A number of Chinese localities have set out detailed plans to develop artificial intelligence (AI) technology and relevant ecosystems this year, a move that observers said shows that China is leveraging its "whole-nation" system advantage to fast track the technology's development amid a white-hot global race.

It also comes as the Government Work Report launched the AI Plus Initiative, while highlighting efforts to develop new quality productive forces for the first time.

Qingdao, a city in East China's Shandong Province, plans to build itself into a highland in AI hashrate and algorithm applications.

According to the plan, the city aims to create 20 influential leading AI firms, about 30 AI innovative platforms, more than 100 AI application demonstration zones and seven AI hashrate centers to "further improve the local AI-related ecosystem," the Xinhua News Agency reported.

In mid-March, the Industry and Information Technology Bureau in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, which is also known as China's "Silicon Valley," issued an action plan to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces.

The plan draws up 20 "strategically newly emerging industry clusters," including AI, and it vows to support their growth "with extraordinary strength and the city's whole resources."

The Shenzhen authorities have released two lists on the application of AI technology in a combined 41 urban scenarios, including digital, culture and public services, the Xinhua report noted.

In February, Wang Zhonglin, governor of Central China's Hubei Province, pledged at an AI-themed meeting that the province will speed up the technology's development with "extraordinary measures" and "a stronger sense of urgency, mission and responsibility," said another Xinhua report.

Wang took note of Hubei's technological edges in several fronts, including innovation prowess, a solid industrial base and abundant applications, which he believes could reinforce the city's role in AI development.

With the recent market hit text-to-video AI model Sora and AI chatbot ChatGTP, some Chinese cities could embrace the opportunities brought by AI large language models' revolutionary tide and make this core to their development plans.

Liu Jie, Party chief of Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, mentioned Sora twice at the city officials' first meeting in February, stressing that the city - which is home to a number of technology companies such as Alibaba and NetEase - should innovate and seize the opportunity in the new round of AI development, news website 21jingji.com reported.

Liu suggested measures to shore up hashrate development, including launching "hashrate vouchers" that bring down the cost, creating more conditions for developing universal AI large language models as well as vertical and specialized AI large language models, the report said.

Observers said that those efforts underscore that China has been spearheading a top-down effort that could help itself quickly climb up the tech ladder and close gaps with certain foreign peers. One of China's biggest advantages in the AI sector lies in the country's system advantage, which makes it more efficient in mobilizing and deploying relevant resources in technological research and development, they stressed.

Zhou Hongyi, founder and chairman of 360 Security Technology, voiced confidence that Chinese firms could narrow the gap with the US industry within one or two years, due to China's strong advantage in rapid learning capabilities.

He told the Global Times that 2024 may become the "year of application" for China in the field of AI.

In late February, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council held a meeting on promoting the reform of State-owned enterprises (SOEs), stressing the importance of pushing forward the transformation and upgrading of central SOEs through technological empowerment, including AI.

Deputies from East China's Jiangsu Province who interacted with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a deliberation at the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, told the Global Times on Thursday that they had been deeply inspired and vowed to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, on Tuesday participated in a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Jiangsu Province at the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's national legislature, the Xinhua News Agency reported.  

During the deliberation, Xi stressed the importance of developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions.

Xi called for focusing on high-quality development as the top priority, urging efforts to step up innovation, foster emerging industries, adopt forward-thinking plans for developing future-oriented industries and improve the modernized industrial system, according to Xinhua.

Scientific and technological innovation has become an important driving force for China's development and the term "new quality productive forces" has become a buzzword at the ongoing two sessions. 

And the guidelines presented by Xi have served to enlighten NPC deputies from Jiangsu Province, with many saying that they are inspired by Xi's emphasis on developing new quality productive forces, which is set to inject new growth momentum to the Chinese economy.

Shan Zenghai, an NPC deputy and chief engineer of Chinese construction equipment giant Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG), told the Global Times on Thursday that he is heartened by Xi's direction on guiding Jiangsu to develop new quality productive forces and become a base, and forge industrial clusters of new and emerging industries.

"The encouragement from top leadership greatly boosted our confidence in sticking to innovation-driven growth, bolstering the real economy and promoting high quality development," Shan said.

Chen Wei, an NPC deputy and the President of Jiangnan University, told the Global Times on Thursday that Xi's direction on making science and technological innovation a pillar in nurturing new quality productive forces has mapped out a blueprint for colleges to serve the country's economic and social development.

