Parliamentary speakers from Nordic and Baltic countries showed great interest in new technologies being developed in China on Wednesday, hoping to encourage innovation and cooperation with their homelands.Delegates from seven countries, including Finland and Sweden, are visiting the country from Sunday to Saturday at the invitation of China's top legislator, Zhang Dejiang.Maria Lohela, speaker of Finland's Parliament, expressed her interest in technologies when she was asked whether she had heard about new Chinese inventions in high-speed trains, mobile payments, online shopping and shared bicycles."I love all kinds of technologies," she said. "We are doing well in Finland, and we should do better."She applauded China's efforts in innovation, adding that the Finnish government is also encouraging technology startups and catching up with China's pace.Eva Thalen Finne, Sweden's deputy speaker of Parliament, said information about online shopping, mobile payments and shared bikes impressed her a lot."Innovation drives the economy," she said, adding that cooperation is also important for small countries like Sweden.In addition to innovation, the Belt and Road Initiative and the fight against corruption were also heatedly discussed among the speakers.Inara Murniece, Latvia's speaker of Parliament, said anti-graft work is an ongoing and everyday matter. She also highlighted the importance of public demand and regarded it as a powerful force.She added that the Belt and Road Initiative promoted by President Xi Jinping is important for her nation, as well as beneficial for all countries involved."I would say the initiative is a good dream," Murniece said. "We had a meeting on the integration of the initiative into the European economic circle, and the connectivity between Europe and China will benefit all countries."Before the group interview, the delegation met with Xi on Wednesday. They showed each other's core interests and major concerns following a principle of mutual benefit, equal treatment and inclusiveness during the meeting. wristbands canadacustom silicone bracelets canadarubber bracelets canadasilicone bracelets canadasilicone wristbands canadacustom wristbands canadacanadian wristbandswristbands canada
Zhang Xudong (the one in front) and two volunteers emerge from the water with a basket of waste they collected underwater. [Photo/] One day in this summer, three divers emerged from below the surface of a lake in Guiyang, Southwest China's Guizhou province, one of them holding a blue plastic basket filled with trash, such as plastic wrappings, metal pipes and glass bottles, that they picked up from underwater. Zhang Xudong, a dive coach in his 20s, is the head of the dive cleaning team. Since 2013, he's been dedicated to removing underwater waste in the waters of Guizhou, along with other volunteers. Coming from different social backgrounds, the volunteers have a shared goal: Restoring the underwater world to healthy cleanliness. At the beginning, we just wanted to promote diving and create a better diving environment for us. Gradually, we started picking up garbage underwater, and encouraged more and more people to follow suit, Zhang told The Mirror. Zhang was born in a rural village in Guizhou. Since childhood he's enjoyed swimming, and he spent a lot of time swimming in a river near his home. During his college years, he majored in outdoor sports at Guizhou Minzu University. During a winter vacation before graduation, he was offered a chance to learn diving in Sanya, a city in South China's island province of Hainan. That was the first time he saw the sea and dove in. He soon fell in love with diving. Zhang Xudong swims through the water on a dive. [Photo/The Mirror] Afterwards, he received further diving training in Southeast Asia, and became a certified dive instructor through the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). In 2013, Zhang graduated and went back to Guizhou to establish a diving club. Guizhou has rich resources of fresh water and professional diving was not developed here. So I came back to promote this sport, Zhang said. Overall, Guizhou has a beautiful environment. But when I dive, I can find some garbage underwater. Diving in fresh water can be more dangerous than in the sea, said him, as there is more human waste in the water, which not only pollutes the water but also poses a danger to divers' safety. Zhang recalled a dangerous diving experience. One day in December, Zhang and several other volunteers dived into the water to collect garbage. Soon after they started working, one of them was discovered missing and couldn't be seen, due to low visibility in the water. We turned back to search for the missing teammate, and found him trapped in a fishing net and struggling to get out. Fortunately, we helped the man out quickly, Zhang said.
