上海花千坊会所

A US House of Representatives committee on Wednesday local time voted to advance Biosecure Act that would prohibit US federal agencies from contracting with China's BGI, Wuxi AppTec and other biotech companies under the excuse of "national security." This is the latest move of the Biden administration's heightened suppression of China's normal economic, trade and technological activities.

Chinese observers said the biotech legislation targeting Chinese companies, along with US' new tariffs imposed on Chinese electric vehicles and advanced batteries, is part of the Biden administration's political show aimed at winning voters in an election year. US President Joe Biden and his administration will likely intensify crackdown on Chinese companies before the election, even at the risk of harming more US consumers and economic health.

However, they said the US' hysterical crackdown on China will neither make China surrender nor impede China's development, rather it will harm US companies in international competition and hinder technological progress.

Intensifying crackdown

The US House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on Wednesday approved the Biosecure Act, which must get through the US House and Senate before Biden could sign it into a law, Reuters reported.

The targeted Chinese companies expressed strong opposition to the US' proposed legislation which is based on false and misleading allegations.

"As public records show, the Biosecure Act is advocated by a US company, to eliminate competition and strengthen its monopoly in the DNA sequencing market. BGI Group is disappointed to see the US legislative process being abused by the company which the US government itself has accused of holding an unlawful monopoly," BGI Group told the Global Times on Thursday.

BGI places the highest priority on privacy and strictly follows international and local data protection regulations. Statements alleging BGI is controlled by the Chinese government or military are false, the company stressed.

WuXi AppTec said the company "has not posed, does not pose, and will not pose a security risk to the US or any other country," according to a filing with the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd on Thursday. The company reiterated that it does not have a human genomics business or collect human genomic data in the US, China or elsewhere.

Since the beginning of 2024, the Biden administration has expanded its crackdown on Chinese companies to sectors including biotechnology, new energy and shipbuilding, which are part of a political show to win voters for the presidential election, Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Take the newly announced tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese imports for example. The volume is not that big compared with tariffs imposed on hundreds of billions of Chinese goods amid China-US trade war, but by doing so, the Biden administration wants to show that they could come up with a stronger hard-line policy against China, according to Gao.

On Wednesday, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that her department plans to announce proposed rules on Chinese connected vehicles this autumn, citing so-called "national security" risks to Americans' data, Reuters said in another report.

China firmly opposes and lodges solemn representations over the further increase of additional tariffs on some Chinese goods by the US, and will take resolute measures to safeguard its own rights and interests, He Yadong, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce, reiterated at a regular press conference on Thursday.

US' protectionism doomed

Unilateral and protectionist actions aimed at China by the US expose the loss of confidence and composure on the part of the US and are doomed to fail, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The US' unscrupulous suppression of China does not help address domestic problems in the US, but only results in a greater disruption of the normal operation of the international industrial and supply chains, Wang said, adding that the US' move will not deter China's development and rejuvenation.

Economic bullying and technological blockades have actually accelerated China's innovation. China's chip-making capability is catching up, artificial intelligence is gaining traction, and sectors like aerospace and electric vehicles are developing very fast, Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The US' unilateral moves will only backfire, as they will likely raise market prices, burden consumers, and hinder global cooperation and innovation in the industry, Li said.

"A series of hegemonic and bullying practices against China underlies the US' double-dealing face," he said. While the US touts its open economy and free trade, its unilateral and protectionist actions are against its words. Biden promises that the US does not seek to decouple from China and hinder China's development, but its practices tell another story, Li said.

Despite US' growing erraticism and paranoia to fragment the world by ideological differences, it is becoming increasingly hard to decouple from China, Li said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Tuesday slammed US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s double standard narrative on “overcapacity”, calling it an act of protectionism, which tramples on the principles of market economy and international rules, and is blatant bullying.

The remarks came after Yellen recently raised the “overcapacity” narrative in an interview with US media, saying the US would provide targeted investment and subsidies to support its strategic industries. She added that the US doesn’t want China to provide huge subsidies to enterprises, which would squeeze US firms out of the market.

“We’re very explicitly subsidizing investments in these important strategic areas. And what we don’t want to see is massive Chinese subsidies to firms with huge overcapacity that will just drive our firms out of business,” Yellen said.

Wang pointed out that the US sees its own subsidies as important investments in key industries, but criticizes other countries for providing subsidies. The US also berates other countries for exporting competitive products, labeling it as "overcapacity", while promoting its own exports as “free trade.”

The US is using the "overcapacity" narrative to suppress advanced industries in other countries. It is nothing but blatant bullying and hegemony, Wang noted.

Wang reiterated that the rapid development of China's new energy industry is built on homegrown tech innovation, the complete supply chain and sufficient market competition rather than relying on government subsidies. 

On the contrary the US has been a major player in doling out government subsidies through the CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act, Wang added.

Wang noted that the rapid development of China's new energy industry is in line with the global economic need for the green transformation, benefiting China, the US and the world. He urged the US to abandon hypocrisy and playing double standards, and to avoid slipping back into trade protectionism.

Now, the Biden administration is reportedly planning to levy 100 percent tariffs on Chinese EVs.

Wang said that China has always opposed the unilateral hike of tariffs that violate WTO rules and will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. 

This year the 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) will be held from June 5 to 8. Together with specialized federal services, the city is preparing for the event in accordance with the Action Plan approved by Governor Alexander Beglov.

“SPIEF is one of the brightest brands of our city, known all over the world. Despite all external constraints, its popularity is only growing every year. A total of 17,000 people from 130 countries took part in SPIEF 2023. I am convinced that this year’s geography of participants will be equally extensive, and St. Petersburg will demonstrate its traditionally high level of hospitality,” said Alexander Beglov. 

In the Northern Capital, the territories adjacent to the main event venues and traffic routes for SPIEF participants are being upgraded. More than 250,000 annual flower plants, 5,000 shrubs, about 70 trees will be planted in the Moscow and Pushkin districts, and more than 1,500 hanging flower arrangements will be installed.

City infrastructure improvements are underway, and routes for participants travelling to key event venues are being worked out. The current scheduled repair of motorways along the route of SPIEF participants will be completed by the end of May. Together with Rospotrebnadzor, the issues of ensuring the sanitary and epidemiological safety of Forum participants and guests are being addressed. 

The program of cultural and sporting events is currently being approved by the SPIEF Organizing Committee. Traditionally, events are planned not only for Forum participants, but also for residents and guests of the city. A concert featuring popular Russian pop artists will be held on Palace Square as part of the St. Petersburg Seasons project. For a second time during SPIEF, the international multi-day cycling race “Ladoga Gold” will be held.

The exhibition and business zone of St. Petersburg at SPIEF, as in previous years, will occupy 1,700 square meters. The business program of the city is being actively formed and will be approved by May 20. 

This week the Roscongress Foundation presented the architecture of the SPIEF 2024 business program. The main theme of the Forum is “The Formation of New Centres of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World.” The theme is articulated through four thematic blocks of the federal program, which this year includes two events from St. Petersburg.

According to Alexander Beglov, the panel discussion entitled “Let’s All Go to the Park?! Strategies and Practices for Success in Creative Sustainable Cities” will be held within the track “A Healthy Society, Traditional Values and Social Development: The Priority of the State.”

“We will discuss the issues of managing urban spaces, attracting investment, creating conditions for sustainable economic growth and improving life in cities,” he added.

Another St. Petersburg event is the business session ‘‘International Promotion. Development of New Tourist Offers and Products.’’ It will be held as part of the thematic block ‘‘Goals and Objectives of Russia’s New Economic Cycle.’’ 

At the previous SPIEF 2023, St. Petersburg concluded 62 agreements totaling 661 billion ruble. “We are counting on new major contracts this year as well,” the governor emphasized.

The Roscongress Foundation is a socially oriented non-financial development institution and a major organizer of nationwide and international conventions; exhibitions; and business, public, youth, sporting, and cultural events. It was established in pursuance of a decision by the President of the Russian Federation.

The US' reported plan to levy tariffs on imports from China's emerging industries is adding mistakes to mistakes, and its commerce department's decision to add 37 Chinese entities in the high-tech sector to a trade restriction list is abusing export control tools to suppress Chinese companies, which will prompt necessary countermeasures from China, a Chinese Foreign Ministry (FM) spokesperson warned on Friday, urging the US to stop politicizing trade matters and cracking down on Chinese companies on so-called national security grounds.

The latest moves showed that the US is stepping further down the path of clamping down on Chinese companies and "decoupling" with China, observers said, warning that there will be serious consequences.

