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China's season is shifting toward high quality development, as he marked the 75th anniversary of his peaceful liberation this year.
Reports show china secures over 90 of global orders for very large crude carriers.
And a Cuban president says U.S. indictment of Raul Castro is political maneuver with no legal basis.
Welcome to World Today, a news program with a different perspective.
I'm Gaena 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 top story.
China's Shizan, or Tibet, Autonomous Region is shifting toward high-quality development, as it marked the 75th anniversary of its peaceful liberation this year.
The region has set an economic growth target of about 7 after undergoing sweeping economic and social transformation over the past seven decades.
Authorities say major efforts this year will focus on infrastructure investment, further opening up and expanding the use of clean energy.
For more on this, joining us on the line is Dr Yao Shujie Chang Kong, Professor of Economics at Chongqing University.
Professor, this year marked the 75th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Xizan.
If you had to pick three words to capture the biggest changes in the region over that time, what would they be?
The major three keywords for Tibet.
Our XiZhang after 75 years of liberation is probably harmony, prosperity and modernization.
Harmony means XiZhang has been fully integrated into the rest of the country to become a very unified country with many nationalities.
Tibetans is one of the key nationalities in the minority populations.
And because of the harmony.
It means there is a peaceful unbroken, fast development for over three quarters of a century.
This is a remarkable peaceful development for the Xizhang history over thousands of years.
Prosperity means that Xizhang has been transformed from a very primarily agricultural and animal husband very backward society into a very modernized society.
The people nowadays have a much longer life expectancy, they have a much higher education level and also per capita income has been increased by thousands of times.
So this is the remarkable achievement in terms of the significant and vast improvement of the people's likelihood.
And finally, modernization.
Modernization from starting from the most difficult construction of the highway getting into Shizang.
You know, Shenzhen is famous for the roof of the world.
You know, the altitude on average is over 4000 meters high.
And it's very difficult to build up the motorway, highway and even the airport.
But Shenzhen has a three-dimensional development in terms of motorway, railways, and the air.
So this kind of connection is now getting into every single village, in terms of the highway system, which is over 12000 kilometers long, covering the whole regions.
And there are three railway getting into Xizhan.
One is the Qinghai Xizhan and the one is the modernized from Sichuan to Xizhan, which is under construction.
This is another railway from Xizhang to Lingzhi.
And this is a very important artery of transportation.
And there are five airports in Xizhang to fly to different parts of the country.
This would uplift the very backward feudal system to a very modern, prosperous society.
It actually overcome the difficulty for thousands of years.
Modernization is the third keyword in my view.
Then, given such a background, for this year, Wei Xi Xizong has set a GDP growth target of over 7, well above the national average.
Considering the plateau's unique natural and ecological constraints, what do you see as the main drivers behind this high line speed?
Xizhang although, as I mentioned, is the roof of the world and it has many physical constraints for economic and social development, especially the transportation and agricultural production and manufacturing.
But after 75 years of consistent support from the central and regional government across the country, Shenzhen has been developed into a modern system, exploiting the comparative advantage of Shenzhen in terms of tourism, ecological system and the generation of the new energy sector solar power, wind power and especially the hydroelectric power, as it is symbolized by the gigantic mega hydropower project, the so-called Yaxia, which means in the lower reaches of the Yalu-Zhanbu River.
This is going to signify the major breakthrough in Xizhang.
When Xizhang was liberated in 1951, The per capita income was much lower than the national average.
And nowadays per capita income of the Shizan people is reaching above the national average and the life expectancy rose from 35 years to over 72 years, which is more than double in 75 years.
So this kind of remarkable change reflected that Shenzhen is very ambitious and also the growth momentum is continuing.
70% is much higher than the 5% national target, and I think Shenzhen has great potential.
Simply due to the nature advantage and also a relatively lower population density.
So there is a very, you know, optimistic future in, you know, after the same try, years of liberation.
Professor, you highlighted the Yaxiang hydropower project.
Xizong's government work report states that clean energy capacity will increase from 13 to 20 million kilowatt this year.
What significance does this project hold for Xizong and overall China's national energy landscape?
Xizhan already has a significant advance in terms of the new energy generation sector, especially in the existing hydropower station, solar power station and wind power stations.
Of course, Yaxia is a new project.
It was launched last year.
It's going to be the largest, most difficult and most sophisticated hydroelectric system in the world, and in China, of course.
Now it's going to generate electricity of something like 600 billion kilowatt hours per year when the project is completed in 2030 15 years from today and that would meet the demand of roughly 300 million people on an annual basis.
Not only Xizhan would be supplied with ample electricity, but much of the electricity will be provided to the rest of the country, in Eastern China, In central China.
It may also export to the neighborhood of the South Asian countries, such as Nepal.
And this kind of project is going to save the environment something like 300 million tons of carbon dioxide emission, saving 120 million tons of coal for burning the energy to generate the equivalent amount of electricity.
This project is going to transform Shizhen in totality and transform the landscape of China's new energy sector.
To a certain extent,
Then let's shift gear to opening up.
The Zhirong Port, one of the largest land ports, connects China with Nepal, reopened at the start of this year.
It says to open 12 new border trade points this year.
What does this suggest about Shizong's growing connectivity with South Asia?
Yeah, Shenzhen is on the border of Nepal, India and Pakistan and there's lots of South Asian countries which are connected to Shenzhen.
Shenzhen has a vast territory and lots of borders, you know, sharing with the other countries.
That give the natural physical environment for Shenzhen to be open.
And the port that you just mentioned, the Geelong port, is the closest port to Nepal.
Now for the first instance of opening.
There is a fairly dynamic and busy business turnover between the two countries.
Now this is a very significant advance in terms of the openness of XiZan.
Shizhen has ample agricultural and livestock products and other subsistence Shizhen medicines and also raw materials and especially construction materials, which are hotly demanded by the South Asian countries, which turned out to be a very prosperous and dynamic economy in recent decades.
So the complementarity between Shizhen and, of course, the rest of China to South Asia is fairly obvious.
It provides an ample opportunity for the bilateral trade and investment.
And I hope this kind of openness strategy and also the capability to open the border and provide the bi-directional commodity and services and tourism that would generate common prosperity not only for all the Sijian people but also for the neighbouring countries such as Nepal, India and Pakistan.
Professor, this year, Shizan is also putting nearly 2 billion into key projects, including a huge boost in rural kindergarten funding.
How do you value this investment in education, especially in light of Western attempts to smear about Shizan's boarding schools, for example?
I think, some Western media.
They underestimate, or deliberately underestimate, the vast and significant achievement of the education level in Shenzhen.
Measured by the United Nations, the rate of illiteracy in Shizhen was over 97.
It means that 97% of the Shizan people who were illiterate in 1951 when the lesion was liberated.
And nowadays the illiteracy is reduced just to over 25, which is much better than the vast majority of developing countries and is comparable to the rest of China, which is only 2 of the elite.
And this elimination or the vast improvement of education in Shizhong is the basic foundation for the sustainable economy and social development and the significant achievement which I just mentioned earlier.
Thanks, Professor, for those insight of analysis.
That was Dr. Yao Shujie, Chang Kong Professor of Economics at Chongqing University.
This is Road Today.
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China's shipbuilding sector is continuing to strengthen its dominance in the global market, driven by strong overseas demand for large commercial vessels.
State-owned CSSC Dalian Shipbuilding Industry has delivered a 115000-ton oil tanker more than five months earlier than scheduled.
Industry observers say the early delivery highlighted the growing efficiency and global competitiveness of Chinese shipyards.
Since the beginning of this year, Chinese builders secured over 90 of global new orders for very large crude carriers, with order backlogs extending through 2030.
For more on this, Xu Yaowen spoke with Prof Liu Baocheng, the director of the Center for International Business Ethics at the University of International Business Professor Liu.
Chinese shipbuilder CSSC Dalian Shipbuilding delivered its 115000-ton oil tanker five months ahead of schedule.
How remarkable is that in a global shipbuilding industry?
This is very impressive by global shipping standards.
Large oil tankers are highly complex industrial products involving millions of components, extensive steel work, very sophisticated propulsion system and also strict international safety standards.
Therefore normally, the shipbuilding schedules are very much carefully maintained and collaborated, And so, particularly now, the early delivery with such a great order is something that's stunningly welcome.
Therefore it shows the competitiveness of the Chinese particular shipping industry and also very much in response to the rising demand of the global oil tanker market, particularly for those very large and even ultra large crude carriers.
Well, Professor, delivering a vessel this early points to a very strong operational efficiency.
Then how important is China's integrated domestic supply chain in giving Chinese shipbuilders an edge on cost and delivery time over international competitors?
And what does this say about China's overall competitiveness in a global shipbuilding market?
Well, you actually touched upon the focus of a chinese advantage in this particular industry, because shipbuilding is not only a isolated manufacturing activity.
It depends on massive industrial ecosystem with so many components that needs to be assembled within a very synchronized process, so from steel production to engines, to electronic system, the port logistics, and involving also even industrial robots, also the coordination of hundreds of engineers, so this is really a very demanding project.
What gives China a major edge is the ecosystem that existed domestically and often within tightly connected of the industrial clusters.
So the shipyards can source materials and components very quickly.
It's a matter of adjusting time and that's there to reduce the transportation procurement delays, and we'll be able to coordinate the production far more efficiently than many other overseas competitors.
So therefore, the foreign buyers see such a sort of situation.
It's no longer confined to the delivery time and also the lower price.
But the superb quality as a result of such sort of high-level integration and domestic supply chain will be there to give more of the confidence to those purchasers.
Professor, employees from China's shipbuilding company says last year most of their new orders were for container vessels, while this year nearly half of the ongoing order negotiations are focused on crew tankers.
And also data shows that in the first quarter alone, China secured 67 new orders for the very large crude carriers, accounting for 92 of the global market, with some shipyards fully booked through 2030.
What's driving such a strong worldwide demand for crude oil tankers right now?
Broadly geopolitical tensions have increased the major economies to have rising concern about the global energy supply, so therefore they prefer to have an expanded capacity and therefore the requirement for the delivery is important, based on the number of vessels they can either own or hire.
And the conflicts and instability in those key energy producing regions, especially the Middle East, have encouraged those countries and companies even to bet on a long-stretched disruption.
Second, I think the changes in the global oil trade flows are really increasing the shipping demand.
The reshaping of global energy market in recent years, particularly the crude oil, is traveling a longer distance and also expanding along the entire supply chain because more of the not only the energy consumption but the downstream industry, like petrochemicals, are also requiring more of the oil that to be delivered in time and in good quality.
So the oil remains the critical part of the global economy, despite of the campaign towards the renewable energy.
And so there is a realistic demand for the shipyards to work together with those shipping carriers to earn joint profitability.
So the freight rates for the large crude carriers have remained very attractive during this cycle.
As you said Professor, demand for crude tankers have surged amid geopolitical tensions, including the ongoing situation at the Strait of Hormuz.
Looking ahead, how sustainable do you believe this boom in orders for very large crude carriers will be in the coming years?
Well, next year, a few years will be a near term.
And so in this spectrum the boom is likely to remain relatively strong.
But the long-term sustainability will be very much in question because if you look at the past history of the shipbuilding industry and also the shipping carrier industry, there has been a very strong boom bust cycle.
So in the short term, even to media term, several supportive factors remain in place.
With the geopolitical uncertainty, with the fragmented energy trade routes and also the fleet to renewal needs,
And so these are really the factors that can really bring more advantage.
But over a longer term, if the renewable energy occupies a bigger portion of the energy supply and also if the speculative forces over the geopolitical tensions can ease, and then there could be a sort of decline.
But more.
The competitiveness in the global shipbuilding industry would lie in how they can really address the carbon footprint and also how they can really install more of the artificial intelligence into the entire operation.
And one last question, Professor Liu.
Chinese shipyards are now leading not only in order volume, but also in delivery speed and vessel technology.
Then, how are innovations in areas such as green shipping and smart ship building strengthening China's position in the global tanker market?
Well, these innovations are increasingly important because the future of the global shipping will be shipped not only by a matter of cost and also deliberate time, but also by the decarbonization and digitization
So Chinese shipbuilders are investing heavily in the greener vessel technologies, including the lng dew fuel system the mason already ships energy shipping whole design and also intelligent onboard management systems.
So these technologies will help to reduce the fuel consumption, lower emission and also shape the the image of corporate social responsibility.
And now it also be there to be in more conformity was the Global Maritime Organization's call for zero carbon operation.
But, having said that, China still has a lot more potential to be unfolded, particularly in competition with the major competitors from South Korea, Japan and some of the the European shipbuilders, whether they are able to identify a certain niche and whether they are able to compete more on the new standard to be able to fund the new competitive edge.
So that's something that the Chinese shipbuilders will have to take into strategic consideration.
That was Professor Liu Baocheng, the director of the Center for International Business Ethics at the University of International Business and Economics, speaking with Xu Yawen.
More to come.
Cuban president says U.S. indictment of Raul Castro is political maneuver with no legal basis.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says Israel now controls roughly 60 of the Gaza Strip, despite the ceasefire agreement, and Germany unveils its high-tech agenda to enhance competitiveness.
You are listening to Road Today.
We'll be back after a short break.
You've been listening to Road Today with Mika Anna in Beijing.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has criticized the charges brought by the United States against Cuban Revolution leader Raul Castro, calling them a political maneuver with no legal basis.
In a post on social media platform, Max Diaz-Canel said the accusations reflect the arrogance and frustration of the US in the face of the resolve of the Cuban revolution and the unity and moral strength of its leadership.
For this and more, let's bring in Jun, American research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization.
Thanks for joining us, Jun.
Thank you, Anna, for having me.
June.
Raul Castro has been hit with the charges in the United States and Cuba calls it a lie-based political provocation.
Can you walk us through what's really behind this case and why the Cuban government characterizes in this way?
So first, I mean, let's dive into the core facts.
20th May, the US unsealed a superseding indictment, which was in Miami, charging Raul Castro and also five Cuban pilots.
And the charge was conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals. and destroy aircrafts.
We know that in that incident, which took place in 1996, two aircrafts were shot down and three Americans as well as one Cuban lost their lives in that incident.
Now, from the Cuban perspective, I mean, the aircrafts were provocative.
They were not in international space.
They were clearly provoking the Cuban side.
And in any sense, you know, if you look at the fact that this indictment is coming decades later against Raul, who is now 94 years old right,
The timing is uncanny.
The timing is unfortunate.
And it seems to be, from the Cuban perspective, really in line with the classic US lawfare, which has constantly tried to delegitimize a revolutionary government that has defied Washington for about 67 years.
So it is political provocation.
It is.
And we know that other incidents are also happening to sort of make a signal to the Cuban government that the US somehow has the right or even the responsibility to act on this indictment.
But the problem is that it's completely against international law to start with.
And I think one of the reasons that needs to be looked into is that the current Secretary of State, Mark Rubio, as well as the Cuban population in general in the United States.
They are anti the Cuban government right now.
So I think there are a lot of domestic factors for President Trump especially when it comes to Florida to win more votes and popularity that could be pushing him to this sort of stance towards Cuba at this point.
As you said, Washington is going after Raul Castro for something from 30 years ago.
Legally speaking, can the US even claim jurisdiction over the leader of another sovereign country?
No, not at all.
I mean, and the unfortunate fact is that the US, whether it's under President Trump, and we saw the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, we saw what's been done to Maduro.
I mean, he was literally kidnapped. what has happened in Iran.
And this is just happening for decades.
Unfortunately, international law in no way allows such acts of aggression.
And if you look at more specifically, you know Raul Castro acted in his official capacity as Cuba's defense minister at that time.
And triggering head of state and functional immunity under customary international law which aligns with the UN Charter Articles 24 and 27.
Such unilateral US prosecution of another nation's leader for sovereign military acts completely violates the principles of sovereign equality and non-intervention.
So, I mean, this is judicial imperialism, essentially.
And in any case I mean we know that decades of American blockades have created a very difficult situation for Cuban people.
Even this kind of weaponization of economies, of trade, of access, is something that is, in fact, against international law.
So this defies international law.
And the unfortunate reality is that the US, under President Trump or otherwise, does not have a good track record on following the law, on respecting the law or respecting other nation states as equals in any way.
Jun, could you elaborate more on this?
