China's Shenzhou-19 crew aboard the orbiting Tiangong space station received a shipment of supplies from Earth on Saturday, after the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft successfully docked with the space station.
Tianzhou-8 was launched into space atop a Long March-7 Y9 carrier rocket at 23:13 Beijing Time (15:13 GMT) on Friday from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan.
After about 10 minutes, the Tianzhou-8 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. Its solar panels then unfolded.
At 02:32 Beijing Time (18:32 GMT) on Saturday, the Tianzhou-8 cargo craft docked at the rear docking port of Tianhe, the core module of the Tiangong space station.
Shenzhou-19 astronauts opened the hatch door of the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft and began to move supplies and equipment to Tiangong in orbit on Saturday morning.
Weighing about six tons, the cargo includes supplies for the astronauts, propellant, application experiments and test equipment, with over 400 kilograms of scientific application supplies.
The cargo also includes supplies for the Shenzhou-19 crew for the Spring Festival -- the grandest annual traditional holiday for the Chinese -- in January.
The Shenzhou-19 astronauts on board the space station will continue to carry out cargo transfer and other related work as per schedule.
China launched the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship on Oct 30, sending a fresh crew of three astronauts -- Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze -- to its space station for another six-month mission.
Shenzhou-19 crew receive delivery from Earth
A Russian scholar said that the initiatives proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his written address at the 2024 APEC CEO Summit sends out a clear message of the need to establish a global economic system based on equality and balanced development among all countries.
The speech, delivered by Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao on President Xi's behalf on Friday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit 2024 in Peruvian capital Lima, called for efforts to steer economic globalization in the right direction, jointly promoting a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization to the benefit of various countries and communities.
Yuri Pikalov, a professor from the Pedagogical Institute of Russia's Pacific National University and a doctor of historical sciences, shared his insights in an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Saturday. He said the core message of Xi's speech sought to extend an "invitation" to all countries to work together to find solutions at a time when the global economy is facing severe challenges.
"The written speech delivered by the Chinese leader is an invitation to dialogue as the global economy faces severe challenges. President Xi Jinping invites all countries to exchange views fairly and rationally, in order to solve existing problems. This will be an important dialogue on the current situation of world economy and politics," said Pikalov.
The scholar called out the often imbalanced nature of international development with some countries dominating the global order for their own interests, and stressed that only through the common development of all nations can global problems be properly addressed.
"The initiatives proposed by President Xi aim to establish a new world order based on modern economic development in which all countries are equal in their own development and contribute to the development of the world. Until now, the development of the world economy has followed a fixed pattern, that is some certain countries order others and impede their independent development. Therefore, President Xi proposed to change the situation, so that equality can become a baseline of global economic development. If the economies of all countries can develop well, issues concerning hunger, disease and ecology can be solved, and the world will forge ahead on a path to better, more prosperous and more wealthy development," he said.
This year's APEC CEO Summit, held from Wednesday to Friday, brought together over 1,000 chief executives, thought leaders and government representatives to share insights and exchange views on the region's most critical challenges under the theme, "People, Business, Prosperity".
President Xi's initiatives aim to build equal, balanced global economic system: Russian scholar
