星新Ten students from Nigeria and Zambia learned how to perform Chinese lion dance at the Jinpu New Area in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province

星新Before they became major officials, dozens of years should have passed and they should have collected enough experience to tackle seemingly tough problems星新In 1998, when she was back in her hometown, Cho delivered a three-hour speech to 82 heads of primary schools, trying to persuade them to offer Chinese courses

星新A teacher of Korean at Hefei University in Anhui province, Cho has helped to boost the two countries' ties in multiple aspects - not just in education星新The couple found employment quickly at Hefei University and began teaching Korean the next year星新cn  Cho Sung-hye talks with her students at Hefei University in Anhui province星新The latest example was a 2016 donation of 20,000 yuan ($3,000) to four high school graduates in Hefei's Feidong county who had been enrolled at universities but were about to give up for lack of money星新What is your impression of President Xi Jinping? I think he is a determined man

星新After finishing middle school and high school studies in the city, Cho's elder son was admitted to Peking University for undergraduate studies, and then returned to Hefei later for his MBA at the University of Science and Technology of China星新She has played a prominent role in education, business development and friendship星新It's hard to make long-term predictions, but I hope China can keep its own development pace and have its own development patterns

星新China is a big country, so officials have to collaborate with each other well星新" Cho and her husband have also donated hundreds of thousands of yuan to help prevent the children of poverty-stricken rural families in Anhui from dropping out of school星新Also, Xi has been very good at choosing the right people to work with him星新I became the first South Korean person to receive the Chinese Central Government's Friendship Award in 2002 and the first from my country to get permanent residency in China in 2006

She herself knew little of the province or its capital at that time, so she decided to have a look before taking her family there"On the visit to Hefei, I found it was not very developed but thought it would have great potential

For the last five years, the air has been clearing up"I told him that we had just started here and we should at least spend five years in the city before judging whether we should move to another place," Cho saidFirst, China is playing an increasingly important role in the world, so some neighboring countries, and especially some developed Western countries may regard China as a challenger to the power they have maintained for many yearsSome of China's practices are also worth learning, such as how it trains its officials

She is now helping the development area build a China-South Korea Industry Park, and she has already brought in three South Korean companies to invest in the city's high-tech zoneWhat is your impression of President Xi Jinping? I think he is a determined manAfter finishing middle school and high school studies in the city, Cho's elder son was admitted to Peking University for undergraduate studies, and then returned to Hefei later for his MBA at the University of Science and Technology of ChinaThe Obama administration had done everything it could to internationalize the South China Sea issue and had used the Philippines, a US ally, to advance the American strategy

However, the Pew survey finds that Duterte and his policies are widely popular at home despite concerns expressed by some governments, in particular the US, over Duterte's clashes with drug cartels and alleged human rights violationsA quarter now name China as the world's leading economy, up from 14 percent the last time the Philippines was surveyed

At the same time, 78 percent believe the current economic situation is good, and 57 percent are satisfied with the direction of the country, a 21 percentage-point increase from 2014, the last time this question was asked in the PhilippinesAnd despite the Philippines being the most pro-Trump nation in Pew's spring 37-country survey, confidence in Trump now is lower than it was in then-President Barack Obama in 2015

The Philippines under Duterte has tried to develop an independent foreign policy rather than being a US puppet most of the timeSince becoming Philippines president in June 2016, Rodrigo Duterte has refused to be used by the US to advance its strategyThat was certainly not the policy under Obama when he launched the US pivot-to-Asia policy, trying to gang up US allies on ChinaAnd on global economic status, about half of Filipinos (49 percent) say that the US is still the leading economic power, but that is down from 66 percent who said so in 2015The survey released on Sept 21 bore a title saying people in the Philippines still favor the United States over China, but that the gap is narrowingThis represents a dramatic shift since that question was last asked in 2015

Such an independent policy is dealing a heavy blow to those who still view the relationship between the three countries as zero-sumSome even believe that he would not able to serve the full six-year term

And overall, the perception gap between the US and China in the Philippines is narrowingIt clearly suggests that one's gain is another's loss

Meanwhile, two-thirds say having a strong economic relationship with China is more important for ties between the two nations, while only 28 percent say being tough with China on territorial disputes is more vitalHis tough rhetoric on the US and softened rhetoric on China, especially compared with his predecessor Aquino III, has worried many in the US

The report finds that people in the Philippines still like the US and have confidence in its leader, President Donald TrumpThe US was believed to be fully behind the scenes when the Philippines, under President Benigno Aquino III, filed the arbitration suit in 2013 against China in a tribunal in The Hague, a case in which China had refused to participateBy comparing these figures, Pew seems to suggest that China and the US are engaging in a popularity contest in the PhilippinesA zero-sum mentality about China-US relations is reflected not only in the thinking of some US politicians, but also in a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center

According to the survey, 78 percent in the Philippines have a positive view of the US as of this spring, down from 92 percent who expressed positive sentiments in 2015The US government, lawmakers and pundits have generally expressed negative views of Duterte since he took office last June

But Filipinos also share positive views of China and its leader, President Xi JinpingFully 86 percent have a favorable view of Duterte himself; 78 percent support his handling of the illegal-drugs issue; and 62 percent say that the Philippines government is making progress in its anti-drug campaign

In 2014, the Philippines was still led by Aquino IIIBut the Philippines, and indeed all the countries in the region, should be encouraged to have good relations with both China and the US, a real win-win situation for not just the three countries involved, but for the region and the world

AUCKLAND - New Zealand's parliamentary elections on Saturday yield no clear winner as tally ended in the wee hours of Sunday, leaving the third largest party with 7The negotiations may take days or weeks before a deal is struck between the future governing partnersWinston Peters, the party chief of the New Zealand First Party, however, refused to say which party he would side with8 percent votes or seven seats in the congress would just make enough seats to form a government if they can successfully get the New Zealand First Party on board

The New Zealand First Party has garnered nine seats, making it the indispensable coalition partner for both the National Party and the Labor Party to form the governmentThe ruling National Party has secured 46 percent of the party votes, which transfer to 58 seats in the 120 member Congress in an Mixed-Member Proportional voting system, with the opposition Labor Party lagging behind at 35

BEIJING - China on Friday urged all relevant parties to avoid any action that may increase tension on the Korean Peninsula after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said it might test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean"Only if all sides bear their due responsibilities, can the peninsula nuclear issue be truly resolved and peace and stability restored to the region

"The DPRK knows well that China opposes its development of nuclear weapons and nuclear tests, Lu said"What parties concerned should do now is to strictly and comprehensively implement UN Security Council resolutions and make positive efforts to resolve the issue through dialogue