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Coming up, China and Portugal pledge to enhance cooperation and safeguard free trade.
Israel carries out attacks in Qatar targeting Hamas leaders.
China says the country's manufacturing industry has remained the world's largest for 15 consecutive years and NBA legend LeBron James has called basketball a bridge connecting the United States and China.
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China and Portugal have pledged to enhance cooperation and work together to safeguard free trade.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luiz Montenegro concluded a three-day visit to China on Wednesday.
The trip was the first visit to China by a Portuguese head of government in nearly a decade.
In a meeting with the Portuguese leader in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for expanding cooperation in green development, ocean research and pharmaceuticals.
President Xi Jinping also expressed the hope that China and Portugal work together to promote stable and healthy development of China-EU relations.
So for more.
Joining us now on the line is Professor Cui Hongjian from the Academy of Regional and Global Governance, Beijing Foreign Studies University.
So thank you very much for joining us today, Professor Tsui.
First of all, what do you think are the areas where there are untapped potentials for China-Portugal cooperation?
Exactly.
I think not only this by the Prime Minister of Portugal to showcase to both China and Portugal.
They do have a lot of potential to promote the cooperation.
As we know, because of the long time and stable cooperation for the past decade, there has been very, very good basis for cooperation in some areas including, as we know, the energy, because the protocol has a very, very ambitious goal to have this energy transition.
At the same time as we know, China could provide so many assistance for Portugal and to purchase its gold and then finance.
As we know, during the Eurozone debt crisis, The Chinese financial institutions have a very good investment and cooperation with their counterpart in Portugal.
And also insurance, healthcare, communication, and even manufacturing, so many areas.
So I think now this cooperation between China and Portugal is not just for a single area.
It's kind of a comprehensive and also structural cooperation.
I think it gives a lot of potential for both countries to push forward this cooperation in almost every I mean important areas in Portugal.
Yeah, and in particular between China and Portugal.
There is this bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.
It has been going on for like two decades.
So actually during his talks with senior Chinese leaders this time, Prime Minister Montenegro expressed gratitude to China for investing heavily in Portugal from 2011 to 2014.
So how did the Chinese investment benefit Portugal at the time?
I think the Prime Minister had a very, very good understanding about this friendly cooperation between China and Portugal.
Also, we know why it's a period between 2011 to 2014.
At that time, Portugal suffered a lot from the Eurozone debt crisis.
If we still have a very good memory, At that time Portugal and some other South European countries had been regarded as a very, very failed state, could not support their debts.
But even at that time, as we know, China had a lot of investment to help recovery of economy in Portugal.
And not only for the past decade, even started from, I mean, 2011 till now, and China has a very stable investment into Portugal.
Even, as we know, just for last year 2024, the Chinese FDI2 protocol has been increased for nearly 10.
And for the past 14 years, always positive, you know, increase.
And so far, China has become the six biggest, I mean, investors to Portugal.
And Portugal is also a very, very, you know, important destination for Chinese investment.
And the investment from China indeed had a lot of benefits for Portugal's economy and also local people.
Now also in all of these areas.
China invested in Portugal has been covered over 90 of the population in Portugal.
So i think the investment itself also.
You know, not only it will promote the bilateral trade and also the industry cooperation and maybe more important is that people to people contact.
So why is Portugal seeking stronger commercial ties with China now?
Some people say it is in part because the country is facing export losses from US tariffs, so it sees a more urgent need to diversify its economic partnerships.
What is your take on this?
Certainly, i think the most important reason from political side to seek to seek the stronger commercial ties with china is from its own.
You know requirements to promote trade, industry and financial cooperation with China.
But of course, in current day I think that yes, there's some change from American policies, especially the tariffs against Portugal and some other European countries becomes a very, very important stimulation.
As we understand it now, because of tariffs from the United States, more than 50 of the bilateral trade between Portugal and the United States will be suffered, will suffer from this high cost.
So certainly, I think it would give some stimulation to uh protocol to look for some more diversity of its uh markets and its trade trading partner unless we got undoubtedly china could be a very very important alternative for Portugal to look for some more opportunity for trade and the industry cooperation in the future.
