Improving people's livelihoods a priority

China's consumer price index, a measurement of inflation, increased 1.6 percent in 2017 compared with 2 percent in 2016, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. This means the 2017 Government Work Report's target of keeping the CPI rise below 3 percent has been achieved. On the other hand, the producer price index, which measures changes in wholesale prices, increased 6.3 percent in 2017, ending the five-year declining trend.

Firms must respect China's core interests

Respecting China's core interests is the bottom line for companies operating in the country. That is why it is hard to understand why a global hotel chain such as Marriott listed Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and Taiwan and Tibet as "separate countries" in a recent questionnaire emailed to its customers.

US suspension of Pakistan aid not good for 'war on terror'

The United States' decision to suspend security assistance to Pakistan has dealt a heavy blow to the already deteriorating relationship between Washington and Islamabad. It will also cast a shadow on US efforts to combat terrorism in Afghanistan, as Pakistan plays a pivotal role in the anti-terrorism campaign in the region.

Vancouver Group sows discord with its strong-arm approach

The so-called Vancouver Group, formed by more than a dozen countries that fought in the Korean War, claims the lofty goal of "strengthening diplomatic efforts toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula". But the foreign ministers meeting Canada and the United States are co-hosting is anything but conducive to advancing that claimed goal.

Biased scrutiny of China's engagement with Africa

No matter how many roads, schools and hospitals it has built on the continent, and how much it has contributed to African economies, in the eyes of some people in the West, China can never do anything right in Africa.

Taobao becomes a captured pawn in US' game of trade protectionism

TWENTY-FIVE ONLINE MARKETPLACES in a variety of countries, including Taobao, the e-commerce platform of China's Ablibaba Group, were included in the latest US Trade Representative's "notorious markets" review for selling fakes. Yanzhao Metropolis Daily commented on Monday:

App shows knowledge economy can prosper

A KIND OF NEW SMARTPHONE LIVESTREAMING APP, in which the user wins a small monetary reward by answering 12 multiple-choice questions correctly within a set time limit, has suddenly gained popularity, with hundreds of millions of participants joining in the quizzes. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

Public too eager to play the role of judge and jury

WHILE SEEKING public opinions on some middle-school employees in its jurisdiction, whom it is recommending for the title of senior-level teachers, Minhang district education bureau in Shanghai received reports from the public that one of the candidates attacked a doctor during a medical dispute in Shanghai in 2015. Yanzhao Metropolis Daily commented on Monday:

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'Sharp power': West gets it wrong

A new report, "Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence", published by the US International Forum for Democratic Studies has drawn global attention. Using sharp power, "which is not hard in the openly coercive sense, but not really soft either", the report says, "China and Russia have invested significant resources in media, academic, cultural, and think tank initiatives designed to shape public opinion and perceptions around the world."

Call for specific law on sexual harassment

Editor's note: Chen Xiaowu, a professor at Beihang University, was disqualified as a teacher on Friday after investigations revealed he had sexually harassed some of his students. Two experts share their views on the issue with China Daily's Yao Yuxin. Excerpt follows:

EU needs to do good homework to attract more Chinese visitors

China and the European Union are scheduled to launch the "Year of Tourism" in Venice this week in a bid to further accelerate the two-way flow of travelers and boost their respective tourism sectors.