Xi Jinping Sends Condolences to Namibian President Mbumba on Passing of Founding President Nujoma
On February 10, President Xi Jinping sent a condolence message to Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba over the passing of Namibia's founding president, Sam Nujoma. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, Xi expressed deep condolences and extended sincere sympathies to the family of the late former President Nujoma, as well as to the Namibian government and people. Xi Jinping noted that former President Nujoma was a veteran African statesman and revolutionary who led the Namibian people in their pursuit and achievement of national independence and liberation, and made historic contributions to exploring a development path suited to Namibia's national conditions. Throughout his life, he was steadfastly friendly to China and actively promoted the traditional friendship between China and Namibia, as well as friendly cooperation between China and Africa. His passing is a tremendous loss for the Namibian people, and the Chinese people have also lost an old and good friend. The Chinese government and people deeply cherish the traditional friendship between China and Namibia, and believe that with joint efforts from both sides, the China-Namibia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership will achieve even greater development.
Anchoring Modernization, Deepening Reforms: Accelerating Digital-Real Integration to Advance New Industrialization
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to promote the integrated development of the real economy and the digital economy, fostering new drivers through informatization and leveraging these new drivers for new development. Currently, various regions are promoting the deep integration of the real economy and the digital economy, leveraging local characteristics and respective advantages to empower new industrialization. Immediately after the Spring Festival holiday, new projects integrating the real and digital economies commenced enthusiastically across the country. In Beijing, home to the largest number of large model enterprises, 400 manufacturing companies have begun digital transformation. This year, Beijing will promote the application of large models in 10 key areas, including automobiles and new materials. In Shanghai, which boasts advanced urban governance, virtual city construction has just begun, aiming to fully replicate Shanghai's physical space, covering various scenarios such as rivers, rural areas, ground transportation, and underground pipelines, to monitor urban operations in real-time and provide intelligent early warnings. Nationwide, the integrated computing power network is accelerating its construction, and gigabit optical network pilots have officially launched, continuously solidifying the fundamental infrastructure for real-digital integration. Latest data shows that China's 5G base station count has surpassed 4.25 million, with over 2.6 billion mobile IoT terminal users, indicating a continuous expansion of "things connecting more than people." China has built 43% of the world's "lighthouse factories," and industrial digitalization accounts for over 81% of the digital economy's scale, driving new industrialization to deeper levels of development. General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the integrated development of the real economy and the digital economy, making a series of important statements and strategic deployments. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out the need to promote the deep integration of the Internet, big data, and artificial intelligence with the real economy, and continue to write the great article of deep integration of informatization and industrialization; he emphasized the need to organically combine the construction of a manufacturing powerhouse with the development of the digital economy and industrial informatization, building a strong material and technological foundation for Chinese modernization. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in its deployment of institutional mechanisms for promoting high-quality economic development, placed "real-digital integration" as the overarching theme for new industrialization, the real economy, and the digital economy, making it a key reform task. Anchored on these goals, reforms are accelerating. Recently, a series of plans for the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises have been implemented, clarifying the need to formulate differentiated transformation implementation plans based on the individual needs of different types of enterprises, combining their digital foundation, scale, main business, and other actual conditions. Particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), four departments jointly issued a new version of the "Special Action Plan for Digital Empowerment of SMEs." Reporters found that the biggest change is a greater emphasis on specific application scenarios, including various links such as production, sales, and logistics, and corresponding reward standards have been proposed. Currently, China is accelerating the deep transformation of over 40,000 SMEs, striving to achieve over 40% cloud adoption among all SMEs by 2027, and ensuring that all "specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative" SMEs complete their transformations. To accelerate real-digital integration, it is also essential to fully leverage the value of data, making data "active." This year, the "National Data Infrastructure Construction Guidelines" were officially implemented, marking China's new round of data-centric digital infrastructure layout. In the Yangtze River Delta, not long ago, the provincial data authorities of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui jointly signed a memorandum of understanding, announcing the establishment of a Yangtze River Delta data thematic cooperation mechanism to accelerate the unblocking of data "dead ends" across various industries, departments, and regions, clearing the "channels" for industrial development. In Guangdong, Fujian, and other regions, efforts are accelerating to promote the capitalization of enterprise data assets, allowing past product designs, sales data, transportation channels, and other data resources to become formal assets of enterprises, thereby increasing economic efficiency while promoting data circulation and sharing. This year, China will accelerate the implementation of the "Data Element x Industrial Manufacturing" action, focusing on key industries to create 100 typical application scenarios for real-digital integration and 1,000 benchmark enterprises, comprehensively promoting the deep integration of the real economy and the digital economy, from cross-regional collaborative manufacturing to end-to-end service capabilities across the industrial chain, accelerating new industrialization, and building a strong material and technological foundation for Chinese modernization.
