भारतीय रोज़ नई ख़बरें

A view of the city of Rome, Italy. /CFP

A view of the city of Rome, Italy. /CFP

Editor’s note: Zhao Chen is director of the Department of International Relations Studies, Institute of European Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article reflects the author’s opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. 

In 2019, the Italian government signed a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with China. 

After that, the trade volume between the two countries registered record highs for three consecutive years, reaching $77.88 billion in 2022.

In the first five months of 2023 alone, Italian exports to China increased substantially by 58 percent, making China Italy’s largest trading partner in Asia.

To broaden the sales channel for Italian products in China, China invited Italy to be the guest of honor at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai and the World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo. Meanwhile, Italy was the only guest of honor at the third China International Consumer Products Expo held in Hainan. 

Over the past three years, China and Italy have produced numerous new highlights in various fields, such as shipbuilding (cooperation in building large cruise ships), offshore wind power, energy transformation and third-party market cooperation. 

These achievements have demonstrated the tremendous potential for cooperative development and truly benefited the people of both countries.

An aerial view of a container terminal at Lianyungang Port, Jiangsu Province, China. /CFP

An aerial view of a container terminal at Lianyungang Port, Jiangsu Province, China. /CFP

The Conte administration’s decision to engage with China under the framework of the BRI was a significant choice made after careful weighing of Italy’s national interests by its government.

After the European debt crisis, Italy grappled with prolonged economic stagnation and struggled to attract foreign investment. 

In 2019, Luigi Di Maio, then Italy’s foreign minister, decided to seek solutions eastward and championed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the BRI between the Italian government and China. 

Subsequent historical events in Sino-Italy cooperation have vindicated Italy’s decision. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged Italy in early 2020, Di Maio said in an interview with the Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), “Italy had initially donated 40,000 masks to China, and now China had returned the favor with millions of masks.” 

Those who initially ridiculed Italy for joining the BRI should now acknowledge that Italy’s investment in this partnership has enabled it to treat patients and save lives.

China and Italy are both ancient countries and modern states with distinct characteristics. They have promising prospects for complementary cooperation in various fields, such as cultural tourism, economic finance, green development, technology-enabled manufacturing and infrastructure.

Italy can reap substantial benefits from the BRI if it remains committed to an open and win-win mindset and focuses on pragmatic cooperation. 

For instance, the Port of Trieste in northern Italy could become a pivotal port in southern Europe, on par with the Piraeus Port of Athens in Greece, if it can dispel unfounded geopolitical concerns and expand cooperation with Chinese agencies. This could improve the logistics efficiency of northern Italian ports and partially alleviate local employment stress. 

Members of the South Korean ruling People Power Party wait for news on the results of exit polls for the parliamentary election at the National Assembly on April 10, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea. /CFP

Members of the South Korean ruling People Power Party wait for news on the results of exit polls for the parliamentary election at the National Assembly on April 10, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea. /CFP

South Korea’s liberal opposition parties scored a landslide victory in a parliamentary election held on Wednesday. Opposition parties secured a total of 192 seats in the 300-member National Assembly. The result deals a blow to President Yoon Suk Yeol and his conservative party who will find it difficult to pass laws in a parliament dominated by the opposition. The Korean Herald reported that “The ruling bloc managed to defend the 100-seat threshold that could otherwise have deprived President Yoon Suk Yeol of his veto power, a vote count showed Thursday morning.”

Japan’s modified destroyer, JS KAGA. April 6, 2024. /Photo courtesy Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

Japan’s modified destroyer, JS KAGA. April 6, 2024. /Photo courtesy Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force announced on Saturday in a post on X that it completed the first of a two-stage modification for its helicopter carrier JS Kaga to operate the American-made Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter aircraft. This would upgrade the helicopter carrier to an aircraft carrier, which the country did not possess so far, as Article 9 of Japan’s constitution prohibits the country from having an active military. Over the past few years, Tokyo has tried to redefine that position by pushing heavy increases in military spending and easing its postwar ban on lethal weapons exports, underscoring a shift away from the country’s self-defense-only principle.

