You Are Pakistan

By Zhou Shanshan

China, a nation of immense scale with its vast population, sprawling geography, and millennia-old civilization, defies simplistic categorization. Two recent viral stories involving internet influencers – one international and one domestic – provide nuanced insights into this ancient yet dynamically evolving society.

The first involves American influencer IShowSpeed, whose global livestreaming adventures have been hailed as a “digital-age Marco Polo journey.”

Through his unvarnished lens, international audiences gained real-time glimpses of a China where urban safety rendered his security details nearly redundant, futuristic food-delivery drones coexisted with awe-inspiring displays of Chinese Kung Fu and Sichuan opera’s “face-changing” artistry.

His spontaneous engagements – dancing with square-dancing aunties, bargaining at night markets, and receiving good-humored reminders about public etiquette in English – unveiled a society that seamlessly blends approachability, vibrant energy, and civic order.

The statistics paint a striking portrait: over 100 million views, with comment sections flooded by international netizens requesting travel itineraries and organizing fan communities dedicated to experiencing China firsthand.

This digital phenomenon has transcended virtual boundaries. From American-Chinese families reuniting in Shanghai after reconnecting online, to foreign influencers like the U.S.-based “Baobao Xiong” transforming into voluntary ambassadors for China, even an Australian who brought skeptical neighbors to personally verify the country’s realities – the “China Travel” wave has fueled more and more foreign visitors to explore, understand, and embrace the nation. This momentum coincides with China’s progressively relaxed visa-free transit policies.

What crystallizes is a country defying outdated stereotypes and cultural misconceptions, its authentic allure now resonating globally.

Another narrative unfolds in Yimeng, east China’s Shandong province, where a rural poetess has captivated global audiences by crafting verses amid farm work.

Known online as “Yimeng Sis,” she transforms spring into “nature’s alarm clock rousing plows” and winter snow into “celestial frost sugar,” blending agrarian cycles with lyrical introspection. Her viral declaration – “Life is poetry; existence our eternal anthem” – epitomizes the philosophical depth resonating from China’s countryside.  

Accusations of AI-generated content or professional team backing expose a persistent cognitive gap: many still struggle to reconcile poetic expression with their preconceived notions of rural life. The root cause lies in the profound and drastic transformation of China, especially the great changes taking place in its rural areas.

Yet Yimeng Sis represents just one blossom in China’s cultural renaissance. Young content creator Li Ziqi fuses traditional craftsmanship with pastoral aesthetics, while ethnic embroiderers transform heritage patterns into metaverse NFTs. These grassroots narratives sprout from profound transformations—successful poverty alleviation and rural vitalization programs cultivating not just fertile fields, but confident farmers with enriched spiritual worlds.

The parallel success of these disparate stories—an American demystifying China through livestream and a farmer poet articulating rural changes—reveals fundamental truths. Modern China, with its multilayered realities and groundbreaking socioeconomic experiments, embodies a living legend. Its authentic representation, whether through foreign lenses or domestic voices, becomes the ultimate traffic magnet.

When observed without filters—comprehensively and objectively—China inevitably emerges as credible, endearing, and admirable.

American influencer IShowSpeed learns Chinese Kung Fu in Shaolin Temple in central China’s Henan province. (Photo is a screenshot of a video clip)

Tourists pose for a picture in a scenic area in Shanghai, April 7, 2025. (Photo by Wang Gang/People’s Daily Online)

Yimeng Erjie, an online influencer from east China’s Shandong province, shoots a video. (Photo from the Dazhong app)

By Li Weijun, People’s Daily

On a recent spring morning at Youyiguan Port, known as Friendship Pass, on the China-Vietnam border in Pingxiang city, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, a steady stream of trucks lined up at the border crossing, ferrying tropical fruits into China and hauling machinery and electronics to Vietnam. The scene is brisk, efficient – and increasingly automated.

Friendship Pass, one of the largest and most efficient land border crossings between China and Vietnam, is undergoing a high-tech overhaul. The site is being transformed into China’s first cross-border smart port, with the Chinese section scheduled to commence pilot operations later this year.

Roughly 1,500 vehicles now pass through the port each day. Once the upgrade is completed on both sides, clearance capacity is expected to multiply, strengthening trade links between China and ASEAN and deepening regional economic integration.

For Vietnamese truck driver Nguyen, the changes are already evident. “I just roll down my window for fingerprint and facial scans – the process typically takes about 45 seconds,” he said. Nguyen regularly transports fruits from Vietnam to distribution centers in China. The streamlined clearance process now enable him to make up to 30 round trips per month. “I hope to see even more Vietnamese fruits exported to China,” he said. “Faster clearance means more deliveries – and higher earnings.”

At a bonded warehouse near Friendship Pass, run by the Guangxi branch of Fuliankang Cross-Border Logistics, shipments of high-value electronic components arrive from Chinese factories, bound for assembly lines in Vietnam. With a few taps on his phone, warehouse manager Li Zhen pulls up real-time customs data. “The Smart Youyiguan app allows us to submit declarations in advance and track clearance in real time,” he said. “It has drastically reduced  processing times.”

In 2024, the company’s exports via Friendship Pass surged to $240 million more than doubling the previous year’s total.

The gains reflect a broader digital transformation underway at the port. Since 2022, Youyiguan Customs has rolled out a range of digital systems – including a smart logistics management platform, an intelligent inspection assistance system, and a smart quarantine processing system – all aimed at reducing delays and improving throughput.

In the first two months of this year, trade at the port recorded double-digit growth, giving China’s foreign trade a strong start.

The smart logistics management platform allows for real-time tracking from the moment a cargo manifest is submitted, using BeiDou satellite positioning and video surveillance to streamline dispatching. Meanwhile, the intelligent inspection assistance system uses display screens and geomagnetic sensors to monitor traffic flow and assign inspection bays automatically – cutting wait times by 20 percent and increasing turnover efficiency by 35 percent.

The quarantine process has also been fully digitized. From vehicle queuing and fumigation scheduling to gas concentration monitoring and report submission, the smart quarantine processing system now saves an average of 3.5 hours per shipment.

“Import clearance for a fruit container previously took six hours,” said Lu Qiujing, a business manager at a Guangxi-based fruit importer. “Now it can be done in as little as three. That means less spoilage and quicker delivery to market.”

The China-Vietnam cross-border smart port project at Friendship Pass represents a major investment in regional trade infrastructure, with a total outlay of 1.062 billion yuan ($145.49 million). It integrates advanced technologies such as satellite navigation, 5G technology, AI-driven transport vehicles, and large-scale automated cargo-handling machinery, along with smart inspection systems and a centralized command platform – all engineered to sustain uninterrupted, 24/7 operations.

The Chinese segment of the project has been largely complete and is now in system integration and testing phases, with trial runs scheduled to begin within the year.

“Once completed, the port will enable 24/7 customs clearance,” said Shi Lei, deputy director of Youyiguan Customs. “Goods will be able to travel from Nanning in Guangxi to Bac Giang or Bac Ninh in Vietnam within 24 hours – making round-the-clock cross-border trade a reality.”

Vietnamese authorities, for their part, approved their smart port development plan on August 17, 2024. Construction on the Vietnamese side is now in full swing.

Wei Zhaohui, director of the Guangxi International Expo Affairs Bureau, called the project not only a major step forward in enhancing port clearance capacity and expanding trade between the two countries, but also a model for promoting trade and investment liberalization across the broader China-ASEAN region.

Photo shows Youyiguan Port, known as Friendship Pass in Pingxiang city, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. (Photo by Zhao Weidong)

Customs officers at Youyiguan assist company staff with navigating business procedures. (Photo by Zhao Weidong)

By He Yin, People’s Daily

During a recent meeting with representatives of the international business community, Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed China’s unwavering commitment to advancing reform and opening up. He emphasized that China’s door will only open wider, and the policy of welcoming foreign investment has not changed and will not change.

Amid increasing global uncertainties, China’s steadfast dedication to open development has been widely regarded as an “oasis of certainty.”​

The journey of reform and opening up has unfolded as a narrative of mutual progress between China and the international community, a reality powerfully manifested through the thriving operations of foreign enterprises in China.

Currently, foreign investments in China span 20 industries and 115 sub-sectors, with cumulative establishment of over 1.24 million foreign-funded enterprises and total investment approaching $3 trillion.

Foreign investors have reaped substantial returns, with many expanding from single operations to diversified businesses, from localized ventures to nationwide presences, and from single factories to corporate conglomerates, experiencing exponential growth in both operational capacity and enterprise scale.

According to German media analyses, German businesses committed 5.7 billion euros ($6.23 billion) to China in 2024 alone, with the vast majority expressing their intent to maintain operations in the Chinese market.

Since the beginning of this year, a series of major foreign investment projects have been launched in China, with planned investments totaling 33 billion U.S. dollars. These developments demonstrate that China has been and will remain an ideal, safe, and promising investment destination for foreign businesses

China is steadily expanding institutional opening up with regard to rules, regulations, management, and standards, actively broadening and deepening its openness.

From the China-Maldives Free Trade Agreement coming into effect to the addition of 297 items to Hainan Free Trade Port’s zero-tariff list for raw and auxiliary materials; from the opening of the first wholly foreign-owned tertiary general hospital in Tianjin to the approval of the first batch of 13 foreign-invested enterprises to operate value-added telecommunications services—a series of open policies have been implemented, accelerating the flow of personnel, goods, and capital.

In the first two months of 2025, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a key logistics network connecting China’s western regions to global markets, saw a nearly 60 percent year-on-year increase in freight volume, while the China-Europe freight trains experienced a 15.4 percent growth in import and export cargo volume.

In the three months following the implementation of the 240-hour visa-free transit policy, the number of foreign entries at China’s ports surged by 34.9 percent year-on-year.​

Opening up is a distinctive feature of Chinese modernization and reflects China’s commitment to contributing to global modernization. By hosting events like the China International Import Expo, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, the China Import and Export Fair, and the China International Consumer Products Expo – and by partnering with over 150 countries and 30 international organizations under the Belt and Road Initiative, China continues to inject vitality into global economic development.

