Thanks to expanding visa-free policies and favorable conditions like more manageable payment methods for international travelers, an increasing number of tourists are flocking to China.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson mentioned at a recent press conference that in the first seven months of 2024, the number of foreigners entering China through various ports exceeded 17 million, showing a year-on-year increase of 129.9 percent.
Based on data from the National Immigration Administration, the number of foreigners entering through visa-free entry channels reached 8.542 million in the first half of the year, showing a significant increase of 190 percent year-on-year.
Ctrip Group, a leading online travel agency in China, announced that net revenue in its unaudited financial performance for the second quarter of 2024 reached 12.8 billion yuan ($1.8 billion), a year-on-year increase of 14 percent.
Each traveler has a unique perspective and experience. A multitude of foreign tourists have shared their experiences of traveling in China online, with the traffic data surpassing 1 billion views. ChinaTravel has become a buzzword on social media.
So what have international travelers highlighted in their China travel experiences?
Many travelers have expressed shock and fascination after uncovering China's rich history and culture by visiting museums and historical sites and experiencing traditional activities. China's vast and diverse natural landscapes, from pristine forests to majestic mountains, have been captured in travel photos and praised by tourists for their scenic beauty. The modern achievements of China, including high-speed trains, intelligent city features, and green development, have left a deep impression on international visitors.
Foreign visitors often comment on the safety they feel while traveling in China, sharing personal anecdotes of feeling secure while exploring different parts of China, including late-night walks without fear of theft or assault. Female travelers, in particular, have reported feeling safe in China, noting that they do not experience the same level of street harassment as in some other countries.
Stories of friendly interactions with locals eager to help foreign visitors have contributed to a warm and welcoming atmosphere for tourists, reflecting their deep engagement with locals. These comments from international travelers and vloggers reflect a growing interest and positive reception toward travel in China.
Then what are the catalysts behind the boom in inbound tourism?
At a micro level, besides the 72/144 hours visa-free transit policy, Chinese consumer goods and services offer a globally leading cost-performance ratio and richness, enhancing the attractiveness of inbound tourism. As of July, the cumulative CPI in China since January 2020 was about 27 percent lower than that of the US, with the service industry CPI base index 17 percent lower than that of the US.
According to statistics from the online travel planning site Budget Your Trip, as of August, among global popular tourist destinations, the average daily travel expense in China is $80, with daily accommodation and dining costs being $69 and $23, respectively.
Accordingly, the resumption of flights has also been a contributing factor. As of August 5, the number of international flights has recovered to nearly 90 percent of 2019, marking a 45 percent increase compared to 2023.
According to data from the National Immigration Administration, by the second quarter of this year, the number of Chinese mainland entries and exits by residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan exceeded the level of 2019, and foreigners have recovered to 60 percent. Foreign tourists spend an average of 3,459 yuan per person per day in China, directly driving consumption to exceed 100 billion yuan.
With the goal of perfecting the modern tourism industry system and accelerating the construction of a strong tourism country, inbound tourism is expected to receive more policy support to unleash its limitless potential.
"In the 16-year history of the Beijing Fringe Festival, people have come and gone, but the young gaze, heartbeat and young feeling have always been there for the festival," said Meng Jinghui, artistic director of the Beijing Fringe Festival, on Wednesday night.
The annual fest for young theatergoers, which runs until October 7, will feature 15 theater works across 30 performances staged by young actors and producers across the city.
"Theaters for young people and international horizons are always at the central stage of the Beijing Fringe Festival," added Meng.
Among these performances are the opening shows, When Time Comes to the Second Half, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles and Homeland.
As 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France, French theaters will be highlighted at this year's fringe festival, Li Jianjun, the festival's program director, told the Global Times on Thursday.
In the Drama Online section, videos of outstanding theatrical works from the Festival d'Avignon will be screened during the festival.
Besides this, the Tribute to Molière section will host events such as recitations of Molière's classic plays, introductions by scholars, and screenings of Molière's plays.
Ever since 2014, the section 40 Hours V Drama has become the most challenging and exciting part of the Beijing Fringe Festival. Participating creators randomly select topics and complete creations in a designated space within a limited 48-hour window. They then take turns presenting their creative results on the stage. Professional judges and public judges voting and selecting awards at this year's event are sure to see fierce competition among young creators.
In one of the northern exhibition halls of the National Museum of China, a sculpture of a gargoyle, which was originally designed as a foremost part of the rainwater drainage system of Paris' famed Notre Dame cathedral, sits silently among orderly arranged devices, ready to accompany visitors on a journey between the past and the present, the virtual and the real.
With Notre Dame cathedral about to complete its restoration and reopen to the public in December after a massive fire, an immersive augmented reality (AR) exhibition depicting the cathedral's history of construction, destruction and reconstruction will kick off at the National Museum of China on Thursday.
The exhibition, jointly held by the museum and the Public Establishment in Charge of the Conservation and Restoration of Notre Dame de Paris and sponsored by the L'oreal Group, is also part of celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-France diplomatic ties and the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism.
Although this is a touring exhibition, the unique part of the stop at the National Museum of China is four original sculptures embellishing the cathedral and reflecting the mid-19th century taste for symbols and a fantasy Middle Ages, including a gargoyle, a chimera and a plant-covered human figure. The Chinese curatorial team of the National Museum put forward the idea of adding real cultural relics to the AR exhibition to enhance immersion and successfully reached an agreement with the French side.
"We would like to relate the history of the Notre Dame de Paris, a shared cultural legacy of the whole world with a novel digital method that has been approved and appreciated by younger generations," Zhu Xiaoyun, director of the Department of International Cooperation of the National Museum of China and the Chinese curator of the exhibition, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Zhu noted that the exhibition, a result of China-France cultural cooperation, interprets the meaning of exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations very well.
"Mutual learning refers to learning from each other's advantages. What the exhibition showcases regarding how a cultural legacy with a history of more than 800 years has been revived from fatal destruction provide us new insight into the museum's duty to conserve immovable cultural legacies," Zhu noted.
Stepping into the exhibition hall, visitors can use a provided tablet computer to travel across the ocean and through time to see the world of Notre Dame. There are over 20 cylinder-shaped tables set in the hall with a QR code pasted on each one. When scanning these codes with a tablet, a portion of a painting depicting the cathedral at different eras unfolds so that visitors can see the many details of its history, such as how its Gothic ceiling was built.
Building a private conversation with the cathedral throughout the exhibition, visitors can explore the secrets of its Gothic architecture, including its religious background and historical changes, in the virtual world by clicking the buttons on the screen. According to the curator, the information about the cathedral is so vast that it would take at least four hours to finish scrolling through the entire content on the tablet.
Four original fragments of the building are arranged among these devices, allowing visitors to shuttle between the virtual and real worlds and get closer to the essence of French culture.
"This was just a digital exhibition at the beginning in which we used new technology to introduce something that the public doesn't know very well. Now we also have real artifacts. This is important because we are using all these elements to recreate reality and to provide more information," Gergely László, director of operations and quality of French tech company Histovery and also the French curator of the exhibition, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Zhu said that cultural institutions in China and France have jointly launched a series of events to celebrate 2024's special anniversary and promote people-to-people exchanges. This year, the cultural symbol that is Notre Dame will be a messenger for this celebration.
The exhibition will travel to Hong Kong after the Beijing leg.
"I lost my son, essentially," American tech mogul Elon Musk said in an interview on July 22. He said in the interview that he was "tricked" into agreeing to trans-related medical treatment. The changes in his son led Musk to despise the "woke culture." Many right-wing individuals and Republicans in America share Musk's views on the so-called "woke culture," but for many left-wing individuals and Democrats, "woke culture" is seen as a progressive ideology. "Woke culture" has evolved into a cultural conflict surrounding identity politics in America, and this ideology has also spread to Europe, stirring up the political and social landscape. Obscure definitions
In recent years, Musk has been heavily critical of "woke culture," describing it as a threat to modern civilization and even stating that his previous acquisition of Twitter, now X, was to combat it. However, when asked to define what "woke culture" is, this tech giant's description was not accurate.
At a conservative breakfast meeting in Iowa on June 1, 2023, former US president Donald Trump stated, "I don't like the term 'woke' because I hear, 'Woke, woke, woke.' It's just a term they use, half the people can't even define it, they don't know what it is."
The Australian news website The Conversation commented that Trump's words "inadvertently highlighted the confounding and contradictory nature of American politics today."
"The term 'woke' can be either an insult or a marker of pride - it can shift depending on the context," said the article.
According to the Spanish newspaper El País, the term "woke" has been used for years to "describe those who are sensitive and involved in the struggle against social injustice, especially in US politics, but also in the politics of other countries following suit perhaps to a lesser degree."
"Woke was a label proudly worn by activists in pursuit of social and climate justice: From Black Lives Matter (BLM) to the #MeToo movement, and the fight against global warming. Woke seemed to advocate a new era of equality and justice," read the article.
It's been reported that many media and political figures have claimed that the "woke culture" is only about justice and decency. It showed that the country acknowledged the cruelty of its past and recognized that its past still shapes this country's present.
However, according to ABC News, "woke" is used as a derogatory term by some Republicans to refer to identity-based social justice issues pushed by some Democrats and progressives.
USA Today quoted a Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spokesperson who called "woke" a slang term for "progressive activism" and a "general belief in systemic injustices in the country."
Manhattan Institute scholar Zach Goldberg believes that "woke" signifies more than just "left-wing radicalism" and essentially involves believing that differences in outcomes between groups - whether based on race, "genders," or sexes - are largely a product of oppressive societal forces and structures, read the USA Today article.
In fact, the term "woke" was originally created by progressive African Americans and was used in the early to mid-20th century in the racial justice movement. According to the website of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, stay woke "became a watchword in parts of the black community for those who were self-aware, questioning the dominant paradigm and striving for something better."
The Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, an American popular record company, includes the protest song "Scottsboro Boys" sung by Lead Belly in the 1930s, in which the term "stay woke" is often considered to be the earliest source of the word. The "Scottsboro Boys" refers to nine black teenagers who were falsely accused, in 1931, of raping two white women in Alabama, and later eight of them were hastily sentenced to death. The case is one of the most famous civil rights cases in American history. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term "woke" became more widely used in 2014 as part of the BLM.
"The term 'woke' has become so divisive that it is harming support for the issue it is meant to be highlighting," according to Al Jazeera. "The broad use of the term has caused it to become heavily weaponized by both the left and the right, turning what was once a welcoming creed into a toxic and divisive word, particularly in Western countries including the US, Canada, the UK, and other European nations," it said.
A New York University student told the Global Times that today's "woke culture" has gone too far, with "woke" individuals always tending to label those who disagree with them as "conservatives" or "Trump supporters," and sometimes things that were acceptable to say the year before suddenly become "offensive" at the present time. Jason, an engineer living in New Jersey, believes that the so-called "woke culture" is a pseudo-concept created by American interest groups to incite division among the public in order to ensure their continued control over American society.
According to USA Today, Democrats seem to view this term as a badge of honor, while Republicans see it as something that must be stopped. The struggle over "woke culture" in the US has spread to various fields.
US right-wing vs 'woke capitalism'
Due to resistance from conservatives against "woke culture," the US has witnessed the emergence of an "anti-woke culture" movement, with Governor DeSantis as one of its leaders.
According to ABC, DeSantis enacted the "Parental Rights in Education" bill and the "Stop WOKE Act" in Florida, implementing policies that limit classroom discussions on race, oppression, gender, and sexual orientation. The state government also banned funding for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs on public university campuses and rejected the introduction of an Advanced Placement African American Studies course in state high schools.
Notably, the battle over "woke culture" in education is not confined to Florida. In 2023, more than 20 states across the US considered or approved new laws targeting DEI programs.
The term "woke capitalism" was coined by conservative columnist Ross Douthat in a 2018 New York Times article, defining it as corporations supporting progressive causes to maintain their societal influence. Some view the practice of casting black actors in traditionally white roles in films as an example of "woke capitalism."
LGBTQ+ rights have also become another "battleground" in US bipartisan conflicts. According to PBS in March 2023, since beginning his campaign, Trump has targeted LGBTQ+ communities, stating that if elected, he would sign executive orders to cut federal funding to schools promoting Critical Race Theory, transgender mental disorders, and other "inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content" to American teenagers.
In contrast, President Biden and Democrats, as reported by AFP, have signed multiple executive orders supporting LGBTQ+ rights. On June 15, 2022, Biden, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democratic leaders, met with LGBTQ+ representatives at the White House to show solidarity.
Wang Yufan, a scholar at the Department of American Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times that the popularity of "woke culture" and identity politics in the US is related to its economic inequality.
She explained that growing income inequality, with wealth concentrated among a few rich individuals, has increased economic pressure on the middle and low-income classes, who are more likely to support "woke culture" emphasizing fairness and justice. Identity politics has also become a crucial means for them to express themselves and strive for economic equality.
The Guardian noted that in the US, various groups, including whites, blacks, Latinos, and Asians, men and women, all feel attacked, bullied, persecuted, and discriminated against. Coupled with record inequality levels, identity politics is evident on both ends of the US political spectrum.
Wang believes that on one hand, "woke culture" and identity politics have raised public awareness of issues such as racial and gender discrimination, promoting social discussion and resolution, and playing a positive role in advancing social equality and inclusion.
On the other hand, "woke culture" has become a form of political correctness, being oversimplified and symbolized, leading to overcorrections. Additionally, the left's "woke culture" has faced backlash from right-wing conservatives, leading to more severe social divisions. The cultural wars between the two parties over "woke" and "anti-woke" have intensified political polarization, creating a vicious cycle.
Spreading across ocean
The concept and actions of "woke culture" born in the US have crossed the Atlantic, sparking an "anti-woke culture" movement in Europe.
According to an Independent report in December 2021, six months prior, most French people would have mistaken the term "woke" for the "wok" used in cooking, but by the end of 2021, the concept of "woke" had taken France by storm.
The French media reported that this term, originating from the American black rights movement, had not entered the French public's consciousness until 2021, when it appeared multiple times in political debates. For example, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo publicly stated that she would not base her campaign on "woke culture."
Many Western media outlets and politicians are highly wary of "woke culture." For instance, a 2021 article by Euronews argued that the ideology behind "woke culture" and "cancel culture" endangers European democracy. Al Jazeera also warned that "woke culture" can sometimes stifle meaningful causes. Additionally, many people have been "canceled" simply for expressing views differing from "woke culture."
Wang noted that similar to the US, the impact of "woke culture" in Europe is complex and diverse. On one hand, it has increased attention to racial equality and social justice in European countries.
On the other hand, it has also caused social divisions. "Woke culture" has led European societies to reckon with colonial histories and overemphasize identity, exacerbating group conflicts and social estrangement, causing a backlash from far-right forces, and promoting the rise of far-right parties in Europe.
China on Saturday expressed strong dissatisfaction and opposition to US' finalized steep tariff hikes on certain Chinese products, calling the US compounding mistakes and urging it to correct wrongdoings. It also vowed to take necessary measures to protect Chinese firms' interests.
The US announced on Friday that it has finalized sharp tariff hikes on certain Chinese products following a four-year review to "strengthen protections for strategic industries," despite opposition from various sectors. Analysts warned that this self-willed tariff hike will ultimately harm US industries in the long run.
"China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the tariff increase on certain Chinese products," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM) said on Saturday, noting that the US should immediately correct its wrongdoings and cancel all additional tariffs on Chinese products. China will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard the interests of Chinese enterprises.
China has repeatedly lodged serious representations to the US side on the Section 301 tariffs, and the WTO has already ruled that these tariffs violate its rules. Instead of addressing this, the US has further increased tariffs on Chinese products, compounding its mistakes, the spokesperson noted.
"The US Section 301 tariff measure is a typical unilateralism and protectionism. It not only seriously undermines the international trade order and the security and stability of global industrial chains and supply chains, but also fails to improve the US' trade deficit and industrial competitiveness. It also pushes up the prices of US imports, and the costs are ultimately borne by US companies and consumers," the spokesperson noted.
The tariff increase package under the Section 301 investigation on Chinese products included a 100 percent tariff on electric vehicles (EVs), a 50 percent tariff on photovoltaic cells, as well as a 25 percent tariff on EV batteries, ship-to-shore cranes, steel and aluminum products, beginning from September 27, according to a notice released by US Trade Representative's Office (USTR) on Friday.
A 50 percent duty on Chinese semiconductors is due to start in 2025.
The tariff increase decision leaves the top tariff increases announced by US President Joe Biden in May largely unchanged.
The spokesperson cited a report on WTO compliance by the US published by the MOFCOM on Thursday, which criticized Washington for undermining the multilateral trading system, engaging in unilateral trade bullying, applying double standards in industrial policy, and disrupting the global industrial and supply chains by politicization and weaponization of economic and trade issues, willfully wielding the "tariff baton" under the guise of "de-risking."
During a recent business visit by a Chinese delegation to the US, business communities from both countries called for upholding market principles and the spirit of contracts, opposing trade protectionism, and safeguarding the interests of enterprises on both sides. They also stressed the importance of maintaining the security, stability, and smooth flow of global industrial and supply chains, a spokesperson for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, China's trade promotion agency, said on Saturday, responding to the US finalized tariff hikes.
Back in May, US ports and terminal operators pushed back against the Biden administration's proposed 25-percent tariff on ship-to-shore cranes manufactured in China citing the added cost pressures the gateways would incur that could exceed $130 million, media reported.
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) in July urged the USTR office to reverse the decision to impose a 25 percent tariff on Chinese-built ship-to-shore cranes.
