Submarine rescue specialists from Chinese and Russian navies convened aboard China's comprehensive rescue ship Xihu near Vladivostok of Russia's far east on Saturday, discussing how to enhance rapid rescue capabilities to save lives.
This exchange of submarine rescue practices is a part of the China-Russia "Joint Sea-2025" military exercise.
The exchange featured mutual learning between maritime rescue experts and research institutions of the two countries on submarine rescue system development, followed by detailed discussions on upcoming drills.
Russian technicians toured deep submergence rescue vehicles (DSRVs) of comprehensive rescue ship Xihu, expressing admiration for China's significant progress in rescue technology and security capabilities.
"We conducted professional discussions with Russian military technicians, and both sides learned from each other's submarine rescue techniques, and discussed in detail the next phase of drills. This has laid a foundation for the success of subsequent missions," said Zhang Linfeng, an officer of Chinese Naval Fleet.
Earlier at a military port in Vladivostok of Russia's far east, the Chinese naval fleet hosted a reception on the deck of Type 052D destroyer Shaoxing on Friday.
The reception featured a captivating show, including the performance of Guzheng (a traditional Chinese musical instrument), the magical face-changing in Sichuan Opera, and Chinese folk dances, showcasing Chinese culture while strengthening bilateral ties.
The China-Russia "Joint Sea-2025" military exercise is underway in the waters and airspace near Vladivostok from Aug 1 to 5, under the themes of "jointly safeguarding strategic maritime routes" and "jointly countering security threats in the Western Pacific".
Chinese, Russian navies advance submarine rescue in joint drill
Geoeconomic confrontation is the leading short-term global threat in 2026, the World Economic Forum (WEF) warned in its Global Risks Report 2026 released on Wednesday ahead of its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
The report ranks geoeconomic confrontation as the top risk for 2026, followed by interstate conflict, extreme weather, societal polarization, and misinformation and disinformation. It also identifies geoeconomic confrontation as the most severe risk over the next two years.
"I think if there is to be one key takeaway from the report, it's that we are entering an age of competition and this new competitive order is then shaping current global risks, but it is also shaping and to some extent hindering our ability to actually cope with them. That's really the key takeaway. If we take a look at, the number one risk both for 2026 and two years out, it's dual economic confrontation. But then if we look at the risks 10 years out. It's really the climate and environment related risks. All of these things require global cooperation and that's where we're seeing a big backsliding in this new age of competition," said Saadia Zahidi, managing director of the WEF.
Economic risks showed the largest increase in the two-year outlook, with concerns over economic downturns, inflation, rising debt and potential asset bubbles intensifying amid geoeconomic tensions, the report said.
Environmental risks remain the most severe overall, led by extreme weather, biodiversity loss and critical changes to Earth systems. The report noted that three-quarters of respondents expect a turbulent environmental outlook.
Risks related to adverse outcomes of artificial intelligence rose sharply, climbing from 30th in the two-year horizon to fifth in the 10-year outlook, reflecting concerns over impacts on labor markets, society and security.
The 21st edition of the report draws on views from more than 1,300 experts, policymakers and industry leaders.
The WEF's annual meeting will be held in Davos from Jan 19 to 23 and draw nearly 3,000 guests from more than 130 countries and regions to participate.
"So overall, we are starting to see this shift away from what have traditionally been the ways in which people have been able to cooperate. Now, that is not to say that any of this is a foregone conclusion. And I think that's a really important message around the risks report. None of this is set in stone. All of this is in the hands of leaders. Whether they choose to cooperate and invest in resilience or whether they do not. So that's really what we'll be focused on next week in Davos bringing leaders together under this overall theme of 'a spirit of dialogue' and trying to reestablish relationships, cooperation and trust. That's the fundamental," said Zahidi.
WEF warns of rising geoeconomic risks in 2026