China’s new energy vehicles are at the forefront of global innovation, driving worldwide trends. The country’s green technologies are empowering international partners in their low-carbon transitions. Meanwhile, the “first-launch economy” within China’s domestic market is rapidly expanding, attracting foreign enterprises to increasingly conduct research and development (R&D) activities in the country..

The vast potential of China’s market, its dynamic innovation ecosystem, and its continuously optimized legal framework present enduring opportunities for global businesses to deepen their engagement in China. This collaborative momentum is fostering shared growth between China and the international community.

Masato Kanda, president of the Asian Development Bank, noted that amid increasing fragmentation in global trade, China’s commitment to deepening reforms and advancing high-level opening up not only sustains its own robust economic growth but also makes significant contributions to the development of Asia and the global economy..

Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council, remarked that China’s focus on “opening up” and “multilateralism” sends a strong signal of stability to all stakeholders.

True historical awareness and initiative lie not in predicting temporary tides but in becoming a force that shapes them. China firmly stands on the right side of history, resolutely promoting universally beneficial, inclusive economic globalization. It possesses the determination to move forward, the vitality for development, and the moral appeal.

Looking ahead, more stories of open cooperation will be written in China, and China’s confidence in open development will increasingly become the world’s confidence in economic growth.

A fully loaded China-Europe freight train departs from Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi province for Duisburg, Germany, March 3, 2025. (Photo by Liu Yijiang/People’s Daily Online)

A new energy vehicle goes through quality check after being assembled in a smart workshop of Chinese carmaker Leapmotor in Jinhua, east China’s Zhejiang province, April 2, 2025. (Photo by Hu Xiaofei/People’s Daily Online)

Foreign tourists pose for a picture in Ciqikou Ancient Town, a tourist attraction in southwest China’s Chongqing municipality, March 19, 2025. (Photo by Sun Kaifang/People’s Daily Online)

By He Yong, Qiao Dong, People’s Daily

Even in April, the vast, wind-whipped plains of Hoh Xil remain cloaked in snow and silence. Tucked within the Sanjiangyuan National Park in the remote headwaters of the Yangtze River in northwest China’s Qinghai province, this high-altitude wilderness – averaging more than 4,500 meters above sea level – is the country’s largest World Natural Heritage site. Its extreme coldness, thin air, and sweeping isolation have preserved a raw, otherworldly ecosystem, home to endangered wildlife such as Tibetan antelopes and wild yaks.

But the region’s remoteness is no longer a barrier to protection. Conservation here is entering the digital age.

Turning west from China National Highway 109, People’s Daily reporters joined rangers from Sanjiangyuan National Park’s Hoh Xil administration on a patrol to Zhuonai Lake. As the convoy pushed deeper into the highland wilderness, herds of Tibetan wild asses, wild yaks, and Tibetan antelopes grazed and wandered freely across the plains.

The road, like much of Hoh Xil’s core protection zone, remains untouched – a deliberate choice to minimize human disruption. But signs of modern conservation infrastructure are increasingly visible. Along the route, perching frames for eagles punctuate the landscape at intervals, offering safe roosts for highland birds of prey and encouraging biodiversity. Nearby, sleek, solar-powered monitoring stations quietly collect data on climate conditions and soil composition – valuable input for researchers studying the region’s natural environment.

Since the national park was established, ranger teams have traded their aging pickups for high-performance 4×4 vehicles. Satellite phones, once a luxury, are now standard issue, providing check-in options on patrols that once lasted half a month without contact.

By nightfall, the team reached the Zhuonai Lake protection station, perched more than 4,800 meters above sea level. To their surprise, cell service had reached even here. “The telecom network was completed just last year,” said Guo Xuehu, the station’s former deputy head. “It runs on solar power. Now I can video-call my family during the day. I feel very content.”

Guo, 48, spent 13 years at the Zhuonai Lake protection station before transferring to the Kunan protection station as deputy head two years ago. As one of the six manned stations across Hoh Xil, Kunan is currently staffed by seven rangers who patrol the wilderness in rotating pairs – each tour lasting roughly 15 days.

Since the establishment of the Sanjiangyuan National Park, the Kunan protection station has taken on more than just patrol duties – it has become a base for scientific research. Each summer, Zhuonai Lake transforms into what rangers call a “maternity ward” for nearly 30,000 Tibetan antelopes migrating through Kunan to give birth. Last year, Guo joined a research expedition from the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, spending two weeks tracking the animal’s migration.

The payoff from years of protection and monitoring is beginning to show. Over the past decade, water conservation in the Sanjiangyuan area has risen by over 6 percent on average each year. Wildlife populations have also seen a notable recovery. The Tibetan antelope numbers have climbed from fewer than 20,000 individuals to over 70,000, leading to their reclassification from “critically endangered” to “near threatened.” Once-rare sightings of snow leopards, Amur leopards, and Eurasian otters are also becoming more frequent.

