CHINA MIRROR WEEKLY NEWS 10 ISSUE

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Association for Sri Lanka China Social and Cultural Co-operation SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:

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Xi Jinping on global governance, int'l relations

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Is China's 'hypersonic missile' the new Sputnik moment?

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Wang Yi: Any attacks against Tibet will not be accepted

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Sri Lanka showcased for the first time at the 2021 ChinaASEAN Expo Tourism Exhibition, Guilin, Guangxi Province.

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The Luoyang Municipal Government Gifts a Peony Garden to the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping checks the Yellow River's waterways at a dock in the city of Dongying, east China's Shandong Province, October 20, 2021. /Xinhua

Xi Jinping on global governance, int'l relations

Is China's 'hypersonic missile' the new Sputnik moment?

Sri Lanka showcased for the first time at the 2021 ChinaASEAN Expo Tourism Exhibition, Guilin, Guangxi Province.

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CNEE has offered to invest USD 800 million in Sri Lanka ..

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Wang Yi: Any attacks against Tibet will not be accepted

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Xi Jinping on global governance...

EIJING, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the lawful seat of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations (UN).

President Xi Jinping has on multiple occasions stressed the importance of upholding the UN-centered international system and called for promoting global governance that is based on consultation and cooperation and is beneficial for all, and ensuring that global affairs are managed by all the people through consultation.

The following are some highlights of his remarks in this regard: -- We should follow the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration in engaging in global governance. We should reform and improve the global governance system, and work with all other countries to build a community with shared future for humanity.

-- China will stay actively engaged in reforming and developing the global governance system. It will firmly uphold the UNcentered international system, the international order underpinned by international law, and the UN's central role in international affairs.

-- China is always a builder of world peace, contributor to global development, defender of the international order and provider of public goods.

-- China will continue to stand together with other developing countries and firmly support greater representation and say of them, especially African countries, in the international governance system.

-- International governance should be based on the rules and consensus reached among all countries, not on the order given by one or the few.

-- For global issues like climate change, a utilitarianism-oriented, take-more-give-

less approach is in nobody's interest.

-- No country has the right to dominate global affairs, control the destiny of others, or keep advantages in development all to itself.

Significant achievements Wang said that 70 years ago, thanks to the unremitting efforts of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Tibet achieved peaceful liberation.

Under the leadership of the CPC over the past seven decades, people -- Democracy in international relations has become an unstoppable trend of the of all ethnic groups in Tibet have times. united and worked together to make the region an epitome of the success -- What we need to do is to replace conof the country's accelerated developflict with dialogue, coercion with consulment, he said. tation and zero-sum with win-win, expand The Foreign Minister also portrayed the converging interests of all and build a the region as a vivid example of the progress of the nation's democracy big global family of harmony and coopand human rights and an important eration. window for its opening-up and cooperation with the world.

Hailing the achievements made in Tibet, Wang said its GDP had increased 300-fold, per capita disposable income of rural residents by over 400 times and average life expectancy more than doubled from 35 to 72 years.

From 2016 to 2020, Tibet received Wang Yi: Any attacks nearly 160 million tourists from against Tibet will not be ac- home and abroad, he added.

Adherence to opening-up cepted The Foreign Ministry will support Tibet in promoting economic and CTGN 21 Oct social development, expanding openChinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers a speech at ing-up and cooperation, building an a special foreign ministry event organ- international ecological civilization highland, safeguarding security, staized to present southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region to the world, bility and national unity, and opposing any attempt to undermine secuBeijing, China, October 20, 2021. / rity and stability in the region, acChina's Foreign Ministry cording to Wang.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday China's opening-up and development have always been closely linked to that people without biased views on China's Tibet Autonomous Region are the world, and China will continue to share new opportunities with the always welcome to visit, but those world, work with other countries to who attack, slander and smear it will implement the Global Development not be accepted.

Initiative, and continue to promote the construction of a global commuWang made the remarks at a special foreign ministry event that was organ- nity of development with a shared future, he said. ized to present southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region to the world. The central government will help Tibet deepen Belt and Road cooperaThe event, themed "China on a New Journey: A New Chapter of Develop- tion with neighboring countries, develop industries with local characterment for a Happy New Tibet," was attended by foreign diplomats and rep- istics and consolidate the achieveresentatives of international organiza- ments made in poverty alleviation, he added. tions based in China.

