China and the US have maintained communication through bilateral and multilateral channels on debt issues, and China is willing to work with all sides to continue making efforts to ease the debt of developing countries, Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, said on Friday.

The remarks were made in response to reports on the two countries' discussion on new measures to prevent a wave of emerging market sovereign debt defaults.

Chinese experts said that the bilateral cooperation over this debt issue could potentially lead to a new breakthrough in cooperation between China and the US, especially as the bilateral relations were often characterized by confrontation rather than cooperation due to US targeted policy.

Speaking at a regular press conference on Friday, Mao said that as a matter of principle, China has always attached great importance to the debt issue of developing countries. Adhering to the principles of equality, consultation, cooperation, and mutual benefit, China has consistently worked to help alleviate the debt burden of developing countries and promote sustainable development, the spokesperson said.

China has actively participated in initiatives such as the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative and other cooperative frameworks, she added.

According to Bloomberg's report on Friday, the US and China are discussing new measures to prevent a wave of emerging market sovereign defaults, citing people familiar with the matter, a move that the media described as "one of the most significant attempts in years at economic cooperation" between the two countries.

The talks - including ways to pre-emptively extend loan periods before countries miss payments - are broadly aimed at both easing the $400 billion-plus annual debt service burden for poor countries and finding an alternative to the high borrowing rates those nations now face in the market, according to the media report.

Cooperation between China and the US on the debt issue not only helps to reduce the risk of defaults in developing countries but also sends a stronger signal to the global market on the urgent need of recovery from the pandemic, Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Friday.

Both China and the US share common responsibilities and interests on this issue. A major upheaval in global finance could have significant negative implications for the economies of both countries and global development as a whole, Zhou said.

The cooperation would include alleviating repayment pressure on debts and avoiding concentrated debt maturity, Zhou said.

While both China and the US are major financial markets and therefore hold responsibilities in helping to tackle the debt issue of developing countries, experts said that the US is more important regarding this matter due to its greater obligations, given the fact that the surge in defaults in emerging markets is related to the US Federal Reserve's relentless interest rate hikes.

Due to the generally fragile nature of emerging market economies, their relatively simplistic industrial structures and lower resilience to risks, they are much more vulnerable in the face of the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes, Hu Qimu, a deputy secretary-general of the digital-real economies integration Forum 50, told the Global Times on Friday.

Against this context, the US has more responsibilities and obligations from a historical perspective, while China's efforts in helping to tackle the debt issue are more about risk prevention and control, and its commitment to helping developing countries achieve sustainable development as the world's second largest economy, Hu said.

China and the US have intensified interactions recently in economic sectors. The third China-US Economic Working Group meeting was held recently in Beijing, where officials of the two countries 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, according to a statement by the Chinese Ministry of Finance on February 2.

Experts said that this positive trend offers much-needed reassurance for businesses in the two countries as well as the international community, amid rising global challenges.

The bilateral cooperation in tackling the debt issue could potentially result in a new breakthrough in cooperation between China and the US, experts said.

In recent years, economic and trade cooperation between China and the US has been characterized by a predominance of confrontation, failing to reach consensus in the economic domain, Hu said.

The significance of reaching consensus between the two major economies in this matter lies not only in the issue itself but also highlights cooperation in broader economic sectors such as interest rates, exchange rates and credit projects, in addition to traditional areas such as climate cooperation and counter-terrorism, according to Hu.

Despite the disagreements between the two countries over some key matters such as technology, we should actively seek cooperation when necessary and not let differences deter us from collaboration, Zhou said, noting that "failing to cooperate would be detrimental to all parties involved."

After China announced its economy grew 5.2 percent in 2023, some overseas media outlets claimed that China's economic recovery was sluggish and largely disappointing. However, these pessimistic views, prevalent in the Western media, are biased and inaccurate.

Bearing the impact of the three-year COVID pandemic, the Chinese economy still faced lingering side-effects of it in 2023, with the pandemic's scarring effect severely weakened market confidence. During the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held in late July last year, the policymakers emphasized that the country's economic recovery was undergoing "wave-like" development.

Looking back, the market's expectations at the end of 2022 were overly optimistic. China set a GDP growth target of about 5 percent in early 2023, which was a more rational and reasonable approach. The Chinese economy successfully surpassed that target.

China's GDP growth rate has continued to increase despite the global economic downturn. While the global economy is expected to experience a slowdown last year to 3.0 growth, compared with 3.5 percent in 2022, China's growth rate increased from 3 percent in 2022 to 5.2 percent in 2023. This was a remarkable achievement that required overcoming external pressures and internal challenges.

China's economic growth rate remains relatively higher than other countries like the US. And, China is not the only country facing a slowdown in growth - lower than pre-pandemic levels. 

