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China and Serbia pledge deeper strategic cooperation and stronger bilateral ties.
China doubles relending for tech innovation and equipment upgrades.
And the country makes an important step for 6G development.
Hello and welcome to World Today, a news program with a different perspective.
I'm Do Hongyu in Beijing.
To listen to this episode again or to catch up on previous episodes, you can download our podcast by searching World Today.
Our first story.
Chinese President, Xi Jinping, has called on China and Serbia to elevate the comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher level.
He made the remarks during talks with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic in Beijing.
Vucic is on a state visit to China from Sunday to Thursday.
The two leaders attended a signing ceremony for cooperation documents.
President Xi also held a friendship medal award ceremony for Alexander Vucic.
Hona has more.
Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Serbian President Alexander Vucic at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday, as Vucic began a state visit to China at Xi's invitation.
The two leaders later held talks.
During their meeting, Xi said China and Serbia have achieved positive results since jointly launching the building of a China-Serbia community with a shared future for the new era in 2024.
He said the partnership has not only benefited the two peoples, but also set an example for international relations.
Xi described the China-Serbia friendship as an ironclad friendship built on deep historical ties and mutual trust.
He caught on both sides to strengthen exchanges, deepen practical cooperation and continue supporting each other on issues involving their core interests.
Vucic congratulated China on the launch of his 15th five-year plan and expressed confidence in China's future development under Xi's leadership.
He said Serbia highly values its relationship with China and firmly supports China on issues concerning its core interests.
Vucic also praised China's role in international affairs, saying China has constantly treated smaller countries with equality and respect, while upholding international law.
Following the talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of more than 20 cooperation agreements covering politics trade, science and technology education, judicial affairs and culture.
That was Hona reporting.
For more, we're joined by Chen Weihua, China Daily former chief Washington correspondent.
Thank you so much for joining us, Mr. Chen.
First of all, President Xi described China and Serbia as... ironclad friends.
And Vucic earlier said the trip would be the most important visit of his political career.
What makes the China-Serbia relationship stand out in today's complicated international environment?
Well, first of all, I want to say that China-Serbia relation has been tested throughout the decades.
I mean, if we just recall, I mean earlier, this month actually marked the anniversary of, you know, May 7 1999, when the NATO bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
I mean, of course they bombed the former Sogo, former Yugoslavia.
I mean, we have the same feeling about the NATO's aggression.
I mean, that's a shared sort of destiny.
You know, you just quoted the two leaders.
I think that's very important because the two leaders actually, you know even Serbia and China are varying size.
I mean China is, you know, one of the largest populist country in the world.
Serbia is relatively small.
But the two leaders maintain very close, good relationship.
I mean now we have President Vucic's five-day visit to China, but You know when I was based in Europe, I mean President Xi made a state visit to Serbia in 2024, I believe, you know, in May.
And the two leaders also met I mean twice last year, I mean in Moscow, during the celebration of marking of the the end of the Second World War.
I mean also Wu Qiqi.
President Wu Qiqi came to China last September, I believe, to mark the end of the anti-fascist, you know, war.
And so I think that shows sort of the very important relationship I mean cherished by the two countries, two leaders.
I think the two countries are really a great example of countries, regardless of their size, I mean political system, the difference, political system history culture, they can cooperate, you know, for mutual benefit, based on respect, mutual respect equality, and so i think you just mentioned this is particularly important because the today's global geopolitics is very complicated.
I mean we have, i mean serbia is obviously in europe, i mean it's under great pressure, for example, from the European Union, which is often aligned with the US foreign policy.
So I think Serbia's cooperation with China has been under pressure from Brussels, the European Union side.
But Serbia has consistently uphold its independent foreign policy.
And China, too, has been supporting Serbia, whether in economics or during the COVID-19 years.
So the relation has been great.
I've covered...
Sort of the part of the construction of the Belgrade-Budapest railway, I mean highway construction by Chinese company in Serbia.
So it's really a very dynamic, good relationship.
In a joint statement, the two countries vowed to promote the alignment of China's 15th Five-Year Plan with Serbia's 2030 development strategy.
What areas do you believe have great potential for bilateral cooperation?
Well, I think that's great, because China has tried to align with our five-year plan with other countries, not just Serbia.
