China Media Group held the second rehearsal for the 2025 Spring Festival Gala on Friday to further fine tune the performances to be put on the grand show on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Following the first rehearsal on Sunday, the quality of performances including singing, dancing and creative programs continued to improve, and the overall organization of the gala became more refined.
The stage design of this year's gala takes inspiration from the traditional Chinese ornament Ruyi, a symbol of good luck and fortune. It seamlessly links the main stage with the audience area, enhancing the immersive and interactive experience of the Spring Festival celebration.
This year, the gala will feature the accessible broadcasting for visually impaired and hearing-impaired audiences for the first time. These versions will provide real-time program descriptions and detailed commentary to better service the special audience.
China Media Group earlier unveiled the four sub-venue locations for the 2025 Spring Festival Gala. They are Chongqing Municipality in the southwest, Hubei Province's Wuhan in central China, Lhasa of Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region also in the southwest, and Jiangsu Province's Wuxi in the east.
The gala, also known as "Chunwan" in Chinese, has been broadcast live annually since 1983, and has been seen as a major cultural symbol for the traditional Lunar New Year celebrations in China. This year's event will be aired on Jan 28, the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year.
CMG holds second rehearsal for 2025 Spring Festival Gala
CMG holds second rehearsal for 2025 Spring Festival Gala
CMG holds second rehearsal for 2025 Spring Festival Gala
As China and the United Kingdom resume their economic and financial dialogue after a five-year hiatus, banking giant Standard Chartered is poised to play a pivotal role in facilitating trade and investment flows between the two countries, as well as the global market, said Jose Vinals, group chairman of the British multinational bank.
The 11th edition of the dialogue, set to take place in Beijing on Saturday, will be co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves. This will be the first meeting since 2018, underscoring the importance of restoring high-level discussions at a time of growing global economic uncertainty.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Friday, Vinals expressed optimism about the dialogue's potential to foster broader cooperation. He highlighted the alignment of interests between China and the UK in key areas such as trade, sustainability and combating climate change.
"I think that the fact that this economic and financial dialogue between China and the UK is happening after an interruption of five years is most important. China and the UK, and many other countries, have an interest in continuing to foster open cross-border trade and investment flows. You also have common interest in things like promoting the green and sustainability agenda at a time when the world is challenged by climate warming and things like that. So, these are areas of significant common interests, and where cooperation between China and the UK is critical, but also cooperation between China and many other economies in the world," he said.
As part of its strategy to support this agenda, Standard Chartered sees itself as a critical intermediary in strengthening economic ties between China and the UK. The bank is also expanding its role as a connector between China and global markets.
"Standard Chartered has a key role to play as a super connector between China and the UK, and between China and the rest of the world. We are connecting China to the rest of the world by helping Chinese companies, both financial institutions and corporates, do business outside of China. We are also helping Chinese individuals with wealth management and diversifying their wealth across different products, both onshore and offshore. But we're also helping bring the rest of the world to China in the sense of bringing Chinese opportunities to our international investors, and then helping multinational companies who want to do more business in China or set up shop in China, do business here," Vinals said.
Standard Chartered seeks to strengthen China-UK ties as economic dialogue resumes