Despite the global economic slump, China is still able to achieve a moderate to high growth rate of about 5 percent, which plays an important role in stabilizing the global economy. China's contribution to global economic growth last year was still about 30 percent, demonstrating that China remains an important driving force of the global growth.

China has aimed to actively cultivate new growth drivers through technological innovation, green development and data-enabled transformation. Despite the overall decline in exports last year, exports of the "New Three Items" grew rapidly, exceeding the 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion) mark.

China has achieved similar growth in other fields. From an industrial perspective, the value-added growth rate of high-tech industries is eye-catching. From an investment perspective, the investment growth rate in the high-tech manufacturing and services industries was higher than that in fixed-asset investment. Additionally, China has achieved international competitive advantages in many industrial fields, such as in green and renewable energies.

In 2024, the Chinese economy will benefit from several favorable conditions. First, with the further weakening of the pandemic impacts, China can expect economic and social activities to return to a normal level. This will stimulate continued growth in consumption and investment, and contribute to expanding the scale of the economy.

Second, the implementation of fiscal and monetary stimulus policies will continue to provide the necessary support for stabilizing economic growth and promoting the recovery. The Central Economic Work Conference made it clear that macroeconomic regulation will be intensified.

Third, China's plan to implement reform and opening-up measures in key areas will inject new vitality into economic growth. Technological innovation and the next industrial revolution will become new driving forces for economic development.

If China follows the deployment of decisions by the Central Economic Work Conference, promotes high-quality development and intensifies structural adjustments while maintaining necessary policy support, there will be positive momentum for the economic recovery.

However, China should also recognize that the complexity, severity and uncertainty of the external environment in 2024 still exist. From a positive perspective, the US Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes are nearing an end and there is the possibility of rate cuts, which will expand the space for China's macroeconomic policies and encourage European and US companies to replenish their inventories, improving overseas demand for Chinese goods.

In addition, ongoing high-level exchanges and dialogue between China and the US will help control their tensions.

However, China should be aware of the economic uncertainties, especially in the late stage of the US Federal Reserve's tightening cycle. Insufficient tightening may lead to the Fed reconsidering rate hikes, while excessive tightening may cause a hard landing for the US economy.

According to the World Trade Organization's forecast in October 2023, global merchandise trade growth may recover from 0.8 percent in 2023 to more than 3 percent in 2024. Therefore, China expects its foreign trade exports will likely recover and grow in 2024.

China experienced fluctuations in foreign enterprises' investment in 2023. However, fluctuations in foreign investment are normal, not only in China but also in other countries, including the US. 

Since total global foreign direct investment fell from 2020 to 2022, while China's attractiveness to foreign investment continued to steadily increase, it was not surprising to see some adjustments in scale in 2023. 

In addition, the impact of non-economic factors in reshaping global industrial and supply chains may have some influence on China's utilization of foreign investment.

China is still a growing economy with a colossal market, so it still has an appeal to foreign investment. With the normalization of communication and exchanges with the outside world, investors are paying more and more attention to China's market, and confidence in China's economic fundamentals keeps on recovering.

Profits of China's major industrial enterprises fell 2.3 percent in 2023, continuing a month-on-month narrowing that began in March, an ongoing recovery that underscores the resilience of the Chinese economy, experts said.

In 2023, the profits of industrial companies whose annual main business revenue exceeded 20 million yuan ($2.82 million) stood at 7.69 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 2.3 percent, narrowing by 2.1 percentage points from the first 11 months of last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Saturday.

State-owned enterprises achieved total profits of 2.26 trillion yuan in 2023, down 3.4 percent year-on-year, while private enterprises had total profits of 2.34 trillion yuan, up 2 percent, NBS data showed.

With domestic demand improving gradually and industrial production picking up steadily, the profitability of large-scale industrial enterprises has continued to recover, further consolidating the foundation for high-quality development of the industrial economy, NBS statistician Yu Weining said in a statement on Saturday.

While the total profits of major industrial enterprises declined amid the multiple challenges at home and abroad, the narrowing trend has sent a positive signal that the Chinese economy is gradually overcoming various difficulties and stabilizing on an improving trend, Zhu Keli, executive director of China Institute of New Economy, told the Global Times on Saturday.

In terms of the moving trend of industrial profits throughout the year 2023, major industrial enterprises' profits saw a sharp narrowing of decline, given the year-on-year decrease of 22.9 percent in January-February, Yu said.

By quarter, the profit of industrial enterprises in the first quarter of 2023 fell by 21.4 percent year-on-year, with a 12.7 percent fall in the second quarter, before recording a 7.7 percent gain in the third quarter and a 16.2 percent increase in the fourth.

In December, profits of industrial enterprises rose by 16.8 percent year-on-year, growing for a fifth consecutive month, according to the NBS.

Overall, more than 60 percent of industries recorded profit gains in 2023. With the deepening industrial chain optimization and upgrading, the efficiency of the equipment manufacturing industry continues to improve, further strengthening its supporting role for the profit recovery of industrial enterprises, Yu said.

