The Netherlands is planning to limit ASML Holding NV's ability to repair and maintain its semiconductor equipment in China, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, noting that the move came as a result of political pressure from the US. Chinese experts said on Friday that the move, which violates market norms, will further disrupt the global semiconductor industrial and supply chain and predicted that the US pressure on its allies to join its technology crackdown campaign against China will backfire. 

The Dutch government of Prime Minister Dick Schoof will likely not renew certain ASML licenses to service and provide spare parts in China when they expire at the end of this year, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. The decision is expected to cover the company's top-of-the-line deep ultraviolet lithography machines, said the source.

The Dutch government's decision comes following US pressure, including potentially imposing certain unilateral measures on partner countries if they choose not to abide with the US' controls on China, the report pointed out.

A Chinese industry expert slammed the US' reckless move to coerce its allies to target China, and warned that if the Dutch government moves ahead with the plan, bilateral ties with China will be hampered and ASML's business will be undermined.

Ma Jihua, a veteran telecom industry observer, told the Global Times on Friday that the US has almost run out of its means in its crackdown on Chinese chips sector, having already restricted chip production investment in China and banned the exports of certain chipmaking equipment.

However, market forces are not in favor of the US' pressure, and the strong demand for mature chips has driven the growth of China's semiconductor sector, helping it mitigate the impacts of US crackdowns and maintain a rapid growth momentum featuring big strides in self-reliance and increasing market share in the global semiconductor industry, Ma said.

"As such, the US is increasingly relying on pushing its allies to do the job of containing China's tech rise while its allies are being pushed to its their limits, prompting the US to activate more of its tools in coercing its allies," said Ma.

Analysts noted the move by The Hague will risk damage to ASML's business, as about half of that comes from China, and warned that Chinese engineers may be forced to learn how to service machines and hone their skills if maintenance service is suspended as reported.

"The whole world loves pandas, and no one can resist them. We were deeply moved by the sight of a panda," Denisa Petrilakova, editor of domestic and foreign news from Czech Media Agency, told the Global Times when she saw baby twin pandas - Yu Ke and Yu Ai - in Chongqing Zoo.

Petrilakova was among the foreign journalists captivated by the adorable bamboo eaters, calling them "super cute".

During the 2024 Belt and Road Journalists Forum, which kicked off in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Saturday, several foreign journalists visited a number of scenery spots of the mountainous city, and were marveled by their local charm.

China's inbound tourism has continued to heat up this summer, with more overseas tourists making China their travel and leisure destination. Boasting unique natural landscapes, more foreign tourists are choosing to take an in-depth trip to China's western provinces.

According to Qunar, a leading online travel service platform in China, in the first half of 2024, bookings by travelers using non-Chinese passports to book tickets on domestic routes increased 1.8 times year-on-year to 2023, with more than 10 percent of foreign visitors coming to China twice in six months.

Chengdu, Xi'an, Chongqing and other western cities ranked among the top 10 popular destinations for foreign travelers flying in China, Qunar said.

Thriving tourism

Today, more people are curious to explore China and experience its diverse culture. These foreign journalists were particularly struck by the stunning natural beauty of the western region, with its rolling hills, fast-flowing rivers, lush forests, and many world heritage sites.

Taking the Two-River Cruise on the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, the journalists were impressed with an unforgettable experience when taking in Chongqing's cityscape at night.
Petrilakova said that in addition to Beijing and Shanghai, she would recommend Chongqing to Czechs. "I was very touched by the night view of the mountain city, which is really special and beautiful."

"I don't want to leave this cruise ship. I'm mesmerized by the city's vibrant night scenery," Kirtan Bhana, director and editor of The Diplomatic Society, a media outlet in South Africa, told the Global Times.

Elizabeth Sade, a senior reporter from the Media Association of Solomon Islands, was struck by three massive natural stone bridges in the Fairy Mountain of Wulong district in Chongqing.

