Concerns over a "nuclear catastrophe" grow after Russia and Ukraine accused each other for a fire in Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine and the increasing risk of a Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) attack, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict entered into a new phase with Ukraine recently entering Russian territory for the first time. 

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has urged both Russia and Ukraine to exercise maximum restraint and stop reckless attacks which may cause nuclear accident. Chinese analysts also called on all parties to prevent the situation from escalating or even getting out of control, so as to avoid nuclear disaster for Europe and all mankind.

According to a statement released by the IAEA, their experts have witnessed "thick dark smoke coming from the north-western area of the plant, after hearing multiple explosions" throughout Sunday evening. And the Russian-controlled ZNPP informed them that a drone had allegedly struck one of the plant's two cooling towers.

ZNPP has confirmed to IAEA that there is no risk of elevated radiation levels as there is no radioactive material in the vicinity of the alleged attack area. However, any kind of fire on the site or in its vicinity represents a risk of spreading the fire also to facilities essential for safety, the IAEA said. 

IAEA Director General Grossi reiterated that any military action taken against the plant represents a clear violation of the five concrete principles for protecting the facility, which were established at the United Nations Security Council in May last year.

"These reckless attacks endanger nuclear safety at the plant and increase the risk of a nuclear accident. They must stop now," said Grossi.

The IAEA did not mention who was responsible for the attack while Moscow and Kiev accused each other for the accident. 

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova accused Kiev of deliberately trying to destroy the plant and sow "nuclear terror."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that Russia started a fire on the grounds of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to a Politico report. Ukraine's Energoatom said Russia's "negligence" or arson could have sparked the fire. It also said Russia uses the plant's cooling towers to store military equipment and explosives.

ZPPN has been caught in the crossfire since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 and seized the facility afterward. The IAEA has repeatedly expressed concern about the nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, amid fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe, the AP reported. 

The ZNPP incident came shortly after Ukraine launched an offensive in Russia's Kursk region. Russia on Friday notified the IAEA that Ukrainian armed forces pose a "direct threat" to Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), as suspected fragments of intercepted rockets were discovered near the plant following a Ukrainian armed force attack.

On the day, IAEA General Grossi urged the two sides to "exercise maximum restraint" to ensure nuclear safety and security of the KNPP during armed conflict. 

After the Chernobyl disaster, Europeans are highly concerned about the safety of nuclear power plants, which has also been used as weapon in public opinion warfare by both Russia and Ukraine to accuse each other of attempting to create a large-scale humanitarian crisis, said Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation.

According to Cui, although Russia has always mentioned the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons, especially in the case of an attack on the homeland, given that Russia still has the initiative on the battlefield, there is no reason to trigger a nuclear war. 

However, the current situation shows that the possibility of a large-scale nuclear leak, caused by attack on a nuclear power plant, is increasing, Cui said. 

The conflict has become increasingly complex and chaotic, which made it even more difficult to grasp the real situation immediately and avoid miscalculation of the situation. In this case, the risk of nuclear power plants being attacked, whether intentionally or not, has become greater, Cui said. 

For Europe and the world, nuclear disaster, or some other kind of nuclear crisis, is indeed getting closer, Li Haidong, a professor from the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Monday

The international community should step up efforts to get Russia and Ukraine to at least reach a consensus on the protection of nuclear facilities, Li noted. 

Urgent challenge

Since Ukraine's surprise military incursion into Russia's Kursk border region on August 6, the military conflict has entered a new phase.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the incursion a "large-scale provocation" by Ukraine, while the Russian state news agency TASS reported that more than 76,000 people had been evacuated. Russia also said that the Ukrainian attack has caused more than 60 civilian casualties.

Ukraine's armed provocation on the Russian border aims to bolster Kiev's position in future talks, but talks with a government that attacks civilians make no sense, Putin said, TASS reported. 

On Saturday, Belarus also said it would send more troops to its border with Ukraine, claiming Ukrainian drones had violated its airspace as part of Kiev's military incursion into the Kursk region.

Commenting on the development, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday said the Chinese side calls on all parties to observe the three principles for deescalating the situation, namely no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no fueling the flame by any party.

China will continue to maintain communication with the international community to play a constructive role for the political settlement of the crisis, said the spokesperson.

"Both sides are trying to maximize their bargaining leverage on the battlefields," Cui said. "And in this way, they are also using up the time period before the US election, as the result of US presidential election may be the most crucial variable in this conflict."

But meanwhile, the escalation of conflict is still worrying for some analysts, especially with the absence of enough signs of easing. 

The White House has said it was not made aware prior to the attack, but it said the attack was consistent with US policy with regard to what Ukraine can and cannot do with US weapons.

The intransigence of each side in a conflict with the ultimate goal of defeating the other, and the fact that the conflict involves nuclear powers and nuclear facilities, is a classic harbinger of an escalation that could spiral out of control, Li said.

"Whether the crisis can be resolved constructively is an urgent challenge facing the international community," Li said. "If the escalation cannot be effectively curbed, in the context of highly developed science and technology and the huge lethality of weapons, the possibility of a survival crisis for humans will always exist, and any catastrophic scenario may appear."

"This possibility should remind policy makers and citizens of all countries to avoid war and the escalation of crises, and work toward easing situations as much as possible as the urgency seems to be more and more prominent," said Li. 

Violence escalated across the UK over the weekend, with protesters taking to the streets in Liverpool, Hull, Nottingham and other cities, leaving buildings and vehicles on fire and shops looted. The riot, reportedly the largest in scale in the past 13 years, was fueled by disinformation that swirled online about the identity of the perpetrator of an attack in the northern town of Southport on July 29 that left three girls dead.

The riot reflects the growing prevalence of extreme nationalistic attitudes in the country, particularly among the youth, and the longstanding challenges of immigration integration. The sluggish economy and various "systemic crises" facing the UK are exacerbating public discontent over these issues, observers said. 

A 17-year-old male from Cardiff was apprehended for the deadly attack, but due to his age, Merseyside Police could not disclose his identity initially. Misleading information spread online, falsely linking him to being an asylum seeker and arriving in the UK by boat last year, and he was also wrongly identified as a "Muslim immigrant." 

To dismiss all the speculation, a court later lifted the requirement for the suspect's anonymity and he was named as Axel Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, according to Sky news. 

The riot reflects the widespread British distrust of the government, judiciary, and administrative system, Cui Hongjian, a professor from the Academy of Regional and Global Governance with Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times. The conservative shift in British politics and the rise of populism has led to crimes being attributed to ethnic conflicts, fueling disinformation, Cui explained.

Cui elaborated that under the influence of populism, it has become increasingly common to attribute all problems and conflicts to external sources, such as linking criminal events to ethnic tensions. 

Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of European Studies, said the UK is grappling with a "systemic crisis," marked by a struggling economy, budget deficits, escalating raw material costs, and the diminishing presence of manufacturing in the country.

People, especially the younger generation that was raised under years of the Conservative Party's governance promoting the expulsion of illegal immigrants and refugees, are particularly susceptible to incitement, Zhao said. 

Cui said the effectiveness of the British government's ability to manage the tragedy in Southport will determine if public discontent can be somewhat alleviated. However, the situation is challenging as this incident has the potential to fuel prolonged opposition toward immigration and other issues.

A white brown bear was recently captured by an infrared camera in the Altai Mountains in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to media reports on Tuesday, representing a new breakthrough for scientific research into the species.

Officials from the local forest administration department in Altai Mountains of Xinjiang found moving images of a white brown bear when organizing the footage of an infrared camera, and the bear in the video traveled through the forests, sometimes strolling leisurely, sometimes stopping to observe its surroundings.

One of the officials said that this is the second time since June 2021 that an all-white brown bear has been photographed in a forested area in the region, which could be a new brown bear with certain scientific research value. Employees of the local forest administration will strengthen the protection and detection of the area to ensure ecosystem integrity and biodiversity.

Brown bears are listed under the second class of wildlife protection in China, and are typically highly aggressive. 

Brown come in a great variety of coat colors, including gray-black, brown-black, dark brown, brown-red, light tan and gray. Only a very small number of bears are white brown bears, and the probability of such a chance of appearing is only one in 500,000, according to the report.

