Wily Washington ropes EU into its ruses

To those who live on a steady diet of Hollywood bubble gum and who are gullible enough to believe everything they read or hear about evil regimes intent on taking over the world, it must seem like Brussels is the new Berlin - a hotbed of intrigue and espionage.

Enthusiasm for volunteering must be sustained and effectively harnessed

THERE WERE MORE THAN 12,000 VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS with over 100 million registered volunteers nationwide at the end of last year, according to statistics newly released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Beijing News comments:

Portraits of village life do not paint the whole picture

Editor's note: That some return-home-during-the-holiday posts depicting the backwardness of life in the countryside have been widely circulated on social media during Spring Festival last week shows a lack of understanding of rural life, said Chen Xiwen, chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, in a recent interview with Outlook Weekly, a news magazine run by Xinhua News Agency. Excerpts:

Bad mistake by Ankara not to fact-check claims

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy seemed to be telling tales from the Arabian Nights when he accused China of "serious human rights violations" in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. In a statement on Saturday, he particularly tried to demonize China's counter-terrorism efforts in the region, calling the education facilities the government has set up there "internment camps and prisons" that are used for the purpose of "systematic assimilation".

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Kim eager to take nuclear talks forward

Both the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are busy preparing for a second summit to be held between their leaders at the end of this month.

Choice between Chinese and Western values

Editor's Note: China's first big-budget science fiction thriller The Wandering Earth, is based on a novel of the same name by Hugo Award winner Liu Cixin. It was released during the Spring Festival holiday and has become the biggest box office grosser this year, earning more than 2 billion yuan (about $297 million) as of Sunday. Two experts share their views on the Chinese sci-fi movie and the differences between Chinese and Western social and political values with China Daily's Yao Yuxin. Excerpts follow:

Right attitude to talks has been fruitful so far

China and the United States will hold a new round of high-level talks this week in their latest attempt to bridge their differences on economic and trade policies. Preparatory lower-level talks begin on Monday before the principal talks led by Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday and Friday.

Here's hoping Trump-Kim summit can deliver the goods

It has been confirmed a second summit between United States President Donald Trump and Democratic People's Republic of Korea top leader Kim Jong-un will take place on Feb 27-28 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Bigger European picture prompts France and Italy to end their spat

FOR THE FIRST TIME since the end of World War II, on Thursday, France recalled its ambassador to Italy after Luigi Di Maio, Italy's deputy prime minister and leader of the populist Five Star Movement, met with French yellow vest protesters. Beijing News comments:

State of the Union appeals for unity laid bare divisions

Editor's note: Apart from highlighting his administration's achievement at home and abroad, US President Donald Trump called for Republicans and Democrats to work together in his State of the Union address in Washington on Tuesday. Diao Daming, a researcher of international relations at the Beijing-based Renmin University of China, said in a comment for Beijing News:

Eye candy popular plot sweetener

THE WANDERING EARTH, a Chinese science fiction film, has reaped 1.6 billion yuan ($237 million) at the box office since it premiered on Tuesday. China Daily reporter Li Yang comments: