Chinese President Xi Jinping has made important instructions following a fire at a shoe factory in Jinjiang City under Quanzhou City, east China's Fujian Province, urging all-out efforts to carry out search and rescue operations, identify the cause of the accident and hold those responsible strictly accountable, Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.
The fire broke out at around 12 pm on Thursday, causing major casualties, according to Xinhua.
A total of 183 firefighters and 35 fire engines were sent to the scene. As of now, the open flames have now been extinguished, and the exact cause is still under investigation. Firefighters said that a large amount of clutter had been piled up in the factory building's stairwells, severely hampering firefighting efforts and hindering rescue operations, according to China Central Television (CCTV) News in its latest coverage of the development.
Earlier, firefighters rushed to the factory of the Huiteng Shoe Industry Co., Ltd in Chendai town shortly after the fire, but as of 3:20 pm on Thursday, rescuers were still unable to enter the burning building as operations to extinguish the blaze and locate missing individuals continued, Xinhua reported.
According to a report from CCTV News, the fire has resulted in casualties. And following the incident, China's Ministry of Emergency Management has demanded that all resources be mobilized to extinguish the fire, immediately verify the casualty situation, and make effort to rescue those still trapped while providing urgent medical treatment to the injured.
A joint working group has been dispatched to the site to oversee rescue operations, according to CCTV News.
Jinjiang is one of China's leading footwear manufacturing hubs and the world's production base for sports shoes. According to official records, Jinjiang's footwear and apparel industry generated an annual output value exceeding 250 billion yuan ($36.74 billion) in 2024, with annual sports shoe production surpassing 1.2 billion pairs — accounting for 20 percent of global output.
The city is home to more than 7,000 footwear manufacturers and upstream and downstream supporting enterprises, forming a complete industrial chain and production ecosystem.
The Taiwan regional Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have not only compromised and made concessions to Japan and the Philippines, but have also sided with external forces in support of actions that infringe upon China's rights and interests. In doing so, they have harmed the overall interests of the Chinese nation, the shared interests of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, and the vital interests of Taiwan's fishermen, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said on Thursday.
Zhu made the remarks when asked to comment on the so-called "concern" expressed by the US, the UK, France, and Germany over law enforcement patrols conducted by China Coast Guard vessels in waters east of Taiwan region, which Taiwan's regional authorities have hyped up.
The DPP authorities have become traitors to the Chinese nation, have already been rejected by compatriots on both sides of the Straits, and will inevitably face reckoning of history, said Zhu.
China will hold a gathering to celebrate the 105th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, will confer the July 1 Medal, the Party's highest honor, on model CPC members.
Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, will deliver an important speech.
Outstanding Party members, Party workers, and primary-level Party organizations from across the country will also be honored at the gathering.
The PLA Southern Theater Command (STC) naval and air forces conducted a routine patrol in the South China Sea on Saturday and Sunday, said Senior Captain Zhai Shichen, spokesperson for the PLA STC, on Monday.
In an attempt to stir up troubles in the South China Sea, the Philippines co-opted countries outside the region to organize so-called joint patrols, disrupting peace and stability in the region. Forces of the STC will resolutely safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and firmly uphold regional peace and stability, said Zhai.
A video showing a bull charging pedestrians near a metro station entrance in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province, circulated online on Sunday, according to footage released by Chinese news outlet the Paper.
The video showed that in the early hours of Sunday, a yellow bull knocked down two pedestrians near the entrance of the Wanjiali Square Station in Changsha before continuing through the area, while several others rushed to get out of its way.
According to the Paper, a staff member at a local police station said on Sunday afternoon that the incident did occur and that the bull had escaped from the nearby seafood and aquatic products market. The animal has since been slaughtered.
The police staff member said that the merchant who owned the bull and the injured pedestrians were negotiating compensation at another police station, according to the report.
The Beijing News reported that the injured were taken to hospital, and follow-up work is currently underway.
A staff member at a police station near the metro station told the Global Times that further details could not be disclosed at this stage and that the local public security bureau would release an official statement later.
As the US approaches its 250th birthday, its "nation of immigrants" label may need to be re-examined. Research shows that in 2025, the US experienced a net migration outflow of approximately 150,000 people - the first "reverse migration" wave since the Great Depression of the 1930s - and this trend is expected to intensify further in 2026 and 2027. Scholars point out that this historic population reversal is rooted in imbalances in the US economic structure and issues with social governance, reflecting profound economic and political restructuring in the country, and signaling a decline in its economic vitality, social cohesion and global appeal.