But Serbia has this Serbia 2030 and tried to greatly boost the countries in terms of development, infrastructure construction and economic reform, energy transition.
If you read this, I mean I already mentioned China is very big in helping infrastructure construction in Serbia.
I mean, if you talk about Belgrade Metro, the subway line or you know the highway I witnessed the railway and Obviously, the energy transition.
China can play a major role.
I mean, China is the leading country.
I mean in not just renewable I mean, but also in terms of the electricity power grid.
I mean, we are We have the leading technology, I mean, the two countries.
Obviously, if you read the messages from President Wu Jiuqi, I mean, they are also aiming very high.
They want to go... for more cooperation in digital economy, even artificial intelligence.
And China, you know, that's also in priority in China's 15th five-year plan.
Obviously, we have a lot to cooperate not just in the traditional manufacturing infrastructure field, but also in more high-tech digital science technology area.
The last I mean not least.
I mean we should not forget this people-to-people exchange which, you know, Serbia is the country which has a visa-free policy for China.
So how could the policies for people-to-people exchanges, like the visa-free policy you mentioned, and also free trade and direct flights between China and Serbia, further deepen ties between the two societies?
I think it's very, very important, because the Chinese always emphasize the foundation, the bilateral relation.
I mean, it's always based on the sound, the people-to-people relationship.
I mean the visa-free policy would allow Chinese and Serbians, you know, to visit each other more freely, more often.
So to have a better understanding, obviously, we, you know, we already know each other quite a bit.
But at the same time, the free trade, you know, policy means that our trade could be conducted more effectively.
I mean, we don't have a free trade agreement, for example, with the European Union yet.
So, Serbia could be a great place.
I mean, because Serbia is also actually in the process of joining the European Union, for example.
I mean, it could take a long way.
But anyway, I mean it could be a very strategic place for Chinese investment, for example, and including the direct flight.
We all know that major Chinese cities Beijing Shanghai, Guangzhou have direct flights to Belgrade.
So it could be, I mean, transfer to other European cities and destinations.
So all these are very good.
I mean, I actually mentioned that I covered the Hungarian Serbia and Budapest Belgrade Railway.
I mean, they've already been connected and started the operation on the freight train.
I mean, the passenger train is also supposed to be operational soon.
I mean, so all this bodes very well for the people-to-people exchange.
President Vucic was awarded with China's Friendship Medal, the highest state honor for foreign nationals, and he said he was very emotional and excited.
How significant is that in promoting bilateral relations?
I think this is a medal honoring his personal accomplishment and contribution to the bilateral relationship.
But more importantly, it's recognizing how much contribution his government and country, the Serbian people, you know, have uh contributed to the bilateral relationship.
I mean, i i was there, i felt the warmth, i mean well received by the people there and uh, i think obviously we hope the relationship will last for long, long time and uh, so this metal, i think, is uh, you know, a recognition of the contribution and also the best wishes that we will both cherish the friendship and let it expand much further.
President Vucic also praised China for treating smaller countries with equality and respect while upholding international law.
What does this tell us about how Serbia views China's role in global affairs today?
Yeah, I think you know if they start in big contrast with the.
You know the role US often treat a small nation.
I mean China's foreign policy of, you know, five principle.
Peaceful coexistence is based on this equality.
You know where the country is small and the large, I mean they will be treated equally.
Mutually, with mutual respect, I mean, China never interfered in others' domestic affairs.
China never waged a war or bombed another country.
So that's, I think, make China stand out, obviously.
And that's not just a great word from the Serbian leader, but also for a recognition from many global South countries and the rest of the world.
Indeed,
The two countries also issued joint statements supporting the four global initiatives proposed by China.
How much influence could China-Serbia cooperation have beyond bilateral ties, especially in Europe and the international community?
Yeah, I think you know, because China's four initiatives, basically global development initiative, security initiative, civilization initiative, governance initiative, I think are very relevant.
In today's world if you talk about, people are desperate for development, security and the respect for different civilization and a global governance is crumbling, i mean.
So this uh is not a, since the recognition by the serbia side is also, you know, would trigger a lot of thinking in Europe, for example, Serbian neighbors who also have been struggling with such problems, challenges in global governance, development.
