Aranya Theater Festival presents visual, audio feast for drama devotees

A grand theater festival integrating drama staging, innovation and scenarios of nature has unfolded in Qinhuangdao City of north China's Hebei Province, with a total of 94 performances shown in 15 venues to present a visual and audio feast for drama devotees.

The theater festival has drawn artists from 12 countries including China, France, and the United Kingdom, delivering a multisensory celebration featuring drama staging, music playing and visual art performance.

At the event, a grand beachside performance, titled "Eurydice and Sea", takes on new life through dynamic staging and immersive interaction, offering the audience a fresh and modern experience against the backdrop of the ocean.

"This kind of performance feels very avant-garde -- we all love it," said an audience member.

"There was the moment when the subtitles came on near the end and the sun began to rise -- it was truly moving," said another audience member.

This year's lineup spans a wide range of theatrical genres including the absurd and physical theater.

Highlights include "Classical Love", a modern adaptation of notable Chinese novelist Yu Hua's work exploring contemporary relationships, "L'Addition" (the Bill) and a British-style comedy full of surprising twists.

Renowned Chinese theater director Meng Jinghui, who also participated in the festival, highly commented on the event's diversity and spirit.

"There's kind of richness in the way the festival is presented, from the thrill of seeing the sun at dawn, to the philosophical musings of a robot at sunset, and to the reflection on scenarios in the play -- it's all passionate and youthful," he said.

The 14-day-long festival that kicked off on June 19 also features theater readings, theatrical competitions, seaside screenings, dialogues and exchanges, art exhibitions, theatrical parades and bonfire parties.

First held in June 2021, the Aranya Theater Festival aims to erase the boundaries of art with diverse, contemporary, open and inclusive expressions and forms. The theme of this year's event is "Exception and Rule."

Aranya Theater Festival presents visual, audio feast for drama devotees

The 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting concluded in east China's Suzhou on Saturday, yielding fruitful results and laying significant groundwork for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November.

The trade ministers' meeting focused on "building an open and predictable regional and multilateral economic and trade order" and "fostering new engines of innovative and dynamic trade and investment cooperation."

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao briefed the media on the meeting's outcomes at a press conference.

Wang said the meeting issued a joint statement titled the Suzhou Statement, and approved the latest edition of the APEC Roadmap for Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Services.

All parties agreed to advance policy innovation and reform in services trade, build an open and predictable investment environment, improve regional trade facilitation and supply chain resilience, strengthen standards coordination, and enhance intellectual property protection, Wang told the media.

He also said that substantial progress was made on a framework document for regional digital trade cooperation and the ministers emphasized promoting inclusive AI development, strengthening AI-related trade, and bridging the digital divide to ensure shared benefits from digital transformation.

The minister noted that the outcomes of the meeting demonstrated strong cooperation willingness, highlighted an innovation-oriented approach, and reflected inclusiveness and shared benefits. "The fact that Asia-Pacific economies can come together, uphold the original aspiration of promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation while supporting economic growth and prosperity, and engage in in-depth discussions on the important issue of 'where multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation is headed,' fully demonstrates that open regionalism and true multilateralism enjoy broad support, and that mutual success and shared development serve the fundamental interests of all economies," Wang said.

2026 APEC trade ministers' meeting concludes with fruitful results