When Lucas Fan received his friend Jim in Beijing in June 2023, Lucas had to order a taxi for Jim every time he needed one as Jim, from Ireland, could not link his international bank card with WeChat or Alipay payment functions. As the two main social networking apps in China, WeChat and Alipay are virtually indispensable in nearly every aspect of daily life, from chatting, working to shopping, and from taxi-hailing to making electronic payments.

But had Jim pushed his visit back by a month, he would have found it more convenient to travel as a foreigner in China. Alipay and WeChat Pay started to comprehensively upgrade their systems in July 2023 to optimize support for international bank cards to better serve a growing number of international travelers along with bolstering international exchanges.

According to official data, in 2023, the national border inspection authorities checked in a total of 210 million inbound travelers, recovering to 62.9 percent of 2019 levels and the number is expected to continue to grow in 2024.

"This [payment difficulty of foreigners] is indeed an unexpected new problem as mobile payment has developed very rapidly in China," Sun Yeli, Chinese Minister of Culture and Tourism, told domestic and foreign journalists after the closing of China's annual national legislative session in Beijing.

Sun noted that the Chinese central authorities have paid great attention to this issue and have established a coordination mechanism to solve it.

"We are optimizing each step of the inbound tourism process, streamlining procedures ranging from visa applications to flight arrangements, hotel check-ins, shopping, and sightseeing. With the implementation of these measures, foreign tourists visiting China will enjoy the same level of convenience in accommodation, transportation, and shopping as domestic tourists," Sun said.

"We sincerely welcome tourists from all over the world to visit China, enjoy the charm of Chinese culture, discover rapid changes in the country, and experience the hospitality of the Chinese people," Sun noted.
Get through 'reverse digital divide'

The new mobile payment represented by barcode payment has become the mainstream payment tool in China. However, in most countries around the world, especially in some developed economies, bank cards are still the mainstream payment tool.

In recent years, with the rapid development of informatization and digitization in China, the popularity of mobile payment has increased rapidly. Now, the popularity of digital payment in China may be twice as high as in other countries. And everyone in the country is very accustomed to using a mobile phone for all aspects of life. However, this has made China too "digitized" to be "out of touch" internationally. Some people say that this has created a "reverse digital divide" between China and foreign countries.

One main difficulty for foreigners in making mobile payments lies in the low success rate of overseas individuals using Alipay and WeChat to link overseas bank cards, as well as payment limits.

When overseas users enter China and want to link a third-party payment app, they need to provide real-name information. Some overseas users may be unwilling to provide their personal information for personal privacy concerns. In addition, the transmission of cross-border information is a long-standing difficult issue even in the traditional financial area due to different principles and rules in various countries in the issue.

Aside from mobile payment, foreigners were also reported to encounter obstacles in using cash and international cards in China. A typical example of this is foreigners like Jim who had difficulties in hailing and making payments in taxis in China, as due to the popularization of online payment, most Chinese taxi drivers receive orders on car-hailing apps and present a QR code to passengers to effect payment. Fewer and fewer of them handle cash, not to mention POS devices.

"Taxis are often the first local service that overseas business people and tourists come into contact with after arriving, and it is also one of their main ways of getting around the city. However, payment difficulties are particularly prominent in taxis," Yang Guoping, chairman of the Shanghai Dazhong Transportation Group and a representative to the 14th National People's Congress, told China Business Journal.

High transaction fees are also another obstacle. The single transaction fee for foreign card payments is basically between 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent, with VISA and MasterCard having a single transaction fee of around 3 percent, while the single transaction fee for domestic cards is around 0.6 percent, and mobile payment fees are even lower, with Alipay at 0.38 percent, according to a report published by yicai.com.

Many domestic merchants are not willing to pay high cross-border credit card transaction fees, but rather encourage foreign tourists to use cash, Alipay, or WeChat Pay, according to the report.
Step up efforts to address problems

Facing these problems, Chinese authorities and platforms are moving fast to address the obstacles to help facilitate foreigners' stay in the country.

On February 23, the State Council executive meeting reviewed and approved the "Opinions on Further Optimizing Payment Services to Facilitate Payments," (referred to as the "Opinions"), emphasizing the need to focus on the payment inconvenience of groups such as the elderly and foreigners coming to China.

On February 29, the People's Bank of China held a meeting to promote the optimization of payment services. On March 1, the State Council Information Office held a regular policy briefing on further optimizing payment services and enhancing payment convenience.

Zhang Qingsong, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China, introduced the specific content of the above mentioned "Opinions," including promoting the improvement of the bank card acceptance environment and adhering to the positioning of cash as the bottom line, among others.

On the evening of March 7, the "Opinions" were officially released, closely followed by implementations by various platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay.

If Jim came to Beijing now, whether arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) or the Daxing International Airport, he could go directly to a service center outside the international arrival gate and seek help from staff to install Alipay or WeChat.

He could also directly withdraw RMB from the ATMs beside the service desk if he did not wish to bother with buying a Chinese phone card or had worries about personal information security. The service center could also provide him with smaller bank notes if necessary.

If he uses Alipay with real-name registration, he would be able to make a single transaction with a maximum limit of $5,000 and a maximum annual transaction limit of $50,000.

If Jim was a first-time user of WeChat Pay from abroad, he could also directly add his international bank cards to quickly activate the WeChat payment function without needing to buy a Chinese phone card. By linking an international card, he could use WeChat Pay in China within a certain amount of spending without verification.

As one of China's most international metropolises, Shanghai led the charge in providing international visitors with convenient payment services.

Since late 2023, Shanghai has taken the lead in installing over 36,000 points of sale (POS) machines that can accept foreign bank cards in commerce, cultural, and tourism sites, airports, and railway stations throughout the city, according to the Shanghai government website.

Near Yuyuan Garden, one of the most popular tourist sites in downtown Shanghai, small boards that read "Visa, Master, JCB… now available" are seen on the cashier counters of most shops and restaurants there. According to a cashier at a three-story shop selling souvenirs, clothes, and skincare products, the shop started offering foreign bank card payment services in November 2023, when Shanghai hosted the 6th China International Import Expo.

This improvement has particularly excited many foreign excursionists, who have little time to withdraw cash or get used to China's digital payment systems.

"I can't wait to directly pay with my bank card; that's much better and convenient for us international visitors," a Japanese college student told the Global Times ahead of the Chinese New Year in February. She planned to have a week-long stay in this city.

According to yicai.com, the coverage rate of key merchants accepting foreign cards in Shanghai and neighboring Zhejiang Province in East China has exceeded 90 percent.
Determined to further open up

According to media reports, by 2023, millions of foreigners in China had used mobile payments and truly enjoyed the convenience. In the fourth quarter of 2023 particularly, the scale of mobile payment transactions by inbound travelers significantly increased, with a total of 35 million transactions amounting to 5 billion yuan ($695.6 million).

By taking multiple measures to improve the convenience of mobile payment, it is not only an important starting point for Chinese mobile payment to go global, but also a vital part of China's recent efforts to expand international exchanges, including tourism and trade, experts pointed out.

Improving the convenience for foreign nationals to work and study in, and travel to China has been included in the Report on the Work of the Government (2024) announced during the just concluded two sessions.

On March 7, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced a visa-free policy for Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg on a trial basis at a press conference on the sidelines of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC).

In January, China had already announced five measures, including shortening visa application forms, lowering visa fees for the entire year, exempting some applicants from fingerprinting, providing walk-in without appointment visa application services, and extending a unilateral visa-free policy to a select number of countries including France and Germany on a trial basis.

At a press conference on February 7, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin revealed that, as of the time of the conference, China had signed mutual visa exemption agreements with 157 countries that cover different types of passports, and had reached agreements or arrangements to simplify visa procedures with 44 countries. China has a complete mutual visa exemption with 23 countries.

These measures show China's determination and concrete efforts to keep opening up, experts noted.

They proposed to continue to expand the scope of visa exemptions so that more foreign travelers can get a chance to enjoy China's large and diverse landscapes, the convenience brought by the 5G network and high-speed bullet trains, and understand China through first-hand experience rather than some second-hand biased reporting.

A Mother’s Day commercial poster by detergent maker Blue Moon has triggered controversy on Chinese social media for its stereotypical portrayal of mothers, as the poster suggests that mothers should be the first ones to use the promoted laundry products. The company has reportedly replied that the original idea of expressing gratitude to mothers may not have been conveyed effectively.

The controversy was caused by the poster promoting one of Blue Moon’s products in an elevator advertisement. In the advertisement, the company claims that mothers used big bottles of laundry detergent to wash clothes in the past, which was heavy and hard work. Now, the company uses a tech that makes laundry easier and more effortless for mothers, according to media reports.

