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Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in Beijing on Friday. De Croo's visit to China is one of the most important high-level contacts between China and the EU this year, following the visits to China by European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in December.

The visit highlights the ongoing dialogue and interaction between China and the EU, especially as Belgium recently assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union and De Croo will be in a pivotal position to coordinate the EU's policy agenda for the next six months.

EU's relationship with China is complex and multifaceted, with differences between the two sides in a number of areas, including trade imbalances and subsidies, and the conflict in Ukraine. However, these specific issues are set against the backdrop of broader geopolitical and global power shifts that have caused unease in the EU.

Europeans are increasingly aware of China's growing presence on the global stage, not only in the economic sphere but also in the technological and geopolitical spheres.

The changing relationship between the three poles of China, the US and Europe is not a new phenomenon. While the US continues to lead, China and the EU are playing an increasing role on the global stage, which has become more pronounced in the wake of the advancement of Europe's strategic autonomy and the rise of China.

As an ally of the US, the EU continues to be highly concerned about China's rise. This is well illustrated by comparing the covers of two issues of The Economist, a British weekly newspaper, which in 2013 featured the threat of China's carbon emissions to the World. In 2024, the cover showed the new threat of China's lead in green technologies. 

If you imagine China, the US and the EU as three runners on a track, the US is still leading, and China is occasionally ahead of the EU, but most of the time, it is the other way around. It's often the second-place runner that's more anxious.

This race scene also shows us the difference between US and European policy toward China. 

The EU is currently focused on decreasing reliance on foreign high-end technology suppliers, particularly to avoid being surpassed or replaced by China in critical areas, while also implementing protective measures to counter the impact of Chinese manufacturing on the European market. In contrast, the US strives to uphold its global dominance in high-tech fields and key manufacturing areas by constraining China.

The outcome of this competition is different from what the US expected: Rather than rebuilding supply chains to exclude Chinese manufacturing, each player seeks to consolidate and strengthen its position in existing supply chains.

"Decoupling" and "breaking the chain" are not feasible. It is improbable that either party can construct a new, fully independent global supply chain. If the EU adopts the US approach toward China, it may end up more reliant on the US and suffer the most damage among the three parties.

As the EU follows the US containment policy toward China, especially in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, it risks losing a lucrative market with the strongest end-product manufacturing capacity, widening the gap with the US.

The EU's strategic dilemma with China also reflects its strategic dilemma with the US. The EU aims to be the leading global economy but also wants to maintain reliance on the US, strategically using the alliance to build its own influential position globally.

The EU needs to define its approach to China independently. This doesn't mean the EU should draw a clear line with the US, but there is a need for a more pragmatic, rational and comprehensive attitude when considering its relationship with China. It should not always focus on competition with China and ignore the widening gap with the US.

If the EU can more frequently consider its relationship with China from a different perspective, then both China and Europe have competitive and cooperative aspects, with the latter potentially reducing the gap between the two sides and the US, thereby bringing stability to the world's multipolarization.

Therefore, creating more connections between the EU and China is crucial. With more bridges, there will be more roads, improved communication and better understanding. China and EU can establish a new relationship that will support balanced global development.

China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged the US to abide by the one-China principle, stop sending wrong signals to Taiwan secessionists, and refrain from interfering in the Taiwan's regional leader election in any form, after reports disclosed that the Biden administration will dispatch a delegation comprised of former senior officials to the island of Taiwan shortly after the island's regional leader election to be held on Saturday.

Chinese experts noted that the US' scheme would be destructive to China-US relations, and is highly likely to trigger countermeasures from the Chinese side, which has reiterated the core significance of the Taiwan question.

Citing people familiar with the plan, the Financial Times (FT) said in a Wednesday report that the White House has tapped James Steinberg, a former Democratic deputy secretary of state, and Stephen Hadley, a former Republican national security adviser, to lead the bipartisan delegation to Taiwan island. 

