China's box office revenue during the May Day holiday exceeded 550 million yuan by Monday morning, the fourth day of the five-day holiday.
The booming film market has boosted tourism and consumption across the country, with moviegoers enjoying discounts in some scenic spots, stores and restaurants with film ticket stubs.
Various forms of film-watching subsidies and consumption promotion activities launched across China have driven the total output value of the whole industry chain, including culture, tourism and catering, to increase by nearly 7.8 billion yuan during the holiday.
In this April, China launched the campaign of "China Film Consumption Year", featuring a wide range of cinema-related promotional events and discount schemes.
The cumulative amount of verified film-watching discount subsidies has exceeded 350 million yuan since the launch of the campaign.
China's May Day holiday box office exceeds 550 mln yuan
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that the recent U.S.decision to reduce its troop presence in Germany has no connection to his earlier critical remarks regarding the Iran conflict.
The Pentagon announced on Friday that it is planning to withdraw about 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany, which is expected to be completed over the next six to 12 months. This announcement came after Merz's remarks about the United States being "planless" in its military engagement in Iran and "humiliated by the Iranian leadership."
During an interview with public broadcaster ARD, Merz said that he was not surprised by the U.S. decision on troop reduction.
Merz said that, despite the recent verbal tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump, he would not give up on cooperation with the U.S. side. Calling the United States as Germany's most important partner within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Merz said that there has been no reduction in U.S. nuclear-sharing arrangements and that the U.S. commitment to providing nuclear deterrence for the NATO region remains in place.
Merz also confirmed that the United States will not deploy Tomahawk cruise missiles in Germany for the time being, but he believed that the plan has not been permanently abandoned. "The Americans currently do not have enough themselves," he said.
The Tomahawk weapon systems were originally pledged by former U.S. President Joe Biden in 2024 to bolster European deterrence. Along with the troop cut announcement, multiple U.S. media outlets recently said Washington has also canceled the plan to reinforce European troops.
Trump said on Saturday that the United States plans to withdraw "a lot further" than the 5,000 troops from Germany that the Pentagon had said earlier.
"We're going to cut way down, and we're cutting a lot further than 5,000," Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Thursday that Germany is prepared for a possible reduction of the U.S. troops in the country.
More than 36,000 U.S. active duty troops were deployed to bases throughout Germany as of the end of last year, along with nearly 1,500 reservists and 11,500 civilians, according to Defense Department data.
Germany also hosts the headquarters of U.S. European Command and Africa Command, and its Ramstein Air Base serves as a key hub for U.S. military operations.
German Chancellor Merz says US troop withdrawal not related to his remarks on Iran conflict
