Commenting on a recent global public opinion survey conducted by the Global Times, which covered 46 countries and 51,000 participants, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said relevant data shows China's circle of friends keeps expanding.

"I have noticed this survey," he said in response to a media inquiry.

The Global Times survey reveals that China's comprehensive national strength and various other strengths are generally evaluated as "strong/high" by international respondents. The country's economic strength has the highest favorable rating at 77 percent, followed by sci-tech strength (75 percent), and financial strength (72 percent).

Regardless of changes in the international landscape, China remains committed to being a force for peace, working with all nations to uphold global stability, promote mutual learning among civilizations, and collaboratively build a community with a shared future for humanity, Guo said.

Guo emphasized that as the world's second-largest economy, China adheres to high-quality development and high-level opening-up, contributing significantly to global economic growth over the long term. As the largest developing country, China remains deeply rooted in and attentive to the Global South, supporting these nations in achieving social development and improving livelihoods. 

Additionally, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China champions true multilateralism, maintains an objective and impartial stance, and plays a constructive role in promoting political resolutions to hotspot issues - a role that has garnered widespread recognition from the international community, Guo added.

The survey finds that a majority of international respondents have a positive outlook regarding the prospects of China's economic growth and development potential. Nearly 80 percent of foreign respondents show confidence in China's development prospect. More than 90 percent of foreign respondents believe that China's economy will continue to grow in the next decade, and nearly 60 percent believe that China is a major driving force of world economic growth.

In response to claims by the US that China is expanding its nuclear arsenal, including statements by US President-elect Donald Trump suggesting China might have more nukes than the US in the future, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun emphasized that as a responsible major country, China adheres to the path of peaceful development and strives for friendly cooperation with all nations. 

He said China's development of nuclear weapons started during a unique historical period as a necessary response to nuclear threats, to break nuclear monopolies, and to prevent nuclear war. "China was forced to make this historic decision," Guo added.

China follows a no-first-use policy on nuclear weapons, keeps maintaining a defensive nuclear strategy, and has always kept its nuclear forces at the minimum level required for national security. China does not engage in any arms race with other countries, said Guo.

A tourist surnamed Cao threw a Coke bottle at female giant panda Lanxiang in Chongqing Zoo on Sunday afternoon, causing her to be frightened. Cao claimed that he only intended to invite the giant panda to drink Coke. Cao is now suspected of disturbing public order and has been administratively punished by the public security authorities in accordance with the law, according to a release by Chongqing Zoo on Monday evening.

Lanxiang was lying on the ground enjoying bamboo when a drink bottle was suddenly thrown at her, causing her to scream and sit up instantly, according to a video of the scene provided by eyewitnesses, said the CNR on Monday.

As reported by CNR, nearby visitors then called for security and condemned Cao, for which he arrogantly retorted, "is it wrong for me to invite the giant pandas to drink Coke?"

The security personnel in the zoo immediately intervened upon noticing the incident, according to the release.

After the incident, the keepers promptly removed the Coke bottle from Lanxiang's activity area, and professionals conducted an examination and observation for her, said the statement, noting that Lanxiang is in good physical condition.

Cao is suspected of disturbing public order, and has now been administratively disciplined by the public security organs in accordance with the law, said the statement.

The zoo also said they will further strengthen security, set up a platform to expose uncivilized behavior, and establish a "blacklist" system.

A total of 126 people have been confirmed dead and 188 others injured as of 7 p.m. Tuesday, after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Dingri County in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Tuesday morning.

Following a 6.8-magnitude earthquake that took a heavy toll after jolting a county in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region Tuesday morning, Chinese President Xi Jinping made an important instruction, demanding utmost efforts to carry out search and rescue and provide medical treatment for the injured, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday. 

Chen said residents from various sectors in Taiwan island have expressed their concern and condolences to the victims in the disaster area in multiple ways, reflecting the deep bond and mutual assistance between compatriots across the Taiwan Straits. 

"We express our gratitude for this," according to Chen.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, on Wednesday sent a New Year card in return to representatives of middle school teachers and students in the US State of Washington, extending their New Year wishes.

In the card, Xi and Peng said the year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

During the Second World War, China and the United States fought together for peace and justice, and the friendship between the two peoples stood the test of blood and fire and is growing ever stronger, they said.

The couple expressed their hope that the youth of China and the United States will continue to participate in China's initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span, strengthen exchanges and interactions, enhance mutual understanding, carry forward traditional friendship, and contribute to the development of China-U.S. relations and world peace.

