China-Russia joint efforts on Siberian tiger, Amur leopard protection bear fruit

The population of wild animals inhabiting along the China-Russia border has experienced a significant growth over the past year, thanks to a series of protection measures jointly implemented by Chinese and Russian conservationists, including setting up passages along the border for animals to migrate freely.

As one of the world's most endangered species, Serbian tigers, also known as Amur tigers, mainly lives in Russian Far East and the northeast region of China, with its main habitat in Hunchun, an area near the border between the two countries.

In recent years, China and Russia strengthened cross-border protection cooperation and jointly carried out monitoring and patrolling of tigers and leopards in Northeast China.

The two countries recently launched cooperation to jointly create animal passages to allow the free movement of tigers and leopards across the China-Russia border.

"We have been working with the border administration and opened 290 crossings for animals in the eastern part of the national park along the China-Russian border. Specifically, we've opened up a gap every few hundreds meters along the wire fence on the border of China and Russia, so that wild animals can cross China-Russia borders through the channels. In this way, the population of wild animals inhabiting on the border can be expanded," said Feng Limin, a professor with College of Life Sciences of Beijing Normal University.

Since the animal passages were opened up two years ago, numerous wild animals have moved freely between China and Russia, a benefit for barrier-free gene exchange and offspring breeding.

"We found that the wild animals used those passages at least 30,000 times over the past year, and at least 20 different Siberian tiger individuals crossed the China-Russia border, which is quite exciting. It plays an important role in the rapid growth of tiger and leopard populations in the border area of China and Russia," said Feng.

In the past five years, China and Russia maintained friendly cooperation in ecological protection, established a number of joint protection and joint monitoring systems, and opened up cross-border animal passages, creating a new cooperation model for the protection of cross-border endangered wildlife and the building of a community for human and natural life.

"Under the joint protection of China and Russia, the populations of Siberian tigers and Amur leopards began to grow, and other species such as sika deers moved freely between the two countries, which has sped up their population recovery and provided a good start and example for China and Russia to strengthen cooperation on ecological protection and carry out corridor construction," said Feng.

China-Russia joint efforts on Siberian tiger, Amur leopard protection bear fruit

On his second official visit to China, Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu Charlot Salwai expressed admiration for China's remarkable ability to balance preserving its cultural heritage with embracing innovative transformation.

Salwai paid an official visit to China from July 7 to 12. During his trip, he toured the southern province of Guangdong and explored the megacities of Beijing and Shanghai. His visit included tours of high-tech companies, a ride on a high-speed train, and a performance of traditional Cantonese opera.

In an interview with China Central Television Network (CCTV) aired on Friday, Salwai recounted his journey starting with a warm welcome that included enjoying Beijing Roast Duck, also known as Peking Duck -- a culinary delight introduced to him by the Chinese ambassador in Vanuatu.

"Many had to say. Peking Duck. Because we had it here on our arrival, so it was very tasty. And I understand that the Chinese ambassador in Vanuatu brought us to one of the traditional restaurants, small but beautiful," he said. The prime minister sees China's preservation of its culture as a vital lesson in understanding one's roots and the journey to the present day, acknowledging China's efforts to integrate cultural preservation with modernization.

"It's going to be my second official visit to China. I'm always impressed to see big changes and especially innovations made by China and especially the cities. Because a big impression is to see how China continues to maintain and keep its culture. Because I think it's the basis of everything -- to know where you come from and to understand where we are today. I feel that China is doing a lot to maintain its culture, but at the same time, doing, innovating to transform its culture,” Salwai said.

He also emphasized the importance of learning from China's sustainable development strategies.

"Today, it comes from a long way, some hardship, the government, and also the people of China. So, I'm impressed to see what is done, especially how China associates infrastructure development with nature. That's meant to keep, continue to keep the environment. It takes effort with the climate change by maintaining the ecosystem. I think it's something that, for a small country like Vanuatu, is important to learn. So, we are here. I'm here with my delegation to learn," Salwai said.

Vanuatu's PM commends China's cultural preservation, innovation amid fast growth