By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

Recently, Japan has groundlessly labeled China’s lawful measures to strengthen export controls on dual-use items to Japan — measures taken to safeguard national security interests — as so-called “economic coercion.”
This blatant distortion of facts only reveals Japan’s obstinate refusal to reflect on its own wrongdoings and its insistence on going further down the wrong and dangerous path.
Japan is well aware of the underlying reasons for China’s relevant actions. Attempts to deflect blame through labeling cannot obscure the international community’s widespread concerns over Japan’s departure from the path of peaceful development and its resurgence of militaristic tendencies.
Imposing export controls on dual-use items is an internationally accepted practice. It reflects a shared responsibility to safeguard international peace and security and serves as an essential means of fulfilling international obligations, including those related to non-proliferation.
As a responsible major country, China’s lawful imposition of regulatory control on relevant items exemplifies its unwavering commitment to safeguarding world peace and regional stability.
Japan’s distortion of this legitimate and rule-based exercise of sovereignty as “coercion” lays bare its intent: to deflect international attention and conceal its own persistent actions that undermine both the international order and regional peace.
Japan’s “neo-militarism” is no longer merely a warning sign — it has become a tangible threat and must prompt the highest vigilance among all peace-loving and justice-seeking actors in the international community.
Japanese leaders have made erroneous remarks on the Taiwan question, openly issuing threats of force against China and grossly interfering in China’s internal affairs. Such actions seriously violate international law and the basic norms governing international relations, with extremely grave nature and implications.
Japan’s right wing has intensified its challenges to the postwar international order, undermining regional peace and stability and jeopardizing world peace and security.
According to Japanese media reports, Japan has recently claimed it will push to revise its “three security documents” within the year, reflecting an acceleration of its remilitarization process. Particularly alarming are indications of Japanese ambitions regarding nuclear armament.
Particularly alarming are indications of Japan’s ambitions regarding nuclear armament. For some time, Japan has continuously sought to revise the “Three Non-Nuclear Principles,” with politicians repeatedly making public pro-nuclear statements.
This constitutes a serious challenge to the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and represents a stark departure from Japan’s professed commitment to peaceful development, provoking strong professed opposition and condemnation.
Curbing the resurgence of Japan’s “neo-militarism” is vital for regional peace and stability. China’s legally mandated prohibition on the export of all dual-use items to Japanese military users, for Japan’s military use, and for any other end-users and end-use purposes that help enhance Japan’s military capabilities — are precisely justified and necessary actions to defend peace and security.
Japan’s peddling of the so-called Chinese “economic coercion” is merely another act in its well-rehearsed “victim” play. Safeguarding regional peace and stability requires calling out and dismantling such insidious rhetoric.
The genuine source of coercion threatening regional peace and security is Japan’s ever-expanding ambition for military expansion. While Japan attempts to discredit neighboring countries by claiming actions inconsistent with international practice, it is Japan that has repeatedly contravened its international legal obligations.
Even domestically, the primary threat stems from right-wing forces dedicated to neo-militarism. Calculations based on Japan’s approved supplementary budget suggest its fiscal year 2025 defense expenditure could reach approximately 11 trillion yen (about $71.18 billion), imposing a per capita burden of about 90,000 yen. This reckless military expansion not only threatens regional peace but also depletes domestic economic resources and undermines public welfare.
Rather than leveling groundless accusations against other countries, Japan should seriously address the grave concerns of the international community and its own citizens regarding its dangerous return to militarism.
Furthermore, Japan’s professed commitment to resolving issues with China through dialogue is contradicted by its repeated provocations concerning China’s core interests and fundamental principles. This contradiction severely damages Japan’s credibility.
The international community, particularly countries in the region, has long seen through Japan’s double-dealing tactics and will never permit its “neo-militarism” to undermine the hard-won peace and stability in the region.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)

