Boosting consumption has been a major topic of discussion at many recent local legislative conferences, with many provincial-level administrations setting targets for social retail consumption growth this year. Hainan, Shanxi, and Yunnan provinces are targeting growth rates higher than 10 percent, while Henan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces are targeting over 7 percent growth.

For over 1,300 years, the Hani people in Southwest China have plowed rice terraces that appear to cascade down the lush hillsides and form a spectacular view. The terraced fields in Yuanyang county, Yunnan province, made it onto the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2013. The agricultural wonder was created by the Hani, an ethnic group that mostly inhabits an area near the Ailao Mountains.

China is contributing its fair share to help ease the global shortfall in COVID-19 vaccines as it expands assistance to countries in dire need, advances vaccine-related cooperation with eligible partners, boosts vaccine exports and gears up production.

China's economy continued to gather steam during the Spring Festival period, although millions of people have stayed put for the weeklong holiday starting on Feb. 11, which usually sees mass migration across the country.

The Chinese stock market kicked off the first trading day of the Year of the Ox with widespread gains, as the country's ongoing capital market reforms added to investor confidence.

A total of 16.67 million trips were made in Yunnan during the just concluded Spring Festival holiday, bringing in a tourist income of 10.8 billion yuan, said local tourism authority on Feb. 18.

Meng Debiao used to begin his day with a one-hour walk to fetch water in the wee hours, crossing over rugged mountains and standing in a long queue behind the well.

During the week-long Spring Festival holiday, the consumption in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan province, saw a marked growth.

The consumer spending during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday surged noticeably, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

Many companies in the European Union (EU) and China were pleased to see EU-China bilateral trade boom in 2020 -- a year that was marred by lockdowns and industrial disruptions due to the restrictive measures put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday made four proposals for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and making new contributions to safeguarding peace.

New leisure modes have become emerging drivers for China's domestic tourism, with local tours and online tourism widely favored during the week-long Spring Festival holiday.

The forest coverage rate in southwest China's Yunnan province rose to 65.04 percent in 2020, as its total forest area increased by 3.27 million hectares to 28.27 million hectares over the last five years, authorities said.

Chinese and World Health Organization experts have completed their work in Wuhan, which is part of global scientific research on the origin of the novel coronavirus, according to a joint WHO-China press conference.

Yunnan Cancer Hospital is partnering with Uganda in areas of medical training and research.

Premier Li Keqiang has stressed solid work on benefiting the people and constantly improving their living standards amid continuous development.

China will facilitate international cooperation on ecological protection and preservation by promoting basic research, training quality talent and expanding scientific outreach and education, experts said.

The Yunnan sections of international expressways leading to Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar have been opened to traffic. In late 2020, the Dali-Lincang high-speed railway was put into service.

Dialogues are necessary. But whether China-U.S. relations could return on track hinges on whether the new U.S. administration would respect the red lines in bilateral relations.

The 2021 International Spring Festival Gala and Cultural Exchange Activity will to be staged online in the five Mekong countries from February 10 to 26.

China-U.S. relations now stand at a key moment, said Yang, adding that the Chinese government takes a stable and consistent policy toward the United States.

China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has granted conditional market approval to CoronaVac, an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine.

Yunnan province exported 3.24 million tonnes of agricultural products in 2020, with a value exceeding 36 billion yuan (about 5.57 billion U.S. dollars), up 16.4 percent and 8.9 percent year on year.

Yunnan's foreign trade grew by 15.4 percent, year on year, to reach 268.04 billion yuan (around 41.42 billion U.S. dollars) last year, Kunming Customs said on February 4.

Beijing will light the Olympic flame for a second time with a "flying ribbon" torch, whose ethereal yet dynamic design was unveiled as the symbol of the 2022 Winter Games on Thursday.