Amid anticipation of a reported visit to China by new British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Chinese experts noted a renewed focus by the Labour government on China-UK relations. They expressed hope that the Starmer administration would steer the bruised ties back on track. 

However, experts remain cautious, emphasizing that tangible actions are crucial in demonstrating sincerity in improving bilateral relations.

According to a report by Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter, Lammy is considering making a visit to China as part of the new Labour government's efforts to "recalibrate the UK's relationship with Beijing."

It would be the second by a UK foreign secretary in the last six years, following former UK foreign secretary James Cleverly in August 2023.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning did not confirm the report at Wednesday's press briefing, but noted that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently met with Lammy in Vientiane, Laos.

"We are positive and open towards enhancing bilateral exchanges and cooperation," Mao said, "A stable and mutually-beneficial China-UK relationship serves the fundamental interests of both peoples, helps the two sides come together to respond to global challenges, and contributes to world peace and development. We hope to work with the UK on the basis of mutual respect and win-win cooperation for new progress in bilateral relations, so as to bring more benefit to both countries and the wider world."

Before taking office, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had stated that the first thing his government would do is to carry out an "audit" of its relations with Beijing. 

Lammy is also rushing to deliver on a promise to launch a China policy review within 100 days, as he believed that the country's former approach to China "oscillated wildly over the past 14 years" of Tory rule and vowed to "adopt a more consistent strategy," Politico reported. 

Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of European Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday that Lammy's emphasis on the need for continuity in the UK's China policy aims to maintain a healthy and stable relationship with Beijing, and refrain from tilting the balance completely toward the US. 

"And because of the emphasis on continuity, the new government is likely to uphold the relatively friendly approach toward China by previous Labour leader Tony Blair.

 What's more, with Labour's advocacy in many significant areas such as green economy, energy transition and climate change response, there is a lot of common ground with China, providing a sound basis for cooperation," Zhao noted.

The AP published an article on Monday under a headline: "Chinese businesses hoping to expand in the US and bring jobs face uncertainty and suspicion." What the article describes is beyond regrettable and truly deplorable. "Chinese businesses are coming to the US with money, jobs and technology, only to find rising suspicion," the report said.

The US has always touted itself as the world's best destination for inward foreign direct investment, but the investment environment in the US is deteriorating. In recent years, the US has generalized the "national security" concept, abused export controls and drawn up discriminatory lists aimed at cracking down on Chinese companies. In the process, Washington has come to view normal business competition through a geopolitical lens. The US is largely in a mode of zero-sum games and treats China with a lot of suspicion and even hostility. All of this will deal a serious blow to investor confidence.

An economic dilemma is brewing in the US. A zero-sum mentality has disturbed the order and atmosphere of international cooperation, and undermined foreign investors' confidence. However, the US economy urgently needs foreign investment in manufacturing and high-tech industries. This means the country needs an open environment to attract international investment.

For a long time, there has been much discussion about measures to revive manufacturing in the US, but the manufacturing sector is still facing challenges and difficulties. A measure of US manufacturing activity dropped to an eight-month low in July amid a slump in new orders. The Institute for Supply Management said last week that its manufacturing purchasing managers' index dropped to 46.8 in July, the lowest reading since November, from 48.5 in June, according to Reuters.

Instead of relying solely on persuading US manufacturers to reshore their operations from overseas to revitalize the US manufacturing sector, the country should step up efforts to attract the world's first-class manufacturers, including Chinese companies, to invest in the US.

China's manufacturing development has ranked among the top tiers in the world. Now, the country is home to a number of first-class manufacturing companies. These enterprises have advantages in fields such as the next-generation information technology industry, 5G, high-end computer numerical control machines, robots, energy conservation, new-energy vehicles and lithium batteries.

The danger for America is that by generalizing the "national security" concept, it will progressively isolate itself from the world's first-class competitive enterprises as the rest of the world continues to spare no effort to attract manufacturing investment. As America inadvertently isolates itself, it gets more frustrated. The more failed Washington's economic policy is, the more hysterical US politicians will be to politicize economic issues. That's the risk.

