武汉夜生活官网

Premier of the State Council Li Qiang will attend the 17th BRICS Summit upon invitation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 5 to 8, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning announced at a regular press conference on Wednesday.

When asked about China's expectations for the BRICS Summit, Mao said the BRICS cooperation mechanism offers the most important platform for the solidarity and cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries in the world. It's an important force for realizing an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

Mao noted that this will be the first summit after the new member Indonesia, and 10 partner countries joined BRICS. Multiple emerging markets, developing countries, and international and regional organizations are invited to the summit. 

China looks forward to working with all parties to consolidate the BRICS strategic partnership, make due contributions to safeguarding multilateralism, promoting common development and improving global governance, and advance the high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation, Mao added.

Initially comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the recently expanded BRICS now also includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, according to the official BRICS 2025 website. The grouping has evolved into a platform for South-South cooperation and political coordination.

Based on the Johannesburg Declaration, the 2024 Kazan Summit approved the creation of a BRICS partner country category, which now includes Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and most recently, Vietnam.

Experts noted that the expanded format reflects BRICS' rising capacity to represent the Global South. This year's meeting is expected to offer broader representation and a stronger voice for developing nations amid challenges to multilateralism and international cooperation, they added.

"This summit marks the first full gathering of the '11 members+10 partners' BRICS family. Within this new system, developing countries will no longer be the silent majority but a vital force in global governance," Wang Youming, Director of the Institute of Developing Countries at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Growing voice

The inclusion of Indonesia as a full member and Vietnam as a partner country further strengthens BRICS' representativeness and influence. The enlarged grouping spans Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, representing nearly half of the global population and about 30 percent of global GDP, contributing over 50 percent of global economic growth, according to an article published on People's Daily Wednesday.

''Joining BRICS cooperation is good for Vietnam's development and the common interest of BRICS countries and the Global South. Having a new partner country in the BRICS family symbolizes the BRICS' growing representativeness, appeal and impact,'' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on June 16.

China stands ready to work with other BRICS members and partner countries for a closer and more all-round, result-oriented and inclusive partnership, advance high-quality greater BRICS cooperation, and contribute more to defending multilateralism and global fairness and justice and advocating common development, Guo added.

Ali El-Hefny, Vice President of the Egypt-China Friendship Association and former Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister, noted BRICS' increasing influence and its critical role in promoting South-South cooperation and common development, the People's Daily reported.

Against a backdrop of frequent geopolitical conflicts and disruptions to the international trade order, BRICS' role in articulating the voice of developing nations has never been more critical, Wang said.

"From the perspectives of economic scale, population, and political representation, BRICS surpasses regional groupings like the G7. It is therefore vital for BRICS to speak with one voice in confronting trade protectionism, geopolitical tensions, and climate change," Wang added.

On June 24, BRICS issued a Joint Statement on the Escalation of the Security Situation in the Middle East Following the Military Strikes on the Territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, calling on all parties to use existing channels of dialogue and diplomacy, with a view to de-escalate the situation and resolving their differences through peaceful means, which according to experts, demonstrates BRICS' unified voice on global peace and governance. 

Emerging challenges

The 2025 summit is also expected to address key global issues, including the governance of artificial intelligence (AI). According to the BRICS official website, the bloc seeks to improve the legitimacy, equity in participation, and efficiency of global institutions such as the UN, IMF, World Bank, and WTO, while bolstering sustainable social and economic development and promote social inclusion, said the BRICS website.

Brazil, as the current BRICS Chair, has outlined two strategic priorities: Global South Cooperation and BRICS Partnerships for Social, Economic, and Environmental Development. According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Brazil's agenda includes six key areas: global health, trade and finance, climate change, AI governance, peace and security, and institutional development.

Chen Fengying, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Wednesday that green development, green finance, and AI will be key areas of discussion during the summit. 

"On the future of emerging industries, the Global South will establish its own rules and voice. BRICS will play a pivotal role, with China, as a leading player in these sectors, expected to take the lead," Chen said.