The Biden administration is set to announce new China tariffs as soon as next Tuesday targeting strategic sectors including electric vehicles, batteries and solar equipment, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

Also on Thursday, the US moved to tighten its technology crackdown on Chinese firms after the US commerce department added 37 Chinese entities to a trade restriction list, including some companies accused of involvement in the balloon incident in 2023, and also citing other reasons such as national security and links to Russia. 

Observers said the moves revealed that the illogical and groundless smear campaign by the Western media and politicians hyping so-called Chinese "overcapacity" in green products is no more than a stepping stone for trade protectionist measures that had long been planned by the Biden administration, which lays bare the US' ulterior motive of cracking down on and stymieing China's development.

In response to reported US levying of more tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other green exports, FM spokesperson Lin Jian told a routine press briefing on Friday that the actions are "doubling the US' fault," noting that the Section 301 tariffs imposed by the former US administration on China have severely disrupted normal trade and economic exchanges between China and the US. 

The WTO has already ruled those tariffs against WTO rules. Instead of ending those wrong practices, the US continues to politicize trade issues, abuse the so-called review process of Section 301 tariffs and plan tariff hikes. 

The spokesperson urged the US to follow WTO rules, lift all additional tariffs on China and not to impose new ones.

Regarding the US entity list, Lin said that China strongly opposes US abuse of entity list and other export controls to go after Chinese companies. 

"China and Russia have the right to normal economic and trade cooperation, and such cooperation should not come under external interference or constraint," Lin noted.

Lin urged the US to stop overstretching the concept of national security, stop politicizing trade and tech issues or using them as weapons, and stop abusing various types of sanctions lists to suppress Chinese companies. 

China will continue to do what is necessary to defend the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies, Lin said.

China will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its own interests if the US still proceeds with its wrongdoings, China's Ministry of Commerce said on Friday in response to a military aid package the Biden administration signed in April, which contains multiple negative items targeting China.

Politicizing trade matters

Following US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China in April, there has been a marked uptick in the US' actions aimed at provoking China in trade and economic matters.  

The US this week revoked licenses that allowed companies including US chipmakers Intel and Qualcomm to deliver chips used for laptops and handsets to Chinese tech giant Huawei. China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday lambasted US export restrictions on the purely civilian use of chips as a "typical act of economic coercion," while US companies said that the move would negatively impact their earnings.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Wednesday warned that the US may take "extreme action" and seek to ban Chinese connected vehicles on national security grounds.

The US has also launched a probe into the Chinese maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries.

Analysts warned that the US government has walked away from its pledge to avoid holding back China's economic growth and formulated new measures to crack down on Chinese companies and engage in "decoupling", which is hurting the positive atmosphere of engagement and dialogue that had developed in recent months.

Li Yong, a senior research fellow from the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Friday the US' continued crackdown on China's high-tech sectors and emerging industries is not surprising and represents more of the US saying one thing but doing another.

"The US' continuing to contain and suppress China's development, to build and expand the so-called 'small yard, high fence,' and push toward decoupling is undermining the positive atmosphere of engagement and dialogue that had been built up in recent months with multiple high-level meetings taking place between the two sides," Li said.

Lü Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday that the reports on a potential rollout of additional tariffs on Chinese green products showed that the Biden administration now believes there is an urgent need to resort to protectionist trade measures to shore up the US traditional industries and salvage some voters' support.

The Biden administration has apparently backpedaled on its pursuit of a green economy by giving in to pressure from workers' unions at traditional US automakers that predominantly make internal combustion engine vehicles, the expert said.

Biden and his aides are also trying to woo voters by playing tough on China, Lü said. "The punishment of entities accused of being involved in the balloon incident seems to tell its voters that the Biden administration does not easily forget things, while the crackdown on Chinese technology companies serves the purpose of looking tough on China."

However, Lü said any trade protectionist moves taken by the Biden administration are unlikely to halt the downward trend of the US economy, noting that the US government's investment and industrial policies have been so far proved ineffective in boosting overall investment in the US.

Global concerns

International and global business communities have raised grave concerns over the prospects of heightened tensions between the world's two biggest economies and their implications for global economic recovery.

IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said on Tuesday that escalating tensions between the US and China have caused global ripples, and countries are reevaluating their trading and investment partners based on economic and national security concerns, leaving the world divided into three blocs.

Many in the corporate sector have also cast doubt over the West's hyping of Chinese "overcapacity" in green exports.

"With green technologies, China is making a great contribution to the world because we need to go very fast to solar and go very fast to electric mobility. China is helping to achieve that both in China and the world," Frank Hammes, global CEO of Swiss air quality technology company IQAir, told the Global Times in an interview on Friday.

China is well positioned in important sectors that facilitate a global transition to a greener, more sustainable power generation and transport, he said.

China, which had kept a restrained posture in response to US provocations, could strike back when it deems necessary in this escalation of trade tensions amid the US' headstrong trade protectionist moves, analysts warned.

Despite certain US politicians pushing for decoupling against Chinese exports, bilateral trade has shown signs of steady growth, with total China-US trade expanding 1.1 percent year-on-year to 1.47 trillion yuan ($203.42 billion) in yuan-denominated terms in the first four months, reversing a 0.7 percent contraction in the first three months, customs data showed on Thursday.

The five-day May Day holidays, which concluded on Sunday, witnessed a bustling tourism market with a surge in visitor numbers at many tourist attractions nationwide, with a trend showing that many tourists explored smaller cities and towns alongside traditional popular tourism destinations.

China saw 295 million domestic tourist trips during the holidays, up 7.6 percent year-on-year and 28.2 percent from the same period in 2019, according to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Monday.

During the holidays, the most popular tourist destinations in China were cities famous for their convenient transportation, rich cultural and tourism resources such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Chengdu, according to a report sent to the Global Times by online travel agency Trip.com.

However, there is a noticeable trend that smaller cities and county-level destinations have seen higher growth rates in tourism orders compared to first and second-tier cities, said the report.

For instance, smaller cities such as Yangzhou and Luoyang saw a year-on-year average rise of 11 percent in tourism orders during the holidays, while the county-level destinations, such as Anji, Yiwu and Pingtan, have experienced an average increase of 36 percent, according to the report. 

Experts noted that the trend indicates the increasing diversity of tourism destinations nationwide, as well as the structural changes in the supply and demand of the tourism market.

Chinese tourists currently are "more focused on cost-effectiveness" when traveling to small cities or counties, as the accommodation and transportation costs are lower compared to larger cities, Wu Liyun, a professor of China Academy of Culture and Tourism of Beijing International Studies University, told the Global Times on Monday.

Meanwhile, there's a trend that more and more tourists prioritize "quality and unique experiences," "leading them to seek out lesser-known or niche destinations," rather than those popular tourist spots that are crowded, said Wu. 

With the rural revitalization development across the country, smaller regions including county-level places have become important markets for tourism companies to develop scenic areas, theme parks or other scenic spots, to attract tourists to experience natural beauty with less cost and improved services, Wu noted.

The average price for hotels in county-level markets is only half of the average rate in popular first and second-tier cities, during the holidays. The county-level markets are also improving their services and accommodations as well. Since December 2023, at least 127 new 4A-level scenic spots have been added in 10 provincial-level regions, with 65 percent of them located in county-level markets, according to the Trip.com report. 

A Shanghai local resident surnamed Huang told the Global Times on Monday that she went to Lishui district, a suburb area in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province during the holidays and was quite satisfied with the trip. "I preferred the lesser-known place which also has attractive scenes. The transportation is also very convenient, and it's not expensive," Huang said.

Another resident surnamed Ma went to Xiapu county in East China's Fujian Province with her family during the holidays. "The county is less crowded and very comfortable, and we can explore the place slowly and have lasting memories with the family," Ma told the Global Times.

China has established the world's largest, most comprehensive, and scientifically arranged monitoring network system in the recent years, and will continue to strengthen environmental monitoring and enforcement in 2024, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China stated on Sunday.

"Currently, the country directly monitors 33,000 sites, effectively enhancing the quality of monitoring and continually strengthening technical capabilities, thereby providing significant support for ecological and environmental protection work," Pei Xiaofei, the director of the Department of Communication and Education and spokesperson for the ministry, stated at a monthly routine press conference on Sunday.

Ecological monitoring is a crucial foundation for environmental protection, serving as the primary basis for objectively assessing environmental quality, reflecting the effectiveness of pollution control, and implementing environmental management and decision-making.

The Ministry has issued "Opinions on Accelerating the Establishment of a Modern Ecological Environmental Monitoring System" and recently held a national ecological monitoring work conference to comprehensively deploy the construction of a modern monitoring system.

Pei mentioned that the Ministry would focus on five key tasks in the future: First, to perfect the monitoring system to match the construction of a beautiful China and objectively assess its effectiveness; second, to enhance data analysis and predictive capabilities to accurately guide pollution control; third, to boost integrated monitoring capabilities from mountain tops to oceans, covering all ecological and environmental elements comprehensively; additionally, to strengthen monitoring technology support, enhancing technology research and application; and finally, to enhance monitoring and regulatory capabilities, innovate regulatory methods, prevent the falsification of environmental monitoring data, and create a fair regulatory environment.

"The monitoring should consider all elements of the ecological environment, from the mountains to the sea, above and below ground, in cities and rural areas, and along river basins, and we aim to advance the construction of integrated monitoring capabilities comprehensively and across all regions," he said.

Additionally, this year, the ministry will organize the third monitoring competition to promote training, learning, and action through competition.

Liu Dejun, spokesperson for the China Coast Guard, noted at the press conference that in 2023, the China Coast Guard confronted the complex challenges of marine ecological environmental protection and fully engaged in the defense of the blue seas.

Over the year, more than 3,600 maritime construction projects were inspected, and approximately 16,800 vessel inspections were conducted. Special attention was given to difficult issues such as the illegal extraction of marine sand. A total of 98 cases involving marine sand were detected, resulting in the seizure of 95 vessels and 452,000 tons of sand, significantly curbing frequent illegal dredging activities in key maritime areas.

Innovative maritime monitoring models were continuously developed, utilizing a coordinated approach involving personnel, vessels, and aircrafts to establish a three-dimensional monitoring system that includes outdoor cruising, maritime patrolling, and aerial surveillance, he said.

Zhang Zhifeng, deputy director of the marine ecology department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, stated at the press conference that since the begin of 14th Five-Year plan in 2021, various departments and localities have adhered to integrated land and marine management and river-sea coordination, committed to comprehensive governance and collaborative efforts, and achieved significant phased results in the comprehensive management of key marine areas.

Approximately 9,200 hectares of coastal wetlands have been rehabilitated, along with about 110 kilometers of shoreline.

"While making phased progress, we also fully recognize that key marine areas still face high pressure from the discharge of pollutants such as total nitrogen, and the restoration and repair of typical marine ecosystems will require a longer period. The foundation for improving the ecological environment quality in key marine areas is not yet solid, and the task of comprehensive governance remains challenging," Zhang stated.

Next, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in conjunction with relevant departments and coastal localities, will deepen the integrated land and sea coordination, river-sea linkage, and regional collaboration in pollution prevention and control efforts, further strengthen the protection and restoration of the marine ecology, and implement precise governance of rivers and bays to collectively push forward the comprehensive governance battle in key marine areas to achieve expected results, according to Zhang.

A man who killed his wife during their divorce cooling-off period was given a death penalty in the first trial by a court in Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province on Thursday. 

Two weeks after submitting their divorce application, the 36-year-old victim surnamed Zhou was stabbed to death by her 37-year-old husband Zhao Liuchao outside an industrial park in July 2023, despite being accompanied by six relatives and friends at the time. 

The Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict of the first trial against the defendant in accordance with the law. Zhao was sentenced to death for the crime of intentional homicide and deprived of his political rights for life. 

According to the victim’s younger sister Zhou Mei (pseudonym), after the verdict was pronounced, the judge asked the defendant whether he had anything to say on the verdict and the defendant asked the judge whether he would be immediately executed. After he was given an affirmative answer, he said he did not intend to kill his wife on purpose and was taken away, the Xiaoxiang Morning News reported on Thursday. 

Zhao and Zhou were married in 2011 and they applied for divorce at the marriage registration office of the local civil affairs bureau in Pingyu county, Central China’s Henan Province on July 7, 2023. On the evening of July 30, 2023, the victim was accompanied by six relatives and friends and met the defendant outside of a local industrial park. 

When the defendant arrived at the meeting place, he rushed to the victim and took out a knife to stab her and the other people, leading to the death of the victim and other four people being wounded. 

According to the court, the defendant deliberately and illegally deprived others of their lives, resulting in one death, and four other people suffering minor injuries. His actions have constituted the crime of intentional homicide. 

Zhao displayed a high degree of subjective malignancy, employed cruel means in committing the crime, and caused severe consequences, thus, he should be severely punished, the court concluded.

According to reports, the victim was born in Leizhou, South China’s Guangdong Province in 1987. In 2008, the two people got married and had a son and a daughter. In Jul 7, 2023, the couple applied for divorce in Henan and Zhou returned to Guangzhou for work. 

