Xi visits science city on inspection tour in east China's Anhui

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday visited the Hefei Binhu Science City in Hefei -- the capital city of east China's Anhui Province -- on his current inspection tour in the province.

During the visit, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, asked about the local efforts to advance institutional innovation of science and technology, and accelerate the application of scientific and technological advances.

An inland city much less conspicuous a decade earlier, Hefei today stands as a thriving cluster of cutting-edge science and technology and dynamic tech-intensive industries.

The Hefei Binhu Science City encompasses Feidong County, Feixi County, Baohe District, Shushan District, and Luyang District, covering four national-level development zones and three provincial-level development zones. It is a key development area designated by the national major functional zoning plan and is responsible for the construction of the province's science and technology market, as well as providing support service for national laboratories.

In the course of its development over recent years, the science city, has actively striven to build itself into a world-class science zone with more concentrated scientific research elements, more dynamic technological innovation, better life services, and a more vibrant ecological environment.

Xi visits science city on inspection tour in east China's Anhui

Xi visits science city on inspection tour in east China's Anhui

Xi visits science city on inspection tour in east China's Anhui

Xi visits science city on inspection tour in east China's Anhui

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.

Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.

"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.

The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.

Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar