Editor's Note:
Is China-US relationship locked in an increasingly intense rivalry or is there possibly a "window of opportunity" to mend strained ties between the two countries? A number of recent visits to China by high-ranking US officials were made, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Climate Envoy John Kerry, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Veteran US diplomat Henry Kissinger also visited China in July. Where is the China-US relationship headed as high-level interactions increase? Einar Tangen (Tangen), a senior fellow of the Beijing-based think tank Taihe Institute, founder and chairman of China Cities Bluebook Consulting and former chairman of the State of Wisconsin's International Trade Council, shared his insights with Global Times (GT) reporter Li Aixin, during the 7th Taihe Civilizations Forum held on Tuesday.

GT: How would you comment on the recent series of visits by US officials and veteran US diplomat? What message did they convey?
Tangen: You have to separate Henry Kissinger from the other four. The administration people simply came to "gaslight" China. 
Kissinger was at the signing of the Three Communiqués – he is a living reminder that the US agreed to one-China policy. His hope, like the hope of all rational people, is that an armed conflict can be avoided. 
The other four were part of, in essence, a "gaslighting" operation. Publicly declaring a desire to engage with China while engaging in hostile acts – military provocations in the Taiwan Straits, the South China Seas, anti-China congressional and the administration acts and statements…
But, you can't expect someone to want to talk with you, if you keep slapping them. 

GT: Will these visits make any difference to the US' China policy?
Tangen: No. The major issue is the Biden administration's lack of a China, or for that matter an international, strategy. Containing China is not a strategy and it isn't working. China continues to forge ahead, for example, pioneering new methods that can replace silicon with gallium, which would revolutionize chip design, capabilities, and fabrication. Another example is the Huawei Mate 60 phone, which is using a 7 nanometer chip which allows it to equal Apple's iPhone.
If the intent was to contain China, US policy is actually working in reverse. We live in an interconnected global supply chain, where progress and prices come from research, competition, and efficiency. China has for the last eight years led the world in the installation of industrial robots, is leading the world in making its industries cost competitive, as domestic wages rates rise, by instituting Industry 4.0 systems. 
In such a world the US, instead of competing, seems intent on spreading uncertainty, strife, and Inflation, in an awkward attempt to maintain its hegemony, in a world that is already multipolar. 

GT: Will Huawei's case impact the US policy of decoupling with and suppressing China?
Tangen: I doubt it. Washington is gripped by a national hysteria, similar to what it experienced under former senator Joe McCarthy. If anyone says anything good or neutral about China, talks about rational policy or realities, they are labeled "panda huggers" who can't be trusted. 
Today, being Asian subjects you automatically to suspicion and increases your chances of being racially profiled, as well as verbally and physically attacked. Every Asian in government and academia is being viewed as a potential spy. Asian students aren't allowed to enroll in hard science courses. All of this under the pretext of national security. Where there have been trials, the government has lost the overwhelming number of cases, as with the numerous cases where academics have been accused of spying. The result, a growing outflow of Chinese scientists and executives, leaving the US, as Asian students look elsewhere for advanced education. 
The US is a nation racked by poverty, homelessness, crime, gun violence, political polarity, and racism. For those seeking the American Dream, the reality has become disappointing. In cases of Asian hate crimes, which increased 342 percent in 2021, according to a nationwide study by California State University in San Bernardino, Washington's standard response, decry the violence, but continue the anti-Asian rhetoric that fans it. 
As Huawei has shown, investing in people, processes, and competition, is more effective than efforts to decouple/de-risk/suppress.

GT: Some observers tend to think the period from now until November is a "window of opportunity" for the recovery of China-US relations. What's your take on this?

Tangen: I can't see a window, domestic politics is, as always, front and center for Biden. He is focused almost exclusively on next year's election. Staying in power is the objective, governing is a sideline.

Since taking office as president, he has not been able to unify the country, or even follow through on his campaign issues. He criticized Donald Trump for his unilateral imposed tariffs, but has kept many of them in place, despite saying they were hurting the American people more than Chinese businesses.

He hasn't created a workable policy toward China. He hasn't been able to articulate a global vision, unless repeating Donald Trump's America First is a global vision. The world is not safer today than it was when Trump left office.

His idea of global diplomacy, is using India's chairing of the G20 to water down any criticisms against the US for: broken climate change funding promises, undermining the WTO, inaction on global health, poverty, debt and development issues. India got agreements on outstanding WTO cases the US had brought, an India-US joint venture military jet engine factory, and support for an India-Europe transportation corridor, which the US Congress would never fund, while the US turned a blind eye on Kashmir, corruption, the caste system, and human rights.

For example, instead of a strong statement on the trail of broken developed country promises to deliver 100 billion a year for developing world climate mitigation, there was a statement that there would be an effort to triple the amount of renewable energy. Ironically, a policy, if followed through, would favor China, since China is the dominant force in those industries.

The announcement of the new transportation corridor (the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor) as a competitor to the Belt and Road Initiative is laughable.

The BRI has been around for 10 years, it has demonstrated its resolve with a trillion dollar's worth of investments in projects that according to The Chartered Institute of Building, the BRI will boost world GDP by over $7 trillion per annum by 2040.

The Biden Administration's idea, developed last October, after criticizing the BRI as a waste of resources aimed at "debt-trap diplomacy," was to connect Europe to India, as a competitor to China’s BRI.

Question is, in an increasingly isolationist Congress, how would Biden be able to get funding for a project that has nothing to do with Making America Great.

It is true, as the presidential election gets closer, Biden would like to have some sort of temporary economic rapprochement with China if it could improve the domestic economic situation. The obvious choice would be to remove Trump's economic tariffs, but he is afraid of being labeled "soft on China", so it is doubtful he will pull the trigger.

The main difficulty is there is no coherent China engagement policy, just an emotional desire to contain it. As we all know, it's hard to adjust feelings.

GT: After G20, Biden paid a short visit to Vietnam, where he said US outreach to Vietnam is not about containing China. Did he mean it?

Tangen: It's difficult to know what Biden means when he talks. He constantly says he's not trying to contain China, that he adheres to the Three Communiques, and the “one-China” policy, but he has said four times that he would support Taiwan island militarily if force was used to unite the breakaway province.

Actually, Biden says many things the White House says he doesn't mean. Quite frankly, in the US, as well as internationally, there are concerns about what he means, as the White House seems to continually reinterpret whatever he says.

The irony with Vietnam is the US waged a brutal war that resulted in millions of civilian and military deaths, millions of tons of bombs, massive areas deforested by Agent Orange, and unexploded ordnance, like cluster bombs, which continue to kill and maim civilians to this day.

Vietnam is run by the Communist Party that drove the US out of their lands. Biden's pitch is we don't like Communist China, we want to ally with Vietnam, a Communist country, against your neighboring Communist country, because they don't share our values.

It doesn't make any sense, but the Vietnamese, for their part, are happy to take whatever they can get and thumb their noses at the US as they continue negotiating arms deals with Russia.

On a larger level, this has become a prevalent pattern. India was able to obtain concessions from the US, while not joining in on trade sanctions and outright condemnation of Russia over Ukraine, in fact India is now the largest importer of Russian oil, which ironically, they buy cheap and then sell to Europe. India continues to use the Russian S-400 missile system, as well as numerous armaments and other weapons systems, while also getting US jet engines and weapons systems.

South Africa has been more than willing to vocalize its amused contempt for Washington's attempts at coercion. Saudi Arabia has followed its own economic interests, when it comes to oil supplies and pricing. But, both countries continue to maintain cordial diplomatic relationships with Washington.

GT: Do you think there is still a cure or a key to resolving the strained China-US ties?

Tangen: The key is for Washington to recognize that the days of its hegemony have gone, replaced by a multipolar world, but that is something that the current Washington elites are incapable of doing. Therefore, change will have to come from the American public, the voters.

Why would the American public want change, because about five decades ago the middle class accounted for 62 percent of the US population, today, it is only 50 percent. Inflation is decreasing real wages month by month, consumer debt is higher than it has ever been, loan defaults are skyrocketing, about 60 percent of consumers live paycheck to paycheck, and 40 percent don't have $400 in case of an emergency, small business are reigning in their investments. Meanwhile, the Fed continues to raise interest rates, oblivious to the fact that the inflation is coming from service side wage increases, which continue to increase.

It will be up to the American people to reverse the course, because the elites in Washington have it firmly in their mind that China is the enemy, and that every problem in the US is China's fault, even if, like the ever growing deficit, it is a domestic issue of poor governance.

In the end, governments are measured in terms of how they take care of their people. The first role of government is to provide a safe, orderly environment. In this the US failed. It is now commonplace for those in government to say, "Buy a gun, because we can't protect you, you have to protect yourselves." You see the shootings in schools and workplaces, on the streets, in shopping malls and people's homes. You see videos of shoplifters brazenly robbing stores, drug addicts, beggars, mentally ill, and homeless, living on the streets. Crime has become an epidemic.

The second duty of government is to provide opportunity. Education, a social safety net and policies that encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, fair legal systems, a government that can regulate, without smothering, these are elements of what is needed to create opportunities. Right now though, the US isn't providing what is needed, (but is providing) too big to fail industry oligarchs, a massive and growing national debt, under-funded education, cuts to social welfare, overly expensive healthcare, social and political divisions, international policies that are closing rather than opening markets, and are making investment abroad more uncertain.

Examples of unsustainable and lost opportunities: TSMC has said a chip made in Taiwan will be 30 percent less expensive than the same chip made in an American factory. Actions to prevent the sale of computer chips and chip making equipment are closing the Chinese market, which is one third of the world market, to US companies. Bans on US investments in Chinese companies means they won't be able to participate in China's innovation and general economic rise.

So, while the US cites capitalism, open markets and competition, Washington doesn't accept the realities of what this means, if it doesn't benefit the US.

Washington's real problems are domestic, they are tied to its development and governance models, China is just a convenient scapegoat for issues the US refuses to address.

At the invitation of Secretary Nikolai Patrushev of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, is visiting Russia from September 18 to 21 and attending the 18th round of China-Russia strategic security consultation. Since the establishment of the China-Russia strategic security consultation mechanism in 2005, initiated by the leaders of the two countries, consultations are held annually in principle, though the dates are flexible. This is an example of high-level communication mechanisms between China and Russia, and there are many similar mechanisms.

What is the focus of this consultation? This question has garnered extensive attention in the current exceptionally complex international environment, which includes the long-standing Ukraine crisis, unusual actions of the US, Japan, and South Korea in the Northeast Asia region, the collective rise of emerging economies demanding a more just and equitable international order, and more. In many of these areas, China and Russia, as two major global powers, play pivotal roles. In a certain sense, the China-Russia relationship will fundamentally influence peace and stability not only in the region but also the entire international community.

This consultation, which took place immediately after Wang's multiple rounds of meetings with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Malta on September 16 and 17, has attracted more attention from Western media, leading to various interpretations. However, many of these interpretations are distorted and biased. For example, some Western media outlets have seized upon the coincidental timing of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's recent visit to Russia and Wang's trip to Russia for the strategic security consultations as fodder for promoting a "China-Russia-North Korea axis." This is a typical narrative of a "new cold war," and it is necessary to set the record straight on this matter.

China-Russia relations have been seriously stigmatized by Western media, and this has become an increasingly apparent and clear part of Western countries' public opinion strategy or cognitive warfare. They aim to portray China, Russia, and other countries like North Korea, which face containment and suppression from the West, as a collective "axis of power" that threatens the so-called "free world." Within this narrative framework, every interaction between China and Russia, China and North Korea, Russia and North Korea, and related countries is branded as part of an effort to establish and strengthen this "axis," as if every interaction is a conspiracy against the US. This is a psychological illness. The root of the problem lies in Washington's attempt to introduce a "new cold war" into Northeast Asia. As a result, it feels insecure and tries to project its own actions onto others, leading to absurd conclusions.

International perception may be temporarily confused by noise, but one fact that is not hidden is that we are described as "an axis," "a group," or "an alliance." This definition is fundamentally different from the real relationship between China and Russia, or China and North Korea. China pursues an independent and peaceful foreign policy, emphasizing "partnership rather than alliance" in its diplomatic relations. It also practices comprehensive diplomacy, aiming to peacefully coexist and achieve win-win cooperation with all countries in the world. Whether it is China's attitude toward Russia or the US, it has always been consistent and stable, which is to engage with others with the utmost goodwill and sincerity for cooperation. Currently, the US and a few Western countries are strengthening their group politics and engaging in camp confrontation. In order to justify and legitimize this behavior that is unpopular in the international community, they are attempting to create an opposing group, and the media has acted as the vanguard.

Chinese diplomacy firmly opposes such stigmatization and demonization. Meanwhile, we steadfastly promote relations with any friendly country toward China, especially the China-Russia relationship, and will not be constrained by external malicious rhetoric. The comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era between China and Russia has a strong internal driving force. The complex changes in the international situation and pattern serve as the external environment for strengthening strategic coordination and practical cooperation between China and Russia. The stable, predictable, and continuously advancing China-Russia relationship is important for both countries and the world.

Chinese diplomacy is willing to devote more energy and resources to strengthen, consolidate, and further develop bilateral relationships with certainty, such as the China-Russia relationship. Both China and Russia are major countries with strong strategic autonomy, and their interactions are open and aboveboard, which will by no means succumb to Washington's influence. It is advised that those who are busy speculating on "secret deals" between China and Russia should spend some time understanding what the interaction between major countries should actually be like, rather than engaging in various assumptions.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is currently in session, gathering all approximately 190 member states to address critical global issues and matters concerning each member state. UNGA serves as the most representative voice of the global international community, with developing countries, or member states of the Global South, holding a significant numerical advantage.

The concept of the "Global South" is a relatively recent phenomenon that encompasses all developing countries, including what were previously referred to as emerging markets. In a sense, it stands in contrast to the developed north, or the developed world, predominantly comprising OECD member states, for instance. 

However, there is a danger that the US sometimes categorizes China as a developed country, artificially and arbitrarily, suggesting that China should not be considered part of the Global South. In reality, China is a vital member of the Global South and represents the fundamental interests of developing countries worldwide in many ways. 

Given the substantial numerical advantage of the Global South, I believe the US and developed countries can't dominate the UNGA. The US may do whatever it wants, for example, to attempt to hijack the agenda or promote its own topics. However, members of the Global South possess independent perspectives and can formulate their own conclusions. They will genuinely champion issues they care about and vigorously defend their legitimate interests, which may not align with the interests promoted by the US or the developed countries as a group. The separate agenda pursued by the US differs significantly from the challenges and opportunities faced by developing countries. The US prioritizes "America First" and sometimes discriminates against other states, particularly countries in the Global South, or is unwilling to promote the legitimate interests of developing countries worldwide.

The reason why Western-led groups struggle to address concerns of countries in the Global South, such as climate change and other issues, primarily lies in the fundamental contrast in interests between developed countries and the developing world, or the Global South. For instance, when it comes to climate change, what China emphasizes is on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. This means that humanity should collectively address the climate crisis with a shared goal and unwavering commitment. Given that developed countries have collectively contributed significantly more to pollution than any of the developing world's members, it is completely reasonable that they contribute more to assist the international community in mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change. However, many developed countries are coming up with all sorts of excuses to delay their so-called commitments or even cancel their obligations.

One of the dilemmas facing humanity is that while China is very eager to promote peace, stability, development and poverty alleviation, not only within its borders but globally, the US appears committed to fostering a cold war mentality, dividing countries into opposing blocs, and even using the threat of war as a means to achieve political goals that they cannot attain through other means.

For example, it is evident that the US has important plans for India. It attempts to bind India onto the bandwagon of the US with their anti-China policy and hostility toward China. However, decision-makers in Washington may have seriously misjudged India's commitment to foreign policy independence as a great and proud nation. India stands as one of the world's great nations, with a rich history of civilization that has endured for millennia. Looking ahead, India's population is projected to be the largest globally for many decades to come. This reality carries great expectations that India will do the right thing in promoting peace, stability and cooperation rather than betting on a cold war or hot war, or giving up its independence to align its fate with countries like the US.

From the Chinese perspective, we do not want to compete with anyone. We just want to promote the merits of countries, do the right thing and advocate for globalization, fair trade, unrestricted exchange of goods, services, ideas and people across national boundaries. China respects all countries as equals, regardless of their size, rather than manhandling them.

Humanity stands at a significant crossroads, facing the choice between peace, stability and development, or the path of war, confrontation and conflict. China will continue to do what it believes to be right and promote the legitimate interests, not only of China but also of Global South member states in general. I hope that UNGA will serve as a crucial platform for countries from various perspectives to express their views and that any conflicts of interest can be peacefully resolved through diplomacy rather than escalating tensions to the point of no return.

Editor's Note:

As voices from the West continue to dominate global public opinion, it is high time for developing countries to speak louder in the international arena. In a recent email interview, Margarita Simonyan (Simonyan), editor-in-chief of RT, shared with Global Times (GT) reporters Wang Wenwen and Xia Wenxin how media outlets from countries, such as Russia and China, have challenged the West's monopoly on global public opinion by offering alternative voices as well as her personal experiences and RT's development since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.

GT: US media often describe you as the Kremlin's loyal propagandist. What do you think of such a label?

Simonyan: The US media and American broader socio-political establishment have long been "partial" to RT in general and to my person in particular - the US' 2017 national intelligence report on Russia's influence alone cited me no less than 27 times within essentially half of the report dedicated to our news network. I am proud to carry the voice of Russia abroad, in however small or large capacity, and I am glad if this voice resonates with a wide international audience.

GT: Your new book Whirlpool, a collection of short stories, recently got published. What's it about? What do you want to convey to readers?

Simonyan: In my new book I'm paying homage to the great tradition of Russian psychological prose by highlighting vivid sketches of life. Hopefully, the readers will experience a slice of life in Russia that rarely appears on the front pages of newspapers or on TV screens, and perhaps find a universal connection to these very personal stories.

GT: Recently, there was a failed assassination attempt against you. What do you think of the fact that a media figure could be the target in a conflict?

Simonyan: As a matter of fact there have been two; as journalists, we know and accept these risks, whether we are reporting from the front lines or the studio headquarters. That is our job, our duty - to tell the world the truth about the most dangerous places and events. At the end of the day we are all mortal; for me, to die for telling the truth, for defending your Motherland, is a far less frightening fate than a slow death from an incurable disease or a life of shame for something like treason.

GT: Russian and Western media have different angles and narratives when reporting the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Do you find it difficult to make Western audiences believe that RT's reports are objective?

Simonyan: I believe that the truth always wins in the end, as long as someone keeps telling it. Every day we work, we fight for the truth, for people around the world to see what is happening in reality, on the ground in Ukraine. We have known for years that these audiences have long stopped believing the narratives sold to them by their mainstream media - which is why they have tuned in to RT in the first place, years ago - because we showed their reality better than their own channels. These audiences are now finding every way possible to continue to access RT on TV, online, and on social media in the territories where RT has been banned.

GT: Not long after the Russia-Ukraine conflict, RT America was shut down. The EU also suspended RT and Sputnik on the grounds that Russia was engaging in a "systematic, international campaign of media manipulation and distortion of facts." What do you think of such moves?

Simonyan: Western establishments have been distorting the facts about what is going on in Ukraine for a decade. They tried to silence RT for years before the Special Military Operation because they couldn't let their audiences decide for themselves what to believe about events in Ukraine, in Russia, around the world and in their own backyards. This is why they implemented any way possible, including illegal and illegitimate, to shut us down and shut us out wherever they could.

By banning RT, the facade of free press in Europe and the US completely crumbled. During all this time nobody had pointed to a single grain of evidence that what RT has reported or continues to report, is not true. Instead, what the members of the Western establishments have said is that what RT brings to its audience is not allowed in their supposedly free media environment. When it comes to the Russian voice, or just a different perspective from theirs, it is simply not allowed to exist.

GT: Both Chinese and Russian media encounter such challenges when they try to expand international influence. How do you view Western dominance of discourse power and how should Chinese and Russian media deal with such challenges?

Simonyan: It is difficult to overestimate how important it is for Russian and Chinese media to work together in the international news space. It is simply a matter of survival of Russian and Chinese voices on a global stage. We are virtually alone in confronting the most powerful army of Western mainstream journalism, and such dominance makes for a dangerous, bellicose world.

We are proud that RT is available in Chinese on popular Chinese social media platforms - Weibo, Bilibili, and Douyin. RT's Weibo account is well ahead of AFP, Financial Times, Associated Press and BBC in terms of audience engagement and follower growth rate.

GT: What do you think of the current Sinophobia and Russophobia in the US?

Simonyan: There has hardly been a period in US history when the American establishment and society at large haven't had some sort of phobia of this kind. From the Salem witch hunts and the persecution of Native Americans to the lynchings of Black Americans by the Ku Klux Klan and the communist scare during McCarthyism — the forces governing American society have always needed someone to turn their anger on, to pin the blame for all the sins and with whom to fight directly, indirectly or in a hybrid warfare. Today's Russophobia and Sinophobia are not much different from classic racism and fascism.

GT: Most American media is not owned by the government. But the US media speaks with one voice on major international affairs. Why? How do American politicians influence and even manipulate the media?

Simonyan: Indeed, it is very telling that American news media, public and private alike, with its thousands of outlets - print, TV, online - speak with a single voice when it comes to American foreign policy. Former White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, got her own TV show on a major channel, MSNBC, within weeks of leaving her government job. Various US government departments openly and proudly cooperate with Hollywood film and TV productions, such as Top Gun, when they show the US military in a good light. Despite their claims to the contrary, the lines between American political and media establishments aren't just blurred - they do not exist.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI), China's State Council Information Office released a White Paper titled "The Belt and Road Initiative: A Key Pillar of the Global Community of Shared Future" on October 10. The white paper comprehensively reviews and summarizes the development process of the BRI over the past 10 years, from its inception as a Chinese initiative to its international implementation, showcasing tangible achievements. It can be said that the white paper serves as both a report card for the past decade and a grand blueprint for the future of the Belt and Road cooperation.

From the visionary "freehand sketch" in its initial conception to the meticulous "fine brushwork" in its execution, the achievements of the BRI over the past 10 years have far exceeded the initial expectations. In terms of geographic scope, more than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations have joined the Belt and Road cooperation, encompassing over half of the world. In terms of the areas covered, it includes various fields such as economics, culture, and ecology.