Specifically, due to the rapid rise in shipbuilding orders and the record high automobile production, the transport equipment industry saw profits jump by 22 percent year-on-year, while profits of the automobile industry increased 5.9 percent.

Against the backdrop of complex global economic changes, the recovering industrial profits reflected the tenacious resilience and innovation vitality of Chinese industries, Zhu noted.

Chinese industrial enterprises not only pay attention to short-term benefits, but also focus on the long-term development, constantly enhancing their core competitiveness and market adaptability by strengthening technological innovation and improving added value of products. Those efforts are gradually being translated into concrete economic benefits, offering a strong support for the recovery of industrial profits, according to Zhu.

"Industrial enterprises' performance has pointed to an overall trend that the Chinese economy is undergoing a continuous improvement," Xi Junyang, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Saturday.

With the continued policy support, the improvement in the operating conditions across the industrial sector is expected to continue in 2024, Xi said.

Despite facing multiple challenges, China's manufacturing industry has shown strong resilience in recent years, according to a report released on Saturday by the China Finance 40 Forum -- a Chinese think tank specializes on issues of economic and financial policy.

The report said that the growth rate of China's manufacturing sector investment has continued to be higher than the growth rate of the total capital investment and the GDP growth rate since 2020.

Meanwhile, the proportion of investment by private enterprises has further increased, and the manufacturing investment has been concentrating in industries such as electrical equipment, telecommunication and computing information.

The upgrading trajectory of China's manufacturing industry is consistent with the experience of high-income countries, said Zhang Bin, a senior CF40 researcher and deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of World Economics and Politics.

A modern service industry is a necessary condition for the upgrade of the manufacturing industry as it is difficult to see the sustainability of manufacturing investment higher than a society's fixed asset investment, Zhang said.

China saw steady expansion of employment in 2023, with the emerging digital economy and technology sectors creating more opportunities for young job seekers, multiple industry insiders and enterprises have told the Global Times.

Despite the pessimistic picture painted by some foreign media reports, observers remained optimistic and confident in China’s employment situation, given the country’s efforts to stabilize the labor market as well as various favorable trends.

The emergence of cutting-edge technologies in the digital economy combined with new scenarios and sources of demand have brought more options and chances for young people, Li Qiang, vice-president of Zhaopin.com, told the Global Times in a recent interview.

Li noted that a diverse range of job opportunities have emerged with different entry levels, from the frontiers of digital technology to more basic jobs in expanding sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Mexin Group, a door company based in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, told the Global Times on Monday that it has opened new positions and expanded hiring of AI engineers amid the development of its intelligent production.

The company hopes its AI engineers can integrate the technology into different applications and platforms, while carrying out new practices complying with various corporate projects, Mexin said in a statement.

Digital transformation has not only advanced the production and development patterns for enterprises in the manufacturing sector, but also provided growing potential and space for young job applicants, particularly in rising sectors such as industrial automation and new energy.

The proportion of jobs classified under the category of production, processing and manufacturing on Zhaopin.com increased from 15.3 percent in 2022 to 16.8 percent in 2023, with the growth rate ranking first among all industries. Meanwhile, the talent gap related to the energy-saving industry and new-energy vehicles is expected to reach 1.03 million people in 2025, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

In addition, Li said the digital economy has created more flexible jobs with higher job autonomy and lower entry barriers.

The number of newly registered drivers for on-demand delivery service provider Lalamove, also known as Huolala, increased by more than 70 percent in 2023, while the active drivers born in and after 1990 accounted for 30 percent of the total number, a yearly increase of 45 percent, the company told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Huolala said that 60 percent of their surveyed drivers born in and after 2000 chose to be cargo drivers due to the job’s flexibility, as they can pursue different passions such as being e-sports players and technicians at the same time.

The urban unemployment rate in China stood at 5.2 percent on average in 2023, down 0.4 percentage points year-on-year, official data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed last week, amid an overall improvement in employment.

The NBS also resumed the release of data for youth unemployment after a four-month suspension. The surveyed unemployment rate of the population aged 16 to 24 (excluding students) was 14.9 percent in December.

However, pressure is still persisting in 2024 given the structural contradictions for employment of some groups and in certain industries, said Kang Yi, a spokesperson for the NBS at a press conference on January 17.

Kang added that the employment situation will remain stable in 2024 thanks to the economic recovery, accelerated industrial upgrading and other positive factors such as supportive policies.

Li said that market confidence, bolstered by policy support taking further effect, has been rebounding, adding that the recovering confidence among enterprises is another positive factor for 2024.

France-based airplane manufacturer Airbus started operations at the Airbus Lifecycle Services Center in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Wednesday, a latest example of aviation cooperation between China and France.

The center's opening came just days before Saturday, which will mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France.

This center is the first of its kind to cover, as a one-stop shop, the full range of activities from aircraft parking and storage to maintenance, upgrades, conversions, dismantling and recycling services for various aircraft types, as well as the controlled distribution of used parts from dismantling, Airbus said. 

It plans to obtain overhaul qualifications and aircraft dismantling qualifications for Airbus A320/A330 within the year, and Boeing 737 maintenance qualifications are also expected. 

Covering a space of 717,000 square meters with storage capacity for 125 aircraft, the site will ramp up operations between now and 2025, directly employing up to 150 people, the company said.

The center unites under one roof a joint venture among Airbus, Tarmac Aerosave and the city of Chengdu, along with the Airbus company Satair. 

Located in the same center, Satair will acquire aging aircraft and trade and distribute the used parts to complete the full scope of lifecycle services. 

After storage and upgrading, 75 percent of the aircraft stored in the center are expected to fly again. The remaining planes will be dismantled with the unique Tarmac Aerosave process, recovering about 90 percent of the aircraft weight, the company said. 

It echoes our purpose to pioneer sustainable aerospace and shows our approach to environmental responsibility across the entire aircraft lifecycle, and the center is a great example of Chinese-European cooperation in the development of the circular economy for the aviation industry, said Cristina Aguilar, Airbus' senior vice president customer services.

The project is of special significance, when China is entering a new cycle of mass withdrawal of aircraft, with a large number of aircraft to be involved, and the project will play an important role in the circular economy, Lin Zhijie, an independent market watcher, told the Global Times. 

Chinese experts attributed the robust growth of aviation to the huge Chinese aviation market. 

Airbus predicted in December 2023 that China will overtake Europe and North America to become the world's largest aviation services market by 2042, with its market value climbing to $54.1 billion.

Aviation cooperation between China and France has seen sound development in recent years.

In June last year, China Southern Airlines, the carrier offering the largest annual air passenger capacity in China, said it would equip its new fleet of 96 A320neo planes with Thales' market-leading avionics solutions. This new agreement is a fitting testament to the extensive cooperation in the field of civil aviation between France and China. In the helicopter domain, Thales also partnered with Simaero to deliver China's first H225 level D Full Flight Simulator to China Sky-Wings training center in Shanghai, for improving the overall safety of Chinese helicopter pilots.

Thales has been present in China for more than 40 years. It has three joint ventures and employs 1,800 people with offices located in seven cities in China. 

In April 2023, Airbus signed a purchase agreement for 160 commercial aircraft with a Chinese partner, and it will open a second assembly line in North China's Tianjin Municipality, further expanding its presence in one of the largest aviation markets in the world.

During the ninth China-France High Level Economic and Financial Dialogue held in July 2023 in Beijing, China vowed to strengthen policy communication with France, deepen practical cooperation, step up coordination on international and multilateral affairs, and push the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership to a new high, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The year-on-year decline in China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) over recent months is caused by structural and cyclical factors, while core CPI remained stable excluding the impact of food and energy prices. It is anticipated that CPI will see a mild rise in 2024, a Chinese official said on Wednesday.

Prices have fallen in China lately, led by a retreat in the cost of food and energy. Excluding the impact of food and energy prices, core CPI has remained stable, suggesting that the decline in prices was not widespread or broad-based, but rather cyclical and structural, head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Kang Yi told a press conference in Beijing.

In 2023, China's overall prices remained on a moderate upward trend, with the annual CPI rising by 0.2 percent, and the core CPI increasing by 0.7 percent, Kang noted.

As for the structural factors, the decline in food and energy prices is not solely a result of changes in market supply and demand dynamics. In 2022 and 2023, their prices were primarily influenced by non-economic and unconventional factors, Kang said.

Energy prices, particularly those of petroleum, play a substantial role in the CPI basket in China. In December 2023, energy prices witnessed a 0.5 percent drop, in contrast to the 5.2 percent increase in December 2022. The significant rise in energy prices in 2022 followed by a decline in 2023, with one acting as a positive factor and the other as a negative factor, has exerted a considerable downward pull on the year-on-year CPI comparison, Kang explained.

As for food prices, there was a 3.7-percent drop in December 2023, contrasting with a 4.8-percent rise in December 2022. The increase in December 2022 was caused by pandemic-related measures, leading to logistical challenges and an across-the-board rise in food prices. As the economy returned to normal, accompanied by ample supply, food prices eased from the high baseline of the previous year, he said.

As the Chinese economy continues to recover on the back of steady growth in income levels and an expansion in domestic market demand, there is a foundation for upward movement of prices. As the Spring Festival holidays approach, demand for food spending is rising. Increased activity in service spending, such as dining out, visiting relatives and friends, and trave will further drive the seasonal rise in CPI, Kang said.

In the first 10 days of January 2024, monitored data indicates food prices have remained generally stable, experiencing mild increases in some regions, he said.

The low-level operation of prices also reflects, to some extent, issues such as insufficient market demand, Kang said, noting that it is a cyclical phenomenon in China as the economy returns to normalcy after three years of pandemic impact. "In the short term, inadequate demand can lead to downward pressure on prices."

China's CPI saw a year-on-year decrease of 0.2 percent in October 2023, followed by declines of 0.5 percent in November and 0.3 percent in December, NBS data showed.

During the key annual Central Economic Work Conference held in Beijing in December 2023, policymakers stressed the need to expand domestic demand, noting that "efforts should be made to stimulate consumption with potentials and expand productive investment to create a virtuous cycle of mutual promotion between consumption and investment."

"The development of digital consumption, green consumption and health consumption should be further promoted, and new growth areas such as consumption of smart home appliances, entertainment and tourism, sports events and trendy domestic brands should be fostered," the meeting noted.

With the introduction of relevant policies, the issue of insufficient market demand will ease. As a result, consumer prices will most likely stabilize and rebound. "We anticipate a mild increase in prices in 2024," Kang said.

US and UK fighter jets launched strikes against multiple targets in Yemen's capital Sanaa, the western Red Sea city of Al Hudaydah and the northern province of Saada on Friday local time. The situation in the Red Sea has seen a new round of increased tensions and faces the risk of further escalation.

The air strikes took place exactly one day after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution regarding the situation in the Red Sea, giving the impression that the UN resolution gave the green light for the US and UK actions. It must be pointed out that this is an illusion. The US and the UK may have deliberately created and strengthened this illusion, but it is far from the truth. The resolution was proposed by the US and Japan and passed with a vote of 11 in favor to none against, with four abstentions. It demanded "that the Houthis immediately cease all such attacks, which impede global commerce and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security." Russia, China, Algeria and Mozambique abstained from the vote.

The Red Sea is an important international trade channel for goods and energy, and its stability is related to the common interests of the international community. China emphasized that "No country should misinterpret or abuse relevant provisions in this resolution to create new tensions in the Red Sea." Unexpectedly, what China was worried about became a reality the next day. After the attack, some US allies in the Middle East, including Jordan and Oman, expressed concern that the situation might get out of control. Yemen's neighbor Saudi Arabia also called for avoiding escalation of the situation. There is also a lot of opposition in the US. Nabeel Khoury, former deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Yemen, said on X (formerly Twitter), "US/UK bombing campaign in Yemen is another failure of Biden diplomacy."

The current situation in the region is dire. A cease-fire between Palestine and Israel has not yet been achieved, and the spillover conflict in the Red Sea is further escalating and expanding. The Supreme Political Committee of the Houthi armed forces of Yemen claimed that all "interests" of the US and Britain are now "legitimate targets." Retaliation and harassment against the US and the UK will start another cycle of attacks, and multiple spillover conflicts are possible. In short, the possibility of the situation deteriorating has increased and deepened, and this outcome requires all parties to do their best to avoid it.

It needs to be said that the development of the situation to this point has been both accidental and inevitable. It is the US that has pushed the situation to the current stage step by step according to its own style and behavioral logic. The skewed stance of the US in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has led to the conflict becoming protracted and caused spillovers. When dealing with Middle East issues, which are intertwined with contradictions and have complex historical latitudes, the US' strategy is thoughtless, even crude.

Military means is still the most familiar, preferred and convenient method for the US. It has been used in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria and now against the Houthi armed forces in Yemen. The US has become quite dependent on it. Many bloody lessons have taught us that force as the main means cannot solve the problem, but instead makes the situation worse and more complicated. Ultimately, we have to return to the path of political settlement. The same is true for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. China has repeatedly stressed the urgency of achieving an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, and it is the overriding prerequisite for everything else and a top priority for international diplomatic efforts.

Whether it is the current Red Sea crisis or the protracted conflict in Gaza, the real solution to the problem has always been clear, which is to immediately implement a cease-fire in Gaza. But for this core demand, the US currently does not have the courage to truly take supportive action. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made four trips to the Middle East in three months. He has made so many trips, but he can't even say the word "instant cease-fire." If Washington continues on its current path, it will not solve the Middle East problem, but will become an active promoter of risk proliferation.

US defense officials said the strike was intended to thread the needle - pressing the Houthis to quit their attacks without spurring more conflicts in the volatile region. Threading the needle can be regarded as progress in US thinking, but can it achieve this via force? Can this restore peace in the Red Sea? The answer is obviously no.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday night local time arrived in Egypt, the first leg of his four-nation Africa tour this week. This is the 34th consecutive year when a Chinese foreign minister has visited Africa as their first overseas trip at the beginning of the year.

