Innehållsförteckning för Vol.68/No.20 från Beijing Review

The “holiday economy” is an important feature of China’s increasingly consumption-driven economic paradigm. During the May Day holiday this year, which ran from May 1 to 5, its consumer market was full of vitality, with tourism, culture, commerce, accommodation and transportation all blooming and contributing to the country’s economic growth. The five-day holiday recorded 314 million domestic trips, a year-on-year increase of 6.4 percent. Travelers spent more than 180 billion yuan ($25 billion), up 8 percent, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Sales from major retail and food and beverage businesses across the country registered a year-on-year increase of 6.3 percent during the holiday, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said. Many hotels reported full occupancy, with hotel accommodation consumption growing 14.9 percent over a year ago. Tourism consumption…

On May 6, 1975, China and the European Economic Community, the predecessor to today’s European Union, established diplomatic relations. This historic moment opened a new chapter of friendship and cooperation. Over the past half century, both sides have championed multilateralism, deepened collaboration and achieved mutually beneficial outcomes. Their enduring efforts have played a constructive role in advancing global peace and development. A healthy and stable partnership not only serves their interests, but also helps shape a better world. “The wise find common ground; the unwise dwell on differences.” This slightly adapted line from the earliest known text on Chinese medicine, The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon, reflects the spirit of cooperation and offers a guiding vision for the future. In March 2014, shortly before his state visit to Belgium and visit…

On April 30, U.S. President Donald Trump completed the first 100 days of his second term, with both domestic and international assessments of his performance remaining largely negative. A joint poll released on April 27 by ABC News, The Washington Post and market research firm Ipsos found that only 39 percent of Americans approve of the way Trump is handling his job—setting a new low for any U.S. president at this point in a term, breaking the previous record low of 42 percent, which he set during his first term. Against the backdrop of a deeply divided American society, polling data alone cannot tell the whole story. However, by any measure, Trump’s return to the White House has been more successful in bringing unprecedented chaos than in reshaping the global…

In the bustling city of Beijing, Zhang Jie, 34, a dedicated nine-to-fiver, has always found comfort in sound. Growing up, his home was filled with the rich voices of radio broadcasts. After school, he would gather with his family to listen to news, captivating storytelling and humorous traditional crosstalks. Those moments were more than just entertainment; they created a bond among them, turning their living room into a cozy theater of imagination. As Zhang entered adulthood, the Internet became more widely used and traditional radio began to fade from the public eye. But for Zhang, the love for audio storytelling never wavered. He adapted to the changing times and discovered podcasts—a modern twist on the auditory experiences he cherished as a child. Every morning during his commute on the subway,…

Whenever U.S. President Donald Trump talks about the U.S. fentanyl crisis, he will especially blame China for causing it. That rhetoric does not hold up to scrutiny. At the beginning of this century, almost 800 Americans died from a fentanyl overdose. Fast forward to 2021, and more than 107,000 deaths were traced to the drug in that year alone. How is it possible that in roughly 20 years, the number of deaths had spiked over 13,000 percent? The answer is a complex one: Politicians are not interested in delivering such answers. Instead, they live in a world in which deflection and blame generate headlines. And we know anytime a politician blames China that news coverage is soon to follow. So, what is the complex answer? Let’s begin with this: Fentanyl…

In modern times, the Chinese people initially tried to adopt modernization formulas from the West, but none worked. Through its own efforts, China has modernized under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. It has transformed from an impoverished and backward nation into the world’s second largest economy, the largest trader in goods and the largest exporter. China has developed the largest compulsory education, social security and medical and health systems in the world, achieving in just a few decades the industrialization that took developed countries centuries to reach. China’s success demonstrates that there is no universal standard for modernization. Its worldview, values, history, civilization and modernization experience debunk the myth that modernization is equal to Westernization and repudiate the Western capital-centered model. China follows a new modernization model—the…

Against the current backdrop of economic fragmentation, trade wars and volatile capital flows, China’s top financial regulators have unveiled a raft of supportive measures aimed at insulating domestic markets from external headwinds, while accelerating the transition to high-quality growth. At a joint press conference in Beijing on May 7, heads of the People’s Bank of China (PBC), the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) underscored a clear message: Amid global uncertainty, China is doubling down on self-reinforcement—not isolation—through calibrated policy innovation. New impetus PBC Governor Pan Gongsheng opened with a candid assessment of global risks. “Economic fragmentation and trade tensions have become the new normal,” he said, referencing the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Spring Meetings in late April where participants voiced alarm over disrupted…

In the old town of Kashi (Kashgar), a city in south Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where the time-honored architecture meets the modern world, a unique café stands out among the vibrant bazaar scenery. Owned by Hadiya Msham Abdulla from Zanzibar, Tanzania, and her husband Dilxat Tursun, a Kashi local, this café is not just a business; it’s a testament to love, dreams and cultural fusion. Walking out of the Dili & Diya Café in her signature purple floral dress, Hadiya radiates confidence and warmth. With a smile that can light up the Kashi skies, she often breaks into song, singing traditional Tanzanian melodies that resonate with her roots, impressing customers and passersby. “I love Kashi and I’m very satisfied with my life now,” she told Beijing Review. A café of…

