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The output of litchi in Guangdong province, one of its major production bases, is predicted to hit 876,400 metric tons this year, down 51 percent year-on-year.
作为其主要生产基地之一，广东省今年的荔枝产量预计将达到87.64万吨，同比下降51%。
That has led to a price hike in markets in the western part of Guangdong.
这导致了广东西部市场的价格上涨。
Litchi prices in the city of Maoming have risen by between 30 percent and more than 100 percent compared with last year.
与去年相比，茂名市的荔枝价格上涨了30%到100%以上。
Litchi from western Guangdong usually ripens earlier than fruit from other places.
来自广东西部的荔枝通常比来自其他地方的水果成熟得更早。
Chen Houbin, a chief scientist with the National Litchi Longan Industrial Technology System, said the predicted output of litchi across the country this year will be 1.78 million tons, down 42.5 percent from the previous year.
国家荔枝龙眼产业技术体系首席科学家陈厚彬表示，今年全国荔枝产量为178万吨，较上年同期下降42.5%。
The Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region is projected to harvest about 410,000 tons of litchi this year, a year-on-year reduction of 59 percent, while Hainan province is expected to produce about 200,000 tons, a year-on-year drop of 15 percent.
广西壮族自治区今年预计收获荔枝约41万吨，同比减少59%，海南省预计生产约20万吨，同比下降15%。
Chen, also a researcher at South China Agricultural University, attributed the reduction to a warm winter, which prevented mid- to late-maturing varieties from flowering properly.
陈厚彬也是华南农业大学的研究员，他认为温暖的冬天阻碍了中晚熟品种正常开花，从而造成了荔枝产量的减少。
Continuous extreme weather, including storms, hailstones and tornadoes, also affected the harvest, he said.
他说，包括风暴、冰雹和龙卷风在内的持续的极端天气也影响了收成。
Guangdong enjoyed a bumper litchi harvest last year, causing the litchi trees to become weak, and their vigor has yet to return to its optimal state. And litchi harvests typically occur in alternating years of high and low yields, Chen said.
广东去年的荔枝大丰收，导致荔枝树身体虚弱，其活力尚未恢复到最佳状态。陈厚彬说，荔枝的收获存在“大小年”的情况。
He urged related departments to rely on technology to promote high-quality development of the litchi industry.
他敦促相关部门依靠技术来促进荔枝产业的优质发展。
"More litchi varieties with better temperature requirements should be cultivated through seed selection, hybridization and biotechnology methods," he said.
他说：“应该通过种子选择、杂交和生物技术方法培育更多温度需求较好达到的荔枝品种。”
Targeted measures should be taken to strengthen the trees, and manage nutrition and plant protection, while promoting soil improvement technology, nutrition diagnosis guidance, and modern agricultural equipment in litchi orchards, he added.
他补充说，应采取有针对性的措施以加强树木建设、管理树木营养和进行植物保护，同时提升荔枝果园的土壤改良技术、营养诊断指导和现代农业设备。
Earlier this month, the Litchi Meteorological Service Center was launched by the Guangdong Meteorological Service and Guangdong Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, providing special meteorological services to local orchards and litchi growers.
本月早些时候，广东省气象局和广东省农农部启动了荔枝气象服务中心，为当地果园和荔枝种植者提供特殊气象服务。
Zeng Zong, deputy director of the Guangdong Meteorological Service, said the center will accelerate the automation of litchi meteorological observation, the digitization and intelligence of services, and the integration of scientific research and b

France’s iconic Eiffel Tower is increasing its ticket prices by 20%, CNN’s affiliate BFMTV has reported, to help cover the costs of renovation work and financial losses during the coronavirus pandemic.美国有线电视新闻网旗下的BFM电视台报道称，法国的标志性建筑埃菲尔铁塔门票价格将上涨20%，这是为了帮助支付翻修费用以及弥补新冠疫情期间发生的亏损。
An adult ticket including an elevator ride to the summit of the Parisian landmark will cost €35.30 ($38.31) from June 17 onwards, rising from €29.40 ($31.91), BFMTV reported. The same ticket for children aged between 12 and 14 years old will cost €17.70 ($19.21) and the price for children between four and 11 years old to reach the tower’s summit will be €8.90 ($9.66).据BFM电视台报道，从6月17日起，包含乘坐电梯到达埃菲尔铁塔顶部的成人票将从29.4欧元（约合人民币231元）上涨到35.3欧元（约合人民币277元）。12岁至14岁儿童的门票将为17.7欧元，4岁至11岁儿童的门票（包含乘坐电梯登顶）将为8.9欧元。The price increase has been brought about, BFMTV reported, in part because of a “significant loss of revenue” caused by the “health crisis between 2020 and 2022.”据报道，门票上涨在一定程度上是由于 “2020至2022年健康危机”导致的“重大收入损失”。
In 2020, less than 1.6 million people visited the Eiffel Tower, compared to nearly 6.2 million visitors the year before, the monument’s operating company Sociéte d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE) reported. Less than 2.1 million people visited the following year.埃菲尔铁塔运营公司SETE报告称，2020年埃菲尔铁塔游客人数不足160万，而2019年游客人数达到近620万。2021年埃菲尔铁塔游客人数不到210万。In both years, operating costs were around triple that of the landmark’s overall turnover, SETE said.SETE表示，这两年中，埃菲尔铁塔的运营成本大约是总营业额的三倍。
Renovation work is also behind the cost increase, including “lead prevention measures” related to the painting of the tower, BFMTV reported. The painting work is expected to last until 2027 while work is also planned on the elevators, which will lead to occasional closures.据BFM电视台报道，翻修工程也是票价上涨的原因之一，包括给铁塔重刷油漆相关的“铅污染防护措施”。重刷油漆工程预计将持续到2027年，同时也计划对电梯进行施工，期间铁塔会不定时关闭。英文来源：美国有线电视新闻网

Premier Li Qiang has urged China, Japan and the Republic of Korea to reject external disruptions and stay committed to harmonious coexistence and mutual support.Li made the remark on Monday when addressing the 8th China-Japan-ROK Business Summit in Seoul on the sidelines of the ninth Trilateral Summit Meeting among the three Asian neighbors."China, Japan and the Republic of Korea are geographically close neighbors, which determines that we should strive to be peaceful and friendly neighbors," he said. "Drawing lessons from history and looking to the future, we should respect the aspirations of the people of the three countries to live and work in peace, make efforts to eliminate external disruptions to coexist harmoniously, and help each other in times of need."He underlined the need for the three countries to consider one another as partners and important opportunities on the path of development and to achieve a higher level of mutually beneficial cooperation.It is essential to make good use of the cultural affinity of the three neighbors to promote mutual understanding, build mutual trust and enhance cooperation, Li said.China is willing to work hand in hand with the Republic of Korea and Japan to deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, promote the integration of their interests and bring the people of the three nations closer, driving regional integration and creating new prospects for regional peace, stability, development and prosperity, he said.He called on entrepreneurs to play a crucial role in promoting economic and trade exchanges and cooperation among China, Japan and the Republic of KoreaIt is hoped that entrepreneurs will be the defenders of stable global industrial and supply chains, he said.the Republic of Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also attended the event.They praised the achievements in trilateral economic and trade cooperation, emphasizing its role in promoting global economic development.They called for strengthening cooperation with Global South countries through the model of "China-Japan-ROK Plus X", jointly addressing global challenges such as climate change, and making contributions to the economic growth of the three countries as well as the world.Approximately 240 representatives from the business and government sectors of the three countries attended the summit, which focused on economic revitalization and sustainable development.The business summit adopted a joint statement in which the business communities of the three nations pledged to cooperate on the facilitation of the digital transition, stimulation of trade and stabilization of supply chains, as well as on the fostering of cutting-edge industries and industrial digitalization as key economic growth engines.They also pledged to cooperate on the green transition, responses to aging populations, and healthcare. To promote sustainable development, the business communities of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea will work together on the development of carbon reduction technologies and the resolution of regional environmental issues, and jointly respond to climate change.A working group for trilateral dialogue among the business communities of the three countries will be set up for joint research on private-sector economic cooperation and the discussion of current issues, according to the statement.

After imposing steep additional tariffs on Chinese exports such as electric vehicles and solar panels, the United States is instigating a broader trade war against China.
Highlighting the potential threat from what she labels as China's excess industrial capacity, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen underscored the Joe Biden administration is seeking to get Europe to gang up with the US to act in a "strategic and united way" to build "a wall of opposition" against so-called unfair Chinese practices.
The US policy circle clearly loves the notion of walls, something they can hunker the US behind to avoid the spillback from their actions and use to fool the US public by giving seeming substance to their fanciful claim that the country is a castle besieged.
The wall of opposition they are trying to erect is not one that is intended for united efforts for common benefits, even limited to supposed allies.
 It is a wall of fragmentation from which the US is intended to be the sole beneficiary, and the US' European allies are merely useful labor for the construction work.The wall once built will not only further disrupt the global industry and supply chains, but also dampen hopes for rescuing and resetting economic globalization.
Yet the Biden administration's recent wolf-crying over alleged Chinese overcapacity has clearly wormed its way into the changing-world anxieties of the developed countries, as the G7 members led by the US expressed shared "concerns about China's comprehensive use of nonmarket policies and practices that undermines our workers, industries, and economic resilience".
The overcapacity rhetoric has gained such currency in Europe lately that Beijing must make even greater efforts to get across its counterargument that Chinese industrial capacity in green industries is a natural outcome of market competition that is beyond reproach.
That the US has, it seems, scared its allies into swallowing its bait will backfire against their own economies, and further hinder their green transition. 
The other G7 countries should be wary of falling in line behind the US to put up trade barriers to "neutralize" China's green export growth.
But just as the French and German finance ministers pointed out, a trade war, not to mention such an extensive one as Washington envisions, is a formula for lose-lose outcomes.Christian Lindner, the German finance minister, said, "trade wars are all about losing, you can't win them.
"Accusations regarding Chinese trading practices must be examined objectively and very carefully, he said, and if joint actions are to be taken, they must have World Trade Organization support.But if the accusations are indeed examined carefully, they will be seen for what they are — another strand in the net the US is trying to weave to contain China's development.

China and the Republic of Korea have agreed to start high-level strategic dialogue between their foreign ministries and expedite the second phase of negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement amid their strained relations in recent years.
The decision was made on Sunday when Premier Li Qiang met with ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol in Seoul ahead of the ninth Trilateral Summit Meeting among China, Japan and the ROK, which is scheduled for Monday.
Both sides also agreed to hold"2+2" dialogues on foreign affairs and security at deputy ministerial level, and initiate the "track 1.5"dialogue and exchange mechanism.
 "Track 1.5" dialogues are talks that involve a delegation of government officials, who participate in an unofficial capacity, and nongovernmental experts — all sitting around the same table.
The two countries pledged to better leverage mechanisms such as the economic ministers' meeting as well as consultations on industrial investment cooperation, industrial and supply chain collaboration and export control, revive the China-ROK Joint Committee on People-to-People Exchanges and youth exchanges, and further facilitate people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
During the meeting, Li called on the ROK to work with China to respect each other's core interests and major concerns and stay committed to being neighbors who trust each other and partners who help each other to succeed.
He said the industrial and supply chains of China and the ROK are deeply intertwined, with a solid foundation and enormous potential for economic and trade cooperation.
While calling for expanding cooperation in more fields, Li underscored the need for both countries to jointly resist politicizing economic and trade issues, or overstretching the concept of security, to maintain stable and unimpeded industrial and supply chains.
China is willing to accelerate the second phase of negotiations on the bilateral FTA based on a pragmatic and balanced approach, advance the construction of the China-ROK(Changchun) International Cooperation Demonstration Zone, and strengthen partnership in the fields of high-end manufacturing, new energy, artificial intelligence and biomedicine, the premier said.
He pledged that China will further expand market access, enhance service guarantees for foreign investment, continuously foster a world-class, market-based business environment governed by a sound legal framework, and welcome more ROK companies to invest and do business in the country.
China is willing to enhance communication and coordination with the ROK in multilateral fields to jointly promote regional and global peace and development, Li added.With the United States imposing restrictions to hinder China's development, there has been a negative trend among its allies to overstretch the concept of security in the fields of economics, trade and technology.
As a staunch ally of the US in Northeast Asia, the ROK has also adopted negative foreign policies toward China such as implementing export controls.However, China has been the ROK's largest trading partner for 20 years in a row. 
Despite a year-on-year decrease of 13.5 percent, bilateral trade reached more than $310 billion in 2023, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs.Yoon said that maintaining close cooperation between the ROK and China is not only important for the development of both countries, but also significant for achieving global peace and prosperity.
He assured Li that the ROK adheres to the one-China principle, a stance that remains unchanged, and will continue to steadfastly develop its relations with China.
The ROK is willing to maintain high-level exchanges and close communication at all levels with China on the basis of mutual respect, expand economic and trade cooperation, enhance cultural exchanges, and broaden common interests between the two countries, Yoon said.
He added that Seoul is ready to deepen trilateral cooperation among the ROK, C