China's top diplomat urges avoiding further casualties, losses regarding war in Middle East

China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Wednesday urged avoiding further casualties and losses regarding the war raging in the Middle East, and pledged China's mediation efforts to facilitate a ceasefire.

Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, made the remarks while holding talks with Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, special envoy of the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to China, in Beijing.

Conveying Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Wang said that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-UAE relations have made considerable progress.

Amid the once-in-a-century shifts evolving at a faster pace, the fluid and turbulent international situation and the unsettling war in the Middle East, China-UAE relations carry more prominent strategic significance, said Wang.

Timely strategic communication and the enhancement of strategic mutual trust between the two sides are increasingly important, as these elements contribute to the early realization of peace and stability in the Middle East, he added.

Wang said China is willing to intensify high-level exchanges with the UAE, deepen the alignment of development strategies, and push the China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher level.

Al Mubarak conveyed President Sheikh Mohamed's sincere greetings to President Xi, noting that the UAE-China relations have reached an unprecedented high level.

The UAE regards China as a dependable and trustworthy true friend, and is confident about China's future development, Al Mubarak said.

He said the UAE is willing to strengthen high-level exchanges with China, deepen cooperation in education, culture, energy and economy, among others, as well as advance the development of bilateral relations.

Al Mubarak also briefed Wang on the latest developments of the Middle East situation.

Reiterating China's principled positions, Wang expressed gratitude to the UAE for its efforts in ensuring the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions, and emphasized that this war should never have occurred and there is no need for it to continue, calling for avoiding greater casualties and losses.

China firmly supports the UAE in safeguarding its sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, condemns attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, and will continue efforts to mediate a ceasefire and an end to hostilities, so that peace and stability will be restored in the Middle East at an early date, Wang said.

China's top diplomat urges avoiding further casualties, losses regarding war in Middle East

An adorable giant panda cub has been seen enjoying a bowl of milk and later cosily lying on a wooden platform after getting a little muddy during messy playtime in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The playful panda, with its hair all wet and frizzy and covered in mud after presumably rolling around in its enclosure, is seen happily slurping on a bowl of milk provided by a panda keeper.

Later, the mischievous cub appears to be a little tired out from its exuberant activities, and is seen curled up having a rest on its wooden climbing frame.

Shared by the iPanda channel, this charming look into the life of panda cubs at the Wolong Shenshuping Base of China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas (CCRCGP) was filmed on February 28.

The adorable cub is one of a pigeon pair of cubs -- born in August 2025 at the CCRCGP -- to the giant panda Jia Mei.

The CCRCGP is a world-leading institution dedicated to the breeding and conservation of the giant panda. The center has established the world's largest captive population of giant pandas and pioneered research on captive breeding and training for rewilding.

The center also holds the largest global platform for promoting international cooperation and exchanges on Panda conservation, involving 18 zoos from 16 countries and regions, 39 domestic animal breeding institutions, and over 10 scientific research institutes.

Panda cub enjoys bowl of milk, afternoon snooze at conservation base