The first locally-born giant panda cubs at Ocean Park Hong Kong are set to meet the public on Sunday, and residents are encouraged to propose names for the cuddly twins.

The pair of giant panda cubs was born last August and their parents are Ying Ying and Le Le, the giant pandas gifted by the central government to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

At a greeting ceremony Saturday, HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee expressed heartfelt gratitude to the experts for taking excellent care of the twins and providing professional postnatal care to Ying Ying after her giving birth to the cubs.

"Ying Ying, the mother of the twin cubs, is on record as the world's oldest giant panda to give birth for the first time. The birth of the twin cubs not only solidifies the outstanding achievements of our country in giant panda conservation, but also demonstrates the Ocean Park's leading position as an important conservation and education base in Hong Kong," he said, adding that the HKSAR government will continue to advance and promote conservation of giant pandas.

Lee also announced the launch of a naming competition for the cubs. At present, members of the public are calling the twin cubs "elder sister" and "little brother." Hong Kong residents are encouraged to suggest a pair of names for the twin cubs by observing their physical features and characteristics, as well as the interaction between the cubs and their daily lives. Results will be announced in the first half of this year.

Over the past six months, the cubs have grown healthily from around 120 grams at birth to more than 12 kg now, according to caretakers.

Responding to an inquiry on the US State Department's recent update of the fact sheet on its relations with Taiwan island by removing the previous statement that the US "does not support 'Taiwan independence'," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday that US' move gravely backpedaled on its position on Taiwan-related issues.

We urge the US to immediately correct its wrongdoings, abide by the one-China principle and three China-US joint communiqués, handle the Taiwan question with extra prudence, stop using Taiwan to contain China, stop upgrading its substantive relations with Taiwan, stop helping Taiwan expand the so-called "international space," stop emboldening and supporting "Taiwan independence," and avoid further severe damage to China-US relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, said Guo.

The US State Department has reportedly removed the phrase "does not support Taiwan independence" from a fact sheet on its relations with the Taiwan island, a move that the secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have praised as US "support." However, the US has denied the change in its stance toward "Taiwan independence," saying that it is a "routine update," according to Taiwan media report.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a statement on Monday that the US move severely violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, violently interfering in China's internal affairs and sending seriously wrong signals to the separatist forces for "Taiwan independence" will only jeopardize peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits.

Zhu also warned the DPP authorities that seeking independence by soliciting US support is doomed to fail. No matter how DPP authorities and the US collude and scheme, they cannot change the fact that there is only one China in the world and that Taiwan island is a part of China. They also cannot change the trend that China is destined and bound to achieve national reunification, Zhu said.

The fact sheet, titled "US relations with Taiwan," was released on February 13 on the US Statement Department's website. The Taiwan News, a news outlet in Taiwan island, displaying a screenshot of the previous version published under former US secretary of state Antony Blinken, noted that the new version removed the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence."

The media also noted other additions include a sentence declaring that the US expects "cross-Straits differences to be resolved by peaceful means." The sentence has been expanded to include "free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to people on both sides of the Straits."

Following the changes, on Sunday, Lin Chia-lung, the head of the external affairs authority of Taiwan island, expressed his welcome for "the support and positive stance shown toward Taiwan-US relations" in the relevant content. He claimed that Taiwan will continue to strengthen its self-defense capabilities, reported Taiwan media.

However, when questioned about the revision and whether it signifies a shift in Washington's stance on "Taiwan's independence," a US State Department spokesperson rejected the suggestion, saying that it is a routine update, according to Taiwan local media UDN.

The spokesperson said that the US remains "committed to its one-China policy," reaffirming that US policy is guided by the "Taiwan Relations Act," the three US-China joint communiques, and the "Six Assurances" to Taiwan. The US opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo and supports cross-Straits dialogue, UDN reported.

When a new US administration takes office, there are often changes in the way Taiwan question are phrased in the fact sheet regarding relations with the Taiwan island. However, shifts in wording alone do not necessarily indicate a significant change in US policy, Zheng Jian, director of the Graduate Institute for Taiwan Studies of Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Monday.

Zheng said that the secessionist DPP authorities' interpretation of the "changes" reflect their willingness to read the statements in a way that suits their own agenda and it is nothing but merely "self-comfort."

Charging a higher price

Zheng said that the wording change is the US' old tactic for pressuring Taiwan to bear a higher cost. For example, US President Donald Trump recently made remarks on tariffs on Taiwan island and the semiconductor TSMC. Trump said on Thursday that Taiwan had taken away the US chip business and said that he wanted it back in the country, according to the Associated Press.

"Selling out Taiwan and appeasing the US will not bring security to Taiwan; it will only harm the interests of the Taiwan people and create instability in the Taiwan Straits," Zheng said.

