① How China and France navigate global challenges together? A look into the 60-year diplomatic ties and future prospects. (00:57)
② What joint initiatives have China and the U.S. agreed upon? Insights from Wang Yi and Sullivan talks. (12:01)
③ What's fueling the Texas vs. U.S. federal government standoff on immigration? (25:52)
④ Arab nations strongly criticize the Western decision to suspend funding for the UNRWA for Palestine refugees. (36:34)
⑤ Record-breaking spring festival travel rush kicks off in China as the economy continues to boom in 2024. (44:58)

How China and France navigate global challenges together? A look into the 60-year diplomatic ties

With in-depth panel discussions on domestic and global news and current affairs, World Today gives you the story behind the headlines.

News

①Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun has called for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific in his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. What are the details? (00:53) ②South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has admitted his African National Congress party suffered a challenging election result.(15:56) ③Opec+ members have agreed to extend oil production cuts well into 2025.(25:30) ④China's Chang'e-6 probe has touched down on the far side of the moon to collect samples from this rarely explored terrain. What is Chang'e-6's main mission? (36:00) ⑤Chinese holidaymakers will spend a record 6.8 trillion yuan, or about 937 billion U.S. dollars, on domestic travel this year.(45:30)

What did China's defense minister say at the Shangri-La Dialogue?

China and Arab states have wrapped up a major forum in Beijing in a sign of deepening cooperation. 

What factors are driving the deepening ties between China and Arab states? How can they work together towards a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, as well as a more equitable, multipolar world order?

Host Zhao Ying is joined by Zhang Chuchu, Deputy Director, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Fudan University; Steven Wright, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University; Mher Sahakyan, Director of "China-Eurasia" Council for Political and Strategic Research, Armenia; and Timothy Niblock, Emeritus Professor of Middle East Politics, Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter.

Panel: What's behind the deepening ties between China and the Arab world?

① Xi Jinping has proposed five cooperation frameworks to step up the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future. What is drawing the two sides closer? (00:51) 
② Liu Jianchao, a senior official of the Communist Party of China, is on a visit to Japan, with resuming ruling party talks being at stake. (14:20) 
③ We look at possible central issues at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. (25:27) 
④ Why does Thailand aim to become a BRICS member? (35:42)
⑤ Will the ruling ANC fail to win majority in South Africa’s election? (44:15)

How can China and Japan foster an objective mutual understanding?

① In a recent session of senior CPC officials, Xi Jinping stressed youth employment and said that full employment is a priority goal for social and economic development. What are the opportunities and challenges in China’s job market? (00:50) 
② We take a look at a new report released by the Chinese government on human rights violations in the US in 2023. (14:40) 
③ We explore why the US is not in a leading position in the EV sector. (24:44) 
④ A former intelligence chief will lead a right-wing coalition in Netherlands. What could be the new government’s policy directions? (34:51)
⑤ We look at Haiti’s political process where its transitional council has tapped a former prime minister to lead the country again. (42:06)

Xi Jinping’s emphasis on employment in policy priority

① Member states of the World Health Organization have decided not to invite Taiwan to the organization's annual assembly in Geneva. Who is politicizing a health issue to advance their own agenda? (00:54) 
② A decade after China launched the first phase of its semiconductor investment fund, the investment vehicle is now officially into its third phase. We discuss China’s goals on semiconductor. (13:02) 
③ What was behind the rise in China's industrial profit in April? (24:57) 
④ Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi is in China to mark a decade of strategic partnership. (33:49)
⑤ The UN Security Council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in Rafah after a deadly Israeli airstrike killed 45 Palestinians sheltering in a refugee camp. Are there still means to rein in Israel? (45:16)

How China and France navigate global challenges together? A look into the 60-year diplomatic ties

Download our free app to listen on your phone