Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
TIANJIN, June 25 — The Chinese government will continue to foster a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized, and always keep the doors wide open and warmly welcome businesses from all countries to invest and deepen their roots in China, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Wednesday.
Li made the remarks when addressing the opening plenary of the 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, in north China’s Tianjin Municipality.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) — A press conference on the 11th China-Russia Border Culture Festival was held in Tongjiang City, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, to actively promote the Belt and Road Initiative and the theme of China-Russia Cross-Cultural Years exchanges. The event aims to deeply unleash the potential of cultural, sports and trade cooperation between China and Russia, and comprehensively showcase Tongjiang’s tourism resources, cultural characteristics and development achievements.
Speaking at a press conference, Zhang Zhimei, Director of the Tongjiang Department of Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism, said that the city will host the 11th China-Russia Border Culture Festival from June to August 2025. The festival will showcase Tongjiang’s advantages through four thematic blocks: “Government-business meetings to promote cooperation”, “Cultural dialogue to deepen exchanges”, “Trade synergy for industrial prosperity” and “Sports and tourism integration in a dynamic borderland”, including 24 key events.
The city has developed 6 tourist routes and a series of thematic products for deep immersion in the unique atmosphere of the borderland. 29 cultural and tourist sites have been modernized, 50 new photo zones have been created, and the landscaping of a 5-kilometer section of the picturesque border route and 22 adjacent villages has been completed. Particular attention is paid to the development of cross-border tourism, educational tours and other new directions, guaranteeing guests a safe and rich vacation.
Representatives of city departments answered questions from journalists and Internet users regarding the presentation of city attractions, the organization of unique events, the development of cross-border tourism and the modernization of tourist facilities. -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
TIANJIN, June 25 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday that the international economic and trade landscape is undergoing profound changes.
Li Qiang made the remarks while speaking at the opening ceremony of the 16th annual meeting of emerging global leaders of the World Economic Forum (WEF), also known as “Summer Davos”, in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
TIANJIN, June 25 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday called on the international community to take more constructive actions in global economic and trade cooperation.
Li Qiang made the remarks while speaking at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum’s 16th annual meeting of emerging global leaders, also known as “Summer Davos,” in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
TIANJIN, June 25 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Wednesday that China is willing to share its original technologies and innovative scenarios with the world.
Li Qiang made the remarks while speaking at the opening ceremony of the 16th annual meeting of emerging global leaders of the World Economic Forum (WEF), also known as “Summer Davos”, in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
HELSINKI, June 25 (Xinhua) — Finland has completed the second section of the fence on its eastern border with Russia, Finnish broadcaster Yle reported on Tuesday, citing the Finnish Border Guard.
The newly constructed section is reportedly located in the Kainuu area and consists of eight segments, approximately 18 km long. The first 35-kilometer section was previously completed.
Finland’s parliament approved the fence project in 2022, with plans to eventually cover about 200km of the country’s 1,300km border with Russia. Construction began in 2023, with each section including a steel lattice, a service road, a cleared buffer zone and a technical surveillance system.
The Kainuu section has been technologically upgraded compared to the original pilot segment built near the southeastern city of Imatra. According to Yle, these upgrades include an artificial intelligence (AI) surveillance system that can differentiate between people and animals to reduce false alarms, and a loudspeaker system that allows remote communication with people near the fence.
Meanwhile, all land checkpoints between Finland and Russia have been closed since December 2023 in accordance with a series of government decisions. –0–
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
TIANJIN, June 25 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 16th Annual Meeting of Emerging Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum (WEF), also known as “Summer Davos,” in the north Chinese metropolis of Tianjin on Wednesday.
The event, titled “Entrepreneurial Spirit for a New Era,” is being held from June 24 to 26 and is bringing together more than 1,700 leading figures from over 90 countries and regions to discuss issues such as stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit and harnessing new technologies to unleash new momentum for global growth. -0-
After 12 days of war, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran that would bring to an end the most dramatic, direct conflict between the two nations in decades.
Israel and Iran both agreed to adhere to the ceasefire, though they said they would respond with force to any breach.
If the ceasefire holds – a big if – the key question will be whether this signals the start of lasting peace, or merely a brief pause before renewed conflict.
As contemporary war studies show, peace tends to endure under one of two conditions: either the total defeat of one side, or the establishment of mutual deterrence. This means both parties refrain from aggression because the expected costs of retaliation far outweigh any potential gains.
What did each side gain?
The war has marked a turning point for Israel in its decades-long confrontation with Iran. For the first time, Israel successfully brought a prolonged battle to Iranian soil, shifting the conflict from confrontations with Iranian-backed proxy militant groups to direct strikes on Iran itself.
This was made possible largely due to Israel’s success over the past two years in weakening Iran’s regional proxy network, particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon and Shiite militias in Syria.
Over the past two weeks, Israel has inflicted significant damage on Iran’s military and scientific elite, killing several high-ranking commanders and nuclear scientists. The civilian toll was also high.
Additionally, Israel achieved a major strategic objective by pulling the United States directly into the conflict. In coordination with Israel, the US launched strikes on three of Iran’s primary nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Despite these gains, Israel has not accomplished all of its stated goals. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had voiced support for regime change, urging Iranians to rise up against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s government, but the senior leadership in Iran remains intact.
Although Iran was caught off-guard by Israel’s attacks — particularly as it was engaged in nuclear negotiations with the US — it responded by launching hundreds of missiles towards Israel.
Iran has demonstrated its capacity to strike back, though Israel has succeeded in destroying many of its air defence systems, some ballistic missile assets (including missile launchers) and multiple energy facilities.
Since the beginning of the assault, Iranian officials have repeatedly called for a halt to resume negotiations. Under such intense pressure, Iran has realised it would not benefit from a prolonged war of attrition with Israel — especially as both nations face mounting costs and the risk of depleting their military stockpiles if the war continues.
As theories of victory suggest, success in war is defined not only by the damage inflicted, but by achieving core strategic goals and weakening the enemy’s will and capacity to resist.
While Israel claims to have achieved the bulk of its objectives, the extent of the damage to Iran’s nuclear program is not fully known, nor is its capacity to continue enriching uranium.
Both sides could remain locked in a volatile standoff over Iran’s nuclear program, with the conflict potentially reigniting whenever either side perceives a strategic opportunity.
Sticking point over Iran’s nuclear program
Iran faces even greater challenges when it emerges from the war. With a heavy toll on its leadership and nuclear infrastructure, Tehran will likely prioritise rebuilding its deterrence capability.
That includes acquiring new advanced air defence systems — potentially from China — and restoring key components of its missile and nuclear programs. (Some experts say Iran has not used some of its most powerful missiles to maintain this deterrence.)
Iranian officials have claimed they safeguarded more than 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium before the attacks. This stockpile could theoretically be converted into nine to ten nuclear warheads if further enriched to 90%.
Trump declared Iran’s nuclear capacity had been “totally obliterated”, whereas Rafael Grossi, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog chief, said damage to Iran’s facilities was “very significant”.
However, analysts have argued Iran will still have a depth of technical knowledge accumulated over decades. Depending on the extent of the damage to its underground facilities, Iran could be capable of restoring and even accelerating its program in a relatively short time frame.
And the chances of reviving negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program appear slimmer than ever.
What might future deterrence look like?
The war has fundamentally reshaped how both Iran and Israel perceive deterrence — and how they plan to secure it going forward.
For Iran, the conflict has reinforced the belief that its survival is at stake. With regime change openly discussed during the war, Iran’s leaders appear more convinced than ever that true deterrence requires two key pillars: nuclear weapons capability, and deeper strategic alignment with China and Russia.
As a result, Iran is expected to move rapidly to restore and advance its nuclear program, potentially moving towards actual weaponisation — a step it had long avoided, officially.
At the same time, Tehran is likely to accelerate military and economic cooperation with Beijing and Moscow to hedge against isolation. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi emphasised this close engagement with Russia during a visit to Moscow this week, particularly on nuclear matters.
Israel, meanwhile, sees deterrence as requiring constant vigilance and a credible threat of overwhelming retaliation. In the absence of diplomatic breakthroughs, Israel may adopt a policy of immediate preemptive strikes on Iranian facilities or leadership figures if it detects any new escalation — particularly related to Iran’s nuclear program.
In this context, the current ceasefire already appears fragile. Without comprehensive negotiations that address the core issues — namely, Iran’s nuclear capabilities — the pause in hostilities may prove temporary.
Mutual deterrence may prevent a more protracted war for now, but the balance remains precarious and could collapse with little warning.
Ali Mamouri does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
In a decade of international security crises, this could be the most serious. Is there still time to prevent this from happening?
A successful but vulnerable treaty
In May 2015, I attended the five-yearly review conference of the NPT. Delegates debated a draft outcome for weeks, and then, not for the first time, went home with nothing. Delegates from the US, United Kingdom and Canada blocked the final outcome to prevent words being added that would call for Israel to attend a disarmament conference.
Russia did the same in 2022 in protest at language on its illegal occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine.
Now, in the latest challenge to the NPT, Israel and the US have bombed Iran’s nuclear complexes to ostensibly enforce a treaty neither one respects.
When the treaty was adopted in 1968, it allowed the five nuclear-armed states at the time – the US, Soviet Union, France, UK and China – to join if they committed not to pass weapons or material to other states, and to disarm themselves.
All other members had to pledge never to acquire nuclear weapons. Newer nuclear powers were not permitted to join unless they gave up their weapons.
Israel declined to join, as it had developed its own undeclared nuclear arsenal by the late 1960s. India, Pakistan and South Sudan have also never signed; North Korea was a member but withdrew in 2003. Only South Sudan does not have nuclear weapons today.
To make the obligations enforceable and strengthen safeguards against the diversion of nuclear material to non-nuclear weapons states, members were later required to sign the IAEA Additional Protocol. This gave the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wide powers to inspect a state’s nuclear facilities and detect violations.
It was the IAEA that first blew the whistle on Iran’s concerning uranium enrichment activity in 2003. Just before Israel’s attacks this month, the organisation also reported Iran was in breach of its obligations under the NPT for the first time in two decades.
The NPT is arguably the world’s most universal, important and successful security treaty, but it is also paradoxically vulnerable.
The treaty’s underlying consensus has been damaged by the failure of the five nuclear-weapon states to disarm as required, and by the failure to prevent North Korea from developing a now formidable nuclear arsenal.
North Korea withdrew from the treaty in 2003, tested a weapon in 2006, and now may have up to 50 warheads.
Iran could be next.
How things can deteriorate from here
Iran argues Israel’s attacks have undermined the credibility of the IAEA, given Israel used the IAEA’s new report on Iran as a pretext for its strikes, taking the matter out of the hands of the UN Security Council.
For its part, the IAEA has maintained a principled position and criticised both the US and Israeli strikes.
Iran has retaliated with its own missile strikes against both Israel and a US base in Qatar. In addition, it wasted no time announcing it would withdraw from the NPT.
On June 23, an Iranian parliament committee also approved a bill that would fully suspend Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA, including allowing inspections and submitting reports to the organisation.
Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, said the US strikes:
[…] delivered a fundamental and irreparable blow to the international non-proliferation regime conclusively demonstrating that the existing NPT framework has been rendered ineffective.
Even if Israel and the US consider their bombing campaign successful, it has almost certainly renewed the Iranians’ resolve to build a weapon. The strikes may only delay an Iranian bomb by a few years.
Iran will have two paths to do so. The slower path would be to reconstitute its enrichment activity and obtain nuclear implosion designs, which create extremely devastating weapons, from Russia or North Korea.
Alternatively, Russia could send Iran some of its weapons. This should be a real concern given Moscow’s cascade of withdrawals from critical arms control agreements over the last decade.
An Iranian bomb could then trigger NPT withdrawals by other regional states, especially Saudi Arabia, who suddenly face a new threat to their security.
Why Iran might now pursue a bomb
Iran’s support for Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria’s Assad regime certainly shows it is a dangerous international actor. Iranian leaders have also long used alarming rhetoric about Israel’s destruction.
However repugnant the words, Israeli and US conservatives have misjudged Iran’s motives in seeking nuclear weapons.
Israel fears an Iranian bomb would be an existential threat to its survival, given Iran’s promises to destroy it. But this neglects the fact that Israel already possesses a potent (if undeclared) nuclear deterrent capability.
Israeli anxieties about an Iranian bomb should not be dismissed. But other analysts (myself included) see Iran’s desire for nuclear weapons capability more as a way to establish deterrence to prevent future military attacks from Israel and the US to protect their regime.
Iranians were shaken by Iraq’s invasion in 1980 and then again by the US-led removal of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003. This war with Israel and the US will shake them even more.
Last week, I felt that if the Israeli bombing ceased, a new diplomatic effort to bring Iran into compliance with the IAEA and persuade it to abandon its program might have a chance.
However, the US strikes may have buried that possibility for decades. And by then, the damage to the nonproliferation regime could be irreversible.
Anthony Burke received funding from the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council for a project on global nuclear governance (2014–17).
In our guides to the classics, experts explain key literary works.
Ibn Battuta, was born in Tangier, Morocco, on February 24, 1304. From a statement in his celebrated travel book the Rihla (“legal affairs are my ancestral profession,”) he evidently came from an intellectually distinguished family.
According to the Rihla (travelogue), Ibn Battuta embarked on his travels from Tangier at the age of 22 with the intention of performing the Hajj (the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca) in 1325. Although he returned to Fez (his adopted home-town) around the end of 1349, he continued to visit various regions, including Granada and Sudan, in subsequent years.
Over the course of his almost 30 years of travel, Ibn Battuta covered an astonishing distance of approximately 73,000 miles (117,000 kilometres), visiting a region that today encompasses more than 50 countries. His journeys covered much of the medieval Islamic world and beyond, excluding Northern Europe.
In 1355, he returned to Morocco for the last time and remained there for the rest of his life. Upon his return he dictated his experiences, observations and anecdotes to the Andalusian scholar Ibn Juzayy, with a compilation of his travels completed in 1355 or 1356.
The work, formally titled A Gift to Researchers on the Curiosities of Cities and the Marvels of Journeys, is more commonly referred to as Rihlat Ibn Battuta or simply Rihla.
A painting of Ibn Battuta (on right) in Egypt by Leon Benett. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
More than a travelogue or geographical record, this book provides rich insights into 14th-century social and political life, capturing cultural diversity across nations. Ibn Battuta details local lifestyles, linguistic traits, beliefs, clothing, cuisines, holidays, artistic traditions and gender relations, as well as commercial activities and currencies.
