Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived on Thursday in Phnom Penh for a state visit to Cambodia, the third leg of his three-nation Southeast Asia tour which has already taken him to Vietnam and Malaysia, Xinhua News Agency reported. 

To warmly welcome President Xi's arrival, Cambodia meticulously organized a special ceremony at the airport, with large enthusiastic crowds lining up neatly along the sides. 

"We love China!" said Cambodian girls dressed in traditional white and red attire, standing among the welcoming crowds. They held golden cups filled with jasmine petals. The Global Times learned that this is a unique Cambodian tradition for receiving the country's most distinguished guests.

At the Phnom Penh International Airport, a Cambodian airport staff member told Global Times reporters that he felt very excited to be on-site to welcome President Xi. He said that China and Cambodia are "ironclad friends" and have always maintained close relations.

Along the bustling streets of Cambodia's capital, locals poured in from all corners of the country, spontaneously and with great excitement, just to witness this memorable moment with their own eyes. Although it coincided with the Khmer New Year, people arrived early in the morning, undeterred by the sweltering heat. Many told the Global Times that they had already been waiting along the roadside since around 6 am, determined not to miss a second of the occasion.

Beyond the main avenues adorned with rows of Chinese and Cambodian flags, reporters also noticed giant electronic billboards across Phnom Penh flashing warm messages in both Khmer and Chinese. Phrases like "Welcome President Xi" and "May the friendship between our two countries last forever" lit up the streets, adding to the festive atmosphere.

"We all knew that President Xi is coming to Cambodia. As a Chinese, I'm very proud and excited!" a 68-year-old restaurant owner surnamed Huang told the Global Times. "I hope China and Cambodia will continue to grow closer. The more Chinese tourists come, the better our business gets," she added.

President Xi said Thursday that China-Cambodia relations have withstood the test of global transformations, and always remained rock-solid. In a written statement upon his arrival, Xi also noted that bilateral ties were forged and nurtured by the elder generation of leaders of the two countries, Xinhua reported. 

In his first overseas trip of the year, Xi is visiting Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia from Monday to Friday, according to the Xinhua News Agency. This is Xi's second visit to Cambodia in nine years. 

"I sincerely hope this visit will spearhead progress in building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future," wrote a signed article by Xi titled "Together We Strive, Together We Thrive: Toward a Stable and Sustainable China-Cambodia Community with a Shared Future in the New Era" in Cambodian media outlets Khmer Times, Jian Hua Daily and Fresh News ahead of his arrival in Cambodia.

China and India are reportedly expected to resume an annual pilgrimage to Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, which an expert said on Friday that it could be seen as "a phased achievement" since the two countries reached a six-point consensus last year.

The notification for resumption is expected "fairly soon," said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday. Once it is official, pilgrims will be allowed to travel to Mount Kangrinboqe and the Lake Mansarovar in Xizang region for the first time since 2020, according to a report by The Print.

The pilgrimage, organized by the MEA, usually starts in June and runs till September.

Regarding the reports on the resumption of the pilgrimage, the Chinese government has not yet confirmed them.

China and India's special representatives on the boundary question held the 23rd meeting in Beijing on December 18, 2024, reaching a six-point consensus. It was the first meeting of its kind in five years, according to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

They agreed to further refine the rules for border area management and strengthen the construction of trust-building measures, and continue enhancing cross-border exchanges and cooperation to promote the resumption of Indian pilgrims' visits to China's Xizang, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The reported resumption of the annual pilgrimage reflects both sides' positive attitude toward implementing the consensus. Communication and cooperation at various levels are gradually being restored, and the current progress of this resumption can be seen as "a phased achievement," which is also of great significance to India, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Friday.

Through the efforts of leaders from both China and India, the two countries' relations are developing in a positive direction, Qian said.

The resumption is expected to boost tourism and people-to-people exchanges between India and China, according to a report by NDTV. 

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong and Indian Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri held a meeting of the Foreign Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism between China and India in January in Beijing, according to a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The two sides agreed to promote the resumption of the pilgrimage by Indian pilgrims to the sacred mountain and lake of Xizang in China in 2025, and will negotiate the relevant arrangements as soon as possible, according to the statement.

The two sides also agreed to resume direct flights between the Chinese mainland and India, support the coordination and promotion of the competent departments of the two countries, and take measures to facilitate personnel exchanges and the mutual dispatch of journalists between the two countries, said the statement.

Both the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Panama pushed back against recent remarks by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth regarding the Panama Canal, urging the US to stop spreading disinformation, stirring up trouble, and falsely linking China to the canal as a pretext for advancing its own ambitions to control it.

During a visit to the Central American nation, Hegseth said on Tuesday that "the US will take back the Panama Canal from Chinese influence," Reuters reported. 

