China's tourism market gaining fresh momentum: insurance executive

As the 2026 summer travel season approaches, China's tourism market is gaining fresh momentum, driven by increasingly sophisticated travelers and the deep integration of AI that is reshaping everything from trip planning to on-the-go safety, a senior executive at Allianz Partners China said.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Wang Li, Managing Director of Allianz Partners China, described Chinese travelers as more purposeful and mature than in previous years, a shift captured in the company's latest global data.

"We've definitely seen that, gradually, Chinese travelers are becoming much more mature when it comes to traveling expectations or traveling planning. Allianz Global Travel Index (showed) that we have seen that more than 76 percent of Chinese travelers have very concrete objectives and purpose. For instance, they would like to participate (in) sports events, they would like to enjoy music, live concerts. And also, interestingly, more and more people we've seen are trying to combine work with leisure. Another interesting anecdote is that they're prioritizing, including their pet companion into their travel plan. So, all of that have gave us a lot of confidence that Chinese travelers are not only much more comprehensive when it comes to travel planning, but also much more mature when it comes to travel decision-making," said Wang.

Behind that transformation, Wang pointed to the sweeping adoption of AI tools, both by travelers themselves and by the industry players serving them, as an important force that is driving the sector's upgrade.

"I think AI is definitely a hot word either from the consumer point of view as well as from the industry player point of view. And we believe with the better adoption of AI from the traveler point of view, they would be able to much early ahead, prior to the travel, to shape design and then seek much more personalized travel experience when it comes to travel planning, personalized preparation. And during the travel, with a lot of the digital access that they have these days, they would be able to instantaneously, real time, receive a lot of real time alert, predictive early warning. On one hand, again, we would be able to design much more personalized insurance products, service products for them. So then we can cater (to) their much more personalized requirements," she said.

That personalization extends well beyond trip planning, according to Wang, who said AI is also playing an increasingly critical role in protecting travelers' personal safety and financial well-being.

"And also, for instance, claims processes in situation that they really need help or they need to restore their financial losses. We have deeply embedded a lot of AI tools into our claims process. So they have now, they're now able to significantly reduce manual input, a lot of labor intensive work. They would be able to instantaneously receive a lot of small payment as well as immediately getting a lot of assistance that we would be able to do. So overall we would be able to provide a seamless customer journey that enable their better customer experience," she said.

China's tourism market gaining fresh momentum: insurance executive

As the diplomatic engagement between the United States and Iran continues despite a faltering ceasefire, a former commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that Iran is prepared to use military power to break the U.S. maritime blockade should the negotiations collapse or run on too long.

Mohsen Rezaee, who also currently serves as a member of the Iranian Expediency Discernment Council, struck a confident tone about Iran's current trajectory in an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Tehran on Wednesday.

He said the country has withstood over two decades of crippling sanctions and continued to move forward.

"We have been under sanctions for more than 20 years. The number of sanctions likely exceeds 2,000, targeting individuals, enterprises, corporations, ships, insurance companies, and even foreign countries that interacted with us. However, we have managed to find solutions to neutralize these sanctions, and we will continue to do so moving forward," he said.

He said Iran aims to ease the sanctions burden through talks with the U.S., although at the same time, he said, Iran is ready to shift to a military response if the path to a peaceful resolution closes.

"Furthermore, we will compel the U.S. to lift these sanctions. We will force the U.S. to end the maritime blockade -- either through negotiations or, should they resist, through direct action and we will attack U.S. warships. Therefore, despite all the pressures, the future of our economy is bright and promising, while the future of the US economy is bleak," he said.

While any new war against Iran would be a dead end, the best way out for the U.S. is to continue talks, according to the senior official.

"We have prepared ourselves so that if the maritime blockade continues beyond a certain timeframe, we will launch an attack and break the blockade. The Americans have no choice but to negotiate. Continuing this war is a journey into a very dark tunnel for the United States. The more America chooses to fight, the deeper it enters a tunnel with no end. Yet for us, the path is perfectly clear. America is moving toward us in the dark, while we are monitoring their every move," he said.

Former IRGC chief says Iran ready to break U.S. naval blockade by force if talks fail