People's Daily - February 28, 2026

The Politburo of the CPC Central Committee Held a Meeting

To promote economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, it is imperative to fully implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Plenary Sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, earnestly implement the arrangements of the Fourth Plenary Session, focus on building a strong socialist modern country in all respects and achieving the Second Centenary Goal, comprehensively promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization, coordinate the promotion of the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan," coordinate the promotion of the "Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy," balance both domestic and international situations, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, adhere to economic construction as the center, take promoting high-quality development as the theme, take reform and innovation as the fundamental driving force, take meeting the people's growing needs for a better life as the fundamental goal, and take comprehensively strengthening Party discipline as the fundamental guarantee, promote the effective improvement of the quality and the reasonable growth of the economy, promote the comprehensive development of people and the common prosperity of all people to take solid steps, and ensure that decisive progress is made in basically achieving socialist modernization.

To do a good job in the government's work this year, it is necessary to be under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC and the Plenary Sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, earnestly implement the arrangements of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the Central Economic Work Conference, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, focus on promoting high-quality development, adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, balance both domestic and international situations, better coordinate development and security, implement more proactive and effective macro policies, enhance the foresight, pertinence, and synergy of policies, continuously expand domestic demand, optimize supply, improve the quality of increments, revitalize existing assets, develop new quality productive forces in accordance with local conditions, promote the construction of a unified national market in depth, continuously prevent and resolve risks in key areas, focus on stabilizing employment, stabilizing enterprises, stabilizing the market, and stabilizing expectations, promote the effective improvement of the quality and the reasonable growth of the economy, maintain social harmony and stability, and achieve a good start for the "15th Five-Year Plan."

It is necessary to continue to implement a more proactive fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy, and strengthen the synergy between reform measures and macro policies. It is necessary to focus on building a strong domestic market, step up efforts to cultivate and strengthen new drivers of growth, and accelerate high-level self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology. Continuously deepen reforms in key areas, further expand high-level opening up to the outside world, solidly promote the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside, and promote new urbanization and coordinated regional development. Increase efforts to guarantee and improve people's livelihoods, accelerate the comprehensive green transition, and strengthen risk prevention and resolution and security capacity building in key areas. It is necessary to strengthen the government's own construction, firmly establish and practice the correct view of political achievements.

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing (北京), February 27th. The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee convened a meeting on February 27th to discuss the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China, which the State Council intends to submit to the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress for review, and the draft "Government Work Report" for deliberation. Xi Jinping (习近平), General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting.

The meeting pointed out that the development course of China during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period was extremely unusual and extraordinary. Facing the complex and volatile international situation and the arduous and heavy domestic reform, development, and stability tasks, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core united and led the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups across the country to overcome difficulties and forge ahead, withstood the severe impact of the century-long pandemic, effectively responded to a series of major risks and challenges, and promoted new major achievements in the cause of the Party and the country. After five years of continuous struggle, the main goals and tasks of the "14th Five-Year Plan" have been successfully completed, China's economic strength, scientific and technological strength, and comprehensive national strength have reached new levels, Chinese-style modernization has taken new solid steps, and a good start has been achieved in the new journey towards the Second Centenary Goal.

The meeting believes that the "15th Five-Year Plan" period is a crucial period for laying the foundation and fully exerting efforts to basically achieve socialist modernization. Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee, scientifically formulating and implementing the "15th Five-Year Plan" outline, striving to consolidate and expand advantages, break through bottlenecks and constraints, and strengthen weaknesses and shortcomings, is of great significance for promoting high-quality economic and social development in China and laying a more solid foundation for basically achieving socialist modernization.

The meeting emphasized that to promote economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, it is imperative to fully implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC and the Plenary Sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, earnestly implement the arrangements of the Fourth Plenary Session, focus on building a strong socialist modern country in all respects and achieving the Second Centenary Goal, comprehensively promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization, coordinate the promotion of the "Five-Sphere Integrated Plan," coordinate the promotion of the "Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy," balance both domestic and international situations, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, adhere to economic construction as the center, take promoting high-quality development as the theme, take reform and innovation as the fundamental driving force, take meeting the people's growing needs for a better life as the fundamental goal, and take comprehensively strengthening Party discipline as the fundamental guarantee, promote the effective improvement of the quality and the reasonable growth of the economy, promote the comprehensive development of people and the common prosperity of all people to take solid steps, and ensure that decisive progress is made in basically achieving socialist modernization.

The meeting requested that during the process of submitting the draft outline of the "15th Five-Year Plan" to the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress for review and the Fourth Session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference for discussion, it is necessary to promote democracy, pool wisdom, and broadly build consensus.

The meeting pointed out that to do a good job in the government's work this year, it is necessary to be under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC and the Plenary Sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, earnestly implement the arrangements of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the Central Economic Work Conference, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, focus on promoting high-quality development, adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, balance both domestic and international situations, better coordinate development and security, implement more proactive and effective macro policies, enhance the foresight, pertinence, and synergy of policies, continuously expand domestic demand, optimize supply, improve the quality of increments, revitalize existing assets, develop new quality productive forces in accordance with local conditions, promote the construction of a unified national market in depth, continuously prevent and resolve risks in key areas, focus on stabilizing employment, stabilizing enterprises, stabilizing the market, and stabilizing expectations, promote the effective improvement of the quality and the reasonable growth of the economy, maintain social harmony and stability, and achieve a good start for the "15th Five-Year Plan."

The meeting emphasized that it is necessary to continue to implement a more proactive fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy, and strengthen the synergy between reform measures and macro policies. It is necessary to focus on building a strong domestic market, step up efforts to cultivate and strengthen new drivers of growth, and accelerate high-level self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology. Continuously deepen reforms in key areas, further expand high-level opening up to the outside world, solidly promote the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside, and promote new urbanization and coordinated regional development. Increase efforts to guarantee and improve people's livelihoods, accelerate the comprehensive green transition, and strengthen risk prevention and resolution and security capacity building in key areas. It is necessary to strengthen the government's own construction, firmly establish and practice the correct view of political achievements.

The meeting also studied other matters.

Return to Top

Solidifying the Foundation of Chinese-Style Modernization

By: 新华社记者

Time marks the milestones of building on the past and opening up the future, carrying the belief of continuous struggle.

After eight years of tackling poverty, China has historically shaken off absolute poverty, creating another "human miracle that will go down in history."

After a five-year transition period, China has successfully completed the goal of consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty alleviation and effectively connecting them with rural revitalization, firmly guarding the bottom line of preventing large-scale relapse into poverty.

Stepping into the "15th Five-Year Plan," "normalized assistance" has been incorporated into the overall implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, opening a new journey to accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas.

"Achieving a moderately prosperous society is not the end, but a new starting point." "First, we must consolidate the achievements in poverty alleviation, consolidate them and then move forward, effectively connecting them with the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside." "The development of rural revitalization and 'San Nong' (三农) work is still the foundation of Chinese-style modernization"......

To realize national rejuvenation, the countryside must be revitalized. Following the direction pointed out by General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平), hundreds of millions of people are working together with one heart and one mind, consolidating the "San Nong" (三农) ballast stone, drawing a new picture of comprehensive rural revitalization, and jointly heading towards a bright future of Chinese-style modernization.

Guarding the Bottom Line Task—

"The bottom line of poverty alleviation must be as solid as a rock"

In early spring, February, the Wujiangyuan Hundred-Li Gallery (乌江源百里画廊) in Guizhou.

Xinhua Village (化屋村) in Xinren Miao Township (新仁苗族乡), Qianxi City (黔西市), is nestled among green hills and clear waters. The white-walled and black-tiled houses are built against the mountains, and the red lanterns hanging in the farmhouses reveal a strong New Year's flavor, making tourists linger.

Xinhua Village (化屋村), formerly known as "Huawuji (化屋基)," meaning "village under the cliff," was once a remote and poor mountain village isolated by steep cliffs. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, driven by targeted poverty alleviation policies, Xinhua Village (化屋村) has ushered in leapfrog development. At the end of 2019, the impoverished population was cleared, and the Miao village took on a new look.

In February 2021, at the important moment when the national poverty alleviation task was completed as scheduled, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) came to Xinhua Village (化屋村) in Guizhou for inspection and research, encouraging the villagers to continue to promote rural revitalization and accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas after getting rid of poverty.

In March 2025, in the last year of the five-year transition period for consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty alleviation and effectively connecting them with rural revitalization, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) further emphasized during his inspection in Guizhou (贵州) and Yunnan (云南): "The bottom line of poverty alleviation must be as solid as a rock, and there must be absolutely no large-scale relapse into poverty."

Earnest entrustment, full of concern, and full of expectations.

This is a consistent original aspiration and mission—

In the heart of the leader of a great power, the weight of the word "people" is always the heaviest. Poverty alleviation has always been an important part of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) work, and he has spent the most energy on it.

On February 25, 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) solemnly declared at the National Poverty Alleviation Summary and Commendation Conference: China has achieved a comprehensive victory in the battle against poverty.

In 8 years, nearly 100 million people have been lifted out of poverty. China has completed the world's largest poverty reduction practice, achieving the poverty reduction target of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda 10 years ahead of schedule, and creating a Chinese model of poverty reduction governance.

"Victory is not difficult, but perseverance is." While the international community praised China for making positive contributions to the global poverty reduction cause, there were also concerns: Is this a one-time achievement or a lasting change?

Establishing a five-year transition period has become another pioneering initiative with Chinese characteristics in poverty reduction.

"There must be absolutely no situation where we announce comprehensive poverty alleviation on this side, and then large-scale relapse into poverty occurs on the other side." "Consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty alleviation is the bottom line task for comprehensively promoting rural revitalization"......

From the poverty alleviation battle of "not leaving a single person behind" to the achievement defense battle of "preventing large-scale relapse into poverty," it profoundly demonstrates the deep people's feelings of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core, and forms and enriches the Chinese-style anti-poverty theory and practice.

This is a long-term strategic focus—

To see national poverty alleviation, look at Gansu (甘肃); to see poverty alleviation in Gansu (甘肃), look at Linxia (临夏).

On December 18, 2023, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake occurred in Jishishan County (积石山县), Linxia Prefecture (临夏州), causing heavy casualties and property losses. The people of the whole country were concerned about it, and even more concerned about whether the local area could guard the bottom line of preventing large-scale relapse into poverty.

Racing against time to rebuild homes, opening a "green channel" for monitoring and preventing relapse into poverty at the first time, and formulating "one household, one policy" assistance plans for each household...... The whole country is united, and hope is rising rapidly in the rubble.

Today, walking in Jishishan (积石山), whether it is the brand-new community in the centralized resettlement site or the beautiful countryside rebuilt on the original site, you can see the happy smiles of the masses everywhere. The solid bottom line of preventing relapse into poverty guards their beautiful vision for the future.

Epidemics, earthquakes, floods...... After experiencing various risks and challenges, the "copper wall and iron wall" to prevent relapse into poverty cannot be overthrown and can be guarded! The changes in Jishishan (积石山) are a vivid answer to why China can create a poverty reduction miracle.

Adhere to the Party's leadership, adhere to the people-centered development thought, adhere to giving play to the political advantages of China's socialist system that can concentrate efforts to do big things, adhere to the targeted poverty alleviation strategy, adhere to mobilizing the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of the vast number of poor people, adhere to promoting the virtues of working together in the same boat and mutual assistance, and adhere to seeking truth from facts and being serious and tough.

Five years ago, the "seven adherences" summarized by General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) are not only a profound explanation of the Chinese-style poverty reduction path, but also provide ideological guidance for our continued struggle.

There are both strategic-level blueprints and tactical-level deployments.

Maintain a smooth transition, proposing "to implement the 'four no removals' and establish and improve a long-term mechanism to prevent relapse into poverty";

In response to the impact of epidemics and other factors, it is required to "give full play to the early warning response role of the monitoring and assistance mechanism to prevent relapse into poverty";

Promote sustainable development, emphasizing "long-term cultivation and support for industries in poverty-stricken areas";

Strengthen collaborative assistance, clarifying "improving the East-West cooperation mechanism, deepening counterpart support, and fixed-point assistance"......

The power of thought crosses mountains and seas, guiding the way forward.

From important meetings to domestic inspections and research, a series of important expositions by General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) have become the fundamental guidelines and sources of strength for all localities to promote the work of the transition period.

The country has cumulatively identified and assisted more than 7 million monitored objects to steadily eliminate the risk of relapse into poverty; the per capita disposable income growth rate of farmers in poverty-stricken counties has continued to be higher than the national average level of farmers, and the scale of employment of the poverty-stricken population has remained stable at more than 30 million people for five consecutive years......

"China's poverty alleviation achievements can be called a miracle." In February of this year, the American Hill Post website published an article, while reflecting on the American "cutoff line" phenomenon, pointed out that China's poverty alleviation experience is a proven method that can improve people's livelihood on a large scale, and the United States should learn from China's success.

After 8 years of tackling poverty and 5 years of transition, China has further demonstrated to the world with successful practice that, with the tenacity, perseverance, and fighting spirit of dripping water through stone and drawing a blueprint to the end, poverty can not only be overcome, but also be blocked and no longer recur.

Building a Solid Foundation for Development—

"Industrial revitalization is the top priority of rural revitalization"

In November 2025, Nanfu Village (南福村), Yanyang Town (雁洋镇), Meixian District (梅县区), Meizhou City (梅州市), Guangdong Province (广东省), is full of yellow pomelos hanging on the branches, and the faint fragrance of pomelos lingers.

General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平), who was inspecting and researching in Guangdong (广东), walked into the pomelo grove and had cordial exchanges with the villagers, pointing out that "developing rural characteristic industries is the foundation for promoting the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside," and requiring continuous extension of the industrial chain, increasing added value, and driving more farmers to increase their income and become rich.

This scene is reminiscent of November 2013, when General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) came to Changputang Village (菖蒲塘村), Fenghuang County (凤凰县), Xiangxi Prefecture (湘西州), Hunan (湖南), to learn about the village's poverty alleviation and development and characteristic industrial development. In the pomelo grove, the General Secretary personally helped the villagers pick two pomelos.

At that time, guiding poverty alleviation; now, planning revitalization. Spanning more than 10 years, looking at pomelos twice, the focus of "San Nong" (三农) work has achieved a historic shift.

In the 5 years of "consolidation," "expansion," and "connection," while firmly guarding the bottom line of preventing large-scale relapse into poverty, how to play the big game of comprehensive rural revitalization well?

General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) has profound thinking: "The depth, breadth, and difficulty of comprehensively implementing the rural revitalization strategy are no less than poverty alleviation. We must strengthen top-level design and promote it with more powerful measures and gather more powerful forces."

From poverty alleviation to comprehensive rural revitalization, developing industries according to local conditions is the key.

"Industrial revitalization is the top priority of rural revitalization, and it is also the entry point for practical work." At the Central Rural Work Conference in 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized this.

During the 5-year transition period, the General Secretary walked into the mountains and fields many times, pointing out the direction for the development and growth of rural characteristic industries:

Coming to the lychee orchard in Maoming (茂名), Guangdong (广东), he urged "to focus on making a good article on 'local specialties' and promote the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside with industrial revitalization";

Inspecting the pomegranate planting garden in Zaozhuang (枣庄), Shandong (山东), he proposed "to do a good job in branding, improve quality, and extend the industrial chain";

Walking into the Nanshan Huaniu Apple Base (南山花牛苹果基地) in Maiji District (麦积区), Tianshui (天水), Gansu (甘肃), he encouraged "to strengthen variety protection and cultivation, optimize planting methods, and innovate marketing models";

…………

The unique customs and cultures of thousands of villages determine that rural industries should each show their strengths and take their own revitalization path.

In the land of Fujian (八闽大地), the rice waves are thousands of layers on the plains, the tea and fruits are fragrant in the mountains and forests, and the fishing rafts are vertical and horizontal on the sea......

In October 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) came to Aojiao Village (澳角村), Zhangzhou (漳州), Fujian (福建). Learning that the sales of many seafood products are booming and the income of villagers is constantly increasing, the General Secretary urged the village-level Party organization to play the role of a locomotive and lead the villagers to make a good article on the "sea."

Aojiao Village (澳角村), which once relied on single fishing, is now thriving towards the sea, developing five leading industries: marine fishing, marine aquaculture, seafood processing, seafood e-commerce, and rural tourism. The blue sea and silver beach have become the "golden mountains and silver mountains" of the people.

Relying on the mountains to eat the mountains and sing mountain songs, relying on the sea to eat the sea and read the sea scriptures. Behind the characteristic industries that each show their strengths is the solid pace of comprehensive rural revitalization, which contains the General Secretary's consistent leadership and promotion.

Just as targeted poverty alleviation is the magic weapon for winning the battle against poverty, precision is equally important for industrial revitalization. "To revitalize the countryside, choosing industries that enrich the people according to local conditions is the key." General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out.

Accurately implement industrial assistance policies—

In the past 5 years, 832 poverty-stricken counties have cultivated 2 to 3 leading industries with prominent advantages and strong driving forces, with a total output value of over 1.7 trillion yuan.

In the past 5 years, the proportion of central financial connection funds used for industrial development has exceeded 60%, guiding 832 poverty-stricken counties to prepare and implement the "14th Five-Year Plan" for characteristic industrial development, and promoting the quality improvement and efficiency enhancement and full-chain development of assistance industries by category.

Accurately build a mechanism for farmers to connect with industrial interests—

Developing rural industries should allow farmers to have work to do and money to earn. "It is necessary to improve the mechanism for linking farmers and benefiting farmers, pay attention to leaving more of the added value of the industry to farmers, and let farmers pick up 'golden carrying poles'," General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) words are heartwarming.

Looking at the whole country, small mushrooms have become big industries, and small daylilies have grown into "flowers of wealth"... From south to north, from east to west, one "local specialty" after another has become an important engine for villagers to increase their income and become rich, and the villagers' "golden carrying poles" are becoming more and more stable.

Continuously doing a good job in this big article on "local specialties," a moving picture of prosperous industries, rich farmers, and beautiful countryside will surely continue to unfold in the vast fields.

Consolidating the Foundation for the Future—

"Turn the beautiful blueprint of rural revitalization into reality"

In the first month of the lunar year, in Shibadong Village (十八洞村), Xiangxi (湘西), Hunan (湖南), the temperature is gradually warming up, and the village is bustling with activity.

Regularly carrying out monitoring and assistance to prevent relapse into poverty; improving infrastructure and services for the "old and the young"; implementing the international poverty reduction exchange base and expanding youth research and study classrooms... These days, Lu Chuntao (卢春涛), the first secretary of the Shibadong Village (十八洞村) stationed in the village, is busy discussing this year's comprehensive rural revitalization plan with the villagers.

In 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) first proposed the important concept of "targeted poverty alleviation" here. Like other poor villages in China, the fate of this Miao village, hidden in a remote valley and once closed and backward, has changed since then. More than 10 years later, this village continues to move towards solidly promoting comprehensive rural revitalization.

"We must follow the requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平), continue to consolidate and expand the achievements in poverty alleviation, incorporate normalized assistance into the overall implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, firmly guard the bottom line of preventing large-scale relapse into poverty, and consolidate the foundation for comprehensive rural revitalization," said Lu Chuntao (卢春涛).

Doing a good job in "San Nong" (三农) work and solidly promoting comprehensive rural revitalization are related to the overall situation of Chinese-style modernization.

In October 2022, after the closing of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) went to Yan'an (延安), Shaanxi (陕西), and Anyang (安阳), Henan (河南), to see rural revitalization for the first time, thinking all the way about how to accelerate the construction of an agricultural power and promote the modernization of agriculture and rural areas on the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country.

"To build an agricultural power, we must currently focus on rural revitalization." At the Central Rural Work Conference held at the end of that year, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) made strategic deployments around accelerating the construction of an agricultural power, pointing out that comprehensively promoting rural revitalization "still has more arduous and heavy tasks ahead, and we must not relax or stop, let alone change channels."

2026 is the opening year of the "15th Five-Year Plan." Anchoring the modernization of agriculture and rural areas, the "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal outlines the grand blueprint for solidly promoting comprehensive rural revitalization in the next five years.

Persevere in consolidating the foundation and ensure that the bottom line of preventing large-scale relapse into poverty is firmly guarded for a long time—

At the Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2025, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out: "After the victory in poverty alleviation, there is a transition period, which will be completed this year, but completion does not mean that the task is cancelled. We must still take 'San Nong' (三农) work as the top priority, grasp the connection between consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty alleviation and rural revitalization; we must still take the development of rural revitalization and 'San Nong' (三农) work as the foundation of Chinese-style modernization."

The "15th Five-Year Plan" period is a new stage of shifting from the transition period to normalized assistance. This year's No. 1 Central Document systematically deployed the implementation of normalized targeted assistance for the first time.

In Arele Village (阿热勒村), Arele Township (阿热勒乡), Yutian County (于田县), Xinjiang (新疆), on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert (塔克拉玛干沙漠), Chen Gang (陈刚), the first secretary of the village stationed in the village, went to the villagers' homes early in the morning with a book of public opinions, carefully recording the urgent needs and expectations of the masses in his notebook.

"Only by contacting more during festivals and when there are difficulties in daily life can we truly achieve early detection, early intervention, and early assistance, and firmly guard the bottom line of preventing large-scale relapse into poverty," he said.

Looking at the countryside, from the Gobi villages in Xinjiang (新疆) to the deep mountains in Guizhou (贵州), from the grassland pastures in Qinghai (青海) to the border villages in Yunnan (云南), the practice of normalized assistance is taking root and sprouting. All localities are based on reality, accurately exerting efforts, exploring long-term assistance paths, and promoting the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. New hope is constantly rising in the fields.

Unswervingly promote high-quality development and promote new progress in comprehensive rural revitalization—

To promote Chinese-style modernization, the shortcomings are in agriculture and rural areas, and the potential is also in agriculture and rural areas.

In Liaoning (辽宁), it is emphasized that learning and applying the experience of the "Thousand Villages Demonstration, Ten Thousand Villages Renovation" project, it is necessary to link reality to refine and solidify the grasp, and adhere to long-term success;

In Jilin (吉林), it is emphasized that "we must take the development of modern agriculture as the main direction of attack," and coordinate the development of scientific and technological agriculture, green agriculture, quality agriculture, and brand agriculture;

In Henan (河南), it is emphasized that we should promote the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside with the integrated development of urban and rural areas, and promote common prosperity between urban and rural areas......

Following the direction pointed out by General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平), all localities and departments adhere to the five-level Party secretaries grasping rural revitalization, promote the orderly implementation of various policies, and a new picture of rural revitalization with stronger agriculture, more beautiful rural areas, and richer farmers is slowly unfolding.

"The Party Central Committee attaches great importance to 'San Nong' (三农) work, and will definitely take practical and effective policies and measures to respond to the concerns and needs of the people, and turn the beautiful blueprint of rural revitalization into reality." General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) promise is sonorous and powerful.

Looking back on the past, we have achieved great historical achievements in solving the problem of absolute poverty that has plagued the Chinese nation for thousands of years.
Looking to the future, we are striving to achieve the historical ambition of building a modern socialist country in all respects.

The journey is long, and only hard work will lead to success.

Under the guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平), hundreds of millions of people are setting their sights on their goals and working hard in a down-to-earth manner. The vast rural areas of the future will surely be more vibrant, the lives of the villagers will surely be more prosperous, and the beautiful future of Chinese-style modernization is inspiring.

(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing (北京), February 27 - Reporters Han Jie (韩洁), Hu Lu (胡璐), Gu Yiping (古一平), Han Jiano (韩佳诺))

Return to Top

Ensure the effectiveness of learning and education (Establish and practice a correct view of performance)

By: 本报记者

Opening Remarks

Conducting study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance throughout the Party is a necessary requirement for implementing the strategic deployment of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and ensuring decisive progress in basically achieving socialist modernization. It is an important measure to practice the Party's fundamental purpose and consolidate the Party's foundation for governance. It is an effective way to consolidate and expand the achievements of centralized study and education within the Party and to unremittingly promote comprehensive and strict Party governance. It is of great significance for advancing the cause of the Party and the country and for promoting comprehensive and strict Party governance.

In order to promote the solid development of study and education and create a good public opinion atmosphere, this newspaper will launch a special column "Establishing and Practicing a Correct View of Performance" starting today, to showcase the progress and effectiveness of study and education in various regions, departments, and units.

The Party Central Committee has decided to carry out study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance throughout the Party. General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) has repeatedly emphasized the need to establish and practice a correct view of performance, and has recently emphasized it again in several important speeches, pointing out the direction and providing important guidance for carrying out study and education.

The General Office of the CPC Central Committee recently issued the "Notice on Carrying Out Study and Education on Establishing and Practicing a Correct View of Performance Throughout the Party." On February 24, the Central Party Building Work Leading Group held a meeting to study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important speech and instructions on study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, and to study and deploy study and education work.

In recent days, various regions, departments, and units have taken the carrying out of study and education as an important political task, deeply studied and implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important speech and instructions, conscientiously implemented the Party Central Committee's deployment, carefully organized and implemented it, and ensured that study and education achieved practical results.

Raise the Standing and Solidify Responsibilities

Various regions, departments, and units studied and deployed study and education plans at the first time, solidified responsibilities, clarified tasks, and ensured that study and education started in an orderly manner and was fully rolled out.

The Beijing (北京) Municipal Party Committee's Party Building Work Leading Group held a meeting, requiring a conscientious study and understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important exposition on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, and unifying thoughts and actions to the Party Central Committee's decisions and deployments from the height of firmly supporting the "Two Establishments" and resolutely achieving the "Two Safeguards"; focusing on leading bodies and leading cadres above the department level, especially the "number one leader," without batches or stages, and adhering to the capital's standards to carry out study and education well.