In addition, the pattern of the poster background, features the image of a woman busy with housework, taking care of children, and working alone. Many netizens regarded the use of the phrase “mother, you can use it first” as a stereotypical portrayal of mothers.

The relevant topic has garnered more than 12 million views on Chinese X-like Sina Weibo. Some netizens also questioned why the advertisement, which is released for Mother’s Day, is promoting labor cleaning tools as gifts for mothers. Why not offer to do the laundry for mothers instead?

According to media reports, one customer service staff member from the company replied that their original idea was to express the gratitude to mothers, but the gratitude may have not been expressed effectively, and they will report the netizens’ feedback to the company immediately. 

“Why do we always have to adhere to stereotypical labels? Does clothing always have to be washed by mothers? …And on Mother’s Day, shouldn’t we make it easier for our mothers by doing the laundry ourselves?” one netizen wrote.

“The incident has also sparked attention to the portrayal of gender roles in advertising. In modern society, people are expected to see more gender equality and diversity in advertising, rather than outdated and stereotypical portrayals,” another netizen said.

Some netizens expressed different opinions. “The advertisement has caused some discomfort for some people, but is it too sentimental? It’s good to show gratitude toward mothers and those who do household duties, so what’s the problem?” one netizen said.

If we look at the advertisement from a different perspective, it makes sense to show gratitude to mothers and express love. It all depends on how we interpret it, another netizen said.

The 26th China Fisheries and Seafood Expo (CFSE) held in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province between October 25 and 27 was the event's first offline appearance since the epidemic.

Ambassador of Chile to China Mauricio Hurtado, and Natalia Cortes, Trade Commissioner of ProChile Beijing, attended this year's CFSE. In her remarks, Cortes noted the high nutritional value, safety and healthy qualities of Chilean seafood, pointing out that it has obtained all the most important international certifications. She mentioned the great importance Chile attached to CFSE as a platform, arranging every year for Chilean enterprises and industry associations to make the long journey from Latin America to take part. Cortes said she was looking forward to everyone enjoying a taste of Chilean seafood and learning more about the country's cuisine, wines, and culture.

The Chilean Pavilion with 13 Chilean seafood enterprises alongside Chile Mussel, has been a big draw at this year's CFSE. This is the first time Chilean companies have come to China to take part in the CFSE in person in the post-COVID era. They look forward to taking this opportunity to interact face-to-face with Chinese friends old and new in the sector, to better understand the latest developments in the local market and optimize the quality of their products and services.

Around 9:30 am on a blisteringly cold Sunday morning in China's "ice city" Harbin, people were lining up quietly in long queues in front of a museum, which is about an 80-minute subway ride from the city's center. No one complained about waiting in the cold for more than half an hour.

The capital of China's northernmost province of Heilongjiang, Harbin has emerged as one of the top tourist destinations this winter. During the three-day New Year holiday alone, the city welcomed nearly 3.05 million visitors, raking in 5.91 billion yuan (about $832.39 million) in tourism revenue. The enthusiasm of visitors from across the country toward Harbin has remained unabated.

Far from the hustle and bustle at these hot tourist spots in the city, the Museum of Evidence of War Crimes by the Japanese Army Unit 731 is located in Pingfang District. Yet, many visitors came here, and a lot of them were tourists from other parts of the country, dragging their luggage behind them, apparently to catch a train or flight afterward. Some were holding bouquets of white or yellow chrysanthemums, which are traditional Chinese symbols for mourning.

"Welcome to Harbin. Welcome to visit the museum," a local resident handed out small stick flags of China's national flags, greeted every visitor with a genuine smile, his face turned red from standing too long in the cold. To keep visitors warm, some local residents also set up stalls to give hot ginger tea and heating pads. The museum told the Global Times that they weren't volunteers with the museums. "They were just warm-hearted residents who live nearby and offered to help."

Unit 731 was a top-secret biological and chemical warfare research base established in Harbin in 1935 as the center of Japan's biological warfare in China and Southeast Asia during the war. In August 1945, the retreating Japanese invaders destroyed most of the facilities that produced germ weapons, which reportedly included bubonic plague, typhoid, anthrax, and cholera.

