In his report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, proposed to comprehensively advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization - the modernization of a huge population, of common prosperity for all, of material and cultural-ethical advancement, of harmony between humanity and nature, and of peaceful development.

For a long time, the Western perspective has dominated the narrative on modernization. However, China's extraordinary achievements in all aspects demonstrate that there are alternative methods to modernization. The Chinese modernization is a new model for human advancement, and dispels the myth that "modernization is equal to Westernization," presents another picture of modernization, expands the channels for developing countries to achieve modernization, and provides a Chinese solution to aid the exploration of a better social system for humanity.

To understand the Chinese path to modernization, the Global Times is launching a new series that explores how expatriates perceive Chinese modernization through on-site experiences in the country. In this installment, the Global Times follow diplomats from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-China Centre (ACC) and ASEAN member states on their to visit Quzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province, to understand how they perceive the practice of Chinese modernization as seen in the city.

Quzhou, located in East China's Zhejiang Province, is the second hometown of the direct descendants of great Chinese philosopher and educator Confucius (551-479 BC). The city not only boasts beautiful natural scenery and profound cultural heritage, but has also made remarkable use of its heritage to boost modernization and, step by step, realize a futuristic vision, with its ancient wisdom as a cultural calling card and culture brand for a modernized Quzhou.

In preparation for the celebration of the ASEAN-China Year of People-to-people Exchanges in 2024, the School of Government and Public Affairs at the Communication University of China (CUC) in Beijing held the Decoding Chinese Path to Modernization Workshop Series, with some diplomats from the ACC and five ASEAN member states in attendance and taking part in a visit to Quzhou from October 26 to 28 to witness local experiences in Chinese modernization and draw inspiration for the development of ASEAN member states.     

As China and ASEAN member states are close neighbors connected geographically and culturally, these successful experiences hold more significance as references for developing countries in Southeast Asia, experts and diplomats hailed.    

Ancient vs Modern 

The first evidence of Quzhou's success in historical culture-modernization integration is the figures and logos of nankong yeye (Grandpa Confucius), a cute and vivid cartoon figure based on Confucius that can be seen everywhere, from the airport and schools to the city's streets and shopping centers. 

The figure is not only a reappearance of the great philosopher, but also a testament to the enduring spirit and legacy of Confucianism is in all aspects of daily life in the city. 

Visiting team diplomats gained a deeper understanding of this after touring Confucius Ancestral Temple, which is one of the only two Confucius family temples left in China, and is known as the Nanzong Confucius Temple (the Southern Temple).

"The main purpose of our visit here is to learn from Quzhou city, especially on how to preserve culture, but at the same time to pursue development and modernization in China. I think we have learned a lot from how Quzhou city preserves its culture and heritage of Confucianism. We also learned how the Confucius family migrated from the northern part of China to the south. It's very interesting and I think we can follow or at least learn how a city preserved its culture while still modernizing," Director Hadi Tjahjono of Education, Culture, and Tourism Division, from the ACC, told the Global Times.

Many diplomats were also impressed by how the people of Quzhou continue to inherit the ancient Confucian spirit while seeking modern prosperity. 

To the delegation, Quzhou serves as a vivid example of how China is making full use of its existing cultural advantages and advancing modernization through rural development.

Such modernization prioritizes green, peaceful, ecological and people-oriented approaches, different from exploitative, militaristic, and invasive Western strategies aimed at the accumulation of wealth, they said.

A diplomat in the visiting delegation took the Yudong village in Kecheng district as an example to explain her understanding of this perspective. At first, it was a few painting enthusiasts who voluntarily gathered to learn and shared their thoughts on painting in the 1970s. When it comes to the new era of modernization, the local governments did not harshly impede the farmers' creative hobbies, but provide them with support and a stage to shine.

After decades of development under the support of local authorities, now 300 among its 800 residents are skilled at painting and the skill has grown into a comprehensive industry. The village was included by the National Rural Revitalization Administration in a list of national typical cases of characteristic culture and art in March this year.

According to media reports, the collective operating income of the Yudong painting village jumped from about 100,000 yuan ($13,666) in 2019 to 1.12 million yuan in 2022, a significant boost to the local economy. The output value of industries related to farmer painting exceeded 20 million yuan in 2022, helping villagers find jobs close to their homes. In 2019, the output value of industries related to farmer painting was about 8 million yuan.  

The diplomat told the Global Times, on condition of anonymity, that she was impressed by a sentence on a Yudong village wall, which says: "Culture is also a source of growth and productivity; it is capable of driving the masses toward prosperity." 

The success of Yudong proves this is true, the diplomat said. 

Deeper social transformation 

Quzhou is just one of the many examples demonstrating that urbanization and modernization in China are not only aimed at promoting material changes in cities, but also a deeper social transformation, including cultural and environmental transitions.

"In 2015, I came to Beijing as a member of a delegation. Now, I am working in China and able to witness the changes happening here. For example, in Sanlitun, I see constant and rapid changes every day. As a citizen of one of the ASEAN member states, I am very pleased to see these developments," Seint Shwe Zin, a diplomat from the Embassy of Myanmar in China, said at a seminar held in Beijing before the Quzhou visit.

When I came to China to study Chinese 10 years ago, they gave me a book called "Modern Chinese." From the development of education, we can see modernization via the changes of the use of technology and scientific methods in teaching or learning, as well as the tools used by teachers, Chindavong Xaiyasin, a diplomat from the Embassy of Laos in China, said at the seminar.  

Now living and working in Beijing, Chindavong showed strong interest in how Beijing developed the Liangma River - a small, dirty river where caravans would cleanse and refresh their horses before entering Beijing in the olden times, building the area into the "Seine of Beijing." 

Laos is also facing similar challenges while in the process of developing the capital. I hope we can take the restoration and development of the Liangma River as an example, Chindavong told the Global Times.

ASEAN member states and China should share and learn more from the latter's successful experiences in modernization as China-ASEAN relations mature further and grow close, experts and diplomats agreed.  

Editor's Note:
Amid all the chatter about China's economy, a recent meeting in Beijing cut through the noise. Envoys from different countries came together at the Ambassador Round Table Dialogue on "China's Economic Outlook" on Friday talking about China's economic outlook. They said China's economy is strong and full of promise, despite some Western media's slander. The timing of the roundtable just after Chinese policymakers outlined its economic plans at the two sessions. At the roundtable, the Global Times reporter (Yin Yeping) met with some of the envoys who shared their belief in China's potential and expressed their desire to work closely with China to capitalize on its vast market and burgeoning economy.

China's economy stands resilient and is full of promise, bolstered by the vast market potential of its 1.4 billion population and robust governmental policies supporting high-quality development, envoys told Global Times at the Ambassador Round Table Dialogue on "China's Economic Outlook" held in Beijing on Friday, defying slanders made by certain Western media regarding China's economic growth.

Envoys expressed their confidence in China's economy and their expectations for further tapping into the potential of China's market through closer cooperation.

They highlighted the robust economic and trade ties between their countries and China, suggesting how China's strong economy and its significant role as a major trading partner remain crucial for helping their own countries recover economically, especially amid uncertain global situation.

Confidence

China has made tremendous gains for the last four to five decades. "While every country has its challenges of this and that, but by and large, China's economy has been very successful," Khamis Mussa Omar, Ambassador of Tanzania to China, told the Global Times on Friday.

Omar said that he has reviewed China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and its aspirations. Drawing on the experiences of the past two decades, marked by double-digit growth, "I believe that China's target of around 5 percent growth for this year is highly achievable," Omar said.

China is Tanzania's number one trading partner, both in terms of imports and exports, and is also the African country's main source of foreign direct investment. The ambassador said that there's a lot of investment coming from China to Tanzania, and "this trend will definitely continue in the foreseeable future as we are relying on our very warm, friendly diplomatic relations for further economic development."

What the Chinese economy has been through is remarkable, and as the Chinese government has made the strategy to improve the economy, he is confident that Chinese economy will continue to grow well, the Nepalese Ambassador to China Bishnu Pukar Shrestha told the Global Times at the meeting.

"I think China is leveling in terms of not growing as fast as it used to be, but the growth is very healthy, and it will continue that way," Alfredo Ortuno Victory, Ambassador of Costa Rica to China, told the Global Times, noting that the target of around 5-percent growth rate is a lot, especially given the size of the country.

The ambassador also noted China's new quality productive forces, which place the main focus on innovation and technological self-reliance. Victory said that China has opt for the path of high-quality development as the country that has for many years no longer only producing low-tech products and has been doing well in the industry transition.

"The only way that you can meet the rising market's expectations is by adding value and technology," Victory said. The ambassador also noted that the numbers of patents that China owns are now more than any other countries in the world.

Unny Sankar Ravi Sankar, Minister of Economic Affairs of the Embassy of Malaysia in China, told the Global Times that in general, the global economy will slow down, but Chinese market is a bit unique because the government can better manage the economic performance.

"The Chinese market is a huge market. We have noticed that the Chinese leadership has taken the dual circulation approach and more focus will be given to consumption," the Malaysian official said.

Untapped potential

The optimism from the envoys does not come out of the blue. Statistics show that China's manufacturing industry accounts for over 28 percent of total global output, while the US is at about 16 percent. According to data from China's National Bureau of Statistics, China's GDP posted a growth of 5.2 percent year-on-year in 2023, higher than the annual target of around 5 percent, which demonstrates the country's achievements in economic governance in the face of global uncertainty.

China's key economic goals were successfully achieved, with its contribution to global economic growth exceeding 30 percent, surpassing the total of the G7 countries.

Envoys said that there is still potential for greater economic growth and more economic activity, highlighting the increasingly important roles in some very important initiatives and cooperative partnerships including the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which just marked its 10th anniversary last year, and the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which has proved to be a big boost for regional economic development.

As the Nepalese Ambassador to China said that "China-Nepal economic and trade relations have been good in the past but there is potential for further expansion, and this year is going to be a good year for elevating the relations to a new high."

"Costa Rica is a very export-oriented country, and China is our second trading partner, and we have high expectations on new products coming and going from our countries," Victory also said, expressing his anticipation for closer economic ties with the world second largest economy.

China's foreign trade has maintained double-digit growth for a long period, retaining its position as the world's largest trading nation in goods for seven consecutive years. The rapid expansion of China's trade has made the country a crucial hub for international trade and a primary driving force for global economic growth. 

The rise of China's trade has not only benefited the Chinese people but also people around the world, serving as a model of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.

The rapid development of China's trade has driven the growth of global trade, providing strong support for a faster recovery of the global economy, while promoting trade diversification and balanced development. China actively participates in global economic governance and trade rule-making, playing an important role in improving the global trading system and promoting the construction of an open world economy.

Since the reform and opening-up about four decades ago, the rapid development of China's foreign trade turns out to be a rare and miraculous phenomenon in the history of global trade. China's foreign trade expanded to 41.76 trillion yuan ($5.8 trillion) in 2023 from 35.5 billion yuan in 1978, a rise of 1,185 times in yuan terms, with an average annual growth rate of 17 percent.

In recent years, against the backdrop of a slowing global economy and a complex and volatile trade environment, China's trade has maintained stable rise, indicating the sector's strong competitiveness and resilience. China has become the world's largest goods trading nation and the second-largest in services trade.

China's export structure continues to be optimized, gradually shifting from traditional labor-intensive products to high-tech, high value-added products. In recent years, the exports of high-tech products such as new-energy gear and electric cars have grown rapidly. 

