Innehållsförteckning för Vol.68/No.49 från Beijing Review

One of the recommendations made in October by the Communist Party of China Central Committee for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (2026-30) has attracted widespread attention among the Chinese public: “We should continue to tap the full potential of cities, make a strong push to advance urban renewal and build peoplecentered modern cities that are innovative, livable, beautiful, resilient, culturally rich and smart.” The reason for the buzz is the boom in urban infrastructure construction the recommendations are expected to bring and the resulting economic development. Urban renewal is a core strategy in China’s ongoing urbanization process. It transcends mere physical transformation, representing a comprehensive process essential for building sustainable cities of the future. China’s urban population reached 67 percent of the total at…

DESIGNER BEHIND POPULAR MASCOTS Liu Pingyun, a professor at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, was the creative force behind the hugely popular mascots for the 15th National Games, held in November in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The mascots, named Xi Yangyang and Le Rongrong, are based on the Chinese white dolphin, an ecological icon of the GBA. The design team, led by Liu, introduced innovative pink and white color schemes. “We observed that the skin of a Chinese white dolphin turns pink when it’s physically active due to increased blood flow, so we incorporated this into our design,” Liu explained. Liu’s team also designed the Games’ emblem, featuring interlocked petals representing the three host regions. He was the lead executive designer of Bing Dwen Dwen, one…

As China’s cities shift from breakneck expansion to improving the layout and functions of existing urban spaces, the questions facing policymakers are no longer how to attract migrants, but how to integrate them; not how to build new megaprojects, but how to make cities more livable and inclusive. These themes were front and center at the China Sustainable Urbanization Forum: Theory, Policy and Practice 2025, held at Tsinghua University on November 13, where officials, scholars and industry experts gathered to weigh the challenges facing the next planning cycle and the reforms needed to meet them. Edited excerpts of some participants’ views follow: Bringing two halves together Wei Houkai, member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and former Director of the Rural Development Institute at CASS: After decades of…

In the era of technology rapidly transforming logistics and logistical efficiency becoming a key economic driver, drones are emerging as a game-changing transport technology. Faster than planes, trains and trucks between nearby cities, drone logistics is becoming one of the fastestgrowing sectors of the low-altitude economy. A vital aerial corridor now links Shenzhen and Zhongshan in Guangdong Province. These commercial low-altitude logistics routes, accessible through Weixin mini-programs, enable users to receive intercity items in an average of just three hours. This route is part of a surge in new intercity routes over the past year in Guangdong, with a robust low-altitude logistics network now forming across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area—a city cluster encompassing nine cities in Guangdong and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao. Phoenix…

My story in China began with a heartbeat of panic at a Chengdu airport. I was alone, a Pakistani girl surrounded by a language I didn’t understand. Then I saw it: not just a new country, but a new world. Digital boards flickered with elegant Chinese characters, people tapped their phones to glide through gates and silent elevators whisked everyone away. I stood there, a computer science student finally seeing a smart city come to life. That first night, my rescue came from a kind senior from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). He called a car through an app. When we reached the university gate, he simply swiped his phone. A soft beep, and the gate opened. That small, silent action struck me deeply. This digital…

Domestic Violence The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP), China’s top procuratorate, said on November 25 more than 500 defendants in domestic violence criminal cases have been sentenced to life imprisonment or more severe penalties over the past five years. Chinese prosecutors have stepped up supervision over the handling of domestic violence cases to protect women’s rights and interests. Since 2021, Chinese procuratorial agencies have approved the arrest of more than 2,800 suspects involved in relevant crimes and have prosecuted more than 3,400, according to the SPP. “Domestic violence is not only an infringement on the legitimate rights and interests of family members, but is also harmful to social order and public interests,” Ge Xiaoyan, Deputy Procurator-General of the SPP, said. The SPP pledged greater efforts to punish criminal offenses against women…

As China and the EU mark the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations this year, Beijing Review reporter Li Wenhan spoke with George N. Tzogopoulos, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre international de formation européenne. In the interview, Tzogopoulos shared his insights on the evolving China-EU relations, the impact of China-U.S. interactions on Europe and the prospects for cooperation in areas such as green transition and global governance. Edited excerpts of their conversation follow: Beijing Review: As 2025 is the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic relations, how would you evaluate the current state of bilateral economic ties? George Tzogopoulos: This is a very important year for China and the EU. Looking back, the two sides have achieved a great deal. Trade and investment are characteristic examples of win-win cooperation. If…

