The Exhibition Hall of Evidence of Crimes Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army, in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, unveiled the complete video testimony of former Unit 731 member Masakuni Kurumizawa for the first time on Monday, the 88th anniversary of the July 7 Incident, an event that marked the start of Japan's full-scale invasion of China and China's whole-nation resistance against the Japanese invaders, China Central Television reported on Monday.

According to the Roster of the Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army, Kurumizawa was born on May 25 in 1913, appointed as assistant technician on May 31 in 1944, and died in Japan in 1993. In the video, he openly confessed to crimes including human dissections, conducting experiments on human, and waging biological warfare during his service with Unit 731, the notorious Japanese germ-warfare detachment, during World War II (WWII).

Kurumizawa admitted in the video that in order to cultivate more virulent bacteria, the Unit 731 members of the Japanese invaders in China passed the bacteria through the blood of living human bodies to achieve the desired effect. The living human subjects were referred to as "marutas."

The term "maruta" was a codename referring to human subjects used in experiments. It was euphemistically employed to describe experimental materials. These were not only animals, but also human beings. As you may know, "Maruta" referred to people, captives in particular, who were subjected to inhumane medical experiments, Kurumizawa said in the video.

"I dissected 300 human bodies, about one-third of which were preserved as specimens, while the rest were burned. When we performed the dissection, the bodies were still warm, and blood spurted out," Kurumizawa said in the video.

In recent years, there has been a trend in Japanese society toward downplaying historical events and promoting historical revisionism. In this context, this full video testimony serves as new evidence and holds significant practical importance in proving that Japan waged a war of aggression against China and the brutal, savage, and inhumane acts committed by Japanese invaders against the Chinese people during the war, Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday. He said that because it was recorded while the person was alive and contains many specific details, the testimony is especially persuasive.

According to Jin Shicheng, a deputy secretary general of the Harbin Research Institute on History of Bacterial, Gas War of Japanese Invasion in China, "maruta" refers to what the Japanese invaders called "materials," which literally means "log." In addition to animals, the subjects also included human prisoners. Comparing humans and animals to "marutas" demonstrated a complete trampling on human dignity and a total disregard for human rights. It was an utter denial of human dignity and interests - an atrocity against humanity, Jin said.

Kurumizawa said in the video that Chinese, Koreans, as well as Mongolians, and some Russians were used as experimental subjects. Normally, they kept more than 40 living people in stock at all times - maintaining a standing number of 40 - because when some people died due to the experiments on them, they could be replenished at any time.

According to Jin, citing the testimony of Kiyoshi Kawashima, head of Division 4 of Unit 731 at the Khabarovsk War Crimes Trials, between 1939 and 1945, 400 to 600 people were sent to Unit 731's headquarters prison each year to become "marutas" to be experimented on. At least 600 people died each year due to these experiments, with the total number exceeding 3,000. Based on statistics from archives and oral testimonies, it can be confirmed that 1,549 victims were subjected to brutal human experiments at the "Square Building" of Unit 731.

Kurumizawa noted that due to Unit 731's strict secrecy regulations, even his own family was unaware of his activities. This secrecy was a major reason that the unit's crimes remained hidden after World War II.

The Roster of the Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army lists a total of 3,497 personnel, the majority of whom are no longer alive. Jin said this document, along with Kurumizawa's video, offers crucial evidence that complements written records, artifacts, and historical sites, further revealing the full scale of Unit 731's atrocities.

Jin noted that after the war, only a few former Unit 731 members have come forward voluntarily. The majority were hiding and remained silent. Exposing the crimes of Unit 731 is a task for the global peace forces.

The newly released video was recorded in August 1991 and runs for 83 minutes. It shows Kurimiwa exposing the crimes of Unit 731 to the public during a war exhibition held in Iida city in Japan in August 1991.

In an effort to promote China-Japan friendship, it is important to unite the anti-war, peace-loving, and grassroots friendly individuals within the Japanese society. By making this material public for the first time in China through these people, it shows that there are peace-loving and anti-war forces within Japanese society, which holds not only historical significance but also practical value, Da said.

According to Da, oral history, also known as a "living fossil," should serve as a powerful tool to counter the push by Japanese right-wing groups to revise the WWII narrative within Japanese society.

The notorious anti-China media Radio Free Asia (RFA) announced on its website and social media accounts that its Cantonese service would cease operations from Tuesday due to a shortage of funds and a reduction in staff caused by the suspension of funding by the US government.

The announcement said that with the cessation of funding from the US government, the RFA team will be further reduced, and the Cantonese service will cease updating news content starting Tuesday, which marks the 28th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland.

RFA was established in 1996, funded and operated by the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), and includes channels of English, Putonghua, Cantonese, and other languages. For a long time, the Cantonese service of RFA repeatedly fabricated false news to smear China on issues related to regions of Hong Kong and Xinjiang, according to media report.

On March 15, hundreds of staffers at Voice of America (VOA), RFA and Radio Free Europe received a weekend email that they will be barred from their offices and should surrender press passes and equipment, Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to Xinhua, the cuts followed an executive order by US President Donald Trump, which listed USAGM, as part of "unnecessary" federal bureaucracy. 

USAGM, VOA's parent agency, employs about 3,500 people and had an 886 million-US dollar budget for 2024. The agency has severed all contracts for the privately incorporated international broadcasters it funds, including Radio Free Europe and RFA, per Xinhua.

In response to questions about the US government's decision to shut down VOA and RFA, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in March that "We are not going to comment on US adjustment of its domestic policies," but added that "on those US media you mentioned, their blemished track record on China coverage is hardly a secret."

Chinese officials, foreign diplomats and scholars called for joint efforts to uphold fairness and justice and to promote international security cooperation, at the 13th World Peace Forum on Thursday. 

Launched in 2012, the World Peace Forum's core value is to provide forward-looking international security assessments and potential security cooperation recommendations. 

The theme of this year's forum is "Advancing Global Peace and Prosperity: Shared Responsibility, Benefit, and Achievement." The discussions focus on strengthening international cooperation to maintain peace, foster development, and achieve common prosperity and lasting peace for all countries. This year's forum saw a record level of international participation, with 49 high-level foreign guests from 25 countries.

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, in his address at the opening ceremony, put forward four proposals. First, learning from history and jointly safeguarding the post-war international order, as well as international fairness and justice. Second, adhering to solidarity and cooperation in order to improve global governance. Third, promoting openness and cooperation to drive global prosperity and development. Fourth, standing together in solidarity and jointly advancing toward modernization, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Han also urged that development be placed at the center of the international agenda, with a committed focus on addressing the concerns of developing countries and solving the problem of inequality and imbalance in global development, Xinhua reported.

During a luncheon meeting, Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said when responding to a question related to commemorative events marking 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, that 80-year is a major cycle in human development process. Today, however, traditional security threats have re-emerged, and conflicts and wars continue to occur. This occasion would allow the world's peoples to sit together and reflect on how to build an effective, long-term global security architecture to truly ensure peace.

In a plenary themed "Pan-Securitization and Global Security Predicament", Cui Tiankai, China's former ambassador to the US, pointed out that it is precisely under the mindset of generalized security that certain countries find themselves trapped in a "security dilemma." In other words, the predicament is not imposed on them by others; it is something they have created themselves, "they jumped into it." 

Former European Council president Herman Van Rompuy noted in his speech at the first plenary that maintaining or rebuilding trust also depends on both bilateral and multilateral dialogue. "Even if there are differences of opinion - even profound ones - dialogue remains important. If political circumstances allow for closer ties to be reestablished, the process of dialogue will be easier, especially if it has never ceased to exist," he said.

Another frequently mentioned theme at the forum was "cooperation." When it comes to cooperation with China, experts showed a positive attitude.

In the first plenary, former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama said that for Japan to achieve economic transformation, it needs to cooperate more with companies from other countries. Japan should not shy away from working with China's advanced high-tech companies, simply out of fear of US sanctions.