So, Professor Cui, what do you make of the role that Lisbon could possibly play in terms of promoting stable, healthy development of China-EU relations?
Perhaps.
Lisbon or Portugal is not a big or major member state of the European Union.
And perhaps it could not play the same role as some other major economies or member states like Germany and France.
But at the same time, I think the China Protocol Corporation already provides a very, very important and a model for this cooperation.
How could we find out a new approach to promote stable health development between China and the EU?
For example, Portugal has been, you know, the first Western European countries to sign the cooperation documents in the frame of a Belt and Road Initiative with China and also as a very, very important South European countries.
Portugal is the first one to sign to have this blue partnership cooperation with China.
And also Portugal is the first Eurozone state to launch the RMB debt.
So I think so many firsts will give a very strong spillover effect to help some other European Union member states to understand what benefits it could get once they have some more cooperation with China.
So, like you said, there were many firsts performed by the Portuguese side in terms of the relations with China.
And adding to that in the past, we know China and Portugal also adequately resolve this Macau issue through friendly consultation, friendly negotiation.
So, as we look at these past occurrences, What do you think is the essential, what do you think is the key spirit behind them that can continue to guide the bilateral ties or the bigger China-Europe ties for the future?
Yes, I think now it's time for us to get a deeper understanding about it.
How could we insist on some separate relations between China and Europe if we could take some more very useful experience from relations between China and Portugal?
I think firstly, we need to find out a way to connect the historic legacy, and how could we find a common solution for the current challenges.
As we know, just on the basis of both two countries to resolve this Markov issue and I think it gives a very, very important political mutual trust for both sides.
And then, how could we find out the, you know the spirit to be insisted in the name of a pragmatic corporation?
Comparing with some other European countries, I think Portugal government showed a lot of you know pragmatic cooperation uh i mean position with china they don't have some more i mean unnecessary uh consideration about the so-called politicization and this security civilization with china So I think just focus on economic development and cooperation, just focus on how could those bilateral cooperation could give some more benefits for both people.
I think it could be very, very important, especially for the counter situation.
I think now, not only for the current situation, and even for the future, I think China and the political could find out some more cooperation and promote mutual trust.
I think it will give some I think very, very important experience for other European countries.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Professor Cui Hongjian from the Academy of Regional and Global Governance, Beijing Foreign Studies University.
Coming up, Israel carries out attack in Qatar targeting Hamas leaders.
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Qatar has vowed to respond to an Israeli strike on its capital.
Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdurrahman al-Thani, has called the attack a violation of his country's sovereignty, saying Qatar is now forming a team to pursue legal actions against Israel.
The strike targeted the headquarters of Hamas in Doha.
Six people were killed, including a Qatari security officer.
Hamas has accused the Israeli side of trying to derail the ongoing mediation efforts over Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says Israel takes full responsibility for this attack.
China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that military action will not bring peace to the region.
So joining us now on the line is Dr Wang Jing, Associate Professor with Northwest University in Xi'an, China.
Thank you very much for joining us.
It's my pleasure.
So, Dr Wang, we know, since October 7 2023, Israel has assassinated members of Hamas in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon Syria Iran, all these countries and regions, but somehow it had refrained from going after them in Qatar.
Why do you think Israel has now crossed this line?
I think actually Israel is always crossing the line during the past two years.
I mean, after the latest round of conflict erupted between Israel and Hamas.
Because actually, at the very beginning nobody believed that Israel will send forces directly into the Gaza Strip, and then easily did it.
And then later, nobody expected that Israel would attack directly against the targets in southern Lebanon.
I mean, start a war with Hezbollah is really deep.
And then nobody expected that Israel will attack Yemen is really deep.
Nobody expected Israel would directly attack Iran is really deep.
And so, under Israeli understanding, that they believe it is highly necessary to continue kill or capture or so-called target killing of the Hamas leadership who were responsible for the attacks against Israeli civilians at the very beginning of the latest round of conflict between Israel and Hamas.
So that's why, from this perspective, they believe it's highly necessary to continue the war and the killing of Hamas leadership, no matter where they are.
