China to include all residential communities built before 2000 in urban renewal projects: minister

China will further advance urban renewal projects across multiple fronts, including incorporating all old residential communities built before the year 2000, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong announced in Beijing on Sunday.

At a press conference on people's livelihood during the third session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), Ni outlined the achievements made by China in urban renewal efforts since the initiative was launched in 2019.

"Since the urban renewal initiative was introduced by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 2019, nearly 280,000 old residential communities have been renovated, benefiting 120 million people. Over 130,000 elevators have been installed, 3.8 million parking spaces created, and nearly 80,000 eldercare and childcare facilities added. In addition, 1.05 million charging piles have been installed, and 31 million square meters of cultural, leisure, and sports facilities have been built. Moreover, 500,000 kilometers of underground pipelines have been renovated, more than 40,000 pocket parks constructed, and 120,000 kilometers of urban greenways developed," said Ni.

To further advance urban renewal projects to benefit more people, Ni highlighted some key actions to be implemented in the following years.

"All old residential communities built before the year 2000 will be included in urban renewal projects and renovated according to local conditions. Local governments are encouraged to explore resident-led initiatives for self-renovation of old residential buildings. The scope of urban village redevelopment has expanded to cities at or above the prefectural level. On the basis of the newly added one million housing units of last year, the scale of redevelopment will continue to expand. Efforts will also be intensified to promote the development of complete communities, with a particular focus on the needs of the elderly and children. This will include improving barrier-free and age-friendly facilities, as well as government-provided childcare services and children's activity spaces," said Ni.

China to include all residential communities built before 2000 in urban renewal projects: minister

Officials from the European Union (EU) and Finland have voiced concerns after the White House said it has been discussing "a range of options" to acquire Greenland, including the use of the military.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told a press briefing in Cairo on Thursday that the message from the U.S. is "extremely concerning," and "not really helping the stability of the world."

Kallas called on all parties to stick to international law, adding that relevant response measures has been discussed among EU members.

"The international law is very clear, and we have to stick to it. It is clear that it is the only thing that protects smaller countries, and that is why it is in the interest of all of us. And we discussed this today, as well, that we uphold the international law on all levels," she said.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Thursday described recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump and members of his administration on Greenland as "worrying," while reiterating Finland's support for Denmark and Greenland's right to self-determination.

"Finland and the other Nordic countries have exceptional expertise in Arctic conditions, and we are happy to make use of that together with our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to strengthen Arctic security, but it cannot be done by threatening allies," she said at a press conference at Finnish parliament after an extraordinary meeting of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee.

Johannes Koskinen, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said it was "unprecedented" for threats of violence to be made within NATO against another member in connection with seizing territory, adding that such threats run counter to the United Nations Charter and that their inconsistency with international law should be underscored at all levels.

EU, Finnish officials express concerns over US remarks on Greenland