Chinese fans expressed mixed reactions to the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Saturday. The celebrations of French culture and history was warmly cheered but also criticized in some parts.

The Chinese delegation, led by flagbearers Ma Long, a five-time Olympic gold medalist in table tennis, and eight-time artistic swimming world champion Feng Yu, joined the athletes' fleet of barges on a six-kilometer ride on the River Seine before arriving at Trocadero square.

"Considering the pouring rain, what if our athletes catch a cold during this four-hour opening ceremony?" a Chinese fan Li Jianqiu posted on Weibo. "The Olympics is supposed to showcase the athletes' best performance, but the opening ceremony is risking their health."

As the fleet passed through Paris landmarks, the fire-damaged Notre Dame caught attention. A large troupe of dancers, accompanied by music composed using sounds from the cathedral's reconstruction, received wide praise as a salute to firefighters and construction workers who saved the iconic building.

One of the most debated parts of the ceremony was the appearance of headless Marie Antoinette. Some argued it demonstrated the revolutionary history of France, while others felt showing beheaded figures to young audiences was "extremely dreadful."

The 10 new statues of historic French women lining the river were well-received by Chinese fans, providing a fresh angle on the country's rich history.

The ceremony concluded at Trocadero, where the Eiffel Tower lit up. The flame, which had been on an elaborate journey with a masked torchbearer and a mechanical horse, was passed on to French football legend Zinedine Zidane. Assassin's Creed video game enthusiasts widely celebrated the torchbearer's masked appearance.

Though some fans noted the Olympic flag was upside down at the ceremony, they saw it as a "mistake" rather than a sign of the organizers' relaxed attitude.

France's three-time Olympic gold medalist Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner then lit the Olympic cauldron, a seven-meter diameter ring suspended on a 30-meter hot-air balloon. Canada's Celine Dion sang Edith Piaf's "Hymn to Love" in her first public performance in years, drawing huge cheers from the crowd and fans from afar.

Allegation of the so-called "overcapacity" relating to China-made electric vehicles (EVs) is a pseudo-proposition, and the narrative is falsified and runs counter to the law of market economy, China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) told a press conference on Tuesday, noting that manufactured green products have contributed to mitigating global climate change. 

GAC cited EVs as an example. The International Energy Agency estimates that, by 2030, worldwide sales of EVs will reach 45 million units, about three times the global EV sales in 2023 and five times China's EV production expected in 2030.  

China doesn't have an "overcapacity" issue when it comes to new-energy products, and the products enriched the global green supply and marked China's contributions to the global response to climate change, the GAC said. 

"Green" has become a distinctive color for the high-quality development of China's foreign trade. Four out of every 10 cars exported from China currently are EVs, seven out of every 10 railroad locomotives are electric locomotives, and nearly 90 percent of the storage batteries exported from the country are lithium-ion batteries, making the green color even brighter, the GAC stated.

In addition to green products, innovation and coordinated regional development also featured the country's high-quality development of foreign trade in the new era.

In 2023, the country's exports of manufactured high-tech products increased by 6 percent year-on-year, accounting for 18.7 percent of the total value of exports.

Independent and innovative brands have enabled Chinese products to gain rising popularity overseas, ranging from horse-faced skirts rooted in traditional culture to multifunctional electronic products. Exports of independently-branded products growing by 9.3 percent in 2023, accounting for 21 percent of overall exports of China, the Chinese Customs noted.

Moreover, coordinated regional development has stabilized the foundation of the country's foreign trade. The eastern coast of the country is the ballast of China's foreign trade, with imports and exports exceeding 30 trillion yuan ($4.13 trillion) for three consecutive years. The central and western regions have effectively undertaken the country's industrial transfer, with the share of foreign trade increasing by nearly 7 percentage points. The import and export of the three northeastern provinces has been expanding too, and the growth rate in 2023 was 1.6 percentage points faster than that of the whole country. 

