The 47th WorldSkills Competition concluded in Lyon, France on Sunday night with the Chinese delegation leading the medal tally, totaling 36 gold medals.
Held every two years, the WordSkills Competition showcases top talent from around the world in a variety of vocational and technical fields, demonstrating skills through intense, real-world challenges.
In addition to their golds, the Chinese team won nine silver medals, four bronze medals and eight medallions of excellence.
Two Chinese participants in the Industry 4.0 competition were honored with the prestigious Albert Vidal Award for achieving the highest overall score in the event.
Several events saw the continued dominance of Chinese contestants who secured the the fifth consecutive championship in CNC miling, the fourth consecutive gold medal in masonry and fashion technology and the third consecutive gold medals in electrical installation, electronic technology, and autonomous mobile robots.
"I feel very happy. After all, my work and my team's work has gained recognition. It is such a great pleasure," said Zhou Qinfei, a gold medalist in Fashion Technology.
Among the six new events of this competition, the gold medals of the three events, industrial design technology, optoelectronic technology and robot system integration, were all won by players from south China's Guangdong Province.
"Mastering a skill can really make a difference in the world," said Liu Fuqiang, a gold medalist in Robotic System Integration.
"Now, skills have great potential. We welcome more young friends to dedicate themselves to skills learning to the service of our country someday," said Wu Longhui, gold medalist in Robotic System Integration.
"For four consecutive sessions, we have won the first place in gold medals and team total score. We have pocketed gold medals in each of the six major areas of this competition, which is a major highlight (of our achievement this year)," said Wu Liduo, deputy head of the Chinese delegation.
At the closing ceremony, the WorldSkills flag was officially passed from Lyon to the Chinese city of Shanghai, which will host the 48th edition of the competition.
This year's event, held on Sept 10-15 with the events running on Sept 11-14, drew around 1,400 participants from nearly 70 countries and regions to compete in the 59 skill categories. Sixty-eight Chinese contestants participated in all the skill categories.
47th WorldSkills Competition closes as China leads medal tally
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a non-binding resolution on Wednesday demanding an end to Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory within the next 12 months by an overwhelming margin.
The resolution was adopted with 124 votes in favor, 14 against and 43 abstentions, during the UNGA's 10th emergency special session considering Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The resolution demanding that Israel comply with all its legal obligations under international law, including advisory opinions by the International Court of Justice, was introduced by the State of Palestine on Tuesday and was co-sponsored by more than two dozen nations.
By the newly adopted resolution, the UNGA "demands that Israel brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which constitutes a wrongful act of a continuing character entailing its international responsibility and do so no later than 12 months from the adoption of the present resolution."
The UNGA also demands that Israel comply without delay with all its legal obligations under international law, including as stipulated by the International Court of Justice.
In remarks before the vote, Mohamed Issa Abushahab, the permanent representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations, said the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza must be addressed through unimpeded access to those in need, a ceasefire deal and the full implementation of all related Security Council resolutions.
A credible peace process must be relaunched to work towards a two-State solution to diffuse this conflict, he said, expressing support for the State of Palestine's full statehood and UN membership. "The time has come to end the suffering," he noted.
Introducing the draft resolution on Tuesday, Riyad Mansour, the permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, called for the establishment of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He said the Palestinian people have been steadfast in the pursuit of their inalienable rights, just like all other citizens worldwide who seek self-determination.
"The Palestinians want to live, not survive -- they want to be safe in their homes, they want their children to go to school without fear. They want to be free in reality as they are in spirit," said Mansour.
UNGA calls for end to Israeli occupation in Palestine within a year
UNGA calls for end to Israeli occupation in Palestine within a year
