South Korea is very keen on joining the Quad grouping, said the South Korean Envoy in India Chang Jae-bok on Wednesday, according to The Hindu. However, just recently, at the G20 summit, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol publicly expressed his hope to promote the stable and healthy development of the South Korea-China relationship. 

Currently, the South Korean government's foreign policy is heavily leaning toward the US, and the eagerness to join the Quad is an extension of this diplomatic policy. The Yoon administration's foreign policy is deeply entrenched in the mind-set of a "new cold war" and cannot extricate itself. 

The South Korean government seems to believe that the world has entered a new cold war and agrees with the US in dividing the world into "liberal" and "authoritarian" camps. In other words, South Korea may acknowledge the need to view non-Western countries as enemies, and cooperation has limitations. South Korea also understands that strengthening relations with the Western camp will lead to friction in the relations between China and South Korea and even on the Korean Peninsula, but it considers this a necessary cost.

The important thing is that South Korea believes that by doing so, it reflects its identity as a "global pivotal state" and assumes global responsibilities. Zhan Debin, director and professor of the Center for Korean Peninsula Studies at the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times that South Korea, which claims to be the vanguard of safeguarding the order of freedom and democracy, has become an important ally in promoting the US Indo-Pacific strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, which can enhance South Korea's international status. However, this confidence and enthusiasm may only be wishful thinking on the part of South Korea.

Since the Yoon administration came to power, it has shown great confidence in joining the Quad. Due to the influence of the Japan-South Korea relationship at that time, Japan did not want to see South Korea's participation, let alone South Korea decreasing its influence within this small circle. Compared to Japan, India is even less willing to see the Quad become an anti-China and anti-Russia group, as this would diminish India's value. As the leader of the Quad, the US has also not provided much support to South Korea.

Despite the active pressure from the Donald Trump administration for the South Korean government to join the Quad, President Joe Biden has not made a proactive statement on this matter. The Yoon administration believed that as long as South Korea proposed it, the US would immediately agree. However, from the perspective of the US, South Korea's capabilities and contributions, especially in terms of security outside the Korean Peninsula, are limited and cannot be of much help to the US.

If South Korea joins the Quad, the US naturally needs to consider how much contribution South Korea can make within the Quad mechanism. Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times that in current Quad mechanism, the US is using India, Japan and Australia to contain China from the Indian Ocean, the West Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. What can South Korea do? It can at most cooperate with the US and Japan in economic and trade measures to suppress China. In other words, South Korea has not yet proved its capabilities among the Quad countries.

For South Korea, the security of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia should be the most concerning issue. Without cooperation with China, South Korea cannot maintain a stable and peaceful situation in the region. However, the inexperienced administration of Yoon clearly does not realize it. On one hand, it claims to maintain China-South Korea relations, but on the other hand, it continuously tests China's bottom line, which is detrimental to regional peace and stability and does not align with South Korea's own interests. If the Yoon administration wants to manage China-South Korea relations well, it needs to show sincerity. If the trilateral summit between China, Japan, and South Korea is only for showcasing South Korea's leadership and international status, the public's dissatisfaction with the government will only continue to rise.

Editor's Note:
Europeans and British people need to be better educated about China, Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese Studies and director of the Lau China Institute at King's College, London, told Global Times reporters Sun Wei and Gu Di in an exclusive interview. "I hope British and Europeans can… at least having more respect for Chinese values, Chinese culture and Chinese identity," Brown said, adding that "we can have a discussion. But it's not about trying to engage with someone else to change them."

GT: How has China Through European Eyes: 800 Years of Cultural and Intellectual Encounter shaped perceptions in the UK and the West? In what ways has it enhanced the Western audience's understanding of Chinese culture?

Brown: It's essential to recognize the extensive historical connections between America, Europe, Britain and China. This book, alongside my upcoming work, delves into the lessons of the past for our present and future.

And we do have a lot of mutual knowledge. I hope this helps people understand our history better, so that we can have a bit more information about where we are today and where are we going to go in the future.

GT: Over the past three decades, you've extensively travelled across China and spearheaded numerous rural studies. With the upcoming release of China Incorporated: The Politics of a World Where China is Number One, you've noted a pervasive apprehension about China's rising prowess. What compelled you to cultivate a dialogue that's "less anxious and more constructive"?

