What is kung fu like?

Shaolin kung fu can involve agile movements, resilient spirit, elegant motions or powerful strikes. Regardless of age, race, gender, or body type, every Shaolin disciple shares a common belief. 

This belief is not only a pursuit of martial arts skills, but also a way of life and a spiritual realm.

Over the last weekend, a total of 144 martial art masters from 47 countries and regions competed in the finals of the 2024 Shaolin Games hosted at the Shaolin Temple in Central China's Henan Province, contending for the title of "2024 World Shaolin Kung Fu Star." Along with them were hundreds of kung fu lovers who gathered to show their skills, share their personal journeys and meet their peers.

After two days of fierce competition, 10 contestants from China, the US, Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Zambia, Peru and other countries were crowned as the "2024 World Shaolin Kung Fu Stars."

Shaolin Temple abbot Shi Yongxin told the Global Times that "there are many people practicing Shaolin kung fu around the world. Different people have different affinities, and their understanding and gains from the culture vary. Everyone has their own story."

Shaolin culture has been passed down for many years without interruption, forming its own cultural system and way of life. This culture is suitable for people of different age groups. From what we see now, the needs of different countries, regions, and cultures are different, he said. 

"People are dedicated and serious about Shaolin culture, with a sense of reverence and pilgrimages bringing them together," the abbot stressed. 

Luis Mello from Brazil is one such practitioner. Burly and strong with a bushy white curly beard, he wields a monk's spade and wears Buddhist beads around his neck. 

He looks just like Lu Zhishen, the Flowery Monk from the classic Chinese novel Water Margin.

Mello has been practicing martial arts since he was a teenager, spanning over 40 years. Throughout his life, he has trained in various martial arts styles and even founded the Instituto Lohan in Brazil, where he has many disciples. 

His immersion in Chinese culture doesn't stop there. He also practices qigong, plays traditional Chinese musical instruments, studies various philosophical schools of thought and pursues Chinese traditional arts such as Go.

Amid the cheers of the crowd, Clément Vaudagne from France almost stumbled to the ground. Then, suddenly, he got up and performed a clear and powerful set of combination punches. 

This was the famous "Drunken Fist" routine in martial arts, known for its blend of drunken movements and intricate techniques.

Vaudagne, 18, chose to bring his "Drunken Fist" to the Shaolin Temple competition, earning him much applause and cheers. 

"Winning the championship is but a fleeting moment, whereas practicing martial arts is a lifelong pursuit," he told the Global Times.

Vaudagne's master, Alexandre Cordaro, also known as Yan Yi in the Shaolin system, is a dedicated Shaolin kung fu practitioner from France. His journey began as a child, inspired by the discipline and philosophy the practice embodies. 

Today, at 37 years old, Cordaro owns and operates a small temple in France where he imparts the wisdom of Shaolin to his students and reflects on the life-changing impact it has had on him. 

"I built it stone by stone, block by block with my hands," Cordaro told the Global Times, recounting the establishment of his temple: the Centre culturel du temple Shaolin de France.

His understanding of Shaolin is not merely physical, but deeply philosophical, emphasizing the importance of self-control, discipline, and the spiritual aspects inherent in the practice. 

Moreover, Cordaro's commitment to Shaolin culture is evident in his annual pilgrimages to the Shaolin Temple, which he considers a vital part of his life's work. His experiences in China have been instrumental in shaping both his personal philosophy and his approach to teaching.

Among the representatives from Africa, 6-year-old Fair Nvirenda stood out and was always positioned in the center during performances. 

This boy, more commonly known as Chu San, is an orphan adopted by the Shaolin Temple in Zambia. From a young age, Chu San has shown exceptional martial arts talent and a calm demeanor, making him a little star at the Shaolin Temple in Zambia and a "big brother" to other older martial arts practitioners.

Chu San's master, Max Yollando, better known by his Buddhist name Yan Ming, was originally a psychology student from Cote d'Ivoire. He became fascinated with Chinese culture and Shaolin kung fu when he was a kid, since kung fu movies are popular in Africa.

In 2016, he came to the Shaolin Temple for short-term training and returned in 2017, staying for nearly six years. He even joined the Shaolin Monk Corps, showcasing Shaolin culture across China. 

In 2022, Yan Ming was assigned to the Shaolin Temple in Zambia. 