In response to a media enquiry regarding whether China agrees to become a signatory to the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (SEANWFZ) along with Russia, and if so, why China has made this decision now, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday that as ASEAN's comprehensive strategic partner and friendly neighbor, China has always firmly supported the establishment of a Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone. 

China and Russia have agreed to become signatories to the SEANWFZ, while the US is currently reviewing the treaty before signing, said Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan, as reported by Malaysian National News Agency Bernama.

Mohamad said the involvement of superpowers in the treaty would help preserve Southeast Asia as a region of peace, free of nuclear weapons, per Bernama.

"We have repeatedly made it clear that we are willing to be the first to sign the treaty. China is willing to continue communicating with ASEAN members regarding the signing of the protocol," Mao said.

In response to some Australian media outlets recently hyping China-related remarks made by Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka while he was answering reporters' questions at the National Press Club of Australia, the Chinese Embassy in Fiji said in a statement on Thursday that the claims about "China setting up a military base in the Pacific" are false narratives. They are baseless and driven by ulterior motives.  

Some media outlet, including Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), has highlighted Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka's remarks on "not welcome" any Chinese military bases in the region in the headline. While in the news, ABC also noted that Rabuka told the Press Club that he didn't believe China was actively looking for a military base in Pacific. 

The Embassy noticed that Prime Minister Rabuka said he did not believe that China needs a base in the Pacific. The claims about "China setting up a military base in the Pacific" are false narratives. They are baseless and driven by ulterior motives, said the spokesperson. 

China's presence in the Pacific is focused on building roads and bridges to improve people's livelihoods, not on stationing troops or setting up military bases. Never has China stirred up any dispute in the Pacific Region, violated any inch of land from Pacific Island Countries, or signed any agreement that forced Pacific Island Countries to sacrifice their sovereignty, according to the spokesperson. 

China remains firmly committed to the international nuclear non-proliferation regime with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as the cornerstone and to the Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty. We firmly support Pacific Island Countries in playing a bigger role in regional and international affairs, and will maintain communication with Pacific Island Countries on major international and regional hotspot issues to make positive contributions to the peace and stability of the Pacific region, said the Embassy spokesperson. 

China and Fiji are comprehensive strategic partners, and security cooperation is part of our bilateral relations. China applauds Prime Minister Rabuka's vision for the Pacific as an "Ocean of Peace", and is committed to work with Fiji in contributing to peace and security in the region and beyond, said the Embassy spokesperson. 

The spokesperson of the Embassy emphasizes that the Pacific Ocean is large enough to accommodate win-win cooperation among all countries. China sincerely calls on relevant parties to avoid viewing China-Fiji and China-Pacific Island Countries relations through the narrow lens of geopolitical games, hyping up the so-called threats of geopolitical competition in the region, forcing Pacific Island Countries to "take sides", and imposing their own interests on these countries. Instead, we urge them to do more concrete things that contribute to the development of Pacific Island Countries and the well-being of the people.

Over the past 20 years, the pace of equal and mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation between China and Pacific island countries has accelerated, which has caused unease and dissatisfaction among Western countries. They are attempting to use such propaganda tactic to drive a wedge between Pacific island nations and China — a common tactic of diplomatic blackmail they employ, Yu Lei, a professor from the Department of International Politics and Economics at Shandong University, told the Global Times. 

China has always developed its relations with island countries based on the principles of peaceful coexistence and equality and mutual benefit, and has no intention of escalating military tensions in the region, said Yu.

In the statement, the spokesperson also said that the Embassy noticed Prime Minister Rabuka commented that China stood with Fiji when Australia turned away. He remarked that Fiji and China respect each other's sovereignty and we have not had any intrusion into our sovereign space.

China has no interest in geopolitical competition, or seeking the so-called "sphere of influence." There is no political strings attached to China's assistance, no imposing one's will onto others, and no empty promises. China advocates for all countries to uphold Pacific Island Countries' autonomy in making decisions, putting development first, and staying open and inclusive when developing relations with Pacific Island Countries, said the spokesperson. 

China always believes that the Pacific is the homeland of the people of Pacific Island Countries, not the backyard of big powers outside the region. The Pacific is a stage for cooperation, not a battlefield for vicious competition. It makes no sense to view China's sincere help to Pacific Island Countries from the narrow perspective of geo-competition, said the spokesperson.

Forcing Pacific Island Countries to "choose sides" can never address the urgent demands for development of the people from the Pacific Island Countries, nor the common threat of climate change to mankind, said the spokesperson. 

At nearly 30 hours and 20,000 kilometers away from Beijing, Buenos Aires in Argentina is one of the furthest destinations in the world from the Chinese capital. In a popular 2024 stand-up comedy show, Yan Hexiang, a Chinese actor and crosstalk performer, humorously pointed out that the antipodal point to Beijing is located in the Pampas grasslands of Argentina. However, the distance between Argentina and China doesn't seem so far. Just about 38 kilometers from Ministro Pistarini International Airport in Buenos Aires, is a largely commercial section about five blocks long in the district of Belgrano, where a towering Chinese-style archway greets you, inscribed with the words "China Town."

The Global Times has visited many "Chinatowns" around the world, including those in Washington, London, and Nagasaki. However, Buenos Aires' "Chinatown" is quite different from the rest. This is immediately apparent upon entry: On a Sunday evening, the streets bustle with activity, restaurants have long wait times, and shops attend to numerous customers. Upon closer inspection, the Global Times noticed that non-Chinese diners and shoppers actually outnumber Chinese ones.

In Chinese, the word "foreigner" is used to refer to anyone who is not Chinese, therefore within the context of Buenos Aires, it is used to refer to non-Chinese locals. In many other "Chinatowns" in the world, Chinese nationals are surrounded by their own, and while the occasional less-than-authentic Chinese cuisine might remind them that "this is not China," the presence of Chinese nationals gives a sense of belonging. In contrast, in Buenos Aires' "Chinatown," surrounded by countless local faces, the "Chinese nationals" seem more like visitors passing through.

Famous Chinese hotpot restaurant brands like Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot, Shoo Loong Kan Hot Pot, and Haidilao Hot Pot, commonly found in American "Chinatowns," are conspicuously absent. However, Chinese culture, cuisine, and products are everywhere, and even bubble tea has become a favorite among the youth in the "Chinatown." A capybara in a shop window observes the comings and goings, much like its counterpart in the trendy toy area of Chaoyang district's Joy City mall in Beijing, 20,000 kilometers away.
In addition to Chinese elements, graffiti in the style of Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist Hayao Miyazaki features the Chinese characters for "Visited Here," and posters of South Korean idols appear in shop windows, indicating that this "Chinatown" not only spreads Chinese culture but also incorporates East Asian elements. A few steps further, a street magician interacts with the audience, with a prominent image of "Guanyin" on the wall behind him, as if everything before us is being witnessed by the bodhisattva.
Why are there so many "foreigners" in Buenos Aires' "Chinatown"? Locals provided various answers. Most people's first response was that "Chinatown" is an important social media hotspot in Buenos Aires. If you plan a day trip to the city, this is a must-visit location. "You visited on the last day of a long weekend, so of course, there were many people shopping and dining; people love going to Chinatown," a local Chinese national told the Global Times.

Another local explained that unlike many other "Chinatowns," Buenos Aires' "Chinatown" has a significant number of Chinese residents, but it is not the main gathering place for the local Chinese community. With its trendy atmosphere, it naturally attracts a lot of young people, making the "foreigners" seem particularly popular.

What is it that attracts so many "foreigners" to this "Chinatown"? "Chinese cuisine" topped the list of mentions, with Chinese products and culture also frequently cited among those interviewed by the Global Times. "Yufu" is a relatively authentic Cantonese restaurant in Buenos Aires' "Chinatown," where Chinese food is on the pricier side compared to local dining options. Yet even at 2:10 pm on Sunday, the restaurant was still packed, and the number of Chinese diners was visibly less than half of all patrons.

