While external forces have complicated relations among China, Japan and South Korea, the new challenges facing regional economic development have also spurred them to seek new avenues for cooperation in the current global political and economic landscape. This has been a key factor in the increasing signs of warming trilateral cooperation.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Japan Business Federation and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade plan to co-host a trilateral business summit later this month in Seoul, the Yonhap News Agency reported on Monday.

The gathering has been held since 2009 with the goal of expanding Northeast Asian economic cooperation and exchanges. Most recently, the event was held in 2019 in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Although the resumption of the gathering has not been officially confirmed, the eagerness of South Korea to advance trilateral cooperation is palpable. However, the future of trilateral cooperation will ultimately depend on the determination of Japan and South Korea to expand their cooperation and their ability to resist pressure from the US.

There is no question that China, Japan and South Korea possess the necessary foundation for economic and trade cooperation. Enhancing economic cooperation among the three countries is not only essential for regional development, but will also be crucial in promoting peace and prosperity in East Asia and globally. However, it is geopolitical factors, rather than economic considerations, that have impeded their collaboration.

As a result of the recent "decoupling" push by the US, Japan and South Korea, as key Asian allies of the US, have aligned their stance with the US on various issues, including taking a tough approach toward China in areas such as supply chains, science and technology. However, this misjudgment has had a significant impact on their own economies and trade.

For instance, South Korea's exports decreased 7.4 percent year-on-year in 2023, and it also recorded a trade deficit of $18 billion with China in 2023, its first such bilateral shortfall with China in 31 years, according to media reports.

Facing growing economic pressure and risks from following the US "decoupling" push, Japan and South Korea appear to be reassessing the significance of their relationships with China and are more inclined to enhance communication with China.

However, to achieve effective trilateral communication and cooperation, Japan and South Korea need not only to demonstrate sincerity in improving relations, but more importantly, the three parties need to find innovative ways to collaborate amid the US push for "decoupling" and "breaking chains," as failure to do so will result in consequences for all parties involved.

Enhancing mutual trust and promoting cooperation can only be achieved through the establishment of more frequent dialogue and communication mechanisms. In order to resist US pressure, China, Japan and South Korea could lessen their reliance on a single external market by enhancing cooperation within a multilateral framework. One way to achieve this is by expediting negotiations for the China-Japan-South Korea free trade agreement to broaden collaboration in trade, investment, technology exchanges and environmental protection. Additionally, cooperation could be bolstered within the ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea mechanism to promote the growth of the entire region.

In terms of mitigating risks, China, Japan and South Korea could focus on diversifying their supply chains by identifying alternative sources and improving the connectivity of their internal supply chains.

Additionally, they can address external pressures through policy coordination and information sharing, while also fostering cultural and talent exchanges to seek mutually beneficial solutions that uphold their respective national interests.

Moreover, the three can strengthen cooperation in some non-sensitive or non-strategic areas, such as environmental protection, climate change, renewable energy and public health.

Only by working together can the three countries achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. There is no alternative. Despite the challenges, it is crucial to resist the pressure by the US as a way to promote cooperation and avoid losses by the three parties. As East Asia remains the most vital engine of the global economy, the way in which these three countries collaborate will significantly influence global development.

Chinese economic officials have slammed the hyped “overcapacity” tag on Chinese new energy products on Friday, calling it “a carefully crafted narrative trap created by some countries with the aim of making it a pretext to implement trade protective measures.” While voicing strong objection to the action, they also warn against its dire consequences, which will disrupt the stability and smooth flow of global supply chains, hinder the global green transition and eventually backfire on the initiators of trade protectionism.

For some time, certain officials and media outlets in some countries have intensively accused China’s new energy products of “overcapacity.” These hypes are attempts to set the stage for unilateralism and the implementation of trade protection policies, according to an article posted on Friday on the WeChat account of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planner.

Those allegations on China’s new energy products do not hold ground as they are neither in line with facts nor economic rules, the NDRC article said, while rebutting every piece of the fallacy with solid proof and data.

