Chinese FM meets Indonesian coordinating minister for economic affairs

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto on Saturday in Shanghai.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, welcomed Airlangga to China, where he is attending the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference.

Wang said Indonesia becoming one of the founding members of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) reflects the country's positive attitude toward international cooperation on AI, adding that China stands ready to work with like-minded countries to advance AI development in an inclusive and universally beneficial direction.

"In fact, this newly established international organization has been specifically designed for the Global South countries, because we don't want to see an AI gap appear in the world. AI should not become a game between the rich and the poor. Every country has the right and the opportunity to be able to keep pace with the tide of technological advancement," said Wang.

China is willing to strengthen coordination with Indonesia in international and regional affairs, and push forward the building of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future that carries regional and global influence, Wang said.

Airlangga commended China's global leadership in the AI field, adding that Indonesia welcomes and invites more Chinese enterprises to invest in the country, and looks forward to continuously expanding key Belt and Road cooperation projects with China.

"We strongly advocate for synergy between the WAICO and UN architectures, the Global Digital Compact, the global dialogue on AI governance, and WSIS [World Summit on the Information Society] to avoid fragmentation," said Airlangga.

Indonesia is among the founding members of the WAICO, which had 29 countries sign the establishment agreement on Thursday in Shanghai.

.

Chinese FM meets Indonesian coordinating minister for economic affairs

The 2026 Qixi Festival Gala, produced by China Media Group (CMG), got underway at 20:00 Beijing Time on Wednesday, marking the annual celebration of one of China's oldest and most cherished traditional festivals.

The Qixi Festival, also referred to as the Chinese Valentine's Day, falls on the seventh day of the seventh month on the Chinese lunar calendar. It dates back more than 2,000 years and was inscribed on China's national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006.

The festival's enduring romantic association stems from the legends of the cowherd Niulang and the weaver girl Zhinyu, star-crossed lovers separated by the Milky Way who are permitted to meet only once a year when a flock of magpies forms a bridge across the heavens.

In ancient China, young women celebrate the festival by praying to Zhinyu for clever hands and domestic talents. Today, couples usually spend the day by exchanging gifts and many partners choose this auspicious date to register their marriages or hold collective traditional weddings.

This year's gala centered on the motif of a bridge, linking ancient myth with contemporary life.

A travelogue performance themed around the mythological bridge ran through the entire event, which featured songs, dances, traditional operas and ballet.

A highlight of the gala was a micro-film which explores shared Qixi customs between people from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

Among the evening's touching highlights was a short film featuring the enduring romance of 88-year-old Chinese radar technology expert Ben De, recipient of China's 2026 State Preeminent Science and Technology Award, and his wife. The award is the nation's highest honor for scientific and technological achievement.

This year's gala centered on co-creation, featuring segments with real couples from across the country to jointly celebrate the millennia-old traditions through contemporary expressions of love.

CMG airs special TV gala to celebrate China's 2,000-year-old love festival