"Exquisite, compact, and easy to explore," said Nora, director of a research company in Buenos Aires, when asked about the "Chinatown". She added, "I love the dim sum in 'Chinatown'; I enjoy the exotic atmosphere there. The shop owners are very friendly, and the products are diverse; you can find many things you want in one store."

Liu Jialong, a 19-year-old local of Chinese descent, told the Global Times that "Buenos Aires also has a 'Koreantown,' which is only one street and much smaller than 'Chinatown.' It used to be very popular, but its popularity has declined. In contrast, 'Chinatown' is booming now."

If China were not becoming stronger and developing so rapidly, would people be increasingly interested in China? he asked.

On the diplomatic front, the Milei administration made some comments about China that were deemed newsworthy by some Western media outlets before taking office. However, Argentines, including scholars and businesspeople, that the Global Times reporter met here during the trip place great importance on China-Argentina relations. China is Latin America's second-largest trading partner and holds the top position in several countries. In a recent survey released by the Global Times Institute (GTI), in collaboration with the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) and the China-Latin America Education and Culture Center, on the "China-LAC mutual perception" conducted in both regions found that the most prominent impression left by China on Latin Americans was "technology." When asked to fill in keywords that represent their primary impressions of China, a Gen Z respondent from Argentina mentioned "DeepSeek."
Of all those interviewed by the Global Times, Wu Ditai, a young Argentine scholar who studied at Peking University, was the most knowledgeable about China. Watching him mimic the distinct drawl common among Beijing's taxi drivers was as impressive as it was comedic.

"It's not just 'Chinatown'; if you look deeper, Argentines are very curious about China. They want to know why China is developing so quickly and what experiences Argentina can learn from," Wu Ditai said. He has plans to return to China soon and hopes to travel across all provinces to gain a deeper understanding of the country.

Of course, the reality is that many Argentines do not have a sufficient understanding of China. Most of their information comes from the media, especially Western media sources and social media.

An Argentine journalist told the Global Times that while there is considerable coverage of China in local media, the current lack of understanding among Argentines about China is unlikely to change in the short term.

"'China Travel' is a trending topic now, and Argentina has visa-free access. The real China is right there, and everyone is welcomed to learn about it," the Global Times told Wu Ditai.

Modern mammals are known for their big brains. But new analyses of mammal skulls from creatures that lived shortly after the dinosaur mass extinction show that those brains weren’t always a foregone conclusion. For at least 10 million years after the dinosaurs disappeared, mammals got a lot brawnier but not brainier, researchers report in the April 1 Science.

That bucks conventional wisdom, to put it mildly. “I thought, it’s not possible, there must be something that I did wrong,” says Ornella Bertrand, a mammal paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh. “It really threw me off. How am I going to explain that they were not smart?”

Modern mammals have the largest brains in the animal kingdom relative to their body size. How and when that brain evolution happened is a mystery. One idea has been that the disappearance of all nonbird dinosaurs following an asteroid impact at the end of the Mesozoic Era 66 million years ago left a vacuum for mammals to fill (SN: 1/25/17). Recent discoveries of fossils dating to the Paleocene — the immediately post-extinction epoch spanning 66 million to 56 million years ago — does reveal a flourishing menagerie of weird and wonderful mammal species, many much bigger than their Mesozoic predecessors (SN: 10/24/19). It was the dawn of the Age of Mammals.
Before those fossil finds, the prevailing wisdom was that in the wake of the mass dino extinction, mammals’ brains most likely grew apace with their bodies, everything increasing together like an expanding balloon, Bertrand says. But those discoveries of Paleocene fossil troves in Colorado and New Mexico, as well as reexaminations of fossils previously found in France, are now unraveling that story, by offering scientists the chance to actually measure the size of mammals’ brains over time.

Bertrand and her colleagues used CT scanning to create 3-D images of the skulls of different types of ancient mammals from both before and after the extinction event. Those specimens included mammals from 17 groups dating to the Paleocene and 17 to the Eocene, the epoch that spanned 56 million to 34 million years ago.

What the team found was a shock: Relative to their body sizes, Paleocene mammal brains were relatively smaller than those of Mesozoic mammals. It wasn’t until the Eocene that mammal brains began to grow, particularly in certain sensory regions, the team reports.

To assess how the sizes and shapes of those sensory regions also changed over time, Bertrand looked for the edges of different parts of the brains within the 3-D skull models, tracing them like a sculptor working with clay. The size of mammals’ olfactory bulbs, responsible for sense of smell, didn’t change over time, the researchers found — and that makes sense, because even Mesozoic mammals were good sniffers, she says.

The really big brain changes were to come in the neocortex, which is responsible for visual processing, memory and motor control, among other skills. But those kinds of changes are metabolically costly, Bertrand says. “To have a big brain, you need to sleep and eat, and if you don’t do that you get cranky, and your brain just doesn’t function.”
So, the team proposes, as the world shook off the dust of the mass extinction, brawn was the priority for mammals, helping them swiftly spread out into newly available ecological niches. But after 10 million years or so, the metabolic calculations had changed, and competition within those niches was ramping up. As a result, mammals began to develop new sets of skills that could help them snag hard-to-reach fruit from a branch, escape a predator or catch prey.

Other factors — such as social behavior or parental care — have been important to the overall evolution of mammals’ big brains. But these new finds suggest that, at least at the dawn of the Age of Mammals, ecology — and competition between species — gave a big push to brain evolution, wrote biologist Felisa Smith of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque in a commentary in the same issue of Science.
“An exciting aspect of these findings is that they raise a new question: Why did large brains evolve independently and concurrently in many mammal groups?” says evolutionary biologist David Grossnickle of the University of Washington in Seattle.

Most modern mammals have relatively large brains, so studies that examine only modern species might conclude that large brains evolved once in mammal ancestors, Grossnickle says. But what this study uncovered is a “much more interesting and nuanced story,” that these brains evolved separately in many different groups, he says. And that shows just how important fossils can be to stitching together an accurate tapestry of evolutionary history.

A molar tooth from Southeast Asia probably belonged to a member of a cryptic group of Stone Age hominids called Denisovans, researchers say.

If so, this relatively large tooth joins only a handful of fossils from Denisovans, who are known from ancient DNA pegging them as close Neandertal relatives.

Analyses of the tooth’s internal structure and protein makeup indicate that the molar came from a girl in the Homo genus. She died between the ages of 3½ and 8½, paleoanthropologist Fabrice Demeter of the University of Copenhagen and colleagues say.
A Denisovan molar that dates to at least 160,000 years ago was previously found on the Tibetan Plateau (SN: 12/16/19). The newly discovered tooth strongly resembles that other molar, indicating that the new find is probably Denisovan too, the team reports May 17 in Nature Communications. Before the Tibetan Plateau tooth, all known fossils from the mysterious hominids had been found in Siberia.

Estimated ages of sediment and fossil animal bones in Tam Ngu Hao 2, or Cobra Cave, in Laos place the tooth found there between 164,000 and 131,000 years old.

It’s possible that the Cobra Cave tooth represents a Neandertal or someone with Denisovan and Neandertal ancestry (SN: 8/22/18), Demeter says. His group hopes to extract DNA from the fossil, which could clarify its evolutionary status.

It now appears that at least five Homo species, including Denisovans, inhabited Southeast Asia between roughly 150,000 and 40,000 years ago, Demeter says. Others include Homo sapiens, Homo erectus (SN: 12/18/19), Homo luzonensis (SN: 4/10/19) and Homo floresiensis (SN: 3/30/16), also known as hobbits, he contends.

Still, some researchers regard Denisovans as one of several closely related, ancient Homo populations rather than a distinct species (SN: 6/25/21). Whatever evolutionary ID Denisovans actually held, the Cobra Cave tooth adds to suspicions that the hominids inhabited Southeast Asia’s tropical forests as well as Central Asia’s cold mountain ranges and Siberia.