The Chinese embassy in Thailand issued an advisory on Saturday urging Chinese citizens in Thailand to avoid traveling to areas affected by the ongoing border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.

As clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border are still ongoing and the Thai authorities have imposed martial law in parts of Chanthaburi and Trat provinces, Chinese citizens, especially those near the conflict zones, are advised to closely monitor the evolving situation, pay attention to personal safety, and avoid the affected areas of the Thai-Cambodian border, said the embassy.

Chinese citizens and institutions currently in those areas should follow security guidelines issued by local authorities and be prepared to take shelter or evacuate if necessary. In the event of an emergency, Chinese citizens are advised to contact the local police and seek assistance from the Chinese embassy or consulate in Thailand.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday met in Beijing with foreign ministers and heads of standing bodies of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) who are in China to attend the Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of SCO Member States.

He noted that over the past 24 years since its founding, the SCO has always upheld the Shanghai Spirit, grown into a mature and robust organization, and demonstrated strong vitality.

China has always prioritized the SCO in its neighborhood diplomacy, and is committed to making the organization more substantive and stronger, safeguarding regional security and stability, promoting the development and prosperity of member states and building a closer community with a shared future, Xi said.

He added that since China assumed the rotating presidency last July, it has actively carried out activities and advanced cooperation, with all parties taking solid steps to jointly build a better home for the SCO.

With the SCO Summit set to take place this year in China's Tianjin, Xi expressed his hope to meet the leaders of other member states at the event to discuss the future development of the SCO.

He stressed that in the face of a turbulent and changing international landscape, the SCO must stay focused, remain confident, act efficiently and play a more proactive role in injecting greater stability and positive energy into the world.

In response to media inquiry on that the so-called "mainland affairs council" in the Taiwan island claimed that the mainland's move to include eight Taiwan entities in the export control list is to "weaponize" trade, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday the facts that the eight Taiwan entities deliberately cooperated with the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces to "seek independence by force" are clear and the evidence is conclusive. Putting them on the export control list is a necessary measure to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity and maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, said Chen. 

Who is the one seeking "independence" and provoking, undermining the peace and stability of the Taiwan Straits? Who is violating the mainstream public opinion of Taiwan society and obstructing and restricting cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation? Who is obeying the US blindly and selling Taiwan and engaging in decoupling to damage cross-Straits economic and trade cooperation? The compatriots on both sides of the Straits see it very clearly, and the DPP authorities cannot deny it, said Chen. 

Putting the eight Taiwan entities on the export control list is a necessary measure to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity and maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, said Chen.

It is a just action to maintain the normal order of cross-Straits economic and trade exchanges and cooperation and the interests and well-being of compatriots on both sides of the Straits. It is reasonable, legal, legitimate and necessary, said Chen.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited giant panda Fu Ni in Chengdu on Thursday, who returned to China from Australia last year. Albanese wrote on social media that the "cute" panda is part of a "long-standing friendship between Australia and China."

"Fu Ni has settled back into life in Chengdu after 15 years in Adelaide. She's not just cute - she's part of a long-standing friendship between Australia and China. That friendship continues, with pandas Yi Lan and Xing Qiu now calling South Australia home," Albanese posted on X on Thursday.

Last year, Wang Wang and Fu Ni, Australia's only giant pandas left the country for China after 15 years.

They were replaced at the Adelaide Zoo by female giant panda Yi Lan and male Xing Qiu, both from Chengdu, China, Xinhua News Agency reported.

"Seeing these cute ambassadors up close is a reminder of the bonds that bring our countries closer," Albanese posted.

Albanese is paying an official visit to China from July 12 to 18, traveling to Shanghai and Beijing, with Chengdu marking the final leg of his trip. 

On Wednesday, Albanese visited Sichuan International Tennis Center in Chengdu, where the Australian side announced that the city will once again host the Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoffs for the 2026 Australian Open.

"Sport brings people from our two countries closer, and that's a good thing," Albanese said on X on Wednesday.

Tensions in the Philippines have recently been raised over the country's South China Sea policy, after a retired officer criticized Manila's current approach as making the country a US pawn and even "another Ukraine" in its geopolitical power struggle with China, while the military slammed the comments as a "defeatist" narrative.