According to the General Administration of Customs, exports of labor-intensive products last year accounted for 17.3 percent of the total exports. The value of electromechanical exports reached $1.98 trillion, accounting for 58.6 percent of the total, demonstrating significant achievements in China's economic innovation and industrial upgrading, reflecting the transition from "Made in China" to "Innovated in China."

China has been actively expanding trade partners and deepening economic and trade cooperation with other economies. The number of its trade partners increased from more than 40 in 1978 to more than 230 today. This diversification reduces trade risks and offers more market opportunities for Chinese enterprises. 

China is strengthening and consolidating trade relations with traditional partners such as the US, the EU, and ASEAN, and it's also actively establishing close economic and trade cooperation with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, resolutely promoting trade liberalization and globalization.

China's foreign trade entities are vibrant, with private enterprises excelling. In 2023, the number of foreign trade entities with import and export records in China exceeded 600,000 for the first time. Among them, 556,000 were private enterprises. 

In 2023, the total trade of private enterprises reached $3.19 trillion, accounting for 53.5 percent of the nation's total foreign trade volume.  For the same period, the trade conducted by state-owned enterprises accounted for 16 percent of the total, and that of foreign funded enterprises accounted for 30.2 percent.

Private enterprises have displayed rapid market responses and strong innovation capabilities, injecting new vitality and momentum into China's foreign trade and playing an increasingly important role in China's foreign trade.

Many private enterprises have become the main force driving growth of China's exports, especially in high-tech and high value-added products, where the performance of private enterprises is particularly outstanding.

China's high-level opening-up is steadily advancing, with new platforms and new business formats showing strong impetus. In 2023, the number of China's pilot free trade zones expanded to 22, which generated trade of $1.09 trillion. 

Since the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into effect two years ago, the cost of regional trade have been significantly reduced, and links in industry and supply chains have become closer, leading to more closely connected trade among its members. In 2023, China's trade with the 14 other RCEP member countries reached $1.77 trillion, up 5.3 percent from 2021 before the agreement took effect.

The outstanding performance of China's commerce is the result of the combined effects of multiple factors. Strong institutional safeguards and policy support, a complete industrial system and vast industry chains, efforts to build open trade routes and cooperation platforms, the effective implementation of innovation-driven strategies, and the continuous exploration of new growth potential have collectively propelled the rapid growth of China's foreign trade.

As the global economy faces great uncertainties, China's stable performance in foreign trade provides important support for the stability of the world economy. More importantly, in contrast to certain countries' anti-globalization moves, China has always been the steady force supporting free and unfettered trade.

China is willing to share its development opportunities with the world, and is committed to building a global community of a shared future in which all economies thrive. 

China's independently designed and constructed deep-water submarine jacket platform "Haiji No 2", which is believed to the largest of its kind in Asia, has broken multiple Asian records after entering service, China Media Group reported on Tuesday.

Citing the China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), its developer, the report said the deep-water jacket platform will be loaded onto a ship at the Gaolan Port in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, and be transported to the Pearl River Mouth Basin for offshore installation. 

China is ramping up efforts to build mega infrastructure while improving innovation capabilities in a bid to ensure the country's energy security. With "Haiji No 2" installation, the country's offshore marine engineering is expected to achieve high-level technological self-reliance and improvement.

Acting as a "foundation" supporting fixed offshore oil and gas platform where seabed conditions are challenging, the deep-water jacket can provide support for pipelines, subsea structures of an offshore platform. The jacket is a widely used marine oil and gas development equipment in the world, according to the report.

Notably, it has set a record in terms of the height and weight of steel piles in Asia, with a total height of 338.5 meters and a total weight of 37,000 tons, and represents the first case in China's marine engineering to use domestically produced high-strength steel piles to build large-scale offshore oil and gas equipment.

