China Manned Space Engineering Office on Wednesday released footage of the Earth taken by the country's Tiangong space station.
The footage was captured by a camera held by an astronaut in the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong space station, showcasing a backdrop of a blue and green planet occasionally obscured by vast clouds.
The Tiangong space station is now crewed by the Shenzhou-21 mission, which comprises three astronauts sent into space on Oct 31, 2025 for a six-month stay.
The Shenzhou-21 crew consists of mission commander Zhang Lu, along with astronauts Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang. The trio serve respectively as space pilot, flight engineer and payload specialist, representing the three categories of Chinese astronauts currently employed in the country's space program.
China's space station captures mesmerizing views of Earth
Protectionism does not build competitiveness, but destroys EU opportunities for digital transformation, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.
Guo made the remarks in response to a media query about reports that the Connect Europe lobby group -- representing telecoms operators -- said in an open letter on Tuesday that the European Commission's proposed Digital Networks Act and the revised Cybersecurity Act could saddle the industry with as much as 40 billion euros in replacement costs, and risk "draining the sector of the very capital needed for fiber, 5G and 6G" infrastructure.
The letter was signed by 17 senior executives from European telecoms operators, among them the chief executives of France's Orange, Germany's Deutsche Telekom and Spain's Telefonica, said the reports.
"China noticed relevant reports. According to the assessment by relevant institutions, the Act will possibly cause loss of up to over 360 billion euros in the EU within the next five years. The open letter by the European telecommunication companies is yet another example that the EU's moves will only hurt others while bringing no benefits to its own. Protectionism does not build competitiveness, but destroys EU opportunities for digital transformation, harms EU's socioeconomic development, tarnishes its open-market reputation, and dampens foreign companies' confidence in investing in the EU. We hope the EU will heed the voice of reason across various sectors and not adopt discriminatory restrictions," Guo said.
Protectionism destroys EU opportunities for digital transformation: spokesman