His observations also include geographical features such as mountains, rivers and agricultural products. Notably, the work highlights his encounters with over 60 sultans and more than 2,000 prominent figures, making it a valuable historical resource.
The travels
His travels began after a dream. According to Ibn Battuta, one night, while in Fuwwa, a town near Alexandria in Egypt, he dreamed of flying on a massive bird across various lands, landing in a dark, greenish country.
To test the local sheikh’s mystical knowledge, he decided if the sheikh knew of his dream, he was truly extraordinary. The next morning, after leading the dawn prayer, he saw the sheikh bid farewell to visitors. Later, the sheikh astonishingly revealed knowledge of Ibn Battuta’s dream and prophesied his pilgrimage through Yemen, Iraq, Turkey and India.
At the time, the Middle East was under the rule of the Mamluk sultanate, Anatolia was divided among principalities and the Mongol Ilkhanate state controlled Iran, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.
Ibn Battuta initially travelled through North Africa, Egypt, Palestine and Syria, completing his first Hajj in 1326.
He then visited Iraq and Iran, returning to Mecca. In 1328, he explored East Africa, reaching Mogadishu, Mombasa, Sudan and Kilwa (modern Tanzania), as well as Yemen, Oman and Anatolia, where he documented cities like Alanya, Konya, Erzurum, Nicaea and Bursa.
His descriptions are vivid. Describing the city of Dimyat, on the bank of the Nile, he says:
Many of the houses have steps leading down to the Nile. Banana trees are especially abundant there, and their fruit is carried to Cairo in boats. Its sheep and goats are allowed to pasture at liberty day and night, and for this reason the saying goes of Dimyat, ‘Its wall is a sweetmeat and its dogs are sheep’. No one who enters the city may afterwards leave it except by the governor’s seal […]
Farmland on the banks of the Nile river today. Alice-D/shutterstock
When it comes to Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey), he declares:
This country, known as the Land of Rum, is the most beautiful in the world. While Allah Almighty has distributed beauty to other lands separately, He has gathered them all here. The most beautiful and well-dressed people live in this land, and the most delicious food is prepared here […] From the moment we arrived, our neighbors — both men and women — showed great concern for our wellbeing. Here, women do not shy away from men; when we departed, they bid us farewell as if we were family, expressing their sadness through tears.
A judge and husband
In 1332, Ibn Battutua met the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
Since Ibn Battuta dictated his work, it’s difficult to assess the extent of the scribe’s influence in recording his narratives. Despite being an educated man, he occasionally narrates like a commoner and sometimes exceeds the bounds of polite language. At times, he provides excessive detail, giving the impression he may be quoting from sources beyond his own observations.
Nevertheless, the Rihla stands out for its engaging style and captivating anecdotes, drawing readers in.
Ibn Battuta later journeyed through Crimea, Central Asia, Khwarezm (a large oasis region in the territories of present-day Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), Bukhara (a city in Uzbekistan), and the Hindu Kush Mountains. In 1332, he met Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos and travelled to Istanbul with the caravan of Uzbek Khan’s third wife. He mentions a caravan that even has a market:
Whenever the caravan halted, food was cooked in great brass cauldrons, called dasts, and supplied from them to the poorer pilgrims and those who had no provisions. […] This caravan contained also animated bazaars and great supplies of luxuries and all kinds of food and fruit. They used to march during the night and light torches in front of the file of camels and litters, so that you saw the countryside gleaming with light and the darkness turned into radiant day.
Ibn Battuta arrived in Delhi in 1333, where he served as a judge under Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq for seven years. He married or was married to local women in many of the places he stayed. Among his wives were ordinary people as well as the daughters of the administrative class.
Miniature painting in Mughal style depicting the court of Muhammad bin Tughluq. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
The Sultan’s generosity, intelligence and unconventional ruling style both impressed and surprised Ibn Battuta. However, Muhammad bin Tughluq was known for making excessively harsh and abrupt decisions at times, which led Ibn Battuta to approach him with caution. Nevertheless, with the Sultan’s support, he remained in India for a long time and was eventually chosen as an ambassador to China in 1341.
In 1345 his mission was disrupted when his ship capsized off the coast of Calcutta (then known as Sadqawan) in the Indian Ocean. Though he survived, he lost most of his possessions.
After the incident, he remained in India for a while before continuing his journey by other means. During this period, he travelled through India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He served as a judge in the latter for one and a half years. In 1345, he journeyed to China via Bengal, Burma and Sumatra, reaching the city of Guangzhou but limiting his exploration to the southern coast.
He was among the first Arab travellers to record Islam’s spread in the Malay Archipelago, noting interactions between Muslims and Hindu-Buddhist communities. Visiting Java and Sumatra, he praised Sultan Malik al-Zahir of Sumatra as a generous, pious and scholarly ruler and highlighted his rare practice of walking to Friday prayers.
On his return, Ibn Battuta explored regions such as Iran, Iraq, North Africa, Spain and the Kingdom of Mali, documenting the vast Islamic world.
Back in his homeland, Ibn Battuta served as a judge in several locations. He died around 1368-9 while serving as a judge in Morocco and was buried in his birthplace, Tangier.
Historic copy of selected parts of the Travel Report by Ibn Battuta, 1836 CE, Cairo. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
The status of women
Ibn Battuta’s travels revealed intriguing insights into the status of women across regions. In inner West Africa, he observed matriarchal practices where lineage and inheritance were determined by the mother’s family.
Among Turks, women rode horses like raiders, traded actively and did not veil their faces.
In the Maldives, husbands leaving the region had to abandon their wives. He noted that Muslim women there, including the ruling woman, did not cover their heads. Despite attempting to enforce the hijab as a judge, he failed.
He offers fascinating insights into food cultures. In Siberia, sled dogs were fed before humans. He described 15-day wedding feasts in India.
He tried local produce such as mango in the Indian subcontinent, which he compared to an apple, and sun-dried, sliced fish in Oman.
Religious practices
Ibn Battuta’s accounts of the Hajj (pilgrimage) rituals he performed six times provide a unique perspective. He references a fatwa by Ibn Taymiyyah, prominent Islamic scholar and theologian known for his opposition to theological innovations and critiques of Sufism and philosophy, advising against shortening prayers for those travelling to Medina.
Ibn Battuta’s accounts, particularly regarding the Iranian region, offer important perspectives into religious sects during a period when Iran started shifting from Sunnism to Shiism. He describes societies with diverse demographics, including Persians, Azeris, Kurds, Arabs and Baluchis. His observations on religious practices are especially significant.
Inclined toward Sufism, Ibn Battuta often dressed like a dervish during his travels. He offers a compelling view of Islamic mysticism. He considered regions like Damascus as places of abundance and Anatolia as a land of compassion, interpreting them with a spiritual perspective.
His accounts of Sufi education, dervish lodges, zawiyas (similar to monasteries), and tombs, along with the special invocations of Sufi masters, are important historical records. He also observed and documented unique practices, such as the followers of the Persian Sufi saint Sheikh Qutb al-Din Haydar wearing iron rings on their hands, necks, ears, and even private parts to avoid sexual intercourse.
While Ibn Battuta primarily visited Muslim lands, he also travelled to non-Muslim territories, offering key understandings into different religious cultures, for instance interactions between Crimean Muslims and Christian Armenians in the Golden Horde region.
He also documented churches, icons and monasteries, such as the tomb of the Virgin Mary in Jerusalem. His observation of Muslims openly reciting the call to prayer (adhan) in China is significant.
