A delegation of academics and experts from eight Portuguese-speaking countries toured Guangzhou, capital of south China's economic powerhouse of Guangdong Province, from Monday to Wednesday, where they had a closer look at how the metropolis leads the country in developing cutting-edge technologies.
The academics and experts are from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, and Timor-Leste.
Over three days, they visited the Canton Fair Complex -- the venue of China's largest trade fair, the Guangzhou Urban Planning Exhibition Center, the research and development center of the Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC), and the Guangzhou Port, the largest and most comprehensive port in south China that also serves as a critical part of the global logistics chain.
They also attended seminars at the South China University of Technology, a key research-oriented university in the country.
When the visitors entered the exhibition hall of the GAC's R and D center, they were enthralled by mesmerizing music played by a humanoid robot on the guzheng, a traditional Chinese musical instrument. The humanlike dexterity showed by the AI-powered robot prompted many to snap pictures with their phones.
They then moved on to a display of the GAC's achievements in the automotive industry, where they gained a thorough understanding of the power technologies independently developed by the company and other cutting-edge technologies embodied by a platform for pure electric vehicles.
Some got behind the wheels of the company's latest new energy vehicle models to learn about Chinese automakers' innovations in the sector.
One of them was Diego Pautasso, director for the Academic Research Department of Brazil's Mauricio Grabois Foundation, who was deeply impressed by the electric cars.
"The seat is very comfortable. The position for the driver is incredible," he said.
"The [demand for] electric cars grows fast in Brazil. The people want the new technology because it's cheaper. Chinese brand is associated with quality. I agree that this car is important for the Brazilian market," Pautasso added.
At the Guangzhou Port, the visitors marveled at how automation and digital technologies have made Chinese ports smart and highly efficient, after witnessing the smooth operations of the sprawling hub with little human intervention.
Raimundo Domingos Goncalves, a policy analyst at the Public Television of Angola, said Chinese ports set an example on automation for their counterparts in many other countries.
"II can see there are few people working. It means they use automatic ways. That's why I say China is a well-developed country [on autonomous ports]. It's the most example country in the world. We are here in order to share experience, information, trying [to learn the] knowledge so that we can do the same thing in order to develop our country," he said.
Experts from Portuguese-speaking countries hail China's progress in cutting-edge techs
Russia said on Saturday that its armed forces had taken control over two more settlements in the Sumy and Donetsk regions, while Ukraine, on the same day, reported strikes against a Russian frigate.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said in its latest report that over the past 24 hours, the Russian forces had gained control over the settlements of Vysoke in the Sumy region and Svitle in the Donetsk region.
The ministry also said its forces had struck facilities used to transport Western-supplied weapons, ammunition and fuel depots, as well as temporary deployment sites of Ukrainian forces and foreign mercenaries.
On the same day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that in the early hours of Friday, Ukrainian troops had successfully hit a Russian frigate using drones. The warship was patrolling near an oil and gas production platform in the Caspian Sea at the time.
It said efforts are currently underway to determine the extent of damage to the vessel and to confirm its hull number.
It also reported that a drilling platform located at the Filanovsky oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea had been struck. The platform, owned by Russian energy corporation Lukoil, has been supplying materials to Russian troops.
So far, there has been no official response from the Russian side regarding these incidents.
Also on Saturday, according to Russia's TASS News Agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev had arrived at a golf club in Miami, U.S. state of Florida, where he held a new round of talks regarding a draft peace plan to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Following the meeting, Dmitriev described the talks with the U.S. as constructive and said that discussions would continue on Sunday.
A day earlier, Ukraine's chief peace negotiator, Rustem Umerov, and the chief of the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces, Andrii Hnatov, had held consultations in the United States with American and European counterparts on the draft peace plan for the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Umerov had briefed him on the previous day's talks between Ukraine and the U.S.
He revealed that the issue of territory remains unresolved and emphasized that Ukraine is committed to reaching a stable and lasting peace agreement that provides reliable long-term security guarantees.
According to Zelensky, the U.S. has proposed holding a trilateral meeting involving the national security advisors of Ukraine, the United States and Russia.
Noting that in the negotiations for a potential peace agreement, the most critical issue -- territory -- remains unsettled, Zelensky said that any agreement should establish the current line of contact as a ceasefire line, with the goal of gradually reclaiming Ukraine’s occupied territories through diplomatic means on that basis. He further emphasized that Ukraine has made it clear to its American partners that, under its constitution, Ukraine cannot cede any territory.
Currently, Ukraine is working with its partners to outline every clause of the agreement, ensuring that it is not a vague deal about the division of territory and resources, but rather one focused on stable, lasting peace and reliable security guarantees, Zelensky said.
He said the security guarantee clauses for Ukraine in the agreement must be fair and effective, and that Ukraine must be fully informed of the specific details -- including how the United States and Europe would respond and react if Russia were to launch another attack, and what kind of deterrence package Ukraine would receive.
Regarding elections, Zelensky said that two aspects require attention in any future Ukrainian elections: security and legislation.
He said that during wartime, ways must be found to advance legislative reforms, while voting can only take place if security is guaranteed. Ukraine has already discussed this matter with the U.S., added Zelensky.
Russia claims capturing 2 more settlements, Ukraine claims strike on Russian frigate
