China's three major economic powerhouses -- the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area -- have reported strong growth in the first quarter of 2024, demonstrating their continued leadership in driving the country's high-quality development.
In the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, coordinated development has led to significant gains in the first three months.
Beijing saw a 33.7 percent increase in investment in high-tech industries, driven by sectors like integrated circuits. Tianjin's investment in strategic emerging industries grew by 18.3 percent, while the Xiong'an New Area's fixed asset investment rose by 15.4 percent, and Hebei's investment in high-tech manufacturing and added value of high-tech industries increased by 91.6 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
The Yangtze River Delta region has made a strong start to its high-quality development journey. The first quarter saw progress in infrastructure interconnection, joint ecological governance, and shared public services among the three provinces (Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui) and one municipality (Shanghai) that make up the region.
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has witnessed closer collaboration among the three regions, with rapid growth in investment in high-tech sectors. In the first quarter, Guangdong's investment in advanced manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing increased by 22.4 percent and 33.3 percent, respectively.
"The significant economic development achieved by the three major power source regions in the first quarter is mainly because of the development of new quality productivity. These regions have actively created strategic emerging industries and future industries, and actively developed artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, and the digital economy, empowering the improvement of the efficiency of industrial chains and supply chains, continuously driving the upgrading and optimization of the national modern industrial system, and playing an important leading role in our country's economic development," said Yan Min, director of the macroeconomic office in the economic forecasting division at the State Information Center.
The strong performance of these economic powerhouses underscores their crucial role in propelling China's economic growth and transition towards a high-quality development model.
China's economic powerhouses drive high-quality development in Q1
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has exceeded 35,000, health authorities in Gaza said in a press statement on Sunday.
During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 63 Palestinians and wounded 114 others, bringing the total death toll to 35,034 and injuries to 78,755 since the latest round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out last October, it said.
The statement noted that a number of victims are still under the rubble, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them.
Also on Sunday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) issued a statement saying that in the past week about 300,000 people have fled Rafah in Gaza.
The Israeli government continues to issue mandatory evacuation orders, forcing the people of Rafah to flee as it prepares to escalate its military operation. Many of the Gazans have already experienced multiple displacements within the war-torn strip, with some families having to leave their areas of residence on a monthly basis. However, upon arriving in southern Gaza cities like Khan Younis, they found that the local shelters had been destroyed during the military operations, leaving nothing but rubble behind.
The statement by the UNRWA stressed that that the Israeli military's claim of a "safe zone" is false and misleading.
More than 1 million displaced Palestinians are seeking refuge in Rafah, where a severe humanitarian crisis looms large due to shortages of essential supplies such as water, food and medical care. Now, the city is on the brink of a new impending crisis.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Saturday that they conducted airstrikes on dozens of military facilities in various locations, including the southern Gaza city of Rafah, belonging to Palestinian armed groups.
The IDF also said that in recent weeks, Hamas militants have redeployed in the northern Gaza area of Jabaliya, prompting renewed military operations by the IDF in that region.
Palestinian armed groups continued to engage in clashes with the IDF and launched rocket attacks towards southern Israel in areas including Rafah on the same day.
Israel's latest move has caused discontent in the West.
U.S. President Joe Biden has said the United States won't supply Israel with weapons if it launches Rafah offensive.
His administration said on Friday that there was substantial evidence suggesting that Israel had violated international laws protecting civilians.
European Council President Charles Michel also urged Israel not to carry out a military operation in Rafah. "Evacuation orders for civilians trapped in Rafah to unsafe zones are unacceptable," Michel wrote on X on Saturday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that a ground attack on Rafah would be irresponsible and lead to a massive loss of civilian lives if Israel did so. The German leader said in a web-cast that he had shared his views with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Palestinian death toll in Gaza tops 35,000: health authorities
