Responding to media questions on Wednesday regarding the threats posed by the Mainland Affairs Council in the Taiwan region to Kuomintang (KMT) anti-Japanese war veterans invited by the mainland to participate in events marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, slammed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for not only refusing to commemorate the war but also for intimidating these veterans. The Taiwan region's "defense authorities" warned residents and retired military personnel not to be "lured," and the island's Mainland Affairs Council stated that any participants in such events deemed to "undermine Taiwan's dignity" would have their retirement benefits revoked.

Chen emphasized that this year marks the 80th anniversary of both the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the restoration of Taiwan. He described the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression as a just war — one in which justice triumphed over evil, light dispelled darkness, and progress overcame reaction. It was also a significant part of the global anti-fascist effort.

Chen added that the DPP's portrayal of the commemoration as "united front tactics" and "cognitive warfare" reveals their disgraceful stance — one that runs counter to the tide of history and the shared values of human society.

The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a just struggle in which all Chinese people, regardless of background, united in defiance of Japanese militarist aggression. More than 80 years ago, under the coordinated efforts by the KMT forces on the frontlines and the CPC-led guerrillas behind enemy lines, a joint strategic resistance was formed against the invaders.

"Our invitation to KMT veterans is a gesture of respect for historical facts and a tribute to their sacrifice and contribution in defending the nation," Chen said. He strongly criticized the DPP authorities for not only refusing to commemorate the war but also intimidating these veterans, saying such behavior is "morally reprehensible and disgraceful" and will be "resolutely opposed by the vast majority of Taiwan compatriots."

Answering a question about whether the Chinese Foreign Ministry could confirm that Chinese and European leaders will meet next week and whether the ministry could provide more details, Lin Jian, the ministry spokesperson, said at a press conference on Thursday he currently did not have relevant information to provide.

"Dialogue with China matters. For jobs, our economy and the security of our region," visiting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a post on X platform on Friday. 

"One in four Australian jobs depends upon our trade and the most important trading partner is China. We have worked very hard to stabilize the relationship that brought benefits with over $20 billion of trade resuming. We signed agreements for further two way trade and in addition to that, we agreed on the promotion of two way tourism as well," Albanese said in a video attached with the post.

Albanese's China trip, which began Saturday and ends on Friday, is extraordinarily long compared with Australian state visits over the past decade and marks a normalization of bilateral relations that plumbed new depths under the previous Australian government's nine-year reign, AP reported on Thursday.

According to an official statement published on Australian government website on Friday, Albanese's visit was an opportunity to continue advancing Australia's security and economic interests. Wise management of this relationship is crucial for Australia's future prosperity and for the security of our nation and the stability of our region.

"Australia's approach to our relationship with China remains patient, calibrated and deliberate. Dialogue is central to a stable and constructive relationship," the statement said.

During Albanese's visit, China and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the implementation and review of China-Australia Free Trade Agreement on Tuesday, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), Xinhua reported.

As 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the agreement, the two countries will maintain close cooperation, continue high-quality implementation of the agreement, and jointly conduct a review to identify areas for further improvement or expansion, the MOFCOM said.

The goal of Albanese's visit to China can be summarized as seeking progress while maintaining stability, as he aims to advance the stability and development of China-Australia relations through dialogue, Chen Hong, director of the Asia Pacific Studies Centre at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Friday.

 "Given the current turbulence and uncertainty in the international situation, both China and Australia, along with other regional countries, hope to work together to pursue predictability and stability," Chen added. 

Albanese paid an official visit to China from July 12 to 18, traveling to Shanghai and Beijing, with Chengdu being the final leg of his trip.

Bloomberg said Albanese's six-day visit to China was a diplomatic reset that marks the full restoration of trade ties after years of friction. While the trip was framed around economics, the stakes were far broader, as tensions simmer over Taiwan question, defense, and Australia's balancing act between its biggest trading partner and its key security ally, the US, according to the US media outlet. 

The future of China-Australia relations will be on a positive trajectory. However, what Australia needs to do is to eliminate external interference, particularly from third parties and domestic right-wing forces, in order to work with China to ensure that the bilateral relationship remains stable and sustainable, Chen noted. "Only with stability can long-term progress be achieved, and stability is the foundation for realizing ambitious goals."

The Global Times learned Tuesday from the Deep Space Exploration Lab (DSEL) that prototypes of the in-situ lunar soil 3D printing system and the lunar soil water ice thermal extraction system, which are key devices to support the country's future long-term research facilities on the surface of moon, have made new progress. 

Dubbed the "lunar soil brick-maker," the in-situ lunar soil 3D printing system works by using concentrated solar energy to melt lunar soil at high temperatures and form bricks, Yang Honglun, a member of the development team with the DSEL, told the Global Times. 

Specifically, a parabolic reflector of the system concentrates sunlight, which is then transmitted via fiber-optic bundles to generate solar energy about 3,000 times stronger. This intense heat raises the temperature of lunar soil above 1,300 C, allowing it to melt and form bricks, according to the lab.

Such 3D printing technology enables in-situ use of lunar resources and energy, eliminating the need to transport raw materials from Earth. Using only lunar soil and solar energy, it produces bricks with high strength and excellent thermal insulation properties—suitable for building roads, equipment platforms, and research station structures on the Moon. In essence, it makes it possible to use lunar soil to construct infrastructure on moon.

Yang disclosed that at the early stages of development, the core challenge was how to achieve reliable solar energy concentration and lunar soil forming under the Moon's extreme environmental conditions. 

To address this, the team systematically evaluated multiple technological approaches. "For instance, in terms of solar concentration, we evaluated Fresnel lenses, thin-film lenses, and reflective concentrators," he said.  

For lunar soil forming, the team considered powder sintering, high-temperature melting, and binder-based solidification. After a series of validation experiments, the team ultimately selected the "reflective concentration - fiber-optic energy transmission plus powder bed fusion" approach. This enabled us to overcome the full chain of challenges from energy capture and transmission to printing and shaping, he said. 

According to the lab, the prototype has validated the lunar soil forming and manufacturing technology, showing it can meet the demands of large-scale construction of lunar infrastructure such as transportation roads, equipment platforms, and buildings. This provides essential support for broader, sustained lunar exploration and resource development efforts.

The prototype also verified key technologies such as lunar energy capture, material extraction, and conversion, laying a solid technical foundation for future deep space resource utilization and the construction of lunar energy systems, the lab revealed.

In addition to the in-situ lunar soil 3D printing system, the DSEL is also carrying out comprehensive technological research focused on the development and utilization of extraterrestrial resources and has already achieved several major breakthroughs, including the development of China's first multi-needle lunar soil water ice thermal extraction system, Global Times has learned during a tour of the lab.

The lunar polar regions are believed to contain abundant water ice resources. This ice is not only a vital source of life support for future international lunar research stations - providing drinking water and oxygen - but can also be electrolyzed to produce hydrogen and oxygen fuel, providing energy for deep space exploration missions. This would greatly reduce the cost and risk of transporting supplies from Earth.

However, the lunar surface is an extreme environment, characterized by high vacuum and extremely low temperatures, vastly different from Earth. As such, extracting usable water from lunar soil poses a major technical challenge for the future.

To tackle this, DSEL, together with Harbin Institute of Technology and other institutions, developed a device capable of extracting water from lunar soil.

The system can overcome key challenges such as the difficulty of excavating high-strength ice-bearing lunar soil, collecting water vapor in a vacuum, and achieving efficient water ice extraction, according to DSEL.

The system uses multiple slender helical drill needles to bore directly into simulated ice-rich lunar soil, where heat generates water vapor. The vapor is directed through flow channels into a low-temperature condenser, where it is solidified into ice for collection, the lab explained. 

The system's water ice extraction efficiency and other key performance indicators have reached internationally advanced levels, the lab said. 

China and Egypt should consistently facilitate two-way trade and investment, strengthen industrial alignment and market connectivity, and push for a higher level of win-win cooperation, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here on Wednesday.

Li made the remarks when meeting with Speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives Hanafy Ali Gebaly. Li is on an official visit to the Middle East country at the invitation of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Kamal Madbouly.

Although China and Egypt are geographically distant, the friendship between the two countries has a long-standing history, Li said.

