US, Ukraine discuss peace plan in Berlin

Representatives from the United States and Ukraine held closed-door talks in Berlin, Germany on Sunday to discuss the U.S.-proposed peace plan aimed at resolving the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The meeting took place in the German Chancellery and lasted for over five hours. Following a brief welcoming address by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he exited the venue, leaving discussions in the hands of his foreign and security policy adviser Gunter Sautter.

The U.S. delegation included U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and others.

Ukrainian President Zelensky was present, along with key figures such as Secretary of National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov and Chief of the General Staff Andriy Hnatov.

Witkoff expressed on social media after the meeting that substantial progress was made during the discussions. The delegations delved into the "peace plan", economic issues, and more. They are scheduled to reconvene on Monday morning.

Zelensky stated before the meeting that Ukraine's desire was to join NATO from the very beginning. However, given the lack of support from the U.S. and some European partners, Ukraine stands ready to agree on security guarantees based on NATO Article 5 as a part of a compromise in the peace process.

Zelensky also said that the U.S.-proposed plan to establish a "free economic zone" in parts of the eastern Donbas region is unfair.

He said it remains unclear who would manage the proposed economic zone.

On the same day, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that Russia had not yet received the modified "peace plan" from Ukraine and Europe. He warned that if unacceptable terms concerning territorial issues were included in this version, Russia would strongly oppose it.

Ushakov added that territorial matters had been positively discussed during U.S.-Russia talks on Dec 2, asserting that the U.S. understands and recognizes Russia's stance on these issues.

US, Ukraine discuss peace plan in Berlin

US, Ukraine discuss peace plan in Berlin

The sales revenue of China's high-tech industries in the period from January 1 to March 25 increased by 14.6 percent year on year, the latest official data released by the State Taxation Administration showed Wednesday.

The growth in sales revenue highlighted the stronger competitiveness in the country's high-tech industries and deepened industrial upgrading driven by technological innovation.

The data also showed faster commercialization of scientific-technological research achievements. The sales revenue in the scientific-technological research and technical service sector rose 21 percent year on year during the very period, while the sales revenue of intellectual property-intensive sectors with high sci-tech content increased by 10.9 percent year on year.

"From January 1 to March 25, the sales revenue of core industries within the digital economy and the amount spent by enterprises nationwide on digital technology procurement grew by 9.5 percent and 9.7 percent year-on-year, respectively. [These figures] illustrate continued advancement of digital industrialization and industrial digitalization in China," said Huang Yun, spokesman of the State Taxation Administration, at a press conference in Beijing.

Next, Huang said, taxation authorities will further refine and implement preferential tax and fee policies designed to support sci-tech innovation. By leveraging tax-related big data and advanced information technology, Huang added, taxation authorities will keep delivering targeted policy guidance directly to enterprises to maximize policy dividends and help foster robust development of China's new quality productive forces.

China's high-tech industries record robust growth in early 2026