So it is just a matter of time when uh, the qatar was targeted because the hamas leadership and their networks activity are organizing there.
So it's just a matter of time uh, when that israel will start these attacks against the hamas leadership inside qatar.
Now, some analysts say Netanyahu wants perpetual war in Gaza.
What is your take?
I think, of course, a lot of discussions have mentioned that Netanyahu wants a war.
This kind of analysis means that when the war continues, Netanyahu's political career continues.
When the war suspends, Netanyahu's political career stops.
But I don't think this actually is very precise.
First of all, we have to know that Netanyahu cannot act alone.
His decisions should be based upon the willingness and intention of his own society and public opinion.
So actually, what is the fact is that inside Israeli society, the majority, absolutely majority of people inside Israel, they support the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
They support to continue attacks against targets not only inside Gaza, but also in other Middle Eastern countries, against the targets with close connections with Hamas leadership.
So that's why, I mean, first of all, Netanyahu is not alone.
Actually, he acts on behalf of Israel's majority of the public opinion's intentions.
And second, that from Israeli understanding, they are very different to the rest of the world.
From Israeli understanding that they believe that they are doing something just.
They are doing something fair because they believe they are trying to destroy all kinds of the threats possible threats that could impose further danger for Israelis.
So that's why they believe it's highly necessary to continue the war.
And last but not the least, I think Netanyahu has and has a kind of ambitious goal to reconstruct not only the Gaza Strip political structure but also to reconstruct Israeli's relations with other Middle Eastern countries.
And try to the largest extent, try to diminish the threats imposed from other countries.
So that's why I think Netanyahu actually, of course, when the war continues, his political career continues.
But he did this not only for himself, but also he had the support of the majority of Israeli people, of Israeli public opinion.
So that would be very difficult to be stopped and to be suspended within the short term.
US President, Donald Trump has issued a sharp rebuke of Israel's strike on Doha, assuring Qatari leadership that such an action would never happen again.
Now we know of course Qatar is a close ally of the United States in the Middle East.
So do you think now things or the situation has reached a point where Washington's strong support for Israel is now beginning to backfire for the United States or for the US interests in the Middle East?
Of course i think actually united states now backfires its own interests through its very uh particular relations with israel.
Because, on the one hand, united states uh no matter donald trump's is there or other uh other uh, some other uh politician become the president.
They should always support Israel.
So Israeli national security.
The special relations with the United States should be maintained and protected and should be highlighted.
This is a very important political principle inside United States Middle Eastern policy.
But, on the other hand, we cannot forget that under Donald Trump administration, he hopes to maintain the very positive ties with Qatar, with Saudi Arabia, with the Emirates and other Gulf Arab states, which means that they want to maintain the kind of the big deal signed between them.
They want to maintain a very positive ties between them and they want to continue the support from the Middle Eastern countries, particularly the Gulf Arab states, to the United States.
Revival of economy, because we know that after Donald Trump's visit to the Gulf Arab states, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Qatar, actually Donald Trump signed a billion of US dollar steels with these countries.
So that's why, for United States, Qatar should be protected and United States special relations with Qatar, cooperation should be maintained, should be respected.
And when these two kinds of goals clash with each other, it makes the United States into a kind of dilemma under which the United States cannot decide alone.
So that's why I think, as you mentioned, that the United States backfires itself with its very particular relations with Israel.
Now the Trump administration is stressing that striking Doha was a decision made by Netanyahu, not by the United States, not by Trump himself.
And there were also statements being circulated about Qatar being informed of the attack in advance.
Can Qatar be modified by these messages from the United States?
Well, i i don't think that united states words can can pacify the qatar's uh outreach because, as you mentioned that qatar does not believe what united states say.
Because united states explained okay, they they only uh recognize the possible attacks from israel when the Israeli fighters set off their missiles and they only uh recognized the israelis attacks at the very last minute and then they immediately called qatar side to to remind them to pay attention, but it's too late.
But actually from the.
Actually it's a very, very complicating explanation because, on the one hand, we know that in qatar there were more than 10000 military United States personnel located there.
And they have the very strong capabilities of monitoring the skies and monitoring the surrounding areas and intercepting missiles and other airplanes.
