US President Joe Biden said on Monday that the diplomatic sprint through Vietnam and India has "strengthened America's leadership on the global stage." However, it doesn't seem to be welcomed by the American public.

Biden's trip may "ultimately do little to alter his political fortunes back home, where his polling numbers are low" and there might be "a tight race against his predecessor, Donald J. Trump," according to The New York Times on Monday.

Some Senate Democrats even said President Biden's moribund poll numbers are "concerning" and "frustrating," and they are doubtful whether "the White House will change how voters view him before the 2024 election."

While there is still time before the climax of the election, Biden's Asia trip has contributed little to helping him win favor within the US. What the president faces back home is a low approval rating and a host of domestic challenges.

Foreign diplomacy doesn't concern the majority of American voters, nor is it a determinant in the general election, unless there is a major diplomatic crisis linked to domestic issues. Meanwhile, problems of real concern to the American public, such as gun violence, ethnic tensions and government shutdowns, have been left hanging.

Sun Chenghao, a fellow and head of US-EU program at Center for International Security and Strategy in Tsinghua University, believes that "it may be too early to judge the direct impact Biden's diplomatic moves may have on the election or his approval rate."

Nevertheless, the current US foreign diplomacy now seems to completely serve its internal policy. The complex situation of US domestic politics and a variety of challenges have scorched the Biden administration, forcing the president to transfer the pressure through external means, for example, creating geopolitical tensions or diplomatic results, to enhance domestic approval. In this way, foreign relations have become a tool for US politicians in partisan struggle. 

When it comes to Biden's rival, Sun added that while Trump has received great attention, it's the group of voters in the middle that will ultimately decide the winner. If this group of people chooses Biden, it may not because they support him, but rather because they cannot accept Trump.

Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China, added that "Biden is now trying to prevent Trump from coming to power by taking advantage of people's concerns over Trump, and next year there will be more heated insults. In this way, the internal contradictions in the US will be further radicalized."

At the same time, China-US relations are always a critical issue for both parties in US election. In this regard, Biden has inherited many of Trump's policies toward China, and even further escalated the containment of China, especially in terms of technology blockade.

Although the Biden administration's policy toward China has recently shown a positive signal, the overall tune remains containment. Biden now insists he's not trying to "contain" China, but the high wall is only being built more solid. Taking the defeat of China as the top priority and campaign card will only cause the US to ignore its own internal problems and challenges, waste resources and time, and be plunged into unnecessary confrontation. 

The US electoral politics itself has a string of drawbacks since its birth. Under this political election system, a policy may only last for four years, and bipartisan politics will bring about instability in national policy, be it the China policy, or other foreign policies. As a result, other countries will lower the expectations of the US policy.

Over time, the system has deviated from its original design to some extent, including the details of some rules in election, but it is difficult to carry out an overall reform, which has led to the disordered money-oriented politics in the US election.

The ills of unscrupulous American electoral politics is already a cliché, but they seem to be even more troublesome. Against the backdrop of the US exacerbating geopolitical contradictions, the world will pay for the failures of the American political system and party campaign. This will not only fail to resolve America's own problems, but will also backfire and drag the world into the mire. Therefore, no matter who is elected, we hope that the US will put aside its selfish self-interest and zero-sum mentality, stop the "internalization" of foreign diplomacy, and seek for a win-win future.

The growing US' geopolitical competition with Russia and China marks the end of the post-Cold War world order, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, speaking at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies on Wednesday. "What we are experiencing now is more than a test of the post-Cold War order. It's the end of it," he noted. "Decades of relative geopolitical stability have given way to an intensifying competition with authoritarian powers, revisionist powers." This statement appears to be a rallying cry for a "new cold war." 

Since the post-Cold War order is coming to an end, what kind of new world order does the US want? Various signs indicate that the US wants major power competition and camp confrontation in order to maintain its global hegemony, even at the expense of the interests of other countries, including allies, and partner nations. However, the reality is that major power competition goes against the trend of the times and cannot solve the US' own problems and the challenges facing the world. It will only further divide the world, leading the world to slide toward a more dangerous cliff edge.

Regarding Blinken's remarks, there are two main points to consider. Firstly, Blinken was creating a sense of crisis in the world. The underlying message to US allies and other countries is that there are challengers, particularly China and Russia, who want to change the existing order. Secondly, Blinken's remarks also reflect a sense of anxiety in the US. The US is attempting to slow down China's rise through strategic competition, while hoping to sustain its hegemony without jeopardizing its own interests. However, it seems that the US has no clear solution to this dilemma. 

China is one of the beneficiaries of the existing system and does not seek to challenge or subvert this order. However, the US has viewed any legitimate demand made by China, even those that reflect the reasonable demands of the majority of developing countries, as a challenge and ill-intentioned sabotage. 

Xin Qiang, deputy director of the American Studies Center of Fudan University, believes that US irrational crackdown on China will only irritate China and other developing countries. Many developing countries share common demands with China, but the US opposes whatever China proposes and intends to strangle its legitimate right for development. This will ultimately lead to the destruction of the existing international order and be counterproductive to the US' goals.

The US believes that by containing China, it will gain an advantage. However, whatever damage they're doing to China, it also backfires on the US and even the world. 

The US now sees China as a competitor and challenger, opposing and obstructing anything that may benefit China, regardless of its impact on the US. This approach not only fails to maintain US hegemony but also leads it further away from the right direction. 

Today, the US is embroiled in simultaneous confrontations with China and Russia. The US needs to think carefully, as it will be more difficult to engage in a "new cold war" compared to the previous one. In the 1970s, the US GDP accounted for nearly one-third of the global total, but now it is only one-fourth. Its two major opponents are the nuclear power Russia and the economic powerhouse China. In order to defeat Russia, the US must ultimately dismantle its nuclear deterrence, which would be a thrilling adventure. 

As for China, the US is attempting to stifle its development by imposing unlimited technological restrictions, but it is unable to completely decouple from China economically. For the US and its main allies, China is either their largest single trading partner or one of the largest. Today, the US is a reckless strategic aggressor, attempting to unite its relatively weaker strength with its allies to wage a new cold war. It should be noted that the power of US allies has declined significantly, and the unity of the "West" is crippled due to the US transitioning from a "blood donor" to a "vampire".

The current generation of American elites arrogantly seeks to replicate the victory of the Cold War, but they will never succeed. Instead, the US will face a different ending.

The United Nations General Assembly is currently underway, and countries of the "Global South" are receiving particular attention. In fact, since this year, from India hosting the online "Voice of Global South Summit" to the Munich Security Conference mentioning "Global South" 55 times in its report, from the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima emphasizing the strengthening of relations with the "Global South" to Western countries and Russia vigorously seeking the support of "Global South" countries over the Ukraine issue, the strategic importance of the "Global South" has become increasingly prominent, and the popularity of this concept continues to rise.

The popularity of the "Global South" concept may be linked to two specific events: The first is the "Voice of Global South Summit" held by India on January 12 and 13 of this year, with the participation of 120 countries, although China was not invited; the second event is the G7 summit held in Hiroshima, Japan in May. This summit had two agendas, one of which was to "strengthen ties with the Global South," leading to the invitation of some developing countries, while China, similarly, was not invited.

In reality, the concept of the "Global South" still has many ambiguous aspects at present, and the idea of a "Global South" without China is even a pseudo-proposition.

Firstly, there is currently no universally recognized standard for defining "Global South." For example, some people believe that if the "Global North" refers to developed countries, then the "Global South" represents a synonym for developing countries, underdeveloped nations, and less-developed countries. Others argue that after the end of the Cold War and the disappearance of the Soviet Union, there was a significant shift in the world order, and as a result, "Global South" gradually replaced the term "Third World." In other words, "Global South" replacing "Third World" continues to carry strong political connotations.

Because the definitions of "Global South" are diverse, many people often use or interpret this term as they please, parroting or presenting their own understanding and definitions of "Global South." In terms of the purpose of this definition, one view is that the concept of "Global South" highlights the multiple impacts of globalization on developing countries; another view is that "Global South" embodies the determination of "the South" countries to resist the hegemonic power of "the North" countries. It can be imagined that such arbitrary speculation or self-talk can only lead to confusion in academic theories and concepts, and even result in different opinions.

Secondly, the G7 led by the US and some Western public opinion hype up the "Global South" with the motive of excluding China from the family of developing countries. As early as when Donald Trump was in office, the US had hyped up the idea that "China is not a developing country."

In the "Memorandum on Reforming Developing-Country Status in the World Trade Organization" published on July 26, 2019, the US announced in a high profile that "the United States has never accepted China's claim to developing-country status." As for why the US promotes India to become the leader of the "Global South," on the one hand, it is nothing more than wanting to use India's role as the rotating chair of the G20 to enhance its international status and woo India before the G20 meetings; on the other hand, it is an attempt to drive a wedge between China and India and exclude China from the "Global South" family.