With regards to the claim that “the overcapacity of China’s new energy exports was a result of insufficient domestic market and thus have to sell to the global market at a low price,” the NDRC blasted it with a reference to the fundamental law of international industrial division and cooperation.

Take the US exports as an example, it noted. About 80 percent of high-end chips produced in the US are destined for export, and the country is also the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, while one-fifth of US agricultural products are shipped to China, however, the US has not been accused of exporting “overcapacity” in these areas. In contrast, China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) exports only represented 12.5 percent of its total output last year, showing that China's new energy products currently mainly satisfy domestic demand.

It is also key to view the global supply-demand relationship from a developmental perspective, or the demand of global market and its development potential, the NDRC said, lambasting the claim that “China’s new energy capacity has surpassed global demand, making other countries unable to absorb.”

The NDRC highlighted a bunch of data by IEA which showed that the forecasted global demand for NEVs and power battery by 2030 will be almost five times from China’s capacity in relevant industries in 2023. In terms of the cumulative photovoltaic installed capacity, the projected global demand by 2030 is calculated to be around 9 times from China’s capacity in 2023. All underscore huge room for future demand growth.

On the one hand, the advantage is built upon a vast domestic market, a complete industrial system, intense market competition and continuous technological innovation under market mechanism, the NDRC pointed out. On the other hand, individual country has been encouraging and supporting the growth of relevant industries amid global green transition, and in particular the US is providing prodigious subsidies and tax incentives to new energy industries through legislation such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

There isn't a “China overcapacity,” but a US overcapacity of anxiety stemming from a lack of confidence and smears against China, Lin Jian, spokesperson from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a press briefing on April 30.

During US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent visit to China, he pointed finger at China over the so-called “unfair trade practices and the potential consequences of industrial overcapacity to global and US markets,” naming some industries including electric vehicles, batteries, and solar panels. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently reiterated in an interview with Reuters the "overcapacity" in China, claiming that the so-called overcapacity in China is not only a problem faced by the US, but also by Europe, Japan, India and Mexico.

It is indeed despicable and hypocritical for nations to proclaim that addressing global climate change is their “noble mission,” while simultaneously adopting protectionist measures under the pretext of “overcapacity” to suppress the development of new energy industries in other countries, according to the NDRC article.

Such actions not only undermine the global efforts to combat climate change but will also backfire, the NDRC warned, while citing a list of examples from the past decades that show that there’s no winner out of trade protectionism.

Also, the moves could wreak havoc on the stable operation of global new energy industry supply chains, creating “blockages,” “choke points,” and “breakpoints” that affect the efficiency of economic operations and may even trigger various potential risks, the NDRC stressed.

“Economic globalization has become a major trend. Countries are interdependent and integrated into a community of shared interests. Being open and inclusive, and pursuing win-win cooperation is the only correct choice,” the NDRC article concluded, urging countries to oppose the politicization of economic and trade issues or make them security issues, advocate for “tearing down walls rather than building them, for openness rather than isolation, for integration rather than decoupling, and promote the construction of an open world economy.”

EHang Holdings, an autonomous aerial vehicle technology company based in China, announced on Monday that its pilotless electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft EH216-S successfully completed its first passenger-carrying demonstration flight in Abu Dhabi, marking the first of its kind in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Middle East. 

The EH216 series pilotless eVTOL aircraft performed several autonomous flights at the Emirates Falcons Aviation Club in Al Ali, Abu Dhabi with the approval by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the UAE. 

"After obtaining approval for the demo flights carrying passengers and completing the inaugural flight, we will closely collaborate with the GCAA and the Civil Aviation Administration of China to accelerate the commercialization of our unmanned aircraft in the UAE. This will mark a significant milestone for Abu Dhabi and the global air mobility industry," Hu Huazhi, chief executive of EHang, was quoted as saying in a statement sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.

EHang's inaugural manned flight of the eVTOL in the UAE not only signifies the advancement of China's drone technology but also underscores growing international cooperation in the field of low-altitude economy.

China's low-altitude economy has been included in the new quality productive forces, according to the Government Work Report for 2024.

The EHang Intelligent EH216-S stands as the world's pioneering eVTOL aircraft to obtain all three certifications - Type Certificate (TC), Airworthiness Certificate (AC), and Production Certificate (PC). Capable of fully recharged within two hours, the EH216-S boasts a top speed of 130 kilometers per hour, with a flight endurance of 25 minutes and a designed range of 30 kilometers.

The pilotless eVTOL aircraft feature a compact fuselage, high redundancy design and intelligent cluster management, enabling safety and efficiency as well as scalable operations, in order to provide safe, autonomous, and eco-friendly air mobility.

Additionally, the EH216-F (for high-rise firefighting) and EH216-L (for aerial logistics) demonstrated their debut flights in the UAE too, showcasing a diverse range of UAM use scenarios of the pilotless eVTOL aircraft.

The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) raised deep concerns regarding the European Commission's selective transparency and potential discriminatory application of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) against Chinese products.

The CCCEU submitted a comprehensive response on Tuesday to the EC's recent initiation of in-depth FSR investigations into Chinese companies that participated in a solar photovoltaic project tender in Romania, according to a statement released by CCCEU.

The rebuttal voiced a range of concerns about various shortcomings in the EC's actions and its potential ramifications for Chinese businesses operating in the European market.

The chamber noted the heightened scrutiny imposed on Chinese companies compared to those subjected to non-EU entities in the same tender process. "This selective enforcement of the FSR raises serious questions about the fairness, objectivity, and consistency of the Commission's approach," the chamber said.

On April 3, the EC launched two in-depth FSR investigations on two bidders involved in the tender process for Romania's 110MW solar photovoltaic park project. Afterward, the commission conducted a raid on a Chinese company's offices in Poland and the Netherlands without prior notice on April 23, following another probe targeting Chinese wind turbines which began on April 9.

The FSR has increased uncertainties for Chinese bidders, causing concern about the EU's growing protectionism and misapplication of policy tools, the chamber noted in the statement, urging the European Union to ensure Chinese enterprises' operations in Europe in "a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory environment."

Since the end of 2023, the bloc has launched a series of subsidy investigations targeting Chinese businesses in emerging sectors such as electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind turbines, which has been labeled by China's Ministry of Commerce as protectionist behavior that distorts fair competition.

Top executives at BMW and Volkswagen on Wednesday warned against imposing EU import duties on electric vehicles made by Chinese automakers, saying it could upend the bloc's Green Deal plan and harm automakers that import cars made in China. The comments were in response to the bloc's probe launched in October into Chinese automakers for alleged subsidies and extra tariffs, Reuters reported.

In Thursday's statement, the Chamber also contended that the EC has not provided sufficient justification or interpretation of "foreign subsidies" under the FSR, and expressed concern about the burden placed on Chinese companies by the broad information requests and the potential disclosure of sensitive business data.

The chamber's observations follow the recent publication of EU summary notices, inviting stakeholders' feedback. Throughout the legislative and implementation process of the FSR, the chamber has been actively involved, stressing the importance of legality, transparency, and non-discriminatory application.

A technician inspects an automated production line at a local new-energy technology company in Gaoyou city, East China's Jiangsu Province, on May 12, 2024. In recent years, Jiangsu has become a major production base of solar photovoltaic panels that sell well at home and abroad. Photo: VCG

Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, on invitation visited the National Museum of Serbia with Tamara Vucic, wife of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, in Belgrade on Wednesday morning.

The two first ladies toured the museum's painting exhibition together. The museum boasts a long history and abundant collections, Peng remarked, noting that the classic paintings exhibited there feature delicate brushstrokes and rich emotions.

Peng emphasized that museums serve not only as windows for preserving and displaying cultural relics but also as halls for promoting civilization. She also expressed hope for enhanced cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Serbia to build bridges for dialogue among civilizations.

