China's announcement about marking its territorial sea around Huangyan Dao, an atoll in the South China Sea, is a natural and appropriate step in the country's consistent safeguarding of its territorial integrity and its commitment to dialogue, said a Chinese researcher.
The Chinese government on Sunday issued a statement regarding the baselines of the territorial sea adjacent to China's Huangyan Dao.
A foreign ministry spokesperson said later on Sunday that the island has always been China's territory, stressing that the territorial delimitations were made in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone.
During a China Global Television Network (CGTN) program, Rong Ying, a senior research fellow at China Institute of International Studies, said that the announcement reflects the country's long-held position and its continued efforts to improve administrative efficiency in the South China Sea.
"Huangyan Dao has been an integral part of China's territory. So this is only natural, justifiable, reasonable and appropriate for China to release at a time appropriate the baselines and base points of the territory waters of Huangyan Dao. So that announcement and, of course, the implementation of Chinese petitions, will help the relevant institutions to implement, to enforce the necessary steps in terms of better management," said Rong.
Also on Sunday, the China Coast Guard said that it will continuously strengthen patrols and law enforcement in territorial waters off Huangyan Dao and relevant waters, as the atoll is an inherent part of China's territory.
However, according to Rong, cooperation and dialogue remain the primary means of resolving tensions in the South China Sea.
"China has always maintained a kind of consultation and dialogue for managing and resolving territorial disputes, any disputes with any countries. But in the meantime, China has made it very clear and has been very resolute in safeguarding its legitimate rights and territorial integrity. And on the question of South China Sea, again, I think China's very clear is ready to talk with relevant parties to address, to manage the territorial disputes. So I think it is very clear that cooperation will benefit everybody. Confrontation, everybody is going to lose," he said.
China's delimitations around South China Sea island reasonable, appropriate: expert
China will roll out a series of targeted measures to stabilize investment and unlock greater space for private capital, an official said on Thursday.
Chen Changsheng, deputy director of the State Council Research Office who participated in the drafting of this year's Government Work Report, made the statement at a press briefing held in Beijing.
He noted that China will leverage the guiding role of government funding and the driving effect of major projects to shore up investment.
Total government investment this year is set to exceed five trillion yuan (about 725 billion U.S. dollars), which will come from central budget investment and local government special bonds for major national strategies and security capacity building projects and equipment upgrades. Meanwhile, 109 major projects have been planned in the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).
China will also stimulate investment by opening up more application scenarios for businesses.
On the traditional front, a long-term mechanism will be improved to encourage private enterprises to participate in major national projects. For emerging sectors, China will further open scenarios in biomedicine, aerospace, and the low-altitude economy.
"Low-altitude economy has developed rapidly in recent years, with sound applications seen in fields such as agriculture, forestry plant protection, as well as surveying and inspection. Going forward, we will accelerate the opening of airspace resources and streamline approval procedures for low-altitude flights. This will unlock new scenarios including low-altitude logistics and urban management. Similar new opportunities can also be found in service robots and other sectors, all of which will create new space for private investment," Chen said.
By deepening reforms to further unlock investment potential, China will ease market access in the service sector, speed up revisions to the Bidding Law and the Government Procurement Law, and advance price reforms to broaden investment access for more enterprises.
"We will see a new round of investment potential unleashed. Major projects including the national water network, a new round of power grid upgrades, new generation communication networks, and computing power networks will drive massive investment, including demand from urban development. In addition, the campaign this year to expand and upgrade the service sector and the development of emerging industries will further expand space for private investment," Chen noted.
China to take measures to boost investment, expand space for private investment in 2026: official