Promoting the in-depth integration of innovative factors, industrial chains, capital and talent represents key tasks for colleges, including encouraging scientists and researchers to walk out of laboratories and to the assembly lines, Chen said.

Zhou Bin, another NPC deputy and Party chief of Yancheng city, told the Global Times on Thursday that Xi's guidance carved out new space for development and the city has focused its development on new industrialization since the new year with the aim to construct modern industrial system.

The city will focus on nurturing "little giants," or industrial enterprises that have unique niche in the market, high-tech enterprises and listed firms.

The concept of new quality productive forces refers to a new form of productive forces derived from continuous sci-tech breakthroughs and innovation that drive strategic emerging industries and future industries in a more intelligent information era.

The development of new quality productive forces is currently accelerating across China. 

East China's Jiangsu Province is a manufacturing and exports powerhouse. It is also home to a vast number of private companies and a key destination of foreign-invested companies in China. The province has set a growth target of over 5 percent for 2024, after recording a growth of 5.8 percent in 2023.

Chinese scientists have recently achieved ultra-low temperature refrigeration without the use of liquid helium, which is expected to have great application prospect in multiple high-tech fields such as deep space exploration, quantum technologies and materials science. The research result has been published in the scientific journal Nature.

Ultra-low temperature refrigeration using liquid helium was invented over a century ago, and has widely been used in national security and strategic high-tech areas such as deep space exploration, quantum technologies, materials science and large-scale research facilities. 

However, due to the relative scarcity of helium in nature, it has become an important challenge within the scientific community to achieve ultra-low temperature refrigeration without using helium. 

Chinese researchers from several scientific research institutes including the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Physics and the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, used a triangular-lattice cobaltate material to realize the helium-free cooling to a temperature of 94 millikelvin (minus 273.056 C) with frustrated quantum magnets, designating the effect as “giant magnetocaloric effect of spin supersolid.”

Supersolid is a quantum state exhibited by matter at very low temperatures approaching absolute zero (minus 273.15 C). 

Magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is a heating or cooling of a magnetic material when the applied magnetic field changes. MCE can be used for cooling and may offer larger efficiencies than a conventional vapor-cycle refrigeration.

According to the research published in Nature, supersolids are long-sought-after quantum materials with two seemingly contradictory features: a rigid solid structure and superfluidity. The triangular-lattice cobaltate material provides evidence for a quantum spin analogue of supersolidity, with an additional giant magnetocaloric effect — discoveries that pave the way for helium-free cooling to temperatures below 1 kelvin with frustrated quantum magnets. 

Su Gang, a professor from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, co-author of the research and one of the key individuals who proposed the triangular-lattice cobaltate material to the research team, told the Global Times on Sunday that the discovery of this new state of matter and its new effects represents a significant breakthrough in fundamental researches. 

It also provides a new solution to the challenging problem of ultra-low-temperature cooling in China’s cutting-edge research areas such as deep space exploration, quantum technology, and materials science, the Science and Technology Daily reported on Thursday.

Li Wei, a researcher from the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, who proposed the triangular-lattice cobaltate material together with Su, said that the biggest challenge in the follow-up work is the research and development of new devices and refrigeration systems. 

According to Li, how to translate the laboratory’s achievements into practical uses and refrigeration systems, so as to provide extremely low-temperature environment and sufficient cooling capacity for deep space exploration or quantum computing, poses certain challenges in both scientific and engineering aspects. 

Reviews from Nature praised the research published on Wednesday, calling it a high-quality experiment and expecting that it will spark widespread research interest. 

China Harbour Engineering Co (CHEC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Co, recently won the bid for the dredging project of the entrance channel and port basins for the Simandou iron ore project, the world's largest undeveloped iron ore deposit, in Guinea.

The dredging project represents a significant operational achievement for CHEC in the Guinea market, as stated in its official WeChat account on Friday.

This project also signifies another step forward in the development of the high-grade iron ore project, involving joint participation between Chinese enterprises and their international partners.

The expansion and breakthrough in the Simandou project further strengthen CHEC's collaboration with major mining clients in Guinea, solidifying its competitive advantage in the hydraulic engineering market and providing robust support for ongoing development in the Guinea national market, according to CHEC.

The dredging project has a duration of 21 months and involves dredging the shared channels and port basins of the Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS), a consortium backed by Singaporean and Chinese companies, and the Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto.

