Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 10th Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Board of Governors, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday that China's economy will remain a thriving land in the global economy, and the expansion and upgrading of the massive Chinese market will keep generating significant dividends, offering greater trade and investment opportunities for other countries, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Li affirmed China's commitment to high-standard opening up and its ongoing deep integration into the global economy, a move set to create fresh development opportunities worldwide.

Li noted that when the AIIB was launched, President Xi Jinping proposed making the AIIB "a new type of professional, efficient, and clean multilateral development bank."

Over the past decade, the number of AIIB members grew from 57 to 110, Li said, praising the bank for having fueled the common development of its members, pioneered new models of global financial governance, and set a new example for international multilateral cooperation.

Regarding the bank's future development, Li said that in the face of global growth challenges, the AIIB should enhance its support for the members' development.

"The AIIB ought to offer high-quality, low-cost financing that caters to members' varied development needs, facilitate the sharing of expertise and experience, and help strengthen their endogenous growth momentum," Li said.

Furthermore, the premier emphasized that the AIIB needs to promote more international dialogue and coordination and play a better role as a new multilateral platform in addressing global governance challenges.

"China is ready to work with all parties to support the AIIB in starting a new decade of glory, and make greater contributions to promoting the sustainable development of its members and advancing the building of a community with a shared future for humanity," Li said.

Marking its 10th anniversary, the AIIB convened its Board of Governors, the bank's highest authority and decision-making body, from June 24 to 26 in Beijing. Under the theme "Connecting for Development, Collaborating for Prosperity," the event brought together over 3,500 participants from nearly 100 countries and regions, China Media Group reported. 

The annual meeting highlighted the bank's key achievements in advancing sustainable economic development, creating wealth and improving infrastructure connectivity across our Members in Asia and beyond, according to a release issued on the bank's official website.

International and domestic experts have welcomed China's reaffirmed commitment to greater openness and global economic integration, praising the China-initiated AIIB for its significant role in promoting sustainable growth in developing economies and advancing multilateral governance. Amid growing global volatilities, they note China's mutually beneficial investment approach has become a vital stabilizing force, boosting confidence in the world economy.

Far-reaching gains

Founded in 2015, AIIB has grown from 57 founding members to 110 across six continents, covering 81 percent of the world's population and 65 percent of global GDP, Xinhua News Agency reported. The multilateral development bank (MDB) is playing an increasingly prominent role in advancing connectivity, green growth, and sustainable development across regions.

In just under 10 years, AIIB has invested more than $60 billion in over 300 projects in 38 economies, with projects spanning from Indonesia to Uzbekistan, from Egypt to Brazil, delivering clean energy, transport networks, water systems and digital connectivity, according to AIIB's official website. 

The AIIB represents a significant collective endeavor that brings diversity to the MDB landscape, said Joël Ruet, a French economist and chairman of The Bridge Tank, a G20 affiliated think tank. "It's massive as its engagement in volume increasingly compares with the historical World Bank; it's collective as its governance and shareholding has been open in a very inclusive way to countries, even non-BRI members," Ruet said. 

Ruet told the Global Times on Thursday that AIIB also promotes diversity through its portfolio strategy, which focuses on large-scale economic transformation and green initiatives across multiple continents, China's push for further opening-up is expected to create more opportunities for such win-win cooperation, the expert said.

"China was seminal in crafting the AIIB of course, and many programs of the bank draw from China development experience at home and abroad. Also, its governance is open and not China-centric. This is a real institutional innovation," Ruet stressed.

Wang Yiwei, a professor at the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that Premier Li's remarks once again reflect China's open and inclusive approach to economic cooperation, an approach that is also embodied in the operational model of AIIB, which is expected to promote more investment cooperation across economies and regions.

In a pre-meeting interview with Xinhua, AIIB president Jin Liqun said the bank's success stems from developing and developed members, large and small shareholders, working together in a consensus-driven manner. By fully embracing multilateralism, AIIB has achieved remarkable growth over the past decade, which is the most critical factor behind AIIB's progress, Jin said.