The job of a ranger has evolved alongside this recovery. “Before, our work was mostly about stopping poachers and illegal mining,” Guo noted. “Now, we’re also tracking ecological indicators and helping with public environmental education.”

At the Sonam Dargye protection station, the eastern gateway to Hoh Xil, that educational role is on full display. Every year, volunteers and visitors travel from across China to learn about the region. Last year, the station opened a new 300-square-meter exhibition hall introducing visitors to Hoh Xil’s geography, ecology, and the institutional evolution of its protection. “Every staff member here also acts as a guide,” said station ranger Bayier. “We know Hoh Xil inside and out, and we want to share that knowledge.”

Behind the station, a fenced-off grassland serves as a temporary home for rescued animals. When Bayier mimicked the whistling calls of Tibetan antelopes, a few heads peeked out from a distant slope. The young antelopes bounded toward him, recognizing his voice. He pulled out a milk bottle and gently patted their heads as he fed them. “These are the ones we rescued last year,” he explained. “After a year of care and rewilding training, they’ll be released back into the wild. We also take in birds, like falcons.”

Technology has become an increasingly important tool in this work. A 20-meter monitoring tower now stands beside the station, part of a broader surveillance system that transmits live footage back to park headquarters. “It’s made our enforcement much more efficient,” Bayier said.

That surveillance system is part of a sophisticated sky-ground intelligent monitoring network that combines satellite data, drones, and ground sensors. Sun Lijun, deputy director of the Sanjiangyuan National Park Administration, said that the system provides accurate, real-time information essential for managing ecosystems, protecting wildlife, and supporting ranger patrols in the park.

Photo shows Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve in northwest China’s Qinghai province. (Photo by Zhao Guangliang/People’s Daily Online)

Tibetan antelopes forage in Hoh Xil in northwest China’s Qinghai province. (Photo by Gan Haiqiong/People’s Daily Online)

Photo shows Tibetan wild asses in Hoh Xil in northwest China’s Qinghai province. (Photo by Gan Haiqiong/People’s Daily Online)

By He Yin, People’s Daily

“Resilient,” “optimistic,” “encouraging”—these are among the most frequently used descriptors in global media analyses of China’s first-quarter economic performance.

Amid severe disruptions to global trade and widespread pessimism permeating market expectations, the Chinese economy has delivered a robust start to 2025. It has maintained steady momentum amid signs of recovery, signaling a commitment to high-quality development while injecting much-needed confidence into a world economy fraught with uncertainty.

Despite rising unilateralism and protectionism worldwide, China’s economy continues to forge ahead, remaining a key engine of global growth. Official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that China’s gross domestic product (GDP) reached 31.8758 trillion yuan ($4.36 trillion) in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 5.4 percent year on year at constant prices, and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 1.2 percent. This signals the strong resilience and momentum of the Chinese economy.

Notably, the 5.4 percent growth outperformed both 2024’s annual growth of 5% and first quarter of 2024’s growth of 5.3%, cementing China’s position as one of the best-performing major economies.

Bernd Einmeier, Chairman of the German-Chinese Association for Economy, Education and Culture, noted that China’s relatively stable growth amid a complex external environment represents an important global public good,  effectively countering uncertainties in global markets.

By actively expanding and diversifying its markets and deepening cooperation on industrial and supply chains, China has not only strengthened its own economic resilience, but also enabled its trading partners to pursue common development.

In the first quarter, China’s total imports and exports of goods reached 10.3 trillion yuan, making a year-on-year increase of 1.3% and establishing a new benchmark for the same period. China’s exports to over 170 countries and regions recorded growth, with exports to Asian and African markets exceeding the global average pace. Trade volumes with Belt and Road partner countries grew 2.2 percent year on year, constituting 51.1 percent of China’s total trade volume. Exports of sporting goods to the EU and cosmetics to Southeast Asia both posted double-digit growth.

Domestic trade firms are swiftly adapting to evolving international demand, launching more high-quality, innovative, and trendy products, fostering a more balanced and diversified trade structure with stronger resilience.

The economy is accelerating its transition toward greener, innovation-driven, and smart manufacturing systems, with new growth drivers gaining momentum. French newspaper Le Monde described the 137th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) a “barometer” of China’s trade with the world, noting that buyers from all over the globe continued sourcing goods from China, which reinforced the country’s reputation as the “world’s factory.”

From small appliances like coffee machines and robotic vacuum cleaners to large-scale marine engineering equipment, Chinese manufacturing is accelerating its transition to advanced, intelligent, and eco-friendly production. Having dominated global manufacturing output for 15 consecutive years, China has maintained its unparalleled position as the world’s largest manufacturing powerhouse through a fully integrated industrial system and unmatched supporting capabilities.

Analysts emphasized that China’s robust industrial capacity, seamless global supply chain integration, and rising technological competitiveness have underpinned its resilience amid global headwinds.

As macroeconomic policies continue to gain traction and innovation-driven growth continue to accelerate, a new development model driven by both domestic demand and innovation is taking shape.

