The sixth Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation and China-Africa Think Tank High-Level Dialog was held in Beijing on Wednesday, gathering over 500 representatives from government departments, media, think tanks and international organizations across China and more than 40 African countries.
The event, held ahead of the upcoming 2024 summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in early September, provided a platform for participants to share experiences and explore new ideas for strengthening China-Africa partnership.
Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech.
Attendees highlighted the significant progress in China-Africa relations under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and African leaders. They emphasized that China-Africa relations have entered the new stage of jointly building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future, adding that the upcoming FOCAC summit is expected to further strengthen friendship and solidarity between the two sides.
Participants also stressed the importance of promoting the principles of sincerity, affinity, good faith, and real results in China-Africa cooperation. They called on media and think tank representatives to continue fostering traditional friendship and jointly tell the story of China-Africa cooperation and development, contributing to the modernization efforts of both continents.
The participants believed the modernization achievements of China and Africa demonstrate that developing countries have the right and capacity to independently explore their own paths of modernization tailored to national conditions. They agreed that modernization should be placed at the forefront of public opinion narratives and think tank research in China and Africa, providing intellectual and public opinion support for the Global South countries to address the challenges faced by the development of modernization.
Themed "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization," the forum saw the signing of six radio, television and audio-visual cooperation agreements between relevant Chinese and African institutions, as well as the announcement of 20 joint projects and the holding of a "Friendship and Cooperation" achievement exhibition.
China-Africa media cooperation forum focuses on support for modernization
China's scientific expedition team on Thursday obtained critical ice cores during their investigation of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, which is known as Asia's "water tower".
The region encompasses "one glacier, two lakes and three rivers". It is home to Purog Kangri Glacier, the world's largest glacier in the mid to low-latitude regions, as well as Siling Lake and Namtso Lake, the largest and second-largest lakes in Xizang, respectively. It is also the birthplace of the Yangtze River, Nujiang River and Yarlung Zangbo River.
The climate in the region is complex and changeable, and its ecosystem is very fragile, and meanwhile it is a pivotal area for Xizang's economic and social development.
During their expedition, the team drilled for ice cores at different depths overnight on Thursday, aiming to capture climate records from different time scales.
Ice core drilling is typically conducted during the night and early morning when the ice temperature is sufficiently low.
Ice cores serve as vital records of global climate and environmental changes. The sediments and bubbles within these cores are clues to understanding the history of Earth's climate. By studying the bubbles captured in ice cores, scientists can analyze atmospheric composition, including carbon dioxide levels, over hundreds of thousands of years.
Yao Tandong, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and leader of the expedition, and Lonnie Thompson, a renowned American glacier expert and foreign academician at CAS, conducted their scientific expedition on the glacier Thursday morning.
Through helicopter observations, thickness-measuring radar, satellite image comparison and other methods, the scientific expedition team has found that the surface area of the Purog Kangri Glacier has shrunk by 10 percent over the past 50 years.
The average altitude of Purog Kangri Glacier is 5,748 meters, with the highest point reaching 6,370 meters. Due to global warming, the glacier is melting rapidly.
"So does the melting of glacier surface -- the higher the altitudes, the less the ablation volume, while at lower altitudes, it accumulates and forms branch-like rivers on the ice surface. Currently, these branches extend up to altitudes of 6,000 meters," said Xu Baiqing, a research fellow of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research under the CAS.
Research indicates that the accelerated retreat of glaciers on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau over the past 40 years reflects a broader trend, and the melting rate of the Purog Kangri Glacier is relatively slow compared to the overall situation of the plateau.
The temperature changes within the glacier also attributed to the great difficulty of drilling, said Xu.
"Due to climate warming, the temperature within the glacier has risen, which suggests that under the same backdrop of temperature variations, the ablation may show abrupt shift with accelerating growth," said Xu.
The expedition was launched on Aug 18, 2024 and is scheduled to continue until October.
Scientists obtain critical ice cores during expedition in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau
