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Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, marked the 10th China-Russia Expo ahead of Putin's state visit to China.
Leaders from US and Israel discussed possible renewed fighting against Iran, and China's economy maintains steady growth in the first four months of this year.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have sent congratulatory letters to the 10th China-Russia Expo.
The Expo runs from Sunday to Thursday in Harbin.
Its opening came ahead of Putin's state visit to China on Tuesday and Wednesday.
This year marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-Russia Strategic Partnership of Coordination.
So to delve into this, joining us on the line is Dr Zhang Xin, Deputy Director of the Center for Russian Studies at East China Normal University.
Professor, President Trump has just concluded his state visit to China, and President Putin will arrive right after.
What message do you think this kind of diplomatic scheduling is sending?
This kind of diplomatic sequence, I think, signals to all these countries that are directly involved, as well as the whole world, how important global power, major power coordination is now for the international system, particularly among the, I would say, three most significant powers these days China, US and Russia.
So the visits of President Trump and President Putin to China indicate this trilateral platform, although in a very flexible and informal way.
Now is probably the most significant trilateral relations in determining some of the most important, the most significant issue on the global level.
And also it's an opportunity for these three leaders, as well as three countries, further practice these major power coordination, because that kind of practice has not always worked and has not always produced the kind of expected results.
So I think in the near future possibly those busy diplomatic meetings between the top three leaders in different formats will become even more frequent.
Then building on the major power relations.
Professor, in just the past few months, China has hosted leaders from France Canada, the UK, etc.
And now the US and Russia.
Some analysis described this as strategic effort by china to reduce block confrontation through stable bilateral relations, you know, moving away from cold war style alliances and instead promoting major power relations based on mutual respect equality, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation.
How do you assess this interpretation?
I agree.
Part of the assessment you just referred to.
I agree with the part that China has shown its capacity and also the kind of international recognition, increasing international recognition as the de facto hub of the major power relation or the kind of major power coordination I just discussed.
The recent visits by, as you mentioned, by French president, Canadian prime minister and British prime minister, on top of the Russian and American leaders, I think very clearly demonstrate China's status and also the status is widely recognized.
So I agree with that.
Although I'll be cautious not to interpret it too much from this kind of a big power coordination built on China as the key hub.
I think the coordination is still at a very early stage.
We don't know for sure whether it indeed promote major power relations based on mutual respect or equality and inclusiveness, or whether win-win cooperation is the outcome.
I think it's not impossible to imagine things could fall out.
Attempts are made by these major power coordination.
China functions as the hub, but the result may not be ideal, may not be satisfactory.
Things can fall out.
So I wouldn't go that far.
But I think the first part of China has become a de facto hub of the major power coordination.
I agree with that assessment.
Then, turning specifically to China-Russia relations, what expectations do you have for President Putin's visit to China this time?
Which issues do you believe will be at the top of their agenda?
I would expect to see the two leaders definitely well exchange information about the recent US-China top leaders meeting and then build on that try to coordinate each one's major position on some of the most important issues in international politics.
And for two, I think there will be exchange and the reassessment of the situation of some of the most key issues in international politics, including the military conflict between Ukraine and Russia in the Middle East and also the economic fallout of the political conflict in the Middle East, etc.
I expect to see exchange of information, possible negotiations, readjustment of positions after two top leaders meeting.
And, as a consequence, another expectation is whether there will be some major concrete and major new policies as a consequence of these readjustment and coordination.
For example, whether there will be some breakthrough in China and Russia's energy relations.
I also expect to see some new actions taken along that line.
Professor, during President Trump's visit, China and the US introduced this new vision of a constructive strategic stability relationship.
Could that somehow impact how China and Russia define their own partnership going forward?
And since this year marks 30 years of the China-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, do you expect the two sides to further upgrade their relationship?
The US and China's new framework of constructive strategic stability relation.
That definition is definitely significant.
It shows, the two most important countries in the world now, at least on the policy, discursive level, reach a consensus, particularly consensus on security, the importance of strategic stability between them.
And that will indirectly affect possible position by China and Russia, because a recent policy narrative from Chinese and the Russian sources are very clear.
The bilateral relation of China and Russia has become the foundation of strategic stability on the global level.
With a solid China-Russia relation, the status quo is not going to be broken easily by any other forces.
So I think the next step possibly will be touched on in President Xi and President Putin's meeting one way or another is what does this strategic stability mean after US-China has reached the consensus?
What is the strategic stability China and Russia jointly try to uphold?
I think this is a very big issue, a very important issue.
And then the second part of the question.
I do not expect to see the two sides to further upgrade or redefine the relations.
Because the text of the document to define China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination has been comprehensive.
And so far, I think the two sides seem to be very, very much satisfied with the wording.
What might be coming out of the conversation between the two leaders is not a direct, a change or redefinition of the text or the announcement of this partnership itself.
Rather concretely, in this specific context, what are some of the adjustments need to be taken for various concrete specific policy arena, rather than a fundamental redefinition, upgrading of the partnership itself?
Professor, we see that President Xi and President Putin have developed a strong personal working relationship over the years.
Then, under current international situations, what unique value does this high level of mutual trust bring to bilateral relations and global stability?
Indeed, I think the current China-Russia relation builds fundamentally on the level of trust.
Mutual trust on a national level builds primarily on the personal trust between the two top leaders.
That indicate, as long as the two top leaderships are in a very stable position.
I think that kind of translation of personal trust into a trust between two nations, between two states are going to be stable too.
It brings some unique value to not only bilateral relations but global stability, because in some other countries or systems, national leaders' stability in their policy planning and their exercising of individual influence over policy agenda sometimes up to a challenge of, for example, electoral challenge, all kinds of internal instability.
But that's not the case for China and Russia.
I think another important value or important feature of practice is my own observation.
The two leaders of China and Russia for the past, I would say, more than one decade has clearly tried to further institutionalize the bilateral relations through institutionalizing personal trust on a top level, try to institutionalize in a way that these personal trust on the top leadership. can be further institutionalized in the multiple layer of decision-making and political and bureaucratic system.
For example, constantly by bringing in the top echelon of the political team and the bureaucratic team on both sides to encourage and facilitate a very close communication and a person-to-person trust on the lower level of the state apparatus.
I think that's also very important, interesting and very important feature and will help to further solidify this mutual trust beyond just the top leaderships at personal level.
Professor Beyond Political Trust, how do you assess the current trajectory of China-Russia Economic and Trade Cooperation?
We know the 10th China-Russia Expo has just opened in Harbin.
Where do you see the next major areas of growth?
Especially in terms of trade.
The two sides are doing quite well, much better than, for example, our even experts' original expectation back four or five years ago.
The past four or five years ago, bilateral trade has really performed well beyond our original expectations.
But if we look at the larger picture, the investment is still lagging behind the original expectation, partly hampered by, for example, financial settlement payment system between the two countries, as well as, for example, Russia's recent policy initiative to promote for more import substitution, to encourage more local content requirements, etc.
Those have become somewhat a barrier for further enhancing Chinese investment, especially in the Russian domestic economy.
So I think on the FDI side, there is a little bit of lacking.
So for the near future, I do see there's continued interest and opportunity in a set of what we might call new domains, new domains.
For example, green agriculture, particularly related to AI economy and the combination of technology in AI and the new method and technology.
You approach a financial arrangement, that's been a very hot topic on both sides.
I would expect to see some significant development along these policy lines in the next few years.
And that will very likely become the major engine for growth between China and Russia.
Then, on global tensions, what kind of statements or signals do you expect from the China-Russia summit regarding the Ukraine conflict and the Iran situation?
I wouldn't expect to see a fundamentally different set of policy message.
I think it will still more or less follow the quite stable and consistent policy narrative we already have witnessed in the past few years.