However, the international status of a country is not determined by a few countries, but by the majority of countries in the world. The US and West have their own calculations, but they have miscalculated from the very beginning. The United Nations Development Programme, in a research report about building a "Global South" in 2004, explicitly included China in the category of "Global South" countries.

Indeed, China's economy is rapidly developing and its international status is increasing day by day, but China's status as a developing country has not fundamentally changed. China is still in the primary stage of socialism and its basic national conditions have not changed. China's international status as the largest developing country in the world remains unchanged. As President Xi Jinping emphasized in his important speech at the High-level Dialogue on Global Development on June 24, 2022, China has always been a member of the big family of developing countries.

Moreover, some people in the West attempt to exclude China from the "Global South," but they cannot deny our close ties and cooperation with developing countries, nor can they deny the contributions China has made to the development of "the South" countries and South-South cooperation. In fact, China has made significant contributions to South-South cooperation in the past and present, and will continue to make efforts in the future.

Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal will be on an official visit to China from September 23 to 30, during which he will attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, and meet President Xi Jinping as well as several other leaders. Dahal believes the visit will strengthen and deepen the traditional friendly relations between China and Nepal. Another aim of the visit is to seek further avenues of bilateral cooperation.

On September 7, the first batch of imported goods under the China-Nepal Transit Transport Agreement, consisting of 15 tons of turmeric powder, arrived in the Nepali capital of Kathmandu after transiting through China. The turmeric powder was imported by Nepal from Vietnam and transported to Kathmandu via Tianjin Port in northern China and the Zhangmu-Tatopani border point. Both China and Nepal have positively commented on this achievement. The Nepali side stated that the successful transportation of the first batch of goods under the China-Nepal Transit Transport Agreement signifies the beginning of a transformative journey toward enhanced economic cooperation, increased trade volumes and shared prosperity. Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song noted that the successful implementation of the China-Nepal Transit Transport Agreement will diversify Nepal's international trade and facilitate Nepal's trade with the whole world. In the future, the time and cost of importing and exporting goods via China will be further reduced, which will have a positive impact on Nepal's trade.

In contrast to the substantial progress made by China and Nepal in areas such as cross-border transportation, Nepal has been facing ongoing issues with another neighboring country, India, recently. In May, the Nepali government was infuriated by a mural displayed within the newly inaugurated Indian Parliament building. This mural, titled "Akhand Bharat," included the Chinese Tibet region, parts of Afghanistan, as well as the entire territories of Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. As early as May 2020, India inaugurated a road connecting the Indian mainland to the border region, passing through the disputed territory of Kalapani, which is claimed by Nepal.

In fact, the incidents of the mural and road inauguration reflect the ongoing contestation and counter-control between Nepal and India, which has been a longstanding feature of their relationship. For a long time, India has adopted a paternalistic approach in its policies toward Nepal. While providing some support and assistance, India often resorts to rude and unilateral actions toward Nepal.

Nepal is located north of the Himalayas and is surrounded by Indian territory in the west, south and east. It heavily relies on India for economic and external communication, including the transit of essential goods such as food, medicine and fuel through India. India is Nepal's largest trading partner. In addition to the geographical dependence on India for external connectivity, Nepal is also deeply influenced, and even controlled, by India in political, social and security domains.

However, this has become a bargaining chip for India's attempt to control Nepal. In history, India has repeatedly used the agreement on transit through Nepal as a coercive diplomatic tool, threatening and implementing blockades against Nepal to force the Nepali authorities to adopt domestic and foreign policies that align with India's wishes. This has caused serious dissatisfaction among various levels of Nepali society and the government. Nepal has also actively sought alternative transportation routes to reduce its dependence on India. In 2017, Nepal officially joined the Belt and Road Initiative, which was a clear indication to India that Nepal is a country with the right to make independent choices.

Objective conditions determine that Nepal will continue to rely to varying degrees on the transit routes provided by India in the past, present and future, which means that Nepal cannot completely sever ties with India. In this situation, how to handle relations with India without compromising national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity while ensuring smooth communication between Nepal and the outside world has always been the greatest challenge for Nepal's foreign policy. It is precisely because of this, after Prachanda assumed the position of Prime Minister for the third time, he made his first visit to India. 

In contrast, China strictly adheres to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and never interferes in Nepal's internal affairs. All factions in Nepal actively seek development and close relations with China. After assuming the position of Deputy Prime Minister, Narayan Kaji Shrestha stated that the country will "maintain relationships of equi-proximity with both our neighbors," namely China and India, emphasizing that the focus of governance will be on "containing inflation, maintaining reserves, raising capital expenses, narrowing the trade deficit and lowering interest rates" to promote Nepal's economic development. The results of Prachanda's visit are highly anticipated.

Grand theft. Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

A delegation of six US senators arrived in Shanghai on Saturday, beginning a visit to China. The trip comes at an important time in the still unsettled bilateral relationship between China and the US.

The delegation is led by the Senate's majority leader, Chuck Schumer, and includes a mix of Democratic and Republican senators from Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, New Hampshire and New York. After their initial stop in China, the five men and one woman will head to Japan and South Korea, both of which are viewed as reliable American allies.

American politics is fractured; the speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy was recently ousted because he could not rein in his Republican colleagues and the Democrats saw no reason to support him. McCarthy's dismissal was an embarrassment to himself. But it also showed just how volatile US domestic politics is. Compromise, an essential feature of democracies, is hard to find in Washington, and political positions have also hardened within the American electorate. The 2024 presidential election will likely solidify these opinions even further.

Another aspect that might harden next year is hostility toward China within official Washington.

That would be unfortunate, but right now blasting China is a convenient way for political elites to cover up their differences. Sadly, the only thing elite politicians seem to agree on these days is their belief that China is a bad actor on the global stage. If you're looking for anyone in Washington to say something positive about the hugely influential Belt and Road Initiative, good luck. It's more likely to find someone who believes in the possibility of zombies ruling the world.

On top of attacking China for its global interests, politicians try to amplify any negative economic news as evidence that the country is doomed. They conveniently overlook the fact that China's economic growth will continue to outpace that of the US for the rest of the year and beyond. The global economic situation would be in bad shape if China were to have growth forecasts anywhere close to what the US is likely to experience. 

The domestic US political response is not to proactively seek ways to make America stronger. Instead, politicians advance massive, but inadequate, policies that make vague promises about bolstering national security. One example is the CHIPS and Science Act which was passed by Congress despite critics pointing out numerous flaws associated with it. President Joe Biden contributes to this nonsense about China by refusing to erase the tariffs established by his predecessor even though the evidence continues to show the tariffs are doing more harm to the US than China.

The bottom line is that reality goes out the window whenever America's politicians talk about China.

Is it possible that the visit by Schumer and his colleagues could lead to some rational conversations regarding China within Congress? Will this visit build on the generally positive trips made over the past few months by the US secretaries of State, Treasury and Commerce? With each of those trips, there has been increased anticipation in the US that Presidents Biden and Xi Jinping will meet during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering, scheduled for next month in San Francisco. Optimists believe that successful conversations might open the door to a state visit.

If Schumer wants to positively advance US-China relations, then he should consider taking back a recent statement indicating that he will carry a verbal hammer into any conversations with Chinese officials.

Schumer is from New York, a state that according to one estimate sustains almost 50,000 jobs per year because of trade with China. It's also reported that New York exported more than $37 billion to China between 2012 and 2022. My point: Imagine if the Democratic senator had spoken in advance of his trip about finding ways to expand trade between New York (and other states) with China as part of his visit. That would be leadership, something too often hard to find in Washington.

Keep in mind something that ought to be favorably viewed by China: Schumer and his fellow senators are not making a side trip to Taiwan; such visits by American officials derail any momentum in improving relations because of Beijing's insistence that US politicians are seeking to stoke discord between the island and the mainland by stopping in Taiwan.

China will not, and should not, sit by quietly if Schumer follows through on his promise to talk tough with Chinese officials and to make an issue of human rights as well as Fentanyl. In 2023, China and the global community are all too aware that "you must do what we want" screeds from a prominent American politician do nothing to improve the bilateral relationship. More importantly, the US is no longer positioned to dictate to any nation, especially powerful ones, about how to conduct their internal and external affairs.

The author is an associate professor at the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership at Robert Morris University.

Many people say that this round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict erupted quite suddenly, and on the surface, it does seem so. Hamas launched a surprise attack on the Israel's military, catching them off guard and resulting in significant casualties that have shocked the world. Israel's retaliatory actions are bound to lead to more bloodshed and escalation of violence. Even though none of us want to see this happen, it is difficult to prevent it from occurring. International peace efforts are far from strong enough in the face of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is an unavoidable fact and requires a more powerful collective effort from the international community to change it.

From a deeper perspective, this conflict is not sudden and has a certain inevitability. It once again announces to the world, through bloodshed and loss of life, that if fundamental solutions are not implemented for the Palestinian issue, and if the peace process is not promoted, bloodshed and conflict will recur. This is actually quite evident, but it has long been ignored by Western countries that bear the primary responsibility and influence in the Palestinian issue.

For many years, China has repeatedly called on the international community to prioritize the Palestinian issue on the international agenda on major multilateral occasions such as the United Nations. It has emphasized the need to advance the "two-state solution" with a stronger sense of urgency. Not long ago before the outbreak of this conflict, Permanent Mission of China to the UN was still stressing this point. Now, the necessity and urgency have been elevated to another level, given the high cost paid by Palestine, Israel, and the entire Middle East.

It's necessary to recognize that the Israeli-Palestinian issue is a complex conglomerate of problems, and external interference is one of the main reasons why this problem has not been resolved and even intensifies hatred. The bias and interference by Western countries, led by the US, in the Israeli-Palestinian issue have been evident for a long time, and historical Middle East conflicts have often had US involvement behind the scenes. And after the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the quick decision of the US and some Western countries to take sides not only does not help solve the problem but also adds fuel to the fire. Considering the large number of innocent civilians killed and injured in the conflict over the past two days, the immediate priority of the international community should be to urge both sides to cease fire quickly in order to prevent further humanitarian disasters.

A report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development shows that the prolonged closure and military operations carried out by Israel during the occupation of Gaza from 2007 to 2018 have pushed Gaza's economy to the brink of collapse. Today, it has become one of the poorest and most volatile areas in the world. It can be said that this large-scale armed conflict between Palestine and Israel once again proves that the means of seeking absolute security, under the guise of peace by the US and the West, cannot achieve true peace and tranquility. It also exposes the essence of the US new Middle East strategy. We urge the US and other Western countries to stop this practice and truly participate in the Middle East peace process.

Middle East peace is by no means a road without a future. The key is to start walking the right path from now on, rather than taking the wrong path or even going back. According to media reports, this round of conflict between Palestine and Israel has already caused nearly 1,000 deaths and thousands of injuries on both sides. Moreover, the war may also spread to other countries. The latest development is that Israel and the armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon have engaged in a firefight. Many people worry whether this event will eventually lead to the "Sixth Middle East War."

At this moment, the international community should take urgent action. The United Nations issued a statement on October 7, calling it a "dangerous precipice," strongly condemning the attacks on civilians, and calling for an end to violence. UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged "all diplomatic efforts to avoid a wider conflagration." The UN Security Council plans to hold a closed-door meeting on the current situation between Palestine and Israel Sunday afternoon local time in New York to discuss solutions. Fundamentally, all parties involved in the Middle East peace process, including Palestine and Israel, must work toward creating conditions for the realization of the "two-state solution."

It has been 50 years since the Fourth Arab-Israeli War (also known as the Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War, October War) and 30 years since the signing of the Oslo Accords. War or peace? The Middle East is once again at a historical crossroads. The international community must take decisive and effective diplomatic actions to urge both sides to stop violence as soon as possible, exercise maximum restraint, and especially prevent the window of opportunity for peace from being closed by conflicts. China has always supported the convening of a larger-scale, more authoritative, and influential international peace conference to create conditions for the resumption of negotiations. This proposal is now more necessary and urgent.

Some of the most influential security discussion platforms in the world provide valuable insights into global events. The IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, jointly organized by the UK and Singapore, provides a chance for open debates between the US and China on the Asian agenda. The Munich Security Conference in Germany and the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada are renowned for their roles as weather vane for European security and US foreign policy. The Beijing Xiangshan Forum in China offers a unique opportunity to gain insights into China's security landscape. 

The 10th Beijing Xiangshan Forum will be held in Beijing from October 29 to 31. It serves as a platform for the rising China to raise its voice, allowing the outside world to understand its global strategic direction and its strategic mentality.

In 2004, when I established a connection with the People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Science (AMS), I was working as a researcher at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, focusing on Chinese military research and communication. My research has developed through academic exchanges with AMS. I attended the first Xiangshan Forum in 2006 and have not missed a single forum since then. I have also had the privilege of speaking at panel sessions of the Xiangshan Forum and writing commentaries on forum topics for Chinese and foreign newspapers and magazines. Even during the pandemic, I continued to participate in expert video conferences organized by the Xiangshan Forum. I have closely followed the forum's development and growth.

The Xiangshan Forum has significantly expanded the vision of China's defense diplomacy and has become a prominent symbol of its military diplomacy. The forum covers a wide range of topics, including cutting-edge subjects such as the application of artificial intelligence in defense, as well as addressing hot-spot and sensitive issues. Since the start of the forums, the level of attendees has steadily increased, and the scale of the forum has expanded over time. The organization of the event, including personnel, has also become more refined. Most importantly, the strategic significance of the Xiangshan Forum is increasingly prominent. China's willingness to contribute to regional peace and security is continuously transmitting positive influence to the world.

The development of the Xiangshan Forum can be divided into three stages. The first stage, from 2006 to 2014, involved biennial dual-track expert-oriented conferences. The second stage, from 2015 to 2022, the forum was held annually and transformed to an annual "1.5-track" semi-public conference, starting from the sixth forum. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several meetings were held virtually. Now, with the upcoming 10th forum in 2023, it is time to enter the third stage, establish a new position and explore new roles.

For the future development of the Xiangshan Forum, I would like to propose the following. 

On a macro level, I hope that the forum can serve not only as a platform for dialogue and debate but also as a hub for value exchange. The Xiangshan Forum has now become the highest-level and largest-scale "1.5 track" security dialogue hosted by China, which also means that it has become a touchstone for the world to understand the breadth and depth of China's influence. Therefore, the Xiangshan Forum should provide opinions and solutions on regional hotspots and other issues through its own discourse, and contribute to the realization of a secure world. Additionally, by proactively discussing forward-looking topics, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum can foster a virtuous circle of regional security through healthy discourse competition.

In terms of format, special events can be organized to shed light on China's defense, such as introducing China's defense white paper, defense budget as well as the status quo and role of UN peacekeeping operations. Furthermore, more countries that have shown an interest in China's military transparency can be invited and high-level delegations should be encouraged to participate. Lastly, the forum could organize a foreign expert evaluation meeting at the conclusion of the event. Their evaluations and suggestions will enrich the content of future forums.

China is going global, from the economic realm to the security field. This naturally leads to a healthy competition for discourse dominance between major powers. Of course, it has not been smooth sailing for China to promote high-quality discourse competition. The more difficulties it faces, the more it needs a mature dialogue platform. The Beijing Xiangshan Forum can become a platform that utilizes international wisdom and capabilities to propose solutions. We anticipate its greater role in establishing predictable and sustainable trust. For the future development of the Xiangshan Forum, I hope its discourse fragrance remains neither overpowering nor weak, but rather lingers and extends into the distance. 

Huawei launched new products ranging from smart screens, the MatePad and watches to the new Harmony OS NEXT system at a highly anticipated event in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province on Monday, making a high-profile comeback to the market amid reported a chip breakthrough and years-long US sanctions.

While the event did not reveal the details of the closely watched Mate 60 series, consumers are still enthusiastic about the release, viewing it as a symbolic moment for the Chinese tech giant to regain lost ground in the consumer business and move forward to rival industry giants such as Apple.

The company flooded major Chinese social media platforms under hashtags such as #FarAhead, since the surprisingly presale of the Mate 60 series on August 29. The series has since become a big seller across the country.

The Monday launch event intensified the fanfare across the country, attracting live broadcasts and livestreaming by more than 100 media outlets. Audiences are also crying out "Far Ahead Rivals" in each product announcement on-site. 

Yu Chengdong, CEO of the Huawei Consumer Business Group, said at the opening that the company is ramping up efforts and working overtime to produce its devices, fulfilling market demand for the newly released handsets. "Thanks to Chinese consumers' all-out support to Huawei," Yu said.

Previously, some anticipated a formal detailing of the phone's specs - in particular, the chipsets in the Mate 60 series - at the Monday event, which reportedly utilizes the Kirin 9000s chip, featuring either 7-nanometer (nm) or 5-nm process technology. 

Huawei has kept tight-lipped about the capabilities of the chip. But industry analysts believe that the handset shows that the US-sanctioned tech giant has finally found a way through and will welcome its magnificent turnaround after years of hard struggles, especially in the high-end smartphone market.