The channel spans 22.60 kilometers, with a bottom width of 250 meters and an approximate dredging volume of 21.57 million cubic meters, according to CHEC.

The successful bidding of the dredging project occurred just a few days after the reported successful blasting of the No. 5 road in the Simandou mining area, marking another important progress in the mining project.

The successful blasting of the mining project for the first time establishes a solid foundation for subsequent production operations and a series of mine development works.

Infrastructure development for the Simandou mining project is underway after the project officially resumed substantive development in March 2023, following a one-year suspension.

The iron ore project is being progressed in partnership with CIOH, a Chinalco-led consortium, WCS, Baowu, and the Guinean government.

Rio Tinto, one of the investors in Simandou, announced in December 2023 a detailed financial investment plan, revealing that the southern Simandou mining area is expected to commence production in 2025 and increase annual production capacity to 60 million tons within the next 30 months.

The potential total reserves of iron ore in this mine are approximately 10 billion tons, ranking it third globally after Australia and Brazil. Upon production, the annual output is projected to range from 100 million to 150 million tons, contributing to 5 to 7 percent of the world's annual production, according to a Caixin report.

For major public health emergencies that result in more than five deaths or critical cases, provincial health authorities must report to China's top health authority within two hours upon receiving the report, according to new medical emergency regulations released by the National Health Commission (NHC) on Monday.

The NHC released the trial regulation to clarify the mechanisms and processes for emergency medical responses to sudden incidents, and to standardize and efficiently carry out emergency medical rescues in order to avoid and reduce casualties and ensure people's safety and health.

When the casualty situation is not clear, the situation should be reported first, with specific casualties submitted later. Health administrative authorities below the provincial level can directly report to the NHC, while copying the higher-level health authorities. The NHC should promptly report to the State Council upon receiving the report, according to the regulation.

The drafting of the trial regulation was based on relevant emergency, medical laws, regulations and contingency plans, including the Emergency Response Law of the People's Republic of China, Basic Healthcare and Health Promotion Law and the national emergency response plan for public health emergencies, said the NHC.

The trial medical emergency regulation was released in a timely manner, providing clear guidance and assistance to medical institutions in dealing with sudden health emergencies, Lu Hongzhou, head of the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

For example, based on the Law on Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases and other relevant laws and regulations, infectious disease patients should be promptly transferred to designated medical institutions for treatment, Lu said.

The trial regulation standardizes the system of medical emergency information discovery and reporting, as well as the entire process of medical emergency disposal. It clarifies the work responsibilities of relevant departments and institutions.

The health authorities will establish a system for retroactive investigation and accountability in order to strengthen inspection and guidance and improve the timeliness and accuracy of reporting. For those units that report late, omit, lie, or conceal information, they shall be resolutely held accountable in line with relevant regulations.

It also clarifies the standards for on-site medical emergency disposal, injury classification, treatment of the injured and other facets. It stipulates the management of medical emergency teams and base construction, the establishment of a medical emergency expert database, the formulation of medical emergency plans, the reserve of medical supplies, training and drills and other areas as well.

The US and the UK's support for anti-China rioters exposed their ill intention to destabilize the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at Friday's regular press briefing, in response to the latest remarks by US and UK politicians regarding the issuing of arrest warrants for five fugitives that have fled the HKSAR to overseas.

China strongly deplores and firmly opposes certain countries' flagrant slandering against the national security law for Hong Kong and interference in the rule of law in the HKSAR, and the issuing of arrest warrants for the five fugitives is in line with international law and common practice, said Mao.

The National Security Department (NSD) of the Hong Kong Police Force said on Thursday that the police have put on the wanted list five individuals who have fled overseas and are suspected of having committed offences under the national security law for Hong Kong.

The five are Cheng Man-kit, Hui Wing-ting, Joey Siu, Fok Ka-chi and Choi Ming-da, according to the HKSAR.

The HKSAR government also on Friday strongly opposed and condemned certain countries' remarks on the issuing of arrest warrants for the five individuals.

The police issued arrest warrants of these five individuals according to the law, which is necessary and legitimate, said Mao. The national security laws of other countries including the US and the UK also have extraterritorial effect. These five individuals, under the pretext of "democracy" and "human rights," have engaged in activities that undermine China's national security, Mao said.