Brown: I've been in and out of China a lot. In the last 30 years, I lived in China for six years, and I've visited China probably 100 times, and I've been to every province and every single autonomous region.

I last went to China at the end of 2019 and had a memorable and very good visit. I learned a great deal and look forward to going back, delving deeper into Chinese issues.
I think that Europeans and British people need to be better educated about China, and its important place with a significant history. I hope these books help people understand why China is important, why it matters and gain a better understanding about our shared history. We have a big shared history.

Especially now, China's economy and its political importance are prominent. There should be greater awareness of what China is and why it's crucial in our cultural and political lives. That's why I have done this. And I think it's really about public information, public education, but for the British people, obviously not for Chinese people. I get the impression that Chinese people are very knowledgeable about their history with Britain and Europe. On the whole, it's quite surprising how little Europeans might know about our shared history. I think one of the reasons for that is it's not very easy to access. This history is spread across many different books in many different places. I've really tried to put it all in one place to make it more accessible and easier to engage with.

GT: In the first chapter of China Incorporated, you assert that China is powerful, has evolved into a maritime force and its values diverge from Western perceptions. Why do you consider these three facets pivotal in today's conversations about China?

Brown: Obviously, China has a different view of the world, and it's not just the Chinese government. Many Chinese people also hold this perspective. They feel culturally distinct. Actually, I think they want to be better understood. Even if we are agreeing or disagreeing, I believe Chinese people want to be better understood, and that makes sense for sure. When you're having a dialogue, you do want to feel that the people are trying to understand you, even if they don't agree.

I got the sense that there wasn't so much said about what China and Europe, and China and Britain, were talking about. The tone of their dialogue and the way they were speaking to each other was not quite right. I sensed there was some sort of issue, and it wasn't just about what they were talking about; it was how they were talking.

I hope British and Europeans can do more about this by at least having more respect for Chinese values, Chinese culture and Chinese identity, even if we don't agree. This is not about agreeing. It's about at least trying to understand and acknowledge that others are different. We have to acknowledge that we can't change that. Then we can have a discussion.

But it's not about trying to engage with someone else to change them, to change who they are. It's really about engaging with someone else about ideas while accepting who they are.

GT: You highlight the undeniable unique intellectual and cultural history of the territories now forming the People's Republic of China. Why do you stress the impracticality of superimposing Western values onto China's distinct cultural backdrop?

Brown: I think China has accepted ideas from the outside world. Marxism, for instance, was originally from Europe, and many ideas of Chinese thinkers have engaged with thinkers from Europe and elsewhere. Economically, Americans and Chinese have accepted many of the ideas of capitalism. But, for Chinese people, there's a unique Chinese view of the world, and I think that always means there's a slight kind of transformation or change. The ideas will enter China, but they'll always be slightly adapted and changed according to national characteristics. That happens everywhere; Britain engages with ideas from America but changes them for the environment here.

So, I think we have to accept that with all of these ideas, there's always going to be adaptation and change. That's just a natural part of making them fit into particular environments where they are used.

In Britain, some people probably have a good understanding, while others don't. To me, it's important for British people to acknowledge when they don't understand. There's a rule that says people with the least knowledge have the strongest opinions. That's because you have to have a lot of knowledge to know you don't know. British people may often feel that they have a substantial amount of knowledge about China. 

GT: As we mark a decade of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), you've addressed some Western misconceptions in your latest book. In your estimation, what's the initiative's paramount contribution either to global economics or to nations along its path?

Brown: I believe it has raised awareness about the importance of engaging with China and how to approach such engagements thoughtfully. Especially for regions like Central Asia, the Middle East and Asia, there may be compelling reasons for economic engagement with China, whether in terms of investment or access to technology through initiatives like the BRI.

This provides a sort of platform or avenue. However, for Europeans, the connection might seem more distant. It's really about discerning the types of investments and modes of cooperation with China that promote harmony, rather than focusing on areas where there are clear disagreements. The BRI has been a significant learning process. I think it's still evolving, but it has afforded us a decade of getting to know each other better, understanding our respective strengths and weaknesses.