Coming shortly after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi's successful reelection in December 2023, and amid the already 100-day Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Middle East, Wang's visit is of great significance, Chinese analysts said. They predicted that further coordinating their positions concerning hot-spot issues, especially the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, and its spillover in the region such as the Red Sea turmoil, will be high on the agenda during Wang's exchanges with Egyptian officials.

China and Egypt are to explore the potentials of their bilateral and multilateral cooperation in a variety of fields under multilateral frameworks that include the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and BRICS, analysts said on Sunday.

On Sunday, President Sisi met with Wang Yi in Cairo. The Egyptian president expressed gratitude for China's strong support for Egypt's social and economic development, noting significant achievements in jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative.

He reaffirmed Egypt's commitment to the one-China principle and opposition to interference in China's internal affairs.

Wang Yi thanked Egypt for supporting China's rightful stance. China appreciates Egypt's active response to the Belt and Road Initiative and will remain to be a long-term, reliable strategic partner in Egypt's development and revitalization. China aims to strengthen the alignment of development strategies and practical cooperation for greater achievements, working together toward modernization, Wang said.

Both sides agreed to continue strengthening communication and collaboration within frameworks such as BRICS and the United Nations. Wang Yi stated that Egypt, as an Arab, African, Islamic, and developing major country, is congratulated on becoming a new member of BRICS.

They also exchanged views on the Palestinian-Israeli situation, agreeing on the need for an immediate cease-fire and preventing further conflict escalation. A joint statement regarding the situation was issued.

During the visit, Wang Yi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry also discussed and signed the second five-year plan for the China-Egypt comprehensive strategic partnership.

Wang Yi, in a joint press conference with Shoukry after their talks, expressed deep concern over the recent rapid escalation of the situation in the Red Sea, and called for an end to attacks on civilian ships.

At the same time, China believes that the UN Security Council has never authorized any country to use force against Yemen, and actions should be avoided that would add fuel to the tension in the Red Sea and increase the overall security risks in the region. It must be emphasized that the tension in the Red Sea is a prominent manifestation of the spillover of the Gaza conflict, Wang said.

The urgent task is to quickly quell the war in Gaza to prevent the conflict from further expanding or even getting out of control. All parties need to jointly maintain the safety of the Red Sea waterway in accordance with the law, while genuinely respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Red Sea coastal countries, including Yemen, he noted.

Egypt is the first African nation Wang would visit during his current Africa trip, which is of significance, coming so soon after President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi's successful reelection. The Egyptian government has launched development plans and targets, including attracting investment and boosting tourism, to tackle the country's economic challenges, He Wenping, a director with the Institute of West Asian and African Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Regarding bilateral and multilateral cooperation, Zhu Yongbiao, executive director of the Research Center for the Belt and Road at Lanzhou University, told the Global Times that the conversation will be carried out within the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, as well as under the BRICS framework.

BRICS inducted five new member countries - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran and Ethiopia - into the bloc in early January 2024. The integration of new member states marked a major expansion for the bloc originally founded by Russia, Brazil, China, and India in 2006, and later joined by South Africa in 2011.

Wang's visit seeks to implement the outcomes of the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue held in August, 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa, according to Zhu.

China announced at the 2023 Leaders' Dialogue it would launch the Initiative on Supporting Africa's Industrialization, the Plan for China Supporting Africa's Agricultural Modernization and the Plan for China-Africa Cooperation on Talent Development, as part of the efforts to chart the course for China-Africa practical cooperation in the next stage and help Africa bring its integration and modernization into a fast track, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

China and Africa will host the ninth ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in China in 2024, which will likely take place in Beijing towards the end of the year.

FOCAC is hailed by the international community as an epitome of an efficient and effective platform for South-South cooperation and is a springboard for Africa and China to firmly support each other in strengthening development interests and collaboration in international affairs, as well as at multilateral occasions.

China-Egypt cooperation covers various fields, including infrastructure like development of the new Egyptian capital, railway projects and space collaboration with the launch of Egypt's second satellite. There is also cooperation in oil development, with new oil fields discovered in Egypt, as well as in aviation and technology, He Wenping said.

Wang's visit will further align the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with Egypt's 2030 development vision. Egypt's new government has many plans in motion, including tourism cooperation and dealing with their foreign exchange shortage, which might involve trade and import of non-Egyptian agricultural products. All these areas are expected to feature in the bilateral discussions and potential cooperation agreements, He explained.

At the invitation of Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, Viola Amherd, President of the Swiss Confederation, and Leo Varadkar, Irish Taoiseach, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council will attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 and pay an official visit to Switzerland and Ireland from January 14 to 17: Chinese Foreign Ministry

"National security is the foundation of national rejuvenation. In adhering to the overall concept of national security, we resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, safety, and development interests." On August 1, 2023, the official WeChat account of China's Ministry of State Security made its debut with these powerful words, becoming an important window, through which the whole society could gain an understanding of the work conducted by national security agencies.

