Study tours have gained popularity in China in recent years as Chinese parents invest more in the well-rounded education of their children. But the industry encountered controversies this year due to reports of overly high cost and disappointing arrangements. Given expanding market and following chaos, more parents and experts are calling for rational choices to avoid being caught up by comparing mentality.

When visiting Tsinghua University on August 1, the Global Times reporter found that dozens of elementary school students dressed in graduation gowns were lining up at the front gate of the university, one of China's most internationally famous universities, to take pictures.

Inside the Tsinghua campus, teenage students were everywhere taking pictures, walking or bicycling among the buildings.

The scene echoed media reports and data from travel platforms, demonstrating that study tour, or educational tour, has become a main part of this summer's tourism market in China.

According to a report from Ctrip, a major Chinese online travel booking platform, orders of parent-child educational products for summer holidays via the platform increased by 70 percent year-on-year. Data from another travel platform Fliggy also showed that, after the summer holiday of Chinese schools kicked off in early July, the search popularity for "educational travel" on the platform has increased by over 60 percent compared to last year.

Historical and cultural cities are the first choice for parent-child educational trips in the summer, with Beijing and Xi'an topping the popularity list. Landmark scenic spots that have appeared in the textbooks of Chinese elementary and middle schools are favored by these groups, according to data from Tongcheng Travel.

Museums, nature and rural areas are also among the most popular destinations, people.cn reported citing Tongcheng Travel.

A notable trend in this year's educational tour market is the tour to some famous Chinese hi-tech companies like new-energy vehicle (NEV) maker NIO and artificial intelligence company iFlytek. Such tours could provide students an opportunity to get a direct and deep sight into companies and the process of scientific research and development, which will not only help popularize science, but inspire these students in career choice, according to experts.

Some parents send their children to educational tours as they need some people to take care of their children while ensuring their safety. "My son can travel with many peers of his age, and at the same time, he can learn something," a mother in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province, told the Global Times.

Others choose education tours as they want their children to get a deeper understanding of their interests. A mother in Shenzhen calling herself Xi Xi told the Global Times that she once sent her son to a dragon boat educational tour and her son learned a lot about the history and culture of dragon boats. "This made me feel that educational tours are really helpful for my children," Xi Xi said.

According Xi Xi, she and her husband used to take their son on their own to go travel, driving to Xizang, walking through deserts and rain forests, in order to widen their son's horizon. But when it comes to knowledge, especially cultural and historical knowledge, she and her husband felt helpless as they did not how to teach their son. This is when they turned to educational tours.

This summer, Xi Xi sent her 8-year-old son to an educational tour to Beijing. According to her, there were professional guides in the tour to explain cultural and historical knowledge during the tour. "They also invite a professor from Peking University to deliver a speech at the opening ceremony of the tour."

The six-day-five-night tour in Beijing cost Xi Xi about 7,000 yuan ($981.8), excluding transportation cost. This package includes a visit to the Universal Beijing Resort. The package excludes the Universal Beijing Resort is 2,000 yuan cheaper.

The price of a standard day ticket to the Universal Beijing Resort is less than 500 yuan. The Global Times found on Tongcheng Travel that a normal six-day-five-night group tour, including visit to the National Museum, the Forbidden City and the Universal Resort, is priced 4,015 yuan.

For Xi Xi, the extra money for her son's educational tour is worth as it did play an educational role. "It is an independent tour. My son also learned how to take care of himself like washing clothes this time. So, overall, it met my expectations," Xi Xi said.

Some parents got disappointed when they found the tour was not as educational as they expected. According to media reports, some educational tours would only take students to the outside of Tsinghua University to take pictures as they, in fact, did not have official cooperation with the university and were not able to take so many students into the campus all at once. Tsinghua requires real-name reservation for entry and only opens 12,000 reservation vacancies per day for the public from July 15 to August 11.

The Global Times learned from some Tsinghua students that some education tour organizers have tried to find Tsinghua students to help them take tour attendants into the campus. Tsinghua students would get punished once being found doing so.

The quality of some so-called professional teachers in educational tours organized by tour agencies are also questionable as media revealed that the certificate for a professional educational tour guide can be bought at about 1,000 yuan.

Chaos arose along with the rapid expansion of the market.