By Huan Yuping, People’s Daily

Although the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 concluded, concerns voiced during the event about the world sliding toward a “ruleless” order continue to resonate across the international community.
In its latest National Security Strategy, the Trump administration has elevated differences with Europe to the level of a so-called “civilizational erasure.” It has pressed ahead with attempts to seize Greenland from Denmark, escalated tariff threats, and repeatedly played down the role of NATO allies.
These actions have led Europe to increasingly realize that, under U.S. power politics, being an ally offers no protection.
The recent changes in U.S. policy toward Europe have laid bare the logic of hegemony: nothing is off the table. Europe’s sense of helplessness in the face of successive shocks is, to some extent, the price of its long-standing strategic dependence on the United States.
At present, frictions between the United States and Europe have deepened, reflecting, in part, a profound crisis confronting the world.
Since the beginning of this year, from brazen actions against Venezuela to overt attempts to assert control over Greenland, the United States has trampled on international law and the international order indiscriminately, accelerating the world’s slide toward a “ruleless” state.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned: “It’s a shift toward a world without rules, where international law is trampled underfoot, and where the only law which seems to matter is the strongest with imperial ambitions resurfacing.”
The international order established after World War II is far from perfect, but it has played an important role in maintaining overall global peace, promoting relatively open global trade, and advancing international cooperation. It remains the foundation for the orderly functioning of today’s world.
Yet in recent years, key architects of this order have reversed course, increasingly embracing hegemonism, unilateralism, and protectionism. They have become disruptors of the very system they helped build.
Today, the risk of “rulelessness” is forming an interconnected and compounded complex of systemic risks across multiple domains, profoundly threatening the living environment of all members of the international community.
In the realm of economic and trade cooperation, economic ties such as trade and investment — once drivers of global prosperity — are now being deliberately and strategically weaponized by certain countries. This has directly disrupted global industrial and supply chains and dealt a severe blow to multilateral trade rules.
In terms of multilateral cooperation, hegemonic countries have unilaterally withdrawn from international mechanisms, plunging core global governance institutions such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization into unprecedented crises and heightening challenges to world peace and development.
In an environment where rules are disregarded and power worshipped, no country can effectively safeguard its own interests. When constraints disappear, unpredictability itself becomes a powerful destructive force, pushing the world toward disorder and greater instability.
While hegemonic threats persisted after World War II, Western nostalgia for a “golden past” often overlooked consequences borne elsewhere. Today, however, the United States’ actions to bully the weak and its reckless destruction of the international order have inflicted pain widely felt across the international community. The world must fully recognize these risks and shoulder shared responsibilities in addressing them.
To prevent descent into rulelessness, adherence to international law is paramount. International law and the basic norms governning international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter are vital to world peace and stability and constitute an important basis for resolving international disputes.
Only by fully, faithfully, and comprehensively observing international law and these fundamental norms — ensuring the uniform application of rules and rejecting double standards — can the law of the jungle be prevented from becoming the guiding logic of global affairs.
To prevent a slide into a “ruleless” abyss, the international community must renew its commitment to solidarity.
Countries share a common future, and self-preservation in the face of brute force is not a viable path forward. All countries should take shared interests into consideration, build a common understanding of global risks, strengthen the foundations of unity and cooperation, and jointly tackle the challenges posed by hegemonism and power politics.
The international order established after World War II has been protecting the world for more than 80 years. What is needed today is to consolidate, reform, and improve this order — not to tear it down or undermine it at its foundations.
Some argue that where the old order “fractures,” emerging forces committed to independence and pragmatic cooperation will gain increasing space to help define rules. Viewed this way, “disorder” can also serve as the prelude to transformation.
The world stands at a critical crossroads. The international community must not stand by as the world is pushed into a “ruleless” abyss. Only by jointly upholding the international system with the UN at its core and the international order based on international law, and by forging certainty through dialogue and cooperation, can humanity be guided toward a brighter future.

By Hu Runxin

Few might have anticipated that a South Korean food-themed variety show would evolve into a compelling showcase of China’s capabilities.
Recently, an South Korean variety show titled Chef of Antarctica sparked lively online discussion. In the program, to express gratitude for China’s long-term cooperation and exchanges with ROK’s King Sejong Station in Antarctica, four South Korean celebrities — serving as “honorary crew members” of the station — visit China’s Great Wall Station there to prepare a thank-you meal.
What they encounter at the Chinese station defied expectations: thriving greenhouse vegetables, fully stocked pantries with diverse seasonings, and rare fresh foods like drunken shrimp and bullfrog — all contrasting sharply with typical Antarctic scarcity.
Nature, however, is full of surprises. After filming, a sudden blizzard stranded the entire 29-person production team. Facing an emergency, they requested temporary shelter at Great Wall Station.
The station chief’s instant reply — “No problem, don’t worry” — instantly eased their concerns right away. They were welcomed into clean, comfortable “snow-view” dormitories and offered hot drinks and snacks. This hospitality deeply moved the South Korean team, reflecting China’s tradition of extending aid in times of need—a practice rooted in inclusiveness and goodwill.
In such extreme conditions, this assistance not only demonstrated kindness but also showcased national capability.
Before setting out, the South Korean team had been told that at that time of year, stations operated by various countries would “likely have only frozen supplies, with almost no fresh produce.” Yet upon arriving at the Great Wall Station, the variety of food stocks amazed them — they exclaimed it was “like stepping into a Chinese supermarket.” Thanks to a robust logistics and supply system, fresh food can now be delivered over long distances and under challenging conditions.
Though designed for just 15 overwintering personnel, the station accommodated nearly twice its typical capacity. This flexibility comes from the station’s “full-capacity design,” incorporating substantial safety margins for emergencies—a reflection of strategic foresight and engineering expertise.
These achievements were never attained overnight. The composure and abundance seen at the Great Wall Station today are the result of decades of hard work and perseverance by generations of Chinese explorers.
There was a time when, without a research station of its own, China’s delegation could not vote at Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. Being unable to have a say on Antarctic affairs left the delegates deeply frustrated—and all the more determined to pioneer the nation’s first Antarctic presence, achieving the crucial breakthrough “from zero to one.”
During the 1980s, lacking a permanent Antarctic presence meant China had no voting rights at Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. This exclusion fueled determination to establish the nation’s first research station—a critical breakthrough from observer to stakeholder in Antarctic affairs.
China’s earliest Antarctic missions sailed forth on the Xiangyanghong 10 and J121 vessels; today, the icebreakers Xue Long and Xue Long 2 press onward through the frozen seas. Where once stood only basic container shelters, fully equipped modern research stations now operate. Over the past 40 years, China has launched five stations and two research vessels for Antarctic research, entering an era of three-dimensional development across sea, land and air.
Driven by self-reliance, Chinese explorers have moved steadily inland from Antarctica’s periphery, continually expanding both their operational footprint and fields of scientific inquiry. This vast icy wilderness stands as a testament to their unwavering tenacity, pioneering courage, and resilience in overcoming every challenge.
Friendliness, openness, and inclusiveness, along with the resolve to face difficulties and pursue excellence — these qualities are, at any time, among the most precious assets of a country and a nation. The blizzard will eventually pass, and these moving stories will continue to unfold in new chapters.