In the first quarter, China’s total retail sales of consumer goods rose by 4.6 percent year on year, marking a 1.1 percentage points acceleration compared to 2024. The value-added of high-tech manufacturing enterprises above the designated size grew by 9.7 percent, while that of the information transmission, software, and information technology services sector expanded by 10.3 percent.

This upward trajectory has been reinforced by targeted policy support and accelerating industrial innovation. For example, the launch of a direct shipping route between Zhuhai in south China’s Guangdong province and Brazil has opened a new maritime corridor linking the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with Santana Port in Brazil. Multiple e-commerce platforms have pledged investments to help foreign trade enterprises explore the domestic market, while leading supermarket chains have opened “green channels” to streamline access to premium export products.

These measures are gradually unlocking the potential of China’s super-sized market while advancing high-level opening up, fostering positive interaction and shared growth between China and the world.

China’s economy has a stable foundation, numerous strengths, remarkable resilience and vast potential. The dominating trend of a sound Chinese economy for the long term and the elements supporting it have not changed.

By focusing on doing its own works well, China will continue pursuing high-quality development and expanding high-level opening up. In doing so, it will share development opportunities with the world and inject greater stability and certainty to the global economy.

Ships to be exported are manufactured at Jinling Shipyard of China Merchants Industry Holdings Co., Ltd. in Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu province. (Photo by Fang Dongxu/People’s Daily Online)

Workers manufacture high-end cameras in a workshop of a technology company in Suqian, east China’s Jiangsu province. (Photo by Xu Changliang/People’s Daily Online)

Containers are loaded onto and unloaded from ships at a full-automated terminal of Qingdao Port, east China’s Shandong province. (Photo by Zhang Jingang/People’s Daily Online)

By Zhang Tengyang, People’s Daily

As spring breathes life into the land, the Qiansongba Forest Farm in Fengning Manchu autonomous county, Chengde, north China’s Hebei province, is beginning to show signs of green, adding a fresh hue to the rolling mountains and vast plains.

Like its renowned counterpart, the Saihanba Forest Farm – the world’s largest planted forest – Qiansongba occupies a strategic position between Beijing, Tianjin, and the Hunshandake sandy land. During the last century, rampant deforestation and overgrazing triggered severe desertification in this ecologically fragile region.

To combat this crisis, Hebei province initiated a reforestation campaign in 1999, aiming to establish three more forest farms modeled after Saihanba. Qiansongba emerged as a flagship project of this ambitious endeavor.

Over two decades, Qiansongba has achieved remarkable milestones: afforestation spanning 1.16 million mu (approximately 77,333 hectares) and the restoration of nearly 1.5 million mu of desertified and degraded land.

The thriving forest has evolved into a cohesive ecosystem, establishing a robust green barrier that not only rehabilitates the local ecology but also fosters economic growth and prosperity for surrounding communities.

In autumn 1999, a trailblazing team of 13 members arrived in Datan township in Fengning county, to initiate Qiansongba’s first afforestation initiative.

“The terrain was rugged, and early tree-planting required hauling supplies manually or by horse. Improved infrastructure now allows tractors and trucks to deliver saplings to mountain bases, significantly easing labor. In recent years, drones have even been deployed to airlift seedlings directly to planting sites,” said Tao Shijie, head of Qiansongba Forest Farm’s production department.

Historically dependent on livestock due to harsh natural conditions, locals initially resisted reforestation efforts that required converting individually or collectively contracted land into no-grazing zones.

He Shuchen, director of Qiansongba Forest Farm, recalled how municipal, county, and township authorities collaborated to harmonize land policies while engaging communities through dialogue on long-term ecological and economic trade-offs.

“The farm rolled out several initiatives to encourage villagers to participate in afforestation, forest protection, and forest management. Locals could earn income by planting trees, and were later entrusted with forest maintenance. Once trees matured, profits were shared proportionally.  Gradually, public support grew,” he noted.

The farm later adopted a shareholding model integrating farmers, collectives, state-owned entities, and pastures as land contributors. Qiansongba secured funding and partnered with stakeholders to co-plant and manage forests, allocating 20 percent of profits to itself and distributing the remainder among contributors..

Over two decades, this approach has restored roughly 4,000 square kilometers across nine townships, achieving 1.16 million mu (77,333 hectares) of engineered afforestation.

The farm established a collaborative conservation framework to rigorously regulate activities such as quarrying, land reclamation, and illegal grazing within the project zone. It enforced all-round, all-area, all-hours forest protection, fire prevention, and law enforcement systems. According to He, since the start of reforestation, the project area has restored nearly 1.5 million mu of desertified and eroded land.

Driving through winding roads in the Qiansongba National Forest Park, one is greeted by orderly groves of spruce, birch, larch, and poplar trees.

Since 2013, the Qiansongba Forest Farm has been rehabilitating barren hillsides in Xiaobeigou village, Datan township, through sustained tree-planting initiatives. As ecological conditions improved, tourism, dining, and homestay enterprises gradually flourished.

Today, a hillside in Xiaobeigou hosts an innovative tent-hotel concept. Its modular, mobile tent units blend seamlessly with the surrounding forests, meadows, and lakes.