Meanwhile, the construction of "Haiji No 2" has set records for operating at depth, and construction speed of such equipment in Asia reflects that China has become a top player in the world to build large deep-water jacket platforms, the CNOOC told the CMG.

The platform will be used for the development of the Liuhua 11-1 and Liuhua 4-1 offshore oil fields, in the deep waters of the South China Sea, media reported.

China has fast tracked deep-sea oil and gas exploration in the past decade. Its predecessor, "Haiji No 1" platform, which entered operation in 2022, marked the first time that China exploited offshore oil and gas employing such a model. It turned out to significantly bring down engineering cost and boost oil recovery and economic efficiency.

In 2021, the Shenhai Yihao, the world's first 100,000-ton deep-sea semi-submersible oil production and storage platform, was put into operation, signaling that China's offshore oil and gas exploration capacity had entered an advanced level. 

China will provide more support to the private sector, small and medium-sized enterprises and other entities with large employment capacity, China's Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping said Saturday at a press conference on people's livelihood for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing.

Wang said that the fundamentals of China's long-term sound economy remain unchanged and there are many favorable conditions for  meeting challenges facing employment this year. 

"We are confident in maintaining labor market stability," she said.

According to Wang, the job market has started off well this year, with enterprises resuming production, migrant workers returning to work smoothly and orderly, and an increase in job-seeking activities. 

The demand for talent in artificial intelligence and big data is strong, and there is an increase in demand for services such as healthcare, accommodation, catering, and cultural tourism, the minister said. 

Meanwhile, the recruitment demand for small and micro enterprises has significantly increased, and the demand for technical and skilled positions is rapidly rising, Wang noted. 

Over the past year, China's employment situation has continued to improve and remained stable. China created a total of 12.44 million jobs in its urban areas in 2023. The surveyed urban unemployment rate on average in China stood at 5.2 percent in 2023, official data showed. 

Job market data fully demonstrates the consolidation of the current positive trends related to China's economic recovery and the accelerated release of consumption potential. It also reflects the new trends and opportunities in the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and the rapid development of new quality productive forces, she said.

However, the overall pressure on employment has not decreased, the minister noted. "Structural contradictions on employment still need to be resolved, and some workers face difficulties in employment. Stabilizing employment still requires more efforts," Wang said. 

Wang noted that in 2024, the ministry will continue to implement policies aimed at reducing  unemployment and work-related injury insurance rates. It will also optimize policies such as stabilizing job positions, providing special loans, employment and social security subsidies, and better releasing policy dividends. 

Meanwhile, more efforts will be made to further expand employment channels, and the ministry will provide more support to small and medium-sized enterprises and other entities with large employment capacity.

Furthermore, she said the country will work to unleash employment potential by providing more support through guaranteed loans and tax reductions for start-ups. At the same time, flexible employment service guarantee measures will be improved, fully leveraging the role of over 6,900 gig-worker markets in matching supply and demand. 

The government will carry out large-scale vocational skills training in key areas including advanced manufacturing, modern services and aged care. 

In recent years, the government has provided subsidized vocational skills training to more than 18 million people each year, she noted. 

Though there are over 200 million skilled workers in China, with over 60 million high-skilled talents, providing strong human resources support for high-quality economic development, there is still a shortage of digital, innovative, and composite high-skilled talents who can adapt to the development of new industries, new models, and new driving forces, Wang said. 

Frontline workers, such as fitters, welders, and elderly care nurses, are generally in short supply. Talent cultivation needs to better adapt to market changes and industry demands, she added. 

"Since the beginning of this year, we have organized a total of 32,000 job fairs, an increase of 20 percent year-on-year. A total of 26,000 special buses, trains and chartered planes were dispatched, transporting 880,000 workers from point to point," she said. 

In 2024, China will see 11.79 million college graduates. The government will optimize employment services to job-seekers and guarantee the bottom lines to ensure the employments of special groups, according to the minister. 

China's trade with India in the first two months of 2024 surged by 15.8 percent year-on-year, ranking the country as having one of the fastest growth rates among China's trading partners, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Thursday.

China's trade with India reached $23.2 billion during the period, with Chinese exports growing by 12.8 percent to reach $19.5 billion and China's imports from India rising by 34.7 percent to hit $3.7 billion.

The growth rate of trade with India was one of the fastest among China's trading partners during the two months.

In US dollar terms, China's trade with Vietnam soared by 21.6 percent for the period.

"The robustness of bilateral trade with China, despite a slew of trade restrictive measures imposed by the Indian government, reflects the resilience and complementarity of the two economies at the current stage," Liu Zongyi, secretary-general of the Research Center for China-South Asia Cooperation at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"It also demonstrated India's economic vitality as one of the fastest-growing emerging economies in recent years," Liu said.

Robust imports from China are mainly supported by the country's strong demand for intermediate goods such as active pharmaceutical ingredients, vital ingredients for its drug industry, and electronic components for its smart phone manufacturing industry, Liu noted.

In recent years, India has been trying to replace China as the world's manufacturing powerhouse but Liu noted that the trade figures showed that "India's ambition remains a vision rather than reality at the current stage."

India's soaring exports to China may be the result of exports relaxing measures for iron ore, which is a bulk exports item to China, according to Liu.

Despite New Delhi's trade restrictive measures and its relentless suppression of Chinese companies operating in India, the two-way trade between China and India exceeded $100 billion in recent consecutive years and kept rising annually, showing the resilience and potential of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, analysts noted.

China's trade with other BRICS countries remained robust during the period.

Trade with Russia grew by 9.3 percent year-on-year in US dollar terms while trade with Brazil grew by 33.3 percent. Trade with South Africa edged up by 1 percent.

China posted an overall foreign trade growth of 5.5 percent during the January-February period in US dollar terms.

US Congressional leaders on Sunday unveiled budget legislation that would prevent China from purchasing oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), according to Reuters. However, the move will have little to no impact on China and is merely a political stunt, experts said.

Congressional negotiators unveiled the 1,050-page bill that lays out funding for six of the dozen segments of the government that Congress is charged with allocating money, with the next six due by later in the month. The US House will have to vote on the bill first before the Senate can take up the package before Friday, Reuters reported.

Last July, the Senate passed a bill 85 to 14 to ban exports to China of SPR oil. The issue of SPR sales to China heated up after US President Joe Biden announced in 2022 the sale of 180 million barrels of SPR oil to tame gasoline prices that spiked after the Ukraine crisis.

In 2022, the SPR sold 1 million barrels to UNIPEC America, a Houston-based arm of China's Sinopec. In 2017, under former US president Donald Trump, some SPR oil was sold to PetroChina International, a subsidiary of PetroChina, Reuters reported.

The ban is more of a political stunt rather than a substantial action, as speaking harshly about China has become one of the cheapest ways for politicians to quickly attract attention, experts said.

The move will have minimal impact as China's reliance on US imports is very low, let alone oil from the SPR, Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Monday.

"It is akin to saying I won't sell you something when you weren't buying it in the first place," Lin said.

Lin noted that China primarily imports oil from the Middle East and Central Asia due to cost and transportation convenience.

In 2023, China imported 563.99 million tons of crude oil, climbing 11 percent year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

In response to US Congress' passing a bill to ban the sale of US strategic petroleum reserves to China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin urged the US to abandon the zero-sum mentality.

"We urge relevant US politicians to abandon the zero-sum Cold War mentality and ideological bias, form a right perception of China and China-US relations, and contribute to mutual trust and cooperation between China and the US, not otherwise," Wang told a press conference in January 2023.

The People's Bank of China (PBC), the central bank, will guide Chinese pay-ment platforms to raise the single transaction limit for foreign nationals using mobile payment services from $1,000 to $5,000 and the annual transaction limit from $10,000 to $50,000, amid efforts to improve payment convenience, officials told a press conference on Friday.