In Britain, for sure, there has been a noticeable shift. There have been more debates, particularly due to issues like those surrounding Hong Kong. The pandemic has, of course, introduced many challenges. The relationship between the US and China has also deteriorated, so there have been several negative factors. However, we are still working toward establishing a practical relationship with China. The government's stance is that it's a pragmatic relationship that requires ongoing collaboration, dialogue and mutual learning.

It's just that there are currently many dissenting voices in Britain, which may be receiving more attention than they warrant. As I often find, those who express the strongest opinions often possess the least understanding. They might continue to echo the same sentiments, only louder. In my view, they're not particularly relevant. 

GT: With two recent prime ministerial transitions in the UK and changing stances on China, are you disheartened by the evident shifts in bilateral ties?

Brown: I believe Britain needs to contemplate more deeply its objectives and what it can realistically achieve with China. While there are clear differences, there are also many common areas, and it's crucial that we acknowledge the need for realism. In Britain, there are often very critical voices regarding China, but our approach is generally pragmatic, but perhaps not as ideologically driven as in, say, Australia. 

Describing the UK's stance as more pragmatic is, I believe, an accurate characterization. As I mentioned, it should be a narrative of equality. The relationship should be one of respect, with a critical eye, but also conducted with courtesy. It should be guided by facts, a constant evaluation of what we have learned about each other in the past, and what we could come to understand in the future. In this way, I envision a dynamic relationship. 

GT: Prominent UK voices, including University College London(UCL)'s Michael Spence, emphasize the valuable contributions of Chinese students in the UK. With the recent cooling of UK-China scientific collaborations, what are your thoughts on these pragmatic perspectives within the cultural and academic spheres? Do you have specific recommendations to fortify UK-China cultural and academic exchanges, particularly given current economic dynamics?

Brown: Michael Spence is right in pointing out that there is a great number of Chinese students in Britain. We need to acknowledge that fact, along with the significant amount of economic and academic collaboration between the two countries. It's wrong to instill fear in people about engaging with China. Some individuals in Britain have made attempts to discourage British academics and others from dealing with China, portraying it as a major problem. However, for many areas, it's not a problem at all.

I think it's something we need to do, as there aren't significant security issues in most areas. There are, of course, some strong opinions in Britain from individuals who, as I often say, have the biggest opinions but know the least. They are trying to portray China as a major security threat.

In my view, security threats exist everywhere. While there are certainly areas where China poses challenges for Britain, and vice versa, we are well aware of those areas. However, there are also numerous areas where we need to collaborate and work together. Therefore, I believe a balanced relationship is better than a paranoid one.

GT: As an academic against the "decoupling" from China, how do you interpret the EU's recent designation of China as a "partner, competitor, and systemic rival," and the ensuing dialogues on "de-risking"?

Brown: I think it's a complex description. It's a rather intricate portrayal. I view it as a partnership. It is indeed a partnership. There will be areas where partnerships come more easily and other areas where it's tougher. However, I believe creating such a nuanced perspective is sometimes not very helpful. Britain, China, Europe and China have numerous trade, investment, technology, climate, environmental and other political relationships. They form a partnership, but it's a complex one.

Whether or not you need to categorize it into these three distinct aspects is more of an internal consideration for Europe. It's not necessarily the way you should frame your policy, so I wouldn't necessarily use that division. However, I understand that in implementing policy, you probably need to differentiate between areas that are more straightforward and those that are more challenging, and take note of that as you implement your policy.

Certainly, Europe's relations with China do influence the British relationship with China. Currently, because Britain is not part of the European Union, it has to take a different approach. I think this can sometimes be challenging. Dealing with China outside the European Union hasn't been easy for Britain because it's a much smaller entity. If we were still part of the European Union, I believe our policy toward China would probably be somewhat easier.

GT: With the UK's recent induction into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and considering past UK policies aligned with China's ascent, where do you foresee UK-China relations heading in the immediate future?

Brown: I don't think it'll ever be an easy relationship, but I think in the end, it will be about trade, investment and whether we are able to do more in those areas. Britain's trading relationship with China is big, but it could be much bigger. 