Earlier, the U.S.-China Youth and Student Exchange Association, as well as representatives of teachers and students from Lincoln High School and Stadium High School, who have visited China through the initiative, sent a New Year card to Xi, Peng and the Chinese people. More than 100 teachers and students signed the card.

They wrote in Chinese on the card to extend New Year greetings and wish for an everlasting friendship between China and the United States.

As of 10 pm on Friday, a series of earthquakes in Yinchuan, the capital of Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, which began on Thursday morning and continued into the early hours of Friday, resulted in six minor injuries, with no fatalities or structural collapses, local officials said on Saturday, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

They also said that the recent increase in earthquake activities in the region does not indicate the likelihood of a major earthquake, but they do not rule out the possibility of noticeable aftershocks occurring in the original earthquake area and nearby areas in the coming days.

According to officials, the locations of the 4.8 and 4.6 magnitude earthquakes that occurred on Thursday align with the rupture zone of the 8.0-magnitude earthquake in 1739, which occurred just less than 300 years ago. The energy accumulated in this area remains insufficient to trigger a major earthquake. According to investigations, this rupture segment does not have the tectonic background necessary for a strong earthquake.

As for the recent spate of small earthquakes, local officials explained that seismic activity in a region often experiences fluctuations between calm and heightened activity. Therefore, since the seismic activity in the first half of 2024 was relatively subdued, there is a noticeable increase in seismic activity in the second half of the year.

According to the authorities, the seasonal pattern of increased earthquake frequency during winter and spring in Ningxia has also contributed to the recent rise in seismic activity.

In addition, the two earthquakes that occurred on Thursday marked the strongest seismic events in Ningxia since 1998. Generally, the energy accumulated from a larger earthquake cannot be released all at once; the residual energy will continue to be released in the form of smaller earthquakes, said officials, noting that due to the earthquakes’ occurrence in the Yinchuan Basin, which has relatively thick sedimentary layers, the seismic waves were amplified.

Since the activation of the level-4 earthquake emergency response on Thursday, local authorities promptly initiated their emergency market assurance plan. Currently, the city’s supply of essential goods and refined oil remains stable, officials said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway is a strategic decision made by the three governments to promote regional connectivity, prosperity, and stability. Xi made the remarks in his congratulatory letter to the commencement ceremony of the railway project.

Noting that the construction of the railway reflects the shared aspiration of the three countries to open up this strategic corridor, Xi said that the commencement ceremony marks the transition of the project from conception to implementation, taking a critical step toward the goal of completion and operation.

The commencement ceremony of the CKU railway project was held in Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan on Friday.  Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov was present at the event and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev also sent a congratulatory message to the ceremony.

President Xi Jinping's Special Envoy and director of the National Development and Reform Commission, Zheng Shanjie, attended the launch ceremony of the CKU railway project in Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan.

The launch ceremony marks a significant progress in its preliminary phase and lays a solid foundation for the project's construction at an early date, China Railway said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Friday.

The commencement of the long-anticipated connectivity project, which has been under planning for more than 20 years, will mark a new milestone in China-Central Asia cooperation and is a vivid display of how high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) leads to mutually beneficial results based on the principle of equality and mutual benefits, according to analysts reached by the Global Times. 

Once completed, the project could open a new Eurasian corridor connecting China, Central Asia, and even Europe. The new link not only carries strategic significance in boosting local trade, economic and industrial development, but also in facilitating the deeper integration of Central Asia as a whole and further elevating the region's influence on the global economy and supply chain, analysts said. 

Based on the current progress, the project is scheduled to officially commence construction in July 2025, with a construction period of six years, the China Railway statement noted. The railway is a flagship BRI project promoted by the leaders of the three countries involved, and a strategic connectivity project between China and Central Asia, a spokesperson for China Railway was quoted as saying in the statement. 

The CKU railway starts from Kashi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, passes through the Torugart Pass into Kyrgyzstan, continues westward through the Kyrgyz border city of Jalalabad, and ends in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan.

China will be responsible for the construction of the Chinese section, while Uzbekistan will be in charge of the upgrade and renovation of the Uzbek section. The CKU Railway Co, a joint venture established by companies authorized by the three governments, will be responsible for the financing, construction, and operation of the Kyrgyz section, according to China Railway.

According to the approved feasibility study report, the section in Kyrgyzstan will be a single-track railway operating with diesel locomotives with provisions for future electrification, with a designed speed of 120 kilometers an hour. It will have 20 stations, including Torugart station, Markmal transshipment station and Jalalabad station. 

A decades-long dream realized

The project was first proposed in the 1990s, and China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed a memorandum of understanding on constructing the railway in 1997. Step by step, the project has moved from planning, discussion, and preliminary work to the launch ceremony. 

Friday's launch marks the realization of a decades-old dream for Central Asia, which is largely made up of landlocked countries that want to be land-linked and become a strategic bridge between East and West, according to a Central Asia scholar.

Maryam Agharabi, a research coordinator at the China and Central Asia Studies Center in Kazakhstan, hailed the commencement as an "important, long-awaited and highly-anticipated development" from various perspectives. She told the Global Times that the project launch is a positive development not only for China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan - which will see direct and immediate economic benefits - but also for the rest of the Central Asian states and even beyond. 

It is said that the railway is projected to handle 15 million tons of cargo annually, as reported by qalampir.uz, a local media outlet.

Zhang Hong, a research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday that the railway represents a significant opportunity for enhancing cooperation between Asia and Europe, as it will probably offer the shortest route for transporting goods from China to Europe and the Middle East via the China-Europe freight train.

In December, the 100,000th China-Europe freight train arrived in Duisburg, Germany, underscoring the booming trade and economic exchanges across the Eurasian continent, which are set to jump further with the stepped-up implementation of BRI cooperation.

Across Central Asia, there is more growth potential to be tapped and unleashed, as geographic constraints such as high mountains and long distances that have long weighed on the Central Asian economy are expected to be gradually lifted, analysts said. 

Li Hongchang, a researcher at the Sustainable Transportation Innovation Center and a professor from Beijing Jiaotong University, told the Global Times that the three countries involved - China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan - each have their own comparative advantages in industries such as energy, minerals, processing, and markets. These advantages can create synergies with the CKU railway, playing a role in driving regional economic development.

According to Agharabi, the CKU railway project contributes to the cooperative approach within the Central Asian region, meaning that it not only helps diversify trade and transit by adding an extra route connecting Central Asian countries, but also demonstrates a commitment to the development of the region as a whole in the spirit of regional economic cooperation.

Regarding the benefits to China, Chinese analysts also noted that the construction of the CKU railway will undoubtedly inject vitality into the development of western China and the economy of Xinjiang, which borders a number of Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and further facilitates the region's opening-up.

High level of mutual trust

In the congratulatory letter on Friday, Xi emphasized the need for close collaboration among the relevant departments and enterprises of the three countries to ensure high standards and high-quality progress in the construction of the railway. 

Xi said that efforts should be made to build the railway into a new demonstration project for Belt and Road cooperation, so as to better contribute to the economic and social development and the improvement of people's well-being in the region along the route and to inject new momentum into building a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

In July, during Xi's state visit to Kazakhstan, Xi and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev jointly attended an opening ceremony of the Trans-Caspian international transportation route via video link in Astana, Kazakhstan. 

The route is another landmark BRI connectivity project in Central Asia that connects Asia and Europe.

Li said that Friday's launch is built on the high level of political trust and solid cooperation results between China and Central Asia, and riding on the momentum, the railway will further consolidate the mutual political trust, while also promoting more pragmatic cooperation between China and Central Asia on agendas such as regional security and political stability. 

Those BRI projects that span a long timeline provide a vivid display of China's sincerity in collaborating with Central Asian nations, and the process itself exemplified how BRI spearheads cooperation based on the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, Zhang stressed. 

"The railway is not a geopolitical tool [as hyped by some Western media outlets], but a project for regional collaborative development. Both being developing countries, China understands Central Asian nations' development needs and challenges. China provides help to partner countries within its capacity in terms of financing, technology and construction, and sincerely works with Central Asian partners for mutual development," Zhang added.

Agibot, a Chinese robotics start-up launched in February 2023, has stirred significant excitement in the industry with its announcement of having already begun mass production of general-purpose robots, while Tesla, the US electric car giant, envisions launching mass production of humanoid robots by 2026.

"As 2024 closes, Silicon Valley startup Figure AI is delivering its first AI robots, and a Chinese startup coming directly for the Tesla Optimus is already mass producing advanced AI robots," wrote a tech blog mikekalil.com.

Titled "Commercial mass production ahead of Tesla? Agibot robot delivered nearly 1,000 general purpose robots by the end of the year," Chinese media 21st Century Business Herald wrote, highlighting the excitement in the industry for Agibot's announcement.

