BEIJING C.C. Sabathia Jersey , Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Since entering the World Trade Organization (WTO) 15 years ago, China has witnessed robust economic growth, and an increasingly prosperous China has created significant opportunities for countries around the world.

China joined the WTO as its 143rd member on Dec. 11, 2001. Since then, the country has grown into the world's second-largest economy and largest trading country Greg Bird Jersey , while millions of Chinese have been lifted out of poverty.

Changes for the Chinese include buying cheaper cars, enjoying international products and traveling more.

"China's WTO entry has brought benefits not only to the country's people, but also for the rest of the world," said Lei Da, economics professor at Renmin University of China.

China has long been vital in helping shore up world economic growth Giancarlo Stanton Jersey , especially in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Despite slower growth in recent years, China's economy still contributes 25 percent of the world's growth.

As the vast Chinese market has grown, countries as diverse as Zambia, Australia, Brazil and the United States have seen their exports to China soar.

It is clear that China's strong demand for imports has been a major stabilizing factor amid a sluggish world economy.

China's imports have surged from 243.55 billion U.S. dollars to 1.68 trillion dollars in 15 years Gary Sanchez Jersey , an average annual growth of 10.3 percent.

For many developing countries, no matter in Asia, Africa or Latin America, the Chinese market has been vital in ensuring growth and development stay on track.

China has also been ready to help poorer partners develop. As the world's second biggest investor, the country's outbound direct investment rose for a 13th straight year in 2015 Derek Jeter Jersey , reaching a record high of 145.67 billion dollars.

Dubbed the factory of the world, China manufactures everything from toys and shoes to bullet trains and industrial robots.

From 2001 to 2016, thanks to imported goods from China, consumers around the world saved billions of dollars. Quality yet inexpensive Chinese products contributed to an increase in consumer purchasing power and helped reduce worldwide poverty.

Companies that opened operations in China have profited. Foreign-invested industrial enterprises reported combined profits of about15 trillion yuan (around 2.2 trillion U.S. dollars) over the past 15 years.

Despite a tepid global recovery, the continuous growth of foreign investment in China shows that investors are upbeat about the country's business climate.

Looking ahead Mariano Rivera Jersey , China will remain a center of trade and other global activity, playing a leading role in global governance.

As China plans to be more proactive in opening up to the outside world, its stable growth will produce more benefits for the world.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said Monday that he will roll out gun-control initiatives over the next several days, stressing that the measures will be "entirely consistent" with the constitutional right to bear arms.

Obama made the remarks at the White House with Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey. He had asked his team to look for executive actions he can take to curb gun violence in the country.

Obama said although the steps will not solve every violent crime or prevent every mass shooting Alex Rodriguez Jersey , it will potentially save lives and spare families the pain and extraordinary loss as a consequence of a firearm being in the hands of the wrong people.

"I'm also confident that the recommendations that are being made by my team here are ones that are entirely consistent with the Second Amendment and people's lawful right to bear arms," he said.

In his weekly radio address on Friday, Obama blasted Congress for failing to act on curbing gun violence.

"We know that we can't stop every act of violence. But what if we tried to stop even one? What if Congress did something -- anything -- to protect our kids from gun violence?" he said.

On Thursday, Obama will participate in a live Town Hall event with CNN's Anderson Cooper on reducing gun violence in the country.

Astronomers have discovered a super-size black hole harkening back to almost the dawn of creation.

It's the farthest black hole ever found.

A team led by the Carnegie Observatories' Eduardo Banados reported in the journal Nature on Wednesday that the black hole lies in a quasar dating to 690 million years of the Big Bang. That means the light from this quasar has been traveling our way for more than 13 billion years.

Banados said the quasar provides a unique baby picture of the universe, when it was just 5 percent of its current age.

It would be like seeing photos of a 50-year-old man when he was 2 12 years old Mickey Mantle Jersey , according to Banados.

"This discovery opens up an exciting new window to understand the early universe," he said in an email from Pasadena, California.

Quasars are incredibly bright objects deep in the cosmos, powered by black holes devouring everything around them. That makes them perfect candidates for unraveling the mysteries of the earliest cosmic times.

The black hole in this newest, most distant quasar is 800 million times the mass of our sun.

Much bigger black holes are out there Babe Ruth Jersey , but none so far away — at least among those found so far. These larger black holes have had more time to grow in the hearts of galaxies since the Big Bang, compared with the young one just observed.

"The new quasar is itself one of the first galaxies, and yet it already harbors a behemoth black hole as massive as others in the present-day universe," co-author Xiaohui Fan of the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory said in a statement.

Around the time of this newest quasar, the universe was emerging from a so-called Dark Ages. Stars and galaxies were first appearing and their r.