Major city clusters such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, have become powerhouses for foreign trade, contributing nearly 60 percent of China's foreign trade growth since the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress in 2012.

China's high-quality development has allowed global trade partners to share in the opportunities of its mega market. 

China's total trade in goods has ranked first in the world for seven consecutive years, while the country has become a major trading partner of more than 150 countries and regions, and the number of foreign trade enterprises has now nearly doubled compared with 2012, according to the GAC.

And, the scale of China's imports has ranked second in the world for many years, growing from 11.49 trillion yuan in 2012 to 17.99 trillion yuan in 2023. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, China's cumulative imports have exceeded 150 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 4.2 percent.

In 2023, the sources of China's imports covered more than 200 countries and regions in the world, and imports of agricultural products and electronic and machinery products from the least developed countries jumped exponentially from 2012, the GAC said.

The development of foreign trade is held back to some extent by rising protectionism, and opening up to win development and cooperation for win-win partnership will help advance the global economy. The "small yard high fence" mindset is isolationist in itself, while openness and sharing is the only way to prosperity and development, the GAC said.

The US, which bombed Japan with nuclear weapons, is reportedly about to protect Japan with nuclear weapons. Reports show that Japan and the US will draft their first joint document on expanded deterrence policy, which will include a clause affirming nuclear weapons will be included in US methods to defend Japan. However, it might be premature if Japan feels moved by this.

Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, citing sources, reported that the document will specify measures that the US could take in peacetime and emergencies; as well as conditions under which the US could take retaliatory actions against third countries, and what those measures could be, under the backdrop of so-called threats from China and Russia. The foreign and defense ministers of Japan and the US will discuss the details at a meeting in Tokyo later this month, according to the report. 

Although discussions on the matter started in 2010, when Washington and Tokyo established the Extended Deterrence Dialogue to explore ways to sustain and strengthen extended deterrence, the timing of the news this time is quite intriguing. 

If seems that Japan wishes to secure a written commitment over nuclear protection before the US election, to prevent Washington from reneging on its promises after the Oval Office sees a change in its occupant, Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Both the US and Japan have their own calculations behind the push for this joint document. Japan wants to boost its deterrent capabilities through military alliance with the US. Washington hopes to make Tokyo a thornier pawn in its "Indo-Pacific Strategy." Claims of "threats" from China and Russia are merely far-fetched excuse - the US simply wishes Japan to be more proactive toward China and Russia under the nuclear umbrella, so as to alleviate US pressure in countering both countries.

The essence of today's US nuclear umbrella in the Asia-Pacific region is not about protection. Rather, it serves as a platform for the US to disrupt regional stability among major powers through providing excuses to enhance strategic offensive capabilities of US allies.

Japan, a non-nuclear weapon state, would hardly become a primary target for nuclear strikes, if there will be one. Still, the US is now pulling Japan in its "nuclear protection circle" while mulling to deploy nuclear weapons to Japan. In that scenario, Japan could be viewed as a nuclear-weapon state. The US is pushing Japan to be the next battleground. And by promoting the joint document, Japan demonstrates its readiness to be considered a potential nuclear target due to its alliance with the US.

This is hardly protection. Tokyo seems to have a fundamental misunderstanding about what truly threatens Japan: Someone who claims to be an ally and a protector.

The US has been adeptly disrupting regional security dynamics, amplifying regional security threats and heightening concerns among its allies. It then offers so-called security protection to these allies through military measures like the nuclear umbrella, fostering increased dependence on American security. Leveraging this dependence, the US can assert control over these countries, utilizing them to further American global and regional hegemonic ambitions, Da told the Global Times. 

How will the US deploy nuclear power to protect Japan? Reports indicate that the details may not be disclosed to the public. However, when Japan truly requests nuclear protection from the US, it suggests Japan faces significant nuclear threats. At such a critical juncture, will the US deploy its nuclear arsenal without hesitation?

