Innehållsförteckning för Vol.68/No.27 från Beijing Review

Data-Driven Development China’s data-driven approach to development has resolved growth bottlenecks in key sectors and facilitated industrial upgrades since the country began implementing a three-year action plan to promote data as a key production factor and enhance its role in economic and social development, the National Data Administration (NDA) said on June 24. The 2024-26 action plan has achieved phased results since it was launched more than a year ago, identifying a number of outstanding solutions for data development and utilization, and effectively promoting the release of data element values in various sectors, NDA official Luan Jie told a press briefing. The People’s Bank of China, the central bank, is undertaking a financial digital transformation and upgrading project and a demonstration project to empower rural revitalization with financial technology, Luan…

The Sixth Qingdao Multinationals Summit took place in Qingdao, Shandong Province in east China from June 18 to 20. Themed Connecting the World for Win-Win Cooperation, the event gathered 465 multinational companies from around the world, including 135 Fortune Global 500 firms. Among the 570 participants, 131 attended for the first time, reflecting China’s continued appeal to foreign investors and its commitment to shared growth. Data from the General Administration of Customs of China show that, in the first quarter of 2025, total import and export value of foreign-invested enterprises—which include joint ventures, wholly foreign-owned enterprises and foreign-invested partnerships—reached 3 trillion yuan ($418 billion), demonstrating positive growth for four consecutive quarters. According to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), in 2024, China established 59,000 new foreign-invested enterprises, an increase of 9.9…

On April 18, 1942, in direct response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States launched the Doolittle Raid mission. Led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, 80 airmen took to the skies in B-25 bombers to strike Tokyo and other key Japanese cities. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the crews failed to land at Quzhou Airport in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang as planned after they ran out of fuel. Most were forced to crash-land or parachute out over unfamiliar terrain. The crews of 13 planes were rescued, at great risk, by Chinese soldiers and civilians. Japanese forces retaliated viciously, killing an estimated 250,000 Chinese civilians in the aftermath. “Chinese and American heroes defended peace and justice with their blood and lives,” Sha Hailin, President of the…

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the 60th anniversary of the founding of Xizang Autonomous Region, Harmony on the Borderland: Unity Among Ethnic Groups, an exhibition of outstanding art works depicting the two regions, is being held in the National Art Museum of China from June 22 to July 14. The exhibition displays more than 300 works in diverse art forms, including traditional Chinese paintings, oil paintings and sculptures. These exhibits span over half a century and include classic works by established artists alongside recent pieces by emerging talents.…

Chinese expats in Tehran, Iran, prepare to leave the city by bus on June 19. Since the war between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13, the Chinese Government had completed large-scale evacuation efforts in Iran, with 3,125 Chinese citizens safely evacuated from the country, according to the Foreign Ministry on June 23. At the same time, the Chinese embassy in Israel has assisted in organizing the safe departure of more than 500 Chinese citizens from Israel and also helped some British, Indian and Polish citizens to leave safely.…

In Yonglian Village, located in Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Province, traditional rural elements like winding waterways, stone bridges and houses featuring grey brick walls, white façades and dark-tiled rooftops come together in perfect harmony. But beyond the scenic charm lies a modernized township. High-rise apartment complexes, parks, libraries and bustling commercial streets are all part of daily life there, offering amenities on par with any city. “We’ve got everything the city has, and things the city can’t offer. We have blue skies, clear water, fresh air and even income distribution,” local villagers will often say. Pride runs deep in Yonglian. Today, each resident receives an average dividend of 17,000 yuan ($2,369) annually from the village collective. So what’s the secret behind Yonglian’s success? A key part of the answer lies with…

Every day at 8 a.m. sharp, Yu Zhengping, a resident of Shanghai’s Jing’an District, takes her 2-year-old grandson to the community childcare center near her home, picking him up again at noon. The 80-plus-square-meter center has cribs, an ocean-themed ball pool and a dedicated crawling area for toddlers. Currently, every subdistrict in Jing’an has a similar childcare facility. This childcare service operates with government funding support. The Jing’an District Finance Bureau provides dedicated funding to these centers and contracts third-party organizations to manage operations. Each local child receives 12 free sessions per year, with additional sessions available at subsidized rates. Expanding the availability of publicly funded childcare slots, including actively developing community childcare centers and supporting qualified kindergartens in extending their services to children aged 6 months to 3 years…