The FT report said that the purpose of sending the delegation is to ensure Washington was "communicating clearly" with the winning and losing candidates about US policy and the "uniqueness of the unofficial relationship" between the US and Taiwan island.

The Associated Press (AP) said sending the delegation is the "most effective way" to engage the newly-elected authorities and convey US policy.

One senior administration official said that the delegation "will convey the importance of ties" between the US and Taiwan island and also reiterate Washington's "one-China policy," CNN reported, noting that exact composition of the delegation was still being determined, per senior administration officials it reached. 

"Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. China always firmly opposes any form of official exchanges between the US and Taiwan authorities," Mao Ning, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. 

The US side should earnestly abide by the one-China principle, prudently and properly handle the Taiwan question, stop sending any wrong signals to Taiwan secessionists, and refrain from interfering in the Taiwan regional elections in any form, so as to avoid causing serious damage to China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, Mao said. 

She added that China will take resolute and forceful measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Lü Xiang, an expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the US releasing such a message a few days before the Taiwan regional election is a move apparently aimed at appeasing secessionists on the island, and encouraging voters "not to be afraid to support secessionists."

US tricks cannot change the overall situation of the Chinese mainland seizing the initiative of the cross-Straits situation, Lü said, "China stays focused and will make all kinds of contingency plans. If the US crosses the red line, China will definitely take firm countermeasures."

Citing one former US official, the FT report noted that sending the delegation to Taipei right after the election was a "risky move that could backfire."  

Diao Daming, an expert on US studies at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday that disclosing the planning of the trip ahead of the Taiwan regional leader election may suggest that the US believes that whoever takes office can be used by the White House to implement the US' "Indo-Pacific" strategy. 

"If secessionist Lai Ching-te is elected, it will carry out more risk management, and if KMT's Hou Yu-ih is elected, the US will hold him back from getting too close with the mainland," he explained. 

But Washington should be aware that if there is any reaction from the Chinese side, it is the result of US actions, said Diao, "Instead of being concerned about the China's countermeasures, the US should follow through on its promise [on Taiwan question]."

The US move also came amid recent increased interactions between China and US to stabilize strained ties. 

Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visited the US this week, urging it to abide by its commitment to not support "Taiwan independence."

At the Carter Center Forum commemorating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-US diplomatic relations on Tuesday, Xie Feng, Chinese Ambassador to the US, reiterated that the Taiwan question is the most important and sensitive question in China-US relations.

China hopes to maintain stability in the Taiwan Straits and does not want to see a conflict between China and the US over the Taiwan question, but the premise is that the US cannot cross the red line, otherwise China will definitely respond in a "tit for tat" manner, Lü said 

China's communication with the US on the Taiwan question is entirely a manifestation of goodwill,Lü said,"If one day China no longer talks about the Taiwan question with the US, it means that China does not consider Washington to be a factor, then the situation will be irreversible."

The Caixin services purchasing managers' index (PMI), a private gauge of the country's service sector, rose to 52.9 in December, increasing 1.4 percentage points over the previous month and hitting the highest level in the past five months, according to a private survey released on Thursday.

The index for service activity remains above the expansion-contraction line for consecutive 12 months in 2023, indicating the continuous rebound of the country's service sector, according to the Caixin report.

"It signaled the country's service sector has strong and improved growth momentum at the end of 2023, as the PMI readings have kept going up over time ," read the report, noting that both services supply and demand expanded, as the market continued to recover. The gauges for business activity and total new orders have seen a considerable growth in the past six months.

Meanwhile, companies and entrepreneurs expressed greater optimism over the year-ahead outlook. Employment has also ticked up, the first recorded improvement in past three months, though some firms have maintained cautious approach to hiring.

The latest COVID-19 variant JN.1 is spreading around the world, leading to growing concerns in Chinese society, following a recent severe wave of respiratory infections. Chinese experts estimate that the variant will cause more infections in the near future, but it is not likely to seriously worsen the current situation.

Named JN.1, this variant was first identified in Luxembourg, before spreading to the UK, Iceland, France, and the US.

By the end of October, JN.1 made up less than 0.1 percent of SARS-CoV-2 viruses circulating in the US. But as of December 8, 2023, the ratio climbed to 15-29 percent, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The US estimated that COVID-19 infections are likely to increase in the next month.

Data in the UK also suggested that the variant is spreading more than every other known strain, making up one in 13 cases in England last month.

The JN.1 variant is part of the BA.2.86 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, with an additional L455S mutation in the RBD region. Early studies have shown that BA.2.86 has similar immune escape capabilities as the XBB variants. However, recent research has found that the L455S mutation in the JN.1 variant further enhances its immune evasion ability, allowing it to partially escape the humoral immune response induced by XBB.1.5 breakthrough infections, Lu Hongzhou, head of the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

According to current research, BA.2.86, first identified in August 2023, carries more than 30 mutations in the spike (S) protein compared to the XBB and BA.2 variants, indicating high potential for immune evasion.

Another name of JN.1 is BA.2.86.1.1 and there is only a single change between JN.1 and BA.2.86 in the spike protein, according to current research.

A recent study by Japanese scientists published on bioRxiv on December 8 evaluated the virological characteristics of the omicron subvariant JN.1, which shows robust immune evasion ability compared to other variants. This could be due to the acquisition of the L455S mutation in the spike protein. The study noted that JN.1 has the ability to become a dominant variant worldwide in the future.

But so far, there is no evidence that JN.1 presents an increased risk to public health compared to other variants, according to the US CDC.

Currently, the XBB variant of COVID-19 is still the main strain of the local infections in China. Many clinical doctors told the media that they had witnessed an increase in COVID-19 infections recently and they predicted this wave of infections will last till late January 2024 with mortality and severe illness rates likely to increase.

"Since December last year, SARS-CoV-2 has been co-circulating with other respiratory pathogens in China, leading to many domestic residents in the country having experienced two or even three infections. Existing research data indicates that such infection experiences can generate strong and broad-spectrum neutralizing antibodies against different subvariants of Omicron. Furthermore, although JN.1 has increased immune escape ability, there is currently no evidence to suggest an increase in the pathogenicity of the JN.1 variant," Lu explained.

"Therefore, we speculate that the future prevalence of JN.1 in our country may temporarily increase the number of COVID-19 patients and burden hospitals, but it will not significantly worsen the ongoing respiratory disease outbreaks," he said.

Lu reiterated the necessity of vaccination as it is an effective method to improve the speed and intensity of antibody production, providing better protection for the body.

Authorities in multiple cities across China such as Shanghai and Tianjin have sent notices to advise local residents to take COVID-19 vaccines targeting the XBB variant, urging eligible individuals to get the vaccine in a timely manner to enhance their protection against the virus.

Train tickets for the first day of the upcoming New Year's Day holidays went on sale on Saturday, with some popular routes sold out within seconds, data from online travel platforms showed.

As of 10 am, multiple train services departing from Beijing to cities of Zhengzhou and Wuhan, from Nanjing to Hefei and Hangzhou, among others, were already sold out. Notably, tickets for several popular routes were sold out within seconds, Tongcheng Travel Holdings said in a statement it sent to the Global Times.

This year's New Year's Day holidays extends from December 30, 2023, to January 1, 2024.

According to an analysis by the Tongcheng Research Institute, the combination of family visits and tourism during the upcoming holidays, coupled with the popularity of "ice and snow" tourism, is expected to increase traffic on high-speed rail routes from cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Zhengzhou to popular winter destinations including Harbin, Shenyang, Urumqi, and Hulun Buir.

Additionally, there is anticipated high demand for dedicated "ski trains" from Beijing to Zhangjiakou in North China's Hebei Province during the holiday period, Tongcheng said.

An earlier report released by Tongcheng showed that travel enthusiasm for the New Year's Day holidays has seen a year-on-year increase of 465 percent in the seven days leading up to Monday.

In addition, higher hotel booking volumes for the New Year's Eve were observed in cities like Harbin, Nanjing, Wuhan, Shanghai, and Beijing, travel platform Qunar said in a statement it sent to the Global Times on Saturday.

Over the past few days, many travelers have already begun making reservations for tickets through third-party platforms. As of Friday, the pre-booked travel orders for 2024 New Year's Day holidays' train tickets have shown a remarkable 194-percent year-on-year increase compared to the same period last year, according to data from the online travel agency Trip.com.

With the holidays approaching and the "ice and snow" tourism season gaining momentum, enthusiasm for travel remains unabated despite falling temperatures, promising to further stimulate consumption growth, experts said.

A Beijing resident surnamed Yao told the Global Times that he had booked tickets for his family to Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The primary purpose is to visit his parents at home, and additionally, they plan to take their four-year-old son to the Harbin Ice-Snow World. He said that this would be his son's first visit to the theme park, with the entire family eagerly anticipating the trip.

Another Beijing-resident surnamed Fu said that she plans to go skiing in Zhangjiakou with her friends during the upcoming holiday. "Skiing, hot springs, and gourmet food will be the three main themes of our trip," Fu told the Global Times.

The New Year's Day holidays is a traditional golden season for consumption. Meanwhile, it is the first complete winter consumption season after the pandemic, and it is expected to extend retail spending momentum of consumption in the year, driving a spike in winter-themed spending, Zhang Yi, CEO of iiMedia Research Institute, told the Global Times on Saturday.

Per data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday, the service industry experienced rapid growth in November, as year-on-year growth of the national service industry production index came in at 9.3 percent, accelerating 1.6 percentage points compared to the previous month.

Breaking down by industry, the production index of the accommodation and catering industry increased by 30.6 percent year-on-year, showing a 9.3 percentage point acceleration compared to the previous month.

Total retail sales of consumer goods reached 4.25 trillion yuan in the month, representing a year-on-year growth of 10.1 percent, accelerating by 2.5 percentage points compared to October, NBS data showed.

In recent years, the "ice and snow" consumption season has been rapidly growing across China, especially in the northern regions. It typically kicks off in winter and extends through to the following spring, Zhang said.

China's "ice and snow" consumption market has now developed a relatively complete consumer ecosystem, including tourism, sports, related equipment, and culture, he said, noting that compared to summer consumption, the development of "ice and snow" consumption has only recently gained steam but it possesses strong potential for future growth.

Rescue and disaster relief forces, medical teams and urgent supplies are pouring into Northwest China's Gansu Province and the neighboring Qianghai Province after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted a Gansu county at a depth of 10 kilometers at 11:59 pm Monday, causing 127 deaths as of press time.

More than 700 people were injured in the two provinces and dozens more were reported missing; more than 155,000 houses were damaged or collapsed, according to media reports. Infrastructure related to water, electricity, telecommunication, and roads around the epicenter of Jishishan county of Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu have also been damaged to varying degrees.

President Xi Jinping has urged all-out search and rescue efforts and proper arrangements for affected people to ensure the safety of people's lives and property. He also urged allocation of relief supplies to the affected regions as soon as possible, repair of damaged infrastructure such as electricity, communications, transportation and heating, and proper accommodation of the affected people to ensure their basic living needs, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.    

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management allocated on Tuesday 200 million yuan ($28 million) of central emergency response fund to the quake-stricken areas.

The State Council's Earthquake Relief Command and the Ministry of Emergency Management have raised the national earthquake emergency response to Level II. The national disaster relief emergency response has also been elevated to Level III.

A Y-20 large transport aircraft from the Air Force of the People's Liberation Army Western Theater Command arrived in Lanzhou, capital city of Gansu, on Tuesday noon to deliver the emergency command group and supplies.

China's home-developed Wing Loong-2H emergency relief unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) have also been deployed, the Global Times learned from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China. Upon arrival at the disaster zone, the drones will carry out emergency communication support and disaster reconnaissance, among other tasks.

More than 1,500 firefighters, 1,500 police officers, and 1,000 PLA soldiers have been dispatched to the disaster-stricken area, Gansu authorities revealed. Coordinating departments also urgently transported the first batch of emergency supplies to the affected region, including cotton tents, folding beds, blankets, stoves, and more.

The National Health Commission (NHC) sent out a team of medical experts and ordered medical teams from nearby provinces to assist the affected region. More than 100 ambulances were dispatched to transfer the injured.

NHC is working together with local medical staff to systematically screen for hidden injuries, and has already developed individualized diagnosis and treatment plans.

A total of 386 medics from hospitals within Gansu have formed 19 teams to aid the rescue and treatment in Jishishan county and other places in Linxia prefecture.

According to Xinhua, 279 out of 314 telecommunication base stations in Jishishan county have resumed operation and power supply returned for 88 percent of local households as of Tuesday afternoon.

At a temporary shelter in Dahe village, Jishishan coutnty, the Global Times saw local government staff preparing hot food, drinks and instant noodles for victims. About 130 tents were built and each can accommodate five people.

Dahejia Middle School is located in the severely affected Jishishan county. The school principal, surnamed Ma, told the media that all 2,100 students and 190 teachers have safely returned home without injuries. "We have conducted frequent drills at our school for fire and earthquake safety. In critical situations, our teachers were able to quickly evacuate the students," Ma said, adding that more than 1,500 students and all the teachers in school live on campus.

The principal recalled that when the tremor began late Monday night, they first heard a loud bang and then realized that the entire building was shaking. "The teachers soon found that many doors couldn't be opened as they were deformed by the quake. Several male teachers worked together to strike open all the doors." As the school lost power amid the quake, students helped each other by shaking everyone awake, while the teachers ran into each dormitory to evacuate the students. "It only took about 5 minutes to evacuate the entire school," Ma said.

Preliminary analysis of the cause of the earthquake indicates a thrust rupture. Within a 200-kilometer radius of the epicenter, there have been three quakes measuring magnitude 6 or higher since 1900.

There also remains possibility of strong aftershocks with magnitude 5 or higher in the epicenter in the coming days, based on seismic zone analysis, local officials in Gansu warned.

Hours after the quake in Gansu, another 5.5-magnitude quake struck the city of Artux in the neighboring Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region at 9:46 am on Tuesday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. No casualties have been reported as of press time.

Relief complex

Analysts explained that the relatively large casualties and losses resulted from its high intensity and the shallow depth of epicenter. The seismic resistance of the affected-region's buildings is lower than that of the developed regions, the epicenter is a densely populated county, and the timing of midnight also aggravated the situation.

Secondary disasters also pose challenges to the disaster relief. Mountain landslide occurred in a village in Minhe county neighboring Jishishan, which trapped residents and buried several houses.

Yan Wei, deputy director of China's civilian rescue organization the Blue Sky Rescue Team's Gansu branch, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the disaster situation in the local region is severe as 70 to 80 percent of the houses have collapsed in areas around the epicenter.

Yan said that local communication and transportation were also damaged to different degrees, but rescue vehicles are still able to reach the epicenter despite the damages.

Experts reached by the Global Times also warned that the sweeping cold wave and the drastic drop in temperatures have posed another major challenge. The typical golden rescue time window for earthquakes is 72 hours, but this time it is likely to be shortened due to the bitter cold weather, analysts said.

The temperatures drop to -14 C at night, which is a big problem, said Yan. "Many villagers were left without shelters after their houses collapsed. The rescue forces, right after arrival, started building hundreds of tents. They also provided instant noodles and hot water. The situation is improving."