The Three Natural Bridges is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, renowned for its breathtaking karst landscape.
"The three bridges that we visited were something that I was thrilled about. Alongside, the strong connection that I saw between locals and the environment also amazes me," Sade told the Global Times, noting that she was impressed by local government's efforts to promote tourism and protect ecologic diversity.

"I love the foggy scenery in the Fairy Mountain, and it makes me feel like I'm in paradise," Melisa Skender, general secretary from Croatian Journalists' Association, told the Global Times.

"We are continuously improving the level of visitor services," He Qing, secretary of the CPC Wulong District Committee of Chongqing, told the Global Times, noting that the Fairy Mountain has set up payment facilitation services, with 139 ATMs for foreign card cash withdrawal and 91 POS machines for facilitating payments by foreign tourists.

From January to July this year, the district received a total of 94,000 foreign tourists, an increase of 221.9 percent year-on-year, He Qing said.

Since the country continuously rolled out its visa-free entry policies from last year, the number of foreign inbound tourists has kept growing.

According to the latest statistics from the National Immigration Administration (NIA), from January to July this year, the number of foreign visitor trips to China soared by 129.9 percent year-on-year to 17.25 million. During the period, 846,000 port visas were issued to foreigners who have urgent needs to enter China but do not have enough time to apply for visas at Chinese embassies or consulates abroad. The figure rose 183 percent year-on-year.

The foreign visitors are estimated to boost consumption topping 100 billion yuan ($14.07 billion) in total, with a per capita daily average consumption volume hitting nearly 3,500 yuan, according to the NIA.

A deepfake crime surge in South Korea has sparked worries in China as Chinese experts said on Sunday that AI-powered scams have turned into an international concern, and social media platform operators should take more action.

Numerous chat rooms suspected of creating and distributing deepfake pornographic material with doctored photos of ordinary women and female service members have been reportedly discovered on messaging app Telegram recently, with many of the victims and perpetrators known to be teenagers, The Korea Times reported last week.

Perpetrators reportedly used social media platforms such as Instagram to save or screen-capture photos of victims, which are then used to create deepfake pornographic material, the Guardian reported.

The incident in South Korea attracted particular attention in China after multiple netizens, claiming to be South Korean women, posted on Chinese social media platforms recently, saying that they hope Chinese netizens will spread the story as they are that afraid that the incident is being overlooked in their country, Shanghai-based news website thepaper.cn reported on Saturday.

There are similar situations in other countries, making deepfake technology an international problem, Xie Yongjiang, a professor at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, told Global Times on Sunday. 

As AI develops, deepfake technology is increasingly realistic, and coupled with the fact that it does not require specialized knowledge; more criminals are now scamming by means of counterfeiting some videos and pictures, and more attention should be paid to it, he said.

In June, a male suspect in China surnamed Bai was prosecuted for producing and selling obscene materials for profit as he used deepfake technology to create nearly 7,000 fake nude photos involving female students and teachers.

Since the wider public are not yet capable of differentiate AI-generated content from reality-based content, relevant authorities should develop appropriate identification technologies, Xie said, suggesting social media platform operators to set up mechanisms to deal with the issue.

Sports reporter Zhu Xiaolong recently violated regulations by participating in a live broadcast, where he made inappropriate remarks about Chinese Olympic champion Quan Hongchan.

Nanfang Media Group has promptly launched an investigation and announced on Thursday that they will handle the responsible individuals according to regulations based on the facts.

During a recent online livestream, Zhu described Quan’s behavior while showing her gold medal to foreign athletes as "eccentric" and "crazy."

Zhu stated, “She has always been an excellent diver, which is beyond doubt, but as a person, she may not be fully developed.”

He also noted that Quan cannot dive for her entire life, and remarked that her decision to start learning English is a positive development.

During the Olympics, a reporter asked Quan if she wanted to learn how to say “take it easy” in English, to which Quan responded that she did not need to.