In the 1980s, an exhibition hall was established to strengthen the protection and investigation of the evidence of war crimes, such as their notorious human experiments in the development of germ warfare by the Japanese Army Unit 731. In 2015, a new museum at the site was opened to the public. The new museum is divided into six exhibition rooms, displaying relics excavated from the remains of Unit 731's headquarters.

"Local schools or companies organize student visits to the museum regularly. I just live right across the street from the museum. But I have never seen so many people waiting in lines, not even during the New Year holiday just passed," a taxi driver told the Global Times.

During the tourism boom, some tourists visited the museum and shared their experiences on social media. A Douyin (China's Tiktok) user with the handle xiaoshiya, who traveled from East China's Zhejiang Province, chose the museum as her last stop for her two-day visit to Harbin based on recommendations from netizens in Harbin.

She noted that she didn't know there was a biological warfare committed by the Japanese Army Unit 731 in Ningbo (a city in Zhejiang Province). "The excruciatingly painful memory shouldn't solely be carried by our brothers and sisters in the Northeast. It's a history that should be known and remembered by all of us," she wrote in the video, tearing up. The video has received 1.79 million likes, more than 56,000 comments, and has been shared over 182,000 times.

The museum announced on Saturday to carry out a strict reservation system, starting from Sunday, to maintain its daily maximum reception to 12,000 visitors. "Since the New Year holiday this year, the number of visitors to the museum has surged significantly," said the announcement.

"Visitors will be admitted to the museum during their reserved time slot upon presenting their ticket code. Visitors who have not made a reservation can enter our museum's lecture hall under the guidance of staff to watch the documentary on the Japanese Army Unit 731 (each session not exceeding 200 people) or visit the core area of the site. They may enter the museum to visit only after all reserved visitors have been admitted."

Inside the museum, there was a pillar-shaped installation with names of victims on the top and some running numbers below. "The numbers are increasing one by one, standing for the loss of one life of our people," the museum introduced. In silence, visitors laid down China's national flags in memory of the victims who lost their lives to the atrocities committed by the Japanese Army Unit 731.

Many visitors shared videos of them walking inside a long, dark tunnel towards the end of the exhibition on social media, with a caption that went viral online. "Don't look back. Keep walking. At the other end of the tunnel, there's light, the simple beauty of life, the prosperity of our country and the peaceful life of our people. Yet don't forget the journey we weathered through to get here."

According to Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice (BMBJ), a local forensic institute has cracked the transmission principle of AirDrop function of Apple devices, which enables mobile phone number and email address of the AirDrop content sender to be extracted from content receivers, while authorities have received more complaints from public over receiving offensive and inappropriate messages from other anonymous Apple devices.

This technical breakthrough has successfully helped the public security authorities identify a number of criminal suspects, who use the AirDrop function to spread illegal content, BMBJ said through a releases posted on its website on Monday. 

According to the BMBJ, the Beijing police have received reports from the public that their iPhones received videos with "anonymous inappropriate messages" in subway in Beijing. Following investigation, the police found that the suspects took advantage of the AirDrop function to anonymously spread these inappropriate messages including pictures, videos, audio and other files, in crowded public spaces like transport hubs, bus stops or shopping malls. 

As AirDrop function allows anonymous transmission without an internet connection, it is almost impossible to effectively regulate this behavior through conventional network monitoring means, which has become a challenge for public security organs to crack these cases, and some internet users have started to imitate this behavior. Therefore, it is necessary to quickly identify the source of the sender and determine their identity in order to avoid negative consequences, according to the release. 

A local forensic institute named "Wangshen Dongjian" was commissioned to analyze iPhone device logs. A rainbow table correlating phone numbers and email accounts was created during investigation, and has "effectively assisted the police in identifying several suspects" involved in such cases.

The breakthrough of AirDrop's anonymous traceability technology has improved the efficiency and accuracy of case detection, and prevented the further spread of inappropriate information and its potential adverse effects, the BMBJ said. 

Apple has limited the use of the AirDrop wireless file sharing function on devices in Chinese mainland in November 2022, after some anti-China forces used the function to spread inappropriate digital leaflets, according to media reports. After the updates, users can only opt in to receive files from non-contacts during a 10-minute window before it automatically shuts off.

Concerns over the AirDrop feature are global. Western nations like US, UK, and Australia also noticed the rising of "cyber flashing," where explicit and abusive images are anonymously sent to strangers through iPhones.

