The US Department of Commerce has launched anti-dumping and countervailing investigations into certain tungsten shot sourced from China, according the website of China Trade Remedies Information on Thursday, in the latest example of Washington's intensifying protectionism.
The investigations were initiated Wednesday at the request of Tungsten Parts Wyoming Inc, and the US International Trade Commission (ITC) is expected to make preliminary determinations by August 26, the US Department of Commerce said in an announcement.
In 2023, China exported more than 5.9 million kilograms of tungsten shot to the US, worth about $10.88 million, according to the announcement.
According to a post by US-based law firm Harris Sliwoski LLP, Tungsten Parts Wyoming Inc only began production in 2023, and instead of arguing that the Chinese imports have injured or threaten to injure them, the petitioner is asking ITC and the US Department of Commerce to find that the establishment of the US industry has been "materially retarded" by "unfair" Chinese imports.
This is only one of the latest anti-dumping or countervailing probes the US has launched against Chinese products.
On Monday, the US Department of Commerce announced anti-dumping tariffs between 21.77 percent and 218.15 percent on more than a dozen Chinese companies for exports of glass wine bottles to the US. The preliminary ruling followed an anti-dumping investigation into glass wine bottles from China, Chile and Mexico, according to the China Trade Remedies Information website.
While these cases are relatively small compared to the US' arbitrary tariffs and even outright bans against Chinese products, they reflect Washington's relentless protectionism, which continues to threat not just trade with China but global trade as a whole.
Highlighting growing concern over the impact of the US' growing protectionism, some companies are reportedly bringing orders forward over concerns of growing trade tension.
Citing Vincent Clerc, chief executive of AP Møller-Maersk, the world's second-largest container shipping company, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday that retailers and manufacturers are bringing orders forward amid fears of intensifying trade tensions between China and the US, which could further disrupt global supply chains.
Meanwhile, the US government's arbitrary tariffs levies on a range of Chinese products have encountered strong opposition within the US, due to the massive costs the tariffs inflict on US companies.
The US Trade Representative's Office announced on July 30 that some of the US' hefty additional tariffs imposed on a long list of Chinese products, including electric vehicles and batteries, computer chips and medical products, will be delayed by at least two weeks.
Many US businesses and executives have criticized the move, including Elon Musk who said that "neither Tesla nor I asked for these tariffs." Experts said that the firm opposition from US businesses may be behind the US' government's delay of the tariffs.
Summertime scorching heat has made indoor ice and snow activities a popular choice for the public in China.
China-based online tourism platforms witnessed a surge in user searches and bookings. Industry observers say the trend indicates how an economic recovery is reshaping consumer spending habits.
As of the end of July, online searches for skiing events on Trip.com, a China-based online travel platform, shot up by 89 percent month-to-month. Indoor skiing-related booking rose by 70 percent month-on-month, while ticket orders for related attractions increased by 41 percent month-on-month, a representative from Trip.com told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Another China-based e-commerce platform Meituan told the Global Times that searches for "indoor ski resorts" increased by 161 percent year-on-year during the first two weeks of July, while ski bookings rose by about 25 percent month-on-month.
Preparing for the 2024-2025 ski season, Chunqiu Travel Agency announced a presale on July 24, and the sales exceeded one million yuan ($139,250) within two hours, the agency said.
During this year's summer holidays, "off-season skiing" has become a popular pastime for people in southern China to beat the summer heat.
Ticket sales in Window of the World-Alps Ice and Snow World from Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, also China's first indoor ski resort, increased four to five times in July from June, and orders for indoor ice and snow activities have also risen significantly, a manager from the Window of the World-Alps Ice and Snow World told the Global Times on Wednesday.
He said that numerous tourists from Hong Kong had come for indoor skiing, and they mentioned that summer indoor skiing helped them practice their basic skills, preparing them for outdoor skiing in winter.