Migration outflow of about 150,000 people in 2025
On May 9, 41-year-old Jesse Derr and 45-year-old Jess Yeastadt, drove five hours from Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, to the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, California. This couple was not on vacation. They had joined hundreds of other Americans at the second annual Move Abroad Conference organized by the relocation company Expatsi to learn how to move from the US to Mexico, the CNBC reported.
The couple represents potential participants in the US "reverse migration" wave. A report released by the Brookings Institution in January indicates that the net migration outflow for the US in 2025 ranged between 10,000 and 295,000. Analysis by the Wall Street Journal of the relevant data states that the US experienced a net migration outflow of about 150,000 people in 2025, marking the first "reverse migration" phenomenon since the 1930s.
The US government attributes this phenomenon to its policies of strengthening the deportation of illegal immigrants and tightening visa regulations. According to information released by the US Department of Homeland Security in January, nearly 3 million "illegal immigrants" left the US in 2025. However, behind the surface of this population movement seemingly driven by immigration policy, there lies a less-noticed structural reversal: US citizens are leaving their country at an unprecedented rate.
According to the Wall Street Journal, data on residency permits, overseas property purchases and student enrollments from more than 50 countries show that Americans are "voting with their feet." In nearly every one of the EU's 27 member states, the number of Americans arriving to live and work has reached record highs and continues to rise.
Americans' willingness to leave their country is also reflected in applications to renounce US citizenship. According to immigration firms, applications to renounce US citizenship surged 48 percent year-over-year in 2024, and 2025 is likely to exceed that level. A Gallup poll in November 2025 showed that for two consecutive years, about one in five Americans said they would permanently move to another country if given the opportunity.
Violent crime, cost of living and political turmoil
The US has long been viewed by the outside world as a "nation of immigrants," a label widely popularized by former US President John F. Kennedy. In 1958, when he was still a US Senator, Kennedy published the book A Nation of Immigrants. He argued that immigration is the foundation of the US and called for open immigration policies. According to the BBC, the US was founded as a colony, and with the exception of Native Americans, all Americans are immigrants or descendants of immigrants.
However, in 2025, the number of people leaving the US exceeded the number entering the country. In response, the Brookings Institution's analysis states that the US government's restrictive immigration policies and deportation actions played a certain role. Nevertheless, the Wall Street Journal, in dozens of interviews, found that Americans moving abroad described their reasons for leaving as an interplay of economic problems, lifestyle preferences and disappointment with the direction of America's development. They mentioned the spread of violent crime, rising living costs and intensifying political turmoil.
Sun Lin, a researcher at the American Studies Center of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times that this historic "population reverse flow" in the US is the result of the interaction of multiple complex factors, including imbalances in economic structure and issues with social governance.
Among these, the increasingly stark wealth gap is a key deciding factor for people leaving the US. Data from the Pew Research Center in 2024 showed that in 1971, 61 percent of Americans lived in middle-class households, but by 2023, the share had fallen to 51 percent.
If economic factors represent chronic erosion, then political reasons constitute a direct and strong push for the US "reverse migration." At the Move Abroad Conference held by Expatsi in May, the company's co-founder, Jen Barnett, conducted a sample survey of 218 attendees. She told the CNBC that the survey showed 89 percent of respondents indicated they wanted to leave the US for political reasons. Derr is one of them. He said that US policies in recent years affecting reproductive rights - such as the Supreme Court's decision to overturn federal constitutional protection for abortion rights - and rulings that weakened the Voting Rights Act are signals that the US is "going backwards." Derr said that their family's moving timeline will depend on the results of the 2026 US midterm elections. If the Democrats win control of both the House and Senate and take action to reverse the destructive decisions made by the current administration, they may change their moving plans.
In addition to domestic dynamics, changes in the global landscape have provided a macro-level backdrop to the net outflow of immigrants from the US. The reshaping of economic structures in a multipolar era has eroded America's unique edge as the premier destination for global talent and capital. The rise and development of Global South nations, along with more attractive talent policies and more robust social welfare systems in developed countries such as Canada and Australia, have created a diversion effect, drawing migrants who might otherwise have headed for the US.
Recent data from Indeed, a globally recognized online recruitment company, shows that foreign job seekers' interest in US jobs has dropped sharply since 2024, plummeting to 1.4 percent in April, the lowest level since 2020.
What would the US look like without immigrants? Immigrants have long underpinned US economic growth and social vitality, becoming deeply woven into the fabric of American life - from classrooms to hospital wards, from city parks to concert halls, from corporate boardrooms to factory floors. The US labor market's reliance on immigrants is far greater than most people imagine. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 31 million foreign-born workers were employed in the US in 2024, accounting for 19.2 percent of the US workforce. The net outflow of immigrants seen in 2025 has prompted many Americans to ask: What would America look like without them?
The New York Times addressed that question in a report last December. About a year into the White House's immigration enforcement policies, the article said, construction companies in Louisiana were scrambling to find carpenters, hospitals in West Virginia had lost doctors and nurses they had planned to recruit from overseas, and a community soccer league in Memphis could no longer field enough teams because the children of immigrant families had stopped showing up.
A decline in immigration would first hit the US economy. According to a Brookings Institution article published in March, a reduction in net immigration would weigh on US GDP growth. A research report from the think tank showed that the drop in immigration between 2024 and 2025 could slow US GDP growth by 0.19 to 0.26 percentage points and reduce consumer spending by $40 billion to $60 billion in 2025.
Justin Gest, professor of Policy and Government at George Mason University's Schar School, has noted that the concern lies not only in how many people are leaving, but also in who they are. After the current administration cut research funding for various academic institutions, a Nature analysis of jobs board data found that US-based scientists submitted 32 percent more applications to positions abroad between January and March in 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Decades of research have shown that many immigrants are not only young and highly educated, but also highly entrepreneurial. When these most dynamic individuals begin to choose to leave, the US loses not just labor numbers, but the core engine of innovation and long-term economic growth.
A rising crisis of confidence?
The impacts of net emigration stretch well beyond economics, challenging American exceptionalism and national identity. The US has long defined itself as a nation of immigrants, viewing its allure to newcomers as a core feature of its uniqueness. Brookings Institution scholars noted that while the US has often fallen short of its stated ideals in practice, its national identity is rooted in pluralism, openness and the rule of law. Today, efforts to roll back fundamental principles, including immigrant citizenship rights and birthright citizenship, "strike at the core of what has made America exceptional."
As the US marks the 250th anniversary of the country's founding, reverse migration poses a fundamental question to the self-proclaimed nation of immigrants: does this trend signal fading global confidence in America's future and its way of life?
"It undercuts this American exceptionalism, 'we have the best quality of life, we're the best country in the world, everyone wants to move here,'" Caitlin Joyce, researcher at Temple University, told the Wall Street Journal. She and her colleague have studied this migration trend for years.
The US government's immigration policies have also upended the traditional definition of what it means to be American. A nation built by immigrant labor is now closing its doors to newcomers. Academics warn that framing Americans and immigrants as opposing groups is eroding the very definition of national belonging.
A Gallup survey of more than 144,000 adults across 140 countries and regions in 2025 found that global willingness to move permanently to the US has fallen to a near 20-year low, with only 15 percent of adults worldwide naming it as their preferred destination, down from 24 percent between 2007 and 2009.
South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok met with a group of Chinese businesspeople in Beijing on Monday, a move that reflects the high importance South Korean leaders attach to China-Republic of Korea economic cooperation under the new situation, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Dai Bing said in a post on X.
Dai wrote the post in Chinese, Korean and English, sharing pictures of the event and noting that the symposium with Chinese entrepreneurs was Kim's "first activity" after arriving in Beijing.
On Tuesday, Dai also shared details of Kim's visit to Tsinghua University, writing that 20 years ago, when Kim was studying there, he said he wanted to better understand China by studying Chinese law and other related fields.
Dai also mentioned Kim's visit to the Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone Exhibition Center in Beijing, where Kim paid close attention to China's developments in artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, high-end pharmaceuticals and embodied robotics.
"Both China and South Korea are technological powerhouses, and the potential for strong collaboration between the two sides is immense," Dai wrote.
Kim will attend the 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC), which is known as Summer Davos and is held in Dalian from June 23 to 25. Over 1,700 representatives from the political, business, academic and media communities from over 90 countries and regions will take part in the AMNC, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday.
According to a Korea JoongAng Daily report on Tuesday, during the gathering with Chinese businesspeople at the South Korean ambassador's residence in Beijing, Kim said the main reason he wanted to visit was to witness China's "remarkable economic development" with his own eyes.
"Korea and China are walking a firmer path [together] since the establishment of diplomatic ties, upon the foundation of a long history," Kim was quoted as saying, while asking the participants to share their success stories and plans for cooperation with South Korean firms.
