Scenic salt lake requires better protection

DURING THE PEAK TOURISM SEASON in summer, tourists create as much as 12 tons of solid waste each day in the Chaka Salt Lake scenic area in Wulan county, Northwest China's Qinghai province. Much of the waste is plastic shoe covers that they are instructed to wear while entering the shallows of the lake to protect the ecology. Guangming Daily comments:

Burden of care proves to be too much for some

AN 8-YEAR-OLD GIRL in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, was found dead in a local river in June. When her body was recovered bricks were found in the bag she had on her back. On July 25, the local police said she had been deliberately drowned by her father and grandfather, because she suffered from cerebral palsy and they considered her a burden on the family. Thepaper.cn comments:

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US loans to Africa have strings attached

Ray Washburne, president and CEO of the US development finance institution, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, spoke to Reuters recently. Playing the role of a "savior" of poor nations, he said: "China was overloading poor nations with unsustainable debt through large-scale infrastructure projects that are not economically viable."

Developing nations wary of US, EU moves

Editor's Note: US President Donald Trump said last week that he and European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker have agreed to hold new talks to discuss the possibility of removing trade barriers. This eased concerns over a US-EU trade war but increased fears that the United States and the European Union could join hands to take trade actions against China. Two experts share their views on the issue with China Daily's Pan Yixuan. Excerpts follow:

US probity, not tricks, would convince Iran

With the first round of renewed US sanctions against Iran due to come into effect on Aug 7, Washington-Teheran ties would further deteriorate throwing the Middle East into chaos. In response to US President Donald Trump's statement on Monday saying he would "certainly meet" with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and without preconditions if Rouhani were willing, Iranian officials said on Tuesday that if Trump wants talks, he should rejoin the Iran nuclear deal that he pulled out of in May.

Talks, not threats, would be good for US and Iran

US President Donald Trump just made his ninth offer to meet leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, saying he would meet them "anytime they want", with "no preconditions".

Global debt and dollar risks

Statistics recently published by the Washington-based Institute of International Finance indicate that global debt had reached $247.2 trillion by the end of march, up 11.1 percent from a year earlier.

Report raised more questions than it answered

Editor's Note: On Monday, the Malaysian government released a detailed report on the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in 2014. It concluded that the plane was manually flown rather than being under the control of autopilot, and that "unlawful interference by a third party" could not be ruled out. However, it ruled out the possibility the pilot and first officer brought the plane down in a suicide mission, and also ruled out mechanical failure as a cause. Two experts shared their views with China Daily's Zhang Zhouxiang:

China-UK dialogue a step toward building a brighter era

THE NINTH CHINA-UK STRATEGIC DIALOGUE HELD ON MONDAY speaks volumes about the quality of bilateral relations, and China and the United Kingdom should cherish the "golden era" of bilateral relations, says a commentary by China Global Television Network:

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Belt and Road positive force for Middle East

The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, commonly known as the Belt and Road Initiative, is a grand vision for China's engagement with roughly 70 countries that are home to two-thirds of the world's population. The Belt and Road Initiative, launched in 2013, has taken on a central role in China's foreign and trade policies and has had a positive impact on developing countries, including those in the Middle East.