"From early July, we have received over 1,000 indoor skiing visitors on week day, with numbers rising to between 2,000 and 3,000 on weekends. In contrast, daily visitors from March to May were only few hundreds," Bai Yupeng, the foreman From Window of the World-Alps Ice and Snow World told the Global Times on Wednesday.
The growing demand for indoor ice and snow sports has prompted businessmen in southern China to invest in related projects, insiders told the Global Times.
Shanghai Yaoxue Ice and Snow Word announced on July 26 about its completion and noted that the tickets will be available starting August 8 on the official WeChat mini-program, and from midnight on August 9 on the Trip.com.
Four-hour tickets are priced at between 420 yuan ($58.49) and 780 yuan, while four-hour free-play are priced at between 220 yuan to 400 yuan, according to information sent from Trip.com to the Global Times on Wednesday.
In recent years, the popularity of the Winter Olympics and winter sporting events has boosted the development of summer indoor ice and snow sports, Yang Yong, the director of the Department of Tourism Management in the East China Normal University told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"Previously, sightseeing was the dominant summertime activity, but now tourism-induced consumption has expanded significantly," Yang added, noting that the diversification of tourism consumption is an inevitable trend.
China's private Caixin Service Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 52.1 in July, up 0.9 points from June, reflecting faster expansion in the services sector, according to data released on Monday.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading beneath 50 points to contraction.
The services industry is experiencing a rapid increase in new orders, leading to a rise in employment. This has resulted in a resurgence of optimism among enterprises, according to the Caixin survey.
According to the sub-index, the expansion speed of both supply and demand in the services sector accelerated in July, with both sub-indexes rebounding into the expansion zone.
The employment situation in the services sector also improved in July to the highest level since September 2023. Surveyed companies said they have increased manpower, mainly to cope with new businesses.
Business optimism also rebounded in the month, with companies in the services sector hoping for improvements in market conditions and business development to drive growth in their operations.
The Caixin Service PMI reading followed the Caixin Manufacturing PMI, which dropped to 49.8 in July, down 2 points from a month earlier.
China's official manufacturing PMI came in at 49.4 in July, slightly down 0.1 point from June, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The business activity index for the services sector dropped by 0.2 points to 50.0 in July.
Wang Zhe, a senior economist at Caixin, said in a statement on Monday that the business climate in the services sector improved in July, while the manufacturing sector remained under pressure.
In order to boost market confidence and address insufficient domestic demand, it is crucial to implement policy stimulus measures and ensure that existing policies are effectively in place, Wang said.
Stimulating consumption is a key focus for maintaining stable growth in the second half of the year. Two main directions to consider are increasing personal incomes through various channels and expanding services consumption, Wu Chaoming, a deputy head of the Chasing Research Institute, told the Global Times.
"We anticipate that policies supporting sectors including culture and tourism, elderly care, childcare and domestic services will be strengthened, and there is the potential for increased government spending on public services consumption," Wu said.
China will work hard to further develop consumer services to support high-quality economic development and meet people's demand for personalized, diversified and quality services, according to a guideline made public on Saturday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The US Congress has found a new method to save US manufacturing: making the lineage of the US flag pure. This has turned the flag into a focal point for trade protectionism. However, this idea of using a "pure-blood" US flag will not necessarily revive US manufacturing, nor can it enhance American patriotism; instead, it only exposes the illusions and weakness of US nationalism and highlights the ugly side of US politicians.
According to US media reports, the All-American Flag Act has been passed by Congress, requiring the federal government to purchase only American flags that have been completely manufactured in the US. Advocates of the measure argue that in 2017, the US imported some 10 million American flags, and 99.5 percent of them came from China. It's time for US flags to originate in the country they represent, said the sponsors of the proposal.
If the flag must originate from the US, should other symbols of the US, such as statuettes of the Statue of Liberty, also be manufactured domestically? The extremism of US trade protectionism has reached the level of nonsense. What's next? Will American lawmakers hype up China's "overcapacity of flags," or will they require that every stitch on the Stars and Stripes be hand-sewn by "pure-blood" Americans?
Supporters of the proposal said the change is more than just symbolic - they believe it will support US jobs and manufacturers. Politicians have a rosy view: They believe they can revive US manufacturing while simultaneously running a patriotic education campaign. However, in 2015 the value of US flag imports was only $4.4 million, according to federal data. Rather than enacting substantial economic policies to truly revive US manufacturing, politicians are wasting energy on a matter worth only a few million dollars. This is clearly not a fundamental solution to US' manufacturing problems but merely a façade project.
"This is a typical case of the US' pursuit of 'decoupling' with China in a form of psychological warfare and political grandstanding," Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University, told the Global Times. Some US politicians, lacking an understanding of the practical issues involved in producing flags, such as labor and production costs, blindly manipulate politics for political gain based solely on their imaginations.
In the face of numerous crises such as domestic social division and political polarization, the US Congress chooses to prioritize the issue of the flag. The reason is simple: Some politicians lack the ability to address truly important matters but need to appear capable, so they focus on high-profile topics related to "national symbols" to gain political influence. As some netizens sarcastically pointed out, there are many significant events occurring in the world, yet the US chooses to spend time on trivial matters.
The proposal reflects US politicians' concerns about US manufacturing being overshadowed by "Made in China" products. They seem obsessed with bringing manufacturing back to the US. The All-American Flag Act is just the tip of the iceberg of the US' dual strategy: closing doors to Chinese imports while attempting to promote domestic factory development through reindustrialization.
However, what the US is doing is essentially an upgraded version of protectionism and a generalization of national and economic security concepts, aimed at keeping industries and jobs in the US. Ironically, this may backfire. The All-American Flag Act risks causing US consumers to incur additional costs for purchasing flags, as the US may not be able to produce goods as cheaply and efficiently as China.
The US has always positioned itself as an advocate of free trade, but now it seems that the core principle of US-style free trade is "American interest first." After all, not even the flag can be bought from the global market - this is truly a joke on globalization.
Currently, the bill is awaiting President Joe Biden's signature to become law. In the future, when the "pure-blood American flag" rises high, what people may see behind it is not the so-called symbol of identity, resolve and values as one people, but rather US nationalism and political anxiety. When US' dignity and values are so fragile that they need to be ensured by the place of origin of the flag they wave, it in itself reflects the decline of the US empire.
Local authorities in Chenzhou, Central China's Hunan Province, have been working all out to restore roads, electricity, and communication systems, after heavy rainfall brought enormous damage to Zixing, which is administrated by the city of Chenzhou, and left 30 people dead and 35 missing, according to local officials at a press briefing on Friday.
All attendees at the press briefing stood and observed a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the disaster on Friday.
The heavy rainfall brought by Typhoon Gaemi temporarily caused power outages in 149 villages and communication disruptions in 78 villages in Zixing, one of the most severely affected regions. Communication and power supply have been resumed basically in all 183 villages in Zixing, said the authorities.
A total of 118,000 people were affected by the disaster, with 1,345 road collapses, 1,641 house collapses, and 208,000 mu (13,866.7 hectares) of crops affected, said Kan Baoyong, the mayor of Chenzhou, at the press briefing.
Local authorities have mobilized 1,792 personnel to restore roads, electricity, and communication systems in Zixing. As of 8 pm on Thursday, 46,798 out of 66,793 households have had their power restored, said the mayor.
From July 26 to Thursday, Zixing experienced heavy rainfall with an average precipitation of 410.4 millimeters. Some stations recorded 24-hour rainfall exceeding historical records in Hunan Province. Multiple areas experienced flash floods, mudslides, and landslides, causing varying degrees of damage, according to the local authorities.
A total of 986 sets of large equipment, five helicopters, and over 80 drones have been deployed to rescue and evacuate stranded residents. More than 13,000 people have been urgently relocated, and 695 people have been rescued and evacuated, said the authorities.
China's National Disaster Reduction Commission on Thursday raised the emergency response to Level II, the second-highest, for the region, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.
Chinese authorities have allocated 378 million yuan ($53 million) to flood relief efforts in the country's southern and northern regions including Hunan Province, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.
"Xiling Academy" was inaugurated at the China Cultural Center in Tokyo, Japan on Wednesday. The establishment of Japan's "Xiling Academy" marks an important progress in international cultural exchanges. "Xiling Academy" in Japan will roll out training sessions and exchange activities on creative artforms such as seal cutting, calligraphy and painting. It will also hold various cultural activities such as exhibitions and competitions.
Blessed with its branding influence as well as the prestigious members of the Xiling Seal Society, "Xiling Academy" in Japan is expected to further boost the cultural exchanges between China and Japan. This new establishment is injecting new impetus in the traditional culture of both countries, aiming to achieve new progress in international cultural exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony, Chen Zhenlian, vice chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, gave a lecture to the delegates on China-Japan exchanges in seal making studies and the development of "Xiling Seal Art Society." The Xiling Seal Art Society, a Chinese arts organization based in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, was founded in 1904. This is the earliest Chinese society formed by specialists in seal engraving, calligraphy and painting.
The "Xiling Academy" was established in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2017. A public welfare project dedicated to inheriting and promoting traditional Chinese culture, "Xiling Academy" has been showcasing the charm of traditional Chinese culture through calligraphy, painting and seal cutting. It has carried out a series of cultural events in many countries and regions, becoming an important link in cultural exchanges with foreign countries.
The Xiling Seal Art Society, is one of China's most important traditional stone seal engraving associations, a key National Relics Preservation Unit and its engraving a national intangible cultural heritage.
In 2009, UNESCO added the Xiling Seal Art Society to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Due to its great achievements in seal engraving, calligraphy, and painting and an impressive collection of art, the prestigious Xiling Seal Art Society has won itself the honor of being considered the best society of its kind.
China's Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) jointly issued a notice on Friday to crack down on cross-border telecommunications fraud. The notice emphasized that providing venues for cross-border telecommunications fraud under the guise of "industrial parks" and controlling criminal gangs should be treated as criminal groups.
According to the MPS, current cross-border telecommunications network fraud presents new challenges, including highly organized and clearly divided fraud groups. Moreover, there are fewer scattered fraud groups overseas, replaced by large-scale gambling fraud parks, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
Fraudulent groups also use new technologies and formats such as virtual currency and artificial intelligence to continuously update their criminal tools. Additionally, their fraudulent methods are rapidly innovating, possessing strong deceptive characteristics. These developments present fresh obstacles to the judicial prosecution and prevention of transnational telecommunications fraud.
Therefore, the notice explicitly outlined four crucial areas of punishment, with the primary focus being on holding accountable the criminal groups' organizers, planners, leaders, and key members in accordance with the law. Additionally, groups that offer refuge to those involved in cross-border telecommunications fraud will also be specifically targeted for enforcement actions.
Furthermore, the notice specified that criminal organizations engaging in heinous acts such as intentional homicide, intentional injury, kidnapping, rape, forced prostitution, and illegal detention will face severe punishment. According to the notice, the crackdown will also target those involved in organizing and facilitating illegal border crossings for individuals participating in cross-border telecommunications fraud.
The notice also proposed approaches in relation to judicial cases. For example, regarding transnational telecommunications fraud and other criminal organizations operating under the guise of "industrial parks" or "development zones" in overseas areas, the notice clearly stipulated that managing and controlling criminal groups through providing criminal venues to carry out transnational telecommunications fraud, extortion, and other criminal activities should be identified as criminal groups and be punished.
The notice emphasized the comprehensive strengthening of asset recovery. Relevant departments should conduct comprehensive investigations and reviews of the financial status of criminal groups and their members involved in cross-border telecommunications fraud, extortion, and other crimes, and lawfully seize and freeze funds, real estate, vehicles, precious metals, and other assets involved in the case.
Since last year, the MPS, together with a host of other departments, have carried out special operations, focusing on capturing and repatriating tens of thousands of overseas fraudsters, forming a strong deterrent, said the CCTV report. The public security organs will continue to vigorously combat overseas telecommunications fraud and other illicit activities, as well as prosecute domestic collaborators in strict accordance with the law, so as to protect the public's fundamental rights and interests.
China congratulated Venezuela on Monday on the success of its presidential election and to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for his successful re-election, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, after media reported that Maduro won the election with 51.2 percent of votes cast.
Noting that China and Venezuela are good friends and partners, Lin said that China attaches great importance to the development of bilateral relations and is willing to work with Venezuela to continuously enrich the China-Venezuela all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership and bring more benefits to the two peoples.
In an election that was closely observed by the US and some other Latin American countries, Maduro's declaration of victory is "a disappointing news" to Washington.
"We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Tokyo on Monday in comments on the election result, according to media reports.
Some Chinese observers said if Maduro wins the election and begins his third term, the US may not recognize the results, but the Biden administration, preoccupied with its own issues, is unlikely to support another "Guaido" to challenge Maduro.
In 2019, then Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido tried to launch a coup and a "color revolution" with the support of the US. However, the continued violence did not topple Maduro's government and Guaido was later ditched by Washington as a worthless pawn, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Pan Deng, director of the Latin American and Caribbean Region Law Center of China University of Political Science and Law, has been invited by Venezuela's National Electoral Council to serve as an international observer in the country.
"Many people have great enthusiasm and expectations for this election," Pan told the Global Times.
"In Venezuelan society, I have not sensed strong extreme or irrational political sentiments. Incidents such as clashes between the police and the public or conflicts between supporters of different groups are rare; at least, I have not seen any in the past few days. However, some citizens are concerned that political disputes and conflicts may emerge after the election," Pan said.
The Chinese expert said he has spoken with Venezuelans from different social classes and backgrounds about their voting preferences, and the general impression he gets is that middle and lower-class citizens tend to support Maduro more, while those working in the public sector almost universally support him.
"On the other hand, professionals and overseas returnees who come back to vote are more likely to support Edmundo Gonzalez," Pan said.
The US and Western media have accused Maduro of fraud and called for a recount. The opposition has criticized the Venezuelan authorities for hastily declaring Maduro the winner before the vote count was complete, suggesting that Venezuela may face a period of unrest in the near future, Xu Shicheng, a research fellow at the Institute of Latin American Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
Currently, most Latin American countries are governed by left-wing or center-left administrations. "While it is possible that some right-wing countries, such as Argentina, might not recognize Maduro for a certain period, a situation like the one where the Lima Group refused to acknowledge Maduro's government in 2019 is unlikely to recur," Xu said.
The US is currently preoccupied with its own problems, and with only six months left in Biden's term, although the White House has made statements regarding the Venezuelan election, it is largely a case of having the will but not the power, the expert added.
After a series of interviews and observations, Pan said his strongest impression over the past few days is that Venezuelans' main expectation from the next government is "stable jobs."
"Although Venezuela's inflation trend is now stabilizing and the economy is recovering, many Venezuelans have relied on informal employment, such as temporary or part-time jobs, to make ends meet. Stable, formal employment is needed," Pan said.
"In my view, stabilizing the economy and creating more job opportunities for the people are the most fervent expectations Venezuelans have for the next government," Pan said.
Another expectation is that many people do not want to see large-scale conflict and turmoil in Venezuela once the election results are announced. They hope that political disputes will quickly subside, allowing the country to focus more on economic recovery and addressing people's livelihood issues, Pan added.
Nvidia, a global leader in AI chips, with a market capitalization topping $3 trillion on average over the past two months, is reportedly working on a version of its new flagship AI chips for the Chinese market that will be compatible with the Biden administration's export control dictate, Reuters reported last week.
Apparently, the move by Nvidia speaks volume that the US semiconductor heavyweight does not want to lose too much of its market share in China to local competitors, which include Huawei Technologies.
