China's Ministry of Justice and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Thursday published a draft law on private sector promotion to solicit public opinion. The law is formulated in a bid to optimize the development environment for the private economy, ensure fair market competition for various types of economic entities and promote the sound development of private businesses and entrepreneurs, according to the draft.

The draft law, once adopted, will be China's first basic law devoted to the development of the private economy, and its main contents include ensuring fair competition, improving the investment and financing environment, supporting technological innovation, and enhancing protection of rights and interests of the private economy. The draft law is open for public comment through November 8, 2024, according to a notice published on the NDRC's website. 

In total, the draft law contains 77 articles that cover various aspects related to the development of the private economy. It reaffirms that the private economy is an important part of the socialist market economy, a new vital force in promoting Chinese modernization, a critical foundation for high-quality development and a major force in supporting the country to become a great modern socialist country and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.  

The country adheres to the principles of equal treatment, fair competition, equal protection and common development in order to promote the development and growth of the private economy, and private economic entities enjoy equal legal status, market opportunities and development rights with other types of economic entities, the draft law states. 

Qi Xiangdong, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of Qi An Xin Technology Group, told the Global Times on Thursday that the draft law not only demonstrated the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country's firm determination to support the sound development of the private economy and the healthy growth of personnel in the private sector, but also boosted confidence among private entrepreneurs to focus on business. 

"This is an important milestone in promoting the development and growth of the private economy," Qi said. 

To ensure fair competition, among various stipulations, the country has implemented a nationwide unified negative list system for market access, and all types of economic entities, including private ones, can equally enter areas outside the negative list for market access. The country will also ensure private entities can equally access resources such as capital, technologies, human resources, data and land that are applicable under national development support policies, the draft law states.  

In addition to ensure fair competition, the draft law also contained a slew of support for the private economy, including supporting private entities to participate in major national strategy and major projects and invest and operate in strategic emerging industries, future industries and other fields. The country will also improve the multi-level capital market system and support qualified private economic entities to obtain direct financing on an equal basis through the issuance of stocks, bonds and other channels, the draft law states.

In terms of supporting technological innovation in the private sector, the country, among other measures, will encourage and support private economic entities to play an active role in developing new quality productive forces, and support them to participate in national technological breakthrough projects. And the country will strengthen the protection of original innovations by private economic entities, according to the draft law.  

The draft law underscores the great importance attached to the sound development of the private economy, and will offer great encouragement for the private economy to pursue high-quality development, economists said.

Firm reassurance

Cao Heping, an economist from Peking University, said the draft law offers great reassurance for the private economy and private entrepreneurs, as it has demonstrated the great importance attached by the country to the sound development of the private economy. "The draft law is very detailed in its content covering all aspects of the development of the private economy, which is very helpful," Cao told the Global Times on Thursday.

A meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on September 26, which analyzed and discussed the current economic situation and made plans for future economic work, stressed that it is essential to formulate a private sector promotion law to foster a favorable environment for the development of the non-public sector.

Minister of Justice He Rong said in February that the country had started drafting a law on promoting its private economy. The minister said that the drafting work would widely solicit opinions from the public and reach a consensus among different parties so that the law can effectively promote the healthy development of the private sector.

Qi said that the drafting process adopted an open-door approach, soliciting the opinions and suggestions of private enterprises many times, as it sought to build consensus among all parties and responds to the concerns of the enterprises.

"This is a very important piece of legislation," Xi Junyang, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Thursday. "The content as well as the spirit of the draft law will greatly help boost confidence of private businesses."

By extending legal guarantee to the private economy, the draft law clearly shows the great importance attached to and support for the private economy, Xi Junyang said, noting that once the draft law is adopted, it will offer private businesses clear legal guidance and procedures for their operations. 

China's top economic planner on Tuesday expressed full confidence in achieving the tasks and the goals set for economic and social development in 2024, supported with a raft of incremental pro-growth policies to shore up the country's economic growth.

"Two words summarize the status quo of the Chinese economy 'steady' and 'progress'," said Zheng Shanjie, minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission, at a press conference held in Beijing on Tuesday, the first working day after the seven-day National Day holidays.

In terms of the supply side, the country's agriculture production is steady and another yearly harvest is expected this year. The country's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, expanded by 5.8 percent year-on-year in the first eight months, Zheng said.

As for the demand side, home investment and consumption continues to rise, with manufacturing investment during the January-August period up by 9.1 percent, 5.7 percentage points higher than the country's total fixed-asset investment for the period. Meanwhile, the country's sales of automobiles and homes appliances have rebounded recently, with major carmakers' vehicle sales expected to grow by 10 percent month-on-month in August, according to the official.

Moreover, the country's employment situation is steady, as a total of 9.44 million new urban jobs were created in the first eight months, an increase of over 200,000 over the previous year. The country's consumer price index, the primary gauge of inflation, rose by 0.6 percent year-on-year in August, Zheng said.

More importantly, China's economic structure is also improving, with new growth momentum gaining speed. In the first eight months, the country's industrial output of high-tech manufacturing jumped by 8.9 percent and that of equipment manufacturing up by 7.6 percent year-on-year, Zheng said.

Zheng admitted that the Chinese economy faces some difficulties and problems. He said the external environment is becoming more complex, with the latest IMF forecast predicting global growth to reach 3.2 percent this year, which is lower than last year's growth rate.

Major economies are seeing growth momentum weakening, rising debt burdens, fluctuating international financial markets, and increasing global trade protectionism and instability. All this will have adverse impact on China, the minister said.

He said the economic downward pressure increases slightly, with some economic indexes like industrial output, investment and consumption showing fluctuations, while some industries experiencing "involution" competition and some enterprises cannot accommodate to the changes brought about by upgrade and transformation.

However, China's long-term economic prospects remain unchanged, and the Chinese economy has strong resilience and ample potential to expand, Zheng said, noting that domestic market expectations have improved as pro-growth policies continue to take effect.

"We have full confidence in achieving the annual goals and tasks set for economic and social development as well as attaining sustained, healthy economic and social development," Zheng noted.

The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee held a meeting on September 26 which said that the country should effectively implement existing pro-growth policies, step up efforts to roll out more incremental policies, and make policy measures more targeted and effective.

Zheng said a raft of incremental pro-growth policies aim to strengthen counter-cyclical adjustments, expand domestic demand, step up efforts to assist enterprises, stabilize the property market and bolster the capital market in order to support sustained economic recovery and growth.

Zheng underlined the need to strengthen coordination of macro-policies including fiscal, monetary and investment and consumption, and income distribution to foster a faster economic growth. 

No matter what kind of "historical paradox" or weird "Taiwan independence" narrative Lai Ching-te puts forward, he cannot change the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one China, and nor can he extinguish the sense of motherland among the Taiwan compatriots, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Tuesday.

These remarks were made after Lai reportedly claimed on Saturday that "If anyone in Taiwan wants to say happy birthday to the People's Republic of China (PRC), please do not call it the motherland." Lai made the comments after some Taiwan actors recently said happy birthday to the PRC, as reported by media.

Lai's rhetoric distorts concepts and confuses right and wrong, Zhu said. Lai is attempting to highlight the political differences across the Taiwan Straits, deliberately severing the historical connections between the mainland and the island, and peddle the new "two-state" rhetoric by constantly hyping that the two sides are "not subordinate" to each other, which exposes his stubborn "Taiwan independence" stance and the malicious intent to escalate hostility and confrontation, Zhu stressed.

Although the two sides of the Taiwan Straits have yet to be reunified, China's sovereignty and territory have never been severed and cannot be severed, Zhu stressed, the fact that the mainland and Taiwan both belong to one China has never changed and cannot be changed.

On October 1, 1949, the PRC was founded, becoming the successor to the Republic of China (1912-1949), and the Central People's Government became the only legitimate government of the whole of China. As a natural result, the government of the PRC should enjoy and exercise China's full sovereignty, which includes its sovereignty over Taiwan, Zhu noted.

Zhu said that Taiwan has been China's sacred territory, which is backed by clear historical and jurisprudential basis. Zhu added that it is hoped that the vast number of Taiwan compatriots will fully recognize the tactics of Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in pursuing "independence," resolutely oppose "Taiwan independence" and external interference, firmly safeguard the common homeland of the Chinese nation, and practically maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits as well as their own security and well-being.

In 2013, Pulitzer-Prize winning composer Zhou Long created Jiu Ge, or Nine Odes, a whole evening symphonic epic based on the poems called Nine Songs by ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan. This marked the first time that a full, large-scale symphony interpretation of the entire 11 chapters of Qu's poem had been attempted. This year, a new version of the 2013 epic commissioned by the Beijing Music Festival (BMF) and composed by Zhou will be performed alongside the concerto Immortal Love by composer Richard Dubugnon during a concert at Beijing's Poly Theater on Tuesday night. 

Yu Long, chairman of the Beijing Music Festival Arts Foundation, recalled that the BMF raised the idea of the Chinese Concept in 2002, after which it has launched a number of Chinese music pieces and the careers of Chinese musicians.   

"I hope the BMF is not just about music performances, but also brings Chinese concepts and Chinese culture to the world through fine works," said Yu, who convinced Zhou to recreate the new version of Jiu Ge. 

According to Zhou, the new version uses the 11 chapters of the ancient epic as a framework for erhu, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, focused composition. It replaces the lyrics of the original song with modern, elegant and poetic rhythm. Across the various chapters, Western instruments are introduced to build characters and imagery to boost the storytelling. 

"In this new work, erhu is not just an instrument, but also a narrator traveling through time and space, telling the story in the Nine Songs with its unique timbre and expressiveness," he said.

The concert also features conductor Huang Yi, cellist Gautier Capucon, and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet as well as musicians from the Guangzhou Symphony.

Both Gautier Capucon and Jean-Yves Thibaudet said it was a "great pleasure to be back on the stage of the BMF to perform Immortal Love. 

"It's a piece which is very dear to us [Jean-Yves Thibaudet and himself], the first piece written for us for piano and cello. And we have been great friends since 2000, so 24 years, that's a great friendship. And it's always an immense pleasure to be on stage," said Capucon.

The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt Sherif Fathy expressed his desire to enhance cooperation with China in the fields of tourism and archaeology at a press conference in Cairo on Tuesday, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.   

The call has won active response from Chinese cultural and archaeological experts, who said the cultural exchanges between the two countries have achieved fruitful results and highlight China's role as an active advocate for cultural heritage protection and dialogue among civilizations.

Fathy told Xinhua that the relationship between Egypt and China is very solid, and it has thrived following the visits of the two heads of state and the wide-ranging and productive cooperation between the two nations, including the ongoing exhibition On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt being held in China.

In July, the exhibition kicked off at the Shanghai Museum, bringing Chinese visitors a cultural feast composed of some 788 artifacts from different periods of ancient Egypt, from statues of pharaohs and anthropoid inner coffins to gold jewelry. Over 95 percent of the exhibits are being displayed in Asia for the first time, according to the museum.

"Two of the world's four ancient civilizations, the ancient Egyptian and Chinese civilizations have many historical similarities," said Chu Xiaobo, director of the museum, adding that there has been little official cooperation between China and Egypt in exhibitions before. 

"This time we finally realized our dream," he said.

Media reported that the exhibition has earned big thumbs-up among Chinese visitors, many of whom have claimed that these Egyptian artifacts are "priceless and unprecedented."

During the press conference, Fathy expressed his anticipation for expanding cultural exchanges and archaeological collaboration with China, a country that shares a long history and a brilliant civilization with Egypt, quoting the successful example of the joint archaeological project at the Montu Temple in Luxor, Egypt. 