But I do think there's a little bit of a shift, particularly in terms of, for one, the seemingly shifting battleground situation in the Ukraine-Russia war, on the one hand, and also the shifting political consequences from the Middle East crisis related to the US-Israel war against Iran and the Hormuz Strait, because in the recent few months we do see some, I think, important changes in the situation on the ground in these two major, major major regional conflicts with potential global implications.
So on that, I would expect to see some minor but subtle upgrading in the potential A statement from China and Russia indicating, for example, Russia's willingness to be more flexible in considering some format of political settlement in its military conflict with Ukraine, and then also a joint effort to further alleviate the pressure of the homeless crisis that are having a really, really significant impact on the global maritime trade and the global energy market.
So there might be some subtle but important wording, change of wording and new phrases coming out of the potential joint statement of similar documents from the upcoming President Xi, President Putin's meeting.
Thanks, Professor, for those insight of analysis.
That was Dr Zhang Xin, Deputy Director of the Center for Russian Studies at East China Normal University.
Coming up, leaders from U.S. and Israel discuss possible renewed fighting against Iran.
This is Raw Today.
Stay tuned.
Welcome.
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Iran has warned the United States that any new military aggression against the country will provoke a more severe and forceful response.
It follows a phone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who have reportedly discussed the possibility of renewing attacks against Iran.
The ceasefire remains fragile as Washington and Tehran are divided over conditions to end the war.
The U.S. has reportedly outlined five conditions in response to Iran's peace proposal.
They include the US not paying any war reparations and Iran handing over 400 kilograms of enriched uranium to the US.
Tehran says the U.S. demands are excessive and come without meaningful concessions.
So for more on this, let's have Dr Zhang Chuchu, Deputy Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University.
Welcome, Professor.
Thank you for having me.
Professor, President Trump recently described the US-Iran ceasefire arrangement as being on life support.
Do you think the deal is already dead in all but name?
And how close are they to a total collapse?
Right.
Actually, I think that both the United States and Iran, at least they, have the intention to negotiate with each other and deescalate the conflict.
So in that sense, I think it's not completely meaningless.
However, so far it has already been a long time.
I think the ceasefire, unfortunately, has become largely ineffective because so far the ceasefire is more likely to be a temporary expedient for both sides rather than a complete resolution of the conflict.
Now we can say yes, direct large scale fighting has been halted, but there are still a lot of uncertainties.
For example, there are ongoing United States naval blockade of Iranian wars.
Also, we can see Iranian restrictions or responses affecting maritime traffic.
And also, no comprehensive written agreement on terms can be reached so far.
And there are just so many disagreements between the two sides.
Also, we can see that broader regional issues persists.
For instance, there are still conflicts and confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah, which is an ally of Iran.
So I think, in general, I should say that there is a high risk of re-escalation of the confrontation and tension.
Professor, it's interesting to see that some people are calling this Schrödinger's War, a state in which ceasefire and active confrontation coexist simultaneously.
Do you agree with this characterization?
And it feels like both sides are waiting for the other to blink first.
How long can this stalemate really last, in your opinion?
And how serious is the risk of renewed US-Israeli military action?
Well, this is very interesting.
Actually my understanding is.
I agree with this expression of Schrodinger's war, which describes the situation at this stage.
I think we can say that yes, right now there is declared ceasefire.
But at the same time it coexists with active elements of confrontation and tension between the two sides.
Now, currently, the fragile truce is simultaneously in effect and undetermined.
So there is no full resumption of major war, but there lacks progress of negotiations and neither side is willing to make a significant compromise.
More importantly, we can see that so far the United States has been increasing, rather than decreasing, its troop presence close to Iran.
So I think it is neither a full peace nor open war.
And right now I would say the deadlock is not highly suitable for a long term, because this kind of deadlock situation can lead to huge economic costs for both sides, for the United States,
I mean, if you keep your troops there, each day it costs you a large sum of money.
And as for Iran, its economy is already in a very difficult situation.
So I think there is the risk of renewed US-Iranian confrontation and tension is still very high.
Professor about Washington's five major conditions to Iran.
Reports say it includes handling over 400 kilograms of enriched uranium and keeping only one nuclear facility.
From a negotiating standpoint, are these demands realistically achievable?
I think it's very hard.
I would say from a negotiating standpoint.
The key United States conditions, including surrendering like 400 kilometers of enriched uranium and limiting Iran to a single nuclear facility, are very hard to be achieved in their current form.
Because so far, if we look at what Iran says, it views its nuclear program as its sovereign security infrastructure, and we know that iran has historically preferred the on-site delusion, monitoring or other arrangements over outright surrender or just simple exports of these facilities.
And the past deals, such as the JCPOA limits, involved caps and verification instead of wholesale transfer.
So, at this moment, handing all this material to the United States is deeply humiliating for Iran, because at the moment, Iran already claims that it has victory over United States.
So if you ask it to do a lot of compromise, it is unwilling to do so.
And also Iran lacks trust in the United States.
And it always hopes that the United States will first demonstrate its sincerity in negotiations.
Therefore, before making concessions on the issues of uranium enrichment, Iran demands that United States lift its economic sanctions against Iran.
Then where do you believe the two red lines for both sides in the nuclear negotiations?
Is there still room for compromise from both sides, the United States and Iran?
I think there is some room, but not a lot.
So the United States red lines center on preventing a rapid Iranian nuclear breakout.
But for Iran, it focuses on preserving its enrichment rights and Also it wants to preserve its program infrastructure, which it sees as a core, sovereign and deterrent asset.
So you see this kind of fundamental disagreement is very hard to be mitigated.
Now the United States red lines, lies in China the problem of significant rollback of enrichment capabilities.
Also it wants to remove or restrict or set strict control of the existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
If Iran Also, it tries to set limits on Iranian nuclear facilities and infrastructure.
But for its part, Iran always insists on its right to uranium enrichment under the NPT.
Also, it tries to reserve its core nuclear infrastructure.
Also, last but not least, it always demands that the United States should first lift the sanctions against Iran.
And in return it might think about make more compromise when it comes to the nuclear issue.
So i think so far there is still meaningful technical and practical room, particularly on the stockpile issue.
However, iran is generally very cautious and since it does not have a lot of cars in his hands, so he's unwilling to easily give up this bargaining chip, Professor.
The Pentagon says the Iran conflict has already cost the US around 29 billion.
Could domestic politics in America ultimately push President Trump either toward diplomacy or toward even more escalation in the region?
Well, I think so far, domestic political pressure in the United States is already a meaningful and growing factor that can affect Trump's decision making.
Now, if you look at the polls, you can see that a lot of polls have shown majority opposition or disapproval of um the uh conflict.
Um, because a lot of americans say that um, their lacks uh clearly explain, clearly explained reasons for this war.
Um, and also, so far, there is fatigue of the wall, because voters they normally prioritize the cost of living issues and now, Since there is skyrocketing gas and energy prices, a lot of Americans they can feel this economic pain.
So this amplifies perceptions of the war as costly.
Also, we can see that Democrats, they have pushed oversight and post certain supplemental funding.
And since the midterm election is approaching, so I think Trump has faced some sorts of pressure.
But at the same time, we should still note two more issues.
On the one hand, there is Israel, which is trying to to say that it's disagree or it has its own decision making and it doesn't want to make a lot of compromise against Iran.
And also, on the other hand, for Trump itself.
It also says it cannot yet big achievements on the negotiation table.
So it's still trying to seek the other options at the moment.
So I think anything could happen at this stage.
So although Trump has faced a lot of pressure at this stage, Thanks, Professor.
That was Dr Zhang Chuchu, Deputy Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University.
This is Rail Today.
We'll be back after a short break.
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The Chinese economy maintained stable growth in the first four months of the year, supported by government policies to stabilize employment businesses, markets and expectations.
The National Bureau of Statistics said industrial production, consumption and foreign trade all showed steady expansion, while new growth drivers continue to strengthen.
China's value-added industrial output rose 5.6% year-on-year in the first four months.
Meanwhile, China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, expanded 19 year-on-year.