100 Countries Support China on Human Rights amid US-led smears at UN session Global Times 22 Oct Nearly 100 countries voiced their support to China for developing its own pattern for human rights development and opposed politicizing human rights issues to suppress other countries at the 76th session of UN General Assembly on Thursday, while the US and a few Western countries started a new round of attacks on China over Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Xizang (Tibet) regions.

On behalf of 62 countries, Cuba made a joint statement on Thursday at the UN General Assembly to support China for developing its own pattern on human rights that fits its conditions and oppose other countries' interference in China's internal affairs under the banner of human rights.

The joint statement was made at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly as the Third Committee reviewed human rights issues after a few countries, including the US and France, made groundless accusations targeting China's human rights record.

The joint statement said that respecting each country's sovereignty, integrity and independence and no interference in other

countries' domestic affairs should be the basic international code. Issues on China's Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Xizang regions are China's internal affairs, and no country has the right to interfere.

The joint statement called on countries to respect people of different countries to choose their own pattern for human rights development and opposed politicizing human rights issues or double standards, or making groundless accusations at China out of political purposes and based on disinformation.

Kuwait, on behalf of three Gulf countries, also made a joint statement to support China and said that to deal with human rights issues, countries should abide by principles of objectiveness without politicization, the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They should also respect each country's sovereignty and not interfere in other countries' internal affairs.

More than 30 countries also voiced their support for China at the meeting, which marked more fair and just voices at the UN platform after the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Wang Wenbin, Chinese FM spokesperson, told a press conference on Friday.

On Thursday, Ambassador Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, refuted the untenable accusations and reiterated China's stance on human rights issues, saying that China firmly opposes and refuses untenable accusations made by some countries.

It is so difficult for the US and a few countries to change their old bad habits misusing the UN platform to make untenable accusations at China, spreading political viruses and disinformation, and poisoning the atmosphere for cooperation.

China has actively participated in all the topics of the Third Committee and offered China's approach. On behalf of 31 countries, China made a joint statement to oppose unilateral sanctions; on behalf of 76 countries, it made a joint statement on promoting the fair distribution of vaccines; together with African countries, China also released a joint statement opposing racial discrimination, winning support from 78 countries. All these show that China and the majority of developing countries insist that communication is the right direction for promoting human rights, and cooperation is the right pattern, Zhang noted.

The Luoyang Municipal Government Gifts a Peony Garden to the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Beijing

The China National Energy Engineering and Construction Company Limited (CNEE) has offered to invest USD 800 million in Sri Lanka on 400 MW Renewable Energy Projects in Sri Lanka. The equipment and knowhow will be supplied by KE Electric.

Olympic flame arrives in China for Beijing 2022 CGTN- 20,Oct The Olympic flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games arrived in the Chinese capital on Wednesday morning from Athens, Greece.

A welcome ceremony is due to

be held later at the Beijing Olympic Tower near the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, which hosted the opening During the Jan.-Sept. period, non-financial and closing ceremonies of the FDI into the country totaled 859.5 billion 2008 Summer Olympics. yuan. In US dollar terms, FDI into the Chinese mainland totaled 129.3 billion US dollars, up 25.2 percent year on year. FDI into the service sector increased 22.5 percent in yuan terms, while high-tech industries saw FDI inflow jumping 29.1 percent year on year, data from the ministry showed.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, rose 19.6 percent year on year in the first nine months of the year, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday.

Foreign investments from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and countries along the Belt and Road into the Chinese mainland jumped 31.4 percent and 31.9 percent, respectively.

The flame was lit on Monday in a traditional ceremony at Ancient Olympia in western Greece and was handed over to the Beijing 2022 organizers at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on Tuesday.

China has conducted the first ignition test for the world's most powerful solid-propellant rocket engine. [Photo/ Chinanews.com]

Ignition test for latest rocket engine roaring success China has conducted the first ignition test for the world's most powerful solid-propellant rocket engine, according to the Academy of Aerospace Solid Propulsion Technology in Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

The academy, a subsidiary of the State-owned space giant China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, announced on Tuesday afternoon that the test had been successfully made that morning.

With a diameter of 3.5 meters, the engine uses 150 metric tons of solid propellants to produce a thrust power of 500 metric tons, making it the world's most powerful and fuel-

efficient integrated solidpropellant rocket engine, it said in a statement, noting that the test took place at an engine testing facility in Xi'an.

Wang Jianru, the engine's chief designer, said that the engine integrates a number of advanced technologies and highperformance composite materials and is of world-class capability.

