China consistently respects Panama's sovereignty over the Panama Canal while acknowledging its role as a permanently neutral international passageway, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Friday, in response a question about US president-elect Donald Trump's claim that there are Chinese soldiers stationed at the Panama Canal.

Mao also emphasized Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino's latest statement that the Panama Canal is not under direct or indirect control of any major power.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has denied claims of Donald Trump that there are Chinese soldiers stationed at the Panama Canal, dismissing the claim as "nonsense" and asserting that there is "absolutely no Chinese interference," according to the BBC. 

"There is not a single Chinese soldier in the canal," he told reporters in Panama City.

Mulino also rejected the possibility of reducing tolls for US ships or ceding control of the canal, the BBC report said. "The canal is Panamanian and belongs to Panamanians. There's no possibility of opening any kind of conversation around this reality," he said.

The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region section of the Hepu-Zhanjiang High-Speed Railway began construction on Sunday. Upon its completion, it will become a convenient and fast channel to the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone, Pearl River Delta and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), according to China Central Television (CCTV) on Sunday.

The Hepu-Zhanjiang High-Speed Railway is 139.33 kilometers long, designed for a speed of 350 kilometer per hour, with the Beihai section in Guangxi spanning 62.68 kilometers, CCTV reported.

Once completed, the railway will boost ties between the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone, the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta strengthen east-west cooperation in Guangxi, support integration into new development patterns, and enhance its role as a strategic hub for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA and "dual-circulation" development pattern, according to the report. 

Also, the Longmen Bridge in Guangxi, the longest sea-crossing bridge in the region, opened to traffic that same day, the Xinhua News Agency reported. After opening, the travel time between Fangchenggang Port and Qinzhou Port has been reduced from 1.5 hours to approximately 25 minutes.

Spanning a total length of 7.637 kilometers, the Longmen Bridge boasts a first-class, six-lane highway and a design speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

Besides the bridge, the opening of the Nanning-Yulin section of the Nanning-Zhuhai High-Speed Railway on Monday also marks Yulin's entry into the high-speed rail era. The fastest rail travel time between Nanning and Yulin has been reduced from one hour and 44 minutes to just 48 minutes, injecting new momentum into regional economic and social development, according to the People's Daily.

The Nanning-Zhuhai High-Speed Railway stretches from Nanning, Guangxi in the west to Zhuhai, Guangdong in the east, covering a total length of approximately 648 kilometers with a design speed of 350 kilometers an hour. The newly opened Nanning-Yulin section begins from Nanning East Station and ends at Yulin North Station, spanning a total of 193 kilometers.

Holding significant importance in the regional railway network, this section is a vital part of the rapid passenger transportation corridor connecting the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA.

Upon operation, the project will further improve the regional rail network layout, greatly enhance travel convenience for residents along the route, and play a crucial role in promoting regional economic and social development, strengthening connectivity, and driving high-quality development in the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone.

As the only region in western China directly bordering the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA and connected to it through land, sea, and river channels, Guangxi is leveraging its role as a "strategic hinterland" to accelerate integration with the GBA, according to Xinhua.

The US has long illegally occupied part of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, engaging in arbitrary detention and torture at Guantanamo prison, violating international law and harming Cuba's sovereignty, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Friday regarding recent US detainee transfers out of Guantanamo prison.

The international community, including the United Nations, has repeatedly expressed concern over this issue, calling for the US to close Guantanamo prison and provide justice to the detainees. The US has repeatedly gone back on its word regarding the closure of this American-style concentration camp, further eroding the US' proclaimed standards of human rights, the spokesperson said.

The US has moved detainees from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay to Kenya and Malaysia, the Pentagon announced this week, CNN reported. 

There are 29 prisoners still detained at Guantánamo Bay, according to US Department of Defense.

Lin further stated that Guantanamo prison is a long-standing wound for Cuba and concrete evidence of over a century of illegal US interference in Cuba. While arbitrarily detaining individuals at Guantanamo, it also places Cuba on its so-called "state sponsors of terrorism" list. The international community clearly sees the hypocrisy of this double standard.

China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its sovereignty and dignity, and opposes US interference in Cuba's internal affairs, Lin added, urging the US to end its illegal occupation, lift its blockade, close Guantanamo prison, withdraw from the base, return the land to Cuba, and remove Cuba from its "state sponsors of terrorism" list.

China's top legislature on Saturday started a regular session to review a raft of bills including law drafts and reports.

Zhao Leji, chairman of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presided over the first plenary meeting of the committee's 13th session.

Lawmakers reviewed a draft value-added tax law, a draft national park law, a draft law on the publicity and education regarding the rule of law, a draft private sector promotion law, and a draft hazardous chemicals safety law.

They deliberated a draft amendment to the law on people's congress deputies, a draft amendment to the supervision law, a draft revision to science and technology popularization law, a draft revision to the anti-unfair competition law, and a draft revision to the fisheries law.

Lawmakers also reviewed a draft decision on convening the third session of the 14th NPC, reports on the handling of the suggestions, criticisms and comments submitted by lawmakers at the second session of the 14th NPC, a deputy qualification report, and personnel-related bills, among others.

Du Zhaocai, former deputy director of the General Administration of Sport of China and former Party secretary of the Chinese Football Association, was on Friday sentenced to 14 years in prison and fined 4 million yuan ($550,000) for accepting bribes worth over 43 million yuan.

The Wuhan Intermediate People's Court in Central China's Hubei Province publicly sentenced Du, in a first-instance trial for accepting bribes on Friday, according to the CCTV news.

The Wuhan Intermediate People's Court found that the defendant, Du Zhaocai, had committed the crime of accepting bribes, with an amount that was particularly large, and should be punished according to the law.

Du used his position to seek improper benefits for football clubs in matters such as relocating home stadiums and player transfers, severely disrupting the fair competition order and industry environment in the football field. He also sought job promotions and adjustments for others, which warranted a heavier sentence.

Given that he truthfully confessed his crimes after being taken into custody and proactively disclosed parts of his bribery activities that had not been previously known to the supervision authorities, and considering that there were attempted bribery incidents in his case, as well as his remorse and active return of illicit funds, with all bribe money, property, and derived income having been recovered, the court decided to impose a lighter sentence.

During the trial, the prosecution presented relevant evidence, and the defendant Du and his defense lawyer cross-examined it.

Both the prosecution and defense fully expressed their opinions under the court's guidance. Du made a final statement, admitting his guilt and expressing remorse.

We are currently in one of the most perilous periods since the Cold War, and China plays a pivotal role in global power dynamics, Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy rear admiral Yang Yi said on Saturday at the Global Times Annual Conference 2025. 

Yang made the remarks in a session on "Exploring the Ways of Interaction Among Major Powers: Differences and Consensus" of the conference under the theme "Moving forward in Partnership: Resonance of Values between China and the World."

Yang said that geopolitical blocs worldwide face instability, with numerous conflicts and the risks of getting out of control. In this context, humanity has indeed reached a crossroads. The three China-proposed initiatives, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, highlight China's actions and vision. 

Regarding the interactions between China and the US, Yang believes that China-US relations are very complex, characterized by strategic structure, irreversibility, long term, and interactive effects. 

China's development aims to enhance domestic well-being while contributing to the world. However, some people in the US view China as a challenger and seek to contain China. The fundamental strategy of the US does not allow the development of countries with potential. Although China advocates for cooperation based on common interests, the US's containment strategy against China remains unlikely to change, he said. 

In this situation, China should focus on its own development, pursuing the best outcomes while preparing for the worst, to foster healthy China-US relations and making more contributions to the world, Yang noted.