China Weekly (Dec. 2-6)

1. Xi sends congratulatory letter to Understanding China Conference

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent a congratulatory letter to the 2024 Understanding China Conference (Guangzhou) held in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province.

Xi said in the letter that to understand China, one needs to understand China's efforts to further deepen reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization.

2. China sanctions U.S. firms and executives over arms sales to Taiwan region

China decided to impose countermeasures against 13 U.S. military companies and six senior executives for arms sales to the Taiwan region, according to a decree issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.

The United States recently has approved a $385 million arms sale to Taiwan, which seriously violates the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. Joint Communiqués, interferes in China’s internal affairs, and undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

3. China-Europe freight train makes 100,000th trip to Duisburg, Germany

The China-Europe freight train X8083 arrived in Duisburg, Germany on Tuesday morning, marking the 100,000th trip of its kind.

The China-Europe freight trains offer an affordable, efficient, and round-the-clock logistics solution for trade between Asia and Europe, significantly driving industrial transformation and socioeconomic development in cities along the route, said Chang Haitao, acting consul general of China in Dusseldorf, during a welcome ceremony held at the Duisburg's terminal.

4. China-Laos Railway celebrates third anniversary, spurring bilateral economy along route

The China-Laos Railway, which marks its third anniversary on Tuesday, have transported 350,000 metric tons of fruits and vegetables, strengthening agricultural trade between China and ASEAN countries.

Spanning 1,035 kilometers, it runs from China's southwestern city of Kunming to the Laotian capital of Vientiane, driving regional economy along the route.

5. UNESCO inscribes Chinese 'Spring Festival' on intangible cultural heritage list

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced on Wednesday to add Spring Festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of traditional new year to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

To date, China has 44 items inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, ranking first in the world.

6. Famed romance writer devoted to love, ends her life at 86

Renowned Chinese romance writer Chiung Yao (pen name) ended her life at the age of 86 in Southeast China's Taiwan on Wednesday, concluding a life dedicated to love and literature.

Love has always been the essence of her novels. In her stories of pure romance, love knows no bounds -- its presence is everything. Under her pen name, she became a household name in the 1960s.

7. China launches third batch of 18 communication satellites

China launched 18 communication satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province on Thursday afternoon, deploying the third batch of space-based assets of the Spacesail Constellation in orbit.

Developed by Shanghai-based satellite company Spacesail, the plate-shaped satellites were carried by a Long March 6A rocket that blasted off at 12:41 pm and soon arrived in their preset orbit.

8. Chinese scientists discover the most complete genome of Tibetan antelope

Chinese scientists have successfully assembled a chromosome-level genome of the Tibetan antelope, the most accurate, complete, and continuous of its kind to date.

"The findings will not only deepen our understanding of species evolution mechanisms but also further facilitate the study of the adaptability of other plateau species,” said Zhang Tongzuo, a researcher of the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

9. Hong Kong to display 2,500 panda sculptures

A total of 2,500 giant panda sculptures will greet residents and tourists starting Saturday in Hong Kong.

The displays highlight Hong Kong's strategy of leveraging pandas to stimulate its economy as the city strives to reclaim its status as a leading tourism destination in Asia.

10. Investigation team set up after Shenzhen construction site collapse

An investigation team has been established in south China's Guangdong Province, following a ground collapse at a railway construction site in Shenzhen City that left 13 workers missing, local authorities said.

The construction site cave-in occurred at around 11 p.m. Wednesday at a section of the Shenzhen-Jiangmen Railway in the city's Bao'an District, according to the provincial emergency management department.