And, according to the explanation of Israel, they attacked the targets inside Qatar through the waves of fighters landing from Israel towards the targets in Qatar and then flying back.
So it would be easy for United States to intercept these airplanes, and it would be easy for United States to shut down one or more Israeli jets, but they did nothing.
So the United States did nothing.
So that's why, on the other hand, Even after this attack, the United States did not give too much detail about how they find it and how they sense it and how they responded to it.
So all kinds of explanations seem so complicated, and I know that Qatar would not trust it.
So, no matter what kind of United States explanation would be, I don't think Qatar will be totally happy about this explanation.
So this kind of division has already been there between Qatar and the United States.
So the final question before we let you go, Dr Wang Jing what actions do you expect Qatar to take in response to Israel's action?
I think Qatar wants to do many things, but the problem is that Qatar does not have the strong capabilities to do these things.
Qatar does not have the very strong military capabilities to directly retaliate the targets inside Israel.
It cannot attack Israeli targets directly with its very poor military capabilities.
And, on the other hand, for Qatar.
Actually, let's be frank, the Qatar national defense is now undertaken by United States military forces, United States military bases inside Qatar.
So without United States permission, Qatar can't do nothing to really hurt Israeli's national interests.
But we both know that the United States will not permit Qatar to really hurt and attack Israel.
So that's why Qatar, from this very hot capability, they can't do nothing.
But the only thing that I think they would do, or they could do, is to retaliate or respond through political and diplomatic ways.
For example, from the bilateral channels, they would maybe suspend the cooperation and the communication and the connections with Israel.
And from the multilateral ways, they might organize a kind of summit from the gulf arab states corporate, gulf arab states cooperation council uh, from the arab league and from the islamic corporation organization, different kind of a multilateral mechanism to to to release some kind of the joint statements to give diplomatic pressure to israel.
And also from international level, they would ask, for example, proposal from united nation or from united nation security council to impose new pressure to israel.
But that's all so.
That's why their response would be largely concentrated upon political, the diplomatic ways, rather than really, that's when, rather than have the capabilities that could really hurt and deter israeli's national interests in this region.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Dr. Wang Jing, associate professor with Northwest University in Xi'an, China.
Coming up.
China says its manufacturing sector has remained the world's largest for 15 straight years.
NBA legend LeBron James has called basketball a bridge connecting the U.S. and China.
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China's manufacturing sector has achieved substantial progress during the country's 14th Five-Year Plan.
Industry and Information Technology Minister Li Lecheng says China's manufacturing output jumped from 37 trillion in 2020 to 47 trillion in 2024.
China's manufacturing sector now accounts for almost 30 of global production, contributing over 30 to the sector's global growth.
By the end of last year, equipment and high-tech manufacturing accounted for more than half of China's total industrial output.
So for more on this, my colleague Zhao Yang earlier spoke with Dr Zhou Ming, senior research fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
So, Dr. Zhoumi, China remains the world's largest manufacturer for 15 consecutive years.
The country's manufacturing output rose from US$3.7 trillion in 2020 to US$4.7 trillion in 2024.
So what does this say about the resilience and adaptability of China's industrial base despite the global headwinds?
We know that the reason why we have such a strong increase about output of the manufacturing are mainly based from three reasons.
The first one is that we know the Chinese government is very active in providing our certain and transparent environment, while also trying to have a better opening up.
So we are introducing more competitors from all around the world.
That has caused a second reason.
The second reason is the competition.
We know that industrial and also the manufacturing are based on the competition.
The companies are always trying to find some of these more profitable areas.
They put more investment there and benefited from this.
And the third reason is that we know that demands are increasing.
The demands are coming from the two sides.
The first one is from China's domestic.
We know that China's supermarket is increasing and they've provided so many opportunities.
And secondly, the world really needs those things from China.
Based on all these three reasons, I would say, although there may be some headwinds from the different reasons, but the demand will still be the most important driving forces for the development of a Chinese manufacturing.
And advanced manufacturing now makes up more than half of China's industrial output.
So how is this changing China's role in the global economy?
I think that the competition is definitely one of the main rules for the world to develop.
But as many countries, including the Southeast Asia countries, they are trying to catch up with China on the different areas, including the textiles electronics, any other traditional industries.
So for China, if we are still trying to focus or grasp this kind of market, I don't think that the other countries can benefit from that.
So we will have to face many disputes trade disputes like the anti-damping or something to do with the subsidies.
So for China, I think it's very clear that we are not just trying to state what we were in the past decade.
We are trying to go forward and move on to the different areas, like the advanced manufacturing, which is a little bit different from most of these developing countries are good at.
So we want to do that, but we are not just trying to occupy those positions.
If we have reached a certain position, we will also share our technology and experiences with our trading partners.
That is the idea that we have to move on and also provide a better and bigger space for the development.
And an industrial report says China is moving from being the world's factory to a global supply chain hub.
So what does this mean in practice?
That means that the companies who are trying to find some parts or intermediate products, they can come here to China to find it easier.
There is a famous city named Yiwu in China.
The people, or the producers, and also the buyers, they can buy almost everything there in the market.
They are so wide cover.
And I think that is a really important thing for the people who want to buy something.
They can just find the places in China very easily.
And even for the complimentary assemblies or other kind of collaboration.
They don't have to use too many resources to try to look for certain suppliers.
And the supply is not only are possible, but also resilient.
They can provide a sustainable supply that is really important for the manufacturing.
And with 64 Chinese manufacturers making the Fortune Global 500, how should the world interpret China's rise in large-scale industrial competitiveness?
I mean, the world thinks that China is very competitive, but the competitiveness are coming from not just the total scale or the total volume of the economy.
They are led by the main players in this around.
So for the fortune 500, i think that is a really important, you know, way for us to observe the uh, the pattern of the global competitiveness, like for the companies involved in this list.
I think that chinese companies are are a little bit more diversified compared with some other countries, so they are mainly are, you know, covering other services and manufacturing, and also some of them are to do with a certain kind of innovative industries.
So these at least are showing the world that china is, you know, trying to give a better support to the companies and many of the companies.
They are trying to be better and trying to be larger in the competition by the globalization or cross-border investment.
And RD expenditure among Chinese manufacturers have climbed to over 16 of revenue, and also a batch of innovations being made in sectors like aviation, biotech and artificial intelligence.
So how do you see Chinese companies' efforts in the science and tech innovation.
Could you give us some examples?
I think the most famous example would be that from Huawei.
You know, Huawei has put a lot of RD to explore the possible ways of development for the maybe next five years or even 10 years.
So for many other companies, including the traditional companies for the electronic appliances, like for the TVs or the air conditioners makers, they really care about the demand in the future.
I think there may be two layers.
The first one is that they are trying to combine the better and more advanced the technology in the product so they want to reduce the impacts of using the electricity and the impact to the environment.
But the second is, you know, they are trying to address the demand from a different segment of the markets from, you know, the northern part, from the southern part or even from other countries.
They want to take care of the demands of these consumers and trying to address those challenges.
So, based on these two directions, Chinese companies are really care about the RD, because they believe that the competitiveness are originally coming from the technology or the ways of doing business, instead of just the prices.
And China's new energy vehicle sector has seen rapid development.
Last year, China's production of NEVs exceeded 13 million, topping the world for 10 consecutive years.
So what enabled such a dramatic leap in less than five years?
I think that is a real surprising and also are remarkable.
So, I mean, there may be three reasons.
The first one is that you know, China has some basis for the manufacturing of the vehicles.
Maybe not any ways, but they have some basis, like for the traditional one.
So it's much easier for them to know the ideas of how can make the new energy vehicles safer and more efficient.
And second reason is coming from the ideas, also by the cooperation with some foreign companies like Tesla.
So the Chinese company are inspired by their production and the ideas that they are really accepted this concept because they know that the environment protection and the carbon reduction will be the task for not only for China but also for the world.
And the third one is coming from, you know, supply chains and the demand from different markets.
I think this is a really important for the, you know, for the export, because Chinese EUAs are so popular, they can meet the demand of the different countries' consumers and they are really beneficiary for them to have a better intelligence in handling all the data.
And how is China's investment in AI-driven supply chain technologies changing the efficiency and the global competitiveness?
Well, the AI is still a leading area.
I don't think that Chinese companies can be the master of that, but there are at least two functions we can expect.
The first one you know that, like the deep sync, they have the open source kind of mechanism which provide a very good support for the infrastructure i mean the digital infrastructure and the competition infrastructure for so many countries and the different stakeholders, even the small and the media enterprises.
So these are kind of public services or public goods for the world.
And the second is that our AI-driven technology can only be efficient if they have enough market.
Well, many Chinese companies are having this kind of experience here in China and they also are trying to explore this kind of applications in other markets.
That provide enough basis to show the world that we have some good examples, we have some good solutions.
So you can also trust the Chinese companies.
We can have better and more collaborations.
And for other countries?
Is China's rise in manufacturing an opportunity for cooperation or a threat to domestic industries?
Well, it depends on, in my opinion, if these countries always think that China's manufacturing is a threat.
They are trying to do more protectionism or trying to stop the import from China.
I don't think that would be a good choice.
That will maybe slow down their process of catching up with the leading technology and the best efficiency in the world.
But if these countries or partners, they want to collaborate with chinese companies, like we have some of the policy uh, you know mechanism of coordination between the countries, like in the belt and the road regions, we can create a better environment and like to build some industrial park, which is a very good way for them to develop and also have a better manufacturing or even the re-industrialization.
Dr Zhou Mi, Senior Research Fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
Talking with my colleague Zhao Yang.
Coming up commenting on a CGTN poll.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office says the historical truth on the island won't be forgotten or distorted.
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The Chinese mainland has criticized Taiwan's DPP authorities for promoting Taiwan independence and attempting to alter the cross-strait status quo, saying such actions challenge the post-war international order.
The State Council Taiwan Affairs Office made a remark in response to a global opinion poll showing strong recognition of Taiwan's return to China after World War II.
Two-thirds of the respondents in the CGTN poll said they were aware of Taiwan's return after the war.
Most respondents agreed that the island's return was a result of the Allied victory and that any moves towards the so-called Taiwan independence would undermine that outcome.
The poll was conducted among nearly 12,000 people across 40 countries.
So joining us now on the line is Professor Qu Qiang from Mingzhu University of China.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Thank you.
So, first of all, Professor Chee, in your understanding, why is seeking the so-called Taiwan independence a subversion of the post-World War II international order?
Well, Taiwan is always an inseparable and indispensable part of Chinese territory.
I think this is the only truth, especially after the Second World War.
Taiwan has returned to China, returned to the motherland.
This has been a widely acknowledged legal fact.
It has been accepted by all the world.
So any denial towards this kind of phenomenon – or so-called Taiwan independence is basically a serious challenge towards not only the Chinese territory and the sovereignty, but also towards the whole world orders.
It basically means we allow some other nations, especially some former fascist countries, to have some other descriptions and explanations towards what should be the world after the Second World War.
Well, a not very proper comparison or metaphor is that basically we keep, you know, aid of Hitler still in the current Germany and allow that you know current so-called German government to explain the territory and border of Poland.
So that is basically the truth, the situation right now.
So I think this kind of a foul description and this kind of a lie will basically destroy not only the original stability but also the common interest of the whole international community after the Second World War against the fascists.
So do you believe protecting the outcome of World War II, including the outcome regarding Taiwan, is essential to maintaining international peace today?
I'm asking this question because we know the historical truth is that Japan Imperial Japan took away Taiwan from China in the late 19th century and after that Japan executed colonial rule in Taiwan on the island for half a century, until the end of the Second World War.
So, with that in mind Professor, how would you comment on the Japanese government's current day behavior of sometimes using Taiwan as a talking point to hype up the so-called China threat?
Oh, yes.
So I think basically this is a very absurd status quo when Japan is trying to explain the legal position of the Taiwan province of China.
So, like I just mentioned, it's basically like you're allowing aid of Hitler well, if he can still be alive to explain the border of Poland or some other Eastern European nations.
It's basically very, very absurd.
