Tillerson's trip will not harm China's relations with Africa

Ahead of his first official visit to Sub-Saharan Africa, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson confessed that the continent's rapid economic growth and fast-rising population mean the United States views Africa's future as "increasingly linked" to its own.

New retail to be a driver for the upgrading of economic growth

IN THE GOVERNMENT WORK REPORT he delivered to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, on Monday, Premier Li Keqiang stressed consumption's fundamental role in driving economic growth, and urged governments of various levels to promote the development of a new type of consumption featuring "new retail". Southern Metropolis Daily comments:

Revitalization of Northeast key task

THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND REFORM COMMISSION, China's top economic policy planner, said that one of its key tasks is to tailor policies to help revitalize the rust belt region of Northeast China. Guangming Daily comments:

New TPP deal is a blow to US trade protectionism

In an apparent effort to revive the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact after the United States' withdrawal a year ago, the remaining 11 states are expected to sign a revamped trade deal on Thursday. Although the significance of the new deal, rebranded as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, is much diminished now it only represents 13.5 percent of the global GDP, compared with the previous 40 percent with the involvement of the US, the symbolic importance of the CPTPP has been bolstered as countries around the world feel an increasing urgency to cope with the US protectionism as well as the strong backlash that has emerged against globalization.

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Tax reform to improve people's income

In the Government Work Report delivered to the first session of the 13th National People's Congress on Monday, Premier Li Keqiang said China will raise the individual income tax threshold and create expense deductions for items such as children's education and treatment for serious diseases, which are important measures to help improve people's incomes and increase their sense of gain, happiness and security.

Clearing 'last mile' of poverty alleviation

Premier Li Keqiang has said in the Government Work Report that the central government has appropriated more than 280 billion yuan ($44.23 billion) of poverty reduction funds over the past five years.

Tsai blind to fruits of cross-Straits exchanges

Upholding the one-China policy, Beijing will continue to promote peaceful development across the Straits and advance the peaceful national reunification process, said Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council at a "ministers' passage" on March 5 during the ongoing two sessions. China has the confidence and capability to stop any scheme or activity promoting "Taiwan independence", Zhang added.

Unique political system rooted in China's historical and social soil

Two punctuation marks have generally symbolized the world's impression about China in the 21st century: the exclamation mark and the question mark. The first signifies surprise over a developing country with a huge population and economic aggregate faced with complicated situations maintaining long-term stability and achieving unprecedented development to become the world's second-largest economy and a leading promoter of better global governance. And the second represents curiosity over the secret to China's marvelous development, hoping to understand the inherent logic of China's well-functioning economy and society.

History shows it ain't that easy to win a trade war

China is used to bearing the brunt of Washington's beggar-thy-neighbor trade protection measures. But now, as the United States threatens to impose high tariffs on imported steel and aluminum products across the board, all its major trade partners will feel the pain, which would lead to a series of repercussions that will affect the US' own interest, disrupt the global trade order, and ultimately risk derailing the world economy.

Hopes for Korean Peninsula progress should be nourished

The "openhearted talk" between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's top leader Kim Jong-un and envoys for the Republic of Korea's President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang on Monday marks major progress in efforts to defuse the tensions on the Korean Peninsula after more than a year of verbal exchanges between Pyongyang and Washington threatening war.