Expenditures by foreign direct investors to acquire, establish or expand US businesses totaled $148.8 billion in 2023, according to preliminary statistics released in July by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. Expenditures decreased $57.4 billion, or 28 percent, from $206.2 billion in 2022 and were below the annual average of $265.6 billion for 2014-2022.  It's a microcosm of the US economy, which has been losing vitality.

Some US politicians may hope their suppression of Chinese companies won't affect the confidence of investors from other countries, but those people are going to be deeply disappointed by the result. Skepticism of Chinese investment, as well as Washington's tightened suppression of Chinese companies, represent a rise of protectionism and economic nationalism in the US. This marks a deterioration in the US business climate and a step backward in economic and ideological openness, which will undermine the confidence of all foreign investors.

China and the US have one of the world's most important and complex bilateral relationships. The potential for economic cooperation is big, and US politicians obviously still value the China market. We sincerely hope Washington can provide fair treatment to Chinese companies and promote mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged further efforts to preserve the country's cultural and natural treasures and renew their glamour in the new era.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in an instruction on strengthening the protection, preservation and utilization of cultural and natural heritage.

The instruction was made after one cultural heritage and two natural heritages of China were inscribed on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in July 2024.

UNESCO announced the inscription of Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital, Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand, and Lakes, and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase II) on its list at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India.

The inclusion of these heritage items has positive significance for the building of Chinese modernization that features material and cultural-ethical advancement and harmony between humanity and nature, Xi said, noting that it also adds new luster to world civilizations.

Xi called for efforts to take this UNESCO inclusion as an opportunity to further strengthen the comprehensive and systematic protection of cultural and natural heritage and make good use of them to better meet the people's needs.

He also urged enhanced international exchange and cooperation in this field, and efforts to make greater contribution to the practice of the Global Civilization Initiative and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

Currently, China is home to a total of 59 World Heritage Sites.

Italian Nicolò Balini is a travel vlogger on YouTube with over 1 million subscribers. In June of this year, he embarked on his second trip to China, visiting cities such as Macao, Xi'an, and Chongqing, amassing over 2 million views on YouTube. One of Nicolò's key features is his refusal to just skim through the surface. For instance, when taking the high-speed train, he provided a detailed introduction to the development history of China's railway construction. When visiting the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, he narrated the painstaking efforts of Chinese scientists in wildlife conservation. His extensive and detailed research has won praise from Chinese viewers.

This year marks the 700th anniversary of the death of Italian explorer Marco Polo. More than 700 years ago, Marco Polo's journey to China opened the door to the East for the Western world. Through the information and experiences he brought back, Westerners learned about a China with a splendid civilization, thereby promoting mutual understanding and learning between Eastern and Western civilizations. Today, foreign internet influencers, including Nicolò, are introducing the real China to Western audiences through their smartphones and camera lenses. Due to their status as internet influencers, they are collectively referred to as "Marco Bloggers."

The rising popularity of "Marco Bloggers" on social media, both at home and abroad, vividly reflects the enormous desire and enthusiasm of people from both the East and the West for civilizational exchange and mutual learning. This desire once supported Marco Polo's journey across oceans and deserts; in today's globalized world, it helps people overcome the barriers of geopolitical and ideological biases. In Marco Polo's era, distant China was mysterious to Westerners; today, the hindrance to Westerners' objective understanding of China is the stereotypes shaped by some Western media outlets. Marco Polo profoundly changed the way Westerners viewed the world; today's Western audiences break the information cocoon of "Western centrism" through the videos of "Marco Bloggers," thereby witnessing a real, multi-dimensional, and rapidly evolving modern China.

China needs to understand the world, and the world also wants to understand China. Whether it is Marco Polo or "Marco Bloggers," an open and inclusive China always opens its arms to friends from around the world. Since the beginning of this year, in order to facilitate the entry of foreign tourists, China has made great efforts to optimize visa policies and improve the convenience level of payment and accommodation. Recently, Chongqing launched a one-stop online application for entry port visa services, the first digitalized entry port visa project in China, and the Beijing PASS, a multi-purpose card for international visitors, is currently being tested. The efficiency and governance of China that foreign bloggers admire are accumulated from such meticulous work and solid progress.

In addition to high-speed trains and electric cars, what impresses foreign bloggers the most is the sincerity and friendliness of the Chinese people. When a stranger helped traveler Amir Malik pay for the subway ticket directly, when two Beijing alley elders chatted with a British couple, tourism bloggers Jack and Paige, despite the language barrier, many Chinese and foreign netizens are moved to tears. Many foreign bloggers also mention that the integrity of the Chinese people has left a deep impression on them. Whether in a supermarket in Guangzhou or a morning market in Shenyang, when they hand over their phone payment interface to a Chinese merchant who doesn't speak the same language, they have never encountered a situation where the payment was made incorrectly. Just like the British couple exclaimed, "what an amazing people!" This is the significance of cultural exchange, different civilizations can understand each other better through dialogue and communication on the basis of mutual respect and tolerance. In the process, they can also better understand themselves through the understanding of others.

At the same time, we also noticed a regrettable phenomenon: Many foreign bloggers have clarified in their videos that they have not accepted any so-called "funds" to do propaganda for China. A pair of Irish bloggers even directly questioned why they have been to so many countries, but only their videos in China were questioned as "propaganda." For Western media, this question should be enlightening. However, on August 1, a reporter from The New York Times published two articles within two hours, distorting and smearing Chinese inbound tourism by taking foreign bloggers' videos out of context. It seems that the pressure brought by those "Macro Bloggers" to The New York Times is not small, may have even irritated it. This is the power of truth. Don't say two articles in two hours, even if there are more lies, how can they overcome the truth?

From Marco Polo to "Marco Bloggers," the encounter of different civilizations has not only led to clashes of civilizations, but also brought about a blending of civilizations. The stories of ordinary people meeting and interacting, from the most simple and real perspective, have added a vivid and convincing footnote to the Global Civilization Initiative. In today's world where the future and destiny of countries are closely linked, only by strengthening dialogue among civilizations based on mutual respect and inclusiveness, promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, can we eliminate barriers, alienation, and hostility, and can we uphold the beauty of each civilization and the diversity of civilizations in the world. These are the inspirations that "Marco Bloggers" bring to our time.

Hong Liang, Director-General of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary of the East Asia Division of Ministry of External Affairs of India co-chaired the 30th Meeting of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on China-India Border Affairs in New Delhi on Wednesday.  

The recent interactions between China and India are seen as crucial for building positive momentum toward addressing border issues and stabilizing bilateral relations, analysts said, also urging Indian side to intensify efforts in collaboration with China to further improve bilateral relations.

During the meeting on Wednesday, the two sides agreed to actively implement the important common understandings reached at the recent bilateral meeting between the two foreign ministers, focus on specific issues related to the China-India border, accommodate each other's legitimate concerns and reach a mutually acceptable solution at an early date, according to a release of Chinese foreign ministry. 

The two sides also agreed to maintain communication through diplomatic and military channels, strengthen negotiation mechanism building, speed up the negotiation process, and turn over a new leaf in the border situation at an early date so as to promote the sound and steady development of China-India relations. The two sides agreed to strictly abide by the agreements already reached and continue to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas.

The meeting came against the backdrop of a series of interactions between China and India. On July 25, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Vientiane, Laos on the sidelines of a series of ASEAN meetings. 

Also on July 4, Wang met with Jaishankar in Astana, Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of a two-day meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, during which the two sides agreed to commit to stabilizing the border areas and hold a new round of consultations addressing border issues.

There are some positive signals coming from China-India relations, however, without breakthroughs on the core issue of border affairs, it will not be easy to see more improvement in bilateral relations, Long Xingchun, a professor from the School of International Relations at Sichuan International Studies University, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

Long said that while China maintains that border issues do not encompass the entirety of bilateral relations, India insists that resolving these issues are crucial for returning bilateral relations toward a normal trajectory. 

Based on current momentum, India may consider making tactical adjustments that align with its interests. For instance, there is increasing discussion in India about relaxing visa restrictions for needed Chinese engineers and lifting restrictions on Chinese investments, Long said. 