Agibot, also known as Zhiyuan Robotics, shared footage of its manufacturing facility on its official website, which reportedly has produced at least 962 humanoid robots so far.

In its 4:02-minute video, Agibot showcases various stages of the robotic production line at its Lingang Fengxian factory in Shanghai, including inventory shelving, component assembly, component testing, aging tests and performance testing. The production line features self-manufactured humanoid robots working in collaboration with human workers for tasks such as inventory shelving and component testing.

Moreover, the company has established what it calls a "data collection factory" for real-world data gathering. This includes training scenarios such as folding clothes, organizing, cleaning and doing the laundry.

Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, said in an X post in July that "Tesla will have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for Tesla internal use next year and, hopefully, high production for other companies in 2026." 

Agibot's mass production of robots has instilled confidence in its investors regarding high revenue projections for next year and signals an exciting development for the market, industry observer Hong Shaodun told the Global Times on Thursday. 

He noted that humanoid robots have evolved from laboratory prototypes to tangible products, with this year's robots entering a phase of increased intelligence and versatility.

Robots' hardware has reached a notable level of standardization, according to Hong, who explained that whether from Tesla or other brands, multiple products have been showcased since the second half of the year. There are no significant differences in hardware among them. The only standout feature may be the dexterous hand. 

Although Chinese robotics companies have announced mass production ahead of firms like Tesla, essentially, both nations, making the most significant progress in humanoid robotics, are advancing simultaneously, Wei Jiaxing from Beijing-based National and Local Co-built Embodied AI Robotics Innovation Center, told the Global Times.

US tech companies, such as Tesla and NVIDIA, have certain advantages in areas like precise upper limb manipulation and operational capabilities, as well as in high-end chip manufacturing and cloud computing services. Meanwhile, Chinese companies excel particularly in motion control and the exploration of advanced AI models, as well as a variety of application scenarios, Wei noted. 

At the end of 2023, China's Fourier Intelligence became the first leading humanoid robot player to officially announce "mass production." This year, the company revealed that its first bipedal humanoid robot, the GR-1, has been delivered in over 100 units across dozens of scenarios, the 21st Century Business Herald reported.

Jiao Jichao, a vice president and executive dean of the Research Institute at UBTech Robotics, a Shenzhen-based maker of humanoid robots, disclosed that during the OEM training process for Walker S, preparations are underway for small-scale mass production by the end of the year.

Some industry insiders believed that the "mass production of humanoid robots" does not have a clear boundary. The key issue is whether customers truly have the willingness to purchase such robots, or whether there are scenarios that provide for the large-scale use of humanoid robots. 

"We hope that the technology and products will achieve a level of maturity and excellence. Only on this foundation does it make sense to enhance real mass production capacity," Wei said.

Compared with other global competitors like the US, China is better positioned to achieve higher output of humanoid robots at lower costs, following the gradual maturation of technology and products in this field, as well as the advantages of its manufacturing supply chain, Wei said. 

When asked about the impact of the technological blockade on China's industrial development amid the competition between China and the US, Wei stated that China is dedicating significant efforts to independent research and development in robotics. 

He also mentioned that specialized chips designed for robotics are also one of targeted areas for his National and Local Co-built Embodied AI Robotics Innovation Center.

The focus for next year in this industry will be on expanding practical applications in specific scenarios, which could further enhance the generalization capabilities of humanoid robots, Hong told the Global Times. However, the industry insider noted that achieving rapid breakthroughs in a short time remains quite challenging due to technical hurdles, such as efficiency and stability issues that need to be addressed.

An incident recently occurred in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park where a tourist and a wild macaque attacked each other. The Park authorities responded by stating that neither party was injured.

According to the staff workers at the scenic spot, on December 12, a wild macaque approached a tourist, believing there was food in the tourist’s bag and tried to grab it. Unexpectedly, the tourist retaliated by throwing punches at the macaque.

Some netizens found the incident intriguing, while others expressed concerns, saying that the macaques in the tourist attraction could pose threats to people’s safety. 

After the incident, the park issued a response, noting that the park is home to wild macaques. While they may seem cute in appearance, they can pose dangers to visitors. 

The attraction department advised sightseers not to feed the macaques and maintain a safe distance.

The statement also noted that during the winter months, when food is scarce in the mountains, the park supplements the macaques’ diet with corn or dried fruits at designated locations.