China-based companies continue to control critical infrastructure in the canal area, Hegseth said. "That gives China the potential to conduct surveillance activities across Panama. This makes Panama and the US less secure, less prosperous and less sovereign."

Hegseth, following talks with Panama's government, vowed to deepen security cooperation with Panama's forces and said China would not be allowed to "weaponize" the canal by using Chinese firms' commercial relationships for espionage, according to Reuters. 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian firmly rejected those remarks on Wednesday, stating that the US senior official maliciously attacked China, and vilified and sabotaged China-Panama cooperation, which once again lays bare America's bullying and hegemonic nature.

Lin stressed that it is so clear for all to see who wants to control the Panama Canal. The US should take a hard look in the mirror to find out who is threatening other countries' sovereignty, security and development. 

The spokesperson also urged the US to stop spreading rumors and making trouble, and stop linking China to the Panama Canal issue with ill intention to find an excuse for America's attempt to control the canal. "Meanwhile, let me stress that compromise and concession does not protect sovereignty or win respect, but will only embolden the bully," Lin added.

In his inaugural speech in January, US President Donald Trump claimed without providing evidence that China controlled the 50-mile canal and vowed that the US will take back the waterway, which he said was "vital" to national security, NBC News reported on Wednesday. 

The Chinese Embassy in Panama also made a solemn statement on Wednesday in response to the latest remarks made by Hegseth over the Panama Canal, urging the US to seriously reflect on its history of bullying and exploitation toward Latin America and the Caribbean, including Panama, and to stop distorting and smearing China.

China has never participated in the management or operation of the Panama Canal, nor has it ever interfered in canal-related affairs, said the statement. 

China has always respected Panama's sovereignty over the canal and acknowledges that the canal is a permanently neutral international waterway. This position is clearly stated in official documents exchanged during the mutual visits of the two countries' heads of state, the embassy said. 

While the US repeatedly accuses China of interfering with the canal, history tells a different story: The only time the canal was ever interrupted was due to a US invasion, the Chinese Embassy said. 

It is clear who is truly upholding the canal's neutrality and prosperity, and who has been clamoring to "take back" the canal - justice lies in the hearts of the people, the embassy noted. 

In November 2017, China and Panama signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Belt and Road cooperation. Thanks to this agreement, the two countries have enjoyed stronger policy support, increased investment, and broader public support, accelerating cooperation in trade and investment, infrastructure, finance and development aid. These efforts have yielded tangible benefits for Panama and its people, the embassy said. 

The US has ignored facts and hyped up the so-called China threat, attempting to undermine China-Panama cooperation purely for its own geopolitical purposes - an act that fully exposes its hegemonic mindset. The world can clearly see who is engaging in coercion and exploitation, according to the embassy. 

The embassy pointed out that the US-Panama relations should not be exclusive. Panama's decision to develop relations with China is a sovereign choice, and one that reflects the will of the Panamanian people. The US has no right to interfere, it said. 

"We urge the US to seriously reflect on its history of bullying and exploitation toward Latin America and the Caribbean, including Panama, and to stop distorting and smearing China. Instead of spreading falsehoods and sowing discord, it would be better for the US to focus on how to truly contribute to the well-being of the region," the embassy said. 

Panama President José Raúl Mulino has denied that China has any influence in the operations of the canal, the AP said on Wednesday. 

Mulino was also quoted as saying in the Reuters' report that the canal has been handled responsibly for world trade, including that of the US, and that "it is, and will continue to be, Panamanian."

Hegseth's remarks make it clear that the US does not regard Panama as a sovereign country worthy of respect, but rather as a pawn in its geopolitical game, and its policy toward Panama reflects a blatant disregard for Panama's sovereignty and a brazen interference in its internal affairs, with the aim of drawing Panama into Washington's pre-set strategy of strategic competition with China, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

"By attempting to drag Panama, and potentially other countries, into a great-power rivalry, the US risks creating further instability in the international order and deepening frictions and divisions between itself and other nations," Li said, noting that this tactic of coercion and manipulation, using its own choices and strength to impose its will on others, is bound to backfire. 

In response to a media inquiry regarding a secret internal guidance memo signed by the US defense secretary — which identifies China as the "only pacing threat," allegedly focuses on "deterring China's seizure of Taiwan," and shoring up US homeland defense — Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, said on Wednesday that China has taken note of relevant reports.

He stated that it appears the US is suffering from increasingly severe "paranoia over China." Viewing China as a threat is a grave strategic misjudgment that will only lead to disastrous consequences. 

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reoriented the US military to prioritize "deterring China's seizure of Taiwan" and shoring up homeland defense by "assuming risk" in Europe and other parts of the world, according to a secret internal guidance memo that bears the fingerprints of the conservative Heritage Foundation, including some passages that are nearly word-for-word duplications of text published by the think tank last year, according to the Washington Post in late March.

