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The wildfires in Los Angeles County continue to rage, with the death toll from the two most severe blazes - Palisades and Eaton - rising to 24 as of press time, with some local media predicting the wildfires among "the costliest natural disasters in US history."

Nearly 33,000 homes and businesses across Los Angeles County remained without power on Sunday night, Forbes reported, citing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The department said its crews were "assessing the fire-affected areas" and power restoration work will begin after the assessments are completed, Forbes reported.

The raging wildfires across Los Angeles are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history, AP reported, citing a private meteorological firm.

A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between $135 billion and $150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at $225 billion to $250 billion, the AP report said.

The wildfires have forced a host of TV productions to temporarily stop filming. More than a dozen LA-based shows, ranging from Grey's Anatomy to The Price Is Right, have paused production, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will take the lead in investigating the exact cause of the multiple fires, according to Fox 11. 

As officials try to determine the cause of a wildfire that has burned an estimated 7,000 structures in and around Altadena, investigators keep returning to one place: an electrical transmission tower in Eaton Canyon, according to LA Times. 

Meanwhile, utilities are required to report to the California Public Utilities Commission when they know of "electric incidents potentially associated with a wildfire." On Friday, Southern California Edison filed a report related to the Eaton Fire in the hills near Pasadena, an area the utility serves, the FOX 11 report said.

John Abatzoglou, a professor of Climatology at the University of California, told the Global Times on Monday via email that there are many other places globally that burn with more regularity than California, but the fires in the state have certainly been noteworthy for their intensity, size, and impacts. 

Abatzoglou believed the specific causes for this year's wildfires "are still unknown right now, but are all human-caused fires," without further elaboration.

"California has the perfect climate for fires," he said, explaining that typically 6-9 months of rain-free conditions during the warm season contribute to long curing periods for vegetation to become receptive to igniting and carrying fire. The large year-to-year variability in precipitation allow for abundant grass and shrubs to flourish during the good years and become fuel during dry times, he said. 

Topography that favors mountain fire weather features like downslope Santa Ana winds that bring fire from the wildlands downhill into communities, and plenty of ignitions given the population, he said. 

California accounts for about 15 percent of all burned area in the contiguous US, but 75 percent of direct population exposure to wildfire, which results in "people living with a fire footprint," Abatzoglou added.

Wang Hongwei, a professor from the Renmin University of China's school of public administration and policy, who frequently took part in emergency response events in China, told the Global Times that from his point of view, local weak disaster relief efforts, such as the shortage of firefighters in the initial phase of rescue and fire hydrants that ran dry, also fuel such large-scale fires in California.

At a national prosecutors' meeting on January 13, prosecutorial authorities decide to deepen efforts to promote the lawful governance of cyberspace. They will collaborate with public security and other agencies to strictly crack down on telecom and online fraud, particularly cross-border telecom fraud. 

Efforts will be made to solidly advance the special campaign against fraud originating from northern Myanmar, strengthen comprehensive enforcement across the entire chain, and promote source-based prevention and governance, according to the meeting. 

The meeting underscored the importance of rigorously punishing cybercrimes in accordance with the law. Prosecutorial organs were called upon to actively engage in the special campaign to foster a clean online environment, focusing on crimes involving the misuse of the Internet to infringe on citizens' personal information and acts of cyber violence.

To tackle prevalent issues in the digital realm, such as breaches of personal information, false advertising, and consumer fraud, prosecutorial organs will enhance efforts in handling public-interest litigation. These measures aim to harness the power of the rule of law to maintain a fair, secure, and upright cyberspace.

"I felt extremely grateful when I received the greeting card from President Xi," said Brian Suy, an 11th grader from the Lincoln High School in the U.S. state of Washington.

On Jan. 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, replied to a New Year card from representatives of middle school teachers and students from Washington state.

In their reply card, the couple expressed their hope that the youth of China and the United States will continue to participate in China's initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span.

Earlier, the U.S.-China Youth and Student Exchange Association, as well as representatives of teachers and students from Lincoln High School and Stadium High School, who have visited China through the initiative, sent a New Year card to Xi, Peng and the Chinese people.

"I am willing to be a successor to keep the relations of the people of China and America strong and close," Suy told Xinhua. "I believe that the world will ultimately be a better place if future generations strengthen these connections."
BRIDGE OF FRIENDSHIP

After having received New Year cards twice from Xi and his wife in reply to their greetings, teachers and students from Washington state are greatly encouraged, said Zhou Shuqi, co-chair of the U.S.-China Youth and Student Exchange Association.

In February 2024, Xi and Peng extended their good wishes for the Year of the Dragon in their card to Lincoln High School, inviting students to visit China more often, including through the "50,000 in five years" initiative.

These cards are a token of U.S.-China friendship and a bridge that connects young people, which "motivate us to move forward," said Zhou.

Over a year, about 14,000 American youths have visited China for exchanges and study.

"Our experience in China was incredibly rich and rewarding," Stadium High School Principal Shannon Marshall said. "This experience has created long-lasting friendship between American students and Chinese students."

"We would love to send more students in 2025 and are so thankful for the opportunities," she said.

"It was a privilege to have been able to sign a greeting card for President Xi," said Lucy Arceno, a student from Lincoln High School.

Recalling her China trip, she said what impressed her the most was the hospitality of the Chinese people. "I made quite a few Chinese friends," she said. "One of my Chinese friends had this to say after we got to know each other, 'gradually it dawned on me that we are of no difference.' I found this to be a very beautiful statement about friendships."

"People-to-people exchanges -- direct communications between Chinese people and their foreign counterparts in all walks of life -- form part of the foundation of President Xi's international way of thinking," Robert Lawrence Kuhn, chairman of the Kuhn Foundation, told Xinhua.

"President Xi puts extra emphasis on people-to-people exchanges" in the development of bilateral relations, Kuhn said.
FRIENDSHIP THAT ENDURES

For Lincoln High School, warm interactions with Xi have been maintained for long. As early as in 1993, Xi visited the school as then secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.

In September 2015, he revisited the school with Peng during his first state visit to the United States as Chinese president, and encouraged students to travel to China to become more familiar with the country.

During their stay, the couple enjoyed in the school's auditorium a choir performance by students from both countries. Lynn Eisenhauer, a music teacher at the school, was present.

"I have had the amazing opportunity to travel throughout China three times during 2024," she told Xinhua in a recent interview. "Many of my friendships with Chinese teachers and students have begun while learning to do calligraphy together, singing side by side, or doing Tai Chi with each other."

Eisenhauer was amazed that when she joined a group from Washington state to visit China last year, an opportunity came for the group to perform again before Peng during a China-U.S. youth exchange activity in Beijing, which was "a truly magical memory."

"One of the ways our friendships continue to grow is through these shared experiences and the common bonds they help us to create," Eisenhauer said. "Peaceful connections and enduring friendships can make the world a better place for all of us."

Maurice Chong from Washington state participated both in the choir in 2015 and the youth exchange activity in 2024. Now an exchange student at Peking University, Chong said he was inspired by Xi to study abroad back in 2015, when the Chinese president encouraged them with a Chinese adage: "Read 10,000 books and travel 10,000 miles."

Xi's initiative to invite American students to China "will indeed have a big effect on people-to-people relations between the U.S. and China, and that's what we need," said Elyn MacInnis, founder of "Friends of Kuliang," a group gathering descendants of U.S. families who once lived in Kuliang, Fujian Province.

Communication is a good bridge to build trust, "and trust is very important for friendship," MacInnis said.
"LONG LIVE PEACE"

The year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

During World War II, China and the United States fought together for peace and justice, and the friendship between the two peoples stood the test of blood and fire and is growing ever stronger, Xi and Peng said in their New Year card.

The couple's words were in response to the U.S. students' card to them, which paid tribute to this part of history.

"'Long Live Peace; Eternal Friendship.' We wrote this wish in our card," said David Chong, founder and president of the U.S.-China Youth and Student Exchange Association.

"We want to convey the significance of maintaining world peace and the longing for future peace to young people of both countries, and encourage them to inherit this precious friendship," Chong said.

Among those sending the card was William Felagai, a 12th grader from Lincoln High School, who recalled hearing about the bilateral friendship from a Flying Tiger veteran. During World War II, a U.S. air squadron composed of pilots from the United States Army Air Corps, Navy, and Marine Corps helped the Chinese fight Japanese invaders. They are better known as the Flying Tigers.

"He talked about how U.S. soldiers and pilots found refuge with Chinese villagers who were willing to risk not only themselves and their families' lives but their whole village from destruction by the Japanese military," Felagai said.

Jeffrey Greene, chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, said that Xi has recalled the epic of the Flying Tigers on many occasions, including in a reply letter to the foundation in 2023.

The foundation has launched a Flying Tigers Friendship School and Youth Leaders Program, with the participation of dozens of Chinese and U.S. middle schools and universities. The program brought students from 11 U.S. states to visit China in 2024, and will be expanded in the new year, Greene said.

"I'm very proud of the way that they've all understood the importance of what happened between China and the United States 80 years ago," he said. "What they learn is that there's tremendous opportunity for cooperation between the Chinese people and the American people in the future."

Chinese doctors from Beijing recently performed the world's first ultra-long-distance surgery in Lhasa, Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, on a liver cancer patient in Beijing, with the help of China's communication satellite.

The APSTAR-6D communication satellite used in the surgery is operated by APT Mobile Satcom Limited (APSAT) and developed by the China Academy of Spacecraft Technology (CAST) under the state-owned space giant China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

The satellite was launched into orbit in July 2020. It is the first in China's Ku-band global high-throughput broadband satellite communication network, according to the CASC in a press release sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.

The surgery was carried out by an interdisciplinary team comprising the Chinese PLA General Hospital, APSAT and the CAST. The team overcame challenges such as communication optimization, QoS classification control and traffic control, realizing that the satellite communication link latency approaches the physical limit. Based on this breakthrough, the team innovatively designed a surgical plan for high-latency conditions, successfully executing the ultra-long-distance surgery by integrating space-to-ground operations across time and space.

Satellite communication technology offers independence from ground infrastructure, resilience to geological disasters, and freedom from geographical and temporal constraints. Its advantages include wider coverage, higher reliability, and quicker deployment.

Such advantages make it particularly suitable for emergency rescue and temporary needs, while also providing a new perspective in terms of medical support in space exploration.

Operating the console in the high-altitude, cold environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is an extreme test of the surgeon's experience and skills. It also places higher demand on satellite signals and the stability and precision of the instruments, the Global Times learned from APSAT.

The technology is expected to pave the way for remote surgeries to transition into routine and commercial clinical applications and enable seamless, all-weather global coverage.

The surgery validates the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of performing complex and challenging remote surgical procedures using domestically developed communication technology combined with a robotic surgical system.

5.5-magnitude earthquake hits northwest China's Qinghai

Welcoming the arrival of a new year, the Shenzhou-19 taikonauts in China's Tiangong Space Station have sent their greetings from the vastness of space, and shared a "special gift" with the country - a photo capturing the first ray of dawn for the Chinese space station in 2025. They vowed to continue striving for a strong space nation.

At the China Astronaut Research and Training Center, reporters from the China Central Television (CCTV) were able peek into the lives of the Shenzhou-19 crew, who remained busy with tasks aboard their space home on the last day of 2024 as usual, having just completed the restoration of extravehicular experimental payloads, CCTV reported on Wednesday.

 "We are conducting muscle and bone stress experiments using the human system research cabinet, and utilizing advanced equipment such as ultrasound and bone loss countermeasures to perform weightlessness protection in orbit. In the new year, may our space laboratory yield abundant results, and I wish everyone good luck!" said taikonaut Song Lingdong.

Wang Haoze, China's first female spaceflight engineer, introduced a special "new partner" named Xiao Hang in the greeting video. Wang demonstrated its functions: "Xiao Hang can not only rise and fall and take photos intelligently as commanded, but in the future, it will also be able to perform various functions such as in-cabin inspections and resource management through upgrades, becoming our smart assistant. Xiao Hang and I wish everyone a Happy New Year!"

Mission commander Cai Xuzhe concluded by expressing gratitude to all supporters of China's space endeavors: "It is thanks to your support that our country's space industry can thrive." In the new year, Cai vowed on behalf of the crew to continue to work hard and complete their upcoming tasks.

On New Year's eve, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered his 2025 New Year message through China Media Group and the internet. Recalling the memorable moments of 2024, Xi said "…Also for the first time, the Chang'e-6 lunar probe collected samples from the far side of the moon. The Mengxiang drilling vessel explored the mystery of the deep ocean. The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link now connects the two cities across the sea. The Antarctic Qinling Station is now in operation on the frozen continent. All this epitomizes the lofty spirit and dreams of the Chinese people to explore stars and oceans."

From 2016 to 2025, this marks the 10th year of China's space programs entering the New Year greetings, according to Our Space, an official new media platform reporting China's space news.

The Shenzhou-19 crew watched Xi's New Year message in real-time from space. They pledged to take practical steps toward exploring the stars and oceans, and to striving for a strong space nation, CCTV reported.

Currently, the Shenzhou-19 crew has been in orbit for two months. In 2025, they will continue to conduct space science and application experiments, and will carry out extravehicular activities as appropriate, the report said.

In December 2024, Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, closely coordinating with each other and, with the assistance of the space station's robotic arm and a team on Earth, successfully completed the first extravehicular activities of their mission in nine hours. 

The achievement set a new world record for spacewalk duration, surpassing the previous record of eight hours and 56 minutes set by US astronauts in 2001, calling it the "latest milestone" in China's space technology development. This accomplishment marks another significant step in both China's space exploration and humanity's overall progress in space, which is worth celebrating.

In response to a media inquiry about whether a trilateral foreign ministers' meeting among China, Japan, and South Korea is scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan in February, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated on Friday during a regular press briefing that she does not have any information to share at the current time.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson offered sincere condolences on Friday to the Indian government and people, as well as to the family of former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who passed away at the age of 92.

Former Indian Prime Minister and veteran leader of India's main opposition Congress party Manmohan Singh died at 92 on Thursday after a prolonged illness, Indian health officials said.

Chinese FM spokesperson Mao Ning stated that Singh was a senior politician and renowned economist in India who made positive contributions to the development of China-India relations. 

During his tenure as Prime Minister, the two countries announced the establishment of a strategic cooperative partnership aimed at peace and prosperity, and reached an agreement on the political guiding principles for resolving border issues, Mao said. 

The Chinese side offers sincere condolences to the Indian government and people, as well as to Singh's family, the spokesperson said. 

Singh served two consecutive terms as prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014, leading a coalition government under the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

He had been considered the architect of India's economic liberalization in 1991 when he was the country's finance minister.

Singh, a renowned economist and statesman, had been staying away from politics in recent years due to health reasons and was not keeping well since the beginning of this year, the Xinhua report said. 

From the "crazy Fridays" of Koreans crowding the streets of Shanghai to "Thai tourists flooding the magical city of Chongqing," over the past year, China's expanding visa-free policy has fueled a surge in foreign travels to the country, making "China travel" a new global trend. As the Global Times learned on Sunday from Qunar, a major Chinese online travel agency, the number of domestic flight bookings made by foreign travelers has nearly tripled compared with 2023, with those from the US, Russia, Canada, South Korea and Australia ranking in the top five.

With the further relaxation of the visa-free transit policy announced on December 17, it is expected that foreign visitors will be able to have a more fulfilling experience in China, as lesser-known small and medium-sized cities - particularly those rich in culture - will become the prioritized choice for many, predicted Trip.com Group, one of the largest travel agencies in the country.

China announced a significant expansion of its visa-free transit policy, extending the permitted stay for eligible foreign travelers from the original 72 and 144 hours to 240 hours, or 10 days, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Effective immediately, 21 additional ports have been designated for visa-free entry and exit, and the areas in which transit travelers can stay have been expanded. Under the updated policies, eligible citizens from 54 countries can enter China visa-free when transiting to a third country or region, according to a statement from the National Immigration Administration.

Compared with the previous 72/144-hour visa-free transit policies, a most significant feature of this policy adjustment is the extension of the stay duration, allowing more cross-regional and in-depth travel. Additionally, five inland provinces - Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Guizhou, and Hainan - have been added as visa-free transit destinations. And the eligible areas for stay in Fujian, Hubei, and Shaanxi provinces have been expanded to cover the entire province, while the stay area in Guangxi has been extended to 12 administrative cities.

Half an hour after the announcement, the search interest for Chinese destinations on Trip.com Group's overseas platforms surged by 85 percent in Europe, 163 percent in the Americas, and 116 percent in the Asia-Pacific region. France, Canada and Russia topped the list with the highest increases in search interest, the agency told the Global Times.

It added that the growth rate of inbound tourism to China has more than doubled compared to 2023, with a staggering 189 percent increase from the 54 visa-free countries, outpacing the overall market. This year, Italy, Spain, Russia, Iceland and Singapore have emerged as the top five countries with the fastest growth in inbound travels among the 54 nations. Additionally, one in four foreign travelers has previously visited China.

On the Qunar platform, among travelers using non-Chinese passports to book domestic flights, those from the US, Russia, Canada, South Korea and Australia rank as the top five in terms of booking volume. Notably, there has been a significant increase in bookings from travelers holding passports from Malaysia, Japan and Kazakhstan, with growth rates exceeding 200 percent.

The visa policy relaxation has also brought about new changes as for destination choices. The tag "Heading for China after work on Friday" has seen more than 518,000 notes posted on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, as people upload videos and photos of Korean visitors taking selfies in front of the gate of Korean Provisional Government, tasting local cuisines, and strolling through the Yuyuan Garden while putting on hanfu - the traditional styles of clothing in ancient China.

In addition to major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, more second-tier cities including Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Xi'an have recently become favorites for foreign tourists. According to the Pheonix Weekly, the mountainous city of Chongqing has recently become the "secret code" for gaining online traffic, as young Thais "punch in" every single scenic spot of this city.

Moreover, destinations with unique cultural and natural beauties like Zhangjiajie, Lijiang and Shangri-La are also attracting more foreign visitors. 

"Cultural tours and ancient architecture tours will be more popular. With the game 'Black Myth: Wukong' gaining international attention, attractions like Xiaoxitian shown in the game will also become a big hit," said Sun Bowen, executive secretary-general of the Trip.com Research Institute and General Manager of Inbound Tourism.

Sun predicted that cross-regional deep travel by foreigners in China will become the next trend following the updated policy. 

The National Immigration Administration announced on Saturday that with the optimization of visa policies for foreigners and the convenience policies for mainland residents traveling to Hong Kong and Macao, ports across the nation are expected to experience a peak in inbound and outbound passenger flow during the upcoming New Year's Day holidays, China News Service reported.

The peak period is anticipated to be concentrated on the evening of December 31, 2024, and January 1, 2025, with an average of 2.05 million travelers entering and exiting daily, representing an 18.8 percent increase compared to the same period last year, according to the administration.

Spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs  Lin Jian on Friday slammed Western media saying that chili pepper products sold in UK and US supermarkets contain ingredients from Xinjiang are probably produced using "forced labor" by citing a report by an anti-China academic Adrian Zenz, noting that the so-called report mentioned by certain media outlets is deeply flawed, and it pretentiously quotes some vague accounts by so-called anonymous witnesses, but does not provide any factual basis, and even lacks the most basic field investigation.

Lin said that, the fact is, the farming process of chili peppers in Xinjiang has largely been mechanized already in some major production areas, 100 percent of the chili peppers are now harvested by machines. "Is the report suggesting that there is 'forced machine labor?'" he asked.

Earlier this week, an international symposium on employment and social security was held in Urumqi, said Lin, noting that more than 200 participants from over 40 countries, regions and international organizations attended the event, and many said the Xinjiang they saw is very much different from the false propaganda they had seen from sources outside China.

"They condemned the 'forced labor' narrative, calling it a lie that deprives people in Xinjiang of their right to work, subsistence and development," Lin said. 

Lin stated that from cotton to tomato and now to chili pepper, a handful of Western media and long-time disinformation manufacturers have concocted one lie after another about Xinjiang. 

"But what's made up will not hide the truth; and a lie is still a lie even if it's told a thousand times. For those behind these same old clumsy theatrics, it is high time they quit this 'creative' business for good," Lin said.