BRICS for Multilateralism

BRICS for Multilateralism

November 14， Brasilia， Brazil： BRICS leaders pose for a group photo at the 11th BRICS summit.

At a closed-door session of the summit， Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated the need to uphold multilateralism in a globalized world and said that international affairs should be addressed through extensive consultation rather than decided by one country or a few. The era of globalization should not see some fighting against others， but should instead be about all bringing benefits to all， he added.

A declaration of the summit issued that day noted that BRICS leaders remain committed to preserving and strengthening the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization （WTO） at its center while recognizing the importance of necessary WTO reform.

Mars Landing Experiment

November 14， Huailai County， Hebei Province： The trial ground for an experimental Mars landing， the largest in Asia for simulated landing on extraterrestrial bodies. China unveiled an experiment simulating the process of a probe hovering， avoiding obstacles and descending to land on Mars.

China plans to launch a Mars probe in 2020， aiming to complete orbiting， landing and roving in one mission， an unprecedented achievement， according to the China National Space Administration （CNSA）. A safe landing on Mars is one of the biggest challenges facing the mission. The experiment simulated the gravity of Mars， about one-third of that on Earth， to test the design of the lander.

Ambassadors and diplomats from 19 countries including France， Italy and Brazil as well as representatives from the European Union， the African Union and the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization were invited to observe the experiment.

Soaring Sales

November 11， Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province： A staff member of Alibaba Group speaks in front of a giant screen at the companys headquarters showing that Tmalls sales hit 268.4 billion yuan （about US$38.3 billion） during the 2019 SinglesDay shopping festival.

Chinas major online shopping platforms shattered records during the Singles Day shopping spree， which has become a window into Chinas great potential for domestic demand， declared Alibaba CEO Zhang Yong. Behind the Singles Day records is Chinas constantly growing demand， especially in lower-tier cities and rural areas， supported by quicker and smarter delivery services employing advanced logistics technology.

Moreover， Chinas strong domestic demand also sent out positive signals to the global market. Compared with only 27 brands in 2009， Alibaba platforms attracted more than 22，000 overseas brands from over 200 countries and regions this year.

Polar Icebreakers

November 20， Antarctica： Chinas polar icebreaker Xuelong 2 （left） breaks ice for another icebreaker， Xuelong. Xuelong and Xuelong 2 reached the waters near the Zhongshan research station that day for joint survey operations.

Xuelong 2， Chinas second—but first domestically built—research icebreaker embarked on its maiden polar voyage from Shenzhen， Guangdong Province on October 15 and joined its predecessor Xuelong， which set out from Shanghai on October 22， to conduct Chinas 36th Antarctic expedition and take the nations exploration endeavors to new heights.

China had previously conducted 35 expeditions to Antarctica and nine to the Arctic， obtaining a great deal of scientific data and many samples.

Brown Giant Panda Adoption

Xian， Shaanxi Province： Male brown-and-white panda Qizai （literally，“7th Son”） eats at the Qinling research center of giant panda breeding. A ceremony was held on November 20 to celebrate the adoption of the worlds only captive brown giant panda by Pandas International， a Denver-headquartered non-profit organization， which aims at ensuring preservation and propagation of giant pandas.

Granting the adoption of Qizai was a show of appreciation to Pandas International， which has been donating vaccines， lab instruments， baby panda cribs and milk powder to the Qinling research center and backing up its daily work， according to representatives of the research center. The research center expects more international and domestic organizations and individuals to begin participating in panda conservation in the future.

The worlds first brown panda was discovered in 1985 in the Qinling Mountains.