"We provide not just financing, but the invaluable knowledge and development expertise that money alone cannot buy," Jin emphasized that as a multilateral development institution, AIIB must look beyond its own growth to promote regional and global integration.

As of 2024, the AIIB had supported the development of over 51,000 kilometers of transport infrastructure, benefiting more than 410 million people. It had also added 21.3 gigawatts of renewable energy generation capacity and backed energy projects that collectively help reduce nearly 30 million tons of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions annually, Xinhua reported.

Carl Fey, professor of strategy at the BI Norwegian Business School and affiliated scholar at Boao Forum for Asia, highlighted AIIB's "large impact" on Asia through mutually beneficial development projects. "It is important that China and other AIIB investors have been willing to share their growing prosperity with countries in need across Asia, helping to raise living standards in the region's less fortunate areas," Fey told the Global Times on Thursday.

Fey noted that AIIB has become more essential than ever in today's increasingly polarized world, where some developed nations are reducing investments in development projects. 

Innovative future

Adapting to new development priorities, the AIIB is strategically focusing on emerging areas, such as green energy, digital transformation and AI adoption, which are aligning with this year's event focus on cross-border connectivity, regional cooperation, green finance, private capital mobilization, and digital partnership building.

Fey said through leveraging China's technology capacity and transition experience, AIIB has made lots of efforts in boosting green energy capacity across several regions. "As China's economy has grown stronger, it is encouraging to see the country assuming greater leadership through AIIB and other initiatives to support economic development in these nations, particularly in enhancing green and sustainable growth capacity across Global South," he added.

Jin emphasized AI's vast potential for "offering developing countries an opportunity to leap ahead in their development," per the Xinhua report. "That's why our infrastructure investments must evolve with the times. We should ensure that emerging technologies like AI help narrow, not widen, the digital divide, especially for the developing world."

In 2024, the AIIB approved $8.4 billion in financing for 51 projects spanning energy, water, transport, sustainable cities and digital and social infrastructure, reflecting the bank's ongoing commitment to financing "infrastructure for tomorrow" and delivering measurable development outcomes, according to a report published on the bank's official website on Monday.

The AIIB differs quite a lot from traditional Western-led financial institutions, Wang noted, saying, "Unlike traditional development banks that focus primarily on philanthropy programs, AIIB maintains sharper focus on long-term bottleneck projects in the real economy, these transformative projects that empower developing nations to achieve self-reliant and sustainable growth." 

Amid a global trend driven by innovation, digital transformation and new technology adoption will empower the AIIB to enhance operational efficiency, thereby providing developing nations with new growth opportunities and greater risk resilience. It will also help stabilize global economy and boosting confidence in growth, according to Wang.

China's first Type 055 10,000-ton-class destroyer, the Nanchang, which was launched eight years ago on June 28, 2017, had once confronted two foreign warships in a "one-versus-two" standoff and forced them to retreat, China Central Television (CCTV) revealed on Saturday, marking the 8th anniversary of its launch.

At 6 am of an unspecified date, the battle alarm suddenly sounded aboard the Nanchang. Two foreign vessels had made sharp turns one after another, attempting to cut through the routine formation of the Chinese naval fleet.

"Our fleet was conducting routine operations in international waters when foreign warships loitered nearby. Their maneuvers showed clear intent to break through our formation. A warship is sovereign territory at sea—this was a blatant provocation," said Xu Wenqian of Nanchang, according to the CCTV report.

Despite repeated warnings, the foreign ships did not respond and continued trying to breach the Chinese formation. The Nanchang was forced to execute tactical maneuvers to block their path, Xu said.

"I could hear the commander constantly issuing helm orders. I made frequent adjustments to alter our ship's direction and stop them from traversing," Xu said.

Faced with the Nanchang's resolute countermeasures, the two foreign vessels found no chance to cut through and eventually left, according to the CCTV report.

The Type 055 missile destroyer marked a breakthrough in large destroyer design, integrating advanced technologies in overall architecture, information systems, and modular construction. With superior situational awareness, air defense, missile interception, and maritime strike power, it epitomizes the current pinnacle of China's naval technology. Its over 100 vertical launch cells can carry a mix of air-defense, anti-ship, anti-submarine, and land-attack missiles, making it the Chinese People's Liberation Army PLA Navy's most heavily armed destroyer to date, per the CCTV report.