In American logic, US' homeland security takes precedence. Its hegemonic interests follow, and the interests of American citizens abroad come next. The interests of US allies rank fourth. That says, if defending Japan with nuclear weapons poses any risk to US homeland security, Washington will think twice, an anonymous military expert told the Global Times. The US' nuclear umbrella only protects itself.

Now, Japan must decide what it wants - peaceful development or being pushed to frontline conflicts.

Italy can be the perfect gateway for third-country markets for Chinese companies, Mario Boselli, president of the Italy China Council Foundation (ICCF), told the Global Times in an interview ahead of the visit to China of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Meloni will visit China from July 27 to 31, China's Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday. This is Meloni's first trip to China since taking office, according to media reports.

Her visit to China represents a further step toward the thawing of relations between our two countries, according to the council head.

Meloni's visit was preceded by visits to China by a number of Italian officials, and Meloni's China visit is in pursuit of a goal: Italy is among the best strategic players for Beijing in Europe, and "having an active engagement with us also means holding the key to a better relationship with the EU," Boselli said.
The key points of the visit are the reassessment of the need for more balanced bilateral trade, offering more opportunities to export Italian products to China, and the promotion of Italy as an ideal location for Chinese investment, especially in areas such as new-energy products and vehicles, among others, Boselli said.

"Italy can be the perfect gateway for third-country markets [for Chinese companies], not only European but also Mediterranean markets. This is why our peninsula is also the perfect location for greenfield investments by Chinese companies," Boselli noted.

In the first half of this year, bilateral trade stood at $35.94 billion, down 1.3 percent year-on-year, data from the General Administration of Customs of China showed. Italian exports to China reached $13.03 billion, down 3.6 percent.

A survey conducted by the ICCF found that 34 percent of the Italian companies in China that were interviewed perceived an improvement in the business environment. Also, 47 percent had a positive outlook and 68 percent said that they planned further expansion in China in the next two years.

Responding to the European Commission's imposition of provisional tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) and the ongoing probe, Boselli noted that the improvement and efficiency of high-tech products achieved by China is a fact that no one can dispute, and that China is investing in research and development (R&D) of new products and solutions, and that its products are being exported to Europe in greater numbers.

"China must be identified by the EU as one of the most important innovators in the world, and innovation is the key that will change the way the whole world looks at China," said Boselli, the ICCF president.

Building R&D centers and factories in Europe together could be a solution to address the EU's concerns, he said.

"There is also a need for a more positive attitude on the part of the EU to recognize China's achievements and its role as a major player in the international political and economic environment," Boselli said.

China's economy grew 5 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2024.

Boselli said that while the situation in the first six months was not particularly bright, "we all know that China is used to achieving its results and except for 2020, annus horribilis for the whole world, it has always done so."

"We are convinced that it is a matter of time: China will soon recover and the 5 percent growth target will be reached in 2024. We must have confidence, because the results will come," Boselli said.

High-end luxury brand Louis Vuitton (LV) opened its first chocolate boutique in Shanghai on Monday, a positive sign for the international luxury brand to capture more of the consumer market in the world's second-largest economy.

The outlet, Le Chocolat Louis Vuitton, is the third such store in the world after Paris and Singapore.

The Global Times found the chocolates are priced between 240 yuan ($34) for a bar of chocolate up to 3,200 yuan for Red Vivienne. Eager customers said they had to line up for about an hour to make their purchases on Monday.

"The spherical chocolate I tried was delicious and beautifully packaged, meeting my quality expectations," Peggy Wu, a customer in Shanghai told the Global Times on Tuesday. "I think for a high-end brand, compared to other chocolate brands I've bought, it's reasonably priced," Wu added.

LV's expansion shows confidence in China's luxury market and hints at more LV chocolate boutiques after the positive response, Bai Ming, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"The first-day sales reflect consumer interest, but this may be influenced by its novelty and the 'first-store effects,'" Bai said.

"The store was filled with consumers from China, and they seemed like they were really excited," Zhong Ting, a Chinese customer at LV's chocolate boutique in Singapore told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Zhong said that the chocolates are beautifully packaged, ideal for gifts, and meet high standards for quality and appearance, making them an excellent choice compared with the same price level among youth.