So to delve into this, joining us on the line is Dr Yao Shujie Chang Kong, Professor of Economics at Chongqing University.
Thanks for joining us, Professor.
Hi.
Professor, data for the first four months of the year remained stable and upward trajectory, but in April alone, both industrial output and consumption growth came in below market expectations.
Authorities call it a normal monthly fluctuation.
What's your take?
Do you see this as short-term noise or is something structural changing in economic growth?
Do we have to worry about this?
April is a month probably China have a relatively low productivity because of the holiday season.
But one would expect a better performance than the statistics just shows.
This implies that probably in the next year there may be some sort of further pressure for China to achieve the economic targets.
So it is a mixed outcome.
First of all, it's still on the growing trajectory.
And secondly, I mean, the pressure is fairly obvious.
So how we balance the growth and also the future stimulation of the economy.
It will take some more months to come to see the real outcome.
So I presume that the central and local government have already noticed these statistics.
So I hope there will be further effort to boost the economy development in different aspects, particularly in the basic investment.
The investment in the first four months turned down to be a negative growth, which is my major concern.
Manufacturing is good.
Consumption is at a relatively lower level, lower than I thought.
But export is very good news.
It's still expanding very strongly.
And it means there is probably some balance for the economy drivers for the coming months to be made.
Professor.
The Wall Street Journal argued that April data put increasing pressure on Beijing to roll out more measures to aid growth.
Do you agree with that assessment?
And in your view, how strong is China's policy toolkit in supporting economic growth going forward?
Yeah, to a great extent.
I do at this time agree that probably the pressure is coming and the central local government should actually put every effort to sustain the economic growth so that the annual economic growth target could be achieved.
Now as to how the government has other policy toolkits, I think a stream of policy is already low out.
And the question is how to implement it in different aspects.
For example, technological upgrading in terms of investment and equipment replacement, and also stimulated consumption, creating more jobs and opportunities to boost people's income so that they can spend more money into the economy.
And also I mean investment for the people in the countryside and also, you know, the innovation of the city and the villages within the city.
There are all kinds of things that need to be done and upgrading of the you know, the traditional industry, and also faster development for the newly emerging economy sector.
So they are fairly complicated system of effort, larger than a particularly single area, as the chinese economy is getting bigger and bigger and is fairly sophisticated.
So the policy tool have to be precise and not only at the sector level but also at a different regional level.
So the policy got to be more effective and more into the real economy.
Professor, some analyses have emphasized the impact of external shocks, especially the rail conflict and higher energy costs.
How much do you think these external factors are affecting China's economy, both in April and more broadly?
In the short term, it's quite obvious.
I mean at least the consumption for the consumer.
They immediately have to face higher petrol prices.
And these kinds of prices would infiltrate into some related industries.
But I think in the medium and longer term, because China has already built up a storage capacity and also diversified the sources of energy import.
So China has built up a fairly strong resilience.
So I don't think there's a major impact on the stability and long-term development on the Chinese economy.
Short-term, yes, there's a small hiccup, as I just mentioned.
Despite broader concerns, China's exports, as earlier you pointed out, still recorded 141 growth in April, continuing to serve as a major pillar of the economy, and many international institutions believe exports will remain a key growth engine for China in 2026.
How do you assess the role of exports going forward and which sectors of Chinese exports are likely to stay most attractive in overseas markets?
Yes, China is very fortunate and lucky to have this export sector still expanding beyond most people's expectation.
14.1% expansion is actually built on the steady growth in the previous years.
So it means China's product in the international market is getting more and more welcome and more competitive, particularly in the special sector, like new energy vehicles and also lithium and other related manufacturing activities and services.
Now talking about the rest of this year.
I think the momentum will continue, as many countries realize that, working with China, they can have better products, affordable prices.
And this is the most attractiveness for consumers in the rest of the world, including the most competitive market in Europe, in also Southeast Asia, Latin America also.
So it's a little bit more difficult to penetrate into North America at the moment.
Thanks, Professor, for those insightful analysis.
That was Dr. Yao Shujie, Changhong Professor of Economics at Chongqing University.