According to media reports, the two countries launched the joint project in 2018. This marked the first time a Chinese archaeological team had conducted excavations in Egypt since the founding of the People's Republic of China. 

In mid-March, the joint archaeological team resumed excavation work at the Montu Temple site after a pandemic-induced hiatus and has since achieved abundant results.

Jia Xiaobing, the Chinese head of the joint archaeological project and director of the world archaeological research office at the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the latest collaboration with the Egyptian team has achieved a deeper understanding compared to his initial experience in 2018.

According to a report released by the China-Egypt joint archaeological team, two excavation sites are the focuses of the current round of work. The first site is in the southwestern part of the entire Montu Temple area, where six Osirian Chapels are distributed from west to east. 

Except for the first and second temples, which have accurate dates and names, more information about the other temples awaits archaeological discovery. 

The second site is located at the junction of the Montu Temple and the Maat Temple. The focus there is on resolving architectural sequence issues.

"Archaeology is the best way to understand the core of the traditional culture of a nation. Although our working season only lasts two to three months, within this period, we have deepened our understanding of each other's civilizations," Jia said.

He said that China acts as an active advocate for cultural heritage protection and dialogue among civilizations, adding that the international cooperation of Chinese archaeology is "an essential component in implementing the Global Civilization Initiative."

Additionally, Fathy said that Egypt currently attracts approximately 200,000 Chinese tourists annually and that measures will be taken to increase this number. 

Beyond participating in tourism fairs in China, the Egyptian tourism sector will strengthen cooperation with Chinese tourism operators. They plan to explore more strategies to promote cooperation in tourism development through conferences, dialogues, and seminars.

According to the website of ­China's Ministry of Commerce, around 90,000 Chinese tourists visited Egypt in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 178 percent. The tourism authority in Egypt has set a target of welcoming 300,000 Chinese tourists by the end of 2024.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza on Tuesday launched a 426-million-U.S. dollar Flash Appeal to mobilize urgent resources for civilians affected by the escalating conflict and resulting humanitarian crisis in Lebanon.

The announcement occurred at the Serail in Beirut, which was attended by UN agencies, member states, the international community, and local and international partners.

"I urge all nations to step up their support in providing humanitarian aid and to use their influence to help bring an end to the violence," Mikati said, calling for immediate action from the international community.

The Flash Appeal seeks to assist approximately 1 million people affected by the ongoing clashes between Israel and Hezbollah by providing urgent needs such as food, basic assistance, shelter, healthcare, water, and municipal services.

"We must act swiftly and decisively to ensure that those affected by this crisis receive the essential support they require. All parties must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and prioritize humanitarian access," Riza said.

The recent escalation caused an unprecedented surge in casualties and displacement in Lebanon, with more than 1,000 people losing their lives over the past two weeks and around 1 million people displaced from their villages and towns since last October, according to the tally by the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) launched an appeal for 105 million dollars for Lebanon for the next three months.

"The escalation in hostilities is catastrophic for all children in Lebanon," said UNICEF Representative in Lebanon, Edouard Beigbeder, in a statement. "UNICEF is responding to the most critical and immediate needs of children in Lebanon but requires urgent support to sustain and expand its response."

The statement said that the funds are urgently needed to deliver critical supplies to children in desperate need, maintain Lebanon's essential services, including safe water, psychosocial support, and learning, and prepare for any potential further escalation in hostilities.

More than 100 children have been killed since Oct. 8, 2023, with more than half of the deaths occurring in the past week alone, while more than 300,000 children have been displaced from their homes, the UN body said, citing statistics from the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have intensified following Israel's announcement to broaden its war objectives to include the return of northern residents, who were evacuated due to attacks by Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has launched barrages of rockets at Israel since last October in solidarity with Hamas and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In efforts to regulate internet news services and enhance the credibility of Chinese mainstream media, while creating a healthier online environment, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission launched a three-month campaign aimed at rectifying illegal online news information services, the office announced on Thursday.

The campaign will target five primary areas of concern, including the publishing of false or misleading news, such as creating sensational headlines, distorting or fabricating news content, or using misleading video and image edits to deceive the public.

The other area of concern is the abuse of media oversight, where some platforms used news production, publishing, and deletion to influence search results or extort money or favors from individuals and companies.

Impersonating legitimate news outlets, unauthorized internet news services, and forging or misusing news credentials such as the illegal trading or transfer of internet news service licenses will also be cracked down during the campaign. 

A spokesperson for the cyberspace regulator emphasized that local cybersecurity departments must enhance their political awareness and strengthen the leadership of this campaign to ensure its implementation. 

They should guide websites and platforms to refine the categorization of public accounts by creating a distinct category for "news accounts." Verifying licensing qualifications will be a prerequisite for launching such accounts.

Furthermore, the spokesperson highlighted that online platforms, public accounts, applications, and live broadcasts that provide online news services must prominently display the entity's name and license number. 

Platforms are also urged to improve their algorithm models and recommendation systems to prioritize high-quality news from certified news accounts. Reporting channels curbing illegal activities should be expanded, and investigations into such reports should be promptly conducted, with typical cases publicly exposed.

In recent years, the cyberspace administration authority has launched a series of campaigns addressing key problems across the online environment. This year, the campaigns focus on 10 major tasks, with most of which already underway, including the regulation of online space during the Spring Festival holidays, improving business environment by tackling corporate rights violations, crackdown on illegal external links, and curb the rise of unscrupulous content from social media accounts. Additionally, actions have been taken to clean up false and vulgar content in the livestreaming industry and protect minors online during the summer break.

Looking ahead, the office will target increased regulation in AI-generated and synthesized content by ensuring proper labeling, standardize online language use, and address local content issues in city-specific sections of the internet, according to a plan released by the office earlier in March outlining their key tasks for 2024.

Xi, Putin exchange congratulations on 75th anniversary of ties

Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa on Monday in New York at the latter's invitation. Wang said China's opposition to Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the ocean is entirely justified, and that China will conduct an investigation and handle the individual case of the attack of a Japanese student in Shenzhen in accordance with the law, and the Japanese side should view this matter calmly and rationally, avoiding politicization and escalation.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stated that comprehensively advancing the strategic mutually beneficial relationship between China and Japan is a shared responsibility of both sides. He hopes that Japan will work with China to grasp the correct direction of bilateral relations, implement the consensus reached by the leaders of both countries, and promote the healthy and stable development of China-Japan relations, according to a release published by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

Kamikawa said that Japan values its relationship with China. In the face of rising risks and challenges in the international situation, Japan and China should maintain communication and dialogue at all levels and in all fields, including negotiating solutions to the nuclear wastewater issue, and jointly safeguarding regional peace and development.

The important foundation of the bilateral relationship lies in the exchanges between the peoples of the two countries. The Japanese foreign minister said it is hoped that China will properly handle the case of the Shenzhen schoolboy and ensure the safety of Japanese nationals in China.

Wang stressed that China's opposition to Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the ocean is entirely justified. Since Japan has agreed to accept long-term international monitoring arrangements and independent sampling and monitoring by relevant countries, including China, it should follow through on its commitments and avoid unnecessary complications.

China will investigate and handle the individual case of the Japanese schoolboy attack in Shenzhen in accordance with the law, and will continue to ensure the safety of all foreign citizens in China. Japan should view this matter calmly and rationally, avoiding politicization and escalation, said Wang.

An ongoing exhibition about Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220) stone reliefs at the Art Museum of West Taihu Lake in Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, has been a major draw during the Mid-Autumn Festival holidays.      

The stone reliefs are unique artistic works from the Western and Eastern Han periods and were created to decorate tomb chambers, ancestral halls, mausoleum gates, stone coffins and cliff grottoes. 

This exhibition brings together nearly 200 precious collections from about 20 cultural institutions and university research units across China. It collects the latest research achievements in Han Dynasty stone reliefs, featuring new archaeological discoveries from various regions, archaeological sketches, outstanding publications and literature.