On July 11, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Simons on her election as President of the Republic of Suriname. Xi Jinping noted that Suriname is China's strategic cooperative partner in the Caribbean region. Over the 49 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, with the joint efforts of both sides, China-Suriname relations have developed healthily and steadily, achieving fruitful results in practical cooperation in various fields and maintaining close coordination in multilateral affairs. I attach great importance to the development of China-Suriname relations and am willing to work with President-elect Simons to deepen mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation, promote greater development of the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, and better benefit the two peoples.
The people's city is built by the people, and the people's city is for the people. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that whether it is urban planning or urban construction, whether it is the construction of new urban areas or the renovation of old urban areas, it is necessary to adhere to a people-centered approach, focus on the needs of the people, rationally arrange production, living, and ecological spaces, and follow an intensive, agglomerative, green, and high-quality development path, striving to create a good environment for employment, living, enjoyment, and tourism, so that the people have a greater sense of gain and create a happier and better life for the people. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, various regions have integrated the concept of a people's city into the entire process of urban development and all aspects of urban work, continuously improving the level of urban planning, construction, and governance, allowing modern cities to support the people's happier and better lives. Today's China, with cities making every effort to create environments suitable for work, living, enjoyment, and tourism, is bringing more happiness to the people. The number of cities with historical and cultural districts has reached 273 this year, and cultural confidence makes urban development full of vitality; there are now 56 cities with over 100 comprehensive parks and community parks, and "seeing green from the window" has made more cities "grow" within parks. Cities are important carriers for promoting high-quality development, creating high-quality life, and comprehensively building a modern socialist country. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important statements on urban construction, proposing the important concept of "the people's city is built by the people, and the people's city is for the people." He has successively convened the Central Urbanization Work Conference and the Central Urban Work Conference, deploying and implementing a series of major strategies and tasks in the urban field. In General Secretary Xi Jinping's heart, the core of the city is people. When inspecting localities, he often visited communities, repeatedly emphasizing that "although communities are small, they connect thousands of households, and doing community work well is very important"; when talking about urban renewal, he urged that "we should better promote people-centered urbanization, making cities healthier, safer, and more livable, and becoming spaces for people's high-quality life"; when talking about historical and cultural protection, he emphasized "let the city retain its memory, and let people remember their hometown nostalgia"; when talking about urban governance, he pointed out that "making cities smarter and more intelligent is the only way to promote the modernization of urban governance systems and governance capabilities." Driven by a series of policies and measures, today's cities are more livable and life is better. Nowadays, people-centered new urbanization is accelerating. The urbanization rate of permanent residents has reached 67%, with 940 million people living in urban areas. The number of cities has reached 694, and the mechanism for urbanizing transferred agricultural population is continuously improving, making the threshold for household registration lower and lower, and population mobility faster and faster. Nowadays, urban "living" conditions have significantly improved. The per capita urban housing building area exceeds 40 square meters, and the world's largest housing security system has been built, with a cumulative construction of over 68 million units of various types of affordable housing and shantytown renovation housing, fulfilling the housing dreams of over 170 million housing-difficult families. Nowadays, the "appearance" of cities is continuously improving. From 2019 to 2024, a total of 280,000 old residential areas were renovated nationwide, benefiting 48 million households. The national excellent air quality day ratio reached 87.2%, black and odorous water bodies in prefecture-level and above cities were basically eliminated, 212 national forest cities were built, and the per capita urban park green space area reached 15.91 square meters. Nowadays, cities are becoming "smarter." The number of smart cities is increasing, and smart government services are constantly being upgraded. On the national government service platform, 5.21 million service items and over 36,000 high-frequency hot service applications have been standardized. Nowadays, the "cultural business cards" of cities are being polished brighter. As of now, there are 143 national historical and cultural cities, 312 Chinese historical and cultural towns, and 68,100 historical buildings have been identified nationwide. This year, with the issuance of the "Opinions on Continuously Promoting Urban Renewal Actions," our cities will experience more changes. This year, central budget investment has specifically established a special fund for urban renewal, and the scope of urban village renovation has expanded to prefecture-level and above cities nationwide. This year, based on the comprehensive urban physical examination carried out in 297 prefecture-level and above cities, qualified county-level cities are also conducting urban physical examinations. The people's city is built by the people, and the people's city is for the people. In the new era and on the new journey, cities are practicing the concept of a people's city with practical actions, moving towards the construction goals of livability, resilience, and intelligence, deeply embedding people's needs, demands, and satisfaction into the urban governance system, so that every city truly becomes a happy home for the people.