According to the Manila Times, Romeo Poquiz, a retired Philippine Air Force General, on July 14 posted on Facebook about his position on the strength of the country's "arbitral victory" nine years after the award, asking the question "What did we really win?"

Poquiz's post came two days after July 12, which marks the ninth anniversary of the "2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea." A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on the day that the "award" is nothing but a piece of waste paper that is illegal, null and void, and non-binding. The spokesperson added that China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea will not be affected by the "award" in any way, according to Xinhua News Agency.  

Poquiz claimed that almost a decade on, the Philippines has found itself at the center of a power play between the US and China, that the win was only "on paper" and that the country was slowly turning into another Ukraine.

He said fighting China head-on to "defend sovereignty" without a real plan is a trap. 

"It's a tactical move that serves US interests more than our own…It's not strategy. It's provocation," he wrote in Facebook. 

"Are we being turned into a launchpad for someone else's missiles? An 'unsinkable aircraft carrier' in the Indo-Pacific?"

"We need leaders who think long-term, who can defend sovereignty without turning Filipinos into cannon fodder…History already taught us what naïveté, arrogance, or incompetence can cost," Poquiz said. 

Poquiz's remarks, despite gaining support from most netizens who left comments, were rejected by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). 

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, a spokesperson of the AFP, slammed Poquiz's statement, describing it as "misleading, defeatist and alarmist," according to the Manila Times. 

He said the AFP expected more from its former members to boost the nation's morale and not weaken it with such statements.

According to the Manila Bulletin, Poquiz served as the commander of the Philippine Air Force's 2nd Air Division before retiring in 2014.

Trinidad stressed that the Philippines was a sovereign state with its own national interests. "All the actions of the Armed Forces are in furtherance of this national interest. We will not fight for the interest of another country nor will we be dictated by to them," Trinidad said, according to the Manila Times report. 

In response to Trinidad's remarks, Poquiz said in a Facebook post on Friday that Trinidad implied he was betraying the Philippines. 

"I love the Philippines a hundred times more than Admiral Trinidad and those who are quick to hurl insults simply for raising hard truths," Poquiz said, "I will never apologize for putting the lives and future of Filipinos above geopolitical theatrics."

"We are living in dangerous times. There is a real and present risk that the Philippines may be drawn into a larger power struggle between China and the United States. That's not defeatism. That's called strategic foresight — something our tactically-minded generals and admirals seem to severely lack. It is also the kind of critical thinking we should demand from our leaders, both in and out of uniform," he added. 

"Are we truly defending our sovereignty — or are we unknowingly offering ourselves as cannon fodder for someone else's war?... Are we making our own decisions — or are we being herded down a path in the name of 'mutual defense partnerships' that come with hidden costs?" Poquiz said. 

"Let us not be pawns. Let us be wise. Let us be Filipino first," he added. 

In response to media inquiry regarding reports that some countries are in talks with China about arms procurement plans, including the J-10 fighter jet, Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense said on Tuesday at a media briefing that China has always taken a prudent and responsible attitude regarding arms exports. We are willing to share the achievements of China's equipment development with friendly countries and contribute constructively to regional and global peace and stability.

A civil affairs bureau in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is set to offer marriage registration services at a local music festival this weekend for couples hoping to tie the knot, providing convenience for obtaining their marriage certificates while crafting unforgettable memories for the newlyweds.

This Saturday and Sunday, Shuimogou district of Urumqi in Xinjiang will host a music festival. At the venue, staff from the local civil affairs bureau's marriage registration office will set up a temporary site from 3 pm to 6 pm on Saturday, offering on-site marriage registration services for couples, the China News Service reported.

A staff member surnamed Shen from the civil affairs bureau told the Global Times on Wednesday that couples can complete their registration amid the romantic musical ambiance by presenting ID cards and other requisite documentation, as long as the couple meets the marriage registration requirements.

This marks the first time the city has opened a marriage registration site at a music festival, a romantic endeavor, Shen said, adding that since Tuesday, they have received inquiry calls from several interested couples.

"We hope to provide convenience for couples that want to get married through this approach, leaving them with unforgettable memories," Shen noted.

Despite the registration site being at the music festival, the registration procedures remain unchanged. "Marriage registration must still be completed in accordance with legal provisions," he said.

Similar initiatives have been previously seen in some Chinese cities where marriage registration was facilitated during music festivals.

