More snow, ice, flooding to lash U.S. in coming days

 The second in trio of storms this week will develop, bringing accumulating snow across the Rockies and Plains from late Tuesday into early Wednesday before spreading into the Midwest and Northeast of the United States, according to weather forecasts.

 Snow is expected to fall in around two dozen states from Colorado to Maine, beginning late Tuesday through early Thursday and causing snow-covered and slippery roads, travel delays and possible school cancellations.

 The MBTA Mattapan-Ashmont Trolley makes it way through the snow in Boston, Massachusetts, the U.S., February 9. 2025. /VCG

 Meanwhile, the week's first storm will deliver accumulating snow to parts of the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic on Tuesday, including Washington, D.C.

 Containers filled with frozen juice from Brazil are transported to a train at Shenzhen's Yantian Port in south China's Guangdong province on Jan. 22. 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

 China and Brazil elevated their bilateral ties in November 2024. establishing "a community with a shared future for a more just world and a more sustainable planet." This marked the third such elevation since establishing diplomatic ties in 1974. following their strategic partnership in 1993 and comprehensive strategic partnership in 2012.

 The new partnership signifies a stronger unity between the two nations in contributing to "a community with a shared future for mankind," a goal China proposed in 2013. At the same time, the two countries will redouble their efforts to enhance political and economic cooperation while promoting cultural exchanges to deepen mutual understanding.

 The world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century. Since Trump's return to the presidency, U.S. foreign policy has shown a marked shift toward unilateralism and protectionism. To counter these trends, China, Brazil and other developing nations must build stronger political consensus while deepening their economic cooperation.

 Brazil needs investment in its infrastructure, manufacturing and agricultural sectors, which China can provide. Chinese investment in Brazil has reached $70 billion, and this win-win cooperation has proven fruitful. The Belo Monte Hydropower Plant, dubbed Brazil's "trans-century project," demonstrates this partnership. In February 2014. the State Grid of China collaborated with Brazil's Eletrobras to win the bid for the first phase of the plant's ultra-high-voltage transmission project. The Chinese company then independently won the bid for the second phase in July 2015. The project has benefited 22 million people, equivalent to 10% of Brazil's total population.

 Chinese high-tech investment continues to flow into Brazil. Carmaker BYD, for example, plans to build a large-scale production base complex of three factories in the Brazilian state of Bahia.

 In August 2023. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva unveiled the Growth Acceleration Program, known in Portuguese as PAC, to spend 1 trillion reais ($200 billion) on infrastructure, energy and transportation over the next four years. China introduced the well-known Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013. In November 2023. China and Brazil decided to align the BRI with the PAC and other development strategies. This alignment is expected to attract more Chinese investment to Brazil.

 China and Brazil possess numerous complementary advantages that have driven rapid growth in bilateral trade. The trade value between the two nations has surged from $87 billion a decade ago to $188 billion in 2024. This upward trend will continue, especially as China plans to increase its imports of soybeans and other key products from Brazil.