"Simply put, AAPA is confident that the tariff, if imposed, will not meet its stated objectives," said Cary Davis, AAPA's President and CEO, as posted on AAPA's website. "Instead, it will only result in negative outcomes, including grave harm to port efficiency and capacity, strained supply chains, increased consumer prices, and a weaker US economy."
"This is not about economics. From a trade perspective, there is no reason for the US to raise tariffs. The decision was made out of a generalized concept of 'national security.' This is purely a political act," He Weiwen, a senior fellow from the Center for China and Globalization, told the Global Times on Saturday.
It is not just American industries that have been opposing the tariffs. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) spokesperson criticized the move in May, saying it "can distort trade and investment, and fragment supply chains."
Back in July, the US postponed the implementation of increased tariffs on Chinese imports, originally set to take effect on August 1. Analysts pointed out that such a delay may be due to concerns among US businesses from various industries, which voiced strong opposition to the initial announcement of the tariff hikes on certain Chinese imports.
A spokesperson for MOFCOM said on September 5 that the Office of the USTR previously sought public comments regarding its tariffs review results, and most opinions were against imposing tariffs or applying for an expansion of tariff exemption, which demonstrates that the practice of the US is not well-received.
Extra tariffs are protectionist measures that are harmful to trade. They will affect American companies related to these products, as well as global companies in the supply chain of these products, Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times.
"The US approach is bound to be opposed by industries because when the US imposes tariffs, it is ultimately its consumers who bear the costs," said Li.
Analysts also emphasized that it would be difficult for the US to find substitutes for some Chinese products in the short term, or if possible, only at a significantly higher cost.
"The US approach is bound to be opposed by industries because when the US imposes tariffs, it is ultimately its consumers who bear the costs," said Li.
Analysts also emphasized that it would be difficult for the US to find substitutes for some Chinese products in the short term, or if possible, only at a significantly higher cost.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday signed a presidential order awarding national medals and national honorary titles to 15 individuals on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Four of the 15 individuals that were awarded the Medal of the Republic were Wang Yongzhi, a pioneer of China's manned space program, renowned medical scientist Wang Zhenyi, wheat breeding and agricultural strategy expert Li Zhensheng and veteran war hero Huang Zongde.
Dilma Rousseff, president of the New Development Bank and former Brazilian president, was awarded the Friendship Medal.
Ten individuals were awarded national honorary titles. Among them was Bayika Kalidibek, a border guard of Tajik ethnicity in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. His family has guarded the border for 70 years across three generations, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
His son, Laqini, continued the border duty but tragically sacrificed his life heroically while rescuing children trapped in an ice cave.
National honorary titles are given to individuals who have made significant contributions across various fields. Their outstanding achievements underscore the Party's and the country's remarkable progress since the founding of the People's Republic of China, analysts said.
The Friendship Medal is China's highest state honor for foreigners, reserved for those who have made outstanding contributions to China's modernization drive, promoting exchange and cooperation between China and the world, and safeguarding world peace, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Rousseff is the first woman to have held the Brazilian presidency, and maintained close relations with China during her tenure. After being appointed president of the New Development Bank, Rousseff has been making significant contributions to fostering exchanges and cooperation between China, Brazil, and other BRICS countries, Jiang Shixue, a professor at the Center for Latin American Studies at Shanghai University, told the Global Times on Friday.
At this special moment - when China is about to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China - honoring the foreign friend not only signifies an honor but also highlights the relationship between China and Brazil and our commitment to the BRICS nations, said Jiang.
China's top health authority on Thursday advocated people having marriage and childbirth at an appropriate age, called for increased efforts to create a more childbearing-friendly society, in response to the recent changes in the country's demographic development.
Yu Xuejun, deputy head of the National Health Commission (NHC), said at a press conference on Thursday that the new changes occurring in China's demographic development, including low birth rate, an aging population and regional population disparities, are a natural outcome of economic and social development at certain stages, reflecting global demographic transitions and broader trends of modernization.
Yu underscored the importance to optimize birth support policy system and incentive mechanisms, calling for persistent, long-term efforts from all localities to promote sustainable demographic development.
Yu said the NHC will focus more efforts on advocating marriage and childbirth at appropriate ages, as well as optimal childbearing practices. It will call for shared parenting responsibilities between spouses, aiming to guide young people toward positive perspectives on marriage, childbirth, and family, fostering a new culture of marriage and childbearing.