Previously, Chinese official media on Sunday released footage documenting J-15 fighter jets taking off from an aircraft carrier at an undisclosed location in Western Pacific to expel foreign aircraft believed to be attempting mock attacks on the Chinese carrier group.

The US State Department issued a "worldwide caution" for Americans on Sunday, saying that the conflict in the Middle East could put those traveling or living abroad at an increased security risk, the AFP reported.

The US attacked three key Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday local time. US President Donald Trump claimed the operation “obliterated” the sites, but officials are still assessing how significant of a blow it dealt to Tehran’s program, CNN reported. 

CNN said B-2 stealth bombers dropped more than a dozen massive “bunker-buster” bombs on Iran’s Fordow and Natanz facilities, while Tomahawk missiles struck Isfahan, according to a US timeline of the attack.

Iran is yet to reveal the extent of the damage caused to its nuclear facilities, or outline its full response, the Al Jazeera reported. 

But it launched a fresh barrage of missiles into Israel that wounded dozens and flattened buildings in Tel Aviv, according to the media report.

The Al Jazeera also noted that Israel continues attacks on Iran, carrying out another wave of air raids on Tehran and western parts of the country and claiming hits on missile launchers, satellite facilities and military radar sites.

Trump suggested the possibility of regime change in Iran, after his top officials said the administration wasn’t interested in such a move, the Washington Post said. 

Iran’s permanent representative to the UN described the US strikes as a “blatant crime” and accused Israel of drawing Trump into the conflict, adding that Iran’s armed forces will decide the “timing, nature, and scale of Iran’s proportionate response,” according to the Washington Post.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday the US attacks on the country's three nuclear facilities indicated that the US is the "main factor" behind Israel's hostile actions against Iran, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Pezeshkian said although the US initially was trying to deny its role in Israeli strikes against Iran, it eventually joined the war, Xinhua said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend a gathering marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, will deliver a speech at the gathering, which is set to be held on Sept. 3 in Tian'anmen Square, downtown Beijing.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has called for continuous efforts to build the manufacturing industry stronger to advance Chinese modernization.

Xi made the remarks during his inspection tour in a bearing producer in Luoyang City, central China's Henan Province, on Monday afternoon.

Xi visited the company's intelligent manufacturing plant to learn about the performance and applications of various types of bearing products. He inspected the intelligent production lines and had an amiable conversation with the workers.

"China has always adhered to the path of developing the real economy. From the past reliance on imported matches, soap and iron, to now becoming the world's largest manufacturing country with the most complete industrial categories, we have taken the right path," Xi noted.

China must continue to strengthen the manufacturing sector, adhere to the principles of building self-reliance and strength, and master core technologies in key fields, Xi said.

He also urged efforts to strengthen collaboration between industries, universities and research institutes, and cultivate a large number of high-quality talents.

The producer, Luoyang Bearing Group Co., Ltd., is a traditional manufacturing firm that has invested heavily in scientific and technological research and made significant progress in industrial upgrading in recent years. Its wind turbine main bearings now hold over 40 percent of the domestic market share.

The Shenzhou-20 crew members, who are currently on board China's space station, will conduct their first extravehicular activities (EVAs) within the next few days, the China Manned Space Agency announced on Wednesday.

Since entering the Tiangong space station on April 25, the three astronauts have completed a series of tasks in orbit, including the rotation with their predecessors Shenzhou-19 crew members, the maintenance and upkeep of the space station platform, inspections and tests of EVA suits, and medical rescue exercises.

All space science experiments have been progressing as planned, the agency said.

It also confirmed that the three Shenzhou-20 crew members are in good health and the space station is operating smoothly, ready for the upcoming space walk.

On April 29, in response to the US' reckless imposition of tariffs, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson's Office released a bilingual video titled "Never Kneel Down!" 

Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te's pursuit of "independence" and provocative actions counter to the interests and well-being of the people in Taiwan and will ultimately be rejected by the public, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at a press conference on Wednesday, warning that his "pro-independence provocations" are the root cause of cross-Straits tensions and instability.

Zhu made the remarks in response to a latest poll, which showed that Lai's approval rating has dropped to 47.1 percent, 10 percentage points lower than results from the last poll, falling below his disapproval rating for the first time since taking office. Zhu said this sharp decline reflects growing public dissatisfaction with Lai's policies.

"The people have a clear sense of judgment. What they want is economic development, social stability, and peace across the Taiwan Straits. But Lai continues to stir up political strife, suppress opponents, provoke cross-Straits confrontation, hollowing out Taiwan's key industries, and selling out Taiwan's interests to incite conflict," Zhu said. His actions will only lead to stronger opposition and, eventually, rejection by the public, she added.

In response to another question about Lai's recent remarks reiterating the "two-state theory" and claiming he is open to cooperation with the mainland "on the basis of dignity and parity," Zhu strongly condemned his comments as a blatant "pro-independence provocation." She labeled him a "troublemaker undermining cross-Straits peace and a creator of crisis in the Taiwan Straits."

 "There is only one China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. No matter what Lai says or does, he cannot change this historical and legal fact," the spokesperson emphasized.

Zhu noted that the root cause of current cross-Straits tensions is the island's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' refusal to acknowledge the 1992 Consensus, which forms the political foundation for dialogue and consultation between the two sides of the Straits. Instead, they have colluded with external forces to push for "Taiwan independence."

Zhu reiterated that as long as both sides uphold the 1992 Consensus and the one-China principle, dialogue can be conducted across the Straits. But if the DPP continues to reject this foundation and pursue separatist goals under the banner of "dignity and parity," cross-Straits talks will be impossible. "Any attempt to promote exchanges based on the 'two-state theory' is doomed to fail," she warned.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged the UK's relevant department to stop turning trade into political and security issues, stop groundlessly accusing and going after Chinese high-tech companies, and make more effort that is conducive to the sound and steady development of China-UK relations.   

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks at a regular press conference when asked to comment on the reported concern raised by the UK government over British companies using Chinese manufactured drones to take high-quality images of important infrastructure in the UK. 

The Chinese government has never asked and will never ask any company to collect or store data against laws. The Chinese side firmly opposes the relevant side's groundless suspicion and vilification against China which lack a factual basis, said Lin.

The remarks follow UK government officials have reportedly raised fresh concerns over the use of Chinese-made drones at critical national infrastructure sites, warning that such practices may run counter to guidance from the country's security services, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. 

Some Chinese experts responded by noting that Chinese drones such as DJI drones are widely used around the world for civilian uses and argued that the security concerns are largely political, lacking concrete evidence of immediate threats. The timing of the accusations, along with renewed attention on British Steel, comes as the two countries are working to improve ties, highlighting internal political discord and contradictions in the UK's approach to China, experts said.

Bloomberg reported that the role of Chinese companies and equipment in critical national infrastructure has been in focus in the UK. It mentioned that National Grid Plc, which operates the nation's electricity and gas networks, uses drones made by Shenzhen-based DJI to take videos, photographs and thermal images of its electricity substations. DJI drones have also been used to survey the construction of Electricite de France SA's Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, to inspect solar farms, and by Thames Water to monitor reservoirs and the water supply.

The report claimed that deployment of the drones comes despite a warning in 2023 by the UK's National Protective Security Authority, part of the domestic security service MI5, that British organizations managing sensitive sites should be wary of using drones "manufactured in countries with coercive data sharing practices," a reference to China. 

National Grid Plc and Thames Water told Bloomberg they adhere to government guidance and take security seriously.

DJI has not answered the inquiry by the Global Times on the matter by the press time. 

The report followed recent rhetoric by some British politicians who have been hyping issues surrounding British Steel, the last UK facility capable of producing steel from iron ore, involving a Chinese private company, while calling for a ban on Chinese firms in critical industries.

The renewed focus on drone security also emerged just as Britain's business minister Jonathan Reynolds prepares to visit China later this year to boost trade and investment, according to The Guardian. 

Experts said the timing of the report reflects a contradiction within the UK's current political climate. "While the Starmer administration is taking a relatively more pragmatic approach and looking to expand trade with China to cushion global trade turbulence caused by the US, internal discord remains — particularly around national security concerns," Yu Wenjie, Director of the Institute of British and Commonwealth Studies at Nanjing University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Some in the UK often approach the UK's engagement with China through an ideological lens, with certain media outlets and politicians frequently making unfounded accusations even in the context of normal bilateral economic exchanges or the legitimate operations of Chinese private enterprises in the country, Zhao Junjie, a senior research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Zhao described the UK's stance toward China as a "contradictory composite." On the one hand, the UK seeks cooperation with China in areas such as finance, technology, and the green economy; on the other, some media and politicians continue to view China with entrenched hostility and a Cold War mentality. "They want the benefits of engagement with China, while also trying to guard against and criticize it—this results in policies that are often logically inconsistent," he said.

It is important for some UK politicians and media to honor the broad picture of deepening China-UK ties, and remind them not to let their behavior undermine the overall momentum of improving bilateral ties, Zhao said.

China and Spain reached a cooperative agreement on April 11 in the field of synchrotron radiation light sources to promote the research and development of fourth-generation synchrotron radiation light source technologies and facilitate the open sharing of international large scientific facilities, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The agreement was signed by the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Consortium for the Construction, Equipping and Exploitation of the Synchrotron Light Source. It is part of the Action Plan for Strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Spain (2025-2028) as China has vowed to develop the comprehensive strategic partnership with Spain with greater strategic focus and vitality, according to Xinhua.

A synchrotron radiation light source is a source of electromagnetic radiation usually produced by a storage ring.

China is currently building its first high-energy synchrotron radiation light source, the High Energy Photon Source (HEPS). As one of the country's key scientific and technological infrastructure projects, HEPS is expected to become a fourth-generation synchrotron radiation facility with the world's highest brightness and will serve as a research platform for material science, chemical engineering, biomedicine and other fields.

The Global Times learned from IHEP that, by January, HEPS had achieved a world-class electron beam emittance of 93 picometer radians in the storage ring following the achievement of a beam current of more than 40 milliamps, which means that the HEPS accelerator construction is successful. 

In late March, HEPS officially launched its joint commissioning phase, marking its final construction stage. 

During the joint commissioning phase, multiple beamlines at HEPS are commissioned with the accelerator and perform specialized sample experiments aimed at further optimizing relevant indicators of the accelerator and beamlines, Pan Weimin, director of the HEPS project, told the Global Times. 

According to Pan, the HEPS project is expected to complete acceptance and be operational by the end of 2025. When design values are reached, it will be able to emit light that is one trillion times brighter than the sun and will be open to users in fields such as aerospace, energy, environment, life science and pharmaceuticals.

HEPS can provide high-quality light for both domestic and international scientists in these fields, helping them analyze and explore the microscopic structure and evolution mechanisms of materials, covering a wide range of application scenarios. For instance, HEPS can be used for precision testing and lifecycle monitoring of certain materials like titanium alloys; it can be applied to observe how substances change and react during the generation and synthesis of new materials; and it can also be used to observe the scale of nanoparticles, thereby adjusting and enhancing the performance of nanomaterials, according to Pan.

Taking the application of HEPS in life sciences as an example, with the help of the first-generation light source, scientists discovered the molecular structure of the SARS virus. Now, with the construction of this fourth-generation light source, scientists will be able to observe virus more clearly, meticulously, and quickly, according to IHEP. 

Construction of HEPS began in June 2019. From an aerial view, the HEPS, located in the Huairou Science City in Beijing, consists of three main buildings, with an overall shape resembling a magnifying glass, symbolizing a tool for exploring the microscopic world.

Experiences and innovative technologies utilized during the construction of HEPS could also pave the way for subsequent light source construction in China, according to Pan. For example, the HEPS construction team innovated a scheme to utilize its booster as both an accelerator and an accumulator, significantly reducing the infrastructure's costs.

These experiences and technologies can be applied to the construction of other large scientific facilities in China, helping future projects to save time and effort, Pan noted.