Bicycle Output China’s bicycle production saw solid growth last year, increasing by 0.4 percent year on year to reach 99.54 million units, said Zheng Xiaoling, spokesperson for the China Bicycle Association. Bicycle export volumes surged by 20.7 percent year on year to 47.81 million units in 2024, while the bike export value rose by 3.7 percent to $2.66 billion, Zheng said on the sidelines of the 2025 China International Bicycle Fair in Shanghai. Notably, the export volume of electric bicycles grew by 12 percent year on year to 4.67 million units, with export value reaching approximately $2.1 billion in 2024, a 6-percent increase, Zheng revealed. Driven by the growing popularity of cycling, China’s consumption of mid- to high-end sports bicycles saw a significant increase in the first half of 2024,…

FIRST ASIAN TO WIN WORLD SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIP Zhao Xintong became the first Asian competitor to win the World Snooker Championship, after beating British veteran Mark Williams 18-12 on May 5. Competing against three-time world champion Williams, 28-year-old Zhao is the second Chinese snooker player to reach the final of the World Snooker Championship, following Ding Junhui, who lost to British player Mark Selby in the 2016 trophy match. Zhao returned to competition in September 2024, after serving a 20-month ban for breaching betting regulations, and earned his spot at the World Championship by winning four qualifiers as an amateur. Zhao will start the next season as the world No.11. He is one of 10 Chinese players in the world’s top 32. The 2025 World Snooker Championship saw a record-breaking 10…

The past May Day holiday, on May 1-5, the second long break after this year’s Spring Festival, saw another massive population migration: Tens of thousands of people, armed with glow sticks, power banks and celebrity merchandise, flocked to cities including Wuhan, Chengdu and Haikou, where their beloved bands, stars and a big reunion with their fellow live music enthusiasts awaited. Thirty-one-year-old Zhou Xinyan was one of them. On April 30, she boarded a train from Guiyang in southwest China’s Guizhou Province to Beijing, to see her favorite artists at the Strawberry Music Festival, which took place in the capital’s Yanqing District on May 2-4. “This year’s edition includes three days of live performances, and I love five of the bands and singers on the list,” she told Beijing Review. “So…

For thousands of years, multiethnic unity has been a regular feature of China’s historical development—from the ancient concept of tianxia (“the world”) emerging as early as the pre-Qin era to the modern unified multiethnic country. (Pre-Qin era usually refers to the period of history prior to the founding of the Qin Dynasty, China’s first unified imperial dynasty, in 221 B.C.—Ed.) This enduring tradition has shaped China’s political landscape and cultural identity. Unlike many Western nations, where the collapse of empires often led to prolonged fragmentation, China has consistently moved from division to reunification, reinforced by strong cohesion. This cycle reflects a deep-rooted political pursuit of unity, ethnic integration and cultural inclusiveness—key elements that define Chinese civilization. The pursuit of political unity The national research project on tracing the origins of…

Despite the intensified China-U.S. trade war in 2025 and the recent imposing of “reciprocal tariffs” by the United States, the renminbi (RMB) exchange rate has not weakened but instead showed a steady and mildly rising trend. On January 1, the central parity for the U.S. dollar against the RMB was 1:7.2993; on April 2 when the U.S. announced “reciprocal tariffs,” the central parity rate stood at 1:7.2701; and on May 7, it reached 7.2005. When the economy of a country is sluggish or gets hit, this will be reflected in the depreciation of the country’s currency. Obviously, the RMB exchange rate trend since the beginning of this year indicates that the Chinese economy has not experienced a recession despite challenges posed by the policies of the U.S. Government. Among the…

The 21st Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, or Auto Shanghai 2025, highlighted the latest innovations and trends driving the future of the global automotive industry. The event showcased 1,366 vehicles, with over 70 percent being new-energy vehicles (NEVs), and 163 of them making their world debut. NEVs are automobiles that are fully or predominantly powered by electric energy, including plug-in vehicles, battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel-cell electric vehicles (EVs). Running from April 23 to May 2, with an exhibition area exceeding 360,000 square meters, Auto Shanghai 2025 attracted nearly 1,000 leading domestic and international companies from 26 countries and regions, and drew over 1 million visitors. China’s total auto output reached 7.56 million units in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, a 14.5-percent year-on-year increase,…

Li Fuhui has a deep emotional connection with the “Snow Mountain genie,” a moniker of the snub-nosed monkey, a rare and endangered primate unique to China. His lens has captured countless extraordinary moments of the species, also known as the Yunnan golden hair monkey, in their daily lives in the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve in Yunnan Province in southwest China. The reserve is the main habitat of the animal, which is found only in the high-altitude regions at the border of Yunnan and Xizang Autonomous Region. The black-and-white monkey is highly sensitive to environmental changes and even minor ecological disturbances pose a considerable challenge to its survival. In 1989, it was classified as a national first-class protected wild animal in China. The reserve is home to 2,500 snub-nosed…

The China Film Festival held in Lahore, capital of Punjab Province, on April 26-27, was a tribute to the enduring friendship between Pakistan and China and a celebration of the 10th anniversary of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s historic visit to Pakistan. Sitting among Chinese and Pakistani audience, watching films like The Wandering Earth and Great Love Dunhuang, I felt something electric: a hunger for shared dreams, for discovering each other anew through the timeless language of cinema. It took me back to the 1970s, when Mera Naam Hai Mohabbat had overnight become a runaway hit across China. Posters of Pakistani actors were said to have been hung in shop windows, while the melodies of Pakistani love songs floated through Chinese cities. Art does that. It leaps over walls that politics…