According to Zhou’s younger sister, the defendant appeared to remain calm, agreed to get divorced and signed the divorce agreement during the first week of the cooling-off period before divorce. 

However, Zhao soon regretted his actions and asked Zhou to meet again. Since the defendant’s attitude was very volatile, Zhou was worried that the defendant would exhibit violent behaviors. So, Zhou went to the appointment in the company of her younger sister, elder brother and four other male friends. 

According to Guangzhou Municipal People’s Procuratorate, Zhou filed for divorce due to her husband’s long-term domestic violence with the civil affairs bureau in Henan. After Zhou returned to Guangzhou, Zhao repeatedly threatened Zhou over phone for a meeting and threatened to kill her family. 

According to Zhou’s younger sister, the results of Zhao’s psychiatric assessment showed that he had no mental issues. 

The divorce cooling-off period was introduced as part of the first-ever Civil Code in China on January 1, 2021. It requires couples to wait a month after reaching a settlement and then go together to collect their divorce certificates. 

The policy sparked heated discussion after release, with some questioning whether extending and complicating the process of divorce is a right path to take for a broken marriage. 

Experts noted that the cooling-off period only applies to the circumstances of the divorce agreement but not the litigation, in which the victims of domestic violence need to seek to their own protection in court.

Since the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) launched the counter-terrorism hotline in June 2022, over 28,000 messages have been submitted as of mid-April, involving more than 7,000 tipoffs. Among them, over 13 percent offered information meriting further investigation, such as reports of explosives and prohibited weapons.

Among those reported cases, a netizen found a post related to terrorism and violence. After an investigation by the police, it was discovered that the post was linked to incitement. The individuals involved were arrested by the police.

Shortly after the launch of the counter-terrorism hotline, numerous reports were received  with the public encouraged to "see something, say something," said senior superintendent Leung Wai-ki of the HKPF's interdepartmental counter-terrorism unit. 

These included tipoffs about prohibited weapons, illegal possession of explosives, posts related to terrorism and violence on social media. In recent months, concerned residents reported suspected excessive storage of hazardous materials in residential buildings, and members of the public reported suspicious objects left by the roadside, such as luggage and other devices.

Some of those cases received "counter-terrorism rewards," with the highest amount being a five-figure sum. Additionally, certain reports that do not involve terrorism or violent activities have also been referred to other police reward programs or the "good citizen award," resulting in the issuance of rewards.

"Under the active promotion of the counter-terrorism unit, the awareness of 'everyone against terrorism, report when in doubt' has begun to deeply root in the public's mind," Junior Police Officers' Association chairman Lam Chi-wai told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Over the past two years, the unit has been promoting anti-terrorism public education targeted different sectors, including the chemical industry, taxi industry, and primary and secondary schools, Lam said. 

Hong Kong has over 160,000 logistics industry workers. Among them, a transport worker, during their shift, discovered what appeared to be prohibited weapons and reported it through the hotline, according to police. 

Since the program was launched, the counter-terrorism unit has engaged with 67 cross-border and local logistics and transportation companies to help enhance their employees' awareness of counter-terrorism.

As of the end of March, Hong Kong customs has seized 27 cases involving firearms and ammunition, 19 of which were actively reported by the logistics industry. Additionally, there were 60 cases involving weapons during the same period, with 48 being actively reported by the logistics industry, reflecting the effectiveness of the "see something, say something" campaign. 

Countries with the most imports of firearms, ammunition, and weapons to Hong Kong are the US and Germany, according to customs. 

Since the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance took effect in March, various types of counter-terrorism training took place in Hong Kong.

For instance, the HKPF, along with the Fire Services Department, Hong Kong Red Cross, and Endeavour Education Center, held a large-scale interdepartmental counter-terrorism drill on Sunday, involving over 100 secondary school students who learned how to respond to danger. The exercise also helped to improve the police's response capabilities to terrorist attacks.

While the current threat level of terrorist attacks in Hong Kong is moderate, with no intelligence indicating an imminent target, local officials referenced recent major terrorist attacks globally, saying they reflect the increasingly complex geopolitical environment that exacerbates the international terrorism situation. 

"Recently, terrorist attacks have occurred frequently around the world, many involving firearms or explosives, resulting in casualties. As an international city, Hong Kong should be vigilant of the risks of being a potential target for terrorists," Lam said.

In the past, the police force has also uncovered multiple cases of local extremists planning attacks, a situation that cannot be ignored, he noted. 

"Relying solely on disciplined forces for anti-terrorism efforts is insufficient. If every resident joins in, paying attention to suspicious people, objects, and events around them, and reports them when in doubt, Hong Kong will gain an additional seven million reliable eyes, providing extra protection against terrorist activities," Lam said. 

China's Foreign Ministry on Friday again rebuked US accusation of Chinese overcapacity, saying that the US' claims, while sounding like an economic concept, are a disguise for its malign attempt to curb China's industrial development and a form of economic coercion and bullying. 

The remarks came as the US continued to hype its so-called accusation of overcapacity across various Chinese industries and even threatened to take measures, including increased tariffs against Chinese products, in its latest crackdown campaign against China. 

Commenting on US' accusations of overcapacity at a regular press briefing in Beijing, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, said that such claims against China are not new, as the US has long accused China of overcapacity, as China exported a large volume of high-quality, affordable products to the world.

"The so-called overcapacity claim raised by the US seems to be an economic concept, but behind it is the vicious attempt to curb and suppress China's industrial development. It aims to seek a more favorable competitive position and market advantage for itself. It is blatant economic coercion and bullying," Lin said.

Lin further pointed out that 80 percent of US chips are exported and a huge amount of US ports and agricultural products are also exported. Can this be called overcapacity, based on the US' own logic? Lin also noted that the proportion China's exports of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) in total output remains far below that of Germany, Japan, South Korean and other countries, which shows there is no overcapacity in China's NEV sector. 

"Prescribing medicine for others cannot cure one's own disease. US 'overcapacity' charge as a pretext for protectionist trade measures cannot address one's own problems. Instead, it will hinder the stability of the global production and supply chain, harm the growth and development of emerging industries, and undermine the international community's joint efforts to address climate change and green transformation and development," Lin said. 

Also on Friday, Lin responded to remarks made by US President Joe Biden, who called for substantial higher tariffs against Chinese steel products during a speech given in the US steel production base of Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Biden also accused China of offering subsidies to expand steel production capacity, which harms US businesses. 

In response, Lin said that relevant claims made by the US side are completely untrue and could harm China-US economic and trade relations. "China is seriously concerned and strongly dissatisfied with this," he said.

The spokesperson also noted that China's steel industry relies on domestic demand and does not receive any export subsidies, further adding that China's proportion of steel exports in its total output has long remained at around 5 percent and is far below that of Japan, South Korea and other major steel producers.

China will closely follow the US' so-called investigation, urging the US to be prudent in its words and deeds, stop political manipulation on China-related issues during the election year, and stop overstretching the concept of national security regarding economic and trade issues, remove existing additional tariffs and refrain from imposing new tariffs, Lin said. 

"China will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its rights and interests," the spokesperson noted.

More college graduates in China are choosing smaller cities for employment rather than only considering first-tier cities, according to a report released by MyCOS, a higher education consulting firm.

According to statistics on college graduates from class of 2018 to class of 2022, the percentage of undergraduates employed in county-level localities six months after graduation rose significantly, from 20 percent for class of 2018 to 25 percent for class of 2022. Among them, the percentage for male graduates rose from 19 percent to 24 percent, and for female graduates rose from 22 percent to 27 percent.

The reason for this new trend is the increasing income levels in county-level localities. The statistics reveal that the monthly income of college graduates working in counties has risen from 4,640 yuan ($640) for class of 2018 to 5,377 yuan for class of 2022, while job satisfaction has risen from 67 percent to 76 percent.

Nearly 60 percent of undergraduates who returned to counties for work stayed in the counties continuously for five years, while about 40 percent of them returned to counties for employment after working elsewhere for a period of time.

The government and public administration sector as well as the education sector were the main industries that have the highest percentage of undergraduates employed in counties for class of 2022, according to the report. Employment in education accounted for 23.6 percent, while employment in government and public administration accounted for 14.9 percent.

Statistics also show that 35.2 percent of female graduates are employed in the education industry. Among the male graduates employed in counties, the proportion of those who choose industries related to government and public administration is the highest, accounting for 15.3 percent, while the proportion of male students choosing the education industry is only 9.6 percent.

MyCOS analyzed that college students employed in counties five years after graduation may not have a clear advantage in terms of promotions and salary increases compared to the national average level. However, they do benefit from stable incomes, the convenience of working close to home, and a better cost of living.