On May 9, local time, Russia held a grand celebration to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory in the Great Patriotic War. Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders from over 20 countries and international organizations were invited to attend the celebration. In May, Moscow was lush with greenery and blooming flowers, with Victory Day flags waving in the wind, and the grand Red Square was filled with a solemn celebratory atmosphere. Xi Jinping arrived at the Kremlin and warmly shook hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was waiting there. Afterward, President Xi Jinping and President Putin walked together to Red Square and took their seats on the main grandstand. At 10:00 AM, with the melodious chimes of the Kremlin bells, the celebration began. The military band played "The Sacred War," and the honor guard escorted the Russian national flag and the Great Patriotic War Victory Banner into the square. Putin delivered a speech, stating that the Soviet Union defended peace and freedom for all humanity with tens of millions of sacrifices. "We will always remember the moment of victory, inherit the legacy of our ancestors, unite as one, and forever uphold this sacred glory. The Chinese people fought bravely in the War of Resistance, and we highly commend the contributions made by the Chinese people to creating a common future for humanity. We remember the history of World War II and learn from it. Victory is sacred, history cannot be tampered with, and victors cannot be insulted. History and justice are always on our side." Subsequently, the military band played the Russian national anthem, and cannons roared on Red Square, marking the beginning of the grand military parade. The participating formations marched in orderly fashion across Red Square. In the "History" segment of the parade, Russian officers and soldiers, dressed in Soviet Great Patriotic War-era uniforms, held high military banners from that period and clutched period weapons, looking spirited as they were reviewed, transporting people back to the tumultuous years of fighting fascism. In the "Modern" segment of the parade, formations from various branches of the Russian armed forces and modern weaponry formations were neatly arrayed for review. Aerospace Forces' flight formations roared across Red Square, as the music of "Victory Day" resonated continuously. Armed forces contingents from over 10 countries, including China, were also invited to participate in the parade. The honor guard contingent of the Chinese People's Liberation Army marched across Red Square with neat formations and high morale, taking firm and powerful steps. After the celebration, Xi Jinping, along with other national leaders, proceeded from Red Square to the Alexander Garden to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and stood in silent tribute. Afterward, the leaders collectively posed for a group photo. That afternoon, Xi Jinping attended a celebratory banquet hosted by President Putin to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory in the Great Patriotic War. Cai Qi, Wang Yi, and others participated in the aforementioned activities.
On May 8, local time, in the afternoon, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin jointly met with reporters after their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow. Xi Jinping stated that he and President Putin had just held in-depth, friendly, and fruitful talks, reaching many new and important consensuses. "We jointly signed the 'Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on Further Deepening the China-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination in the New Era on the Occasion of the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War, and the Founding of the United Nations,' and witnessed the exchange of multiple cooperation documents between relevant departments of the two countries, injecting new impetus into the development of China-Russia relations." Xi Jinping emphasized that Russia is the country he has visited the most as President of the People's Republic of China, marking his eleventh visit to Russia. "Tomorrow, I will attend the celebration commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory in the Great Patriotic War, which will also be my second time attending this grand commemorative event after a 10-year hiatus. The past decade has been a decade of great turbulence and transformation in the international landscape, and also a decade of great development and leaps in China-Russia relations. We have jointly witnessed the continuous consolidation and deepening of political mutual trust between China and Russia, and witnessed the 'sesame blossoming' growth in cooperation across various fields between the two countries." Facing the changes in the world, in times, and in history, China and Russia must firmly grasp the direction of bilateral relations and the general trend of human societal development, courageously take responsibility, fully coordinate, and make new and greater contributions to promoting the development and rejuvenation of both countries and safeguarding international fairness and justice. "We must adhere to generational friendship and be true friends forged through countless trials. Eighty years ago, facing the clutches of militarism and Nazism, the Chinese and Russian military and people fought side-by-side with shared hatred, writing a magnificent and moving historical chapter. The great friendship forged between the peoples of the two countries through blood and fire has laid a solid foundation for the high-level development of bilateral relations. China and Russia must deepen political mutual trust, strengthen strategic coordination, and push bilateral relations toward a more mature and resilient tomorrow." "We must adhere to mutual benefit and win-win results, and be good partners in each other's achievements. From overcoming difficulties and delivering large quantities of urgently needed materials to each other during World War II, to the current record-breaking bilateral trade volume, the 'high-speed train' of China-Russia mutually beneficial cooperation has traversed mountains and valleys, climbed slopes and overcome obstacles, traveling an extraordinary journey. China and Russia must continue to deepen practical cooperation in various fields, solidify the material foundation of comprehensive strategic coordination, continuously benefit the peoples of both countries, and inject stronger impetus into global development." "We must uphold fairness and justice and be defenders of the international order. As the main battlefields in Asia and Europe during World War II, China and Russia made decisive contributions to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and laid the foundation for the establishment of the post-war international order. As stable, positive, and progressive forces in the international community, China and Russia must continue to stand firmly together, resolutely uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, and continuously advance equal and orderly world multipolarization." "We must adhere to solidarity and cooperation and be leaders in global governance. The future and destiny of the world should be jointly controlled by all countries, and the fruits of global development should be jointly shared by all countries. China and Russia are both major world powers and important emerging market countries, both shouldering the lofty mission of promoting global governance to develop in a more just and reasonable direction. The two sides must strengthen coordination on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and BRICS, uphold true multilateralism, guide the correct direction of global governance, and promote inclusive economic globalization." Xi Jinping emphasized that facing a complex and turbulent international situation, China and Russia must firmly uphold the spirit of permanent good-neighborliness and friendship, comprehensive strategic coordination, and mutually beneficial win-win cooperation, weathering storms and overcoming challenges together, comprehensively enhancing the height, dimension, and resilience of China-Russia relations, injecting more stability into world peace and security, and providing stronger impetus for global development and prosperity. Cai Qi, Wang Yi, and others participated.
On the afternoon of May 8, local time, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a tea talk in the President's Office at the Kremlin. Xi Jinping pointed out that the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change. As long as China and Russia maintain strategic resolve and adhere to strategic coordination, no force can stop the two countries from achieving their respective development and rejuvenation, no force can stop the popular will for China-Russia friendship for generations, and no force can stop the trend of world multipolarization and economic globalization. "I am willing to maintain close contact with President Putin to steer the direction of China-Russia relations and make positive contributions to promoting global governance." Putin stated that Russia and China have always stood together and supported each other, and the friendship between the two countries is unbreakable. "I am willing to maintain close strategic communication with President Xi Jinping to provide strategic guidance for the development of bilateral relations, jointly address challenges in the complex international situation, deepen comprehensive strategic coordination, safeguard the common interests of both countries, and promote the world's development towards justice, democracy, and multipolarization." The two heads of state exchanged views on issues such as the Ukraine crisis. Xi Jinping pointed out that regarding the Ukraine crisis, China advocates and adheres to a common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable global security concept, believing that the legitimate security concerns of all countries should be addressed and the root causes of the crisis eliminated. "China welcomes all efforts conducive to peace and looks forward to reaching a fair, lasting, binding, and mutually acceptable peace agreement through dialogue." Putin highly praised China's objective and fair position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, stating that Russia is willing to start peace talks without preconditions and hopes to reach a fair and lasting peace agreement.
On May 9, Chinese President Xi Jinping and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden exchanged congratulatory messages to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Xi Jinping pointed out that Sweden was one of the first European countries to establish diplomatic relations with New China. Over the past 75 years, China-Sweden relations have generally maintained stability, and cooperation between the two countries in economy, trade, science and technology, education, and culture has continuously expanded, achieving positive results. "I attach great importance to the development of China-Sweden relations and am willing to work with King Carl XVI Gustaf to take the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations as a new starting point, leading the two countries to enhance political mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation, and strengthen people-to-people exchanges, jointly supporting multilateralism and free trade, bringing more well-being to the peoples of both countries, and making greater contributions to world peace and prosperity." Carl XVI Gustaf stated that on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sweden and China, "I sincerely wish for the continued deepening of close cooperation between Sweden and China and look forward to the continuous development of friendly relations between Sweden and China."
Premier Li Qiang chaired an executive meeting of the State Council on May 9, where he studied and implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech at the symposium on economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period in some provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. The meeting emphasized the need to accurately grasp the phased requirements of the Party Central Committee for the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, consciously align with them, reasonably determine goals and tasks in various fields, and fully reflect the strategic intentions of the Party Central Committee. It is crucial to deeply plan key tasks for economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, accelerate the construction of a new development paradigm, promote sustained economic improvement, develop new productive forces in accordance with local conditions, and steadily advance common prosperity. Research and surveys should be strengthened, and opinions and suggestions from all sectors should be widely solicited to provide strong support for the compilation of the plan. The meeting heard a report on promoting the quality and efficiency of Free Trade Zone construction. The meeting pointed out the need to support Free Trade Zones in aligning with high-standard international economic and trade rules, further intensifying institutional innovation, taking the lead in developing service trade and facilitating cross-border data flow, and conducting differentiated explorations. Authorization for reform tasks should be expanded according to local conditions, and regional layout should be optimized and adjusted based on the actual needs of industrial development, steadily promoting the upgrading of mature Free Trade Zones. The meeting also discussed measures to deepen the reform and innovation of national-level economic and technological development zones. The meeting pointed out the need to promote deep-level reform and high-quality development through high-level opening-up, vigorously promote "efficient handling of one matter," resolve outstanding bottlenecks and sticking points reported by enterprises, strengthen factor guarantees, and formulate supporting policies and measures to create a better environment for the development of national-level economic and technological development zones. The meeting deliberated and adopted the "Draft Regulations on Government Data Sharing." The meeting pointed out the need to break down data barriers while ensuring data security, and promote more inclusive and convenient public services. A national integrated government big data system should be built to better empower social governance and a prosperous industrial ecosystem. The meeting discussed the "National Water Transport Safety Supervision and Rescue System Layout Plan (2025-2035)." The meeting pointed out the need to accelerate the construction of a modernized water transport safety supervision and rescue system, strengthen coordinated linkage between departments and localities, enhance innovation in important equipment and key technologies, and create conditions to attract social capital to participate in major supervision and rescue projects. The meeting noted that a series of safety accidents have occurred in some areas recently, which are profound lessons, indicating that safety production should never be taken lightly. It is essential to thoroughly implement the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping, further strengthen the responsibilities of all parties, especially putting greater effort into "prevention," solidly carrying out investigations of risks and hidden dangers, and adopting more targeted measures to address key areas, key venues, and key problems, resolutely preventing and curbing the occurrence of major and extra-large safety accidents. The meeting also discussed other matters.
Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, conducted a survey in Fujian from May 7 to 9. He emphasized the importance of adhering to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, conscientiously implementing the deployment requirements of the Party Central Committee and the spirit of the Third Session of the 14th National People's Congress, focusing on the overall situation, and performing duties in accordance with the law to contribute to high-quality development. Zhao Leji visited Nanping and Fuzhou, going deep into NPC deputies' contact points for the public, enterprises, villages, and farmers' homes, communicating with NPC deputies and the public, and listening to opinions and suggestions on strengthening and improving the work of people's congresses and promoting the rule of law; he also conducted research at the provincial people's congress standing committee organ, visited cadres, and presided over a symposium. Zhao Leji emphasized the need to adhere to the Party's overall leadership over the work of people's congresses, uphold integrity and innovation, seek truth from facts, follow and grasp the laws of people's congress work, and effectively carry out legislative, supervisory, and representative work to assist in economic and social development and the tasks of reform and overcoming difficulties. It is necessary to promote comprehensive law-based governance based on the duties of people's congresses, give full play to the important role of people's congresses in ensuring the comprehensive and effective implementation of the Constitution and laws, the leading role of people's congresses in legislative work, and the important role of people's congress supervision in the Party and state supervision system. It is necessary to strengthen the self-construction of people's congresses to meet the requirements of the new era, take learning and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law and General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thoughts on adhering to and improving the system of people's congresses as basic and required courses, and implement the requirements of "four organs" in the self-construction and performance of duties of people's congresses. It is necessary to conscientiously carry out in-depth learning and education on implementing the spirit of the Central Eight-Point Regulation, and promote the high-quality development of the Party building and work of people's congresses with new achievements in style construction. Zhao Leji led the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress's law enforcement inspection team to inspect the implementation of the Forest Law, went deep into the smart management center of national parks, ecological protection observation points, and forest lands for on-site inspections, presided over a symposium, and listened to opinions and suggestions from government departments, NPC deputies, forestry experts, and frontline workers on strengthening law enforcement. Zhao Leji pointed out the need to deeply study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, strengthen the protection and cultivation of forest resources, adhere to the integrated protection and systemic governance of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and sand, promote afforestation, greening, and protection, and increase forest coverage and forest growing stock. It is necessary to consolidate and expand the achievements of forestry reform, implement legal systems such as the forest resource protection and development target responsibility system, and in accordance with the deployment requirements of the Party Central Committee, adhere to advancing and deepening forestry reform and development under the rule of law, and give full play to the enthusiasm of the government, collectives, forest farmers, and the whole society in protecting and developing forests. It is necessary to promote the high-quality development of forestry, implement the system and regulations on forest management stipulated in the Forest Law, and on the basis of protecting forest ecological security, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of modern forestry industries, develop under-forest economy according to local conditions, cultivate new business forms such as tourism and health care, and achieve the unity of ecological protection, green development, and improvement of people's livelihoods.
The General Administration of Customs announced data today (May 9) showing that China's goods trade imports and exports maintained steady growth in April this year. According to customs statistics, in the first four months of this year, China's total goods trade imports and exports reached 14.14 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.4%. Of this, exports amounted to 8.39 trillion yuan, up 7.5%; imports were 5.75 trillion yuan, down 4.2%. In April alone, China's goods trade imports and exports reached 3.84 trillion yuan, up 5.6%. Of this, exports were 2.27 trillion yuan, up 9.3%; imports were 1.57 trillion yuan, up 0.8%. Relying on a complete industrial system and profound manufacturing foundation, in the first four months, China's exports of high-tech products reached 1.52 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.4%, accounting for 18.1% of total exports. China's private enterprises imported and exported 8.05 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.8%, accounting for 56.9% of China's total imports and exports, driving the overall import and export growth by 3.7 percentage points during the same period. Meanwhile, China's imports and exports with neighboring countries reached 5.1 trillion yuan, up 5.1%, with the growth rate accelerating by 1.6 percentage points compared to the first quarter.
On May 9, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress officially launched a law enforcement inspection of the Food Safety Law. This law enforcement inspection will adopt a combination of on-site inspections in localities and inspections entrusted to provincial-level people's congress standing committees. The inspection team will conduct on-site inspections in provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) such as Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangxi, Henan, Guangxi, and Gansu, and will entrust the people's congress standing committees of Tianjin, Liaoning, Anhui, Hubei, Guizhou, and Qinghai provinces (municipalities) to inspect the implementation of the Food Safety Law within their respective administrative regions. The inspection team will focus on eight aspects, including the implementation of responsibilities by government departments and relevant units in food safety, the construction of food safety risk monitoring and assessment systems, the construction of food safety standard systems, the implementation of primary responsibilities by food producers and operators, and the supervision of food safety in schools, among others.
China's E-commerce Logistics Index Continues to Rise in April. The China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing announced today (May 9) that China's e-commerce logistics index for April was 111.1 points, up 1.1 points from the previous month, with all major sub-indices showing a month-on-month increase. Among them, the e-commerce logistics total business volume index rose to 129.4 points, an increase of nearly 30% compared to the same period last year. Driven by continuous demand recovery, e-commerce logistics has accelerated its development, effectively supporting consumption growth. Number of Exhibitors at the Fourth China-CEEC Expo to Set New Record. At a press conference held by the State Council Information Office today (May 9), officials from the Ministry of Commerce introduced that the Fourth China-Central and Eastern European Countries Expo and International Consumer Goods Expo will be held in Ningbo, Zhejiang, from May 22 to 25. Both the exhibition area and the number of exhibitors at the event will reach new highs. In addition to 14 CEEC countries, exhibitors from 9 other countries including the UK, France, and Germany are also actively participating. In 2024, the bilateral trade volume between China and CEEC reached 142.3 billion US dollars, a new historical high. China Publicizes the Seventh Batch of New Occupations and Job Titles. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security recently publicized the seventh batch of new occupations and job titles. This includes 17 proposed new occupations, such as elderly care service professionals, cross-border e-commerce operation managers, and drone swarm flight planners; and 42 proposed new job titles, including generative artificial intelligence system testers and smart scenic area managers. China's First National Standard for Brand Value Evaluation in Elderly Care Services Released and Implemented. The National Standardization Administration recently released and implemented China's first national standard for brand value evaluation in the elderly care service industry. The standard details 46 indicators for measuring the brand strength of China's elderly care service industry from five aspects: tangible elements, quality elements, innovation elements, service elements, and intangible elements, providing guidance for the scientific and standardized evaluation of brand value in elderly care services. Phased Achievements in Yangtze River Fishing Ban. Reporters learned from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs today (May 9) that since the comprehensive fishing ban in the Yangtze River was fully implemented in 2021, the management order of the fishing ban has remained generally stable. Through rescue actions for flagship species such as Chinese sturgeon, Yangtze finless porpoise, and Yangtze sturgeon, aquatic biodiversity has continued to recover. From 2021 to 2024, a total of 344 native fish species were monitored in the Yangtze River basin, an increase of 36 species compared to 2017-2020.
On May 7, Moscow time, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the "Torch of Peace, New Chapter for the Era – China-Russia Cultural and People-to-People Exchange Activities to Commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War," which sparked warm responses across all sectors in China and Russia. All sectors expressed that President Xi Jinping's congratulatory letter injected new impetus into the mutual understanding and affinity between the Chinese and Russian peoples. President Xi Jinping emphasized that with the joint efforts of both sides, China-Russia relations have continuously shown new vitality, setting an example of a new type of major-country relationship. People from all walks of life stated that President Xi Jinping's incisive exposition highlighted the important practical significance of China and Russia inheriting great friendship and strengthening cultural and people-to-people exchanges. All sectors expressed that President Xi Jinping's congratulatory letter provided important guidance for deepening friendship and strengthening cooperation between China and Russia, and will surely push the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era to new heights.
According to U.S. media reports on May 8, economists at Goldman Sachs Group have raised their inflation forecasts for the U.S. this year and next. Goldman Sachs stated that, due to the dual impact of increased tariffs imposed by the U.S. government and a weakening dollar, their forecast for U.S. inflation in December of this year has been raised to 3.8%, a figure significantly exceeding the Federal Reserve's previous predictions. EU Says It May Take Countermeasures Against Nearly 100 Billion Euros of U.S. Imports. The European Commission announced on May 8 a list of products imported from the United States, involving 95 billion euros worth of goods, mainly covering industrial and agricultural sectors. The EU pointed out that if negotiations with the U.S. fail to prompt the U.S. to lift tariffs, the EU may take countermeasures against these U.S. imported goods. In addition, the European Commission also stated on the same day that it would file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization regarding the U.S. tariff policy.
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