According to the latest statistical bulletin on the development of civil affairs in 2023 released by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs, a total of 7.68 million couples tied the knot throughout the year of 2023, marking a 12.4 percent increase compared to the previous year. This is the first rise in marriage registrations in nearly one decade, surpassing the 7.64 million marriages recorded in 2021, Chinese media Yicai.com reported.
He Yafu, an independent demographic expert who monitors marriage registration data, attributed the rise in marriage registrations in 2023 to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led many young people to delay their weddings until 2023.
He noted that the number of marriage registrations in the first half of 2024 decreased year-on-year, indicating that the post-pandemic compensatory effect has gradually faded.
He also mentioned another contributing factor: Many young people chose to get married in 2023 with the intention of having children in the auspicious Year of the Dragon in 2024, He told the Global Times on Thursday.
In 2023, 9.02 million babies were born, resulting in a birth rate of 6.39 per thousand people, according to National Bureau of Statistics.
China will continue to firmly promote high-level opening-up, create a market-oriented, rule-of-law and internationalized business environment, and provide more opportunities for enterprises from all countries, including EU members, said Mao Ning, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at on Wednesday commenting on a position paper published by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.
China remains, and will continue to be, a crucial engine driving global economic growth and a promising land for investment and business ventures from around the world, Mao further noted.
The remarks were made in response to a media request for comment on the European Business in China Position Paper 2024/2025 published by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (European Chamber) in Beijing. The latest position paper collected responses from more than 1,700 member companies of the chamber operating in China.
EU businesses remain highly committed to China, Jens Eskelund, president of the European Chamber, said at the launch of the position paper on Wednesday, indicating the importance of the Chinese market to many companies from the bloc.
The potential of Chinese market remains attractive, Eskelund told the Global Times, noting that China still has supply chain efficiency, and within many sectors, the technologies and efficiencies in China are very hard to find elsewhere.
The chamber head also mentioned several important efforts that the Chinese government has made, and how these efforts may inspire foreign businesses, including those from the EU.
European firms' perceptions of the Chinese business environment might be changing, yet they still have a shared interest in China's continued success, the chamber said.
Efforts have been noted in several areas including human resources and business travel, where the chamber said that "there was an early, welcome breakthrough with the extension of China's preferential individual income tax policy for foreign nationals, and the waiving of visa requirements for citizens from several EU member states."
The chamber also mentioned several other areas where the Chinese government's efforts have been noticeable including the digital and cyber areas, access to green energy, and investment promotion and facilitation in China.
While acknowledging the efforts of the Chinese government toward opening-up, the European Chamber's position paper was also filled with concerns such as China's "economic slowdown" and "overcapacity" in certain industries, claims that Chinese experts said do not "fully reflect the complete picture of China's current development."
"In recent years, due to changes in the external environment, China's economic development has indeed faced some challenges... there is also the background of China's overall economic transformation, including industrial upgrading and the elimination of outdated capacity," Cui Hongjian, a professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Wednesday, noting that during this economic transition period, there might be some impact on European businesses.
However, Cui noted that it is essential for EU companies to evaluate China's overall environment and development with a reasonable and long-term perspective.
"The Chinese market remains one of the most stable and highest-return markets for European companies, and this is undeniable," Cui said.
The US House of Representatives is speeding up voting this week on up to 28 bills that target China, touching on a slew of issues including Hong Kong-related affairs, and restrictions on Chinese biotech companies, drones and electric vehicles (EVs), in a move that Chinese experts see as weaponizing legislative measures and using China as a "bargaining chip" to gain more political points.
In response to a bill passed on Monday that aims to restrict business with Chinese biotechnology firms under the excuse of "national security," Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday voiced firm opposition to such discriminatory actions.
"China Week," a term coined by US media, shows all-out attempts to suppress China's development and influence to bolster American allies in the Asia-Pacific, according to media reports.
The bills include measures against Chinese biotech firms, EVs and drones, limiting Chinese nationals from purchasing farmland, more export controls, and reinstating an initiative to combat so-called espionage targeting US intellectual property.
The measures in the bills that relate to China mainly focus on restrictions concerning China's role in global supply chains, as the Republicans are trying to create obstacles for China in key areas aiming to limit China's development speed and influence, Lü Xiang, a research fellow from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
Given the recent visit by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to Beijing, which indicates the Biden administration's will to stabilize China-US ties, the US House's legislation aims to sabotage and undermine Democrats' performance on the diplomatic front and foster intra-party unity within GOP, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
"These bills only reflect the positions of some extreme anti-China figures, yet they could cause substantial damage to the stability of global supply chains and the interests of American businesses," Li said.
