China’s Annual Political Sessions to Commence, Garnering Global Attention
China’s Annual Political Sessions to Commence, Garnering Global Attention
On the afternoon of the 3rd, the press conference for the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was held. The session is scheduled to open on March 4th at 3:00 pm at the Great Hall of the People and conclude on the morning of March 10th, lasting for six days.
At noon today, the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) will host a press conference in the Press Hall of the Great Hall of the People. The spokesperson will address questions from domestic and foreign journalists regarding the agenda of the session and issues related to the work of the NPC. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the National People’s Congress and the 75th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, offering the international community a deeper insight into China’s governance wisdom and advantages through the annual sessions.
Known as a platform for concentrating China’s policy signals, the annual Two Sessions serve as a crucial window for the world to observe China. In anticipation of this significant event, global media outlets and overseas experts have been actively looking forward to the Two Sessions, recognizing them as a source of valuable insights into China’s development. More than 3,000 domestic and international journalists have registered to cover the Two Sessions, with over 2,000 from within China and more than 1,000 from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and other countries.
China’s Shenzhou-17 Crew Achieves Milestone in Second Extravehicular Mission
The Shenzhou-17 crew aboard China’s orbiting space station successfully completed their second extravehicular mission on Saturday, as announced by the China Manned Space Agency. Taikonauts Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin executed their assigned tasks with precision, marking a significant milestone in China’s space exploration endeavors.
The extravehicular activities, lasting approximately eight hours, involved a meticulously planned spacewalk by Tang Hongbo and Jiang Xinlin. The duo, supported by the space station’s robotic arm and coordinated efforts with scientists on Earth, safely returned to the Wentian lab module after accomplishing their objectives at 1:32 pm.
China launched the Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship on October 26, 2023, and the crew conducted a repair test during their first extravehicular mission on December 21 of the same year.
During their second spacewalk, the taikonauts focused on the maintenance of the Tianhe core module’s solar wings, addressing the potential impact of small space particles. The China Manned Space Agency reported that, following thorough evaluation and analysis, the solar wings’ power generation function is operating normally.
This mission marked the first time that taikonauts successfully conducted in-orbit maintenance of extravehicular facilities. Additionally, the Shenzhou-17 crew conducted inspections on the status of the space station’s modules, ensuring their continued functionality.
US Commerce Secretary’s Baseless Allegations against Chinese EVs Spark Debate in China
As the Biden administration imposes additional tariffs on autos from China, US Commerce Sectary Gina Raimondo said in an interview that cars these days are like iPhones on wheels, Chinese electric vehicles cause national security risks. “Imagine a world with 3 million Chinese vehicles on the roads of America and Beijing could turn them off at the same time.” she said.
In response to this imagery by the US Commerce Secretary, Chinese netizens generally believe that the accusation is essentially protectionist, for the very reason that the rapid development of China’s electric vehicle industry threatens the interests of some US capital. National security is nothing more than an excuse, and such smear campaigns are a common U.S. tactic. The Chinese public combines this US behaviour with breakthroughs made by the Chinese auto industry in 2023, such as BYD’s in 2023, when for the first time it overtook Tesla in quarterly sales.
China’s assistant foreign minister and spokeswoman Hua Chunying commented on social media platform X that iPhones are American products. Were you suggesting that iPhones, Tesla and even Boeing…have been sending secret data back to the US? Her comments “If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” went viral on Chinese social media.