According to media reports, there were more than 29,000 existing educational tour-related enterprises in China in 2023, with 49.4 percent of them established within the past 1 to 5 years. a Report of market consultancy iiMedia Research said that educational tour market has reached 146.9 billion yuan in 2023, and is expected to reach 242.2 billion yuan by 2026.

More and more Chinese schools and other educational bases like museums are also organizing educational campuses as, in December 2016, Chinese authorities issued guidelines to encourage educational tour activities in the county as a bid to promote well-rounded education of Chinese students.

Educational travel itself is a new way of learning, an important component of quality education, and complementary to school learning. It can help students to develop potential in various aspects, Chu Zhaohui, a research fellow at the National Institute of Education Sciences, told the Global Times.

Chu suggests parents choose educational tour based on children's interests rather thanfollowing other parents, avoiding getting trapped by unnecessary anxiety caused by comparing mentality.

"Parents need to choose educational trips that suit children's interests and hobbies, as well as the growth goals you want your children to achieve. After making a choice, parents and children also need to prepare for safety, travel knowledge, and so on. For parents, don't just follow the trend, but consult your children's opinions at first," Chu noted.

Experts also stressed that educational tours should focus on providing high-quality and enriching experiences for participants. This can be achieved through collaboration with reputable institutions and the implementation of strict regulations to ensure the safety and educational value of these tours.

By emphasizing the importance of education and cultural exchange, these tours can have a lasting impact on individuals and contribute to the overall development of society in a long run, they said.

Editor's Note:

The escalation of recent tensions between China and the Philippines raises concerns among neighboring countries in the South China Sea. How will the Philippines' provocations, instigated and supported by the US, affect the situation in the South China Sea in the rest of 2024? Why does ASEAN hope that the situation will be contained?

In the "ASEAN Perspective on the South China Sea" series, we collect wisdom and insights from former diplomats and scholars from ASEAN member countries. In an interview with Global Times (GT) reporter Wang Wenwen, University of Philippines Professor Roland Simbulan (Simbulan) criticized the Philippines' Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the US and argued that the EDCA sites undermine the Philippines' sovereignty and expose the country to potential attacks from America's geopolitical rivals.

The third edition of his book The Bases of Our Insecurity, which was first published in 1983, was launched recently. The book delves into the ramifications of foreign military bases in the Philippines. 

GT: Why are you critical of US military bases in the Philippines?

Simbulan: I've always been critical of foreign military presence in our territory. I feel that it is not the right policy to invite a foreign power to deploy bases and troops in one's territory for external defense because they are far from being able to secure your national security. This actually endangers the country's security and its people as the foreign power putting their troops and bases in your territory has enemies, which will soon become your enemies. 

For example, in the case of the US, especially now in the new era, what are the current enemies of the US which it could possibly go to war against? In addition to China, there is Russia and also North Korea. And the foreign bases in our territory, in fact, would even endanger our security as we would become some kind of a magnet of attack. 

Military-to-military agreements that we have in the Philippines, like the EDCA for example, can only be useful if they are used to strengthen local defense and security forces. We must develop our own capability, maybe with the help of our friends and allies, with whom we have some agreements, either bilateral or multilateral.

But what I'm critical about is the fact that we depend on a foreign power to take care of our external defense. I'm not against having agreements with other countries. What I'd like to see is that these agreements would be able to be used to strengthen our own capability, so that we will have our own modern external defense capability to defend ourselves and not depend on another country, which makes us very vulnerable. It compromises our diplomacy.

Former leaders of Vietnam who led their liberation struggle against the US said that if they only had the capability during the Vietnam War, they would have attacked and struck at the US military bases in the Philippines because they knew that these were being used to bomb their country. The Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Base were actively used as the launching pads and spring boards for American forces to attack Vietnam. It compromised our foreign policy and our relations with Vietnam. We had nothing against the Vietnamese people, but our territory was being used against them. According to these former Vietnamese leaders, they would have hit back if they had the capability then, but at that time they did not.

Now, the situation is different with the enemies of the US which have modern capabilities of striking back if they are attacked.

GT: Several military bases under EDCA are located very close to Taiwan island. The Philippine Ambassador to the US stated in late June that if a conflict breaks out in the Taiwan Straits, Manila may allow the US to use its military bases. How do you evaluate the Philippines' assertive stance on the Taiwan question, and what consequences could it bring to the Philippines?

Simbulan: I don't think the Philippines is in a position to leverage the Taiwan question. But right now, as I see it, it is actually helping the US because, through the EDCA, it has allowed the US to use our territory to set up its bases and install its troops. That already compromises our territory and security. I think even the Philippine government is aware that the US has the intention of using these EDCA bases in the Philippines to interfere should there be a conflict over Taiwan question with China, or should there be a conflict between the US and China in the South China Sea. In fact, we are already allowing our territory to be used as a launching pad and springboard for a foreign country against another country and against a neighbor. This has compromised our national security and even our diplomacy.

I also believe that is what complicates our bilateral ties with China today.

GT: There are some comparisons between the tensions in the South China Sea and the Ukraine crisis, with the fear that the Philippines could become the next Ukraine. What is your view on this? How should the Philippines avoid such a scenario?

Simbulan: As you can see, the policy of the current Philippine government is much different from that of the former administration of president Rodrigo Duterte, who at first was even planning to abrogate some of our military agreements with the US like the Visiting Forces Agreement. There have been high-profile reports about what is happening in the South China Sea, not just in the Western media, but also in the Philippine media. 

There is a lot of pressure on the Philippine government to respond to this. And the easiest way is to have this high-profile shift in our policy, which is to invite the US back to the Philippines, through installing military bases and troops, and also engage in regular and frequent joint military exercises.

The Philippine government, in the case of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., needs the US support as insurance for the internal politics in the Philippines. The US is very influential in the armed forces of the Philippines as it provides weapons and training for our armed forces.

In my book, I made the point that we thought deployment of foreign troops was good for us, but in the long run, it's going to influence and even compromise our internal stability as well as external capability. That's why a few years ago during the time of president Duterte, to help solve our problem in the South China Sea, I was proposing during the talks in ASEAN, that there should be a collective agreement that no ASEAN country could allow foreign troops to be deployed in their territory or no foreign military bases or facilities are to be used or directed against another neighbor because that will compromise the ASEAN countries' interests, and even make them possible targets in the conflict between the two big powers, the US and China. 

GT: Do you think the Philippines' high-profile stance in the South China Sea will affect ASEAN as a whole?

Simbulan: Among the 10 member countries of ASEAN, there are disagreements. Many of these ASEAN countries do not want to openly disagree with China because they are trading heavily with China. They receive many tourists from China or their economy is very much dependent on China. However, some other countries don't want to antagonize the US. 

Everybody has a stake here in what's happening in the South China Sea. This must be resolved peacefully through negotiations and diplomacy because if something happens here and gets out of control, everybody will be affected. For me, personally, I would prefer that we just have competition through business, trade and markets. It is better to compete that way or negotiate and talk. Sometimes we may say harsh words against each other, but it is important to remember that our disagreements should not escalate to violence. If that happens, it will be too late. Look at what's happening in Ukraine. It's getting out of control, and it's the Ukrainian people and the countries around Ukraine who are suffering as the conflict is affecting their economies, and the livelihood of their people.

There is still a lot of time for dialogue and negotiation. I want to mention to you a model that I wrote recently, a model for ASEAN. I wrote an article recently regarding Vietnam's foreign policy, which I believe should be a good model for ASEAN countries to follow. This is with regards to the foreign policy of Vietnam that they refer to as the "four nos." One, no foreign military agreements with one country against another. Second, no foreign military bases and troops by one power against another. Third, no use of their territory to attack another country. Lastly, no use of force, and instead, diplomacy and negotiation should be employed in the conduct of international relations. We should use that as a model in order to maintain peace and security in our region.

A delegation from the non-governmental organization China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS) concluded a seven-day exchange with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on Thursday. During the visit, representatives from various sectors in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan praised China's commitment to, and experience on human rights and expressed a willingness to enhance human rights exchanges and jointly promote global human rights governance. 

A delegation led by Jiang Jianguo, executive vice-president of the CSHRS, visited Tajikistan and Uzbekistan from July 25 to August 1, conducted exchanges on human rights with officials, scholars and representatives from different sectors in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. 

During these exchanges, the Chinese delegation elaborated China's achievements and experience in the field of human rights, and reaffirmed and actively coordinated with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in maintaining their positions and actions in line with China's in the international battle for human rights.

Representatives from all walks of life in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan praised China's remarkable achievements in improving living standards and deepening reforms in the new era, emphasizing China's path and experience in human rights progress.

Both countries added that they shared similarities with China in terms of human rights philosophies, and would be ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China to jointly improve global human rights governance.

During the exchanges with the Chinese delegation, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Farrukh Sharifzoda expressed opposition to the politicization and use of double standards on human rights issues. Akmal Saidov, director of the National Center for Human Rights of Uzbekistan noted that China's progress in poverty reduction and its human rights experience had made a great contribution to global progress in poverty reduction and advancing human rights.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said on Thursday that in the first half of 2024, 41 provincial- and ministerial-level officials were investigated and 25 provincial- and ministerial-level officials were punished.

In the first half of 2024, the national discipline inspection and supervision organs received a total of 1.754 million petitions and reports, including 477,000 tipoffs and accusations. 

Among the 405,000 cases filed 41 officials were at the provincial- and ministerial-level, 2,127 at the department- and bureau-level, 17,000 at the county-level, in addition to 56,000 township-level officials. 

In addition, 47,000 current or former village Party branch secretaries and village committee directors were investigated.

Among the 332,000 individuals disciplined, 266,000 were related to violations of Party disciplinary actions and 93,000 were involved in administrative disciplinary actions.

Noticeably, among the people being punished, a majority, 229,000 people in total, were from rural areas or enterprises.

Other punished include 25 provincial- and ministerial-level officials, 1,806 department- and bureau-level officials, 13,000 county-level officials, 43,000 township-level officials and 46,000 general officials.

The Party's discipline inspection and supervision was one of the highlights at the just-concluded third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

The Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization adopted at the CPC plenum will provide a strong impetus and institutional guarantee for Chinese modernization, Li Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CCDI said. 

Li urged discipline inspection and supervision agencies to focus on facilitating their endeavors to further deepen reform across the board and fulfill their duties in exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance and the Party's internal reform to provide a strong underpinning for the efforts to build a great country and move toward national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization.

Zhuang Deshui, deputy director of the Research Center for Government Integrity Building at Peking University, told the Global Times on Thursday that to further deepen comprehensive reform, the resolution especially added one sentence highlighting the behaviors of proposing false accusations. 

On one hand, in recent years bureaucracy has constrained many grassroots officials, who are constantly occupied with meetings, inspections, and preparing materials, rather than focusing on their efforts to promote Chinese modernization. On the other hand, Zhuang emphasized that institutional support is now being provided to reformist officials who actively work toward reform in their daily tasks by addressing false accusations.

The Party has upheld the principles that Party discipline should be even more stringent than the law and that discipline and law enforcement efforts should go hand in hand. It has conducted four distinct forms of oversight covering disciplinary compliance, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

The four forms are: 1) criticism and self-criticism activities and oral and written inquiries, which are to be conducted regularly to ensure that those who have committed minor misconduct are made to "redden and sweat"; 2) light penalties and minor organizational adjustments to official positions, which are to be applied in the majority of cases; 3) heavy penalties and major adjustments to official positions, which are to be applied in a small number of cases; and 4) investigation and prosecution, which are to be undertaken in a very small number of cases involving serious violations of discipline and suspected criminal activity. 

Disciplinary inspection authorities also announced that in the past six months, 542,000 people were criticized and educated using the first form, accounting for 61.6 percent of the total number, and 271,000 people were handled using the second form, accounting for 30.8 percent.  

Investigation also showed 12,000 people were investigated because of bribery, and 1,941 people were transferred to the procuratorial organs, according to the watchdog.

"Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital" was listed as a World Heritage Site at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India on Saturday, becoming China's 59th entry on that list.

The Beijing Central Axis, situated at the core of the ancient city of Beijing, spans 7.8 kilometers from the Bell and Drum Towers in the north to the Yongdingmen Gate in the south, originating in the 13th century and refined over more than seven centuries.

Originating in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), the Beijing Central Axis is classified as a "building complex" in terms of cultural heritage, consisting of 15 elements of heritage composition. It is a combination of buildings and sites that dominate the planning pattern of the entire old city.

Heritage experts told the Global Times that the uniqueness of the Beijing Central Axis fills a gap in the World Heritage List regarding the ideal of urban landscape and the type of core architectural groups in the East, presenting an irreplaceable uniqueness and possessing outstanding universal value.

Lü Zhou, director of the National Heritage Center at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times that many medieval European cities on the World Heritage List have fundamentally different formation processes and urban development trajectories compared to Beijing. 

He explained that Beijing was meticulously planned and constructed based on the ideal of a world central city, with the Beijing Central Axis becoming the most central part of this ideal city form. In contrast, medieval European cities were settlements that grew naturally and were influenced by religion, commerce and municipal systems, resulting in complex urban textures in their central areas.

Jiang Bo, a professor from the Institute of Cultural Heritage at Shandong University told the Global Times that the Beijing Central Axis is a "masterpiece" with a unique Eastern charm in the history of world urban landscape. 

"The urban planning concept of this north-south central axis has a long history and a profound influence, even extending to the Korean Peninsula, Japan, and Vietnam, becoming an Eastern classic in the design concept of ancient world urban planning," he said.

On Friday, the Badain Jaran Desert in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the coast of the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf (Phase II) were also included in UNESCO's World Heritage List during the event, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

To date, China currently boasts 59 world heritage sites, including 40 cultural heritage sites, 15 natural heritage sites, and 4 mixed cultural and natural heritage sites.

Media reported that the event is scheduled to last until July 31. The primary agenda of the conference includes the examination of 27 sites nominated for inclusion in the World Heritage List and the assessment of the conservation status of 124 existing sites on the list.

China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), announced plans to phase in a new system that is compatible with a higher-level open economy, and accelerating usage of foreign investment, NDRC Chairman Zheng Shanjie told Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday. 

The announcement reflects China's commitment to promoting opening-up and deepening economic restructuring, experts say.

The announcement follows the recently concluded Third Plenum of the 20th CPC Central Committee. The plenum communique stressed an unequivocal commitment to comprehensively deepening reforms to advance Chinese modernization. 

Zheng highlighted that openness is a distinctive marker of China's modernization drive, and it is necessary to foster reforms through greater openness, so as to build a new system for a higher-level open economy.

Zheng underscored four key areas of economic reform including expanding institutional openness, deepening reforms in foreign and outward investment management systems, optimizing the layout of regional openness, and promoting high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

China aims to align itself with international high-standard economic and trade rules, focusing on intellectual property protection, and other key areas to achieve compatibility in regulations, management, and standards, Zheng said.

In terms of deepening reforms on outward investment systems, Zheng noted plans to expand the catalog of industries encouraging foreign investment and to further reduce the negative list for foreign investment access. The NDRC will lift restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, foster opening-up to attract foreign capital, and ensure national treatment for foreign enterprises.

Additionally, Zheng referenced the accelerated development of the pilot free trade zone in South China's Hainan Island, aiming to create a comprehensive open pattern that links land and sea, and integrates the eastern and western regions of China. 

The NDRC will further enhance the stability and effectiveness of international cooperation under the BRI.

Reflecting on China's ongoing opening-up, the country has seen a notable increase in foreign investment. In the first half of 2024, 26,870 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in China, marking a 14.2 percent increase compared to the previous year. The country also attracted nearly 500 billion yuan ($69 billion) in foreign investment in the first half year, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Commerce.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Sunday, China and the Philippines reached an understanding on managing the situation at Ren'ai Jiao (also known as Ren'ai Reef) in the South China Sea. This is mainly related to the principles and practices that the Philippines needs to abide by when providing basic living supplies to the personnel on the warship illegally grounded at Ren'ai Jiao of China's Nansha Qundao (Nansha Islands) for a long time.

This is a progress made by the two sides in utilizing the bilateral consultation mechanism on the South China Sea issue to control the friction and avoid escalation of the crisis. It demonstrated that Beijing's comprehensive countermeasures against Manila's provocations in the region for more than a year are working in a sustained manner, resulting in the Philippines returning to direct negotiations and consultations.

Judging from the press release issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, China's position on managing the situation at Ren'ai Jiao has not changed. The Philippines has inevitably informed its ally -- the US, of the situation before the agreement with China was reached, and is expected to continue to keep Washington updated before further agreements are made. Seeing China and the Philippines make efforts to manage their conflicts in the South China Sea through institutionalized consultation, the US, which has long been "fanning the flames" and "fueling the fight" over the South China Sea issue, is inevitably not necessarily happy about this development.

The reason why an understanding can be reached is inextricably linked to the effective operation of the China-Philippines Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) on the South China Sea. Seven years ago, the two countries agreed to establish the BCM to conduct regular consultations on their respective concerns involving the South China Sea to avoid complicating and escalating the disputes as well as affecting the peace and stability of the South China Sea. 

The new "deal" is a concrete manifestation of some consensus achieved by China and the Philippines. It also clearly shows that Manila's attempts to stir up trouble and exert pressure on China through "microphone diplomacy," "gray zone tactics" and "exposure strategy" on the South China Sea issue did not work, and that direct negotiation and consultation between the two countries concerned is the only way.

The new "deal" does not change the rights and wrongs of the maritime situation at Ren'ai Jiao. The reasons that led to the incident are clear: the Philippines broke its promise. Manila not only failed to tow away the illegally grounded warship, but also insisted on sending construction materials to this warship in an attempt to make large-scale reinforcement and then achieve permanent occupation of Ren'ai Jiao. The new "deal" does not recognize the legality and legitimacy of the Philippines' relevant activities, nor does it mean that the Philippines can "legalize" its actions at Ren'ai Jiao in the name of "exercising jurisdiction." 

Over the years, China has exercised great restraint and patience in handling the situation at Ren'ai Jiao, and demonstrating goodwill and sincerity in managing maritime differences. During the previous administration of the Philippines, China and the Philippines reached a "gentleman's agreement" on the management and control of the situation at Ren'ai Jiao. After the current administration came to power, China has repeatedly notified and negotiated with high-level officials of the Philippine government on matters related to the "gentleman's agreement" and has kept on finding ways to manage differences with the Philippines through dialogue and consultation.

In September 2023, China invited the Envoy of the President to China for Special Concerns of the Philippines to Beijing for consultations. The two sides reached an internal understanding on how to manage and control the situation, which was approved by the Philippine leadership. In early 2024, China repeatedly negotiated with the Philippine side through diplomatic channels to reach a "new model" regarding the management and control of the situation at Ren'ai Jiao.  

Given the fact that the Philippines once denied the "gentleman's agreement" of the previous government at the expense of disparaging the country's reputation, and also reneged on the internal understanding and "new model," China will look to what extent this new "deal" be seriously, completely and effectively implemented by the Philippines. If the Philippines abuses China's flexibility and patience based on the humanitarian spirit on the Ren'ai Jiao issue regarding the new agreement as an expedient, and then goes back on its word, it will definitely pay a heavier price for its repeated mistakes.

The regional cooperation office of Yangtze River Delta has issued a three-year action plan (2024-26) for the integrated development of the region, one of China's most economically vibrant regions. The plan clearly defines a roadmap for the next three years, and signals deeper integrated development in the region, according to a press briefing held in Shanghai on Thursday.

In the action plan, nine sectors with 165 key tasks were proposed, including strengthening cross-regional collaboration in science and technology innovation, jointly building world-class industrial clusters, accelerating the enhancement of regional market integration level, and effectively strengthening coordinated ecological environment governance, Gu Jun, director of the Executive Committee of the Yangtze River Delta Integration Demonstration Zone said at Thursday's press briefing.

Among the 165 key tasks, the region will further promote the cooperation and joint construction of two comprehensive national science centers in Zhangjiang, Shanghai and Hefei, East China's Anhui Province, and support the establishment of regional science and technology innovation centers in some of the cities in the region, according to the plan.

It will support the high-quality development of key industrial chains in the manufacturing industry in the Yangtze River Delta region, particularly focusing on building a new-energy vehicle industry chain system.

The region will strengthen the coordinated governance of the ecological environment by continuing to promote the 10-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River, enhancing the coordinated governance of the Yangtze River estuary to Hangzhou Bay key marine areas, and advancing a new round of comprehensive water environment management in the Taihu Lake basin.

Meanwhile, a total of detailed 54 key tasks were released for ecological environmental protection cooperation in the Yangtze River Delta region.