Other anecdotes include the division of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus into a mosque and Christian church. Most importantly, his encounters with Hindus and Buddhists in the Indian subcontinent and Malay Islands provide rich historical context.
His accounts of death rituals reveal diverse practices. In Sinop (a city in Turkey), 40 days of mourning were declared for a ruler’s mother, while in Iran, a funeral resembled a wedding celebration. He observed similarities in cremation practices between India and China and described a chilling custom in some regions where slaves and concubines were buried alive with the deceased.
Ibn Battuta’s Rihla, widely translated into Eastern and Western languages, has drawn some criticism for containing depictions that sometimes diverge from historical continuity or borrow from other works. Ibn Battuta himself admitted to using earlier travel books as references.
Despite limited recognition in older sources, the Rihla gained prominence in the West in the 19th century. His legacy remains vibrant today. Morocco declared 1996–1997 the “Year of Ibn Battuta,” and established a museum in Tangier to honour him. In Dubai, a mall is named after him.
Notably, Ibn Battuta travelled to more destinations than Marco Polo and shared a broader range of humane anecdotes, showcasing the depth and diversity of his experiences.
Ismail Albayrak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
It’s almost a decade since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started a worldwide trend and sparked fierce debate when he knelt during the US national anthem.
In 2016, Kaepernick refused to follow the pre-game protocol related to the national anthem and knelt instead, saying:
I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour.
Soon, many athletes and teams began “taking a knee” at sports events to express their solidarity with victims of racial injustice.
Following the intense public debate over the appropriateness of Kaepernick’s act, the ritual quickly spread worldwide, with athletes in major soccer leagues, cricket, rugby, Formula 1, top-tier tennis and the US’s Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association taking a knee.
Athletes didn’t always kneel during national anthems, with the majority kneeling at certain points pre-game.
Despite the occasional “defection” of a small number of players who would stand while their teammates knelt – such as Israel Folau in rugby league, Wilfried Zaha in soccer and Quinton de Kock in cricket – the ritual was widely embraced by teams and athletes and helped raise awareness of the issue.
Even major sports organisations notorious for prohibiting any type of political activism generally accepted the kneeling ritual. For example, soccer’s International Football Federation (FIFA) showcased kneeling as a “stand against discrimination” and as human rights advocacy.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) initially stood firm by its Rule 50, which states “no kind of demonstration or political, religious, or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas”.
But just three weeks before the 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, the IOC relaxed its interpretation, and athletes were permitted to express their views in ways that included taking a knee.
A surprising turn of events
Despite permission and even encouragement from sports governing bodies, our research shows the practice is disappearing from major sports competitions.
Take soccer, for example. At the FIFA World Cup 2022, England and Wales were the only national teams that knelt at their games in Qatar.
At the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, no teams or players knelt.
The same happened at the 2024 Olympic soccer tournament in Paris.
That only a handful of teams knelt in Tokyo at the 2021 Olympics, two at the FIFA Mens’ World Cup in Qatar in 2022, none at the FIFA Womens’ World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023, and again none at the Paris 2024 Olympics indicates a growing reluctance throughout the sports world.
This surely cannot mean athletes have become indifferent to racial injustice or other forms of oppression in the interval between the late 2010s and the mid-2020s.
The explanation must be sought elsewhere. A hint was provided when Crystal Palace soccer player Zaha, the first player of colour in the UK who refused to kneel, explained:
I feel like taking the knee is degrading, because growing up my parents just let me know that I should be proud to be Black no matter what and I feel like we should just stand tall.
The explanation may therefore be, at least in part, the players’ uncomfortable feelings related to the kneeling posture.
In sociology, this bothersome state of mind is called “cognitive dissonance”: the mental conflict a person experiences in the presence of contrasting beliefs.
A history of kneeling
The body posture of kneeling is not deemed, in any culture, as expressing solidarity.
Ancient Greek and the Roman societies, on whose values Western civilisation was built, rejected kneeling as improper, even when praying to gods.
When performed outside the church, kneeling meant submission to nobility or royalty.
The significance of kneeling as humility is not limited to the Western world.
In African tribal culture, the young kneel in front of elders, and everyone kneels before the king.
In China in 1949, Chairman Mao famously proclaimed at the first plenary of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference:
From now on our nation […] will no longer be a nation subject to insult and humiliation. We have stood up.
With this in mind, kneeling may be deemed unfit at sporting events, which often feature a powerful cocktail of emotions, values and social expectations.
The inconsistency between the excitement of competition and the expectation to kneel — a gesture associated with submission and humility — likely creates a bothersome state of mind for athletes.
This potentially motivates some players to reject one of the two – in this case, the kneeling – to restore cognitive harmony.
What could replace the kneeling ritual?
After refusing, by unanimous players’ vote, to take a knee before their October 2020 game against the All Blacks, the Australian rugby union team chose instead to wear a First Nations jersey.
The same year, several teams in German soccer’s top league chose to show their support for Black Lives Matter by wearing distinctive armbands.
So it appears wearing a distinctive jersey or at least an armband is more easily accepted by modern-day athletes. This may be challenging given the governing bodies of many sports, such as FIFA, ban athletes from wearing political symbols on their clothing.
Depending on whether sports code accept this type of activism in the future, wearing suportive clothing could replace taking a knee as symbolic communication of solidarity with oppressed minorities.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Xi, Mozambican president exchange congratulations on 50th anniversary of ties
Updated: June 25, 2025 10:44Xinhua
BEIJING, June 25 — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday exchanged congratulations with Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Mozambique.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
TIANJIN, June 25 — China is confident in and capable of maintaining rapid economic growth, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Wednesday.
Li made the remarks when addressing the opening plenary of the 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, in north China’s Tianjin Municipality.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
China committed to tackling difficulties, challenges facing global economy: premier
TIANJIN, June 25 — Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday that China is willing to do whatever it takes to help tackle the difficulties and challenges facing the global economy.
Li made the remarks when addressing the opening plenary of the 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, in north China’s Tianjin Municipality.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
TIANJIN, June 25 — Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday that China is moving towards becoming a high-income country as a whole as the demand for consumption upgrade is robust in the world’s second-largest consumption market.
Li made the remarks when addressing the opening of the 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, in north China’s Tianjin Municipality.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
TIANJIN, June 25 — China is striving to develop itself into a super-sized consumption powerhouse on the solid foundation of a manufacturing powerhouse, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Wednesday.
Li made the remarks when addressing the opening plenary of the 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, in north China’s Tianjin Municipality.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Hop aboard, grip the handrail, press the gas, and it’s time for an exhilarating adventure across the vast, rolling sand dunes on a four-wheeled quad bike.
This thrilling experience is just one of many adventures visitors can enjoy at the N39 scenic area in Makit County of Xinjiang’s Kashgar Prefecture. Located on the southwestern edge of the Taklimakan, China’s largest and the world’s second-largest drifting desert — often referred to as the “Sea of Death” — this once-remote and seldom-visited wilderness has become a captivating destination.
“The ride was so much fun and so intense, we enjoyed it a lot,” said Li Wei, who brought her 18-year-old son for a post-graduation trip from Wuhu in east China’s Anhui Province, a city some 4,000 km from Kashgar. “Playing in the desert should be a great way for the kid to relax after the college entrance exam,” she added.
Launched in 2016, the tourist site is attracting a growing number of visitors. The annual tourist visits have reached 500,000, with a consistent year-on-year growth rate of 7 to 15 percent, according to Dong Mingjiang, general manager of the tourism development company of the scenic area.
“Many of our visitors come from afar, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, and we have also received many foreign visitors from countries such as the United States, Britain, Singapore and Thailand,” he said.
Besides the four-wheelers, the site offers a wide choice of desert-based activities such as off-roaders, sand surfing, camel riding and desert camping.
At the camel trekking area, Chen Wenbai mounted a camel and, under the guidance of staff, set off to explore the rolling sand dunes. The rhythmic chime of camel bells and the ethereal whistling of the camel herders echoed across the wilderness, creating a scene reminiscent of the ancient Silk Road.
“It is my first time to see the big desert, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Chen, who traveled all the way from Zhuhai in south China’s Guangdong Province to Xinjiang. Accompanying him were a dozen “travel buddies” he met online, who had discovered this scenic spot through Xiaohongshu, the Chinese lifestyle online platform known overseas as “rednote.”
The name of the tourist site N39 means the 39 degrees north latitude, a line popular with adventurers and off-road enthusiasts to cross the Taklimakan Desert. The history of the N39 dates back to 1895 when Swedish explorer Sven Anders Hedin led his team along this line to cross the Taklimakan in vain.
Today, witnessing an evolving landscape, the once-feared “Sea of Death” is transforming into a sea of life and hope.
Over the years, against the background of China’s fight against desertification, people in Xinjiang have been cultivating drought-resistant plants such as populus euphratica, saxaul and red willow at the edge of the Taklimakan to fix the sand and improve the environment. In November 2024, a sand-blocking green belt stretching 3,046 km was completed to encircle the Taklimakan.
In Makit, a total of 78,400 hectares of sand prevention and control projects, including 30,666 hectares of protective forests, have been completed. At the same time, the county has been tapping into the economic potential of the desert. Besides the N39 scenic area, it also established a tourist site featuring the Daolang (swordsman) culture and paintings created by local farmers.
According to Pan Guoping, deputy director of the local culture, broadcasting and tourism bureau, in the first five months of 2025, the county received over 1.78 million tourist visits, a growth of 55.05 percent year-on-year. Tourism revenue during the period reached 732 million yuan (102 million U.S. dollars), up 61.58 percent.
The tourist boom is evident around the Taklimakan.
At the northern edge of the desert, Xayar County, Aksu Prefecture, boasts the world’s largest and best-preserved pristine populus euphratica forest stretching along the Tarim River.
Thanks to the ecological restoration efforts such as ecological water conveyance and replanting, the county has created a wetland scenic area in the desert, integrating populus euphratica forests, lakes, wetlands and waterfowl habitats. In autumn, when the forests turn into a sea of golden yellow, this once-isolated area emerges as a popular destination, drawing visitors and photographers from near and far.
At the southern margin of the desert, Yutian County in Hotan Prefecture has a long history of rose cultivation. As part of the sand control efforts, local communities have successfully cultivated drought-resistant and highly adaptable rose varieties suitable to their local desert conditions.
The region now hosts a rose culture tourism festival annually, featuring an array of activities including song and dance performances, cultural exhibitions, rose-themed experiences, gourmet food tasting, agricultural product fairs, and sports events.
The booming tourism industry is offering immense opportunities for locals.
Four years ago, after graduating from Shanghai Normal University, Aynur Emer returned to her hometown of Makit and became a tour guide at the N39 scenic area. Now, at just 25 years old, she is the scenic spot’s deputy general manager.
Growing up in a farming family, Aynur Emer often found herself reflecting on the desert that dominated her childhood memories — a place of hardship she hoped to leave.
“The back door of our house opened directly onto the desert,” she recalled. “During sandstorms, the roads would disappear entirely. Coming back from the market, I frequently struggled to find my way home.”
As a little girl, she never imagined that the desert could become a tourist destination. Yet today, thanks to environmental improvements and a burgeoning tourism industry, the desert has transformed in her eyes from a source of struggle to one of beauty and prosperity.
“When I was young, I dreamed of traveling to see stunning landscapes far from home,” Aynur Emer said. “But now, the best view is right at my doorstep.” ■
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
In the heartland of China, near a 4,500-year-old farmland, a team of agricultural scientists is modernizing an ancient practice. They are using big data analytics and AI modeling to study and improve the yield of a specific plot of land.
At the experimental field near the Baodun Site, where evidence of ancient rice cultivation was found, researchers from Sichuan Agricultural University are using AI-powered models to simulate the result of different hybrid rice varieties.
The modern research method has greatly saved time, unlike the conventional approach, which would require waiting until the harvesting season of a certain rice hybrid, researchers said.
Chinese archaeologists have unearthed carbonized rice, millet, and foxtail millet at the Baodun site, a walled enclosure dating from 4,500 to 4,200 years back. This late Neolithic culture emerging on the Chengdu Plain in southwestern China, bears witness to the agricultural dawn of ancient Chinese civilization. Today, the site’s agricultural values, and also archaeological and economic values are being explored and expanded through technological means.
In a nearby lab, researchers are constructing a 3D image of the site to study the impact of ancient floods and to understand how the walled structures may have contributed to the prosperity of the plain. Not far from the site, the Tianfu Agricultural Expo Park, sprawling 96 square km, accommodates eco-farming, expo and innovative farming practices.
The park with integrated platforms blending culture, commerce, agriculture, and tourism has transformed muddy fields into vibrant cultural spaces, said Yuan Zhouping, director of agricultural industry department of the Sichuan Tianfu Agricultural Expo Park Investment Co., Ltd.
In addition to rice cultivation, silk-weaving, another ancient invention that originated at the Chengdu Plain, has received a modern technological boost.
At the Jinmen Creative Park showcasing the silk culture, the application of AI in Shu Brocade bridges tradition and innovation. Clients submit AI-generated photos for machines to weave into brocade bases before artisans embroider.
“AI-assisted brocade slashes design time and ensures uniqueness,” said Zhong Ming, director of Sichuan Shujing Cultural Communication Co., Ltd., “It turns consumers into co-creators, revitalizing intangible heritage.”
Juxtaposing the modern brocade is a six-meter-tall Tang Dynasty (618-907) loom, with its warp and weft threads labeled “1” and “0” revealing a binary code. The centuries-old brocade patterns are also being digitized and analyzed to foster innovation, Zhong said.
China has more than 7,000 officially registered museums which attracted 1.49 billion visits last year. Across the country, the increasingly wide use of AI, VR and AR now facilitates the preservation, utilization and exhibition of cultural relics and heritage.
In Chengdu, ancient paper money, or jiaozi from the 10th century, inspires creative works now exhibited at the city’s art museum. Digital docents offer immersive tours and answer questions instantly for interested museum-goers. Kiln museums market tea sets based on golden masks freshly unearthed from the Sanxingdui Site, a rich and mysterious city. These innovative pieces are being sold on livestreaming platforms and have gained popularity among young consumers. ■
Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz
WASHINGTON — During a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing today entitled, “A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Navy,” U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) pressed top military officials on Middle East operations and partisan budget maneuvers. The witnesses included Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan, Commandant of the Marine Corps General Eric M. Smith, and Acting Chief of Naval Operations Admiral James W. Kilby.
Addressing the current situation in the Middle East, Senator Schatz began, “President Trump’s decision to strike Iran was impetuous. He conducted strikes without seeking Congressional authorization, and it endangered service members stationed throughout the region. Iran’s barrage of missile attacks on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar demonstrated that. The announcement of a ceasefire is good news, but now we need an actual ceasefire, and it is on all parties to arrive at that conclusion this unnecessary 12-day conflict.”
