Innehållsförteckning för Vol.68/No.44 från Beijing Review

This year, the world observes the 80th anniversary of the United Nations. Born from the Allied victory in World War II, the UN was founded on its Charter to build a new international order dedicated to peace and cooperation. Over the past eight decades, it has become the world’s most universal, representative and authoritative intergovernmental organization, playing a central role in global governance. As a founding member, China has been an active participant in this endeavor. The nation has worked to advance human wellbeing and has made many contributions in areas essential to our shared future, including global governance, sustainable development, climate action and poverty reduction. At the UN, China champions fairness, justice and the legitimate rights of developing countries. Through initiatives including the vision of a community with a…

Beijing Review: This year is the 80th anniversary of the UN’s founding. How do you think countries should reform and improve the current global governance system? What roles can China and France play in this process? Jean-Pierre Raffarin: This is a difficult subject. Today, the world is tense and dangerous. In this context, it is essential that France and China work together to advocate world peace. Both the Chinese and French peoples consider peace a top priority in global governance. The Chinese people have never waged war beyond their own borders. They have only fought when they were attacked on their own land. The Chinese are peace-loving people. The French people, after the horrors and tragedies of World War II, no longer wish to repeat those. Since 1945, the world…

Beijing Review: Could you elaborate on the cooperation between the CSAM and China in the agricultural sector, and how the two sides work together to promote the development of agriculture in the Asia-Pacific region? Karen Martinez: I think it’s important to first highlight the role that the CSAM plays as part of the UN. We are a regional institution, part of the ESCAP. And our main role is to improve rural livelihoods, reduce poverty and advance sustainable agricultural mechanization. The Government of China is one of our key partners in all the activities that we are able to do. Currently, we have a project that is related to straw management. This project tries to reduce straw burning through the use of machinery and to show how farmers can use the…

PHYSICIST CHEN NING YANG DIES AT 103 Chen Ning Yang, a Nobel laureate and member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, died in Beijing on October 18 at the age of 103, according to Tsinghua University. An obituary from Tsinghua University said Yang had achieved numerous breakthroughs in particle physics, quantum field theory, statistical physics and condensed matter physics, “profoundly shaping the development of these disciplines.” Yang was born in Hefei, Anhui Province, in 1922. In the 1940s, he went to the United States to pursue academic studies and subsequently held teaching positions there. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Tsung-Dao Lee for their work on the so-called parity laws in 1957. The Yang-Mills gauge theory, introduced by Yang and Robert Mills, is one of the 20th century’s…

On September 1, President Xi Jinping quoted the line “Uphold the Great Principle, and the world will follow” in his speech at the “Shanghai Cooperation Organization Plus” Meeting in Tianjin, a port city in north China, calling on all parties to uphold courageously the great principle and the common good of the world, promote a correct historical perspective on World War II, resolutely safeguard the fruits of the victory in the war, and bring greater benefits to all through global governance reform and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. The quote comes from the Tao Te Ching, a classic text composed over 2,500 years ago and traditionally credited to the ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi. It teaches that those who understand and abide by the fundamental…

The 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin concluded not with routine communiqués but with a declaration of intent that blended moral clarity with strategic foresight. Its final pronouncements articulated a vision of governance that respects sovereignty, embraces diversity and addresses structural inequities, signaling the urgency of reform in an age marked by proliferating conflict, widening inequality, and resurgent authoritarianism. This vision is embodied in President Xi Jinping’s Global Governance Initiative (GGI), a framework designed to ensure that global cooperation is not merely transactional but principled, inclusive and responsive to the aspirations of all nations. The initiative reflects a profound awareness of the limitations of current international mechanisms. Institutions conceived to mediate conflict and uphold human rights, including the United Nations, increasingly display paralysis, hindered by veto politics, selective enforcement,…

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, also the Chinese lead person for China-U.S. economic and trade affairs, held trade consultations with the U.S. side in Malaysia from October 24 to 27. The consultations focused on key issues in China-U.S. economic and trade relations, following the important consensus reached by the two countries’ heads of state during their phone calls earlier this year. On the morning of October 18 (Beijing Time), He held a video call with the U.S. lead negotiators, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The call was the first high-level direct communication between the two sides since China implemented new regulations on rare earth export controls on October 9 and the U.S. threatened to impose triple-digit tariffs. For over a week, tensions between China and the…

For Yan Liang, Chair Professor of Economics at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, the United States, the data are daunting. Following recent high-profile meetings on women—the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women (GLMW) in Beijing in mid-October and the High-Level Conference on the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 23—she observed that, despite decades of efforts, achieving full gender equality “could still take centuries.” It is a tale of strides in empowerment, but also of persistent, deeply rooted challenges, set against a backdrop of global turbulence and shifting priorities that underscore the universal complexities of this journey. “When you look at the Sustainable Development Goal score for Goal 5 (Gender Equality), we are only 15.4 percent of…

When Li Lingyue placed her order for Luckin Coffee’s Tamarind Americano on October 13, she wasn’t just buying a warm beverage. She was securing a piece of a cleverly constructed crossover universe, created through a collaboration between the popular Chinese coffee chain and the blockbuster video game Honor of Kings. The beverage, dramatically titled Mask of Pain, is a freshly brewed light red tea whose refreshing taste is linked to the game’s synonymous iconic equipment. The collaboration extends to physical items. Cup sleeves are adorned with designs of iconic game assets like the Witch’s Cloak and Famous Blade. Meanwhile, the collectible lineup, from tumblers and paper bags to stickers and keychains, was meticulously crafted to mirror the game’s aesthetic, creating an immediate and nostalgic consumer connection. A five-drink package even…

The historical significance of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China lies in its position along the Silk Road, the ancient network of routes that connected China to Central Asia and beyond. Traders, monks and envoys traversed deserts and mountain passes, bringing with them silk, jade, spices and manuscripts. That legacy remains visible in the region’s museums, bazaars and culinary traditions, now carefully integrated into tourism experiences that blend preservation with accessibility. The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum in the regional capital city of Urumqi brings this history to life. Its galleries chart a course through millennia, beginning with the renowned Tarim mummies, whose preserved features speak to human resilience in a stark landscape. Collections of Silk Roadera textiles, coins and manuscripts map the vast networks of exchange that linked…

National Wetlands China recently added 22 wetlands to its list of wetlands of national importance, bringing the total number to 80, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA), Xinhua News Agency reported on October 20. The new additions reflect China’s continued commitment to strengthening wetland conservation in recent years, including the implementation of its first specialized law on wetland protection, a milestone in its ecological protection efforts. To date, China is home to 82 wetlands recognized as internationally important and 22 international wetland cities. Meanwhile, the country has added or restored more than 1 million hectares of wetlands nationwide. Looking ahead, the NFGA said it will further promote wetland restoration and monitoring efforts to enhance the quality and stability of wetland ecosystems. Generative AI Users China had 515…

Eight decades ago this year, in the aftermath of two devastating world wars, the international community created the United Nations as a framework for peace and collective governance—a bold experiment in preventing humanity from repeating its worst mistakes. Eighty years on, that vision has both endured and evolved. The spirit of the UN remains vital, but cracks in the current system have become increasingly evident. Global governance, once anchored in shared responsibility, has drifted toward unilateralism and power politics. The U.S.-dominated model of global leadership has shown its limitations, as policies driven by self-interest rather than balance have destabilized the international order. The world today feels like a finger hovering over a trigger—a moment of dangerous tension in desperate need of reflection. It is time to reexamine what global governance…

The Mexican Government recently paused a controversial plan to impose tariffs of up to 50 percent on imports from China and other countries that have not signed free trade agreements with it. The proposed measure, announced on September 10, targeted 1,371 categories of products—from automobiles and steel to textiles and toys—affecting 16.8 percent of Mexico’s imports. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on October 9 said her administration is analyzing potential changes, emphasizing the need for further international consultations before submitting a revised proposal to Congress. This abrupt halt to a plan initially slated for quick passage signals the government’s caution in evaluating the proposed tariff hikes’ economic and diplomatic consequences. Analysts attribute the shift to pressure from the United States. During a meeting with the Mexican president in early September, U.S.…

‘If once together with the wind the Da Peng bird could rise, He would fly 90,000 miles up to the skies.” These are the opening lines of a famous poem by Li Bai, a renowned poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The Da Peng bird, a mythical giant bird of prey also known as great roc, symbolizes grand prospects and soaring ambition in Li’s metaphor. On October 16, this symbolism became reality on the southeastern coast of Wenchang in the southernmost Chinese province of Hainan. A Long March 8 carrier rocket, with fiery intensity, rose from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site before eager eyes. The launch site is built and operated by Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co. Ltd. (HICAL). The mission successfully delivered 12 low-Earth-orbit satellites for a…