"At the Shaolin Cultural Center in Zambia, we have adopted more than 30 orphans from difficult living conditions, teaching them Chinese and kung fu. In the future, they may come to China to continue their studies and bring the best of China back to Africa, helping to build a better Zambia," Yan Ming said.

China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) on Wednesday blasted a report by The New York Times published on Tuesday, which it says distorts and misrepresents facts about two elite Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance in 2022 and were found no wrongdoing in the case.

According to CHINADA, the athletes were provisionally suspended after trace amounts of the anabolic steroid metandienone were found in their tests.

After an extensive investigation, which included testing meat samples and nutritional supplements, the exact source of contamination could not be determined, CHINADA said, as it concluded that the athletes had ingested the steroid unwittingly and cleared them of wrongdoing in late 2023.

The results of such cases, where athletes are found to be without fault or negligence, are not made public to protect the athletes' rights, CHINADA said. This decision allowed the swimmers to resume competition after being provisionally suspended for over a year.

The decision was communicated to WADA and World Aquatics (WA), both of which endorsed CHINADA's findings.

CHINADA accused The New York Times of politicizing doping issues and attempting to disrupt the competitive environment of the Paris Olympics.

"The New York Times' insistence on politicizing the doping issue and frequently sensationalizing the global problem of food contamination is aimed at disrupting the order of the Paris Olympics swimming competition and undermining the psychological state and competitive ability of Chinese athletes," CHINADA said in its statement. "This is extremely unfair and unethical."

The organization highlighted that meat contamination with banned substances is a global issue, with similar cases occurring in many countries.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has also reviewed the Chinese athletes' case, which found no evidence to dispute the contamination scenario, it said in a statement released on Tuesday.

WADA acknowledged the complexity of food contamination cases and emphasized the need for ongoing review and investigation into such incidents globally.

It also noted the prevalence of contamination cases worldwide and announced an investigation into the scale and risk of meat contamination with metandienone in China and other countries.

CHINADA highlighted a similar case involving American sprinter Erriyon Knighton, who tested positive for the anabolic steroid trenbolone but was cleared by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to compete at the Paris Olympics, citing meat contamination.

The China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) on Thursday called for an independent investigation into the actions of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), following latest revelations about the USADA's misconduct.

According to a Reuters report published on Wednesday, USADA has been implicated in serious violations of anti-doping regulations, allowing athletes who had doped to compete for years, without ever publishing or sanctioning their rule violations.

The Chinese anti-doping body emphasizes that USADA's actions severely compromised the integrity of sports, as it lacks transparency and operates with double standards.

"USADA has long ignored its own anti-doping shortcomings while attempting to impose double standards on other countries, exposing its hypocritical and inconsistent approach to anti-doping enforcement," CHINADA said in a statement sent to the Global Times.

This is the fifth statement that CHINADA has released since July to demand transparency and justice from the USADA for athletes.

The US hype since April 2024 on a 2021 food contamination case of Chinese swimmers had led to an excessive anti-doping testing scheme against Chinese athletes ahead of and during the Paris 2024 Olympics to prove their cleanness.

"The US' ultimate goal is to prevent China from advancing," Shen Yi, director of the International Research Institute of Global Cyberspace Governance at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

"Before the Paris Olympics, the hype on Chinese swimmers has been used to weaponize the anti-doping system. The aim is no longer to detect doping but to disrupt Chinese athletes' training and competition schedules under the guise of proving China's integrity," Shen said. 

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said Wednesday that USADA's actions are "in direct contravention of the World Anti-Doping Code and USADA's own rules."

These athletes were allowed to act as "undercover informants" for USADA, which is a practice that WADA instructed USADA to desist in 2021.

"This USADA scheme threatened the integrity of sporting competition, which the Code seeks to protect," WADA said in the statement. "By operating it, USADA was in clear breach of the rules."

International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson Mark Adams expressed support for WADA on Thursday, saying the IOC will continue to work with its stakeholders to make sure there are "good and robust" anti-doping systems.

WADA highlighted that since 2011 USADA permitted at least three athletes who tested positive for steroids and erythropoietin (EPO) to continue competing until their retirement. 

CHINADA's latest statement also suspects whether USADA's board and the US Congress were aware of these breaches and the associated security risks. It calls for USADA to publicly disclose the details of the implicated cases and respond to public concerns. "We strongly call on the US Congress and the USADA Board of Directors to face up to the grave problem of doping in the US itself and the serious governance flaw in USADA," CHINADA said in the statement. "The US should enhance oversight and regulation of USADA, strengthen domestic anti-doping efforts, and immediately cease the overreach and interference in other countries' anti-doping efforts," CHINADA said.

Earlier on the same day, CHINADA, in a separate statement, called for intensified testing on US athletes to rebuild global trust in fair play, as US Olympic sprinting star Erriyon Knighton tested positive for banned steroid trenbolone during an out-of-competition test in March 2024 but was still allowed to compete in Paris.

Shang Ximeng, a research fellow at the Center for International Sport Communication and Diplomacy Studies at the Beijing Foreign Studies University, said the US has always been an exception in anti-doping efforts. "Despite that Chinese sports authorities did not target American athletes in a similar manner like the US hype did on Chinese athletes, the Chinese delegation still faces a lot of criticism in Paris," Shang told the Global Times. "China has demonstrated its integrity through more frequent testing, but this approach may not be the best way to protect the Chinese athletes' rights."

The doping disputes between China and the US are a microcosm of the broader strategic rivalry between the two countries, Shen Yi said.

CHINADA strongly called on the International Testing Agency (ITA) to intensify testing on the US track and field athletes, and recommended that the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) strengthen anti-doping supervision of the US Track and Field, prevent the doping risks and strictly investigate relevant cases in an endeavor to truly protect the legitimate rights and interests of the clean athletes around the world and to rebuild the trust of global athletes in fair play.

Chinese athletes should be subject to the same doping standards and procedures as their US counterparts, without any double standards, Shen noted. 

"The US has turned anti-doping measures into a tool to suppress countries outside the Western sphere, creating an unfair competitive environment for athletes from other nations," Shen told the Global Times. "If the US finds this unacceptable, then the US must adhere to China's standards and practices."

Xi holds talks with Vietnam's top leader To Lam in Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday exchanged congratulatory messages on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil, with experts saying that the two sides are expected to continue promoting exchanges in all areas underpinned by economic and trade cooperation.

China is ready to work with Brazil to take the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties as a new starting point to jointly promote the building of a China-Brazil community with a shared future, Xi said in his congratulatory message to Lula, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

China and Brazil, both major developing countries and key emerging markets, are like-minded good friends and partners that join hands and move forward together, Xi said.

For his part, Lula said over the past half century, the friendship between Brazil and China has been strengthened, and cooperation has become increasingly diversified, according to Xinhua.

Brazil-China ties are becoming increasingly important for building the multipolar order, as well as  a more just and effective global governance, Lula said, adding that bilateral ties play an underpinning role in the stability and predictability of the two countries and the world. He said that for the next 50 years of bilateral relations, the two countries will chart a new course together and create a bright shared future.

Lula said at an event on Wednesday that he will discuss a "long-term strategic partnership" with China later this year, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The close ties between China and Brazil span many years, and Lula's remarks indicate that Brazil is looking to extend and advance the relationship with China, Dong Jingsheng, deputy director of Peking University's Latin America Research Center, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"The economies of the two sides enjoy considerable complementarity, making it possible to provide favorable conditions to advance the cooperation in other fields of the two countries." Dong noted.

Dong also believed that trade and economic relations serve as the foundation of the relationship between China and Brazil, as well as China's cooperation with other countries in Latin America, which in turn encourages political trust and people-to-people exchanges.

The rapid development of China-Brazil ties contributes not only to the economic and social development of the two countries, but also facilitates the engagement of Global South countries, analysts said, noting that this injects momentum into the transformation of the international system and the reform of the global governance system.

A breach in a dike along a river in Chifeng city, North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, measuring 11 meters long, flooded 9,000 mu (600 hectares) of farmland. Following overnight efforts by local rescue teams, the breach was fully sealed by midday on Wednesday, according to China Central Television.

A total of 821 residents had been relocated with no casualties reported so far, CCTV reported. 

According to the local flood control and drought relief headquarters in Chifeng, a breach occurred along a section of the dike alongside the Laoha River in Songshan district on Tuesday, with the depth of the floodwater reaching as deep as 2.5 meters, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday. 

The city immediately launched an IV-level emergency response for flood control and dispatched rescue forces to evacuate local residents and carry out rescue work. A total of 821 residents from 112 households from two villages were relocated to nearby temporary accommodation, local primary schools or clinics, with no casualties reported, according to Xinhua.

Despite of a round 9,000 mu of farmland was reported as being flooded, the floodwater did not flow into the village. 

Following an all-out effort by rescue forces made up of over 700 people from the military, armed police, fire fighter department and other professional rescue forces, the breach was closed by 4.5 meters as of 5:30 am on Wednesday, Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters dispatched an expert team to Inner Mongolia to assist and guide flood control and disaster relief work. The Ministry of Emergency Management urgently deployed 100 personnel and 35 rescue equipment units from a natural disaster engineering rescue base in Tangshan city, North China’s Hebei Province to the site and coordinated with surrounding state-owned enterprises to mobilize 460 personnel, 56 equipment units, and four helicopters, according to media reports. 

The Ministry of Water Resources on Tuesday activated a major flood and drought disaster dispatch and command mechanism, conducting consultations to assess the scope of the flood’s impact. They issued eight targeted emergency response recommendations, including immediately delineating the risk area affected by the breach, ensuring the immediate evacuation of all personnel within the risk area, and closing all reservoirs upstream of the breach. Authorities from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region also dispatched experts to provide on-site guidance, China Central Television reported on Tuesday.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games concluded on Sunday with Team China winning 40 gold, 27 silver and 24 bronze medals, with the result marking the best performance for Team China in the Olympic Games held overseas. 

Chinese analysts said this proves that the success of Chinese modernization can bring not only economic growth, but also can benefit the development of public health, as well as the environment for sports industries, to effectively energize "sports for all." 

This is the core reason why so many talented young athletes can continuously emerge from China's 1.4 billion population in the past decades, and they can also break world records in sports that have been dominated by the US and other Western countries for a long time, experts said. 

Making history

Counting from China's first Olympic gold medal in 1984 thanks to Xu Haifeng's shooting prowess, China successfully surpassed the 300-gold medal mark in Paris. Over the past 40 years, Chinese sports have evolved from achieving occasional standout performances to becoming an undeniable powerhouse of global sports. 

"The Chinese sports delegation achieved a record-breaking performance, winning 40 gold, 27 silver, and 24 bronze medals across 11 major events and 14 sub-events, totaling 91 medals. This marks the best result for China in the Olympic Games held overseas since it began participating in the Summer Olympics in 1984," Zhou Jinqiang, vice chief of the Chinese delegation, told a news conference in Paris on Sunday.

Zhou also noted that Chinese athletes, whether during competitions or when interacting with the media, displayed grace, natural friendliness and an evident love for their country and pride in being Chinese.

Historic breakthroughs were made by Chinese athletes at the Paris Olympics in sports such as tennis, artistic swimming, rhythmic gymnastics and BMX cycling.

Chinese swimmers, delivering their performances under an excessive doping test regime after US hype put international bodies under pressure, collected a total of two gold, three silver and seven bronze medals at the Paris Olympics. One of the highlights in the pool was the men's 4x100m medley relay when team Chinese upended the US' dominance in the discipline for 40 years. The groundbreaking victory produced a powerful riposte to the doubts and disregard that overshadowed the Chinese swimming team in Paris. 

Olympic women's tennis singles gold medalist, 21-year-old Zheng Qinwen, advised people to dare to dream as it could propel one to strive for future success after her epic win at Roland Garros. Zheng is the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic tennis singles gold medal.

Eighteen-year-old freestyle BMX cyclist Deng Yawen noted that her pride and confidence has solidified when she heard the national anthem at the award ceremony, after she claimed China's first gold medal in BMX cycling. 

Chinese gen-Z athletes such as female table tennis star Sun Yingsha and female badminton silver medalist He Bingjiao also contribute some charming sportsmanship moments, such as taking selfies with athletes from North Korea and South Korea, and bringing a pin of Spain to the podium to show respect to wounded Spanish badminton player.

Success of modernization

Ming Jinwei, a former journalist and media commentator, told the Global Times on Sunday that through watching the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Chinese public is becoming more rational and mature in understanding the performance of Chinese athletes in Olympic competition. "On one hand, we feel pride and joy when we win gold medals, on the other, we also encourage and cheer everyone who tries their best but fails to win golds."

More importantly, more and more Chinese people have learnt that some Western countries, especially the US, care very much about the medal table and they will use every tool they have to win medals, including doping which was exposed by the media. The US will also use its influence among media and international organizations to stigmatize and add obstacles to suppress the countries that able to challenge it on the medal tally, said experts. 

This makes Chinese people clearly understand the nature of international sports - it is a competition of countries' comprehensive national strengths in peace time, and they will not just sit and watch some countries to unfairly manipulate the Olympics. They will support China to not only compete in the arenas but also compete on other relevant fronts and areas to make sure the rules of Olympic Games and other international sports remain fair and clean, analysts said. 

Ming said that winning Olympic gold medals is not only pride for an athlete or a team, but also proof of a country's comprehensive national strength and the sports capability of a nation. It will greatly promote a country's international image and activate patriotism and a sense of honor among the people of this country, so it is extremely valuable and all countries will fight for it.  

Li Xiang, a sports journalist and media commentator who covered Paris 2024, told the Global Times on Sunday that some countries also have huge populations and they are major global economies, but they won few gold medals in the Olympic Games, because economic size and population are not equal to modernization. Team China's performance in past decades is proof of a successful Chinese modernization.

"Modernization has enabled the 1.4 billion Chinese people to participate in sports in all kinds of infrastructures, to watch sports via 5G networks at any place at any time, and also realize economic growth and find business interests through sports. This is what successful modernization looks like," Li noted.

After smearing Chinese athletes in recent months over so-called doping problems, the US is now facing mounting pressure over its own alleged violations, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) now speaking out on the issue.    

Chinese analysts urged the US to respond to public queries and concerns, as well as stop discrediting others, double-standard behaviors, and long-arm jurisdiction.

They pointed out that no matter how the US responded to the questioning and suspicion over its alleged anti-doping practices, it will be hard to dispel doubts over whether it will be able to organize a fair and non-politicized Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, due to its reckless smearing campaign against China.  

With the campaign around doping issues intensifying during the Paris Olympic Games, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams on Thursday expressed support for WADA, saying the IOC will continue to work with its stakeholders to make sure there are "good and robust" anti-doping systems.

WADA recently came under US attack, as the agency confirmed China was blameless after US media hyped a 2021 incident in which 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) due to inadvertent contamination.

The US' hype since April 2024 of the 2021 case led to an excessive anti-doping testing scheme against Chinese athletes ahead of and during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Conversely, USADA has allowed American sprinter Erriyon Knighton to compete in the Paris Olympic Games without suspension, after he tested positive for trenbolone. USADA attributed the result to meat contamination despite the fact trenbolone is not frequently found as a contaminant.

Meanwhile, in a statement released on Wednesday, WADA also exposed a scheme that allowed US athletes who had committed doping violations to compete without sanctions for years. WADA noted that this practice is a blatant violation of the World Anti-Doping Code and the US Anti-Doping Agency's own regulations.

Yuyuantantian, a media arm of China Media Group, reported on Friday that the International Testing Agency (ITA) confirmed to the media that related reports have led to the excessive anti-doping tests on the Chinese Olympic swimming team. 

Before the Paris Games opened, WADA chief Witold Banka warned the US on July 24 that USADA's baseless accusations against Chinese athletes are "politically motivated" and "biased against China." In response, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced a bill threatening to cut US funding for WADA and accusing it of failing to properly investigate alleged doping by Chinese Olympic swimmers, according to a Reuters report.

"It is ironic and hypocritical that USADA cries foul when it suspects other Anti-Doping Organizations are not following the rules to the letter while it did not announce doping cases for years and allowed cheats to carry on competing, on the off chance they might help them catch other possible violators," reads the WADA statement.  

It is rare for WADA to accuse a country with sharp language, and more importantly, WADA and the IOC are not showing bias against China despite being dominated by Westerners, said a Beijing-based commentator.  

BBC reported on August 1 that a WADA official said "Certain individuals [in the US] are attempting to score political points purely on the basis that the athletes in question are Chinese… the result is that it has created distrust and division within the anti-doping system."

Discrediting China on the anti-doping issue has a political intention and is being led by politicians, said the commentator, adding that "the US is attempting to demonize China, just like they have done in other fields."

"What would they say if it was an American athlete being forced to take so many drug tests? Should American athletes be tested with the same frequency? Those are questions to be thought about," he noted. 

In addition, some American swimmers had a purple discoloration on their faces after completing their races in the Paris Olympics events, sparking widespread online discussion and suspicion over stimulant use. 