The Shanxi (山西) Provincial Party Committee's Party Building Work Leading Group held a meeting to review and approve the implementation plan for carrying out study and education in the province, requiring Party committees (Party groups) at all levels to shoulder the main responsibility, the main responsible comrades to assume the responsibility of the first person responsible, members of the leading body to fulfill the "one post, two responsibilities," and fully exert the guiding role of the Party committees (Party groups) of the competent departments of the industry system on the study and education of the industry system, carefully plan and deploy, and conscientiously organize and implement.

The Central Party History and Literature Research Institute (中央党史和文献研究院) immediately established a working group, formulated an implementation plan, made arrangements for carrying out study and education, and proposed to comprehensively study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important exposition on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, while grasping its own study and education with high standards and high quality, it should give full play to its professional advantages, continuously deepen research and interpretation from the perspective of combining history and reality, theory and practice, and continuously launch new achievements to actively serve the Party's study and education.

The Party Group of the Ministry of Education (教育部) held a meeting to deploy the study and education of the Ministry of Education's directly affiliated system, requiring a close focus on the goal of a strong education country, adhering to the integrated advancement of learning, inspection, and rectification, and implementing the various tasks of study and education with high standards and high quality; adhering to reading the original works, learning the original text, and understanding the principles, and effectively transforming the results of learning into concrete measures to plan and implement the "15th Five-Year Plan" for educational development and accelerate the construction of a strong education country, and serving the construction of Chinese-style modernization with practical work and practical results.

The Party Committee of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (国务院国资委) held an enlarged meeting and a meeting of the Party Building Work Leading Group to study and deploy the launch of study and education work for state-owned enterprises, requiring Party organizations at all levels of state-owned enterprises to highlight strict standards and promote the implementation of study and education with practical measures; to deeply understand, accurately grasp, and comprehensively implement the general requirements of "ruling the Party for the public, benefiting the people, making scientific decisions, and doing practical work," adhere to the integrated advancement of learning, inspection, and rectification, and coordinate the study and education and key tasks.

Deep Learning and Profound Understanding, Concentrating the Mind and Casting the Soul

Various regions, departments, and units educate and guide Party members and cadres to deeply study General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important exposition on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, deeply study the "Proposals of the CPC Central Committee on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development," and deeply study General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important speeches and important instructions on this region, this department, and this field, and promote the deep and solid development of study and education.

The Standing Committee of the Guangdong (广东) Provincial Party Committee held a meeting, convened concurrently with the meeting of the Provincial Party Committee's Party Building Work Leading Group, requiring adherence to the integration of learning, thinking, and application, and the unity of knowledge, belief, and action, combining the study of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important exposition on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance with the in-depth study of the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the study of the "15th Five-Year Plan" proposals, combining it with strengthening investigation and research and doing the work of this region and this department, adhering to learning from the original text, highlighting hierarchical and classified learning, and closely linking it with specific practice.

The Chongqing (重庆) Municipal Party Committee requires highlighting the leading role of learning, studying General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important exposition on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance from the original text, learning through the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important speech and important instructions during his inspection of Chongqing (重庆), and effectively transforming the effectiveness of study and education into the spirit of taking the lead in doing and striving for the first, to provide a strong guarantee for doing solid work on the "two major positioning," playing the "three roles," accelerating the construction of "six districts and one highland," and striving to write a new chapter of Chinese-style modernization in Chongqing (重庆).

The Yunnan (云南) Provincial Party Committee requires adhering to focusing on the theme for in-depth study, deeply studying General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important exposition on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, promoting Party members and cadres to fully and accurately implement the new development concept, and understanding the development thought centered on the people; at the same time, deeply investigating the problems existing in the view of performance, focusing on outstanding problems, grasping typical cases, grasping current cases, and grasping notifications, implementing the action of style revolution and efficiency revolution improvement, and focusing on breaking the problems of some cadres not taking responsibility, not being attentive, and not being serious.

The Party Group of the Ministry of Natural Resources (自然资源部) stated that it will deeply study General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important exposition on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important expositions and important instructions and approvals on natural resource work, the construction of a maritime power, and land greening, conscientiously implement the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments, deeply investigate and correct deviations in the view of performance, focus on rectifying formalism in planning and compilation, and focus on resolving petition issues in the field of natural resources.

Seeking Truth and Being Pragmatic, Doing Practical Work

Various regions, departments, and units stated that they will take "ruling the Party for the public, benefiting the people, making scientific decisions, and doing practical work" as the general requirement, adhere to the integrated advancement of learning, inspection, and rectification, and strive to make efforts and achieve results in deep learning, true inspection, and practical rectification.

The Party Building Work Leading Group of the Zhejiang (浙江) Provincial Party Committee held a meeting to deploy the launch of study and education work in the province, emphasizing the integrated advancement of learning, inspection, and rectification, educating and guiding Party organizations and Party members and cadres at all levels in the province to always focus on the word "implementation," vigorously promote the style of "six doing," and effectively embody performance in the effectiveness of promoting high-quality development, in the color of narrowing the "three major gaps," and in the people's sense of happiness and satisfaction.

The Anhui (安徽) Provincial Party Committee requires adhering to the problem orientation, being brave in exposing shortcomings and ugliness, deeply investigating the problems existing in the view of performance, finding gaps, investigating the roots, and strengthening self-cultivation from the perspective of Party spirit, so as to draw inferences from one instance and resolutely correct them; to report and expose a batch of negative cases, seriously hold accountable a batch of Party members and cadres, vigorously select and establish a batch of advanced models, and establish and improve a batch of policies and regulations, guiding Party organizations and Party members and cadres at all levels to adhere to seeking truth from facts and being pragmatic, and to produce performance for the people and with practical work.

The Shandong (山东) Provincial Party Committee held a working conference on the whole province's cadres doing business, starting a business, taking responsibility, and ensuring a good start to the "15th Five-Year Plan," mobilizing the whole province to further do business, start a business, and take responsibility. Shandong (山东) will widely solicit opinions and suggestions through on-site investigations, government service convenience hotlines, and other methods, and the province, cities, and counties (cities, districts) will respectively study and determine the key livelihood practical matters to be promoted in a concentrated manner, so that the masses can participate, benefit, and be tangible and accessible from the beginning.

The Party Group of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (生态环境部) proposed to conscientiously implement the work arrangements such as learning and discussion, investigating problems, rectifying and rectifying, establishing systems, and opening up education, educating and guiding Party organizations and all Party members and cadres at all levels of the Ministry's system to adhere to seeking truth from facts and being pragmatic, resolutely and forcefully implement the Party Central Committee's major decisions and deployments, produce performance for the people and with practical work, and provide strong guarantees for promoting new major progress in the construction of a beautiful China.

The Party Group of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部) stated that it will educate and guide Party organizations and all Party members and cadres at all levels of the system to adhere to the integrated advancement of learning, inspection, and rectification, conduct a thorough self-examination of outstanding problems, carry out rectification and rectification with real action, draw inferences from one instance and grasp the establishment of systems, effectively prevent and correct deviations in the view of performance, resolutely and forcefully implement the Party Central Committee's decision-making and deployment of "three rural" work, and promote a good start and a good step for the "15th Five-Year Plan" of agricultural and rural work with practical work and practical results.

(Reporters Zhao Cheng (赵成), Wu Dan (吴丹), Zhu Jun (朱隽), Wang Haonan (王昊男), Hou Linliang (侯琳良), Yang Wenming (杨文明), Wang Yunna (王云娜), Liu Junguo (刘军国), Li Xinping (李心萍), Kou Jiangze (寇江泽), Li Linwei (李林蔚), Chang Qin (常钦), Liu Xinwu (刘新吾), Zheng Yangyang (郑洋洋), Li Junjie (李俊杰) of this newspaper)

Return to Top

Promote Democracy, Pool Wisdom (Today's Talk)

By: 桂从路

"It is necessary to promote democracy, draw on collective wisdom, and broadly build consensus." The Political Bureau of the Central Committee meeting held on February 27 put forward clear requirements for reviewing and discussing the draft outline of the "15th Five-Year Plan," providing important guidance for the successful convening of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (两会).

The more magnificent the cause, the more important it is to gather wisdom and strength. From conducting special investigations at the grassroots level to holding symposiums to widely listen to suggestions, and then to receiving more than 3.113 million effective suggestions from online solicitation activities... The formulation of the "15th Five-Year Plan" adheres to opening up to solicit opinions and asking the people for advice, demonstrating the significant advantages of whole-process people's democracy and gathering a strong joint force to take advantage of the situation and create a new situation.

To promote democracy, it is especially necessary to closely focus on what the people think and expect. How to better care for the elderly and children? How to continuously expand and improve the quality of medical care, education, and other fields? These are both "national affairs" and "family affairs." Only by extensively and deeply understanding public sentiment, listening to public voices, and gathering public wisdom can the planning and compilation conform to the expectations of a better life and continuously enhance people's well-being.

Drawing on collective wisdom, the key lies in a "practical" approach. Democracy, in the final analysis, is used to solve problems. Focusing on practical measures to address the bottlenecks and pain points in high-quality development, aiming at good strategies to address the pain points and difficulties in the field of people's livelihood, and coming up with more "golden ideas" and "good prescriptions" can promote development towards new and better directions by solving problems.

Today's China embraces all rivers, and national development and people's happiness are in the same direction. By gathering the wisdom and strength of hundreds of millions of people, we will move forward with firm and powerful steps.

Return to Top

Press Center for the 2026 National People's Congress and CPPCC Opens

According to Xinhua News Agency, Beijing (北京), February 27th (Reporters Yu Jiaxin (于佳欣) and Shao Yibo (邵艺博)) - As the 2026 National People's Congress (全国两会) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (全国两会) are about to convene, the press center for the National People's Congress (全国两会) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (全国两会), located in the Media Center in Beijing (北京), officially opened on the 27th.

It is understood that more than 3,000 Chinese and foreign journalists have registered to cover the National People's Congress (全国两会) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (全国两会), including more than 2,000 domestic journalists and more than 1,000 journalists from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and foreign countries.

Return to Top

China has built the world's largest water conservancy infrastructure system.

This newspaper reports from Beijing (北京) on February 27th (本报北京2月27日电) (Reporters Wang Hao (王浩) and Deng Jianyang (邓剑洋)) Since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Water Resources (水利部) has guided and supervised various regions to seize the window period of river and lake dry season and minimal construction impact, and continuously promoted the networking, supplementing, and strengthening of the national water network.

General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized that "to promote Chinese-style modernization, the issue of water resources must be taken into account" and "accelerate the modernization of water conservancy infrastructure."

With the whole country as "one chessboard," anchoring the goals of promoting high-quality water conservancy development and ensuring China's water security, the "14th Five-Year Plan" period completed 5.68 trillion yuan of water conservancy construction investment, and has completed annual investment of more than 1 trillion yuan for four consecutive years since 2022. As of now, China has built the world's largest, most functional, and most population-benefiting water conservancy infrastructure system.

The largest scale, the national water network covers 80.3% of the country's land area. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, 181 major water conservancy projects were started, and provincial, municipal, and county-level water networks were orderly connected with the national water network, and the "last mile" of the water network was continuously opened up.

The most complete function, during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China added 31.8 billion cubic meters of water supply capacity. The modernization construction and transformation of large and medium-sized irrigation areas have been continuously promoted, and the national cultivated land irrigation area has exceeded 1.09 billion mu. The national water network provides strong water security guarantees for important urban agglomerations, major grain-producing areas, key ecological function areas, and important waterway channels.

Benefiting the largest population, the national rural tap water coverage rate reached 96%. Comprehensively promote the "3+1" standardized construction and management model of urban and rural water supply integration, centralized water supply scale, small-scale water supply standardization, and county-level unified management specialization. The proportion of scaled water supply projects covering the rural population and the proportion of county-level unified management reached 71% and 72% respectively, and more remote areas have access to "safe water." Services such as application, repair, and payment are handled "online" and "on the code," and the water quality assurance system from the source to the tap is gradually improved.

Water security is a major issue involving the long-term stability of the country. The world's largest water conservancy infrastructure system has played an important role in smoothing the domestic cycle and building a new development pattern.

The national water network optimizes water resource allocation and effectively guarantees industrial and agricultural water use. According to preliminary estimates, in 2025, China's water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP and water consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value will decrease by 20% and 25% respectively compared with the end of the "13th Five-Year Plan." With China's total economic volume leaping to new levels and grain harvests year after year, the national annual water consumption is controlled within 610 billion cubic meters.

The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal proposes to "accelerate the construction of a modern water network." The Ministry of Water Resources (水利部) is anchored to enhance the ability to prevent and control flood and drought disasters, coordinate the allocation of water resources, and ensure urban and rural water supply, and continuously improve the main skeleton and main artery of the national water network, and strive to promote high-quality water conservancy development and ensure China's water security.

(Related reports are on page 5)

Return to Top

Various departments adopted over 4,900 suggestions from deputies and members of the CPPCC last year (Authoritative Release)

By: 本报记者 吴月辉

On February 27th, the State Council Information Office (国务院新闻办) held a State Council policy briefing, inviting relevant responsible comrades from relevant departments to introduce the work of State Council departments in handling suggestions from deputies to the National People's Congress (全国人大代表) and proposals from members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (全国政协) in 2025.

"In 2025, State Council departments undertook a total of 8,754 suggestions from deputies to the National People's Congress and 4,868 proposals from members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, accounting for 95.6% and 97.3% of the total number of suggestions and proposals, respectively. All were completed on time, and the deputies and members expressed satisfaction with the handling work." Zhou Jianshe (周建设), Deputy Director of the Press Bureau and Spokesperson of the State Council Information Office, introduced that the departments adopted more than 4,900 opinions and suggestions from deputies and members, and introduced more than 2,200 relevant policies and measures, achieving new work results in optimizing the national development strategic layout, helping the construction of a modern industrial system, promoting greater efforts to stabilize investment and promote consumption, stimulating the power and vitality of high-quality development, and increasing efforts to solve pain points and difficulties in the field of people's livelihood.

In the handling process, the departments thoroughly studied and implemented the newly revised Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and the newly revised Regulations on the Work of the CPPCC Proposals, comprehended and grasped the new requirements of improving the working mechanism, close communication and exchange, supervising and tracking implementation, and strengthening the transformation of results, and improved the quality and efficiency of handling suggestions and proposals.

"The Ministry of Science and Technology (科学技术部) undertook a total of 901 suggestions and proposals, all of which have been completed on time and with high quality." Pan Xiaodong (潘晓东), member of the Party Leadership Group and Secretary-General of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that in recent years, the number of suggestions and proposals undertaken by the Ministry of Science and Technology has remained high, and the Ministry has effectively transformed the insights of deputies and members into policies and measures to promote scientific and technological innovation and development.

"The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部) handled a total of 1,449 suggestions and proposals, including 992 suggestions and 457 proposals." Tao Huaiying (陶怀颖), National Chief Veterinarian (Official) and Director of the Planning and Finance Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs implemented the new Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and the Regulations on the Work of the CPPCC Proposals, established and improved the responsibility system of the Party Leadership Group taking the lead, the Ministry leaders being responsible for their respective tasks, the General Office coordinating, and the undertaking departments implementing, with hierarchical responsibility and linkage between upper and lower levels, to improve the quality and efficiency of handling.

Commercial work is an important part of the domestic circulation. Yan Dong (鄢东), Vice Minister of Commerce (商务部), said: "In 2025, the Ministry of Commerce completed 1,020 suggestions and proposals on time, including 584 suggestions and 436 proposals."

Deng Zhiyong (邓志勇), Deputy Director of the State Administration for Market Regulation (国家市场监督管理总局) and Director of the National Standardization Administration (国家标准化管理委员会), introduced that in 2025, the State Administration for Market Regulation undertook a total of 1,084 suggestions and proposals, including 730 suggestions from the National People's Congress and 354 proposals from the CPPCC. The deputies and members put forward opinions and suggestions on regulating the order of the online market, strengthening the investigation and management of safety risks, strengthening quality support and standard leadership, and promoting orderly market competition.

Doing a good job in the major article on science and technology finance is a major reform task deployed by the Party Central Committee and the State Council. In 2025, the Ministry of Science and Technology, together with the People's Bank of China (中国人民银行) and other seven departments, issued the "Several Policy Measures to Accelerate the Construction of a Science and Technology Financial System and Vigorously Support High-Level Scientific and Technological Self-Reliance and Self-Improvement." "We will strengthen science and technology finance coordination and central-local linkage with the People's Bank of China and other departments," said Pan Xiaodong. In addition, deputies and members paid close attention to the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and put forward 176 relevant suggestions and proposals in 2025. The Ministry of Science and Technology absorbed the opinions and suggestions put forward by deputies and members to improve the quality and efficiency of transformation.

Food security is a matter of national importance (国之大者 (guó zhī dà zhě - "the most important thing for the country," refers to matters of paramount national importance)), and 151 suggestions and proposals undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2025 were related to it. The deputies and members put forward opinions and suggestions from the aspects of technological empowerment, yield increase, and policy support. "We have carefully adopted and absorbed them, and implemented a new round of action to increase grain production capacity by 100 billion jin, focusing on increasing yield per unit area and quality," said Tao Huaiying. In 2025, China's grain output reached 1,429.8 billion jin.

In 2025, the Ministry of Commerce took the lead in handling the "innovative diversified consumption scenarios" key supervision suggestion of the National People's Congress. Yan Dong said that the Ministry of Commerce combined relevant suggestions and proposals, combined promoting consumption with benefiting people's livelihood, and promoted the implementation of special actions to boost consumption. The contribution rate of consumption to economic growth reached 52%, an increase of 5 percentage points over the previous year. In 2025, China's development faced external risks and challenges, and many deputies and members submitted suggestions and proposals focusing on promoting the improvement of the quality and efficiency of foreign trade. Yan Dong introduced: "The Ministry of Commerce, in conjunction with handling relevant suggestions and proposals, coordinated and promoted the development of trade in goods, trade in services, and digital trade towards new and better directions, and the contribution rate of net exports of goods and services to economic growth reached 32.7%."

"Resolutely remove the obstacles and blockages hindering the construction of a unified national market" and "comprehensively rectify 'involutionary' competition" are important deployments made at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. The deputies and members put forward opinions and suggestions focusing on strengthening supervision and law enforcement and consolidating the responsibilities of platform entities. Deng Zhiyong introduced that the State Administration for Market Regulation has launched a number of work measures to solve the problem of "involutionary" competition and help build a unified national market, focusing on investigating and punishing illegal acts in accordance with the law, supporting industrial optimization and upgrading, and improving institutional rules.

Return to Top

Resolutely Guarding the Bottom Line of Preventing Large-Scale Relapse into Poverty (Authoritative Interview)

By: 本报记者 朱 隽 郁静娴

This year marks the beginning of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, and the "15th Five-Year Plan" proposals put forward the idea of "continuously consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty alleviation." Currently, the 5-year transition period for effectively linking the consolidation and expansion of poverty alleviation achievements with rural revitalization has been successfully completed. How have the achievements in poverty alleviation been consolidated and expanded? How can we stabilize and improve the normalized assistance policy system? What ideas and experiences in poverty reduction can China share with other developing countries? Our reporter interviewed Han Jun (韩俊), Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部).

Successful Completion of All Goals and Tasks During the Transition Period

Reporter: During the 5-year transition period, we firmly held the bottom line of preventing large-scale relapse into poverty. What effective measures contributed to this?

Han Jun (韩俊): Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core has placed poverty alleviation in a prominent position in governing the country. General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) personally planned, took command, went into battle, and supervised the work. All 98.99 million rural impoverished people under the current standards have been lifted out of poverty, all 832 impoverished counties have been removed from the list, and all 128,000 impoverished villages have been removed. Absolute poverty has been historically eliminated. Since the reform and opening up, more than 800 million people in China have been lifted out of poverty, creating a human miracle that will go down in history.

After China achieved a comprehensive victory in poverty alleviation in 2020, the Party Central Committee decided to establish a 5-year transition period to maintain the overall stability of major assistance policies, to support the impoverished areas and people in getting on their feet and giving them a push, and to effectively connect the consolidation and expansion of poverty alleviation achievements with rural revitalization. After 5 years of continuous efforts, we have successfully completed all the goals and tasks of the transition period, firmly held the bottom line of preventing large-scale relapse into poverty, and continuously improved the "three guarantees" (education, medical care, and housing) and drinking water safety for the lifted-out-of-poverty population. The self-development capabilities of poverty-stricken areas and people have been continuously enhanced. From 2021 to 2025, the growth rate of per capita disposable income of rural residents in poverty-stricken counties has been higher than the national average for rural residents for five consecutive years, and the foundation for poverty alleviation has become more solid and the results more sustainable. During the transition period, three main measures were taken.

First, we focused on detailed monitoring and assistance. We comprehensively established a monitoring and assistance mechanism to prevent relapse into poverty, weaving a tight monitoring network, discovering risks of relapse into poverty due to illness or disaster as early as possible, taking timely and targeted assistance measures, and accurately eliminating risks. By the end of 2025, we had cumulatively helped more than 7 million monitored individuals to stably eliminate risks.

Second, we focused on practical industrial and employment assistance. All 832 poverty-stricken counties have cultivated leading industries with prominent advantages and strong driving forces. We strengthened skills training and employment services, and the scale of employment for the lifted-out-of-poverty population has remained stable at more than 30 million people for five consecutive years, ensuring that at least one person in each lifted-out-of-poverty family with labor ability is employed.

Third, we focused on the concerted efforts of the entire society. We widely mobilized all sectors of society to consolidate and expand the achievements in poverty alleviation with concerted efforts nationwide. We strengthened East-West collaboration, with 8 eastern provinces (municipalities) pairing up with 10 western provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) to provide assistance. We continued to carry out targeted assistance, with 310 central units providing targeted assistance to poverty-stricken counties. We optimized the dispatch of village-based assistance teams, with 150,000 village-based work teams and more than 500,000 village-based cadres fighting on the front lines of rural areas. We expanded social assistance, carried out the "Ten Thousand Enterprises Revitalizing Ten Thousand Villages" action, and mobilized private enterprises and social organizations to leverage their advantages to assist key areas. The social assistance system, with cross-regional, cross-departmental, and nationwide participation, has become more complete, promoting poverty-stricken areas to not fall behind and catch up in development.

Contributing Chinese Solutions and Chinese Wisdom to the Global Poverty Reduction Cause

Reporter: Currently, the global poverty reduction process faces many uncertainties and challenges. In terms of poverty reduction and rural revitalization, what ideas and practical experiences can China share with other developing countries?

Han Jun (韩俊): Poverty reduction is a topic of global concern and a common problem faced by developing countries. China's poverty reduction practice fully proves that poverty can not only be overcome, but also be prevented from recurring. China's poverty alleviation experience has broad global significance, contributing Chinese solutions and Chinese wisdom to the global poverty reduction cause, and increasing the confidence of the "Global South" in getting rid of poverty. China's poverty reduction experience mainly has four "always adhere to" principles.

First, always adhere to the leadership of the Party. We adhere to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee over poverty alleviation, strengthen the working mechanism of central coordination, provincial responsibility, and city and county implementation, build an effective mechanism for the five levels of Party secretaries to grasp poverty alleviation and consolidate achievements, and build grassroots Party organizations into strong fighting fortresses leading the masses to get rid of poverty and become rich.

Second, always adhere to the people-centered development thought. Poverty reduction is essentially a question of attitude towards the people. The Chinese government has elevated poverty alleviation to a national will, national strategy, and national action, and has taken a series of extraordinary policies and measures. The vast number of Party members and cadres have taken root in the front lines, worked hard and practically, concentrated their efforts to solve the basic livelihood needs of the impoverished people, and strived to provide the impoverished people with better income, better education, better medical and health services, and better living conditions. China's great practice of poverty reduction is the most concentrated, fullest, and most vivid embodiment of the Chinese Communist Party and the government's purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly in the new era.

Third, always adhere to the strategy of precision. The occurrence and evolution of poverty have their own characteristics and laws. One key opens one lock. We must proceed from reality and implement targeted poverty reduction strategies and policy tools. The strategy of targeted poverty alleviation requires precision in identifying poverty alleviation targets, implementing measures for each household, arranging projects, using funds, assigning personnel to villages, and evaluating poverty alleviation results. We must implement symptomatic treatment, precise drip irrigation, and targeted therapy to truly eradicate the roots of poverty and completely get rid of poverty. The miracle of poverty alleviation created by China fully proves that the strategy of precision is the winning magic weapon for poverty reduction.

Fourth, always adhere to the development-oriented approach. Development-oriented assistance is a distinct feature of the poverty reduction path with Chinese characteristics. Practice has proved that for the impoverished people, only by mastering a skill, only by engaging in the development of characteristic and advantageous industries, and only by relying on their own hard work can they firmly grasp the "golden key" to a happy life. China's poverty reduction practice shows that only by implementing development-oriented assistance, stimulating endogenous动力 (nèi shēng dòng lì - "internal driving force," intrinsic motivation), improving development conditions, enhancing development capabilities, and realizing the transformation from "blood transfusion" poverty alleviation to "blood creation" assistance can we truly eliminate the root causes of poverty.

Coordinating the Establishment of a Normalized Mechanism to Prevent Relapse into Poverty

Reporter: After the transition period, how can we continue to support the development of underdeveloped areas, achieve normalized prevention of relapse into poverty, and promote the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas?

