Chinese President Xi Jinping has replied to a letter from Chinese and U.S. students participating in "A Shared Voyage: China-U.S. Youth Friendship Program," encouraging them to make new contributions to the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations.
"I am delighted to know that the students from both countries had embarked on an unforgettable friendship voyage aboard the China-U.S. Youth Friendship vessel," Xi said, adding that the story of China-U.S. friendship is written by the people, and the future of China-U.S. relations is shaped by the youth.
Since the launch of the initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span in November 2023, over 50,000 young Americans have visited China, achieving the target two-and-a-half years ahead of schedule, Xi said, adding that through these interactions, young people from both countries have reached out to each other, deepened mutual understanding, forged profound friendships, and opened a new chapter in friendly exchanges between the two peoples.
Noting that young people, full of vitality and dreams, represent the future and hope of China-U.S. relations and of the world, Xi called on more Chinese and U.S. youth to take up the baton of friendship, learn from each other, progress together, and become "envoys of friendship" bridging the Pacific.
Recently, Chinese and U.S. students who took part in "A Shared Voyage: China-U.S. Youth Friendship Program" wrote to President Xi, thanking him for the "50,000 in Five Years" initiative, which has provided valuable opportunities for young people of both countries to engage in learning and exchange.
Upholding the purposes and principles of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons serves the common interests of all state-parties, Chinese Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs Shen Jian said Friday.
Speaking at the 11th review conference on the treaty, Shen said China deeply regretted that the conference failed to reach a consensus on substantive outcomes.
Over the past four weeks, all parties exchanged views in depth on the current international security situation, comprehensively reviewed the implementation of the treaty, and tried to explore effective measures to advance the goals of nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament and the peaceful use of nuclear energy, Shen said.
Despite differences on many issues, all parties share the objectives of upholding and strengthening the treaty's authority and effectiveness, and promoting common and universal security, he said.
Shen said that although the parties failed to reach a consensus on substantive outcomes, the treaty remains the cornerstone of international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and an indispensable pillar of the postwar international security architecture.
China calls on all state-parties to practice genuine multilateralism, pursue the concept of common security, strive to improve the international and regional security environment, eliminate the root causes of nuclear weapons proliferation, create more favorable conditions for advancing the nuclear disarmament process, and expand international cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, he said.
State broadcaster CCTV News released footage on Monday capturing the moment of a gas explosion at Liushenyu coal mine in Qinyuan county of Changzhi, North China's Shanxi Province — a harrowing lesson that has sounded an alarm for coal mine safety across China, prompting officials in multiple regions to go underground to oversee workplace safety.
The video shows that the accident occurred at 7:29 pm on Friday, when the explosion struck without warning, instantly shattering the calm of underground operations. As seen in the released footage, thick smoke billowed from the explosion, quickly engulfing the surveillance screen and leaving nothing visible.
CCTV News also reported that miners who survived the explosion recalled their harrowing experience, still haunted by the terrifying moments. One injured miner, Wang Jintai, recounted: "It was around 6 or 7 pm that day when a huge explosion erupted. The blast rushed out and knocked all of us down. I lost consciousness immediately."
"We couldn't see anything — the dust was so thick, like being in a smoke chamber," Wang said.
Another injured miner, Liu Sijie, told CCTV News that he ran for nearly two hours straight. "Having narrowly escaped death, I truly felt how precious life is."
The explosion has left 82 people dead, with two still missing and 128 injured, local officials said at a press conference on Saturday.
An investigation team sent by China's State Council has pledged a rigorous and uncompromising investigation into the deadly coal mine gas explosion. It also urged local authorities to thoroughly overhaul workplace safety at mines, strike hard against illegal and unlawful operations, and crack down upon practices such as falsification of safety-monitoring data, unclear headcounts of underground personnel, and illegal subcontracting and subleasing, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.
Following the explosion at the Liushenyu coal mine, officials across various regions in Shanxi have conducted safety inspections on the local mining industry.
On Saturday, Chai Zhe, secretary of the Zezhou county Party Committee in Shanxi Province, conducted an unannounced inspection at a local coal mining enterprise, touring underground operations to examine gas extraction and workplace safety conditions, news portal chinanews.com reported on Monday.
Also on Saturday evening, Wang Linbo, secretary of the Fenxi county Party Committee, and Huo Junbo, deputy secretary of the county Party Committee and county mayor, led a team to conduct an in-depth inspection at a local mining company, per chinanews.com.
Through the video monitoring system at the dispatch center, they checked the operation of key links including underground excavation, transportation, and gas monitoring. They also inspected the core underground coal mining area, scrutinizing critical aspects such as roadway support, ventilation facilities, gas monitoring, and electromechanical transportation along the way, chinanews.com reported.
Beyond Shanxi Province, where the coal mine accident occurred, leading officials in other regions of China have also gone underground to oversee workplace safety.
