General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a welcome ceremony on Friday for General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, who is on a state visit to China.

China launched a special maritime law enforcement operation in the waters east of Taiwan island on Saturday. It is a necessary move in response to Japan and the Philippines' unilateral announcement of the so-called "maritime delimitation talks" on the east of China's Taiwan island, which constitutes a serious violation of China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday. 

The operation, launched by China's Ministry of Transport, in coordination with the Fujian and Guangdong maritime safety administrations, the East China Sea Navigation Support Center, and the East China Sea Rescue Bureau, aims to fully exercise China's maritime administrative law enforcement jurisdiction, enhance deep-sea cruise enforcement and traffic control capabilities in key waters, ensure maritime traffic safety, and safeguard national rights and interests, Xinhua reported. 

During the Philippine President's recent visit to Japan, the two countries issued a joint statement announcing the start of talks on the delimitation of exclusive economic zone and continental shelf between Japan and the Philippines. The area the two countries announced they will delimit is east of China's Taiwan island.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning emphasized that Japan and the Philippines' attempt to bypass China and initiate the so-called "maritime delimitation talks" constitutes a severe violation of UNCLOS and other international laws and basic norms governing international relations.

It also seriously infringes on China's maritime rights and interests and China will not allow this, she continued.

"According to China’s domestic law and international law including UNCLOS, China has exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in this area. As per UNCLOS, the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf between States with opposite or adjacent coasts shall be effected by the States concerned by agreement on the basis of equity. Any delimitation concerning waters to the east of Taiwan must have China as a party to the talks," Mao stated.

At a press conference of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office on Wednesday, spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said the waters slated for "delimitation" by Japan and the Philippines lie east of China's Taiwan island. Their proposed so-called "delimitation negotiations" gravely infringe on China's maritime rights and interests, run counter to international law and the basic norms governing international relations, and are entirely illegal, null and void. 

Zhu noted that compatriots across the Taiwan Straits belong to the Chinese nation. They must uphold their national stance, stand for the fundamental interests of the nation, and jointly safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the overall interests of the Chinese nation. 

Should the DPP authorities collude with external forces to betray national interests, they will surely be spurned by compatriots on both sides of the Straits and punished by history, the spokesperson said. 

A Chinese anti-epidemic medical expert team arrived in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on Tuesday for a three-month mission to support the Central African country's response to the Ebola outbreak.

Luku Maleyo Marius, a representative of the DRC Ministry of Health, welcomed the team at the airport, saying that China's dispatch of the medical experts represents timely and strong support for the Congolese government and people.

Whenever the DRC faces major public health challenges, China has consistently extended timely assistance, he said, adding that he looks forward to the mission further strengthening the country's epidemic prevention, control and treatment capacities, and helping bring the outbreak under control as soon as possible.

Lu Ming, head of the Chinese expert team, said the team would begin work promptly in line with the Congolese side's needs and would cooperate with local medical and disease control institutions to provide support in epidemic assessment, case management, and other areas.

He added that the team would work closely with the Congolese side to safeguard people's lives and health, contributing China's expertise to helping the DRC control the outbreak at an early stage.

On May 15, the DRC officially confirmed its 17th Ebola outbreak since 1976. Two days later, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

China's National Health Commission announced on Monday the decision to send a medical expert team to support the DRC's Ebola control efforts.

According to the commission, the first group consists of five members with extensive experience in epidemic control. They will also share practical response experience tailored to local conditions and help enhance the DRC's capacity for Ebola prevention, control and treatment.

The Shanghai Municipal Government has taken major steps to support the online economy, pledging various forms of support including funds, with a focus on advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain.
 
Since January 1, 2024, a total of 20 measures have been implemented to boost the online new economy in a range of areas, according to a notice from the Shanghai Municipal Government that was released on Thursday. 
 
The city vowed to support the listing of online companies that are in line with national strategies, that have made breakthroughs in key core technologies, and have high market recognition. Qualified red chip online companies are also being encouraged to return to the domestic capital market, and platform companies will be supported in listing both in China and overseas. 
 
The notice also vowed to encourage high-quality online new economy enterprises to participate in the construction of the city's AI computing power center and to work jointly to build a multi-level commercial intelligent computing power cluster in the city. Also, the city will support companies in areas such as Web 3.0.
 
Shanghai will also accelerate the construction of urban blockchain infrastructure and improve AI large model innovation capabilities. It will support online new economy enterprises to build large models with international competitiveness, encourage the formation of a data flywheel, accelerate model iteration, and provide special rewards to enterprises that have achieved significant results in accordance with regulations.
 
Notably, the city pledged up to 50 million yuan for projects that are in line with the nation’s and Shanghai’s key strategic and public welfare goals.
 
Shanghai’s latest support measures come amid an increasing focus in China on boosting sci-tech innovation, supporting the private sector and promoting high-quality development. 

“One, two, three, post the product links!” “Please press the button and give us a thumb-up” “exactly!” the “vibe group,” which means a group of people who are pumping some life into live-streaming and coordinating with live streamers top help steer customers to buy products. The group also billed as the “E-commerce straight man/crosstalk” by Chinese users has stirred a craze in recent weeks on Chinese media platforms such as Douyin and Sina Weibo. 

The “E-commerce crosstalk” is said to earn 8000 yuan ($1,450) per month depending on its wisecrack sentences. “Learning these sentences, you can easily earn over 10,000 yuan ($1,552) per month, quipped by several netizens.” 

For the “E-commerce crosstalk” or people who coordinate with live streamers to help sell their merchandise, it is their specialization. However, others believe that this is confusing to consumers. 

The “E-commerce crosstalk” is also known as the center control of the live stream. The work of the center control spans across the pre, mid and post-stage of the live stream, and needs to be responsible for equipment debugging, backstage operation, maintenance of the live stream order, data review and other contents. 

They usually create a warming vibe to help live streamers sell products such as “I want 100k likes, could you guys help me to get them, please” or “Post product links!” These are normal psychological suggestions for customers which don’t break any of the rules of how to conduct business.  

While, the “E-commerce crosstalk” group doesn’t just control the tempo, they also have another important role—they create a sense of urgency for customers, making them buy now, such as “My friends, the last one! Hurry, buy it now! ” “How many left? No, almost out of stock, only 30 left!” “Buy more today! hurry up my friends! Go to the yellow cart, find the 1st link! Great price, great quality!” 

“These practices are creating an illusion of inventory constraints to mislead customers,” Fan Xiaolin, a Beijing-based lawyer told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Legally, this is infringement of the consumer’s right by means of crosstalk, bullet chat and false propaganda. And those who bring rhythm to the live stream and cause chaos in the public order of the network will be held criminally liable, he added.

Meanwhile, the law on the protection of the rights of the consumer in China also stipulates that they have the right to be informed, and that consumers have the right to know the truth about the goods they buy, use or services they receive. Operators who provide consumers with information about the quality, performance,  and expiration date of goods or services should be truthful and comprehensive, and advertising or marketing should not be false or misleading.  

The unrealistic atmosphere created by the “E-commerce crosstalk” can easily mislead consumers, causing them to make irrational purchases. The 2020 China Live E-commerce Industry Research Report shows that the average return rate of live e-commerce is as high as 30 percent to 50 percent, which is much higher than the traditional e-commerce return rate of 10 percent to 15 percent. 

To address these concerns, Fan advised that when consumers find that for the sale of goods they encounter false advertising, violation of rights and interests, they can promptly collect evidence and go to the relevant departments to file a complaint or file a lawsuit. They can also ask the seller to pay compensation.

In September of this year, Bozhou Public Security Bureau, East China's Anhui Province, took down an illegal business criminal gang. They were buying cell phones to build a server room, and organize personnel for an e-commerce platform to provide followers of the live stream interaction. They had been posting fake reviews and a false number of sales to increase the popularity of the merchants and improve their sales.