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China's top legislator holds talks with president of El Salvador's Legislative Assembly

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China's top legislator holds talks with president of El Salvador's Legislative Assembly

2026-08-20 22:14 Last Updated At:22:47

Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), held talks with Ernesto Castro, president of El Salvador's Legislative Assembly, in Beijing on Thursday.

Noting that Friday marks the eighth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and El Salvador, Zhao said China stands ready to work with the country to deliver on the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, enhance mutual trust, strengthen cooperation and continuously elevate bilateral relations to new heights.

Zhao said the two sides should deepen political mutual trust and be friends who support each other. He expressed China's appreciation for El Salvador's firm commitment to the one-China principle and voiced China's readiness to continue working with El Salvador based on the principles of mutual respect, equality, win-win cooperation and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, so as to set an example of friendly cooperation between countries of different sizes and national conditions.

The two sides should focus on improving people's livelihoods and become mutually beneficial partners by deepening economic and trade cooperation, Zhao said.

He also called for enhancing people-to-people exchanges to strengthen the bonds of mutual understanding and friendship, while stepping up multilateral coordination, upholding true multilateralism and jointly promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.   Zhao stressed that China's NPC stands ready to strengthen friendly exchanges with El Salvador's Legislative Assembly among specialized committees, bilateral friendship groups and legislators, share experiences in rule-of-law construction and poverty reduction and development, and provide legal guarantees for practical cooperation.

He also briefed the Salvadoran side on the distinctive strengths of the Communist Party of China and China's whole-process people's democracy, and expressed China's readiness to enhance experience-sharing in governance to better boost the development and revitalization of both countries.     Castro said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries eight years ago, the two sides have enjoyed mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual benefit, and their friendship has continued to consolidate.

El Salvador stands ready to work with China to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, he said, expressing his country's willingness to strengthen cooperation in economy, science and technology, and cultural exchanges with China to deliver tangible benefits to the two peoples.

El Salvador's Legislative Assembly is ready to enhance exchanges and mutual learning with China's NPC, thereby serving as a bridge for the further advancement of bilateral relations and the promotion of pragmatic cooperation, said Castro.

China's top legislator holds talks with president of El Salvador's Legislative Assembly

China's top legislator holds talks with president of El Salvador's Legislative Assembly

China is continuing to experience a box office boom this year, driven by a nationwide campaign to spur consumption with cheaper cinema tickets while a series of big summer releases are also enticing film fans out to theaters up and down the country.

Seen as one of the most lucrative periods of the year, China's summer box office season, which officially runs from June 1 to August 31, has now generated more than 10.7 billion yuan in box office revenue as of midday Thursday.

This has helped propel China's total box office revenue for 2026 above 26.5 billion yuan (over 3.9 billion U.S. dollars) as of Thursday afternoon, with more than 670 million moviegoers and over 96 million screenings recorded, according to the latest data from a leading Chinese ticketing platform.

The diverse line-up of summer blockbusters covers a broad range of genres, including comedy, animation, sci-fi, war, and suspense and action, offering audiences more choices and helping attract viewers from different age groups and with different interests.

Among the best performers is the anti-war film "Once Upon a Time in the Middle East," which tells the story of a chef working at a Chinese restaurant in the Middle East when war breaks out in the 2000s. It has drawn positive feedback both for its perspective on war and the vivid portrayal of life in the Middle East.

In just 10 days since its release on Aug. 11, the film has raked in over 1.2 billion yuan, catapulting it up the box office charts as it closes in on the year's biggest grossing films.

Ticketing data shows that the current top four on China's annual box office chart are the auto-racing sequel "Pegasus 3", Hong Kong director Stephen Chow's sports comedy "Kung Fu Soccer" about a team of female footballers, the touching family drama "Dear You", and animated film "All Wishes Come True!"

China launched a nationwide campaign this year to boost the cinema sector, with at least 1.2 billion yuan in subsidies planned throughout 2026 to make movie-going more affordable. Data shows the average ticket price for domestic-made movies has dropped to 39.5 yuan (less than 6 U.S. dollars) this year, some 20 percent lower in 2025.

China's summer film season continues as consumption campaign entices moviegoers

China's summer film season continues as consumption campaign entices moviegoers

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