Xiplomacy: Five years on, China's Global Development Initiative delivers tangible progress

A robot is seen during the 9th China Robotop Summit in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 17, 2026. This summit kicked off at Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City here on Thursday.

An exhibition bringing together Chinese intangible cultural heritage and contemporary design opened at Somerset House in London on Wednesday, featuring nearly 150 works and sets of works by more than 70 Chinese and international artists. Titled "Reviving Craft: Reflection of the Mind," the exhibition is part of the 2026 London Design Festival and runs until Sept. 27.

The Pinglu Canal, China's first major river-to-sea canal project that has been planned and coordinated at the national level since 1949, is set to open for navigation on Sept. 16, 2026. What changes will this landmark project bring to the region? A closer look at the project from three dimensions -- economy, livelihoods, and environment -- offers a clear picture.

Zhang Zhaoyang (L), new media manager of the Urumqi Bonded Exhibition and Trading Center, and Datkaiym Alparova introduce honey from Kyrgyzstan at a livestream studio of the Urumqi Bonded Exhibition and Trading Center in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sept. 10, 2026. Datkaiym Alparova, who hails from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, is majoring in international economics and trade at Xinjiang Normal University.

At 8 a.m., in Beijing's Chaoyang district, a resident surnamed Wang scanned a QR code to unlock a shared bicycle. He mounted his phone on the handlebars using a navigation app and began cycling the six kilometers to his pet shop. "Cycling gets me to work while fitting in some exercise at the same time. It's an efficient two-in-one solution," Wang said.