Han Jun (韩俊): The transition period has ended, but the risk of relapse into poverty will still exist for a long time. According to the deployment of the Party Central Committee, in the next step, we will coordinate the establishment of a normalized mechanism to prevent relapse into poverty, incorporate normalized assistance into the overall implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, enhance the endogenous development动力 (nèi shēng dòng lì - "internal driving force," intrinsic motivation) with effective development-oriented assistance, and ensure the bottom line of people's livelihood with a sound and complete social security system, so as to firmly hold the bottom line of preventing large-scale relapse into poverty for a long time.

Implement normalized monitoring and assistance. We will further improve the normalized monitoring and assistance mechanism to prevent relapse into poverty, achieve full coverage of the rural population, do a good job in the accurate identification, dynamic entry and exit, and inclined support of objects to prevent relapse into poverty, improve the effectiveness of early detection, early intervention, and early assistance, and timely eliminate the risk of relapse into poverty. We will implement classified management for the original registered and card-holding lifted-out-of-poverty population, and continue to implement precise assistance according to the requirements of "what is lacking, what is supplemented" for those who are at risk of returning to poverty if they leave the assistance policy.

Improve the effectiveness of development-oriented assistance. Developing assistance industries and promoting employment for the lifted-out-of-poverty labor force are the fundamental solutions to continuously consolidate and expand the achievements in poverty alleviation, and we must continue to grasp them firmly after the transition period. We will implement the project of developing the entire chain of assistance industries to benefit farmers and increase income, guide poverty-stricken areas to deeply explore the characteristics of local resources, do a good job in the "local specialty" article, take a differentiated development path, promote the quality and efficiency of assistance industries, sustainable development, and drive the lifted-out-of-poverty masses to steadily increase income and become rich. We will do everything possible to broaden employment channels for the lifted-out-of-poverty labor force, improve employment stability and quality, and promote hard work to become rich. For those who do not have the ability to work, we will focus on implementing comprehensive social security measures to ensure their basic living and ensure the bottom line of people's livelihood.

Provide classified assistance to underdeveloped areas. We will continue to take key assistance counties for rural revitalization as assistance units for underdeveloped areas, determine key assistance counties for national and provincial rural revitalization in a stratified manner, give concentrated support in terms of finance, finance, land, and talent, increase support for old revolutionary base areas, ethnic minority areas, and border areas, and enhance the economic vitality and development potential of underdeveloped areas. We will strengthen follow-up support for relocation from other places and promote the gradual prosperity of relocated people.

Stabilize and improve the normalized assistance policy system. Adhering to the principle of "major stability and minor adjustments," the existing assistance policies will remain generally stable after the transition period. We will give full play to the role of the central government's normalized assistance funds, focusing on industrial assistance, employment assistance, and development-oriented assistance in underdeveloped areas. We will deepen the effective practices of East-West collaboration, targeted assistance by central units, village-based assistance, social assistance, and assessment and evaluation, appropriately optimize and adjust the implementation methods of policies, and effectively improve the effectiveness of normalized assistance.

Return to Top

Solidifying the Foundation of Chinese-Style Modernization

By: 新华社记者

Time marks the moment of connecting the past and the future, carrying the belief of continuous struggle.

After eight years of arduous efforts, China has historically shaken off absolute poverty, creating another "miracle on earth that will go down in history."

After a five-year transition period, China has successfully completed the goal of consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty alleviation and effectively connecting them with rural revitalization, firmly holding the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty.

Entering the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, "normalized assistance" has been incorporated into the overall implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, opening a new journey to accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas.

"Achieving a moderately prosperous society is not the end, but a new starting point." "First, we must consolidate the achievements in poverty alleviation, consolidate them and move forward, and effectively connect them with the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside." "The development of rural revitalization and 'San Nong' (三农) work is still the foundation of Chinese-style modernization."

To realize national rejuvenation, rural areas must be revitalized. Following the direction pointed out by General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平), hundreds of millions of people are working together to consolidate the "San Nong" ballast stone, draw a new picture of comprehensive rural revitalization, and jointly move towards a better future of Chinese-style modernization.

Holding the bottom line task—

"The bottom line of poverty alleviation must be rock-solid"

In early spring, February, the Wujiangyuan Hundred-Mile Gallery (乌江源百里画廊) in Guizhou.

Huanwu Village (化屋村) in Xinren Miao Township (新仁苗族乡), Qianxi City (黔西市), is nestled among green hills and clear waters. The white-walled and black-tiled houses are built on the mountains, and the red lanterns hanging in the agritainment facilities reveal a strong New Year flavor, making tourists linger.

Huanwu Village was originally named "Huanwuji (化屋基)," meaning "village under the cliff." It used to be a remote and poor mountain village isolated by steep cliffs. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, driven by targeted poverty alleviation policies, Huanwu Village has ushered in leapfrog development. At the end of 2019, the poverty-stricken population was cleared, and the Miao village took on a new look.

In February 2021, at the important moment when the national poverty alleviation task was completed as scheduled, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) came to Huanwu Village (化屋村) for inspection and research in Guizhou, encouraging the villagers to continue to promote rural revitalization and accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas after getting rid of poverty.

In March 2025, in the last year of the five-year transition period for consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty alleviation and effectively connecting them with rural revitalization, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) further emphasized during his inspection in Guizhou (贵州) and Yunnan (云南): "The bottom line of poverty alleviation must be rock-solid, and there must be absolutely no large-scale return to poverty."

Earnest entrustment, full of concern, and full of expectations.

This is a consistent original aspiration and mission—

In the heart of the leader of a great power, the weight of the word "people" is always the heaviest. Poverty alleviation has always been an important part of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) work, and he has spent the most energy on it.

On February 25, 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) solemnly declared at the National Poverty Alleviation Summary and Commendation Conference: China has achieved a comprehensive victory in the battle against poverty.

In eight years, nearly 100 million people have been lifted out of poverty. China has completed the world's largest poverty reduction practice, achieving the poverty reduction goal of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda 10 years ahead of schedule, and creating a Chinese model of poverty reduction governance.

"Victory is not difficult, but persistence is." While the international community praised China for making positive contributions to the global poverty reduction cause, there were also concerns: Is this a one-time achievement or a lasting change?

Establishing a five-year transition period has become another pioneering initiative in China's poverty reduction path with Chinese characteristics.

"There must be absolutely no situation where we announce comprehensive poverty alleviation on this side, and then there is a large-scale return to poverty on the other side." "Consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty alleviation is the bottom line task for comprehensively promoting rural revitalization."

From the poverty alleviation battle of "no one should be left behind" to the achievement defense battle of "preventing large-scale return to poverty," it profoundly demonstrates the deep people's feelings of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping (习近平) at its core, and forms and enriches the Chinese-style anti-poverty theory and practice.

This is a long-term strategic determination—

To see national poverty alleviation, look at Gansu (甘肃); to see poverty alleviation in Gansu (甘肃), look at Linxia (临夏).

On December 18, 2023, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake occurred in Jishishan County (积石山县), Linxia Prefecture (临夏州), causing major casualties and property losses. The people of the whole country were concerned about it, and even more concerned about whether the local area could hold the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty.

Racing against time to rebuild homes, opening a "green channel" for monitoring and preventing return to poverty at the first time, and formulating a "one household, one policy" assistance plan for each household... The whole country is united, and hope is rising rapidly in the rubble.

Today, walking in Jishishan (积石山), whether it is the brand-new community in the centralized resettlement site or the beautiful countryside rebuilt on the original site, you can see the happy smiles of the masses everywhere. The solid bottom line of preventing return to poverty protects their beautiful vision for the future.

Epidemics, earthquakes, floods... After experiencing various risks and challenges, the "copper wall and iron wall" to prevent return to poverty cannot be knocked down and can be defended! The changes in Jishishan (积石山) are a vivid answer to why China can create a poverty reduction miracle.

Adhere to the Party's leadership, adhere to the people-centered development thought, adhere to giving play to the political advantages of China's socialist system that can concentrate its efforts on major tasks, adhere to the strategy of targeted poverty alleviation, adhere to mobilizing the enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity of the vast number of poor people, adhere to promoting the traditional virtues of working together in the same boat and helping each other, and adhere to seeking truth from facts and being serious and tough.

Five years ago, the "seven adherences" summarized by General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) were not only a profound explanation of the poverty reduction path with Chinese characteristics, but also provided ideological guidance for our continued struggle.

There are both strategic blueprints and tactical deployments.

Maintain a smooth transition, and propose "to implement the 'four no removals' and establish and improve a long-term mechanism to prevent return to poverty";

In response to the impact of epidemics and other factors, it is required to "give full play to the early warning response role of the monitoring and assistance mechanism to prevent return to poverty";

Promote sustainable development, and emphasize "long-term cultivation and support for industries in poverty-stricken areas";

Strengthen collaborative assistance, and clarify "improve the east-west cooperation mechanism, and deepen counterpart support and fixed-point assistance"...

The power of thought crosses mountains and seas, guiding the way forward.

From important meetings to domestic inspections and research, a series of important expositions by General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) have become the fundamental guidelines and sources of strength for all localities to promote the work of the transition period.

The country has cumulatively identified and assisted more than 7 million monitored people to steadily eliminate the risk of returning to poverty; the per capita disposable income growth rate of farmers in poverty-stricken counties has continued to be higher than the national average level of farmers, and the scale of employment of migrant workers who have been lifted out of poverty has remained stable at more than 30 million for five consecutive years...

"China's poverty alleviation achievements can be called a miracle." In February of this year, the U.S. Hill Post website published an article, reflecting on the phenomenon of the U.S. "cut-off line" and pointing out that China's poverty alleviation experience is a proven method to improve people's livelihoods on a large scale, and the United States should learn from China's success.

Eight years of hard work and five years of transition, China has further demonstrated to the world with successful practice that, with the perseverance, determination, and fighting spirit of dripping water through stone and drawing a blueprint to the end, poverty can not only be overcome, but also be blocked and no longer recur.

Consolidate the foundation of development—

"Industrial revitalization is the top priority of rural revitalization"

In November 2025, Nanfu Village (南福村), Yanyang Town (雁洋镇), Meixian District (梅县区), Meizhou City (梅州市), Guangdong Province (广东省), is full of yellow pomelos hanging on the branches, and the faint fragrance of pomelos lingers.

General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平), who was inspecting and researching in Guangdong (广东), walked into the pomelo forest and had cordial exchanges with the villagers, pointing out that "developing rural characteristic industries is the foundation for promoting the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside," and requiring continuous extension of the industrial chain, increasing added value, and driving more farmers to increase their income and become rich.

This scene is reminiscent of November 2013, when General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) came to Changputang Village (菖蒲塘村), Fenghuang County (凤凰县), Xiangxi Prefecture (湘西州), Hunan (湖南), to learn about the village's poverty alleviation and characteristic industrial development. In the pomelo forest, the General Secretary personally helped the villagers pick two pomelos.

At that time, guiding poverty alleviation; now, planning revitalization. Spanning more than 10 years, looking at pomelos twice, the focus of "San Nong" work has achieved a historic shift.

In the five years of "consolidation," "expansion," and "connection," while firmly holding the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty, how to play the big game of comprehensive rural revitalization well?

General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) has profound thinking: "The depth, breadth, and difficulty of comprehensively implementing the rural revitalization strategy are no less than poverty alleviation, and we must strengthen top-level design and promote it with more powerful measures and gather stronger forces."

From poverty alleviation to comprehensive rural revitalization, developing industries according to local conditions is the key.

"Industrial revitalization is the top priority of rural revitalization, and it is also the entry point for practical work." At the Central Rural Work Conference in 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized this.

During the five-year transition period, the General Secretary walked into the mountains and fields many times to point out the direction for the development and growth of rural characteristic industries:

Coming to the lychee orchard in Maoming (茂名), Guangdong (广东), he urged "to focus on making the article of 'local specialties' and promote the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside with industrial revitalization";

Inspecting the pomegranate planting garden in Zaozhuang (枣庄), Shandong (山东), he proposed "to do a good job in branding, improve quality, and extend the industrial chain";

Walking into the Nanshan Flower Niu Apple Base (南山花牛苹果基地) in Maiji District (麦积区), Tianshui (天水), Gansu (甘肃), he encouraged "to strengthen variety protection and cultivation, optimize planting methods, and innovate marketing models";

…………

The unique customs and practices of thousands of villages determine that rural industries should each show their strengths and take a revitalization path that suits them.

In the land of Eight Min (八闽), rice waves are thousands of layers on the plains, tea and fruits are fragrant in the mountains, and fishing rafts are vertical and horizontal on the sea...

In October 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) came to Aojiao Village (澳角村), Zhangzhou (漳州), Fujian (福建). Learning that the sales of many seafood products were booming and the income of villagers was constantly increasing, the General Secretary urged the village-level Party organization to play the role of a locomotive and lead the villagers to do a good job in the article of "sea."

Aojiao Village (澳角村), which once relied on single fishing, is now prospering towards the sea, developing five leading industries: marine fishing, marine aquaculture, seafood processing, seafood e-commerce, and rural tourism. The blue sea and silver beach have become the "golden mountains and silver mountains" of the people.

Relying on the mountains to eat the mountains and sing mountain songs, relying on the sea to eat the sea and recite sea scriptures. Behind the characteristic industries that each show their strengths is the solid pace of comprehensive rural revitalization, which contains the consistent leadership and promotion of the General Secretary.

Just as targeted poverty alleviation is the magic weapon for winning the battle against poverty, precision is equally important for industrial revitalization. "To revitalize the countryside, choosing industries that enrich the people according to local conditions is the key," General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out.

Precisely implement industrial assistance policies—

In the past 5 years, 832 poverty-stricken counties have cultivated 2 to 3 leading industries with prominent advantages and strong driving forces, with a total output value of over 1.7 trillion yuan.

In the past 5 years, the proportion of central financial connection funds used for industrial development has exceeded 60%, guiding 832 poverty-stricken counties to prepare and implement the "14th Five-Year Plan" for characteristic industrial development, and promoting the improvement of the quality and efficiency of assistance industries and the development of the entire chain by category.

Precisely build a mechanism for linking farmers and industrial interests—

Developing rural industries must allow farmers to have work to do and money to earn. "It is necessary to improve the mechanism for linking farmers and benefit farmers, pay attention to leaving more of the added value of the industry to farmers, and let farmers pick up 'golden carrying poles'," General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) words are heartwarming.

Looking at the whole country, small agaric has become a big industry, and small daylilies have grown into "flowers of wealth"... From south to north, from east to west, one "local specialty" after another has become an important engine for villagers to increase their income and become rich, and the villagers' "golden carrying poles" are becoming more and more stable.

Continuously doing a good job in the big article of "local specialties," the moving picture of industrial prosperity, farmers' wealth, and beautiful countryside will surely continue to unfold in the vast fields.

Consolidate the foundation for the future—

"Turn the beautiful blueprint of rural revitalization into reality"

In the first month of the lunar year, in Shibadong Village (十八洞村), Xiangxi (湘西), Hunan (湖南), the temperature is gradually warming up, and the village is very lively.

Regularly carry out monitoring and assistance to prevent return to poverty; improve infrastructure and services for the "old and young"; implement the international poverty reduction exchange base and expand youth research and study classrooms... These days, Lu Chuntao (卢春涛), the first secretary of Shibadong Village (十八洞村), is busy discussing this year's comprehensive rural revitalization plan with the villagers.

In 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) first proposed the important concept of "targeted poverty alleviation" here. Like other poor villages in China, the fate of this Miao village, hidden in remote mountain valleys and once closed and backward, has changed since then. More than 10 years later, this village continues to move towards solidly promoting comprehensive rural revitalization.

"We must follow the requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平), continue to consolidate and expand the achievements in poverty alleviation, incorporate normalized assistance into the overall implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, firmly hold the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty, and consolidate the foundation for comprehensive rural revitalization," said Lu Chuntao (卢春涛).

Doing a good job in "San Nong" (三农) work and solidly promoting comprehensive rural revitalization is related to the overall situation of Chinese-style modernization.

In October 2022, after the closing of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) first field trip was to Yan'an (延安), Shaanxi (陕西) and Anyang (安阳), Henan (河南) to see rural revitalization, thinking all the way about how to accelerate the construction of an agricultural power and promote the modernization of agriculture and rural areas on the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country.

"To build an agricultural power, we must currently focus on rural revitalization." At the Central Rural Work Conference held at the end of that year, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) made strategic deployments around accelerating the construction of an agricultural power, pointing out that comprehensively promoting rural revitalization "has more arduous and heavy tasks ahead, and we must not relax or stop, let alone change channels."

2026 is the opening year of the "15th Five-Year Plan." Anchoring the modernization of agriculture and rural areas, the "15th Five-Year Plan" proposal outlines the grand blueprint for solidly promoting comprehensive rural revitalization in the next five years.

Persevere in consolidating the foundation and ensure that the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty is firmly held for a long time—

At the Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2025, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out: "After the victory in poverty alleviation, there is a transition period, which was completed this year, but completion does not mean that the task has been cancelled. We must still regard 'San Nong' (三农) work as the top priority, and grasp the connection between consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty alleviation and rural revitalization; we still regard the development of rural revitalization and 'San Nong' (三农) work as the foundation of Chinese-style modernization."

The "15th Five-Year Plan" period is a new stage of transitioning from the end of the transition period to normalized assistance. This year's No. 1 Central Document systematically deployed the implementation of normalized and precise assistance for the first time.

In Arele Village (阿热勒村), Arele Township (阿热勒乡), Yutian County (于田县), Xinjiang (新疆), on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, Chen Gang (陈刚), the first secretary of the village, walked into the villagers' homes early in the morning with a book of public opinions, carefully recording the urgent needs and expectations of the masses in his notebook.

"Contact more often during festivals and when there are difficulties in daily life, so that we can truly achieve early detection, early intervention, and early assistance, and firmly hold the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty," he said.

Looking at the countryside, from the Gobi villages in Xinjiang (新疆) to the deep mountains in Guizhou (贵州), from the grassland pastures in Qinghai (青海) to the border villages in Yunnan (云南), the practice of normalized assistance is taking root and sprouting. All localities are based on reality, precisely exerting efforts, exploring long-term assistance paths, and promoting the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. New hope is constantly rising in the fields.

Unswervingly promote high-quality development and promote new progress in comprehensive rural revitalization—

To promote Chinese-style modernization, the shortcomings are in agriculture and rural areas, and the potential is also in agriculture and rural areas.

In Liaoning (辽宁), it is emphasized that learning and applying the experience of the "Thousand Villages Demonstration, Ten Thousand Villages Renovation" project, it is necessary to link the actual situation to refine and solidify the grasp, and adhere to long-term success;

In Jilin (吉林), it is emphasized that "we must take the development of modern agriculture as the main direction of attack" and coordinate the development of scientific and technological agriculture, green agriculture, quality agriculture, and brand agriculture;

In Henan (河南), it is emphasized that we should promote the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside with the integrated development of urban and rural areas and promote common prosperity in urban and rural areas...

Following the direction pointed out by General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平), all localities and departments adhere to the five-level Party secretaries grasping rural revitalization, promoting the orderly implementation of various policies, and a new picture of rural revitalization with stronger agriculture, more beautiful rural areas, and richer farmers is slowly unfolding.

"The Party Central Committee attaches great importance to 'San Nong' (三农) work and will definitely take practical and effective policies and measures to respond to the concerns and needs of the people and turn the beautiful blueprint of rural revitalization into reality," General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) promise is sonorous and powerful.

Looking back on the past, we have achieved great historical achievements in solving the problem of absolute poverty that has plagued the Chinese nation for thousands of years.
Looking to the future, we are striving for the historical aspiration of building a modern socialist country in all respects.

The journey is long, and only through struggle can we succeed.

Under the guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平), hundreds of millions of people are setting their sights on their goals and working hard in a down-to-earth manner. The vast rural land of the future will surely be more vibrant, the lives of the villagers will surely be more prosperous, and the beautiful future of Chinese-style modernization is inspiring.

(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing (北京), February 27th. Reporters Han Jie (韩洁), Hu Lu (胡璐), Gu Yiping (古一平), Han Jiano (韩佳诺))

Return to Top

Ensure the effectiveness of learning and education (Establishing and practicing a correct view of performance)

By: 本报记者

Opening Remarks

Conducting study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance throughout the Party is a necessary requirement for implementing the strategic deployment of the 20th Fourth Plenary Session of the Party (党的二十届四中全会) and ensuring decisive progress in basically achieving socialist modernization. It is an important measure to practice the Party's fundamental purpose and consolidate the Party's foundation for governance. It is an effective way to consolidate and expand the achievements of centralized learning and education within the Party and to unremittingly promote comprehensive and strict Party governance. It is of great significance for advancing the cause of the Party and the country and for promoting comprehensive and strict Party governance.

In order to promote the solid development of study and education and create a good public opinion atmosphere, this newspaper will launch a special column today entitled "Establishing and Practicing a Correct View of Performance" to showcase the progress and effectiveness of study and education in various regions, departments, and units.

The Party Central Committee has decided to carry out study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance throughout the Party. General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) has repeatedly emphasized the need to establish and practice a correct view of performance, and has recently emphasized it again in several important speeches, which has pointed out the direction and provided important guidance for carrying out study and education.

The General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (中共中央办公厅) recently issued the "Notice on Carrying Out Study and Education on Establishing and Practicing a Correct View of Performance Throughout the Party." On February 24, the Central Party Building Work Leadership Group (中央党的建设工作领导小组) held a meeting to study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important speech and instructions on study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, and to study and deploy study and education work.

In recent days, all regions, departments, and units have taken the development of study and education as an important political task, deeply studied and implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important speech and instructions, earnestly implemented the Party Central Committee's (党中央) deployment, carefully organized and implemented it, and ensured that study and education achieved practical results.

Raise the Standing and Solidify Responsibilities

All regions, departments, and units studied and deployed study and education programs at the first time, solidified responsibilities, clarified tasks, and ensured that study and education was launched in an orderly manner and fully rolled out.

The Beijing Municipal Party Committee's Party Building Work Leadership Group (北京市委党的建设工作领导小组) held a meeting, requiring a serious study and understanding of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important expositions on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, and unifying thoughts and actions to the Party Central Committee's (党中央) decisions and deployments from the height of firmly supporting the "Two Establishments" and resolutely achieving the "Two Safeguards"; focusing on leading groups and leading cadres above the department level, especially the "Number One Leaders," without batches or stages, and adhering to the highest standards to carry out study and education.

The Shanxi Provincial Party Committee's Party Building Work Leadership Group (山西省委党的建设工作领导小组) held a meeting to review and approve the implementation plan for carrying out study and education in the province, requiring Party committees (Party groups) at all levels to shoulder the main responsibility, the main responsible comrades to assume the responsibility of the first person responsible, members of the leading group to fulfill their "one post, two responsibilities," and give full play to the guiding role of the Party committees (Party groups) of the competent departments of the industry system in the study and education of the industry system, carefully plan and deploy, and carefully organize and implement.

The Party Group of the Central Party History and Literature Research Institute (中央党史和文献研究院院务会) established a working group at the first time, formulated an implementation plan, made arrangements and deployments for carrying out study and education, and proposed to comprehensively study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important expositions on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, while grasping its own study and education with high standards and high quality, give full play to professional advantages, continuously deepen research and interpretation from the perspective of combining history and reality, theory and practice, and continuously launch new achievements to actively serve the Party's study and education.

The Party Group of the Ministry of Education (教育部党组) held a meeting to deploy the study and education of the Ministry of Education's directly affiliated system, requiring to closely focus on the goal of a strong education country, adhere to the integration of learning, inspection, and rectification, and implement the tasks of study and education with high standards and high quality; adhere to reading the original works, learning the original texts, and understanding the principles, and effectively transform the results of learning into concrete measures to plan and implement the "15th Five-Year Plan" for education development and accelerate the construction of a strong education country, and serve the construction of Chinese-style modernization with practical work and practical results.

The Party Committee of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (国务院国资委党委) held an enlarged meeting and a meeting of the Party Building Work Leadership Group to study and deploy the launch of study and education work for state-owned assets and central enterprises, requiring Party organizations at all levels of state-owned assets and central enterprises to highlight strict and practical standards, and promote the implementation of study and education with practical measures; to deeply understand, accurately grasp, and comprehensively implement the general requirements of "ruling the Party for the public, benefiting the people, making scientific decisions, and doing practical work," adhere to the integration of learning, inspection, and rectification, and coordinate the study and education and key work tasks.

Deep Learning and Profound Understanding, Concentrating the Mind and Casting the Soul

All regions, departments, and units educate and guide Party members and cadres to deeply study General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important expositions on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, deeply study the "Proposals of the CPC Central Committee on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development" (《中共中央关于制定国民经济和社会发展第十五个五年规划的建议》), and deeply study General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important speeches and instructions on the region, department, and field, and promote the study and education to go deep and be solid.

The Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee (广东省委常委会) held a meeting, convened the meeting of the Provincial Party Building Work Leadership Group (省委党的建设工作领导小组), requiring adherence to the integration of learning, thinking, and application, and the unity of knowledge, faith, and action, combining the study of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important expositions on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance with the in-depth study of the spirit of the 20th Fourth Plenary Session of the Party (党的二十届四中全会) and the study of the "15th Five-Year Plan" proposals, combining with strengthening investigation and research and doing the work of the region and department, adhering to learning the original text, highlighting hierarchical and classified learning, and closely linking with specific practice.

The Chongqing Municipal Party Committee (重庆市委) requires highlighting the leading role of learning, learning the original text of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important expositions on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, learning through the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important speeches and instructions on inspecting Chongqing (重庆), and effectively transforming the effectiveness of study and education into the spirit of being the first to do and striving for the first, to provide a strong guarantee for doing solid work on the "two major positioning," playing the "three roles," accelerating the construction of "six districts and one highland," and striving to write a new chapter in Chongqing's (重庆) Chinese-style modernization.