Demand for the Mate 60 Pro has been strong since its surprising launch on August 29, and the shipment plan for the second half of 2023 has increased by about 20 percent to 5.5-6 million units. Based on this market trend, cumulative shipments of the Mate 60 Pro are expected to reach at least 12 million units within 12 months after the launch, Kuo Ming-Chi, an analyst at TF International Securities, said in a note.

Huawei's "undeniable influence" on industries and stock markets is coming back, Kuo said. He noted that Huawei's comeback is actually a good thing for consumers. It can force Apple to step out of its comfort zone and innovate more aggressively.

At a time when mobile phone consumption is relatively sluggish, the return of Huawei's high-end mobile phones is a landmark event for the bottoming out of the mobile phone consumer market, Adela Guo, a research director at IDC Asia Pacific, told the Global Times on Monday.

In the short term, it is expected to drive an upsurge in the domestic mobile phone consumer market. It will also make competition in the high-end mobile phone market more intense, Guo said.

Monday also marked two years since the return of Meng Wanzhou in 2021. Meng, now a rotating chairperson of Huawei, was arrested by Canadian authorities in December 2018 at the request of the US government.

Some netizens said a stronger Huawei returning to the center stage of global tech innovation may be considered as "a slap in the face" to the US government's ruthless suppression and attack on the leading Chinese tech company, especially as the planned event date marked second anniversary of Meng's safe return from Canada to China.

"Huawei's mobile phone business, which has been unreasonably suppressed for more than three years, has broken through major obstacles and been completely rebuilt. We can see that all the Huawei partners, Huawei fans and the media are quite excited with a festive atmosphere on scene," Jiang Junmu, a Shanghai-based veteran industry expert and close follower of Huawei, told the Global Times on Monday.

Huawei also unveiled the latest progress of its self-developed operating system HarmonyOS at the event, with the new release of Harmony OS NEXT. 

"A coordination of software and hardware will help Huawei construct a more perfect, complete system that will help it return to the international market," Jiang said.

There are now more than 30 operating systems in China that are based on HarmonyOS open source, covering industry terminals, mobile phones, tablets and home terminals. In total, there are approximately 600 million users, ranking third in the world, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei said in a recent interview with Liu Yadong, Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication at Nankai University.

Ren said that if China establishes its own standard system, it will definitely be better than that of the US.

Ren compared the system to "clothes," saying that the US clothes were mended again and again, and there were patches everywhere. But Huawei has made new "clothes" in recent years. "We will directly make standards better than those in the US. In addition to being used in China, it is used all over the world," Ren said.

Huawei may encounter more difficulties, but at the same time it becomes more prosperous, Ren said.

Esports, or electronic sports, made an historic debut as medaled events at the Hangzhou Asian Games, and behind the games is a thriving billion-dollar industry.

As a newcomer to the Asian Games, esports competitions have become a blockbuster. Most of the esports match tickets were sold out instantly, and some people even took part in a ticket lottery to win a chance to watch the games live.

Teams from more than 30 countries and regions in Asia are participating in seven major esports competitions, including five videogames and two mobile games.

Of all the esports events at the Asian Games, League of Legends, run by China's tech giant Tencent, has the biggest crowd. The esports game has developed a sports league system globally, and in China, internet giants such as JD.com and Weibo.com have formed their own teams.

At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, esports first stepped onto the stage as demonstration sports. The heat of the games already surpassed most of the traditional sports, and this year in Hangzhou, we could expect the games to have a World Cup level of attention, especially in the League of Legends event, Liu Dingding, a Beijing-based veteran tech analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

A host of international brands including Mercedes-Benz, Coca-Cola and Puma have realized the commercial value of esports, and they have increased investment in this field and sponsored esports tournaments, including LPL.

China's esports industry is leading the world. In the gaming sector, games such as League of Legends, Genshin Impact and Honor of Kings are growing in both the domestic and overseas markets, bringing billions of profits to fuel the industry, said Liu.

Personal computer manufacturer Lenovo has provided the Asian Games with computers and developed a Lenovo esports operation and maintenance platform to support the event.

As a fledgling sport, esports has surpassed many of its predecessors commercially. In 2022, China's esports industry generated revenues of 144.5 billion yuan ($19.8 billion).

In the first half of 2023, the figure reached 76 billion yuan, with 487 million players and viewers, according to a report by the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association.