China's national security agencies are responsible for counter-espionage work, while also undertaking functions such as safeguarding political agency and overseas security. The national security agencies have always been shrouded in mystery, representing a covert front line with special status and missions. They have played an important role in defending the state power, maintaining social harmony and stability, and protecting people's lives and property.

To mark the fourth Chinese People's Police Day which falls on January 10, Global Times reporters went to two border towns in North and South China - Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, to conduct in-depth interviews with local national security officers, who faithfully practice the pledge of dedicated service to the people.

Head-to-head frontline battles

Manzhouli is covered in white snow amid the howling wind in December 2023. The city stands near the boundary marker of the China-Mongolia-Russia tri-border, and a borderline that stretches over 1,000 kilometers. Officers from the national security bureau of Manzhouli told the Global Times that this special geographical location has always made the city an important channel and springboard for hostile forces to infiltrate and sabotage the country. The continued sagas of silent struggles of infiltration and counter-infiltration, subversion and counter-subversion, and division and counter-division play out here on a regular basis.

During her first mission, Li Yue (pseudonym), a Generation-Z officer from the national security bureau in Manzhouli, experienced the acuteness and complexity of these struggles.

Similar to a plot straight out of a film, Li Yue had to disguise herself as a waitress in a restaurant to get closer to a suspect, in order to coordinate with her colleagues' next move.

"In the few steps that it took for me to come face to face with him, I tried to maintain my cool, not allowing myself to show any hint of nervousness. Trained professionals quickly notice such things, so I had to meet his gaze with a placid one," Li Yue recalled. 

Like any ordinary waitress, she greeted the suspect with a smile, led him to his seat, offered him a glass of water, took his order, and also attended to the rest of the diners. "My colleagues and I did a lot of work beforehand, making contingency plans for various possible eventualities. The suspect would never know that a covert operation was fully underway." 

Shortly after this mission, Li Yue changed her online handle to "actor." Exquisite "acting" skills were just some of the many skills and qualities possessed by the national security officers. The success of each operation relies on meticulous planning, creative thinking, strong psychological resilience, and unwavering courage.

Thousands of miles away on the Southwest China's border region, Xishuangbanna national security bureau officers guard the region with Laos and Myanmar, which stretches for nearly a thousand kilometers. Their main task is to prevent foreign spies and intelligence personnel from infiltrating or fleeing from China. 

In 2015, the Xishuangbanna bureau successfully cracked down on an espionage case that was remotely plotted by a foreign intelligence agency. In August of that year, the bureau received a tip from higher-level authorities that a man surnamed Li, who used to work in an important governmental department, had been subverted and recruited as a spy by a foreign intelligence agency while studying abroad. Signs showed that Li was about to escape the country recently, very possibly via Xishuangbanna.

After receiving the arrest order, the officers of the Xishuangbanna bureau carefully analyzed Li's possible escape routes, mobilized all forces to set up checkpoints and surveillance, and finally tracked him down.

Song Bin (pseudonym), a Xishuangbanna bureau official who participated in the operation to arrest Li, told the Global Times that "during the operation, we found that Li was using various anti-surveillance methods to evade arrest. Various signs indicated that there were personnel from foreign spy intelligence agencies behind him [who had taught him how to evade police detection]." 

On the sixth day of the arrest operation, Li arrived at an exit channel on the Xishuangbanna border. National security officials from the Xishuangbanna bureau, who were disguised as boat operators, waited at the exit channel and noticed that Li matched the photo in the arrest warrant and made their approach. 

"We asked to see his identity (ID) card if he wanted to take our boat to go abroad. He provided us with a fake ID card, which showed his registered place of residence as Southwest China's Sichuan," Song said. 

The Xishuangbanna bureau police would not be able to arrest Li if they could not confirm his identity, otherwise it would alert the target and the operation would fail. At this critical moment, one of the officials, who was familiar with various dialects in the southwest, had a brilliant idea: Now that Li had pretended to be a Sichuan native, why not converse with him in the Sichuan dialect? 

This sudden "test" caught Li off-guard, and his expression changed drastically, revealing his guilt. The Xishuangbanna bureau officials then confirmed his identity as the fleeing suspect. The officers also immediately revealed their identities before taking Li into custody while he pleaded not to be arrested.

Silent, dangerous mission

In the process of safeguarding national security, national security officials have also demonstrated their great spirit of dedication and sacrifice.

"We often have to face unexpected dangers, and in some critical moments, we can only put our lives on the line," an official from the Xishuangbanna bureau surnamed Yan told the Global Times. 

Yan recounted an instance in which a person suspected of engaging in activities that endangered national security fled to Xishuangbanna with the intention of leaving the country. During the arrest operation, while not sure of whether the suspect was armed, Yan and several other Xishuangbanna bureau officials decisively charged forward. 

"Although he was alone, he had received relevant military training and had a mindset of fighting to the death. At that critical moment, we didn't have time to think; we could only rush forward and firmly restrain him. Fortunately, his luggage only contained cash and some forged documents," Yan said.

Being able to endure hard work and loneliness is how many national security officers evaluate their own work. Jiang Dingbian (pseudonym), an officer from the national security bureau in Manzhouli, has devoted himself to security operations for nearly 30 years. He told the Global Times that those officers have to make long-term contingency preparations for every case. "It may take three to five years, or even more than a decade, to track down just one lead." 

The national security bureau in Manzhouli once arrested a target that had been under surveillance for years. Jiang spent three years in analyzing thousands of pieces of information before finally discovering evidence of the target's involvement in other illegal activities.

In order to promptly identify all possible risks, the national security bureau in Manzhouli has set up a room that is less than 20 square meters, where national security officers work in shifts around the clock. For a long time, this small space had no air conditioning and the water supply would occasionally be cut off. In the summer, the national security officers would often be drenched in sweat, while in the winter, they had to endure the freezing cold wind constantly seeping in through the cracks in the window at minus 30 C. 

"Some cases have made no progress after years of effort, which made me wonder whether it was worth persisting. But we cannot overlook any potential national security risks and threats. This is our original intention and our duty," Li Yue said.

Whole-society defense line

National security is the common aspiration and fundamental interest of all ethnic groups in the country. Safeguarding national security is also the shared responsibility of all ethnic groups in the country.

Manzhouli national security bureau officer Li Bin (pseudonym) said that since the first National Security Education Day on April 15, 2016, the whole society has become more actively involved in various efforts to safeguard national security. 

On one hand, the government, institutions, enterprises, and individuals actively cooperate with national security work and provide support. On the other hand, the whole society has formed an atmosphere of responsibility for national security and the public actively reports suspicious clues, providing strong support to the work of national security agencies.

Li Bin revealed that the national security bureau of Manzhouli once received a report from a retired person, who said to have found a telephone line of a classified unit that was tens of meters long pulled out in the courtyard, leading to a residential building across the street, on his way back home. 

The veracity of the situation was confirmed shortly thereafter. It was a staff member of the unit who privately set up the telephone line for personal use, risking the leakage of classified information.

The national security bureau of Manzhouli quickly contacted the unit and requested immediate rectification of the situation to eradicate potential risks. 

In 2015, the national security agencies officially launched the 12339 hotline for citizens. In 2018, China's Ministry of State Security launched the internet reporting platform website www.12339.gov.cn. In April 2023, the national security agencies honored individuals who had made contributions in reporting activities that endangered national security for the fifth consecutive year. In August 2023, the official WeChat account of the Ministry of State Security opened a reporting platform.

Some officials from the Yunnan national security department reached by the Global Times said that they have witnessed a significant increase in awareness in the recent past, along with an understanding and participation of the public in safeguarding national security. This has been reflected in the increased number and quality of reports received through the 12339 hotline.

In recent years, with the help of public reports, the Yunnan national security department has successfully solved multiple cases related to ecological and military security, preventing valuable samples of flora and fauna and sensitive military equipment information from being transferred to foreign intelligence agencies.

Selfless, anonymous heroes

"Sorry but I can't disclose the specific details due to confidentiality regulations;" "Please do not mention my name and personal information;" "As a national security officer, I am willing to be an anonymous hero." These are phrases that Global Times reporters have heard repeatedly during interviews, highlighting the uniqueness of covert operations - selflessness, anonymity, and humility.

In the archives of the national security bureau in Manzhouli, two large cabinets occupy an entire wall, filled with files on the same case. This case has spanned over 20 years, involving several generations of national security officers. Behind each page of these files are all-night efforts, undercover operations in harsh weather conditions, and thrilling covert confrontations. However, once they leave the office, these experiences are never mentioned and may never be known.

In the battlefield of safeguarding national security, the invisible gunshots and unheard gun battles have never ceased. It is because of the silent dedication and perseverance of every national security officer that the sovereignty, security, and development interests of the country are protected, and the peaceful lives of the people are undisturbed.

Jiang said that many national security officers silently dedicate their entire lives to their work, without receiving applause and without the spotlight and dazzling stage. They quietly exit the stage after remarkable service, and the driving force that supports them is their firm belief in their hearts.

Currently, the meaning, purpose, and value of national security in our country are richer than at any time in history, and the internal and external factors affecting the same are more complex than at any time in history. The challenges faced in safeguarding national security are unprecedented. As national security officers have stated, "We always maintain a state of readiness, prepared to fight against any behavior that threatens national security."

Hidden in silence, the sword shines in invisibility. In this new era, Chinese national security agencies are embarking on a new journey to faithfully fulfill their duties, safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, be an integral part of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and compose a new anthem for nameless heroes.