For instance, in Hegang, another coal‑rich city in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Han Yang, standing member of the CPC Xing'an district Committee and deputy governor of Xing'an district, inspected a key local coal mine on Sunday. He examined working face support, ventilation systems, fire prevention and control management, as well as the implementation of control measures for major risk areas, chinanews.com reported.
In Liupanshui, Southwest China's Guizhou Province — another coal‑mining city —local officials also conducted an inspection at a local colliery. Zhao Qingqiang, secretary of the Shuicheng district Party Committee, took an overhead passenger system deep into the fully mechanized working face of a local mine to assess the work safety conditions and mining succession arrangements at the working area.
In Huanggang, Central China's Hubei Province, Liu Ting, deputy secretary and district governor of Huangmei district, led a team on Sunday morning to the underground operations site of a local mine.
They conducted a meticulous, item‑by‑item inspection of six critical systems —underground roof management, ventilation, water control and prevention, monitoring and sensing, emergency broadcasting, and communication links — along with other key operational aspects.
Gold Mantis, a traditional interior decoration company, recently became one of the hottest stocks in China's A-share market after being linked to trendy concepts including commercial aerospace and data centers, despite having little direct connection to either industry, the China News Weekly reported Tuesday.
The company's stock surged more than 136 percent within 15 trading days starting April 16, hitting 11 daily limit ups and climbing from around 3.3 yuan ($0.49) to 8.4 yuan per share.
The rally was triggered after Gold Mantis signed a strategic cooperation memorandum with Vietnam's Sun Group in April. Although there was speculation that the cooperation could involve projects worth $2.3 billion, the company later clarified the memorandum was only a non-binding preliminary agreement.
On April 22, Gold Mantis announced that its Vietnam subsidiary had secured an interior decoration contract worth about 400 million yuan for the T2 terminal project at Phu Quoc International Airport in Vietnam, according to the Security Times on April 23.
Despite being a standard airport decoration project, investors quickly associated the company with the "commercial aerospace" sector, jokingly calling it "the first space renovation stock."
Some investors also pointed to the company's previous participation in non-core decoration and electromechanical support projects for Huawei cloud data centers and commercial launch facilities in South China's Hainan Province, helping attach labels such as "commercial aerospace," "data center," and "Vietnam expansion" to the stock.
Liu Chunsheng, an associate professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said such concept driven rallies often rely on investors amplifying marginal businesses that contribute very little to a company's actual revenue, while using popular technology labels to attract speculative capital.
Liu noted that some funds take advantage of low valuation stocks that have traded sideways for a long period, accumulating positions before pushing prices sharply higher through market hype, even when the company repeatedly clarifies that its core business fundamentals have not changed.
However, the frenzy now appears to be cooling. Gold Mantis shares hit the daily drop limit again on Wednesday, closing at 6.21 yuan per share.
Meanwhile, reports that 73 employees collectively cashed out at least 91.32 million yuan worth of shares have further dampened market sentiment, accelerating the stock's recent pullback.
Since taking office two years ago, Lai Ching-te has stubbornly adhered to a “Taiwan independence” separatist stance, disregarded the well-being of residents on the island, single-mindedly pursued political self-interest, incited cross-Straits confrontation, undermined cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation, and unscrupulously “sold out Taiwan,” said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a press briefing on Wednesday. She made the remarks in response to a question regarding the vote on an impeachment motion against Lai on Monday.
“Abusing the judiciary to suppress and persecute political opponents, wantonly trampling on democracy, and engaging in ‘green terror’ and creating a ‘chilling effect,’ Lai’s actions demonstrate incompetence in governance but expertise in internal political infighting, and have seriously deviated from mainstream public opinion on the island,” the spokesperson said, noting that the impeachment motion fully reflects the strong dissatisfaction and condemnation among Taiwan residents over Lai’s actions.
The Italian Cultural Institute in Beijing hosted a lecture on Tuesday, inviting Zhou Zhiwei, a Chinese painter based in Italy, to share his journey pursuing his art dream and becoming a renowned artist over the past four decades. Zhou recounted his creative journey and his reflections on the encounter between cultures, taking the audience on an artistic contact between the East and the Mediterranean.
Federico Antonelli, cultural counselor of the Italian Embassy in China, chaired the lecture. Antonelli recalled Zhou's first art exhibition staged at the Italian Cultural Institute in Beijing, in 1984.
Antonelli said that Zhou's journey is unique, "as it is not just the convergence of Eastern and Western cultures, but also a dialogue between history and reality, tradition and contemporary art."
Born in Shanghai in 1954, Zhou studied painting since he was a boy, apprenticing under renowned oil painter Yu Yunjie and Liu Kemin, a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Tongji University, thus establishing a solid foundation in artistic creation.
Zhou is one of the young artists who emerged in Shanghai in the 1970s, and along with Chen Danqing, Chen Jifei, Wei Jingshan, and other well-known artists, he is a prominent representative of the Shanghai art scene during that period.
Zhou shared his creative journey and cross-cultural artistic reflections, focusing on his solo exhibition Notes along the Way.
From China to Italy, Zhou's artistic journey has been marked by constant intercultural exploration and profound introspection. In 1980, he entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, becoming part of an internationally renowned artistic education system. There, he met masters of contemporary art such as Bruno Saetti and Emilio Vedova, from whom he drew significant inspiration.
Zhou said that for a Chinese painter, it is not so easy to get acknowledged among Italian artists. "One has to get into their circle and learn their techniques," he added.
His experience in Florence with the master Pietro Annigoni (1910-1988) and his learning of fresco and tempera grassa techniques laid a solid foundation for his subsequent work. His encounter with the master Riccardo Tommasi Ferroni (1934-2000) further transformed Zhou's artistic language, allowing him to find, within tradition, a personal and original means of expression.
His training in Italy was not only a study of Western art techniques, but also a journey into his own inner self. Zhou's works have always been grounded in a refined mastery of classical Italian painting, yet they observe and interpret the world through an Eastern lens.
The exhibition summarizes and presents his journey through the many intersections of cultures. The Mediterranean, an ancient and captivating sea, holds a long history and extraordinary cultural diversity.
Zhou told the Global Times that his exhibition presents not only his artistic practice but also his inner journey. These works testify to his spirit of continuous innovation within the framework of tradition and, at the same time, his exploration of the theme of cultural encounter and the profound connection between art and interiority.
The exhibition revolves around the Mediterranean. Each work, through the medium of his brush, recounts a stage in Zhou's personal journey. Both in the figurative representations and in the sometimes more abstract forms, a reflection on the meaning of existence and memory emerges, demonstrating how an artist can integrate thought and emotion into the creative process.
Traversing this cultural bridge spanning time and space, Zhou connects the spiritual world of Chinese tradition with the forms of Italian classicism, sparking an intense and fruitful exchange, said Antonelli.
China maintains that on the basis of sustaining the ceasefire, the Strait of Hormuz should be reopened as soon as possible, and at the same time believes that the fundamental solution to issues concerning the strait lies in the realization of a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire, said China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Friday.
Wang made the remarks when briefing the press about the just-concluded Xi-Trump meeting in Beijing, adding that China encourages the United States and Iran to continue resolving their differences and disputes, including those related to the nuclear issue, through negotiations.
China has been working hard to promote peace talks and will continue to play its role in pushing for an early end to the war and restoring peace in the Middle East, Wang said.
Chinese scientists have developed a programmable quantum computing prototype called "Jiuzhang 4.0" that has set a new world record for optical quantum information technology, according to a study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Led by the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), the team used the prototype to solve the Gaussian boson sampling problem at a speed more than 10 to the 54th times that of the world's most powerful supercomputer, the study said.
The researchers said they manipulated and detected quantum states of up to 3,050 photons -- a significant leap from the 255 photons achieved with the previous "Jiuzhang 3.0."
At the invitation of Vice President Han Zheng, His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, The Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office of Brunei Darussalam, will pay an official visit to China from May 11 to 15.
China's Ministry of State Security on Thursday disclosed five real cases related to national security via its official WeChat account, including an incident in which two foreign nationals, allegedly directed by overseas espionage agencies, attempted to photograph a military facility while taking a ride-hailing car. With the driver's assistance, the two were eventually detained, underscoring the importance of public vigilance in countering security threats.
According to the ministry's WeChat account, the incident began when a ride-hailing driver surnamed Chen picked up two foreign passengers. During the journey, Chen noticed that the passengers appeared unusually tense and behaved suspiciously. As the vehicle passed near a military compound, the two began taking repeated photos of the entrance while speaking to each other in low voices, raising Chen's concerns about their identity and intentions.
As the destination was near from a local military site, Chen did not leave immediately after dropping them off. Instead, he discreetly followed the pair while calling the national security reporting hotline, 12339, to report the situation.
After making the call, Chen anticipated that the two might book another ride for their return trip. He opened multiple ride-hailing platforms and waited. Shortly afterward, he received another ride request from the same individuals, whose destination this time was in the direction of a military training ground, according to the ministry's WeChat account.
When the two foreign nationals re-entered the car, Chen deliberately altered the route and drove toward the military compound's gate. Sensing something was wrong, the passengers hurriedly deleted photos on their phones. Chen then accelerated toward the entrance before bringing the car to a sudden stop, securing the phones to preserve evidence. Military sentries quickly arrived at the scene and took the two individuals into custody.
Subsequent investigations found that the two had been instructed by overseas espionage agencies to conduct reconnaissance on Chinese military facilities. They had attempted to exploit the convenience of ride-hailing services to covertly gather information such as the geographic location of military facilities and details of their layout and deployment, according to the ministry's WeChat account.
Chen was later awarded a special award for major contributions to citizen reporting by national security authorities in recognition of his vigilance and bravery, according to the ministry.