GT: During in meeting between Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi and Veteran US diplomat Henry Kissinger in Beijing in July, Wang said the US policies toward China require Kissinger-style diplomatic wisdom and Nixon-style political courage. Do you believe the UK requires a diplomatic personality to further bolster UK-China relations? 

Brown: No, I think the world only has space for one Henry Kissinger, and that's quite enough. We have a different relationship with China, and we don't want to mimic the Americans. We can cooperate with both America and China, but we can't replicate them.

I believe that Britons have a lot of knowledge about China, but we need to acquire even more. I hope my books are attempting to provide some insight. For Britain, we already have a narrative about China; we should strive to comprehend that narrative and learn from it.

GT: Despite China's consistent emphasis on its non-adversarial stance toward the US, why do you think there's a persistence of misperception in the West? How can we prevent the West from misconstruing China based on historical precedents of their own powers?

Brown: It won't be easy. It's going to be a tough process, but the reality is that America and China can't afford to have a direct confrontation. If they did, it would be a disaster for everyone.

However, I don't foresee them ever having an easy relationship. The challenge in the next few years will be how to manage it. How can Americans and Chinese work toward a relationship where disaster is avoided? Moreover, what role does the outside world play in this? It's all going to come down to management. I believe, and hope, that we will find a way to navigate it, but it won't be easy. This is going to be a tough period and the next 10 years are going to be a challenging transition.

GT: China's trajectory of development and resurgence is underpinned by its singular historical context. How do you interpret this "Chinese modernization," and what do you identify as its defining characteristics?

Brown: The challenges that China faced in modernizing were enormous. It has been successful in some areas, while in others, it has had to struggle. Chinese modernization has led to where we are today - a China with significant economic, military and political influence in the world. However, it is likely to face difficulties in defining its proper role. What is China? What kind of global role does it truly have? This is not very clear.

At present, some of this ambiguity may be due to the outside world's reluctance to assign China a certain role. Additionally, some of it may stem from China itself being hesitant to take on a more prominent global role.

I believe this is the most significant issue we will need to address. After all, China, in its current state, cannot simply be overlooked or marginalized. It demands recognition. The question then becomes, what kind of recognition and acknowledgment does it seek? This is a substantial matter that requires our attention.

Multiple Chinese sportswear brands including Li-Ning, 361° and Peak were seen during the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games opening ceremony, which was held on Saturday via sponsorship for foreign athletes' delegations, a step forward of the globalization of Chinese products and brands.

During the opening ceremony, the Global Times observed that the outfit of the Indonesian group was Li-Ning, and athletes from Lebanon chose Peak, while 361° sponsored the outfits of Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

According to China Sports Daily, the 19th Asian Games signed sponsorship contracts with 176 enterprises, and the revenue from various markets will exceed 4.6 billion yuan ($629.9 million). Large-scale international sports events now have become important stages for brands to promote themselves.

During the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, athletes from Slovenia wore outfits from Peak as they stepped on the podium, according to media reports. In addition, teams from Brazil, Belgium, Romania and Iceland also wore the brand.

The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) has called on the US to respect the law of market economy and the principle of fair competition in a recent statement over Washington’s investment curbs targeting China, saying the move will jeopardize the normal business exchanges between the two countries and the security and stability of the global industrial supply chain.

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on August 9, banning new US investment covering key technology sectors in China such as semiconductors and other microelectronics, quantum computers and certain artificial intelligence applications. Later in mid-August, the US Treasury Department provided an explanation of the specific legislative plans for the executive order and initiated a 45-day period for public comment, with the deadline for submitting comments arriving on September 28.

The China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC) has officially submitted comments on behalf of the Chinese business community to the US government, hoping that the US government will genuinely listen to rational voices and carefully consider the relevant rules, according to a CCPIT spokesperson through an official statement.

The US investment ban categorizes China as the only "country of concern" under this ban, designating the related industries as "specifically sensitive technological areas with significant national security implications." The regulations pertaining to restricted investment entities, restricted investment targets, and restricted transaction types are vague and overly broad, the spokesperson said.

The investment oversight applies “indiscriminately” to both civilian and military purposes, employing a one-size-fits-all approach, the spokesperson claimed, noting that this approach not only increases transaction risks and compliance costs but also introduces significant uncertainty. Furthermore, it will disrupt the industry chains that heavily rely on global division of labor and cooperation.

China is an indispensable part of the global industry chains in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and quantum information technology. The restrictions will harm US companies in international competition, hinder technological progress, and ultimately undermine US interests, the spokesperson said.

The Chinese business community believes that open and free market access and equal and benign competition are the cornerstones of economic development. A free, fair international economic order and stable global division of labor and cooperation are in the common interest of the global business community，the trade body noted.

Win-win cooperation is the shared vision of the Chinese and American industrial sectors. The Chinese community is willing to strengthen exchanges and collaborate on development with industries from various countries, including the US, the spokesperson said.

In early August, the Chinese Foreign Ministry blasted the US' investment restrictions as "economic coercion" and "tech bullying," urging Washington to immediately withdraw its wrong decision while vowing to firmly safeguard the country's rights and interests.

China deplores and firmly rejects the US' investment restrictions targeting a number of high-tech industries in China and has lodged stern representations with the US side, the ministry said.

China's eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays wrapped up on Friday, with the number of domestic trips and tourism revenue seeing robust growth and exceeding that of 2019, underscoring the robust recovery of the world's second-largest economy.

The bustling scenes seen across the country during the Golden Week holidays offered the latest sign of strong vitality in China's consumption, a major economic growth driver, and the vast potential of China's steady economic recovery, in stark contrast to the dire predictions made by Western media and politicians, analysts said.

While downward pressure remains, China's economy will continue to rebound in the rest of the year and could make a full recovery at the end of 2023, thanks to robust recovery in consumption and other areas and a range of policy measures taken to boost growth, analysts noted.

Bustling tourism

A total of 826 million domestic passenger trips were made in China during the eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, a year-on-year increase of 71.3 percent and up 4.1 percent from 2019. Holiday tourism generated 753.43 billion yuan ($104.68 billion), up 129.5 percent year-on-year and 1.5 percent increase from 2019, official data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed on Friday.

Some 59.89 million trips were expected to be made on Friday during the return peak, a year-on-year increase of 58.4 percent, data from the Ministry of Transport showed on Friday. Among them, a total of 18.8 million passengers will travel via the railway with 12,571 trains to be operated, according to China Railway.

Domestic consumption experienced a strong pickup during the holidays, showing the best performance since 2019. For instance, the average daily consumption scale of service retail jumped by 153 percent compared with the same period of 2019, while the consumption scale for dine-in surged by 254 percent, according to data from China's e-commerce platform Meituan.

Multiple provincial-level regions rolled out their tourism reports for the holidays on Friday and Thursday, which returned to or even exceeded the 2019 level.

Shanghai welcomed a total of 21.30 million tourists for the holidays with transactions related to tourism recording a year-on-year increase of 29.7 percent to 29.24 billion yuan, official data showed on Friday.

The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region received a total of 14.53 million domestic tourists in the first five days of the holidays, a yearly increase of 5.38 times and 1.29 times more than the same period in 2019, thepaper.cn reported on Thursday. The region generated a total of 9.93 billion yuan in tourism revenue, a year-on-year increase of 6.31 times and 1.12 times increase compared with 2019.

Chinese tourists were able to experience the holidays in diverse forms, from touring domestic and international scenic spots and enjoying leisure time in third- and fourth-tier cities to becoming involved in emerging experiences such as cultural and tourism integration projects, night markets, and musicals, according to reports from Chinese travel agencies.

Flight bookings for top domestic destinations during the holidays surged by nearly five times compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, with bookings for flights departing on September 29 - the first day of the holidays - hitting a record high on Chinese online travel agency platform Qunar, the company told the Global Times on Friday. Bookings for domestic hotels in popular destinations doubled compared with the pre-COVID period. The top destinations included Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shanghai and other cities.

In addition to visiting well-known cities and metropolises, some Chinese travelers also opted to enjoy the nation's rich cultural heritage and breathtaking natural scenery.

A female traveler surnamed Zhao from Southwest China's Chongqing visited the Bingling Temple Grottoes in Northwest China's Gansu Province -a world cultural heritage with a history stretching back more than 1,600 years. Zhao told the Global Times on Friday that she also encountered some foreign visitors during her visit.

Meanwhile, the ongoing 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, sparked a consumption craze in sports and related fields throughout the holidays. The order volume for service consumption within the province exceeded 195 percent this year compared with 2019, while the dine-in order volume in Hangzhou increased by 443 percent and orders related to sports and fitness increased by 762 percent, per media reports.

At the same time, outbound tourism witnessed a strong rebound for the recently passed holidays. Orders for overseas travel on Chinese online tourism platform Ctrip.com increased by more than eight times year-on-year, according to a report sent to the Global Times on Friday. Meanwhile, bookings for international flights for the holidays on Fliggy reached a peak within the year.

The boom in tourism also spurred a consumption craze. In the first seven days of the holidays, sales of key monitored retail and dining enterprises increased by 9 percent year-on-year, while the major passenger flow in key commercial areas in 36 cities increased by 164 percent year-on-year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed on Friday. The domestic box office also topped 2.5 billion yuan, a yearly increase of 70 percent.

Experts attributed the rebound in consumption to China's steady economic recovery and effective macroeconomic stimulus policies, showing the nation's strong resilience and huge potential in consumption, which will also play a vital role in bolstering economic growth in the fourth quarter.

Boosting GDP growth

China's economic performance outperformed 2019 in some aspects after nearly one year of post-epidemic growth, shown by the consumption rebound for the holidays and gradual recovery in trade along with other indicators, Cao Heping, an economist at Peking University, told the Global Times on Friday, expecting a full recovery by the end of 2023 or at the latest by February next year.

China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index for September came in at 50.2, its first time in positive territory since April and after a consecutive increase over the last four months, the National Bureau of Statistics announced on September 30.

The consumption boom reflected the strong resilience and driving force of the spending power of Chinese residents, Zhang Yi, CEO of iiMedia Research Institute, told the Global Times on Friday.

Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, echoed Zhang's view and added that the targeted policy measures had further noticeable effects during the Golden Week, stressing the importance of continuing to implement the policies moving froward.

Cong told the Global Times on Friday that the consumption rebound during the holidays reflected China's huge consumption potential while also serving as a significant factor to further shore up market confidence and bolster domestic demand.

This confidence will play a vital role in promoting continuous economic growth while also elevating supply, Cong noted.

Zhang expected the consumption momentum to become an indispensable engine for advancing the economy, as the fourth quarter is also a peak season for domestic consumption, with major consumption events like the Double 11 online shopping festival.

In response to the bearish outlook on the Chinese economy painted by some Western media outlets and politicians, experts said China's consumer market is showing strong recovery and growth signs despite downward pressure with its strong market potential, resilience and confidence.

Cong noted that China maintains its market confidence as the world's second-largest consumption market, especially amid the process of rapid structural upgrading. He also stressed the importance of stepping up efforts in sectors such as infrastructure investment and support for the private economy to ignite market dynamics.

China's economic development should be the least worrying one during the global economic recovery process, Cong said.

Tianjin University's neuroscience team has made a groundbreaking achievement by launching a high-speed brain-computer interface (BCI) with 216 targets during the 7th World Intelligence Congress 2023.

This cutting-edge device enables users to type at impressive speeds using their thoughts while wearing a compact BCI device and interacting with a virtual keyboard featuring 216 keys. The system also incorporates commonly used syllables in both Chinese and English spelling, offering seamless one-click switching between Chinese and English input methods, Global Times learned from the team.

BCI establishes a "dialogue" between the brain's electrical activity and an external device. It is categorized into invasive and noninvasive types, with the noninvasive variant, based on electroencephalography (EEG) signals, being safer, more convenient, efficient, and holding tremendous potential for commercial and industrial applications, according to the team.

The number of targets and commands is a key indicator of how well BCIs can decode the brain's intentions, Xu Minpeng, a professor from the neuroscience team at Tianjin University, told the Global Times.

Tianjin University's team has gained global prominence by developing the first high-speed BCI with over 200 targets.

At present, the team has built a domestic full-chain noninvasive BCI technology including chip, electrode, algorithm and system. Three core indicators, the EEG recognition accuracy, the number of targets and information transmission rate have reached the highest international level, according to the team.

