The Chinese central government announced on Saturday a new policy that allows travelers from eight more cities in the Chinese mainland to visit the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) as individuals. 

The move was strongly welcomed by both officials in the HKSAR and visitors from the mainland cities.

Pang Yiu-Kai, chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), welcomed the move, saying that the latest expansion is a "gift" for the sector, and Beijing's decision to update the program twice in three months reflected its "full support and confidence" in Hong Kong's development, according to the South China Morning Post.

The HKTB will roll out some "large-scale events" and step up promotions in the mainland cities and invite tourism representatives to come to Hong Kong, Pang said. 

With the addition of the eight cities, the number of applicable mainland cities under the "Individual Travel" plan will increase from 51 to 59. The added cities are Taiyuan, Hohhot, Harbin, Lanzhou, Yinchuan, Lhasa and Xining.

Experts said that with more and more mainland cities opening up for individual travel, Hong Kong will attract more tourists from the broader mainland market. Closer exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland will inject new vitality into the local tourism industry.

HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee expressed his gratitude with regard to the central government's care for Hong Kong and its support for Hong Kong's advance from stability to prosperity, according to the website of the HKSAR government.

Lee noted that various measures have been rolled out this year to support and benefit Hong Kong. The latest move will boost tourism and the economic development of Hong Kong, and facilitate people-to-people bonds between the mainland and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway welcomed the addition of the new cities and said it was dedicated to providing high-quality, convenient cross-boundary services.

This new arrangement will attract more mainland tourists to Hong Kong, and Hong Kong's overall economic development will benefit from the tourism boom, Yang Yong, deputy director of the College of Economics and Management at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The surge in Hong Kong's inbound tourism was a key factor driving the city's economic growth, Yang noted.

About 766,000 visitors from the mainland visited the city during the just-concluded May Day holidays, which ran from May 1 to 5. 

The city recorded an increase of 22 percent in passenger trips compared with the same period last year, a spokesperson for the HKSAR said on May 6.

China successfully launched the first Long March-6C carrier rocket at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in North China's Shanxi Province on Tuesday, carrying four satellites into planned orbit.

The rocket sent the Neptune-01 and Smart-1C, as well as a wide-band optical satellite and a high-resolution video satellite into space, according to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The mission marks the addition of new members to the Long March rocket family, further improving China's new generation of Long March series of launch vehicles, and promoting the accelerated modernization of China's active launch vehicles.

The rocket is a new generation of liquid launch vehicle developed by the CASC for the future commercial launch market, and it has a single-core and two-stage design, powered by liquid oxygen and kerosene engines.

The total length of the rocket is about 43 meters and its lift-off mass is about 215 tons. The rocket can be adapted with multi-specification satellite payload fairings according to different tasks.

The control system of this rocket adopts technology of Adaptive Augmentation Control (AAC), which is the first application of the technology on a domestic launch vehicle. The AAC can be simply understood as intelligent driving, which automatically adjusts the steering wheel and throttle by judging the road status, Hu Cunming, a rocket expert from the eighth Academy of CASC, told the Xinhua News Agency.

The technology can further enhance the adaptability and intelligence of the rocket's flight by adjusting the rocket's flight control strategy in real time online.

The development team developed a new lightweight storage box to realize the reduction of the rocket's weight by reducing the excess space between two boxes under the condition of carrying as much fuel as possible, which can further improve the structural efficiency of the rocket, Xinhua reported.

The team also used a method of "de-tasking" to maximize the unification of the product, by firstly creating a standard rocket that can adapt to multi-task requirements and can be put into production in rolling batches, and revising the standard rocket in accordance with the satellite supporting requirements, according to Xinhua. 

The launch of the four satellites was a "carpool" mission carried out through commercialized bidding, and it was the first time that the launch services of the Long March series were put up for public bidding.

It was the 520th flight mission of the Long March series rockets. 

The Japanese yen hit a 34-year low against the dollar on Monday, but the weak currency has turned Japan into a shopping paradise, with a large number of international tourists flocking to the country to take advantage.