So I think the bilateral initiative documents would certainly invite more countries to join the global initiatives.
Thank you.
That was Chen Weihua, China Daily former chief Washington correspondent.
This is World Today.
Stay tuned.
China is ramping up support for tech innovation and equipment upgrades.
The country's top economic planning buddy NDRC, says it has more than doubled its relending facility for technological innovation to 12 trillion yuan, or about US165 billion.
The expanded program covers 14 sectors, including artificial intelligence, electronics and smart agriculture, while also extending support to private small and medium-sized firms.
NDRC's relanding facility lowers borrowing costs for targeted projects by utilizing ultra-long-term special treasury bonds to subsidize commercial bank loans.
Authorities have also lowered borrowing costs and increased fiscal subsidies to encourage companies to upgrade equipment and boost investment.
For more on this, my colleague Zhao Yang spoke with Li Lun, assistant professor of economics at Peking University.
Professor Li Lun, thank you very much for joining us.
The NDRC more than doubled the relanding facility to 12 trillion yuan and lowered the borrowing costs.
So how effective are these financial tools in accelerating China's technology innovation?
Yeah, so these measures are going to directly lower the cost of financing for these companies.
So we're seeing that the relanding quota has expanded from 500 billion yuan to 1.2 trillion yuan.
And also the relanding rate has been cut from 1.75% to 1.25%.
So this is a combination that's going to reduce the financing burden for these firms, especially when they're making the long cycle technology investments.
And also, I think the biggest effect of this re-lending is not on basic research but on commercialization, because a lot of companies already have a product, a factory line, but they're trying to scale it up using cheaper capital.
So this is going to create some positive effect On that front and also I think it can have bring an effect called crowding, because you know when policies and you know you know when we see a clear national priority in this area, policy banks, commercial banks are going to see this opportunity and they will also be more willing to finance similar projects that could otherwise look too risky for them.
So overall, I think the policy can be understood as reducing the financing friction between innovation and also large scale application.
And we are seeing money pouring into large language models, embodied AI and computing infrastructure.
So is this the beginning of a long-term industrial transformation for China?
Yes, definitely.
I think a large language model is just the beginning, because the real shift I think is from a single AI application to a full stack application for the industrial base.
For example, we're talking about models chips, data centers and incorporating AI into robots, industrial systems, smart factories and also enhancing the productivity of the entire sector.
And fortunately, we already have a very sizable AI base in China.
So we have, for example, more than 6200 AI companies, and also the core AI industry has exceeded 12 trillion yuan in 2025.
So AI is no longer a niche or small sector, already becoming part of the integral part of the industrial system.
And also, I think the policy is pointing towards diffusion.
So it's not about who has the most advanced models, but more about who can embed AI into more scenarios and applications and make the real economy grow the fastest.
So we're talking about integrating AI into science and technology, into the consumption, public services and governance, and so on and so forth.
So I think these areas are definitely going to be, you know, the comparative advantage of China's system.
Indeed.
And why is equipment upgrading being linked so closely with AI development and the new quality productive forces?
Yes, because when developing AI, especially in manufacturing AI, is useful in machines sensors robots, data systems.
So AI needs the support from an entire modern physical infrastructure.
So there's a theory that the strength of a link is decided by its weakest chain.
So I think upgrading the entire AI system, renewing the equipment, is going to turn AI into something from a smart algorithm into an entire mechanism to enhance productivity.
So this is why these relanding support is going to cover sectors not just in AI, but also in electronic information facility agriculture, consumer commercial facilities.
So these are going to support or provide the necessary infrastructure that's going to be closely linked to AI development.
And I think the logic in the macroeconomic level is very straightforward because, in terms of growth, China's equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing It's growing faster than overall industrial output.
So more focus should be put into, for example, industrial robots, NEVs and 3D printing equipment.
Those are all areas where AI can reinforce and improve the productivity and growth even further.
And policymakers are lowering IPO thresholds and expanding relanding tools for tech companies.
China's Chinex and Star Market are easing the listing standards for high-growth AI firms that are not yet profitable.
So how do you look at this step to support innovation?
And what message does it send?
Yeah.
So I think this is a really good measure that addresses a real dilemma or mismatch in these financing areas, especially for innovative firms, because a lot of AI firms is going to spend heavily on RD, on data and the talent pool, the computing, before they become profitable.
So they need more money to become profitable.
Profitable, but in the conventional, you know financing case, they need to first become profitable, then be able to you know IPO.
So this is going to create a dilemma for a lot of these very small and innovative firms.
So the start market is already using more flexible criteria.
So, before the firm become profitable, if they accumulated enough market value revenue RD investment, they could already be allowed to IPO.
And G-NEXT reform is also moving in the same direction.
So I think the message to entrepreneurs is very positive.
It says capital markets are willing to finance these companies at an earlier stage.
They could invest more IMA Energy into developing a credible technology, showing the investors the prospects of the commercial case and also having the transparent disclosure so that they could earn this capital or get more opportunities at an early stage of their development.
And the government is also including private SMEs small and medium enterprises with the high RD intensity in the support framework.
So why is that?
And could this help smaller innovators compete with tech giants?
Or how are their respective roles in China's innovation ecosystem?
Yeah, so I think my understanding is less about competition but more about incorporation, because SMEs is often where the specialized innovation happens.
For example, maybe a small firm that develops the hand or fingers or joint of a robot and is the supplier of these larger tech giants.
And in these manufacturing sectors.
So the smaller firms may not build These general purpose robots or general purpose models, but they are a very crucial part in terms of being sensors, software.
You know different modules of the robotics and so on and so forth, so they also have a very high rd intensity.
So the measures you just mentioned can reduce the financing burden and also reducing the financing inequality between large and smaller tech firms and provide the equal access for small firms to the same industry as well.
So I think the goal should not be to make every small and medium enterprise a tech giant, but we should build a very dense ecosystem where smaller innovators can also supply these critical and crucial pieces for the AI economy.
And another notable trend is the growing role of industrial capital.
The internet platforms, automakers and manufacturers, they are investing in AI.
So why is this different from the traditional venture capital?
Yeah, so traditional venture capital.
They bring money into the game, but usually these investors are really risk averse.
They want to see their profit early and they want to exit as soon as they see an opportunity.
So these new form of industrial capital bring not just the money, but also application cases.
So in some strategic areas for example, in smart manufacturing, in autonomous driving, for industrial AI these industrial capital may be more patient, because an automaker, for example, who are investing in AI chips may not just care about the financial return, but also about how to secure these competitiveness in the long run and how to develop something that can, for example, work better with their own cars.
So the industrial investors, but on the other hand, there are also some risks.
For example, by investing in a certain system, they may create a closed ecosystem rather than an open source ecosystem.
So we have to keep a closer eye into this.
But overall I think the effect is going to be positive because it's going to help AI to move from the lab into factories and cars and actual logistic networks.
That was Li Luan, assistant professor of economics at Peking University.
This is World Today.
We'll be back after a short break.
Hello, my name is Alessandro Golombievski Teixeira.
I'm a professor of Public Policy Management at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
I am a great listener of The Wall Today.
In my opinion, The Wall Today is one of the best China radio programs.
In the world today, we can get the best news and analysis in what is happening now in the world.
So please, come to join us!
You're listening to World Today with me, Dou Hongyu in Beijing.
Chinese authorities say the country has taken a step forward in next-generation telecommunications by approving trial spectrum in the 6 GHz band for the development of 6G technology.
The approval authorizes 6G trials in selected regions.
The move is aimed at advancing technical research, testing and validation.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said the spectrum allocation is expected to accelerate China's efforts in 6G research and development, standardization and industrialization and to promote high-quality development of the country's 6G sector.
For more, we're joined by Professor Andy Mock at Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Thank you for joining us, Professor.
My pleasure, as always.
First of all, let's start with the basic concepts.
What is the trial spectrum in the 6 GHz band and what does the approval of it mean for 6G development?
Sure.
So I mean, that does sound very dense and technical.
So if we break this down, so the spectrum trial spectrum, I'm sorry.
So the trial part means that it's a temporary allocation of radio frequencies that companies, research institutions et cetera can use to test these new technologies before they're fully rolled out.
And the six gigahertz band is useful to focus on for a bit because it actually strikes a balance between a broad bandwidth and a relatively long transmission distance.
So in a way, maybe the best of both worlds. for mobile networks.
And I think what this means is that the China 6G program is actually shifting from laboratory research to real world field testing, as you mentioned, in certain parts of the country, because it allows engineers in the wild to test, validate signal penetration, interference patterns, equipment performance, things like that.
And I think what this means, so we zoom out from some of this technical detail.
What it means is that I think it shows China has the confidence that this technology has matured enough for outdoor as well as industrial testing.
Mm-hmm.
Then, with this approval, what kinds of technologies or applications are likely to be tested during this phase?
Well, I think if we come back to kind of the functionality first, it will help us understand what are some applications.
So we're talking really ultra-high data rates here, so terabits uh per second uh, extremely low latency, meaning just very fast reaction times.
Massive connectivity, so the ability to support far more devices uh per area you know, square meter say, uh than than 5g.
And then here's, i think, something that's very, very different this integrated sensing and communication.
So actually using the network itself as a kind of a sensor.
So what this means then, is one it can support massive AI development, Holographic communications, meaning that it creates a 3D image of whoever you're talking to, not a 2D image.
Autonomous transport, of course.
So you know, vehicle to everything, communication.
You know it's kind of, i think, the ideal, and then that will get us to, you know, this level five type of autonomous driving.
The other very important thing is digital twins, and this matters for so many reasons, But one is that, as we move to an increasingly AI-run world, we need very good models that can very accurately recreate whether it's a human body, whether it's a traffic ecosystem, whether it's an entire city, to make sure that whatever we're rolling out actually does what we want it to do and doesn't have these unexpected risks.
Then finally, I think digital twins can be a very powerful source of new data.
We think about training AI models.
What are the constraints?
Besides power and besides chips, is data?
So I think this is again, something that 6G can help unlock.
But for many people now, 5G still feels relatively new.
And for some, they're taking it for granted.
So what exactly will 6G bring us that could be different from 5G, especially for ordinary people?
Yeah, so that's a great question.
I mean, I think that 6G is actually not targeted directly towards consumers, but it's really kind of like an infrastructure layer that will allow other things –.
To happen, you know, again, like autonomous driving, say holographic imaging.
So it's a you know.
The way I might think about it, as as an old technology guy, is that many, many years ago, when the PC revolution was just starting and Bill Gates vision of a desktop on every, a computer on every desktop, was seen as some kind of fantasy, it was intel inside that powered it.
So i think we can look at it this way.
You know, 6g inside can power things like holographic communications, autonomous driving, which are things that can directly touch consumers.
But digital twins again is something that makes the world better in largely invisible ways but still very, very crucial ways.
Developing 6G probably requires a lot of breakthroughs in areas such as semiconductors and advanced infrastructure.
What do you see as the biggest challenges ahead?
Well, I think, of course, hardware is important, especially when we look at this complex geopolitical environment that seems to be getting better.
So I think that'll be a positive sign in addressing some of these semiconductor hardware limitations, again, to kind of go through this process. laundry list, perhaps, signal propagation, atmospheric absorption.
So these kinds of frequencies can really degrade.
And so the ability to address that, I think, is important.
And then energy efficiency, I think is another big question mark, as we see with AI large language models as well, because they require such large data centers that consume so much electricity.
The ability to be more efficient is very valuable.
And I think the last thing is, of course standardization, and The flip side of standardization is global fragmentation.
Can the world unite around one common standard which benefits everyone?
Now, China is one of the world's leading players in 5G.
So how strong is China's global position right now in 6G development?
Well, you know, this is something that I touch upon in my book The Innovation Machine how China creates and adopts technology through governance.
Not through talent, not through capital, not through large markets, which are all important, but through governance.
And I think this is how we've seen China be at the frontier for 5G, for electric vehicles, etc.
And it's not because of any particular reason technological asset, but it's governance system that can take an idea, turn it into institutions, those institutions into policy instruments, those policy instruments into infrastructure and then finally impact.
So I think, if we look at it from that perspective, I think China's in a very, very strong position because it has accumulated a lot of experience.
In my book, it's actually, I say it's 2,000 years of experience in taking transformative technologies like paper, paper money, of course, today, artificial intelligence, robotics, and I think 6G as well.
