Gridlock in smaller cities is a sign of progress, and problems

MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT statistics indicate that traffic congestion in third-and fourth-tier cities has worsened markedly in the first quarter of the year, while the first-and second-tier cities' traffic conditions have improved since last year. Beijing News comments:

Digital reading does not need to be superficial

MORE THAN HALF OF THE PEOPLE SURVEYED said they prefer digital reading to reading books, according to a survey report published by the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication last week before the 23rd World Book Day. China Youth Daily comments:

Poor sense of risk led to dragon boat tragedy in Guilin

SEVENTEEN PEOPLE in Guilin in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region drowned after two dragon boats capsized. Beijing News comments:

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Diaz-Canel will infuse vigor into ties

Cuba witnessed a historic transition of power on Thursday with outgoing president Raul Castro handing over presidency to the first vice-president, Miguel Diaz-Canel. Cuba has got its first leader born after the Cuban Revolution in 1959.

China and India see upswing in relations

High-level visits between India and China have never seen such a scale and speed. On Tuesday, India's ministers for external affairs and defense Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman will respectively attend the foreign ministers' and defense ministers' meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Beijing.

US attack on Syria based on flimsy grounds

Alleging that the Bashar al-Assad government used chemical weapons in Douma, eastern Ghouta, the US, Britain and France fired nearly 100 cruise missiles on Syria on April 14, further ravaging the already battered country and its people.

Media games won't hurt Belt and Road planned projects

Last week, a sensational headline, "EU ambassadors band together against Silk Road", appeared on Handelsblatt Global, the digital edition of the German business newspaper Handelsblatt, saying 27 of the 28 ambassadors of European Union member states to Beijing have sharply criticized China's "Silk Road" projects. The ambassador from Hungary was reportedly an exception.

DPRK's decision must not be lightly dismissed

The surprise announcement that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is suspending its nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles tests is an auspicious prelude to leader Kim Jong-un's upcoming summit with Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in, and his planned talks with United States President Donald Trump.

Positive internet power

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed the need for the country to grasp the historic opportunity of the information revolution and step up its efforts to be an internet power at a national conference on the work of cybersecurity and informatization held from Friday to Saturday in Beijing.

Appropriate response required to advance peninsula peace

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea said on Saturday that it has suspended nuclear and long-range missile tests and plans to close its northern nuclear test site. According to its official Korean Central News Agency it has vowed to actively engage with the international community to secure peace on the Korean Peninsula and create an optimal environment to improve its economy. Three experts from Jilin University shared their views on the DPRK's announcement with China Daily's Pan Yixuan.

Right remedy for the maladies of IPR protection

IN AN INTERVIEW with the media, the Supreme People's Court said it is making efforts to expedite the construction of a national appeals court for intellectual property rights cases. Beijing News comments: