward pressure from shrinking demand, supply shocks, and weakening expectations - "triple pressures" as officials put it. But it also mounted an impressive recovery, with the GDP growth rate widely expected to meet or even exceed an initial target of around 5 percent, a remarkable improvement from the previous three years during the pandemic. More crucially, China also achieved solid progress in high-quality development, with the rise of domestic consumption, scientific and technological innovation, and green development.
All told, China's recovery has become one of the biggest highlights for the global economy in 2023 amid a severe downturn and a complex geo-economic situation - China is expected to be the fastest-growing major economy and contribute roughly one-third of global growth, according to Chinese and foreign economists. Beyond the direct contribution to growth, faster growth in China also has positive spillover effects on the rest of the world: A single percentage point of growth in China, on average, increases output in other economies by 0.3 percent over the medium term, according to the IMF.
Behind such a hard-won, impressive outcome are objective and scientific decision-making by Chinese policymakers under Xi's leadership, a series of targeted and effective policies to tackle risks and challenges head-on, as well as the effective execution of those policies - the quintessential Chinese governance model that underpins China's long-running economic miracle, economists said.
This also vividly demonstrated how Xi Jinping's economic thought, which, among other things, stresses high-quality development, is put into practice to address problems and promote high-quality development, they noted.
Hard-won, impressive outcome China's economic recovery was by no means smooth in 2023.
"In fact, the post-pandemic economic recovery was full of difficulties and challenges. Some were unprecedented. Despite all these [challenges], China took a series of measures and deepened reforms and opening-up. We achieved an effective improvement in quality and reasonable growth in quantity," Guan Tao, global chief economist at BOC International under the Bank of China, told the Global Times. "This indeed is a very hard-won outcome."
China's economy grew by 5.2 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters, and the full-year GDP growth rate is expected to exceed the official growth target of around 5 percent. That is a remarkable comeback from a 3 percent rate in 2022 and significantly higher than the average growth rate of 4.5 percent between 2020 and 2022. Globally, a 5-percent growth rate in China would also largely outpace a projected global growth rate of 3 percent, 1.5 percent in advanced economies, and 4 percent in emerging markets and developing economies, according to the IMF.
What's more, international organizations have constantly upgraded China's growth forecasts, in stark contrast to grim predictions hyped by some Western economic pundits and media outlets.
"We recently upgraded our 2023 forecast to 5.4 percent. This forecast was increased by 0.4 percentage points in November," Steven Alan Barnett, senior IMF resident representative in China, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview. "At 5.4 percent growth, China by itself would explain around one-third of global growth in 2023."
Apart from growth in quantity, China's high-quality development also made significant strides in 2023, reflected in the rapid rise of new emerging industries, breakthroughs in critical technologies, the transition toward consumption-led growth, and the expansion of green development.
High-quality development Barnett highlighted China's rapid growth in new industries like electric vehicles (EVs) and green technologies that offered a cushion against other downward pressures. "China, in fact, stands out as a technological leader in the production of green technologies such as solar panels and EVs," he said.
In a remarkable example, China surpassed Japan to become the world's biggest auto exporter in the first quarter of 2023, thanks to the new-energy vehicles (NEVs) sector. In the first 11 months, NEVs output grew by 34.5 percent to 8.426 million units, while sales increased by 36.7 percent to 8.304 million units, according to the latest industry data. More than 64 percent of global NEVs sales were in China during the period, according to the 2023 World New Energy Vehicle Congress.
Also highlighting progress in China's innovation-driven high-quality development, in November, the added value of high-tech manufacturing above designated size increased by 6.2 percent year-on-year, 4.4 percentage points faster than that of the previous month. High-tech products such as solar cells, service robots, and integrated circuits continued their stellar performance, with their output rising 44.5 percent, 33.3 percent, and 27.9 percent, respectively.
That helped promote high-quality development in China's foreign trade, with the upgrade of the export structure. In the first 11 months, China's exports of NEVs, lithium batteries, and solar cells - collectively known as "the three new items" of China's exports - jumped by 41.7 percent to about 79.9 billion yuan.
Also underscoring China's optimizing trade structure, "during a period of declining orders from the US and Europe, China's trade with emerging markets continues to grow," Wei Jianguo, former Chinese vice minister of commerce and executive deputy director of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, told the Global Times.
Another highlight of China's high-quality development is the rise of domestic consumption as the main economic growth driver. In the first 11 months, total retail sales, a main gauge of consumption, grew by 7.2 percent year-on-year to about 42.8 trillion yuan, with a 10.1 percent growth in November. "Consumption explained around 80 percent of growth in the first three quarters of the year," Barnett said.
Innovation-led and consumption-driven growth is a crucial part of China's high-quality development, which is at the front and center of China's economic policymaking. This year's CEWC, held on December 11 and 12, stressed that it is imperative to uphold high-quality development as the unyielding principle of the new era. The phrase has drawn much attention as it resembles the popular Chinese saying "development is the absolute principle," popularized during the decades of reform and opening-up that ushered in China's rapid economic rise.
Decisive top-down leadership
How did China overcome difficulties and challenges and achieve these hard-won gains? Decisive top-down leadership is the key, economists said.
Over the last year, at major meetings and inspection tours across the country, Xi has repeatedly called for efforts to tackle challenges, stabilize growth, and promote high-quality development.
In his speech at the CEWC last year, Xi stressed "We need to bear in mind the overall strategic picture and focus on major problems" and offered clear guidance on how to tackle them. He called for efforts to expand domestic demand, build a modern industrial system, develop the public sector and support the non-public sector, attract and utilize foreign investment, and forestall and defuse risks in areas such as real estate, financial market and local government debt.
This guidance has since turned into policy actions over the last year. Overall, China has adopted proactive fiscal and prudent monetary policies that have supported economic recovery. In the budget adopted in March, consumption, technological innovation, and high-quality development were prioritized.
Throughout the year, Chinese officials both at the central and local levels released an array of policy measures to support consumption, investment, and the private sector.
China also welcomed a long stream of global business executives and hosted many high-level trade fairs to boost cooperation.
Then in July, amid new challenges and weakening expectations, Xi presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC, to set priorities for economic work in the second half of the year. While noting "new difficulties and challenges," the meeting called for solid efforts to expand domestic demand, shore up confidence, and prevent risks. That also led to strong policy measures in the second half of the year, including a plan to issue an additional 1 trillion yuan in treasury bonds in the fourth quarter.
The meeting also stressed that China's economic recovery was a "wave-like" and "zigzag" process. That demonstrated top officials' confidence in the economy, as they are trying to convey a message that China's economy may face high waves but it will always break through and it may zigzag but it will always move forward.
This is very typical of Chinese policymaking - confident in China's development, responsive to new situations, and swift and effective in responding to them, economists said.
"[Top officials] grasp issues in a very objective manner and take measures in a very swift and targeted manner," Guan said.
This has not only helped underpin China's stable economic recovery in 2023 but has also boosted confidence in China's 2024 economic recovery, despite lingering risks and challenges.
"Amid high winds and strong waves in the global economy, China's economy is making solid progress toward the future, forming synergy through optimization and balance, continuously releasing strong development momentum, and demonstrates bright prospects," Cheng Shi, chief economist of ICBC International, told the Global Times.
This year's CEWC, which sets the economic agenda for 2024, noted that some difficulties and challenges must be tackled to achieve further economic recovery and pledged a series of policy measures in a wide range of areas.
"The favorable conditions for China's development outweigh the unfavorable ones, and the overall trend of economic recovery and long-term improvement remains unchanged," it said.
The total number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza has surpassed 10,000 since the latest round of Hamas-Israel conflict started on October 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged for a humanitarian ceasefire amid the unfolding catastrophe in Gaza that grows more dire with each passing hour. Will a ceasefire be possible? How do external factors, such as unconditional US support of Israel, play into this conflict? What's the deadlock in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? Global Times reporters Xie Wenting and Bai Yunyi (GT) spoke with Ex-Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy (Levy), the president of the US/Middle East Project and got answers to these pressing questions and more. GT: Pentagon and some US officials have voiced that they do not support a ceasefire in the current Palestine-Israel conflict, saying that it only benefits Hamas. What's your take on it?
Levy: The US military and American politicians are in the same place on this, but the US is quite isolated in the world. In this regard, its allies in Europe and Israel have taken a similar position. However, when the United Nations voted for an immediate truce, only 14 countries, including Israel and the US, voted against this resolution.
Now, what is worrying is this statement that only Hamas would benefit from a ceasefire. It's a very curious statement. We think that approximately 10,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Gaza in less than 4 weeks. The accurate number seems to be about 4,000 children. For the Americans to say that only Hamas will benefit suggests that they place no value on Palestinian civilian lives. I believe many people are shocked, including those in the US by the fact that there is such a blatant and transparent position, which values one life differently from another. I think this is a very bad moment for the US on the international stage.
I understand the argument which sets forth that if there is a ceasefire, Israel will not be able to continue its military effort against Hamas. However, there are two things. First, we cannot conduct that military effort in violation of all international norms, laws, and conventions. There are rules even in war. Just like the resistance against an illegal occupation, which is legal, armed resistance is legal against an illegal occupation. But it has rules. So self-defense by Israel also has rules. You cannot pretend that these rules don't exist. Second, history tells us that if people are kept depressed like this, you cannot defeat them militarily. It's a very counterproductive and dangerous American position.
GT: Based on your analysis, what is likely to happen in the coming days? What's the worst scenario that you fear may happen?
Levy: It's an interesting question. In recent days, Israel has proceeded with its ground operation inside Gaza. ?The reason it is incredibly congested and densely populated with Palestinians in such a confined area is due to the fact that Israel forcefully relocated the Palestinians to this region between 1947 and 1949.
What is Israel aiming to achieve? They have surrounded Gaza City, dividing it. Israeli military officials have stated that they may need to remain in Gaza for three months to carry out military operations. Afterward, there would be a residual presence, with Israel potentially remaining in Gaza for another nine months. This suggests that the Israelis lack a clear plan.
We tend to think of the Israeli military as a very strategic and powerful force, which it certainly is. Israel is an undeclared nuclear power with nuclear arms, and it receives guaranteed support from the US for acquiring the most sophisticated weaponry. Israel also has its own arms industry.
However, it came as quite a shock that Israel's security doctrine is based on deterrence, which includes early warning and military preponderance for domination. This security doctrine is unlikely to succeed if they continue to try to maintain permanent control over another people, especially considering the opposition they face from much of the region. As a result, this security doctrine is bound to collapse. Although they may attempt to reassert it, it is destined to fail.
No one in Israel is providing an answer to the question you asked. Do they think they will stay there permanently? Will Palestinians allow for some outside force to come and take control? An outside force may want to intervene. Therefore, there is no real answer, suggesting a high level of dysfunction in Israeli strategic thinking. It seems their plan is to inflict as much damage as possible until the world intervenes, and then reassess the situation.
However, we must also acknowledge that the individuals currently leading this operation in Israel have been greatly discredited due to what happened on October 7. This significant failure and terrible incident have led to the assumption that there will be an inquiry into what occurred on that day. Consequently, many people may be forced out of their positions. These individuals are prolonging the war because once it ends, their personal careers will come to an end as well.
GT: Do you still see a possible ceasefire in the near future?
Levy: The pressure for a ceasefire might grow more quickly. Maybe Israel will manage to keep going for so long, but it's very risky because the longer it goes on in Gaza, the more likely there will be a regional explosion.
There have been exchanges between local militias and either American or Israeli forces. The US has positioned its warships off the coast, so the US could get dragged into this war. Iran could also get dragged into this war. The rest of the world is looking at this and saying we have quite a lot of crises.
Besides, there are other arguments as to why there may be a ceasefire sooner rather than later. First, things are deteriorating across the rest of the Palestinian arena in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Second, civilian casualties are reaching alarming levels. Third, this conflict is causing the US and the West to appear increasingly isolated. Fourth, the more destruction inflicted upon Gaza, the more challenging it will be to rebuild the region. Fifth, Israel lacks a plan for the aftermath of the conflict. Therefore, there are numerous reasons why a ceasefire is becoming more likely. Lastly, the longer the war persists, the less feasible it becomes to release the prisoners held in Gaza, increasing the likelihood of their death.
However, the US is not forcing Israel into a ceasefire at the moment. Israel remains angry, vengeful, and confused. It is not agreeing to a ceasefire, but I think this dynamic can shift. Many people are asking the question: How long can Israel maintain its reservists away from their employment? Much of the Israeli economy is at a standstill. Israel is beginning to lose soldiers in Gaza. The deaths of Israeli soldiers increase every day. These are the two tensions. There is a lot of criticism inside the US, within Biden's own party, that he is not pushing for a ceasefire. So it's possible that Israel will have several more weeks, but it's also very likely that the pressure will increase to end this sooner.
GT: You once were an Israeli peace negotiator. Over the years, the Israeli-Palestinian issue has been in a prolonged deadlock and even marginalized. What do you think are the reasons behind this?
Levy: There were basic parameters outlined for a deal, which would not be an ideal solution. Essentially, the idea was for Palestinians to accept a state in only 22 percent of the former mandate area, as Palestine had been colonized and Israel had established its own settler colony. The agreement entailed Israel's withdrawal, allowing for the creation of a Palestinian state. Due to the US' significant influence and strong relationship with Israel, it was expected that the US would ensure the achievement of this deal. However, this never materialized. Instead, Israel continued to place more and more illegal settlers in the land designated for the Palestinian state.
If you are occupying another territory, there are rules. There is international law. You are not allowed to move your civilian population into the territory. Israel violated this and many other international laws. So, instead of securing this deal, Israel continued to deepen the occupation. For the Palestinians, the main Palestinian faction, Fatah, which is the other party to Hamas, controlled the piano. The people who made the deal with Israel expected to get a state and stopped using armed struggle, negotiating instead. They became less and less credible in the eyes of their own people because things kept getting worse. So, Hamas kept getting stronger.
When we were negotiating, we understood some of these dynamics. We thought we could achieve a deal. To be honest, quite often we were negotiating with ourselves because there were different views on the Israeli side. You had a more pragmatic, realist Israeli position. You had a more ideological Israeli position or maximalist Israeli position. We never put forward a deal that would have led to peace, and the Americans, instead of ensuring it happened, actually made sure Israel was not held accountable when Israel refused to pursue the peaceful option. So, this is how it collapsed, but it has been collapsed now for a long time.
For a long time, there have been no serious peace efforts. What we hear are people saying "two states," but these words are meaningless. There is no accountability for Israel in preventing the establishment of two states. Furthermore, the situation on the ground has worsened. The collapse of the international architecture is evident, as the process has been monopolized by the US. Occasionally, the Quartet (comprising the UN, EU, Russia, and the US) has been involved, and sometimes Arab states have participated. However, the US and Israel have consistently worked to marginalize the Quartet, paralyze the UN Security Council, and improve Arab-Israeli relations without addressing the Palestinian issue.
All of these things were not serious. All of these things made peace less likely. All of those things were proof that we need a different international architecture. This can't be left just to the US.
GT: From your point of view, what is the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue?
Levy: There are four main points to consider. First, Palestinian politics is dysfunctional and not representative of its people. The opportunity to include Hamas within the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was hindered by the interference of countries like the US and Israel. Therefore, it is crucial to allow Palestinians to rebuild their political system and remove any obstacles. Friendly third countries should support and encourage this process, as the collapse of Palestinian politics has contributed to the current situation.
Second, if Israel believes it can act without consequences, it will continue to do so. The US' guarantee of Israeli impunity and lack of accountability has fostered a culture of war and excessive actions by Israel. This has led to strategic miscalculations, as Israel believed it could control millions of Palestinians without granting them rights or a state, which many consider to be an apartheid system.
Israel's confidence in its actions stems from the assurance provided by the US. So the second thing that needs to happen is for Israel to understand that there is a choice to be made and that there are costs for continuing to treat the Palestinians like this.
Third, we cannot leave this just to the US. We need this to be recognized as a major global crisis. The Israeli-Palestinian issue is part of the global crisis. This is not a marginal issue. We need other states, such as the G20 or the BRICS, parts of the Global South, and parts of the Arab world, to get more engaged so that there is some balance in how America manages this issue. We need a new contact group or a new architecture. This is true of many things in the world, but it is now particularly true of this crisis.
Finally, with the involved parties themselves, we need to clarify that the traditional position is for two states, but the international community is open to considering other ideas as long as they recognize the rights and equality of all people. We must encourage the parties to see each other as human beings and to acknowledge the reality of their situation.
Some may argue that Israel cannot negotiate until Hamas is destroyed, while others may question how Palestinians can negotiate with Israel when it has caused the deaths of thousands of children. However, this is the nature of conflict, and the path to stability lies in politics and negotiations. Instead of imposing a solution, we must emphasize that a situation through which one people live with rights and another people live without rights is unacceptable.
If Israel refuses to withdraw its settlements, perhaps a one-state solution could be considered. Similarly, if Palestinians insist on the return of refugees, maybe we can revisit the idea of two states. The key is to provide options and encourage the parties to engage in political discussions. These are my suggestions.
Chinese tech company EHang Holdings Limited has begun to sell its self-developed unmanned electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft EH216-S on Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao at a cost of 2.39 million yuan ($332,032) per unit, the Global Times observed on Monday.
He Tianxing, a deputy president of EHang, told the Global Times that it was not only for online sale, but also aimed to inform the public the development potential of low-altitude economy in the future.
The EH216-S last December obtained the standard Airworthiness Certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, which marked the eVTOL aircraft becoming eligible for commercial operation.
EH216-S Passenger-Carrying UAV System Obtains Standard Airworthiness Certificate from CAAC and the Certified Aircraft Delivered to Customer in Guangzhou.
Aside from its main selling points including its small size, easy take-off, landing and re-charge ability, as well as quietness, EHang made multiple backups for core parts such as propellers, electric engine, flying control system and batteries.
The Government Work Report released during the recently concluded two sessions earlier this month stated that China will foster new growth engines in fields such as biomanufacturing, commercial spaceflight, and the low-altitude economy.
Analysts pointed out that low-altitude transport can help reduce waste once ground transport has reached its limit in megacities.
Following the announced policy, many cities have taken measures to develop the sector. As the country's first trial province for low-altitude air space management, Southwest China's Sichuan Province simplified low-altitude flight test applications. East China's Anhui also crafted rules to develop low-altitude economy, stating to accelerate the development of the industry in Hefei and Wuhu, two major cities there.
In addition, Shenzhen city in South China's Guangdong Province has published a set of documents and government regulations supporting the development of the low-altitude economy in the province, according to Xinhua News Agency.
As of 2025, the output value of low-altitude economy in China is estimated to reach 3 to 5 trillion yuan, according to a recent survey by the International Digital Economy Academy.
In his first public appearance before media since taking his new post, Wu Qing, head of China's securities watchdog, outlined on Wednesday his plan to ensure the stable development of the capital market, the world's second largest, and vowed to beef up institutional buildup and to better ensure investor protection.
Chinese analysts noted that the institutional and holistic approach outlined by the head of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), who takes a harsh tone on illegal behavior while being considerate to small investors, is a pragmatic approach that suits the market reality, and is set to boost market confidence, stabilize expectations and shore up the overall investment value of China's capital market.
A number of delegates to the ongoing two sessions also contributed their thoughts on the topic, which is under the global media spotlight and has become a target for Western doomsayers in recent weeks.
Wu's appearance at the press conference, held during the ongoing two sessions, along with several other top government officials in charge of China's economic and trade affairs, is one of the highlights of the political event, as ensuring the stability of the capital market was mentioned in the Government Work Report for the first time following a period of turbulence in the Chinese A-share market ahead of China's Spring Festival holidays in February.
The Government Work Report, delivered by Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday at the opening meeting of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, set a growth target of around 5 percent for the country's economy in 2024.
Notably, the report pointed out that "the underlying stability of the capital market should be enhanced."
Giving his insight on how to ensure the stable development of the capital market, Wu the CSRC chairman, who is one day short of completing his first month in the new post, said enhancing institutional buildup and attracting long-term investment into the market will be among the measures to be taken to accomplish the task outlined in the Government Work Report.
Acknowledging that market operation has its own rules and should not be interfered with under normal circumstances, Wu told the press conference that the regulator "won't hesitate to act to correct extreme situations when the market seriously deviates from its fundamentals, irrational and violent fluctuations occur, liquidity is exhausted, market panic occurs and serious draining of confidence appears."
The first-time ever mentioning of enhancing the underlying stability of the capital market sends a strong signal of China's commitment to building itself into a financial powerhouse and sets the tone for the future development in related fields, delegates to the two sessions said.
Outside of the two sessions venue, Chinese scholars also shared their views on what Wu had said at the press conference.
Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the announcement made by CSRC chairman Wu, with an emphasis on both strength and toughness, laid out a clear-cut vision on improving the construction of fundamental institutions and better regulating the capital market, and is a "pragmatic approach in line with reality."
"The dual emphasis by the CSRC on strengthening regulation and bolstering investor protection are set to improve the stability and quality of the Chinese capital market," Dong noted.
Dong said that the emphasis on protecting small and medium-sized investors addresses the root of the problem facing China's capital market, as their ranks formed the ultimate source of long-term funding for the Chinese A-share market.
The stock market has drawn much attention during this year's two sessions, with members, legislators, and officials putting forward practical and broad-perspective suggestions and motions on stabilizing the capital market, Xi Junyang, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Wu's remarks at the press conference will be heard by both domestic and overseas investors, Xi Junyang noted. "And his remarks, including protecting investors' interests, lifting the quality of listed companies, and implementing a stricter delisting system, are conducive to boosting investor confidence and the overall investment value of China's capital market."
"We can expect proactive measures to be announced in these areas," Xi Junyang said.
The Government Work Report set priorities and the direction for this year's economic work, and also offers much-needed reassurance to the capital market, Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund Management Co, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"The stock market is a barometer of a country's economy," Yang said. "Stepped-up macro-policies and stable economic recovery will contribute to a rebound in the A-share market."
A note of reassurance
With the sound development of the capital market a matter of vital concern, delegates to the two sessions are also contributing their ideas, with some pointing out that the Government Work Report has brought "a certain sense of reassurance to the market."
"The Chinese equities market was on a turbulent ride at the beginning of 2024, so the statement in the Government Work Report gives investors a sense of encouragement as well as a certain sense of reassurance," Fang Jie, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of Hubei University of Economics, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
There is a lot of work to be done to improve the underlying stability of the capital market and ensure its sound development, and first and foremost is to continue shoring up the macroeconomy, which provides a foundation for market performance, noted Fang, who has also served as the deputy secretary general of Wuhan government in Central China's Hubei Province and the director of the Wuhan Financial Work Bureau.
Chinese financial authorities also need to further carry out sweeping market reforms, such as creating more innovative capital market products to help release market vigor, and improve the systemic design of the capital market through measures such as increasing the transparency of listed companies' information disclosure and carrying out holistic supervision over the A-share market, Fang said.
Yang Chengzhang, a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and chief economist with Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, told the Global Times on Wednesday that in order to ensure the stable development of the capital market, the government should also continuously put efforts and resources into stemming risks in the property sector, local debt and small and medium-sized financial institutions, as these three sectors are major sources of concern for capital market investors in 2023.
The Government Work Report's call to tackle risks in key areas and beef up security in key sectors will help ease excessive worries and curb the pessimistic outlook in the market, according to Yang Chengzhang.
In order to promote the sound development of the capital market and protect investors' rights and interests, the CSRC has held symposiums to solicit opinions and suggestions on improving the basic system of the capital market, strengthening the protection of the rule of law, and it has also paid visits to listed firms to help them address difficulties to achieve high-quality development.
Since Wu took office, the Chinese A-share market has recovered much of its losses from the recent cycle, finishing at 3,039.93 points at the Shanghai bourse and 9,395.65 points at the Shenzhen bourse on Wednesday.
Following robust travel and tourism activity during the eight-day Spring Festival holidays, the Chinese economy is off to a good start.
