阿拉爱上海

Kremlin on Monday denied reports that President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump spoke over the phone last week about the Ukraine crisis, and said Putin had no concrete plans yet to speak to Trump, media reported. 

The attention over Putin's interaction with Trump reflects the weight it carries on global geopolitics as the Russia-Ukraine conflict has dragged on for more than two years, with ripple effects spreading to the rest of the world. 

Coming amid recent escalations at the Russia-Ukraine frontline, Europe has voiced fresh concerns about possible policy shifts on the conflict and in turn the potential impact it would bring to the continent's security. 

Regarding concerns in Europe, observers said the Russia-Ukraine conflict has provided a painful lesson for some politicians who supported NATO's "eastward expansion." The experts advised Europe to strengthen its own security capabilities and strategic autonomy based on its own interests, rather than blindly following the US.

The phone call

The Washington Post reported Sunday that Trump had spoken with Putin on Thursday, advising the Russian president not to escalate the conflict with Ukraine and reminded him of Washington's "sizable military presence in Europe," citing several people familiar with the matter.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday denied that the phone call took place, AFP reported, saying the report was "completely false information."

The phone call has drawn intense attention as the conflict has intensified over the past few days. 

Ukraine attacked Moscow on Sunday with at least 34 drones, the biggest drone strike on the Russian capital since the conflict broke out in 2022, Reuters reported. The attack injured five people and forced flights to be diverted from three of Moscow's major airports.

Russian air defenses destroyed another 50 drones over other regions of Western Russia on Sunday, according to the country's defense ministry, Reuters said. 

News of the call comes as Ukraine on Sunday launched a major drone attack on Moscow and five other Russian regions, injuring one person and forcing three airports to temporarily halt operations, officials in Moscow said.

Meanwhile, media reports said Ukraine is bracing to hold land it gained in Russia's Kursk region amid reports that Moscow is preparing a counteroffensive, the Washington Post reported. 

The series of moves taken by Ukraine recently can be seen as an attempt by Ukraine and some in the US to stir up chaos, thereby giving the US more justification for a deeper engagement in the conflict, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday. 

However, as Russia has not taken aggressive countermeasures, such a scheme is thwarted; meanwhile, the current government is well aware that with Ukraine requiring billions of dollars in economic and military support every month to continue to fend off Russia, a deeper involvement is something the US cannot bear, Lü said. The expert believes there is little chance the US will take significant action on the Ukraine issue before Trump officially takes office. 

With little more than two months left in the White House, US President Joe Biden is running out of time to expedite the delivery of funds and weaponry needed to ensure that Ukraine can stay in the fight, said an opinion piece by The Guardian. The article said the White House is transferring weapons and up to $6 billion in remaining aid as quickly as possible to Ukraine.

"While the Biden administration is seizing the last opportunity to support Kiev in order to prevent a shift in US' stance afterwards, it has exhausted its options," Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, told the Global Times. What the US can offer is "very limited," Cui said.

In his presidential campaign, Trump said he would bring an "immediate end" to the conflict, though he did not offer details about how he intended to do so. However, Trump has reportedly proposed a "peace plan" that would "see the current frontline frozen in place and Ukraine agreeing to shelve its ambition to join NATO for 20 years," the Telegraph reported on November 7, citing three Trump staffers.

Europe worried

Trump's re-election has raised fresh concerns from Europe of reduced US aid for Ukraine. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scheduled to meet French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday to discuss ways to help Ukraine, Reuters reported, adding that Britain and France have said it is essential to keep supporting Ukraine against Russia to protect the European continent as a whole.

"The Russia-Ukraine conflict is a lesson for those in Europe who supported NATO's 'eastward expansion,' as touching on Russia's core interests has proved to be detrimental to European security," Lü said. He noted that countries like Germany, which have long built stable energy and economic partnerships with Russia, have been hurt by the conflict. 

"European leaders are now caught in a difficult position as to their stances on Moscow. If the US moves to repair ties with Russia, some in Europe may likely follow suit," the expert said.

Cui further analyzed that Europe's concern stems mainly from two perspectives. "On one hand they are worried about the uncertainty of the Trump administration. Europe fears losing the counterbalance to Russia, which could pose a bigger threat to the continent's security," Cui said, "while on the other hand the fear comes from the controversial policy Trump had taken during his last term, as he pressured Europe to take on more responsibility for its own defense."

But whatever policy Trump would take for the new term, Europe needs to strengthen its own strategic autonomy based on its own interests, rather than blindly following the US, Cui noted.

To ease tensions on the Russia-Ukraine frontline, Cui suggests the West to reduce hostility toward Moscow and engage in frank dialogue with the Russian side. 

Paying a "protection fee" will not bring security and the deeper the DPP authorities lean on the US, the more it will destroy Taiwan, and the greater the disaster it will bring to the Taiwan people, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian told a press conference on Wednesday. 

Zhu made the remarks in response to a question that some people from "green camp" in the Taiwan island claimed that the US' asking Taiwan to pay a "protection fee" should be viewed positively, as it means the US is willing to protect Taiwan. 

Since Lai Ching-te took office, he has stubbornly adhered to a "Taiwan independence" stance, recklessly aligning with external forces, attempting to seek independence through foreign support and pursue independence through force. This has severely harmed the interests of the Taiwan people and seriously threatened the peace and stability of the Taiwan Straits, Zhu said. 

The US always follows an "America First" policy, and I believe most Taiwan people have made a rational judgment, said Zhu, sternly warning the DPP authorities that paying a "protection fee" will not bring security. 

The deeper the DPP authorities lean on the US, the more it will destroy Taiwan, and the greater the disaster it will bring to the Taiwan people, said the spokesperson. 

The US has reportedly "ordered" the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to halt sales of advanced chips, which are usually used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications, to Chinese mainland's customers. Analysts said on Sunday that despite relentless US pressure, the chipmaker from the island of Taiwan cannot afford to lose the mainland market.

The US Department of Commerce sent a letter to TSMC imposing export restrictions on certain sophisticated chips, of 7 nanometer or more advanced designs, destined for mainland that power AI accelerator and graphics processing units, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing anonymous sources.

The "order" will take effect on Monday, the report said.

In recent years, the US has relentlessly tightened restrictions on AI chip exports to China. However, businesses are driven by profit, and while TSMC may not be able to resist US pressure, it will undoubtedly seek ways to preserve some flexibility and room for negotiation, Ma Jihua, a veteran telecom industry observer, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Like many other chipmakers, it cannot afford to lose the mainland market, Ma said.

In a statement sent to the Global Times on Sunday, TSMC said it is a law-abiding company and is committed to complying with all applicable rules and regulations, including applicable export controls.

Citing an insider from TSMC, Taiwan island's local Economic Daily News reported on Friday that "the company is currently discussing how to respond to the new US regulations." The report also quoted an anonymous industry source as saying that it is unlikely TSMC will suspend shipments of the relevant products at this time.

TSMC hopes that the restrictions will only apply to mainland companies with products related to AI chips, without affecting other customers, such as those in the mobile chip sector, the local media reported.

In fact, the US decoupling policy toward China has introduced significant uncertainty across the industry globally. While Washington pressures its so-called allies to decouple from China, the reality is that there has been considerable resistance.

Peter Wennink, the former CEO of ASML, the world's leading lithography manufacturer based in the Netherlands, clearly stated in a media interview that the China accounts for 30 percent of its orders. Despite export restrictions, ASML will not abandon the market and will do everything possible to continue selling lithography machines to China, Sing Tao Daily reported in 2023.

Even with full implementation of AI chip export restrictions to China, the impact on the country's AI development would be limited, Ma said, noting that leading high-tech companies in China have also built sufficient computing power reserves, and the country's AI industry remains at the forefront of the world.

Chinese chip companies have made remarkable progress in recent years despite the ongoing US pressure, Ma said.

In the first seven months, China's semiconductor exports totaled 640.91 billion yuan ($89.27 billion), a 25.8 percent year-on-year increase. Among key export categories, this was the second-highest growth rate, trailing only that of ships, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs.

Meanwhile, China has steadily increased domestic production of semiconductors. In 2013, the ratio of domestic production to imports was 32.58 percent, but by the first half of 2024, this figure had risen to nearly 80 percent, highlighting a continuous rise in self-sufficiency and a significant boost in domestic production levels, domestic news site stcn.com reported in August.

The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, on Friday expressed firm opposition to and strong condemnation of the Philippines' introduction of the so-called Philippine Maritime Zones Act.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the NPC said in a statement that the act is an attempt by the Philippines to enforce the illegal arbitral award on the South China Sea issue in 2016 through its domestic legislation, and is a serious infringement upon China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, Xinhua reported.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has summoned the Philippine Ambassador to China to make serious protests, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also issued a statement on Friday on the enactment by the Republic of the Philippines of its "Maritime Zones Act" and "Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act." The so-called Philippine Maritime Zones Act illegally includes China's Huangyan Dao and most of the islands and reefs of China's Nansha Qundao (Nansha Islands) and relevant waters into the maritime zones of the Philippines, and attempts to enshrine the illegal award of the South China Sea arbitration in the form of domestic legislation, read the statement.

China strongly condemns and firmly rejects this as the move gravely infringes upon China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea. China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea shall by no means be affected by the enactment of the Act, the statement said.

Mao said China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea are solidly grounded in history and the law, comply with international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and will not be affected by the "Maritime Zones Act." The so-called arbitral award on the South China Sea is illegal, null and void. China does not accept or recognize it.

The statement by Foreign Ministry noted that the Philippines' territory so defined has nothing to do with China's Huangyan Dao and Nansha Qundao. The Philippines has invaded and illegally occupied Mahuan Dao, Feixin Dao, Zhongye Dao, Nanyao Dao, Beizi Dao, Xiyue Dao, Shuanghuang Shazhou and Siling Jiao of China's Nansha Qundao, and by doing so has seriously violated international law, including the Charter of the United Nations. 

The Philippines broke its own promise and kept a warship illegally grounded at Ren'ai Jiao of China's Nansha Qundao for decades, thus infringing upon China's territorial sovereignty and violating the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), especially its Article 5 which asks the parties to refrain from action of inhabiting on the uninhabited islands and reefs, the statement said.

Once again China urges the Philippines to immediately withdraw all its personnel and facilities from the aforementioned islands and reefs and immediately tow away the warship illegally grounded at Ren'ai Jiao. The establishment of the so-called "Kalayaan Island Group" beyond its own territorial scope by the Philippines infringes upon China's territorial sovereignty, and is illegal and invalid, read the statement.

The Philippines seeks to justify its illegal claims and actions in the South China Sea by approving the so-called "Maritime Zones Act" in the name of implementing UNCLOS. This is illegal, null and void. This so-called legislation seriously violates the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and will make the situation in the South China Sea more complex. China will firmly oppose any infringement activities and provocations by the Philippines in the South China Sea based on the act, Mao noted.

China urges the Philippines to earnestly respect China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, immediately end any unilateral move that may escalate the dispute and complicate the situation, and keep the South China Sea peaceful and stable. China reserves the right of taking all measures necessary, the spokesperson said.

Various parts of the Philippine "Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act" are not compatible with regulations of international law and resolutions of the International Maritime Organization. We ask the Philippines to earnestly abide by international law and not to undermine other countries' lawful rights under UNCLOS and other international law, Mao said.

In order to achieve the goal of landing on the moon by 2030, the crewed lunar rover has entered the initial prototype research and development (R&D) stage, with two teams under the state-owned space giant, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), winning the R&D contracts. 

The two winners are the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) and China Academy of Space Technology, both subsidiaries under CASC, The Paper reported on Tuesday citing company sources.

The solicitation for the crewed lunar rover proposals went through two rounds of selection, and the two finalists that received the contracts each have their own unique characteristics in terms of innovation and advancement, the SAST revealed. Subsequently, a comparison will be conducted at the end of the prototype development phase to determine a final development team for China's first crewed lunar landing. 

Additionally, a naming campaign for the crewed lunar rover will be launched in 2025, The Paper report said.

Other relevant works for the manned lunar landing are progressing smoothly. Currently, the Long March-10 carrier rocket, the Mengzhou manned spacecraft, the Lanyue lunar lander and the lunar landing spacesuit are all in the initial sample production and related ground testing phases as planned. 

