Moreover, the West likes to attack China by using Chinese

dissidents and their families. Western countries believe that they can easily dig up stories about those people and they can be easily manipulat

ed as well. However, what happened with Angela Gui has sent a clear message that there is always the risk of it backfiring. Those peopl

e are fully aware of being used by some Western interests, which results in a strong sense of insecurity and suspicion. Some of them are also selfish. A f

ew years ago, a Chinese dissident well-known in the West left China for the US and later embarrassed his American patrons.

Furthermore, nowadays Western public opinion is increasingly radical and populist, which has made it difficult for some countrie

s to adopt a realistic approach and repair relations with China after disputes. Some prominent for

eigners who have a comprehensive understanding of China are facing an increasing risk of acting differently from t

he radical sentiment. Recently, John McCallum, Canadian ambassador to China, was criticized and finally lost his po

sition, due to his attempt to ease the China-Canada relationship regarding the incident of Meng Wanzhou.

Last but not least, the incident has primarily embarrassed the Swedish Foreign Ministry m

ore than causing trouble to China. Some Western media claim that Anna Lindstedt’s behavior pr

oves China exercises significant influence on ambassadors of Western countries to China. Such a comment is hi

ghly unprofessional and makes no sense except to show they do not know what they are talking about. Am

bassadors are usually among those in their own country who hope at the utmost to maintain sound relations with th

e country to which they are posted. Generally, they are supposed to play a dovish role, not a hawkish one. Some We

stern media authors need to learn basic ABC knowledge of diplomacy. (The author is a commentator with the Global Times)

www.hbLumei.com

Xi called China-US ties one of the world’s most importa

nt bilateral relationships, and the two countries have wide common interests and shoulder im

portant responsibilities in safeguarding world peace and promoting global prosperity.

Maintaining the healthy and stable development of the China-US relationship is in line with the fundamen

tal interests of the people of both countries, and it is also the common wish of the international community, Xi said.

Xi mentioned his latest meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 Lead

ers Summit in Argentina in December, saying that the two leaders reached important consensuses.

The two countries should promote building stable, cooperative and coordinative China-US relations, Xi said. The two sides s

hould enhance communication, focus on cooperation and handle disputes to promote economic and trade cooperation, Xi added.

The US team expressed the willingness to make joint efforts with the Chinese team to strive for the conclusion of a deal that meets the interests of both sides.

Tianhe, another name for the galaxy in ancient China, imp

lies that the Chang’e 4 probe served as a pioneer in the history of human lunar exploration.

According to the IAU naming rules, the landing site name has the prefix of Statio in Latin. And so far onl

y two places have such a prefix, the first being the landing site of Apollo 11, Statio Tranquillitatis.

Zhinyu, Hegu and Tianjin are the names of stars in China’s ancient star chart, as the three pits in the lunar crater formed a shape similar to these three celestial bodies.

Mount Tai is one of the five most famous mountains in China in East China’s Shandong province and stands 1,545 me

ters tall above sea level. The central peak, Mons Tai, in the lunar crater measures 1,565 meters in height from its base.

In August 2010 and October 2015, China had applied to name the landing sites of Chang’e 1 and Ch

ang’e 3, and gained approval, and in January this year, China applied to the IAU for the five new names.

So far, a total of 12 lunar features have been named by China.

Naming entities on lunar surfaces started in the 17th century in Europe, and in the 20th century, the U

nited States and the former Soviet Union had the most names due to their lunar explorations.

Market expectations for interest rate cuts have been rising in

China after Spring Festival. Before embarking on their next move in interest rate reform, however, policymakers need to assess dom

estic macroeconomic conditions in order to reduce financing costs. It is more urgent to let the financial market determine the lending rate, Sun said.

“We hope (policy fine-tuning) will not surprise the market when it is introduced,” Sun said.

Communication with other countries is also needed before launching new policies or introdu

cing creative monetary policy tools, and “the PBOC has good communication mechanisms with other c

entral banks including the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank”, Sun said.

Last year, the PBOC removed some constraints on credit, including liquidity in

jection through cutting the reserve requirement ratio four times and capital rep

lenishment by allowing commercial banks to issue perpetual bonds, which have no maturity rate, he said.

Chinese commercial banks, however, are still using the one-year lending rate of 4.35 percent — th

e rate commercial banks charge businesses — set by the central bank in 2015. It is higher than in

terbank market rates or the interest rates banks have been paying to the central bank of 3.05 to 3.30 percent.

Forward-looking measures have already been taken

by the Chinese monetary authority, earlier than other major central banks, based on the evaluation on macroeconomic conditions and the exter

nal environment. Policy fine-tuning will send positive signals to the market and support financial resilience, Zhang said.

This year, the remarkable change in tone from the world’s major central banks is shifting into a monet

ary easing cycle, and policies from the Chinese central bank are headed in the same direction, Zhang added.

A recent research note from Goldman Sachs forecast China’s credit growth to rise in January as commercial banks may be “si

gnificantly more aggressive than before” with encouragement from the easing policy. With the PBOC scheduled to

release more data this week, the trend may be reflected in faster growth of new yuan loans and the broad money supply.

Amid a good fall of snow, which Chinese traditionally believe promises a year of harvest and

prosperity, Chinese and United States top officials started two days of talks in Beijing on Thursday.

Demographic data on births, deaths and population mov

ements may appear boring, but they matter a lot. They are important to understanding how humans function as individuals and as members of society.

China’s development is now more focused on the quality of economic growth, including

spreading its benefits to all citizens irrespective of their life circumstances. This emphasis aligns well wi

th the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda of leaving no one behind, and putting the furthest behind first.

However, without greater attention to the collection, disaggregation and utilization of data

on key aspects of population trends, this quest will be more difficult to accomplish.

Developing sound social and economic policies and making smart infrastr

ucture investments require a full understanding of the key features of the population at ev

ery level－its size, gender and spatial distribution, and age structure－now and in the future.

The author is the resident representative for China of the United Nations Population Fund.

Naturalization becomes increasingly popularup quarterfinal

China lost 3-0 to Iran in late January in the Asian Cup quarterfinal, conceding all three goals due to defensive errors. “When you face a strong team like Iran, you

have to avoid making the mistakes. I did not expect we lost the game in this way,” China coach Marcello Lippi said.

With the Olympic qualifying tournament and the 2022 World Cup quali

fying campaign around the corner, China faces an uphill battle with a limited squad.

Hou Sæter’s versatility has been praised by Guo’an head coach, Rog

er Schmidt, who has said the midfielder can play a number of positions across the pitch.

Naturalization has become increasingly popular in international football in recent

years, and has been used by Japan, the Philippines, and AFC Asian Cup holders Qatar.

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ummarizes key insights from the world’s best business, leadership and productivity books.

He anticipated that the plan would further connect the

echnology sectors of Hong Kong and the mainland, facilitating more career opportuniti

es for Hong Kong local talent as well as offering a larger market for knowledge transfer.

Tam Yiu-chung, a Hong Kong member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislat

ure, estimated that the plan would lay out development priorities for the area, and the key tasks each city should carry out.

Hong Kong will thus have a clearer direction for future development, and better understand how it can fully contribute, Tam said.

The Greater Bay Area encompasses Hong Kong and Macao, as well as nine cities in Guangdon

g province: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhongshan, Foshan, Zhaoqing and Jiangmen.

In 2017, the 11 cities produced one-eighth of China’s gross domestic product while containin

g only 5 percent of the nation’s population and only 0.6 percent of China’s total landmass.

echnology revolution and urbanization still carricenter added.

Meanwhile, a slump in population increases and growing aging populations will become a ke

y factor dragging down economic growth in developed countries and some developing countries.

The global population is predicted to rise from 7.35 billion in 2015 to 8.89 billion in 2035 and 9.77 billion in 2050. The pr

oportion of the aging population is expected to rise from 8.3 percent in 2015 to 13 percent in 2035 and 15.8 percent in 2050.

Over the next 15 years, global economy is expected to trend more toward multipolarity. By 2035, developing co

untries’ GDP will surpass developed economies’, contributing nearly 60 percent in global economy and investment.

The focus of global economic growth will shift from Europe and the United States to

Asia and extend to other developing countries and regions, the center added.

Trump announced last week that he will sit down with

for their second summit. Their first summit in Singapore last June resulted in Kim’s vague commitment to the “complete

denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” a term that his propaganda machine previously used w

hen it argued it would only denuclearize after the U.S. withdraws its troops from South Korea.

Trump’s top envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, visited Pyongyang last week to work out details of the upcoming summit. After

being briefed by Biegun about his Pyongyang trip, South Korea’s presidential office said Sunday that U.S. a

nd North Korean officials plan to meet again the week of Feb. 17 in an unidentified Asian country.

The U.S. military arrived in South Korea to disarm Japan, which colonized the K

orean Peninsula from 1910-45, following its World War II defeat. Most U.S.

troops were withdrawn in 1949 but they returned the next year to fight alongside South Korea in the Korean War.