"The US has a lot more that remains to be explained to the world," said the commentator. 

Calling for fair play

The China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) on Thursday called for an independent investigation into USADA's misconduct and intensified testing on US track and field athletes and efforts to rebuild global trust in fair competition.

Given the deep-rooted stains in US athletics and USADA's repeated disregard for procedures and standards, there is reason to suspect that there is a systemic doping problem in track and field in the US, and the positive cases therein deserve continuous investigation and attention, CHINADA said, listing several US doping scandals. 

China's state news agency Xinhua also listed five concerns and suspicions over US anti-doping work, including how to ensure fair play when the vast majority of US athletes are outside WADA's global anti-doping system, and its Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act that allows the US to impose sanctions on others, but not certain US athletes. 

According to a recent poll released by CGTN, 96.84 percent of over 15,000 respondents around the world believe that the US lacks respect for WADA while 96.25 percent strongly criticize the US for its "double standards" in doping regulation. 

The immediate cause of the US-staged anti-doping farce against China is that the US perceives China as challenging its decades-long dominance in certain sports, said the commentator. "Such thinking is in nature no different from the US suppression of Huawei's technological development and smearing of China's 'unfair competition'."

Team China has won 12 medals in swimming in Paris, double the total in Tokyo. The two gold medals in the men's 100 freestyle and men's 4x100-meter medley relay were one of the most significant breakthroughs.  

China has also won historic golds in women's singles tennis and artistic swimming, which frustrated some Americans steeped in habitual notions of superiority, as US dominance shrinks, analysts said. 

With the development of China's economy and a huge population and potential participants, more breakthroughs can be expected in fields like swimming and tennis, which require more resources and investment, said the commentator. 

The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) adopted a resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization at its third plenary session held from July 15 to 18.

The plenary session made a systematic arrangement for further deepening reforms aimed at achieving high-quality development - the primary task of Chinese modernization. It reflects the principles of balancing short-term and medium-to-long-term goals, efficiency and fairness, as well as economic development and national security.

The plenary session laid out the blueprint for medium- and long-term reforms and clearly mapped out this year's economic goals. The short-term goal is to stabilize economic growth and create favorable conditions for the deepening of structural reforms. The medium- and long-term goals are to ensure the continuity of policies, providing solid support for sustained and high-quality development.

From the perspective of medium- and long-term goals, the third plenary session proposed the country complete all the reform tasks by 2029, and to finish building a high-standard socialist market economy in all respects by 2035. The implementation of this series of goals will rely on continuous efforts and policy implementation in key areas such as deepening supply-side structural reform, promoting high-quality development and building institutional mechanisms to support comprehensive innovation in China.

Regarding the short-term development goals, the plenary session emphasized the task to remain firmly committed to accomplishing the goals for this year's economic and social development, paying high attention to shoring up economic stability and economic growth at a critical time, amid the complex and rapidly evolving international environment and domestic economic transformation.

The plenary session proposed that the country strive to expand domestic demand, develop new quality productive forces in light of local conditions, move faster to foster new drivers of foreign trade growth, take solid steps toward green and low-carbon development, and do the utmost to improve people's living standards.

A high-standard socialist market economy will provide an important guarantee for Chinese modernization. The plenary session proposed the country foster a fairer and more dynamic market environment and make resource allocation as efficient and productive as possible, emphasizing the importance of fairness as a prerequisite for realizing efficiency.

In order to build a high-standard socialist market economy that balances efficiency and fairness, the plenum once again emphasized the establishment of a unified national market as an important measure. 

Against the backdrop of increasingly complex geopolitical conditions and international trade conditions, the Chinese economy is facing some challenges. Therefore, balancing development and security was one of the key themes of the plenary session. 

As to undercurrents in the world against globalization as well as the rise of trade protectionism, or restructuring of global supply chains, the plenary session proposed a strategy of expanding opening-up and deepening international cooperation - to steadily expand institutional opening-up, deepen the structural reform of foreign trade, and further reform management systems for inbound and outbound investment.

A worker at a photovoltaic panel factory in Suqian, East China's Jiangsu Province, checks solar panels for export markets on August 7, 2024. In the first half of 2024, the province's foreign trade stood at 2.68 trillion yuan ($373.19 billion), up 8.5 percent year-on-year, accounting for 12.7 percent of the national total during the period. Photo: VCG