Well, very different from the situation of, you know, the post-war Germany.
Well, Japan was allowed to keep their you know imperial, you know emperors after the Second World War.
So I think this is a very different situation from democratized situation in the post-war Germany.
So I think, if we still cannot allow that situation to happen, I think we will probably destroy what we have achieved together after Second World War.
It's like the alliances and all the soldiers who sacrificed for the justice, sacrificed for the stability of this nation, of this whole world, has been, you know, going in vain.
So japan is always trying to use this uh, you know kind of the situation, try to shun its own.
You know awkwardness and the domestic situation and international arena, for example, japan are facing lots of you know, a domestic market situation, like they have the aging problems, and also they are, you know, a fear of the, you know international situations.
So I think they're trying to use this topic just to meddle with the international situation and also to benefit for themselves.
So, even though they are trying to do so, but I don't think they're getting anywhere further.
So i think it's the responsibility for the whole world trying to deny this kind of the situation and also fight for a more stable and a peaceful future for the whole world, not only in eastern asia, but also for the whole world.
I think this is something we must do.
Thank you very much for joining us.
Professor Qu Qiang joining us from Mingzhu University of China.
Coming up, NBA legend LeBron James has called basketball a bridge connecting the U.S. and China.
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We'll be back.
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I'm Ding Hen in Beijing.
Basketball legend LeBron James has called basketball a bridge that connects the U.S. and China.
He made the comments while visiting China for the 15th time as a signature Nike athlete.
Meanwhile, the NBA is scheduled to play two preseason games next month in the city of Macau between the Phoenix Suns and the Brooklyn Nets.
This will mark the NBA's return to Chinese soil for the first time since the year 2019.
For more.
My colleague Zhao Ying spoke with Ina Tengen, Senior Fellow of Taihe Institute and Chairman of Asian Narratives Substack.
LeBron James described basketball as a bridge that connects the U.S. and China.
What do you make of the role of sports in building cultural connections?
Well, you know, these kinds of passions, they transcend politics.
You know, he's emphasized basketball.
As you said, it's a bridge.
It echoes the legacy, actually, of ping pong diplomacy, which really kind of started it all off.
And hopefully that this will soften the kind of Cold War economic tensions which are going on.
It's one of the areas where people-to-people diplomacy excels, because people say oh, you support that team, you know about this guy oh, he's my favorite player, etc etc.
So these global icons like LeBron James, they carry a lot of weight.
They're cultural ambassadors.
And you can include Yao Ming, for that matter, and Steph Curry, of course.
And it really kind of humanizes, gets us back to what motivates us as individuals.
Well, LeBron James has been to China many times and this is actually his 15th time being in China and he enjoys enormous popularity here.
How would you describe his influence on basketball's development in China and his role in strengthening the NBA's presence in the country?
Well, it's pivotal.
I mean, here's a guy who's 40 years old.
He's had 23 seasons in the NBA.
You know, he's a phenomenal, outstanding player.
I mean, if you start going through his stats, it's just, you know NBA championships, you know everything across the board, the number of points that he scored.
He is an icon and, interestingly enough, so his son is now in the league and, as a result, i mean to to be a player and have your own son playing while you're playing is quite something, But it also points to this issue about legacy.
He is firmly committed not only for himself to the NBA, but also for his son.
And, as I said, this is something that trans, you know transcends, you know, any kind of politics out there.
He's, um, he's really, really helped.
I mean before uh, 2019 um, there's about NBA was worth about about 300 million to um in terms of profits and things like this.
But because of COVID and things like that, there was a lot of negative pressure.
Things are starting to come back since 2022.
But this is a real opportunity to try to get these countries back together again.
Yeah.
So do you see LeBron's visit as a sign that relations between the NBA and China are beginning to thaw after the 2019 fallout?
And if so, what do you think could be the main reasons?
Well, I don't see this as political.
I see this as economic.
The NBA sees, you know, it was 10%.
China was 10% of the NBA's total revenues before 2019.
They want to establish that.
They see it in growth.
You have 300 million young men who play and follow basketball.
This is a huge growth market, for the question is, How do you get over people like Donald Trump and a lot of people in Washington?
