Xi visits downtown commercial area in Beijing ahead of Spring Festival

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Longfusi commercial area in Beijing's Dongcheng District on Tuesday.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited primary-level officials and residents in Beijing during a two-day inspection tour from Monday to Tuesday, extending Spring Festival greetings to Chinese people at home and abroad ahead of the festival.

When visiting the Longfusi commercial area, Xi learned about festival market supplies and urban renewal efforts.

Xi said he was very pleased to see the bustling, vibrant festive scene and plentiful holiday goods on sale there.

Located on the east side of the Beijing Central Axis, Longfusi is a cultural landmark dating back 600 years.

The area has revitalized historical memories through digital technology and reshaped lifestyles with diverse business formats, becoming a "golden business card" for cultural consumption.

The Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, is the most important traditional festival for the Chinese. It falls on Feb 17 this year.

Xi visits downtown commercial area in Beijing ahead of Spring Festival

Xi visits downtown commercial area in Beijing ahead of Spring Festival

Xi visits downtown commercial area in Beijing ahead of Spring Festival

Xi visits downtown commercial area in Beijing ahead of Spring Festival

Global food commodity prices climbed for a second consecutive month in March, driven mainly by higher energy costs linked to escalating conflict in the Middle East, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in report released on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, up 2.4 percent from February and 1.0 percent above its level a year ago.

According to the report, the FAO Vegetable Oil Index and Sugar Price Index showed the largest increases, up 5.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.

The FAO Cereal Price Index increased by 1.5 percent from the previous month, driven primarily by higher world wheat prices, which rose 4.3 percent.

The FAO Meat Price Index rose by 1.0 percent from the previous month, and the FAO All-Rice Price Index declined by 3.0 percent in March, according to the report.

FAO stated that rising energy and fertilizer prices have been driving up agricultural input costs.

If the conflict stretches beyond 40 days, farmers will have to choose to farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops, according to FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero.

These choices will hit future yields and shape food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and beyond, Torero said.

Global food prices rise for 2nd consecutive month in March amid Middle East conflict: FAO