A delegation of foreign journalists visited east China's affluent Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces from Monday to Friday to witness how the two major economically developed provinces pursue innovation-driven development and green development in the new era.
The over 40 reporters from other countries and regions including the U.S., the UK, Spain, Sinapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and Brazil toured several key cities in the two provinces at the invitation of the State Council Information Office to gain first-hand materials about their achievements made in innovation-driven, green development from multiple perspectives.
Jiangsu is an important hub for robotics and bio-pharmaceutical industries in China. In visiting the province, the foreign journalists were shown around several local industrial parks and technology enterprises, interacting closely with robots and robot dogs. In the biomedical valley in Jiangsu's capital city Nanjing, they learned about the province's innovative achievements in the development of cutting-edge industries including gene and cell therapy and high-end medical apparatus.
Zhejiang is the birthplace of and the first place to practice the concept initiated by President Xi Jinping that "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," and it is also one of the provincial-level regions in the Chinese mainland with the smallest income gap between urban and rural areas. In the province, the foreign journalists visited local new energy vehicle manufacturing enterprises and beautiful leisure villages to learn about integrated green development of urban and rural areas and the local people's livelihood.
Foreign journalists witness tech innovation, green development in affluent east China provinces
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