The two first ladies also watched demonstrations of traditional Serbian women's hand weaving and warmly interacted with the artisans. Peng praised the exquisite and distinctive craftsmanship of Serbian hand weaving, considering it an important intangible cultural heritage that has been well preserved and promoted.

Highlighting the similarities between Chinese and Serbian embroidery cultures, she suggested mutual learning and encouragement for young people from both countries to actively engage in preserving traditional handicrafts from generation to generation. The two also enthusiastically participated in making Serbian wool felt balls.

Established in 1844, the National Museum of Serbia houses over 400,000 artifacts, making it the largest and oldest museum in Serbia.

Defense chiefs from the US, Australia, Japan and the Philippines gathered in Hawaii on Thursday (local time) for their second joint meeting, lining up yet another regional group dubbed the "Squad" by Pentagon officials, while vowing a strengthened alliance among the four countries. 

Chinese analysts warned on Sunday that this new quadrilateral grouping, distinct from the older version of the Quad which was also assembled by the US, poses a more targeted challenge to China. The grouping, part of Washington's "Indo-Pacific Strategy," aims at containing China, leading to concerns about more complex tensions and division among regional countries.

Chinese analysts warned that the Philippines, increasingly manipulated by the US, is losing its autonomy and becoming a pawn of the US in the region, which could lead to the "Ukrainization" of the Philippines.

Speaking after the talks on Friday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the four-country group would look at undertaking more maritime exercises, as well as providing greater security assistance to the Philippines, US media reported.

The defense chiefs of the "Squad" met for the first time in June 2023 on the sidelines of the Shangri-La security dialogue in Singapore. And in April 2024, the four countries conducted joint maritime patrols within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone against the backdrop of ongoing tensions between the Philippines and China. 

Citing an anonymous US official, Bloomberg reported on Friday that the "Squad" aims to counter coercion and aggression across Asia, as well as ensure that defense capabilities among their militaries are increasingly inter-operable, allowing them to work more efficiently together in the event of conflict.

The US official said the quadrilateral group aims to conduct more joint patrols in the coming months and years and that these patrols will add more capabilities over time.

The report also highlights that this new quadrilateral grouping is one of a number of regional partnerships that the US has used to push back against China in Asia. There is also the "Quad" comprised of the US, Australia, India and Japan and "Aukus," a defense pact among Australia, the UK and the US.

At the tactical level, the new grouping would form a more targeted mechanism against China which is similar but more effective than the previous Quad grouping as Japan, Australia and Philippines are all allies of the US, where India, although it is in the Quad group, it is not technically a US ally. Therefore, this new "Squad" has a stronger sense of direction, meeting the needs of the US to manage the security situation in the regions of the South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

At the strategic level, the new "Squad," like the old "Quad," is led by the US, adjusting the Asia-Pacific security architecture and promoting the implementation of overall planning through small-scale multilateral cooperation, Li noted.

An official release from the US-Japan-Australia Trilateral Defense Ministers' Meeting (TDMM) 2024 Joint Statement on Saturday, read that the ministers of the three countries emphasized "the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits." 

They called for peaceful resolution of cross-Straits issues and reaffirmed their enduring commitment to a peaceful, secure and prosperous Southeast Asia, where sovereignty is respected, international law is followed and nations can make decisions free from coercion.

In the short term, "Squad" exerts highly targeted strategic pressure on China, making the situation in the Asia-Pacific region even more complex. In addition to aspects such as intelligence network security and naval security, various dimensions including fisheries have a significant impact on Asia-Pacific security, Li predicted. 

Another Chinese military analyst who requested not to be named told the Global Times on Sunday that the new "Squad" is centered around the US, with the roles of the Philippines and Australia relatively minor. 

By assembling the "Squad," the US seeks to make use of Australia's homeland, defense budget and military to expand the US' influence overseas, while extending the US' military presence in the "Indo-Pacific" region through the Philippines' military bases. However, the military capabilities of these two countries are limited, and the US regards them as pawns, the military analyst explained. 

