The 2026 China-Kyrgyzstan Media Cooperation Forum was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Wednesday, under the theme "Deepening China-Kyrgyzstan Media Cooperation for a Brighter SCO Future." Nearly 100 participants, including media representatives, government officials, experts, scholars and business leaders from both countries attended the event to engage in in-depth exchanges and discussions on topics including economic and trade development, cultural exchanges and media cooperation.

Attendees noted that ties between China and Kyrgyzstan have continuously enriched and deepened in the new era. They emphasized that media organizations from both nations should shoulder their responsibilities, build consensus on shared values, reflect the shared aspirations of both peoples for a better life, and work together to tell the stories of China-Kyrgyzstan good-neighborliness, friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Participants of the 2026 China-Kyrgyzstan Media Cooperation Forum believe that by upholding the Shanghai Spirit of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development, the organization has maintained a strong momentum of growth. They believe that the media of SCO member states should fully leverage their role as bridges and bonds, promote the Shanghai Spirit, strengthen pragmatic cooperation and enhance people-to-people connectivity, thereby contributing wisdom and strength to building a more beautiful SCO home.

Cui Shixin, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the People's Daily, said in his opening address that the next Meeting of Council of Heads of State of SCO will be held in Bishkek in the second half of 2026. Linked by mountains and rivers, China and Kyrgyzstan are good neighbors, good friends and good partners enjoying close people-to-people ties. At this pivotal moment, holding the China-Kyrgyzstan Media Cooperation Forum to explore the responsibilities and missions of the two countries' media in the new era is well-timed and of profound significance. This not only puts into practice the important consensus reached between President Xi Jinping and President Sadyr Japarov on deepening the China-Kyrgyzstan comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era, but also constitutes a concrete action to foster a favorable public opinion environment and consolidate a solid popular foundation for the upcoming SCO Bishkek Summit.

He put forward four proposals: Media of both countries should build consensus on development to anchor mutual trust, boost mutually beneficial cooperation to pave the way for prosperity, deepen cultural exchanges to nurture the tree of friendship and consolidate institutional foundations to amplify the voice of the SCO.

Salkyn Sarnogoeva, Deputy Minister of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic, noted in her speech that integration within the framework of the SCO is not merely about economic projects and political agreements. Above all, it represents the convergence of cultures and human stories. It is media practitioners who translate the sophisticated language of traditional diplomacy into a narrative of friendship, cooperation and constructive development understandable to all citizens. The SCO is currently in a phase of robust development, with the media sector playing a pivotal strategic role. 

"It is the media colleagues present here today who have built a 'cultural bridge' between our two peoples, shaping a shared information space and laying the foundation for trust and mutual understanding," she said.

Galina Baitekerek, head of Kyrgyz Tuusu Publishing House in Kyrgyzstan, mentioned in her address that the ancient Silk Road, generations of good-neighborliness and friendship and a shared aspiration for regional peace and development have tightly bound Kyrgyzstan and China together. Against this backdrop, strengthening cooperation in the information field is of paramount importance.

Baitekerek said that Chinese and Kyrgyz media sectors enjoy broad prospects for cooperation in various fields, including exchanging experience among journalists and experts, launching joint media initiatives, advancing digital platforms and new media development, and scaling up support for young journalists. "I am confident that deepening collaboration among journalists, experts and media organizations from both countries will surely make significant contributions to the cultural and people-to-people development of the SCO," she remarked.

Sun Dapeng, counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan, said in his speech that media plays an irreplaceable role in deepening mutually beneficial cooperation and enhancing people-to-people bonds. Media cooperation also stands as a key priority for cooperation within the SCO and between China and Kyrgyzstan. The forum is another major achievement of media cooperation between the two countries. The deeper the media exchanges, the closer the hearts of the two peoples, and the further journalists travel, the wider the stories of China-Kyrgyzstan friendship will spread, he said. 

China is willing to join hands with Kyrgyzstan to firmly promote the Shanghai Spirit, continuously deepen media cooperation, and make greater contributions to building a closer SCO community with a shared future and a China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future, the Chinese diplomat noted.

Elena Zholobova, Editor-in-Chief of Kyrgyz newspaper Slovo Kyrgyzstana, told Global Times reporters that the China-Kyrgyzstan Media Cooperation Forum is a high-quality exchange platform with immense potential, which is vital for media outlets aiming to go international and engage in mutual communication.

"Currently, cultural exchanges and economic interactions between China and Kyrgyzstan are becoming increasingly vibrant. By leveraging the rich news resources of the SCO, both our two countries can better identify convergence points to jointly create high-quality content that caters to the interests of readers in both countries," she said.

People-to-people connectivity is the solid foundation of bilateral cooperation, while people-to-people exchanges serve as the most vibrant foundation of China-Kyrgyzstan good-neighborliness and friendship. Du Hua, Director of the Confucius Institute on the Chinese side at Bishkek State University, shared her first-hand observations from years of working in Kyrgyzstan during an interview with the Global Times.

Du noted that local youth are increasingly drawn to the Chinese language and culture, reflecting a deep-rooted and solid foundation of public goodwill between China and Kyrgyzstan. She suggested that media from both countries should embrace a diverse narrative approach focused on "localization and everyday life," digging deep into the personal stories of ordinary people to serve as a bond that genuinely enhances mutual understanding and emotional connection between the two peoples.

As a bridge connecting the world, aviation serves as a bond deepening the friendship between China and Kyrgyzstan. In a speech, a representative from Air China's sales office in Bishkek announced that Air China will officially enter the Kyrgyz market. Earlier media reports indicated that Air China will launch a direct flight between Beijing and Bishkek starting July 17, 2026.

With the launch of this route, two-way passenger traffic between China and Kyrgyzstan is expected to exceed 200,000 for the first time in 2026, paving a smoother Air Silk Road for people-to-people exchanges and economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Eduard Kubatov, Director of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Kyrgyzstan, told the Global Times that the prospects for China-Kyrgyzstan tourism cooperation are highly promising. The steady growth in tourist numbers fully demonstrates the immense potential of bilateral cultural and tourism cooperation, and the launch of Air China's direct flight route is anticipated to inject a powerful boost into the tourism sector, he said. Currently, the Kyrgyz side is continuously aligning with the Chinese side to jointly tap into new opportunities for cultural and tourism cooperation, Kubatov noted.

Currently, China-Kyrgyzstan cooperation is continuously expanding its scope, accelerating the shift to new fields, including the digital economy and artificial intelligence (AI). In his remarks at the forum, Li Dahai, CEO of Chinese AI company ModelBest, said that Central Asia is not only a geographical hub but can also become a smart hub on the Digital Silk Road in the new era. We look forward to working with Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries to ensure that AI better understands local languages, aligns more closely with local industries, and serves the local people more effectively, Li said.

The forum was co-hosted by the People's Daily and Kyrgyz Tuusu Publishing House. The event featured keynote speeches and roundtable dialogues, alongside the "Linked by Mountains and Rivers, Bound by Shared Hearts - China and Kyrgyzstan Hand-in-Hand for the Future Photo Exhibition" and the Kyrgyzstan stop of the Global Times "Overseas China Week" event. During the forum, the People's Daily signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with Kyrgyz Tuusu Publishing House, and the Global Times signed a cooperation agreement with Slovo Kyrgyzstana.

At the forum venue, the Secretariat of the Belt and Road News Network (BRNN) and the Global Times jointly released a report on interest trends among youth in SCO member states. The report points out that youth in these countries generally endorse the concepts and actions of the SCO, highly appreciate its positive role in global governance, and hold high expectations to deepening cooperation across various fields among member states.

China appreciates Uruguay's adherence to the one-China principle and will support the country in safeguarding its own sovereignty, security and development interests, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday.

Meeting with Uruguay's Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Lubetkin in New York, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that maturity, stability and predictability have been the defining features of China-Uruguay relations since the two countries established diplomatic ties.

China is ready to work with Uruguay to well implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, intensify high-level exchanges, deepen cooperation across all fields and elevate the China-Uruguay comprehensive strategic partnership to a new height, he said.

Noting that Uruguay is the current rotating chair of the Group of 77 and China, Wang said China stands ready to strengthen multilateral coordination with Uruguay to promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

Lubetkin said Uruguay is ready to work with China and leverage its role as the rotating chair of the Group of 77 and China to advance the reform agenda of the United Nations.

He said Uruguay firmly adheres to the one-China policy and is ready to work with China to strengthen high-level exchanges and expand cooperation in fields such as trade, finance, energy, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, as well as science and technology, to continuously advance bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.

China launches Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship

Today, China-Uzbekistan all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era has reached an unprecedentedly high level, accompanied by an expansion of practical cooperation. One dimension of mutually beneficial ties is interregional cooperation.

