Overseas visitors to Guangzhou auto show applaud China's auto industry progress

Global attendees at the ongoing 23rd Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition expressed excitement over China's booming automotive market, highlighting Chinese vehicles' innovative technologies, rising quality, and competitive pricing.

As south China's biggest annual automotive industry exhibition, this year's event is taking place from Nov. 21 to 30 in Guangdong Province.

The growing variety and quality of Chinese vehicles has attracted visitors from around the world, with the selection on display impressing even those from countries with traditionally strong automotive industries.

"I want to see what's going on the Chinese market. I'm some quite often in China and it's so rapidly evolving. It's super exciting to see all the new cars brands coming up and new technologies. I'm actually here to get a feeling of the market," said a visitor from Germany.

Others marveled at the tremendous progress of China's auto industry in a short time span.

"So many new concepts, really nice looking, especially Chinese-made [cars]. The Chinese car industry has tremendous progress in recent years. I've been out of China in college and actually I left China in the beginning of 2020. When I returned after four years, I didn't recognize it. They're all brand new cars, all new designs. It's really number one now in the world I think," said a visitor.

Some Chinese carmakers have been making names for themselves around the world as brands that provide high value for cost. One example is smartphone and consumer electronics products maker Xiaomi, which last year unveiled its first electric car after just three years of development.

"I'm looking forward to seeing Chinese brands, innovative brands like Xiaomi. I really love Xiaomi. Because I think in China you have a lot of potential, a lot of new cars. I'm looking for Chinese brands, mainly," a visitor said.

"Some really good Chinese vehicles are being made. The quality is increasing. The price is great. I think the Chinese vehicles are taking over [the lead in the global auto market]," another said.

Overseas visitors to Guangzhou auto show applaud China's auto industry progress

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in Iran is "under total control" following violence linked to protests that spiked over the weekend.

Addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, the foreign minister noted that armed terrorist groups had infiltrated the protests, attempting to divert them from their legitimate course. He claimed that evidence has been gathered showing Iranian security forces being shot at, with the aim of causing further casualties. He accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.

Araghchi further stated that the government is closely monitoring developments on the streets, emphasizing that "the situation has come under control." He also affirmed that internet services, curtailed during the unrest, would be restored after coordination with security agencies.

The government has engaged in dialogue with merchants and protest representatives and initiated reforms to address grievances related to price hikes and currency depreciation. Iran has taken a series of actions and measures to respond to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, the foreign minister said.

Earlier on Sunday, Araghchi said that clear evidence links recent riots and vandalism of public facilities in Iran to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. This came after former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on Iran's streets in a social media post. The Iranian foreign minister asserted that police are being attacked by "terrorists" acting under the direction of Israeli operatives, whom Pompeo publicly acknowledged.

The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and U.S. sanctions.

Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest