Hello and welcome to World Today.
I am Ding Heng in Beijing.
Coming up, the longest spring festival holiday has boosted travel and consumption in China.
China puts 20 Japanese companies on export control lists with an aim to curb Japan's remilitarization and nuclear ambitions.
The European Union has failed to adopt additional sanctions on Moscow and a key loan for Kiev as the war in Ukraine marks its fourth anniversary.
And Canada plans to assist Cuba while Washington squeezes the island country.
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First up, China's Spring Festival holiday has delivered striking economic signals.
During the nine-day holiday, China's railways handled 121 million passenger trips.
Border authorities processed nearly 17.8 million cross-border journeys,
and the Spring Festival box office searched to 5.7 billion yuan,
with total movie attendance reaching 120 million.
What does the surge tell us about the strength and the transformation of China's economy?
Are we witnessing a deeper structural shift towards experience-driven and service-led consumption here in China?
For more, my colleague Zhao Yang spoke with Dr.
Yan Liang, professor of economics with Willemette University.
So, Yan, thank you very much for joining us.
Spring Festival is one of the most important parameters of household spending in China.
So what do this year's consumption numbers tell us about the state of Chinese consumer?