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The Star
8 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Asian leaders voice concerns over US tariffs; call for greater unity among region's nations
Photo: China Daily/Xinhua HANOI/TOKYO (Xinhua):Political leaders and former heads of state from across Asia have expressed concerns over the US government's tariff policies, calling for greater unity among Asian nations to overcome shared challenges. Speaking at the 30th "Future of Asia" international forum held in Tokyo from May 29 to 30, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong warned that the current global trade order is under threat. He urged Asian countries to stand united in addressing trade issues arising from the US tariffs and emphasized the importance of expanding cooperation through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), particularly in trade and industry. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said that trade wars undermine a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based multilateral trade system, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable. He called for unity among nations facing tariff-related pressures. Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith underscored the importance of peaceful coexistence and mutual respect, noting that while Laos has limited trade with the United States, high tariffs could still impact its economy and investment climate. Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said U.S. tariffs are having a tangible effect on Vietnam's exports and investment. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad criticized the U.S. tariff measures, saying they could harm the American economy and drive up living costs domestically. Since its inception in 1995, the "Future of Asia" forum, hosted annually by Nikkei Inc., has served as a key platform for discussing regional cooperation. This year's forum focused on how the region can foster prosperity and economic growth through collaboration. - Xinhua
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Climate
- Time of India
Chinese paraglider reaches near-record heights, over 28,000 feet, by accident
A paraglider in China who had intended to simply test some equipment instead ended up unwittingly reaching barely survivable heights last week. Peng Yujiang, a 55-year-old paraglider in Gansu province, on Saturday morning flew nearly 8,600 meters above sea level -- more than 28,200 feet, or about 5.3 miles -- in the Qilian mountain range of northwest China's Qinghai and Gansu provinces, according to state media. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The episode was captured on a camera attached to his equipment and showed the harrowing conditions he experienced. Peng rose to a level almost on par with Mount Everest's summit and aviation flight paths. His face and body are covered in frost and ice in the video, which was originally posted to social media and later shared by Chinese state media. "I felt the lack of oxygen. My hands were frozen outside. I kept trying to talk on the radio," Peng said in a video recorded after the incident, according to Sixth Tone, an English-language, Chinese state-owned outlet. According to local news media, Peng was testing equipment as part of "ground handling training" -- a step that paragliders say is critical to managing safe launches -- at an altitude of 3,000 meters above sea level, or about 10,000 feet. But a strong wind suddenly lifted him into the sky. He could not control the glider or land as the draft grew stronger and he was pulled up above the clouds. Peng was apparently the victim of a potentially dangerous phenomenon that paragliders call "cloud suck," in which a pilot is rapidly drawn upward into a cloud. At extreme altitudes, people risk hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, because of the thin air. Severe hypoxia can cause organ damage or death. Still, Peng managed to land about 20 miles away from where he took off. In stable health and recovering from his surprise flight, he has since said, "Thinking about it still makes me quite scared," China Daily reported Thursday. The local sporting authority in Gansu province said Wednesday that Peng, who is a licensed paraglider, would be barred from the sport for six months; it also noted that flying activities at sites in the area would be suspended for an unspecified period, local news media reported. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But the association deemed Peng's incident an accident, based on his statement that he did not have a flight planned and was doing ground handling training, which does not require participants to register plans in advance, the reports said. A second pilot was also banned from flying for six months, because he released footage of the incident without permission, the authority's report said, according to the South China Morning Post. Peng was not the first paraglider to accidentally reach such extreme heights. In 2007, Ewa Wisnierska, a champion Polish paraglider who competed on the German national team, reached around 10,000 meters, or over 32,000 feet, accidentally breaking the paragliding height record on a practice flight in Australia, just days before the World Paragliding Championships. Her 6-mile ascent was treacherous, and she passed out in the air, eventually landing more than 50 miles away from where she took off, on a farm. Another paraglider who was caught in cloud suck that day did not survive. "Today, I still fly -- but just for pleasure and to give courses to the people who come to my paragliding school. Competing no longer makes any sense to me," Wisnierska told People magazine last year. "This definitely changed a lot of priorities and made me realize that there are much more important things in life than championship cups and medals. I often ask myself why was it that I survived and this other pilot did not?"
