Imposing sanctions and engaging in trade wars does not align with China's interests, nor with the EU's interests, a Chinese observer said on Sunday, describing the complexity of China-EU relations like that of a "wrangling married couple." 

Speaking at an event in Shanghai, EU Ambassador to China Jorge Toledo said that "The EU does not want a trade war with Beijing but five years of talks have yielded no real progress," adding that there is increasing concern over Chinese market access for European medical devices, according to Reuters. 

Toledo made the remarks at the 30th anniversary celebration of the China Europe International Business School. Toledo said talks with European medical device makers had shown they were being discriminated against in Chinese public procurement. "We don't want a trade war. We just want transparency. We want a level playing field," Reuters cited Toledo as saying. 

Trade frictions between the bloc and China have intensified over the past year after the EU launched an investigation into Chinese-made imports of electric vehicles (EVs) that prompted Beijing to launch probes into Europe's pork and dairy industries and curb brandy imports, Reuters reported. 

Zhao Junjie, senior research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday that the overall characteristic of China-EU relations in the post-pandemic era is the emergence of trade protectionism, while at the same time, there is positive momentum in economic and trade cooperation, technological collaboration, cultural exchanges and educational partnerships. These elements consistently act as stabilizers or catalysts for bilateral progress.

"The China-EU relationship is much like a married couple wrangling with each other. Both recognize they should work out their issues together, and no matter who wants to break up, both will suffer significant losses," Zhao said. 

The European Commission recently concluded its anti-subsidy investigation by imposing definitive countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles (EVs) from China for a period of five years. 

As Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won the 2024 US presidential election, the EU will need to address the short- or long-term challenges following Trump's reelection, Christian Kern, former Chancellor of Austria said at an event on Friday in Beijing. The foremost is to solve energy-related issues, an area where the EU is able to cooperate with China, Kern said. Kern believes that China can rapidly scale industries, such as new energy vehicle batteries and wind power, while Europe is at a relatively lagging position. 

Both Zhao and Yan told the Global Times that China and the EU should prevent the EU's strategic autonomy from moving toward confrontation with China, and called for more open communication between China and the EU.

Yan noted that the EU needs to recognize that the retaliatory measures China has taken are not solely focused on tariffs for EVs. There are concerns about potential tariff increases in other sectors such as wind turbines, solar energy, medical equipment and more, he said. 

Several European leaders have visited China recently. "These visits are essential. Open communication and dialogue can help avoid misjudgments," Yan noted. 

Zhao emphasized that "China opposes unreasonable demands and will fight when necessary. However, countermeasures should be differentiated and not applied uniformly." 

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Friday jointly met with representatives attending the China-Italy Cultural Cooperation Mechanism Conference and the Dialogue between Chinese and Italian University Presidents in Beijing.

China congratulated Donald Trump on being elected as president of the United States, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The spokesperson made the remarks in response to a query that the U.S. presidential election results are out and Republican candidate Donald Trump has won the election.

"We respect the choice of the American people and congratulate Mr. Trump on being elected as president of the United States," said the spokesperson.

Foreign espionage and intelligence agencies have escalating efforts to infiltrate China's data sector, aiming to steal critical data and compromise national security in recent years. The public is urged to stay vigilant, protecting both critical national and personal data in their work and life and be alert to foreign intelligence agencies stealing our country's core sensitive data, China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) said on Tuesday.

Due to the intangible and hard-to-trace nature of data, and the diversity of data owners and the complexity of processing activities, there are significant risks across collection, transmission, storage, usage, deletion, and destruction stages, including data leaks, data tampering, data misuse, unauthorized transmission, illegal access, and abnormal traffic.

The MSS reminds the public that safeguarding data security is a comprehensive effort necessitating broad public involvement.

The general public should remain vigilant in protecting important national data and sensitive personal data in their work and life, and be alert to foreign intelligence agencies stealing our country's core sensitive data, to collectively fortify national data security, the MSS said.

Supported by solid data security measures, China’s digital technologies like digital consumption, smart manufacturing, and 5G continue to advance, fueling growth in the digital economy. 

According to statistics, China's digital economy grew from 11.2 trillion yuan ($1.57 trillion) in 2012 to 53.9 trillion yuan by 2023. The growth of the digital economy accounted for 66.45% of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, significantly bolstering new productive forces, the MSS noted.