“Reclining on the grassy slope, watching clouds glide overhead and endless forests unfurl – it’s pure serenity,” said Li Xueying, a tourist from Beijing.

“We deliberately avoided extensive hardscapes or permanent infrastructure,” explained hotel manager Zhou Hang. “Instead, we installed temporary gravel pathways and fully mobile tent structures to minimize environmental disruption and preserve the original terrain.” The eco-conscious design not only generates rental revenue for village collectives and residents but also provides employment opportunities for nearly 40 locals.

“Rural tourism here thrives on the unique beauty of the native secondary forests, plantations, and grassland landscapes,” said Yu Cunyong, a Xiaobeigou village official. “With proper development and use, we’ve protected the environment while fostering community development.”

Over the past decade, the number of the village’s hotels, homestays, and agritainment businesses have grown from just four to 48, hosting over 100,000 visitors annually.

To date, the reforestation project of the Qiansongba Forest Farm has directly increased farmers’ income by 210 million yuan ($38.29 million). The lush mountains and lucid waters have also accelerated the growth of rural tourism. Around the project area, five new large resorts have been developed and 10 tourism-focused villages have been supported.

Photo shows the Qiansongba Forest Farm in Fengning Manchu autonomous county, Chengde, north China’s Hebei province. (Photo by Wang Liqun)

A local villager takes care of trees at the Qiansongba Forest Farm in Fengning Manchu autonomous county, Chengde, north China’s Hebei province. (Photo from Hebei Daily)

People send seedlings onto a hill at the Qiansongba Forest Farm in Fengning Manchu autonomous county, Chengde, north China’s Hebei province. (Photo by Wang Liqun)

By Ouyang Jie, Ke Zhongjia, Liu Junguo, People’s Daily

On an ordinary afternoon at the Yiwu International Trade Market, the world’s largest wholesale hub for small commodities, business is anything but ordinary. The corridors bustle with buyers from across the globe, and vendors – some 75,000 of them – field inquiries from customers both online and off.

Dubbed “world’s supermarket,” this sprawling market in east China’s Zhejiang province sees more than 220,000 visitors a day. While global trade faces rising uncertainty, Yiwu remains a hive of activity and resilience. “There are always more solutions than problems,” a vendor remarked to People’s Daily reporters on a recent visit – a sentiment echoing through the halls of the market. It reflects the quiet confidence of a marketplace that, even as supply chains realign and geopolitics shift, continues to find new ways to keep business moving.

At 3 p.m., on the fifth floor of District 2 of the market, Wang Nan, general manager of a hardware store, had not yet paused for lunch. “These are already the fourth group of clients I’ve met today,” he said, motioning toward a pile of pending online orders. Since the beginning of the year, sales have increased by around 20 percent, he added.

His store offers more than 1,000 varieties of hand and power tools, exporting to over 100 countries through a network of long-term partnerships with manufacturers in industrial hubs such as Danyang in east China’s Jiangsu province, and distributors worldwide.

With a broad selection, polished packaging, and reliable quality, the products have gained popularity among consumers across the world. “Our trade with the U.S. makes up about 10 percent of our business,” Wang said. “Even when U.S. shipments face delays, it doesn’t rattle us. When you have good products, the customers keep coming.”

Yiwu’s strength lies in volume, variety, and velocity. The market offers more than 2.1 million stock keeping units (SKUs), forming the backbone of everyday global consumption. These unassuming, everyday goods – what merchants call “hardcore” products – have reinforced local merchants’ confidence to weather global shocks and keep commerce moving forward.

“In recent years, we’ve worked to expand into African markets, and we are now seeing growth of over 20 percent in those countries,” said Liu Jianhao, sales director of Zhejiang Rifeshow Cosmetics Co., Ltd.

The company has sharply scaled back its dependence on the U.S. market, slashing the share of exports bound for the U.S. from 60 percent in 2018 to just 5 percent today – a shift that has helped insulate it from the fallout of unpredictable U.S. tariffs.

Last October, the company rolled out a new line of perfumes targeting African and Middle Eastern markets. The initial plan called for 30 products, but by the time the line launched in February this year, demand had already surged beyond expectations. In response, the company quickly added 36 more fragrances, each tailored to regional preferences.

“In just over two months, we sold more than 5 million bottles,” Liu said. “From concept to shelf, we move fast and deliver quality. That’s the strength of China’s supply chain, and it’s what allows Yiwu merchants to thrive in an increasingly diversified global market.”

The Yiwu International Trade Market operates like a global expo, open year-round to foreign buyers around the world. According to Yiwu Customs, in the first quarter of this year, the city’s total trade with Belt and Road partner countries reached 111.85 billion yuan ($15.32 billion), up 11.7 percent year on year, accounting for 66.8 percent of the city’s total foreign trade.

During the same period, the market saw significant growth in trade with other regions: trade with ASEAN and the European Union recorded increases of 16.1 percent and 16.5 percent, respectively; while that with Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East grew by 3.9 percent, 14.1 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively.

For traders in Yiwu, markets in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other Belt and Road partner countries, represent not just opportunity, but stability. Tapping into this broad network of emerging demand has become a strategic buffer – with a growing “circle of friends” now central to weathering uncertainty and building long-term resilience.

According to statistics from China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), China’s global trade cooperation continued expanding in the first quarter. The country’s foreign trade with Belt and Road partner countries rose 2.2 percent to 5.26 trillion yuan, 0.9 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate, accounting for 51.1 percent of China’s total foreign trade. In particular, trade between China and ASEAN grew by 7.1 percent from one year earlier, and that with the five Central Asian countries by 6.9 percent.

“Expanding into diversified markets and deepening cooperation across industrial and supply chains will further reinforce the resilience of China’s foreign trade,” said an official with China’s GAC.

In addition, as China steps up the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, its vast domestic market has become a powerful anchor for foreign trade enterprises.

On April 13, China’s Ministry of Commerce launched “Premium Exports Homebound,” a campaign aiming at helping foreign trade companies pivot inward, promoting their export-ready products at home. Targeting provinces with strong foreign trade and consumer bases, the event features a range of themed matchmaking activities to open new sales channels and cushion the blow of global volatility. Industry associations, e-commerce platforms, and major retailers have thrown their weight behind the effort with a flurry of supportive measures.

“We will focus on managing its affairs well and use its ‘certainty’ to hedge against the ‘uncertainty’ of the external environment,” said an official with China’s Ministry of Commerce.

As China continues to unleash its vast market potential, supported by policies aimed at stabilizing the economy and foreign trade, its foreign trade is well-prepared to face various risks and challenges, the official said.

Merchants from Jordan purchase accessories at the Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, east China’s Zhejiang province, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Shi Bufa/People’s Daily Online)

Foreign buyers engage in procurement discussions with a Chinese exhibitor (center) over lithium-powered electric tools at the 9th China Yiwu Hardware and Electrical Appliances Fair held in Jinhua, east China’s Zhejiang province, April 20, 2025. (Photo by Shi Bufa/People’s Daily Online)

Merchants from Libya discuss procurement details with a Chinese vendor over an AI-powered phone gimbal at the Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, east China’s Zhejiang province, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Shi Bufa/People’s Daily Online)

By Li Haoran, People’s Daily

In the rapidly evolving landscape of health consumption, China is embracing the transformative power of “embodied intelligence.” From AI-driven glucose monitors predicting blood sugar trends and generating personalized dietary plans, to smart mattresses detecting apnea risks, adjusting sleep posture, and activating air purification systems before snoring begins, the integration of AI into daily health routines is set to revolutionize the way people care for themselves.

Recently, China released a plan on special initiatives to boost consumption, with a special focus on launching health consumption initiatives. With strong policy support, health consumption has gained significant momentum. Local governments in the country are rapidly driving the development of new quality productive forces, particularly embodied intelligence, creating a fertile ground for the growth of the healthcare industry.

Beijing has made bold moves, unveiling a three-year action plan for embodied intelligence innovation and industrial growth, backed by a 100-billion-yuan fund. The city also launched “Huisi Kaiwu,” the world’s first universal embodied artificial intelligence (AI) platform that supports multiple body types and scenarios, and hosted the China Embodied AI Conference.

In tandem with these governmental efforts, Chinese consumers are increasingly focused on their health, reflecting a profound societal shift toward proactive wellness management. A McKinsey survey revealed that 62 percent of Chinese consumers prioritize health in their daily lives – surpassing the United States (41 percent) and the United Kingdom (29 percent).

Meanwhile, consumer demand in China is shifting from simply acquiring products to seeking an enhanced quality of life, with individuals increasingly looking for personalized, tailored health solutions. A notable example is the rising demand for assistive technology. People with mobility challenges eagerly await the mass production of hip-assist exoskeletons, highlighting a market gap and the pressing need for innovative solutions.

This shift is not limited to younger consumers – businesses once assumed that tech-savvy millennials were the primary adopters of new health technologies. However, surveys reveal that elderly consumers are also highly engaged in health management, with many scrutinizing nutrition labels and tracking their calories.

Statistics from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics show that over 80 percent of seniors in Beijing are willing to use smart devices, particularly for health purposes. This presents a significant opportunity for companies to refine their offerings, catering to this growing demographic by creating enhanced scenarios and experiences.

Success in this evolving market often requires rethinking traditional business models. Consider the case of Linjia village in east China’s Shandong province, where the local “Zhushan Ecological Valley” has tapped into the burgeoning wellness tourism trend. The village’s hotel wellness cabins – priced at over 1,000 yuan ($136.2) per night – are in high demand, and forest yoga classes attract urbanites willing to pay a premium for a rejuvenating experience. Even the village’s strontium-rich mineral water, sourced from deep underground, is selling effortlessly.

This success goes beyond selling picturesque landscapes – it’s about selling health. By aligning itself with the wellness agriculture movement, the village has tapped into the thriving health consumption trend, positioning itself at the forefront of this growing market.

As Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO of French food group Danone, remarked at the China Development Forum 2025, China’s transition from “eating enough” to “eating well and healthily” reflects the country’s broader economic aspirations and its pursuit of a better life. This just echoes the global confidence in China’s burgeoning health consumption market.

By integrating digital intelligence, accelerating industrial growth, and enhancing consumer experiences, China’s health consumption sector is set for expansive growth and a dynamic future.

A nursing assistant demonstrates how to play Chinese chess with a robot, teaching senior residents at a nursing home in Ganzhou, east China’s Jiangxi province. (Photo by Zhu Haipeng/People’s Daily Online)

In Shapingba district, southwest China’s Chongqing municipality, technicians from a local company are testing and fine-tuning the software system of a smart, unobtrusive monitoring mattress designed for in-home elderly care. (Photo by Sun Kaifang/People’s Daily Online)

At Bishan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, medical staff assist patients in experiencing a glasses-free 3D educational video featuring an AI-powered digital doctor. (Photo by Hu Yuejian/People’s Daily Online)

By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

Mounting global criticism is coalescing around a familiar concern: the United States is once again weaponizing tariffs as a tool of economic coercion. Experts warn that sweeping U.S. tariffs will deal a heavy blow to African economies, while ASEAN nations have openly denounced America’s unilateral tariff escalations.

Equally troubling, observers argue that these arbitrary tariffs not only threaten global economic stability but also signal a deliberate attempt of the U.S. to reassert its old hegemonic influence in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Among the countries on Washington’s “tariff coercion list” are some of the world’s most vulnerable economies such as Lesotho, recognized by the United Nations as one of the least developed nations, and Fiji, a Pacific island country with a fragile, narrowly based economy. This reckless move is sending shockwaves across the Global South.

In a bid to preserve its economic dominance, the U.S. has wielded the tariff stick, infringing upon and undermining other countries’ development rights and interests. This approach reveals its troubling indifference to international morality and responsibilities, exposing the underlying selfishness and hypocrisy of U.S. hegemony.

Driven by the belief in “might makes right,” the U.S. continues to pursue economic unilateralism – seeking gains at the expense of less developed countries. Such action not only erodes the development rights and interests of Global South countries but also undermines the efforts to build a more inclusive global economy.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that trade wars are extremely negative, especially for the poorest people in the world. Data analysis from the World Trade Organization indicates that, amid economic disparities and unequal power dynamics, U.S. tariff policies will exacerbate the wealth gap among nations, with less developed countries facing particularly severe repercussions. This trend poses a significant threat to the efforts intended to achieve the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The U.S. deliberately ignores the true development conditions of developing countries, distorting the causes behind trade deficits to justify its sweeping, unilateral tariffs. Its irresponsible action strips other countries, particularly those of the Global South, of their development rights and interests.

As the world’s largest economy, the U.S. has reaped immense profits from the global division of labor. Yet even as it benefits from globalization, it brazenly undermines very rules that make it work – flouting international trade norms, disregarding the intricate web of global industrial and supply chains, and casting aside the principles and purposes of the multilateral trading system. This behavior has inflicted deep and lasting harm to the economies and livelihoods of countries in the Global South.

An onslaught of tariffs by the U.S. will send “shock waves” through African economies, Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, recently said, warning of reduced trade and higher debt-servicing costs.

The international community must not remain silent in the face of economic bullying and coercion. As the largest developing country and a responsible member of the international community, China has taken legitimate countermeasures to defend its sovereignty, security, and development interests. These actions are not only about protecting China’s own rights and interests – they are about standing up for the integrity of international trade rules, and for international fairness and justice. That stance has resonated across the Global South, where support for a more equitable global trading order continues to grow.

At the second meeting of the BRICS Contact Group on Economic and Trade Issues, participants expressed serious concerns over the trade tensions triggered by U.S. measures, and jointly called for opposition to unilateralism and trade protectionism. Reaffirming their commitment to the rules-based multilateral trading system, they emphasized the need for collective action to address the pressing challenges facing global trade today.

China stands firmly against trade protectionism and advocates a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. It is committed to advancing global development through trade, narrowing the development gap between the North and the South, and supporting the industrialization of other developing nations through tangible actions. For instance, it has given all the least developed countries with which it has diplomatic relations zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines, expanding unilateral opening to the least developed countries to achieve common development.

China will continue to advance high-level opening up, steadily expanding institutional opening up with regard to rules, regulations, management, and standards. By sharing development opportunities with the rest of the world, the country aims to create win-win outcomes and achieve common development.

In its recently released Trade and Development Foresights 2025 report, UNCTAD underlined the growth of South-South trade, which accounts for about one third of global trade, as a source of resilience and a buffer against uncertainty. The development of China has been promoting “a steady growth of South-South trade,” the report said, adding that the potential of South-South economic integration offers opportunities for many developing countries.

History must not be reversed, and humanity must never return to a world where the strong prey on the weak. In today’s era of deepened economic globalization and interconnected international production networks, countries of the Global South are not only important contributors to the global economy but also crucial defenders of international economic and trade rules as well as the multilateral trading system. Any attempt to reverse this progress is doomed to fail.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)