QQ users log into real world for adventure

Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, the largest global gaming provider by revenue and the operator of QQ, an instant messaging software service, has initiated a series of scientific exploration events aimed at encourage young people to explore the outside world, instead of being constantly absorbed online.

Multimodal freight train heading for Moscow

China COSCO Shipping Corp Ltd's first China-Russia multimodal transportation service kicked off on Friday from Tianjin, headed for Moscow with 46 containers measuring 40 feet (1,220 cm) long.

Modi should not create another setback for ties

After China and India defused the two-month long border standoff between their troops last year, both Beijing and New Dehli expressed their aspirations for smoother and more stable ties.

UK's focus ought to be EU

According to British media reports, the United Kingdom has held informal discussions with some of the members of the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership to explore the possibility of joining the group to boost its exports after it leaves the European Union.

Law needs to prevent tech giants from taking liberties with users

ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT, the leading domestic mobile payment service provider, Alipay released to users their annual billing records, yet a sentence in smaller font, which authorizes it to analyze users' data for other use, was found in its electronic agreement with the default choice being "I agree". China E-Commerce Research Center, a Hangzhou-based independent think tank, comments:

Even one bad apple can spoil tourist spots

AFTER A WRITER complained about a guesthouse in Shuangfeng Forest Farm in Hailin, Heilongjiang province, the local tourism bureau swiftly carried out an investigation and fined the owner of the guesthouse 59,000 yuan ($9,069) for fleecing tourists by charging exorbitant prices for rooms, services and food. Shenzhen News commented on Thursday:

These winter blue days must not be taken for granted

SO FAR THIS WINTER, the masks that used to be a common sight at this time of year have been less evident as the number of days with blue skies in Beijing and its surrounding regions has been much higher than in the recent past. China Youth Daily comments:

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Time to forget nuclear buttons at desks

Following almost a year of a war of words between Washington and Pyongyang, US President Donald Trump and Democratic People's Republic of Korea's leader Kim Jong-un are threatening each other with the nuclear buttons at their desks at the onset of the new year, which doesn't seem to augur well for 2018.

Are women-only parking lots gender biased?

Editor's note: During the New Year holiday, a photo of a women-only parking lot with larger space and a logo of a high-heeled shoe at a highway service station in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, went viral online, sparking a debate on whether such facilities are discriminatory toward women. A transportation expert and a writer with China Daily share their views on the issue:

China, EU lead fight against emissions

Countries around the world are applauding China's emissions trading system (ETS) development plan, which demonstrates the country's resolve to put its commitments under the 2015 Paris climate agreement into practice, through policies and measures that will reduce emissions.

US moves threaten to foil Sino-US trade ties

There were a lot of uncertainties a year ago over China-US trade and investment ties given what Donald Trump had said during his presidential campaign, in particular his claim that he would impose 45 percent punitive tariffs on imports from China and name China a currency manipulator.