The Star
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Art Hong Kong Expo: Cultural leaders rally to promote HK's global hub vision
In this file photo dated Dec 19, 2024, artists from Guizhou province perform folk dances during the 'Night of Colorful Guizhou' session at the second Art Hong Kong Expo. - Provided to China Daily HONG KONG: Hong Kong enjoys ample strategic determination, as well as a global profile, together with enough policy and talent support to be a frontrunner of the future culture and creative industry, cultural pundits and government officials said on Friday (May 30). The remarks sparked ovations at a cross-boundary exchange session during a forum on Hong Kong's international cultural and creative industry, a highlight of the third edition of the Art Hong Kong Expo, which opened on Friday at AsiaWorld-Expo near the international airport. The four-day expo showcases the city's burgeoning culture and creative industries in a kaleidoscope of themes, ranging from cultural industry integration, digital cultural tourism, and low-altitude economy, to gaming and e-sports, digital creativity, international culture, Hong Kong-mainland culture exchange, intangible cultural heritage, and national trend cultural creativity. Addressing the forum, Raistlin Lau Chun, Hong Kong's undersecretary for culture, sports and tourism, underscored the city's resolve to elevate local characteristic brands such as 'Hong Kong Culture', 'Hong Kong Design' and 'Hong Kong Manufacturing', while strengthening ties with the Chinese mainland and international industry to help step up Hong Kong industrial players' influence in broader markets. 'My bureau will work hand-in-hand with the industry, leveraging government resources to better support creative projects that exhibit big industrial potential,' noted Lau. Recognising creative industries as the city's new economic booster, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government promulgated the Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development in 2024, aiming to turbocharge the city's establishment of a conducive industry ecosystem and as a platform for international arts and cultural exchanges. Two dedicated government funding programmes — the Film Development Fund for moviemakers and the CreateSmart Initiative for other creative sectors — have respectively approved a cumulative total of over HK$1.3 billion ($165.7 million) and about $3.4 billion in funding that benefited more than 120 film projects and 30,000 enterprises since their establishment, according to the 2025-26 budget. Ding Wei, deputy general manager of the Bauhinia Culture Holdings Limited — the expo's advisor — highlighted Hong Kong's strategic strength as both a 'cultural reception room' for Chinese civilization to engage with the globe and a 'crucial pivot' where international creative resources converge. 'Hong Kong's highly open economic system, international financial platforms, and strong business networks, made it deeply integrated with the global creative ecosystem,' noted Ding. 'This is where Eastern and Western cultures interact and merge, where tradition and modernity shine in mutual glamour.' John Howkins, a leading mover in the global development of creative economies, who is also program leader and academic advisor at the University of Hong Kong's Institute for China Business, added an optimistic note. Hong Kong's greatest asset lies in its free flow of creative talents, said Howkins. He noted that true creativity thrives on free exchange of ideas, and being a regional transport hub with world-class universities offering high-quality programs in the field, Hong Kong is advantageously positioned to attract top faculty and students who can contribute to its creative landscape. - China Daily/ANN
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Following their 'Footprints'
'My China Album' event celebrates discovery journeys by US citizens WASHINGTON, May 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The following article was published today by China Daily. China and the United States each has strengths in science and technology, and the right path forward is mutual learning and cooperation for shared success, Beijing's top envoy in Washington said on Wednesday, as the US announced new curbs on tech exports. "Blockades never prevent breakthroughs; churning waves won't hold back determined ships," Ambassador Xie Feng said at the premiere of the documentary My China Album — My China Footprints and the Glimpses of Modern China show. The event celebrated the sixth edition of "My China Album", an annual initiative co-hosted by the embassy and China Daily, featuring personal stories, short films and interactive exhibits that explore US citizens' experiences in China. Washington ordered a broad swath of companies to stop shipping goods — including design software, machine tools and aviation equipment — to China without a license and revoked licenses already granted to certain suppliers, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The new restrictions followed earlier US guidelines seeking to globally restrict the use of Chinese advanced computing chips. In a rare showcase in Washington of China's robotics technology, a 1.3-meter-tall humanoid robot, developed by Chinese tech company Unitree Robotics, invited Xie to the stage at the start of Wednesday's event at the embassy. "So cute. I never thought that I would be invited on stage, you know, by a robot. So who knows, maybe one day it will be the one standing here giving the speech," Xie quipped. He noted China's pursuit of innovation is not to oppose or out-compete anyone, but to improve the lives of its own people and the greater development of humanity. "A big yard with iron curtains only leads to isolation; blocking other countries slows global innovation; and weaponizing scientific collaboration harms one's own credibility and weakens competitiveness," Xie said, without mentioning any of the fresh US curbs. But he did recall the past feats the two countries made in science and tech exchange. They include joint efforts to promote folic acid intake that helped millions of newborns, and helping Africa combat Ebola. Most recently, China shared lunar soil samples from the Chang'e 5 mission with Brown University and Stony Brook University. In his speech, Xie noted that China is using technology to improve lives at home and around the world. He highlighted China's advances in green development and technology, noting that over 87 percent of days in China last year had good air quality, and the country created one-quarter of the world's new green spaces. China has also built the world's largest renewable energy system, employing nearly half of the global workforce in the sector. Its solar and wind products are exported to over 200 countries and regions, helping cut global carbon emissions by over 3.6 billion tons. Xie also pointed to DeepSeek, an open-source AI model, as an example of China's openness and contribution to global progress, offering hope for bridging the digital divide in the Global South. The ambassador also said that it is people-to-people ties that invigorate China-US relations. "The future of this relationship ultimately depends on the two peoples. We warmly welcome more American friends to travel in China, shop in China, succeed in China and take part in Chinese modernization," he said. In addition to the feature-length documentary My China Footprints, Wednesday's event also featured four short films, telling stories that are diverse, yet unified by a common thread — the powerful impact of people-to-people exchange. In My City, My Home, the audience met Charles Stone, a lawyer who discovered tranquility and safety in Shenzhen, and Neil Schmid, a researcher deeply engaged with the ancient Buddhist art of Dunhuang. Welcome to the Future took viewers on a journey through China's technological achievements — from the speed of sleek bullet trains to the everyday convenience of QR code payments — as seen by students like Ruthie Fike and content creators like BeeRose. Common stereotypes Meanwhile, Misconceptions vs. Reality offered a refreshing counter-narrative to common stereotypes. It followed Dustin Madison, who was surprised to find Shenzhen especially welcoming for families, and Katherine Loraine Olson, who explored China's abundant green spaces. The final short film, City or Not City, documented the whirlwind travels of Thelma Lancaster and Evan Kail, who made full use of China's extended 240-hour visa-free transit policy to explore Beijing and Tianjin, immersing themselves in the culture despite a brief visit. "These stories matter because they remind us of what's possible. Yes, tensions exist in China-US relations — trade disputes and the technology barriers created by the US dominate news headlines — but cooperation and friendship remain the bigger story," Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, said in a video speech. Citing President Xi Jinping's remarks that "the hope of the China-US relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in our societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels", Qu said that projects like "My China Album" prove this to be right. "From Bill Einreinhofer, who is at the event today, sharing his Emmy-winning insights, to tech firms like Rokid showcasing innovation, tonight's event reflects that vitality," Qu said. "China Daily is proud to amplify these voices, showing a real, vibrant China to America." More than 200 people, including people from all walks of life in the US, attended the event. In the Glimpses of Modern China show, participants were wowed by a dancing robot dog from Unitree that can walk on two legs and shake hands with visitors. There was also a robot that could do Chinese kung fu, and also help people with fire and earthquake detection. At the demonstration site of Rokid, a Hangzhou-based AR (augmented reality) glasses maker, Spanish and English-speaking visitors found that they had no difficulty talking with the Rokid staffers, who spoke Chinese with them. The AI-powered glasses can translate more than 100 languages in real time. By ZHAO HUANXIN in Washington View original content: SOURCE China Daily USA Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Bound by friendship: The sisterhood of Edinburgh and Shenzhen
'Sometimes you can sign sister-city partnerships, but they don't mean very much because there's nothing behind them. But this is not one of those,' said Donald Wilson, a former Lord Provost of Edinburgh, on the twinning between Shenzhen and Edinburgh. At first glance, the two cities may seem worlds apart. However, those who know both well echoed that they share similar traits — open, vibrant, inclusive, and innovative — qualities deeply rooted in their respective histories of breaking the mold and bringing in the new. Along the journey of building this bridge, those who worked tirelessly to turn nothing into something have also forged unbreakable bonds — so close, they now call each other brothers and sisters. In this episode of City Dance by China Daily, join us as we explore the unique friendship between Shenzhen and Edinburgh, celebrating its sixth anniversary this May.