Preliminary economic indicators suggest that China is poised to achieve a good start in the first quarter, Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, said at the same press conference.
Zheng revealed that industrial power use grew at 9.7 percent in the January-February period, exports are likely to grow 10 percent year-on-year, indicating robustness in the economy.
Back in 2004, archaeologists excavated two pits in northern China that looked a lot like homebrewing operations. Constructed between 3400 and 2900 B.C. by the Yangshao culture, each pit contained the remnants of a stove and assorted funnels, pots and amphorae.
Now, Jiajing Wang of Stanford University and colleagues report that the pottery shards contain residue and other evidence of starches, chemicals and plant minerals from specific fermented grains. The ancient beer recipe included broomcorn millet, barley, Job’s tears and tubers — that probably gave the beer a sweet flavor, the team writes May 23 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The findings predate the earliest evidence of barley in China by around 1,000 years. Beer may have been consumed at social gatherings, and brewing, not agriculture, spurred the introduction of barley to China, the researchers argue.
Climate commotion In “Changing Climate: 10 years after An Inconvenient Truth” (SN: 4/16/16, p. 22), Thomas Sumner reported on the progress scientists have made revising forecasts of the far-reaching effects of climate change — from extreme temperatures and sea level rise to severe drought and human conflict — in the decade since the Oscar-winning film’s release.
Reader response to the article was overwhelming, with hundreds of online comments. Some people enjoyed the in-depth look at climate change science, while others expressed skepticism about humans’ contribution to climate change and a general distrust of climate scientists.
“One of my goals for this article was to highlight that climate change research has itself changed over the last decade,” Sumner says. Scientists are still working to understand how the consequences of atmospheric warming will play out in the coming centuries. But one big message from the last decade of research is that the fundamentals have held up: Natural variability exists, says Sumner, but human activities are largely responsible for the current warming trend. “The question now is what impact will human contributions have down the line and what should we do to prevent and mitigate those effects,” he says. Plastic feast Sarah Schwartz wrote about the discovery of a microbe, Ideonella sakaiensis, that chows down on a hard-to-degrade polymer in “This microbe makes a meal of plastic” (SN: 4/16/16, p. 5). Online commenters were amazed by this new plastic-gobbling organism. “This is great news,” Dan said. “Our world would be doomed if there wasn’t a microbe able to do this.” Chuckawobbly wondered how long it takes I. sakaiensis to digest the plastic. And Jean Harlow was concerned about the potential by-products of worldwide plastic digestion. “The waste product would be a significant amount … of what?” she asked.
Researchers observed that I. sakaiensis almost completely degraded a thin film of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, after six weeks in a laboratory. But when extracted from the bacterium, the proteins used to break down plastic begin working in about 18 hours.
I. sakaiensisappears to break PET into smaller molecules, like amino acids and carbon dioxide, says coauthor Kenji Miyamoto of Keio University in Yokohama, Japan. But it would probably be hard for the microbe to break down plastic in the outdoors because of its specific growth requirements, he says. Miyamoto envisions that it could be possible to use the specialized proteins in a closed environment to break PET down into molecules such as terephthalic acid— one of the plastic’s main building blocks, which seems benign in the environment.
Prairie dog predators Herbivorous prairie dog mothers routinely kill baby ground squirrels that encroach on their territories, researchers found. Competition for resources may be a contributing factor to the killings, Susan Milius reported in “Killer prairie dogs make good moms” (SN: 4/16/16, p. 14).
One reader had other ideas. Audrey Boag wondered if prairie dog moms kill ground squirrels to protect their pups from predation or from diseases carried by the squirrels. “In either case, minimizing the number of ground squirrels would pay in lifetime biological fitness,” she wrote.
“We never observed a ground squirrel kill or injure an adult or juvenile prairie dog,” says study coauthor John Hoogland. “Perhaps such attacks sometimes occur underground.” Hoogland notes that the majority of ground squirrels killed by prairie dogs were juveniles, which are too small to be a threat.
One threat, however, is a species of disease-carrying flea that infests both animals. Hoogland found that prairie dog killers and their offspring had fewer fleas than nonkillers and their offspring, “but this trend was not significant,” he says.