Major tests have been completed, including the comprehensive airdrop of the spacecraft, the separation of modules of the lander, the testing of the three-engine power system the rocket and the high-altitude simulation test of the hydrogen-oxygen engine. A batch of ground facilities and equipment to support these production tests has also been built and put into use, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The pre-mission flight tests and the overall plan for the scientific research objectives and supporting payloads for the mission have been essentially determined, and the systems for the launch site, monitoring and communication, and landing site are being developed and constructed in an orderly manner according to the plan.

Previously, at a press conference before the launch of Shenzhou-19 on October 29, China Manned Space Agency announced the 2030 target for this grand lunar landing mission. 

The agency also revealed that the fourth batch of taikonauts will undertake the manned lunar landing missions. In May this year, the selection process for the fourth batch was completed, with a total of 10 reserve taikonauts being selected, including eight pilots and two payload specialists. They joined the training program in August. 

Given that they will not only perform space station missions but also future manned lunar landing tasks, the training curriculum has been designed to focus on essential skills such as living and working in a weightless environment and maintaining health, as well as specialized skills like carrying out extravehicular activities, equipment maintenance and space science experiments. 

Furthermore, the training aims to enhance taikonauts' capabilities for future manned lunar missions, including operating spacecraft, driving lunar rovers, identifying celestial bodies, conducting geological surveys and transitioning from weightlessness in space to walking under load on the lunar surface, the agency said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Takeo Akiba, secretary general of Japan's National Security Secretariat, held consultations under the China-Japan high-level political dialogue mechanism in Beijing on Monday. The two sides reiterated that they will abide by the principles and consensus set out in the four political documents between China and Japan and commit to comprehensively advancing the strategic relationship of mutual benefit between the two sides, reaching agreement to maintain high-level intercourse, dialogue and exchanges in various fields, and send more positive signals to the outside world.

Noting that China-Japan relations are at a critical stage of improvement, Wang, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said the two sides should follow the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, stick to the right direction of improving and developing bilateral relations, and build a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Experts said the meeting shows that the Shigeru Ishiba administration recognizes the importance of Japan's relationship with China, and of handling it with a pragmatic and rational attitude, which will inject positivity and stability into bilateral ties. A stable China-Japan relationship is also beneficial for the governance stability of the Ishiba administration, they noted.

Wang said the Japanese side should establish an objective and rational understanding of China, honor its political commitment on the Taiwan question and earnestly safeguard the political foundation of China-Japan relations, urging the Japanese side to take concrete actions to implement the important consensus of "being each other's cooperation partners rather than threats," and promote the steady and long-term development of bilateral ties.

On the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the two sides agreed to accelerate the follow-up and implementation of the bilateral political consensus.

It is hoped that all parties will jointly resist non-regional forces inciting confrontation in the area and take concrete actions to safeguard regional peace and stability, Wang added.

Since Ishiba assumed office, high-level interactions between China and Japan have become more frequent. On October 10, Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Ishiba on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation held in Vientiane, Laos. 

Before Monday's meeting, Wang and Akiba held a phone call on October 21.

Xiang Haoyu, a research fellow in the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies of China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times that since Ishiba came to office, China-Japan relations have achieved a relatively smooth transition, as the new Japanese cabinet has recognized the importance of China-Japan relations and adopted a relatively pragmatic and rational attitude.

According to Xiang, over the past year, China-Japan relations have continued to stabilize on the whole, but still face major problems including lack of political mutual trust, security suspicion, and weakening economic and trade cooperation momentum, which is related to Japan's negative perception of China, and also affected by great power competition and geopolitical conflicts.

Considering that the Ishiba cabinet is currently a in a relatively weak position at home and that great uncertainty lies ahead in Japanese domestic politics in the future, how to strengthen the predictability and certainty of bilateral relations through high-level exchanges has become crucial, said Xiang, adding that a stable China-Japan relationship is also beneficial for the governance stability of the Ishiba administration.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Beijing on Friday.

Noting that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Slovakia, Xi said that after three-quarters of a century of development, the traditional friendship between the two countries is full of vitality, and the cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both countries.