How would you describe this mix of legal charges and a special operations approach as a method of interference from Washington?
Because, as you earlier also touched upon this, back in January the US raided Venezuela and unlawfully detained President Maduro Andrews so-called criminal charges.
Now they are doing something similar with Cuba, right?
Yeah, absolutely they are.
And I mean that act, what happened in January this year was again widely condemned by the UN, by the ICJ, by any international legal experts, by the Latin American countries saw it and expressed it as a blatant violation of sovereignty under the UN Charter.
The problem right now is that that mindset you know that somehow the hemisphere, this region, is in US jurisdiction or is somehow you know the Monroe Doctrine basically mindset that somehow any government that is not completely aligned with them or it, to be honest, in a neoliberal capitalist mindset, is not giving them access to their resources, is not subjugating to the United States, is labeled as a threat to national security, and then any and every act against them is legitimized under again this garb of veiling it as a national security threat.
I think there has been enough that's been said and even legally expressed by the international community to speak against it.
But again the problem is that who is going to ensure that the United States does not act on these whims?
It does not see other nations in that region, or any region for that matter, as subordinate or ones that need to be treated as if the United States is the policeman of the world and their own perspective and their own security and their own safety.
In many cases, these threats are obviously imagined like they are in this case.
It takes precedence over basic sovereignty and respect of any other nation.
Political, says US.
Recent pressure on Cuba isn't working.
So they are now considering military options more seriously with the Nimitz carrier in the Caribbean on the same day as the indictment announced.
So how high do you assess the risk of military conflict?
And with the US deeply entangled in the Iran conflict?
What domestic purpose might opening a Cuba front serve?
So see, unlike Venezuela, the diaspora that was against the Maduro government and that wanted regime change it's only been settled in the US for about a decade.
But that's not the case for Cuba, right?
So Cubans, who are opposed to the current government and would like to see actual regime change, have been settled for about 30 or more years and they're well settled.
They're politically active.
So one of the assessments right now is that President Trump is possibly looking for popularity in Florida specifically, and he obviously also has people within his government who are promoting this kind of military intervention.
The problem is that it is much more complex.
Cuba is a country of 10 million people that are actually all militarily trained.
Cuba has a security doctrine in which they are not only prepared because of what happened in Venezuela but, generally speaking, the civilians are all prepared for guerrilla warfare in such a scenario.
This is number one.
Then is the geographical proximity of Cuba to the United States.
That automatically should be part of that calculation.
Another issue that some are discussing is that maybe Trump and people like Marco Rubio you know they don't really see on the same page.
Whereas Rubio would want perhaps, regime change and people like him Cubans who oppose the current government.
Maybe Trump is looking for a deal of some sort.
So the situation in Cuba is definitely more complicated and it can be a greater risk to the United States than the situation in Venezuela was.
Both would be equally illegal, but it is possible.
And it is an unfortunate possibility that if Trump sees this as a calculated, quick military operation which could get him popularity in a jurisdiction that is important for him, which is Florida, right then maybe he could make that calculation.
And we know that Trump can be unpredictable and can be quite quick to act on such whims.
But only time will tell.
But it is definitely a more complex and it's not really a comparable situation.
The risks are far broader for the U.S.
Thanks, Jun, for the clear explanation and valuable insights.
That was Jun Namadakan, Research Fellow at Center for China and Globalization.
Israeli forces have advanced beyond the yellow line, the boundary marking the 53 percent of Gaza retained by Israel under a US-brokered truce, despite the ceasefire agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel now controls 60 percent of the Gaza Strip.
The expansion comes as Israeli strike continues across the Strip.
More than 850 Palestinians have been killed since the choose-to effect, while negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire remain stalled.
The latest developments are further restraining movement, reducing living space for Palestinians and complicating access for humanitarian aid deliveries.
For more on this, let's have Dr He Wenping, Middle East expert and a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Thanks for joining us, Dr. He.
Thanks for having me.
Dr He.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says Israel now controls 60 of Gaza, despite the ongoing ceasefire.
How do you assess Israel's recent actions and their actual objectives?
Well, it's quite surprising to hear even Prime Minister Netanyahu himself make this publicly, saying they have been controlled 60 of Gaza, because this is totally go beyond and also break this ceasefire, this agreement.
Because, according to that agreement, the Israeli side cannot continue expanding their occupation in the Gaza Strait.
They have to leave the space for the Palestinian people in Gaza to stay and then to survive, and then at least they should have space.
They are squeezing all the space for Palestinian people living in Gaza.
Also make this very fragile ceasefire agreement hardly to survive, not to mention continue to moving to the second phase.
Building on that, the second stage of the ceasefire, including mainly Israeli pullback and Gaza rebuilding this hasn't even started.
What do you see as the main reasons for this deadlock?
Well, the reason is quite clear.
That is, the Eastern side.
They have no intention to follow this roadmap given by this ceasefire agreement.
Because according to this agreement it should be.
If entering into a second phase that should be goes to Israel should withdraw all their troops, you know, leaving out of this Gaza.
They cannot continue to stay there.
And so this is exactly, absolutely not being wanted by the Israel side.
It is very clear now.
Even Netanyahu himself seems quite proudly to say they have already occupied even as more as 60 of this space in the Gaza.
You see, this means they don't want to leave.
They don't want to enter into so-called second phase.
They just want to continue, stay there, control the Gaza in the name of destroy all those Hamas and even expanding the occupation and continue to narrow the space for Palestinian people, eventually want to chase out all the Palestinian people out from this Gaza Strip.
This has been discussed before, even by Netanyahu and Donald Trump before.
They have been thinking about their plan, for example, to ask Sudan, or like even Somalia, to host all the Palestinian people in Gaza saying okay, let's arrange this kind of transfer, bring all the people living out of this Gaza Strip.
And even saying this is the time to develop like a tourist site, attraction place, like a real estimate, a plan for development.
Actually, this is the thing Donald Trump himself has been doing before he became the president.
So real estate development plan.
So this has been discussed before, even though has been prevented by the global media, especially even against the voice coming from the Middle East country around it.
I don't think Netanyahu now completely dropped this idea.
So that is why he's using another way now slowly, slowly eaten.
Those territory used to be stayed and lived by Palestinian people in Gaza.
Now he gradually, gradually now push those Palestinian people now living in a very small, very small narrow strait and close with the Mediterranean Sea.
If this thing has been continued, push, push, push, and then they have no other way to go.
So that is why this is a fundamental obstacle for this so-called second phase.
Ceasefire can be continued moving forward.
Because even first phase now already cannot guarantee those achievements.
With such an objective from Israel that, quite apart from the ceasefire agreement, according to Gaza Health Authority, the number of casualties is still rising even after the 2025 ceasefire, with the vast majority being civilians.
What's life like for Palestinians now and how severe is the crisis there?
Well, obviously the life of the Palestinian people in Gaza now is getting worse, worse, and worse.
Because not only you see the security concern, you see almost over 850 Palestinians be killed ever since this so-called ceasefire has been reached, because actually it's not a real ceasefire, because the Israeli side continue to bombing and then to kill.
So this is number one.
Security concern even cannot guarantee, even though saying now is the time for ceasefire.
Similar like this you know Lebanon side this Hasbara saying well, Israel said that we have now ceasefire with the Lebanon Hasbara, but the continue, the fighting continue.
So just by name, but by real, it's totally different story.
And then secondly, you know being every human being.
If you want to survive, you need the water, you need the food, you need a shelter, all those basic things.
Don't mention those kids.
Palestinian students can go to school in a normal way because a lot of things have been bombed, including all the schools and the hospitals, so your basic human rights like when you get wounded, you need to be treated in the hospital, but now hospital also being destroyed.
Now your kids should go to school, but now school no longer there, classroom no longer there and i haven't seen a video.
Wow, this teacher continue to teach, but no uh, this chair And then, even though very clean piece of the space, the students just kneel down there using everything they can find, trying to continue to learn some knowledge.
This is a very miserable thing.
And then food, water, all this now is quite, quite miserable.
Dr. He, earlier you mentioned the United States served as a mediator for the October 2025 ceasefire.
While Washington claims it will endeavor to start the second phase in Gaza as soon as possible.
Can you really focus on Gaza while you know still entangled in the Iran crisis?