Among the tourists, wealthy Chinese shoppers have been splashing out on luxury items in Japan.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, the Japanese yen briefly dropped to a new 34-year low of 160 yen to the US dollar on foreign exchange markets on Monday morning. This marked the first time since April 1990 that the US dollar has topped the 160-yen line.

With the continuous depreciation of the yen, the prices of some high-end products in Japan have become much lower than in China, attracting a large number of tourists looking to score some great deals.

Data that Chinese travel platform Qunar sent to the Global Times on Monday shows that as of Sunday, Tokyo and Osaka ranked second and third respectively in terms of searches on the platform, following Bangkok. The search index for Tokyo increased by 207 percent year-on-year, while for Osaka it increased by 172 percent. Hotel bookings in Japan for the upcoming May Day holidays have increased by 3.5 times compared to 2023 on the platform.

A Chinese tourist surnamed Chen who just came back from Japan on Sunday told the Global Times that the major shopping malls were filled with Chinese people.

"If you didn't know any better, you would think you were in a mall in China. Especially at the LV counter, there were long lines outside," Chen said.

For example, an Onthego small handbag from LV costs 25,600 yuan ($3,533.8) in China, but only 47,520 yen in Japan, which is about 21,753 yuan. Therefore, Chinese customers can save nearly 4,000 yuan.

The depreciation of the yen has also led to a surge in demand for the surrogate shopping business, known as daigou, with some shopping agents estimating they can earn up to 10,000 yuan on a trip to Japan.

A daigou shopper surnamed Sun said this has been her busiest time in many years. Sun said she had received 50 orders during the last few weeks. "They asked me to buy them products including luxury handbags, game consoles, cameras, and cosmetics," Sun added.

According to Sun, buying items in Japan is very cost-effective given the high markups in China for goods such as handbags and cameras. She charges a 10 percent shopping fee, so a 20,000-yuan bag can earn her 2,000 yuan.

Although there are risks involved with daigou, such as people only being able to bring back one bag per person and having to remove the tags to avoid customs taxes, the business is still popular.

According to multiple posts on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, which compares prices between luxury handbags in Japan and China, Louis Vuitton's Carryall takes the top spot for the biggest price differential.

The South China Morning Post reported on Monday about the first-quarter results for LVMH, the world's largest luxury group. Overall revenue in Asia, which is dominated by the Chinese market, has declined by 6 percent, but in Japan sales have surged 32 percent.

The report said that global sales of fashion and leather goods - LVMH's biggest business - to Chinese customers in their home market and abroad rose 10 percent, indicating that spending by Chinese tourists overseas helped offset weak sales at home. A large portion of their spending abroad was in Japan.

The Global Times found on Xiaohongshu that there have been many posts searching for or offering personal daigou services in Japan during the upcoming May Day holidays.

The plunge in the yen has also increased the appeal of Japanese commercial property.

The Global Times learnt that many Chinese investors are eyeing residential properties, including those in the Tokyo Olympic Village.

However, the depreciation of the yen also creates some problems. It may exacerbate the deflation issue in Japan, and excessive dependence on overseas tourists' consumption may expose the Japanese economy to external risks, according to insiders.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday that talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to China were "candid, substantive and constructive."

During a courtesy meeting with Blinken on Friday afternoon, Chinese President Xi Jinping elaborated on China's authoritative position on China-US relations and proposed guidance, said Yang Tao, director-general of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of the China's Foreign Ministry, while briefing the media on Blinken's visit on Friday evening.

Yang said the Chinese side refuted the so-called "overcapacity" in China narrative claimed by the US, calling it another example of US' protectionism and suppression of China's development. It also pointed out that the recent escalation of the situation in the South China Sea is inseparable from the intervention of the US.

Xi pointed out that China and the US should be partners rather than rivals; help each other succeed rather than hurt each other; seek common ground and reserve differences rather than engage in vicious competition; and honor words with actions rather than say one thing but do another, Yang said.

Xi also stressed that China is not afraid of competition, but competition should be about progressing together instead of playing a zero-sum game. China is committed to non-alliance, and the US should not create small blocs, Yang said.

During the talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, which lasted for five and a half hours, the Chinese and US officials exchanged in-depth views on China-US relations and international and regional affairs. Wang clarified China's position on major issues involving China's core concerns such as strategic perception, the Taiwan question, economic and technological issues, the South China Sea, and the US' 'Indo-Pacific Strategy', Yang told a group of reporters.