The Commissioner's Office of Chinese Foreign Ministry in HKSAR also expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition on Friday. The spokesperson from the Commissioner's Office said that the extraterritorial application of the national security law for Hong Kong is fully in line with the principles of international law and common practice, and is a necessary and justified measure to ensure Hong Kong's long-term stability and order.

Meanwhile, the 2023 Implementation Rules for Amending the Implementation Rules for Article 43 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region took effect on Friday.

"The amendments are technical in nature and the scope of the proposed amendments is extremely narrow: it only aims at making clear provisions in respect of the validity period of freezing notice, without changing the basis or principle for issuing such notice," said a spokesperson from HKSAR on Friday.

The amendments can make sure that the freeze notice of property related to offenses under the national security law for Hong Kong remains valid until the legal proceedings conclude, according to the HKSAR.

Lawmaker Elizabeth Quat Pui-fan supports the revision of the implementation rules. The lawmaker told the Global Times on Friday that it can "effectively combat serious crimes that endanger national security."

Anti-China figures are still using various means to deny and evade their crimes that endanger national security. The anti-China forces in the US and the West are eager to continue stirring up trouble and messing up Hong Kong, the lawmaker emphasized.

Authorities are launching a direct strike against anti-China elements and those who disrupt Hong Kong, by pursuing the criminal acts of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and his peers in accordance with the law and freezing their assets. They have brought this upon themselves and HKSAR is obligated to handle it in accordance with the law, Quat said.

It is necessary to uphold the rule of law in governing HKSAR, using legal means to maintain stability and uphold social justice, the lawmaker said.

Mao, the foreign ministry spokesperson, reiterated that Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs that brook no interference from any external forces. China maintains firm resolve in safeguarding the nation's sovereignty, security and development interests. Relevant countries should respect China's sovereignty and the rule of law in HKSAR and stop interfering in China's internal affairs, she said.

China's university swimming team concluded their seven-day FISU Games campaign on a high note on Monday as they tallied 18 gold and two bronze medals to sit atop the leader board in swimming.

Butterfly specialist Zhang Yufei remains the biggest contributor to China's medal haul as she scored gold medals out of all nine competitions in which she participated. 

Monday night saw her win two gold medals in women's 50 meters freestyle and 4x100 meters medley relay at the Dong'an Lake Sports Park Aquatics Centre.

The Southeast University student was participating in the FISU University Games back-to-back with the World Aquatics Championships, which ended on July 30, a day before the FISU swimming competition began.

"The University Games competition is more like training for me. Even though I'm tired, I have to wake up when I step into the arena. Regardless of my mental state, once I'm on the competition stage, I have to give my all and take the race seriously," Zhang told reporters. 

The 25-year-old threw all the gifts she received at the award ceremony to the audience on Monday. 

Zhang, also a two-time Olympic champion and a two-time world championship title holder, said she is trying to get used to participating in back-to-back tournaments.

"It can be exhausting joining back-to-back events like the World Championships, University Games and the upcoming Asian Games, but it's all about building myself up," she said. 

"A significant portion of my training is done on dry land. Through these exercises, I enhance my physical fitness to improve my ability to compete in multiple events. Since I will be participating in many events at the Olympics next year, I started preparing from this year, making multiple races a habit for myself," she added.

Distance freestyle specialist Li Bingjie, 21, representing Shanghai Jiao Tong University, also had to swim back-to-back after winning the 400 meters freestyle. 

The last swimmer in the women's relay, she was struggling to stand thus was carried by her teammates after the final as her efforts ended with China leading the second-place Poland team with a one-second-sharp lead. 

Li, a Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and six-time world championship medalist, totaled eight gold medals at the FISU Games, including a clean sweep in the women's 400, 800 and 1,500 meters freestyle.

Li has said that she hopes to narrow the gap between her and the world's most decorated swimmer, Katie Ledecky of the US, in the lead up to the Paris Olympics, but she insists that she will continue to focus on her own rhythm rather than following others.

"I've made mistakes in this aspect before, allowing others' pace to dictate my pace, which ended in the later stages with me losing control of myself," Li told reporters. 

"Now I primarily focus on swimming according to my own rhythm."

Also that night, the Chinese university men's 4x100 meters medley relay team, headed by breaststroke world champion Qin Haiyang, set a new FISU record of 3:32.58 seconds. 

Speaking about the physical fatigue of participating in back-to-back races, Qin emphasized the importance of mental relaxation.