How do you evaluate the U.S. role under the current situation?
Well, from my observation, I think now White House really has no energy and no time and even no interest to focus the issue happening in Gaza area and also all those agreements, how to push to the second phase.
Now all the focus is on Iran war.
Ever since February 28, Ever since the first day the Israel and the United States together to bomb Iran.
Now the Iran issue, of course, becoming the global attention.
Also, this is highly relates with Donald Trump, his own political career.
Because, with this midterm election approaching, and then also relates, with his mega movement, the supporting rate to himself, because his supporting rate has been dropping dropping, dropping even to the record low only 32 percent, I think, of the recent survey.
So this is quite a dangerous early warning for himself and also for his Republican or his administration.
So that is why Donald Trump, of course, has no other you know energy, those even interesting, to take care to think about how to resolve this Gaza issue.
And including Netanyahu.
Now he also team up with White House now trying to resolve the Iran so-called nuclear issue completely, before they even wanted to do regime change.
But actually, even though you killed the supreme leader, the old Khamenei, but now the young Khamenei, are even getting tougher those policy towards Israel and also towards United States.
That's why this Iran issue now come up with a new one, this close the street of Hormuz, even influence global economy.
So all of this make this Donald Trump also feel headache.
So he has no this kind of energy or interesting to continue to push this ceasefire about the Gaza issue forward.
Even not mention Gaza, even the Russia, Ukraine, this conflict also being marginalized.
Before Donald Trump said now he will do some mediator this job for resolving this Russia and Ukraine conflict, but later on also has been suspended because all the folks now is on Iran on this war.
Even now, yeah, continue.
There is no solution yet. for those confrontations between the United States, Israel, and also Iran.
Thanks, Dr Hou Wenping, Middle East expert and senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Germany has unveiled detailed roadmaps for its high-tech agenda to boost competitiveness and technological sovereignty.
The plan focuses on six priority sectors, including artificial intelligence, quantum technology and biotechnology.
Germany will also carry out projects in major strategic research fields such as aerospace and security.
It also targets having AI-related activities account for 10 of the country's economic output by 2030.
For more on this.
Lan Qingxuan spoke with Mohamed Ali Nasir, a professor of economics at University of Leeds.
So, Professor Nasir, why does Germany's new high-tech agenda put strong emphasis on technological sovereignty?
In which areas is Germany most concerned about external dependence?
German economy has been struggling for the last few years, and economically, and there's been lack of investment.
And now, while the other countries are making significant progress in terms of technology, in terms of AI, Germany has left behind to some extent.
And now they see it like they got to catch up.
So therefore, now it's, I think, less a matter of technological sovereignty, but more a matter of economic growth, in German context.
So therefore, the German Chancellor, Patrick Merz.
He has also said that Europe and Germany, their technological and economic future should not only be defined by other country.
And by other countries he meant US and China, which are the two countries at the moment leading the high-tech and AI agendas.
So therefore Germany, I think they feel the need to invest more in AI and high-tech, not only for technological sovereignty, but to support their economy and economic growth.
And the main areas.
I think there are more concerns are there for the high tech AI and quantum computing.
Germany aims for AI-related activities to account for 10% of its economic output by 2030.
So what does this goal signify?
Well, goal signifies, on the one hand, the urgency of the matter that they have been.
They feel that they have left behind
And actually, they are behind US and China in this AI front.
So there's an element of urgency.
And there's also, I think, an ambitions of course 10 of the GDP, and the GDP is about 45 trillion euros.
So that means you're talking about in excess of 400 billion euros euros every year in your economy.
They are generated through AI, which is, I think, a very ambitious target.
And what they are putting in or investing is about just over 5 billion euros for this purpose, to increase the productivity of their AI sector and increase the industrial competitiveness specifically in the AI sector.
And then they are trying to quadruple their AI processing capacity by 400% by 2030.
I think these targets are quite ambitious.
It does signify that there is a need.
If they want to catch up with China, if they want to catch up with the US, then they need to do and need to hit these targets.
But as they're doing it and the amount of investments they are making, my hopes are not very high, to be honest, that they will get there in just who are in 2026 now.
So just four year time where they're able to do that.
I mean, I wish them good luck.
But I think the amount of investment needed is a lot more than what they are committing.
But there is no doubt that it signifies the importance in context of the German economy that they need to do more and they need to make progress on the AI and high-tech fronts.
The roadmap proposes reducing bureaucratic hurdles and supporting startups.
So what are the biggest obstacles facing German tech startups today?
I mean, one of the hurdles in Germany has been the excessive bureaucracy, paperwork and the regulatory hurdles.
So I think they need to overcome that.
That is the one thing.
The second thing is the legacy.
Germany, as I said before, has not been investing a lot in its economy, in its infrastructure.
All sort of areas has been lacking in the last few years.
It didn't invest over the years when it has opportunity and when it was very much needed to invest at that time.
China, us they've been investing in these areas, specifically ai and high-tech areas.
Now they are lagging behind as a fact, so they need to catch up, and that that itself is a hurdle and a problem.
The second issue is not only the physical AI infrastructure, but also the talent.
So there is a shortage of high-skilled tech talent in Germany.
If they want to be at par with China and the US, then they do lack a high-skilled tech talent.
However, if we look at china, if we look at us, they've been investing in upskilling of their labor force and having the high-skilled workers, so that is also a big hurdle in germany and there's also, to some extent, there is a culture of risk aversion among the German enterprises, which also need to be changed.
And I think that is a hurdle when it comes to tech startups, and that hurdle could be overcome by the government intervention.
And again, in case of China, the government being very supportive to the tech industry and also to AI sector.
However, in the case of China, we didn't see that support in the past.
And that is now also a hurdle.
Amid Europe's growing focus on de-risking and tighter technology restrictions on China, how much room is still left for meaningful China and Germany technological cooperation?
There's a lot of room and all the priority areas which have been identified in this new agenda which has been put out, including AI, quantum technologies microelectronics, biotechnology and fusion, or climate change and energy generation.
Now that has been a big problem for the German economy.
In all these areas there is room to cooperate with China.
But I think that mentality of de-risking or decoupling it started with decoupling.
Then they say well, they can't do, that's not a good thing to do.
Then They change it to de-risking.
I think that's not very helpful.
The best thing is to cooperate with China, work together, learn from each other, take advantage of the Chinese development.
Let the Chinese investment come to Germany and similarly invest in the Chinese AI ecosystem.
So cooperation is very much needed.
So I think we'll have to put that ideology and ideas of de-risking and decoupling behind.
If Germany and other countries they want to move forward, they will have to really work together with all the countries, including China.
Europe has often criticized China for using industrial policy and state support to strengthen strategic sectors.
So is Germany now in effect adopting a similar approach through subsidies and targeted support for its own industries.
The industrial policy has been a taboo.
It's been a bad word, which I mean, it isn't really.
And Germany and the EU I mean EU itself has a common industrial policy, policy and trade policy and they have a lot of protection list measures which they have taken over the years.
So when they do it, it's fine.
When the other countries do it, It's protectionism, it's industrial policy, and it's a bad thing.
So yeah, that is that.
And if they want to do it, okay, well, that is fine.
But don't blame other countries.
If another country support their tech sector, their industry, their research and innovation the government supports that, then there's nothing bad about that.
So if China and US India, whichever country you name it, if they support their industry or their high-tech sector, which brings innovation which is good for the whole world,
OK, if there's any innovation or new breakthrough, the whole world benefits from that.
So they should not think that way.
So if they are using this policy or they have a new agenda to support their industry OK, that's good.
But the best thing would be to work with other countries, learn with them, exchange knowledge with them.
And as I said, China has made significant progress.
So I think it is better to keep the politics out of it and work with China and other countries.
And I'm sure all these areas, including, for instance, energy.
Energy has been a big problem for Germany in the recent years, specifically in the context of Russia and Ukraine conflict.
And China can, of course, help them in this area.
China has made a lot of progress in the clean energy.
And yeah, that is only possible through cooperation.
That was Mohammed Ali Nasir, professor of economics at the University of Leeds, talking with my colleague Lan Qingxuan on Germany's newly reviewed high-tech agenda.
That's all the time for this edition of World Today.
I'm Ge'anna in Beijing.
Thank you so much for listening.
Bye for now.