It must be stressed that China will ultimately be reunified, and this is an unstoppable historical trend that no individual or force can prevent, Zhang emphasized.

Advanced weapons and equipment such as the Type 054A frigate, the DF-15 ballistic missile, the H-6K bomber and the Y-20 transport aircraft have joined the PLA Eastern Theater Command's joint exercise around the island of Taiwan on Tuesday, a video released by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command showed. During the exercises, the H-6K bomber carried YJ-21 air-launched ballistic missile, which was unveiled previously at Airshow China.

The YJ-21 missile's appearance in the drills by the PLA Eastern Theater Command indicates a high level of combat realism. The missile has key significance in seizing comprehensive control, and the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces have no way to deal with this type of missile, a military affairs expert told the Global Times on Tuesday.

A PLA Eastern Theater Command video on Tuesday showed an H-6K bomber lifting off with two YJ-21 missiles.

The YJ-21 missile was unveiled at the Airshow China 2022. 

In a video released by the PLA Air Force in 2024 celebrating the service's 75th founding anniversary, the launch scene of the YJ-21 was for the first time shown to the public. Military affairs expert Wang Mingzhi told media that the YJ-21 is an advanced air-launched ballistic missile, giving the PLA Air Force an advanced means to strike with long range, fast speed, high precision, strong defense penetration capability and high destructive power.

The participation of the YJ-21 in the joint exercises around Taiwan Island has a profound significance. Military affairs expert Zhang Junshe told the Global Times on Tuesday that the missile's participation showed that the drills by the PLA Eastern Theater Command is very close to actual combat, and the participating troops are ready to fight any time.

The YJ-21, as a missile with hypersonic defense penetration capability, has key significance in the seizure of comprehensive control, anti-sea and land attack, as well as blockading key areas and routes, Zhang said, noting that comprehensive control in modern warfare covers a wide range, including not only the traditional control of the sea, air and land, but also control over electromagnetic domain and cyberspace. Achieving this requires land strikes, electromagnetic warfare, and destruction of high-value targets like command centers and network hubs. "

Because hypersonic missiles can reach speeds higher than Mach 6, the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces' current air defense systems have no way to deal with the YJ-21 - in fact there are hardly any force in the world that can effectively intercept it, Zhang said.

China's State Council announced on Wednesday that it has decided to appoint Chow Yat-ming as the commissioner of police of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, replacing Siu Chak-yee, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

The decision was made in accordance with the HKSAR Basic Law, and was based on the nomination and suggestion put forward by HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee, Xinhua said, citing the official announcement. 

In a press briefing on Wednesday, Chow said his future work will focus on three key areas. First, safeguarding national security and enhancing public awareness of national security. Second, promoting smart policing by leveraging technology to improve operational efficiency, work effectiveness, and service quality. Third, strengthening team culture, shared values and a sense of belonging while providing better support and development opportunities, according to local media RTHK. 

Since the implementation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong five years ago and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance last year, these measures have acted as a stabilizing force, bringing social stability to Hong Kong, Chow noted. However, he said this does not mean all hidden risks have been eliminated, as "undercurrents still exist everywhere," local media Wen Wei Po reported. 

Therefore, he stressed that the police force has an even greater responsibility to safeguard national security. Chow pointed out that these hidden threats include various forms of "soft resistance," where individuals attempt to incite others through media or cultural and artistic projects. In response, the police will further strengthen public awareness and understanding of national security, according to Wen Wei Po. 

A day ahead of the appointment, the US slapped new sanctions on six individuals from the central government's office in Hong Kong and the HKSAR government, including security and police officials Sonny Au, Dick Wong, Margaret Chiu and police commissioner Raymond Siu, Reuters reported on Tuesday. 

During the press briefing, Chow described the sanctions as a "barbaric act" aimed at intimidating and suppressing Hong Kong public officials, particularly police officers. However, he asserted that these sanctions also serve as proof that the police force's current operations are effective and successful, according to Wen Wei Po.

Chow also emphasized that he is not concerned about the sanctions; instead, he is focused on improving and expanding the police force's efforts, vowing to lead the force with courage and determination in the face of challenges, Wen Wei Po said. 

He also noted that the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) will continue to collaborate with overseas law enforcement agencies through well-established channels and believes that the sanctions will not affect HKPF's international cooperation, according to the media report. 

Chow joined the HKPF in 1995 as an Inspector of Police and devoted most of his career as a crime detective at divisional, district, regional and headquarters levels, through which he accumulated extensive experiences in criminal investigation and intelligence gathering related work, and developed policy-making skills in various crime duties, according to the website of the HKPF.  

During the 2019 social turmoil, Chow commanded the standoff between protestors and police at the Polytechnic University, according to local media HK01. The operation lasted 14 days and resulted in the arrest of 1,377 individuals, media reported.