This year, high-end international brands have repeatedly increased their investments in China, showing growing confidence in China's market and consumption power.

Bain & Company, a US-based international management consulting company said in a report that China is expected to become one of the world's leading luxury markets by 2030.

The report showed that Chinese mainland consumers are expected to account for 35-40 percent of global luxury goods consumption by 2030, from about 22-24 percent in 2023. The Chinese mainland's market share is expected to rise to 24-26 percent by 2030 from about 16 percent in 2023.

China imported 1,346 tons of pork products from Russia in June, quadrupling May's figure, data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed over the weekend.

China imported 870.27 tons of frozen pork and 475.83 tons of frozen pork offal in June, GAC data showed on Saturday. In comparison, the nation imported 269.56 tons of Russian frozen pork and 80.76 tons of frozen pork offal in May.

In terms of value, the June imports of Russian frozen pork and frozen pork offal reached 27.34 million yuan ($3.76 million), nearly quadrupling the 6.79 million yuan registered during May.

After a long hiatus of 15 years, China lifted a ban over African swine fever on imports of Russia pork and by-products in September 2023 with the first shipment of Russian pork arriving in China in April, according to Sputniknews.cn.

Russian pork exports to China could reach 15,000 tons in 2024, or even up to 100,000 tons, the Russian news portal reported, quoting head of the Russian agriculture regulator Sergey Dankvert.

The increase in pork products from Russia came at a time when China is conducting an anti-dumping probe into pork from the EU.

On July 18, China's Ministry of Commerce issued a notice saying that investigating authorities will use a sampling method in anti-dumping probe into EU pork, while providing further details on the sampling plan and the preliminary sampling results for anti-dumping case involving pork and pig by-products from Europe.

The anti-dumping probe was initiated at the request of the China Animal Agriculture Association on June 6 on behalf of the Chinese pork and pig by-products industry. 

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202406/1314358.shtml

Chinese analysts said on Sunday that the rapid increase in Russian pork products is positive news as the country chooses to diversify its imports sources amid the country's efforts in enhancing its food security.

"China's pork market, where imports are of a supplementary nature to the cyclic fluctuations of domestic demands, is driven by market forces and importers play a vital role in diversifying China's import sources," Li Guoxiang, a researcher from the Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"As China continues to open its agriculture market, and shares its growth dividends with trading partners on a mutually beneficial, reciprocal basis, the Russian pork industry faces an opportunity. The vast China market is big enough even for the 100,000-ton-level exports mentioned by the Russian official, provided that these exports possess a competitive price footing," Li said.

High-level political ties also meant the Russian and Chinese authorities are in a better position to iron out non-market issues associated with the processing of imported goods should they occur, Li noted.

China currently has 21 imports source countries, with Russia and Belgium becoming the latest exporters in 2024, according to media reports.

In 2023, China imported roughly $3.5 billion worth of pork products, and about half came from the EU. Spain exported $865.3 million worth of pork to China, accounting for about 25 percent of China's total pork imports in 2023, GAC data showed.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Wednesday launched a trade and investment barrier investigation into EU's related practices in its investigations of Chinese enterprises based on the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR).

Chinese experts said the move is aimed at protecting the legitimate interests of Chinese enterprises as well as upholding a form of true multilateralism for trade rules. They also urged the EU to stop its shortsighted behavior, as only a close cooperative relationship with China is the most beneficial long-term solution for the bloc's industrial development.

According to the MOFCOM, it received on June 17 an application filed by the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME), in which the applicant requested to conduct a trade and investment barrier investigation into the EU's investigations of Chinese enterprises.

Measures investigated involve relevant practices adopted by the EU in investigations such as preliminary examinations, in-depth investigations and surprise inspections carried out targeting Chinese enterprises in accordance with the EU's FSR and the implementing rules.