Li Qiang Presides Over State Council Executive Meeting
Premier Li Qiang presided over a State Council executive meeting on February 10, to discuss work related to boosting consumption, deliberate and approve the "2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment," study policy measures to resolve structural contradictions in key industries, and discuss the "Draft Law on National Development Planning of the People's Republic of China." The meeting pointed out that boosting consumption is the top priority for expanding domestic demand and strengthening the domestic circulation. It is necessary to truly change concepts and place consumption boosting in a more prominent position. It is crucial to vigorously support income growth for residents, promote reasonable growth of wage income, broaden channels for property income, and enhance consumption capacity. Efforts should focus on consumption areas with strong driving power and large growth potential to tap into consumption potential. The meeting called for promoting the improvement of quality and affordability in service consumption, optimizing service supply for the elderly and children, supporting convenient service consumption, and expanding cultural, sports, and tourism consumption. It also emphasized promoting the upgrade of big-ticket consumption, increasing support for trade-ins of consumer goods, better meeting housing consumption demand, and extending the automotive consumption chain. The meeting highlighted strengthening the leading role of consumption brands, supporting the accelerated development of new consumption forms, promoting "AI + consumption," and continuously creating new consumption products, scenarios, and hotspots. Furthermore, it emphasized implementing a three-year action plan to optimize the consumption environment, further improving quality standards, credit constraints, comprehensive governance, and consumer rights protection systems, focusing on resolving prominent issues strongly reflected by the public, and creating a trustworthy consumption environment. The meeting noted that foreign-invested enterprises play an important role in absorbing employment, stabilizing exports, and promoting industrial upgrading, and more practical and effective measures should be taken to stabilize existing foreign investment and expand new foreign investment. It called for orderly expanding autonomous opening-up, deepening pilot projects in relevant areas, implementing the complete removal of foreign investment access restrictions in the manufacturing sector, and expanding the scope of industries encouraged for foreign investment. It also stressed continuously building the "Invest in China" brand, increasing support for foreign-invested enterprises' reinvestment within China, encouraging foreign equity investment in China, and optimizing foreign merger and acquisition rules. The meeting emphasized equal treatment for domestic and foreign-invested enterprises in government procurement and other activities, broadening financing channels for foreign-invested enterprises, and intensifying intellectual property protection. It also highlighted providing good service and guarantees for foreign-invested projects, offering more convenience for foreign enterprise personnel exchanges in terms of entry, exit, temporary stays, and permanent residency. The meeting stated the need to persist in efforts from both supply and demand sides, addressing both symptoms and root causes to resolve structural contradictions in key industries and other issues, and promoting the healthy development and quality upgrading of industries. It called for optimizing industrial layout, strengthening standard leadership, promoting integration and reorganization, driving the exit of backward and inefficient production capacity, and increasing the supply of high-end production capacity. It also emphasized optimizing market supervision, strengthening industry self-discipline, and jointly maintaining a market order characterized by fair competition and survival of the fittest. The meeting discussed and, in principle, adopted the "Draft Law on National Development Planning of the People's Republic of China," deciding to submit the draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation. The meeting also discussed other matters.
