After the mixed doubles table tennis final match was held at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, Chinese gold medalists Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, North Korean silver medalists Ri Jong-sik and Kim Kum-yong, and South Korean bronze medalists Shin Yu-bin and Lim Jong-hoon, posed for a group selfie. This friendly interaction among these athletes has sparked widespread discussion.

When Kim, the North Korean female player, experienced a microphone issue at the post-match press conference, Wang took the initiative to check and gave a hand, showing a good sportsmanlike demeanor.

Despite being competitors on the field, athletes' ability to communicate and interact amicably on the podium demonstrates the deep friendship and mutual respect among them. The photograph of the three nations not only captures their moment of glory but also embodies the Olympic spirit's essential values of friendship and unity.

Sun expressed gratitude towards her partner Wang, stating that the Olympics is the most sacred and prestigious competition.

"Participating in an international competition and the Olympics for the first time, I feel both happy and a bit regretful," Kim said after the final match. 

"We have learned a lot from competing against the world's top-ranked Chinese team. We will train harder and aim to win the gold medal next time... the Chinese team are the world's top team, we did our best" she said.

Regarding Wang as an idol, Shin said, "At the Chengdu mixed team event, I went to ask for Wang Chuqin's autograph and took a photo with him. He was very friendly."

"I've faced Wang in mixed doubles many times. His strength is impressive, and it's difficult to return his shots. Every time I have to return his ball, I feel that it's a real challenge, a feeling of 'as expected of the world number one.'"

These interactions and mutual respect between athletes transcend national and ethnic boundaries, highlighting the sincerity and inclusiveness present in competitive sports, experts said.

The "emotional entanglement" between Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle and Australian swimmer Kyle Chalmers during the ongoing Paris Olympics, which began with a misunderstanding but ended in friendship, has captured the attention of Chinese netizens over the past few days.

The story started when Chalmers did not acknowledge Pan's greeting before the men's 100 meters freestyle swimming competition, which Pan interpreted as "deliberate."

In a subsequent media interview, after Pan broke his own world record to win gold in the men's 100 meters freestyle, he expressed disappointment that Chalmers did not respond to his attempt at friendliness. Pan also remarked that some foreign swimmers lacked respect for Chinese athletes and coaching staff.

Pan's comments quickly went viral on Chinese social media, leading many netizens to criticize Chalmers for his perceived bad manners and arrogance.

Chalmers later clarified that he had not seen Pan's greeting and reached out to him personally afterward. He also sent a private apology to Pan, who responded positively by exchanging swim caps with Chalmers.

Chalmers shared photos on social media of the exchanged swim caps, including Pan's, and their handshake. They also exchanged contact information, and Pan said he is looking forward to showing Chalmers around Shanghai, the first stop of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2024 in October.

As spectators cheered and celebrated Team China's exceptional performance at the Paris Olympics, the presence of foreign coaches has sparked extensive discussion among Chinese netizens, with many praising their dedication.

During the Olympics, Chinese rhythmic gymnasts made history to win the country's first Olympic group all-around gold medal in Paris. It was the first time a team from outside Europe has won Olympic gold since the event was introduced at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. 

Anastasia Bliznyuk, serving as coach of the Chinese rhythmic gymnastics team, played a pivotal role in this historic victory, earning recognition and praise from many Chinese netizens and gymnastics enthusiasts.

Bliznyuk, a two-time group all-around champion in rhythmic gymnastics from Russia, has been coaching the Chinese team since 2022. With the ban on Russian athletes by the International Olympic Committee, Bliznyuk has realized her Olympic aspirations through the success of the Chinese team, according to media reports.

A video shared by Chinese netizens depicting Bliznyuk and head coach Sun Dan nervously empathizing with the competing Chinese team in a previous competition has been widely shared and discussed by Chinese netizens, with many expressing gratitude for the Russian coach's support.

One comment stated that that's probably why the Chinese rhythmic gymnastics athletes could win, because the coaches on the sidelines appeared to be competing themselves. 

After she took on her role as coach in China, Bliznyuk began learning Chinese to improve communication. Nearly three months later, she could express herself in Chinese and started coaching her team members in the language, according to Russia Today.

Welcoming attitude to China

Throughout the Paris Olympics, the Chinese sports delegation was supported by a total of 34 foreign coaches across over 20 sports, such as boxing and skateboarding. Additionally, numerous foreign experts and medical personnel were engaged in the preparation for the games. 

These professionals not only contributed to enhancing the athletic performance of Chinese athletes but also fostered strong bonds with everyone during the coaching process, according to media reports.

In the 2022 Winter Olympics, the Chinese sports delegation included a total of 51 foreign coaches, making up over 65 percent of the coaches in the delegation. These coaches hailed from 19 countries and regions including the US, Canada, Russia, France and Japan. 

The Chinese delegation's impressive qualification for all seven sports and 15 disciplines, competing in 104 out of 109 events, including 35 events for the first time at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, can be attributed to the country's openness to international coaching teams. This welcoming attitude has been instrumental in driving the growth and success of winter sports in China, according to the Beijing Daily.

Innovative training methods

Wang Dazhao, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times on Monday that the foreign coaches are not only highly professional, but also dedicated, with a strong work ethic.

"The foreign coaches are accustomed to sharing their international insights and successes to guide our athletes, offering them valuable opportunities to broaden their horizons," Wang added. 

In terms of the technique of the Chinese rhythmic gymnasts, Bliznyuk said that she believes that Chinese rhythmic gymnastics schools have their unique characteristics, as they are characterized by synchronization, graceful movements and a distinctive Chinese style. If the rhythmic gymnastics schools of Russia and China were to join forces, even greater results would be achieved. 

Meanwhile, the Chinese female boxers also clinched a total of three gold and two silver medals, representing the best Olympic performance for Chinese boxing. In the lead-up to the Olympics, the Chinese women's boxing team enlisted the expertise of a coaching team from Cuba to refine and sharpen the techniques and tactics of the Chinese athletes. 

Li Qian, one of the Chinese boxers, said that the Cuban coaches provided valuable and practical expertise. Their main focus was to work on offensive tactics, with a more aggressive approach, as reported by the media. 

In an interview, Coach Raul Fernandez Liranza mentioned that the results are a culmination of the collective efforts of many individuals. He highlighted that his team conducted extensive research and preparation in the initial stages, followed by multiple overseas training sessions, competitions and exchanges in the later stages. "I hope we'll be in the same position in the next Olympics," he said.

Italian coach Patrizio Antonio Parcesepe helped distance race walker Yang Jiayu improve her endurance and acclimate to hot weather conditions. Yang won gold in the 20 kilometers walk at the Paris Olympics.

Yang said that she gained valuable insights from Coach Patrizio, and she also received words of encouragement from her coach during the Paris Olympics competition.

Alongside the players' training and China's established training system, foreign coaches have introduced innovative training methods and techniques. When introducing foreign coaches, Wang Chunlu, a former short track speed skating world champion, emphasized the importance of continuously learning and comparing different coaching approaches to find the training methods that work best for China's athletes.

When considering the ongoing trend of sports transcending national borders and becoming increasingly globalized, Shen Yi, a professor on international relations at Fudan University, highlighted that this evolution reflects the advancement of human society. Sports exchanges have played a crucial role in the global movement of talent in today's era of globalization, Shen added.

China's inclusivity and magnanimity are evident in its open-minded approach. "As China welcomes talent from all corners of the globe, everyone is expected to fulfill their role," Shen said. 

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Thursday announced the birth of panda twins early Thursday morning in Hong Kong, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The pair, a female and a male, are cubs of Ying Ying and Le Le, pandas given as a gift by the central government to Hong Kong in 2007.

Ying Ying and Le Le successfully completed natural mating in Ocean Park in March. After five months of gestation, the female giant panda Ying Ying finally gave birth to the twins.

A team of animal care professionals, together with experts from the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda, are working around the clock to take care of Ying Ying and the newborn twins until their condition fully stabilizes, according to the Information Services Department of the HKSAR government, as reported by Xinhua.

HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee thanked the central government for gifting the pandas, which he said fully demonstrates its care and support for the HKSAR.

He said that this year is the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the birth of the first pair of giant panda cubs in Hong Kong is of special significance.

According to the Ocean Park, this birth is a true rarity, especially considering Ying Ying is the oldest giant panda on record to have successfully given birth for the first time. 

The Park also said on its social media platform that the public will have to wait a few months before they can officially meet the cubs.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism of HKSAR, Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, attended a ceremony on Friday in Southwest China's Sichuan Province for the signing of a cooperation agreement between the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda and the Hong Kong Ocean Park.

The agreement aims to better implement the central government's gift of a pair of giant pandas to the HKSAR in 2024, according to China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda.

An 8-year-old girl in East China's Zhejiang Province pressed the red button next to the ATM in a bank and used the intercom to seek assistance from the bank staff after getting separated from her family at night, according to thepaper.cn on Tuesday.

The monitoring center at a local bank in Zhejiang received a call from the self-service bank intercom recently, where staff learned that a young girl had become separated from her family while returning home with her grandfather after a dance class. 

Without mobile phone numbers to contact her family, the bank staff reported the situation to the police and stayed with the girl to comfort her. The police then quickly arrived and escorted the girl home to the address she provided.

According to the report, the girl's mother had taught her to press the red button next to an ATM to reach someone who would help her in times of trouble. When she found herself separated from her grandfather, she used this method to seek help.

Many netizens praised the girl for her intelligence and quick thinking in seeking help using the ATM's red button.

Since the beginning of this year, multiple places across China have reported corruption cases in the funeral service industry. Experts said corruption in the sector can leave a negative influence on social morality and funeral services, as a public service sector, should not be profit-oriented.

Data shows that at least 18 practitioners in the funeral service sector from across the country including East China’s Anhui, Jiangxi and Jiangsu provinces, Southwest China’s Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, and Northeast China’s Jilin and Liaoning provinces, have been caught in corruption investigation since the beginning of this year, as regions across China kicked off a campaign to root out misconduct and corruption in the funeral and burial sector.

Experts noted Monday that corruption in the funeral industry is not just about money but represents a negative impact on social morals, trust, and respect, as well as a significant harm to traditional culture.

Among these personnel in question, 12 were directors, deputy directors or former heads of the local funeral homes, and another six were incumbent officials or former officials from the local funeral management bureaus in the counties, according to a report from Chinese Newsweek on Sunday.

Several people among the personnel investigated have been engaged in the funeral industry for a long period of time. For example, Yang Tao, general manager from Kangrong Industrial Co in Quxian county in Dazhou city, Sichuan, who was placed under investigation for corruption this May, has been working in the sector for over 30 years.

So far, Dazhou authorities have prosecuted 89 suspects, according to chinanews.com.

Since April, multiple places including Anhui, Liaoning and Jilin have launched campaigns against misconduct in the funeral service sectors targeting problems such as charging illegal fees, illegal construction and operation of cemeteries and corruption among personnel.

Zhu Lijia, a professor of public management at the Chinese Academy of Governance, told the Global Times on Monday that the misconduct of these “flies,” or corrupt low-ranking officials, not only directly affects people’s lives but also undermines Chinese tradition.

Chinese people pay great respect to the deceased, therefore the corruption in the funeral industry harms public interests and the social custom, Zhu said.

According to Zhu, the phenomenon of excessive and arbitrary charges, from the morgue all the way to the cemetery, has damaged traditional Chinese culture. He noted that as a public service industry, the funeral service sector should not be profit-oriented.

US Vice-President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic candidate for president, announced on Tuesday to choose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. 

"One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle class families run deep. It's personal. As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he's delivered for working families like his own," Harris said in a statement, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Walz, 60, previously served as a US House representative. He was elected governor of Minnesota in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. He emerged from the most accelerated vice presidential search in modern history from a shortlist that included half a dozen Democrats, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, according to CNN.

In his remarks to a raucous crowd of more than 10,000 at Temple University, Walz described his upbringing in a small Nebraska town, his 24 years serving in the Army National Guard and his prior career as a high school social studies teacher and football coach, Reuters reported. 

Democrats hope that having Walz on the ticket will help shore up support in key battleground states such as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Those are strongholds of the Democratic party, although Harris' opponent and former President Donald Trump flipped them when he clinched the White House in 2016. US President Joe Biden flipped them back to the Democrats with his 2020 victory. This time around, the three states are crucial to winning the election.

According to polling data compiled by the US election information website Real Clear Politics, as of Tuesday, Harris leads Trump by an average of 0.5 percentage points in national polls, but Trump still leads in several key swing states, media reported. 