The application mainly involved products such as rolling stock, photovoltaics, wind power and security inspection equipment, the Chinese ministry said.

According to related laws, the MOFCOM may use questionnaires, hearings, field investigations and other means to obtain information from stakeholders and conduct investigations.

The probe shall be completed by January 10, 2025, and may be extended to April 10, 2025 under special circumstances, said the ministry.

"Launching the investigation is a move by Chinese authorities to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, as in some of the EU's so-called investigation and evidence collection process, we also see that Europe is now reflecting a stronger unilateralism, which violates the rules of the WTO," Cui Hongjian, a professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University's Academy of Regional and Global Governance, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Cui noted that currently, the EU has a series of practices that are constantly trying to break the international rules, whereas the MOFCOM action is truly upholding the rules of multilateralism in trade.

The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) in June said in a statement it shared with the Global Times that Chinese companies reported that the European side exceeded the scope of the FSR investigation. 

"Despite the opposition of Chinese enterprises, the EU side copied documents containing information about the companies' key technology components, which are classified as commercial secrets. We express strong dissatisfaction and opposition to the European side's improper practice of using investigations to gather intelligence on the advanced technologies of Chinese enterprises," the CCCEU said in the statement.

On July 1, the European Commission spokesperson for competition, Lea Zuber, denied the commission had abused its FSR to steal business secrets, adding that the EU will continue to make "full use" of its legal and investigative mechanisms to ensure that non-European companies don't "unfairly benefit" from state subsidies.

"Europe is now facing a series of economic and social crises, including inflation, energy shortages and rising prices for raw materials, so it's abusing trade protection measures, including setting tariff barriers to protect its increasingly hollowed-out manufacturing industries," Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of European Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Zhao noted that neoliberalism "has failed," and now the bloc is turning to "neoconservatism," which may be even more damaging to its economy. 

"Europe is showing a great deal of shortsightedness with recent moves targeting China. In the long run, only a close cooperative relationship with China, while dealing with healthy competition, is the most favorable long-term policy for the development of Europe's industry," Cui noted.

In some of the practices against China, the EU is constantly undermining some of the basic principles that were supposed to help the bloc realize its wealth creation and technological innovation. But now if it breaks the rules, Europe is expected to be retaliated by the market, as the world will enter a state of disorderly competition, Cui warned.

Foreign companies are not hiding their continuing interest in the Chinese market, as they remain "very bullish" on Chinese opportunities, with some planning more investment, in sharp contrast to the so-called claims of "foreign capital leaving China."

The latest example is Ralph Lauren CEO Patrice Louvet, who said in an interview with Bloomberg television on Thursday that the company is very bullish on long-term opportunities within China.

"We've got nice momentum, but when you look at our luxury peers, the penetration of the China business is much higher than that, so I think we have significant runway," Louvet said.

Louvet is aiming to leverage China's vast consumer market, which has been on display globally as the country continues to grow.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that Chinese retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, climbed 4.7 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2024, a clear sign that consumption has become an important driving force for economic growth.

In addition to luxury brands, Shanghai Disney Resort is set to expand with a new attraction backed by an investment of 2.459 billion yuan ($338.15 million), according to bidding information on the website of the Shanghai construction engineering trading platform on Thursday.

The new project will include six amusement facilities on an area of 21,306 square meters. In March this year, Shanghai Disney Resort announced it had begun preparations to open a new attraction next to its Zootopia-themed land.

"China's huge market size cannot be ignored by foreign companies," Chen Fengying, an economist and former director of the Institute of World Economic Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.

China has a very large market with a population of more than 1.4 billion and a middle-class of more than 400 million people. The journey toward modernization will create huge market opportunities, Chinese experts said.

As of December 20, 2023, Shanghai Disneyland had welcomed over 13 million visitors in less than a year, setting another record for attendance since its grand opening in 2016, the company said.

In addition, foreign companies are still eyeing China as an important research and development (R&D) base. On Monday, ZEISS opened its new R&D and manufacturing site in Suzhou Industrial Park in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province.

Covering an area of over 13,000 square meters, the new site marks the group's first land purchase for its self-built project in China.

It aims to become a key R&D and manufacturing center in the country for industrial quality solutions, research microscopes, surgical microscopes, and ophthalmic equipment, the company said.

Chen said the Chinese market is aided by lower operating costs, enhanced local R&D capabilities, and industrial cluster effects, and could see more foreign companies placing core functions from design and R&D, investment and production to operation and sales in China.

Data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) showed that foreign direct investment (FDI) into China from January to May 2024 reached 412.51 billion yuan, with the number of newly established foreign-backed companies reaching 21,764, up 17.4 percent year-on-year.

FDI in the manufacturing sector stood at 117.11 billion yuan, accounting for 28.4 percent of the national total, 2.8 percentage points higher than last year's level, said MOFCOM.

China has continuously stepped up its efforts to attract foreign investment with concrete measures. China's State Council, the country's cabinet, announced on Thursday further opening-up measures in six trial cities across various fields, including tourism, culture and telecoms.

These continued moves demonstrate China's commitment to increasing its pace of opening-up and will further boost foreign investment sentiment in the country, experts said.

China's exports in June rose by an impressive 8.6 percent from a year earlier to reach $307.85 billion, beating the 7.6 percent increase seen in May, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Friday. The improvement in foreign trade is a testament to China's rising comparative advantages in manufacturing across the low-, middle- and high-end segments, as well as the resilience of China's industrial ecosystem, with its strong and globally unrivalled supply chain as its distinctive hallmark. 

However, the US and some of its close allies have been trying to stymie the growth of Chinese exports in their reckless attempt to contain China's rise. After putting in place sweeping sanctioning measures targeting Huawei Technologies and a range of other technology companies, restricting imports of Chinese-made batteries, solar panels, steel and other goods, the US and the EU have lately announced levying extra tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. 

In addition to imposition of extra import duties, the US has purposefully taken issue with China's new-energy sector "overcapacity" to muddy the waters even further. China's innovative new-energy products are being embraced by the global market, which is clear for all to see. China's electric vehicle exports to Asia alone have witnessed a consistent surge, growing by 68 percent to reach $4.2 billion in the first four months this year compared with a year earlier. The fact is that the EVs are in great demand in many countries, rendering the "overcapacity" talk an untenable hypothesis. 

In the coming months, Chinese-made manufactured high-tech products to the US and some Western countries in Europe will be curtailed by the high tariffs, but the competitiveness of Chinese manufacturers cannot be dented, and the country's exports will continue to be very competitive. 

China's rapid advancement in technology innovation, no matter it is Huawei's 5G gear, CRRC's high-speed rolling stock, BYD and Nio's electric cars, DJI's drones, Jinko's solar panels and Envision's wind turbines, will continue to be embraced by the Global South, as they are adopting inexpensive Chinese technology to develop their own economy and enrich themselves. And, China will always stand behind the Global South countries to support their pursuit for prosperity and get rid of stark poverty. 

By refusing Chinese high-tech goods through levying the exorbitant tariffs, the US and its close allies will gradually feel the pinch. Their anti-China economic policies will inevitably backfire. The ordinary consumers in those countries will have to face much higher EV prices and energy cost because of their government's assault on Chinese products, and these countries' green transition will be significantly weakened. Now, economists say that a country's future and people's welfare are increasingly tethered to the speed of its green transition. 

China is expected to adopt even bolder measures to consolidate a leading global role in phasing out carbon-powered "old energy" and gasoline-fired cars by rapidly adopting new energies, consisting of solar panels, hydropower, wind turbines, EVs and other energy products. China's market size will decide its green transition will be epoch-making, and produce exemplary ripple effect on the globe. 