Since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, no matter how the international situation changes, China-Egypt traditional friendship remains unchanged, and the momentum of bilateral relations and cooperation continues to grow, demonstrating strong internal dynamism, he said.

China is willing to further promote traditional friendship with Egypt, enhance political mutual trust, firmly support each other's core interests and major concerns, and continuously elevate bilateral relations to new heights and achieve more new results in bilateral cooperation, so as to better benefit the people of both countries, Li said.

He also called on both sides to maintain friendly exchanges between legislative bodies, strengthen policy communication and share experiences on state governance, and continuously improve mutual understanding.

Noting that China is willing to enhance development alignment with Egypt, Li said both sides should undertake high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and make use of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to improve bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

The two sides should cooperate in the sustainable operation of bilateral landmark projects, continuously improve the level of two-way trade and investment facilitation, strengthen industrial docking and market connectivity, expand cooperation in emerging fields such as digital economy and green development, and promote a higher level of mutual benefit and win-win results, he said.

China is willing to maintain close communication and coordination with Egypt within mechanisms including the United Nations, BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, promote all parties to jointly safeguard the basic norms governing international relations and the multilateral trading system, and inject more positive energy into the cause of global peace and development, Li said.

For his part, Gebaly said that Egypt and China, as two great ancient civilizations, share a long history of exchanges and profound friendship between their peoples.

Egypt admires the remarkable achievements China has made in its economic and social development, and firmly believes that under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, China will successfully realize Chinese modernization, bringing new opportunities for cooperation between China and other developing countries, Gebaly said.

The Egyptian side adheres to the one-China principle, respects China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and opposes interference in China's internal affairs, he said.

Gebaly said that Egypt stands ready to expand practical cooperation with China under the Belt and Road Initiative framework in areas such as trade, investment and new energy, enhance multilateral coordination, uphold the WTO-centered multilateral trading system, and jointly address global challenges.

The Egyptian House of Representatives is committed to strengthening exchanges and cooperation between the legislative bodies of both countries, he added.

Global respondents believe that exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations inject stability into a turbulent world, and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) has evolved into a broad consensus for addressing global challenges, according to a poll released at a Friday sub-event themed "Cultural Inheritance and Innovation" of the Global Civilizations Dialogue Ministerial Meeting that kick off in Beijing.

The survey, jointly conducted by CGTN and the Renmin University of China, covered 12,302 respondents across 41 countries worldwide, reveals that respondents widely recognize inter-civilization exchanges and mutual learning as a crucial driving force for advancing human civilization and promoting world peace and development.

They positively assess the pivotal role of cultural inheritance and innovation in advancing human modernization. Chinese and international experts hailed the findings, stressing that the GCI offers a vital platform for dialogue and deeper understanding among diverse civilizations.

Fadli Zon, Indonesia's Culture Minister, told the Global Times on Friday that GCI was proposed on at "the right path at the right time," arguing that inter-civilizational dialogue offers the only sustainable way to resolve conflicts, counter misinformation and secure shared prosperity.

"We share the same planet and global village, so it's our responsibility to safeguard this shared home for development, peace, and prosperity," he said.

Roger T. Ames, humanities chair professor at Peking University, echoed that the world is better understood as a mosaic of interwoven civilizations bound by common values and centuries-old exchanges than as a patchwork of isolated nation-states.

"Tolerance of cultural differences is insufficient; instead, these differences become a source of mutual empowerment, driving a more connected, fair, and harmonious global community," Ames said.
During the breakout session, Chinese experts unveiled a comprehensive Global Research Program for Inter-Civilization Exchanges and Mutual Learning.

The initiative is designed to build a pluralistic, inclusive forum for sustained dialogue and to embed long-term cooperation mechanisms across cultures.

Under the plan, a worldwide academic network will pool expertise on civilizational studies, an annual global dialogue platform will be launched, and a global fund for peaceful exchange, connectivity, and development will finance joint projects.

Organizers also proposed a global award for contributions to civilizational exchange and connectivity to honor individuals and institutions that advance cross-cultural understanding, aiming to "safeguard the brilliant galaxy of human civilizations."