Since the beginning of this year, driven by intensified and expanded policies for trading in consumer goods and diversified innovation in consumption scenarios, China's smart consumer equipment manufacturing industry has achieved rapid growth. In midsummer, a series of smart electronic consumer products were launched and exhibited across the country. Air conditioners that automatically adjust wind speed and direction by sensing human movement trajectories, household robots with mechanical arms, and faucets that automatically adjust water output based on water quality and usage have been favored by consumers. Data shows that from January to May this year, China's electronic information manufacturing production grew rapidly, and efficiency steadily improved. Enterprises above designated size in the electronic information manufacturing industry achieved operating revenue of 6.49 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.4%. Among major products, the output of electronic computers exceeded 140 million units, an increase of 8% year-on-year; TV shipments totaled 14.035 million units, an increase of 1.7% year-on-year. The sales of complete machines also drove the growth of upstream electronic component production. From January to May, integrated circuit output was 193.5 billion units, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%. Not long ago, the state issued 259 light industrial innovative upgrade products around 29 industry fields such as food, home appliances, and daily chemicals, integrating the latest artificial intelligence technology to provide consumers with more high-quality products. In the second half of the year, China will continue to promote the "AI+Consumer Goods" action, accelerating the development and promotion of new technologies and products such as smart wearables, ultra-high-definition video, brain-computer interfaces, and robots, opening up new high-growth consumption tracks; at the same time, it will accelerate the continuous extension of smart consumer equipment manufacturing towards green and service-oriented development.
Early rice is the second harvest season for grain in China throughout the year. Currently, early rice in the 9 major producing provinces is gradually ripening and harvesting is commencing from south to north. At present, over 30% of early rice has been harvested nationwide, with the progress slightly faster than the same period last year. During the early rice harvest, there is often adverse weather such as high temperatures and heavy rains. To reduce losses from grain sprouting and mildew, major producing areas are intensifying services and guarantees such as rush harvesting and drying. Guangdong has invested in 3,200 drying equipment and established an agricultural machinery command and dispatch platform, connecting with over 600 socialized service organizations to undertake emergency drying operations. Farmers can fill in information such as drying quantity and location on their mobile phones, and nearby large drying centers will automatically accept the orders. This year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs launched the action to increase rice yield on large areas, and major producing provinces have coordinated project funds such as grain-producing county awards to support the implementation of key measures. The proportion of centralized early rice seedling raising nationwide reached 48%, an increase of 1.7 percentage points from the previous year. Hunan's more than 18 million mu of early rice benefited from the effective implementation of key measures, and the grain filling and setting situation was good. In Yiyang, the 275 newly built centralized seedling raising facilities this year have driven large-area yield increases. These days, Zhejiang's early rice has begun to be harvested. This year, the local government has fully promoted the grain order system, supporting farmers to sign agreements with grain purchasing enterprises in advance to increase their enthusiasm for planting grain. The early rice planting area is expected to exceed 2 million mu, a new high in nearly ten years. This year, the state continued to raise the minimum purchase price for early indica rice, stabilizing farmers' expectations for planting grain. According to the latest agricultural situation dispatch from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the national early rice planting area remains stable, and the early rice harvest is progressing smoothly.
Recently, temperatures in many parts of the country have continued to rise, and electricity loads have been steadily climbing. To ensure power supply during the peak summer period, all parties are taking strong measures to meet electricity demand. The latest data released by the National Energy Administration shows that since the beginning of summer, the national maximum power load has repeatedly set new historical highs, reaching a maximum of 1.467 billion kilowatts, an increase of about 150 million kilowatts compared to the same period last year. Among them, 10 provincial power grids, including Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Fujian, have set new load records 22 times. To ensure power supply, 162 key power grid projects for peak summer operation were all put into operation by the end of June. At the same time, China has also made full use of the resource allocation capabilities of its UHV large power grid to increase cross-regional and inter-provincial power transmission, with the maximum power transmitted by the State Grid exceeding 225 million kilowatts. The National Energy Administration stated that currently, the national supply of coal for power generation is stable and orderly, and the coal inventory of national dispatchable power plants continues to increase. In terms of oil and gas reserves, as of now, the cumulative gas injection into national underground gas storage facilities has exceeded 11 billion cubic meters, ensuring natural gas supply.
This morning (July 13), a full-system joint rehearsal for the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft launch mission was organized. Currently, all systems for the launch mission have completed relevant functional checks and are prepared for launch. At around 8:20 AM, under the unified dispatch of the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, the Wenchang Space Launch Site, Xi'an Satellite Control Center, and all mission tracking and control stations conducted joint debugging and control, comprehensively simulating various technical states and work processes during launch preparation, launch, and flight, and assessing the matching and coordination of interfaces between all systems. The successful completion of the joint rehearsal means that all systems are ready for launch. Currently, the space station complex is in good condition, and the Shenzhou-20 astronaut crew has also conducted manual remote operation training in orbit to prepare for the arrival of Tianzhou-9.
With the arrival of the summer vacation, the number of foreign tourists entering China through various immigration ports has significantly increased. More and more foreigners are choosing to come to China to personally experience the unique charm of this ancient yet modern country. Data shows that from July 1 to 10, over 640,000 people entered and exited through Beijing ports, including 171,000 foreign tourists, a year-on-year increase of 22.1%. In addition, the two major airports in Shanghai, Pudong and Hongqiao, received 2.56 million foreign visitors in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 44.7%. Tourism platform data also shows an upward trend: hotel orders from foreign tourists in key cities all increased by over 130% in the first half of the year. Parent-child study tours and cultural experience products have become popular. In response to the explosive growth in inbound tourism, border inspection departments at major national ports have introduced multiple convenient customs clearance measures to shorten the waiting time for inbound and outbound personnel. At the same time, major tourist attractions and primary destinations for foreign tourists have also launched diversified tourism products, allowing foreign visitors to deeply immerse themselves in Chinese customs. The "Secrets of the Forbidden City" special foreign language tour at Beijing's Forbidden City takes visitors to unlock the architectural code of the Hall of Supreme Harmony; the Tang costume experience in Datang Everbright City and the painted boat night tour on Nanjing's Qinhuai River have attracted tourists from all over the world to fall in love with China while traveling between ancient and modern times. According to forecasts from major tourism platforms, the popularity of inbound tourism in China is expected to reach a new high in the second half of the year.
Promoting cutting-edge technology out of laboratories and into people's lives relies heavily on application scenarios. During an interview in Anhui, reporters discovered that the local government is using "two lists" to help new technologies find new application scenarios and drive industrial implementation through scenario innovation. In Hefei, a large street park is transforming into a super scenario laboratory, where over 150 new technologies and products have been deployed, covering various fields such as low-altitude economy and autonomous driving. In residential communities, gas companies are opening up application scenarios, installing quantum technology into gas meters in people's homes, bringing laboratory new technologies into practical use. The vigorous growth of a large number of new technologies in rich application scenarios is inseparable from the institutional and mechanism innovations behind them. In Hefei, a special working group dedicated to technology commercialization has been established, where reporters found these two lists. One lists new technologies, and the other lists available application scenarios, covering various industries and fields such as municipal pipelines, fire rescue, thermal power, water affairs, and hospitals. Although new technologies have always sought to enter large enterprises to find new scenarios, in the past, large enterprises with numerous scenarios often harbored concerns about the stability and reliability of new technologies. How to address the concerns of large enterprises? In Hefei, large enterprises that apply new technologies in key industry scenarios for the first time are given millions of yuan in financial support; real-scenario laboratories are established to help scientific and technological innovation enterprises conduct long-term testing and verification. Moreover, for eligible new technologies, new products, and new scenarios in their first trial and first use, if risks arise, large enterprises can be granted liability exemptions. Driven by a series of combined measures, the difficulty of technology commercialization is gradually "breaking the ice." During this period, the "black technology" from the University of Science and Technology of China – quantum precision measurement technology – successfully "partnered" with Hefei Metro through list matching. Precise supply-demand matching has enabled a "two-way rush" between new technologies and new scenarios, allowing small, medium, and micro scientific and technological innovation enterprises to break through the "last mile" of technology commercialization and achieve efficient衔接 (seamless integration) between innovative achievements and market demand. In addition to opening up scenarios, Anhui has established a guidance fund for technology commercialization, which has cumulatively invested in 137 projects with an investment amount of nearly 2.4 billion yuan as of the end of June. In 2024, the total transaction value of technology contracts absorbed by Anhui Province reached nearly 600 billion yuan, 2.7 times that of 2021. The speed at which scientific and technological achievements move from "bookshelves" to "shelves" is continuously accelerating.
