China sees more economic, sci-tech capabilities, composite national strength in 2024: official

China had seen a marked increase in its economic strength, scientific and technological capabilities and composite national strength in 2024 with new solid strides forward in advancing Chinese modernization, a deputy head of the country's top economic planner, said on Friday.

Zhao Chenxi, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), briefed the media on the country's achievements in advancing high-quality development in the past year at a press conference in Beijing.

"We made solid progress in promoting coordinated development, and improving spatial configurations. In terms of regional development, the leading and driving role of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was further enhanced. The ecosystem and the environment quality in the Yangtze River and the Yellow River basins kept improving. The efforts to promote the integrated development of regional strategies achieved positive results. In terms of urban-rural coordination, we issued and put into effect the second round of all-around rural revitalization, with efforts made to consolidate and expand our achievements in poverty alleviation. The work-relief programs created over 3 million employment opportunities," Zhao said.

The five-year action plan on deepening the people-centered new urbanization strategy was advanced through concrete measures in the past year, he said.

"We accelerated the green and low-carbon transformation, with green being a more notable feature in China's development. On the one hand, we unveiled a set of guidelines to ramp up green transition in all areas of economic and social development, thoroughly implemented a comprehensive conservation strategy, and made steady progress in achieving the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. On the other hand, we accelerated the implementation of major projects for protecting and restoring key ecosystems, formulated compensation regulations for ecological conservation, and took measures to keep skies blue, waters clear, and land pollution-free. In the first three quarters of 2024, the average concentration of fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, dropped by 3.6 percent year on year in cities at and above the prefecture level," Zhao said.

"The level of openness steadily improved, and international cooperation continued to expand last year. The import and export saw a relatively rapid growth. In the first 11 months of 2024, China exported a total of 5.84 million vehicles, ranking first in the world and hitting a record high," he said.

With regard to the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, China signed the Belt and Road cooperation plan with Brazil, Peru, Singapore and other countries in 2024, he added.

"Shared development was comprehensively promoted, with efforts made to ensure people's wellbeing. Solid and effective measures were taken to benefit the people, stabilize employment, boost household income, and improve the quality of public services. So far, there are nearly 100,000 public childcare facilities and 410,000 elderly care institutions and facilities in China," Zhao said.

China sees more economic, sci-tech capabilities, composite national strength in 2024: official

China sees more economic, sci-tech capabilities, composite national strength in 2024: official

The first batch of aid supplies from the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) arrived in Mandalay, the epicenter of Myanmar's recent 7.9-magnitude earthquake, on Wednesday, according to the RCSC.

The supplies include over 4,900 relief items such as tents, blankets, folding beds, and family kits to support the affected households. The Myanmar Red Cross will distribute these items with assistance from an RCSC rescue team, which had previously entered Myanmar and is also helping set up shelters.

Following the deadly quake on March 28, the RCSC promptly donated 1.5 million yuan (about 208,900 U.S. dollars) in emergency funding. At the request of Myanmar, the RCSC dispatched relief supplies to the disaster-stricken area and deployed a rescue team to the epicenter to conduct humanitarian operations.

Currently, 15 RCSC rescuers in Mandalay are conducting search-and-rescue operations, providing medical assistance and psychological support to those in need.

Meanwhile, in response to the needs of the people in quake-hit areas of Myanmar, RCSC has sent a second team of about 22 rescue workers.

They will bring equipment for water supply, public health, and epidemic prevention to the affected areas and will carry out tasks such as supplying drinking water, building emergency toilets, distributing supplies, and setting up shelters to support those affected.

The members of the second team are mainly dispatched from the Red Cross Societies of Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou Provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

First batch of China Red Cross aid supplies arrives in Mandalay, Myanmar