United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs' Deputy Director Driss El Hadani highlighted the need for more international cooperation and building capacities for space activities, while attending a Thursday conference commemorating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Regional Center for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (China), affiliated to the United Nations.
Delegates from 14 countries attended the event in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province.
The center in Hangzhou is the sixth center to be established under the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. As of September 2024, the center had cultivated 395 master's and doctoral students from 33 countries, and had conducted more than 30 short-term training courses -- training over 2,000 participants from more than 70 countries. Originally inaugurated at Beihang University in Beijing in 2014, it relocated to Hangzhou earlier this year.
"From our discussions this morning and the seminar this afternoon, it is clear that the regional centers have a very important role in terms of capacity building indication. The center was created with the aim to offer the opportunity to developing countries to benefit and to contribute to space activities. The regional center in China and especially the one in Hangzhou, I think is offering a new opportunity to all member states to contribute to the lunar program. And there is a large place for this center to contribute to the capacity building and to bridge the gap between the spacefaring nations and the emerging nations in terms of space activities and especially for lunar activities," said Driss El Hadani.
As part of the celebrations, international delegates toured the center and its laboratories. They explored how the center is advancing space research and fostering international cooperation in areas like satellite technology, remote sensing and lunar space station.
UN official highlights cooperation, capacity building for space, lunar activities
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for greater efforts to adapt Marxism to the Chinese context and the requirement of the times.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the requirement in an instruction on the project of studying and developing Marxist theory in the new era.
Xi said the project of studying and developing Marxist theory is a basic and strategic one for strengthening the Communist Party theoretically. Over the past 20 years, the project has achieved many high-quality results, and played an important role in aspects including studying and publicizing the Party's new theories and consolidating the guiding role of Marxism in the ideological domain.
Xi stressed efforts to uphold fundamental principles and break new ground on the new journey of the new era, focus on studying, publicizing and implementing the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, deepen systematic research and interpretation that elevate practical experience and understanding into academic and theoretical knowledge, and help the people better embrace the Party's new theories with more targeted and effective study and publicity.
Xi urged endeavor to stick to adapting the basic tenets of Marxism to China's specific realities and its fine traditional culture, carry out in-depth study on the major questions discovered in the practice of building China into a great country and moving toward national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization, speed up the building of a Chinese intellectual system in philosophy and social sciences, and train high-quality human resources for theoretical development, so as to make greater contributions to adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the requirement of the times.
A work meeting on the project of studying and developing Marxist theory was held in Beijing on Friday.
The meeting conveyed Xi's instruction.
Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, was present at the meeting and delivered a speech.
Cai called for efforts to deepen research on the basic tenets of Marxism for in-depth answers to China's specific and practical questions, and sum up original theories, while improving institutions and mechanisms and fostering a sound academic atmosphere in this regard.
Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting.
State Councilor Shen Yiqin was present at the meeting.
Xi urges more efforts to adapt Marxism to Chinese context, requirement of times