The timing is almost poetic. As lychees ripened in orchards this season, the online drama Lychee in Chang’an flickered onto screens—reawakening an ancient tale of obsession. The series resurrects Tang Dynasty (618-907) couriers who thundered down imperial roads day and night, racing against time to deliver Guangdong’s precious tropical fruit to the emperor’s consort in Xi’an. For centuries, this story depicted in a famous Tang poem cemented lychees as China’s ultimate “noble fruit,” maintaining consistently high prices—until this year. A lychee wholesaler surnamed Tao in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of southwest China, with over a decade of experience, told newspaper Sichuan Daily that this season’s wholesale price for the Feizixiao, a lychee variety whose name was inspired by the story of the lychee-loving consort, is less than 13 yuan ($1.6) per…

A nationwide crackdown on improper banquets is underway to root out abuses of power and misuse of public funds, but misinterpretations of the policy have sparked debate on whether this crackdown can impact normal official hospitality and private gatherings. Some equate “prohibition of improper banquets” with “prohibition of all banquets,” leading to reluctance among some government workers to organize official receptions or even just have an evening out with friends. Although it’s important to curb corruption in the form of improper banquets at public expense, many see over-simplistic interpretations of the directive as a sign of lazy governance. They have not only panicked officials but may also stifle the food and beverage industry. For many years, officials have been reminded to always remain alert and protect themselves from being dragged…

Solid Waste Control China has initiated a three-year special campaign targeting the illegal dumping and disposal of solid waste, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on June 25. The campaign will involve rigorous inspections and enforcement actions against illegal dumping and disposal of solid waste, Pei Xiaofei, spokesperson for the ministry, told a press conference. The campaign will focus on combating the illegal dumping and landfilling of hazardous waste, industrial solid waste and construction debris. It will also target unlawful practices in the disposal of scrapped motor vehicles, waste electronic products, retired new energy equipment and used power batteries. Pei said cases involving the illegal discharge, dumping or disposal of solid waste, which cause severe environmental pollution or result in economic losses to public property and should be prosecuted…

The National Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin, which hosted the 2025 Summer Davos forum on June 24-26, is powered by rooftop solar panels. According to the State Grid Corp. of China, this edition of the forum achieved a 100-percent green power supply for its venues, utilizing a total of 800,000 kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity, equivalent to saving about 300 tons of standard coal and cutting approximately 600 tons of carbon emissions. The venue also utilizes sponge city technologies that integrate natural processes and distributed storage to manage storm water. Additionally, hundreds of new-energy vehicles facilitated green transportation for forum participants. These achievements embody China’s advancement in one of the key areas spotlighted by the global gathering—new energy and materials. The 2025 Summer Davos, officially known as the 16th Annual…

On June 5, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against four judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), hailing from Benin, Peru, Slovenia and Uganda. Two judges were sanctioned for authorizing a 2019 ICC investigation into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan since 2003. The other two were targeted for approving arrest warrants issued in November 2024 against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on allegations of committing “crimes against humanity and war crimes” between at least October 8, 2023 and May 20, 2024, the date when the prosecution submitted the arrest warrant applications. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk condemned the sanctions, saying they “run directly counter to respect for the rule of law and…

Hangzhou, a city steeped in Song Dynasty (960-1279) elegance yet pulsating with digital DNA, is nurturing China’s next generation of tech pioneers. As Hangzhou-based DeepSeek’s open-source code reshapes the global AI landscape, companies like Rokid, a Chinese augmented reality (AR) technology provider also based in Hangzhou, are no longer content with isolated technological breakthroughs. Instead, they have embedded cutting-edge innovation within the fertile soil of industry and the rich veins of culture, tackling a more fundamental question: How can technology genuinely serve humanity and become a bridge for civilizational dialogue? Jiang Tao, Rokid’s Vice President, told Beijing Review that the company, established in 2014, began an exploration into the cultural dimension in 2020 at a 5,000-year-old Neolithic cultural site in north Hangzhou: Liangzhu. Now, with the company’s AR technology, visitors…

Few would expect that a voice from the far west of China would echo through a ballroom filled with Bollywood film elites. Fewer still would guess the performer speaks in fluent Hindi and sings in the vocal style of Indian classical music. But this was what happened at the private birthday party of India’s reigning cinema icon Shah Rukh Khan in November 2024, where a young Chinese fan hailing from Kashi (Kashgar) in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was invited to sing a song from one of the star’s most iconic movies. The video of the boy singing drew tens of thousands of views on Instagram, where it was reposted by the actor’s cricket team as well as his largest international fan community. The young man’s name is Airepati Abudurusuli.…