The classical gardens of Suzhou, a World Cultural Heritage site, are typical representatives of Chinese classical gardens. Their ingenious layout, "a universe in a small space," condenses landscape poetry and painting into a limited area, narrating the Chinese people's unremitting pursuit of a better life for thousands of years and demonstrating the wisdom of harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Today (July 13), in "Culture China Journey," let us walk into Suzhou Gardens and explore the continuous cultural heritage of Chinese garden art. "Jiangnan gardens are the best in the world, and Suzhou gardens are the best in Jiangnan." Originating in the Spring and Autumn period and flourishing in the Ming and Qing dynasties, Suzhou gardens have always been the concentrated embodiment of poetic Jiangnan. After thousands of years of trials and tribulations, more than 80 well-preserved classical gardens remain in Suzhou, among which 9, including the Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden, and Master of the Nets Garden, are listed as World Cultural Heritage sites by UNESCO. With a corner cut from 30,000 hectares of Taihu Lake and a slice from 72 peaks, Suzhou gardens integrate mountains, rivers, and cities into one garden, known for their small and exquisite nature. The Master of the Nets Garden, covering about half a hectare, is one of the smaller gardens in Suzhou. Its designers used unique garden art to depict nature and express landscapes in a small space. Although man-made, it appears as if made by heaven. This garden art, which originates from nature and is superior to nature, is integrated into various distinctive gardens through clever techniques such as "shifting views" and "borrowed and framed views": the reserved landscape corridor in the Humble Administrator's Garden "borrows" the ancient pagoda standing a kilometer away as a garden scene; the winding and naturally formed rockeries in the Lion Grove Garden give people a real sense of mountain excursion and a philosophical understanding of life; the sound of rain hitting banana leaves in the Lingering Garden and the sound of wind passing through the hall in the Canglang Pavilion demonstrate the ancient people's philosophy of "poetic dwelling." Suzhou gardens, rich in cultural connotations, carry the spiritual sustenance and ideal sentiments of their creators. Today, in the streets and alleys of Suzhou, "garden-style" pocket parks that absorb and draw on the art of classical garden design are continuously emerging, creating a new look of "from Suzhou gardens to garden Suzhou," and becoming a new cultural symbol of this ancient city.
In the first half of the year, national railway construction investment maintained a high level. Reporters learned from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. that in the first half of this year, national railways completed a fixed asset investment of 355.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.5%, and cumulatively put 301 kilometers of new lines into operation. Significant results were achieved in the construction of the central and western corridors of the "Eight Verticals and Eight Horizontals" high-speed rail network. Projects such as the new Chongqing East to Qianjiang section of the Chongqing to Xiamen High-speed Railway have been opened. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security launched the Entrepreneurship Resource Matching Service Season. Reporters learned from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security that from July to September, a national entrepreneurship resource matching service season will be launched, focusing on young entrepreneurs, returning and rural entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurial projects with resource matching needs. This will promote high-quality entrepreneurship by building platforms, expanding channels, and gathering resources. Market regulatory authorities comprehensively rectify "involution-style" competition. The State Administration for Market Regulation has deployed a comprehensive rectification of "involution-style" competition and announced 7 types of typical illegal and irregular behaviors. These include illegal commercial propaganda, commercial disparagement, unfair pricing, substandard quality, platforms formulating unreasonable rules, abuse of market dominance, and improper interference in market competition. Relevant departments will enhance the targeting of regulatory enforcement and strengthen rectification effectiveness. The National Financial Regulatory Administration issued the "Measures for the Management of Product Suitability of Financial Institutions." The National Financial Regulatory Administration recently issued the "Measures for the Management of Product Suitability of Financial Institutions," requiring financial institutions to classify investors of investment products into professional investors and ordinary investors, and to strengthen risk tolerance assessment and fully fulfill disclosure obligations for ordinary investors. Financial institutions are prohibited from actively promoting products with a risk level higher than the customer's risk tolerance, including wealth management products, trust products, and insurance products.
U.S. President Trump announced on the 12th that he would impose a 30% tariff on goods imported from the European Union and Mexico starting August 1. The European Commission issued a statement on the 12th, stating that the U.S. move would disrupt supply chains and harm the interests of both the U.S. and the EU; the EU would take all necessary measures to safeguard its interests. European Council President Costa stated on the 12th that tariffs push up inflation, create uncertainty, and hinder economic growth. French President Macron strongly opposed the U.S. decision on the same day and called on the European Commission to demonstrate its determination to firmly defend its interests. Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson stated that the Swedish government regretted the U.S. decision and called on the EU to take strong countermeasures if necessary. Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and others also expressed opposition to the U.S. tariffs. Mexican President Sheinbaum stated on the 12th that Mexico would continue to negotiate with the United States to reach an agreement, but Mexico's sovereignty was non-negotiable. The Mexican Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Economy issued a statement on the same day, stating that the U.S. decision to impose tariffs was unfair, and Mexico would defend its interests.
The Palestinian Gaza Strip Health Ministry stated on the 12th that Israeli forces attacked several areas in the Gaza Strip on that day, killing at least 70 people and injuring 208. According to Palestinian media reports, Israeli forces attacked a crowd waiting for aid in Rafah on the 12th, killing at least 27 people. The Israel Defense Forces stated on the 12th that in the past 48 hours, Israeli forces carried out approximately 250 airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, including weapon storage facilities, tunnels, and anti-tank missile launch positions. In addition, Israeli media reported that four Israeli soldiers were injured on the 12th during a "security incident" while carrying out missions in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and Gaza City in the north. Significant Differences Between Israel and Hamas, Ceasefire Negotiations Make No Major Progress. According to Israeli media reports on the 12th, Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) have significant differences on the ceasefire issue, and no major progress has been made in the ceasefire negotiations held in Doha, Qatar. The report stated that Israel currently agrees to a partial withdrawal, but still demands control of about one-third of the Gaza Strip and the establishment of a buffer zone in the Rafah area to house Gaza Strip residents. Hamas stated that the Israeli proposal was not a true withdrawal, but a redeployment aimed at "legitimizing" Israel's occupation of nearly half of the Gaza Strip. Hamas will not abandon its demand for a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated on the 12th that Russian forces struck military industrial enterprises and military airfield infrastructure in Lviv, Kharkiv, and Lutsk, Ukraine, with all targets hit. Russian forces continued their offensive in the Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson directions. Russian air defense systems also intercepted nearly 200 Ukrainian drones. The Ukrainian State Emergency Service stated that from the evening of the 11th to the early morning of the 12th, Russian forces launched large-scale air strikes on Chernivtsi Oblast, Lviv Oblast, and other areas of Ukraine. Ukraine stated that the Russian military launched 26 missiles and 597 drones, and Ukraine shot down more than 20 missiles and most of the drones, with the attack causing damage to multiple facilities. In addition, Ukrainian media released a video on the 12th stating that the Ukrainian Air Force destroyed the last Russian military crossing in the Zaporizhzhia region. According to German media reports, a German Ministry of Defense official stated on the 11th that the first batch of hundreds of long-range missiles purchased by Germany will be delivered to Ukraine by the end of July. He did not specify the type of missiles delivered. In addition, other media cited informed sources as reporting that the European Union is considering establishing a new 100 billion euro fund for Ukraine to support the country. Hungarian Prime Minister Says Russian-Ukrainian Conflict Should Not Be Resolved by Military Force. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán recently stated that to promote a solution to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, it should not rely on military force, but on diplomatic efforts; European leaders should acknowledge their strategic failure.
Iran's Foreign Minister says cooperation with IAEA has not stopped. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stated at a meeting with foreign diplomats in Tehran on the 12th that the recent spread of radioactive material near Iranian nuclear facilities and the danger of unexploded ordnance caused by the recent Iran-Israel conflict are "serious." Amir-Abdollahian also said that Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency has not stopped, but will take new forms, and relevant cooperation will be conducted through Iran's Supreme National Security Council. Iran is willing to negotiate on its nuclear program, but will not accept any agreement that does not recognize its right to uranium enrichment. Floods rampant in various parts of Spain, UK hit by another heatwave. Recently, heavy rains have caused widespread flooding in many parts of Spain. On the 12th, the Spanish National Meteorological Agency issued a red alert for heavy rain in the autonomous communities of Catalonia and Aragon. On the same day, all railway services in Catalonia were suspended, and lines such as the high-speed rail connecting Barcelona and Madrid were also halted. In addition, according to the UK Met Office, most parts of England will experience high temperatures again this weekend, and the Met Office has issued an amber, or medium-level, heat alert for 6 regions. This is the third heatwave the UK has experienced this summer.
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