Analysts pointed out the current Philippine government is being manipulated by the US, and is increasingly lacking autonomy, especially under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr administration which follows the US obediently, and it has become an unstable factor in the Asia-Pacific region.

Li warned that blindly following the US encouragement would only lead to the "Ukrainization" of the Philippines. "By creating crises, the US profits and establishes a situation where no country in the region can be secure without American leadership. The tragic result of the Philippines' provocation against China ultimately suggests that the Philippines should be more autonomous, harmonious with other regional countries, and avoid being used as a pawn by other countries."

Analysts believe that the forming of the new anti-China grouping will lead regional countries to feel there exists a more complex and divisive security situation, with stronger antagonism and conflict, forcing more countries to take sides in geopolitics. 

Gu Xiaosong, dean of the ASEAN Research Institute of Hainan Tropical Ocean University, told the Global Times on Sunday that the forming of the new anti-China "Squad" poses a significant challenge to the historically cordial relations between China and ASEAN. 

Over the years, the China-ASEAN relationship has continually developed in the political, economic and cultural spheres, bringing tangible benefits to both sides. Both parties cherish peace and stability in the region and should work to preserve it, Gu said.

However, the consequences of the Philippines drifting further away could have detrimental effects on the bilateral relationship between China and the Philippines. It is important for both parties to manage their differences and prioritize their shared interests. It is crucial for the current Philippines' leaders to prioritize the common interests of China and the Philippines, maintaining and nurturing the friendly relationship between the two countries for the benefit of both sides, Gu noted. 

Weighing a total of 31.5 kilograms, the sixth batch of scientific samples that was returned to Earth by China’s Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship has been delivered to scientists in Beijing on Wednesday. A day prior to that, the Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. 

The new batch of space samples include 32 types of life experimental specimens like human osteoblasts, a major substance for bone formation, protein crystals and organic molecules. 

Another 18 types of material samples such as high-temperature and extravehicular exposed materials are all contributed to this new batch of off world discoveries. The samples collected will serve around 23 different scientific projects.  

On Wednesday, the precious scientific cargo was handed to researchers at the Technology and Engineering Centre for Space Utilization, Chinese Academy of Science. A process of biological analysis including the transcriptome sequencing and proteomic researches will now be carried out by experts. 

A study of biological mechanisms of cells in a microgravity environment was conducted to assist better understand disease prevention and intervention. Future analysis on collected protein samples may also provide scientific support for new medicine and vaccine development.  

Technical staff from the space program also expect that collected material samples from space can enhance China’s researches on optimizing resource utilization of lunar soil. 

China’s Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship mission marks a new chapter in human-space success following the spacecraft’s taikonauts returning in good health. The taikonauts, Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin had been in orbit for 187 days before returning to earth. 

Amid the Shenzhou-17 mission, taikonauts completed the first extravehicular maintenance task in the history of China’s space program. 

“I believe that the shenzhou-18 crew will succeed us to complete the follow-up mission successfully. I am more convinced that in the near future, we will not only return to the space, but also let the Chinese space exploration go deeper and deeper. China’s aerospace industry is always worth looking forward to,” Tang Hongbo told media. 

Global hot tourist destinations will welcome a large number of Chinese tourists during the upcoming May Day holidays from May 1 to May 5. The return of Chinese tourists will greatly boost local economic growth through travel spending, analysts said, noting that China, with its growing consumption power, remains a major contributor to global growth.

China is one of the largest tourist sources and host countries in the world, and the expected boom in China's outbound and inbound tourism will continue to play a crucial role in the economic recovery of global tourism, industry observers said.

On several travel platforms, outbound travel bookings for the May Day holidays increased significantly, even on the high base set last year, with some services witnessing an increase of nearly 100 percent.

Bookings for international hotels, air tickets, car rentals and other bookings have far exceeded that during the May Day holidays in 2023, according to a report by Fliggy, a domestic travel platform under Alibaba, sent to the Global Times. 

So far, the number of outbound cruise trip bookings has increased by more than 16 times year-on-year, and the products of some routes have been sold out on Fliggy. Ticket bookings for overseas amusement parks and scenic spots grew more than 90 percent. 

Meanwhile, there has been a rapid increase in bookings for local travel experiences, such as snorkelling in Thailand's Similan Islands to see the underwater world and hot air balloon rides in Turkey, on Fliggy.

Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the US, France, Vietnam and other countries are among the hottest outbound destinations for Chinese tourists during the May Day holidays, according to a report by Trip.com Group sent to the Global Times.

Thanks to the resumption of international routes and the improvement of flight supply, the outbound travel cost performance is higher than the May Day holidays in 2023.  The per capita purchase price of international air tickets fell by 19 percent year-on-year on Fliggy.

Many airliners have announced an increase in capacity for international routes. China Southern Airlines has launched a new route from Beijing Daxing International Airport to Riyadh and increased the frequency of flights between Beijing's Daxing and Macao to once a day. China Eastern Airlines has resumed the route from Daxing to Kuala Lumpur, while China United Airlines plans to open international routes to Russia, Japan and South Korea during the peak season. South Korea's Jeju Airlines has settled in Daxing airport, providing more choices for passengers.

The Global Times learned from Beijing Daxing International Airport that the average number of daily inbound and outbound passenger trips at the airport is expected to exceed 14,000 during the May Day holidays. 

Global tourism market boosted

Chinese outbound and inbound tourism is expected to accelerate in 2024, due to visa facilitation and improved air capacity, according to a forecast report released in January by UN Tourism, a United Nations agency responsible for tourism.

On Monday, China's Embassy in Georgia announced that the mutual visa waiver agreement between the two countries will come into effect on May 28, expanding the number of China's visa-free partners.

So far, China has concluded visa-free agreements with more than 150 countries covering different passports. 

Since the beginning of 2024, China's tourism sector has soared compared with the average level of the international market, and there are great expectations both at home and abroad for China's tourism market, analysts noted.

According to a forecast by the China Tourism Academy, the number of outbound trips by Chinese tourists will reach 130 million in 2024. 

This figure is close to the number of Chinese outbound tourist trips in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, which stood at 155 million. 

Chinese tourists spent $133.8 billion on outbound tourism in 2019, with per capita consumption of $863, ranking first in the world in outbound tourism expenditure, accounting for 23.8 percent of global total, according to statistics from UN Tourism.

Analysts said that China could regain the crown of tourism expenditure in 2024. The 2019 figures clearly show why global tourism markets are eager for the return of Chinese tourists. China remains an engine and a contributor to global economic growth. 

According to official data, China's contribution to global economic growth is approximately 30 percent, underscoring the country's central role in the world's economic system.

"With their strong spending power, Chinese outbound tourists will significantly boost the global tourism market," Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.

Wang also noted that tourism is not a one-time consumption activity, and will drive the development of a series of related industries, such as catering, entertainment and retail. 

"This spillover effect can further magnify the driving role of tourism on economic growth through consumption," said Wang.

Momentum of consumption

Zhang Yi, CEO of iiMedia Research Institute, told the Global Times that consumer spending could hit a new high during the May Day holidays in China, boosted by several shopping festivals and trade-in activities, which will further boost the country's economic growth.

"Consumption is a key link in domestic economic circulation and an important engine of economic growth," Zhang Lingyun, a member of the academic committee of the China Tourism Academy, told the Global Times on Monday.

Experts said that there is still potential for further growth in consumption after a nearly 5 percent growth in the first quarter, and the momentum of consumption will provide new impetus to the economic growth of the world's second-largest economy and refute "Peak China" narrative hyped by some Western observers and media.

According to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China's total retail sales of consumer goods rose 4.7 percent year-on-year to 12.03 trillion yuan ($1.7 trillion) in the first quarter of 2024, indicating a steady expansion in consumption after a surge during the Spring Festival holidays in February.

"What boosted China's strong consumption power is government policy promotion and social security. To meet people's aspirations for a better life, China is shifting to a consumption-oriented economy," said Zhang.

Analysts also pointed out that the increase in consumption reflected spending power. In the first quarter, the per capita disposable income nationwide was 11,539 yuan, a nominal increase of 6.2 percent over the same period in 2023, and a real increase of 6.2 percent after deducting price factors, according to the NBS.

The increase in disposable income comes from China's stable economy, which also explains why the yuan maintains its resilience in the foreign exchange market, while multiple currencies including the yen, won and rupee continue to depreciate against the US dollar.

Dozens of foreign diplomats commended the expertise and efficiency of China's grassroots lawmaking process, while rejecting the notion that the Western model is the only form of democracy, as they visited a local legislative liaison station in Beijing on Friday.

On Friday afternoon, ambassadors and diplomats from 36 countries visited a local legislative liaison station in Beijing's Chaoyang District, where they held meetings with grassroots lawmakers and observed a fundamental step of China's whole-process people's democracy.

The Nanmofang Township Legislative Liaison Station visited by the foreign envoys is one of the 43 legislative liaison stations in Chaoyang District, and is one of the most grassroots institutions in the Chinese legislative system. Established by the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Chaoyang District, it is where grassroots deputies discuss legislative drafts and collect suggestions from the public.

During the visit, the foreign diplomats audited a consultation meeting on the Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and Local People's Congresses, which was attended by grassroots deputies from all walks of life.

After the consultation meeting, they took part in a symposium with the deputies and officials from the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Chaoyang District, sharing their views, questions and observations of China's grassroots legislative process.

The ambassadors interviewed by the Global Times said that it is their first time to observe China's whole-process people's democracy at the grassroots level, and they are impressed by the level of expertise and efficiency, and diversity in participation.

"This is the first time that I've had the privilege and the opportunity to observe a lower level of the People's Congress," Michael Campbell, Nicaragua's Ambassador to China, told the Global Times after the event. "We've had the chance to see that the whole-process people's democracy model has been improving, which is very important."

Campbell said he was impressed by the diversity in the grassroots legislation in terms of the backgrounds of the participants. "You have professors, you have doctors, you have lawyers … Everybody was debating on the same bill that will eventually go to the upper level," he said. "When the bill reaches the national level, it already has the suggestions of all walks of life. So when it's finally approved, everybody is willing to implement it."

Campbell, who has also been invited to the national two sessions - the annual legislative and political consultative sessions - in March, believes that China's whole-process people's democracy will continue to strengthen and improve, as everybody has their voice to make China better.
China has more than 2.77 million lawmakers at five levels of legislative bodies. Among them, there are less than 3,000 national deputies, while county and township-level deputies account for about 95 percent of the total number of lawmakers. The vast majority of these grassroots deputies, or 94.5 percent of the total, are directly elected.

Abu Bakarr Karim, the Sierra Leone Ambassador to China, and Anne Lafortune, Seychelles Ambassador to China, both described what they witnessed as "impressive."

"You can actually see the level of consultation that takes place at the grassroots level," Karim told the Global Times. "I was impressed by the level of expertise."

Karim noted that he would like to communicate with his local parliament back in his country about his observations and discuss whether they can learn more from it.

Lafortune said she was always aware of China's whole-process democracy but has never seen it up close as she did during the visit.

"I was impressed by the different ways that the grassroots people are able to voice their opinion," she said. "It has shown that China is really committed to making sure its people are actually heard."

Lafortune noted that there are many models of effective democracy, and each country can see their own way to approach it. "China is moving forward. This version apparently fits China," she said.

Campbell, the Nicaraguan Ambassador, noted that it is obvious that the "Western model of democracy" is not the only definition of democracy.

"It is one of the greatest mistakes that the West is making right now - instead of investing in their model, they are busy promoting false narratives related to the democracy of other countries," he told the Global Times. "Each country has to decide what is most appropriate for them."

One of the most important things about China is that it respects the democracy model of other countries, he said, while Western democracy is promoting interventionism, warmongering and false narratives.