The move represents China's latest efforts to optimize foreign investment environment and China's determination to implement high-level opening-up, experts said.

Efforts will also be made to help foreign nationals link their overseas bank cards to domestic payment services more easily, simplifying the identity verification process, and bringing greater convenience, Zhang Qingsong, deputy governor of the PBC said.

"The PBC will guide payment institutions to introduce a series of convenience measures to ensure that foreign friends are satisfied and willing to use China's mobile payment products, which have been quite popular among Chinese people," Zhang said.

The call from the PBC has been met with proactive responses from major Chinese mobile payment institutions.

Weixin Pay, one of China's major payment platforms, has been optimizing payment services for foreign nationals since July 2023 by allowing overseas users to link international bank cards to it. It has recently optimized key areas for overseas users, including the registration process, payment activation process, small amount payment limit without authentication, and simplification of the user experience, the Global Times learned from Tencent, which owns Weixin Pay, on Friday.

For example, foreign users can directly add international bank cards to quickly activate the Weixin payment function. By linking an international card, first-time users of Weixin Pay from abroad can try Weixin Pay within a certain amount without verification.

Weixin Pay's transactions made through international bank cards have maintained steady growth, with the accumulated transaction amount exceeding 1 billion yuan ($138.91 million) and the total number of transactions exceeding 10 million by 2023, according to Tencent.

Ant Group which operates the country's leading payment app Alipay said it has completed some of the cap lifting requirements as of Friday and will complete the remainder in the near future, according to a statement sent by Ant Group to the Global Times on Friday.

Ant Group will continue to improve its services by introducing more features tailored to foreign visitors traveling to China. This includes expanding coverage to more card organizations and overseas electronic wallets, and allowing more international tourists to use electronic wallets from home for scanning and payment in China.

Ant Group's services for international travelers in China have continued to expand. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the average daily number of transactions made by overseas visitors on Alipay was nearly double that of the third quarter, and the daily transaction peak also reached new highs.

The move to optimize mobile payments for foreign nationals in China reflects the country's commitment to creating a more open and convenient business environment and shows China's commitment to financial opening-up, Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.

In a meeting with a US Chamber of Commerce delegation on Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said that China will open its door even wider to the outside world, continue to foster a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment, and provide more support and convenience for US companies and foreign firms from other countries to invest and do business in China.

China has stepped up its efforts in opening-up, including implementing mutual visa exemptions with a number of countries and issuing the 24-point guideline to optimize foreign investment.

China's opening-up measures will not only enhance China's position and influence in the global economy, but also provide more opportunities for development and cooperation for countries around the world, Wang said.

China's 24 pro-foreign investment measures have further strengthened the in-vestment confidence of foreign-funded enterprises, He Yadong, spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce told a press conference on Thursday.

Overall, more than 60 percent of the measures have been implemented or made positive progress. For the next step, the ministry will continue to promote the implementation of the 24 specific measures, give full play to the role of the roundtable meeting for foreign-funded enterprises, and continue to optimize the business environment, He said

The news that Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD Co is in contact with the Italian government about building a second factory in Europe has attracted widespread attention. Despite the growing protectionist climate in Europe, the Chinese and European EV industry chains don't have to resort to confrontation. There's still the potential to strengthen cooperation to bring more opportunities for mutually beneficial development.

In an interview at the Geneva International Motor Show, Michael Shu, managing director of BYD Europe, confirmed the contacts with the Italian government, noting that the need for a second European plant "depends on our sales - now we're making very good progress," Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

The move came just months after the Chinese EV giant announced in December its intention to build a new-energy vehicle (NEV) production base in Hungary.

Given the background of the EU probe into state subsidies to Chinese EV makers and their anxiety over substantial Chinese EV exports to Europe, it is not hard to see that BYD's localization push in Europe is part of its efforts to navigate foreign regulatory challenges. Such a business solution may also be of great significance to the cooperation potential in the EV industrial chain between China and Europe.

Chinese EV exports have risen sharply in recent years, especially in 2023. Chinese car exporters shipped more than 1.2 million NEVs last year, up 77 percent from 2022, according to data from the China Association of Auto Manufacturers. That helped China surpass Japan as the world's top vehicle exporter for the first time, according to Chinese media reports. Europe has become a major destination market for Chinese EVs.

In this context, US and Western media outlets have played up the "China threat" theory targeting Chinese manufacturing, depicting Chinese companies as a threat rather than a partner for cooperation. Their purpose of creating the "threat" theory surrounding Chinese EVs is to protect American interests and to influence public opinion in favor of trade barriers and conservative policies. 

What Europeans need to see is that all of this is a US tactic to shift the focus and blame of its own protectionism, and that even Europe is a victim in the face of US trade barriers. Therefore, Europeans should not fall for the "China threat" hype from the US and should see that Chinese manufacturing has never been a threat, but rather a driving force for development and cooperation.

There is no denying that the EU and European car industry may be concerned about rising imports from China and their price competitiveness. But the advantages of Chinese EVs come from mass manufacturing capability, not subsidies or unfair competition means. Blocking trade and investment between the Chinese and European EV industries is not only not conducive to the development of the European auto industry, but also goes against free trade rules.

Take BYD as an example. The Chinese company just overtook Tesla as the world's biggest EV maker in the last quarter of 2023. Its rapid growth doesn't rely on subsidies, but hinges on strong products, technology and supply chain management flexibility. 

Europe's huge demand for EVs during its transition toward a low-carbon economy has also played a role in its growth.

Once BYD produces in Europe, its pricing mechanism may comply with local markets and standards, while its supply chain management could bring new inspiration for local producers in terms of cost efficiency, which could offer more cooperation choices to the European EV industry and facilitate the local transition toward the green economy.

The auto industry in China and Europe has extensive cooperation potential and common interests. It is sincerely hoped that both the Chinese and European governments and companies can work together to strengthen communication, address each other's concerns, properly handle EV-related trade friction, and jointly promote the development of the EV industry to achieve win-win results.

Chinese passenger airlines will be able to increase their weekly round-trip flights to the US from the current 35 to 50, starting from March 31, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) said on Monday after frequent China-US interactions.

The approval "is a significant step forward in further normalization of the US-China market in anticipation of the Summer 2024 traffic season," the USDOT said.

The shift comes amid increased dialogue between Chinese and US officials this year.

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai on the sidelines of the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Abu Dhabi, on Monday. Wang and Tai engaged in "professional and in-depth" discussions on bilateral and multilateral economic and trade issues of mutual interest, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).

Wang expressed serious concerns over additional US tariffs imposed on Chinese goods and other trade issues during the talk, MOFCOM said.

In another development, the chief executive of the US Chamber of Commerce, Suzanne Clark, is leading a delegation of former US government officials to Beijing this week, Reuters reported.

The group will meet with senior Chinese government officials and local business leaders, as well as American business executives and foreign diplomats, according to a representative of the chamber.

Earlier this month Chinese and US officials held a third round of talks in Beijing as part of their Economic Working Group set up last year, adding to growing interactions since the beginning of 2024 between officials of the world's two biggest economies.

China’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) said the two sides had in-depth, candid, pragmatic and constructive exchanges on the macroeconomic situation and policies, G20 financial cooperation, debt of developing countries, industrial policies and other issues.

During the meeting, the Chinese side expressed concerns about additional US tariffs imposed on Chinese goods, restrictions against China on two-way investment, and sanctions that suppress Chinese enterprises, the MOF said, adding that the two sides agreed to continue talks.

The US delegation indicated that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen looked forward to a return visit to China at an "appropriate time," US Department of the Treasury said.