Media reported that nearly 140 Chinese and foreign guests from over 20 countries and regions attended the plenary. Centering on the GCI, they engaged in lively dialogue on "cultural inheritance" and "cultural innovation" in exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday to attend the 17th BRICS Summit upon invitation.

Brazil, the rotating chair of BRICS, will hold the summit from July 6 to 7.

Li will also pay an official visit to Egypt from July 9 to 10 at the invitation of Prime Minister Mostafa Kamal Madbouly.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, paid tribute to martyrs who died in a major campaign in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression, when inspecting Yangquan of north China's Shanxi Province on Monday.

At the monument square honoring the martyrs of the Hundred-Regiment Campaign during the war against Japanese aggression, Xi laid a floral basket to pay tribute to the martyrs, and then visited the memorial hall commemorating this major campaign.

During the visit, Xi reviewed the history of the CPC leading both the military and civilians in the courageous fight against Japanese invaders, and learned about local efforts to carry out revolutionary history education and promote the great spirit of resisting aggression.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson announces:

Premier of the State Council Li Qiang will attend the 17th BRICS Summit upon invitation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 5 to 8.

At the invitation of Prime Minister of Egypt Mostafa Kamal Madbouly, Premier of the State Council Li Qiang will pay an official visit to Egypt from July 9 to 10.

As China began building the supporting infrastructure for its next-generation solar telescope WeHoST (Wide-field and High-resolution Solar Telescope) on Tuesday in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, the Global Times learned from the project's chief scientist on Wednesday that the WeHoST will offer an unprecedented view of solar eruptions with technological breakthrough of "seeing both trees and forest" in solar observations.

Previous solar telescopes face a technology bottleneck: the inability to balance detailed observation with a comprehensive view. But WeHoST will combine both, offering high resolution alongside a large observational field, according to the scientist.

The telescope's 2.5-meter primary mirror will not only achieve higher observational resolution but also expand the field of view to three to four times that of existing equipment, fully covering the entire solar active region, said Ding Mingde, the project's chief director and a professor from School of Astronomy & Space Science under Nanjing University.

Ding told the Global Times on Wednesday that the main purpose of building WeHoST is to observe and study solar eruptive phenomena, scientifically known as solar flares and coronal mass ejections.

Ding said that studying solar eruptions is scientifically important because solar eruptions emit high-energy radiation, affecting the Earth's environment which may further impact human high-tech activities, such as communication and navigation in aerospace, as well as long-distance electricity and oil transmission.

"That's why we need to understand why the sun produces eruptions, when these eruptions occur, and how intense they are, as well as whether these eruptions impact Earth's environment after they occur," Ding said.

WeHoST, a national research instrumentation project, is led by Nanjing University in collaboration with the Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology and the Yunnan Observatories, both under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinhua reported.

Construction of the telescope officially began in 2022. Upon completion, it will be the world's largest axisymmetric solar telescope, according to Xinhua.

The supporting infrastructure for WeHoST is situated at an altitude of 4,700 meters on an unnamed mountain in Daocheng county in Southwest China's Sichuan. Ding said the location is the result of a 10-year survey conducted by the Yunnan Observatories with selection criteria such as low population density, high altitude, good air quality with favorable humidity, and a high amount of sunlight.

"We plan to complete the construction of the entire telescope infrastructure, including the observatory and its dome by 2026 and then begin WeHoST's installation and trial observations in 2027," Ding said.

To address the technical challenges of the telescope, especially the issue of heat dissipation, Ding said a dual approach was adopted: on one hand, special optical cables are used at the focal point to block heat from entering; on the other hand, over 200 air tubes are evenly distributed at the back of the primary mirror to blow cool air and lower the temperature.

The research team also deployed ground-layer adaptive optics and speckle interferometry techniques to overcome the problem of unstable airflows and produce high-resolution images, Ding said.

Regarding international cooperation, Ding said that WeHoST is the only large solar telescope located in the Eastern Hemisphere, while telescopes in Europe and the US are situated in the Western Hemisphere. The geographical difference creates a complementary observation opportunity. 

"For example, if we collaborate with Europe and the US, with each telescope observing for eight hours, 24-hour continuous observation can be achieved, which we refer to as 'round-the-clock observation,'" Ding said, adding that such global cooperation is highly beneficial for studying solar eruptions.