Editor's Note:

In August 2019, in a reply letter to residents of Xiadang Township in Ningde, East China's Fujian Province, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed delight over local villagers being lifted out of poverty and living a better life. After 30 years of unremitting struggle by the people, Xiadang has become a place that is easily accessible by road with a brand new image, while local residents have a stronger sense of happiness and fulfillment, Xi said, "which vividly proves the old adage that weak birds take flight early, and constant dropping wears away a stone."

Early in 1990, Xi wrote an article titled "Water droplets drilling through rock," using this natural landscape as a metaphor for the process of poverty alleviation in economically backward areas. The article was included in the book Up and Out of Poverty, a compilation of Xi's major works from September 1988 to May 1990 when he was the Party chief of Ningde. The book, along with Eradicating Poverty, a book of excerpts from discourses on poverty alleviation by Xi, have been published in different languages to provide reference points for other countries to shake off poverty.

In light of this, the Global Times is launching the series "constant dropping wears away a stone," to share compelling poverty alleviation stories. In this first installment, we focus on three cases demonstrating how small industries bring big happiness.
In the bustling alleys of Liuzhou, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the aroma of snail rice noodles, or Luosifen, wafts through the air, drawing locals and visitors alike into the myriad of shops that line the narrow streets. The dish of rice noodles boiled with pickled bamboo shoots, dried turnip, fresh vegetables, and peanuts in spiced river snail soup - a little stinky but flavorful - has surged in popularity across China and beyond, becoming a culinary emblem of Liuzhou and a symbol of China's gastronomic culture in the world.

This bowl of Luosifen embodies how over a hundred impoverished villages in Liuzhou triumphed in the battle against poverty before 2020, transforming the city into the vibrant hub it is today, while elevating a local delicacy into a global stage.

In the heart of Liuzhou, the local community has harnessed the potential of snail rice noodles to fill farmers' pockets, forge new pathways out of poverty, and drive industrial development. As the demand for this delicacy skyrocketed, the agricultural sectors supplying its ingredients flourished, becoming a vital engine for revitalizing both the local economy and rural communities.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited machinery manufacturer Guangxi Liugong Group Co., Ltd., and a food-processing zone for local specialty Luosifen rice noodles on April 26, 2021. He learned about the reform and innovation of enterprises, and the development of the manufacturing industry and distinctive local businesses, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Noting that developing signature industries is a practical measure to boost the real economy, Xi called for more support for private enterprises to help them grow. The snack industry is just a part of China's rural industries, which range from planting and breeding to agricultural product processing and tourism, according to Xinhua.

This dish, once a simple street food, has become a key to industrial advancement and a beacon of hope for poverty alleviation. Farmers now enjoy stable incomes and local job opportunities, while businesses export high-quality, distinctive products overseas. Young entrepreneurs are returning to their hometowns to realize their dreams of success.

Now, under Xi's encouragement, the aspirations of the local community are creating a tapestry of prosperity woven with the threads of snail rice noodles.
A bite of China

To promote Liuzhou's culinary culture and stimulate related consumption, in 2010, Liuzhou launched initiatives to promote Luosifen beyond its local area, and in 2012, Luosifen gained fame through the hit documentary "A Bite of China." Since then, Liuzhou Luosifen has continued to gain popularity, giving rise to a pre-packaged Luosifen market.

In 2014, the first packaged snail noodles were introduced to the market. This local delicacy, once challenging to preserve and transport, began its journey to national prominence.

Today, packaged snail noodles are exported to over 30 countries and regions. Each bowl of snail noodles has generated more than 300,000 jobs, lifted 5,500 impoverished households and 28,000 individuals out of poverty, and stimulated the development of hundreds of thousands of acres of raw material bases, including rice, bamboo shoots, green beans, and black fungus. This has fostered an industrial chain encompassing agriculture, food processing, and e-commerce, Lu Shichang, director of the Snail Noodle Industry Development Center in Liuzhou, told the Global Times.

Although smells stinky, Luosifen has become a favorite for many due to its sour and spicy flavors, as well as the naturally fermented sour bamboo shoots found in the region's caves, which maintain a constant temperature and humidity throughout the year.

On January 9, Liuzhou celebrated the 10th anniversary of the industrialization of its snail noodles. Preliminary forecasts indicated that in 2024, the total sales revenue of the entire snail noodle industry chain in Liuzhou could reach 75.96 billion yuan ($10.39 billion), according to a press release from the local government.

The rise of the snail noodle industry and its international reach vividly illustrate a distinctive path out of poverty.

In 2017, Leitang village in Liucheng county, Liuzhou, was still grappling with poverty.

Entrepreneur Yao Hanlin, a local District People's Congress deputy, conducted thorough research in the area, and he contemplated a way to help local people escape poverty.

"Why not begin with the raw materials for Luosifen and leverage them to boost rural economic development, tackling the issue of industrial underdevelopment in impoverished areas right from the source?" Yao decided to sign a contract with an integrated cooperative that supports households to develop a 600-acre planting base for large-scale and standardized planting of green beans, the "soul" ingredient of snail noodles, and ensuring a guaranteed purchase to increase farmers' income and alleviating their concerns about unsold produce.

Additionally, farmers received industry subsidies from the local government for cultivating green beans. A successful model of cooperation among cooperatives, enterprises, and farmers was then founded and expanded to wider regions.

Farmers selling green beans to the company on pre-packaged Luosifen saw their annual income increase by over 10,000 yuan per household. In just two years, most villagers in Leitang had successfully escaped poverty. Beyond the financial benefits, the villagers take pride in knowing that their sour green beans have traveled across oceans alongside the snail noodles. Many villagers also found employment right in their own communities, said Yao.

Yao still vividly remembers the moment President Xi visited and his inspiring words.

"Everyone could feel his high regard for the development of local specialty industries and rural revitalization efforts. His words deeply moved us and strengthened our resolve to use the snail noodle industry to help more people achieve prosperity," Yao told the Global Times.

The "spillover effect" of the Luosifen industry has also brought significant benefits to the ethnic minority communities in the Miao and Dong villages of Guangxi, a region known for its rich cultural diversity.

"Both rice farming and snail raising are lucrative ventures, and with government subsidies, we feel more confident about our path to prosperity," shared Wei Yaoke, a villager from a minority ethnic group who has successfully lifted himself out of poverty in 2019.

"In recent years, whenever people mention Liuzhou, they immediately think of snail rice noodles. Many have traveled to Liuzhou specifically for a bowl of noodles, which is a remarkable achievement for the city," remarked Yao. "A simple bowl of noodles has not only revitalized a city, but also enriched the lives of its people."

A bowl of Liuzhou snail noodles weaves together the threads of rural prosperity, Lu told the Global Times.

As President Xi has said that the revitalization of industries is the top priority of rural revitalization, years of exploration have proven that activating the internal motivation for poverty alleviation hinges on developing strong industries. Without industry, there is no stable economic foundation for true poverty alleviation. In China's poverty alleviation practices, industrial development has become one of the most dynamic models, Lu emphasized.
Entrepreneurs bring fresh innovations

The booming Luosifen industry has drawn many young entrepreneurs back home, leveraging e-commerce benefits and new technologies to showcase their "hometown flavors" on the global stage.

Mo Qinji, a millennial born in Liuzhou, became a technician in a manufacturing company in South China's Guangzhou after graduation. During his years away, a bowl of Luosifen became a nostalgic link to home, inspiring him to merge his expertise with local delicacies.

Five years later, he decided to quit the job and returned to hometown in November 2012 to start a business in manufacturing and selling Luosifen, seizing the opportunity in the new e-commerce landscape. The surge in online Luosifen sales prompted him to continuously improve production lines and supply chains. Mo's factory operates a fully automated packaging line, researched and developed by his team over a year.

Mo stressed that the achievements of local poverty alleviation are the result of collective efforts and coordinated strength.

"In the past, farmers often grew crops based on high market prices, only to see prices drop once the crops were overly harvested, leading to increased poverty and reluctance to plant. However, products like Luosifen integrate various agricultural ingredients, providing a stable industry that prevents crops from going to waste," Mo explained to the Global Times. "For instance, if green beans are harvested and the market price is high, say 2.5 yuan per kilogram, farmers can sell them to wholesale markets or buyers to secure better income. However, if market prices decline, they can sell their beans to Luosifen processing factories for pickling, or even pickle them independently to generate profits from initial processing. This serves as a sort of insurance mechanism for local farmers."

Mo said that an increasing number of young people in the local area are gradually shifting from being beneficiaries of poverty alleviation in rural areas to becoming emerging forces in rural revitalization.

Mo reminisced about how, after returning to Liuzhou from work in Guangzhou, he would eagerly rush to the nearest stall, savoring every bite of his favorite dish and wishing he could take some home. Now, he has turned that dream into reality. The ambitions of merchants like Mo to elevate Liuzhou's Luosifen from humble street carts to global acclaim align perfectly with China's commitment to poverty alleviation and rural revitalization.