Li Qiang Signs State Council Order Promulgating Regulations on Public Security Video Image Information Systems
Premier Li Qiang recently signed a State Council Decree, promulgating the "Regulations on the Management of Public Security Video and Image Information Systems" (hereinafter referred to as "the Regulations"), which will take effect on April 1 this year. The Regulations emphasize that the management of public security video systems adheres to the leadership of the Communist Party of China and implements the Party and state's lines, principles, policies, and decisions. It strictly regulates construction and prohibits illegal and chaotic construction. It clarifies that local people's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen overall planning to avoid duplication of construction. It defines the construction requirements for public security video systems, the operational safety responsibilities of public security video system management units, and the requirements for the use of video and image information. The Regulations state that the authority and procedures for state organs and individuals to access and retrieve video and image information must be strictly regulated. It requires strict protection of personal and organizational information when publicly disseminating video and image information. It also emphasizes strengthening supervision and management and strict legal liabilities.
New Year, New Spirit, Striving Forward: Focused on Practical Work to Boost High-Quality Development
As spring begins, various regions are prioritizing action, building momentum and empowering high-quality economic development through practical efforts and tangible results. Spring marks the beginning of a year, and all endeavors start with action. In Inner Mongolia, the construction of 3.5 million mu of high-standard farmland projects across the region has fully commenced, about one week earlier than in previous years. It is expected that some newly built high-standard farmlands will be put into use before spring ploughing. This year, Inner Mongolia plans to build 8.5 million mu of new high-standard farmland, create 10 million mu of demonstration zones for yield improvement of major crops, and 10 million mu of "ton-per-mu fields." Focusing on key links and the implementation of major projects, Tibet will continue to strengthen ecological protection and restoration in the new year, planning to complete the afforestation of over 1 million mu, restore and manage 5 million mu of degraded grassland, control 200,000 mu of soil erosion, and orderly carry out pilot projects such as "photovoltaic desertification control." To promote the high-quality development of the new energy industry, Jilin plans to achieve over 6 million kilowatts of new energy installed capacity this year and start construction on more than 5 equipment manufacturing projects, including hydrogen fuel cells. At the same time, it will strengthen upstream and downstream collaboration in the new energy industrial chain, increase new energy application scenarios, and promote the upgrading of energy consumption structure. Chongqing has proposed 30 policy measures in nine major areas, including stimulating consumption vitality, expanding effective investment, and industrial transformation and upgrading. These policies include rewards for iconic products in future industries and proportional subsidies for major modern productive service industry projects. Continuous optimization of working mechanisms and innovation of methods are also underway. At the beginning of the new year, Sichuan launched a "two-way 'leaderboard challenge'" mechanism, where "enterprises seek technology" and "achievements seek markets" proceed in parallel, promoting the deep integration of innovation chains, industrial chains, capital chains, and talent chains, providing support in various aspects such as service guarantees and institutional innovation. This year, Sichuan plans to implement over 150 science and technology achievement transformation projects.
New Batch of Major Foreign Investment Projects Accelerate Landing
Since the beginning of this year, a batch of major foreign investment projects have been accelerating their implementation and construction, and China's continuous expansion of high-level opening-up is also bringing more new opportunities to the world. A new batch of major foreign investment projects was recently launched nationwide, including 15 projects such as the second phase of the Fujian Gulei Petrochemical Integration Project, the Suzhou Bosch New Energy Vehicle Core Component Manufacturing Base, and the Hefei Volkswagen R&D Center. This batch has the largest number of projects in history, with a planned total investment of 33 billion US dollars. The new batch of major foreign investment projects stands out with characteristics of high-end, intelligent, and green development. They include not only traditional manufacturing industries such as chemicals, automobiles, and machinery, but also service industries such as R&D centers, and will play an active role in driving China's import and export trade and promoting industrial transformation and upgrading. It is understood that the first seven batches of 51 major foreign investment projects have completed an investment of 92 billion US dollars, and 30 projects have been fully or partially put into operation. In January this year, BMW's new model rolled off the production line at its Shenyang Lida Plant, which involved an investment of 15 billion RMB. This year, relevant departments will revise and release a new version of the "Catalogue of Industries Encouraged for Foreign Investment," continue to carry out "Invest in China" series of activities, guide foreign investment towards advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech, energy conservation, environmental protection, and other fields, and take strong measures to encourage reinvestment by foreign enterprises within China, promoting the continuous optimization of China's foreign investment structure.