In reaction to the selection of Walz, Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that "this is the most Radical Left duo in American history. There has never been anything like it."

Scientists from Tsinghua University have unveiled a pioneering method for photonic computing that could significantly enhance the training processes of optical neural networks. This advance, coupled with the release of the Taichi-II light-based chip, is poised to offer a more energy-efficient and faster alternative for training large language models.

Chinese researchers Lu Fang and Dai Qionghai, along with their team, published their findings in a paper titled "Fully Forward Mode (FFM) Training for Optical Neural Networks" in Nature magazine. The paper, released on Wednesday, highlights the potential to advance both applied and theoretical fields including deep neural networks, ultrasensitive perception, and topological photonics.

The current standard for training AI models relies heavily on digital computer emulation, which is limited by its high energy demands and dependence on GPU hardware. The FFM learning method developed by Tsinghua allows these computer-intensive training processes to be conducted directly on the physical system, which significantly reduces the constraints of numerical modeling, according to the research team.

While photonic computing has offered high computational power with lower energy consumption compared to conventional methods, it has been restricted to preliminary computations. The precise and complex calculations required for advanced AI training have continued to rely heavily on GPUs, Liu Gang, chief economist at the Chinese Institute of New Generation AI Development Strategies, explained to the Global Times on Thursday.

The new technology developed by Tsinghua's team promises to overcome these limitations, potentially eliminating the need for extensive GPU use and leading to more efficient and precise training of AI models, Liu added.

The first generation Taichi chip, also developed by Tsinghua University and released in April, was featured in Nature magazine. This chip utilizes photonic integrated circuits, which process data using light instead of electrical signals, enabling ultra-fast data transmission and significantly reducing energy consumption.

Compared to its predecessor, the Taichi-II chip has been specifically engineered to perform in-situ training of large-scale neural networks using light, filling a critical gap in photonic computing. This innovation is expected to accelerate AI model training and to excel in areas such as high-performance intelligent imaging and efficient analysis of topological photonic systems.

Energy consumption in the AI industry remains a substantial challenge. According to Rystad Energy, a research institution based in Norway, the combined expansion of traditional and AI data centers, along with chip foundries in the US, is projected to increase energy demand by 177 terawatt-hours (TWh) from 2023 to 2030, reaching a total of 307 TWh. In comparison, the US Energy Information Administration reported that 4,178 TWh of electricity was generated at utility-scale facilities across the US in 2023.

The National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII), under the auspices of China's central bank, announced on Wednesday that it will conduct an investigation into four rural commercial banks over suspected manipulation in the treasury bond trading market.

The move came as the authorities are taking actions to water down the treasury market frenzy and mitigate the associated financial risks.

The four banks were named as Changshu Rural Commercial Bank, Jiang'nan Rural Commercial Bank, Kunshan Rural Commercial Bank and Jiangsu Suzhou Rural Commercial Bank Co - all based in East China's Jiangsu Province, according to the statement.

The regulator said that these banks are "suspected of manipulating prices and transferring benefits in the secondary market trading of treasury bonds."

This came as part of the authorities' efforts to cool down the bond market rally recently seen in China, analysts said.

Earlier in July, yields on 30-year treasury bonds in China once fell below 2.5 percent, and 10-year yields dropped below 2.3 percent, attracting significant market attention.

Following China's long-term treasury bond yields, the People's Bank of China (PBC), the central bank, recently announced plans to execute treasury bond borrowing operations with the primary dealers in the open market, a move analysts said will increase treasury bond yields and diversify China's monetary policy toolkit.

Pan Gongsheng, governor of the PBC, in June at the 2024 Lujiazui Forum emphasized the importance of maintaining a normal upward-sloping yield curve to preserve market investment incentives.

Bond issuance is an important part of this year's proactive fiscal agenda, which will help boost market confidence and expectations, and better support economic development, according to analysts.

China will replenish 35 billion yuan ($4.9 billion) to this year's third batch of ultra-long special treasury bonds on Friday, the Ministry of Finance said on August 2.

The bonds will be issued at the Beijing Stock Exchange with a term of 50 years and an interest rate matching that of the previous issuance of the third batch of such bonds at 2.53 percent, it said.