On Friday, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong also met with Blinken, exchanging views on anti-drug law enforcement cooperation between China and US. Chen Jining, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, met with Blinken on Thursday in Shanghai.

Strategic perception, namely whether China and the US are partners or adversaries, is the fundamental issue of China-US relations and is also a topic discussed by both sides on every occasion, including this one, Yang said.

The logic of great power rivalry and the zero-sum thinking of the Cold War are not in China's DNA, nor are they China's way of behavior. China welcomes a confident, open, and prosperous US and hopes that the US side can also view China's development positively.

And the Taiwan question is the "first red line" that must not be crossed in China-US relations, Yang said. China firmly opposes the series of wrong words and deeds by the US on the question.

China emphasizes that if the US truly hopes for peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, it should faithfully abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, refrain from sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces in any way, stop arming Taiwan, and support China's peaceful reunification.

On economic and trade issue, China clearly demands that the US stop hyping up the so-called "overcapacity" in China false narrative, revoke illegal sanctions against Chinese companies, and stop imposing 301 tariffs that violate WTO rules.

On the South China Sea issue, Yang said China has sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, including Ren'ai Jiao (Ren'ai Reef), with full historical and legal basis. China has always abided by international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and no country can attempt to challenge China's legitimate rights and interests through illegal arbitration.

The reasons for the current situation in Ren'ai Jiao are clear. The Philippines first violated its commitments by refusing to tow away the illegally grounded warship for 25 years, and then repeatedly violated the "gentleman's agreement" and internal understanding reached with China, willfully infringed and provoked, and attempted to conduct large-scale repairs and reinforcement to achieve permanent occupation of Ren'ai Jiao.

The Philippines' actions seriously violate Article 5 of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea reached between China and ASEAN countries, Yang said.

And the recent escalation of the situation in the South China Sea is inseparable from US' intervention. The US frequently threatens with the "US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty," which seriously violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and seriously undermines regional peace and stability. If the US wants to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, it should stop fanning flames and inciting confrontation, the Chinese diplomat said.

Regarding the so-called "overcapacity" in China, Yang said China's advantages in areas such as new-energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products are not the result of subsidies from the Chinese government, but the result of global market demand, technological innovation, and full competition.

The so-called "overcapacity" claimed by the US is not a conclusion under market definitions but a false narrative created artificially, which is another example of US' protectionism and suppression of China's development.

Perhaps what is "excessive" is not China's production capacity but the anxiety of the US, Yang said.

If we talk about non-market behaviors and unfair competition, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act enacted by the US in the past two years not only clearly state subsidies but also contain exclusive and discriminatory provisions. Is this market behavior? Yang asked.

"The US has also imposed illegal sanctions on more than 1,500 Chinese entities and individuals under various pretexts. Is this fair competition?" Yang said.

On the Ukraine crisis, Yang said the Chinese side has made it clear that China is neither the creator of the Ukraine crisis nor a party to it and has not done anything to fan the flames or take advantage of the situation.

The US should stop smearing and pressuring China and stop imposing unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies, he noted.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for building world-class military medical universities, stressing that they should serve the battlefield and troops, and embrace the future.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during an inspection at the Army Medical University on Tuesday.

China released the world's first set of high-precision geological maps of the moon drawn by China's scientific research team on Sunday, mainly based on scientific exploration data from the Chang'e Project.

The highest precision geological atlas of the whole moon, with a scale of 1:2.5 million, can visualize the craters on the lunar surface, rocks and minerals found on the satellite of the Earth, and what kind of geological activity the moon has experienced.

As the internationally used geological maps of the moon obtained by the Apollo program of the US cannot reflect the latest research results of mankind in recent decades, they are no longer able to meet the needs of future scientific research and lunar exploration, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Liu Jianzhong, a researcher at the Institute of Geochemistry of the CAS, said that among previous geologic maps, only maps of localized areas were of high accuracy, and the scale accuracy of these maps covering the entire moon was 1:5 million, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

"The Chang'e Project has played a crucial role on the production of the atlas, " Wang Yanan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times. 