Search and Resue Efforts Continue After Landslide in Yunlian County, Yibin, Sichuan
All parties are making full efforts to continuously advance search and rescue and resettlement work for the landslide in Junlian County, Yibin City, Sichuan. Today (February 10), search and rescue efforts continued. At the site, a comprehensive search was carried out across 11 grid areas at the lower end of the landslide body, with close coordination among search and rescue dogs, drones, life detectors, and engineering machinery. Relocation and resettlement work is also progressing in an orderly manner. Local authorities have opened school canteens to facilitate meals for the displaced residents. Medical personnel are conducting health screenings and psychological counseling for people at temporary resettlement sites. Currently, through the efforts of all parties, power supply and communication networks at the search and rescue site are fully guaranteed. Today, 247 emergency rescue green channels were opened on expressways such as Chengdu Ring, Chengya, and Chengren. Various insurance institutions have opened "7x24-hour" claims green channels, simplifying claims documentation and appraisal procedures. As of noon today, two insurance claims have been paid. Local banks have also issued the first 10 million yuan special disaster relief loan to support emergency rescue.
Spring Festival基层Line: "Curtain Agreement" Safeguards Elderly Well-being
In Xinhua District, Taiyuan, Shanxi, hundreds of elderly people living alone and volunteers have a "curtain agreement": every morning and evening, the elderly signal their well-being by drawing their curtains. This agreement has been going on for nearly four years. Today (February 10)'s "New Year's Journey to the Grassroots" takes us into this warm agreement that safeguards the well-being of the elderly. Ms. Xie Shuying, 93, suffers from heart disease and needs to take medication long-term. This morning, she accidentally took the wrong medicine and her hands trembled uncontrollably, so she couldn't open the curtains. Volunteers noticed this and quickly went to her home. At the same time, they brought community medical staff to examine her and helped organize her medications, labeling the dosage and instructions. After her husband passed away, Xie Shuying has lived alone, and her children live far away, so volunteers often help with daily chores. The "curtain agreement" was initiated by Zhang Jianzhong and his wife. In April 2021, Zhang Jianzhong and his wife, along with a dozen elderly people living alone in the vicinity, agreed on times to open and close their curtains to signal their well-being. As more elderly people joined the "curtain agreement," the couple thought about recruiting more volunteers to help. This idea was strongly supported by the sub-district office and community. The Xinghuahong Volunteer Service Center in Xinhua District was established, with more volunteers joining, becoming a beneficial supplement to the community's elder care services. Taking photos, sending them to groups, reporting the elderly's safety, and managing checks—the "curtain agreement" work seems simple, but interacting with the elderly requires more meticulousness, patience, and love. Over the past few years, volunteers have selflessly contributed to safeguarding the well-being of the elderly, and the elderly have come to regard the volunteers as their own children. Rong Dingxiang, an 84-year-old elderly woman living alone, deliberately leaves her curtains closed when she misses them, like an "old child," waiting for volunteers to visit. Nowadays, the Xinghuahong Volunteer Service Center not only has 53 permanent volunteers, but also university student volunteers join during winter and summer holidays. Volunteer work has gradually expanded from taking photos to report safety to doing housework for the elderly, dispensing medicine, delivering meals, maintaining community environment, and street sweeping and snow removal. The number of elderly people living alone who participate in the check-in has increased from the initial 16 to over 400, covering 140 communities.