Coming up, China's top market regulator unveils 34 priorities to back up private sector growth.
This is Road Today.
We'll be back.
Hello, I'm Yin Liang, Cramer Chair Professor of Economics at Willamette University.
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China is doubling down on support for its private sector.
The country's top market regulator, State Administration for Market Regulation, has released the 2026 Work Plan for Promoting Healthy Growth of its Private Sector, outlining 34 key initiatives.
The plan focuses on improving fair competition rules, reducing unfair fees, expanding credit and technology support and removing barriers to build a unified national market.
For more on this.
My colleague Zhao Yang spoke with Dr Zhou Mi, Senior Research Fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
So Dr. Zhou Mi, thank you very much for joining us.
China's State Administration for Market Regulation has unveiled 34 initiatives to support private enterprises.
So what stands out to you as the highlights of it?
And what signal does it send to the private sector and the market?
Well, in my understanding, I would say that these kinds of initiatives are really trying to create a better market for all the private sectors.
I think that they mentioned about some of this unfair treatment maybe existing in the past, but they really want to reduce that.
They really want to reduce the unfair fees and trying to have a better and fair support from the financial institutions like the banks.
So the private sectors.
They really are playing a very important role in China, creating so many jobs and also are really resilient for the China supply chains in the past.
So actually, that's what they really want to have.
But they also mentioned these initiatives also mentioned about some of these bad habits, the private sector competitions like the evolution, uh styles or car throughout a competition.
I think these are something not so good, even for the enterprises themselves.
So i i think that these initiatives are trying to uh, really look and also to address the worries or concerns from the private sectors, while at the same time trying to balance the competition, not in a very bad conditions.
So the balance is what I have noticed as the kind of initiative they want to deliver the ways to making the market, to developing a better and more sustainable way.
And how important is private sector right now for China's economy and long-term growth?
And how critical are they to the country's tech innovation, especially the advancement in AI semiconductors, green tech and advanced manufacturing?
Well, you know, I was doing more research on the import and export and I have introduced these practices of China's government on improving the private sectors, especially small and medium sized enterprises, abilities in accessing the global market.
I think that in this regard, I would say that the Chinese government is trying to give more support for the SMEs to have a better abilities to understand the roles of the international communities and also have more knowledge about the requirements and standards abroad.
And they are encouraged to attend the exhibitions abroad.
So for these exports or the internationalization oriented policy, I think that Chinese government is really want to give the private sector more understanding about the possible markets they can explore abroad.
Well, in this regard, about the technology, I would say I agree that you know, for the green technology, artificial intelligence and other leading or cutting edge technology, the enterprises, especially the private sector, they are really curious.
They want to do more because they want to have better leverage in competing with the bigger company.
They want also to, you know, to find some extra profits in the segmented sectors.
So I think these are what we have, you know, trying to do.
We encourage the enterprises to explore the more diversified possibilities in the technology, and they can benefit from that doing.
And, at the same time, when the network is strong enough, they can also support the overall performance of all the sectors.
On trying to give the better uh improvement for the people you know the consumers, uh patterns and also some of the complexities in doing these things with a better solution.
And the government also highlights building a unified national market.
So what does that mean, and how important could a unified national market be for productivity, innovation and domestic consumption?
Well, the boundary of the market is really important to define the possibilities.
China is a huge country, but we have so many differences.
The coastal areas are the areas who developed earlier and developed quicker, but the central and the western part of China are having so vast mass or possibilities.
I would think that the connections among the different places are really able to provide all the stakeholders to meet the demand of development.
Well, if you're looking at the practice days in China for the previous decades, We have several important clusters of cities, like in lower Yangtze River Delta, the Po River Delta and also Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei provinces.
Those clusters are really getting stronger strengths of development by the corporation.
But if you want to expand that cooperation to a national wide, there will be still so many things to do.
No matter from the hardware to the software.
We need to do more to connect the different situation and the places.
In the hardware we have done a lot by the high-speed roads, by the highways, by the telecommunications and even the national grid.
