China and Peru's comprehensive strategic partnership continues to flourish under the strategic guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, highlighted during Peruvian President Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra's recent visit to China.
Boluarte's visit, from June 25 to 29 at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, resulted in the signing of multiple bilateral cooperation agreements across trade, digital economy, technological innovation, inspection and quarantine, and media sectors.
Additionally, both nations announced the completion of negotiations to upgrade their free trade agreement.
Cai Wei, director-general of the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized the strategic significance and direction set by two head-of-state meetings since last year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
"Peru stands among the earliest Latin American countries to establish diplomatic ties and forge a comprehensive strategic partnership with the People's Republic of China. It is also the earliest Latin American country to sign a comprehensive free trade agreement with China. In recent years, through joint efforts, cooperation across various sectors between China and Peru has yielded fruitful outcomes, with Chinese companies playing a pivotal role in major collaborative projects aimed at enhancing Peru's economic development and improving livelihoods. I believe that under the strategic leadership of both leaders, the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Peru will continue to thrive and bear fruit, embracing a brighter future," Cai said in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV).
Cai further noted that China and Latin American and Caribbean countries are pivotal components of the "Global South" and share developing country status, and China always holds long-term strategic view towards its relations with Latin America
The initiative proposed a decade ago to establish a community with a shared future between China and Latin American countries has garnered growing support from nations across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Under head-of-state diplomacy, China-Latin America relations have significantly advanced, ushering in an era characterized by equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness, and improvements for their populations.
"This year, Peru and Brazil will host the APEC Leaders' Informal Meeting and the G20 Leaders' Summit consecutively. Global governance is entering a pivotal 'Latin American moment', with global attention turning towards Latin America. China strongly backs Peru and Brazil in their hosting roles and anticipates these gatherings will positively contribute to advancing global economic recovery and sustainable development," Cai concluded.
China-Peru diplomatic relations strengthened through head-of-state diplomacy: official
Gazans displaced by Israeli attacks are struggling to survive the harsh living conditions amid rubble and a worsening health crisis, with their prospects for survival growing dimmer as winter looms.
Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip has caused one of the world's biggest humanitarian crises and unprecedented levels of infrastructure damages.
Gaza's health ministry said more than 45,000 Palestinians have died since October 7, 2023.
The infrastructure in Gaza has been devastated, with more than 66 percent of residential buildings damaged.
According to the United Nations, 90 percent of Gaza's population has been displaced, and 84 percent of Gaza has been subjected to forced Israeli evacuation orders, with most Palestinians trapped in just 10 percent of the coastal strip.
According to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), approximately 986 health workers have been killed, and only 17 of 36 hospitals in Gaza have remained. The health sector has collapsed in Gaza.
Throughout 2024, the Israeli army expanded the scope of its military operation in the Gaza Strip. It invaded the cities of Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south, and the cities in the northern Gaza Strip, one after the other, besieging and preventing humanitarian supplies from reaching them.
Since the beginning of October this year, the Israeli army has launched a concentrated military operation in the northern Gaza Strip, which is still ongoing.
"The situation in the Gaza Strip has been catastrophic and is moving from bad to worse. Civilians have been paying a heavy cost due to the hostilities and the fighting. They are entrapped in a closed loop of displacement, hunger, lack of safety. Civilians in the northern Gaza Strip for several weeks have been facing horrendous situations. They are exposed to all kinds of risks," said Hisham Mohanna, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza.
Nurse Ashraf Al-Attar was the sole survivor after an Israeli missile destroyed his home.
"A crime of execution was committed against my entire family, my children and my wife. We were sitting at home like any family who are safely in their home. We did not pose a threat to anyone, and we were not warned in advance. Suddenly, a missile hit us and ripped my children into pieces," he said.
Elderly civilian Talaat Saksak pitched his tent on the beach to escape the bombings, but the tide posed a threat while they were sleeping.
"Of course we were drowning, our belongings are gone. Where will we get new things in the current situation? There's nothing to buy, and no money to buy things with. When the sea water flooded us, we were seriously affected," said Talaat Saksak.
Mohammed Awad is one of the Palestinian journalists who managed to leave Gaza for Cairo before the Rafah crossing was closed. His family members were killed in an Israeli bombardment, while the number of journalists killed in the Strip has risen to 196.
"I moved to Cairo after the long and extended displacement process and after my family was targeted on the sixth of January. I moved here to work through the Al Arabiya channel office to follow up on field news in the Gaza Strip, and coordinate with my colleagues who are still working in the field in order to transmit their images," he said.
Displaced Gazans face desperate struggle to survive as winter sets in