Thai military personnel keep guard atop an armored vehicle along the Moei river on the Thai side, next to the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Thailand’s Mae Sot district on April 11, 2024. /CFP

Thai military personnel keep guard atop an armored vehicle along the Moei river on the Thai side, next to the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Thailand’s Mae Sot district on April 11, 2024. /CFP

Thailand’s military tightened security on Wednesday along a western border town adjoining Myanmar, where clashes continue with the military. Myanmar’s government has been battling rebels in frontier areas since last October. Several Thai army vehicles, patrolled the streets of Mae Sot, a border town in Thailand even as the sound of explosions and heavy fighting rang out from across the border in Myawaddy in Myanmar, according to residents. Border crossings in the area were open for civilians who were arriving in Thailand from Myanmar in large numbers, said the immigration superintendent in Tak, the province where Mae Sot is located.

The Netflix logo on one of their Hollywood buildings in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 12, 2023. /Reuters

The Netflix logo on one of their Hollywood buildings in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 12, 2023. /Reuters

Vietnam has ordered video streaming service Netflix to stop advertising and distributing its games in the country by April 25 as the U.S. streaming platform has not yet been granted a license for games services, its broadcasting authority said on Thursday.

“Vietnam demands Netflix comply with the Vietnamese regulations on game online services,” the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information said on its website. Netflix began its push into gaming by launching Netflix games on mobile phones in November 2021.

Masatsugu Asakawa, president of the Asian Development Bank, meeting with Chinese officials at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on July 11, 2023. /CFP

Masatsugu Asakawa, president of the Asian Development Bank, meeting with Chinese officials at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on July 11, 2023. /CFP

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Thursday that Asia’s growth this year is expected to be slightly stronger than previously forecast as healthy domestic demand in many economies offsets other negatives. The ADB pushed its 2024 growth forecast for Developing Asia to 4.9 percent from 4.8 percent projected in December. However, it warned of persistent challenges such as rising geopolitical tensions, including in the Middle East, that could disrupt supply chains and reignite inflation.

(Cover: Lee Jae-myung, leader of South Korea’s largest opposition party and his wife Kim Hye-kyung, watch the live broadcast of the vote count in Incheon City, South Korea on April 11, 2024. /CFP)

/CFP

/CFP

April 12 is the International Day of Human Space Flight, which is the date when the Soviet Union’s Yuri Gagarin became the first human to go to space in 1961.

The latest trending destination for human space flight is the moon, as many countries and organizations are trying to bring astronauts back to the lunar surface.

China’s program is named “Chang’e” after the goddess of the moon in Chinese mythology. In 2020, the fifth mission, the Chang’e-5, retrieved samples of the moon back to Earth weighing about 1,731 grams, the first lunar samples retrieved in over 40 years.

The country has launched the Queqiao-2 satellite as a communication relay for the coming Chang’e-6 mission, which will test key technologies used for the next manned mission.

The country plans to land its taikonauts on the moon before 2030 to carry out scientific exploration.

China is also planning to build an international lunar scientific research station at the south pole of the moon, which is expected to be completed by 2030.

The U.S., which has sent astronauts to the moon before, is also preparing for a grand return. The first phase of its Artemis program was a success, during which a probe was sent to orbit around the moon and then returned to the earth.

Now the country is working on a manned mission, aiming for a launch in September 2025, sending four astronauts on a lunar flyby.

Two astronauts are planned to land on the moon in 2026, while a space station called the Lunar Gateway is expected to start assembly in an orbit near the moon in 2028.

Russia launched its first lunar probe in 47 years – the Luna-25 – in August 2023. Unfortunately, the probe, intended for a soft landing, crashed onto the moon.

With that said, the country is also working with China on the lunar research station, which would also see participation from the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA’s own mission, named Heracles, has been superseded and is no longer actual.

During India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission in 2023, a lander-rover combo was sent to the moon. The country targets 2040 to send astronauts to the lunar surface.

Japan launched Smart Lander for Investigating Moon to become the fifth country to reach the moon in 2024. Though the touchdown was a bit wonky, the probe managed to regain power and resume its mission.