The Third Uzbek-Chinese Interregional Forum, which is taking place from May 20 to 22 in the historic city of Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, will undoubtedly become another important milestone in deepening cooperation between the regions of our countries.

The ties between the regions of Uzbekistan and China stretch back centuries, forming a unique historical foundation. The ancient cities of Uzbekistan and China were connected by trade, culture, science, and people-to-people contacts. The ancient Silk Road not only facilitated economic prosperity but also served as a space for the exchange of ideas, technologies, knowledge, and cultural traditions.

In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the heads of state, relations between the two countries have acquired a qualitatively new dimension and our cooperation has entered a "golden period of development."

The close relations between the two heads of state serve as a strong foundation and the most important factor in bilateral cooperation. Regular meetings between the heads of state, a high level of political trust, and alignment of views on a wide range of international and regional issues create favorable conditions for expanding practical interaction across all spheres.

Interregional dialogue is becoming one of the most dynamically developing components of this cooperation.

In January 2024, the First Uzbek-Chinese Interregional Forum was held in the city of Urumqi, marking a new starting point for the development of horizontal ties between the regions of the two countries.

The Second Interregional Forum, held on June 1-2, 2025, in Samarkand, confirmed that regional interaction is gradually turning into one of the key pillars of bilateral partnership. Its scale has grown noticeably. The events were attended by over 2,800 representatives from both countries - from government structures, regional administrations, business circles, educational and scientific institutions.
The Third Interregional Forum, which takes place in Xi'an - the ancient capital of China and the historical starting point of the ancient Silk Road - promises to be the next milestone in its development.

From this city, routes connecting China with Samarkand, Bukhara, Fergana, and other ancient centers of our country once began. For centuries, Xi'an served as a meeting place for civilizations, trade, scientific knowledge, and cultural exchange. Undoubtedly, the forum will raise interregional cooperation between Uzbekistan and China to an even higher level, opening new opportunities for implementing joint initiatives, expanding investment partnerships, and further bringing our peoples closer together.

The dynamics of the relationship are also reflected in economic indicators. A significant part of this dynamic is driven by interregional cooperation. Thanks to investments, new production facilities, industrial capacities, logistics centers, and energy infrastructure projects are being created in the regions. Over the past five years, the total volume of mutual trade has increased threefold. Today, there are 5,400 enterprises with Chinese capital operating in our country.

The continuously improving level of connectivity has laid a solid foundation for facilitating in-depth local cooperation between the two countries. Currently, more than 60 flights per week are operated between Uzbekistan and China on more than ten routes. These routes connect not only capitals but also major regional centers, opening additional opportunities for business, tourism, and investment contacts. From Tashkent, Samarkand, and Fergana, passengers can fly directly to Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Urumqi, Sanya, and several other Chinese cities.
Against this backdrop, the number of mutual tourist visits is growing. In 2025, over 300,000 Chinese tourists visited Uzbekistan, several times more than in the previous year. This is facilitated by the 30-day visa-free policy established between our countries in June 2025.

In general, in current conditions, regions are increasingly becoming points of economic growth, platforms for technology implementation, attracting investment, developing industrial cooperation, and humanitarian exchanges.

Uzbekistan is willing to work with China to give full play to the role of interregional cooperation mechanisms and platforms, promote the implementation of more practical cooperation results, continuously enrich the connotation of the Uzbekistan-China all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era, and promote the friendly cooperation between the two countries to move forward.

In response to media inquiry over a recent poll showing that more than 80 percent of Chinese and Russian young respondents believe that China-Russia relations are friendly, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday that the survey results reflect the friendly public sentiment between the two countries, particularly the positive willingness of the younger generation to further strengthen exchanges. It also demonstrates the high level of China-Russia relations. 

According to media report, the survey was jointly conducted by the Chinese and Russian sides of the Council of Education under the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development on the occasion of the launch of the "China-Russia Year of Education".  It was carried out from late April to early May 2026 by the Global Opinion Research Center at Renmin University of China and a Russian partner organization, using an online survey of young people aged 18 to 35 in China and Russia.

Released on Friday at Renmin University of China, the findings noted that 87.5 percent of Russian youth and 85.5 percent of Chinese youth view China-Russia relations as friendly.

"Russian President Putin will begin his state visit to China today. We believe that under the strategic guidance of two leaders, the friendship between China and Russia across generations will take deeper root in the hearts of the people," Guo said.  