Schatz then raised concerns about the readiness of U.S. forces amid shifting global threats, citing examples of multiple carrier strike groups rerouting from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East and stressing the importance of replacing munitions expended by the U.S. to defend Israel to ensure that the U.S. can continue to deter future threats and protect its partners.
Turning to the Navy and Marine Corps budget request, Schatz noted that the FY26 request, which Republicans have tied to their budget reconciliation efforts, fell $8 billion short of the FY25 continuing resolution (CR), saying, “Failing to address the current shortfalls caused by the CR means that the Navy will not be able to successfully deter the threats posed by China. Reconciliation is not a responsible way to do spending, as Senator McConnell, the Chairman of the Defense Subcommittee said, using extraordinary parliamentary authorities does not sustain the Department of Defense. The Department’s ability to take care of our service members should not be contingent on whether Congress passes an unrelated package of tax cuts and health care cuts.”
He urged Republicans to pursue bipartisan cooperation through the regular appropriations process, saying, “Historically, the things that go in a reconciliation package are the things that can’t pass on a bipartisan basis… The model in this modern Senate, which is, granted, different from the Senate of 10 years ago and 30 years ago and so on, but the model has been that you explore bipartisanship, you explore achieving cloture, and making this committee relevant and important and a sort of center of power in the Article One branch, and if you fail, then you have these extraordinary authorities to go elsewhere. But to go elsewhere before you even try to cut a deal with Democrats, who are saying, ‘We’d like to cut a deal’ may not be the wisest course of action.”
It’s almost a decade since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started a worldwide trend and sparked fierce debate when he knelt during the US national anthem.
In 2016, Kaepernick refused to follow the pre-game protocol related to the national anthem and knelt instead, saying:
I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour.
Soon, many athletes and teams began “taking a knee” at sports events to express their solidarity with victims of racial injustice.
Following the intense public debate over the appropriateness of Kaepernick’s act, the ritual quickly spread worldwide, with athletes in major soccer leagues, cricket, rugby, Formula 1, top-tier tennis and the US’s Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association taking a knee.
Athletes didn’t always kneel during national anthems, with the majority kneeling at certain points pre-game.
Despite the occasional “defection” of a small number of players who would stand while their teammates knelt – such as Israel Folau in rugby league, Wilfried Zaha in soccer and Quinton de Kock in cricket – the ritual was widely embraced by teams and athletes and helped raise awareness of the issue.
Even major sports organisations notorious for prohibiting any type of political activism generally accepted the kneeling ritual. For example, soccer’s International Football Federation (FIFA) showcased kneeling as a “stand against discrimination” and as human rights advocacy.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) initially stood firm by its Rule 50, which states “no kind of demonstration or political, religious, or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas”.
But just three weeks before the 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, the IOC relaxed its interpretation, and athletes were permitted to express their views in ways that included taking a knee.
A surprising turn of events
Despite permission and even encouragement from sports governing bodies, our research shows the practice is disappearing from major sports competitions.
Take soccer, for example. At the FIFA World Cup 2022, England and Wales were the only national teams that knelt at their games in Qatar.
At the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, no teams or players knelt.
The same happened at the 2024 Olympic soccer tournament in Paris.
That only a handful of teams knelt in Tokyo at the 2021 Olympics, two at the FIFA Mens’ World Cup in Qatar in 2022, none at the FIFA Womens’ World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023, and again none at the Paris 2024 Olympics indicates a growing reluctance throughout the sports world.
This surely cannot mean athletes have become indifferent to racial injustice or other forms of oppression in the interval between the late 2010s and the mid-2020s.
The explanation must be sought elsewhere. A hint was provided when Crystal Palace soccer player Zaha, the first player of colour in the UK who refused to kneel, explained:
I feel like taking the knee is degrading, because growing up my parents just let me know that I should be proud to be Black no matter what and I feel like we should just stand tall.
The explanation may therefore be, at least in part, the players’ uncomfortable feelings related to the kneeling posture.
In sociology, this bothersome state of mind is called “cognitive dissonance”: the mental conflict a person experiences in the presence of contrasting beliefs.
A history of kneeling
The body posture of kneeling is not deemed, in any culture, as expressing solidarity.
Ancient Greek and the Roman societies, on whose values Western civilisation was built, rejected kneeling as improper, even when praying to gods.
When performed outside the church, kneeling meant submission to nobility or royalty.
The significance of kneeling as humility is not limited to the Western world.
In African tribal culture, the young kneel in front of elders, and everyone kneels before the king.
In China in 1949, Chairman Mao famously proclaimed at the first plenary of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference:
From now on our nation […] will no longer be a nation subject to insult and humiliation. We have stood up.
With this in mind, kneeling may be deemed unfit at sporting events, which often feature a powerful cocktail of emotions, values and social expectations.
The inconsistency between the excitement of competition and the expectation to kneel — a gesture associated with submission and humility — likely creates a bothersome state of mind for athletes.
This potentially motivates some players to reject one of the two – in this case, the kneeling – to restore cognitive harmony.
What could replace the kneeling ritual?
After refusing, by unanimous players’ vote, to take a knee before their October 2020 game against the All Blacks, the Australian rugby union team chose instead to wear a First Nations jersey.
The same year, several teams in German soccer’s top league chose to show their support for Black Lives Matter by wearing distinctive armbands.
So it appears wearing a distinctive jersey or at least an armband is more easily accepted by modern-day athletes. This may be challenging given the governing bodies of many sports, such as FIFA, ban athletes from wearing political symbols on their clothing.
Depending on whether sports code accept this type of activism in the future, wearing suportive clothing could replace taking a knee as symbolic communication of solidarity with oppressed minorities.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has sent a clear signal to the Trump administration: the Japan–US relationship is in a dire state.
After saying just days ago he would be attending this week’s NATO summit at The Hague, Ishiba abruptly pulled out at the last minute.
He joins two other leaders from the Indo-Pacific region, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, in skipping the summit.
The Japanese media reported Ishiba cancelled the trip because a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump was unlikely, as was a meeting of the Indo-Pacific Four (IP4) NATO partners (Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan).
Japan will still be represented by Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, showing its desire to strengthen its security relationship with NATO.
However, Ishiba’s no-show reveals how Japan views its relationship with the Trump administration, following the severe tariffs Washington imposed on Japan and Trump’s mixed messages on the countries’ decades-long military alliance.
Tariffs and diplomatic disagreements
Trump’s tariff policy is at the core of the divide between the US and Japan.
Ishiba attempted to get relations with the Trump administration off to a good start. He was the second world leader to visit Trump at the White House, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
However, Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs imposed a punitive rate of 25% on Japanese cars and 24% on all other Japanese imports. They are already having an adverse impact on Japan’s economy: exports of automobiles to the US dropped in May by 25% compared to a year ago.
Six rounds of negotiations have made little progress, as Ishiba’s government insists on full tariff exemptions.
Japan has been under pressure from the Trump administration to increase its defence spending, as well. According to the Financial Times, Tokyo cancelled a summit between US and Japanese defence and foreign ministers over the demand. (A Japanese official denied the report.)
Japan also did not offer its full support to the US bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities earlier this week. The foreign minister instead said Japan “understands” the US’s determination to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Japan has traditionally had fairly good relations with Iran, often acting as an indirect bridge with the West. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe even made a visit there in 2019.
Japan also remains heavily dependent on oil from the Middle East. It would have been adversely affected if the Strait of Hormuz had been blocked, as Iran was threatening to do.
Unlike the response from the UK and Australia, which both supported the strikes, the Ishiba government prioritised its commitment to upholding international law and the rules-based global order. In doing so, Japan seeks to deny China, Russia and North Korea any leeway to similarly erode global norms on the use of force and territorial aggression.
Strategic dilemma of the Japan–US military alliance
In addition, Japan is facing the same dilemma as other American allies – how to manage relations with the “America first” Trump administration, which has made the US an unreliable ally.
Earlier this year, Trump criticised the decades-old security alliance between the US and Japan, calling it “one-sided”.
“If we’re ever attacked, they don’t have to do a thing to protect us,” he said of Japan.
Lower-level security cooperation is ongoing between the two allies and their regional partners. The US, Japanese and Philippine Coast Guards conducted drills in Japanese waters this week. The US military may also assist with upgrading Japan’s counterstrike missile capabilities.
But Japan is still likely to continue expanding its security ties with partners beyond the US, such as NATO, the European Union, India, the Philippines, Vietnam and other ASEAN members, while maintaining its fragile rapprochement with South Korea.
Australia is now arguably Japan’s most reliable security partner. Canberra is considering buying Japan’s Mogami-class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. And if the AUKUS agreement with the US and UK collapses, Japanese submarines could be a replacement.
Ishiba under domestic political pressure
There are also intensifying domestic political pressures on Ishiba to hold firm against Trump, who is deeply unpopular among the Japanese public.
After replacing former prime minister Fumio Kishida as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) last September, the party lost its majority in the lower house of parliament in snap elections. This made it dependent on minor parties for legislative support.
Ishiba’s minority government has struggled ever since with poor opinion polling. There has been widespread discontent with inflation, the high cost of living and stagnant wages, the legacy of LDP political scandals, and ever-worsening geopolitical uncertainty.
On Sunday, the party suffered its worst-ever result in elections for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, winning its lowest number of seats.
The party could face a similar drubbing in the election for half of the upper house of the Diet (Japan’s parliament) on July 20. Ishiba has pledged to maintain the LDP’s majority in the house with its junior coalition partner Komeito. But if the government falls into minority status in both houses, Ishiba will face heavy pressure to step down.
Craig Mark does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) — The agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan on mutual visa waiver for holders of ordinary passports will enter into force on July 16, 2025, the Consular Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
According to the agreement, citizens holding valid ordinary passports of China and Azerbaijan are exempt from visas when entering, exiting or transiting through the territory of the other country, provided that the duration of each continuous stay does not exceed 30 days, and the total duration of stay during each 180 days does not exceed 90 days.
To stay in China or Azerbaijan for more than 30 days, permanently reside, or carry out activities that require prior permission from the competent authorities of the host country, in particular work, study, journalistic work, etc., it is necessary to obtain the appropriate visa before entry.
In April of this year, during the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to China, the governments of the two countries officially signed an Agreement on the mutual abolition of visas for holders of ordinary passports. -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 24 — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that China supports Iran’s efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and security, and on that basis, achieve a genuine ceasefire, restore normal life for the people, and help de-escalate the situation in the Middle East as soon as possible.
During his phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China is willing to promote the UN Security Council in fulfilling its due role and primary responsibility of safeguarding international peace and security.
China also hopes that Iran will continue to ensure the safety of Chinese institutions, personnel, and diplomatic missions, he said.
Araghchi, for his part, stressed that the dangerous actions by Israel and the United States in attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities are serious violations of international law, leaving Iran with no choice but to respond.
Genuine negotiations can only begin once Israel halts its aggression, he said.
Iran is willing to maintain close communication with China and looks forward to China’s greater role in easing tensions, he added.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 24 — A report from China’s State Council on Tuesday revealed that the country has made notable strides in advancing innovation-driven development, and that its innovation-driven strategy has been gaining momentum.
Beijing, Shanghai and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have each reported remarkable outcomes in their development as international centers of sci-tech innovation, according to the report, which the State Council submitted to the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s national legislature.
In 2024, China’s integrated circuit industry saw rapid growth, with a 22.2 percent increase in the production of integrated circuits, and the value of its integrated circuit exports exceeded 1.1 trillion yuan (about 153 billion U.S. dollars) to reach an all-time high, according to the report.
A wave of domestically produced high-end equipment has been put into operation, including high-horsepower tractors with continuously variable transmission, as well as large liquefied natural gas ships, the report shows.
It also shows that China’s technological innovation and industrial innovation are deeply integrated, and that the country’s establishment of a modern industrial system is on the fast track.
China has also made progress in advancing its green, low-carbon development, with energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product declining by more than 3 percent in 2024, according to the report, which also highlighted that the country has sound foundations and favorable conditions for the cultivation of new quality productive forces.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 24 — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that China opposes settling disputes by force and has always stood on the side of peace.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a phone conversation with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Wang said Israel and the United States have used force against Iran on the grounds of “potential future threats,” which has seriously violated the international law and infringed upon Iran’s sovereignty.
Dialogue and negotiation is the fundamental way out, Wang said, noting that all parties should restart dialogue on an equal basis and push the Iranian nuclear issue back onto the track of political settlement.
Wang said that the Palestinian question is at the heart of the Middle East issue, and it is necessary to promote the implementation of the two-state solution.
For his part, Fidan said if Israel wants to safeguard its security, it should accept the two-state solution and stop the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
Türkiye is willing to enhance communication and coordination with China and jointly commit to achieving peace and stability in the Middle East region, he said.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Hetao Irrigation Area in China’s Inner Mongolia
Updated: June 25, 2025 09:43Xinhua
A farmer operates agricultural machinery in farmlands in Urad Front Banner of Bayannur, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 4, 2025. Nestled at the top of the Yellow River’s “Great Bend” and in the heart of the Hetao Plain, Bayannur is a city nurtured by the Yellow River, renowned as a granary of northern China. The word Bayannur means “abundant lake” in Mongolian, perfectly describing the region’s water resources. Viewed from above, the Hetao Irrigation Area reveals an extensive 64,000-kilometer network of irrigation channels that nourish the entire city, making it both the largest irrigation system in the Yellow River Basin and the largest single-source gravity-fed irrigation system in Asia. The Sanshenggong Water Control Project serves as the sole water source for the Hetao Irrigation Area. The project’s dam divides the river flow, with one branch flowing into the main canal that sustains the agricultural heartland, while the other continues downstream. As part of the World Heritage Irrigation Structures, the ingenuity of the Hetao Irrigation Area lies in its dual function of water deliver and drainage. After irrigating farmlands, excess water flows through the main drainage canal into Ulansuhai Nur, creating a sustainable balance between human activity and water resources. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on May 28, 2025 shows the second diversion hub of the main canal in Linhe District of Bayannur, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on June 4, 2025 shows the Ulansuhai Nur in Bayannur, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on May 28, 2025 shows the Sanshenggong Water Control Project in Dengkou County of Bayannur, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on May 28, 2025 shows the second diversion hub of the main canal in Linhe District of Bayannur, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on May 28, 2025 shows farmlands in Dengkou County of Bayannur, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on May 28, 2025 shows the main canal in Dengkou County of Bayannur, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]An aerial drone photo taken on May 28, 2025 shows the main canal in Linhe District of Bayannur, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [Photo/Xinhua]
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
A missile trace is seen from the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank, on June 24, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
Israel said on Tuesday it had identified missiles from Iran, shortly after the Israeli authorities said it had accepted a ceasefire proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to local media reports, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed Israeli military to “respond forcefully” after Iranian missile fire.