Nvidia will partner with Chinese technology company Inspur on the launch and distribution of the new AI chip, which will be named the "B20," the Reuter report said. Chinese market represented about 9 percent of Nvidia's total revenues in the most recent quarter ending in April, sharply down from 22 percent seen in the same period last year. As a publicly listed company, it is understandable that Nvidia is anxious to snatch back the lost market share in China - the world's largest semiconductor market now.
It is no secret that Huawei is building a massive semiconductor research and development center in Shanghai as the Chinese tech giant continues to ramp up its own supply chain and chip fabrication capability to counter the US government suppression and crackdown.
The Biden administration introduced restrictions on Nvidia to sell its most advanced AI chips, including the A100 and H100, to China in October 2022. It further tightened those controls in late 2023. Washington's export controls have largely reduced Huawei's access to high-end chips and semiconductor fabrication tools. And, the US went too far to coerce its allies Japan and the Netherlands to implement similar restrictions on the export of advanced chip fabrication equipment to China.
However, the US' containment policy has acted as a catalyst in spurring Chinese companies to beef up China's chip self-reliance. The replacement of US semiconductor technology by Chinese firms has ostensibly gained more urgency.
Sales of Huawei Ascend-910B AI chips, whose capability is deemed higher than Nvidia's H20 chips, have increased rapidly in the first half this year as large internet platforms like Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu and ByteDance snapped up the home-made chips to train their respective AI models. Chinese market watchers say that, before long, Huawei's advanced AI, database and other-scenario chips will become the dominant chips in the domestic market. H20 was designed by Nvidia for Chinese market to comply with Washington's export controls.
Dozens of other Chinese semiconductor companies have significantly stepped up investment, striving to localize a greater portion of their own semiconductor supply chain, and improve the country's own semiconductor ecosystem, widely rendered to be increasingly varied and independent from the US ecosystem.
It is Washington's containing-China policy that leads to growing trajectory of the world's disintegrating industrial supply chain. At the practical level, the past era of close and unfettered cooperation between the US and Chinese scientists and technologists has come to an end, caused by the Biden administration's stringent technology controls designed to stymie China's economy.
The fragmentation of the world's industrial supply chains, resulting from the US' de-globalization and "decoupling" policy, is in nobody's interest. The notorious US policy will ultimately throttle America's own industries and slow down its economic growth, while placing its green transition in peril.
Nevertheless, the US' semiconductor technology export controls have, actually, expedited China's indigenous innovation and the development of China's own semiconductor supply chain. The US export controls, if not removed, will inevitably speed up Chinese companies' technology advance, and the US and its allies will get to find their past leverages over China to be diminished and might be totally gone one day as China rapidly develops alternative solutions to replace US technologies.
Increasingly, many in the US say that Biden administration's containment policy is very flawed. In the long run, forcing the US companies to pull out of China's huge market will take a significant toll on US companies' business revenues, depriving them of the capital needed for research and development.
By all accounts, China's market competition is becoming fiercer, which is actually a good thing for businesses, domestic or foreign-invested, to become nimbler and more capable and sophisticated in a setting of free market contest.
It is certainly a laurel for any enterprise if it is able to become an integral part of China-based industrial supply chain, with high efficiency, quality and affordability as the market's clear hallmarks. To put it in perspective, the US government's push to "de-risk" or "decouple" from China is ill-willed and injudicious. In the end, those manufacturing companies following the dictates of the US government by leaving the Chinese market will find themselves weakened and become less competitive.
Any trumpeted effort by the US of a diversification away from China's supply chain is doomed. China has the world's largest number of engineers and well-trained work force, which makes the Chinese market and the country's supply chains theoretically "inescapable" for any enterprise to turn out a viable product and make a good profit.
For sure, China should and will continuously strengthen the resilience and security of its supply chains, such as building up a strategic backup base in the country's vast hinterland for key industries and key resources - including a well-established industry and supply chain with a clearly listed focus on advanced semiconductor chips, industry master machines and advanced new materials.
Lately, Chinese authorities have pledged to remove all restrictions on foreign investment access to China's mammoth and burgeoning manufacturing sector, and to remove more administrative restrictions in its service sector, too. The friendly gesture, plus China's massive and lucrative market, will attract more overseas companies to invest in China, or expand their operations in the country. So, getting tethered to China's highly-efficient supply chain and staying put in the market competition will bring massive benefits to all types of businesses.
Centered around the theme of "water," a dialogue between Shanghai and New York with discussions on economic and trade ties, cultural exchanges and waterfront planning, was held in Shanghai on Friday, aiming to foster in-depth explorations of shared opportunities and challenges and strengthen people-to-people exchanges between the two cities.
The event named "Common ideals and common future: a river dialogue between Shanghai and New York," was organized by the Shanghai Public Relations Association, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai), and the Shanghai Institute of American Studies.
Chinese and American experts and industrial observers discussed how to build mutually beneficial economic and trade relationships, strengthen friendship through cultural exchanges, and create more livable waterfront cities through effective urban planning.
Rivers are precious gifts from nature to cities, which not only nourish the land, but also nurture civilizations. Rivers play a crucial role in the development of cities, serving as both transportation arteries, cultural symbols and catalysts for economic growth, Sha Hailin, president of the Shanghai Public Relations Association said at a speech during the conference.
In Shanghai, the Huangpu River nurtures the city, while in New York, the Hudson River injects vitality. Rivers are important witnesses to the exchanges and cooperation between Shanghai and New York, China and the US, said Sha. This year marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the US.
Eric Zheng, president of AmCham Shanghai, delivered a speech highlighting the mutually beneficial and win-win economic and trade relations between China and the US. Despite being affected by geopolitical and economic downturns in recent years, US companies operating in China still consider the Chinese market as a very important strategic market, Zheng said in the speech.
Zheng told the Global Times on Friday that they are optimistic about the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region. Many of their member American companies are based in Shanghai, and it is hoped that they can expand from Shanghai to the Yangtze River Delta and even nationwide, Zheng said. Using the concept of urban clusters for development will be more sustainable for the future, Zheng noted.
Along with economic ties, cultural exchanges have also played important roles to push forward the sound development between the two cities.
Shanghai is also an important base for China-US sports and cultural exchanges. The spirit of friendship and cooperation among the younger generations can lay a solid foundation for long-term stable relations between the two countries, Yao Ming, FIBA Asia Chairman and President of the Chinese Basketball Association said via a video speech in the conference.
Jeffrey S. Lehman, executive vice chancellor of New York University Shanghai shared his views of college students acting as the natural bridge between the two cities.
Students at the university come from more than 70 different countries and regions. Lehman said that they encourage students to engage with a classmate from another country through conversation or shared activities, to strengthen communication.
"Shanghai and New York are two cities that share much in common. Both are the economic and financial centers of their respective countries, and both are major port cities situated on their respective countries' eastern coasts, where a major river meets the sea," Justin O'Jack, chief representative of the UVA China Office, told the Global Times on Friday.
"Whether it's the Hudson River in New York or the Huangpu River in Shanghai, both river systems have facilitated the flow of goods to and from the world, contributing to their city's economic development over hundreds of years," O'Jack said.
"I vividly remember 30 years ago the first time I stood on the Bund and looked across the Huangpu River to the Pudong side of Shanghai. What was then mostly low-rise industrial buildings and shipping docks now boasts one of the most impressive skylines in the world," O'Jack said.
As an important part of a city, the planning and design of the waterfront areas reflect a high level of emphasis on the scientific and human-centered approach to urban public open spaces. Waterfront planning emphasizes the full utilization of natural resources and the harmonious integration of the built environment, aiming to create a scientific, rational and healthy urban layout, said Zhang Yan, president of Shanghai Global Spatial Planning and Research Institute.
