Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met collectively with the foreign ministers and representatives of nine Caribbean countries that have diplomatic ties with China in Beijing on Monday.
The foreign guests from Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago are in the Chinese capital to attend the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum scheduled for Tuesday.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, noted that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-CELAC Forum, a significant milestone to build on past achievements and chart the way forward for China-CELAC relations.
He said the forum has helped China and the Caribbean countries achieve mutual empowerment and shared success, while also advancing South-South cooperation and amplifying the influence of the Global South.
Wang emphasized that Caribbean countries are indispensable members of the China-CELAC Forum and that cooperation between China and the Caribbean countries has broad prospects. He called for joint efforts to advance and consolidate the comprehensive cooperative partnership between China and Caribbean countries.
The Caribbean foreign ministers highlighted the mutual trust and respect between their countries and China. They expressed appreciation for China's long-standing support, saying it has set an example for South-South cooperation.
Chinese FM meets with Caribbean counterparts ahead of China-CELAC Forum
Chinese FM meets with Caribbean counterparts ahead of China-CELAC Forum
Chinese FM meets with Caribbean counterparts ahead of China-CELAC Forum
The European Commission on Friday imposed fines totaling 120 million euros (nearly 140 million U.S. dollars) on Elon Musk's social media platform X for breaching transparency obligations in its first non-compliance decision under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
This marks the first time the European Union's executive arm has issued such a non-compliance ruling under the DSA, which came into force in 2022 and took full effect last February. The act regulates online intermediaries and platforms to prevent illegal and harmful activities online and stop the spread of disinformation.
According to the Commission's press release, the penalty stems from three distinct breaches of the DSA, including the deceptive design of X's "blue checkmark" feature, a lack of transparency in its advertising repository, and the platform's failure to provide researchers with access to public data.
The use of the blue checkmark, which any user can obtain by paying, to designate "verified accounts" exposes users to scams, including impersonation fraud and other forms of manipulation, according to the Commission.
It added that X's advertisement repository fails to meet the DSA's transparency and accessibility requirements, and that the platform also falls short of its obligation to provide researchers with access to its public data.
The decision follows formal proceedings opened in December 2023 to examine whether X breached the DSA in areas related to illegal content dissemination and measures to counter information manipulation, for which the investigation continues.
X is not the only U.S. tech company to come under heavy scrutiny from the European Commission.
On Thursday, the Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation into Mark Zuckerberg's Meta organization over a new policy that could limit artificial intelligence providers' access to the popular WhatsApp messaging service.
The Commission also announced a new investigation into Google last month, after slapping a 2.95-billion-euro fine on the internet giant for antitrust violations in the online advertising sector in September.
The United States has repeatedly criticized the EU's regulatory measures as being targeted at American companies, while Google, Amazon, and other major firms have recently said they will file appeals against the latest EU regulatory decisions.
EU hits Elon Musk's X social media platform with 120 mln euro fine