Whether it's the "hard connectivity" of land roads and sea routes, the "soft connectivity" of cooperation in deepening rules and standards, or the "heart-to-heart connectivity" in fields like education, culture, sports, tourism, and archaeology, the BRI has woven a vast network of cooperation and mutual benefit across the globe. The white paper provides a wealth of data and examples that unquestionably demonstrate how the BRI has brought tangible benefits and dividends to the participating countries.

These achievements have been made step by step, inch by inch, by all participating countries. The BRI is a magnificent endeavor in the global concept and practice of shared development. It inevitably involves a process of continuous practical exploration, learning, summarizing, and adjustment. But even those who view the BRI through the thickest colored glasses cannot ignore or deny its influence.

If it weren't for the fact that the BRI aligns with the interests of all participating countries and even all of humanity, conforms to the laws of social development, and addresses the needs of the global economic market, it would never have come this far and wide. What exactly is the appeal of the BRI? The white paper provides a detailed and precise answer to this question through five comprehensive chapters spanning 28,000 words, which can be summarized as follows: The BRI has paved a new path for humanity to jointly achieve modernization.

To accomplish such a significant undertaking, hardships as well as twists and turns are foreseeable and inevitable. The future BRI cooperation is also unlikely to be smooth sailing, and will certainly face and overcome new difficulties, challenges, and even risks. However, with the foundation laid in the first decade, the consensus formed, and the accumulated experience, we have sufficient confidence in the increasing prosperity and broadening of BRI. In fact, the BRI cooperation has deeply embedded itself in the common destiny of humanity. In other words, the future of the BRI will reflect the common destiny of humanity.

Looking at the distribution of countries participating in the BRI, we can observe an interesting phenomenon. Developing countries hold a consistent positive attitude toward the BRI cooperation, while developed countries do not necessarily share the same sentiment. Of course, developing countries have heavier development tasks, but the BRI has never excluded any country and hopes for the participation of as many countries as possible, including developed ones.

The US also once showed interest in joining the BRI, but as the policy of containment toward China dominates in Washington, the US has instead poured cold water on and even undermined the BRI. At the same time, the US and Europe are both introducing alternative plans for BRI. From this perspective, imitation is actually the greatest affirmation. Although the BRI was proposed by China, once it was born and implemented, it belongs to the whole world, with extensive consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits. There is no need to divide it into different versions based on camps.

The future of BRI cooperation holds a lot of opportunities and requires more imagination, and it is also worth looking forward to. As the white paper points out, the BRI is a long-term, transnational and systematic global project of the 21st century and it has succeeded in taking its first step on a long journey. During these 10 years, the BRI has made many good friends around the world, and in the future, we look forward to more countries and regions joining in, making BRI cooperation a grand chorus for all of humanity.

With interest rates for existing mortgages for first-home purchases lowered starting from Monday, some 40 millions borrowers in China will enjoy the benefit of this support policy in the property sector. The move is expected to spur consumption and investment amid current economic headwinds, experts said.

The term "interest rates of existing mortgages for first-home purchases lowered from Monday" hit the hot searches on Chinese social media Weibo on Monday morning.

Most home buyers received text messages from banks or sought information on banks' apps. The reductions vary by the city, the time of purchase and the time when the credit contract was signed with the bank.

Mortgage interest rates in big cities are generally higher, and the total loan amounts are also higher. Buyers in such cities will see their payments fall more than those in smaller ones.

People who bought apartments in 2021, when mortgage policies were tightened and interest rates were relatively high, will more clearly feel the positive effects of rate cuts this time, according to Yan Yuejin, research director at Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute.

"The adjustment of mortgage rates could represent a significant innovation in housing policies. Market sentiment has been quite positive on the first day of the policy's implementation," Yan told the Global Times on Monday.

"Everyone is very supportive of the national policy, which has genuinely brought benefits to people, and their confidence in the real estate market has been further bolstered," Yan noted.

A house owner surnamed Bai, who bought a house in 2021 in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, told the Global Times on Monday that he could save as much as 1,000 yuan ($136.8) per month after the adjustment.

Prior to the adjustment, Bai's mortgage rate was 120 basis points above the loan prime rates (LPR), a market-based benchmark lending rate. Now the rate is the same as the LPR, which is 4.3 percent, he was told by the bank.

"That will effectively reduce my monthly financial burden, which makes me very happy and more motivated to work harder and spend more to improve my living conditions," Bai said.

The move announced on Monday will help reduce borrowers' mortgage interest payments, stabilize and expand housing demand, and promote the sound and stable development of the country's real estate market, Dong Ximiao, chief research fellow at Merchants Union Consumer Finance Co, told the Global Times on Monday.