And they're just kind of going their own way.
They're just saying, look, let's do this now in 2024.
They, they had a, exhibition game also in Macau.
This is a follow-up to that.
This is the kind of stuff that is necessary to bring the NBA back together.
Unfortunately, because of the time difference, it'll be very hard to see a league play.
There's certainly a tremendous amount of value in people who are following the teams.
You start looking at the prices in Macau of these tickets, going up to almost 25000 RMB for really choice tickets.
It shows that people want that experience.
They're hungry for it.
This is a form of entertainment.
But like I said, it brings people together.
Well, in 2019, LeBron called Daryl Murray's tweet supporting Hong Kong protests misinformed.
How has that shaped his image among the fans in the U.S. and in China?
And you see younger NBA players today, following LeBron's path in cultivating a deep tie with Chinese market.
Or are they being more cautious given the political sensitivities?
Yeah, well, you know, LeBron, there's a reason LeBron is LeBron.
I mean, he's a leader on court and off court.
He sees the big picture.
He's a guy who's worth $1.3 billion.
And, you know, he's in a host of blue chip business opportunities.
So a lot of young players, they look at him and he's an ideal.
Not only...
On the court, but off the court, he's he's a real gentleman.
He's competitive.
But I mean, he's the whole package.
So yeah, there was some reaction, mostly among fans, and things like that said oh you know, why did you say that?
You're misinformed, all this kind of stuff.
But he said, look, this is about basketball.
It's not about things.
And this guy trying to take a political stand, it's kind of out of – why?
It's basketball.
If you wanted to be a senator, you can go to Washington.
In terms of young guys –
You know they look at China, as a lot of them see a lot of potential here and there's a certain amount of buzz.
Some players who they played with come to China to play in the CBA um, so they, they know a little bit about it.
They see opportunities there, especially guys who are either getting a little older and want to round out their, their time and their earning in china, or younger people who are trying to, you know, still stay in the game and want to be part of you know, you know, huge leak.
So I can't say that they haven't been affected by COVID.
There is a lot of isolation.
Obviously, they read the newspapers.
A lot of negative things were said about China.
But the key there is when They actually come to China and they're like, oh, no, no, wait a second.
This isn't what they told me.
This is completely different.
So it makes a huge difference just to get them over here.
Yeah.
As you said, maybe this is not political, but some would call this political sports diplomacy, and actually the visit comms as Washington and Beijing are trying to ease their tensions, including over trade.
So how do sports exchanges like this play into the broader U.S.-China relationship?
Well, they're good.
Remember, Donald Trump was elected but he's not necessarily.
I mean, I doubt that LeBron James is calling Donald and saying hey, you know, I'm going over to China to try to make nice with the Chinese.
This is not coordinated.
This is something which really is about the sport.
But it shows underneath it that you know economically, on a person, person level, there is still this desire to connect to China.
And that is the most important.
I mean, Donald Trump come and he will go.
But the real issue is what are the relationships going to be long term?
How do you get people start talking about talking to each other?
I mean, Xiao Hongshu, that was a huge breakthrough.
All of a sudden people just said, oh, you're normal.
You're just like me.
Why?
Why?
Why was I misled in believing that Chinese people were evil?
And this is the most important point.
And this is why people-to-people diplomacy is so important.
So when you have fans looking at an exhibition game in Macau and they see you know Chinese fans and they're really into it.
It's hard to see them as evil.
And then when the players come back and they talk to other players and say hey, you know, it was fantastic.
I was treated really, really nice.
Everything was wonderful.
Great city.
So safe.
You know, boy, I wish we had some of that over here.
That starts the ball rolling.
And hopefully that can overcome a lot of the kind of political nonsense that is being put out there.
I'm the Tengen Senior Fellow of Taihe Institute and the Chairman of Asia Narrative Substack, talking with my colleague Zhao Ying.
That's all the time for this edition of World Today.
A quick recap of today's headlines.
China and Portugal pledge to enhance cooperation and safeguard free trade.
Israel carries out attack in Qatar targeting Hamas leaders.
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I'm Dinghan in Beijing. thank you so much for listening bye for now