The latest escalation came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel had accepted a ceasefire proposed by Trump and had achieved its war goals against Iran.
According to a statement by the office of Israeli prime minister, Netanyahu declared that Israel had achieved its goal of removing Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile threat.
Iran’s Press TV said earlier Tuesday that ceasefire begins following waves of Iranian attacks on Israel.
Trump had earlier announced that a ceasefire between the two sides would begin around 0400 GMT, with Iran expected to halt its operations first.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said earlier that there was no “agreement” on a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. However, he suggested Iran would be prepared to halt further retaliation if Israeli attacks stopped by 4 a.m. Tehran time (0030 GMT).
“If Israel stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 a.m., Iran has no intention of continuing its response afterwards,” Araqchi wrote in a post on X, adding that “the final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.”
Hours earlier, a senior Iranian official told CNN that Tehran had not received any formal ceasefire proposal from the United States and saw no reason to halt hostilities.
“At this very moment, the enemy is committing aggression against Iran, and Iran is on the verge of intensifying its retaliatory strikes, with no ear to listen to the lies of its enemies,” the official was quoted as saying. He added that remarks from U.S. and Israeli leaders would be seen as a “deception” intended to justify further attacks on Iran.
The conflicting narratives raised questions about the implementation and durability of any potential ceasefire. It remained unclear whether the reported deal had been communicated through diplomatic channels, or whether either side intended to follow the terms.
Trump announced Monday evening that Israel and Iran have reached a formal agreement to implement a complete and total ceasefire, marking what he called the end of the “12-Day War.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform Monday, Trump said the ceasefire will initially last 12 hours, during which the opposing sides will maintain a posture of “peace and respect.”
“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will,” Trump wrote, “I would like to congratulate both countries … on having the stamina, courage, and intelligence to end what should be called ‘THE 12 DAY WAR.’”
Calling the agreement a breakthrough that “could have saved the Middle East from years of destruction,” Trump ended his announcement with a sweeping message of unity: “God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!”
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
China has emerged as a central driver of global energy transition in view of its significant strides in renewable energy and its broader commitment to transforming its energy system, according to Nicholas Wagner, an energy expert with the World Economic Forum (WEF).
In a recent written interview with Xinhua, Wagner, manager of Energy and Industry Transition Intelligence at the WEF’s Center for Energy and Materials, said China’s recent progress in energy transition underscores both the scale of its commitment and its visionary long-term planning and investments.
China now leads the world in renewable energy capacity additions and is projected to account for about 60 percent of all new global capacity through 2030, said Wagner, citing the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The Energy Transition Index, part of the Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2025 report released by the WEF, showed that China climbed five spots from the previous year to rank 12th out of 118 countries in 2025. It also placed fifth in transition readiness.
Wagner attributed this progress to China’s strong innovation ecosystem and supportive policy framework.
The government has backed this push with a wide range of policy tools, including support for large-scale and distributed renewable systems, a national emissions reduction plan, and a pledge to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, he explained.
He said that “China’s performance in advancing the global energy transition is both impressive and essential.” This has demonstrated the possibility of large-scale energy transition efforts alongside maintaining strong economic growth, he added.
Despite China’s achievements, the report also highlighted broader global challenges. Global investment in low-carbon energy systems reached a record 2.1 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024, an 11 percent increase from the previous year. However, this growth rate has slowed compared to the 24-29 percent annual increases seen from 2021 to 2023. Moreover, current investment levels remain significantly below the estimated 5.6 trillion dollars required annually through 2030 to meet international climate goals.
In 2024, global energy-related carbon emissions hit a record 37.8 billion tons, driven by a 2.2 percent increase in energy demand. This growth was largely fueled by the rise of artificial intelligence, data centers, increased cooling demand, and electrification, according to the report.
“One of the most critical challenges identified in this year’s Energy Transition Index is the disparity in financing conditions between advanced and emerging economies,” Wagner said.
“China has solidified its position as a global leader in clean energy investment,” Wagner said, noting that the country attracted 818 billion dollars in clean energy investments in 2024, a 20 percent increase from the previous year.
“This demonstrates sustained political commitment and a strong innovation ecosystem,” he emphasized.
Moreover, China continues to channel significant capital not only into mature technologies such as solar and wind, but also into emerging solutions like electric vehicles and energy storage.
“By maintaining this investment momentum, China plays a dual role,” Wagner said. “It helps drive down global technology costs through scale, and acts as a bridge between advanced and emerging economies in the global energy transition.”
In addition, Wagner stressed the need for more equitable global capital distribution if the energy transition is to succeed worldwide.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Passengers check in at the China Eastern Airlines counters to board the first direct flight from Istanbul to Xi’an at Istanbul Airport in Türkiye, on June 24, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
A China Eastern Airlines flight carrying over 200 passengers touched down at Istanbul Airport at around 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) on Tuesday, marking the launch of the airline’s new direct route between Xi’an in southwestern China and Türkiye’s Istanbul.
It is the airline’s second direct route connecting China and Türkiye, following its Shanghai-Istanbul service. Operated with Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft, the new route offers three round-trip flights per week on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, according to the Shanghai-headquartered airline.
At the launch ceremony for the inaugural return flight from Istanbul at the airport on Tuesday morning, Wu Jian, China’s deputy consul general in Istanbul, hailed the opening of the new route as a significant step in building a convenient “air Silk Road” between the two historic cities.
The new route will undoubtedly inject new momentum into the promotion of China-Türkiye economic cooperation, cultural exchange, and the joint advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative, Wu said.
Firat Ocak, aviation development director at Istanbul Airport, emphasized the airport’s commitment to the Chinese market and expressed confidence that the new route would provide Chinese travelers with more efficient transit options to Europe and beyond via Istanbul.
The launch of the direct flight not only enhances connectivity between western China and Türkiye but also serves as a convenient bridge for bilateral cooperation in trade, culture, and tourism, said Li Ge, general manager of the Istanbul branch of China Eastern Airlines.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
New agreements focusing on innovation were signed Tuesday between Chinese and Greek universities and institutes at a conference held in Athens, aiming to boost scientific and industrial cooperation.
The Greece-Jiangsu Innovation and Industrial Cooperation Conference held at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) brought together more than 160 officials, academics, and industry experts from both countries. The forum focused on advancing joint research and commercialization in high-tech fields.
NTUA Rector Ioannis K. Chatjigeorgiou noted his university’s strong ties with Chinese universities, saying, “We expect meaningful outcomes for science, education, and bilateral relations.”
NTUA signed two partnership agreements: one with the China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT), and another jointly with the Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute (JITRI) and the Shanghai Yangtze Delta Innovation Institute.
The agreement between NTUA and CUMT builds on longstanding collaboration between their electrical engineering departments, said CUMT President Liu Bo.
During the conference, experts from China and Greece exchanged views on cutting-edge topics, including RISC-V processor architecture, sustainable maritime technologies, and energy innovation. Researchers from both countries discussed ongoing projects and held talks to explore future collaboration opportunities during panel discussions and roundtables.