For instance, the region will promote the optimization of the energy structure, ensuring energy security in the region while continuously advancing the control of total coal consumption in key areas. It will also promote the green development of industries, continuing to accelerate the elimination of outdated production capacity, and facilitating the transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing industries.

According to the action plan, the region will formulate and implement a new development plan for the sports industry, jointly host cross-regional major sports events and brand activities, and support outstanding cultural works, cultural heritage, and high-quality tourism products to enter overseas markets.

The Yangtze River Delta, encompassing East China's Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, as well as Shanghai Municipality, accounted for nearly a quarter of China's gross domestic product in 2023, despite occupying just 4 percent of the country's total land area, according to Xinhua News Agency.

"Sir, we have replaced the old lines for you. Please be careful when using electricity in summer. If you have any electricity problems, please contact us any time…" On July 22, in Baoji Village, Bincheng District, Binzhou City, Shandong Province, employees of the State Grid Binzhou Power Supply Company went door to door to check switches, lines and leakage protection equipment for villagers, providing stable and efficient electricity service for the villagers.
After entering the summer's "dog days", temperatures soared, and the electricity load gradually increased. State Grid Binzhou Power Supply Company organized "Electricity Butlers" to carry out the special activity called "Power Supply Service Enters Ten Thousand Households" around the four aspects of electricity publicity, hidden danger management, grid service, and dedicated service, to ensure the safety of users, guarantee electricity supply, and comprehensively check for possible safety hazards. At the same time, the staff also shared information on electricity safety among the villagers, improved the ability to identify safety hazards, reminded everyone to pay attention to electricity safety, prevent accidents, and provide users with better quality services.

In recent days, the power grid manager has adopted the service mode of "sitting in class + inspection" at the village and community power convenience service points to carry out power grid services. At the same time, the power grid manager went to the villagers' homes to collect electricity demands, carried out safety inspections on old lines, and actively invited villagers to join the power supply service WeChat group; introduced online payment, registration and other business processing to customers, focusing on providing the contact information of the local grid managers, so that villagers can solve electricity problems as soon as possible by calling the manager directly.
Since the launch of the activity, the State Grid Binzhou Power Supply Company has provided door-to-door services to villagers more than 340 times, eliminated 43 various types of electricity safety hazards, and responded to more than 500 electricity-related calls.

Next, the State Grid Binzhou Power Supply Company will continue to commit to providing high-quality power services, regularly carry out door-to-door maintenance, inspect important users' power equipment, strengthen communication with customers, understand relevant power demands, and make power service work detailed, practical and excellent, and deliver services to the door to provide solid power guarantee for the majority of users.

A ceremony for the first shipment of whiteleg shrimp from Honduras to China was held in Choluteca city of the Latin American country, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday, indicating closer economic and trade ties as bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations proceed.

A bilateral agreement on aquatic products was signed in June, a milestone for China in sourcing whiteleg shrimp from Latin American countries.

The first shipment to China weighed 36 tons, according to Xinhua. Honduran media outlets reported that another 250 containers of shrimp are being prepared for shipment to China this month.

The export of Honduras' high-quality whiteleg shrimps to China is an important achievement of pragmatic bilateral cooperation, Chinese Ambassador to Honduras Yu Bo said during the ceremony on Friday, according to the official social media account of the Chinese Embassy to Honduras. 

"An open China welcomes more high-quality agricultural products from Honduras to enter the Chinese market and welcomes Honduras to share the new opportunities of Chinese modernization," said Yu, adding that it was a vivid example of how the establishment of diplomatic ties has improved the well-being of the two peoples.

China and Honduras established diplomatic relations in March 2023, launched the first round of bilateral FTA negotiations in July of the same year, and signed an FTA early harvest arrangement in February 2024. 

The two countries have held five rounds of FTA negotiations, the latest in May 2024, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.

During the inauguration ceremony, Luis Redondo, president of the National Congress of Honduras, said that the China-Honduras FTA early harvest arrangement provided the conditions for the first batch of whiteleg shrimp exports, and Honduras will seize the opportunity of trading with China.

Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina said that he appreciated China's support for Honduras' development, and he confirmed that pragmatic cooperation has injected a strong impetus into the economic and social development of the country and benefited its people.

Representatives from local enterprises said that the exports will promote employment in Honduras and improve living standards, and they hoped to further explore business potential in the China market.