Some analysts hold a cautiously optimistic view on future bilateral relations, noting that with no major changes observed in India's China policies during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term, shifts in political mindset may be challenging for Indian politicians.

However, exchanges at various levels combined with people-to-people interactions can serve as a bridge for mutual understanding between the two countries, they said, noting that China has consistently maintained an open and welcoming stance towards Indians, and New Delhi should reciprocate by taking similar steps to foster more positive factors for bilateral relations. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday arrived in Lao capital Vientiane to attend the ASEAN meetings and other events against the backdrop of turbulence in the South China Sea, but analysts believed the tensions will not have a major impact on the main course of cooperation. 

The Philippines hopes to utilize the ASEAN events to endorse its stance, but other ASEAN members understand the complexity and sensitivity of the topic, and recognize the bloc's priority as being development and prosperity, they said.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met with general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith in Vientiane on Thursday. 

Wang said the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed more than 300 reform tasks, outlined a blueprint for deepening reform across the board, and sent a clear signal that reform and opening-up will always be in progress.

China appreciates that Laos has always stood with China on issues concerning China's core interests and major concerns, and will continue to be the most reliable friend and partner of Laos, ready to enhance experience sharing with Laos on governance, Wang said. 

China firmly supports Laos in exploring a development path suited to its own and in safeguarding its national sovereignty and dignity, willing to deepen all-round cooperation with Laos, strengthen comprehensive development along the China-Laos Railway and promote connectivity to boost Laos' economic development, said the foreign minister.

During the meeting, Thongloun said that the important conclusions and innovative achievements of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee have provided important references for Laos to promote the socialist cause.

In his meeting with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone on Thursday, Wang said both sides should carry forward their traditional friendship, deepen their construction of a China-Laos community with a shared future, and achieve high-standard, high-quality and high-level collaboration and coordination, making their relationship one of the best among China's neighboring countries.

Sonexay Siphandone said the country stands ready to promote a new version of the action plan on building a Laos-China community with a shared future and expand practical cooperation with China on all fronts, Xinhua reported. 

The prime minister said that the Laos-China Railway provided strong momentum for Laos to transform from a land-locked to a land-linked nation, adding that the country welcomes more capable Chinese enterprises to invest in Laos, helping to deepen regional interconnectivity and safeguard regional supply chain stability.

From Thursday to Saturday, Wang will attend the ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Vientiane and pay an official visit to Laos, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday.   

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting convened on Thursday, to be followed by meetings with East Asian countries and other global players including Russia, the US and the EU.  

Cooperation priorities

Ge Hongliang, vice dean of the ASEAN College at the Guangxi Minzu University, told the Global Times on Thursday that the foreign ministers' meetings, routinely held annually, will prepare for the leaders' meeting in the second half of the year and serve as an opportunity to review the progress and specify further plans to jointly build a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable homeland.   

Ge named infrastructure, economic growth, the South China Sea and external hotspot issues as areas in which China and ASEAN will have in-depth exchanges. 

The 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting started in Vientiane on Thursday under the theme of "ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience," as the region, like many others in the world, faces myriad challenges, including lingering economic and financial difficulties, climate change, natural disasters, and traditional and non-traditional security issues, according to the official website. 

ASEAN's choice of main theme suggested that the bloc has an urgent need to further boost its economy, and improving infrastructure, particularly transportation and energy, is a key task as it has prevented economic development from going faster, Ge said. 

Southeast Asia's first bullet train route, the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway, was built with Chinese assistance; In the first five months of 2024, the China-Laos railway carried 2.3 million tons of freight, an increase of 31 percent compared to the same period in 2023.  

Despite a better economic performance than a few years ago, many Southeast Asian economies still face pressure from inflation and fiscal budgets, and are compelled to stabilize industrial chain and build up economic resilience in the era of Industry 4.0, which demands close cooperation with China, Ge said.   

Also among the topics on the agenda will be negotiations on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) Version 3.0, which is expected to inject new momentum into bilateral trade, Ge said. 

The expert also mentioned some non-regional hot spot issues that would impact the international environment, namely the Russia-Ukraine crisis and the war in Gaza, which China and the ASEAN members have similar stances on. 

Not a confrontational sea 

The South China Sea will definitely be an integral part of China-ASEAN exchanges, and the situation this year is more complex, given frictions between China and the Philippines under the shadow of US intervention, analysts said.

ASEAN will likely welcome the "provisional arrangement" reached between Beijing and Manila at the Ren'ai Jiao, or Ren'ai Reef concerning the illegally grounded Philippine warship, and negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) will continue to make some progress, Ge said. 

Divergence on some core texts will remain a thorny issue during the third reading, and the frictions at sea have cast a shadow over political mutual trust and poisoned the atmosphere, not to mention interference from external forces, Ding Duo, deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Law and Policy at China's National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday. "There will be progress, but it might be limited; and certain countries might shift the blame to China for not making substantial progress." 

However, Ding believed ASEAN will not allow a confrontational atmosphere to override the platform's basic position of disputes over the South China Sea being addressed directly by the countries involved, and ASEAN should join hands with China to safeguard peace and stability in the region. 

The Philippines hopes to utilize the ASEAN events to endorse its claims, but other ASEAN members are aware that disputes are not solely between China and the Philippines - some countries have a row with Manila that is no less serious than that between Beijing and Manila, Ding explained. 

They understand the Philippines' attempts to take advantage of them, and that the US is standing behind it, so they are cautious of echoing the Philippines' views amid the frictions, Ding said. 

Actually, there are other countries that have disputes with China, but none of them has moved as close to the US as the Philippines in the strategic sense, Ding noted, "Manila is quite an outcast in the region." 

The Philippines submitted to a United Nations body a proposal to formally recognize the extent of its undersea continental shelf, which Malaysia has publicly opposed, saying it clearly disregards Malaysia's indisputable sovereignty over the state of Sabah, according to media reports. 

Reuters reported Wednesday that the Philippines will in Vientiane propose the creation of an ASEAN Coast Guard Forum between its members to enable dialogue and law enforcement, according to its senior diplomat Theresa Lazaro, a plan likely to rile China.

Ding said that although the Philippines is eyeing closer intra-ASEAN coast guard cooperation with China in mind, the mechanism itself should not be interpreted as China-targeted. "We should analyze it case by case based on specific items, types and scope of such cooperation."

The China coast guard has also cooperated with its counterparts in ASEAN members in recent years, including Vietnam and Cambodia, and exploring the possibility of ASEAN-China Coast Guard Forum cannot be ruled out, Ding said. 

Resilience to intervention

Although some analysts believe the US will try to sow discord between China and ASEAN, and mobilize the Philippines to create trouble, both Ding and Ge are optimistic that ASEAN can uphold centrality and resist the intervention and negative impact of external forces.

ASEAN does not want to focus excessively on South China Sea and marginalize the key agenda of regional cooperation, solidarity and ASEAN's international status, or divert the main course of the China-ASEAN relationship, Ding said, "the stability and resilience of the relationship determines that it can withstand the test." 

Ge compared this year with 2012 when China and the Philippines also had fierce frictions in the South China Sea. 

While maintaining the basic line of avoiding getting involved in major power competition, ASEAN members are increasingly clear about who is the peacekeeper and who is the troublemaker militarizing the region, Ge said. 

Indonesia, the ASEAN chair of 2023, warned in February last year not to use Southeast Asia as a "proxy" for their rivalries amid reports of an enhanced military pact between the US and the Philippines. Washington and Manila formally upgraded the treaty months later in May and in April 2024, and involved Japan in a trilateral summit to form a structure targeting China.  

Despite receiving immediate benefits from industrial relocation from China-US trade frictions, ASEAN rejects excluding China from the landscape out of concerns that the supply chain may become very turbulent, Ge said.  

Ge believes that ASEAN could have started to consider whether the rosy picture painted by the US can be realized given the development of the US elections.  

There have been records of US withdrawal after turning a region into total mess, and the ASEAN would not allow the same scenario to be copied in Southeast Asia when the US is trying to start a new Cold War in the region, analysts said.