Now looking ahead how could 6G reshape the global digital economy and international technological competition over the next decade?
Well, I think we have to see.
And a more optimistic alternative is that big countries are able to resolve their differences, work together on pushing the technology envelope for the benefit of all of mankind.
And if that happens, we can have all this science fiction type technology, right?
Holographic communications like in Star Wars.
We can have fully autonomous vehicles, all kinds of vehicles, perhaps even airplanes.
Perhaps one day.
So that could be very, very positive.
But on the other hand, if there continues to be conflict and certain countries try to slow down other countries instead of working together, then I think the picture becomes a little bit more unclear.
Okay, thank you very much.
That was Professor Andy Mock at Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Coming up, US President Donald Trump pushes the expansion of Abraham Accords alongside Iran talks.
This is World Today.
We'll be back.
U.S.
President Donald Trump says that talks with Iran are proceeding nicely, urging more countries to join the Abraham Accords with Israel.
Trump said he discussed the issue over the phone with leaders from countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Pakistan.
In a social media post, he called on these countries to join the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered agreement for Arab-Israeli ties normalization launched during his first term.
Trump also suggested that Iran could eventually become part of the Abraham Accords if the broader agreement with Washington is reached.
Meanwhile, the U.S.
Central Command says US forces have struck missile launch sites and mine-laying boats in southern Iran.
For more, we're joined by Greg Barton, professor of global Islamic politics at Deakin University.
Thank you for joining us, Professor.
Good to be with you.
Thanks.
First of all, President Donald Trump says talks with Iran are proceeding well, even as military tensions in the region continue.
How would you describe the current state of U.S.-Iran tensions right now?
Yeah, President Trump always wants to be seen as a winner.
He prides himself on winning.
He prides himself in the guy who's allegedly the author of the art of the deal.
So he's now got a situation where actually he's not got a very good deal and he's not winning very much.
So he's projecting this sense of confidence, hoping that he can find a way to get out of this situation predicament where the Strait of Hormuz is closed and the price of oil is spiking upwards and it's threatening the US economy and it's threatening his prospects in the November midterm elections.
So we're seeing a lot of hubris and a lot of bluster at the moment.
But at the same time, President Trump is urging more countries to join the Abraham Accords.
Why is he pushing to expand the Accords at this particular moment?
I think there's two factors.
One is that Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, doesn't want this conflict with Iran to stop.
He's not satisfied that they've achieved their aims.
He's worried that America is going to pull out before Israel has got at least what Netanyahu wants.
So the Abraham Accords is Trump's way of saying to Netanyahu, I've achieved something.
I've locked something in for Israel.
But I think it's also Trump's way of saying this is what I've achieved with the conflict.
I've got this outcome.
I've got a great success because there's really not much to show from the conflict.
Back in January, the threat of Hormuz was open.
Iran was no immediate threat.
We've seen a lot of money and a lot of lives lost, frankly, in the last few months.
The threat of Hormuz is closed.
And now Trump really desperately wants the straits open.
He wants to get this over with, but he's got nothing to show for it.
So if he could somehow get countries saying yes, we'll sign up for the Abraham Accords, it would be somewhat a way of saving face.
And how do you think the related countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates Qatar Pakistan, Turkey and also Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, how will they respond to Trump's request?
And do you think they will move closer to normalization with Israel and why?
Well, I think a couple of things are clear.
One is you're not going to get all of those countries on the same page, particularly with respect to the Abraham Accords and Israel.
Secondly, they're very unhappy.
All of those countries are very unhappy with America.
It was supposed to protect the Gulf states that had hosted US bases.
It's turned out that America prioritized protecting Israel, and all of those bases were destroyed to the point of not being able to operate.
Troops had to be pulled out, and the states that hosted them, the Gulf states, were victims of fire from Iran.
And There's a real sense that Israel was pushing America into this conflict with Iran.
So there's no trust in America, a lot of disaffection and there's a lot of antipathy towards Israel.
Some of these states Saudi Arabia, for example, UAE may be prepared to, on the surface, go through some show of signing back onto the Abraham Accords just as a way of trying to find a circuit breaker.
But no one's very happy with this.
And Iran and Trump even suggested that Iran could eventually become part of the Abraham Accords.