The Chinese economy maintained stable expansion in the first half of 2024, with more than half provincial-level regions across the country showing a stepped-up recovery trajectory over the period - which was fueled by robust industrial growth, new drives from the creation of new quality productive forces and comparatively strong external demand, provincial government data showed.

A total of 16 provincial-level regions saw their GDP growth rate higher than the national average of 5 percent in the first half. The output of both South China's Guangdong and East China's Jiangsu provinces exceeded 6 trillion yuan ($913.64 billion), ranking top two among all provinces, relevant data showed.

Chinese analysts said the figures prove the resilience of the world's second-largest economy while showing potential for long-term growth. They expressed firm confidence in the country's ability to achieve annual GDP growth target of around 5 percent, calling for stepped-up policies to expand domestic demand, especially through increasing residents' income.

New and green growth

Among the 31 Chinese provinces and municipalities that have released their GDP growth for the first half of the year, 16 recorded a GDP expansion above 5 percent. North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region took the lead with a GDP growth rate of 6.2 percent, followed by Southwest China's Chongqing and Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region by both 6.1 percent, according to data released by local governments.

In the first six months, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in North China, East China's Yangtze River Delta region and nine Chinese mainland cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) generated total output worth 25.5 trillion yuan, accounting for about 41.6 percent of national total economic output.

All these major economic regions have shown a good momentum in the growth of high-tech manufacturing and new quality productive forces. For example, investment in advanced manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing in Guangdong rose by 18.6 percent and 23.9 percent, respectively. In North China's Shanxi Province, the investment in high-tech manufacturing jumped by 50.6 percent and investment in new energy power generation rose by 34.9 percent.

"The data are remarkable, indicating a stable and upward trend of the Chinese economy," Cao Heping, an economist from Peking University, told the Global Times on Monday.

Specifically, the regional economy represented by the GBA has become a locomotive engine leading China's economy, as the in-depth integration of digital technologies and real economy has given birth to new industries and new business models that dominate these regions' growth, Cao said.

Zhou Jingtong, deputy dean of the Bank of China Research Institute, attributed central and western regions' remarkable performance to policy support, complete infrastructure facilities and comparatively lower labor cost. "Take Yibin city in Southwest China's Sichuan for example. Previously, Yibin was famous for producing Chinese baijiu, but now new energy industry booms in the city, underscoring the positive impact of industrial transfer," he said.

Zhou added that industrial transfer and the rapid growth of the central and western regions of China will contribute to the country's balanced economic development.

China's coastal cities have sound growth basis and large economic volume, but they also face pressure in maintaining relatively high GDP growth rate. These regions should enhance efforts to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces to handle the negative impact of the restructuring of global industrial chains, according to Zhou.

Robust momentum

On the heels of the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in mid-July and a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee last week, various government departments have moved swiftly to arrange economic work for the second half of the year as the authorities strive to accomplish the goals for economic and social development in 2024.

Recently, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, cut several major short and long-term interest rates, including one-year loan prime rate (LPR) and five-year LPR, in a fresh move to strengthen counter-cyclical adjustments and increase support for the real economy.

Thanks to strong policy support, positive factors are accumulating despite persistent pressure from complex external environment, lack of effective demand domestically and temporary challenges in economic transformation and upgrading, analysts said, expressing firm confidence in the growth prospects for the world's second-largest economy.

Growth in China's services activity picked up in July as employment expanded at the quickest pace in nearly a year, a Caixin-sponsored survey showed Monday.

The Caixin China General Services Business Activity Index, which provides an independent snapshot of operating conditions in industries such as retail and tourism, ticked up 0.9 points to 52.1 in July, coming off an eight-month low, it noted.

"In the second half, the Chinese economy is expected to rebound following the implementation of a series of policies," said Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund, calling for confidence and patience for the Chinese economy.

Citing that boosting consumption is crucial to bolster the economy, Yang said efforts are needed to increase residents' income and encourage the development of enterprises so as to create more jobs. Moreover, stabilizing the real estate market and stock market will increase residents' property income and thereby greatly promote consumption recovery, he said.

Zhou said fiscal policies should step up, and stimulus policies should shift from expanding production to expanding consumption. "From increasing jobs to income, and even direct subsidies are possible methods," Zhou said.