Earlier this year, at a music festival in Xiangshan county in East China's Zhejiang Province, the local civil affairs bureau issued marriage certificates to 10 couples and held a group wedding, China National Radio (CNR) reported. This is also the first themed certificate-issuing ceremony in Zhejiang Province that integrates marriage registration into music festivals.

An official in charge of the county's marriage registration office told the Global Times that documentation verification remains at the bureau's premises, while the certificate-presentation ceremony at the music festival enhances the sense of ceremony for couples.

China's revised marriage registration regulations came into effect on May 10, simplifying the procedure for marriage registration and allowing couples to register anywhere in the country regardless of their hukou household registration locations.

Researchers from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have, for the first time, discovered a green sea turtle nesting site on Yongshu Jiao, part of the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea, according to a statement sent to the Global Times from the CAS Nansha Station on Friday.

The discovery was made during routine ecological monitoring supported by the CAS Integrated Research Center for Islands and Reefs Sciences. CAS' Nansha station has conducted the study in coordination with local environmental protection authorities stationed on the reef.

During an ecological survey, researchers from the Nansha Station identified an approximately 30 cm-deep, irregularly shaped depression on the beach of Yongshu Jiao, with displaced sand scattered around it. The formation closely resembled the nesting patterns of green sea turtles, suggesting the presence of a turtle nesting cavity.

To confirm the finding, Nansha Station researchers launched a targeted investigation in collaboration with stationed environmental officials. By deploying monitoring equipment and conducting nighttime patrols, researchers successfully captured footage showing a sea turtle coming ashore and later returning to the ocean. They also collected eggs from the site for identification.

The eggs, roughly 4 centimeters in diameter, with tough, white shells, were identified as those of the green sea turtle. Based on these findings, the site was officially confirmed as a nesting ground for the species.

Additional evidence gathered from the scene included clear flipper tracks in the sand stretching from the shoreline to the nesting site and back, outlining a complete nesting route.

The retrieved turtle eggs were found closely clustered, encased in a moist sand layer, providing valuable material for studying the reproductive behavior of green sea turtles.

Green sea turtles are classified as a first-class protected species in China. The discovery of a new nesting site significantly bolsters conservation efforts for this endangered species.

Notably, the newly discovered nesting site lies about 800 kilometers south of previously known nesting sites on Beidao Island, part of the Xisha Islands, the Yongshu Jiao site further confirms that the healthy marine ecology of the Nansha waters offers favorable habitat conditions for the endangered marine life.

The Nansha Station and local environmental authorities plan to implement protective measures in the area and monitor environmental factors to support future research on hatching conditions. The discovery is expected to contribute to the advancement of China's marine ecological protection framework in the South China Sea and offer new data to global sea turtle conservation networks, the statement said.

War is not a solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and preemptive strikes apparently lack legitimacy, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday, stressing that strength will not bring true peace.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a joint press conference with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris.

When asked about the situation in the Middle East, Wang said the recent military conflict between Israel and Iran should not be repeated. He stressed that the abuse of military force will only lead to further conflict and accumulate more hatred. The United States has set a bad precedent by openly bombing the nuclear facilities of a sovereign nation.

He warned that if such actions trigger a nuclear disaster, the whole world will bear the consequences.

East China's Zhejiang Province has elevated its typhoon emergency response to Level III at 10 a.m. Monday, as Typhoon Danas, the fourth typhoon of this year, moves closer.

According to the province's meteorological observatory, the center of Typhoon Danas made landfall along the coast of Taiwan's Chiayi City in the wee hours on Monday. After making landfall, Danas continued to move northward.

At 7:00 a.m., its center was located over the sea, approximately 258 km southeast of Wenzhou, Zhejiang. It is expected to make landfall again along the coast between Taizhou in Zhejiang and Fuzhou in neighboring Fujian Province, sometime between the afternoon and night of July 8.

From July 7 to 9, central and southern Zhejiang, as well as nearby coastal regions, are expected to receive total rainfall of 60 to 90 mm due to Danas, with precipitation in some areas potentially exceeding 350 mm.

Zhejiang has urged all coastal regions and departments to closely monitor the typhoon's path, strengthen joint consultations, and implement prevention measures in line with the contingency plan. These include sheltering ships, suspending sea routes and halting construction projects.

China's national observatory also renewed a yellow alert for Typhoon Danas on Sunday as it is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system for typhoons, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.