Deaths caused by the mosquito-borne dengue disease have more than tripled in Peru so far this year, according to data from the South American nation’s government, which is redoubling efforts to contain an epidemic that has hit poor areas the hardest.

The government of President Dina Boluarte this week said it had approved an “emergency decree” allowing extraordinary economic measures to bolster the plan to counter the outbreak, which experts say is exacerbated by climate change.

A health worker leaves a home after fumigating it for mosquitoes to help mitigate the spread of dengue in the Las Penitas area of Talara, Peru, March 1, 2024. /CFP

A health worker leaves a home after fumigating it for mosquitoes to help mitigate the spread of dengue in the Las Penitas area of Talara, Peru, March 1, 2024. /CFP

Mild symptoms include nausea, rashes and body pains, while a rarer severe form, more threatening for infants and pregnant women, can cause internal bleeding and is potentially fatal.

Peru’s Ministry of Health said that as of Thursday, there were 117 registered deaths from dengue so far this year, compared with 33 in the same period of 2023. Suspected cases have also more than tripled to reach some 135,000.

Over the past few days, health officials have carried out fumigations in poor neighborhoods across Lima, the capital, including in cemeteries where mosquitoes have been found to breed in the water that gathers in vases honoring the deceased.

Experts say the figures in Peru are alarming because they show the ability of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries the disease, to spread to areas where dengue had not previously been detected. The highest numbers of cases were recorded in the coastal and northern parts of the country, including Lima.

A staff member of the Peruvian Ministry of Health shows an image of an Aedes aegypti mosquito at the populous district of El Agustino in Lima, Peru, February 27, 2024. /CFP

A staff member of the Peruvian Ministry of Health shows an image of an Aedes aegypti mosquito at the populous district of El Agustino in Lima, Peru, February 27, 2024. /CFP

“The mosquito has been adapting to climate change and is reproducing at a faster rate than in previous years,” University of Lima epidemiologist Augusto Tarazona said.

Considering respective population sizes, Tarazona said that with an incidence rate of 330.27 cases per 100,000 people, Peru was seeing both higher infection and mortality rates than in either Brazil or Argentina.

“We are in a critical situation in Latin America,” he said.

(Cover: A health worker carries out fumigation for mosquitoes inside a home to help mitigate the spread of dengue in the Las Penitas area of Talara, Peru, March 1, 2024. /CFP)

Source(s): Reuters

Rescuers work at the destroyed building of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, April 1, 2024. /Xinhua

Rescuers work at the destroyed building of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, April 1, 2024. /Xinhua

China calls on all parties to the ongoing Gaza conflict to immediately ceasefire and will continue to play a constructive role in resolving the Middle East issue, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

Mao Ning made the remarks while briefing the media during a regular press conference on Thursday’s phone conversation between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

During the phone call, Wang said China strongly condemned the attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria and stressed that the security of diplomatic institutions is inviolable and the sovereignty of Iran and Syria should be respected, according to Mao.

Mao added that this round of escalation is the latest manifestation of the spillover from the Gaza conflict, and it’s imperative that the conflict be put to rest as soon as possible.

China calls on all parties to the conflict to earnestly implement UN Security Council Resolution 2728, immediately cease fire and stop fighting, and stop the humanitarian crisis, said the spokesperson.

Resolution 2728, which was adopted on March 25, was the first Security Council resolution that demands or calls for a cease-fire in Gaza after the flare-up of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza on October 7, 2023.

China will continue to play a constructive role in resolving the Middle East issue on its own merits and contribute to cooling down the situation, Mao said.

Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, speaks at a regular press conference in Beijing, China, April 12, 2024. /Website of Chinese Ministry of National Defense

Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, speaks at a regular press conference in Beijing, China, April 12, 2024. /Website of Chinese Ministry of National Defense

China is firmly opposed to any form of official exchange or military contact between the U.S. and China’s Taiwan region, a Defense Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

Senior Colonel Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks at a regular press conference when asked to comment on a recent visit by the head of Taiwan region’s navy force to the headquarters of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii.