How realistic does that sound to you?
Well with the current regime in Iran which, by all accounts, is more hard line than the regime that was in place before this conflict started.
A couple of months ago, it doesn't seem realistic at all.
I mean, there is always a possibility down the road.
There is a degree of genuine regime change in Iran.
And certainly one day there could be a future government in Tehran that is open to peaceful relations with its neighbors and, further afield, with Israel.
But, you know, we're a long way from that at the moment would appear.
Now, in the meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will increase the intensity of strikes in Lebanon to crush Hezbollah.
Why is Israel planning to escalate its operations on Hezbollah now?
Well, several reasons.
One is it's very unhappy with America and with Trump apparently wanting to push ahead with a ceasefire with Iran, so it's trying to sabotage that, or at least Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying to sabotage that.
Also, Netanyahu faces elections in Israel coming up in a couple of months and he's not in a strong position.
He's always been the strongest...
Politician in terms of putting together a coalition, he's facing headwinds now.
He looks embarrassed by pushing Trump into conflict with Iran and yet not getting the result that both nations want.
And he promised.
So this is a way of saving face and perhaps he would think, boosting his domestic political position profile, increasing his chances in the election.
It's, of course, deflecting attention away from what's happening in Israel, where the economy is really affected by this current conflict.
And Israelis are less and less feeling secure about the ability to protect themselves from Iran and other forces.
And Israeli troops.
IDF troops are suffering fairly significant losses in southern Lebanon because of Hezbollah use of drones.
And they don't have a good answer to these small drones connected by optic fiber cables, which mean they can't be jammed.
So turning up the intensity is a way of of sort of answering all these things, showing Israel, particularly Netanyahu, to be strong, deflecting attention and shifting the focus away from what seems to be a strategy of failure, both in Iran and with respect to Lebanon.
Thank you very much.
That was Greg Barton, professor of global Islamic politics at Deakin University.
Coming up, the World Health Organization warns over rampant Ebola spread.
This is World Today.
Stay tuned.
Hello, I'm Yin Liang, Cramer Chair Professor of Economics at Willamette University.
In a rapidly changing world, staying informed has never been more important.
World Today delivers sharp analysis, global perspectives, and the stories behind the headlines.
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The World Health Organization has warned that containment efforts are struggling to keep pace as the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda spreads rampantly.
The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported over 900 suspected cases, including over 200 deaths.
Over 100 cases and 10 deaths have been confirmed so far, indicating a fatality rate of about 1 in 10 among confirmed cases.
Africa's health authorities say 11 other African countries, including Rwanda, Ethiopia and Kenya, are now considered at high risk.
For more.
My colleague Song Rui-Hsing talked with Professor Wu Zhi-Wei with the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Dali University.
Dr Wu.
Based on what we know so far, what makes this outbreak different from previous Ebola outbreaks?
Well, in African Ebola virus outbreaks in the past, mostly actually either Zaire strain or Sudan strain, which basically responsible for almost all African's.
So this new string is called the Bandibuji string.
It's very rare, only happened once.
It was in the year 2007, also in DRC, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
In that particular year the Zaire strain and the Bandibuja strain actually co-outbreak in that country, but it wasn't spreading very fast.
So I remember that outbreak only causes about 400 people infected.
Then I've noticed that this virus Ebola, has been known for the world for decades, yet outbreaks continue to occur.
Why does Ebola keep resurfacing?
Is there any kind of vaccine?
Well, actually there is one vaccine pre-qualified by WHO for dealing with the Zaire strain virus, but there is no vaccine for the Bundibuja strain.
So basically, for this particular virus, there is either no vaccine or therapeutic agent.
So it's a critical challenge right now.
Right.
I think many people assume that once a virus is identified, containing it should become relatively straightforward.
But in reality, that's often not the case.
What are the biggest challenges in bringing the current outbreak under control?
In particular in Democratic Republic of Congo, because if you look at that country in the eastern DRC, the conflict has been going on for decades.
So the current outbreak basically happens in that particular region.
So all the international efforts and the aids are very hard to reach today.
And the other reason is that, because of a long, sustaining conflict, the local people are having a complete distrust of the outsiders.
So those are actually complicating the epidemic and the international organizations trying to deal with that, trying to send all the outside help medical equipment, medical personnel into that region.