An extraordinary story has emerged with the recent discovery of a rare fossil dating back approximately 125 million years ago, through joint efforts between Chinese and Canadian researchers. This fossil unveil a remarkable encounter where a large herbivorous dinosaur fell victim to an attack by a carnivorous mammal.

About the size of a large dog, the dinosaur fossil was identified as Psittacosaurus whereas the badger-like mammal fossil is an example of Repenomamus robustus, one of the largest mammals during the Cretaceous - a time when mammals had not yet become the dominant animals on Earth.

The two were found "locked in mortal combat," and "intimately intertwined," said Dr Jordan Mallon, the palaeobiologist with the Canadian Museum of Nature who handled the fossils.

The discovery of these two species Psittacosaurus and Repenomamus robustus was not a "novel finding" in and of itself, but the "predatory behaviour" on display is a rare find, Mallon emphasized.

Wu Xiaochun, a core figure on the project, told the Global Times that the fossils reveal the mammal was not feasting on an already dead dinosaur, but was actively attacking the animal.

"Similar articles that feature a predator mammal have been published before, but only until this one can we show it had its prey alive," said Wu, who is also the head of the Paleobiology Research and Collections Department of the Canadian Museum of Nature.
A typical case of a smaller predator attacking bigger prey, the fossils show, according to Mallon, that they had both lost their lives in the "roily aftermath."

While the fossil had been researched for years since it was first excavated in 2012 in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, the study was only published on Tuesday in Scientific Reports, a scholarly journal. Mallon is the co-author of the paper.

From excavation to publication, Wu played a pivotal role in bringing the researchers from China and Canada together for the project.

In 2012, the fossil was collected in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, more exactly from the Liujitun fossil beds, which are dubbed "China's Dinosaur Pompeii." After excavation, the fossils were in the care of study co-author Dr Han Gang in China, and later Wu helped Han connect with Mallon.

The research projects between China and Canada "will continue in 2023," Wu revealed to the Global Times.

"Joint research projects such as one on a marine reptile in Southwest China's Guizhou Province, is coming along," Wu said.

Some towns in Yancheng, East China's Jiangsu Province, were hit by a tornado on Sunday afternoon. The tornado took two lives and injured 15 people, according to the local authorities. 

The tornado hit Yancheng at around 4:15 pm Sunday, in some towns in Dafeng district, Yancheng, under the influence of strong convective weather. The tornado was identified by experts as EF2 level (medium intensity), China Central Television (CCTV) reported Sunday.

The wind speed of a EF2-level tornado is estimated at 178 to 217 km per hour and usually causes a considerable damage. Under a EF2-level tornado, whole roofs ripped off frame houses, interiors of frame homes damaged, and small, medium, and large trees uprooted. Weak structures such as barns, mobile homes, sheds, and outhouses have been completely destroyed. Cars were lifted off the ground.

According to local authorities, two deaths and 15 injuries were reported from the disaster. All of the injured have been sent to hospital for treatment and none of the injuries are life-threatening. 

According to preliminary verification, 283 agricultural houses and 32 vegetable greenhouses have been damaged. The damage is being further verified, CCTV reported.

All the affected people have now been properly relocated, while post-disaster recovery and reconstruction work is being carried out in an orderly manner, according to CCTV.

The Senj Wind Farm, a project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is an example of the mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between Croatia and China, said Luci Veljacic, manager of the Grupa Company in southern Croatia, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"For me and my company it was a great honor to be part of the Senj Wind Farm project," Veljacic said, adding that in July 2019, the Grupa Company was offered a contract for supervision and implementation of safety and health protection, fire protection and environmental protection during construction of the Senj Wind Farm project.

Despite numerous unfavourable conditions, including the extremely complex mountainous terrains, the COVID-19 pandemic, snow, strong winds and thunderstorms during the construction process, the Senj Wind Farm, undertaken by China's Norinco International Cooperation Ltd. (Norinco International), was completed on schedule and "without any worker injuries, deaths or incidents," Veljacic noted.

"During the construction, all legal regulations of Croatia and the European Union (EU) and all safety measures were observed to the maximum," Veljacic said.

The Grupa Company is one of the more than 70 contractors from across Croatia participating in the construction, and among the daily turnover of about 300 workers during the construction, more than half of them were from Croatia, Veljacic said, adding that most Croatian workers were from the local Lika-Senj County.

Moreover, participation in the project has made many Croatian companies gain extensive professional experience, which will certainly make them more competitive in the EU market, not just in Croatia, Veljacic said.

Veljacic hailed the "exceptional" cooperation with the Chinese side during the construction process.

"We had an exceptional cooperation, both professional and friendly, with all Chinese companies and workers at the Senj Wind Farm project," Veljacic said, noting that in spite of the language barrier, "we successfully communicated, negotiated, solved daily problems and performed work safely."

In addition, "We also found time to socialize during the project, getting to know the cultures of the two countries ... we talked about history, music, education, customs and the like," Veljacic added.

Veljacic was deeply impressed by the hard work and expertise of the Chinese workers during the construction process.

"During this project, Chinese workers performed the most demanding work and showed exceptional expertise, professionalism, endurance and technological progress," she said, adding that she and her company colleagues also received a lot of help from Chinese engineers who "were always ready to help with their professional knowledge and experience."

The Senj Wind Farm, located on the Adriatic coast of western Croatia and inaugurated in December 2021, produces about 530 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green electricity each year and reduces Croatia's carbon dioxide emissions by about 460,000 tonnes per year.

In the eyes of Veljacic, the Senj Wind Farm is a project valuable and important not only for the Lika-Senj County but also for the whole Croatia, as it can significantly contribute to the total annual production of electricity from clean and renewable sources, reduce electricity imports and further promote low-carbon development.

"With this project, Norinco International has become one of the largest investors in green energy and the green economy in Croatia ... The example of the Senj Wind Farm project, the joint successful cooperation of Chinese and Croatian workers and companies will certainly be further developed," Veljacic said.

Most people don’t live close to a coral reef. If we want to visit one, we have to travel far, to the tropical waters that are home to these beautiful and diverse ecosystems. But, it turns out, most coral reefs aren’t that far from people. And it’s those really accessible reefs that we should be worrying about, a new study argues.

Eva Maire of the University of Montpellier in France and colleagues started by breaking up all of the world’s coral reefs into 1-kilometer-square cells. They then calculated how much travel time sat between each of those cells and the nearest human settlement, doing their best to account for whether a person would have to use a boat, a road or a meager track to reach the reef.
Fifty-eight percent of the cells are less than 30 minutes from people, the group reports February 15 in Ecology Letters. Most of those reefs can be found in the Caribbean, the Coral Triangle off Southeast Asia, the Western Indian Ocean and around islands in the Pacific. Others, such as those in the Coral Sea or the northwest Hawaiian Islands, are largely inaccessible, requiring 12 hours or more to reach — too far for a quick fishing jaunt.

Being close to people means that a reef and its resources can be more easily accessed and exploited. Proximity to a market — a source of income for fishermen with easy access to a rich catch — may make that even easier. The researchers found that a quarter of the reefs were within four hours of a major market, and nearly a third were more than 12 hours away. And how close a reef sat to a market appears to matter when it comes to the amount of fish swimming on the reef — those that are closer have lower amounts of fish, the team calculated.

Then the group looked at the pattern of protection for reefs. Many reefs are in marine protected areas that have been set up to limit exploitation. But the reefs most likely to be in a protected area are those that are far from people. An isolated coral reef is more than twice as likely to be protected than average.

The pattern is easy to explain. To set up a protected area, a government has to get everyone who is using that swath of ocean — for fishing, recreation, tourism or anything else — on board with the restrictions that will be placed on usage. And it’s a lot easier to do that with remote patches that not many people are using.

The problem with this, Maire and her colleagues note, is that it means that we may be protecting areas of the ocean that don’t really need protection. And it’s possible that the global goal of protecting 10 percent of the ocean by 2020 “can be met without actually reducing human impacts on the seascape,” they write.

There needs to be more work analyzing the pattern of marine protected areas before any such conclusion can be drawn. And there’s also something to be said for protecting coral reefs now, before they’re totally exploited. Corals already face an uphill battle for survival, given the threats of climate change and ocean acidification. Setting some reefs aside before fishermen and others can do damage doesn’t seem like a bad idea.