Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang met with Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in Beijing on Wednesday. Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, underscored the traditional friendship between the two countries and abundant results from their cooperation in multiple fields.
Ding said China is willing to work with Iran to deliver on the common understandings between the two heads of state, deepen high-level exchanges, and consolidate political mutual trust.
The two countries should also expand pragmatic cooperation, strengthen coordination in international and regional affairs, and promote the steady and long-term progress of the China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership that benefits the two countries and their peoples, Ding said.
Araghchi said that Iran attaches great importance to the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, and is willing to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, enhance multilateral coordination, and safeguard their common interests.
Chinese vice premier meets Iranian FM
At precisely 07:15 each morning, veteran meteorologist Tsering Dekyi launches a weather balloon from Lhasa Meteorological Station, continuing a ritual that has documented the remarkable transformation of the capital city of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region over half a century.
For 26 years, Dekyi has maintained this precision-critical routine where even a one-second delay constitutes a professional failure.
"Attention to details is vital. The tiniest error can cause disaster. A mistake of just 0.1 in the data input can have a major impact," she said.
As the balloon rises into sky, it captures atmospheric readings while revealing panoramic views of Lhasa's evolving skyline, where ancient temples now neighbor modern infrastructure.
The daily launches, conducted at optimal atmospheric conditions, showcase how this ancient city harmonizes heritage with development. Through the lens of balloon-mounted cameras, prayer-flag adorned rooftops give way to sprawling new residential districts and the gleaming Lhasa-Nyingchi railway terminus.
Meteorological balloons have risen from this station since the 1970s, their flight paths unintentionally chronicling urban expansion. Where observers once saw mostly farmland, they now document a regional hub with highways radiating across the plateau and solar farms powering growth.
As Dekyi watches another balloon shrink to a dot, its sensors will transmit real-time updates about the rarefied air above one of Asia's fastest-transforming cities, where tradition and progress share the same horizon.
Weather balloons witness Lhasa's remarkable transformation