China on Monday unveiled new birth support policy measures to promote the building of a birth-friendly society. An expert told the Global Times that these measures are comprehensive and could potentially improve China's current fertility rate, but additional efforts are still needed.

A directive from the General Office of China's State Council details 13 targeted measures on enhancing childbirth support services, expanding child-care systems, fostering a birth-friendly social atmosphere, and strengthening support in education, housing and employment, according to the Xinhua News Agency on Monday.

The directive includes a range of measures for birth support across four key areas, according to the directive. The first is to enhance support for fertility services by guiding eligible localities to include maternity insurance for flexible employment workers, migrant workers, and individuals in new forms of employment who participate in basic medical insurance.

Measures also include improving the maternity leave system to ensure the implementation of legally mandated leave periods, including maternity leave, paternity leave, and parental leave.

It also suggests establishing a maternity subsidy system and strengthen reproductive medical services by advising regions to include appropriate pain relief methods during childbirth and assisted reproductive technology projects within the scope of medical insurance reimbursement.

The second area focuses on strengthening the child-rearing service system, with measures including improving the quality of pediatric medical services and ensuring that eligible children's medications are promptly covered by medical insurance. It also involves increasing the supply of inclusive childcare services and improving supportive policies for inclusive childcare.

The third is to strengthen support measures in education, housing and employment, including supporting primary and secondary schools to actively carry out after-school services, and encouraging localities to introduce specific measures for families with multiple children attending the same school.

The measures also include strengthening housing support policies and encouraging eligible localities to increase support for families with multiple children when it comes to purchasing houses. It also encourages companies to allow employers to adopt flexible working hours and remote work arrangements based on actual conditions, creating a family-friendly work environment.

Besides these, measures involve actively promoting a new culture of marriage and childbirth, strongly advocating positive views on marriage, parenthood, and family. It also includes enhancing social awareness campaigns and strengthening education on national population conditions and policies by integrating relevant content into primary and secondary schools, as well as undergraduate programs.

He Yafu, an independent demographer, told the Global Times on Monday that the proposed measures are comprehensive and could potentially enhance China's current fertility rate. He pointed out that several local governments had introduced birth subsidy policies, but these subsidies are generally inadequate to raise the fertility rate. Therefore he emphasized the need for support from the central government, which has more financial resources to boost fertility rate.

Besides, China has recently officially launched a fresh round of population and family development survey aimed at understanding family dynamics and reproductive behaviors, ultimately providing data to enhance fertility support policies.

Chinese officials, business organizations and carmakers on Wednesday fiercely criticized the EU's decision to impose so-called countervailing tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), urging the bloc to advance talks to reach a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible to avert escalating trade friction.

They also vowed to take all necessary measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. Significantly, on Wednesday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said it has filed a complaint at the WTO against the EU's move, while a Chinese carmaker said it plans to file suit at the Court of Justice of the EU.

While both sides remained open to continuing negotiations, Chinese experts said that the EU has shown a lack of sufficient sincerity, as it insists on its imposing hefty tariffs against Chinese EV makers and seeks to conduct separate negotiations with individual firms in order to take firms down one by one, experts noted.

Unacceptable move

In a press release on Tuesday, the European Commission (EC), the executive branch of the EU, said that it has concluded its anti-subsidy investigation by imposing definitive countervailing duties on imports of EVs from China for a period of five years.

The press release said that the so-called countervailing duties on Chinese EVs, ranging from 17 percent to 35.3 percent, would enter into force on the day following the publication in the Official Journal, meaning that they took effect on Wednesday.

The move prompted harsh criticism from China. In a statement on Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for MOFCOM said that China "does not agree nor accept" the definitive ruling and has filed suit under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. 

"China will continue to take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises," the MOFCOM spokesperson said, while calling out the EU for engaging in unfair and protectionist actions under the guise of "fair competition." 

At a regular press briefing on Wednesday afternoon, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, criticized the EU's move as "pure protectionism detrimental to China-EU industrial and supply chain cooperation, to European consumers, and to EU's green transition and global climate response."

The response from the Chinese business community was swift and harsh. In a statement sent to the Global Times on Wednesday, the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME), which is representing the Chinese EV industry in the case, said the EC's definitive ruling is unfair, unreasonable and unobjective, and seriously violates the relevant anti-subsidy regulations of the WTO as well as the EU itself. 