Malaysian artist Mohamad Rusli Bin Ahmad makes a kite during an intangible cultural heritage exhibition on the Maritime Silk Road in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Dec. 9, 2023.(Photo: Xinhua)

South Korean soccer star Son Heung-min's goal celebration in their 3-0 away win over China on Tuesday aroused controversy on Chinese social media.

Chinese team was defeated by South Korea in their second group match of the second stage of 2026 World Cup Asian Zone qualifiers held in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province. 

Spurs star Son, who captains South Korean national team, bagged a first half brace before setting up teammate Jung Seung-hyun to add a third, putting South Korea on top of the group and in pole position to a secure spot at the 2026 World Cup.

However, Son's goal celebration caused uproars on Chinese social media with fans saying his gesture is highly disrespectful to the crowd. 

Playing in front of a sell-out crowd of more than 40,000 in Shenzhen, Son opened the scoring with a penalty on the 11th minute. In celebration, the man of the match rushed close to the stand and made a gesture of shushing to the Chinese fans. The gesture was met with jeers from the crowd.

Chinese strikers Wu Lei and Tan Long immediately went to argue with Son on the pitch over his provoking gesture.

"We need to respond to Son's disrespectful gesture by scoring and winning the match," said one user on China's Twitter-like platform Sina Weibo.

"It was a really difficult game today and obviously coming to China, it's a great experience and they have amazing fans," said Son after the match.

Having defeated Thailand 2-1 in the first match, China now stands third in Group C, level on points with the second-placed Thailand.

The top two teams from the nine groups progress to the third qualifying stage for the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Chinese golfer Li Linqiang finally won his third championship trophy at the Guotai Cup Men's Professional Match Play on Sunday after four days of fierce competition in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province.

Hosted by the China Golf Association and the Henan Provincial Sports Bureau, the Guotai Cup is a 72-hole stroke play competition with a total prize as high as 500,000 yuan ($68,083) and attracts over 100 players from ten countries and regions, including 12 champions of China Tours.

Li said that it was a close match, as two other players in the same group had huge potential, but he finally won the match.

Zhang Xiaoning, chairman of the China Golf Association, stated before the game that continuing the China Tours is key to the development of professional golf in China. The China Golf Association actively unites and mobilizes the forces of all parties, plans a blueprint for professional events, and strives to build China's own professional tour.

After disqualification in the 100m hurdles final sparked widespread discussion, Chinese national team athlete Wu Yanni posted an apology on Monday, expressing respect for the referee's final decision, and a determination to face failure and start over. 

Chinese netizens expressed support for Wu and encouraged her to prepare better for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

According to media reports, an unexpected incident occurred in the women's 100m hurdles final at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Sunday. After the gun went off, Wu appeared to have set off early. 

Following discussion, the referees decided to let all the athletes compete first and make the judgment afterwards. In the end, Chinese athlete Lin Yuwei crossed the finish line first with a time of 12.74 seconds, achieving a personal best. Wu closely followed with a time of 12.77 seconds, finishing second. However, the referee panel ultimately made the decision to disqualify Wu from the event.

"I am very sorry that my result was disqualified due to a false start, disappointing everyone's expectations. I deeply apologize to all my friends who have supported me and to the competitors in tonight's race. I respect the referee's final decision, respect the rules and the competition, and congratulate my teammates and opponents who finished the race," Wu wrote on her official account on Weibo, Chinese Twitter-like social media platform. 

After the race, my coach and I have conducted a preliminary review. I need to improve my starting technique and adjust my mentality. I have burdened myself with a heavy load, which ultimately crushed me. But I will not give up. What sports has taught me is to get up where I fall, accept failure, face failure, and start over, Wu said in the post.  

Netizens expressed their support and encouragement for Wu, with one saying that "mistakes in sports competitions can be understood, but what's more important is the intention to bring glory to the country. Wherever you fall, get up from there. We hope Wu can adjust her mentality and strive for the Paris Olympics."