The Yunnan Provincial Party Committee (云南省委) requires adhering to focusing on the theme of deep learning, deeply studying General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important expositions on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, promoting Party members and cadres to fully and accurately implement the new development concept, and understanding the development thought centered on the people; at the same time, deeply finding out the existing problems in the view of performance, focusing on outstanding problems, grasping typical cases, grasping current cases, and grasping notifications, implementing the action of style revolution and efficiency revolution, and focusing on breaking the problems of some cadres not taking responsibility, not being attentive, and not being serious.

The Party Group of the Ministry of Natural Resources (自然资源部党组) stated that it will deeply study General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important expositions on establishing and practicing a correct view of performance, implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's (习近平) important expositions and important instructions and instructions on natural resources work, the construction of a maritime power, and land greening, earnestly implement the Party Central Committee's (党中央) major decisions and deployments, deeply find out and correct deviations in the view of performance, focus on rectifying formalism in planning and compilation, and focus on resolving petition issues in the field of natural resources.

Seeking Truth and Being Pragmatic, Doing Practical Work

All regions, departments, and units stated that they should take "ruling the Party for the public, benefiting the people, making scientific decisions, and doing practical work" as the general requirement, adhere to the integration of learning, inspection, and rectification, and strive to make efforts and see results in deep learning, true inspection, and practical rectification.

The Party Building Work Leadership Group of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee (浙江省委党的建设工作领导小组) held a meeting to deploy the launch of study and education work in the province, emphasizing the integrated promotion of learning, inspection, and rectification, educating and guiding Party organizations and Party members and cadres at all levels in the province to always focus on the word "implementation," vigorously promote the "six dry" style, and effectively embody performance in promoting high-quality development, in narrowing the "three major gaps," and in the people's sense of happiness and satisfaction.

The Anhui Provincial Party Committee (安徽省委) requires adhering to the problem orientation, daring to expose shortcomings and ugliness, deeply finding out the existing problems in the view of performance, finding gaps, investigating the roots, and strengthening self-cultivation from the perspective of Party spirit, so as to draw inferences from one instance and resolutely correct them; to report and expose a number of negative cases, seriously hold accountable a number of Party members and cadres, vigorously select and establish a number of advanced models, and establish and improve a number of policies and regulations, guiding Party organizations and Party members and cadres at all levels to adhere to seeking truth from facts and being pragmatic, to produce performance for the people and to produce performance with practical work.

The Shandong Provincial Party Committee (山东省委) held a working conference on ensuring a good start to the "15th Five-Year Plan" by cadres in the province who are doing their jobs, taking responsibility, and fulfilling their duties, mobilizing the entire province to further do their jobs, take responsibility, and fulfill their duties. Shandong (山东) will widely solicit opinions and suggestions through on-site investigations, government service convenience hotlines, etc., and the province, cities, and counties (cities, districts) will respectively study and determine the key livelihood practical matters to be promoted in a concentrated manner, so that the masses can participate, benefit, and be tangible and accessible from the beginning.

The Party Group of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (生态环境部党组) proposed to earnestly implement the work arrangements such as learning and discussion, finding problems, rectification and remediation, establishing rules and regulations, and opening up education, educating and guiding Party organizations at all levels and all Party members and cadres in the Ministry system to adhere to seeking truth from facts and being pragmatic, resolutely and forcefully implement the Party Central Committee's (党中央) major decisions and deployments, produce performance for the people and produce performance with practical work, and provide a strong guarantee for promoting new and major progress in the construction of a beautiful China.

The Party Group of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (农业农村部党组) stated that it will educate and guide Party organizations at all levels and all Party members and cadres in the system to adhere to the integrated promotion of learning, inspection, and rectification, conduct a thorough self-examination of outstanding problems, carry out rectification and remediation with real action, draw inferences from one instance and grasp the establishment of rules and regulations, effectively prevent and correct deviations in the view of performance, resolutely and forcefully implement the Party Central Committee's (党中央) decision-making and deployment of "three rural" work, and promote a good start and a good step for the "15th Five-Year Plan" for agricultural and rural work with practical work and practical results.

(Our reporters Zhao Cheng (赵成), Wu Dan (吴丹), Zhu Jun (朱隽), Wang Haonan (王昊男), Hou Linliang (侯琳良), Yang Wenming (杨文明), Wang Yunna (王云娜), Liu Junguo (刘军国), Li Xinping (李心萍), Kou Jiangze (寇江泽), Li Linwei (李林蔚), Chang Qin (常钦), Liu Xinwu (刘新吾), Zheng Yangyang (郑洋洋), and Li Junjie (李俊杰))

Return to Top

Building a Livelihood Project to Serve the Health of People in SCO Member States

By: 本报记者 姜泓冰 崔 寅

On February 27th, the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Metabolic Disease Cooperation Center was established at Ruijin Hospital (瑞金医院), affiliated with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (上海交通大学医学院). Representatives from embassies and consulates of more than 20 countries, including SCO member states and SCO partners, attended the event.

"This is a very forward-looking initiative," said SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming (张明) at the unveiling ceremony. "Thanks to the leap in digital healthcare and telemedicine technologies, coupled with the significant progress of medical institutions in various member states, we have found a new way to improve medical accessibility and diagnostic efficiency, which will make the connections within the SCO even closer."

From "Health Challenge" to "SCO Demonstration"

With rapid economic growth and rapid changes in lifestyles, metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity have become major public health threats to the health of people in various countries, not only affecting the quality of life but also bringing enormous pressure to the healthcare systems of various countries.

The SCO is the world's most populous and geographically extensive regional cooperation organization, covering 27 countries with a population of approximately 3.4 billion. Metabolic diseases are one of the most serious health challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Data shows that 1 in every 2 metabolic disease patients worldwide comes from SCO-related countries. Deaths related to metabolic diseases, including diabetes and obesity, account for more than 70% of all deaths and have become the leading cause of non-communicable diseases in the region.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (习近平) pointed out in his important speech at the 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: "China always links its own development with the development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and with the aspirations of the people of all member states for a better life."

Strengthening cooperation in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of metabolic diseases is in line with this aspiration. In November 2025, Premier Li Qiang (李强) stated at the 24th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states in Moscow that China proposed the establishment of the China-SCO Metabolic Disease Cooperation Center.

In less than half a year, the center was quickly established. Zhang Ming (张明) highly praised this: "This fully demonstrates China's firm determination and strong action to promote the building of a community of common destiny for the SCO and a community of health for mankind. This is not only a concrete practice of implementing President Xi Jinping's (习近平) proposal at the Tianjin Summit to promote the building of a more just and reasonable global governance system and to move firmly towards the beautiful future of building a community of common destiny for mankind, but also an 'SCO demonstration' that promotes the common values of mankind, which is of milestone significance."

Seeking a "Universal Solution" in "Multiple Differences"

The establishment of a professional and international cooperation platform for the prevention and control of metabolic diseases, gathering the strength of various countries, sharing high-quality resources, responding to regional health needs, and promoting regional coordination and experience sharing, has important practical significance.

Shanghai (上海) has a concentration of medical resources and intensive medical activities, and is at the forefront of China's opening up and international cooperation. However, the SCO member states and partners are numerous, and the cultural customs, dietary structures, economic levels, and disease susceptibility of the people vary greatly, making prevention and control quite difficult. How to seek consensus in diversity and build a truly universal, inclusive, and effective system for the prevention and control of metabolic diseases? This is a difficult problem facing Ning Guang (宁光), Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of Ruijin Hospital (瑞金医院) affiliated with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (上海交通大学医学院).

"Unexpectedly, representatives from every country expressed the most positive willingness and full support," Ning Guang (宁光) said, feeling both surprised and encouraged during his visits to the embassies of SCO countries in China. "Health is a common pursuit of all mankind. SCO countries have not only accumulated rich local experience in the field of metabolic disease prevention and control, but also have a good understanding of China's experience and achievements."

In China, the strategy of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine for chronic disease management has achieved significant results. In India, yoga and Ayurveda medicine have been incorporated into the national chronic disease management plan, building the first line of defense for people with pre-diabetes in a low-cost and widely accessible manner. In Kazakhstan, mobile screening, remote monitoring, and mobile medical vehicles have broken the difficulties of prevention and control in sparsely populated areas... These successful experiences prove that in the SCO region with limited resources and diverse cultures, it is entirely possible to take a path of "coordinated, universal, inclusive, and comprehensive" prevention and control.

"We are willing to share our experience and achievements with SCO partners free of charge," Ning Guang (宁光) told reporters.

Empowering "Regional Health" with the "China Sample"

"The metabolic all-in-one machine can complete the examination, diagnosis, and treatment management of diabetes and its complications in 15 minutes. How should it be deployed?" Faced with the questions from the participating guests, experts from Ruijin Hospital (瑞金医院) explained in detail one by one. At the exhibition of scientific research and transformation products, guests from the SCO listened carefully and asked questions whenever they did not understand.

In front of the non-invasive blood glucose meter, Shevchenko Alexander, the Consul General of Belarus in Shanghai (上海), experienced the measurement with great interest. After disinfecting the thenar eminence of his right hand with alcohol, he put his hand into the instrument. In just two or three minutes, the screen displayed two measurement results and provided corresponding lifestyle suggestions. Cherveyakov, the Belarusian Ambassador to China, who was next to him, kept asking: "What is the detection principle? What is the purchase price? What are the requirements for medical staff?" and immediately asked for the scientific papers published by the Ruijin (瑞金) team in the journal *Nature Metabolism*.

In the field of metabolic disease prevention and control, China has established a distinctive "prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, management, and rehabilitation" health management system. Ruijin Hospital (瑞金医院) has national-level platforms such as the National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases, and has rich experience in prevention, diagnosis, scientific research, and talent training. In the past 10 years, the National Standardized Metabolic Disease Management Center promoted by Ruijin Hospital (瑞金医院) nationwide has covered 2,068 hospitals, managing nearly 3.5 million patients, and increasing the comprehensive achievement rate of patients' metabolic indicators from 7% to 21%. It is estimated that major vascular-related emergencies have decreased by 11%, saving more than 2.3 billion yuan in medical costs annually. This is not only the world's largest diabetes prevention and treatment program, but also a replicable and scalable "China sample."

According to Ning Guang (宁光), the China-SCO Metabolic Disease Cooperation Center will undertake tasks such as medical assistance, medical training, technology sharing and transfer, and industrial technology exchange. In the next three years, the center plans to train 2,000 metabolic disease prevention and control experts for the SCO, achieve the sharing of 500 medical technologies within the region, and propose the establishment of an "SCO Metabolic Forum" to further promote exchanges and cooperation in the field of health within the SCO.

By working with SCO countries to jointly address and systematically manage the problem of metabolic diseases and improve the well-being of the people of all countries, the China-SCO Metabolic Disease Cooperation Center is not only an important engine for promoting the health empowerment and construction of the SCO, but also a livelihood project that serves the health of the people of all SCO countries.

Return to Top

Curb Japan's "Remilitarization" Frenzy with Concrete Actions (Zhong Sheng)

Japan's "remilitarization" and attempts to possess nuclear weapons have posed a serious threat to regional security and stability. The key to maintaining peace lies in taking action to stop the surge of the Japanese right wing. China's introduction of control measures in accordance with the law is precisely to prevent the inflow of dual-use items into Japan's arms expansion chain with practical actions, and to resolutely curb the resurgence of militarism.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce recently issued an announcement deciding to include 20 entities involved in enhancing Japan's military strength in the export control management list, and at the same time include 20 Japanese entities that cannot verify the end users and end uses of dual-use items in the list of concerns. China's move is aimed at safeguarding national security and interests, fulfilling international obligations such as non-proliferation, and preventing Japan's "remilitarization" and attempts to possess nuclear weapons. It is completely legitimate, reasonable and legal, and demonstrates the spirit of the rule of law and the responsibility of a major country.

China announced on January 6 its decision to strengthen export controls on dual-use items to Japan. This time, "naming" specific companies is to transform the previous ban into precise and enforceable entity control, so as to effectively safeguard national security and regional peace and stability. According to documents with international legal effect such as the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, Japan should "completely disarm" and must not "maintain industries that can rearm it." However, many Japanese companies, such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (三菱重工), IHI Corporation (IHI株式会社), and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (川崎重工), have long been active in the defense industry, producing equipment such as ships, fighter jets, and missiles. For example, several companies under Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (三菱重工) participated in the development of Japan's hypersonic weapon system "Island Defense High-Speed ​​Gliding Bomb"; ships built by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (三菱造船株式会社) not only serve Japan's maritime infringement in the Diaoyu Islands (钓鱼岛) direction, but also build multi-functional response ships for the Philippine Coast Guard for infringement in the South China Sea direction, posing a threat to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. China's relevant measures are a powerful manifestation of precisely curbing Japan's development of offensive military power and firmly safeguarding international law and the post-war international order.

Japan's promotion of "remilitarization" has actual routes and actions, and a new type of military-industrial complex is accelerating its formation. In recent years, Japan's pace of arms expansion has accelerated, and defense spending has increased for 14 consecutive years from fiscal year 2012 to fiscal year 2026, and has even doubled within 3 years since 2022. "National-level operation" has made Japanese military companies earn a lot of money, and even created a "military-industrial bubble" in the capital market. Data shows that since November 2022, the stock price of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (三菱重工) has increased by more than 650%, the stock price of IHI Corporation (IHI株式会社) has increased by more than 480%, and the stock price of Kawasaki Heavy Industries (川崎重工) has increased by more than 280%. In sharp contrast, the average annual growth rate of Japan's manufacturing industry during the same period was less than 1%.

Since Sanae Takaichi (高市早苗) took office, Japan's "remilitarization" process has obviously accelerated, and preparations for war have been elevated to the absolute priority of the country, and support for the military-industrial interest groups has been further increased. It is reported that the Takaichi (高市) administration plans to fill the military spending gap by issuing large-scale bonds and levying a "special defense income tax," and plans to establish a "National Intelligence Agency" this year. Sanae Takaichi (高市早苗) recently delivered a policy speech in the House of Representatives, declaring that "Japan needs to proactively and fundamentally strengthen its defense capabilities," and said that "it will firmly convey the needs of defense procurement to the industry." These actions will promote a deeper binding between Japan's defense spending and the interests of specific industries and consortia, and build a self-reinforcing, cyclically accelerating policy and interest closed loop.

In the process of promoting "remilitarization," the nuclear ambitions of the Japanese right wing are growing. Japanese politicians have recently been conducting dangerous probes, openly clamoring for "nuclear weapons" and seeking to revise the long-standing "three non-nuclear principles." As we all know, Japan is a typical "nuclear threshold country," which has long produced and stockpiled plutonium materials far exceeding the actual needs of civilian nuclear energy. As of the end of 2024, the total amount of separated plutonium materials stockpiled by Japan has reached 44.4 tons. Japan has now built a complete nuclear fuel cycle system and has strong nuclear industrial capabilities, and can rely on nuclear reactors and post-processing technologies and facilities to produce weapons-grade plutonium materials. Once the political fanaticism of the right wing drives Japan to cross the "nuclear threshold," Pandora's box will be opened, and the global nuclear non-proliferation system will be severely impacted. Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao (联合早报) recently published a commentary pointing out that nuclear non-proliferation is still the mainstream theme of today's international politics, and Japan's nuclear weapons development does not conform to the interests of Southeast Asia. Reducing the arms race and reducing the risk of war are in line with the needs of regional stability.

Japan's "remilitarization" and attempts to possess nuclear weapons have posed a serious threat to regional security and stability. The lessons of history tell us that appeasement of militarism is a betrayal of peace. The key to maintaining peace lies in taking action to stop the surge of the Japanese right wing. China's introduction of control measures in accordance with the law is precisely to prevent the inflow of dual-use items into Japan's arms expansion chain with practical actions, and to resolutely curb the resurgence of militarism. China will work with all peace-loving countries to resolutely defend the post-war international order and jointly maintain regional security and stability.

The Japanese right-wing forces should wake up as soon as possible: retracing the old path of 穷兵黩武 (qióng bīng dú wǔ - "exhausting the military and resorting to war," to engage in constant warfare and military expansion, leading to national exhaustion) is a dead end of self-destruction. Any adventurous act that attempts to challenge international justice and order will be met with a head-on blow from international forces of justice.

Return to Top

Peng Qinghua Meets with Lao Front for National Construction Delegation

The Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and President of the Chinese People's Association for Peace and Disarmament, Peng Qinghua (彭清华), met with Sommad Pholsena (宋玛·奔舍那), Vice President of the Lao National Assembly and Chairman of the Committee for Peace and Solidarity, in Beijing (北京) on February 27. The two sides exchanged in-depth views on the construction of the China-Laos community with a shared future, exchanges between the two countries' legislative bodies, and cultural exchanges.

Return to Top

Saudi Arabia and China jointly paint a new picture of cultural exchange.

By: 本报记者 任皓宇

With upturned eaves and raised corners, and lanterns hung high, the market decorated in traditional Chinese style was a scene of bustling festivity, with Chinese and Saudi cultures, arts, and cuisine presented together. Recently, the "Cultural Market" event, jointly organized by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism (中国文化和旅游部) and the Saudi Ministry of Culture, was held in Riyadh (利雅得), the capital of Saudi Arabia, attracting many visitors.

In a corner of the market, after finishing a "cloud tour" of the Beijing Central Axis (北京中轴线), Saudi girl Waad Al-Harbi (瓦阿德·哈尔比) took off her VR (virtual reality) device, still savoring the experience: "I rode a carriage through the Forbidden City (紫禁城), 'flew' onto the roof ridge to see the mythical beasts, heard the morning bell and evening drum, and overlooked the night view of the central axis. This immersive 'tourism' made me feel the profound history and charm of Chinese culture, and aroused my strong interest in traveling to China."

On the stage, artists from the Hunan Provincial Song and Dance Theater (湖南省歌舞剧院) performed ethnic dances, opera acrobatics, puppet shows, and other programs, winning a full house of applause. The "World Heritage Quanzhou: Colorful Intangible Cultural Heritage" exhibition area showcased intangible cultural heritage skills such as Anxi (安溪) bamboo and rattan weaving and Quanzhou (泉州) tin carving, attracting people to experience and check in. Chinese delicacies such as beef noodles, steamed buns, and rice noodles filled the air with fragrance, and people lined up to taste them. "So many Chinese characteristic projects have given me a panoramic view of Chinese culture," said Jihad, a local resident. "Chinese products and technologies have facilitated our daily lives, and Chinese culture is also extraordinarily charming. This trip was truly worthwhile."

During the "Cultural Market," Saudi artists brought experiences of handicrafts such as date palm leaf weaving and metal carving, as well as ethnic dance performances. Abdulrahman Almutawa, spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Culture, said that Saudi Arabia and China have a long history of civilization exchange. This dialogue, creative display, and experience sharing provide new opportunities for continuously deepening cultural exchange.

It is understood that under the framework of the "2025 China-Saudi Arabia Culture Year," the two countries will jointly hold about 60 colorful cultural activities, which will effectively enhance cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the two sides. During this period, Chinese publishing institutions also brought more than a thousand books and cultural and creative products to participate in the Riyadh International Book Fair. The opera "Carmen," the "Harmony of Heaven and Earth: Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Musical Instruments," and the National Centre for the Performing Arts (国家大剧院) Chorus Concert and other diverse activities were held in turn, opening a new window for the Saudi people to understand China.

In November last year, the third Saudi International Handicrafts Week was held at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (努拉公主大学) in Riyadh, with China as the guest of honor. In the Chinese Pavilion, the China Arts and Crafts Museum (中国工艺美术馆) organized the exhibition of more than a thousand handicrafts and invited 20 representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage to demonstrate their skills on site. Outside the Chinese Pavilion, Anhui Huagudeng, Guangdong Lion Dance, Northern Sichuan Puppet Show, and Shaanxi Huaxian Shadow Puppets and other intangible cultural heritage projects were performed daily in the core area, and the audience scrambled to take photos with the actors. Dalia Yehia, Director of the Handicrafts Department of the Saudi Heritage Commission, said that Saudi Arabia and China both have a long history in the field of handicrafts, and techniques such as textile and embroidery are similar. At this Handicrafts Week, craftsmen from the two countries exchanged ideas, shared experiences, and promoted mutual learning and common development of culture.

In China, activities such as the "Arts of the Kingdom: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia" exhibition, the Saudi Tourism Festival, and Movie Nights have been successfully held, showcasing the rich history and culture of the Arabian Peninsula. The "Saudi Town" in Shanghai set up themed exhibition areas such as AlUla, Jeddah (吉达), and Riyadh (利雅得), allowing Chinese tourists to experience the Saudi style without leaving the country.

"Saudi Arabia and China jointly paint a new picture of cultural exchange." Salah Qarni, a columnist for the Saudi newspaper *Al-Riyadh* (《利雅得报》), said, "The holding of a series of activities has enhanced the mutual understanding between the two peoples."

Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chang Hua (常华) said that people-to-people connectivity is the source of vitality for the development of China-Saudi Arabia relations. The Cultural Year activities not only promote cultural integration but also continuously enhance mutual understanding between the two peoples. Mutual learning between the two civilizations will deepen and solidify on this basis, injecting new connotations into the China-Saudi Arabia comprehensive strategic partnership.

(Reported from Riyadh)

Return to Top

Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath arrive in China

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 27th. King Norodom Sihamoni (诺罗敦·西哈莫尼) of Cambodia and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk (诺罗敦·莫尼列·西哈努克) arrived in Beijing (北京) by special plane on the 27th.

Return to Top

Adjustment of Additional Tariff Measures on Some Imported Goods Originating in Canada

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing (北京), February 27th. The State Council Tariff Commission (国务院关税税则委员会) announced on February 27th that, in order to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of China (中国) and Canada (加拿大), and in accordance with the "Customs Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国关税法)", the "Customs Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国海关法)", the "Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国对外贸易法)" and other laws and regulations, as well as the basic principles of international law, from March 1, 2026, to December 31, 2026, the additional tariff measures stipulated in the "Announcement of the State Council Tariff Commission (国务院关税税则委员会) on Imposing Additional Tariffs on Some Imported Goods Originating in Canada (加拿大)" (Tax Commission Announcement 2025 No. 3) will be adjusted. The 100% additional tariff on oilseed cakes and peas originating in Canada (加拿大), as well as the 25% additional tariff on lobsters and crabs originating in Canada (加拿大), will not be imposed.

Return to Top

Sanae Takaichi's remarks on arms exports spark criticism in Japanese public opinion.

Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, February 27th (Reporters Li Ziyue (李子越) and Chen Ze'an (陈泽安)) According to Japanese media reports, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (高市早苗) denied the claim that Japan's arms exports need to be approved by the Diet in advance when she was questioned by opposition parties at a meeting of the House of Representatives Budget Committee on the 27th, saying that the government can make judgments as the main body. Her remarks have aroused much criticism in Japan.

The Diet questioning was triggered by the Liberal Democratic Party's (自民党) recent move to lift the ban on arms exports. On February 25, the Liberal Democratic Party's National Security Research Commission passed a revision proposal to the "Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment" application guidelines. The core recommendations include removing the five types of restrictions on arms exports; allowing equipment jointly developed with other countries to be exported to third countries; and allowing the export of weapons to countries in combat when the government determines that there are "special circumstances." The relevant recommendations will be submitted to the government in early March. This amendment does not require amendment by the Diet and can be completed through internal government procedures.

The Liberal Democratic Party's (自民党) strong move to "loosen" arms exports has aroused widespread concern. In the Diet questioning on the 27th, some opposition lawmakers advocated a Diet prior approval mechanism for arms exports. Takaichi (高市) responded that this matter falls within the scope of administrative power and can be judged by the government as the main body after being reviewed by the National Security Council.

The relevant trends and remarks have aroused much criticism. The Aichi Prefecture Peace Committee (愛知县和平委员会) said on social media on the 27th that this move "lacks democracy and is absolutely unacceptable." Many netizens also left messages saying, "This is an extreme contempt for voters, what is the difference from a military dictatorship?" "It is unacceptable for Japanese exports of weapons to be used to take the lives of others."

Japanese writer Riken Komatsu (小松理虔) believes that various policies should not be forcibly implemented simply on the grounds of "gaining trust through elections." He pointed out that the "weapon" that can truly protect the people should be "diplomacy," and the government should invest more resources in the field of diplomacy, rather than arms exports.

Return to Top

Hungary section of Belgrade-Budapest railway officially opens for freight transport

This newspaper reported from Budapest on February 27th (Reporter: Yu Limin (禹丽敏)) At approximately midnight local time on February 27th, a freight train departed from the Ferencváros railway station in Budapest (布达佩斯), the capital of Hungary (匈牙利), marking the official commencement of freight transport on the Hungarian section of the Belgrade-Budapest railway.

The 341.7-kilometer-long Belgrade-Budapest railway connects Budapest (布达佩斯) with Belgrade (贝尔格莱德), the capital of Serbia (塞尔维亚). It is a landmark project of China (中国) and Central and Eastern European countries jointly building the "Belt and Road" initiative, and also the first project in which Chinese railway technology and equipment are aligned with EU railway interoperability technical specifications.

The Hungarian section of the Belgrade-Budapest railway is approximately 158 kilometers long and is a dual-purpose (passenger and freight) electrified railway with a maximum design speed of 160 kilometers per hour. The project is jointly constructed by units affiliated with China Railway Group Limited (中国中铁股份有限公司) and Hungarian local companies, with financing provided by the Export-Import Bank of China (中国进出口银行).

After the full line of the Belgrade-Budapest railway is opened, the train travel time between Budapest (布达佩斯) and Belgrade (贝尔格莱德) will be reduced from 8 hours to approximately 3 and a half hours.

Return to Top

Report Shows Strong Growth in Value of Chinese Tech Brands

Xinhua News Agency, London, February 26 (Reporters Guo Shuang (郭爽) and Gao Wencheng (高文成)) A report titled "Tech 100 2024" released on the 26th by Brand Finance, a brand valuation consultancy headquartered in London, UK, shows that the total value of Chinese technology brands has grown strongly, ranking first globally in "International Perception of Technology and Innovation."

The report cited survey data covering more than 150,000 respondents worldwide, showing that China jumped to first place globally in "International Perception of Technology and Innovation" in 2024. The report believes this is due to China's leading position in electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy, as well as the widespread application of large digital platforms in China.

Return to Top

The 9th China International Import Expo Promotion Event Held in Sydney

Xinhua News Agency, Sydney, February 27th (Reporters Xue Yanwen (薛艳雯) and Li Xiaoyu (李晓渝)) The 9th China International Import Expo (CIIE) promotion event was held in Sydney (悉尼), Australia from February 26th to 27th. Nearly 100 institutions and enterprises from various parts of Australia participated online and offline to jointly explore new opportunities for Sino-Australian economic and trade cooperation.

Li Guoqing (李国清), Deputy Director of the China International Import Expo Bureau, said that the CIIE has been successfully held for eight consecutive years, continuously releasing the potential of China's ultra-large-scale market. The China International Import Expo Bureau will further strengthen its connection and cooperation with Australian government departments, business associations, and enterprises to provide more accurate, efficient, and professional service guarantees for Australian companies participating in the exhibition.

Ye Wei (叶威), Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Consulate-General in Sydney (中国驻悉尼总领馆), said in his speech that the turnaround in Sino-Australian relations in recent years has brought tangible benefits to the people of both countries. He hopes that the Australian business community will actively organize more companies to participate in the CIIE, covering a wider range of industries, and share the opportunities and dividends of the Chinese market.

Susan Kavvadias, an official from the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, said in her speech that the CIIE is the preferred platform for interaction between the Australian and Chinese business communities and will surely promote Australia's trade development.

Anna Fedeles, General Manager of International Business at Trade and Investment Queensland (昆士兰州贸易投资局), said that the CIIE is highly professional and of a high standard. She hopes that more companies that have never been to China will use this platform to gain an in-depth understanding of the Chinese market this year.

Return to Top

Hebei Demonstrates New Commitment in Advancing the Coordinated Development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region

By: 本报记者 万秀斌 邵玉姿

Social security matters that previously required traveling back and forth between two locations can now be resolved in a "one-stop shop."

At the beginning of 2026, 10 regions, including Xiong'an New Area (雄安新区), took the lead in launching cross-provincial social security management services. Insured individuals in the three regions can apply for various social security services at any service outlet.

The coverage of inter-city services has been further expanded, the number of service items has increased year by year, the coordinated pace of the three regions has been continuously accelerated, and the quality and efficiency of development have been continuously improved.

In May 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized during his inspection in Hebei (河北) and while presiding over a symposium on further promoting the coordinated development of Beijing (北京), Tianjin (天津), and Hebei: "We must promote the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei to a new level, and strive to make Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei a pioneer and demonstration zone for the construction of Chinese-style modernization." In January 2026, the CPC Central Committee (中共中央) and the State Council (国务院) approved the "Modernized Capital Metropolitan Area Spatial Coordination Plan (2023-2035)," clarifying that "focusing on improving the regional layout of the capital's functions, we must firmly grasp the 'leading factor' of relieving Beijing of its non-capital functions" and "build a world-class metropolitan area with the capital as its core, a leading demonstration area for Chinese-style modernization, and support the construction of a world-class urban agglomeration in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei."

Since the implementation of the coordinated development strategy for Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, Hebei Province (河北省) has broken through coordination barriers through mechanism innovation, created benchmark models through key area demonstrations, and driven overall improvement through breakthroughs in key areas, continuously demonstrating new responsibilities in promoting the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei.

Deepening Mechanism Innovation, Continuously Releasing Synergy Efficiency

Walking into a pharmaceutical company in Langfang Economic and Technological Development Zone (廊坊经济技术开发区), the clean and tidy production lines in the production workshop are operating in an orderly manner; in the sewage treatment station, the upgraded pollution control equipment is running smoothly.

"We continue to improve resource utilization, strengthen pollutant emission reduction effects, and promote enterprises to achieve cost reduction and efficiency increase. The air suspension blower alone has achieved 30% energy savings," said Zhou Fubiao (周福彪), the head of the company's safety and environmental protection department, excitedly.

The improvement in efficiency benefits from a mechanism innovation: Tongzhou District (通州区) in Beijing and Langfang City (廊坊市) in Hebei Province launched a pilot project for regional collaborative audit innovation for cleaner production in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

"In the past, we regularly conducted cleaner production audits, and the audit process was cumbersome and the work cycle was long," said Zhou Fubiao. After participating in the pilot project, the two places used the "same yardstick" for audits, and the audit results were shared and mutually recognized, saving more than 100,000 yuan in audit fees at a time.

"Based on the effectiveness of the previous pilot project, we will focus on promoting the improvement of a long-term collaborative audit mechanism, improving the standard system and result mutual recognition mechanism, and expanding the coverage of collaborative audits," said Han Haijun (韩海军), Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Langfang Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment.

For coordinated development, the mechanism is the foundation and the guarantee. To consolidate the foundation, Hebei and Beijing and Tianjin are deepening mechanism innovation and establishing and improving a multi-level, all-round, and cross-field collaborative mechanism system:

High-level consultations are promoted on a regular basis. In May 2025, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Party and Government Major Leaders Symposium was held in Hebei, focusing on key issues such as the construction of a modern capital metropolitan area, and building consensus on coordinated development.

Special work mechanisms are precisely exerting their strength. The three regions have established a cross-regional industrial chain collaboration mechanism, innovated an ecological environment collaborative governance mechanism... to promote the improvement of collaborative efficiency.

Policy linkages in key areas have been implemented. The "Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Beautiful China Pioneer Zone Construction Action Plan" and the "Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Industrial Innovation and Development of Key Areas at the Junction of Tongzhou, Wuqing, and Langfang" have been issued, providing solid policy support for regional ecological collaborative governance and industrial integration.

In 2025, the regional GDP of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei increased by 5.4%, 4.8%, and 5.6% respectively compared with the previous year, and the efficiency of coordinated development continued to be released.

Demonstration of Key Areas, Increasingly Prominent Leading Effect

At 7 a.m., the Chaobai River Bridge (潮白河大桥) is full of traffic. Li Tonghui (李彤晖), who lives in Dachang Hui Autonomous County (大厂回族自治县) in Langfang City, Hebei Province, and works in Beijing, drives on Changtong Road (厂通路) and arrives at her workplace in about 40 minutes. "In the past, I had to detour through Wuxing Road (武兴路) or take the Beijing-Harbin Expressway (京哈高速), which was not only far away, but also particularly congested during peak traffic hours," said Li Tonghui. Since the opening of Changtong Road, the commute time has been shortened by nearly half an hour.

On the other side of the Chaobai River (潮白河), the construction of the underground second floor of Chaobai Street Station (潮白大街站) on Beijing Subway Line 22 (Pinggu Line) (北京轨道交通22号线（平谷线）) is in full swing. "At present, the main structure of all 5 stations in the Hebei section has been completed, and all 6 sections have been fully connected," said Li Baoguo (李宝国), the project leader of the construction unit in the Hebei section. As the first inter-provincial urban rail transit line in Beijing and Hebei, after the opening of Beijing Subway Line 22 (Pinggu Line), the three northern counties of Langfang City will be connected to the Beijing rail transit network and integrated into the capital's "one-hour traffic circle."

"One road a year!" Counting the achievements, Feng Guoxiang (冯国祥), director of the Second Division of the Tongzhou-Beisanhe Demonstration Zone Executive Committee, said. What is unblocked is not only the commute road, but also the road of coordination.

Looking at the industry, the Yanjiao Collaborative Innovation Base (燕郊协同创新基地) of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei National Technology Innovation Center is accelerating its construction; looking at the ecology, the "Chaobai River Biodiversity Protection Collaborative Cooperation Agreement" has been signed, and synchronized emergency response to heavy pollution weather has been achieved; looking at people's livelihood, Beijing Luhe Middle School Sanhe Campus (北京潞河中学三河校区), Beijing Jingshan School Xianghe Branch (北京景山学校香河分校) and other schools have been built... Since the establishment of the Tongzhou-Beisanhe Demonstration Zone Executive Committee, remarkable results have been achieved in infrastructure interconnection, industrial innovation collaboration, ecological environment joint prevention and control, and public service co-construction and sharing, creating a demonstration benchmark for the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei.

"We will continue to deepen regional collaboration, give full play to the leading demonstration role, and promote the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei to continuously achieve new results," said Feng Guoxiang.

Breakthroughs in Key Areas, Comprehensive Improvement of Development Momentum

"We have obtained two independent intellectual property rights!" Wei Baohui (魏宝辉), deputy general manager of Hebei Eagle Eye Intelligent Technology Group Co., Ltd. (河北鹰眼智能科技集团有限公司), was overjoyed that something he had wanted to do three years ago has finally made breakthrough progress.

This high-tech enterprise focusing on AI (artificial intelligence) vision and robotics technology once faced research and development difficulties. In October 2025, Eagle Eye Technology and the Huang Biqing (黄必清) professor team from the Department of Automation of Tsinghua University (清华大学) hit it off at the "Double Entry and Double Promotion" series of activities organized by the Tangshan Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology in Hebei Province (河北省唐山市科技局), and quickly signed a contract. "With the addition of the professor team, our research and development efficiency has increased several times," said Wei Baohui.

Collaboration has not only smoothed the research and development path, but also opened up the "last mile" of achievement transformation.

Tangshan Baichuan Robot Sharing Manufacturing Factory (唐山百川机器人共享制造工厂) integrates 800 sets of shared equipment and more than 1,000 professional talents. Not long ago, the prototype of the passive exoskeleton bionic robot developed by the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学院力学研究所) was completed here. "The factory's scientific research team repeatedly optimized the plan and delivered the first prototype in only 20 days," said Wang Mengzhao (王孟昭), the head of the factory. "Scientific research institutions make '0 to 0.8' technological breakthroughs, and we specialize in '0.8 to 1' landing transformation."

As the leader of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei robot industry chain, Hebei is accelerating the construction of a new model of "Beijing-Tianjin research and development, Hebei transformation" and accelerating the creation of the robot industry. In 2025, the number of robot-related enterprises in Hebei Province reached 468, an increase of 98 compared with the end of 2024; the operating income of the entire industry chain was 22.32 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 42.5%; and the output of robots was 219,000 units (sets), a year-on-year increase of 80.8%.

The coordinated development of the robot industry is a microcosm. The power of collaboration is extending from the industry to the entire region: in terms of transportation, the Beijing-Tangshan Intercity Railway (京唐城际铁路) and Chengping Expressway (承平高速) have been fully opened, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei "one-hour traffic circle" is more complete; in terms of ecology, the three regions have deepened joint construction, joint prevention, and joint governance, and new breakthroughs have been made in cross-border river basin management and atmospheric joint prevention and control; in terms of people's livelihood, high-quality education and medical resources in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei have been deeply interconnected, and direct settlement of medical treatment in different places has fully covered the entire region...

"We will adhere to full-area connection and comprehensive undertaking, promote the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei to expand in depth and breadth, and make greater contributions to making Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei a pioneer and demonstration zone for the construction of Chinese-style modernization," said the relevant person in charge of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Coordinated Development Joint Work Office.

Return to Top

Making Villagers' Voices Heard and Responded To (Practical Action Demonstrates Responsibility, Working Together to Start a New Journey: Stories of NPC Deputies and CPPCC Members Performing Their Duties)

By: 本报记者 张 枨

In the first month of the lunar year, in Huangqitan Village (黄旗滩村), Zhuozi County (卓资县), Ulanqab City (乌兰察布市), Inner Mongolia (内蒙古), every household's door is adorned with large red lanterns, and the festive atmosphere of the New Year remains strong. These lanterns were distributed and installed free of charge by the village committee before the New Year.

"Now, for all major decisions in the village, we must listen to the opinions of the villagers. The free installation of lanterns was also implemented after soliciting opinions and obtaining the consent of more than half of the villagers," said Xue Zhilong (薛志龙), a National People's Congress (NPC) representative and secretary of the Huangqitan Village (黄旗滩村) Party Branch. Through the "Shan Zhi Mei (善治美)" mobile app, a village-level affairs management platform, the villagers of Huangqitan Village (黄旗滩村) raise questions and offer opinions. At the same time, the village also distributes paper-based mass appeal cards.

"As a grassroots NPC representative, the voices of my fellow villagers are an important basis for me to reflect public opinion and propose relevant suggestions," said Xue Zhilong (薛志龙).

In the past, some drylands in the village relied on rainfall, and the villagers hoped to build high-standard dryland farmland. Fluctuations in cattle and sheep prices and other risks made the villagers feel uneasy, and they hoped to have specialized livestock insurance. The large number of elderly people in the village made cooking and eating difficult... This is not only the urgent need of the villagers of Huangqitan Village (黄旗滩村), but also a problem faced by many rural areas in the western region.

After being elected as an NPC representative, Xue Zhilong (薛志龙) conducted in-depth research and transformed common appeals into suggestions. He put forward 9 suggestions focusing on strengthening the construction of high-standard dryland farmland, promoting the establishment of agricultural and animal husbandry insurance companies, and promoting the construction of a rural elderly care service system, which received positive responses.

Huangqitan Village (黄旗滩村) has more than 8,000 mu of *Caragana korshinskii* and wild apricots, but there has been no clue as to how to develop the under-forest economy. Last year, Xue Zhilong (薛志龙) went to Hulunbuir (呼伦贝尔), Tongliao (通辽), Chifeng (赤峰) and other places to conduct research on sand fixation and *Caragana korshinskii* harvesting, preparing relevant suggestions for the next step in developing the under-forest economy.

Rural elderly care is also a key issue of concern for Xue Zhilong (薛志龙). "How to achieve the long-term operation of rural elderly care restaurants, and how to further refine and clarify the relevant policy guarantees for elderly people in rural areas with special difficulties such as old age, living alone, and disability, are areas that I have been paying attention to for a long time. I will continue to make suggestions on rural elderly care issues this year," said Xue Zhilong (薛志龙). At this year's National People's Congress (全国两会), he will continue to transform grassroots appeals into practical suggestions, bring everyone's voices to the meeting, and make the voices of his fellow villagers heard and responded to.

Reporter's Notes

"Golden Ideas" are in the Voices of the People

An important part of the duties of NPC representatives is to collect public opinion. The good voices of the grassroots, "stained with soil" and "carrying dewdrops," are an important basis for representatives to put forward suggestions. The process of collecting and sorting out the voices of the people is a vivid embodiment of practicing whole-process people's democracy.

"I will continue to listen to the voices of the villagers, use everyone's 'golden ideas' to help rural development, and continue to perform my duties focusing on rural industrial upgrading, people's livelihood security, and digital empowerment, so as to contribute to promoting the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside," said Xue Zhilong (薛志龙).

Return to Top

Helping people with disabilities find work and do it well (Practical Action Demonstrates Responsibility, Working Together to Start a New Journey: Stories of NPC Deputies and CPPCC Members Performing Their Duties)

By: 本报记者 祝佳祺

As the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) are about to convene, Wei Jun (韦军), a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and Director of the Audit and Quality Management Office of Guangxi Sport Vocational College (广西体育高等专科学校), is busy organizing his work notes and improving the content of his proposals.

"This year, my focus is on how to make vocational education and training better serve people in need and special groups," Wei Jun (韦军) told reporters. Last year, during a research trip, he met a young man with lower limb disabilities who was embroidering embroidered balls. The embroidery was very exquisite, but he could only sell three or five pieces a month.

"I learned the craft from the elderly in the village. If I could learn modern design concepts and e-commerce operation knowledge, maybe I could turn the craft into a real career." The young man's words impressed Wei Jun (韦军).

"What I see is not only an individual's yearning for a better life, but also the gap between inclusive training and personalized needs. This is a livelihood issue." Wei Jun (韦军) repeatedly pondered, "We must not only let people with disabilities have something to do, but also let them do well, and specialized vocational skills training is the golden key to solving the problem."

After realizing the crux of the problem, Wei Jun (韦军) conducted a large number of investigations. He went deep into vocational colleges to understand the anxiety and expectations of teachers and students regarding the "ceiling" of career development; visited experts from the China Vocational Education Association (中华职教社); and listened to entrepreneurs' feelings about the certification and evaluation of highly skilled talents.

"Some people still have stereotypes about vocational education. The key reason is that there is a gap between the training direction of vocational education and the needs of enterprises and the employment market. In addition, the recognition of vocational education training results is different from that of general education, which makes many people afraid to easily choose vocational education." At a panel discussion of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the CPPCC this year, Wei Jun (韦军) also made a suggestive speech on this issue, listened to the feedback from scholars, and strengthened his confidence in the relevant proposals.

"Many of my proposals are not the result of one year's work, nor the effort of one person, but a process of continuous accumulation and deepening, and the joint efforts of a team." As the investigation deepened, Wei Jun (韦军) found that the employment of people with disabilities involves multiple departments such as the Disabled Persons' Federation (残联), the Department of Human Resources and Social Security (人社), the Department of Education (教育), and the Department of Civil Affairs (民政). To solve the problem, it is necessary to change everyone's traditional concepts and promote the coordinated efforts of various departments. To this end, Wei Jun (韦军) proposed in the proposal to establish a cross-departmental joint meeting system, an information sharing platform and other institutional recommendations to promote policy and system coordination.

Reporter's Notes

Participating in Grassroots Practice Shows Responsibility

"I hope to enable more people to broaden the road to a better life through vocational education," said Wei Jun (韦军).

From listening to the voices of young people with disabilities, to recording the expectations of teachers and students in vocational colleges, to proposing cross-departmental collaborative suggestions, all of this reflects Wei Jun's (韦军) keen perception of people's livelihood issues and his responsibility to promote the solution of problems as a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC. "We must not only offer suggestions and advice, but also participate in grassroots practice." Wei Jun (韦军) said, "Promoting proposals from words on paper to real-world results is precisely the value of CPPCC members performing their duties."

Return to Top

Firmly remember the mission of winning glory for the country and make every effort to complete the competition tasks.

This newspaper reported from Beijing on February 27th (Reporter Li Changyu (李昌禹)) State Councilor and Director of the State Council Working Committee on Disability Affairs, Chen Yiqin (谌贻琴), visited the China Administration of Sport for Persons with Disabilities on February 27th to investigate preparations for the Milan Winter Paralympics. She visited the Chinese sports delegation that is about to depart and gave a mobilization speech, encouraging everyone to remember the entrustment of General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平), fully prepare for the competition, and win greater glory for the motherland and the people.

Chen Yiqin (谌贻琴) entered the ice sports competition training hall, watched ice hockey training, and had cordial exchanges with athletes in alpine skiing, snowboard, cross-country skiing, and biathlon. She inquired about the preparations for training, injury prevention, and logistical support, and encouraged the athletes to go all out and go into battle with a light load, and strive to give their best performance. She asked relevant units to carefully do a good job in service support, strengthen risk prevention, and ensure the safety of the delegation.

Chen Yiqin (谌贻琴) emphasized that the Chinese sports delegation must keep in mind the lofty mission of fighting for the country and winning glory for the country, vigorously promote the Chinese sports spirit, the Beijing Winter Olympic spirit, and the Paralympic spirit, 顽强拼搏 (wán qiáng pīn bó - "tenacious struggle," to fight tenaciously) and surpass themselves, and fully demonstrate the good image of self-respect, self-confidence, self-improvement, and self-reliance of Chinese people with disabilities in the new era. We must win gold medals of morality, gold medals of style, and clean gold medals, and strive to achieve a double harvest of sports performance and spiritual civilization. We must have extensive exchanges, enhance friendship, tell the Chinese story and the Chinese story of people with disabilities, and make new contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Return to Top

China Formed Delegation for the Milan Winter Paralympics

This newspaper reported from Beijing on February 27th (Reporters Zheng Yi (郑轶) and Tao Xiang'an (陶相安)) The 14th Winter Paralympic Games will be held in Milan-Cortina, Italy from March 6th to 15th. On February 27th, the Chinese sports delegation was established in Beijing (北京). This is the largest delegation China has sent to an overseas Winter Paralympic Games, both in terms of the number of events participated in and the size of the athlete contingent.

The Chinese delegation has a total of 167 members, including 70 athletes (51 male and 19 female), from 9 provinces (regions, and municipalities), with an average age of 27 years. The oldest athlete is 40 years old, and the youngest is 18 years old. There are 8 athletes from 5 ethnic minorities: Manchu, Dai, Wa, Dong, and Hani. Among the athletes, 62 have participated in previous Winter Paralympic Games, and all athletes are amateur athletes.

The Milan Winter Paralympic Games will feature 6 major events and 79 minor events, including Para ice hockey, wheelchair curling, alpine skiing, snowboard, cross-country skiing, and biathlon. More than 600 athletes from 52 countries and regions will participate. This is the seventh time the Chinese delegation has participated in the Winter Paralympic Games, and they will participate in 71 minor events across all 6 major events.

The delegation stated that it will strive for excellent results and achieve a double harvest of sporting achievements and spiritual civilization, 双丰收 (shuāng fēng shōu - "double harvest," to achieve success in two areas simultaneously).

Return to Top

China's Manned Space Program to Deepen Space Station Application and Development, Manned Lunar Exploration in 2026

Beijing, February 27th (Reporter Liu Shiyao (刘诗瑶)) - The reporter learned from the China Manned Space Engineering Office (中国载人航天工程办公室) that in 2026, the China Manned Space Program will thoroughly implement the "15th Five-Year Plan" deployment and deepen the advancement of two major missions: the application and development of the space station, and the manned lunar exploration, starting from a new beginning.

Currently, the China Space Station (中国空间站) is operating stably in orbit and its benefits are being realized well. In 2026, it is planned to implement 2 manned flight missions and 1 cargo spacecraft resupply mission.

The manned lunar exploration project's lunar landing phase mission is progressing smoothly in various development and construction aspects, achieving a number of phased breakthroughs. In 2026, efforts will be made to fully promote the construction of related supporting facilities and equipment for the lunar landing mission at the Wenchang Space Launch Site (文昌航天发射场), as well as the construction of various projects for ground support systems such as measurement and control communication, and landing sites.

Return to Top

Helping to Break the "Involution" Dilemma for Businesses (Practical Results: High-Quality Handling of CPPCC Proposals)

By: 本报记者 杨 昊

"In the process of conducting in-depth research at the forefront, I have discovered that 'involutionary' competition has become a difficult and obstructive point restricting high-quality economic development." This is the sincere feeling of Zhang Lianqi (张连起), a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (全国政协) and President of the China Enterprise Financial Management Association (中国企业财务管理协会).

In recent years, Zhang Lianqi (张连起) has visited many enterprises in different fields and carried out special research. He learned that the root cause of industry "involution" lies in insufficient innovation capabilities and serious homogenization of products and services, leading companies to rely on price reduction to compete for the market, which in turn leads to a decline in corporate profits and a reduction in R&D investment.

"There are no winners in the disorderly competition of 'rolling prices' without a bottom line, 'rolling tracks' in a follow-up manner, and 'rolling talents' in an encirclement style." Zhang Lianqi (张连起) believes that an important entry point to break this dilemma is to promote the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation. At the 2025 National People's Congress (全国两会), Zhang Lianqi (张连起) submitted a proposal on comprehensively rectifying "involutionary" competition and focusing on promoting high-quality development, suggesting to firmly grasp technological innovation as the "bull nose," tackle common industrial technologies and key core technologies, and break the "involution" dilemma by guiding and supporting enterprise innovation and going overseas. This proposal was also rated as a good proposal of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (全国政协) in 2025.

In September 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission (国家发展改革委) officially responded to the proposal, stating that it would adhere to starting from both the supply and demand sides, address the crux of the problem, implement policies according to industry, prescribe the right medicine, and address both the symptoms and root causes to resolve structural contradictions in key industries and promote the high-quality development of China's industry. The next step will be to work with relevant departments to comprehensively rectify "involutionary" competition, promote the withdrawal of backward and inefficient production capacity, increase the supply of high-end production capacity, give play to the leading role of technological innovation, increase efforts to eliminate local protectionism and market segmentation, and promote the industry to accelerate towards the mid-to-high end.

"Actively responding to the concerns of the people, the proposal has been implemented effectively, which is not only conducive to solving problems, but also allows committee members to be informed and understand politics, effectively enhancing the enthusiasm of committee members to perform their duties." Zhang Lianqi (张连起) said that he is very satisfied with the handling and reply work of relevant departments, which has also enhanced his sense of responsibility and mission. "I will further improve the effectiveness of my duties and contribute wisdom and strength to the step-by-step realization of the beautiful blueprint of Chinese-style modernization."

Return to Top

The State Council Appoints and Removes National Personnel

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 27th (Xinhua) -- The State Council has appointed and removed national personnel.

Sun Zhiyu (孙志禹) was appointed as Vice Minister of Water Resources; He Biao (何飚) was appointed as Deputy Director of the National Radio and Television Administration; Cui Jian (崔剑) was appointed as Deputy Director of the General Administration of Sport of China; Peng Qing'en (彭庆恩) was appointed as Deputy Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council; Liu Jinfeng (刘金峰) was appointed as Director of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine; Wang Weidong (王维东) was appointed as Deputy Director of the National Medical Products Administration.

Liu Zhongyi's (刘忠义) position as Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Public Security was removed; Wang Zhao's (王钊) position as Deputy Inspector General of the National Natural Resources (full-time) was removed; Yu Yanhong's (余艳红) position as Director of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine was removed; Xu Jinghe's (徐景和) position as Deputy Director of the National Medical Products Administration was removed.

Return to Top

The State Council Appoints and Removes National Personnel

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 27th - The State Council has appointed and removed national personnel.

Wang Xiangxi (王祥喜) is removed from his position as the First Political Commissar of the National Fire and Rescue Administration (国家消防救援局).

Return to Top

The Speed and Magnetism of Beijing's Yizhuang (New Year's Visits to the Grassroots)

By: 人民网记者 王 震 池梦蕊

"Embodied Tiangong 3.0" has just been released – the champion of the inaugural Robot Half Marathon is stepping up training, with a significant improvement in performance expected; the Zhuque-3 reusable rocket is poised to launch, planning to challenge recovery and reuse again in the second quarter; the production line of Xiaomi Auto's Super Factory is bustling, with cumulative deliveries exceeding 600,000 vehicles...

During the Spring Festival, in Beijing's Yizhuang (北京亦庄), everywhere you look is a vibrant scene of people working hard and striving forward.

"This year's competition will definitely be more intense, and there may be new breakthroughs." Xiong Youjun (熊友军), CEO of Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center (北京人形机器人创新中心), could not hide his excitement and anticipation for the upcoming Robot Half Marathon. The previous champion, "Embodied Tiangong," has now completed a comprehensive upgrade, with the precision of the decision-making "brain" and the motion control "cerebellum" achieving a dual breakthrough, enabling rapid adaptation to diverse scenarios such as special operations, industrial manufacturing, and commercial services.

The vigorous development of the embodied intelligence industry is an epitome of the continuous release of Yizhuang's scientific and technological innovation momentum. From creating the Robot Half Marathon to building "Beijing Rocket Street (北京火箭大街)" to establishing the first high-level autonomous driving demonstration zone, Yizhuang's scientific and technological breakthroughs span multiple strategic emerging industry tracks. Today, it is home to 2,386 national high-tech enterprises and 190 national-level specialized and innovative "little giant" enterprises, with a large number of high-end technologies accelerating from the laboratory to the production line.

Where does Yizhuang's speed and magnetic field come from? The answer lies in the complete industrial chain and first-class innovation ecosystem. Relying on the National Information Technology Innovation and Application Pilot Zone (国家信创园), Beijing Yizhuang has gathered more than 700 enterprises in the field of information technology innovation, covering all aspects such as chips, operating systems, middleware, application software, and terminal equipment, with the completeness of the industrial chain approaching 100%.

"Clustered development" has become the norm, "being upstream and downstream by going upstairs and downstairs, and being partners by being neighbors" has become a reality, and the entire chain channel of "laboratory - pilot platform - industrialization base" is constantly refreshing the "Yizhuang speed" of scientific and technological achievement transformation.

At LandSpace (蓝箭航天), China's independently developed Zhuque-3 reusable liquid oxygen methane carrier rocket is making final preparations for the recovery and reuse test in the second quarter. "Although the first flight at the end of last year failed to achieve a soft landing, which was a bit regrettable, we obtained thousands of key data points in real flight scenarios, which accumulated valuable experience for subsequent research and development and took a crucial step," said Zhang Changwu (张昌武), founder of LandSpace.

The soaring posture of Zhuque-3 is just like Yizhuang's high-spirited attitude towards advancing towards high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-improvement. From the continuous breakthroughs in commercial aerospace to the continuous breakthroughs in the robot track, and then to the iterative upgrading of the information technology innovation industry, scientists and entrepreneurs on the Tongming Lake (通明湖) are working together in one "bottleneck" field after another to promote high-end industries to the high end of the value chain.

"We will definitely make every effort to build Beijing Yizhuang into a model zone for new quality productive forces and a world-class high-end industrial comprehensive new city, and continue to build a high ground for industrial scientific and technological innovation," said Kong Lei (孔磊), Secretary of the Working Committee of Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (北京经济技术开发区工委).

Return to Top

The 49 Keys of Old Ma, the Community Police Officer (New Year's Visits to the Grassroots)

By: 肖家鑫 陈 锐

In an interview with Ma Huailong (马怀龙), Lao Ma (老马) first made a "three-point agreement" with the reporter: "First, don't mention when I will retire in front of the elderly; second, don't ask how much money I spend on the elderly each month; and third, don't ask where I live." Facing the reporter's puzzled look, Ma Huailong (马怀龙) took out two large bunches of keys, a total of 49, and led us to begin a day of "visiting door to door."

Ma Huailong (马怀龙) is a community police officer at the Xinglong Road Police Station of the Shibei Branch of the Qingdao (青岛) Public Security Bureau in Shandong Province (山东省). Since transferring to the police force 17 years ago, in addition to safeguarding the peace of the area, he has also been taking care of 49 households of orphans, disabled people, and families in difficulty, corresponding to those 49 keys. The keys have no numbers or names, but every time he goes to a house, Lao Ma (老马) can always accurately grab the corresponding one.

The first visit today is to the home of Wang Liangshui (王良水), 66 years old. After suffering major changes in his family, the community helped Wang Liangshui (王良水) apply for public rental housing, but he didn't want to live there. Lao Ma (老马) took volunteers to help him clean the room and re-purchase furniture and appliances. Wang Liangshui (王良水) found a sense of home. "Lao Ma (老马) kept enlightening me, and now I am also helping more people with Lao Ma (老马)." Before leaving, Wang Liangshui (王良水) quietly pulled the reporter aside and asked, "When exactly is Police Officer Ma (马) retiring?" It turned out that he, like many elderly people, was worried that Lao Ma (老马) would not come to visit after he retired.

These days, Wang Shoufen (王守芬), an elderly woman, has been looking forward to the familiar knock on the door. Wang Shoufen (王守芬) has suffered from polio since childhood and has lived alone for decades. Since Wang Shoufen (王守芬) accidentally fell at home before the Double Ninth Festival last year, Ma Huailong (马怀龙) often brings fresh vegetables and meat to her door, helps her cook, cleans, and takes her to change medicine and have follow-up examinations. Wang Shoufen (王守芬) felt Ma Huailong's (马怀龙) sincerity and took the initiative to give him the key.

"When Xiao Ma (小马) comes, I feel at ease," said Wang Shoufen (王守芬). Ma Huailong (马怀龙) specially bought red lanterns and helped the elderly woman hang them up. Wang Shoufen's (王守芬) face broke into a smile, but she also instructed Ma Huailong (马怀龙): "Xiao Ma (小马), don't buy this and that anymore. All your wages are spent on us."

Over the years, Lao Ma (老马) himself can't figure out how much money he has spent on orphans, disabled people, and families in difficulty. Driven by Ma Huailong (马怀龙), his wife, daughter, colleagues, social workers, caring people from the community, and those who have been helped, have taken the initiative to take care of the elderly living alone and help people in need in the jurisdiction with Ma Huailong (马怀龙). Now, the "Ma Huailong (马怀龙) Golden Shield Volunteer Service Team" has more than 380 members from all walks of life.

As the lights came on, Ma Huailong (马怀龙) ended a day of rushing around. He explained to the reporter: "The home address is also a secret that cannot be told. Many elderly people are asking about it, saying they want to thank me."

Return to Top

Page 1 Editors: Yang Xu, Zhao Zheng, Zhang Yujie; Page 2 Editors: Yin Xinyu, Zhang Anyu, Cui Bin; Page 3 Editors: Wu Gang, Jiang Bo, Cheng Shijie; Page 4 Editors: Yuan Zhenxi, Liu Jingwen, Yu Xuan

Return to Top

China's water conservancy infrastructure boasts the most comprehensive functions and benefits the largest population.

Data Source: Ministry of Water Resources (水利部)

Return to Top

Governing the Country by Harnessing Water: Promoting Public Welfare Through Water Conservancy

By: 刘子赫

Water is the foundation of survival and the source of civilization. The deep groundwater level in the North China Plain has stopped falling and rebounded, and the water quality of the river network in the Jiangnan water towns has continued to improve. The South-to-North Water Diversion Project irrigates vast fields, and rivers and lakes have achieved ecological improvement. A magnificent picture of harmony between humans and water is slowly unfolding on the new journey of promoting Chinese-style modernization. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China's water conservancy cause has achieved fruitful results.

In these five years, water conservancy construction has consolidated the foundation for development. 5.68 trillion yuan of water conservancy investment and the commencement of construction of 181 major projects are not only a set of eye-catching data, but also mark the accelerated formation of the main framework of China's water network. Water conservancy infrastructure is steadily moving from "the world's largest" to "the world's first-class," building a solid security barrier for consecutive years of good harvests and sustained economic growth.

In these five years, the mode of water use has undergone profound changes. Against the background of a steady increase in total economic output, China's annual water consumption has been stably controlled within 610 billion cubic meters. In 2025, preliminary estimates show that the water consumption per 10,000 yuan of domestic GDP and the water consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value will decrease by 20% and 25% respectively compared with the end of the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, and the market size of water-saving related industries is estimated to exceed 760 billion yuan. Tightening the "tap," the leap in water resource utilization efficiency demonstrates the vivid practice of the new development concept.

In these five years, the revival of rivers and lakes has witnessed ecological transformation. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (京杭大运河), which had been cut off for a century, has been fully connected for four consecutive years, and the Yongding River (永定河), which had been cut off for twenty-six years, is rippling with blue waves. More and more happy rivers and lakes are becoming the "poetry and distance" at the doorsteps of the people.

Governing water brings peace to the country, and developing water conservancy benefits the people. On the new journey, we need both the "master plan" of the national water network traversing China and cross-regional allocation, and the "embroidered craftsmanship" of careful calculation of every drop of water and precise policy implementation for every river. The water management thinking of "prioritizing water conservation, spatial balance, systematic governance, and making efforts with both hands" is making efficient use of clean water and revitalizing blue waves, ultimately converging into a powerful force for achieving high-quality development.

Return to Top

Editors of this page: Bai Zhenzhi, Liu Mengdan, Liu Zihe, Min Fangzheng

This issue coordinated by: Cheng Chen (程晨), Tang Tianyi (唐天奕)
Layout design: Zhang Danfeng (张丹峰)

Return to Top

Wintersweet Blossoms Herald Spring (Understanding a City Through a Flower)

By: 本报记者 吴 君

Heaven bestows uniqueness upon the plum tips,
The national fragrance is not yet known to the world.
Carefully dripping wax to seal it,
But secretly a branch is broken by the frosty wind.
——"Wintersweet" Song Dynasty · Yang Wanli (杨万里)

As the cold winter departs, the spring breeze arrives gently.
On the banks of the Yangtze River (长江), in Yichang (宜昌), Hubei (湖北) province, wintersweet blossoms bloom against the wind in the mountains, fields, parks, and alleys, their subtle fragrance permeating the air. The small, light yellow flowers adorn the branches, some fully open, others still budding, like twinkling stars, bidding farewell to the desolation of winter and bringing the warmth of the new spring.

"Unwilling to brightly compete with the winter snow, only entrusting its solitary beauty to a hidden fragrance." On September 30, 2011, the 31st meeting of the Standing Committee of the Fourth Yichang Municipal People's Congress decided to designate the wintersweet as the city flower of Yichang. The wintersweet, unpretentious, unalluring, and non-competitive, with its quiet introversion and fearlessness of wind and frost, symbolizes the indomitable and unyielding character of Yichang and its people.

Tracing the Source
Flowers that Never Fade for Thousands of Years

Yichang was formerly known as Yiling (夷陵), named because "the water becomes smooth here, and the mountains become hills here." Later, it was renamed Yichang, meaning "suitable for prosperity." Yichang has a long history, with ancestors living and multiplying on this land seven or eight thousand years ago. Yichang is also one of the original habitats of wintersweet. Every winter and spring, the Yemei Valley (野梅谷) river valley in Yiling District (夷陵区), Yichang City, is filled with bright yellow wintersweet, with flowers as dense as stars. This fingertip-sized flower has withstood the test of the Quaternary glaciation and undergone millions of years of geological changes, yet it still maintains its vigorous vitality.

Unlike many flowers, Yichang's wintersweet mostly grows in the limestone mountainous areas, growing naturally and blooming quietly without special care. This resilient quality has made it a favorite of ancient literati. When Ouyang Xiu (欧阳修), a politician and writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, was demoted to Yiling, he wrote the poem "Wintersweet blooms before the twelfth month, and the leaves do not wither after frost," describing the wintersweet's fearlessness of the cold winter and its vibrant vitality, praising the tenacity and beauty of life.

After leaving Yichang, Ouyang Xiu still missed the wintersweet of Yichang. Once, after a snowfall, he was moved by the scene and happily wrote, "When I was an official in the Xiling Gorge (西陵峡) of the western mountains, the wild flowers were colorful and varied. Only the wintersweet was familiar to me, and I still feel the same whenever I see it in a foreign land."

Flowers have character, and people have integrity. From ancient times to the present, this light yellow flower has been endowed with a unique charm, gradually becoming a symbol of "fearlessness of severe cold and noble integrity."

In the 1920s, in the Xiling Gorge entrance of the Three Gorges (三峡) in Yichang, a British plant enthusiast discovered more than 3,000 acres of natural wild wintersweet. He made the wintersweet into specimens and spread them internationally, making Yichang wintersweet known to the world and confirming that China is the origin of wintersweet.

Wintersweet has been loved by locals since ancient times. Hundreds of years ago, Yichang people began to cultivate wintersweet, which mostly grew on steep mountains or beside rushing streams. Today, a wintersweet garden has been built in Yichang Binjiang Park (滨江公园), and nearly a thousand wintersweet trees are blooming in Yichang Chengdong Park (城东公园). The fragrance of wintersweet has drifted from the mountains to the city, and appreciating wintersweet has become a fashion.

Charm
Flowers Bloom Despite Snow and Wind

Looking closely at the wintersweet, the petals are layered, staggered, and tightly clustered together with the stamen as the core. The petals are thick and do not fade until they wither; they often bloom on withered branches without the support of green leaves, and often remain on the branches even after they wither. This resilient quality is just like the city of Yichang, which blooms bravely and resolutely in the face of danger and adversity.

In September 1927, the first shot of the Western Hubei Autumn Harvest Uprising—the Dangyang Wacang Uprising (当阳瓦仓起义)—was fired, greatly deterring the local tyrants and evil gentry and the Kuomintang reactionaries. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Yichang became the location of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (中共湖北省委) and the Xiang-E-Xi District Committee (湘鄂西区党委), leading the people of Hubei and Xiang-E-Xi to resist the Japanese stubbornly.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, large-scale projects such as the Gezhouba Dam (葛洲坝) and the Three Gorges Dam (三峡大坝) were gradually constructed, and hundreds of thousands of Yichang people left their homeland and moved out of the reservoir area. They sacrificed their small families for the sake of everyone, re-rooted and blossomed, growing vigorously like wintersweet.

Wintersweet is not afraid of severe cold and heat, and its fragrance is more obvious at low temperatures. Yichang has also experienced the pain brought about by rapid development. As the largest phosphate mine base in the Yangtze River basin, in 2016, the output value of the chemical industry accounted for nearly 1/3 of the city's industry and the province's chemical industry, respectively. However, the bright data concealed an "ecological debt." In early 2017, Yichang was criticized by the Central Ecological and Environmental Protection Inspection Team for "chemical encirclement of the Yangtze River."

In 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping (习近平) emphasized during his inspection in Yichang that it is necessary to adhere to putting the restoration of the ecological environment of the Yangtze River in an important position in promoting the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, jointly grasping major protection and not engaging in large-scale development.

In order to repay the ecological debt, Yichang "closed, transformed, relocated, and transferred" chemical enterprises and carried out ecological restoration along the Yangtze River. At the same time, Yichang kept in mind the instruction to "force the transformation and upgrading of industries by establishing rules," revitalized the economy, and broke through the difficulties of declining fiscal revenue, increased expenditures, and increased employment pressure. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Yichang's gross domestic product is expected to increase by about 6.5%, the proportion of fine chemicals has increased to 47.8%, and the water quality of the Yichang section of the Yangtze River mainstream has steadily reached the Class II standard for surface water.

As an important member of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Yichang, standing at a new starting point, will uphold this resilience and, like wintersweet, fear no difficulties and bloom bravely.

Appreciating Flowers
A Tree of Flowers, Fragrant Throughout the City

Yichang has flowers in all seasons, and the flower appreciation economy has nurtured new consumption scenarios. As the earliest blooming flower of the year, whenever the wintersweet blooms, even if the cold wind is biting and the rain and snow are continuous, it still cannot stop the enthusiasm of the locals to go out to appreciate the flowers. In January of this year, the Yichang Municipal Forestry and Landscaping Bureau released the first plant appreciation hiking route of the new year, with wintersweet listed among them.

In Yichang's scenic spots, wintersweet can often be seen, shining with famous historical sites. On the east and west sides of the "Changban Heroic Demeanor" stele in the Changbanpo Relics Park (长坂坡遗址公园) in Dangyang City (当阳市), six wintersweet trees are full of yellow flowers, with a clear and distant fragrance, attracting tourists to line up to take photos and check in. This stele was first built during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty and has been damaged and stolen several times. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the stele was re-engraved, and park managers planted wintersweet next to it, becoming a tourist attraction for citizens and tourists to trace the past and cherish the present.

Yichang people's love for wintersweet is imprinted in the memories of every year. As a traditional New Year's flower, around the Spring Festival, farmers in the suburbs cut the wintersweet branches from their homes and sell them in the city, and they are quickly sold out. Holding a uniquely shaped wintersweet branch home, choosing a beautiful vase to insert it, and the faint fragrance spreads out, the atmosphere of the New Year becomes rich all at once.

As winter goes and spring comes, flowers bloom and wither, the wintersweet, which integrates history and the present, development and hope, always blooms in the hearts of Yichang people. This small flower and the spiritual character it carries have always accompanied this city, welcoming a better future in unremitting struggle.

Reading the City
Flowers Condense Integrity, the City Revitalizes

Zhai Qinqi (翟钦奇)

At the beginning of the new year, the wintersweet in Yichang, Hubei, blooms to welcome the spring. As the city flower, wintersweet is not only a natural symbol of the city, but also carries a long cultural heritage, condenses spiritual character, and witnesses the vivid practice of high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Yichang, formerly known as Yiling, has always been known as the "throat of Sichuan and Hubei." It is a place where Ba and Chu cultures blend and is also one of the origins of wintersweet. The native flower wintersweet has witnessed the more than 2,000-year inheritance and development of the "Three Gorges Gateway," from the cultivation and reproduction of ancestors to Qu Yuan's (屈原) chanting and the smoke of Changban, the flowers have bloomed and withered thousands of times, silently watching the growth of the ancient city. Wintersweet not only brings intoxicating landscapes and natural interest to Yichang but also deeply integrates urban humanities and natural endowments, becoming an important carrier of the city's spirit.

The wintersweet's character of blooming in the cold and being tenacious and indomitable has long been integrated into the blood of Yichang people. In the revolutionary era, countless patriots stepped forward and ignited the revolutionary spark in western Hubei; after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Yichang upheld this tenacity, opened up waterways, built water conservancy projects, and built more than 400 hydropower stations. It is also the location of the Three Gorges Project and the Gezhouba Water Conservancy Project.

Since the new era, the cadres and masses of Yichang have kept their entrustment in mind, abandoned the extensive development model, rectified the Yangtze River coastline, and restored the ecology. Scattered docks have been transformed into ecological parks. As an important national phosphorus chemical base, Yichang has completed the "closure, transformation, relocation, and transfer" of 134 chemical enterprises along the river in eight years, and the proportion of fine chemicals in the phosphorus chemical circular industrial cluster has increased from less than 20% to nearly 50% at present.

The mountains are flat, the water is wide, and the gorges are exhausted. Today, the wintersweet, which carries historical context and condenses the spirit of the city, coexists and grows with the city of Yichang, which is striving to build a regional central city connecting the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, continuing its beautiful expectations, witnessing the transformation of development, and continuing to thrive and flourish.

Flower Note
Is Wintersweet a Plum Blossom? Is it "蜡梅" or "腊梅"?

Wang Yimin (王毅敏)

During this Spring Festival, the wintersweet garden in the Three Gorges Botanical Garden (三峡植物园) in Yichang, Hubei, ushered in a lively moment, with an endless stream of tourists who came to appreciate the flowers. Varieties such as dogwood wintersweet, pure heart wintersweet, and chime mouth wintersweet are in full bloom, filling the garden with fragrance. In the adjacent plum garden, pink, white, and red plum blossoms also bloomed with smiles.

Many tourists asked me whether wintersweet and plum blossom both have the character "梅" (méi, plum), are they the same flower or close relatives?

In fact, wintersweet and plum blossom have neither kinship nor are they the same species. Wintersweet belongs to the genus Chimonanthus of the family Calycanthaceae, while plum blossom belongs to the genus Prunus of the family Rosaceae. From the perspective of flowering period, wintersweet blooms earlier than plum blossom, and when it blooms, there are generally persistent brown fruits on the tree.

Li Shizhen (李时珍) mentioned in the Compendium of Materia Medica: "Wintersweet, also known as yellow plum blossom. This thing is not a plum species, because it is at the same time as the plum, the fragrance is similar, and the color is like beeswax, so it got this name."

The most obvious difference between the two is in appearance. Wintersweet leaves grow oppositely, while plum blossom leaves grow alternately. Wintersweet petals are thick and have a waxy luster, and the flower color is mainly yellow; plum blossom petals are thin and soft, and the flower color is rich, including pink, white, and red. Wintersweet young branches are square, and old branches are nearly cylindrical, and the overall branches are upright; plum blossom small branches are green and often curved, and the trunk bark is light gray or greenish and smooth.

The shape of the fruit is also significantly different. Wintersweet fruit is urn-shaped or obovate-elliptical, and the seeds are hidden in the fruit. After the fruit is peeled open, the internal seeds look like red beans at first glance. The fruit of the plum blossom is nearly spherical, with suture lines and covered with soft hairs.

Wintersweet fruit contains alkaloids such as wintersweet alkaloid, which is poisonous. The fruit of the plum blossom can be eaten after it matures, which is what people often call "plum," and is the raw material for plum sauce and sour plum soup.

The "fame" of wintersweet and plum blossom also differs in time. Wintersweet was not widely cultivated as an ornamental plant until the Song Dynasty, while plum blossom has been attracting attention for a longer time. In 1975, Chinese archaeologists discovered plum pits in Shang Dynasty bronze tripods in the Yin Ruins (殷墟) in Anyang (安阳), indicating that plum had been used as food as early as more than 3,000 years ago. In the early Han Dynasty, plum blossom had already become an ornamental plant. The Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital records: "In the early Han Dynasty, the Shanglin Garden (上林苑) was built, and various places offered famous fruits and exotic trees, including vermilion plum and carmine plum."

Wintersweet is not a plum blossom, so is it "蜡梅" (là méi, wax plum) or "腊梅" (là méi, twelfth month plum)?

The "蜡" (là, wax) character in wintersweet comes from the fact that its petals are as if coated with wax. In botanical literature and professional books, the word "蜡梅" (là méi, wax plum) is mostly used.

So, why does the term "腊梅" (là méi, twelfth month plum) appear? The saying "腊梅" (là méi, twelfth month plum) has existed since the Song Dynasty. Experts speculate that it is most likely because wintersweet blooms in the cold twelfth lunar month, so some people wrote "腊梅" (là méi, twelfth month plum). Both wintersweet and plum blossom bloom in the twelfth lunar month. Therefore, the term "腊梅" (là méi, twelfth month plum) can not only be used to refer to wintersweet but also to refer to plum blossoms that bloom in the twelfth lunar month.

(The author is the director of the Forestry Technology Extension Station of the Three Gorges Botanical Garden, and this report was compiled and edited by Wu Jun (吴君), a reporter from this newspaper)

Return to Top

Editor in Charge for This Section: Ji Yalin, Guan Xuanyue, Zhai Qinqi

Layout Design: Wang Zheping (汪哲平)

Return to Top

New archaeological discoveries illuminate the prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization (Archaeology in China)

By: 杨林旭

Not long ago, the 2025 Chinese archaeological new achievements were released at the Archaeological Forum of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (中国社会科学院), adding a research achievement release session for the first time in addition to the "Six Major Discoveries." The 10 important research achievements led by scholars such as Gao Xing (高星), Fu Qiaomei (付巧妹), and Zhang Chi (张弛) cover a long history from the early Paleolithic to the Tang Dynasty, involving micro-trace analysis, ancient DNA sequencing, settlement archaeology and other technical methods. From this, we can see that Chinese archaeology is undergoing a profound transformation from discovery-led to technology and theory-driven.

Interpreting the Context of Civilizational Continuity

The continuity of Chinese civilization is not only recorded in historical books and classics, but also engraved in the depths of material culture and genetic bloodlines. The use of multi-disciplinary means and methods enables us to glimpse the context of civilizational continuity from the inadvertent remnants left by the ancients.

Using micro-trace analysis and residue detection technology, Gao Xing's (高星) team confirmed that 35 wooden materials at the Gantangqing site (甘棠箐遗址) in Yunnan (云南) were carefully made and long-term used professional tools by ancient humans, mainly used for digging plant roots and stems as food. In order to determine the age of these wooden tools, various methods such as paleobiological stratigraphy, paleomagnetism, optically stimulated luminescence, and electron spin resonance were cross-used, and finally verified and confirmed that they were made in the early Paleolithic Age about 300,000 years ago, making them the oldest wooden tools found in East Asia so far. This research, published in the internationally renowned academic journal *Science*, powerfully refutes the past view that the development of technology in the Chinese Paleolithic Age was slow.

The transmission of genetic bloodlines is secret but tenacious. Fu Qiaomei's (付巧妹) team successfully extracted information written in tiny DNA fragments through cutting-edge molecular biology technology. This study shows that there is a close genetic connection between the Tibetan people and the Austroasiatic language family in southwestern China, and the Red River (红河) basin is one of the hubs for the migration and interaction of early Austroasiatic language family populations. The continuation of the Chinese national community has therefore added evidence at the biological level.

Cultural consciousness of not forgetting inheritance in change and innovating in inheritance is the foundation for Chinese civilization to continue despite wind and rain. Through the study of the evolution of bronze culture, Zhu Fenghan (朱凤瀚) analyzed the cultural inheritance and integration during the Shang (商) and Zhou (周) dynasties. The so-called "brand new" bronze shapes, patterns, and production techniques that emerged in the early Zhou Dynasty were actually a continuation of the bronze culture independently developed by the Zhou people in the pre-Zhou period. The widespread dissemination of Zhou-style bronzes also witnessed the "second spring" of harmonious development of the Yin (殷) and Zhou ethnic groups.

Chinese civilization is a civilization that 革故鼎新 (gé gù dǐng xīn - "reform the old and create the new," to innovate and make progress) and shines with new brilliance every day. The entry of theoretical perspectives such as settlement archaeology and typological analysis clearly demonstrates the innovation capabilities of the ancestors in social organization and system design.

Starting from the question of "who planned and built Lingjiatan (凌家滩)," Zhang Chi (张弛) gradually revealed the amazing urban planning awareness and ultra-large-scale social mobilization capabilities of the Lingjiatan ancestors more than 5,500 years ago by following various materials such as settlement patterns and the distribution of altars and tombs.

The Xia (夏), Shang (商), and Zhou (周) dynasties were the era when bronzes ascended to the main stage of history. Zhang Changping's (张昌平) analysis of the shapes, combinations, and casting techniques of early Erligang culture (二里岗文化) bronzes clarified the staged characteristics of early Erligang culture bronzes. Although the scale of bronze production was limited during this period, the concept of "using vessels to carry rituals" had already formed, which was also an important factor in promoting the rise of the Central Plains dynasty. The ritual system that organically integrates superb skills, aesthetic tastes, and political power is a prominent manifestation of the creativity of the Chinese nation.

Revealing the Civilizational Process from Diversity to Unity

The unity of Chinese civilization determines the common belief that "the territory cannot be divided and the country cannot be chaotic." The research released this time deeply reveals the process of Chinese civilization from diversity to unity through long-term analysis and physical anthropology analysis.

In the article *What is the Central Plains—New Understanding of the Central Plains Cultural Area from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age*, Dai Xiangming (戴向明) examined the long-term development of archaeological culture in the Yellow River (黄河) basin and pointed out that the Central Plains (中原) was not born as the center, but a civilizational center of mass condensed after a long period of cultural agitation. More importantly, the Central Plains area also provided the soil for the transformation of diverse cultures into a unified Chinese identity.

Ethnic integration provides another annotation for unity. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (东周), the Central Plains farming population moved north and gathered with the southern nomadic groups in what is now the central and southern part of Inner Mongolia (内蒙古), opening a magnificent historical process of population migration, interaction, exchange, and integration, and finally integrating into a unified multi-ethnic country. The people have passed away, but their craniofacial features have been transformed into precise quantitative data, providing Zhang Xu (张旭) with evidence to restore that period of history. The agro-pastoral ecotone is not a border of civilizational fracture, but a frontier position of ethnic integration.

If the early China in culture was conceived in prehistoric times, the Qin (秦) and Han (汉) states established the "great unification" in politics and territory. As a witness to the Qin people's management of the western border, the publication of the Qin "Collecting Medicine Kunlun" stone inscription (Garitang Qin Stone Inscription) (尕日塘秦刻石) once aroused widespread debate in academic circles. The truth becomes clearer through debate. Tong Tao (仝涛), combined with rigorous text identification and geographical verification, confirmed that it is the only Qin Dynasty inscription existing at the original site. This achievement shows that as early as more than 2,000 years ago, the unified dynasty state had implemented its will to the top of the plateau and the source of the Yellow River.

Chinese civilization never 固步自封 (gù bù zì fēng - "stick to conventions," be conservative and resistant to change), and constantly draws strength from exchanges and mutual learning. Through resource network analysis and scientific and technological testing, archaeology has reshaped the network of peaceful exchanges that once spanned mountains and rivers.

Li Haichao's (黎海超) research on Sanxingdui (三星堆) shows that the sudden rise of Sanxingdui civilization was based on its interaction network with the Central Plains Shang Dynasty (中原商王朝), the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (长江) and other places, as well as developed Central Asia and West Asia, but it formed its own unique style. This long-distance exchange network based on resource complementarity and technological mutual learning is an important form of communication between various regions of China, highlighting the inclusiveness of Chinese civilization that is harmonious but different and the peaceful background of harmonious coexistence of all nations.

The Tang Dynasty (唐代) Zha Jing dyed fabrics (Bambu) unearthed from the Reshui tombs (热水墓群) in Dulan (都兰), Qinghai (青海), under the multiple analysis of Liu Dawei's (刘大玮) team, revealed a confusing life experience: the main raw materials of the fabrics came from the southwest region, and the production was in the southeast and southwest regions. After being transported to the capital Chang'an (长安) through the "recognizing soil as tribute" system, it was transferred to vassal states and neighboring countries, including Dulan, in the form of rewards or trade. As an important witness to the Silk Road on land, the research on Dulan textiles powerfully challenges the "Indian origin theory" of Zha Jing dyed fabrics, and also demonstrates that Chinese civilization has always embraced the world with an open mind and treated people generously in peaceful trade exchanges.

In the new era, Chinese archaeology should adhere to the equal emphasis on field excavation and research interpretation, and promote the deep integration of traditional archaeology with natural science, big data, and artificial intelligence. Based on the rich materials continuously unearthed on the land of China, more research results will contribute archaeological strength to enhancing cultural confidence, continuing the Chinese cultural heritage, and telling Chinese stories well.

(Author's affiliation: School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University (北京大学))

Return to Top

Swords and Armor, Galloping East and West (New Release)

By: 沈丽华

In the Year of the Horse, the second-floor public area of the Chinese Archaeological Museum has a "new look." The newly exhibited 28 pottery figurines, comprising five types—pack horses, drum and music cavalry figurines, honor guard cavalry figurines, armored cavalry figurines, and cataphract cavalry figurines—unveil the mysterious veil of the Northern Qi imperial mausoleums to the public.

In the southern part of Cixian County (磁县), Hebei Province, at the eastern foot of the Taihang Mountains, between the Zhanghe River (漳河) and the Fuyang River (滏阳河), are densely distributed hundreds of tombs of various sizes, which have been scientifically confirmed by archaeology as the royal mausoleum area of the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi periods. Wanzhang Mural Tomb (湾漳壁画墓) is the only imperial-level tomb in the tomb complex that has been excavated and confirmed, and it is a dazzling star among the more than 300 Northern Dynasty tombs. Due to its enormous scale, the excavation work lasted from 1987 to 1989.

Historically, under the leadership of Gao Huan (高欢), the founder of the Northern Qi Dynasty, his family and followers moved from Chielechuan (敕勒川) back to the Central Plains. Six large saddle horses, 14 small horses, and 4 pack horses were unearthed from the Wanzhang Mural Tomb (湾漳壁画墓). Among them, pack horses were mainly used as animal power, and small horses should be the embodiment of immature foals or spare horses.

It is known that the appearance of domestic horses in China is approximately as late as 4,000 years ago in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, such as the Dahezhuang Site (大何庄遗址) in Yongjing, Gansu, and the Huoshaogou Site (火烧沟遗址) in Yumen, which belong to the Qijia Culture (齐家文化). The appearance of domestic horses in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River was even later, in the Anyang Yinxu Site (安阳殷墟遗址) of the late Shang Dynasty.

Archaeologist Yuan Jing (袁靖) believes: "During the pre-Qin period, horses mainly had three major uses: first, as burial objects and sacrificial offerings to show status; second, as animal power for pulling carts, used for pulling carts, chariot warfare, or carrying goods; and third, for riding, mainly used in the battlefield." During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Sun Yang (孙阳) (Bo Le (伯乐)) was good at judging horses, and the silk book "Xiangmajing" ("相马经" - "Classic of Judging Horses") was unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb (马王堆汉墓). From the time of Emperor Jing of the Western Han Dynasty, the phenomenon of "horses in the streets and alleys of the common people, and herds in the fields" gradually appeared, and the importance of horses became increasingly prominent. During the Eastern Wei Yecheng (邺城) period, Jia Sixie (贾思勰)'s "Qimin Yaoshu" ("齐民要术" - "Essential Techniques for the Welfare of the People") not only preserved part of the "Xiangmajing" ("相马经"), but also developed the five-organ method of judging horses, which recorded the feeding and treatment of horses in rich detail.

From around 600 BC, people on the Eurasian steppes began to master horsemanship. By around 400 BC, the northern nomadic tribes bordering agricultural peoples combined riding and archery to form a powerful military force on horseback. After the emergence of cavalry, trade and cultural exchanges between agricultural and nomadic tribes became increasingly prosperous. Whether it was King Zhao Wuling (赵武灵王)'s "Hu clothing and archery" or the construction of the Great Wall of Qin and Han, they were closely related to the cavalry from the Eurasian steppes. The emergence of cavalry, especially heavy cavalry, revolutionized the form of warfare. The "cataphract" recorded in documents was to put heavy armor on both soldiers and horses, which could charge like tanks and be invincible. The cataphract cavalry figurine (甲骑具装俑) (see picture) unearthed from the Wanzhang Mural Tomb (湾漳壁画墓) is a true portrayal of this type of soldier. In recent years, a relatively well-preserved iron armor object of "cataphract" was accidentally discovered in the moat outside the Zhuming Gate (朱明门), the main south gate of Yecheng (邺城). At that time, the number of such soldiers that could be incorporated into the army may have been relatively limited, and there were also some cavalry whose horses were not armored.

The Wanzhang Mural Tomb (湾漳壁画墓) not only unearthed the largest mural of tombs seen in archaeology, but also the tomb with the largest number of pottery figurines unearthed after the Qin and Han Dynasties. The 106 figures of the travel drawn in the mural of the tomb passage and the 1805 pottery figurines unearthed in the tomb chamber constitute the "Grand Lubu" of Emperor Wenxuan Gao Yang (文宣帝高洋), the founding emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Among these pottery figurines, there are more than 200 cavalry figurines, mainly cavalry figurines, all of which are warriors in armor, and as many as 90 cataphract cavalry figurines. The cavalry figurines may correspond to the Huben (虎贲) recorded in the literature. In addition, the cavalry figurines also include more than 30 honor guard cavalry figurines and drum and music cavalry figurines wearing Pingjin Ze (平巾帻). After drum and blowing music (鼓吹铙歌) was introduced to the Central Plains from the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty, it gradually became a symbol of the military band and status. The honor guards and drum and blowing military music riding on tall horses, surrounded by walking soldiers and civil officials, jointly formed a huge funeral procession, escorting Gao Yang (高洋)'s coffin into the deep tomb chamber.

The vicissitudes of nearly 800 years from the Two Han Dynasties to the Northern Dynasties came to an end in Yecheng (邺城) in the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi Dynasties, and finally laid the cultural genes of the prosperous Sui and Tang Dynasties.

(Author's affiliation: Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (中国社会科学院考古研究所))

Return to Top

Galloping through a Peaceful Year

By: 尹晓宇

On the banks of the Guxu River, the "Dongba Big Horse Lantern" (东坝大马灯) performance in Gaochun, Nanjing (南京高淳) is very lively. Seven children ride "bamboo horses," wearing painted faces and theatrical robes: the one in green is Guan Yu (关羽), the one with the black face is Zhang Fei (张飞), and the one riding the white horse is Zhao Yun (赵云)... Underneath each of the seven "bamboo horses," two adults work together in tacit understanding. The person in front wears a prop to resemble a horse's head, while the person behind bends over and drapes brocade to form the horse's body, enacting the stillness and gallop of warhorses. At the signal of the flag, they arrange themselves into triangular formations, square formations, plum blossom formations...

The Dongba Big Horse Lantern originated in the Tang Dynasty (唐代), inspired by the "Camel Carrying Music" performance form of the Han Dynasty (汉代). By the Ming Dynasty (明代), Dongba (东坝), already an important commercial town, had flourishing temple fairs, but lacked large-scale entertainment activities during the Spring Festival. Combining the characteristics of the water town with many boats and few horses, the locals used bamboo as the skeleton and velvet as the skin, decorated with saddles, reins, copper bells, etc., to create giant bamboo horses that could be ridden by two people. During performances, accompanied by musical instruments, the horse teams alternate formations, and actors playing characters from the Three Kingdoms (三国) such as Liu Bei (刘备), Guan Yu (关羽), and Zhang Fei (张飞) ride out to battle, gradually forming the fixed formation of "Seven Horses on Expedition," becoming a "unique art in Jiangnan (江南)." In 2008, the Dongba Big Horse Lantern was selected into the national intangible cultural heritage list.

During the Spring Festival, the horse lantern performance team of Tangjia Village (汤家村) in Dongba (东坝) is the busiest. Tang Chunshan (汤春山), the representative inheritor of the provincial intangible cultural heritage, is the fifth-generation inheritor of the Big Horse Lantern in the village, and has been committed to inheriting and promoting this folk art for nearly 40 years. "The horse lantern is a cultural heritage that the villagers jointly protect. The inheritance of the horse lantern cannot be without anyone." He explained while dressing up the children. The Dongba Big Horse Lantern performance emphasizes the unity of man and horse. Each bamboo horse is jointly ridden by the front horse head and the rear horse body. The former wears a bamboo-woven horse head mask, and the latter bends over and tightly grabs the former's belt, simulating the dynamics of a real horse through the "left step start, right step follow" gait. There is a saying in the industry that "horse performers must first observe real horses for three days, remember the frequency of their mane trembling, and then practice horse steps for a hundred days before they can achieve unity of man and horse."

In the 1990s, the performance team went out of Dongba (东坝) for the first time, participating in the Jinling (金陵) Folk Culture Temple Fair during the Spring Festival in Nanjing (南京) city, and became an instant hit. They also participated in performances in cities such as Shenyang (沈阳), Beijing (北京), Guangzhou (广州), and Shanghai (上海). Speaking of last October, when the Big Horse Lantern appeared in the halftime show of the "Su Chao" (苏超) competition at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center (南京奥体中心), Tang Chunshan (汤春山) opened the conversation: "I've seen many big scenes, but you have to go out!"

The Dongba Big Horse Lantern is not only a performance on various stages, but also an ordinary part of life. Now every Friday, the playground of Dongba Central Primary School (东坝中心小学) is always very lively. Children in groups of two drape on props, and although no one sits on the horse's back, they can still perform the warhorse vividly and spiritedly. This inheritance makes Tang Chunshan (汤春山) gratified. The school's "Big Horse Lantern Club" enrolls fourth-grade elementary school students every year. He and retired teacher Chen Hongbin (陈洪斌) teach together and have already led three sessions. With the support of the school, the bamboo horses have been remade, and there are also "mini horse lantern" courses and props suitable for children. To facilitate performances far away, the 156-person specification required for a complete performance team has been streamlined to more than 40 people. Dongba Street (东坝街道) has also established a Big Horse Lantern Exhibition Hall and a Folk Culture Hall. The Big Horse Lantern has also entered the Gaochun Museum (高淳博物馆) and the ideological and political class in junior high schools...

"We must not only be rooted in life, but also go out, so that folk customs will definitely come alive and become popular," Tang Chunshan (汤春山) said.

Return to Top

Experiencing the Intangible Cultural Heritage Significance of the Spring Festival (Understanding the Present Through the Past)

By: 萧 放

Since December 2024, when "Spring Festival - the social practice of Chinese people celebrating the traditional New Year" was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Spring Festival has been elevated from a traditional festival passed down through generations of Chinese people to a shared intangible cultural heritage of humanity. In the Bingwu year of the Horse, with the support of the contemporary cultural concept of intangible cultural heritage, the ancient festival of Spring Festival has sparked great enthusiasm throughout society for the festive customs integrated into our daily lives.

From the "Intangible Cultural Heritage Celebrates the New Year · Seeking the Taste of the Chinese New Year" event organized by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (文化和旅游部) to recommend good intangible cultural heritage products and intangible cultural heritage tourism routes from various regions, to the "Celebrating the New Year" themed exhibition launched by the China Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum (中国非物质文化遗产馆), from the ancient sexagenary cycle, the rich imagery of the Year of the Horse, to the interpretation of the sacrificial culture where food is paramount, the inheritance and dissemination of Spring Festival intangible cultural heritage are in full swing. Intangible cultural heritage projects related to the Spring Festival in various regions have also been showcased, and people's cultural pride and responsibility for protection and inheritance have been significantly enhanced.

The Spring Festival cultural consumption market has also been expanded as never before. For example, Langzhong City (阆中市), Sichuan Province, relies on the historical origin of the Western Han Dynasty astronomer Luo Xia Hong (落下闳) participating in the creation of the *Taichu Calendar* (《太初历》) to establish the first day of the first lunar month as the beginning of the year, creating a Spring Festival cultural town and launching a Spring Festival culture exploration tour. In Langzhong, the Spring Festival series of activities starts from the Laba Festival and continues to the Lantern Festival, and more and more tourists choose to come here to experience the lively and festive atmosphere of the New Year. Guangzhou Flower Fair (广州行花街), Chaozhou Yingge Dance (潮州英歌舞) and other Spring Festival customs and activities have broken through circles and attracted tourists from home and abroad to experience them.

Young people walk in the streets and villages full of the atmosphere of daily life, watch creative float parades, record the spectacle of molten iron fireworks, live broadcast the advanced musicality of Dong folk songs, and wear traditional Suzhou embroidery... Everyone not only enjoys the scenery, but also becomes a vivid element in the flowing scenery of the Spring Festival.

The application projects submitted by China to UNESCO for inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity have gradually shifted from focusing on the rescue and protection of endangered intangible cultural heritage projects in the early stage to focusing on traditional cultural projects with human creativity, identity, sustainable development and good survival. The size of the projects themselves is also constantly expanding, from "single skills" (Kunqu Opera, the art of Guqin, the traditional construction techniques of wooden arch bridges, the art of woodblock printing, etc.) to comprehensive projects with rich connotations (Twenty-Four Solar Terms, traditional tea-making techniques and related customs, etc.). This change reflects the great achievements made in China's intangible cultural heritage protection work.

From the rescue and protection of culture to the inheritance and promotion of civilization values, from national culture to human civilization, the traditionality, creativity, and identity of the *Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage* are vividly and concretely presented in the cause of intangible cultural heritage protection in China.

Return to Top

From Dingxi "Earth Mound" to Jiangjin Stone Buddha Temple (There are Cultural Relics at My Doorstep)

By: 王世俭

My teenage years were spent in Anle Village (安乐村), Dingxi City (定西市), Gansu Province (甘肃省), in the heart of the Loess Plateau. During summer vacations, my older brother and I would always stay at our maternal grandmother's house for a few days. The loess mountain surrounded by layers of crops not far from my grandmother's house was the scenery I was most familiar with. We often stepped on the knee-high foxtail grass and dandelions between the ridges of the fields, climbing with one shallow and one deep footstep. At that time, I didn't know that this "earth mountain," which carried the laughter of my childhood, was the newly discovered Northern Song Dynasty (北宋) ancient city ruins—Zhangchuan City Ruins (张川城遗址) in the fourth national cultural relics census. These 15 to 20 cm thick, layered rammed earth layers actually contained the wisdom of the ancients in building cities and defending borders. Those black-glazed and brown-glazed ceramic shards that coexisted with the crops were once the smoky life in the bowls and dishes of the Northern Song Dynasty ancestors, settling over a thousand years of time.

In 2024, the members of the fourth national cultural relics census team carried canvas bags and professional surveying and mapping instruments, traversing the gullies of Longzhong (陇中). They found this forgotten loess city wall in our village, conducted on-site investigations, took photos, surveyed, and collected data, and identified it as a cultural relic of "Zhangchuan City Ruins (张川城遗址)." The census team also consulted a large number of historical materials, gradually revealing the past of the ancient city—it was once a military stronghold on a transportation route, connecting Huining Xining City (会宁西宁城) in the east and Anding Anxi City (安定安西城) in the west. It is a newly discovered city site relic of great value in the "fourth census" of Anding District (安定区).

I left my hometown to study and work in other places, and did not return until the summer of 2025. When I followed the footsteps of my childhood towards this ancient city that had just acquired a new identity, my emotions underwent a subtle change. Ascending the city wall, the sunlight passed through the clouds, gilding the thousand-year-old rammed earth with gold, the shape of the city wall was still intact, but it had a little more cherished warmth due to the discovery and protection of the census team. The uneven gullies on the rammed earth layer are not only traces of the erosion of time, but also imprints of the continuation of cultural heritage.

The Zhangchuan City Ruins (张川城遗址) in Dingxi (定西) was a beautiful encounter in my youth. The Yuchanshan Grottoes (玉蟾山石窟) in Luzhou, Sichuan (四川泸州), was the starting point for me to embark on the protection of cultural relics. In 2009, as a recent college graduate, I completed my first on-site cultural relic survey here as a member of the Luzhou City (泸州市) census team in Sichuan (四川). In May 2024, the fourth national cultural relics census on-site survey was launched. As the on-site survey team leader of Jiangjin, Chongqing (重庆江津), I and the census team came to the Shifo Temple (石佛寺) on the north bank of the Yangtze River (长江). Based on the preliminary archaeological excavations, we measured boulders, collected data, and recorded photos according to the layout of the five major areas, such as the cliff statue area and the building site area, exploring the working methods of the entire on-site survey process, preparing for the on-site survey of more than 900 immovable cultural relics in Jiangjin (江津). This pattern of mountains, rivers, and architecture coexisting is extremely rare in Chinese temple ruins, and it also makes the new Jiangjin (江津) people, including myself, feel deeply proud.

From the loess city walls of Zhangchuan City (张川城) in Dingxi (定西) to the Shifo Temple (石佛寺) in Jiangjin, Chongqing (重庆江津), the phrase "there are cultural relics at my doorstep" contains different scenery, but it hides the same protection and inheritance.

Return to Top

Cao Family Courtyard Deep in the Taihang Mountains (Cultural Relics at My Doorstep)

By: 王鸿飞

Riding through the mountains and countryside, the air is fresh, the scenery is beautiful, and you can also encounter ancient villages and ancient dwellings unexpectedly. These remnants of hundreds or thousands of years have witnessed the changes of the world and seem to be quietly waiting for visits from new and old friends.

Once, we were riding deep in the southern foothills of the Taihang Mountains (太行山). When we stopped to rest, we walked into Xishe Village (西社村), Beishe Town (北社镇), Pingshun County (平顺县), Changzhi City (长治市), Shanxi Province (山西省), only to discover that there were many beautifully built courtyards from the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican period. According to local residents, the Cao Family Courtyard (曹家大院) is an outstanding representative of the Lushang (潞商) culture, a branch of Jin merchants, with a combination of Chinese and Western architectural styles, and is well worth seeing.

The first-generation owner of the Cao Family Courtyard (曹家大院) was named Cao Zhiyuan (曹致远). He made a living in the capital during the late Qing Dynasty, and later founded the "Gonglihe Snuff Shop" (公利和鼻烟庄). He built Piaohao (票号 - traditional Chinese banks) and trading houses in his hometown, and his business flourished 风生水起 (fēng shēng shuǐ qǐ - "wind rises water rises," to develop rapidly and vigorously). Cao Zhiyuan (曹致远) had three sons, and the construction of this Cao Family Courtyard (曹家大院) began in 1929. The existing courtyard still retains its original scale, with a row of seven cave dwellings with exposed blue bricks, three independent courtyards, and interconnected doorways, covering an area of thousands of square meters.

The best-preserved is the East Courtyard. The most outstanding feature is its gate tower, which combines Western Gothic-style door tops with traditional Chinese brick carvings, making its beauty difficult to conceal. The plaque above the door reads "Ping Wei Fu (平为福 - Peace is Blessing)," and the screen walls on both sides are decorated with brick carvings of wealthy peony flowers in bloom. The main house in the courtyard is a two-story brick-vaulted cave dwelling, with a stone plaque engraved with "Zisheng Tang (自省堂 - Self-Reflection Hall)" hanging high above the door lintel. The main door of the west wing has a stone-carved couplet: "Wen Cheng Jiao Ye Shu You Lu (文成蕉叶书犹绿), Yin Dao Mei Hua Ju Yi Xiang (吟到梅花句亦香)." The main door of the east wing has a stone-carved couplet: "Shui Se Ning Lan Hui Yu Dong (水色凝蓝辉宇栋), Shan Guang Yao Cui Shang Lou Tai (山光摇翠上楼台)."

The gate tower of the Middle Courtyard also has a Gothic-style pointed arch and square pillars, with a stone plaque engraved with "Fu Shou Kang (福寿康 - Fortune, Longevity, and Health)" above the door lintel. The screen walls on both sides are exquisite blue brick Yang carving (raised carving) of five bats surrounding the character for longevity. Above the round arch of the main door of the West Courtyard is a plaque with the inscription "Shen Xiu Shen (慎修身 - Carefully Cultivate Oneself)," with brick carvings of "Shu De (树德 - Establish Virtue)" and "Wu Ben (务本 - Focus on Fundamentals)" on either side. The window lintels are round-arched brickwork, each carved with seal script poems: "Qian Xing Qian Bei Jiu (遣兴千杯酒)," "Xiao Xian Wan Juan Shu (消闲万卷书)," "Ya Shi Zhi Ye Mao (雅室枝叶茂)," "Chun Feng Tao Li Xin (春风桃李新)."

