Xi urges advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics on 120th birth anniversary of Deng Xiaoping

Chinese President Xi Jinping lauded the "outstanding contributions" of late leader Deng Xiaoping and urged advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics initiated by Deng, as the country marked Deng's 120th birth anniversary on Thursday in Beijing.

Addressing a symposium held to mark the anniversary, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the country must continue to thoroughly study and apply Deng Xiaoping Theory.

Deng made outstanding contributions to the Party, the people, the country, the nation and the world, said Xi, adding that Deng's achievements have been immortalized in history and will always inspire future generations.

Deng was the core of the second generation of the Party's central collective leadership, the chief architect of China's socialist reform, opening up and modernization, and the trailblazer of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi said, adding that Deng was also a great internationalist who made major contributions to world peace and development.

Xi said Comrade Deng Xiaoping had lived a glorious, fighting and extraordinary life.

Xi noted that, after the Cultural Revolution, a decade-long turmoil that ended in 1976, Deng had led the Party and the people in achieving China's historic transformation.

Deng pushed China to achieve a new breakthrough in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, break new ground in socialist modernization, and set a correct path for the country's complete reunification, said Xi.

Deng's historical achievements are comprehensive and groundbreaking, with profound and lasting impacts on both China and the world, Xi said.

We will forever remember his great historical achievements and forever revere his noble revolutionary conduct, Xi said.

The most important intellectual legacy left by Deng is Deng Xiaoping Theory, Xi said, calling for thoroughly studying and applying the theory to address real-world problems.

Xi said the best way to honor Deng is to continue advancing the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics that he initiated.

Xi called for further comprehensively deepening reform to continuously provide strong momentum and institutional safeguards for Chinese modernization.

He urged moving faster to build a modernized economy, working toward greater self-reliance in the science and technology sector, and developing advanced socialist culture.

Xi also urged efforts to achieve more notable and substantive progress in promoting common prosperity for all. 　　 Realizing China's complete reunification has long been the aspiration of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and other members of the older generation of revolutionaries, Xi said.

He urged resolute efforts to promote the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait, and demanded firm opposition to "Taiwan independence" to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Stressing that China has always been a staunch force for world peace, Xi called for unremitting efforts to uphold peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit.

Xi said China will take an active role in the reform and development of the global governance system, and create new opportunities for the world with new progress in Chinese modernization.

Senior leaders Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended the meeting, which was presided over by Cai Qi.

Zhao, Wang, Cai, Ding and Li are all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Han is the country's vice president.

Xi urges advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics on 120th birth anniversary of Deng Xiaoping

Xi urges advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics on 120th birth anniversary of Deng Xiaoping

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