"It will also help narrow the interest rate gaps between existing mortgage loans and new loans, and ease the early mortgage payment rush," Dong said, adding that the risk from mortgage irregularities will also be diminished.

From a long-term view, these changes will later translate into consumption and willingness to invest, he noted.

The lowering of mortgage rates will benefit about 40 million borrowers. If the interest rate of a 1 million yuan mortgage for a 25-year term is cut from 5.1 percent to 4.3 percent, borrowers' interest payments will drop by over 5,000 yuan each year, according to analysts.

By the end of June, Chinese lenders held 38.6 trillion yuan in outstanding individual mortgage loans, statistics showed.

The support measures for the property sector echoed calls from the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee in July, which urged an adaption to a new situation, where major changes have taken place in the relationship between supply and demand in China's real estate market.

Over the past two months, Chinese authorities have launched measures ranging from lowering interest rates to easing restrictions on home purchases in a bid to bolster the stagnant property sector.

Last year was a tough one for the sector, with property investment falling 10 percent on a yearly basis, the first decline since records began in 1999.

During the past 33 years, from Beijing in 1990 to Guangzhou in 2010, and now to Hangzhou in 2023, the three host cities for the Asian Games in Chinese mainland serve as both geographical and historical landmarks. The cities not only record the stories of China's engagement with the Asian Games but also stand as a testament to China's great economic achievements.

During the 1990 Beijing Asian Games, China's economy embarked on a path of rapid development. However, it was still in the midst of the arduous phase of experimenting with reform and opening up, with annual GDP of merely 1.89 trillion yuan - or $395 billion at the exchange rate that time.

Back then, China's voice was considerably constrained on the international stage, with the country often labeled as "backward," "conservative," and "lacking vitality."

After 33 years, when a giant digital torchbearer joined Olympic gold medalist Wang Shun to light the main torch tower at the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, on Saturday, those labels might be the last words in the minds of global audience.

Economic miracles

The 1990 Beijing Asian Games marked China's inaugural hosting of a large-scale international sports event, for which the country nearly "emptied its pockets of every penny" to sponsor. According to media reports, the preparations for the Asian Games at that time required a budget of 2.5 billion yuan, with a notable 600-million-yuan shortfall.

A grand nationwide fundraising campaign unfolded to help with preparations, with over 100 million people contributing funds and materials to the Asian Games organizing committee. In the end, the total raised reached an impressive 700 million yuan, according to media reports.
"The country was poor at that time and we all chipped in," Jiang Fajun, an associate professor at a college in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, told the Global Times on Monday.

At that time, Jiang had just started his career, and now he's approaching retirement. Reflecting on the nationwide donations for hosting the Beijing Asian Games back then and witnessing the grand opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Games now, he was deeply moved, saying that "the lighting of the cauldron was a spectacular sight, and it's exciting to see the country become richer and stronger each day."

The Yangtze River Delta region, where Zhejiang is located, is one of the most vibrant, open, and innovation-driven areas in China's economic landscape.

In 2022, Zhejiang recorded a GDP of 7.77 trillion yuan ($1.06 trillion), ranking fourth among China's mainland provinces. As a main force driving China's foreign trade, the province's high-tech exports increased by 26.8 percent and its mechanical and electrical products exports rose by 11.1 percent, official data showed.

The design and manufacturing of the main torch tower in the Asian Games stadium were entirely sourced from local Zhejiang enterprises for the event. In recent years, Zhejiang has been rapidly forging a modern industrial ecosystem with advanced manufacturing as its cornerstone, marked by a steady surge in corporate research and development investments.

While China as a whole has risen to become the world's second largest economy, with an annual GDP exceeding 121.02 trillion yuan in 2022, an increase of about 64 times compared with 1990.

Building confidence

In 1990, globalization was still in its nascent stage, and the entire Asian economy, especially East Asia, accounted for only about 20 percent of the global economy, experts said.

Two decades later when China's second Asian Games was held in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, China has surpassed Japan and became the world's second largest economy, with its manufacturing sector the world's largest, Tian Yun, a veteran economist based in Beijing, told the Global Times.

Nowadays, China's manufacturing scale has far exceeded that of the US and Japan combined, Tian said.

Moreover, China is now the largest trading partner of more than 120 countries and regions. As the most important engine of world economic growth, China's contribution to global growth has remained at around 30 percent annually for decades.

Also, the internationalization of the Chinese yuan has steadily gathered pace, with more and more countries using yuan to settle foreign trade and investment. China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative has also attracted growing number of countries and regions to join hands and seek win-win development, Chinese experts said.