But for the software I think that is what we need to do to try to change the local governments, some of them's attitudes towards the development, to try to improve the integrations beyond the boundaries.
I think these kinds of things are really helpful for people have a better allocation of the resources and more sustainable development.
And besides financing, what kind of practical support do you think are needed for the small and private companies?
Is that tax relief, market access, or what else?
Well, all these things, I agree, should be important.
But I think that we need to consider about the sustainability of our policies, not just trying to create some unfair competition.
So the market access, I think that it's already almost there.
We are opening the market to no matter where they come from from foreign countries or domestically but we are still going to merge some of the list into one.
I think that is important for the companies to have a better belief on the abilities to take part in the cooperation.
Well, for some of this you know technology support.
I think that it's even more important when the artificial intelligence are changing very quickly.
So we can give more support, like the trainings, like some of these public services for the small and medium enterprises, by reducing their cost in achieving the goals of sustainable development.
I think that is what we need to do, but I want to say that all these practices should be diversified, should according to the requirement of the enterprises, instead of just copy everything's identical to all the enterprises in all the sectors.
And how does this push for private sector growth fit into China's broader economic priorities, including innovation, consumption and industrial upgrading?
In my understanding they are going to give complementary support for the development, trying to make more resilience.
The global supply chains are under pressures.
So the pressure is coming from not enough supply, from not enough different kind of choices.
So I think that we can try to support the private sectors, to to trying to do something to explore the possibilities for cooperation.
So the corporations driven by the market, supported by the private sectors, can help the enterprises and other stakeholders to have a better confidence on what we are able to deliver.
So, as a whole, I think that this is a very promising and that is also a kind of a package we can expect for more resilience in the coming times and also trying to have a better and more efficient ways to adapt it to the requirement of the environment requirements.
That was Dr Zhou Mi, Senior Research Fellow with Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
Speaking with Zhao Yang.
This is Road Today.
Stay tuned.
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China's 2026 box office revenue has surpassed US$2.1 billion.
Industry data shows China's film-related industrial output has exceeded US30 billion so far this year, boosted by tourism, dining and cultural consumption linked to movies.
Among the major hits, Dear You has earned more than $73 million since its opening in late April.
The low-budget film is shot in the Chaoshan dialect spoken in the southern Chinese province.
Guangdong and draws on the history of the letters and remittances sent home by earlier generations of overseas Chinese.
For more on this, my colleague Lian Qingxuan spoke with Li Lun, assistant professor of economics at Peking University.
So, Professor Li Dear, You was made on a budget of just 2 million with an all-first-time cast, yet its returns far exceeded many big productions.
So what do you think are the key reasons behind its success, and what lessons can other films learn from it?
Yeah, so I think the key reason behind the success is that the authentic emotions can be the best marketing tool.
So we are seeing that the success is coming from word of mouth rather than conventional marketing or marketing through celebrities or movie stars.
So we have seen that the film has already reached a 91 rating on Douban, which is also described by Xinhua as one of the highest rated Chinese film in recent years.
So for a film as you described, which are led by first-time actors.
This is suggesting that the audience, when they go to the movie theater, they're looking for authentic emotions, simple stories that they can understand and also resonate, not necessarily for big celebrities and big movie casts.
And the film uses the Chaoshan dialect and local cultural elements, like qiaopi, yet it still resonates with audiences beyond the region.
It has also resonated strongly with overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia.
So why do you think it is able to achieve this kind of wide emotional connection?
Could films rooted in local Chinese culture become a new way for Chinese stories to reach global audiences?
Yeah, so I think for this movie in particular, I think, even though, as you mentioned, there are a lot of local details and also the film is using Chaoshan dialect, but a lot of the emotions underlying the movie's plot are universal.
So it's a story plot of someone looking for its remote relatives and also, through this journey, discover something that is deeply touching to both the family history and also the history of the entire region and also the country.
So in the movie, one element that that has occurred is called qiaopi, which is basically a combination of family letters and also remittances.
So the checks that sent from the overseas to the relatives back home.