"The test's success meant that we have achieved substantial progresses in improving the capability of our solidpropellant carrier rockets. It also laid the foundation for our research and development of a 1,000-ton-thrust engine," he said, noting that the new engines are necessary for China to build super-heavy rockets.

Researchers and engineers at the China Academy of Launch

Vehicle Technology in Beijing, another CASC subsidiary, are designing the Long March 9, a super -heavy carrier rocket that will likely become one of the world's largest and mightiest launch vehicles.

The super-heavy rocket is expected to enter service around 2030. It will stand 93 meters tall and will have a liftoff weight of 4,140 metric tons and a thrust power of 5,760 tons. The diameter of its core stage will be about 10 meters, according to designers at the academy.

The craft will be so powerful that it will be able to transport spacecraft with a combined weight of 140 tons to a low-Earth orbit hundreds of kilometers above the ground, and will be capable of deploying spaceships weighing up to 50 tons to an Earth-moon transfer trajectory for lunar expeditions.

Is China's 'hypersonic missile' the new Sputnik moment?

CTGN 19 Oct Editor's note: CGTN's First Voice provides instant commentary on breaking stories. The daily column clarifies emerging issues and better defines the news agenda, offering a Chinese perspective on the latest global events.

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ver the weekend, a report was leaked to the Financial Times from anonymous U.S. sources who claimed that China had tested an orbital hypersonic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, which apparently traveled around the world. It has incited a great uproar in the national security and diplomatic circles in the U.S. Many are stunned by the report and became fearful of the thought that China's military capabilities are leaping forward at a pace beyond the U.S.'s imagination. The U.S.'s military supremacy, to some scholars and officials, is under siege.

It is tempting for anti-China hardliners to believe these claims coming from Washington. However, such deliberate leaks in newspapers are a common theme in U.S. foreign policy making and always have an agenda – to deliberately whip up fear of their adversaries to legitimize higher defense spending and an arms race against Beijing. This unverified story is designed to encourage more confrontation and

panic against China, promoting instability and uncertainty in the same way the Sputnik moment did during the Cold War. China's Foreign Ministry officially denied that such a test had ever taken place, and claimed that it had only tested a reusable orbital space vehicle which had no military implications.

It is important to understand that the United States has the most theatrical, dramatic and hysterical political culture.

American politics floats on grotesque exaggerations, a rendering of everything in absolutist terms and an open incitement of fear and threat. Even the smallest developments are frequently hyped up to have drastic consequences. This political culture is especially relevant when it comes to its foreign policy, whereby the weaponization of public fear and the exaggerated notion of a "threat" are utilized as an instrument to win support for aggressive foreign policies and satisfy the interests of the military industrial complex.

As a result, American foreign policy is premised on a never-ending cycle of proclaiming hysterical threats to "democracy and freedom" at home by various things.

Irrespective of who America targets, it becomes an incentive for the media and the government to exaggerate their capabilities and intentions, falsely depicting that the U.S. is always in danger and at risk of "losing," thereby buying support

for aggressive foreign policies. This has included everything from the Soviet Union and terrorism to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Russia and, finally these days, China.

The mainstream politicians' consensus is to exaggerate the perceived threat from Beijing to manufacture support for a tough stance.

One tactic that the U.S. administrations use to build this "threat perception" is leaking of "insider reports" and documents to the media, which then report its sensational angle and hype up fear. For example, in 2017, reports claiming the DPRK was capable of striking the U.S. homeland were used to manufacture consent for Trump's tough policy. Now as we are seeing with China, reports are appearing which serve the purpose of deliberately exaggerating a perceived imminent threat from China's military capabilities to the U.S., aiming to hit a panic button with the implication that America is falling behind.

The leaked pieces like these are not intended to report or educate the public.

They are intended to incite a need for action. They are designed to invoke fear and create public support for rises in defense spending, rises in support for research and development into critical technologies and increase in military containment of China.

China's seed bank key in preserving genetic diversity CGTN- 20,Oct

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here are currently more than 1,000 seed banks around the world, playing a pivotal role in preserving genetic diversity for the future. In southwest China's Kunming City, scientists have spent the past 15 years working on a project, known as the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species.

The place has a collection of over 10,000 seeds from wild species. They vary in color, shape and genetic makeup.

Some of them are stored at very low temperatures, while others survive in vitro, with a small number kept in liquid nitrogen, known as cryopreservation.

Lin Liang heads a team preserving rare plant species such as magnolias. Instead of using seeds, they extract plant materials such as cells and tissues, and keep them at a temperature of around minus 200 degrees Celsius.

"Many magnolia seeds cannot tolerate dehydration. If we store them at minus 20 degrees Celsius as we normally do for other species, they would quickly lose vigor," Lin told CGTN. "Therefore, we foster embryogenic cells which are able to produce a large number of plants through the somatic embryogenic pathway."

"Cryopreservation not only solves the breeding problem, but also ensures the species' vitality for an unlimited period of time," he added.

So far, the team has preserved 15 kinds of magnolia species – over 10 percent of the total in China. They plan to cover all endangered magnolias across the coun-

try – about half of the total – in the next 10 years.

Here in this Germplasm Bank, there's another way to preserve the wild species – in vitro banking, which is a safe strategy for the long-term conservation of plant genetic resources.

Most of the samples are the vegetative parts of plants, like the stem and leaf, rather than the seeds. Altogether, the in vitro bank stores more than 2,000 species of wild plants.

Most of the wild species in the bank are orchids, ferns and succulent plants. Usually, they cannot be stored using conventional methods.

We went inside an underground deepfreeze chamber to check out the conventional way of keeping seeds. More than 90 percent of the collections are dried, frozen and preserved in this way.

The seed bank stores the seeds of over 10,000 wild plant species, more than onethird of the country's total. It's extremely cold here – the temperature is minus 20 degrees Celsius. However, right here, some of these seeds can survive for thousands of years.

Among the numerous seeds are those of wild bananas. Currently, this bank has conserved seven different species of seeds. "The wild species has a wide range of genetic diversity, including pest or disease-resistant genes. These genes are very important for the breeding of artificial banana species," Li Dezhu, head of the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, told CGTN. For the past 30 years, Panama disease, a

fungal pathogen, has been devastating banana crops. A new strain has emerged in recent years, sparking fears of severe shortages. "Wild species have endured a lot throughout geological history. They have already experienced natural disasters, including viruses, so they are more resistant to this kind of virus. There must be some gene lockers in the genetic diversity of wild bananas to overcome this problem," said Li. The Germplasm Bank has also developed a DNA barcoding technique to help identify species. Its DNA banks have kept the genes of over 7,000 wild plants, along with 2,000 microbials.

Since it was launched in 2007, the seed bank has evolved to be the largest of its kind in Asia. With expanding research facilities, it is dedicated to preserving the genetic resources of the most diverse wild species.

Aerial photo shows the "Falcon" airinflated testing lab for COVID-19 nucleic acid testing in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu Province, Oct. 24, 2021. A set of "Falcon" air-inflated testing lab has been built in Lanzhou for massive nucleic acid tests. The lab is capable of screening up to 800,000 people every day using the ten-in-one mixed testing approach, which greatly improved the testing capabilitiy after the recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the city. (Xinhua/ Zhang Zhimin)

Sri Lanka showcased for the first time at the 2021 China-ASEAN Expo Tourism Exhibition, Guilin, Guangxi Province The Consulate of Sri Lanka in Guangzhou for the first time participated in the 2021 China-ASEAN Expo Tourism Exhibition from 15-17 October 2021 in Guilin in Guangxi Province, with a culture and tourism booth, manned by the Consulate staff.

The booth was decorated with pictures of tourist and cultural attractions embossed on its walls, with some handicrafts and a television playing videos of diverse tourist and cultural sites of Sri Lanka which enticed the public, tour operators and

travel agencies to visit the booth.

There were many travel and quarantine procedure inquiries on Sri Lanka by those thinking of visiting the country in the future.

It was the first time that the Consulate participated in a fair in Guangxi province, outside of Guangzhou and Guangdong Province in Southern China and such participation gave an opportunity to showcase Sri Lanka, far away from Guangzhou.

While in Guilin, in Guangxi, the Consul General of Sri Lanka to Guangzhou Priyangika Dharmasena attended the Opening ceremony of the exposition and also met with Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism Zhuang Xu, Vice Governor of Guangxi Li Bin, Mayor of Guilin Li Chu and other high-level government as well as tour-

ism and culture related officials.

The fair is a prestigious exhibition co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China and Guangxi Province, under the global infrastructure development strategy of the “Belt & Road Initiative’, that aims to strengthen cooperation, collaboration in tourism and trade as well to develop rapport among China and ASEAN Countries and major countries along the Belt and Road.

More than 40 countries along the Maritime Silk Road as well as Europe, United States, Japan, South Korea and Chinese travel agencies participated in this year’s exposition.

Athletes in action during the men's wheelchair basketball final at the 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 8th National Special Olympics in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, October 19,

Int'l firms eye opportunities in China's consumption market TIANJIN, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- From introducing imported products to China in the early years, adjusting the product formulation to meet Chinese consumers' needs, to the current export of goods made in Chinese factories, P&G's change has witnessed the development of China's consumption market.

The potential of China's consumption market has created unlimited opportunities for the enterprise, said Jasmine Xu, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of P&G Greater China, at a summit in north China's Tianjin Municipality on Thursday.

The Haihe International Consumption Summit highlighted new opportunities for international consumption under the "dual circulation" development pattern, as China is building a new development paradigm where domestic and overseas markets reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay.

In July, the State Council approved Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing to take the lead in building international consumption center

cities. The five cities recently unveiled a series of measures and will carry out specific projects to build themselves into international consumption center cities.

Ian McGarrigle, founder and chairman of the World Retail Congress, said via video, "I believe China will be able to leverage the fundamental role of domestic consumption in economic development and foster a more robust and domestic market to boost growth at home and create more room for global growth."

A population of over 1.4 billion, including a middle-income group of over 400 million people that keeps expanding, China offers a supersized market and will create more new opportunities for global consumption markets, said Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce, at the summit.

Currently, Chinese consumption market features high-quality, putting more emphasis on individuality and the shopping experience. The consumption upgrade trend is obvious.

"China is one of the largest and most sophisticated consumer markets in the world, and we are very committed to China and to Chinese consumers. We are investing to improve and expand our operations and we are investing in innovative new products and services. All with a view to meeting Chinese consumers' desire to have a better life," said

David Taylor, chairman of the board, president and CEO of P&G. Bestseller Fashion Group China, in the Chinese market for nearly 25 years, continues to seize more market opportunities. It has participated in the "Double 11" (Nov. 11, indicating Singles' Day) buying spree, and opened livestreaming workshops on popular Chinese video-sharing app Douyin to embrace China's livestreaming economy.

"We had 100 percent localization since 1998. We spent all the time in the Chinese consumption market to understand Chinese consumers. There have been so many opportunities in China all these years," said Dan Friis, co-founder of the Bestseller Fashion Group China.

Liu Hui, director of the JD Research Institute for Consumption and Industrial Development, said the number of international brands and products on JD.com has continued to grow in recent years. They research the clear needs of Chinese consumers, and even tailor products and services for them.

"It represents the promotion of China's consumption market in the world, and also shows the importance of Chinese market to these international brands," Liu said.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's retail sales of consumer goods totaled around 31.8 trillion yuan (about 4.98 trillion U.S. dollars), up 16.4 percent year on year in the first three quarters of this year.

Wang Wei, director general and senior research fellow of Institute of Market Economy, Development Research Center of the State Council, said building Chinese cities to be international consumption centers is conducive to fostering new growth poles in promoting stable economic growth, and leading the new momentum of global consumption.

Wang also suggests it is necessary to accelerate the cultivation of a diversified and multi-level consumer industry system, combining digitalization, intelligence and experience-oriented development trend of the retail industry, to further innovate consumption patterns and product services.

period (2016-2020) kicked off in Beijing on Thursday.

President Xi Jinping on Monday hailed the restoration of all the rights of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the United Nations (UN) 50 years ago as a victory of the Chinese people, and the people from all countries around the world.

There is an amazing place that exemplifies the aura of art in Southwest China's Chongqing – the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. Going there will fill your heart with an "artistic spirit."

China's Mars orbiter has resumed communications with Earth after the solar conjunction and will start remote sensing of Mars in early November, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said Friday.

China recently issued a master plan for building the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle in the southwestern part of the country as a key growth driver for the area.

China's first 10,000 tonne-class maritime patrol vessel Haixun 09 was officially commissioned in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province on Saturday, marking the commencement of service of the country's most advanced law enforcement ship.

An exhibition showing China's achievements in scientific and technological innovation during the 13th Five-Year Plan

Leading Chinese autonomous driving firm Uisee unveiled its latest L4-level unmanned delivery vehicles and smart solutions recently, as self-driving commercialization is revving up in the country with faster-than-expected driverless applications.

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Editor in Chief Madushan Kularathne 25.10.2021