"As the defense party in this investigation, the CCCME will continue to lead companies to do well in the price commitment negotiations, and we will effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese EV industry and companies through various legal means," the statement said. 

The China Association of Automobile Manufactures on Wednesday also slammed the EU's protectionist action and said that it firmly upholds and supports the Chinese government's WTO suit against the EU to protect Chinese firms' legitimate rights and interests.   

Some Chinese EV makers are already considering legal action against the EC's move. In a statement to the Global Times on Wednesday, SAIC Motor, which faces the highest tariff rate of 35.3 percent, said it plans to take necessary legal action to bring its case to the EU Court of Justice to safeguard its legitimate right and interests.

Earlier on Wednesday, the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU said that the EU's "unjustified" move against Chinese EVs can "neither strengthen the EU's EV manufacturing resilience, nor foster innovation or job creation," according to a statement to it sent to the Global Times. 

Yang Erlin, chairman of the Finnish Chinese Business Council and CEO of the Finland-China Development and Exchange Center, told the Global Times on Wednesday that while some Finnish businesses support the EU's move, others are focused on the impact of the policy on the Finnish economy, industry competitiveness and commercial ties with China. 

Yang noted that the business community is worried that if the tariffs dampen China's interests in the European market, it may dampen the prospects for cooperation in areas such as green technology and green energy and may have an adverse impact on some Finnish companies hoping to expand into the Chinese market.

He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, said that in terms of the timing, the EC's announcement on Tuesday is in line with its own procedures; however, the EC's determination about subsidies is unacceptable. 

"We can engage the EU side under the WTO mechanism, and if the WTO finds the EU in violation, the EU will be compelled to rectify its wrong practices," He told the Global Times on Wednesday, while adding that there is still room for the two sides to resolve the dispute through consultation.   

Continuing talks

Notably, both sides on Wednesday indicated that consultations will continue. The headline of the EC's press release on Tuesday stated that "discussions on price undertakings continue." 

"In parallel, the EU and China continue to work toward finding alternative, WTO-compatible solutions that would be effective in addressing the problems identified by the investigation," it said. 

In the statement on Wednesday, the MOFCOM spokesperson said the Chinese side had noted the EU's comments about continuing price commitment talks with China, and stressed that China has persisted in addressing the trade dispute through dialogue and consultation.   

The spokesperson said that the technical teams of the two sides are conducting a new phase of consultation. "It is hoped that the EU side will jointly advance the talks in a constructive manner and under 'pragmatic and balanced' principles, address each other's core concerns, and reach a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible, so as to avoid escalating trade frictions," the spokesperson said. 

Experts said that while the EC has indicated its willingness to continue negotiations with China, it has not shown sufficient sincerity.

"The EU has agreed to conduct consultations based on the direction of price commitment offers made by China, but some of the EU's demands are unacceptable," said He, noting the EC's decision to apply different tariff rates against different carmakers. "Clearly, the EU lacks sincerity in the negotiations."

While the Chinese side has repeatedly urged the EU to refrain from conducting separate negotiations with individual carmakers and focus on negotiations led by the CCCME, the EU appears to be continuing its strategy, stating in the press release on Tuesday that it remains open to negotiations with individual exporters.

"By conducting separate negotiations with individual firms, the EU is seeking to take the companies down one by one," Wang Yiwei, a professor at the School of International Relations at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Wang said that the EC is well aware that the EU is falling far behind in EV development and is seeking to force Chinese companies to move some of their production to the EU, share their technologies, and relocate their supply chains. 

"The EC is not just after tariffs. It wants Chinese companies' supply chains, technologies and localized operations," Wang said, stressing that the WTO rules are on China's side, as China moves to safeguard its rights and interests.  

With a US general again hyping the significance of the US Army's mid-range missile deployment in the Philippines, experts said on Tuesday that the US' move is militarizing the region and harming the interests of all countries in vicinity.

The US Army's recent deployment of a mid-range missile system to the northern Philippines was "incredibly important and allowed American and Filipino forces to jointly train for the potential usage of such heavy weaponry in Asian archipelago conditions," US Major General Marcus Evans, Commanding General of the Hawaii-based 25th Infantry Division, said on Monday, the AP reported.

The US Army deployed the Typhon missile system to the northern Philippines as part of joint combat exercises in April with Philippine troops, the AP reported. It is a land-based weapon that can fire the Standard Missile-6 and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile.