So this serves as a connection between the overseas Chinese and also the Chinese in the Chaoshan area.
And, as you mentioned, a lot of the Chaoshan people actually went abroad and migrated to Southeast Asia area.
So I think it naturally resonates with the audience in Thailand Malaysia, Singapore and other areas where there are large Chinese communities, especially coming from Chaoshan.
So this response, as you said, this resonation with Southeast Asia community, I think it's definitely something that future movie makers can imitate and also try to see, if they can, they can copy something as a big success as this because, you know, the broader lesson is that the Chinese stories they not necessarily have to start with a, you know, national narratives sometimes the most easy to export The stories are the stories that's very intimate to everyone's closest emotions and also the deepest emotions in our heart.
So the film also shows that many Chaoshan people went to Southeast Asia to make a living and founded the anti-Japanese war through Qiaopi remittances.
So how do you perceive the patriotism and spirit of the times embodied in Qiaopi culture shown in the film?
Yeah, so Qiaopi was a major way to convert those overseas income to whatever was needed for the Japanese war domestically, because there were a shortage of foreign currency and Qiaopi became one of the major sources of these foreign exchanges and foreign currency.
And also I'd like to mention that The Qiaopi itself is not only a remittance, it's also a letter that says encouraging words to the family to keep fighting the Japanese and also to be confident in terms of maintaining the war and also keep fighting.
So Qiaopi, basically both is serving as an economic support, but also a emotional and also a mental support.
And finally, I think this financial network, at the time of when the war is the direst, is very important because these remittances, XY exchanges, these transfers, and also these are some of the debts and bonds those were purchased by, you know, overseas Chinese and these basically, was the only viable, you know financial way to support the Japanese war.
And also I think it was very important to connect the overseas Chinese with the domestic Chinese throughout this very difficult time.
Yes, and the film has also boosted tourism, food, and cultural creativity industries in Chaoshan.
So how do you view this trend and how can cities better leverage local culture to build distinctive cultural eyepiece?
Yeah.
So this is a very clear example of cultural consumption driven by a film, because I've been to Chaoshan myself, you know the food was very famous and also very delicious, but there's a need to be, you know, a cultural IP as, for example, being exemplified by this film that could better attract more people outside of Chaoshan to visit there.
So the economic impact, I think it's definitely going to go beyond cinema tickets because once the audiences become very interested in the local story, also in the local culture, they may also went to Chaoshan and consume Chaoshan food and also visit these heritage sites and also buy some of the cultural products and share their travel experiences, which is going to, you know, attract even more people to visit chaoshan.
So this is going to create a very good beneficial cycle where, you know cities can attract more people and also create hopefully in the future create more of the you know cultural consumption and similar films in the future.
So this is going to, I think in my opinion, bring a lot of opportunity for Chaoshan in the future.
And to look into a bigger picture, China's box office has exceeded $2.1 billion this year.
So what is driving this continued growth and what new consumption trends are emerging beyond ticket sales?
Yeah, so for China's 2026 box office, the number has surpassed 144 billion yuan, or about 21 billion US dollars, by May 17.
So I think the growth is not necessarily driven by one film or by one single type of film, because we have seen that currently in the box office.
There are all types of films, including suspense crime, historical action, family drama.
Very similar, you know, very diverse films.
So the diversity is going to offer audience a very, a large amount of choice to serve the segmented audience.
So different viewers can look for whatever they're interested in and also returning to cinemas for different reasons.
And I think, beyond ticket sales, the larger trend, as you mentioned, is film is not only just for the box office, it's also a platform for further consumption, whether we're talking about cultural consumption, whether we're talking about IP derivatives or offline events or city walks and all of the extended consumption areas, whether in retail or in tourism.
So those are also the consumption opportunities unlocked by the Chinese film market.
That was Li Lun, an assistant professor of economics at Peking University, talking with my colleague Lan Qingxuan.
That's all the time for this edition of Road Today.
I'm Ke Anna in Beijing.
Thank you so much for listening.
Bye for now.