It is Kim's first trip to China since taking office as the first prime minister of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung last year. In March, he had planned to visit China for the annual Boao Forum for Asia, but the trip was canceled as he had to deal with the effects of the conflict in the Middle East, according to South Korean media.
Kim is also the first Korean prime minister to attend the Summer Davos Forum in 10 years since then Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn did so in 2016. On the sidelines of the forum, Kim is expected to meet with officials and business leaders from other nations, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
A 5.2-magnitude earthquake jolted Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Qinghai Province at 11:29 p.m. on Tuesday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).
The epicenter was monitored at 37.86 degrees north latitude and 95.54 degrees east longitude. The earthquake struck at a depth of 8 km, the center said.
President of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Beijing on Monday for a state visit to China from June 15 to 19, the Xinhua News Agency reported. As the first China trip since he was sworn in as Myanmar's president in April, Chinese experts believe that it highlights the importance Myanmar attaches to relations with China.
They noted that the two countries have significant potential for cooperation under the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), particularly in infrastructure, energy and connectivity, and expressed hope that the visit will inject fresh momentum into bilateral ties and pragmatic cooperation.
The visit follows a series of recent high-level diplomatic exchanges between the two neighbors. On June 5, 2026, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Foreign Minister of Myanmar Tin Maung Swe in Beijing.
According to a statement published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on June 5, Wang noted that China is ready to work with Myanmar on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, strengthen cooperation in post-earthquake reconstruction, people's livelihood and cultural exchanges, trade and investment, steadily advance key projects under the CMEC, jointly combat transnational crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud, and maintain peace and tranquility in the China-Myanmar border areas.
Tin Maung Swe said that Myanmar and China are "pauk-phaw" friends and neighbors sharing a common destiny and partners enjoying mutual trust. He appreciated China for its long-term valuable assistance to Myanmar's economic and social development. "Myanmar will continue to resolutely combat online gambling and telecom fraud and make every effort to safeguard the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Myanmar," Tin Maung Swe said, adding that the new Myanmar government is committed to advancing the domestic peace process and achieving stable development, and hopes that China will continue to play a constructive role.
The two countries have already achieved tangible results through cooperation in political, economic and security fields.
According to China's General Administration of Customs, China has remained Myanmar's largest trading partner, largest source of imports and most important source of investment for many consecutive years. Bilateral trade reached $19.4 billion in 2025, up 19.1 percent year-on-year.
Myanmar also occupies a unique position in China's regional connectivity strategy. As China's only neighboring country with direct overland access to the Indian Ocean, Myanmar serves as a key strategic gateway linking the Belt and Road Initiative to both South Asia and Southeast Asia.
"President Min Aung Hlaing's visit provides an opportunity for China and Myanmar to advance practical cooperation in multiple areas. Whether in promoting energy and mineral resource projects or implementing the four major global initiatives proposed by China, there remains substantial room for cooperation," Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.
Xu added that the two sides should also work together to maintain long-term stability along the border and support Myanmar's efforts to preserve domestic peace and stability.
"We hope Myanmar can balance development and security, place peace and stability at the forefront of its national agenda and create favorable conditions for deeper people-to-people exchanges between the two countries," Xu said.
A Myanmar affairs expert, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times on Monday that the two countries could further advance projects such as the China-Myanmar railway and the Kyaukphyu deep-sea port.
Beyond economic cooperation, China and Myanmar have also expanded collaboration in law enforcement and security.
According to Xinhua, China's Ministry of Public Security dispatched a working group to Myanmar's Myawaddy region at the end of 2025, where it worked alongside law enforcement agencies from Myanmar and Thailand to launch a new joint operation targeting online gambling and telecom fraud compounds. As a result, 952 Chinese telecom fraud suspects were repatriated to China.
For years, criminal groups operating in Myawaddy have carried out large-scale telecom fraud and other crimes targeting Chinese citizens, causing serious harm, according to Xinhua.
Speaking at Friday's regular press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China looks forward to taking the visit as an opportunity to deepen bilateral cooperation.
"China and Myanmar are traditional friends, neighbors and a community with a shared future. Bilateral relations have come a long way since diplomatic ties were established 76 years ago. Our two countries have upheld the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence advocated by both, stood with each other through thick and thin, demonstrated solidarity and maintained coordination," Lin said.
"We look forward to working with Myanmar to take the upcoming visit as an opportunity to renew our 'pauk-phaw' friendship, deepen comprehensive strategic cooperation and deliver more practical results in building the China-Myanmar community with a shared future to the greater benefit of both peoples," he added.