Standing in the entire courtyard, one can feel the owner's elegant sentiments and lofty aspirations, as well as the expectation for the family's continuation. Every brick and tile demonstrates the owner's self-discipline, pragmatism, self-cultivation, and the Confucian merchant style; every carving and engraving contains the exquisite and profound skills inherited by the architectural craftsmen.

As time passes, the Cao Family Courtyard (曹家大院) is like a small flower in the vast history of Jin merchants, timeless and subtle, leaving us with endless reverie. When we ride past here, we always stop to rest and carefully examine this not-so-ordinary courtyard. This courtyard has been registered as a cultural heritage protection unit, and we hope that more people will see its beauty.

Return to Top

Editor in charge of this section: Ren Shanshan

This edition's email: ysbjs@peopledaily.cn
Layout design: Cai Huawei (蔡华伟)

Return to Top

The February Breeze

By: 云 德

On the day of Lichun (Beginning of Spring), I went to the supermarket to buy spring pancakes. The biting cold in the air seemed to hold no hint of spring. Unexpectedly, when I went out again two days later, I reflexively shrank my neck into my collar, but vaguely noticed that the harsh, stinging airflow that had accompanied the whistling wind throughout the winter was receding. Although the cold was still present, the wind had weakened and softened. I felt that the layer of armor I had equipped on my face to resist the winter rapidly melted into a wisp of almost imperceptible light gauze. A gentle breeze came, and the usual rough, scraping pain was gone, replaced by a cool, moist, and silky smooth touch, as if it had been rinsed in a clear spring for a long time. This change was extremely subtle, seeming to slowly seep out from the cracks of time, from the most minute tremors of space, as if the universe, after a long slumber, was gradually awakening with a yawn that had not yet fully dispelled its drowsiness, intending to show the world that the cycle of seasons was arriving as scheduled, as always, gently and punctually, holding the hope of new life.

Taking a deep breath, I could clearly detect a trace of sweetness and warmth in the coolness of the breeze, like freshly turned soil, or like wisps of grassy scent seeping out from desolation. This scent entered my nostrils, not rushing to my lungs, but first swirling in my throat, quietly dissolving much of the bitterness that had accumulated like a medicine pot throughout the winter. I felt that those corners of my internal organs that had been blocked by the cold were now gently cleared and smoothed by this invisible and gentle hand. The inexplicable melancholy in my heart was also like a sugar cube, slowly and patiently stirred by the wind, dissolving into a glass of clear spring water.

Looking up and around, the world caressed by the spring breeze seemed to be slowly loosening up. The old pagoda trees in the yard, etched with the chaps of time, still stood silently, like old men dozing under the leaden gray sky, but the tips of their iron-gray branches had been tinged with a faint green halo in the gentle sway of the breeze. The horsetail pines, which had been painted in dark gray colors throughout the winter, had also noticeably changed to a oily, moist dark green. The white poplars standing side by side along the road, their bare branches holding sparse bird nests, their gray-white bark covered with blocky patterns, but the tips of their branches had bulged with small, furry buds. The color of the buds was almost indistinguishable from the bark. They were tightly closed, like pursed lips, but no longer in a downward, curled-up, resigned posture, but rather with their upturned branches facing the sky, showing an irreversible vitality. Although the buds on the slanting branches were within reach, you couldn't bear to touch them, fearing to disturb a life-changing event that was taking place.

Looking down, the thawing soil was somewhat moist, and its color was deeper, revealing that the earth had an imperceptible pulse. Around the roots of the trees, a few delicate, heart-wrenchingly fragile blades of goose-yellow grass were pushing open the broken soil, poking out a small sprout. That tender yellow was the initial color of life, bright, timid, and pure, untouched by a trace of dust. When teased by the breeze, they trembled, as if wanting to laugh, yet also shy, and finally rushed out of the soil with abandon.

This upward, tenacious thrust was silent, yet more moving than any shout. It did not ask why it was born, nor did it worry about how it would grow old, but simply existed, grew, and completed a solemn process of "life." In contrast, humans, perhaps because of too many questions about meaning, have lost this natural, pure, and vigorous momentum. People are always looking around and looking back, like a tree hesitating about where to divide its branches, but forgetting that the initial and most essential impulse of life is to grow towards the light like this blade of grass, silently and firmly, growing wantonly.

From the feeling of spring breeze awakening life, I suddenly thought of He Zhizhang's famous line: "I do not know who cut out the fine leaves, the spring breeze of February is like scissors." But upon further reflection, although the spring breeze in the poem is indeed clever, and the wording is novel and wonderful, it inevitably loses its edge by being too sharp. What I have seen, perhaps, is closer to the meaning of "following the wind into the night, moistening things silently." This wind does not seem like scissors, without such a neat and distinct posture, but rather like air is water, a pervasive, penetrating, and ubiquitous tenderness. It does not proclaim its arrival, but simply allows the willow branches to turn green on their own, the grass sprouts to grow on their own, and the hibernating insects to awaken on their own. Like a skilled director, it hides behind the scenes, allowing all things to play out the prosperity of life.

Yes, the wind before me did arrive quietly. Without howling, without announcement, even tiptoeing, tentatively, inch by inch, infiltrating, with a bit of timidity and stubborn tenacity. It seemed that they had come last year, and would still come next year, but the strands that brushed my face at this moment were brand new, like the unique water flowing and emerging in Heraclitus's river. This is different from humans, who always like to find anchors in change, and crave constancy in impermanence, but do not know that this quiet, ever-flowing, constantly renewing moment is the universe's most affectionate constant and eternal state. It does not cling to any one form, but simply happens, changes, and thus possesses inexhaustible life.

It can be determined that this wind comes from the universe, from the iron law of the Earth's four seasons, and although it arrives quietly, it also carries infinitely distant information: the roar of ice layers cracking, the rustling of thousands of roots groping in the dark, the sweet gasps of countless lives between breaking free and embracing. This spring breeze, is it merely a geographical airflow? It is clearly time itself, the most gentle hand, slowly pushing the cycle of life. It turns the passing winter into humus that nourishes new life; it blows the desolate branches into buds waiting to bloom. In this never-ending cycle, the faces of birth, aging, sickness, and death do not seem so frightening. It becomes a necessary rest, a deep breath, and everything is nothing more than for the next louder song.

All of this also proves to people that creation never makes a fuss. It is not in the thunder, not in the sudden rain, not even in the moment when flowers bloom, but hidden in this silence, hidden in the layer of barely discernible green moisture under the bark of the old pagoda tree, hidden in the tightly pursed buds at the tips of the white poplar branches, hidden in the instinct that I no longer shrink my neck when I go out without thinking. We always think that life is a grand announcement, but these trees have seen countless seasonal cycles, and experienced countless misunderstandings of death and rebirth. They have stood in the cold wind for three months, with ice and snow pressing down, and the north wind cutting through, and have endured the coldest moments before dawn. But they do not explain, nor do they defend themselves, but simply prepare the tender bud first on a certain day when the spring breeze caresses them unnoticed; at a certain moment when no one is watching, the billions of branches that are mistaken for dead branches unanimously turn the direction of their tips. Perhaps life should be like this, not to be seen, but to be completed; perhaps this is the temper of creation, it never asks for credit, but simply happens quietly.

The sky gradually darkened, and the setting sun dyed the earth a light golden brown. In the warm breeze, I loosened my collar, turned around and walked back slowly, leaving all the surrounding trees in the twilight behind me. They may also be watching me off, and as usual, continue to hold those drafts about life and germination in their pursed lips, but when the spring breeze blows, the tips of each branch compete to give a knowing nod of greeting.

Return to Top

Tolerance and Self-Cultivation (Jintai Musings)

By: 刘诚龙

I heard a story: Someone online was publicly criticizing and scolding others by name. At first, they were somewhat restrained, but later, seeing that the person didn't respond, they became bolder, writing lengthy and repetitive accusations, fabricating facts, and choosing the most hurtful words to use. Unexpectedly, the person filed a lawsuit against them, and they became anxious, hurriedly begging for mercy and asking for leniency: "An adult doesn't remember the offenses of a petty person." They completely lacked the arrogant and aggressive demeanor they had displayed when attacking online.

"An adult doesn't remember the offenses of a petty person." "Adult" doesn't refer to middle-aged or elderly people, but to those with broad minds. "Petty person" doesn't refer to children; it refers to someone who has already been educated, knows right from wrong, and is aware of their wrongdoing but deliberately commits it. When they are in trouble and ask for "leniency," it's doubtful whether their remorse is sincere. In the internet age, similar incidents are actually quite common.

The word "leniency" is often misunderstood. Some people regard it as a compromise of the weak, and therefore think that the person is soft and can be bullied; some people regard it as an invulnerable shield, a moral kidnapping of others. They speak harshly, repeatedly go back on their word, and when others strike back, they say that the others lack grace; they act ostentatiously without regard for the feelings of others, and complain that the world is narrow-minded after hitting a wall; they constantly infringe upon the interests of companies, the public, and the government, and when they are exposed and caught, they demand lenient treatment... In the eyes of these people, leniency is an obligation that others must fulfill, a morality that they should possess, while their own willful and reckless behavior is a natural right. Between husband and wife, one party is willful and unrestrained, and speaks without thinking, but demands that the other party be infinitely tolerant; between friends, one party is selfish and takes advantage of others, but demands that the other party not be "nitpicky"; in the workplace, one party is arrogant and rude, and provokes others for no reason, but demands that colleagues be broad-minded and open-minded... The most ironic relationship in the world is when I demand leniency from you, but I never restrain myself.

Leniency is never a one-way demand, but a two-way cultivation. Once or twice, people laugh it off; three or four times, 是可忍孰不可忍 (shì kě rěn shú bù kě rěn - "If this is tolerable, what is not?" - If one can tolerate this, what can one not tolerate? Implying that something has reached the limit of endurance). Leniency has its limits, and tolerance has its bottom line. Even the broadest mind cannot withstand repeated consumption; one day, this leniency will disappear completely, leaving only estrangement and indifference, or even a counterattack.

Instead of seeking leniency from the outside, it is better to look inward and reflect on oneself. "A modest gentleman cultivates himself with humility." One who can cultivate himself is a gentleman. Control excessive emotions, restrain flamboyant sharpness, settle inner arrogance, and seal off the acrimony of words. Before speaking, think about whether it will hurt others; before acting, think about whether it will harm others. Do not use one's own sharpness to hurt others, and do not put one's own self-interest above others. In modern terms, it means doing a good job of "self-management."

I once heard a mother teach her child: "Take care of your own child, and if you take good care of your own child, no one else will take care of your child." This saying is also appropriate for adults. The greatest freedom is self-discipline. If you are self-disciplined, you can obtain great freedom; if you cannot be self-disciplined, there will be other discipline, letting others manage you, letting the organization manage you, letting the law manage you. At that time, it will be too late to regret—others managing you may cause both physical and mental harm; the law managing you may leave you with only a few square meters of the world for the rest of your life.

Leniency is a virtue. If you have done something wrong, being shown leniency is the virtue of others; if others have done something wrong to you, showing leniency at this time is your own virtue. Life is essentially a reconciliation with others and with oneself. Walking in the world, we will meet all kinds of people and experience all kinds of things. Friction and differences are inevitable. If we are concerned about everything, we will be filled with worries and acrimony.

We can be lenient with others, but we cannot regard the leniency of others as a matter of course. Being lenient with others is letting go of others; restraining oneself is fulfilling oneself, adding gentleness, adding respect, adding friendship, and adding mutual help and mutual benefit. Constantly cultivating oneself, you do not need to seek leniency from anyone, because you have already made the people around you willing to treat you with gentleness.

Return to Top

Grey Tofu from Northern Guizhou (Duoweizhai Brand)

By: 周小霞

I have always believed that the affection of northern Guizhou people for cypress trees is deeply rooted in their bones, appearing intermittently in daily life and continuing in the customs passed down from generation to generation. Gray tofu is such a traditional delicacy.

In northern Guizhou, gray tofu is almost a year-round staple on the tables of Gelao (仡佬族) families. After slaughtering the New Year pig and smoking the cured meat, the accumulated cypress ash is not wasted. It is carefully sifted, collected, and stored, as it is the best material for making gray tofu. From soybeans to tofu, and then to gray tofu, it is a slow and meticulous process that cannot be completed in two or three days. But the people of northern Guizhou just like to live slowly like this; a steady stream is the true meaning of life.

The soybeans are home-grown soybeans, soaked in clear water for a day, ground into soy milk, filtered, and poured into a pot to boil over a fire. When the soy milk boils several times, add the sour soup water that every family in northern Guizhou has, and the soy milk will gradually solidify into clusters of tender tofu, which is also called tofu pudding. This step is a bit magical, and the people of northern Guizhou call it "sour soup to set tofu." However, tofu pudding cannot be used to make gray tofu. It must be scooped into a tofu box and pressed tightly. After a period of time, the tofu pudding turns into square and firm old tofu, which can then be used to make gray tofu.

Cut the tofu into mahjong-sized squares and gently bury them in the cypress ash, letting them sleep soundly overnight. During this process, the cypress ash completely soaks the tofu, allowing the tofu to breathe freely in the cypress ash, absorbing the minerals and alkaline components, while volatilizing some of the moisture, in preparation for stir-frying. Soaking overnight is just the right amount of time.

Next is stir-frying. Pour the remaining cypress ash into a large pot, light a fire, heat the ash, and put in the gray tofu that has slept well in the ash pile, and stir-fry slowly. I have seen my mother stir-fry gray tofu. The spatula in her hand is like a black fish shuttling between the cypress ash and the tofu. Accompanied by the rising and falling "popping" sounds, the tofu gradually swells and becomes round in the hot cypress ash. The square and firm tofu cubes soon turn into plump and glutinous tofu fruits. When the gray tofu is finished stir-frying, my mother's head and shoulders are also covered with fine cypress ash.

At this time, it is the happiest time for the children who have been guarding the stove all morning. Adults will always pick out one or two of the first puffed-up gray tofu, put them on the stove to cool, pat off the ash, tear them open, and hand them to the eagerly waiting little mouths. Even without any seasoning, the simple and solid bean aroma and cypress aroma are enough to make us 垂涎三尺 (chuí xián sān chǐ - "saliva three feet," to drool with envy; to be extremely envious).

The stir-fried gray tofu still has moisture and needs to be dried for storage. Some families also string them with sunflower leaves or straw and hang them under the beams, accompanied by chili peppers and cured meat. Looking up, with those strings of food hanging quietly, ready to be taken and eaten at any time, life has a bit more solidity, and the days have a sense of forever.

Return to Top

Photo Story

Color woodcut print "Spring Arrives at Dongting Lake," by Li Qun (力群), collection of the National Art Museum of China.

Return to Top

Sand

By: 第广龙

Beyond the Red Willow Forest
　　The Badain Jaran Desert (巴丹吉林) has depth
　　Pool after pool of black iron-like accumulated water
　　Follows closely behind
　　And then the setting sun comes down
　　The curves of the Badain Jaran Desert (巴丹吉林)
　　The roundness and undulation of the Badain Jaran Desert (巴丹吉林)
　　Can still accommodate
　　Each approaching silhouette
　　Can also make a bumpy heart
　　Beat even more violently

　　When I came here
　　The storm had already left
　　Where did the person counting sand go?
　　The person riding a camel to deliver messages
　　Wades out through the sand
　　And who did they meet again?

　　If half of a person's life
　　Is in the Badain Jaran Desert (巴丹吉林)
　　Pulled out from the desert
　　The other half of their life
　　Other winding landscapes
　　When a final song
　　Is reconnected in a dream
　　Will the clenched fist get hot?
　　Will it release the sand?

Return to Top

Zigui has 'Lun Wan' (Meeting)

By: 李培禹

I spent a difficult time in the hospital bed at Beijing Tongren Hospital (北京同仁医院). At that time, after three rounds of chemotherapy, the lymphoma in my body had completely disappeared, but the side effects of the drugs were also obvious: anorexia, loss of taste, constipation, and insomnia. What's more, there were still the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds, and possibly even an eighth round of chemotherapy waiting for me. It is conceivable how depressed I was. "Counting the days on my fingers," "the ceiling is like a page of a book I'm tired of reading," these are lines written by Mr. Zang Kejia (臧克家) when he was hospitalized. Now, I have to recite them silently several times a day.
　　The curtains of the ward are opened early, and the sky is slightly bright. The nurse has already come to deliver the medicine and instructed me on the precautions for the day. My wife comes to deliver food, rain or shine. She asked, "You have friends in Hubei (湖北), right? Look, they sent you fruit." I was a little surprised. Very few of my friends in Beijing (北京) knew about my illness and hospitalization. Who is thinking of me thousands of miles away?
　　It is Xu Guihong (徐桂红), a police officer from Xiangyang (襄阳), Hubei. Guihong is an excellent police officer from the Yicheng (宜城) Public Security Bureau (公安局) in Xiangyang. Her deeds are enthusiastically helping "problem teenagers." She is stationed in primary and secondary schools all year round, rescuing children who have "problems" (she never says "strayed," nor does she allow us to say it) for various reasons. That's right, she doesn't say "rescue" either, but rather help or call back. The famous writer Li Di (李迪) wrote a reportage about her, which touched countless readers. I quickly replied to her, thanking her and telling her not to send any more. Guihong said, "Teacher Li (李老师), you certainly haven't tasted it yet. I sent you a unique kind of orange from Zigui (秭归), Hubei, called 'Lun Wan (伦晚).'"
　　This was the first time I had heard of "Lun Wan," and the first time I had tasted such a delicious fresh orange. Before long, Guihong's second box of "Lun Wan" arrived. This time, I was a little critical of her, but after learning about her other "righteous act," she said, "Teacher Li, even you don't know about 'Lun Wan,' so such delicious oranges can't be sold! The fruit farmers in the mountains work so hard, it's really worrying." This is Guihong, her heart is always warm.
　　**无独有偶** (wú dú yǒu ǒu - "not alone but in pairs," it's not an isolated case; coincidence)! A media friend and writer of mine, Chu Chaoxin (褚朝新), also received a request from a fruit farmer in Zigui. In the prime of his life, he did not hesitate to embark on a journey from Changsha (长沙), Hunan (湖南), to Zigui, Hubei.
　　Chaoxin went to Shadawan (沙大湾) in Wangjialing Village (王家岭村), Guojiaba Town (郭家坝镇), Zigui County (秭归县), the main producing area of "Lun Wan" oranges. He wrote: "For most fruit trees, they cannot escape the natural law of flowering in spring and fruiting in autumn. Flowers and fruits never meet. But Zigui Lun Wan breaks this convention, 'Lun' returns in all seasons, and the instrument 'Wan' oranges late. It blooms and bears fruit at the same time in the spring when all things recover, forming a spectacle of 'flowers and fruits on the same branch, two generations on the same tree.'"
　　On the day he entered the mountain, there was heavy rain in Yichang (宜昌). Chaoxin and the fruit farmer who led the way walked forward in the water. The water was deep, and water quickly entered their shoes. They simply took off their shoes and socks and walked barefoot through the water. In the light rain, Chu Chaoxin saw the "Lun Wan" with flowers and fruits on the same branch! The mountains and fields were full of navel oranges. Except for "Lun Wan," other varieties of fruits had already been picked, leaving only white orange blossoms all over the trees. The entire mountain was filled with the fragrance of orange blossoms.
　　Are the fruits on the same branch as the flowers delicious? Chaoxin picked one at random, peeled off the skin, took a bite, and it burst with juice, splashing all over himself. The fruit is juicy, without residue, nine parts sweet and one part sour, it is indeed delicious! The growth cycle of "Lun Wan" is very long, it takes 13 months to mature, flowering in March and maturing and picking in April of the following year. It experiences the spring wind, summer rain, autumn frost, and winter snow before growing into the spectacle we marvel at today.
　　Chaoxin said on the steep hillside that the vast majority of Zigui navel oranges grow on the hillside land under my feet. Cars cannot drive on it at all, and the fruits are all carried out of the mountain by people. It takes more than half an hour to carry a basket of 100 jin of fruit down the mountain or up from the mountain depression.
　　My heart rises and falls with the videos taken by Chaoxin on the spot. Nowadays, Zigui navel oranges have developed to the point where fruits mature in all seasons. In spring, there is "Lun Wan" with flowers and fruits on the same branch, in summer there are summer oranges, in autumn there are September Red, and in winter there are Newhall and Zhonghua Red. I sent the beautiful article written by Chu Chaoxin about "Lun Wan" to Guihong to read as soon as possible. She was extremely happy and quickly forwarded it to her circle of friends. Everyone placed orders one after another, doing their best to help the fruit farmers.
　　Not long ago, I received another text message from Guihong. Guihong said, "Please take good care of yourself. When spring blossoms, please invite Teacher Chu to come to Songyu Middle School (宋玉中学) in Yicheng, Hubei with you to see the children of migrant workers, donate some books to them, and give them a lecture, okay?"
　　I will forward this invitation to Chaoxin, and I believe he will reply like me: Okay, let's make an appointment!

Return to Top

The Lantern Maker

By: 陈 晔

New Year's requires hanging red lanterns. Before the New Year, it is the busiest time for Tuntou Village (屯头村), Meihua Town (梅花镇), Gaocheng District (藁城区), Shijiazhuang City (石家庄市), Hebei Province (河北省), with sales entering their peak. The "Palace Lantern Town" is busy making "big red lanterns hang high" for thousands of households.

　　Vehicles come and go, all loaded with lanterns.

　　At 8 a.m., Xiao Su (小苏), who lives in the north of Tuntou Village (屯头村), puts on her work clothes and starts assembling lanterns, putting on lantern covers, and applying glue on the first floor. She rushed back after getting off work on Friday, dressed in city clothes, but when she gets home, she looks ready to work. Her mother feels sorry for her daughter and tells her, "Wear something thicker, dear."

　　Recently, as long as she doesn't have to work overtime, Xiao Su (小苏) rushes home from the main urban area of Shijiazhuang (石家庄) after getting off work on Friday to help her parents make lanterns. Her mother said, "Everyone else is busy finding a partner, don't bother coming back." She doesn't listen, because she feels sorry for her parents, "It's busy at the end of the year, I'll help them out, Mom and Dad are working too hard."

　　A word of hardship makes the mother, who is holding a hook to hang a lantern overhead, tear up.

　　"My back is about to break, I only sleep a few hours a day," said Xiao Su's (小苏) father. His voice is a little hoarse. Palace lantern makers especially cherish this "golden month" of business, tired, busy, but happy!

　　Xiao Su (小苏) was born in 2000 and works for a company in the main urban area of Shijiazhuang (石家庄) after graduating from college. When she comes home to help, her job is to brush glue and stick gold strips on the lanterns that her mother has covered. She holds the lantern with one hand and brushes glue with the other, repeating the same action tens of thousands of times a day.

　　"Do your arms ache?"

　　"You get used to it."

　　A pet dog wanders between her and her mother's legs, bringing life to the room.

　　Making lanterns is a delicate job. Gaocheng (藁城) palace lanterns are a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage. Tuntou Village (屯头村) has a long history of making palace lanterns, and most families make traditional palace lanterns. Some are also engaged in the research and development of palace lantern varieties, making new varieties such as acrylic lanterns and LED lights. Some people also cooperate with paper-cutting artists from Wei County (蔚县), Hebei (河北), to "transplant" the art of paper-cutting onto palace lanterns. There are moving lanterns, talking lanterns, singing lanterns, drumming lanterns, as well as animation lanterns and lanterns based on the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, everything you could want.

　　There are no idle people in Tuntou Village (屯头村). This is the case all year round. Crops are only planted for one season, but making palace lanterns keeps them busy all year round. Auntie Li (李婶) helps out at Xiao Su's (小苏) house. Already a grandmother, she speaks humorously, using "railway police each manage a section" to vividly summarize the complex process of making palace lanterns. She is a daughter of Tuntou Village (屯头村), and has been making lanterns with her family since she was a child. All four of her brothers run palace lantern factories.

　　Xiao Su's (小苏) parents were born in the Year of the Horse, and this year is their zodiac year. The couple are the same age, and were poor when they first got married, with only a few small mud-walled houses, so low that you could touch the roof. After making lanterns, they built a three-story building on the old site. The first floor is for making lanterns, the second floor is for living, and the third floor is used as a warehouse.

　　"Our daughter was assembling lantern frames when she was six or seven years old," Xiao Su's (小苏) mother said, talking about Xiao Su's (小苏) childhood. The children of Tuntou (屯头) are sensible early. When adults are busy, the children can't stay idle and have an eye for work.

　　On the lintels above the doors of houses in Tuntou Village (屯头村), there are mostly large characters that read "家和万事兴". "家和" (jiā hé - "family harmony") means village harmony, national harmony. The endless stream of palace lanterns, carrying Chinese red, goes from Tuntou Village (屯头村) to the whole country.

　　The sun is setting. The sun is also like a medium-sized round palace lantern, sitting smiling on the big poplar tree and the telephone pole, below is an endless wheat field, the wheat looking up at the high-hanging red lanterns.

　　Xiao Su's (小苏) mother came out to see me off, her hands covered in red marks and gold specks from sticking lanterns. I suddenly thought: good days all start with prosperous hands. Laborers, their hands hold the sun and happiness.

Return to Top

This edition's editor: Cheng Hong

This edition's email: dadi@peopledaily.cn

We welcome submissions from our readers. Submissions must be original and not submitted to multiple publications (**一稿多投** (yī gǎo duō tóu - "one manuscript multiple submissions," submitting the same manuscript to multiple publications)).

Return to Top