The 7th Local Leaders' Meeting of China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) opened in Jinan City, east China's Shandong Province, on Tuesday.
At the opening ceremony of the meeting and the 2026 Shandong International Friendship Cities Cooperation and Exchange Week, Chinese and international participants highly praised the achievements of cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, and looked forward to further deepening cooperation between the two sides in fields such as artificial intelligence, green energy and digital economy.
More than 600 delegates from China and CEEC attended the forum. For many participants, local-level exchanges have emerged as one of the most dynamic engines of China-CEEC cooperation, bringing tangible benefits to businesses, communities and ordinary people.
China-Central and Eastern European Countries Local Leaders' Meeting opens in Shandong
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said that the nations and territories in the Middle East will no longer serve as "shields" for U.S. military bases, adding that "the hands of time will not turn back," the Iranian media reported on Tuesday.
Khamenei made the remarks in a message carried by Iranian media on the Day of Arafah, the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage.
He said that the Muslim world and countries in the Middle East have considerable capacities and common interests that will shape the new order and geometry of the region and the world.
Khamenei called on Islamic states to promote friendship and cooperation to advance the Muslim world and resolve its problems.
"The United States, in addition to not having any safe place for malice and establishment of its military bases in the region, is growing more distant from its former status day by day," he said.
Khamenei added that Israel has got close to the end of its "sinister" life, stressing that the future belongs to the Muslim world and modern Islamic civilization.
He said that Iran managed to make Israel "miserable under its heavy blows, give the aggressive United States a hard slap, and prevent the enemy from forcing it to surrender" during the 12-day war in June last year, stressing that Iran and the resistance groups, especially Hezbollah, achieved victory against the U.S. and Israeli armies, "which were armed to the teeth," during the 40-day war that started in late February.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior commanders, and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East. A fragile ceasefire was brokered between the warring parties that took effect on April 8.
Iran's supreme leader says regional nations no longer serve as "shields" for U.S. bases
