Chinese modernization contribute to global development: forum guests

As Chinese modernization is playing an important role in the world's economic development, guests attending forums marking the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in Beijing on Friday expected China to share more experiences of its modernization for joint efforts to build a better future.

Hundreds of experts and former political figures from various countries attended four sub-forums of the conference to commemorate the historic foundation of China's diplomacy.

At the forums, many guests said that China is sharing the benefits of its development through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative, providing a new model for global development.

"This is a new model that haven't been done by other countries that have earlier been industrialized and modernized in the past centuries or in the last 50 years. It was only China coming out after four decades, becoming the leader of this new technology. And it is being shared with other countries in the southern hemisphere or the Global South," said Raul Loyola Lambino, chairman of the Association for Philippines-China Understanding (APCU).

Khaled Orabi, the managing editor of Oman's Muscat Media Group, shed light on cooperation between China and Oman in many sectors such as industrial development, tourism, and water distillation.

"I come from Oman. There is a big cooperation between China and Oman, which is called China-Oman industrial garden, and so many projects in industrial, in tourism, and development, in water distillation," said Orabi.

China has also carried out cooperation with Laos, and these projects have contributed to Laos' economic development and the living-standard improvement of the Lao people.

"Take the cooperation between Laos and China for instance. We've completed many infrastructure projects through the Belt and Road cooperation, including the China-Laos Railway. These projects have made important contributions to Lao's economic development and improving the Lao people's living standard," said Pholsena, director of Nam Mang 1 Power Company Limited.

Initially put forth by late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence refer to "mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence."

Chinese modernization contribute to global development: forum guests

Persistent heavy rainfall has led to rising water levels across the Yangtze River basin, creating significant flood control challenges for the areas along the main streams and tributaries.

The Three Gorges Reservoir, located upstream on the Yangtze in central China's Hubei Province, has been gradually reducing its discharge rate to alleviate pressure on downstream areas. On Thursday, the outflow was reduced from 24,000 cubic meters per second to 18,000 cubic meters per second and was further lowered to 14,000 cubic meters per second on Friday. This has caused the reservoir level to rise by approximately 2.9 meters, storing 1.46 billion cubic meters of floodwater.

One of the Yangtze's major tributaries, the Zijiang River in central China's Hunan Province, has also experienced significant flooding. The Shaoyang hydrological station recorded water levels exceeding the warning level, triggering the fourth flood event of this year on Zijiang.

The Miluo River, another river flowing through Hunan, flows from east to west into Dongting Lake before joining the Yangtze River. On Monday afternoon, the water level at the Pingjiang hydrological station on the Miluo River hit 77 meters, exceeding the warning level by about seven meters.

Torrential rains have affected over 200,000 people in Pingjiang County, with more than 1,000 roads and bridges damaged and public transportation disrupted. No casualties have been reported so far.

In east China's Anhui Province, the town of Huikou in Susong County is the first town the Yangtze enters as it flows into Anhui. Water levels at the Huikou hydrological station have been rising continuously, exceeding the warning level by about one meter by Monday afternoon. The water levels along the main course of the Yangtze River in the province have all exceeded the flood warning levels and continue to rise.

Additionally, 19 tributaries including the Shuiyang River, Chuhe River, and Xihe River have also surpassed their respective warning levels.

Yangtze River basin battles severe flooding after intense rainfall