On May 10, 2023, the Metro branch of the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau issued a notice saying that a female passenger received an explicit picture through AirDrop on Hangzhou subway from a stranger," triggered huge amount of public attention. 

China's financial regulator on Friday disclosed fines of 10 million yuan on three banks - China Construction Bank, Bank of China and China CITIC Bank. It was also the first group of fines issued by the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) in 2024.

The Bank of China was fined 4.3 million yuan, the highest among the three banks, for nine violations, including failure to report the use and changes of important information system to regulatory authorities, the non-standard production and changes of important information system causing major emergency, poorly identifying and handling of operation risks of information system, and imprudent management of outsourcing information technology.

The China Construction Bank was fined 1.7 million yuan ($239,000) for four violations, inadequate internal audit of consolidated management, inadequate case management of overseas institutions by parent bank, failure to report on the employment of senior managers of overseas subsidiaries in a timely manner, and ineffective rectification of found problems, according to a NFRA notice published on its official website.

The China CITIC Bank was fined 4 million yuan for six violations, which are mostly related to its data center operations and management practices that fall short of regulatory requirements.

The fintech-related fines issued by the NFRA at the beginning of 2024, to a certain extent, reflects regulatory focus on strengthening supervision of information systems in the future, a securities analyst, surnamed Liu, told the Global Times on Saturday.

In November 2023, the NFRA established a new department taking care of technology supervision, covering oversight of cybersecurity, data security and critical information infrastructure.

Amateurs proved prominent during the opening round of the Mitsubishi Electric FA Golf Open in Suzhou, East China’s Jiangsu Province, on Thursday. Hong Kong SAR’s Alexander Yang and Chongqing’s Zhou Yanhan each carded a six-under 66 to share the early lead with veteran Yuan Tian.

Chinese players Jin Daxing, Huang Zijie, Luo Xuewen, Liu Enhua, Sun Yan, and Wu Di were a shot off the pace at the event taking place at Suzhou Taihu International Golf Club.

Zhou, the 15-year-old son of Tour player Zhou Xunshu, turned it on late in his round when he carded five birdies over the last seven holes to grab a share of the lead.

“I didn’t hit it solid for the whole round, but my putter was hot. I made four putts from 15 feet. I missed some putts on the front nine, but I kept my patience,” said the teenager who won last year’s Chongqing Open against a pro field.

Yang, who earlier this year became the first Hong Kong man to play in the US Open, started his round on the back nine, carding three birdies and two bogeys to make the turn at one-under.

“Today was a great start. I think I did most things pretty well,” said Yang, who is currently on leave from Stanford University. “I’m still getting used to the grass here. It’s definitely unique and different from what I’m accustomed to in the US. I made a couple of bogeys and mistakes here and there but otherwise I played really solid.”

Yuan, a 41-year-old veteran who continues to chase his first China Tour win after 18 years as a pro, carded his best round of the year on the strength of seven birdies and a lone bogey in his early morning start that began on the back nine.

The Shanghai Mingyuan Art Museum recently unveiled its inaugural exhibition, Delight in the Invisible - An "Abstract" Narrative of Momentary, to mark the opening of the new gallery. 

The exhibition is a further advancement of the "Perception Art" concept of the 2019 Shanghai Mingyuan Art Museum.

"Delight in the Invisible" is a specific issue deeply explored in the "Perception Art" concept, which has a very thoughtful relationship with art history. The intention of the term is to discuss art issues, and to examine the development of literati painting and contemporary art with "Delight in the Invisible" as the topic.

The exhibition explores the new development possibilities of contemporary Chinese art now or in the future through the works of 27 representative artists.

The Shanghai Mingyuan Art Museum was officially established in 2004. Covering an area of over 2,000 square meters, it is the first private non-profit art museum established in Shanghai and has been free to the public since its opening.

The museum adheres to the concept of development and dissemination of contemporary Chinese art. 

Through themed exhibitions, academic exchanges, art collection, public education and other activities, it provides an open platform for the public to display and exchange art, and also sets up a corresponding dialogue mechanism for the field of art research at home and abroad.

One Chinese national has been killed and another injured, the Chinese Embassy in Thailand confirmed late Tuesday night after a shooting incident which left two dead and five injured at one of the most popular shopping malls in Thailand on Tuesday afternoon.