Media report said the visit was part of U.S. efforts to implement the “Joint Island Defense Concept,” which aimed to coordinate with the authorities in the Taiwan region to counter China’s armed forces within the “first island chain.”

Slamming the so-called “first island chain” as a product of Cold War geopolitics, Wu said “any attempt to block and contain China is nothing but wishful thinking.”

“We urge the U.S. side to truly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. Joint Communiqués, fulfill its commitment to not supporting ‘Taiwan independence,’ and immediately stop its military collusion and official contact with Taiwan.”

“Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. To solve the Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affair and brooks no foreign interference,” Wu added.

Wu also warned the Democratic Progressive Party authorities that being a “chess piece” in others’ power games will ultimately be abandoned and that “seeking independence by force” will get it nowhere but to a dead end.

“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army will take resolute actions against any form of separatist activities seeking ‘Taiwan independence,'” Wu said.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte speaks to journalists at the Dutch embassy in Beijing, March 27, 2024. /CFP

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte speaks to journalists at the Dutch embassy in Beijing, March 27, 2024. /CFP

China and Europe “have much to discuss and much that can be said” as recent visits by officials from European countries to Beijing signify a stronger willingness to cooperate, a Chinese expert on international relations said.

In recent weeks, China has received a number of European officials, including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne and climate envoys from other countries, a development that echoed what Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said was a full resumption of interactions between China and Europe since the beginning of this year.

On the one hand, China and Europe need to discuss myriad matters “because events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have had a certain impact on China-Europe relations, and some misunderstandings and prejudices between the two sides urgently need to be resolved through communication,” Chen Yang, executive director of Institute of European Studies at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said in an interview with Youth.cn.

On the other hand, he added, China and Europe “have a lot that can be discussed,” as they have broad common interests and a cooperation foundation in fields such as economic and trade exchanges, and global governance.

Remarks by the visiting officials also resonated with Wang’s recent statement that Europe is understanding China with increasing rationality. Rutte, who was in Beijing late last month, said de-coupling is not a policy option for the Dutch government, as any act harming China’s development interests will hurt the Netherlands itself.

Earlier this month, the top climate diplomats sent by the European Union, Germany, France, Denmark and the Netherlands landed in Beijing, marking an unprecedented diplomatic move that was coordinated multilaterally to discuss climate change with China.

Against the backdrop of closer ties between China and EU countries were growing signs of them coordinating with the U.S. on pursuing economic and trade protectionism, which analysts attribute to not only the ideological differences between China and the West but also the fact that Western countries are facing economic and social development challenges.

The exacerbation of income inequality in EU countries has significantly affected their political development, and some politicians lay the blame on “unequal competition” caused by developing countries, represented by China, which they say is using low labor costs and government subsidies to seize markets, Li Xiangyang, director of National Institute of International Strategy (NIIS) in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Youth.cn.

Nonetheless, EU members’ eagerness to communicate with both China and the United States indicates that they do not wish to take sides with either of them, Chen said.

China and the United States have different strategic objectives regarding their approaches to Europe, with the U.S. focusing on preserving the status quo while China, in pursuit of incremental growth, directing its attention to future developments, he added.

China’s inaugural major international exhibition of 2024, the fourth China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE), is set to commence on Saturday in Hainan Province. Anticipated to be the largest boutique exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region, it will welcome over 4,000 brands from 71 countries and regions.

Spanning a vast indoor exhibition area of 128,000 square meters, alongside spaces on ships and docks, the Expo will showcase an extensive array of brands from diverse corners of the globe. This impressive participation is facilitated by Hainan’s visa-free entry policy for citizens from 59 countries.

With expectations of hosting more than 55,000 buyers and industry professionals, the Expo promises to be a bustling hub of commerce and networking opportunities.

Showcasing Hainan’s progress

Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping highlighted the Expo’s significance in showcasing the substantial achievements of the six-year endeavor to construct the Hainan Free Trade Port. The region’s offshore duty-free sector, encompassing over 500,000 square meters and boasting more than 1,500 brands offering around 150,000 product varieties, has recorded cumulative sales surpassing 180 billion yuan ($25 billion) during this period.