Qinghai turning rich resources into growth drivers: governor

Northwest China's Qinghai Province is gaining steam in turning its abundant natural resources into growth drivers while speeding up ecological preservation and building a green and low-carbon modern industrial system, according to the provincial governor.

Qinghai is rich in resources with its potassium salt, magnesium salt and lithium salt accounting for more than 80 percent of the national reserves.

Its hydropower resource ranks fifth nationwide, annual total solar radiation at the second place of China, and a wind farm being the fourth biggest of the country.

Relying on the unique high-altitude resources, Qinghai has been forging itself into a first-rate salt lake industrial base, a national clean energy industry highland, an international ecotourism destination, and an export destination of organic agricultural and livestock products.

"In terms of building a world-class industrial base of salt lake, we've conquered multiple world-level technical cruxes, codified 10 national and industrial standards, shaping industrial clusters in potassium, sodium, magnesium and chlorine. In 2023, the production value of salt lake sector reached over 58 billion yuan (about 8.01 billion U.S. dollars), with potash fertilizer taking up 77 percent of the total nationwide. With these achievements, Qinghai has made its due contribution to China's food security, and development of new energy and new materials," said Wu Xiaojun, governor of Qinghai Province, at a press conference in Beijing on Friday.

Qinghai's installed clean energy capacity has topped 51 million kilowatts, taking up 93 percent of the national total. While its installed capacity of new energy has exceeded 38 million kilowatts, which is 69 percent of the total.

Meanwhile, it already has a relatively complete industrial chain for photovoltaic manufacturing.

In 2023, the province's export volume of solar cells doubled and that of its lithium batteries more than tripled.

Qinghai turning rich resources into growth drivers: governor

U.S. President Donald Trump's rollout of sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" may lead to global economic recession and will exacerbate inflation in the country, said a Spanish scholar.

Amid widespread opposition, Trump on Wednesday signed two executive orders, imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" on all imported goods and higher rates on certain trading partners.

Felix Valdivieso, a professor at IE Business School, told China Central Television (CCTV) that following the imposition of the tariffs, all consumers in the world will feel the pinch.

"These measures will have global economic impacts and may even lead to a recession. Analysts at Moody's Ratings have pointed out that these tariffs will drive up prices. Price increases will directly affect consumers' personal income and spending power, as well as their purchasing power," Valdivieso said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday announced his government will implement a 14.1 billion euro plan to support the economy in the face of Trump's tariffs.

He called the tariffs a "unilateral attack", saying they will harm the interests of people and businesses in both the EU and the United States itself, an opinion shared by Valdivieso.

"In other words, the U.S. is trying to make money by imposing tariffs, which will also drive up prices of domestic products. According to estimates by American analysts, the price of each car in the U.S. will go up by about 1,000 to 2,000 U.S. dollars after the tariffs are imposed. With car exports to the U.S. blocked, there will be two consequences for Europe. One is that Europe will have to find other markets to sell cars. The other is that it will have to bear the consequences of the decline in car sales in some way, so it has to reduce car production lines and lay off employees," he said.

Trump's tariffs may lead to global recession, exacerbate US inflation: Spanish scholar