Domestically, China will continue to accelerate supportive government policies to propel infrastructure, large-scale equipment trade-ins, and property destocking to cut redundancy and sharpen its all-round competitiveness in the world. Externally, the country is expected to open wider to all foreign partners, and align more closely with its neighbors and the Global South countries, assisting them to prosper together with China.

Over the past 20 or so years, China has gradually accumulated an increased range of comparative advantages in productivity of its workforce, the quality of its infrastructure, the integrality of its industrial ecosystem, and the might of its manufacturing size. All this has significantly contributed to the formation of China-centered industry and supply chain. 

And, the tenacity of China's industrial ecosystem will constantly strengthen as the country has just set on a new development paradigm - to shore up new quality productive forces spearheaded by scientific research and technology innovation. 

This policy framework will guide China's development in the next decade and beyond and is expected to fortify and increase the country's industrial capability among major economies. A basket of emerging technologies - 5.5G and 6G internet connection, AI, robotics and quantum computing and the across-the-board technology-manufacturing synergy, plus China's enormous labor pool and globally advanced infrastructure, will ensure the country to stay ahead in the next-stage industrial competition. 

China's future exports will be underpinned by sustained technology innovation and the ongoing manufacturing sector rejuvenation and broad-based upgrade. The goal is to make the country an unshakable source of incremental growth that the world's business conglomerates cannot ignore despite Washington's "de-coupling" bid. As the world's comparative advantages in manufacturing have shifted eastward, the US and its allies will do their utmost to thwart and hold back the shift.

Some analysts claim that China is currently very competitive across the low-value, middle-value and high-value industrial sectors, so it is natural for the country to keep moving up on the global value chain ladder. Although other sectors, such as agriculture and services, are also important and deserve more government inputs, the policy on resolutely beefing up scientific research and new technology innovation, and maintaining a large, strong and modern manufacturing economy should not change, which will put in place the bedrock for the sustainability of the growth of exports in the coming years. 

China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released new data on Monday indicating a narrowing decline in residential property prices across 70 major cities, with pre-owned secondary homes in Beijing and Shanghai recording price increases for the first time this year.

Experts noted that the latest data indicates a stabilizing trend in Chinese property market, potentially signaling a shift to the beginning of housing market recovery.

In a detailed report, the NBS noted that the contraction in prices for new residential buildings in the first-tier cities slowed, with a 0.2 percentage point decrease to 0.5 percent. Similarly, second-tier cities maintained a consistent drop of 0.7 percent, while third-tier cities saw a 0.2 percentage point reduction in the rate of price declines from the previous month’s 0.8 percent price drop.

The resurgence was more pronounced in the pre-owned secondary property market. In top-tier cities, the drop in resale home prices eased significantly, shrinking 0.8 percentage points to a 0.4 percent decline, with Beijing and Shanghai experiencing price gains for the first time in 2024. 

Smaller cities delivered mixed results, in the second-tier cities, overall pre-owned housing prices recorded a 0.9 percent decline, a slight improvement of 0.1 percentage points from last month. Third-tier cities have matched the previous month's decrease of 0.9 percent.

The NBS’s latest release are being viewed as a very positive indication for the market, the decreased rate of decline in both new and pre-owned properties sends a strong signal, Yan Yuejin, research director at Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute, told the Global Times on Monday.

“After a sweeping price drop in June, we are seeing stabilizing indicators which could enhance market confidence in pre-owned properties. The narrowing month-on-month declines in housing prices point to a potential turnaround in the coming months,” Yan said.

In June, among the 70 surveyed cities, 64 cities saw price declines in new residential properties and price decline of pre-owned properties in 66 cities. Notably, mega-cities like Shanghai, Hangzhou, Beijing, and Nanjing have begun showing a rising trend in selling prices, suggesting that largest cities are leading the market recovery.

This upturn in prices follows a series of real estate stimulus policies. On June 26, Beijing announced new round of policy adjustments, including a significant reduction in minimum down payment required for home purchases. The move positioned Beijing among major Chinese cities to relax buying restrictions, with expectations of boosting China's property market soon.