The benefits of hosting large-scale sports events like the Asian Games are not simply driving the growth of certain industries. More importantly, it serves as a distinctive platform to showcase China's achievements in various social and economic sectors, Tian said.

By showcasing China's advanced infrastructure development, cutting-edge technological advancement and high-quality service industry on a global scale, it conveys to people in Asia and around the world the long-term potential and confidence in China's economic future, Tian noted.

It is meaningless for a few Western politicians and media outlets to once again attempt to trumpet the "China collapse" theory. It is not the first time for them trying to dampen investor confidence in China and their attempts will fail again, the experts said.

The development of China's economy has evolved beyond quantitative growth; it now emphasizes qualitative enhancement too. Simultaneously, China has been committed to opening up its market and share growth opportunities with the world, Tian said.

Over the past 33 years, China's economy achieved remarkable progress, and in the future, the nation will continue to assume the role of a responsible major country, actively driving the recovery and development of both Asian and global economies, Chinese experts said.

Chinese airlines are increasing flights and destinations for the coming Golden Week, and the airports are seeing a surge in travelers.

Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) is expected to handle approximately 1.33 million passenger trips, with an average of 166,200 per day, and a total of 8,859 flights will be handled, with an average of 1,107 flights per day.

In terms of the international aviation market, BCIA will have 73 international destinations, covering 47 countries and regions on five continents, with an average of more than 130 international flights per day and more than 35 intercontinental routes, ranking first among domestic airports.

China Southern Airlines said it plans to arrange 3,000 extra flights from Wednesday to October 8 to meet the rising demand. The company plans to fly 2,200 flights per day on domestic routes, and it will also arrange extra flights for routes to Southeast Asia.

Data from industry information provider VariFlight showed that the number of civil aviation flights across the country is expected to exceed that of the same period in 2019, and may reach a new record high.

Domestic routes are expected to see more than 100,000 passenger flights, and overseas routes are expected to have more than 11,000 passenger flights.

The top three most popular domestic routes are Beijing-Shanghai, Shanghai-Shenzhen, and Shanghai-Guangzhou, and the top three outbound destinations are Hong Kong, Seoul and Osaka.

A daily average of 1.58 million entry and exit trips are expected during the holidays, up 300 percent from 2022 and reaching 90 percent of the 2019 level, thepaper.cn reported, citing data provided by the National Immigration Administration on Wednesday.

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for September came in at 50.2, its first time in positive territory since April, after a consecutive increase over the last four months, reads a National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) release on Saturday, reflecting recovery momentum across the country’s manufacturing sector.

Manufacturing is a vital pillar in China’s economy, thus the September manufacturing PMI signaled the recovery of the general macroeconomy, Li Changan, a professor from the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Saturday.

Zhao Qinghe, a senior statistician from the NBS, said that recovering market demand had accelerated business activities across the manufacturing sector. In September, the production index came in at 52.7 percent, up 0.8 percentage point month-on-month; new order index recorded at 50.5 percent, up 0.3 percentage point month-on-month.

Specifically, PMI readings for equipment manufacturing hit 50.6 percent, high-tech manufacturing hit 50.1 percent and consumer goods manufacturing hit 51.3 percent, all returning to the expansion territory.

However, the increasing large commodities price and enterprises’ active purchasing lifted the general price index for the manufacturing sector. NBS data showed that the index of raw material purchasing in September reached 59.4 percent, and index of producer price reached 53.5 percent, all hitting a high for 2023.

Zhao noted that ‘China’s manufacturing sector recovery is still facing challenges from fierce competition, high cost and intensive financing, while various policy support measures will further push the momentum of overall economy recovery.

“The steady increase of manufacturing sector in recent months reflected that government’s policy support measures targeting the sector are taking effect, and have been boosted by the government’s focus on fostering advanced manufacturing technologies,” Li said.

In August, profit of China's industrial enterprises above designated size bounced back from negative to positive territory, recording a 17.2 percent year-on-year increase, the NBS revealed on Wednesday.

Observers said that PMI usually reflects market activities which will flow through to private sector profits.

The NBS also revealed the PMI for non-manufacturing in September which stood at 51.7, up 0.7 percentage points from August. The ongoing Golden Week holidays for the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day showed strong momentum across China’s consumption market.

As an important phase of the whole industrial chain, domestic consumption which is under recovery will further advance a f manufacturing recovery, Li noted.

A combination of Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft and Long March 7 carrier rocket has been rolled onto the launch pad. The cargo spacecraft will ferry goods to the China Space Station: CMSA