Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday attended a China-France-EU trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
Expressing his delight in meeting with Macron and von der Leyen again, Xi noted that France is the first stop of his overseas visit this year, and that the trilateral meeting amplifies the Europe-wide significance of this visit.
China always approaches its relations with the European Union (EU) from a strategic and long-term perspective, and regards Europe as an important dimension in its major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and an important partner on its path toward Chinese modernization, Xi said.
He expressed the hope that China-France and China-EU relations would reinforce each other and thrive together.
As the world enters a new period of turbulence and transformation, China and the EU, as two major forces in the world, should continue to see each other as partners, stay committed to dialogue and cooperation, deepen strategic communication, enhance strategic mutual trust, build strategic consensus, carry out strategic coordination, work for steady and sound growth of China-EU ties, and continue making new contributions to world peace and development, Xi said.
Xi attends China-France-EU trilateral meeting at Elysee Palace
Xi attends China-France-EU trilateral meeting at Elysee Palace
The four zebrafish brought into orbit by the Shenzhou-18 spaceship on April 26 are now in good conditions after staying 20 days in China’s space station, according to researchers.
The four fish are now living in a small "aquarium" in the Wentian laboratory module on the Tiangong space station.
They were sent to the space station for a life science and ecological experiment, which requires the three Shenzhou-18 astronauts, Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, to create a simplified version of an aquatic ecosystem using zebrafish and hornwort to study how the space environment affects their growth and system balance.
So far, the astronauts have successfully carried out two times of water sampling and one fish food container replacement. They have found some abnormal directional behaviors of the zebrafish in microgravity, such as reverse swimming, rotational movements, and circling.
The water samples, fish eggs, and videos recording spatial movement behaviors of the zebrafish will be sent back to Earth for scientists to study the influence of space environment on the growth and behaviors of vertebrates, which will provide reference for researches on material circulation of contained ecosystems in space.
If the experiment succeeds, it will be a significant breakthrough to cultivate vertebrates in China's space program. Not only will the astronauts find joy in the space "aquarium," but it may also pave the way for their future counterparts to enjoy nutritious fish from their own in-orbit harvests.
Zebrafish in good conditions after staying 20 days in China’s space station
