Xi extends Spring Festival greetings to service personnel

South China's tech hub of Shenzhen, home to the leading global drone maker DJI, has to date opened a total of 310 low-altitude logistics routes, with 82 new routes added in 2025, according to the ongoing annual session of the municipal people's congress. Official data published during the meeting on Monday shows that Shenzhen has built more than 1,200 low-altitude takeoff and landing facilities as the city accelerates the development of its low-altitude economy.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, extended festive greetings on Wednesday to people from non-CPC political parties and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC), personages without party affiliation, and other members of the united front ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, falls on Feb. 17 this year, and with the 9-day vacation running from Feb. 15 to Feb. 23, the country is immersed in its most vivid, symbolic, and emotionally charged celebrations of the year.

On Jan. 19, China unveiled its economic performance in 2025: the economy surpassed the 140-trillion-yuan ($20.11 trillion) mark for the first time, with GDP growing by 5.0 percent year-on-year. It is estimated that China contributed around 30 percent to global economic growth.

People visit an event themed on the "Hubei New Spring International Consumption Season" in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 5, 2026. The "Hubei New Spring International Consumption Season" kicked off here on Thursday, attempting to create diverse consumption scenarios for the upcoming Spring Festival.