When the 20th Group of 20 (G20) Summit opened in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 22, participating parties not only reached unanimous consensus on the core agenda of the meeting, but also made history as the first G20 Summit to adopt a joint declaration on its opening day. The high efficiency of this year’s summit has largely been attributed to the United States and its decision not to attend. In the days before the summit began, the U.S. Embassy in South Africa issued a statement announcing that Washington would not send officials to the G20 Summit and opposed any outcome document presented as a G20 consensus without U.S. agreement. However, the adoption of the G20 South Africa Summit: Leaders’ Declaration on opening day demonstrated that the other leaders collectively chose…

The UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, or COP30, running from November 10 to 21, delivered advances in both the scale and quality of international climate cooperation. After intense negotiations, the parties adopted a document titled Global Mutirao: Uniting Humanity in a Global Mobilization Against Climate Change, covering issues including climate change mitigation and adaptation, climate finance and international cooperation. The Parties agreed to triple funding for climate adaptation by 2035 and to establish a just transition mechanism (ensuring climate transition is fair and inclusive for all). “Mutirao” means collective efforts. These outcomes have injected fresh momentum into global climate governance and opened broader space for cooperation. Enhancing climate cooperation is a role that the State Grid Brazil Holding (SGBH) has embraced. A subsidiary of the State Grid Corp.…

‘The silk of Suzhou, Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou are unrivaled in the world; all under heaven draw their supply from it.” So observed the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) agronomist Xu Guangqi in his Complete Treatise on Agriculture, capturing the undisputed dominance of east China in sericulture centuries ago. Indeed, for much of imperial history, the Jiangnan region, the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with its rapid economic development and skilled artisans, formed the vibrant heart of China’s silk production. While as early as the Han (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, with the expansion of the Silk Road, both overland and maritime, China’s western regions emerged as vital corridors, transporting eastern silk to distant markets across Eurasia. These routes spurred economic growth, fostered ethnic integration…

This summer, the central dance floor of New York’s Lincoln Center came alive as thousands of audience members moved to the rhythm of Da Zhan Hong Tu (Blueprint Supreme). The song’s performer, young rapper Chen Xukai, also known by his stage names Lan Lao and SKAI ISYOURGOD, is from China’s Guangdong Province, and had more than 3 million listeners this July on Spotify, the global streaming giant. The scenes depicted in the lyrics—“congee stalls by the Dongjiang River,” “drinking herbal tea”—are vivid snapshots of life in Guangzhou’s urban villages, known as chengzhongcun in Chinese. The dense, often informal settlements within China’s rapidly developing metropolitan areas generate endless discussions. Rather than disappearing through urbanization, some of these communities in Guangzhou expanded alongside the city’s growth. According to Guangzhou’s Urban Village Redevelopment…

The UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, or COP30, took place from November 10 to 21. In a recent interview with Beijing Review reporters Tao Xing and Wei Mingxin, Chinese Consul General in São Paulo Yu Peng shared his views on ecological cooperation and cultural exchange between China and Brazil. Edited excerpts from their conversation follow: Beijing Review: Both China and Brazil face the challenge of balancing environmental protection with economic development. In your view, in which specific areas can they deepen cooperation on green development? Yu Peng: China has made ecological progress a top priority in national governance. It has simultaneously pursued carbon reduction, pollution control, ecosystem restoration and low-carbon growth, driving a comprehensive shift toward green economic and social development. These efforts have produced remarkable achievements, and…

China and Brazil’s shared commitment to sustainable partnership was the key takeaway from the 2025 Connecting Cultures: Brazil-China program, which took place in Brazil from November 10 to 18. The program was planned to coincide with the UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, or COP30, running from November 10 to 21. “Brazil and China have huge room for cooperation in the field of sustainable development, and this collaboration starts with storytelling,” Brazilian travel blogger Lipe Camanzano said at a forum titled Planning and Development: Insights and Experience for Sustainable Growth, held as part of the program in Rio de Janeiro on November 18. The forum was co-hosted by the China International Communications Group Center for the Americas (CICG Americas), Embratur (the Brazilian Tourist Board) and the Confucius Institute at…

To the east of Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province in southeast China, stands a verdant mountain known as Kuliang. In the mid-19th century, many international guests settled in the city. Kuliang rose to fame as a beloved summer retreat, attracting expatriates who had made Fuzhou their home. For nearly a century, foreign and local residents lived together in harmony, and Kuliang blossomed into a unique international community where Eastern and Western cultures intertwined. A history brought to life Mary Carleton was one of the expatriates. In 1887, after graduating from the College of Medicine at Syracuse University in the United States, under the Methodist Episcopal Church, she arrived in China, where she worked in a hospital in Kuliang, later built a clinic, and adopted a Chinese daughter. More than a…