Harbin 9th Asian Winter Games: China Wins 6 More Gold Medals in a Single Day
The 9th Harbin Asian Winter Games entered its third day of competition after the opening ceremony, with a total of 7 gold medals awarded, 6 of which were won by the Chinese team. In the freestyle skiing aerials mixed team event, the Chinese team, consisting of Xu Mengtao, Li Xinpeng, and Qi Guangpu, won the championship with three high-quality jumps. In the women's snowboard big air competition, Xiong Shirui and Zhang Xiaonan won gold and silver medals respectively. In the men's snowboard big air competition, Yang Wenlong and Jiang Xinjie swept the gold and silver medals. In ice events, Gao Tingyu won the gold medal in the men's 500m speed skating event, successfully defending his title. In the women's 3000m speed skating event, Yang Binyu, Han Mei, and Tai Zhi'en swept the gold, silver, and bronze medals. In the men's short track speed skating team pursuit final, the Chinese team, comprising Gao Tingyu, Lian Ziwen, and Ning Zhongyan, displayed excellent teamwork and won the gold medal. Currently, the Chinese sports delegation has accumulated 21 gold medals.
Domestic News Snippets
In January, National Railways Completed Fixed Asset Investment of 43.9 Billion Yuan. Today (February 10), China Railway (CR) Group announced that in January, national railways completed a fixed asset investment of 43.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%. Important components of the "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed rail network – the Xi'an-Ankang section of the Xi'an-Chongqing High-Speed Railway and the Baotou-Huinong section of the Baotou-Yinchuan High-Speed Railway, among other key control projects, are progressing in an orderly manner.
China Warehouse Index Rises to Recent High in January. The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing announced today (February 10) that the China Warehouse Index for January was 52.5%, up 1.9 percentage points from the previous month, reaching its highest point in nearly 10 months. Driven by increased holiday consumption demand, commodity turnover continued to accelerate, and the warehousing industry achieved a good start.
3.73 Million Homes Delivered Under "Guaranteed Housing Delivery" in 2024. The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development announced that as of the end of 2024, the approved loan amount for "white list" projects nationwide exceeded 5 trillion yuan, and 3.73 million homes were delivered under "guaranteed housing delivery," successfully meeting the annual target.
South-to-North Water Diversion Eastern Route North Extension Project Commences 2024-2025 Water Diversion. China South-to-North Water Diversion Group announced today (February 10) that the South-to-North Water Diversion Eastern Route Phase I North Extension Emergency Water Supply Project officially started its 2024-2025 water diversion work today, planning to divert 151 million cubic meters of water to areas north of the Yellow River. Of this, 126 million cubic meters will be diverted to Hebei and Tianjin using the northern extension of the eastern route.
Over 20 Million People Applied for New Mobile Phones and Other Digital Product Purchase Subsidies Nationwide. Data from the Ministry of Commerce's national home appliance trade-in and mobile phone/digital product new purchase data platform shows that from 0:00 on January 20 to 24:00 on February 8, 20.092 million consumers applied for subsidies for 25.414 million mobile phones and other digital products. Next, the Ministry of Commerce will urge various localities to further optimize the application process, expand participating entities, and strengthen risk prevention to ensure the smooth and steady implementation of the mobile phone and other digital product new purchase subsidy policy.
Alashankou Ranks First Nationwide for Inbound and Outbound China-Europe Freight Trains in 2024. In 2024, Alashankou Customs supervised 6,595 inbound and outbound China-Europe freight trains, a year-on-year increase of 31.5%, ranking first nationwide. The number of routes currently reaches 123, connecting to 21 countries including Kazakhstan and Poland, transporting over 200 types of goods, including clothing, general merchandise, electronic products, and mechanical parts.