But you know, still this is a tremendous challenge to the international aid into that particular region.
So, based on the current data and the challenges, Dr Wu, how likely is it that the virus could spread further?
I mean both within the DRC and Uganda and even potentially, to the 11 neighboring high risk countries.
What is your outlook for the next few weeks?
Well, I think there is still a huge possibility that the virus will be spreading into the neighboring countries.
If you look at the year 2013-2016, the Zaire virus outbreak, which actually persisted for almost three years and caused 28000 people infected there.
And more than, I think, 45% of the people died of this infection.
So apparently, the virus outbreak is very hard to control.
Even at that time, the outbreak happens in the region.
There's no conflict.
There's a tremendous amount of international aid poured into that region.
Another outbreak actually was more recently in year 2020 to 23 in Sudan.
That causes more than 3000 people infected and More than 60 of the infected eventually died.
So this is a challenge to the international health community to contain the virus.
I think it's very critical right now to coordinate the international effort to stop this virus spreading into neighboring countries.
Do you mean these neighboring countries are vulnerable with weaker health care systems?
Exactly.
They are highly vulnerable because in some of the African countries the cross-border traveling is actually quite frequent, particularly in the war-torn regions.
Actually, the government infrastructures were severely damaged.
So I think this is one of the issues international communities are looking at, and how to basically increase the surveillance and the public health intervention and also border controls.
Okay, then I've noticed China CDC, I mean Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, currently recommends 21 days of self-health monitoring for travelers arriving from outbreak areas, along with avoiding public transportation and close physical contact if symptoms appear.
In your view, is that sufficient?
I think, based on our understanding of the virus infection and the disease developing process, the 21 days of monitoring is sufficient.
This virus actually, in the initial phase it's not a characteristically different from many other viral infections.
So basically you have fever, vomiting and diarrhea.
In some stage you may find a bleeding as well.
But as far as from the clinical data, the virus actually we are becoming more transmissible in the later stage.
So, from the initial contact to the appearing of symptoms, usually the longest recorded time is about 21 days.
So I think that's quite a reasonable window for monitoring.
The other thing I think we should take particular caution is that when patients die, the virus would still survive for three days and they are still transmissible after that for three days.
So that's actually one of the reasons.
In the early In Africa people realized that in the burial ceremonies you need to avoid the contact with the dead because although the infected is dead, but still the virus could be transmissible.
And this is probably the question many viewers or audiences have in mind.
Given that early Ebola symptoms can resemble common illnesses like flu, how reliable is self-reporting as a frontline defense?
Well, I think self-reporting is just one of the ways of monitoring potential infection.
But more importantly is that we need to use scientific diagnostic tools to absolutely confirm whether the virus is presently in the individual or not, particularly when you're coming from the epidemic area.
So this is something actually I think for the public health authorities to take particular notion.
The self-reporting, of course, is one of the ways providing some information, but for people who are coming from DRC or from Uganda, you probably need to do medical testing as well to make sure that the virus does not come with you.
Okay, so finally Dr Wu.
Beyond the medical challenges themselves, there is also growing debates about global coordination.
Some experts argue that the US withdrawal from the WHO has weakened the efficiency of global Ebola response.
What is your assessment of that argument?
Well, I think this is definitely an issue because if you look at the WHO's operational plan, they do reduce some service in African countries when the us withdraw from who, but still, if you look at the who's membership fee, the us still owns quite a big amount of money to who and in the recent years the who has cut down its staff.
So this definitely has an international impact for disease control.
You need to do a lot of surveillance, contact tracing and also introduce in those areas in the early days that you need to introduce the infection prevention and the control and also the community engagement.
And also, in particular, this case, you need to increase cross-border coordination as well.
So all this needs personnel, needs funds to support.
So, with a country like the US, which is one of the largest donors of the WHO, funding withdrawal definitely would have a fundamental impact in WHO's coordination and operation in data prevention.
That was Professor Wu Zhiwei with the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Dali University.
That's all the time for this edition of World Today.
To listen to this episode again or to catch up on previous episodes, you can download our podcast by searching for World Today.
I'm Dou Hongyu in Beijing.
Thank you so much for listening.
Bye for now.