"We have decided to elevate China-Slovakia relations to a strategic partnership, which meets the future development needs of both countries and will inject new and powerful momentum into bilateral cooperation," Xi said, adding that China is willing to work together with Slovakia to open a new chapter in bilateral relations and lift their ties to a higher level.

China and the Vatican have agreed to extend their provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops for an additional four years, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Since it was signed in 2018, the provisional agreement regarding the appointment of bishops between China and the Vatican was extended in 2020 and 2022 respectively. The achievements in the implementation of this agreement have been commended by both sides, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at Tuesday's routine press briefing. 

The two sides, through friendly consultation, have agreed to extend the agreement for another four years. The two sides will maintain contact and talks in a constructive spirit and continue to advance the improvement of China-Vatican relations, said Lin.

Yan Kejia, director of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Religious Studies, sees the extension [of the agreement] as natural progress after gradual development. The two sides can deal with more complex issues and situations and seek solutions in a timeframe longer than two years, particularly on cultural and social topics, Yan said. 

The four-year extension is not simply a longer timeframe, but it means the two sides are moving steadily toward each other, consolidating existing achievements with a vision for the future, Yan said.

There may still be various forms of game, but the space for cooperation can be expanded with the extended timeframe, and this cooperation itself will become more constructive, Yan noted.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in May that "China is ready to work with the Vatican for the steady improvement of relations," in response to remarks from the Vatican's top cardinal that it would like to establish a permanent office in China. 

In recent years, China and the Vatican have maintained engagement, had in-depth communication on bilateral relations and international hotspot issues and increased understanding and trust, the spokesperson said then. 

Xi returns to Beijing after attending 16th BRICS Summit

China has officially launched a fresh round of population and family development survey aimed at understanding family dynamics and reproductive behaviors, ultimately providing data to enhance fertility support policies.

The survey will encompass 150 monitored counties and 1,500 communities, sampling a total of 30,000 individuals. It seeks to identify key factors influencing public attitudes toward childbearing, address the challenges families face and analyze the sentiments of reluctance and fear surrounding having children, ultimately providing scientific evidence to enhance fertility support policies and incentive measures, according to a statement by China Population and Development Research Center, a public institution directly under National Health Commission (NHC), on Thursday.

Song Jian, a demographer from the Center for Population and Development Studies of the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that since the implementation of the three-child policy and its supporting measures in 2021, the government has established a fertility support policy system, and various regions have actively implemented these measures. We need to understand how families perceive these policies and what unmet needs still exist.

"A nationwide representative sampling survey will provide answers to these questions and help refine the policy framework with data support."

Regarding the extent to which this survey can effectively address the issue of young people "not wanting to have children" or "not daring to have children," Song noted that while the survey itself cannot solve the problem, it can reveal underlying issues and provide data to support solutions. The fertility support policies must be targeted and based on a deep and accurate understanding of family needs, she emphasized.

The last time a nationwide family and fertility survey was carried out was in 2021, according to the center. It said that in 2017, 2019 and 2021, the NHC conducted three national fertility and parenting surveys, providing in-depth analysis and research on population development across various regions, particularly focusing on fertility levels, willingness to have children and parenting needs.

Since 2022, influenced by multiple factors such as changing attitudes toward childbirth and a decrease in the number of women of childbearing age, China has experienced negative population growth, shifting from a phase of population increase to one of decrease. This demographic development is characterized by evident trends such as declining birth rates, an aging population and regional disparities in population changes.

By the end of 2022, the mainland population was 1.41 billion, having decreased by 850,000 from 2021, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS) showed. It is the first time the country's population has recorded negative growth in 61 years since 1962.

It took more than a year to prepare for this new round of survey and was activated following the approval of a comprehensive sampling plan by the NBS on October 11, 2024, the center said.

Song told the Global Times there are some prominent fertility supporting needs waiting to be addressed. For example, do financial subsidies effectively encourage childbirth? How does the fertility status vary across different demographics? And how do families perceive their childcare needs?

According to the center, to ensure high-quality survey results, the first training session for the survey was held in Xining, Northwest China's Qinghai Province from October 14 to15. More than 130 people from 34 monitoring counties in seven provinces and one municipality participated in the on-site training.