ASEAN Tourist Groups Can Enter Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Visa-Free from Today. The National Immigration Administration announced today (February 10) that starting today, tourist groups from 10 ASEAN countries, including Malaysia and Indonesia, holding ordinary passports and organized by travel agencies within China, can enter and exit visa-free through Xishuangbanna Gasa International Airport Port, Mohan Railway Port, and Mohan Highway Port. Their activity scope is limited to the administrative area of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, with a stay not exceeding 6 days.
Temperatures Rise Across Most of China, Cold Air to Affect Central and Eastern Regions Tomorrow. Today (February 10), temperatures rose across most of China, with the most significant warming in central Jiangnan, where maximum temperatures in some areas will exceed 15℃. The Central Meteorological Observatory forecasts that over the next two days, a new round of cold air will bring strong winds, temperature drops, and rain/snow to most central and eastern regions, with local temperature drops reaching around 10℃. The public is reminded to pay attention to temperature changes.
Israeli Media: IDF Withdraws from Netzarim Corridor; Hamas: Israeli Attempt to Divide Gaza Failed
Israeli media reported that, according to the first phase of the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), the Israeli military withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip on February 9 and redeployed to the Gaza side of the border fence with Israel. The Netzarim Corridor, approximately 6 kilometers long, which was controlled by the Israeli military during the current round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is a narrow strip connecting the northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip, and is also a necessary route for people and supplies to enter northern Gaza. Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan stated on February 9 that the Israeli military's attempt to cut off the Gaza Strip had failed. In addition, the Israeli military stated on February 9 that dozens of Palestinians attempted to approach the buffer zone in northern Gaza, and the Israeli military opened fire on them, hitting several. The Gaza Civil Defense Department reported on February 9 that three Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military.
Russia Claims Control of Donetsk Settlement; Ukraine Claims Strikes on Multiple Russian Targets
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on February 9 that Russian forces had taken control of a settlement in the Donetsk region and continued to advance into the depth of Ukrainian defenses. Russian forces repelled Ukrainian attacks and launched offensives in the Kharkiv, Avdiivka, and Zaporizhzhia directions, destroying ammunition depots, electronic warfare stations, and other targets. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated on February 9 that Ukrainian air force, missile, and artillery units attacked several areas of Russian personnel and equipment concentration and radar stations. Ukrainian forces also repelled Russian attacks in various directions. Russia stated that Western provision of "Mirage" fighter jets to Ukraine would only further complicate the situation. Regarding Ukraine's claim of receiving the first batch of "Mirage-2000" fighter jets from France, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated on February 9 that the West's continuous arming of Ukraine and attempts to defeat Russia through this approach would only lead to a greater stalemate.
International News Snippets
Sudanese Armed Forces Claim Military Advances in Western Regions. The Sudanese Armed Forces announced on February 9 "significant military advances" in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State in the country's west, and also re-established control over a city in central Gezira State. The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the same day, saying that as the Sudanese Armed Forces and others continue to make progress on the front lines, the Sudanese leadership has put forward a roadmap that includes holding a national dialogue, forming a transitional government, demanding that the Rapid Support Forces lift the siege of El Fasher, and withdraw from Khartoum State and other areas. The Rapid Support Forces have not yet responded to the statements made by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Heavy Snow Continues in Several Parts of Japan, Avalanche Occurs in Fukushima. Japanese media reported today (February 10) that heavy snowfall continues in various parts of Japan. This morning, an avalanche occurred near a road in Tsuchiyu Onsen Town, Fukushima Prefecture, trapping two inns with approximately 160 people awaiting rescue. Japanese media stated that the peak of the cold wave has passed locally, but based on past experience, accidents during snow removal operations are expected to increase after heavy snowfall.
Factory Explosion in Pennsylvania, USA. According to US media reports, a chemical plant producing adhesives and coatings in Pennsylvania caught fire and exploded on February 9, injuring 13 people. Local emergency management authorities stated that personnel from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection have arrived at the scene to assess air quality. The specific cause of the explosion remains unclear.