Chinese naval escort fleet concludes goodwill visit to Madagascar

The 45th Chinese naval escort taskforce wrapped up a five-fay goodwill visit to Madagascar on Sunday and headed for its next stop in Seychelles, on its way home following fulfillment of its escort mission in the Gulf of Eden and waters off Somalia.

At 15:00 local time, the guided-missile destroyer Urumqi, the guided-missile frigate Linyi, and the comprehensive replenishment vessel Dongpinghu of the fleet set off one after another from the port of Toamasina.

The Chinese Embassy in Madagascar held a farewell ceremony for the fleet at the pier. Madagascar military leaders, Chinese embassy staff, and overseas Chinese had waited there to see them off.

The Chinese and Madagascar sides carried out a series of exchange activities during the five-day span. The taskforce came to the Tamatave School for Overseas Chinese and brought the teachers and students school supplies and daily necessities. The students also staged performances with Chinese elements.

When docking at the Port of Toamasina, the fleet also invited members of the public to come aboard. Nearly a thousand people, including teachers and students from the local Confucius Institute and School for Overseas Chinese, as well as military officers and soldiers of Madagascar and their family members, had an opportunity to tour on board the three ships and had cordial conversations with Chinese soldiers.

"Today I was honored to have the opportunity to board the ship. I am very happy, and I think the Chinese people and Chinese soldiers are great," said Liang Jiaming, a Confucius Institute student.

In early March, the 45th Chinese naval escort taskforce completed escort tasks for 72 Chinese and foreign vessels in 43 batches in the Gulf of Eden, and provided security guard for 14 transiting merchant ships, demonstrating the role of China as a responsible major power.

The 46th Chinese naval escort taskforce has formally taken over the escort mission from the 45th escort taskforce on March 4, and has proceeded with the escort tasks in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia.

China's total box office revenue for the 2026 summer movie season has surpassed three billion yuan (about 442.68 million U.S. dollars), driven by a diverse array of domestic and foreign films, industry data showed on Monday.

As of 13:14 on Monday, earnings for the season, which runs from June 1 to Aug 31, cleared the milestone, according to Maoyan, a major Chinese ticketing platform and box office tracker.

More than 100 films are slated for release this summer, spanning genres from revolutionary history to comedy, animation, and science fiction to cater to varied audience tastes, data showed.

To stimulate consumer spending, several regions across China have introduced subsidized ticketing vouchers and expanded "Cinema Plus" initiatives. These events have enriched cultural life and helped boost seasonal consumption.