"We, Europe, see China as a global partner, and we hope to cooperate even more with China on global issues - especially on climate change and efforts to promote peace in different regions," Stephan Grabherr, the Deputy Head of Mission of the German Embassy in China told the Global Times.

The "Global Times Overseas China Week and Global South Dialogue: Seminar on Relations between China and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries, and the Mutual Perception of Public Opinion" were held in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina, on Monday local time. Political, business, academic, think tank, and media representatives from China and Argentina gathered to engage in in-depth exchanges on deepening mutual understanding, strengthening the public support foundation, and promoting mutual learning among civilizations between China and LAC countries.

In an interview with the Global Times, Patricio Conejero Ortiz, Director of Latin America–China Observatory (OLAC) at University of Buenos Aires,told the Global Times that “when we discuss economic development, most of the models that we take in account are models developed in the Western world. There is something very useful in learning about Chinese modernization, which is to have more diversity in terms of the possible ways in the path to development.” 

Patricio think that the Chinese modernization could bring to Latin America discussions about development and new ideas. “If you look at the countries in the Global South, of course there is a clear characteristic in China, which is leading a revolutionary process of transforming new technologies. The recent summit that we had in Beijing, China between CELAC and China was the latest step in a process that has been working for more than 10 years. So recently it’s a historical construction in the relationship between CELAC countries and China.” 

China and Argentina are probably the farthest countries in the world, but what we need to think is how are we going to build the bridge to connect our people. “There are some characteristics of the Chinese people and the Argentine people that makes us very close in some parts of our language, in some aspects of our culture. What we need to do is to increase people-to-people exchanges,” Patricio said.

This will create a closer connection and we will be able to build the bridge that we need to have a closer relationship between China and Argentina, the scholar said. 

The Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) concluded its 16th session on Friday in Beijing.

At the closing meeting, lawmakers voted to adopt a revised Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security and a revised Law against Unfair Competition.

President Xi Jinping signed two presidential orders to promulgate the laws.

Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the closing meeting.

The meeting adopted the decision of the NPC Standing Committee on ratifying the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organization for Mediation.

In addition, it approved the central government's final accounts for 2024.

The session voted to remove Miao Hua from his position as a member of the Central Military Commission, while lawmakers also passed a deputy qualification report and other personnel-related bills.

Addressing the closing meeting, Zhao stressed the need to earnestly carry out the education campaign on implementing the Party central leadership's "eight-point decision" on improving work conduct, in a bid to promote high-quality development of the work of people's congresses.

He also urged efforts to practice whole-process people's democracy, consciously accept public oversight, and maintain close ties with the people.

Lawmakers should foster strong awareness of the rule of law, remain loyal to the Constitution, strictly follow legal procedures, and faithfully perform their statutory duties, Zhao said.

Zhao chaired a meeting of the Council of Chairpersons before the closing meeting and presided over a lecture for lawmakers after the closing meeting.

Q: US President Donald Trump announced that the US carried out strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran—Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. What's China's comment on this?

A: China strongly condemns the US attacks on Iran and bombing of nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the IAEA. The actions of the US seriously violate the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law, and have exacerbated tensions in the Middle East. China calls on the parties to the conflict, Israel in particular, to reach a ceasefire as soon as possible, ensure the safety of civilians, and start dialogue and negotiation. China stands ready to work with the international community to pool efforts together and uphold justice, and work for restoring peace and stability in the Middle East.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang held talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is on an official visit to China, in Beijing on Monday.

Noting that China and Singapore are friendly neighbors and important partners, Li said that under the strategic guidance of their leaders, the traditional friendship between China and Singapore has been continuously deepened since the establishment of diplomatic relations 35 years ago, with bilateral relations enhanced and practical cooperation achieving fruitful results.

He said that China is willing to work with Singapore to uphold the traditions of mutual respect and trust, equality and mutual benefits, while maintaining close high-level exchange, enhancing strategic communication, and consolidating political mutual trust.

Li said that China stands ready to make full use of its bilateral cooperation mechanism with Singapore, implement their cooperation plan for the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, and expand and strengthen flagship cooperation projects. China is also ready to increase the scale of two-way trade and investment, actively expand cooperation in third-party markets, and foster new cooperative initiatives in areas such as the digital economy, the green economy, artificial intelligence, smart cities and ocean energy.

He called on the two countries to strengthen exchange in education, culture, tourism and media, and to adhere to open regionalism and true multilateralism, actively promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and maintain the stability and smooth operations of global industrial and supply chains.

China is willing to work with ASEAN member states, including Singapore, to promote the timely signature and implementation of the upgraded Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area pact, implement the high-quality Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and accelerate the process of regional economic integration, Li said.

Wong said that Singapore looks forward to maintaining close high-level exchange and cooperation in various fields with China, deepening friendship and mutual trust, and promoting flagship cooperation projects such as the Suzhou Industrial Park. It is also willing to explore cooperation potential in emerging fields such as the digital economy, the green economy, artificial intelligence and biomedicine, and to expand third-party cooperation and enhance people-to-people and cultural exchange.

Wong noted that Singapore is full of confidence in the Chinese economy, and is willing to enhance communication and collaboration with China on regional and multilateral platforms to safeguard free trade and the multilateral trading system.

The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau's Tianhe District Branch on Tuesday released a police report stating that a tech company in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, was targeted by overseas hackers in a cyberattack, prompting the police to initiate an investigation. The police revealed that the attack has a clear political background and shows distinct signs of cyber warfare. The Global Times will continue to follow the progress of the investigation on the case.

According to the police report, the backend system of the self-service devices of the tech company was subjected to a cyberattack, resulting in the illegal upload of multiple attack programs that maliciously disrupted the normal operation of the system. Upon receiving the report, the public security authorities promptly launched an investigation, extracting relevant samples and legally securing electronic evidence. Through technical analysis of the attack methods and related malicious code samples, it has been preliminarily determined that the incident was a cyberattack initiated by an overseas hacker organization.

According to a relevant person in charge from the Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau's Tianhe District Branch, the attackers used technical means to bypass the company's network protection devices, illegally accessing the backend system of the self-service devices. They conducted lateral movement to infiltrate and control multiple network devices, illegally uploading several attack programs, which affected the company's official website and some business systems, leading to several hours of network service interruption and causing significant losses, with some user privacy information potentially leaked.

Following the incident, the company immediately activated its emergency response plan, attempting to restore the system at the earliest opportunity and reporting the case to the local public security authorities. The authorities took the matter seriously, extracting relevant attack program samples, comprehensively securing related evidence, and organizing a professional technical team to conduct technical tracing.

The relevant person in charge disclosed that this cyberattack represents a large-scale organized and premeditated operation by an overseas hacker organization, exhibiting clear signs of cyber warfare. It is not something that an ordinary individual hacker could accomplish. "Preliminary tracing has revealed that this hacker organization has been using open-source tools to conduct network asset scanning and probing against our important departments, sensitive industries, and tech companies, broadly searching for attack targets. They exploit weak points in the network defenses of targeted units and seek opportunities to invade and control target systems, stealing and damaging important data, and disrupting the normal operations of relevant institutions."

Additionally, the technical team's analysis indicates that the attacker's methods and related technical proficiency were relatively low-level, exposing a significant number of digital traces during the attack. Public security authorities are currently conducting technical analysis and investigative work based on these leads.

The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau's Tianhe District Branch stated that this cyberattack not only violated the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise, but also posed a serious threat to China's cyberspace order and public interest.

A cybersecurity expert told the Global Times that the attack had a clear political background, was highly targeted, and constituted an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) operation. He further analyzed that judging from the official announcement, the overall level of the attack was not particularly sophisticated, falling within the second or third tier of APT groups' capabilities. Currently, when it comes to cyberattacks at this level, China-from regulatory authorities to major cybersecurity firms-has already developed effective response capabilities in threat detection, tracing, and countermeasures. "We can conduct in-depth analysis of the attack process and samples, and in some cases, can pinpoint the source of the threat," the expert said.

The police have reminded the public that any individual or organization encountering activities that endanger cybersecurity has the right to report them to the local cybersecurity department of the public security authorities in accordance with Article 14 of the Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China. The authorities will resolutely crack down on such illegal activities in accordance with the law.

In recent years, following reports of cyberattacks launched by overseas hacker groups against China, public security authorities have promptly launched investigations and ultimately identified the foreign perpetrators. The most notable cases include the cyberattack against Northwestern Polytechnical University in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province and the cyberattack on the Wuhan Earthquake Monitoring Center.

In this regard, the expert stated that China's technical capabilities, industrial strength, and operational mechanisms in building APT attack response capabilities have been continuously evolving. The expert outlined a timeline tracking the progress of domestic cybersecurity firms in analysis and attribution capabilities from passively responding to attacks like Stuxnet around 2010, to proactively detecting certain attack activities after 2013, and to achieving breakthroughs in tracing attacks back to individual hacker after 2016.

US President Donald Trump said after his call on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations for a ceasefire. However, the Kremlin said the process would take time and US president indicated he is not ready to join Europe with fresh sanctions to pressure Moscow, Reuters reported. 

The Russian leader said the telephone conversation with his American counterpart lasted more than two hours and was both substantive and candid, Russian state media outlet Tass reported. Putin said the Russian side will "continue to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a potential future peace treaty outlining a number of positions," without reaching an agreement on unconditional ceasefire.

Putin thanked Trump for supporting the resumption of direct talks between Moscow and Kiev and announced his readiness to work with Ukraine on a memorandum on a future peace treaty, according to Tass. 

When asked about the phone call between US President Donald Trump and the Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine crisis on Monday, after which Trump said Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations for a ceasefire, while Putin said that Russia would "continue to work with the Ukrainian side on a possible peace agreement, without reaching an agreement on unconditional ceasefire, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday that on the Ukraine crisis, China supports all efforts conducive to peace, and supports direct dialogue and negotiation between Russia and Ukraine and a political settlement of the crisis. "We hope parties will reach through dialogue and negotiation a fair and durable peace deal that is binding and accepted by all the parties concerned," Mao said.

In response to another question on whether China would support or consider participating in Russia-Ukraine negotiations, as several locations, including the Vatican, are being considered as possible venues for negotiations, the ministry's spokesperson said on Tuesday that on the issue of Ukraine crisis, China supports all efforts conducive to peace. 

"China will, in light of the will of the parties concerned, work with the international community to continue to play a constructive role in ultimately solving the crisis and achieving lasting peace," the spokesperson said.

The New York Times (NYT) reported that the US president on Monday had backed off his demand that Russia declare an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, instead endorsing Putin's call for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. The US media outlet said it was a shift from the US president's recent threats of more pressure on Russia.

While the US president appeared to be prepared to step back and urge Russia and Ukraine to make a deal directly with each other, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed concern about that, saying on Monday after he held two calls with the US president that "the negotiation process must involve both American and European representatives at the appropriate level," according to the NYT. 

In the latest remarks made by relevant parties, the call between Trump and Putin signaled willingness of both sides to engage in direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, despite significant differences in their expectations for the outcome, some Chinese experts said.

Russia has not set a specific timeline for a ceasefire agreement, indicating that it is willing to negotiate at its own pace and is in no rush to reach a ceasefire. Ukraine, on the other hand, hopes to influence US perceptions of the conflict by expressing disappointment, Cui Hongjian, professor of the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"However, it remains unclear whether the conditions for a genuine ceasefire through negotiations are currently in place," Cui noted. 

European leaders have agreed to increase pressure on Russia through further sanctions following the Putin-Trump call, the Guardian reported, citing the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz. 

Russia's position is, unsurprisingly, a continuation of its long-held stance. Moscow believes that the Ukraine crisis cannot be separated from NATO's continued eastward expansion since the end of the Cold War and the resulting pressure on Russia's strategic space, Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"Therefore, Russia has consistently insisted that resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict must go hand in hand with a restructuring of the broader European security architecture, an appeal that aligns with its national security logic," Cui Heng said. 

Throughout the negotiation process, Europe's role has appeared particularly awkward. Europe is eager to avoid being sidelined by the US and Russia, hoping to secure its place at the negotiating table. However, at least based on the phone calls from yesterday, it seems that Europe has not truly "sat at the table" and remains marginalized, Cui Heng noted.

After the successful conclusion of the Chinese leader's state visit to Vietnam earlier this month, the Vietnamese Embassy in China held the 2025 Vietnam-China media briefing in Beijing on Monday to introduce the main outcomes of the visit and the development of bilateral relations. Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Thanh Binh said on Monday that this visit has established a new and important milestone in the construction of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and the strategically significant Vietnam-China community with a shared future.

Ambassador Pham particularly mentioned that the visit resulted in the signing of 45 cooperation documents, the largest number and the broadest scope to date, reflecting the new positioning, new content, and new level of bilateral relations.

At the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Luong Cuong, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Vietnam from April 14 to 15.

Pham delivered his remarks in Chinese, noting that this visit took place on the occasion of several significant anniversaries: the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic relations, the 95th anniversary of the CPV's founding, the 80th anniversary of Vietnam's independence, and the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification. The visit achieved substantial results, he said. 

Pham said that through this visit, China and Vietnam continued to maintain high-level strategic communication, emphasizing the importance the two parties and the two countries attach to their relations, as well as the special position of these relations in each country's diplomatic strategy. 

The two sides agreed to further enhance coordination and cooperation in diplomacy, defense, and public security. A specific achievement was the decision to elevate the "3+3" strategic dialogue mechanism between the two countries in these areas to the ministerial level. "This mechanism is relatively rare on a global scale, highlighting the uniqueness of the bilateral relationship between Vietnam and China," Pham said.

He also mentioned that during the visit, China and Vietnam reached a consensus on promoting the next phase of practical cooperation, identifying key areas and major initiatives, including urban rail, agricultural product trade, science and technology, AI education and training, digital economy, green economy, and smart ports.

2025 will also be the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges. China has announced that over the next three years, it will invite young Vietnamese people to China for "red study tours," strengthening the friendly ties between the younger generations of both countries through their shared revolutionary heritage. Pham told Global Times on Monday that this initiative will allow young people in Vietnam to better understand the history of mutual assistance between China and Vietnam during their revolutionary years, laying a solid foundation for the future development of bilateral relations.

During the press briefing, Pham presented some data at the meeting: In 2024, Vietnam received 3.74 million Chinese tourists, a 114 percent increase from the previous year. 

In the first quarter of 2025, Vietnam welcomed 1.58 million Chinese tourists, a 178 percent of year-on-year increase. Currently, there are nearly 400 round-trip flights per week between the two countries, and about 23,000 Vietnamese students are studying in China.

As socialist neighbors connected by shared borders, China and Vietnam's economic and trade cooperation has developed rapidly. Pham mentioned that Vietnam is currently China's fourth-largest trading partner, and China has remained Vietnam's largest trade partner for 20 consecutive years. According to Chinese statistics, bilateral trade exceeded $260 billion in 2024.

Pham told Global Times that as Vietnam's economy becomes more open, its sensitivity to external influences is increasing. Vietnam hopes that countries will strengthen cooperation to protect and develop the long-standing international trade order and maintain stability in global production and supply chains.

When discussing the current global trade situation and tariff impacts, Pham said that China and the US are two major countries and also important economic partners of Vietnam. He hopes all parties can strengthen cooperation and reduce friction. This not only aligns with the interests of all countries but will also bring tangible benefits to people around the world.

Pham quoted a signed article by General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee To Lam, published in People's Daily on April 14, stating, "The success of our two parties and two countries' friendship will not only bring benefits to our people and best serve their interests but also make increasingly practical and responsible contributions to the peace, stability, social progress, and prosperity of all nations in the region and the world."