Strategic Partner UAE
　　July 22， Beijing： Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcome ceremony for Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan， crown prince of Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates （UAE）， before their talks.
　　During his talks with the crown prince， Xi called for joint efforts with the UAE to accelerate the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road as the two countries signed a number of landmark programs for bilateral cooperation.
　　Recalling his visit to the UAE last July， Xi urged deeper strategic mutual trust and strategic cooperation， stressing that China sees the UAE as an important strategic cooperative partner in the Middle East.


　　Stellar Debut
　　July 22， Shanghai： Guests attend the debut ceremony of China’s sci-tech innovation board （STAR market） at the Shanghai Stock Exchange （SSE）.
　　The STAR market， China’s latest NASDAQ-style high-tech trading board， began operation that day， kicking off a trail-blazing stage of the country’s innovation drive and capital market reform. The debut of the first group of 25 listed firms was impressive. At closing， they saw an average increase of about 140 percent， with one surging more than 400 percent.
　　The new board is China’s latest reform attempt to make the A-share market more market-oriented and law-based. First proposed in November 2018， it took only about 260 days to transform the new board from idea into reality.


　　Liangzhu Artifacts
　　July 16， Beijing： Visitors to the Palace Museum gaze at artifacts displayed at an exhibition featuring China’s newest UNESCO World Heritage site—the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City.
　　The exhibition， which opened that day titled“Liangzhu and Ancient China： The 5，000-Year Civilization Demonstrated by Jades，” showcases a total of 260 items. A variety of jade objects such as cong （jade tubes with quadrilateral exteriors）， bi （jade disks） and yue （axe-shaped jade） are on display. Jade radiates the essence of Liangzhu civilization.
　　Divided into four sections， the exhibition aims to showcase the ancient regional state of Liangzhu， its civilization and its influence on later culture while highlighting the significance of Liangzhu on the Chinese civilization. The exhibition runs through October 20.

　　Bridging the Gap
　　July 7： Closure of the main arch of a bridge linking southwestern China’s provinces of Sichuan， Yunnan and Guizhou is finished. The entire bridge will be completed by the end of 2019. Its completion is expected to solve the traffic difficulties for hundreds of thousands of people living in the border area of the three provinces and make great contributions to poverty alleviation in the Wumeng Mountains area.
　　China has vowed to eradicate absolute poverty by 2020. As the deadline approaches， the country is focusing on the nation’s poorest people， who are mainly found deep in the mountains where they battle an adverse natural environment and backward infrastructure.


　　Setting Records in the Water
　　July 21， Gwangju， South Korea： Sun Yang of China reacts after the men’s 400-meter freestyle final at the Gwangju 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships.
　　The 27-year-old Olympic champion finished first in the 400-meter freestyle final on the first day of swimming events of the 18th FINA World Aquatics Championships， clocking 3：42.44. It was his fourth consecutive gold medal in the men’s 400-meter freestyle at the FINA worlds since 2013.
　　Two days later， he grabbed his second gold medal by winning the men’s 200-meter freestyle final in Gwangju. With the two more golds， Sun became the second-highest world title holder with 11 individual gold medals in world competitions. Michael Phelps of the United States still leads with 15 golds from individual events.