CCTV: It’s reported that on July 17, French President Macron and German Chancellor Merz expressed their concerns over China-EU trade imbalances, industrial subsidies, and RMB exchange rate when they met the press. In the meantime, they insisted that neither France nor Germany were anti-China and they were not seeking to decouple from China. They both recognized China’s remarkable achievements in innovation, and expressed their willingness to engage with China in an open dialogue on relevant matters and the need for China to transfer technologies and create jobs in Europe. Does China have any comment on that? Lin Jian: On issues relating to China-EU economic and trade ties, China has made its position clear more than once. China attaches high importance to the economic and trade differences between China and the EU, and believes that both sides can properly handle those differences through dialogue, consultation and policy interaction. Those differences should not be an obstacle to China-EU mutual trust and cooperation, the pretext to decouple and sever supply chains, and still less be used as an excuse for making groundless accusations against China. Under the WTO framework, international trade is a two-way street and there is no forced trade. The China-EU economic and trade relations are win-win in nature. China never seeks a trade surplus with Europe. The China-EU trade structure is shaped by international division of labor, competitive advantages and many other factors. China always abides by the WTO rules and basic norms of market economy including free trade, fair competition, and open cooperation. There are no such things as WTO prohibited subsidies in China. China’s industrial competitiveness comes from the combined advantages of its complete industrial system, super-sized market, and sound innovation ecosystem. The competitiveness is also driven by the Chinese companies’ strenuous efforts and long-term dedication. China is a responsible major country. We have never manipulated currency rate, and will not undervalue our currency to gain a competitive edge, still less will use currency rate as a tool to shield us from external disruptions including trade disputes. Protectionism leads no way out. Win-win cooperation is the right way forward. The root cause of the EU’s problems on trade and economy does not lie with China. Instead, China can be a partner for the EU in addressing the problems. We notice that many European companies have recently said that decoupling won’t work and called for more cooperation with China. In the recent first meeting of the China-EU Trade and Investment Consultations, the two sides had a comprehensive, in-depth and constructive discussion on important issues concerning China-EU trade and economy, and achieved new progress. It is hoped that both France and Germany can act with a rational and practical attitude as core EU member states, play a positive and constructive role, help the EU go along the same direction with China, and address each other’s concerns through dialogue and negotiation so as to open up a new prospect of upward balance and sustainable development of China-EU trade.

CCTV footage showed a woman sheltering a child on a street in Ukraine's Sumy at the moment of an explosion from Russian strikes. Five were killed and 30 injured in the attacks according to authorities

CCTV: We have learned that a Chinese government medical expert team recently arrived in Uganda to support local outbreak response effort. Could you share more details with us? Mao Ning: China attaches high importance to responding to the latest Ebola outbreak in Africa. Two Chinese medical expert teams have been sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, gaining recognition from all sides. Recently, at the invitation of Uganda, another Chinese medical expert team arrived in Kampala. They have held exchanges with local health authorities, medical research institutions, as well as the Ebola Incident Management Support Team jointly set up by the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, providing services and guidelines for local outbreak response effort. China stands ready to continue offering assistance within its capacity in light of the situation on the ground and the needs of African countries to help defeat the outbreak at an early date.

CCTV has spotlighted Huangmei’s one-of-a-kind standing dragon boat race in Hubei. Two hundred paddlers stand tall on a 99-meter giant dragon boat, striking oars in perfect unison as they surge across the water, filling the river with electrifying energy and timeless folk spirit.