The embassy said it activated its emergency response mechanism to verify the situation in the wake of the incident and has confirmed the identities of the victims, adding that the injured individual has received medical treatment and remained in stable condition.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin visited the injured Chinese national at the hospital, the embassy confirmed. Both the prime minister and Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, the deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, respectively made phone calls to Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Han Zhiqiang to express their condolences to the deceased Chinese national on behalf of the Thai government.

They vowed to quickly deal with the case to ensure a safe and reliable environment for the Chinese nationals in Thailand.

A chaotic scene unfolded at the Siam Paragon mall in Bangkok, Thailand on Tuesday afternoon as gunshots rang out near an upscale retail area. According to National Police Chief Torsak Sukvimol, at least two people were killed and five others injured in the shooting and the police has arrested the suspect, a 14 years old suffering from a mental illness.

On Wednesday, Thai Police filed five charges against the suspect, including intentional homicide, commission of homicide, unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying a firearm into a public place without authorization, and discharging a firearm in a public place without authorization.

Thai police said the other victim was from Myanmar and the four injured included a Laotian and three Thai people.

According to local media, the 34-year-old Chinese female surnamed Zhao was shot dead when walking through the Siam Paragon building. A Chinese netizen named “Chloe Wan” wrote on China’s Twitter-like social media platform Sina Weibo that the shooter began shooting at the female toilet on the second floor, killing her acquaintance and injuring her mother.

“Aunt Zhao is a nice person. We three families, including Zhao’s husband and twin daughters, travelled to Thailand together. I didn’t know how she was hurt. I only saw her fainted on the ground with blood flowing out of her mouth. Her five-year-old children didn’t know about this. They were staying with their dad,” wrote the netizen, as quoted by Shangyou News.

The hashtags including “A Chinese visitor shot dead in Siam Paragon” had received more than 290 million views and comments on Sina Weibo as of Wednesday morning, and some netizens have expressed safety concerns on travelling to Thailand.

In September, the Thai government announced a temporary tourist visa exemption scheme for Chinese and Kazakh travelers to boost tourism.

In the face of an escalating climate change threat, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) actively champions the spirit of green and low-carbon development, advocating for a sustainable future. 

As the recent BRI white paper released by China's State Council points out, the BRI embraces the global trend of green and low-carbon development, emphasizes respect for and protection of nature, and respects the right of all parties to pursue sustainable and eco-friendly growth.

Despite vicious campaigns launched by certain Western media outlets to smear the BRI as causing environmental damage in other countries, analysts noted that the real fact is that by making use of the expertise in renewable energy, energy conservation, environmental protection, and clean energy production, and employing Chinese technology, products, and experience, China actively promotes BRI cooperation in green development.

During visits by Global Times reporters to various BRI project sites worldwide, it became evident that Chinese enterprises prioritize environmental conservation measures when conducting operations abroad. Meanwhile, there is an increasing uptake of Chinese energy products in Belt and Road countries transported by rail and air, effectively harnessing renewable resources like wind and solar energy.

Taking the cooperation between China and Fiji as an example, in 2014, China and Fiji established the South-South cooperation to address climate change. In May 2022, the two countries signed a bilateral MOU on the Provision of Goods under the South-South Cooperation for Addressing Climate Change. 

Chinese Ambassador to Fiji Zhou Jian told the Global Times that China and Fiji are both victims of climate change, as well as allies in addressing climate change. 

Analysts pointed out that the cooperation between China and Fiji is a shining example of the green BRI. The Belt and Road Initiative Action Plan not only laid out the overarching vision and framework of the BRI but also underscored the paramount significance of environmental preservation and sustainability within BRI projects.

Furthermore, China, in conjunction with BRI participant nations, has established comprehensive frameworks for the implementation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Guidelines for BRI projects. These guidelines have proven instrumental in ensuring that environmental considerations are integrated into the planning and execution of projects.

China has also extended its commitment to environmentally sustainable BRI initiatives through various international agreements and partnerships. This includes the signing of an MOU with the United Nations Environment Programme, aimed at fostering a green Belt and Road from 2017 to 2022. Additionally, China has entered into environmental cooperation accords with over 30 countries and international organizations. Furthermore, in collaboration with various nations, China launched the Initiative for Belt and Road Partnership on Green Development. It has also played a pivotal role in establishing the BRI International Green Development Coalition, boasting more than 150 partners from over 40 countries, the Xinhua News Agency reported.