"In the past, when human-being couldn't land on the moon, we observed the satellite through telescopes, but the range that could be observed was limited due to the distance. However, the advent of probes, whether circumlunar probes or probes capable of soft landing, has actually shortened this distance," said Wang.

Wang also said that the atlas is a collection of the results of the previous phase of China's scientific exploration of the moon.

"Developing this atlas not only has to have well-tested means and equipment to collect accurate data and achieve the precision, but it also has to ensure the probe to have a full range of exploration and coverage," Wang said. "The collection of atlas shows that the scope of China's lunar exploration is very broad and our data collection accuracy has reached a good level."

The atlas contains a geological map of the entire moon, a map of the distribution of rock types throughout the moon, an outline of lunar tectonics, and 30 standardized sub-schematic geological maps of the moon.

On the main map, a total of 12,341 impact craters and 81 impact basins can be seen on  the moon, and 17 rock types and 14 types of tectonics can be identified. Some special elements including landing sites of human probes are also shown in the atlas.

Since 2012, Ouyang Ziyuan, the first chief scientist of China's lunar exploration program, put forward the idea of compiling and researching a new geological map of the moon, a team of researchers from different organizations in China have been working on it for more than 10 years.

According to the CAS, the atlas can not only provide basic information and scientific reference for the formulation of scientific objectives and the implementation of the lunar exploration project, but also fill the gaps in China's compilation and research of geological maps of the moon and exoplanets.

Wang said that the release of the atlas represents a form of information sharing and support for all countries interested or involved in lunar exploration.

The maps have been integrated into the digital lunar cloud platform built by Chinese scientists, Liu said. Scientists will also compile higher-precision lunar geological maps to further serve lunar scientific research, science education and China's lunar exploration project in the future.

Chinese Central Bank Governor Pan Gongsheng met with US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in Washington on Wednesday (US time), exchanging views on the economic developments in China and the US, monetary policies, financial stability and other topics.

China has achieved a significant milestone by utilizing a bionic submersible to monitor coral reef growth in the South China Sea, which marks a technological breakthrough in the application of bionic underwater equipment, according to media reports on Monday.

The achievement was spearheaded by a team from the School of Marine Science and Technology at the Northwestern Polytechnical University, China Central Television reported. They developed a biomimetic soft-bodied submersible shaped like a manta ray.

The team has been researching the bionic submersible since 2016, breaking through key technologies such as bionic fluid shape optimization design and the fluid-structure coupling simulation of pectoral fin flapping, integrated propulsion design with sliding and flapping during motion, and smooth switching control of high-similarity multimodal motion.

The team is focusing on coral growth and the settlement of island reef foundations in the South China Sea, and has launched the latest developed 30kg and 720kg types of biomimetic manta ray soft-body diving robots, thus establishing a lineage of bionic intelligent diving robots ranging from flexible small-scale to functional large-scale.

Currently, the submersible has carried out a variety of tasks such as long-distance gliding, wide-area or fixed-depth or stationary hydrological fine collection, and replacement protection of rare animals in marine aquariums. It has completed over 200 operations, achieving a technological breakthrough in the practical application of biomimetic underwater equipment in China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated Peter Pellegrini on his election as president of Slovakia.

In his message sent on Thursday, Xi said that the traditional friendship between China and Slovakia has grown stronger over time, and that bilateral relations in recent years have maintained sound momentum of development, with broad prospects for cooperation in various fields.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Slovakia, ushering in new and important opportunities for the development of bilateral relations, he said.

Noting that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Slovakia relations, Xi said that he stands ready to work with Pellegrini to deepen the traditional friendship and political mutual trust between the two countries, expand Belt and Road cooperation and cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, and push bilateral relations to higher levels, so as to better benefit the two peoples.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing on Wednesday.

Compatriots from both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to the same Chinese nation, Xi said. The over-5,000-year history of the Chinese nation saw successive generations of ancestors move and settle down in Taiwan and people from across the Straits fight side by side to recover the island from foreign invaders, he said.

People on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are all Chinese, Xi said. "There are no knots that cannot be untied, no issues that cannot be discussed, and no force that can separate us," he said. The distance of the Straits cannot sever the bond of kinship between compatriots from across the Strait, Xi said.

He said that the difference in systems does not alter the reality that both sides of the Strait belong to one China, and external interference cannot hold back the historical trend of national reunification.

In the meeting, Ma said that upholding the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence" are the common political foundation for the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

The meeting marks the second meeting between Xi and Ma after the two had a historic exchange in Singapore in 2015.

Calling youth "the hope of the country and the future of the nation," Xi encouraged young people from both sides of the Straits to aspire to become more proud, confident, and assured in their identity as Chinese people, work together for the long-term prosperity of the Chinese nation, and continue to create new glory of the nation.

People on both sides of the Straits share the same bloodline, culture and history as well as the same responsibility for the nation and the same aspiration for the future, Xi said. He stressed grasping the cross-Straits situation from the perspective of the overall interests and long-term development of the Chinese nation.

Xi called for resolute efforts to guard the common home of the Chinese nation, work together for the long-term well-being of the Chinese nation, foster a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, and achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

He expressed grief over the loss of lives in the 7.3-magnitude earthquake that jolted waters off the coast of Hualien on April 3, and extended his sympathies to those affected by the disaster.

People on both sides of the Straits belong to the same Chinese nation, and they should deepen exchanges and cooperation, jointly carry forward the Chinese culture, improve the well-being of compatriots on both sides, and work together for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Ma said.

Common home

Zhang Wensheng, deputy dean of the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the meeting shows that the mainland highly affirms the significance of Ma's visit, which highlights the common identity of both the Chinese nation and culture.

Compared to Ma's mainland visit in 2023, during which he visited his ancestral hometown in Hunan Province and worshipped his ancestors, Ma attended a ceremony in northwest China's Shaanxi Province to pay homage to Huangdi, also known as the Yellow Emperor, the legendary founder of the Chinese civilization and the common ancestor of all Chinese people.

Ma's mainland trip this time has a clearer meaning of national identity, Zhang said.

Ma and a group of young people from Taiwan island he led expressed their opposition against the de-Sinicization moves of the Taiwan authorities with practical actions on the mainland, and maintained the identity of one China, Zhang said.

According to Wang Yingjin, director of the Center for Cross-Straits Relations Studies at the Renmin University of China, the meeting between Xi and Ma on Wednesday is of great significance for the future development of cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation, Wang said.

Ma currently holds no public office. By highlighting that the two sides of Straits share a common history, culture and national identity, it is more approachable for Taiwan compatriots, more conducive to unite more Taiwan compatriots to promote cross-Straits exchanges, and also cut off the space for the secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to hype up the issue, Wang said.

During a press briefing on Wednesday morning, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office commended Ma, who led a delegation of young people from Taiwan on the visit to the mainland, for his important contribution to promoting exchanges between the youth across the Taiwan Straits.

She called on Taiwan compatriots to resolutely uphold the one-China principle and the "1992 Consensus," firmly oppose "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and interference from external forces, and make joint efforts with the mainland side to promote peaceful cross-Straits relations and integrated development of the two sides.

Voicing for peace

According to Zhang, an important goal for this meeting in Beijing is to cool down the cross-Straits tensions and defuse potential risks and conflicts.

Xi said during the meeting that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits should firmly oppose separatist activities of "Taiwan independence" and interference by external forces, and jointly guard the common home of the Chinese nation.

In a phone conversation with US President Joe Biden on April 2, President Xi stressed that the Taiwan question is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations. In the face of "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and external encouragement and support for them, China is not going to sit on its hands.

The existence of an intermediary to promote cross-Straits peace like Ma is not a bad thing for the DPP, even if they do not admit it in public, Wang said.

The expert said Ma represents a positive force which supports the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations on the base of the one-China principle, and its existence is a constraint to the de-Sinicization forces on the island, which is of great significance to the maintenance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits.

Although Ma cannot dominate the policy direction of the DPP authorities, he still has a relatively large impact on cross-Straits relations and Taiwan society, said Zhang, noting that Ma's mainland trip is a kind of support and encouragement to the voices of social forces in Taiwan calling for peace, cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation.