Shanghai Stock Exchange launches new STAR Market index

China's Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) on Tuesday launched the SSE STAR 200 Index to track the performance of companies listed on the STAR market, China's Nasdaq-style sci-tech innovation board.

The SSE STAR 200 Index selects 200 STAR market securities with small-scale market capitalization and good liquidity as index samples. Three other indexes -- the SSE STAR Earnings Quality Strategy Index, the SSE STAR Brand Name Drug Index and the SSE STAR Value 50 Strategy Custom Index -- are scheduled to be unveiled on Friday.

The Earnings Quality Strategy Index measures the performance of securities of listed companies with high earnings quality, the Brand Name Drug Index measures the performance of representative companies in the brand name drug industry, and the Value 50 Strategy Custom Index selects 50 securities with lower operating risks and valuation to measure the performance listed companies with value characteristics, according to the SSE.

Following the release of these four indexes, the STAR market will have 24 indexes tracking domestic and foreign financial products worth a combined total of nearly 160 billion yuan (about 22.4 billion U.S. dollars).

The STAR 50 Index, the STAR 100 Index and the STAR 200 Index will jointly form the market's scale-based index series, reflecting the overall performance of securities from listed companies with varying scales of market capitalization, said the SSE.

"The variety of sci-tech innovation board indexes has been constantly enriched, which can more accurately track the performance of more STAR stocks, especially stocks related to specific market segments considered as the 'new quality productive forces'. At the same time, it provides a feasible way to accommodate the diversified demands of various investors. In the long run, the injection of long-term funds will enable the capital market to better serve the high-quality development of the real economy," said Zhang Gang, chief investment adviser at Southwest Securities.

China has been accelerating the construction of index and product systems. As one of the leading exchanges globally, the SSE, in collaboration with the China Securities Index Company, has been actively enriching the index system and encouraging the development of index fund products. Currently, the combined number of SSE and CSI indexes exceeds 7,000, covering multiple asset classes such as stocks, bonds, commodities and funds, with stock indexes accounting for nearly 70 percent. The index samples span more than 20 major countries and regions worldwide, centering around the markets of Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong.

Shanghai Stock Exchange launches new STAR Market index

The two-state solution is the only path to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, former Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in an interview with China Media Group (CMG) in Guangzhou, southern China’s Guangdong Province.

The two-state solution refers to a proposed framework for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, aiming to establish two independent states -- Israel and Palestine -- coexisting in peace and security.

"I believe the core of the conflict is the fact that we have people -- the Palestinians -- that have suffered for almost eight decades, and that are probably the only people in the world today that are under siege, being attacked, being killed. I don't see any other solution other than giving them their own state with 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as their capital, which was what was presented in the Arab Summit 22 years ago in 2002. And the 22 Arab countries were ready to sign a peace treaty based on that condition that the Palestinians will have their own state, their own dignity, their own homeland. And this has not happened since," Diab said in the interview aired on Friday.

Resolving the Palestinian question and achieving lasting peace in the Middle East requires the concerted efforts of the entire international community, including major powers like China, Diab noted.

"It's about global balance of power. So, China, being a major player at the global level, can contribute towards a peace resolution, and they have done that before. But everybody needs an end to this conflict, and the only way to end this conflict is to create a Palestinian state for Palestinians. The two-state solution -- I think, it's only fair -- to have Palestinians have their own state and determine their own future without dictation by anybody," he said.

The former Lebanese leader highlighted China's long-standing ties with Lebanon and the Middle East, emphasizing its proactive and fair role in regional affairs. He noted China's historical connections with the region and its potential contribution to achieving a political resolution, including the widely discussed two-state solution.

"China has always been a friend to Lebanon and a friend to the Middle East. There are Lebanese-Chinese ties from a long time ago at the trade level and so on. And yes, China is playing a proactive role even at the political level. China, as a fair player, would, in my mind, be conducive to reaching the political solution and the two-state solution that everybody talks about," Diab said.

Two-state solution only way to resolve Palestine-Israel conflict: former Lebanese PM