In Mo's factory, hundreds of workers bustle about. The busy assembly line is leading them toward a better future - one that belongs to both the company and the whole industry, and perhaps serves as a model for the future of many more rural areas in China.

South China's Hainan Province will start survey work on 32 uninhabited islands and their surrounding waters that have potential for development in 2025, as part of the effort of the tropical island's local government to promote fine management of the sea areas and islands.

In 2025, Hainan will complete the coastline survey of islands in Hainan Province, establish a directory and coastline database of these uninhabited islands and advance the delineation of protection zones for the base points of the territorial sea of the Beibu Gulf, according to the annual work plan released by the Department of Natural Resources and Planning of Hainan Province.

The work plan said that market-based rules for the transfer of uninhabited islands will be established to enhance the resource allocation of uninhabited islands and maximize the ecological and economic value of these islands.

The Department of Natural Resources and Planning of Hainan Province said that the efficiency of marine and island resource allocation has significantly improved in 2024, with the province adding 174 new projects for sea and island use, covering an area of 54,700 mu. The total amount of usage fees for marine and island resources surpassed 1 billion yuan for the first time, said the department.

The department vowed to provide a more efficient support for maritime resource allocation for the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port in 2025 by promoting the utilization of sea resources shifting from low-efficiency to high-efficiency development.

China vows to cooperate with Myanmar, Thailand, and other neighboring countries and implement a series of targeted measures to eliminate the scourge of telecom fraud and online gambling, the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar announced in a statement late Sunday night.

On Friday, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Ma Jia and the visiting Assistant Minister of Public Security Liu Zhongyi met with Myanmar's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, U Than Swe, and Minister of Home Affairs, Tun Tun Naung, according to the Chinese Embassy.

Both sides had in-depth exchange of views on enhancing China-Myanmar law enforcement and security cooperation, and on jointly tackling cross-border crimes such as telecom fraud and human trafficking, according to the statement. 

The Chinese side commended Myanmar's determination and efforts in ensuring the safety of Chinese citizens. 

It emphasized that online gambling and telecom fraud endanger public safety and financial security. China is willing to actively engage in bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Myanmar, Thailand, and other neighboring countries, by implementing measures that target both the immediate threats and underlying causes of these crimes. 

The aim is to collaborate in curbing cross-border criminal activities and to eradicate the "tumor" of online gambling and telecom fraud, thereby ensuring stability and order in regional cooperation and exchanges.

The Myanmar side outlined recent actions undertaken by the Myanmar government to combat online gambling and telecom fraud. 

It reiterated its firm resolve to clamp down on these illicit activities and expressed its willingness to enhance coordination with China and other neighboring countries. Myanmar also suggested initiating talks on setting up a regularized cooperation framework to jointly combat cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud.

Some of China's top aviation equipment, including the FC-31 stealth fighter jet, the J-10CE fighter jet and the Taihang turbofan engine, are on display at an ongoing defense expo in the UAE, with a Chinese expert seeing good export potential in the Middle Eastern market. 

Representing the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) showcased a diverse range of aviation equipment, including fighter jets, drones, transport aircraft, helicopters, trainer aircraft, anti-drone equipment and aero engines at the 17th International Defense Exhibition and Conference, which kicked off on Monday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, AVIC said on its official Weibo account on Tuesday.

Among the products are the FC-31 fighter jet, the J-10CE fighter jet, the Y-20 transport aircraft, the Y-9E transport aircraft and the L15 advanced trainer aircraft, AVIC said.

Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Tuesday that China is displaying both its fourth- and fifth-generation fighter jets at the expo, allowing countries in the region access to the cutting-edge aviation technology at the same event.

The US and European countries have been traditional suppliers of aviation equipment in the Middle East, but amid shifting geopolitical dynamics, things are changing, Wang said. He noted that, for example, regional countries might be unable to obtain the US' fifth-generation fighter jet like the F-35 because of complicated country-to-country relations in the region as well as the US' security interests. Many countries might also be worried about the reliability of Western equipment as well after some recent incidents.

China's fourth-generation J-10 series fighter jet has been widely deployed domestically, and the J-10CE variant has already been exported. The fifth-generation J-35 stealth fighter jet, which shares origins with the FC-31, has also been commissioned in China, according to Wang. 

Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC), another Chinese aviation industry firm, said in a WeChat post on Monday that it for the first time brought top products including the Taihang engine and the AES100 engine to the expo.

Taihang is a high thrust turbofan engine independently developed by China that has been commissioned in numbers and has been successfully exported. This type of engine has reached the advanced level of international products of the same generation, featuring fuel efficiency during cruise, strong combat power in aerial engagements, and low maintenance workload, AECC said.

Leading Chinese defense companies are also participating in the event, which will run until Friday, to exhibit a range of naval equipment, including surface vessels, submarines, underwater weapons and unmanned systems, as well as products from other defense sectors such as land, air and space, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted Tainan City of China's Taiwan, at 12:17 a.m. Tuesday (Beijing Time), according to China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The epicenter, with a depth of 14 km, was monitored at 23.24 degrees north latitude and 120.51 degrees east longitude, the CENC said.

Tremors were felt in Taipei, lasting for over 10 seconds, and several aftershocks occurred after the quake.

According to local media reports, two people are being rescued after a house collapsed in Tainan.

US Forces Korea denied reports spread by online media outlet Sky Daily claiming that 99 Chinese spies were captured by US forces and sent to Japan when martial law was invoked, stating that such allegations are "entirely false," South Korea media reported.

In a public statement released Monday, the US Forces Korea stated, "The depiction of US Forces and the allegations in the mentioned ROK media article are entirely false," according to South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh.

The statement continued, "US Forces Korea remains committed to [its] mission of maintaining stability and security on the Korean Peninsula in accordance with the US-ROK Mutual Defense Treaty. We urge responsible reporting and fact-checking to prevent the spread of misinformation that could harm public trust."

The media article refers to a Sky Daily article published on Thursday titled "99 Chinese Spies Working at the National Election Commission Transported to Japan." The outlet wrote, "On Dec. 3, 2024, South Korean martial law troops, in a joint operation with US Forces Korea, raided the National Election Commission (NEC) and arrested 99 Chinese nationals, who were then deported to the US Army base in Okinawa via the port of Pyeongtaek-Dangjin."

The South Korean National Election Commission on Friday denied the report in a public statement, as did the National Office of Investigation, the police body that is currently involved in the joint probe into South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, according to Korean Herald.

On December 12, 2024, addressing to the nation, Yoon mentioned the cases of Chinese nationals threatening the South Korea's national security. He also said that China's solar facilities will destroy forests across the country.

In response, Mao Ning, spokesperson from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the same day that "We are surprised by those comments and find them deeply upsetting. We will not comment on the ROK's domestic affairs, but we absolutely oppose the ROK side associating its domestic affairs with Chinese elements, amplifying unfounded 'Chinese spy' accusations and throwing mud at normal economic and trade cooperation. None of these are conducive to a healthy and steady China-ROK relationship."

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Thursday inspected Shenyang, capital city of northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Xi made the trip shortly before the Spring Festival, the most important holiday for the Chinese people, which falls on Jan. 29 this year.

Xi visited a food market and a residential community in Shenyang, where he learned about the supply of goods during the holiday season and measures in place to meet residents' daily needs and optimize public services, as well as details of progress made in improving people's life.

For more than a decade, Xi, as the Party and the state's top leader, has made it a tradition to spend time with ordinary people ahead of the Spring Festival.

China has detected a gamma-ray burst, designated as EP240315a, that originated approximately 12.5 billion light years away using its Einstein Probe (EP) astronomical satellite, also known as the Tianguan satellite, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday. This is the first instance of humanity detecting soft X-ray signals from an early universe explosion, opening a new window for research into the young cosmos.

The relevant research paper has been published online in the international academic journal Nature Astronomy on Thursday, Xinhua said.

There are numerous violent explosive events in the universe. Such events occur randomly and vanish swiftly, resembling fleeting cosmic "fireworks." Observing these cosmic "fireworks" is of great significance for researching frontier issues in fields such as black holes, gravitational waves, and cosmic evolution, the report said. 

"Gamma-ray bursts rank among the universe's most violent explosions, usually generated by the explosion of massive stars," said Liu Yuan, a research fellow at the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). On March 15, 2024, the EP satellite first captured the weak pulse signal of EP240315a in the soft X-ray band. The brightness of EP240315a fluctuated rapidly and gradually disappeared after more than 17 minutes.

Subsequently, multiple astronomical telescopes around the world observed EP240315a in succession. The research results show that it originated in the distant early universe. At the time, the universe was just 10 percent of its current age, and it took 12.5 billion years for the signal of EP240315a to reach the Earth, read the Xinhua report. 

