France and China are set to seek further cooperation in playing a role in restoring peace in Ukraine and Gaza Strip and enhancing bilateral economic and people-to-people exchanges, said French experts while commenting on Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to France from May 5 at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Sebastien Drochon, a senior fellow of Schiller Institute in France, said the Ukraine crisis and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are amongst the main topics of the Chinese and French presidents' discussions.
"I think one of the main topics is the question of war, because we are in a situation of great tension. There is a possibility to have a good discussion to bring solutions to this question of the war in Ukraine, but also the war in the Middle East. That is the main topic I think, because of this situation, the urgency. There was the China-France forum on global governance, where the former Prime Minister Laurent Fabius said that China and France are both countries that are defending multilateralism. And I think it's very important today to have this kind of dialogue between nations and to have dialogue to bring a real solution for peace, but also for political development, for economic development," he said.
Speaking with CGTN, Gary Rosen, CEO of AccorHotels Greater China, pointed out that cultural and economic exchanges, especially tourism, has captured the leaders' attention as always.
"The conversation between President Xi and President Macron is one that's always been consistent. And at the top of their discussion points is always the importance of cultural exchange and tourism. And you have to really respect the fact that both countries understand the importance of the economic exchange. Tourism is a big part of that, and certainly when you talk about the service industries. So I think there's no question that both presidents understand the importance of the exchange, not just of culture, but the idea of both French citizens visiting China, China citizens visiting France," he said.
France, China seek further cooperation in global peace, bilateral ties: experts
The endangered Tibetan antelopes have started their annual mass migration after the first batch of 47 female Tibetan antelopes passed through the Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve in northwest China's Qinghai Province on May 7.
To protect the rare species that are under top-class state protection, the management team of Hoh Xil in the province's Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture has set up the Wudaoliang protection station along the migration route. As of noon on Sunday, over 700 Tibetan antelopes had been spotted passing through the station.
The Tibetan antelope, known as the "fairies of the plateau", undertakes a migration from May to July each year. Female antelopes from the Sanjiangyuan region of Qinghai, parts of Qiangtang Terrane in Tibet, and the Arjin Mountains in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, would travel to the Zhuonai Lake in Hoh Xil to give birth before returning to their original habitats with their newborns.
"For Tibetan antelopes, we divide them into six species groups according to their geographical distribution. For example, Qinghai and Xinjiang have one group each. For Xizang (Tibet), there are three species groups in the east, central and west of the Qiangtang Terrane. And there is also one group in southern Qiangtang Terrane, which don't migrate," said Lian Xinming, researcher at the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
With an average altitude of over 4,600 meters, the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve is known as a "no-life zone" due to its thin air and low oxygen levels.
However, it is an important habitat for Tibetan antelopes, which can reach top speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour while running. Lian explained the reasons behind the antelopes' remarkable speed.
"I think one of the reasons why they run so fast is that they've got underfur. The warmth of its underfur is one of the characteristics of its ability to adapt to alpine cold and high altitudes. The diameter of its fur can be as thin as about one-seventh of our human hair on the temples. Secondly, its has been found in physiology that the hemoglobin of Tibetan antelope has a blood oxygen capacity that is more than 30 percent higher than that of other plain animals, which proves that the same number of red blood cells has stronger ability to carry oxygen. That should enable the Tibetan antelope to reach 70 or 80 kilometers per hour in a short time," Lian said.
After years of conservation efforts, the Tibetan antelope population in the Hoh Xil region has increased from less than 20,000 in the late 1980s to currently over 70,000.
Tibetan antelopes on migration journey to Hoh Xil Nature Reserve
