Thousands of tourists and locals gathered at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing on Wednesday morning, braving the freezing winter cold to witness the New Year's first flag-raising ceremony.
As the sun slowly rises above the horizon, the military band began playing the Chinese national anthem, and the giant red flag was hoisted to the top of the mast.
After witnessing the red flag reached the top of the mast, the crowd at the square erupted in applause and cheers.
"We wish our country enjoy harmony and prosperity!" said the visitors attending the ceremony.
Many of the spectators lined up outside the square at midnight to get a good spot, despite freezing temperatures of about minus eight degrees Celsius.
"We arrived before 3:00. We are university students in Beijing and watching the flag-raising ceremony here tops the must-do list for us since we study and live in the capital," said a visitor.
For some, the solemn flag-raising ceremony gave them a sense of inspiration to kick-start a new year with hope to fulfill their goals.
"Every time I watch the flag-raising ceremony, I feel emotional and deeply moved. This year, I hope to achieve more at work, contributing to our country's development," said a visitor.
Some visitors have traveled a long way from across the country to welcome the new year with this ceremony and share the moment of unity and national pride.
"We came all the way from Shenzhen to witness the flag-raising ceremony. It's an exciting experience. For the New Year, I wish everyone happiness," said a visitor from the tech hub of Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province.
"I come from Sichuan Province and I'm a member of the Tibetan ethnic group. Watching the flag-raising ceremony on the first day of the year feels truly meaningful. For 2025, I wish good health for my family, friends and loved ones," said another visitor from southwest China's Sichuan Province.
Tourists, locals gather in Tiananmen Square to watch first flag-raising ceremony of 2025
A survey released by CGTN to global netizens shows that respondents strongly condemn the U.S.'s unilateral bullying of other countries under the pretext of "reciprocal tariffs," saying that this move may trigger countermeasures from other countries and eventually evolve into a "tariff world war," seriously impacting the world economy.
The U.S. claims that it has suffered losses in international trade and is raising tariffs on all trading partners under the pretext of "reciprocity," aiming to reduce the trade deficit. However, 81.03 percent of global respondents do not agree with this, believing that such measures will not achieve the expected results. During his first term in office, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on major trading partners. According to statistics from the American Action Forum, a think tank, Trump's protectionist policies during the first term cost U.S. consumers about 57 billion U.S. dollars annually. According to the survey, 81.94 percent of respondents believe that "reciprocal tariffs" cannot solve U.S.'s own problems but will only harm the interests of U.S. consumers and drag down the U.S. economic growth.
The competitiveness of products from different countries varies. Each country can set appropriate tariffs based on its own products to achieve "mutual benefit" in the international market. The "tariff farce" of the U.S. side is a selective disregard for the balance of interests reached through multilateral trade negotiations. Some 82.8 percent of the respondents point out that in the context of unequal economic development and economic strength of different countries, the U.S. insistence on full and complete reciprocity in tariffs is extremely irrational.
The majority of the U.S. tariffs this time are targeted at developing countries. Regarding this, 82.96 percent of the respondents condemn the U.S. for conducting "indiscriminate attacks" on other countries on the issue of tariffs, believing that this is a deprivation of the development rights of other countries, especially developing countries. According to the survey, 84.43 percent of the respondents believe that the U.S.'s imposition of "reciprocal tariffs" will exacerbate the problem of trade unfairness with its trading partners and traditional allies, seriously damaging the country's credibility.
As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the U.S. has unilaterally and subjectively introduced so-called "reciprocal tariffs" and insisted on implementing them. This is a typical act of unilateral bullying. In response, 79.47 percent of the respondents criticize the U.S. for seriously violating the rules of the WTO. In the survey, 79.58 percent of the respondents say that "reciprocal tariffs" have become a new tool for the U.S. to promote trade protectionism, which will further intensify international trade tensions and global economic fragmentation.
This survey was released on CGTN's English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian platforms. Within 24 hours, a total of 9,600 overseas netizens participated in the survey and expressed their views.
CGTN poll: US 'reciprocal tariffs' draw condemnation from world