The Typhon missile system was supposed to be flown out of the Philippines last month, but the two countries agreed to keep the missile system in the northern Philippines indefinitely, according to the report.

The Typhon missile system would be considered a banned weapon had the US not withdrawn from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, as the deployment of such mid-range missiles on other countries' doorsteps would inevitably compress the reaction time of air defense and pose significant threat, a Beijing-based military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The US deploying mid-range missiles could lead to arms races, tensions, and militarization of the region, which serve the interests of no country in the region, including the Philippines itself, the expert said.

Some Filipino experts have called for the withdrawal of the Typhon, as Anna Malindog-Uy, vice president of the Manila-based think tank Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute, said that the US deployment suggests an offensive strategy rather than mere defense, and the risks of an arms race, diplomatic rifts and military escalation are real and evident, the Xinhua News Agency previously reported.

Wilson Lee Flores, a columnist for The Philippine Star, said in the Xinhua report that the deployment is unfortunate and worrisome because it might trigger an unhealthy arms race throughout Asia and increase geopolitics tensions among major countries and regional countries. 

As the third International Summit on BDS Applications opened in Zhuzhou, Central China's Hunan Province on Thursday, showcasing the latest technological achievements and application cases of China's independently-developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), industry insiders hailed the vast potential of BDS application as being "limited only by human imagination," while anticipating its future integration with other advanced technology such as artificial intelligence. 

"BDS applications are rapidly expanding across key sectors of China's national economy, with coverage rates surpassing 90 percent in areas such as transportation, energy, natural resources and emergency response," said Xiang Libin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission and an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The two-day summit has attracted more than 1,800 Chinese and international researchers, entrepreneurs and officials from various fields, including satellite systems, rockets, operation control, and data applications. It also housed foreign representatives from countries including African Union members, Russia, Laos, South Korea, France, and Cote d'Ivoire.

Approximately 12,000 square meters of indoor demonstration area and an outdoor display area of about 2,000 square meters have been set up to exhibit the latest technologies and applications of the BDS. 

The demonstration zone featured application scenarios for intelligent transportation, general aviation, engineering machinery, smart logistics, smart cities, and public applications. 

A bluebook on the development of the BDS industry was also released during Thursday's opening ceremony. "BDS services and related products have been exported to more than 130 countries, providing users with diversified choices and better application experience and promoting industrial development," the bluebook stated, Xinhua News Agency reported.

In the 1990s, as the US' GPS and Russia's GLONASS each launched over 20 satellites to complete global networking, China made a major strategic decision to independently develop a navigation system of its own in 1994.  

Over the past 30 years, from Beidou-1 to Beidou-3, from dual-satellite positioning to global networking, and from covering the Asia-Pacific region to serving the entire world, China's BDS has become one of the four global satellite navigation systems recognized by the United Nations, serving users in over 200 countries and regions, according to media reports.

'From afar to our side'

How is BDS related to the everyday lives of ordinary people? To many, the launching of satellites and the forming of communication network still seems "high-end, complex, and far away." 

In fact, the smartphones are almost all equipped with BDS chips in China. In Chinese people's daily lives, apps related to online shopping, food delivery, taxi-hailing, and sharing bikes all feature BDS technology to varying degrees.

In 2022, Huawei launched the Mate 50 series, which integrated the short message communication function of the BDS, allowing users to send messages and location even without a phone signal. In 2023, the Huawei's Mate 60 Pro became the world's first phone to feature satellite calling, accelerating the push for satellite communication to become a standard feature in smartphones amid widespread acclaim.

In another scenario, smart vehicles equipped with BDS' high-precision positioning and navigation that travel on "smart roads" while transmitting data to a cloud service will enable real-time dynamic information interaction between vehicles and roads. 

Moreover, China is vigorously implementing 10 major projects to deepen the large-scale application of BDS, carrying out demonstrations and achieving extensive use in fields such as construction machinery, modern agriculture, disaster prevention and mitigation, and smart cities.

The BDS is widely utilized in various fields such as power grid management, high-speed rail operations, and even stock market trading, signifying that it has become an integral part of our infrastructure - yet its presence is often unnoticed, much like electricity or water supply, Kang Guohua, a professor of Aerospace Engineering at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

Speaking of its future potential, Kang said BDS serves as the foundation of the future information world, essential for providing time and space data. 

"Its applications are limited only by our imagination, and it can be integrated with various advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence," the expert noted.

A cylindrical object was found floating at Weihai International Bathing Beach in Weihai, and was late identified as a torpedo from the late period of the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895). It is now permanently housed in the Museum of Sino-Japanese War 1894-1895, according to the Weihai City Public Security Bureau in East China's Shandong Province on Thursday.

Recently, a police station under the Weihai City Public Security Bureau received a report from a citizen named Zhang Tingwei about an unknown cylindrical object floating in the sea at Xiao Yao Wan International Bathing Beach. 

Upon receiving the report, police officers immediately went to the scene where locals had already dragged the mysterious object to shore.

The heavily corroded cylindrical object, carrying resembling device with propulsion function and marked with serial numbers, was suspected to be an old torpedo.

For safety, the police quickly evacuated the public and contacted the Museum of Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895).

After a preliminary assessment, the object was confirmed to be a historical artifact from the modern era and was secured for further examination. Experts finally confirmed that the torpedo dates back to the late First Sino-Japanese War and has been permanently collected by the Museum of Sino-Japanese War 1894-1895.

China on Friday expressed grave concerns and strong condemnation over the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)'s attack on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) observation tower, which injured UNIFIL personnel. 

"Any deliberate attack on UN peacekeepers is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and UNSC Resolution 1701. It is absolutely unacceptable and shall be put to an immediate stop," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday.

Many UN member states have voiced similar condemnation and concerns, which observers believe reflects a strong and common dissatisfaction and opposition from the international community regarding the impact and provocation against the authority of the UN, international law, and the international order.

UNIFIL said on Thursday that an Israeli tank fired on a watchtower in its headquarters in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, injuring two members. 

According to China Central Television, China's 22nd batch of peacekeeping troops in Lebanon is safe and in good condition so far.

"We request investigation into the incident, effort to bring relevant people to account and measures to prevent such incident from happening again. Parties to the conflict must earnestly ensure the safety and security of all UN personnel and property, including the UNIFIL," Mao said.   

"China urges parties concerned, Israel in particular, to take immediate measures to deescalate tensions, ensure the safety of UN peacekeeping personnel, and prevent the conflict from further expanding or even spiraling out of control," Mao said.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday condemned Israeli forces attack in south Lebanon that injured two Indonesian military personnel who are members of the UNIFIL. "I condemn the fact that there was a shooting against a UN premise, wounding two peacekeepers, which is a violation of international humanitarian law," the UN secretary general said.

At the UN Security Council Briefing on the Lebanese-Israeli Situation on Thursday local time, China's permanent representative to the UN, Fu Cong, also said that China expresses grave concerns and strong condemnation regarding the IDF's attack, which resulted in injuries to UNIFIL personnel.

Since the latest round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out last year, Israel has increasingly expressed dissatisfaction with the UN mechanism, often labeling the UN as "anti-Israel," and the relationship between Israel and the UN has also become increasingly tense, observers said. 

Italy officially protested with Israel on Thursday for targeting UNIFIL deployed in south Lebanon, which hosts UNIFIL headquarters and two Italian bases. Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto contacted his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant to complain, describing the events as "unacceptable to the Italian government."

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said Moscow fully supports the security of peacekeepers, who are being subjected to "unpredictable risks" due to Israel's presence on the Blue Line. "We all understand that this is a war crime. It deserves the most decisive reaction from all of us," Nebenzya reportedly told a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday.

France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs condemned the attack and said it was waiting for an explanation from Israel as to why it took place. "France expresses its deep concern following the Israeli shots that hit [UNIFIL] and condemns any attack on the security of UNIFIL," the ministry said in a statement.

Israel's attack on UNIFIL has been met with strong condemnation from the international community, including some Western countries, indicating a strong common opposition to such disregard for international law and order, Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.

According to Niu Xinchun, executive director of the China-Arab Research Institute of Ningxia University, Israel's attack, which also undermines the authority of the UN and the safety of UN peacekeeping personnel, has further intensified the dissatisfaction of the international community.

Notably, among the global reactions, the White House said the US was deeply concerned by reports that Israeli forces fired on UN positions and was pressing Israel for details, according to Reuters.

Observers believe that the statements from the US may reflect a sense of helplessness, which also highlights the duality in its policy toward Israel - supporting and indulging it on one hand, while on the other having disagreements on many issues and not wanting to be drawn into the conflict. "Therefore, the US stance is kind of weak and may lack significant practical meaning," Liu said.