"My primary focus after training is on relaxing my mind. Physical fatigue can be recovered through a good sleep, but mental relaxation is more crucial because training is usually quite intense," Qin, whose given name Haiyang means "ocean," told reporters. 

"As my journey into swimming was also a serendipitous process, I feel that there is a sense of destiny associated with swimming," Qin said, speaking about his given name.

Qin thanked the home audience for their continuing support to the team. 

"The spectators are truly enthusiastic," Qin Said.

"Only during home games can you hear such fervent cheers and shouts!"

A decade since the first North American Shaolin Cultural Festival in 2013, the Shaolin Temple is once again hosting an official cultural exchange event in the US. 

The highly anticipated "2023 North American Shaolin Games" and a series of martial arts-related activities are scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, the US, on November 11 and 12.

The announcement was made during a press conference held on November 7. 

Organized by the renowned Songshan Shaolin Temple in China, in collaboration with the Shaolin North American Association, the games are expected to serve as a platform for kung fu enthusiasts to show off their skills and promote the popularization of the ancient sport in North America. 

Approximately 500 Shaolin disciples from over 40 states in the US, as well as from countries ­including ­Canada and Mexico will ­participate in the events.

Shi Yongxin, the abbot of the Shaolin Temple, said at the press conference that Shaolin kung fu is famous all over the world. 

Kung fu not only strengthens the body, but also uses martial arts to achieve Zen and enlighten people through wisdom. 

The kung fu competition is a long-standing tradition at the Shaolin Temple, which aims to enable Shaolin disciples to study more diligently and constantly surpass themselves, according to Shi.

During the opening ceremony, dignitaries from various fields will witness the top performers in various categories. 

The 2023 North American Shaolin kung fu stars - the top three in each discipline - will receive medals, trophies, certificates, and accolades as encouragement.

According to Shi, the tradition of Shaolin kung fu competitions has flourished overseas since 2011. 

Events like the European Shaolin Cultural Festival and the North American Shaolin Cultural Festival all regard the Shaolin kung fu competition as core content.

In 2022, the Shaolin kung fu online competition continued this tradition, uniting 5,320 participants from 94 countries and regions across six continents. 

Before coming to the US in 2023, the Shaolin Games had already been held in Zambia in Africa, Singapore in Asia, and Argentina in Latin America.

Shi, leading the visiting delegation, arrived in Los Angeles on November 1 to kick off a series of North American visits. 

During his visit to San Francisco on November 7, he delivered a speech titled "Zen Meets AI" at Meta's headquarters. 

In his address, he emphasized that while AI possesses remarkable data processing and analytical capabilities, and may display similar human perceptions through programs and algorithms, but it cannot replicate the awakened consciousness advocated by Zen Buddhism. 

He encouraged human beings to seek inner wisdom and ­transcendence, even in the face of AI advancements.

According to Shi, Zen ­Buddhism emphasizes that Zen practitioners can gradually improve their state of enlightenment through their own efforts. 

As a tool, AI can search and find relevant classics to solve various doubts that Zen ­practitioners encounter, providing assistance and convenience to Zen practitioners.

As US President Joe Biden is about to travel to Tel Aviv on Wednesday in a show of support to Israel as it prepares for a ground offensive in Gaza and with the aim to mitigate the expansion of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, analysts urged the US to shoulder its responsibility as a major power to act as a fair and impartial mediator and bring the two-state solution back on track.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who announced Biden's trip to Tel Aviv, described it a demonstration of "US solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security." During the meeting with Israelis, Biden also plans to hear what Israel will need to safeguard their security, Blinken said.

Before Biden reaches Tel Aviv, several US officials including Blinken and the top US military commander in the Middle East Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, have been engaging with senior Israeli officials in the country. The military commander is looking to "gain a clear understanding of Israel's defense requirements," according to the general's headquarters.

Ding Long, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the purpose of Biden's visit to Israel is clear: Showing support to Israel, while working to prevent the conflict from escalating and spilling over to larger areas. What is worth noting is that these goals are not being worked toward out of consideration for Palestine's interests but to serve the interests of the US, he said. 

An uncontrollable Middle East means the US will have to haul the focus of its global strategy back to the region. Additionally, an escalated situation in the region will lead to skyrocketing oil prices and may exert a negative impact on the upcoming election next year, which all in all is not what the US is looking for, Ding explained. 

According to the White House, besides of meeting with Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders, Biden's trip will be followed by a stop in neighboring Jordan, where he will meet with Jordan's King Abdullah, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

Using international justice and international laws to address the Israel-Palestine conflict cannot be put into practice if the US fails to timely correct its Middle East policy and stop its one-sided support of Israel, and instead act as a fair and impartial mediator and bring the two-state solution back on track, Ding told the Global Times. 

The current round of conflict is the result of the US policy of putting the cart before the horse in the Middle East, for which the US should be held responsible. It is time for the US to reflect and correct its long-time failed Middle East policy, which has led the Middle East peace process astray, Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.

Chinese experts urged the US to increase its promotion of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and investment in the peace process, rather than trying to normalize Arab relations with Israel while the Israeli-Palestinian issue has not been resolved.
According to Al Jazeera, 10 days of bombing Gaza has caused widespread destruction of local schools and hospitals and displaced nearly 1 million people. 
The latest news from the BBC on Tuesday showed that more than 1,300 people in Israel have been killed by Hamas since October 7 and more than 2,700 people have died in Israeli retaliatory strikes in Gaza.

Regarding the current situation, China calls for a cease-fire and an end to the fighting as soon as possible in order to prevent it from spreading indefinitely and to avoid further deterioration of the situation, Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, said after the UN Security Council on Monday failed to adopt a resolution proposed by Russia that would have called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and condemnation of all violence and hostilities directed against civilians. 

Five UN Security Council members voted in favor of the draft resolution, four members voted against it, and six members abstained. The proposal must receive at least nine votes in favor for the UN to adopt a resolution, with none of its five permanent members opposing or casting a veto, according to the UN.

The Chinese envoy expressed disappointment that the UN failed to pass a resolution on the Palestinian-Israeli issue but voiced support for the UN to continue to play its role and responsibility in prompting humanitarian aid. 

Some Western countries joining hands to vote against the UN resolution has thwarted the role the UN Security Council should bear to maintain international peace and security and resolve the current crisis, Ding said, highlighting that humanitarian aid should not be politicized. 

A most urgent task is to prevent the humanitarian catastrophe from worsening, however some Western countries are still attempting to leave more space for Israel to retaliate against Hamas. Their sinister intentions will not help the ceasefire nor ease the humanitarian disaster, Ding noted. 

While addressing the ongoing?crisis, the international community must adhere to the fundamental direction of the two-state?solution, work for?broader consensus?and formulate a timetable and road map to that end, the Chinese envoy noted. 

The Embassy of Colombia in China celebrated the country's National Day in Beijing, on July 27. The Colombian Ambassador Sergio Cabrera attended the event and expressed his willingness to maintain cultural exchanges with China. 

Ambassador Qiu Xiaoqi, Special Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Government of China was the special guest at the event. Around 350 attendees, including representatives from diplomatic missions, party and state officials, representatives from provincial governments, and business people were also present at the event. 

Ambassador Cabrera delivered a speech at the event in which he said, "Culture, a sector to which I have been committed for all my life, is a tool for opening spaces for international dialogue. In China, our cultural agenda includes the planning of events in literature, gastronomy, plastic and visual arts, cinematography, and music."

Cabrera attended cultural and education promotion events in different cities around China in June. These included a conversation about Colombian literature and film in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and in Beijing, he talked about the Colombian film El olvido que seremos (Forgotten We'll Be) with Colombian writer Héctor Abad. During the visit, other activities carried out with the Foreign Affairs Office of the Chongqing Municipal People's Government included a live radio broadcast to promote Colombian music, showcasing songs from Colombia's most traditional musical genres such as Cumbia, Salsa, and Vallenato. It also included the well-known instruments such as the Caucasian flute which was the main instrument played to celebrate the friendship between Colombia and China at a concert in 2022. The ambassador also talked about Colombia's relations with China, especially with the city of Chongqing, and cooperation in education, culture, trade, and other areas.

The ambassador used an ancient and well-known proverb to demonstrate his country's friendly relations with China, says "Nothing, neither mountains nor seas, can separate peoples who share the same ideals and objectives." He said that, "China and Colombia are two nations and two peoples separated geographically but are unwaveringly united in our common goals and ideals in the pursuit of peace, harmonious development, environmental protection, and mutual benefit, and nothing can separate us." 

At the end of the event, the embassy served different Colombian cuisines such as coffee, chocolate and memorable Colombian traditional dances were also presented.