The youth of both countries will also join hands to pool their youthful strength, injecting vitality into the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era, the spokesperson noted. 

The China-Russia relationship has entered a new stage of greater achievements and faster development, said Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.

Xi made the remarks when holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Xi pointed out that in recent years, faced with a fluid and turbulent international situation, China and Russia have developed the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era on the basis of equality, mutual respect, good faith, and win-win cooperation.

Political mutual trust has further deepened, cooperation in various areas such as trade and economy, investment, energy, science and technology, people-to-people and sub-national exchanges continued to advance, and the bonds between the two peoples have grown stronger, he added.

China on Friday launched a Lijian-1 Y13 carrier rocket to send five satellites into space.

The rocket blasted off at 12:33 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China. It successfully transported the satellites to their planned orbits.

A heated debate over the boundaries of commercial marketing on public morality and family values has gone viral online in China in recent days, triggered by a Mother's Day advertisement by Chinese smartphone brand OPPO, which issued public apologies twice as it found itself at the center of controversy due to its copywriting featuring the phrase "My mom has two 'husbands.'"

The controversy began on Friday, after OPPO launched a Mother's Day marketing campaign featuring a series of promotional images designed to showcase the camera capabilities of its upcoming Find X9 Ultra smartphone.

One of the campaign images featured the caption: "My mom has two 'husbands.' One is my dad, while the other only shows up twice a year. She barely dresses up when going on dates with my dad, but when meeting the other one, she'd wear a wedding dress if she could."

The accompanying image showed a stylishly dressed woman holding a light board reading "gege" ("elderly brother") — a term commonly used in China's fan culture to refer to male idols or celebrities — while holding up a smartphone. Another line beneath the image read: "Using the lens to write 'my mother' again."

The advertisement quickly sparked controversy among Chinese netizens, with some accusing the slogan of promoting "distorted values" or even "openly glamorizing emotional infidelity," while others argued the original intention of the company may have been to portray mothers as individuals with identities and hobbies beyond family roles.

Facing growing debate, OPPO issued an apology on its official Weibo on Friday, saying it "sincerely apologizes" for the controversy.

The company said the campaign was originally intended to "break stereotypes" and present "more diverse and multidimensional images of contemporary mothers," adding that mothers can enjoy marathons, writing or chase celebrities or idols.

"We have immediately removed all related materials. We will carefully listen to criticism from all sides and comprehensively review our content review mechanisms to ensure such problems do not happen again," the company said in the post.

Yet the initial apology failed to fully ease public anger. On Sunday, the China Advertising Association published a statement, saying advertising creation must distinguish between innovation and "bottomless hype," warning against a "traffic-at-all-costs" mentality and emphasizing that creativity "must never violate mainstream social cognition."

The association urged advertisers to respect traditional Chinese culture, family ethics and public morality, and to firmly resist sensationalist marketing that mocks family relationships or deliberately seeks public stunt.

On Monday, OPPO released a second apology statement, saying that "regarding the problems in our Mother's Day marketing materials, we extend our deepest apologies to the public. We are sorry," the company said.

"Whether it was the offensiveness of the marketing content itself or the perfunctory response afterward, both exposed serious deficiencies in our values and sense of responsibility," the company said, adding that "because of our mistaken understanding, we ignored the bottom line of mainstream social values, causing failures at every stage of the marketing process."

The company later announced punishment against senior executives responsible for the China market and other marketing management staff.

According to Chinese media outlet Jiemian News, which cited informed sources, the punishment represented "a rarely seen level of internal disciplinary action in OPPO's history."

Chinese media outlet 21st Century Business Herald published a commentary article, saying that OPPO has a consumer base that includes university students, white-collar workers and corporate executives. However, its original Mother's Day marketing copy appeared to target only the highly niche "girlfriend fan" segment within idol fandom culture — fans who habitually refer to their favorite celebrities as "husbands."

According to the article, the promotional image was released in an attempt to generate online buzz, while overlooking the fact that such expressions are rarely seen in real-life family relationships by the broader public.

The article said the brand's original intention may have been to convey that people at any age can pursue their own interests and passions. The identity within the family should not be a shackle that restrains women from pursuing their personal hobbies.

However, true understanding means respecting women, as independent individuals, in the complexity of their emotions and the diversity of their choices, rather than forcing all female behavior into the mold of so-called "fandom culture," it said.

Accompanying with the advertisement controversy, on Sunday, Wuhan University's official Weibo account reposted a statement from its School of Chinese Language and Literature, saying the university "strongly disapproves" of the content and value orientation of the Mother's Day advertisement by "a certain smartphone manufacturer."

The university said the campaign was "seriously inconsistent" with its educational philosophy of fostering virtue and moral integrity, adding that it hoped the alumnus involved would sincerely face criticism and shoulder social responsibility together with the company.

The literature school's statement said it was "astonished and shocked" by the controversy surrounding the marketing team reportedly led by a former student surnamed Yu.

It noted that Yu had been valued positively by teachers and classmates while he was studying at the school. However, the statement said the copywriting planned by Yu's team this time "seriously contradicted" the school's long-standing educational principles.

"We strongly disagree with the content, especially the sensationalist wordplay, discourse rendering and value orientation reflected in it," the statement said.

"We deeply hope alumnus Yu can face public criticism with sincerity and courage, correct mistakes without hesitation, and shoulder social responsibility together with the company," the statement said.

The university's intervention quickly triggered another round of debate on Chinese social media platforms.

Zhejiang Daily commented on Monday via its official Weibo account that Wuhan University had "overreacted to public pressure."

The outlet argued that the OPPO controversy had already begun to cool down online, but the university's statement unexpectedly pushed the issue back into the spotlight while placing the university itself "at the center of the storm."

According to the article, the response lacked the composure expected of a prestigious institution and instead gave the impression of "distancing itself from a former student at a difficult moment."

Yet, the university's response also drew some support online. The most-liked comment beneath the outlet's post read, "I think the response was quite appropriate."

"For educational institutions, value orientation is fundamental to their existence," some netizen wrote, adding that universities "must be accountable to both the country and society."

Regardless of which university the students are from, making such jokes or displaying distorted values is inappropriate. Wuhan University was simply being too straightforward in issuing a statement, a Weibo user wrote.

Meanwhile, The Beijing News commented on Monday via its official Weibo account that Wuhan University "did not need to implicate itself" in the controversy involving an alumnus.

It argued that for matters within a university's scope of responsibility — such as allegations of academic misconduct involving teachers or students — the institution should respond to public concerns and carry out investigations and disciplinary measures where necessary. For issues beyond the university's responsibilities, if others invoke the school in ways that may damage its reputation, the university may safeguard its rights in accordance with the law; if its reputation is not substantially harmed, however, the school may choose to respond with greater tolerance and composure.

Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday when holding talks with US President Donald Trump in Beijing.

Noting that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations, Xi told Trump that if it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability.

Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy, Xi said, emphasizing that "Taiwan independence" and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water.

China's first domestically developed "ternary mixed gas" shield tunneling pressurized operation system has officially been put into use in the 16.18-kilometer Jintang undersea tunnel, the world's longest undersea high-speed rail tunnel, across the waterway between Ningbo and Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang Province, Science and Technology Daily reported on Friday.

The new equipment is capable of scientifically mixing helium, nitrogen and oxygen gases for pressurized operations during cutter inspection and replacement work on the shield machine, helping the mega-project overcome ultra-high-pressure construction challenges, per the report.

Ultra-high-pressure chamber operations are widely regarded as a world-class challenge in the shield tunneling industry. Traditional compressed-air operations have a safety pressure limit of 0.5 megapascals. However, the deepest section of the Jintang undersea tunnel lies 78 meters below sea level, where the maximum water and soil pressure reaches 0.85 megapascals, equivalent to about 30 kilograms of weight pressing on the area of a one-yuan coin.

Facing such extreme conditions, the construction team, which is responsible for the 6,270-meter shield tunneling section on the Zhoushan side, drew on deep-sea diving technologies and successfully developed the helium-nitrogen-oxygen "ternary mixed gas" shield tunneling pressurized operation system tailored for tunnel construction.

The ternary mixed gas consists of helium, nitrogen and oxygen. Helium, which is characterized by low density, rapid diffusion and high safety performance, can effectively reduce risks such as nitrogen narcosis and oxygen toxicity under ultra-high-pressure environments, providing workers with safer breathing conditions during deep-sea-like operations.

According to the report, the system integrates two major modules - gas mixing and gas supply - and combines 113 submodules, including gas distribution hubs, supply hubs and breathing apparatus. It can precisely support operations within a pressure range of 0.5 to 1 megapascals, meeting the demands of ultra-high-pressure work in undersea tunnel construction.