"Compared with other gamma-ray bursts, EP240315a stands out as unique," commented Wu Xuefeng, one of the corresponding authors of the paper and a research fellow at the Purple Mountain Observatory of CAS. For example, the X-ray brightness of EP240315a is relatively dim at the peak of the burst, and the time gap between X-rays and gamma-rays for EP240315a is significantly longer than other bursts. These characteristics will prompt the scientific community to re-examine the generation mechanism of gamma-ray bursts, Wu said.

Many experts at home and abroad said that the observation results of EP240315a by the EP satellite have deepened humanity's understanding of early universe gamma-ray bursts, offer fresh insights into the origins and evolution of the universe, Xinhua reported.

The EP mission is one of a series of space science missions led by CAS. This is an international collaboration effort, featuring contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA), the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Germany, and the French space agency CNES.

Launched into space in January 2024, the satellite has achieved several initial discoveries, such as an uncommon transient phenomenon, advancing understanding of the universe and extreme physical phenomena, Xinhua reported.

It aims to help scientists detect the first light from supernova explosions, search for and pinpoint X-ray signals accompanying gravitational wave events, while identifying dormant black holes and other faint, transient celestial objects.

Chinese actor Wang Xing human trafficking incident in Thailand has dampened the enthusiasm of some Chinese tourists for travel to Thailand, with a few even canceling scheduled trips to the country at a high cost. While it is understandable that some travelers now hesitate to travel to Thailand, some frequent visitors to the country hoped that Thai authorities will make tangible steps to crack down on traffickers, helping tourists to ease their worries.

Wu Zhiwu, Deputy Chief of Mission at Chinese Embassy in Thailand, met with Thailand's Senior Inspector General, Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, on Sunday. Thatchai briefed Wu on the recent efforts by Thai police in case involving missing Chinese national and reaffirmed Thailand's commitment to further strengthening the prevention and crackdown on transnational crimes. Wu spoke positively of Thailand's determination and efforts in ensuring the safety of Chinese nationals, according to a release of the Chinese Embassy on Sunday. 

Both sides conducted in-depth discussions on enhancing cooperation to jointly combat transnational crimes, including telecom fraud and human trafficking, read the release.

Chinese tourist numbers might fall by 10 to 20 percent during the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays due to safety concerns among travelers, after Wang Xing the Chinese actor recently fell victim to a human trafficking gang using Thailand as a gateway, according to the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta), Thai media outlet the Bangkok Post reported.

The owner of a travel agency in Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, surnamed Cao, told the Global Times that more than 50 percent of her clients had canceled their bookings to Thailand after Chinese actor Wang Xing went missing near the Thai-Myanmar border.

A woman surnamed Fu told the reporter from the Global Times that she had planned to take her parents on a trip to Bangkok and Phuket during the Spring Festival holidays, but her parents became reluctant to travel to Thailand after they heard about Wang Xing's incident. Fu had already booked flights and hotels for the whole trip, but now she could only cancel the trip and swallow the loss of 10,000 yuan ($1,364).

Another netizen, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times that she had planned to visit Chiang Mai, but since the city is quite close to Myanmar and with safety concerns, she also canceled her planned trip, preferring to visit after Thailand becomes safer.

Some online travel agencies said they have also been affected by the alleged recent trafficking case, with the owner of an agency running Thai diving projects told the Global Times that about five percent of customers had temporarily canceled their orders. However, other agencies that customize travel itineraries for tourists said that order sales had experienced very limited impacts.

Travel agencies providing travel services to Thailand noted that regular group tours are safe as long as visitors avoid going to the border area or stay out late at night.

Wu Yuan, a frequent traveler to Thailand, told the Global Times that her previous experiences visiting Thailand are unforgettable, adding that she hopes that Thai authorities will make tangible steps to crack down on traffickers, helping tourists to ease their worries.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) released a statement on Friday saying that Thailand attaches great importance to the safety of tourists and will make its best efforts to provide Chinese tourists with a quality travel experience. The TAT will work closely with relevant authorities, including government agencies and private companies, in a joint effort to facilitate and protect the safety of all tourists traveling to Thailand, according to the statement.

The priority for traveling is safety, it is understandable that some travelers are now holding a wait-and-see attitude toward travel to Thailand, Gu Xiaosong, dean of the ASEAN Research Institute of Hainan Tropical Ocean University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Xi extends congratulations to Lebanon's new president