Against the backdrop of intensifying strategic competition, the US has intensified its use of the "Taiwan card" as part of a broader strategy to counter China. This approach is not new under the Trump administration, but reflects a continuation of an ongoing strategy, Zheng said, warning that the Taiwan question is the first and most unbreakable red line in China-US relations.

The US continues to use the "Taiwan card" as a tool of strategic leverage, pressuring not only the Chinese mainland but also the Taiwan island, said Zheng.

In May 2022, during the Biden administration, the State Department removed the statement it "does not support Taiwan independence" from a fact sheet. However, less than a month after these initial changes, the description of US-Taiwan relations was restored, according to Taiwan News.

Throughout the history of China-US relations, we've seen similar extreme pressures on China exerted by the US government, so we have been prepared and will fight to defend our core interests, said Li Zhenguang, deputy director at the Institute of Taiwan Studies at Beijing Union University.

After a several-year pause in dialogue, high-level delegations from Russia and the US met on Tuesday in the Saudi capital Riyadh to discuss the prospects for resolving the conflict in Ukraine and ways to break the impasse in bilateral relations, which according to TASS, lasted about 4.5 hours. 

Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, and special envoy for the Middle East Stephen Witkoff were participating in the negotiations. The talks were held in one of the royal family's palaces - Al Diriyah in the Albasateen complex, TASS reported. 

Dmitriev, the Russian negotiator, told Reuters it was too early to talk of compromises following the talks with US officials, but that the two sides started listening to one another, treating each other with respect and as equals.

Russia's chief foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov has said it "went well" and was "a serious conversation on all issues," according to Interfax and Tass, via Reuters.

He also said that the two sides agreed for negotiators to talk about Ukraine, and briefly discussed the conditions needed for a Putin-Trump summit, although he noted it was unlikely to take place next week.

According to the US Department of State statement following the meeting, the US and Russia agreed to establish a consultation mechanism to "address irritants to our bilateral relationship with the objective of taking steps necessary to normalize the operation of our respective diplomatic missions."  

The two sides also reached agreements including appointing respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides, and laying the groundwork for future cooperation on matters of mutual geopolitical interest and historic economic and investment opportunities which will emerge from a successful end to the conflict in Ukraine, according to the US statement. 

When asked about what role China wants to play or can play in any peace agreement that solves the Ukraine crisis, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at Tuesday's press conference that on any dispute and conflict in the world, China always advocates dialogue, consultation and political settlement. This is also true when it comes to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. 

China is not the creator of the Ukraine crisis nor a party to it. That said, we have not just sat by and watched the crisis unfold or profiteered from the crisis. Right after the Ukraine crisis broke out, China proposed to settle the crisis through dialogue and consultation, Guo said. 

China will continue to support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis, maintain communication with relevant parties and play a constructive role in promoting the political settlement of the crisis, according to Guo.  

"We are glad to see dialogue between the US and Russia, and we support the political and diplomatic resolution of the Ukraine crisis. But we are also well aware that achieving results through one single dialogue is very difficult," said Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University.

Li explained that the Ukraine crisis is merely a symptom of the broader issue of European security. If the US and Russia only discuss a ceasefire without addressing the root cause of the conflict - NATO's excessive dominance and expansion over Europe, the crisis could not be resolved, he told the Global Times. 

Sun Xiuwen, an associate professor at the Institute for Central Asian Studies at Lanzhou University, said Russia is unlikely to make significant compromises on core interests, particularly regarding limiting NATO expansion, ensuring a land corridor to the militarily occupied territories and the Crimean Peninsula, and pushing for Ukraine's "neutrality." 

While for the Trump administration, key considerations include claiming personal credit for resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict through negotiations and reducing investment in Ukraine to focus resources on addressing challenges in the Asia-Pacific, Sun told the Global Times.

Ukraine, Europe in dismay

No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country won't accept any outcome from this week's talks since Kiev isn't taking part. European allies have also expressed concerns they are being sidelined, AP reported.

When asked to comment the meeting without the participation of Ukraine, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo said that China has always maintained that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable path to resolving the Ukraine crisis. "We welcome all efforts dedicated to achieving peace, including the consensus on peace talks reached between the US and Russia." 

"At the same time, we look forward to the timely participation of all relevant parties and stakeholders in the peace negotiation process," Guo noted. 

Signs of tension have emerged between Ukraine and the White House in recent days following the following the dramatic turnaround of Trump's attitude toward Russia. 

Ukrainian drones attacked the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station on Monday, which primarily pumps oil for American and European companies through Kazakhstan, Sputnik News reported. "Undoubtedly, this was a deliberate and calculated response by Zelensky to Trump's stance," the report said. 

The move came after Zelensky told his aides to reject the Trump administration's proposal that would grant the US 50 percent of Ukraine's rare earth minerals, NBC News reported on Monday.

A few days before the Riyadh meeting, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Kiev that a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders was "unrealistic" and the Trump administration does not see NATO membership for Kiev as part of a solution to the conflict with Russia, Reuters reported.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the issue of Ukraine's accession to the European Union was its sovereign right. Peskov added, though, that Russia's position was different when it comes to Ukraine joining military alliances, Reuters reported.

Despite that the stances of the US and Russia seem to be converging on the dealing of Ukraine crisis, if Ukraine and Europe do not accept it, such a consensus will not be able to materialize, Li said. He added that the US approach, which sacrifices the interests of other parties to fulfill its own desire, cannot lead to a lasting and stable solution.

However, Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, said that it is also possible that the US may reach an agreement with Russia and then pressurize Europe and Ukraine, who have little bargaining chips. The EU's lack of sufficient diplomatic autonomy and its disunity have left it in a weak position where it must now face the consequences, Cui said.

French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X while the US-Russia meeting convenes that he has just spoken with Trump and then with Zelensky. He said working together with all Europeans, Americans, and Ukrainians is the key to resolving the conflict.

He noted that Europeans must invest better, more, and together in their security and defense. "To this end, Europeans want to accelerate the implementation of their own agenda for sovereignty, security, and competitiveness."

Following Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also posted on X that "Financially and militarily… we will step up." She added that "We want to partner with the US to deliver a just and lasting peace for Ukraine. Now is a critical moment."

A hasty summit was held in Paris on Monday among European leaders, but has ended with little unity on crucial points, including the idea of sending a European peacekeeping force to the country, the Guardian reported.

Breaking the ice

Apart from peace deal talks, Peskov said the Riyadh meeting would focus on "restoring the whole complex of US-Russian relations." Lavrov on Monday said the time had come for the two countries to end what he called an "absolutely abnormal period" of estrangement, according to the Washington Post.

The Russian and US delegations in Riyadh are addressing a variety of accumulated problematic issues, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing, TASS reported on Tuesday. 

"They have been amassing not just over the three years when we had no contacts at all because of [former US president Joe] Biden's administration, but over all previous years," the diplomat said. "This is why the work began."

The potential directions for US-Russia rapprochement may include two aspects: first, strategic coordination such as extending the New START Treaty or restarting the negotiations, and coordinating on regional issues such as Syria and Afghanistan; second, interest exchange between two sides, for example, the US partially lifts economic sanctions on Russia while Russia concedes global LNG market share to the US, Sun said. 

Cui, however, said this round of negotiation is unlikely to yield immediate breakthroughs, as both sides need time to reengage after years of no contact. It only serves as a preliminary step, Cui told the Global Times.

"It is one thing for the US and Russia to express a willingness to break the ice… however, over more than 30 years of post-Cold War history has shown us clearly that improving US-Russia relations is fraught with difficulties," echoed Li.

The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), commonly known as China's "artificial sun," set a new world record by sustaining high-confinement plasma operation for 1,066 seconds, the Global Times learned from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on Tuesday.

The engineering design of the next-generation "artificial sun" has been completed. According to China's roadmap for magnetic confinement nuclear fusion, the country aims to construct the world's first demonstration fusion power plant, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

The duration of 1,000 seconds is considered a key step in fusion research. The breakthrough, achieved by the Institute of Plasma Physics under the CAS, surpassed the previous world record of 403 seconds, which was also set by EAST in 2023. 

The Global Times learned from CAS that the ultimate goal of developing an artificial sun is to replicate the nuclear fusion processes that occur in the sun, to provide humanity with unlimited clean energy and enable deep-space exploration.

"Fusion reactions need to reach the order of thousands of seconds to sustain themselves. The latest record marks the first time humanity has simulated conditions necessary for operating fusion reactors in an experimental setup," said Song Yuntao, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics, reported Xinhua.

According to CAS, since its inception in 2006, EAST has served as an open testing platform for both Chinese and international scientists to pursue fusion-related research and experiments.

China officially joined the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) program in 2006 as its seventh member. Under the agreement, China is tasked with contributing about 9 percent of the project's construction and operational requirements.

ITER, currently under construction in southern France, is set to become the world's largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment and the largest experimental tokamak nuclear fusion reactor upon completion.

Gong Xianzu, the chief physicist of the EAST project, told Xinhua that researchers have improved the stability of the heating system, the accuracy of the control system, and the precision of the diagnostic system. These advancements have solved many frontier issues, highlighting China's comprehensive scientific and technological expertise in this area.

Responding to an inquiry concerning a meeting between Quad foreign ministers on Tuesday (US time) during which they claimed that China seeks to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Wednesday that China believes that cooperation between countries should not target any third party.

Engaging in group politics and bloc confrontation will not bring lasting peace and security, and is not conducive to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific and the world as a whole, Mao said, noting China's activities in relevant waters are lawful, legitimate and completely justified.

Top diplomats from the US, Japan, India and Australia met in Washington, DC on Tuesday local time to reaffirm their shared commitment to strengthening a so-called "Free and Open Indo Pacific," according to US State Department. 

"Our four nations maintain our conviction that international law, economic opportunity, peace, stability and security in all domains including the maritime domain underpin the development and prosperity of the peoples of the Indo-Pacific," read the official release of the joint statement by the Quad foreign ministers available on the US Department of State website.

We look forward to advancing the work of the Quad in the coming months and will meet together on a regular basis as we prepare for the next Quad Leaders' Summit hosted by India, it said. 

The two-paragraph joint statement did not single out any country, however some Western media have characterized the meeting as "China-focused."  

A Reuters report suggested the wording of the joint statement that "we also strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion" is "an apparent reference to the threat that China will act on its claim to sovereignty" over the island of Taiwan.

"The four ministers held strategic and frank discussions on the situation in the Indo-Pacific region, and confirmed their strong opposition to unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force including in the East and South China Seas," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan updated in a later release on Wednesday. 

The Quad group was established in 2007 to bring together countries that had worked together in response to the devastating 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean, according to the Associated Press on Wednesday. The Quad is referred to by the AP as "a major component of the American strategy to counter China's growing assertiveness and vast territorial claims in the region." 

As President Donald Trump has clearly showed a tendency to reverse his predecessor Joe Biden's foreign and domestic policies as he returned to the White House, the new US administration is likely to change its commitment to multilateral frameworks such as Quad and AUKUS, and the other countries are also clear about this, which is affecting their loyalty, Chen Hong, Executive Director of the Asia Pacific Studies Center at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

The wording in the statement and omitting China in the text reflect that internal differences among the Quad grouping are on the rise, and other members are adjusting their views of the Quad's anti-China positioning, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Wednesday  

Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported on Tuesday that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that he wants to emphasize to Trump the benefits of enhancing bilateral ties while each country pursues its own interests, while characterizing the US leader as "favoring bilateral, rather than multilateral, arrangements."

Ishiba's view that Trump favors a bilateral over a multilateral approach highlights the uncertain future of the Quad framework. This perspective is also shared by India and Australia, as both countries are rebalancing their foreign policies and strengthening ties with China, rather than exclusively aligning with the US in its strategic rivalry with China, Li said. 

"The recent QUAD foreign ministers' meeting continued its usual indirect approach when addressing sensitive issues, appearing rather subtle. On one hand, this reflects the varying degrees of differences among Quad members regarding their relations with China. On the other hand, India, Japan and Australia have recently seen improvement in their ties with China, while Trump, prior to taking office for his second term, has also sent positive signals about valuing US-China relations. However, it is clear that while the Quad mechanism publicly champions the goal of building a 'free and open Indo-Pacific,' its actual actions involve creating tension, forming cliques, and fostering exclusivity - moves that run counter to the region's pursuit of peace and development, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times.

Qian added that the Quad mechanism essentially took shape during Trump's first term, aligning closely with the rollout of the "Indo-Pacific Strategy." After Biden took office, it was elevated to a regular leaders' summit to counter China's growing influence in the region, becoming a key pillar of the US' Indo-Pacific Strategy. 

He believes that judging from the signals Trump has sent regarding his second term priorities, the Quad mechanism aligns well with his focus on the Indo-Pacific and is likely to be retained. However, at its core, Quad remains a coalition with diverging interests, particularly on China-related issues. Each member country has its own priorities and is unlikely to fully align its interests with the US at the expense of its own national agenda, Qian said.

China is deeply shocked at the attack and strongly condemns the killing of a Chinese mine worker who had been murdered in Afghanistan's northern Takhar province, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry Mao Ning said on Thursday. China has lodged serious protests to Afghanistan right after the attack, and asked the country to conduct thorough investigations into the attack, and bring the perpetrators to justice, she said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks while answering a question about the Chinese mine worker who had reportedly been killed in Afghanistan, and that the Islamic State's regional chapter reportedly had claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a monitoring group called "SITE."

In response, Mao said at the Thursday press brief that China is deeply shocked at the attack and strongly condemns it. We mourn the death of the victim, she said.

China firmly opposes all forms of terrorism and calls for resolute and strong efforts in cracking down on ISIS, the ETIM and other terrorist organizations designated by the UN Security Council with zero tolerance. China will closely follow the security situation in Afghanistan and continue supporting Afghanistan in combating all forms of terrorism and violence, and upholding national security and stability, said Mao.

We urge the Afghan interim government to take resolute and effective measures to ensure the safety and security of Chinese citizens, institutions and projects in Afghanistan, the spokesperson said.