Summary: Xi Jinping emphasized that China's independent innovation has great potential and that the country's scientists can achieve much, urging them to serve national development. The article highlights progress in quantum computing, with Guo Guangcan noting China is now in the world's top tier, and in battery technology by Jin Haizu’s team. It also cites achievements in basic research, such as synthetic starch and the "Tau law" for semiconductors, with R&D spending growing over 14% annually since 2012. Xi called on scientists to apply their work to modernization, citing Lin Zhanxi’s global promotion of fungus grass technology. The piece concludes by celebrating the spirit of innovation and institutional reforms that empower researchers to build a strong science and technology nation.
Summary: The article reports on Xi Jinping's emphasis on fostering youth interest in science, as stated during the 2018 Two Academies conference and reiterated in 2026 at a basic research symposium. It describes various initiatives, including the "Tiangong Classroom" and visits to the China Spallation Neutron Source, to inspire young people. The piece notes the revision of China's Science Popularization Law in 2024, establishing a National Science Month each September. By 2025, the proportion of citizens with scientific literacy had reached 16.74%. No mention is made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un exchanged congratulatory messages on the 65th anniversary of the Sino-North Korean Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. Xi highlighted the treaty’s role in solidifying bilateral ties and maintaining regional peace, and reiterated China’s unwavering support for North Korea’s socialist cause under Kim’s leadership. He also referenced his June state visit to North Korea, where both leaders agreed to inject new meaning into their traditional friendship. Kim responded by affirming the treaty’s significance in preserving their shared socialist goals and strategic partnership, vowing to elevate bilateral relations to new heights. The exchange did not address the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: Xi Jinping emphasized that the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is critical for achieving China's goal of becoming a science and technology powerhouse by 2035, speaking at the National Science and Technology Awards Conference, the Academicians Conference, and the China Association for Science and Technology's 11th National Congress. He outlined six requirements, including strengthening systemic innovation, integrating technological and industrial innovation, cultivating young talent, and improving innovation efficiency. The article highlights the need to address external risks and challenges—implicitly referencing U.S.-China competition—to maintain strategic initiative. It notes China's R&D personnel full-time equivalent has ranked first globally for 13 years, and calls for greater emphasis on young scientists. The overarching message is to unify behind Party leadership to build a strong science and technology nation by 2035.
Summary: Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with North Korean Premier Pak Thae-song in Beijing on July 11. Li emphasized the friendship between China and North Korea, citing recent summit agreements and the need to implement the Sino-North Korean Treaty of Friendship. He called for closer high-level exchanges, expanded trade, and cooperation in healthcare and education. Pak praised China's development under Xi Jinping and reaffirmed North Korea's support for China's core interests. Wu Zhenglong accompanied Li during the meeting.
Summary: President Xi Jinping visited the New Fourth Army Memorial in Yancheng in December 2023, stressing that the Party’s history proves popular support determines historical choices and that “the people are the mountains and rivers.” He called on cadres to inherit the spirit of fearing no difficulty and daring to struggle. The article recounts how in 1941, county magistrate Song Naide, along with New Fourth Army soldiers, built the Song Gong Dike to protect locals from tidal disasters. It notes that this coastal area has since developed into the offshore wind power hub of China, with the city targeting 50 GW of renewable capacity by 2030. The story concludes by noting that the spirit of the dike builders now drives green development and the return of young workers to Yancheng.
Summary: The article highlights the role of Chinese Communist Party members in flood relief efforts, emphasizing their readiness to act with the rallying cry "I am a Party member, let me go first." It describes scenes of party members rescuing victims, singing the national anthem to boost morale, and working tirelessly on levee patrols, clearing debris, and restoring infrastructure. The report underscores that party members are the "most reliable backbone" for the people during crises, with party flags flying wherever danger is present. It concludes by affirming that the collective resolve of millions of party members and civilians will ensure victory in the flood control battle. No U.S. or bilateral relations are mentioned.
Summary: The article reports on an international seminar in Ningxia on "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the World," attended by over 120 foreign political party leaders, diplomats, and scholars. Participants visited local poverty alleviation sites, witnessing China's targeted poverty reduction, which they praised for its precision and effectiveness. Foreign officials, including Italy's Francesco Maringio and Tajikistan's Gulom Halimzoda, highlighted the role of Communist Party cadres stationed in villages as a key to success. Regional collaboration, such as Fujian's support for Ningxia, was lauded as an institutional innovation by Egypt's Yasser Maamoun. The seminar also emphasized the integration of poverty reduction with ecological protection, as noted by Turkey's Jiang Bilgicier.
Summary: The Chinese ambassador to the Philippines wrote that the 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling, now entering its tenth year, is an illegal and absurd political farce that has harmed bilateral relations and regional stability. He stated that the ruling serves as a pretext for outside powers, implicitly referencing the United States, to meddle in regional affairs. The ambassador reaffirmed China's firm rejection of the ruling and any claims based on it, insisting that the Philippines must abandon the "ruling" to restore normal ties.
Summary: The 2026 APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) third meeting in Bangkok from July 6-9 adopted 10 key documents, including letters to leaders and statements on quantum technology, healthcare, and mining. At the closing ceremony, ABAC CEO Summit Chair and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade President Ren Hongbin stated that China is fully prepared to host the November APEC summit in Shenzhen, focusing on topics like digital economy and green finance. ABAC Chair Li Fanrong (Sinochem) called for regional cooperation to harness AI and energy transition, urging an open and predictable trade environment amid global uncertainty. ABAC Thailand Chair Kasemsit Pathomsak affirmed that ABAC will advance the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, supply chain resilience, and digital transformation, expecting China to lead in these areas. ABAC Mexico representative Agustín García highlighted support for interconnectivity, including personnel and business ties, and expressed anticipation for China’s leadership in trade facilitation at the Shenzhen summit.
Summary: At a seminar in Yiwu, African entrepreneurs and youth leaders praised China's development and open business environment, sharing stories of their entrepreneurial successes. Officials from Yiwu's human resources, science, immigration, and foreign affairs departments explained local policies supporting foreign businesses. Rwandan official Albert Muyabungwe commended China's openness and expressed intent to adopt its governance model. Sierra Leone's Sandy Rodgers and Botswana's Koloane Onellana highlighted China's transformation as a valuable example for Africa. The event underscored expectations for deepened Africa-China cooperation.
Summary: The article reports on Chinese-made light rail trains serving Mexico City during the 2026 World Cup, with 115 trains from CRRC Zhuzhou deployed across three host cities and expected to carry over 1.25 million passengers daily. Fans are quoted praising the trains' speed and convenience, and a young Mexican boy notes that the Chinese-built trains have become his "football special line." CRRC Mexico branch manager Luo Chao is reported as describing the establishment of a three-tier response mechanism and 24-hour support teams to ensure safe operation under high passenger flow. The article highlights that the first train entered service in January 2024, with 17 culturally customized trains added in May 2025. No mention is made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: A Liangzhu culture exhibition titled “Hello·Liangzhu” was held at the Berlin Chinese Culture Center from June 8 to July 8. Berlin Chinese Culture Center Deputy Director He Wenbo stated that the archaeological findings of Liangzhu provide important evidence for understanding the origins of human civilization and expressed hope for deepening Sino-German cooperation in cultural exchanges, heritage protection, and academic research. Liangzhu Museum Director Xu Tianjin said the exhibition aims to become a new starting point for cultural, archaeological, and academic collaboration between China and Europe, and invited German visitors to experience Liangzhu. The exhibition featured AI-powered smart glasses that German Chancellor Merz had used during his recent visit to Hangzhou, enhancing the interactive experience. German experts praised the innovative format for making archaeological knowledge more accessible.
Summary: A UN high-level political forum event in New York released the *Global Electric Power Development Index (2026)*, ranking China among the world's top five in overall power development and first in power technology innovation. UN Economic and Social Council President Locke Tapa urged greater green energy investment in developing countries and technology sharing. UN Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua stressed accelerating energy technology innovation and grid interconnection. Chinese Permanent Representative Fu Cong called for strengthened technological cooperation, universal access to technology, green lifestyles, and improved global energy governance. No mention was made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: China's National Bureau of Statistics reported that the 2026 summer grain output exceeded 300 billion jin for the first time, a 2-billion-jin increase year-on-year, attributed to stable acreage and higher per-unit yields. Officials and experts highlighted breakthroughs in wheat varieties resistant to sprouting, such as "Kenmai 58," which supported yield gains despite adverse weather. The article also detailed cross-province mechanical harvesting led by farmer Dong Song, with over 170,000 smart harvesters deployed nationwide, and the use of an AI-based mini-program "Mai Ji Tong" for real-time risk management. Chinese Academy of Sciences researcher Cheng Guoqiang emphasized that agricultural "new quality productive forces" are crucial to achieving the "15th Five-Year Plan" target of 1.45 trillion jin in grain capacity. The summary did not mention the United States.
Summary: Brazil and Kazakhstan have recently issued yuan-denominated "panda bonds" in China, with total issuance exceeding 160 billion yuan in the first half of 2025, up over 60% year-on-year. The bonds are popular due to low financing costs (average ~1.85%) and a stable yuan, alongside China's deepening financial market openness. People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng stated that China will continue improving yuan cross-border use arrangements and financial infrastructure to facilitate trade and investment. Chief economist Wen Bin noted that the panda bond market's growth reinforces yuan internationalization through a virtuous cycle. No mention was made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: Wang Guangqian, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was elected chairman of the 11th National Committee of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), with 16 vice chairmen including You Zheng, Bao Weimin, and Feng Shenhong. Wang stated that CAST must align its work with the Communist Party's central tasks and serve as a bridge between the Party, the government, and scientific workers. He Junke was appointed first secretary of the CAST secretariat. No mention was made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article reports that Qianjiang District in Chongqing has developed camping bases and a cloud racecourse in Shuishi Town, along with over 30 homestays and farm stays. In 2025, the town received 300,000 visitors, generating 27 million yuan in tourism revenue, turning its cool mountain resources into a "hot economy" for rural revitalization.
Summary: China's national electricity load hit a record high of 15.18 billion kilowatts on July 10, surpassing the previous peak by 100 million kilowatts, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The surge was driven by steady industrial electricity consumption, rapid growth in service sectors like EV charging and data centers, and increased cooling demand from high temperatures. The NDRC, in coordination with the inter-ministerial mechanism for coal, electricity, oil, and gas transport, will monitor supply-demand dynamics and implement measures to ensure reliable and green electricity supply for economic and residential needs. No U.S. or U.S.-China relations were mentioned.
Summary: A shoe factory fire in Jinjiang, Fujian, on July 9 caused 28 deaths. The State Council Work Safety Committee has placed the case under supervised investigation and dispatched an on-site team led by the National Fire and Rescue Administration to guide Fujian in determining the cause, management failures, and accountability. The directive requires a thorough probe into the fire’s origin and nature, and demands that those responsible be identified and punished. The article does not mention the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: President Xi Jinping emphasized that China’s independent innovation enterprise holds great promise and that its scientific workers can achieve great success, as quoted from his speeches at key science conferences in 2021 and 2024. The article highlights advances in quantum computing, battery technology, and basic research, citing scientists like Guo Guangcan and Jin Haizu. It also notes the role of science in serving development, with examples such as Lin Zhanxi’s promotion of fungus grass technology domestically and abroad. The report underscores Xi’s call for scientists to apply their work to national modernization and praises the growing talent pool and research funding. No mention of the United States or U.S.-China relations appears in the text.
Summary: President Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the importance of inspiring youth to pursue science and technology, as seen in his 2018 speech at the Two Academies conference and a 2026 symposium on basic research. The article highlights nationwide efforts to integrate science education into schools and research institutions, including visits to labs and expanded public science programs. It notes the 2024 revision of the Science Popularization Law, which designates September as National Science Popularization Month. The piece also cites examples of young innovators inspired by early exposure to science, such as the founder of robot company Unitree. No mention is made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: In June, China’s futures market saw a 27% year-on-year increase in trading volume to 9.39 billion lots and a 52.72% rise in turnover to 80.62 trillion yuan, according to the China Futures Association. For the first half of the year, cumulative volume reached 51.05 billion lots and turnover hit 482.70 trillion yuan, up 25.23% and 42.08% respectively. The report does not mention any officials or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article reports on recent flood and landslide disasters in Guangxi, Hubei, and Gansu, with the National Comprehensive Fire and Rescue Team mobilizing under Xi Jinping’s directives. In Guangxi, rescue commander Liang Lingzi led operations to save a trapped family, while firefighters transferred nearly 30,000 students in Guigang. In Gansu, captain Luo Lingshan commanded a landslide rescue of 275 personnel and 10 search dogs. In Hubei, assistant chief Li Xianwen directed the rescue of a worker buried by a tornado-collapsed building. No mention is made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: Typhoon Bayu made landfall in Zhejiang on July 11, prompting China's Ministry of Water Resources to raise its flood emergency response to Level III and the National Flood Control Headquarters to maintain a Level II response. Authorities evacuated over 1.7 million people in Zhejiang and 188,400 in Fujian, while the central government allocated 40 million yuan for disaster relief. The National Flood Control Headquarters elevated emergency responses for Beijing, Tianjin, Liaoning, Anhui, and Jiangxi, and initiated a Level IV response for Heilongjiang. Other provinces, including Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Hebei, and Jiangsu, issued or adjusted their own weather and flood alerts. No U.S. or U.S.-China relations were mentioned in the report.
Summary: The article reports on Beijing's flood response, highlighting relocation centers and party-led emergency measures. At the Huairou District student military training base, 367 people, mostly elderly, were housed; commander Wang Hongli noted 880 beds were prepared. In Mentougou District, village party secretary Zhang Xingang explained that the "highland fortress" at the party service center could shelter 400 people. Cai Yonghe, captain of the Fengtai District emergency team, stated, "Party members must charge ahead," ensuring the "vegetable basket" safety. By July 11, over 10,000 residents had been relocated, with 1,052 highland fortresses established across Beijing's mountainous villages.
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Summary: The article reports on Changjiangyuan Village in Qinghai, a settlement for herders relocated from the Tanggula Mountains in 2004 under China's Sanjiangyuan ecological protection policy. Party secretary and village director Zha Xidawa described how residents adapted their livelihoods and established a permanent ecological patrol system, with each household contributing a ranger to monitor grasslands and wildlife. He noted that the village’s cooperative, founded in 2020, now processes high-quality yak and sheep products for online sales, lifting collective income above one million yuan and per capita income over 38,000 yuan. Zha also highlighted cultural preservation efforts, including a youth collecting folk music and a women’s handicraft cooperative, as well as community self-governance measures like weekly cleanups and an incentive points system. The article does not mention the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: In Qinghai’s Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, a remote video monitoring system called “Yushu Jiangyuan Window” has been deployed to protect the source regions of the Yangtze, Yellow, and Lancang rivers. Chen Rong, deputy director of the prefecture’s Ecology and Environment Bureau, stated that the system enables long-distance, real-time observation of vast and inaccessible areas, compensating for the shortcomings of traditional manual patrols. Enforcement officer Gengsong Lacuo noted that remote inspections allow staff to detect abnormalities—such as illegal digging—and swiftly alert local protection stations, improving response efficiency. The system also records biodiversity data, including sightings of snow leopards and black-necked cranes, supporting scientific conservation. Over the past five years, Yushu has maintained excellent air and water quality, with the system serving both as a monitoring tool and a public education platform.
Summary: Lian Jie, a traffic police officer from Tianjin's Dongfengli Brigade, received the "National Outstanding Communist Party Member" honor, calling it both affirmation and motivation. For 13 years, she has worked front-line duty, handling over 38,000 minor traffic violations with zero complaints. She led the Youyi Binshui Women's Demonstration Post and later became head of the Youyi Police District after a 2020 reform. Lian Jie developed a "three degrees and three hearts" working method emphasizing lawful, effective, and precise enforcement with warmth. Recently promoted to brigade instructor, she affirmed her commitment to serving the public wherever needed.
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Summary: Chinese experts, including Academician Chen Yeguang and others, discussed the urgent need to strengthen basic research as China's economy transitions to high-quality development, emphasizing that original innovation is key to overcoming "bottleneck" technology issues. They highlighted the importance of balancing goal-oriented research with free exploration, with institutions like Zhongguancun AI研究院 linking industrial needs to scientific questions. Funding allocation challenges were noted, with calls for diversified investment from enterprises and stable support for young researchers. Evaluation reforms were advocated, including "tolerance for failure" mechanisms and recognition of process contributions. No mention of the United States or U.S.-China relations was present in the article.
Summary: Pan Jianwei, an academician and vice president of the University of Science and Technology of China, argued that basic research is not detached from practice, citing his team’s achievements in quantum communication, computing, and a strontium atomic optical clock with record precision. He emphasized that breakthroughs like the “Mozi” satellite and quantum prototypes stemmed from long-term, fundamental questions. The optical clock, capable of redefining the second, could enable applications from earthquake monitoring to dark matter detection. Pan urged more young researchers to engage in frontline projects, noting that China’s progress in quantum science results from decades of foundational study. The article did not discuss U.S.-China relations.
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Summary: Shanghai Museum launched "World Tree Summit: Ancient American Civilization Exhibition" on July 9, the largest exhibition of ancient American civilizations globally, following its highly successful 13-month Egyptian exhibition that drew over 2.77 million visitors and generated more than 35 billion yuan in city-wide consumption. Curator Chu Xiaobo emphasized that the museum's approach involves Chinese-led curation, presenting world civilizations through a local academic lens while pairing them with Chinese artifacts to foster equal cultural dialogue. The museum has leveraged these exhibitions to build long-term cooperation, including joint archaeological excavations in Egypt and a planned 2027 exhibition of Chinese ethnic costumes in Mexico. By expanding beyond tickets to create a "cultural consumption ecosystem" with over 3,000 merchandise items, community outreach, and cross-sector partnerships with zoos and parks, the museum aims to transform single visits into comprehensive consumer and emotional chains. The success reflects Shanghai's broader strategy of integrating top-tier museum resources with grassroots institutions, creating a citywide cultural ecology where museums serve as engines for tourism and economic development.
Summary: The article discusses the cultural significance of Chinese calligraphy as a carrier of the Chinese heritage, emphasizing its need to integrate into daily life rather than remain confined to exhibitions. It identifies three challenges: declining practical use due to digital input, lack of substance in contemporary works, and uneven educational resources. The proposed solution is to expand calligraphy's application across education, tourism, design, and technology, creating a "calligraphy+" model. Examples include digital fonts, sports event logos, and VR exhibitions. The article does not mention any official figures or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: Liu Mancang, a seventh-generation inheritor of Tongwei shadow puppetry in Gansu, was reported as saying that the art form—also known as "Tongwei Shadow Tunes"—has evolved by blending local dialect with elements of Qinqiang opera and folk songs. He described how he single-handedly manipulates puppets, sings, and manages all aspects of performance, from script collection to carving. Modern innovations include adopting gradient coloring techniques learned from peers at a Beijing conference and using multiple knives inspired by Shaanxi puppetry. Despite farming responsibilities, Liu actively preserves over 100 traditional scripts and 2,000 carved pieces, while expanding the troupe's reach. No U.S. or U.S.-China relations were mentioned.
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Summary: The article features statements from financial leaders on pension finance and tech finance. Taikang Insurance’s Yingweiwei reported their “payment+service+investment” model and managing 1.3 trillion yuan in retirement funds, while AIA’s Zhang Min noted their personal pension product market share. Officials from Postal Savings Bank, Bank of China, CCB, and others detailed科技金融 innovations like “technology flow” credit models and loans for AI and aerospace firms. In Xiong’an New Area, representatives from Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank, and CITIC Bank described localized services and collaborative platforms to support tech enterprises. No mention of the United States or U.S.-China relations appears in the article.
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Summary: The article reports on the “Glorious Journey, Timeless Art” exhibition at the Museum of the Communist Party of China, marking the Party’s 105th anniversary, featuring over 140 realist works that trace Party history from revolution to the new era. The author, a vice chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, argues that realist art serves as a visual record of national memory and Party leadership, with themes shifting from wartime mobilization to state-directed projects after 1949 and more diverse micro-narratives since the 18th National Congress. He warns that some thematic works risk becoming superficial or mechanically illustrative, urging artists to integrate genuine experience and individual expression with historical subjects. No mention is made of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: A nationwide series of red-themed art exhibitions has opened across Chinese museums and galleries to celebrate the 105th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. The displays feature regional diversity, with Beijing hosting major national works, while Tianjin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, and Hubei each contribute distinct local narratives and artistic styles. Creators are moving beyond formulaic approaches by blending historical accuracy with individual expression, such as depicting revolutionary figures and contemporary grassroots workers. The exhibitions have expanded into public spaces, including a high-speed rail station in Jiaxing and integrated with Party history education in Tianjin. The article concludes by calling for continued artistic innovation to sustain the "red symphony" into the new "15th Five-Year Plan" period.
Summary: The article, written by the dean of the China Academy of Art's Painting School, discusses two art exhibitions held for the 105th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), emphasizing thematic paintings that reconstruct historical scenes rather than merely illustrate facts. It highlights how works like *The Oath* and *Nanchang Uprising* transform historical events into visual art, stressing the artist's role in converting political ideals into aesthetic forms. The author argues that major historical paintings must balance realism and idealism, using examples like *Setting Sail—The First National Congress of the CCP* and *Nanjing 1937* to show how contemporary artists reorganize historical experience. The piece underscores the CCP's progressive nature as the deep spiritual source for such art, which requires rigorous artistic judgment to embed political meaning into composition, color, and material. Ultimately, the essay calls for artists to embed personal expertise into national memory and collective narratives, without any mention of the United States or U.S.-China relations.
Summary: The article highlights a series of Chinese landscape paintings, led by artist Li Xiang and his team, that depict the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Greater Bay Area, blending traditional山水 aesthetics with modern infrastructure and urban vitality. The works, including "Dragon Soaring over Hong Kong Bay," use innovative brushwork to integrate natural scenery, super-engineering, and cityscapes, symbolizing the region's post-handover development. The team combines techniques like "san yuan fa" and prints to create dynamic compositions, capturing the bridge's grandeur and the bay's prosperity. Five paintings from different perspectives celebrate the bridge as a dragon, emphasizing historical depth and emotional resonance. The series elevates documentary depiction into artistic expressions of the Greater Bay Area’s open and inclusive spirit.
Summary: The provided text merely identifies an oil painting titled *Drinking from the Same River: The Source of the Yangtze River* by artist Yang Shaotong. No official statements, political figures, or U.S.-China relations are mentioned. The content offers no basis for political analysis.
Summary: The article, written from the perspective of a young calligrapher, argues that Chinese calligraphy must be revitalized by young artists through deep engagement with tradition and active service to society. It emphasizes the need to avoid "separation of writing and spirit" by cultivating personal character and exploring the classical aesthetic system. The author advocates for a "two-way dialogue" between ancient and modern to expand calligraphy's expressive boundaries. Ultimately, the piece calls on young calligraphers to leave their studios, experience contemporary life, and use public platforms to make calligraphy accessible, thereby fulfilling a "social aesthetic education" mission. No specific officials, U.S. references, or foreign policy elements are mentioned.
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By: 本报记者 刘雨瑞 戴林峰
Practice has proved that China's independent innovation cause is full of promise! Our vast number of scientific and technological workers have great potential for achievement!
——Emphasized by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the Conference of Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering (两院院士大会) and the Tenth National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology (中国科协第十次全国代表大会) on May 28, 2021
In early July, in Hefei, Anhui, inside a laboratory of the University of Science and Technology of China, a dilution refrigerator hummed softly, providing a near-absolute-zero low-temperature environment for the core quantum chips of China’s superconducting quantum computer. At present, this superconducting quantum computer is receiving quantum computing tasks from around the world. “China’s quantum science and technology development level has firmly secured a place in the world’s first echelon,” said Guo Guangcan (郭光灿), academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor at the University of Science and Technology of China.
To advance Chinese-style modernization (中国式现代化), science and technology must take the lead, and scientific and technological innovation is the only path.
On July 8, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the National Science and Technology Awards Conference (国家科学技术奖励大会), the Conference of Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the Eleventh National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology: “The vast number of scientific and technological workers are an important force in building a modern socialist power. I hope everyone will carry forward the fine tradition of serving the country and benefiting the people, and make new contributions to building a scientific and technological power (科技强国).”
The way of innovation lies in obtaining talent. General Secretary Xi Jinping has always shown meticulous care and placed high hopes on scientific and technological workers.
An era “full of promise” calls for the struggle of “great potential for achievement.”
On May 28, 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the Conference of Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Tenth National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology: “Practice has proved that China’s independent innovation cause is full of promise! Our vast number of scientific and technological workers have great potential for achievement!”
These earnest exhortations are kept firmly in mind. Guo Guangcan has been deeply engaged in the field of quantum optics, pioneering at the frontier of basic theory. “Only by consolidating the foundation of quantum research can we firmly grasp the independent control of key core technologies in quantum information.” Guo Guangcan’s team originally proposed the principle of quantum error-avoiding coding, the principle of quantum probability cloning, etc., and successfully developed superconducting and other quantum computers.
Looking at China’s basic research, from the original breakthrough in artificial synthesis of starch from carbon dioxide, to the proposal of the “Tau (τ) Law” guiding the development of the semiconductor industry, a large number of scientific and technological workers are willing to sit on “cold benches” and bravely venture into “no-man’s lands.” More and more original achievements “from 0 to 1” are attracting global attention.
In 2025, China’s basic research funding reached 277.8 billion yuan, with an average annual growth of over 14% since 2012; the basic research talent team grew from 212,000 person-years in 2012 to 597,000 person-years in 2024.
As basic research takes deep root, industrial innovation gains a source of living water.
Jin Haizu (金海族), director of the Aviation and Robot Battery Technology Center of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL), has been focusing on new energy technology. She led her team to develop high-specific-energy lithium-ion batteries with energy density reaching internationally advanced levels. On this basis, they developed a new structural power battery pack and achieved large-scale production. “Both the technological peak and the industrial peak must be climbed by ourselves,” Jin Haizu remarked.
Moving toward the “new.” Looking up at the sky, the China Space Station roams in space; looking down at the earth, new energy vehicles travel to the world; facing the future, industries such as artificial intelligence are accelerating their layout. The vast number of scientific and technological workers are intensifying their efforts to tackle key core technologies, using scientific and technological innovation to lead the development of new quality productive forces (新质生产力).
The value of scientific and technological work is not only focused on breakthroughs in the laboratory, but also grounded in benefiting the people and serving development.
At present, Lin Zhanxi (林占熺), a professor at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, is still busy on the front line of promoting Juncao technology. Nearly 30 years ago, responding to the call of the Fujian-Ningxia cooperation, he came to Pengyang County (彭阳县), Ningxia, and used grass instead of wood to cultivate edible fungi. Currently, Ningxia’s annual edible fungi production exceeds 90 million sticks, with a total output value of 680 million yuan.
General Secretary Xi Jinping earnestly exhorted: “The vast number of scientific and technological workers must write their papers on the land of the motherland and apply scientific and technological achievements in the great cause of realizing modernization.” Hundreds of thousands of science and technology commissioners are active in the fields, sowing the seeds of becoming rich through science and technology in the fertile soil of the countryside.
A single Juncao plant, crossing mountains and seas, has gone to the world, “blooming and bearing fruit” in more than 100 countries and regions. “Juncao has become a ‘grass for wealth’ and a ‘grass of friendship,’” Lin Zhanxi said with great gratification.
Scientific and technological innovation is an inexhaustible driving force for the progress of human civilization. China takes the lead in organizing and implementing major international science programs such as ocean negative emissions (海洋负排放), launching the “Open Science International Cooperation Initiative (开放科学国际合作倡议),” and the number of high-level international journal papers has ranked first in the world for five consecutive years… Chinese scientific and technological workers are displaying greater achievements on the international scientific and technological stage with an open and cooperative attitude.
Great potential for achievement — the torch of spirit illuminates the path forward for scientific and technological workers.
Inspired by the Westward Relocation Spirit (西迁精神), in 2021, Wu Ge (吴戈), who returned after completing his studies overseas, came to Xi’an Jiaotong University, buried himself in research, and led his team to design an ultra-strong and tough alloy. “The scientist spirit is passed down from generation to generation, inspiring us to continue striving and serve the motherland,” Wu Ge said.
Great potential for achievement — institutional mechanisms continuously stimulate the creative vitality of scientific and technological workers.
In recent years, the state has insisted on combining “breaking the four onlys” (破四唯) and “establishing new standards” (立新标), improving the classification evaluation system and assessment mechanism that conform to the laws of scientific research activities, and perfecting incentive systems such as science and technology awards, income distribution, and empowerment of achievements. From 揭榜挂帅 (jiē bǎng guà shuài - “post the list and appoint the commander,” a mechanism to encourage competition) and “horse racing system” (赛马制) to encourage bold exploration, to continuously reducing the burden on scientific researchers, reforms are constantly being pushed deeper.
An era full of promise provides a broad stage for scientific and technological workers to display their talents; scientific and technological workers with great potential for achievement stride firmly toward the goal of building a scientific and technological power, injecting stronger innovation momentum into advancing Chinese-style modernization.
(Xu Jing (徐靖), this newspaper reporter, contributed to the writing.)
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 宋 飞 王昊男
“Give children’s dreams the wings of science and technology, so that the future scientific and technological landscape of the motherland will be crowded with talents, and the future vast starry sky of science will be glittering with stars!”
——Stressed by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the Joint Conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, May 28, 2018
During the summer vacation, the Science Museum of Tsinghua University welcomed many visitors.
“Why is this gyroscope different from the one at home?” On July 11, in the “Century of Instruments” exhibition hall, the precise rotors on the square, light-grey-green instrument, shaped like eyes, caught the children’s attention. They looked at the nameplate reading “Electrostatic Gyro Three-Axis Stabilization Platform” and asked curiously.
“This is the ‘striving machine’ (争气机) of our country’s inertial navigation technology. It uses a strong electric field in an ultra-high vacuum to steadily ‘suspend’ a metal ball in the air, with extremely high precision,” the docent’s introduction quietly planted the seeds of science in the children’s hearts.
On July 8, at the National Science and Technology Award Conference, the Joint Conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the 11th National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must focus on discovering and cultivating young people’s interests, specialized aptitudes, scientific literacy, and experimental abilities, and attract more young people with scientific research potential to aspire to devote themselves to scientific and technological endeavors.”
On May 28, 2018, at the Joint Conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed: “Give children’s dreams the wings of science and technology, so that the future scientific and technological landscape of the motherland will be crowded with talents, and the future vast starry sky of science will be glittering with stars!”
Science education workers willingly serve as ladders for others (甘为人梯, gān wèi rén tī - “willing to be a ladder for others,” selflessly supporting the rise of others). “The chain of talent cultivation is very long; someone must do the foundational work,” said Chen Zheng, professor at the School of Physical Science and Engineering of Beijing Jiaotong University and director of the Science Education Research Center, who participated in the preparation of the space science education brand “Tiangong Classroom” (天宫课堂). Today, his laboratory can receive tens of thousands of students each year.
The China Spallation Neutron Source (中国散裂中子源) is located in Dongguan, Guangdong. Every year on Public Science Day, a large number of primary and secondary school students approach this “super microscope.” Researcher Huang Weiling and more than 150 colleagues carry out science popularization lectures for young people year-round. “The spallation neutron source is not only a highland for scientific research but also an important carrier for carrying out science education. It can let more children understand the power of science and technology and establish scientific dreams.”
At present, China has more than 2.2 million full-time and part-time science popularization personnel. The “Science with China” (科学与中国) academician and expert lecture tour has conducted over 2,000 sessions over more than 20 years… A large-scale science popularization team is dedicated to igniting the scientific dreams of young people.
—Research institutions open their doors wide. Beijing coordinates and integrates high-quality resources from universities and research institutes, organizing students to enter scientific research laboratories and realistic experience platforms, allowing students to get close to cutting-edge technology and participate in scientific practice. 207 municipal-level science popularization bases and nearly 200,000 registered science (technology) popularization volunteers are transforming research potential into educational kinetic energy.
—Schools and bases engage in deep linkage. Since 2016, Shanghai has built “Youth Science Innovation Practice Workstations.” Relying on universities and research institutes, it has established 40 workstations, selecting about 5,000 middle school students each year to enter the stations and conduct projects. 332 science popularization bases cover the entire city. Zhou Chuliang, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a workstation mentor, said: “Compared with solving problems, we are more concerned with getting children to ask valuable questions.”
—New scenarios and new technologies reshape the form of science popularization. The Shanghai Astronomical Museum innovatively integrates extended reality technology, presenting the sea of stars to children’s eyes; in Nansha District, Guangzhou, the Guangdong Aerospace Science and Technology Research Institute has created a “real research, real scene, real experience” science popularization model. In front of the large low-altitude aircraft wind tunnel test facility, children from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area build simple wind tunnels together and measure the lift of model aircraft.
Science popularization ignites dreams and nurtures innovation.
“I was fascinated by robots back when I read science popularization books.” Wang Xingxing, founder of Unitree Technology (宇树科技股份有限公司), loved reading science popularization books most as a child. In junior high school, inspired by popular science reading materials, he used cardboard and an old motor to piece together his first “car that could move.” Years later, in his dormitory at Shanghai University, he used low-cost servos plus 3D printing to make a quadruped robot that cost less than 1% of similar foreign products. That prototype grew into “Unitree,” which now accounts for over 60% of the global consumer quadruped robot market.
The future of science lies in youth. The seeds planted by science popularization are growing vigorously, like bamboo shoots after spring rain (雨后春笋, yǔ hòu chūn sǔn - “like bamboo shoots after rain,” things emerging in large numbers and rapidly). More and more young people are moving from “learning science” to “loving science,” and from “loving science” to “doing science.”
At the end of 2024, the Science and Technology Popularization Law of the People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国科学技术普及法) completed its first revision in more than 20 years since implementation, and “September of each year is National Science Popularization Month (全国科普月)” was written into the law. In 2025, the proportion of Chinese citizens with scientific literacy reached 16.74%, an increase of 1.37 percentage points over 2024.
“Carry forward the spirit of scientists, strengthen science popularization and publicity, stimulate young people’s imagination and desire for exploration, and let devoting oneself to basic research become the life pursuit of more young people.” These words of General Secretary Xi Jinping at the Symposium on Strengthening Basic Research (加强基础研究座谈会) in Shanghai in April 2026 revealed the deep-seated purpose of science popularization — not only transmitting knowledge, but also nurturing the reserve force for innovation.
When the doors of research institutions are opened wide to young people, when more and more scientific and technical workers devote themselves to science popularization, and when the contributions of science popularization workers have a quantifiable evaluation system, the future vast starry sky of science will surely be glittering with stars.
(Our reporters Wang Yunna (王云娜) and Huang Xiaohui (黄晓慧) contributed to the writing.)
Return to TopXinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 11 — On July 11, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President of the People's Republic of China, and Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and President of the State Affairs Commission, exchanged congratulatory messages regarding the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Xi Jinping pointed out that in 1961, the older generation of leaders from the two Chinese and Korean countries signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which laid an important political and legal foundation for consolidating the combat friendship forged with the blood of the two peoples, and played an important role in inheriting and promoting China-DPRK friendship and maintaining regional and even world peace and stability. Over the past 65 years, both sides have upheld the spirit of the treaty, providing mutual support, unity and cooperation, and struggling side by side, vividly interpreting the distinct characteristics of China-DPRK relations being friendly across generations, sharing a community of destiny, and watching over and helping one another.
Xi Jinping emphasized that in June this year, I successfully conducted a state visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and reached important consensus with Comrade General Secretary on consolidating and inheriting traditional China-DPRK friendship and injecting it with new connotations of the era, providing strategic guidance and sketching a new blueprint for the development of China-DPRK relations in the new period. Facing the accelerating evolution of changes unseen in a century in the world, I am willing to further closely strengthen strategic communication with Comrade General Secretary, hold firm to the direction of the development of bilateral relations, lead the two sides' friendly cooperation to better benefit the two peoples, and make positive contributions to promoting regional peace and development.
Xi Jinping pointed out that I am willing to reiterate that no matter how the international situation changes, the firm position of the Chinese Party and government that highly values traditional China-DPRK friendship will not change, the firm support for Comrade General Secretary Kim Jong Un's leadership of the DPRK's socialist cause will not change, and the firm determination to safeguard the common interests and good strategic environment of both China and the DPRK will not change. I believe that under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea with Comrade General Secretary at its helm, the Korean people will certainly fully implement and carry out the various decisions and deployments of the Ninth National Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, and continuously achieve new and greater achievements in the cause of socialist construction.
Kim Jong Un stated that 65 years ago, both sides signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and China, which laid a solid legal foundation for the everlasting development of the Korea-China combat friendship and the relationship of unity, mutual assistance, and cooperation formed during the bloody struggle to realize anti-imperialist independence, peace, and the great socialist cause. During the past period, the two countries of Korea and China have gone through historical wind and rain, yet have always provided each other with firm support and close cooperation, fully demonstrating to the whole world the never-fading and unbreakable nature of the Korea-China friendly relations, which are special because of traditional friendship, special because of the shared great socialist cause, and special because of unswerving inheritance.
Kim Jong Un stated that the Korea-China friendly cooperative relationship, as a strategic choice and a common precious wealth of the two parties and two peoples, is being sublimated and developed at a new strategic height, and in the complex and changing international situation, it is making important contributions to safeguarding the sovereignty, security, and development interests of the two countries, and defending regional and even world peace and stability. To promote the Korea-China traditional friendly cooperative relationship, with socialism at its core, to adapt to the changes of the times and the will of the two peoples, and to achieve more active development in all fields, is the unswerving position of the Korean Party and government. I am willing to work together with Comrade General Secretary to lead the Korea-China friendship, based on its long history and excellent traditions, toward new heights, developing it into the most powerful and most strategic model of relations between socialist countries.
Return to TopBy: 本报评论员
There are only nine years left until the goal of building a science and technology powerhouse by 2035, and the period of the 15th Five-Year Plan is a critical period of determined assault for building the science and technology powerhouse.
At the National Science and Technology Awards Conference, the Conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the 11th National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology, General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly expounded the strategic tasks for building a science and technology powerhouse during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, emphasizing “fully implementing the Party Central Committee’s various deployments on science and technology undertakings” and “steadfastly marching toward the goal of building a science and technology powerhouse by 2035.”
Building a science and technology powerhouse by 2035 is a strategic blueprint drawn up by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, coordinating both domestic and international situations and grasping the general trend of China’s development, and it is also a far-reaching stratagem to calmly respond to external risks and challenges and firmly grasp the initiative in development.
The situation is pressing, and the mission urges action. Facing a complex and ever-changing development environment, China needs the leading strategic support of science and technology more than ever before.
To 攻坚克难 (gōng jiān kè nán - “storm fortresses and overcome difficulties,” to tackle tough challenges) and 闯关夺隘 (chuǎng guān duó ài - “break through passes and seize strategic points,” to overcome obstacles), the most fundamental thing is to effectively unify thoughts and actions with the Party Central Committee’s decisions and deployments, strengthen confidence and determination, closely focus on the goals and tasks established by the 15th Five-Year Plan to identify the main direction and points of effort, and move forward step by step.
“Enhance the systematic tackling capability of scientific and technological innovation,” “Promote deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation,” “Vigorously cultivate outstanding young scientific and technological talents,” “Improve the efficiency of investment in scientific and technological innovation,” “Make good use of the baton of science and technology evaluation,” and “Strengthen science and technology ethics and security governance.”
At this conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping deeply grasped the new situation, new tasks, and new challenges facing China’s building of a science and technology powerhouse, adhered to the unity of goal orientation and problem orientation, and put forward these six clear requirements, providing important guidance for running the “critical baton” in the relay race of building a science and technology powerhouse on the new journey.
Here, we provide an in-depth explanation around “promoting deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation” and “vigorously cultivating outstanding young scientific and technological talents,” so as to better understand and grasp the scientific methods and practical paths for building a science and technology powerhouse.
The key to leading the development of new quality productive forces (新质生产力) with high-level self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology is to promote the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation.
In recent years, the reason why China’s modern industrial system has become a strategic foundation for the economy to 顶风破浪 (dǐng fēng pò làng - “brave the wind and break the waves,” to withstand headwinds and forge ahead), maintain strong resilience and vitality, is precisely by relying on leading industrial innovation with scientific and technological innovation and achieving seamless docking of the innovation chain and industrial chain.
Take the biomedical industry as an example. Shanghai has taken it as one of its three leading industries, with multi-dimensional support in policy, clinical, finance, and industry, promoting deep integration of industry, academia, and research, accelerating innovation across the entire biomedical chain, forming an innovation density advantage of “being able to find full-chain resources within one kilometer.” In 2025, the scale of Shanghai’s biomedical industry surpassed the trillion-yuan mark for the first time.
Looking to the future, by highlighting the supply of scientific and technological innovation and the traction of industrial demand, empowering industrial innovation with high-quality scientific and technological supply, and guiding scientific and technological innovation with high-end, green, and intelligent industrial demand, it will surely form a virtuous cycle of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, unleashing surging momentum for building a science and technology powerhouse.
“The conversion rate of scientific and technological achievements is not high, which has always been a prominent problem we face.” The vitality of science and technology lies in application. To solve the problem of achievement transformation, the key is to unblock the bottlenecks in the achievement transformation chain.
Only by strengthening the construction of the national technology transfer system, creating diverse application scenarios and high-level industrial clusters, improving the intellectual property protection system, and building a sci-tech financial system that is compatible with scientific and technological innovation, can more innovative achievements move from the laboratory to the production line.
The path of innovation lies in obtaining talent.
“The future of science lies in the youth.” General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “We must treat the building of a young scientific and technological talent team as a strategic project.”
Data shows that in 2025, China’s full-time equivalent of R&D personnel reached 7.95 million person-years, ranking first in the world for 13 consecutive years. From 80% of projects under the National Natural Science Foundation being undertaken by young people under 45, to the average age of many project team members in major national science and technology projects such as BeiDou and lunar exploration being only around 30, more and more young scientific and technological talents are bravely shouldering heavy responsibilities and becoming the main force and new force in scientific research and innovation.
How to cultivate outstanding young scientific and technological talents? The key is to make good use of the successful experience of integrated promotion of education, science and technology, and talent development (一体推进教育科技人才发展). Optimize the mechanism for collaborative cultivation of education and science, adhere to using while cultivating and cultivating while using, and it will surely allow more outstanding young scientific and technological talents to grow and 脱颖而出 (tuō yǐng ér chū - “the awl tip emerges from the bag,” to stand out), laying a solid talent foundation for building a science and technology powerhouse.
Building China into a science and technology powerhouse is a dream that the Chinese nation has 孜孜以求 (zī zī yǐ qiú - “diligently and tirelessly sought,” to persistently pursue) since modern times. To promote the 欣欣向荣 (xīn xīn xiàng róng - “thriving and prosperous,” flourishing) of China’s science and technology undertakings requires the joint efforts of the entire Party and the whole society.
Time waits for no one, history waits for no one! We must unite more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, deeply study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, carry forward the fine tradition of China’s science and technology community serving the country and benefiting the people, gather a strong joint force for building a science and technology powerhouse, and make unremitting efforts to comprehensively advance the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization.
Return to TopBeijing, July 11 (Reporter Wang Rong (王嵘)) On the morning of July 11, Li Qiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, held talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing with Pak Thae-song, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee, Vice Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, and Premier of the Cabinet, who is on an official visit to China.
Li Qiang stated that China and North Korea are friendly neighbors 命运与共 (mìng yùn yǔ gòng - “shared destiny”) and 守望相助 (shǒu wàng xiāng zhù - “keep watch and help each other,” to mutually assist). Early last month, General Secretary Xi Jinping paid a state visit to North Korea and reached a series of important consensuses with General Secretary Kim Jong Un on deepening China-North Korea relations, jointly providing strategic guidance. Maintaining, consolidating, and developing China-North Korea relations has always been the 坚定不移 (jiān dìng bù yí - “firm and unswerving”) policy of the Chinese Party and government. China is willing to work with the DPRK to implement the important consensuses of the top leaders of the two parties and two countries, continue to uphold the spirit of the China-North Korea Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, maintain close high-level exchanges, consolidate political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, better benefit the peoples of the two countries, and make positive contributions to peace and development in the region and the world.
Li Qiang pointed out that this year marks the beginning of China’s “Fifteenth Five-Year Plan” and also the starting year for North Korea to implement the decisions and deployments of the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea. China is willing to align development strategies with the DPRK, steadily expand economic and trade exchanges, promote connectivity, deepen cooperation in livelihood fields such as healthcare and education, and enhance the well-being of the peoples of the two countries. The two sides should carry forward and promote traditional friendship, strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and further tighten the bond of people-to-people connectivity. The current international situation is undergoing profound and complex changes. Both China and North Korea are socialist countries and should strengthen strategic coordination and cooperation, and jointly safeguard their legitimate rights and interests and international fairness and justice.
Pak Thae-song said that under the strong leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China, China’s comprehensive national power has been unprecedentedly enhanced, its international influence is growing daily, and new achievements have been made in the development of Chinese-style modernization. The DPRK side expresses warm congratulations. General Secretary Kim Jong Un and General Secretary Xi Jinping recently held a historic meeting in Pyongyang, fully demonstrating the 牢不可破 (láo bù kě pò - “firm and unbreakable”) unity and friendship between the two parties and two countries of the DPRK and China, providing strategic guidance for the development of bilateral relations. The DPRK side firmly supports China in safeguarding its core interests, and is willing to follow the important consensuses of the top leaders of the two parties and two countries, take the grand celebration of the 65th anniversary of the signing of the DPRK-China Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance as an opportunity, maintain close high-level exchanges and strategic communication, expand exchanges and cooperation in fields such as economy, trade, science and technology, and culture, strengthen international coordination, jointly promote the development of the socialist cause, and write a new chapter in DPRK-China relations.
Before the talks, Li Qiang held a welcoming ceremony for Pak Thae-song in the North Hall of the Great Hall of the People.
Wu Zhenglong attended the above activities.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 邓建胜 姚雪青
On the coast of the Yellow Sea, Yancheng, Jiangsu, a heroic city engraved with red memories. In January 1941, the New Fourth Army (新四军) held its army headquarters reconstruction conference in Yancheng; the much-tested New Fourth Army 浴火重生 (yù huǒ chóng shēng - "bathed in fire, reborn"), and from then on independently shouldered the heavy responsibility of the War of Resistance behind enemy lines in Central China.
In December 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping, while visiting the New Fourth Army Memorial Hall in Yancheng, emphasized: "The history of the New Fourth Army fully demonstrates that the will of the people determines historical choice; the rivers and mountains are the people, the people are the rivers and mountains (江山就是人民、人民就是江山). This is a vivid textbook for carrying out revolutionary tradition education and patriotic education. This textbook must be used well to educate and guide party members and cadres to inherit and carry forward the spirit of not fearing difficulties, not fearing dangers and hardships, daring to struggle, and daring to win (不怕困难、不畏艰险，勇于斗争、敢于胜利)."
Now, entering the New Fourth Army Memorial Hall, the white marble "Song Gong Merit Stele (宋公纪功碑)" about two meters high tells of a livelihood project from over 80 years ago.
Yancheng was once plagued by frequent sea disasters, with people displaced. In 1941, Song Naide (宋乃德), the first county magistrate of the Anti-Japanese Democratic Government of Funing County (阜宁县), led officers and soldiers of the Third Division of the New Fourth Army and many laborers to build a nearly 45-kilometer-long sea embankment, guarding the peace of the area.
The masses named it the "Song Gong Embankment (宋公堤)" and erected the "Song Gong Merit Stele (宋公纪功碑)". Since then, a folk song has been passed down to this day: "From south to north, a single dragon, preventing salt tides from reaching Fudong (阜东). From then on, no more disasters of destroying homes; every time hearing the tide, we think of Lord Song."
Today, on the land protected by the Song Gong Embankment, stories of the party and masses united as one continue to be written.
Beside the Song Gong Embankment, in Mulou Village (木楼村), Binhai Port Town (滨海港镇), the corn and soybeans are lush green; in the vegetable base, Gu Naidong (顾乃东), the village party branch secretary, is checking the seedlings.
"According to the elders in the village, before the Song Gong Embankment, when the tide came, it destroyed houses, flooded fields, and crops couldn't grow for several years, so people had to go out to make a living," Gu Naidong said. After the Song Gong Embankment was built, generations of party members and cadres 一心一意 (yī xīn yī yì - "one heart, one mind," wholeheartedly) sought development, leading everyone to build roads, level land, and manage water, with infrastructure continuously improving.
"In the last 10 years, the village has also started diversified planting, and the fields are never idle throughout the year. The fruit and vegetable professional cooperative and the vermicelli processing plant employ over 100 people per day at peak times." In 2013, Gu Naidong, who had been working at a large enterprise in Shanghai, returned to Mulou Village to help the village adjust its industrial structure and expand sales channels. Last year, the village's collective income reached 648,000 yuan.
The coast protected by the Song Gong Embankment has developed into a national first-class open port—Binhai Port. Standing on the Song Gong Embankment and looking out, rows of "big windmills" turn in the wind, and large ships come and go in the port area. Currently, Yancheng's wind power installed capacity exceeds 11.21 million kilowatts, of which the grid-connected scale of offshore wind power exceeds 7.2 million kilowatts, living up to its 名副其实 (míng fù qí shí - "name matches reality") reputation as the "First City of Offshore Wind Power."
Dai Di (戴迪), a 25-year-old villager from Mulou Village, returned to work in her hometown after graduation. In March this year, she joined the Shanghai Fiberglass Research Institute (Binhai) Co., Ltd. (上海玻璃钢研究院（滨海）有限公司), located in the Binhai Port Economic Development Zone. The first time she entered the factory, she was shocked by the scene before her: in the tall workshop, 100-meter-long wind turbine blades lay horizontally. Dai Di said that the cluster development of the wind power industry is attracting more and more young people like her to return to their hometowns for employment.
Striving toward the "15th Five-Year Plan (十五五)," Yancheng has proposed that by 2030, the city's total new energy installed capacity will exceed 50 million kilowatts.
From building embankments for the people to green development, the spirit of not fearing difficulties, not fearing dangers and hardships, daring to struggle, and daring to win has been transformed into Yancheng's solid foundation for striving toward the sea and seeking strength, and moving toward green development (向海图强、向绿而行) today.
Return to TopBy: 亦 多
In the torrential rain and floodwaters, there is a voice that fills people with strength.
One after another, “I am a Party member, let me go first” (我是党员，我先上), alongside landslide gullies, in rescue sorties through accumulated water, on the front lines of clearing silt and removing hazards, brings peace of mind to disaster-affected people and gathers powerful strength.
The repeated singing of Ode to the Motherland (歌唱祖国) came from the tender childish voice of a little girl rescued on an assault boat, and the unison singing of students who escaped danger on a motorized pontoon bridge, deeply inspiring the Party members and cadres participating in flood prevention and disaster relief.
From the courage of stepping forward to the tribute in song, it witnesses the perseverance and responsibility of Party members and cadres in many places who have been fighting for days.
Patrolling levees day and night to investigate safety hazards; facing wind and rain to deliver meals to disaster-affected people; urgently repairing facilities, clearing silt and draining waterlogging, committing to production recovery and post-disaster reconstruction… They do not shrink back in the face of danger, they step up at critical moments, demonstrating what it means to be “the most reliable mainstay for the Chinese people when wind and rain strike” (风雨来袭时中国人民最可靠的主心骨).
Wherever the masses need, Party members appear; wherever there is danger, the Party flag flies.
The storm cannot disperse the majestic power of 众志成城 (zhòng zhì chéng chéng – “united will forms a city wall,” unity is strength), nor can it break the solid defense line of 万众一心 (wàn zhòng yī xīn – “ten thousand people, one heart,” united as one).
With millions of Party members and the masses working together in unison, we will surely win this hard battle of flood prevention and disaster relief.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 张 文
The "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the World" international seminar was recently held in Ningxia. Over 120 foreign political party leaders, envoys to China, think tank scholars and media representatives from over 50 countries, focusing on the theme "The Road to Modernization: Insights from China's Poverty Reduction Theory and Practice," conducted exchanges and discussions, and went deep into Ningxia's fields and workshops, from the fruit-and-vegetable-covered Xihaigu (西海固) to the industrially prosperous Minning Town (闽宁镇), witnessing China's poverty reduction achievements. Foreign guests at the meeting expressed that China has walked a path of poverty reduction with Chinese characteristics, increasing courage and confidence for developing countries to escape poverty, and moreover has explored a new path for human poverty reduction.
Targeted Poverty Alleviation —
"The earnestness and meticulousness of the Chinese Communists are admirable"
In Jiangtaibao Red Army Long March Meeting Memorial Park, Xiji County (西吉县), Guyuan City, Ningxia, a monument over 26 meters tall stares at the distant mountains like a giant. "That team that passed through Ningxia 90 years ago has never disappeared, but has continued to hold its ground in another form." Francesco Malinjiao (弗朗切斯科·马林焦), member of the Central Committee of the Italian Communist Party and head of Asian affairs in the International Department, said that the Chinese Communist Party leads the people to shake off poverty, just like the Red Army helped the needy wherever it went, giving its all and using all its strength.
Targeted poverty alleviation, categorized policies, the core lies in the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the division of labor and collaboration among party organizations at all levels, each level bearing responsibility. An effective means among them is to select outstanding cadres from all over China to work in villages, as first secretaries, bearing the heavy responsibility of poverty alleviation together with local grassroots cadres. Zhou Daxing (周大兴), first secretary stationed in Zhaojiashu Village (赵家树村), Magaozhuang Township (马高庄乡), Tongxin County (同心县), served as first secretary in three villages consecutively, living and eating with villagers year-round, helping the village connect with policies, secure projects, and raise funds.
"Every poor village in China has outstanding Communist Party members stationed there, like loyal soldiers guarding the front line of poverty eradication." Gulom Halimzoda, chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan, was very interested in the work content of village-based first secretaries. He believes that this governance capability of precisely allocating forces to the grassroots is an important guarantee for the success of China's poverty alleviation cause.
If not seen with his own eyes, Sebastien Derochon, executive committee member of the French Party of Unity and Progress, could not believe that the modern city before him was still a stretch of barren beach and Gobi at the beginning of this century — Hongsibao District (红寺堡区), Wuzhong City (吴忠市), is China's largest eco-migration poverty alleviation development zone. In the late 1990s, China relocated and settled more than 200,000 poor households from the Xihaigu region with harsh living conditions here, and built multi-stage pumping stations to divert water from the Yellow River here. "From migration relocation to developing industries, the people of this land always find a way to face poverty." In Hongde Village (弘德村), Hongsibao Town, Hongsibao District, Derochon sincerely praised after learning about the village's poverty alleviation models such as employment training, beef cattle breeding, and enterprise assistance. Upon learning that grassroots cadres often visit villages and households, implement policies tailored to each household, and establish poverty alleviation and relapse prevention plans for each household, he said: "Rural work is done so precisely and pragmatically; the earnestness and meticulousness of the Chinese Communists are admirable."
Regional Collaboration —
"The unity and mutual assistance between different provinces is China's institutional innovation"
"I will return to Fujian next month, but I will always regard Ningxia as my second home!" Li Huiqin (李辉钦), a member of the 14th batch of Fujian assistance Ningxia work team, shared his experiences and reluctance during his assistance in Ningxia at the seminar, almost in tears. He has been in Ningxia for 5 years, taking root in Minning Town, Yongning County (永宁县), Yinchuan City, while attracting investment for the local area and vigorously promoting e-commerce sales models, solving problems such as unsold agricultural products. Over the years, large numbers of cadres, doctors, teachers and other talents from Fujian have held temporary posts in Ningxia, contributing to the development of local agricultural modernization, poverty alleviation relocation, basic education and other undertakings. Fujian invests a large amount of special funds every year for Fujian-Ningxia Collaboration (闽宁协作), and the cities and counties of the two places generally form paired assistance relationships.
"This kind of unity and mutual assistance between different provinces is China's institutional innovation." Yasir Ma'mun, member of the Political Bureau of the Egyptian Communist Party, came to Minning Town and learned that under Fujian's years of support, it had transformed into a "golden beach" with thriving industries and convenient living. He said with deep feeling that east-west collaboration is a key link in China's poverty alleviation cause, demonstrating the responsibility and commitment of the Chinese Communist Party. Mabel Chinomona, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of ZANU-PF, Secretary for Women's Affairs, and President of the Senate of Zimbabwe, said that what she witnessed in Ningxia this time is an important practice of the Chinese Communist Party's people-centered approach and solidly promoting common prosperity.
During a visit to Hongsibao District, Janandra Khadga, editor of the Nepalese newspaper People's Faith, met several Chinese medical staff on a rural free clinic, among whom were doctors from Fujian on temporary assignment. During the conversation, Khadga posed the question in his mind: "Why did you come to assist Ningxia? Giving up high income in China's coastal areas, and fewer opportunities to reunite with family." "We hope to bring Fujian's experience here and contribute to improving local medical standards," a temporary doctor replied. "Poverty reduction requires not only economic development, but also policy continuity and strong execution." Khadga sighed, "China's east-west collaboration has set an example for the world's poverty reduction cause."
Clear Waters and Green Mountains —
"The cause of poverty reduction and the cause of ecological protection are organically unified."
On the outskirts of Yinchuan, at the foot of Helan Mountain, a cool breeze blows. The emerald vineyard before her surprised Suleiman Jongo, news editor of the Tanzanian newspaper The Free. "My country also has such vineyards; I feel like I'm home right now!" she said. "The vineyards at the foot of Helan Mountain have a story." Local winemaker Liu Li (刘莉) introduced that some of the vineyards in this area are built on barren beaches, playing an ecological function of water and soil conservation; some are built on abandoned mine pits to restore ecology. Thanks to the good economic benefits of the vineyards, more than 200 local vineyards have solved the employment problem of over 100,000 villagers, and Liu Li is one of them. Many years ago, she moved here from a severely water-scarce village in Xihaigu, first worked as a handyman in a vineyard here, then through government-organized training courses mastered wine knowledge, obtained a winemaker qualification, and grew into a senior manager of the vineyard.
"Our village is on the edge of the Mu Us Sandy Land (毛乌素沙地). In the past, the sky was full of yellow sand, stretches of barren beach, nothing could be planted, no way to earn money." At the seminar, Ma Yanlong (马彦龙) from Miaomiaohu Village (庙庙湖村), Pingluo County (平罗县), Shizuishan City (石嘴山市), told the story of sand control: in recent years, poverty alleviation cadres led the villagers to plant more than 400,000 trees, afforesting over 2,000 mu, the ecology improved, plus the local area has sufficient sunlight and large temperature differences between day and night, the former sandy land became a good place for growing fruits and vegetables. Now, villagers plant special fruits and vegetables such as desert tomatoes and sandy land yams, with per capita annual income increasing from 2,900 yuan to over 20,000 yuan.
"China's poverty reduction cause and ecological protection cause are organically unified." Can Bilgiç, researcher at the Global Civilizations Initiative Research Center in Turkey, believes that China's poverty reduction practice is not simply extracting resources from nature, but seeking sustainable development in harmonious coexistence between man and nature. "China's poverty reduction cause is a long-term strategic plan." Marta Martín Morán, deputy international secretary of the Communist Party of Spain and vice-chair of the Party of the European Left, believes that China's poverty reduction practice integrates ecological protection with education, infrastructure, and industrial development into planning considerations, producing sustainable poverty reduction results while truly enhancing people's happiness. This approach is worth learning from.
Return to TopBy: 井 泉
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the so-called "South China Sea arbitration award" unilaterally initiated by the Philippines. Over the past decade, the illegality and absurdity of the "South China Sea arbitration award," as well as the harm it has inflicted on China-Philippines relations and the regional situation, have been fully exposed, and it is 刻不容缓 (kè bù róng huǎn - "not a moment to be delayed," urgent) to thoroughly eliminate its toxic legacy.
The "South China Sea arbitration case" is a completely illegal arbitration. "Respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity," "state consent," and "pacta sunt servanda" are well-known basic principles of international law, and neither international judiciary nor international arbitration can depart from these principles. The essence of the arbitration initiated by the Philippines concerns territorial sovereignty disputes between China and the Philippines over certain islands and reefs in the South China Sea, which does not fall within the scope of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (hereinafter referred to as the "Convention"); as early as 2006, the Chinese government made an exclusionary declaration pursuant to Article 298 of the Convention, excluding such disputes from compulsory dispute settlement procedures. Resolving the relevant disputes through negotiation is an agreement reached between China and the Philippines through bilateral documents and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which constitutes a "double firewall" blocking the Philippines from initiating arbitration. The Philippines, fully aware that it lacked the legal requirements to initiate "arbitration," nonetheless circumvented the "firewall" by packaging its claims, substituting concepts, forcibly triggering "arbitration," and distorting and abusing international law. In this sense, the so-called "South China Sea arbitration case" has been illegal from the moment it was initiated.
The "South China Sea arbitration case" is a political farce cloaked in legal guise. The so-called "arbitral tribunal" is by no means an "international court," but a makeshift troupe that acts for money, merely using the hall of the Permanent Court of Arbitration for hearings. In fact, the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea have all publicly stated that they have nothing to do with the "arbitral tribunal." Of the five arbitrators on the "tribunal," apart from the one appointed by the Philippines itself, the other four were appointed by Shunji Yanai, the then-President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and a Japanese jurist. Among the five arbitrators, four came from Western countries, and the sole African arbitrator had long resided in Europe, lacking the representativeness required by international law. The composition and related operations of such an "arbitral tribunal" clearly violate the requirements of procedural justice.
The "South China Sea arbitration award" disregards basic legal principles and facts and is an obvious case of perversion of justice. For example, it determined that Taiping Island (太平岛), the largest island in the Nansha (Spratly) Islands, with an area of 500,000 square meters, to be a rock, and further concluded that no island or reef in the Nansha Islands can generate an exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. This is completely inconsistent with the facts of the South China Sea and does not conform to the provisions of the Convention. If this standard were applied, the world's maritime order would have to be rewritten. Such examples are 不胜枚举 (bù shèng méi jǔ - "too many to enumerate," numerous), fully demonstrating that the fundamental purpose of this farce is to deny China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea. China's non-acceptance and non-participation in the "arbitration," and non-recognition of the "award," is not only to safeguard China's sovereignty and rights but also to uphold the authority and dignity of international law.
The "South China Sea arbitration award" has continuously damaged China-Philippines relations and regional stability. Over the past decade, the Philippines has stubbornly adhered to the erroneous stance of the "award," attempting to unilaterally implement its content, enacting so-called "Marine Zones Law" and "Archipelagic Sea Lanes Law" to commit legal infringements, and continuously creating incidents, infringing on sovereignty, and making provocations at China's Huangyan Island (黄岩岛), Ren'ai Reef (仁爱礁), Xianbin Reef (仙宾礁), and Tiexian Reef (铁线礁), among other islands, reefs, and maritime areas. Anti-China elements in the Philippines and countries outside the region have from time to time seized upon the "award" to stir up Philippine nationalist sentiment and antagonism between China and the Philippines. Facts have proven that the "award" has not only failed to resolve the maritime disputes between China and the Philippines but has instead created enormous difficulties for the development of bilateral relations and the management and control of maritime issues by both sides, becoming a "poisonous thorn" deeply embedded in China-Philippines relations and a pretext for forces outside the region to intervene in the regional situation.
China's position on handling maritime issues is consistent and clear: what is ours, not one bit less is acceptable; what is not ours, not one bit more is wanted. China firmly upholds its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, does not accept or recognize the so-called "South China Sea arbitration case" and its "award," and does not accept any claims or actions based on the "award." China's ability to safeguard sovereignty, security, and development interests, and to shape a peaceful and stable situation in the South China Sea, is continuously strengthening. The higher the Philippines jumps in its infringements and provocations, the more resolutely China will defend its rights and strengthen control. At the same time, China persists in resolving maritime disputes through bilateral negotiations and consultations, and is committed to working with ASEAN countries to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and strive to reach a "Code of Conduct in the South China Sea" as soon as possible, jointly maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea.
China's position and propositions are clearly laid out here; they have not changed in the past ten years, nor will they change in the future. For the Philippines, the urgent task is to recognize reality, abandon illusions, thoroughly remove the "award" as a stumbling block hindering China-Philippines relations and undermining regional stability, and achieve the early return of bilateral relations to the right track.
(The author is a Chinese observer of international affairs.)
By: 本报记者 杨 一 张矜若
From July 6 to 9, the third meeting of the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC) was held on the banks of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. More than 200 participants, including ABAC representatives, alternate representatives, and experts from 21 APEC economies, engaged in in-depth exchanges around four key areas: regional economic integration, sustainable development, digital innovation, and connectivity. The meeting adopted the ABAC letter and report to leaders, six letters from ABAC to the ministers of finance, energy, small and medium enterprises, digital, food, and transportation of each economy, as well as three statements on quantum technology, healthcare, and the mining sector, totaling 10 core outcome documents, which accumulated high-quality business-sector results for the APEC Economic Leaders’ Informal Meeting to be held in Shenzhen, China, in November.
At the closing ceremony on the 9th, Ren Hongbin (任鸿斌), Chair of the 2026 APEC CEO Summit and President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (中国贸促会), introduced the preparations for the APEC CEO Summit. He stated that the Chinese side is fully prepared and welcomes ABAC members, business leaders, representatives of industry associations and chambers of commerce, as well as representatives from think tanks and media, to jointly participate in this year’s APEC CEO Summit. This summit will feature in-depth discussions on key topics such as Asia-Pacific connectivity, trade and investment facilitation, artificial intelligence, the digital economy, clean energy, green finance, supply chain cooperation, and sustainable development.
Li Fanrong (李凡荣), Chair of ABAC for 2026 and Chairman of Sinochem (中国中化), stated that sustained regional prosperity depends on Asia-Pacific economies working together to seize the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence, the digital economy, and energy transition, while maintaining an open and predictable trade and investment environment. “With growing global economic uncertainty, APEC can enhance confidence while bringing tangible benefits to businesses and communities in the Asia-Pacific region by advancing openness, connectivity, and collaborative cooperation. ABAC is willing to work hand in hand with APEC economies to translate these priorities into concrete actions,” Li Fanrong said.
As the only permanent body within the APEC mechanism that represents the business community, ABAC shoulders the important mission of conveying the voice of the business community and contributing practical proposals. Kasemsit Pathomsak, ABAC Chair for Thailand, stated that ABAC will continue to promote the construction of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, strengthen the resilience and stability of regional supply chains, empower the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises, accelerate the digital economy transformation, and advance inclusive and sustainable economic development. “In November this year, we will formally submit recommendations to the APEC economic leaders in Shenzhen and engage in exchanges with the leaders of each economy. We look forward to China continuing to play a leading role in the aforementioned areas of cooperation and jointly promoting prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region,” Pathomsak said.
In April, the second meeting of the 2026 ABAC was held in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, and released the “Statement on Supporting the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific” and the “Statement on Supporting Connectivity.” Agustin Garcia, ABAC Alternate Representative for Mexico, stated: “One of the topics that Mexico emphatically supports is promoting connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region, including the movement of people, business cooperation, and information connectivity, which will greatly enhance economic, trade, and people-to-people exchanges among the economies.” Regarding the fourth ABAC meeting and the APEC Economic Leaders’ Informal Meeting to be held in Shenzhen, China, in November, Garcia said: “APEC is currently one of the most important cooperation mechanisms in the Asia-Pacific region. I very much look forward to China continuing to play a leading role in areas such as facilitating trade and investment and opening markets, and I believe that a successful summit will be held in Shenzhen in November.”
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 刘军国
Recently, the "Africa Youth Look at China" seminar was held in Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, with approximately 60 participants, including representatives of African businesspeople starting businesses in Yiwu and representatives of young party leaders from African English-speaking countries visiting China. Eight African businesspeople, drawing on their personal experiences of studying in China, starting businesses in Yiwu, and deeply engaging in cross-border trade, told stories of chasing their dreams and growing, their words filled with high recognition of China's development achievements and open business environment, and even more so with beautiful expectations for deepening practical cooperation and joint development between Africa and China.
"When I was studying in China, I felt the diversity of Chinese culture, the vitality of its economy, and the convenience of life, so after graduation I chose to start a business in Yiwu," said Peter, a Kenyan businessperson, who was full of praise for the working and living environment in Yiwu.
In the view of Ma Mingde, a Mauritanian businessperson, Yiwu is a city that embodies the spirit of hard work and down-to-earth action. "China's superior business environment allows overseas businesspeople to settle down and operate with peace of mind," Ma Mingde said. Now his business is getting better and better, and he recommends that young people with dreams all come to China to realize their aspirations.
Staff from multiple departments in Yiwu, including human resources and social security, science and technology, entry-exit administration, and foreign affairs, explained on-site local policies concerning foreign-related support, commercial and trade supporting measures, and convenience for entry and exit. They emphasized that Yiwu was born from the market and thrives on commerce and trade, and that openness, inclusiveness, and embracing the world have long been integrated into the roots and foundation of the city's development.
"The Chinese people's warmth, friendliness, openness, and inclusiveness are deeply impressive," said Albert Muyabuzinge, a member of the National Executive Committee of the Rwandan Patriotic Front. He said the visit gave him a more intuitive understanding of China. The Rwandan Patriotic Front will actively draw on China's development experience and governance model, adapt them to its local conditions for implementation, and promote the upgrading and improvement of its own country's development.
"China has always upheld the concept of openness and win-win cooperation, sincerely welcoming overseas entrepreneurs to develop together," said Sandy Rogers, a regional youth leader of the Sierra Leone People's Party. He stated that he will deeply study China's development experience, promote innovation and change in his own country, and contribute to deepening all-round cooperation between Africa and China.
"China's development process provides us with valuable reference," in the view of Kolobe Onalenna, a member of the election monitoring team of the Botswana Congress Party for Democracy and Change. Many African youth looking at China see not just a country, but a story of transformation, a story of how one country lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, invested in infrastructure, built world-class industries, expanded educational opportunities, embraced technology, and rose to become one of the world's most influential economies.
"The prospects for Africa-China cooperation are vast. Marching forward hand in hand, Africa and China will achieve better development," Onalenna said. She looks forward to a future of Africa-China cooperation that is more innovative and inclusive, promoting sustainable development and mutual benefit for both sides.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 程是颉
The Azteca Stadium station of Mexico City Light Rail Line 1 was thronged with people; fans arrived one after another on light rail trains. After exiting the station, many fans stopped to take photos outside the train cars, then followed clear directional signs to the Azteca Stadium.
This was a scene during the 2026 United States–Canada–Mexico World Cup. Light Rail Line 1 is an important public transit corridor in southern Mexico City, with a total length of 13.04 kilometers, 16 intermediate stations and 2 terminal stations, connecting densely populated areas such as Coyoacán, Tlalpan, and Xochimilco. For many fans, taking the light rail train to the stadium not only effectively avoids road congestion, but also becomes a special journey through which to experience Mexico City urban life.
Inside a light rail train car, a boy named Alman, wearing the green jersey of the Mexico national team, lives in southern Mexico City. "I basically take the light rail every day to play soccer at the community stadium. The Chinese-made light rail train has become my football special line."
Juanca from Colombia came to Mexico to watch the World Cup. On match day, he and his friends took the light rail to the stadium to watch the game. "The traffic experience in Mexico City surprised me. The light rail has short waiting times, fast speeds, and is convenient and efficient — it is the first choice for touring the city," Juanca said.
During the World Cup, 115 new light rail trains developed by CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., Ltd. (中车株机) will be deployed across the three Mexican host cities of Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara, with an expected average daily ridership of over 1.25 million passengers. During this period, technical personnel from CRRC Zhuzhou and the CRRC Mexico service team are on-site, closely monitoring the operational status of the trains. As an important participant in the Mexico City light rail new train project, CRRC Zhuzhou is responsible for train development and production, localized operation and maintenance, technical support, and emergency response, ensuring safe and stable operation of the trains under high passenger flow during the event.
Luo Chao (骆超), head of CRRC Zhuzhou's Mexico Branch, introduced that in the face of high passenger flow, the CRRC team has established a three-tier joint response mechanism involving the vehicle, the site, and the rear, dispatching additional senior service engineers to Mexico for on-duty support, and setting up a 24-hour emergency and technical support team. Before daily operations, technical personnel carry out inspections around key components and onboard systems; during operations, on-site staff maintain coordination with dispatchers and the depot, promptly responding to emergent situations; after operations conclude, they review the vehicle status to ensure the trains are safe and reliable under high-intensity, high-density operating conditions.
In January 2024, the first light rail train manufactured by CRRC Zhuzhou was put into operation in Mexico City. In May of this year, 17 new trains incorporating local cultural elements went into service, becoming a highlight of local urban transportation.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 刘仲华
The "Hello·Liangzhu" Germany-themed special exhibition — a global theme event for the International Day of Dialogue among Civilizations — was held from June 8 to July 8 at the Berlin Chinese Cultural Center. Entering the exhibition hall, three major sections — Tracing Back to Liangzhu (溯洄良渚), Utensils as Carriers of the Way (器以载道), and Millennium of Cultural Lineage (文脉千年) — are laid out in sequence. A rich series of images, texts, and videos "reconstructs" the grand palace area, the exquisite peripheral water conservancy system, the clearly stratified burial remains, and so on.
"In the history of any civilization, the emergence of settled life is an important turning point." Director Menger (门格尔) of the German Ethnological Museum department stated that Liangzhu civilization, as an important testimony to human settlement, rice agriculture, and urban social development more than 5,000 years ago, has profound historical value.
He Wenbo (何文波), Deputy Director of the Berlin Chinese Cultural Center, stated that the archaeological discoveries at the Liangzhu site have provided important evidence for the world's understanding of the origins of human civilization. It is hoped that through this exhibition, cooperation between China and Germany in the fields of people-to-people and cultural exchanges, cultural heritage protection, and academic research will be further deepened.
Xu Tianjin (徐天进), Director of the Liangzhu Museum, stated that he hopes the exhibition will become a new starting point for deepening cultural, archaeological, and academic cooperation between China and Germany, and between China and Europe, and also welcomes German friends to visit Liangzhu and experience the historical charm of Chinese civilization, which is 源远流长 (yuán yuǎn liú cháng - "source distant, flow long," long-standing and enduring).
In the six designated points in the exhibition hall, visitors wear smart glasses and, through an AI bilingual explanation system, can see the mysterious "spirit-man beast-face motif (神人兽面纹)" on the jade cong transform from silent lines into vivid, three-dimensional scenes. "This is the 'same model' of smart glasses that German Chancellor Merz (默茨) experienced during his visit to Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province this year," a staff member introduced. Many German cultural and museum experts believe that this innovative form greatly enhances the visiting experience and also makes archaeological knowledge more intuitive, vivid, and easy to understand.
Local visitor Helen stated: "Through this exhibition, I have come to realize that China had already formed a highly developed urban civilization and a complete social organization system as early as more than 5,000 years ago. It is astonishing."
Visitor Svetlana saw another side of modern China in the exhibition — the cultural and creative products developed around Liangzhu elements, such as daily household items, stationery and office supplies, which achieve the goal of "making cultural relics come alive, letting culture enter daily life (让文物活起来，让文化走入生活)." She said: "This exhibition took me on a 'spiritual tour' of the Liangzhu site. China's visa-free policy is very convenient. I am planning to travel to China soon, to go to Hangzhou, and experience Liangzhu culture and Chinese civilization on the spot."
Return to TopThis newspaper, United Nations, July 10 (Reporter Li Zhiwei) — The Global Energy Interconnection thematic event of the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development was held on the 10th at the UN Headquarters in New York. The research report Global Electricity Development Index (2026) released at the event shows that China’s comprehensive ranking in electricity development has entered the forefront of the world, with its power technology innovation ranking first globally.
The report assesses the electricity development levels of 100 countries from four dimensions: supply security, consumption service, green and low-carbon, and technological innovation. The top five countries in comprehensive development level are Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, China, and Norway; China ranks first globally in power technology innovation, first in total installed clean energy capacity, and leads the world in the application of digital and intelligent power technologies.
This event was co-organized by the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (全球能源互联网发展合作组织) together with China’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations (中国常驻联合国代表团), the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and others.
Rok Tapa, President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, suggested in his speech that the world should increase investment in green energy infrastructure in developing countries, promote inclusive sharing of technology, adhere to an equity orientation, and use innovation to create a global energy transition pathway that is both resilient and inclusive.
Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General, stated that energy is the foundation of sustainable development, and countries need to accelerate energy technology innovation and grid interconnection, provide policy and technical assistance to developing countries, deepen cross-sectoral multilateral partnerships, and promote a fair and inclusive energy transition.
Fu Cong, China’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, stated that under the current circumstances, the international community should accelerate the energy transition. First, strengthen scientific and technological support and deepen technical cooperation; second, promote technology application to achieve inclusive empowerment; third, cultivate green production and lifestyles and advance joint action on energy transition; fourth, improve global energy governance and jointly safeguard energy security.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 朱 隽 郁静娴
The National Bureau of Statistics released data on July 10: In 2026, the national summer grain sowing area was basically stable, per-unit yield rose steadily, and summer grain output reached 3014.9 hundred million jin, exceeding 3000 hundred million jin for the first time, an increase of 20.0 hundred million jin over the previous year, achieving another bumper harvest.
The summer grain harvest gives the season's hard work of farmers a reward, and the next season's cultivation begins in succession; it provides a solid foundation for stabilizing annual grain production, and offers strong support for responding to the complex and severe international situation, promoting the economy to be stable and improving, and achieving a good start to the 15th Five-Year Plan (十五五).
The harvest was hard-won. Behind this, there is both the support of good policies and human effort, and we can also see new quality productive forces (新质生产力) in agriculture leaping across the fertile fields.
Looking at a wheat variety resistant to pre-harvest sprouting — Consolidating the foundation of food security.
In Qifang Town (七方镇), Zaoyang City (枣阳市), Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, large-scale grower Wu Jinjun (吴进军) planted more than 1,000 mu of wheat. From late May to early June this year, many areas in Hubei encountered heavy precipitation and severe convective weather, bringing considerable challenges to wheat harvesting.
Mature wheat ears are most afraid of rain causing pre-harvest sprouting, affecting wheat quality and processing quality. “In recent years we have made many attempts with varieties.” Three years ago, Wu Jinjun set aside a portion of his land to trial-plant ‘Kenmai 58’ (垦麦58), and this year he additionally planted ‘Emai 30’ (鄂麦30), both of which have good pre-harvest sprouting resistance. “When harvesting this year, we encountered continuous rain; on the plots planted with these varieties, only about 20% of the wheat ears showed ‘white tips,’ recovering about 200 yuan per mu in losses,” said Wu Jinjun.
Zhu Zhanwang (朱展望), director of the Wuhan Comprehensive Experimental Station of the National Wheat Industry Technology System and deputy director of the Institute of Food Crops of the Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, introduced that ‘Kenmai 58’ has been planted on a large scale in Hubei, breaking the high-yield record for rice-stubble wheat in Hubei twice, with a maximum yield of 636.4 kilograms per mu.
This year, the national summer grain per-unit yield reached 378.8 kilograms per mu, an increase of 3.2 kilograms over the previous year, up 0.8%; among it, wheat per-unit yield was 402.6 kilograms per mu, an increase of 3.4 kilograms, up 0.9%. The solid foundation of production capacity is inseparable from seed industry support. ‘Kenmai 58,’ ‘Yangmai 53,’ ‘Yannong 999,’ ‘Zhongmai 578’... each fine seed effectively responds to weather changes, supports large-scale per-unit yield increase and industrial quality and efficiency improvement, and is the ‘code’ for the continuous improvement of China’s food security level.
The outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan proposes that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, comprehensive grain production capacity should reach about 1.45 trillion jin. Faced with tightening resource and environmental constraints and the complex situation of increasing volatility in international supply chains, how is this target to be achieved?
“There is an urgent need to take new quality productive forces in agriculture as the fundamental driver, to promote the leap of grain production from a resource-consumption type to an innovation-driven type, and to fundamentally consolidate the foundation of production capacity,” said Cheng Guoqiang (程国强), professor at Renmin University of China and dean of the National Food Security Strategy Research Institute.
Since the implementation of the Seed Industry Revitalization Action (种业振兴行动), more high-yield, high-quality, green cost-saving, and specialty-purpose fine seeds have been rapidly bred, China’s germplasm resource base has become richer, and the level of seed source security has steadily improved. Data shows that the area of independently bred crop varieties in China exceeds 95%, and the fine seed coverage rate exceeds 96%; Chinese grain mainly uses Chinese seeds.
The 15th Five-Year Plan period is a critical stage for building agriculture into a modern large industry, and also a critical period for high-quality development of the seed industry. A relevant responsible person from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs stated that it will vigorously promote innovation and tackling key problems, concentrate efforts to break through difficulties, shore up weaknesses, strengthen advantages, and control risks, accelerate the realization of self-reliance and self-strengthening in seed industry science and technology, and independent controllability of seed sources, further consolidating the foundation of food security.
Looking at a farm machinery operator’s cross-provincial rush harvesting — Improving the efficiency of the entire chain of agricultural production.
Dong Song (董松), captain of the Shandong Songdi cross-regional mechanized harvesting team, is a post-90s generation member and also a 身经百战 (shēn jīng bǎi zhàn - “have experienced a hundred battles,” seasoned in many battles) veteran machinery operator. Dong Song led the mechanized harvesting team starting from Wuhan, Hubei Province in May, passing through Nanyang, Henan; Jinan, Shandong; Tangshan, Hebei, and other places, harvesting wheat along the way, lasting nearly two months. More than 50 Lovol GuShen harvesters, each harvesting an average of over 6,000 mu, overall harvesting over 10,000 mu more than last year.
“Mechanized harvesting is a technical job; harvesting both quickly and well is the real skill,” Dong Song said. This year, the farm machinery operating system was also upgraded, able to sense crop status in real time and automatically reduce speed. “Even when there is more rain, the drum basically hasn’t jammed.”
In this ‘three summers’ (三夏) season, the character ‘rush’ (抢) became a keyword. Across the country, the daily wheat harvested area exceeded 20 million mu for three consecutive days; Henan harvested 60.41 million mu in six days... In the ‘rush harvest battle,’ smart agricultural machinery was the ‘main force.’ Data shows that the country deployed over 17 million units (sets) of various agricultural machinery, including over 800,000 combine harvesters and over 200,000 cross-regional operations.
As of now, the number of domestic agricultural machinery product types has reached over 4,000, meeting over 90% of domestic market demand; the comprehensive mechanization rate of crop cultivation, planting, and harvesting has reached 76.7%. At the same time, BeiDou positioning and operation monitoring have become standard, and the feeding capacity of mainstream models has reached the order of 10 kilograms per second.
The quality improvement and upgrading of agricultural machinery equipment is an important symbol of the efficiency improvement of the entire chain of China’s agricultural production. Behind this is the efficient implementation of pro-agriculture policies, continuous scientific and technological research, and the intensified promotion of the action to shore up weaknesses in agricultural machinery equipment.
A relevant responsible person from Weichai Lovol introduced that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the company’s R&D investment exceeded 3 billion yuan, successively breaking through multiple difficulties such as power shift and large-feeding-capacity harvesters. “By optimizing operating parameters such as harvester drum speed and sieve box amplitude, reducing problems such as grain spillage, entrainment, and breakage, the comprehensive mechanized harvesting loss rate is controlled within 0.8%.”
To build a food security guarantee system of a higher level, higher quality, greater efficiency, and more sustainability, it is necessary to target the entire chain of agricultural production and continuously raise the level of agricultural mechanization and intelligence. A relevant responsible person from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs stated that it will continue to promote technological innovation and achievement transformation, continuously shorten the cycle of agricultural machinery R&D and application, and provide more powerful equipment support for practicing the big food vision (大食物观) and building a diversified food supply system.
Looking at an AI mini-program — Enhancing the ability to respond to risks in grain production.
In Tonglu County (桐庐县), Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, in the fields after wheat harvest, rice seedlings have grown to 40 centimeters high. This area belongs to China’s largest rice-wheat rotation zone — the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River wheat region. Compared with the Huang-Huai wheat region, rice-stubble wheat is often troubled by Fusarium head blight and waterlogging damage.
To deal with these difficulties, starting from the wheat sowing last November, Xu Xing (徐星), the head of Fengyang Family Farm in Tonglu County, used the ‘Maijitong’ (麦急通) mini-program. “It’s like having an extra handheld assistant,” he said.
The mini-program was developed by a team from the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Opening the main interface, functional modules such as wheat suitable sowing period prediction, precise nitrogen supplementation calculation for straw returning, identification and green protection of wheat field weeds/pests and diseases, and extreme weather forecast and emergency disaster reduction technology come into view.
Xu Xing said that on the mini-program, one can view precipitation and temperature changes and wheat disaster warnings for the next 15 days, and it also simultaneously pushes field management methods such as waterlogging prevention, frost prevention, and pest and disease control.
“The development team, relying on multidisciplinary theories such as wheat growth and development, soil and fertilizer, plant protection, and agricultural meteorology, combined with field trial survey results and intelligent algorithms, ‘fed’ the mini-program a series of research results and basic databases, enabling millisecond-level warnings and helping users achieve ‘knowing the weather to act’ (知天而作).” Su Yao (苏瑶), associate researcher at the Institute of Environment, Resources, Soil and Fertilizer of the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences and an expert in the National Wheat Industry System’s southern wheat field ecological management and production environment governance post, introduced that the team is also continuously optimizing regional differentiation models, and iteratively optimizing agricultural mechanism algorithms and image recognition models, gradually broadening the mini-program’s applicable areas.
This year’s summer grain production not only overcame tests such as continuous rain during sowing, weak seedling conditions before winter, and heavy recurrence of pests and diseases in the middle and late stages, but also responded to international market risks such as violent fluctuations in fertilizer prices, showing strong resilience.
The core driving force for resilience improvement is scientific and technological innovation. In Cheng Guoqiang’s view, “To strengthen industrial resilience, it is necessary to precisely identify risks in the agricultural system, through intelligent disaster warnings, smart production operations, etc., to build a solid defense system for the effective supply of grain and other important agricultural products, forming a full-cycle risk prevention and control and rapid response mechanism.”
Not only the ‘Maijitong’ mini-program, but in recent years, with the further development of new technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and digital twins, various intelligent monitoring devices have achieved all-weather precise perception of farmland environment and crop growth, and remote control and automatic navigation agricultural machinery have simultaneously improved the level of refined management, pushing agricultural production from ‘relying on experience’ to ‘based on data,’ releasing greater potential from the vast fields.
Grain output of about 1.4 trillion jin is one of the main expected targets for this year’s economic and social development. Carry out tasks in succession, season after season. Currently, the national summer sowing of grain is basically complete, and grain production has fully entered the summer management stage. From this year’s Central Document No. 1 (中央一号文件) emphasizing ‘developing new quality productive forces in agriculture according to local conditions,’ to the 15th Five-Year Plan outline clearly stating ‘strengthen agricultural science and technology and equipment support,’ to the recently released ‘15th Five-Year Plan for Accelerating Agricultural and Rural Modernization’ specifying ‘achieving major breakthroughs in developing new quality productive forces in agriculture,’ through technological iteration, model innovation, system reconstruction, etc., agricultural new quality productive forces will further enhance the supply guarantee capacity for grain and other important agricultural products, providing important strategic support for advancing Chinese-style modernization.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 吴秋余
On June 25, the Brazilian Ministry of Finance submitted a relevant application, intending to issue the first renminbi-denominated sovereign bond (panda bond) within China, and will become the first country in Latin America to register and issue a sovereign panda bond;
On May 26, the Republic of Kazakhstan issued the first tranche of its 2026 renminbi bonds (Bond Connect), with a scale of 3.4 billion yuan…
Since the beginning of this year, the issuance of panda bonds has seen a notable increase in popularity. Public data shows that in the first half of this year, the issuance scale of panda bonds has exceeded 160 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of over 60%.
What kind of bond is a panda bond? Why is it so popular? What role does it play in economic development? A reporter conducted interviews.
Understanding Panda Bonds
Issued by foreign institutions within China, denominated in renminbi
Speaking of panda bonds, many people are curious about its name: why is it named after China's national treasure, the giant panda?
The panda bond itself has no direct relationship with the giant panda. It is a bond issued by foreign institutions within China, denominated in renminbi, with principal and interest repaid. It is both an important measure to promote the opening of our country's bond market and a vital tool for broadening renminbi cross-border financing channels and aiding the internationalization of the renminbi.
This naming method is an international convention. For example, bonds issued in Australia are called 'kangaroo bonds,' those issued in Spain are called 'matador bonds,' and those issued in the United Kingdom are called 'bulldog bonds.' Therefore, it is only natural that this bond is named after the national treasure, the giant panda.
In 2005, China International Capital Corporation (CICC) acted as lead underwriter, assisting the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to issue the first batch of panda bonds in the entire market, helping panda bonds officially step onto the stage of China's bond market. Over more than 20 years, as our country's high-level financial opening has deepened, the panda bond market has become increasingly active in innovation, institutional arrangements have become more internationalized, and the use of funds has become more convenient.
Currently, the issuers of panda bonds extensively cover sovereign institutions such as Hungary, Slovenia, and Kazakhstan; international development institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the New Development Bank; large international financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Credit Agricole, National Bank of Canada, Morgan Stanley, and United Overseas Bank; and multinational corporations such as Mercedes-Benz and Bayer. In the first five months of this year, 17 new foreign institutions entered the interbank bond market.
While the types of issuers are becoming increasingly diverse, the market structure of panda bonds is also continuously improving. In 2025, medium- and long-term panda bond issuance accounted for 61%, up 17 percentage points from 2021, reflecting the firm confidence of foreign issuers in deeply cultivating the Chinese market. At the same time, secondary market trading is also active; in the first quarter of 2026, cumulative transactions of panda bonds reached 167.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 93%, and the number of institutions participating in trading increased significantly.
Making Good Use of Panda Bonds
Continuously helping the internationalization of the renminbi to proceed steadily and achieve long-term progress
Why are panda bonds sought after?
Changes in exchange rate flexibility and interest rate levels are important reasons. In recent years, the renminbi exchange rate has become more flexible, maintaining basic stability at a reasonable and balanced level, making issuers more willing to borrow in renminbi.
At the same time, the financing cost in the current panda bond market is at a relatively low level. The average interest rate for foreign institutions issuing panda bonds is about 1.85%, and the low end can reach 1.7%. Even considering foreign exchange swap costs, it can save real gold and silver interest for issuers, thus making it more attractive.
Besides these factors, the vigorous development of the panda bond market fundamentally benefits from our country's continuously deepening financial market opening and the steadily advancing process of renminbi internationalization.
With the rise of our country's international economic status and the increasingly evident trend of international currency diversification, more and more entities are willing to use the renminbi. The international acceptance and recognition of the renminbi continues to improve; it has become the world's second-largest trade finance currency and the third-largest payment currency; its weight in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDR) currency basket ranks third globally. The accelerated pace of renminbi internationalization helps promote the development of the panda bond market and increases global capital's demand for investment and financing in panda bonds.
Our country unswervingly promotes high-level financial opening to the outside world, continuously strengthening the basic institutional construction of the panda bond market in areas such as market access, information disclosure, accounting standards, and fund use. This has significantly increased the attractiveness of the panda bond market and further strengthened the confidence of foreign institutions in the steady development of the panda bond market.
Standard Chartered Bank recently released a report stating that as the infrastructure construction of the renminbi capital market continues to deepen, especially as 'Bond Connect' and 'Swap Connect' have expanded options for collateral, liquidity, and risk management, the flow of renminbi domestically and internationally has become smoother. This has increased the willingness of foreign institutions to hold renminbi assets and driven the sustained popularity of panda bonds.
'The vigorous development of the panda bond market is forming a positive interaction with the international use of the renminbi.' Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank, believes that more enterprises are beginning to include the renminbi as a currency for global fund management and use the renminbi for cross-border settlement, investment projects, etc. This helps form a sustainable cross-border renminbi circulation, thereby further enhancing the diversity and liquidity of China's financial market, and continuously helping the internationalization of the renminbi to proceed steadily and achieve long-term progress.
Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People's Bank of China, stated that they will continue to improve the institutional arrangements for cross-border renminbi use and the construction of financial infrastructure, carry out diversified monetary and financial cooperation, promote the development of the offshore renminbi market, and provide convenience for cross-border trade and investment and financing activities.
Return to TopXinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 11 (Reporter Liu Zhen (刘祯)) — The first session of the 11th National Committee of the China Association for Science and Technology (中国科协) was convened in Beijing on July 11. Wang Guangqian (王光谦), Vice Chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (全国政协), was elected Chairperson of the 11th National Committee of CAST. You Zheng (尤政), Bao Weimin (包为民), Feng Shenhong (冯身洪) and 16 others were elected Vice Chairpersons.
Wang Guangqian stated that the new National Committee must always consciously place CAST work within the overall situation of the development of the Party and state undertakings to plan and coordinate as a whole, ensuring that wherever the Party's central work is deployed, there CAST's performance of duties and services will follow, and wherever there, its role and effectiveness will be exerted. It must adhere to a work orientation and value pursuit centered on science and technology workers, and effectively fulfill the duty of serving as a bridge and bond linking the Party and government with science and technology workers.
On the same day, the first session of the 11th Standing Committee of CAST was held. Upon the nomination of the Chairperson and approval by the Standing Committee, He Junke (贺军科) assumed the position of First Secretary of the Secretariat of the 11th CAST, and Feng Shenhong and four others assumed the positions of Secretaries of the Secretariat.
Return to TopIn recent years, Qianjiang District (黔江区) of Chongqing has integrated resources, successively creating distinctive tourism projects such as camping bases and a cloud racetrack in Shuishi Town (水市镇), and has cultivated over 30 various types of homestays and farm stays. In 2025, the whole town received 300,000 visitors, achieving comprehensive tourism revenue of 27 million yuan. The high-altitude "cool resource" is becoming a "hot economy" that drives villagers' income growth and boosts comprehensive rural revitalization.
The picture shows the Shuishi Town camping base photographed on July 10. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Tang Yi (唐奕).
Return to TopBeijing, July 11 (Reporters Liu Zhiqiang and Wang Shuyan) — Reporters learned from the National Development and Reform Commission that on July 10, the national electricity load hit a historical high for the first time since the beginning of this year, reaching a maximum of 1.518 billion kilowatts, an increase of 10 million kilowatts over the previous historical extreme value.
The high electricity demand since the beginning of this year has been jointly driven by three main factors. First, industrial electricity consumption has grown steadily. The high-tech manufacturing and high-end equipment manufacturing industries are flourishing, and electricity consumption in emerging industries such as new energy vehicles, energy storage, and computing power equipment continues to expand. Second, electricity consumption in the service sector has grown relatively rapidly. Since the beginning of this year, the growth rates of electricity consumption in the battery charging and swapping service industry and the internet data service industry have both exceeded 40%. Third, high-temperature weather has raised the electricity load. As the quality of life of residents continues to improve, the national proportion of air-conditioning cooling load is close to 30%, and in some provinces it exceeds 40%.
The National Development and Reform Commission will work together with the member units of the inter-ministerial coordination mechanism for coal, electricity, oil, gas, and transportation supply guarantee (煤电油气运保障工作部际协调机制) to closely track and assess the electricity supply-demand situation, consolidate the responsibilities of all relevant parties, implement various measures to ensure electricity supply, and make every effort to guarantee the electricity needs for economic and social development, and to ensure that the people have reliable and green electricity.
Return to TopBeijing, July 11 (Xinhua) -- On July 9, a major fire broke out at a shoe factory in Chendai Town (陈埭镇), Jinjiang City (晋江市), Quanzhou, Fujian Province, causing 28 deaths. The State Council Work Safety Committee (国务院安委会) decided to list this major fire for supervision and handling (挂牌督办) and dispatched a team led by the National Fire and Rescue Administration (国家消防救援局) to guide the scene, urging and guiding Fujian Province in carrying out the investigation and handling work. It required Fujian Province, in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and rules, to promptly organize and conduct an investigation, to ascertain the cause of the fire and the management causes as quickly as possible, to precisely determine the nature of the fire, to identify responsibility, and to seriously put forward opinions on handling and corrective measures.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 刘雨瑞 戴林峰
“Practice has proved that our country’s independent innovation cause is one with great potential! Our country’s vast number of scientific and technological workers are ones capable of great achievements!”
— Emphasized by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the General Assembly of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Tenth National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology, May 28, 2021
In early July, inside a laboratory at the University of Science and Technology of China (中国科学技术大学) in Hefei, Anhui, a dilution refrigerator hums quietly, providing a near-absolute-zero temperature environment for the core quantum chips of our country’s superconducting quantum computer. At present, this superconducting quantum computer is receiving quantum computing tasks from around the world. “Our country’s quantum science and technology development level has firmly taken its place in the world’s first tier,” said Guo Guangcan (郭光灿), academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor at the University of Science and Technology of China.
Advancing Chinese-style modernization, science and technology must lead the charge; scientific and technological innovation is the only path.
On July 8, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the National Science and Technology Awards Conference, the General Assembly of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the Eleventh National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology: “The vast number of scientific and technological workers are an important force in building a modern socialist power. I hope everyone will carry forward the fine tradition of serving the country and benefiting the people, and make new contributions to building a strong science and technology nation.”
The way of innovation lies only in talent acquisition. General Secretary Xi Jinping has always shown attentive care and placed high expectations on scientific and technological workers.
An era of “great potential” calls for struggle that “accomplishes great things.”
On May 28, 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the General Assembly of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Tenth National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology: “Practice has proved that our country’s independent innovation cause is one with great potential! Our country’s vast number of scientific and technological workers are ones capable of great achievements!”
The earnest exhortations are kept firmly in mind. Guo Guangcan has been deeply engaged in the field of quantum optics, pioneering at the frontiers of basic theory. “Only by solidifying the foundation of quantum research can we firmly hold the independent control of key core technologies of quantum information.” Guo Guangcan’s team originally proposed the principles of quantum error-avoidance encoding and quantum probability cloning, and successfully developed superconducting and other quantum computers.
Looking at our country’s basic research, from the original breakthrough in artificial synthesis of starch from carbon dioxide to the proposal of the “tau (τ) law” guiding the development of the semiconductor industry, a large number of scientific and technological workers willingly sit on the “cold bench” and bravely venture into “no-man’s land.” More and more original achievements “from 0 to 1” are attracting worldwide attention.
In 2025, our country’s basic research funding reached 277.8 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of over 14% since 2012; the basic research talent team grew from 212,000 person-years in 2012 to 597,000 person-years in 2024.
When basic research takes deep root, industrial innovation has a source of living water.
Jin Haizu (金海族), minister of the Aviation and Robot Battery Technology Center at CATL (宁德时代新能源科技股份有限公司), has been focused on new energy technology. She led her team to develop a high-specific-energy lithium-ion battery with energy density reaching internationally advanced levels, and on this basis developed a novel-structure power battery pack, achieving large-scale production. “Both the peak of science and technology and the peak of industry must be climbed by ourselves,” Jin Haizu remarked.
Proceeding toward the “new.” Looking up at the firmament, the China Space Station roams through space; looking down at the earth, new energy vehicles drive out to the world; facing the future, industries such as artificial intelligence are accelerating their layout. The vast number of scientific and technological workers redouble their efforts to tackle key core technologies, using scientific and technological innovation to lead the development of new quality productive forces.
The value of scientific and technological work lies both in breakthroughs in the laboratory and in benefiting the people and serving development.
At present, Lin Zhanxi (林占熺), professor at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (福建农林大学), is still bustling about on the front line of promoting Juncao technology (菌草技术). Nearly 30 years ago, responding to the call of Fujian-Ningxia cooperation (闽宁协作), he came to Pengyang County (彭阳县), Ningxia, substituting grass for wood to cultivate edible fungi. Currently, Ningxia produces over 90 million sticks of edible fungi annually, with a total output value of 680 million yuan.
General Secretary Xi Jinping earnestly exhorted: “The vast number of scientific and technological workers should write their papers on the land of the motherland and apply their scientific and technological achievements to the great cause of modernization.” Hundreds of thousands of science and technology special commissioners (科技特派员) are active in the fields, sowing the seeds of getting rich through science and technology in the fertile soil of the countryside.
One Juncao plant, crossing mountains and seas, goes to the world, “blooming and bearing fruit” in more than 100 countries and regions. “Juncao has become a ‘grass for getting rich’ and a ‘grass of friendship,’” Lin Zhanxi said with great satisfaction.
Scientific and technological innovation is an inexhaustible driving force for the progress of human civilization. Our country takes the lead in organizing and implementing international big science programs such as ocean negative emissions, launching the “Open Science International Cooperation Initiative (开放科学国际合作倡议),” and has ranked first in the world for the number of high-level international journal papers for five consecutive years… Chinese scientific and technological workers are showing greater achievements on the international science and technology stage with an attitude of openness and cooperation.
Great achievement: the torch of spirit illuminates the path forward for scientific and technological workers.
Inspired by the Spirit of the Western Relocation (西迁精神), in 2021, Wu Ge (吴戈), who returned from overseas after completing his studies, came to Xi’an Jiaotong University, buried himself in research, and led his team to design an ultra-tough alloy. “The spirit of scientists is passed down from generation to generation, inspiring us to continue striving and serve the motherland,” Wu Ge said.
Great achievement: institutional mechanisms continue to stimulate the creative vitality of scientific and technological workers.
In recent years, the state has insisted on combining “break the four onlys (破四唯)” and “establish new standards (立新标),” improving the classification evaluation system and assessment mechanism that conform to the laws of scientific research activities, and perfecting incentive systems such as science and technology awards, income distribution, and empowerment of achievements. From “post challenges and take command (揭榜挂帅)” and “horse-racing system (赛马制)” to encourage bold exploration, to the continuous reduction of burdens for researchers, reforms are being pushed deeper and deeper.
An era of great potential provides a broad stage for scientific and technological workers to display their talents; scientific and technological workers capable of great achievements are striding firmly toward the goal of building a strong science and technology nation, injecting more powerful innovation momentum into advancing Chinese-style modernization.
(Reported by our staff reporter Xu Jing (徐靖))
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 宋 飞 王昊男
“Give children’s dreams wings of science and technology, so that the future scientific and technological realm of the motherland will be filled with a galaxy of talents, and the vast starry sky of future science will shine with a multitude of stars!”
——May 28, 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the Joint Conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering
During the summer vacation, the Tsinghua University Science Museum welcomed many visitors.
“Why is this gyroscope different from the ones at home?” On July 11, in the “Century of Instruments” (百年器象) exhibition hall, the precise rotor of a light gray-green square instrument, resembling an eye, caught children’s attention. They looked at the nameplate reading “Electrostatic Gyro Three-Axis Stabilized Platform” and asked curiously.
“This is the ‘pride machine’ (争气机) of our country’s inertial navigation technology. It uses a strong electric field in an ultra-high vacuum to steadily ‘hold’ a metal ball in the air, achieving extremely high precision.” The docent’s introduction quietly planted the seeds of science into the children’s hearts.
On July 8, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the National Science and Technology Awards Conference, the Joint Conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the 11th National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology: “We must pay attention to discovering and cultivating young people’s interests, specialties, scientific literacy, and experimental abilities, attracting more young people with scientific research potential to devote themselves to the cause of science and technology.”
On May 28, 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the Joint Conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering: “Give children’s dreams wings of science and technology, so that the future scientific and technological realm of the motherland will be filled with a galaxy of talents, and the vast starry sky of future science will shine with a multitude of stars!”
Science education workers are willing to serve as ladders for others. “The chain of talent cultivation is very long, and some people must do the foundational work.” Chen Zheng (陈征), a professor at the School of Physics Science and Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University (北京交通大学物理科学与工程学院) and director of the Science Education Research Center, participated in the preparation of the space science education brand “Tiangong Classroom.” Today, his laboratory can receive tens of thousands of students annually.
The China Spallation Neutron Source (中国散裂中子源) is located in Dongguan, Guangdong. Every year on Public Science Day, a large number of primary and secondary school students approach this “super microscope.” Researcher Huang Weiling (黄蔚玲) and more than 150 colleagues carry out science outreach for young people year-round. “The spallation neutron source is not only a highland for scientific research but also an important carrier for science education, enabling more children to understand the power of science and technology and establish scientific dreams.”
At present, China has more than 2.2 million full-time and part-time science popularization personnel. The “Science and China” (科学与中国) lecture tour by academicians and experts has been running for more than 20 years, carrying out over 2,000 sessions… A large-scale science popularization team is dedicated to igniting the scientific dreams of young people.
——Research institutions open their doors wide. Beijing coordinates and integrates high-quality resources from universities, research institutes, etc., organizing students to enter research laboratories and realistic experience platforms, allowing students to get close to cutting-edge science and technology and participate in scientific practice. 207 municipal-level science popularization bases and nearly 200,000 registered science (and technology) popularization volunteers are converting research potential into educational momentum.
——Schools and bases engage in in-depth linkage. Since 2016, Shanghai has built “Youth Scientific Innovation Practice Workstations,” relying on universities and research institutes to establish 40 workstations. Each year, approximately 5,000 middle school students are selected to enter the workstations to conduct research projects, and 332 science popularization bases cover the entire city. Zhou Chuliang (周楚亮), a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a workstation mentor, said: “Compared to solving problems, we focus more on getting children to ask valuable questions.”
——New scenarios and new technologies reshape the form of science popularization. The Shanghai Astronomical Museum innovatively integrates extended reality technology to present the stars and oceans before children’s eyes. In Nansha District, Guangzhou, the Guangdong Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology (广东空天科技研究院) has created a science popularization model of “real research, real scenarios, real experience.” In front of a large-scale low-altitude aircraft wind tunnel test device, children from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area built simple wind tunnels together and measured the lift of model aircraft.
Science popularization ignites dreams and nurtures innovation.
“It was because I read popular science books back then that I fell in love with robots.” Wang Xingxing (王兴兴), founder of Unitree Technology Co., Ltd. (宇树科技股份有限公司), loved reading popular science books most as a child. In junior high school, inspired by popular science reading material, he used cardboard and an old motor to assemble his first “moving car.” Years later, in his dormitory at Shanghai University, he used low-cost servos and 3D printing to make a quadruped robot, costing less than 1% of similar foreign products. That prototype grew into “Unitree,” which now accounts for more than 60% of the global consumer quadruped robot market.
The future of science lies in young people. The seeds planted by science popularization are 雨后春笋 (yǔ hòu chūn sǔn - “springing up like bamboo shoots after rain,” emerging rapidly and vigorously) and growing. More and more young people are moving from “learning science” to “loving science,” and from “loving science” to “doing science.”
At the end of 2024, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Popularization of Science and Technology (中华人民共和国科学技术普及法) completed its first revision in over 20 years of implementation, and “September each year is National Science Popularization Month” (全国科普月) was written into the law. In 2025, the proportion of Chinese citizens with scientific literacy reached 16.74%, an increase of 1.37 percentage points over 2024.
“Promote the 科学家精神 (kēxuéjiā jīngshén - “spirit of scientists,” the ethos of dedication, truth-seeking, and innovation among scientists), strengthen science popularization and publicity, stimulate young people’s imagination and desire to explore, and make engaging in basic research the life goal of more young people.” These words of General Secretary Xi Jinping at the Symposium on Strengthening Basic Research (加强基础研究座谈会) in Shanghai in April 2026 revealed the deeper purpose of science popularization — not only to spread knowledge but also to nurture the backup force for innovation.
When research institutions open their doors to young people, when more and more scientific and technological workers devote themselves to science popularization, and when the contributions of science popularization workers have a quantifiable evaluation system, the vast starry sky of future science will surely shine with a multitude of stars.
(Reporters Wang Yunna (王云娜) and Huang Xiaohui (黄晓慧) from this newspaper contributed to the reporting.)
Return to TopThis newspaper, Beijing, July 11 (Reporter Zhao Zhanhui (赵展慧)) — The China Futures Association (中国期货业协会) released the latest statistics on the 11th, showing: on a single-side basis, in June the national futures market trading volume was 9.39 billion lots, and trading turnover was 80.62 trillion yuan, up 27% and 52.72% year-on-year respectively. In the first half of this year, the cumulative trading volume of the national futures market was 51.05 billion lots, and cumulative trading turnover was 482.70 trillion yuan, up 25.23% and 42.08% year-on-year respectively.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 亓玉昆
Recently, Guangxi, Hubei, Gansu and other regions have suffered successive disasters such as reservoir dam breaches and mountain landslides due to rainfall and gale-force winds, causing significant casualties and economic losses.
The national comprehensive fire and rescue teams resolutely implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions, bravely shouldering heavy responsibilities and charging forward at the front line of flood control and disaster relief, making every effort to safeguard the safety of people’s lives and property as well as the overall stability of society.
Continuous Fighting — Evacuating the People
Affected by Typhoon Maysak, Guangxi experienced persistent extreme heavy rainfall, with exceptionally heavy rainstorms striking Nanning, Fangchenggang, Qinzhou, Guigang and other areas, leading to urgent flood alerts in many places.
“Quick! There are people here!” While searching deep inside civilian houses at the Yunbiao Agricultural Market in Hengzhou City, the special service detachment of the Guangxi Fire and Rescue Corps discovered a family of three trapped. Floodwater inside the house had already reached the roof, and the family was huddled in the gap between the beams, with less than ten centimeters of thin air above their heads. On-site commander Liang Lingzi (梁凌子) immediately formulated a rescue plan; all team members coordinated their efforts, racing against time to open a life passage, successfully evacuating the three to safety.
Traveling day and night, rushing to the rescue over a thousand li.
In accordance with orders from the National Fire and Rescue Administration, the Guangdong Mobile Fire and Rescue Corps urgently assembled 200 firefighters, 34 fire trucks, 17 boats and dinghies, carrying over 600 pieces of rescue equipment, and set out simultaneously from seven locations — Guangzhou, Maoming, Zhaoqing, Jiangmen, Heyuan, Dongguan, and Chaozhou — traveling overnight to Hengzhou, Guangxi. The firefighters drove their boats through deep water, searching house by house for stranded people, carrying the elderly and children on their backs and escorting them to safety.
A sudden heavy rainstorm struck Guigang, trapping teachers and students from multiple schools in the Xijiang Education Park in Guigang. At the critical moment, firefighters, working together with all emergency response forces, fought continuously and sped up transport, smoothly transferring nearly 30,000 trapped teachers and students to safe areas.
Protecting infants, transferring pregnant women, carrying the elderly on their backs… The firefighters fought day and night, racing against time, making every effort to evacuate every trapped person.
Racing Against Time — Going All Out in Rescue Operations
At approximately 6:56 AM on July 7, a mountain landslide occurred in Rencang Village, Nanhe Town, Tanchang County, Longnan City, Gansu, trapping people. The Gansu Fire and Rescue Corps acted immediately upon receiving the order, activating the geological disaster rescue plan as soon as possible, and dispatched 275 firefighters, 36 fire trucks, and 10 search-and-rescue dogs to rush to the disaster site.
Twenty-three members of the Tanchang County Fire and Rescue Brigade in Longnan City were the first to arrive. “All units, follow me!” Brigade Commander Luo Lingshan (罗灵山) immediately gave the order. The firefighters carried rescue equipment and advanced on foot along the relatively safe side of the mountain.
“There’s someone over here! Come quickly!” When the team advanced deep into the landslide area, they heard cries for help from trapped people upstream of the river channel. The firefighters gathered toward the sound. Luo Lingshan divided the team into several groups to carry out rescue operations separately.
Using stretchers, carrying on their backs, and supporting under the arms, the firefighters evacuated people who were shallowly buried or trapped to safe areas. The search-and-rescue work continued until the early hours of the next day; all trapped persons were found. Facing the complex environment and secondary risks, the fire rescue team fought tenaciously, with Party members always charging ahead. “Resolutely fulfilling the mission entrusted to us is our bounden duty as Party members,” Luo Lingshan said.
After completing the on-site search and rescue, the rescue forces immediately shifted to ensuring the safety of channel clearance operations. Building a line of defense to guard life amid the rubble and mud, the fire rescue teams put into practice the solemn promise to “rescue the people from floods and fires, help the people in times of danger, and give the people strength.”
Bearing the Responsibility — Charging Toward Danger
On the evening of July 6, Huanggang, Hubei, was hit by a rare and powerful tornado.
The entire Huanggang Fire and Rescue Detachment entered combat status. Li Xianwen (黎献文), Assistant Station Chief of the Xingang Avenue Special Service Station of the detachment, led a team of personnel to deal with a transformer fire. However, as soon as the vehicle drove out of Xingang Avenue, its path was blocked by fallen trees and debris. Not long after driving forward, members of the public urgently flagged down the vehicle, saying that nearby houses had collapsed and people were buried.
Li Xianwen immediately decided to split the team; he took three firefighters and rushed to the collapse site. Amid the rubble, they saw one worker pinned under a thick brick wall. “Make sure he can breathe first!” Li Xianwen quickly directed the firefighters to open an opening to clear foreign matter from the worker’s mouth and nose. To avoid injury from mechanical operations, he knelt on the rain-soaked debris and took the lead in digging with his bare hands. After 20 minutes, the trapped person was rescued.
The violent wind and heavy rain caused damage to houses in multiple residential areas in Jinniu Town, Daye City, Huangshi, and many residents were urgently evacuated to safety. The Daye fire rescue team moved into the affected neighborhoods overnight, conducting hazard inspections, searching for trapped people, and evacuating residents building by building, household by household.
During house-to-house inspections, firefighters discovered resident Huang Fang (黄芳), who was paralyzed and unable to evacuate on her own. At the critical moment, Cao Yongxin (曹永欣), a full-time firefighter who had recently joined the team, stepped forward and carried Huang Fang downstairs on his back. After being settled, Huang Fang tearfully expressed her gratitude to the firefighters.
Over the past several days, the vast number of firefighters have charged toward danger, resolutely fulfilling their mission and responsibilities. The national comprehensive fire and rescue teams will continue to closely monitor rain and water conditions during the flood season, ensuring they are 始终在状态 (shǐ zhōng zài zhuàng tài - “always in a state of readiness”), and will go all out in flood control, emergency rescue, and disaster relief work, guarding the safety of people’s lives and property.
Return to TopThe center of this year's 9th typhoon, Bavi (巴威), made landfall near Kanmen in Yuhuan, Taizhou, Zhejiang at approximately 23:20 on July 11, and then made a second landfall near Qingjiang Town, Yueqing, Wenzhou, at approximately 00:00 on July 12. It is forecast to continue moving northwestward in the future, with its intensity gradually weakening.
The Ministry of Water Resources raised its flood defense emergency response for Zhejiang and Fujian to Level III at 12:00 on July 11. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (国家防总) maintained its Level II emergency response for flood control and typhoon prevention in Zhejiang and Fujian. The National Meteorological Center (中央气象台) issued a red alert for heavy rain and continued to issue an orange alert for typhoon at 10:00 on July 11. The Ministry of Transport activated a Level I defense response for heavy rainfall and maintained a Level II defense response for typhoon.
As of 8:00 on July 11, Zhejiang had relocated more than 1.7 million people. At 11:00 that day, the Zhejiang Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (浙江省防指) raised its typhoon-prevention emergency response to Level I, and the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Water Resources raised its emergency response level for flood and drought disaster defense (typhoon prevention) to Level I. The Zhejiang Provincial Marine Monitoring and Forecasting Center (浙江省海洋监测预报中心) issued an orange alert for storm surge and a red alert for sea waves. Wenzhou, Zhejiang activated a Level I emergency response for typhoon prevention on July 10, and as of 20:00 on July 11 had relocated a total of more than 1.11 million people.
The reporter learned from the Fujian Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (福建省防汛办) that as of 17:00 on July 11, all 139 fishing vessels (1,424 people), 60,123 township-level vessels (68,173 people), and 21,663 people on mariculture rafts in the entire province of Fujian had been evacuated. All reservoirs had been lowered to operate below their flood-season water levels. Local authorities across the province had mobilized a total of 104,300 person-trips of cadres and evacuated 188,400 people from hazardous areas. In Fuding, Ningde, Fujian, 1,197 vessels had taken shelter in port, and all 4,080 people on board had been evacuated before 12:00 on July 9. The local authorities formed four working groups that went deep into coastal townships to conduct inspections and checks.
The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management recently urgently allocated 40 million yuan in central government natural disaster relief funds to support Fujian and Zhejiang in carrying out emergency flood-control and typhoon-prevention rescue and disaster-relief efforts.
According to forecasts from meteorological departments, under the influence of Typhoon Bavi and the moisture it transports, over the next three days, Beijing, Tianjin, Anhui, Jiangxi, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang will experience extremely heavy rain, with local areas receiving torrential downpours. Some areas will experience short-duration heavy rainfall, and the risk of mountain torrents, geological disasters, flooding of small and medium rivers, and urban waterlogging is relatively high. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters raised its Level IV flood-control emergency response for Beijing, Tianjin, Liaoning, Anhui, and Jiangxi to Level III at 20:00 on July 11, activated a Level IV flood-control emergency response for Heilongjiang, and dispatched a working group of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters office to Beijing to assist in guiding flood-control work.
The Ministry of Water Resources activated a Level IV emergency response for flood defense for Heilongjiang at 12:00 on July 11. On the same day, the Ministry of Emergency Management raised its national Level IV geological disaster emergency response for Hebei to Level III, activated a national Level IV geological disaster emergency response for Anhui, and activated national Level IV geological disaster emergency responses for Tianjin, Liaoning, and Jilin.
At 9:00 on July 11, Inner Mongolia activated a Level IV flood-control emergency response of its flood control and drought relief headquarters and a Level IV emergency response for rainstorm meteorological disasters. At 12:00 on the same day, the Shanxi Provincial Department of Water Resources and the Meteorological Bureau jointly issued a meteorological risk warning for mountain torrent disasters. At 18:00 on the same day, the Hebei Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (河北省防汛抗旱指挥部) raised its flood-control emergency response for Chengde City and Tangshan City to Level II. As of now, Jiangsu has completed risk inspections of hazardous areas and personnel at risk, and relevant departments have prepared for emergency rescue and repair work.
(Compiled from reports by our correspondents Deng Jianyang, Qu Zhehan, Liu Wenxin, Han Xin, Jiang Nan, Liu Junguo, Dou Hanyang, Dou Hao, Liao Wengen, Fu Wen, Liu Xiaoyu, Zhang Cheng, Ma Ruishan, Shi Ziqiang, and Yao Xueqing.)
Return to TopBy: 本报记者
On July 11, at the student military training base relocation and shelter site in Huairou District (怀柔区), Beijing, the dark clouds outside the window had pressed down to the ridge of the mountain.
Liu Yuzhi (刘玉芝), 86 years old, and her bedridden husband and ill son were settled here. Two days earlier, late at night, Liu Yuzhi's family, who lived in Liulimiao Village (琉璃庙村), were transferred down the mountain by ambulance. "Before the rain came, the Party members and cadres arrived first. Once we got here, we felt at ease," Liu Yuzhi said.
As of 17:00 on the 11th, the shelter site had accommodated 367 people. "Most are elderly people over 70, the oldest being 94, and the youngest just one month old," said Wang Hongli (王洪利), commander of the shelter site. A total of 880 beds have been prepared here.
In the medical room, Wen Guiqin (温桂芹), 74, was getting medicine prescribed. Sun Long (孙龙), deputy director of Huairou District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, introduced that the shelter site is equipped with medical staff on duty around the clock, conducting daily rounds.
At dinner time, the queue in the cafeteria was orderly; large-font directional signs were posted in the corridors; non-slip mats were laid in the washroom... In addition to the care at the shelter, there were also village watch duties. Wang Fang (王芳), a village cadre from Liulimiao Village, received a phone call from Wang Lei (王磊), the village Party branch secretary: "People are watching and managing things in the village, so everyone can rest assured."
On the other side, Li Shuqin (李淑琴), 90 years old, from Dongshan Village (东山村), Junzhuang Town (军庄镇), Mentougou District (门头沟区), moved into the "highland fortress" (高地堡垒) with the assistance of village cadres. Zhang Xingang (张新钢), Party branch secretary of Dongshan Village, introduced that the village Party and mass service center is the highest point in the village, so it was chosen as the "highland fortress," capable of sheltering 400 people.
Li Shuqin said that she has difficulty walking, and the village cadres drove her over. "The sheets and quilts are all laid out."
Radios with built-in batteries can communicate with the emergency management department at any time; landline-style satellite phones provide a safety net for extreme situations; mobile emergency generators can start up quickly during power outages; emergency water storage tanks are filled with domestic water... There are 140 such "highland fortresses" in Mentougou District, and 1,052 have been built in mountain villages across Beijing.
At the Xinfadi Market (新发地市场), Cai Yonghe (蔡勇和), captain of the third emergency rescue brigade of the Fengtai District (丰台区) Water Affairs Bureau, was inspecting an emergency rescue vehicle. He and his colleagues have been on round-the-clock rotating duty since the 9th.
"Party members must charge to the front," Cai Yonghe said, his voice hoarse but resolute. "We must ensure the safety of the 'vegetable basket' (菜篮子)."
"With them around, we feel reassured!" said Wang Shuming (王树明), a merchant at Xinfadi Market. In the truck bed, the freshly arrived vegetables were fresh and green. Currently, 174 flood prevention and rescue teams with 4,132 personnel in Fengtai District remain on duty.
As night deepened, on the large screen of the Beijing Municipal Emergency Command Center, various pieces of information continued to refresh.
From 8:00 on July 9 to 00:00 on July 12, the cumulative precipitation in Beijing was 54.6 mm, with an average of 48.0 mm in the urban area. The maximum precipitation point was located in Pinggu District (平谷区), with a precipitation of 225.2 mm.
As of 21:00 on the 11th, 188 tourist attractions across Beijing had been closed, 167 tent camping sites and 4,376 rural homestays had suspended operations, 73 elderly care institutions had been shut down, and over 100,000 people had been relocated.
(Reported by our reporters Hu Jian (胡健), Wang Haonan (王昊男), Wang Zhou (王洲), Shi Fang (施芳), and Pan Junqiang (潘俊强))
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 尹 婕 申少铁 江 萌
In the evening, in Changjiangyuan Village (长江源村), lights twinkle in the Tibetan-style dwellings with red roofs and white walls. This place is located in the southern outskirts of Golmud City (格尔木市), Qinghai Province. Herdsmen who relocated from the Tuotuo River area of the Tanggula Mountains (唐古拉山沱沱河地区), 420 kilometers away, have built a new home here.
In November 2004, in response to the national Three-River Source (三江源) ecological protection policy, 128 herdsman households from the original six pastoral villages of Tanggulashan Town (唐古拉山镇) bid farewell to the high-cold pasture at an average altitude of 4,700 meters and relocated to this resettlement site. In 2006, this new home was named Changjiangyuan Village (长江源村), symbolizing "originating from the source of the Yangtze River" and "when drinking water, think of its source."
For herdsmen who have lived for generations by following water and grass, this is not only a spatial migration but also a reconstruction of the order of life. Zaxi Dawa (扎西达娃), Secretary of the Party Branch and Director of the Village Committee of Changjiangyuan Village, personally experienced this relocation. "After everyone relocated, their concepts, diet, methods of labor, etc., all needed adjustment and change. For the elderly herdsmen, it was especially difficult," Zaxi Dawa said. "Bidding farewell is for better protection. The hearts of the villagers have never been far from that land."
The village has established a normalized ecological management and protection system, with each household having one ecological management and protection officer. They patrol and protect 5.01 million mu (approx. 334,000 hectares) of grazing land under grazing prohibition all year round, observe and record changes in the snow line and water conditions, and carry out work such as vegetation restoration, river channel cleaning, garbage collection, and wildlife protection.
"This land has nurtured generations of our ancestors; we should naturally love and protect it," said Qunni Dongtuo (群尼东托), an ecological management and protection officer in the village, expressing the feelings of many villagers. Now, the once degraded grasslands are gradually turning green again, the water quality of the Tuotuo River is excellent year-round, wild animals such as Tibetan antelope and Tibetan wild ass appear frequently, and the ecological environment of the Yangtze River source continues to improve.
To ensure that villagers can move out, stay settled, and become prosperous, industrial development is indispensable. Zaxi Dawa introduced that the excellent ecological environment has nurtured high-quality Tanggula yaks and Tanggula Tibetan sheep. In 2020, the Changjiangyuan Village Joint-stock Economic Cooperative (长江源村股份经济合作社) was established, which invested in the establishment of Golmud Zhiqu Agricultural and Animal Products Development Co., Ltd. (格尔木智曲农牧产品开发有限公司) and is responsible for its operation. The village two committees and the village-based work team, following the thinking of "One Village, One Product" (一村一品) and highlighting industrial characteristics, decided to take the path of green livestock product processing and rural tourism development.
"Last year, we tested the waters of deep processing and carried out online promotion, opening up the production-sales chain, and the product quality gained market recognition," Zaxi Dawa said. Now, the collective economic income of Changjiangyuan Village has exceeded one million yuan, the annual per capita disposable income of villagers has surpassed 38,000 yuan, and life has undergone earth-shaking changes. The children in the village can receive better education, and villagers can also enjoy convenient and high-quality medical services.
In terms of cultural heritage, new leaves and branches are also blooming. 15-year-old Danzeng Luobu (旦增罗布) loves to play the zhamunie (扎木聂, a Tibetan lute) and has spontaneously collected more than 180 folk tunes. His mother founded the Gangbabu Ethnic Handicraft Processing Professional Cooperative (岗巴布民族手工艺品加工专业合作社), which inherits ethnic culture through the model of "cooperative + rural women's group + villagers' home-based employment." The cooperative displays products with distinctive pastoral characteristics such as pulu (氆氇, Tibetan woolen) blankets, uduo (a throwing rope used by herders), and black tents. These not only carry cultural value and emotional memories but also gain new vitality through innovation, with products sold to many places.
Building a beautiful homeland together is gradually becoming a conscious awareness among the villagers. Zaxi Dawa introduced that through the "Four Deliberations and Two Openings" (四议两公开), the village established a rule that each household sends someone to clean the village every week, and also built a "Love Points Supermarket" (爱心积分超市) to use points to motivate villagers to improve the village appearance. Now, the village has a total of 67 Party members, many of whom are young people. "Their new concepts and new ideas have brought new thinking to the village's development," Zaxi Dawa said. "Everyone, with their own hands, has 'earned' a new life."
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 江 萌 申少铁 尹 婕
At the source of the Yellow River, springs bubble up at Yueguzonglie Qu (约古宗列曲); at the First Bend of the Yangtze River, the river winds around the mountain; in the Angsai Grand Canyon (昂赛大峡谷), the Lancang River flows endlessly...
On the monitoring screens of the Ecological Environment Bureau of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (玉树藏族自治州), Qinghai Province, real-time images from dozens of observation points are displayed in rotation. Staff members can easily check ecological conditions thousands of miles away with a simple click of the mouse. This remote video observation system, named "Yushu Jiangyuan Window" (玉树江源之窗), is becoming an important technological force for safeguarding the Three-River-Source region (三江源).
"Without stepping out of the house, view the source." Chen Rong (陈荣), a member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Yushu Prefecture Ecological Environment Bureau, used this phrase to describe the change brought by "Yushu Jiangyuan Window." Since 2019, Yushu Prefecture has invested more than 33 million yuan to build the "Yushu Jiangyuan Window" ecological environment supervision platform, with a total of 43 monitoring observation points set up, covering the atmospheric environment, water environment, glaciers and snow mountains, grasslands and wetlands, rivers and lakes, and rare wild animals.
Yushu Prefecture is located in the core area of the Three-River-Source region, with an average altitude exceeding 4,200 meters. The vast majority is expansive uninhabited areas, with harsh climate and inconvenient transportation. Traditional manual methods for conducting ecological monitoring and patrols are extremely difficult. "After the Three-River-Source region was equipped with 'thousand-mile eyes,' we have been able to conduct long-distance, large-range, and all-round real-time observation, effectively compensating for the shortcomings of manual monitoring and patrols such as slow response, high cost, and narrow coverage," Chen Rong introduced.
"Every day, staff conduct remote inspections of key points. Once an abnormality is detected, an immediate warning is issued," said Gengsong Lacuo (更松拉措), an enforcement officer of the Yushu Prefecture Ecological Environment Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Detachment.
In 2024, during a routine video inspection, staff discovered that some herders were digging pits and breaking ground in the source area of the Yellow River. "We immediately transferred the clue to the grassroots ecological protection station, and they rushed to the scene to handle it," Gengsong Lacuo recalled. "That place is more than 400 kilometers away from here; by the time we rushed over, the scene might have already been destroyed."
With this system, the regulatory tentacles have been extended to remote ecologically sensitive areas, significantly improving the efficiency of discovering and handling environmental violations.
"Yushu Jiangyuan Window" also makes the effectiveness of biodiversity protection more intuitively perceptible. Gengsong Lacuo displayed precious footage recorded by the system: in the Angsai Grand Canyon, snow leopards, leopards, white-lipped deer, and other rare wild animals frequently appear; by Longbao Lake (隆宝湖), black-necked cranes have increased to nearly 200, and tens of thousands of waterbirds inhabit and breed there each year.
"Through the system's species distribution module, we can clearly and intuitively view the area where a certain species is distributed," Gengsong Lacuo said. "These data provide an important basis for scientific protection."
In addition to ecological monitoring, on "Yushu Jiangyuan Window," atmospheric environment and water environment quality data are updated in real time, and online monitoring of sewage treatment plant discharge outlets runs in sync with video surveillance.
"New technologies have significantly improved the efficiency of the ecological environment department in unified supervision of ecological protection and pollution prevention," Chen Rong introduced. Using "Yushu Jiangyuan Window" video inspections, staff have repeatedly discovered clues to ecological and environmental problems, all of which have been promptly transferred to relevant departments for investigation and punishment. From the past manual legwork to today's remote inspections and intelligent warnings, ecological environment supervision has achieved a qualitative leap.
In the past five years, the proportion of days with good air quality in Yushu Prefecture has reached 99.97%, the proportion of surface water assessment sections with excellent water quality has reached 100%, the water quality of the Yangtze River, Yellow River, and Lancang River leaving the province has remained stable at Class II or above, and the average annual increase in water conservation capacity has exceeded 6%.
"Yushu Jiangyuan Window" is not only a "thousand-mile eye" for safeguarding the Three-River-Source region but also has become a window for ecological civilization education open to the public. In addition to receiving visitors offline, the platform also uses slow livestreaming and other methods to allow more people to "cloud-view" the Three-River-Source region. Under the protection of technological forces, the green story of the Three-River-Source region is constantly being written anew and spreading ever wider.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 龚相娟
"Recognition is a kind of affirmation, and even more a kind of spurring on." Holding the certificate of honor for National Outstanding Communist Party Member (全国优秀共产党员), Lian Jie (连捷), instructor of the Dongfengli Brigade (东风里大队) of the Hexi Traffic Management Detachment under the Tianjin Public Security Bureau Traffic Management Corps, said this.
In June 2013, the Youyi-Binshui Women's Demonstration Post (友谊宾水女子示范岗) of the Dongfengli Brigade was formally established, and Lian Jie, as one of the first nine female police officers, took up her post on the duty line. In the 13 years since joining the police force, Lian Jie has been rooted at the frontline of traffic duty, consistently adhering to a work philosophy of standardized law enforcement and education first. She has led her colleagues in the jurisdiction to handle more than 38,000 cases of various minor traffic violations, achieving zero complaints in frontline law enforcement.
The intersection of Youyi Road and Binshui Road has an intertwined road network and heavy traffic flow; it is a key support point for various important events, and daily duty tasks are complex and burdensome. At her post, Lian Jie constantly keeps a close watch on the changes in traffic flow and pedestrian flow at the intersection, as well as the operational status of traffic signals. She rapidly handles various on-site situations such as vehicle breakdowns, road obstacles, and sudden accidents, efficiently channeling traffic flow, resolving congestion, and facilitating the convenience of the masses.
Rooted at the frontline for years, Lian Jie is familiar with the signal timing plans for every intersection in her jurisdiction. Together with her colleagues, she has long observed changes in traffic flow, proactively investigated pain points in traffic flow, and deeply pondered improvement strategies.
At the intersection of Youyi Road and Binshui Road on the north-south section, there is a merging problem where three lanes become two lanes. During the morning peak, southbound traffic is prone to congestion, and during the evening peak, northbound traffic also suffers from serious delays. After careful investigation and calculation, Lian Jie arrived at a solution: flexibly increase or decrease signal timing according to traffic volume during different periods such as holidays and the start of the school term. Over more than ten years, Lian Jie, together with officers of the police district, has cumulatively optimized signal timing more than a hundred times and submitted over 20 suggestions for road channelization improvements to relevant functional departments.
In July 2020, the Tianjin Public Security Bureau Traffic Management Corps fully implemented the Police District Sergeant Responsibility System Reform (警区警长责任制改革). The Dongfengli Brigade, centered on the Youyi-Binshui Women's Demonstration Post and radiating to two nearby posts and Youyi Road Subdistrict, formed the Youyi Police District: the initial team of nine female officers was expanded to 18, and Lian Jie, relying on her solid professional capabilities, was elected police district sergeant.
After taking on a managerial role, Lian Jie often organizes team members to conduct daily work reviews. Everyone shares with each other, and Lian Jie actively engages in passing on experience, providing help, and offering guidance (传帮带), meticulously explaining various duty regulations and emergency handling techniques. "It's really useful; it helps us quickly adapt to road duty work," said Zhang Yifan (张艺凡), a colleague who recently started working.
During temporary traffic control, when encountering delivery riders, Lian Jie will proactively ask their delivery destination and inform them of the best detour route; facing traffic violators with a negative attitude, she will patiently counsel them... In the day-to-day practice of law enforcement, Lian Jie innovatively summarized the "Three-Degree, Three-Heart Work Method" (三度三心工作法): law enforcement with warmth (温度), law普及 with effectiveness (效度), correction of violations with accuracy (准度); and enthusiastically (热心) answering questions and solving doubts, warmheartedly (暖心) helping those in distress and those in difficulty, considerately (贴心) serving the masses.
In January of this year, Lian Jie was appointed instructor of the Dongfengli Brigade. Although the position has changed, her original intention of serving the people and holding the frontline remains unchanged. "Wherever the masses need me, there I will be," she said.
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 丁雅诵
Basic research is the source of the entire scientific system and the master switch of all technical problems.
Currently, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating breakthroughs, and global science and technology competition is increasingly focusing on basic frontier fields. The importance of original and disruptive innovation is becoming increasingly prominent. Faced with such opportunities and challenges, optimizing the layout of scientific research, increasing investment guarantees, and innovating institutional mechanisms to promote the improvement of China’s basic research level concern the foundation of the nation’s strength and rejuvenation.
In this edition of “Education Strategy: Everyone Discusses,” we invite relevant experts and scholars to jointly discuss how to strengthen basic research with greater intensity and more concrete measures and enhance China’s original innovation capability.
Dialogue participants:
Chen Yeguang (陈晔光), Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, President of Nanchang University
Li Xiaoqiang (李晓强), Vice President of the China National Academy of Educational Sciences, Associate Researcher
Liu Tieyan (刘铁岩), President of Beijing Zhongguancun College, Chairman of the Zhongguancun AI Research Institute
Zhang Jiayi (张嘉漪), Director of the Basic Research Development Center of Fudan University, Director of the National Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Brain Function (脑科学与脑功能全国重点实验室)
Yang Ming (阳铭), Professor at the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, and the National Key Laboratory of Natural Products Chemistry (天然产物化学全国重点实验室)
China’s economy is shifting from high-speed growth to high-quality development, placing an unprecedented urgent demand on original innovation
Reporter: Today, basic research must be strengthened with greater intensity. How should this sense of urgency be understood?
Chen Yeguang: Currently, China’s economy is shifting from high-speed growth to high-quality development. The deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation places an unprecedented urgent demand on original innovation.
On the one hand, without a thorough understanding of the most fundamental principles of things, no truly disruptive application achievements can be produced. On the other hand, in the process of conducting original innovation in basic research, it is often necessary to develop new technologies and open up new pathways. These new technologies and pathways thus generated may also bring about technological innovation and transformation, injecting new momentum into high-quality economic development.
Strengthening basic research with greater intensity is a strategic choice for resolving the bottleneck (卡脖子) risk at its source and achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening.
Li Xiaoqiang: The more complex the problems on the application side, the more they push us back to the source of basic research. Many current sticking points and blockages, on the surface, are subject to constraints from others in materials, equipment, processes, or software, but at a deeper level, it is that the basic scientific principles and underlying laws have not yet truly been broken through. Without deep basic research support, it is difficult to make substantive progress on original pathways, and one can only engage in low-level repetition in already validated fields.
Liu Tieyan: Today’s basic research has become the underlying capability of current competition. In the past, we could catch up in many fields by following existing technological pathways, achieving rapid progress through engineering optimization, industrial organization, and application innovation. But the environment today has undergone major changes: on the one hand, global science and technology competition has moved forward to the level of basic principles, technological paradigms, system architectures, and key tools; on the other hand, artificial intelligence technology is rapidly evolving, simultaneously reshaping the ways of scientific discovery and industrial organization. Therefore, when we talk about basic research today, it has transcended our previous understanding of papers, disciplines, and laboratories, etc., and instead, through original innovation, generates new quality productive forces (新质生产力), seizing future initiative and voice.
Combine the world’s scientific and technological frontiers with the nation’s major strategic needs, balancing goal orientation and free exploration
Reporter: Basic research should “walk on two legs”—one side is goal orientation, the other is free exploration. How can a better balance between the two be achieved?
Zhang Jiayi: Goal orientation and free exploration, though seemingly different in pathway, both point to the same direction—serving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening.
The value of goal orientation lies in improving the organizational efficiency of basic research in serving national needs. Goal orientation does not simply turn basic research into engineering problem-solving or product development, but rather focuses on key areas such as biosafety, artificial intelligence, and advanced materials, identifying the scientific laws, key mechanisms, and common issues behind them.
Free exploration is an important source of original breakthroughs. Many major achievements in their early stages did not have clear application goals but came from long-term inquiry into fundamental laws. The charm of basic research lies precisely in its uncertainty. Today’s seemingly “useless” cognitive breakthroughs may be the seeds of tomorrow’s industrial transformation.
Yang Ming: Goal orientation and free exploration are complementary and symbiotic; there is no contradiction or opposition between them. Although free exploration may not yield practical results in the short term, it lays the underlying scientific foundation for future technological breakthroughs; goal-oriented research focuses on major practical needs and can often extract new basic scientific questions from them, feeding back into free exploration. This inspires us to combine the world’s scientific and technological frontiers with the nation’s major strategic needs.
Chen Yeguang: The key to grasping the balance between goal orientation and free exploration lies in respecting the different characteristics of each kind of research. Free exploration should be given long-term stable support and a宽松 (relaxed) environment without utilitarian goals; goal-oriented research should have its goals determined and corresponding resources allocated. Only in this way can the “two legs” develop in coordination, continuously stimulating the vitality of original innovation.
Reporter: Different from universities and research institutes, how can new-type R&D institutions exert their strength in basic research, and how can they unblock the innovation chain from research to application?
Liu Tieyan: The advantage of new-type R&D institutions lies in their sensitivity to industrial needs, as well as more flexible mechanisms and more open modes of collaboration. Taking the Zhongguancun AI Research Institute as an example, its “newness” is mainly reflected in three aspects: building an integrated platform of “industry-academia-research-innovation-investment”; forming a two-in-one structure with Beijing Zhongguancun College, developing together, and creating an organized research echelon; using a project system as a grip to build teams that possess both industrial insight and engineering practice capability.
On this basis, to truly unblock the chain from basic research to achievement transformation, the key lies in answering two questions: who poses the questions? who verifies the results? Our answer is: questions come from industry, and solutions go back to industry.
Specifically, we have done three things: first, directly aligning research topic selection with industrial needs, organizing teachers and students to go deep into enterprise front lines for investigation, extracting scientific questions from real scenarios, and leading to basic research topics; second, establishing institute-enterprise joint industrial parks, guiding enterprises to think about forward-looking布局 (layout), jointly defining problems and collaborating on solutions; third, opening up the transformation channel of research achievements, soliciting university achievements, and through the 前店后厂 (qián diàn hòu chǎng – “front shop, back factory,” a model combining front-end market connection with back-end production) mode, building a flow channel for teachers and students between researchers and entrepreneurs.
Build a diversified investment pattern, enabling resources to flow more reasonably and precisely to promising innovators
Reporter: Research funding is the material foundation of basic research. At present, the proportion of China’s basic research funding in total R&D expenditure is still relatively limited. On this basis, how can allocation be made more reasonable?
Li Xiaoqiang: In 2025, China’s basic research funding reached 277.8 billion yuan, exceeding 7% of the whole society’s R&D expenditure. But compared to some global innovation powerhouses, there is still a gap. This requires us to both continue increasing investment to narrow the gap with developed countries and deepen reforms to optimize the allocation structure of basic research funds, spending the limited money on the “刀刃” (blade edge, i.e., where it counts).
For basic research to achieve real breakthroughs, it needs long-term persistence, and therefore also requires continuous funding support. Especially for basic research oriented by national strategic needs, targeted commissioning and stable support methods should be adopted to give research teams long-term funding guarantees. For mature research teams, major scientific and technological infrastructure, and public platforms, the proportion of stable funding should be increased, and mechanisms for rolling continuation and cross-cycle funding should be established and improved.
Yang Ming: Free exploration-type basic research has the characteristic of unpredictable output. Currently, it is mainly supported through channels such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China. In the process of funding allocation, concentrating resources on advantageous teams has its rationality, but attention should also be paid to the practical difficulties faced by young researchers in their initial stages—they are often active in thinking and dare to challenge difficult problems, yet are constrained by insufficient resource acquisition capabilities, making it hard to fully display their talents.
Therefore, while encouraging top-level breakthroughs, broad participation should also be ensured. In evaluation, more attention should be paid to the applicant’s innovation potential and the scientific value of the problem itself, so that resources flow more reasonably and precisely to promising innovators.
Reporter: At present, what difficulties exist in the mode of investment, and how can a diversified investment pattern be built?
Chen Yeguang: In 2025, among China’s basic research funding, the central fiscal input was about 100 billion yuan, with the rest coming from local fiscal and other entities. Currently, funding sources still mainly rely on government finance. Enterprises have weak willingness to invest in basic research with high risk and long cycle, and it is difficult for them to become the main force in the short term.
Zhang Jiayi: For basic research behind industrial “bottleneck” technologies, a model of joint funding by enterprises or industry alliances together with institutions like the National Natural Science Foundation of China can be promoted. Enterprises and universities jointly refine problems and pool resources, with scientists leading the research. This can ensure that research topics closely align with real industrial needs and also open up stable funding channels for basic research.
Fudan University has built a coordinated investment system of “Fudan Science and Innovation Mother Fund + Science and Innovation Investment Fund + Social Special Funds,” while deepening strategic cooperation with leading enterprises. It has established 119 university-enterprise joint laboratories, promoting deep integration of the innovation chain and the industrial chain.
Liu Tieyan: The key to diversified investment lies in policy makers providing directional guidance, enterprises providing problems and scenarios, research institutions contributing original capabilities, and social capital providing flexible continuity.
For original directions and “no-man’s land” directions, patience should be maintained, and support for non-consensus directions, young talent, and key basic platforms should be increased. For industry-driven basic research, enterprises should be allowed to participate earlier in “posing questions, co-researching, verifying, and transforming.” The government can reduce coordination costs through joint funds and open scenarios, while social capital takes over pilot-scale amplification and early transformation.
Establish a scientific “tolerance for failure” and exit mechanism, leaving space for free exploration
Reporter: In recent years, we have been deepening the reform of science and technology evaluation, and it has played a positive role. At present, what difficulties still exist in the evaluation system for basic research, and how should it be improved?
Chen Yeguang: Basic research has a long cycle and high uncertainty. The difficulty of evaluation lies in the fact that it is hard to measure simply with quantitative indicators. An original research direction may take five or six years or even longer to show results. If support is stopped when there is no visible output in the first few years, a major discovery may be killed.
The key point of evaluation reform is to return to professional judgment, implement genuine “small peer” review, and focus on examining the originality, scientific significance, and long-term potential of the research work. Publishing papers is an important way of academic exchange, helping peers understand and test results, but one cannot “only value high impact factors.”
Li Xiaoqiang: In addition to continuing to improve the evaluation cycle and evaluation indicators, the evaluation dimensions also need to be more comprehensive. The new methodologies, tool development, and technical pathway accumulation generated in the process of basic research have long-term significance. One cannot emphasize results while neglecting process. The recognition pathways for tacit outputs in the basic research process should be further improved through institutionalization.
A mechanism for identifying process contributions and risk value should be established, incorporating original methods, tools, technical pathways, and key datasets produced in research into the formal成果 (achievement) system. An “exploration risk file” should be established to record and recognize scientifically sound trial and error and high-risk exploration processes.
Zhang Jiayi: If a project fails to achieve its initially envisaged targets, is it because the researchers did nothing, or because the pathway itself is a dead end? In fact, proving a dead end also has extremely high scientific value, but this is very difficult to define at the evaluation level. Therefore, it is also necessary to establish a scientific “tolerance for failure” and exit mechanism.
Reporter: Some researchers, especially young researchers, face pressures such as short assessment cycles. How can a better environment be provided for the growth of young basic research talent?
Yang Ming: The vast majority of young people who devote themselves to scientific research have a positive, 锐意进取 (ruì yì jìn qǔ – “determined to forge ahead,” actively striving for progress) ambition and are not afraid of genuine academic examination. After young scholars join an institution, they should first obtain the necessary conditions for normal research work—funding, enrollment quotas, laboratory space, etc. Assessment requirements should also be commensurate with the level of supporting resources.
Although basic research has a long cycle for producing results, it is possible to achieve phased progress within the corresponding cycle. Such progress does not necessarily have to be presented solely through papers; the employing unit can conduct professional evaluation based on substantive contributions according to the characteristics of the discipline and the difficulty of the research.
Liu Tieyan: Building a more flexible mechanism and a more inclusive evaluation system to provide fertile research soil where promising young talents can settle down and delve deep is a direction we have been working towards.
First, establish an evaluation system that matches the laws of basic research. Truly original exploration often manifests early as non-consensus problems or methods, not necessarily immediately translating into papers or projects. Therefore, within the research cycle, we establish a continuous incentive mechanism, focusing on phased evaluation, allowing young people to receive constant positive feedback during exploration.
Second, provide long-cycle, stable resource support. Equip young basic research talent with job security, team resources, instrument platforms, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and phased funding. Place young people in major tasks, cross-disciplinary teams, and real problems for training, giving them opportunities to shoulder major responsibilities (挑大梁).
Third, cultivate more leading talents who can define problems. We allow young talents to independently set up projects, encouraging them to discover real problems by themselves, build teams, manage funds, and connect with industry. When young talents actively lead research pathways, this initiative enables them to have greater composure when facing uncertainty.
By: 潘建伟
Basic research is not pure theoretical research divorced from reality. Major breakthroughs in basic theory often originate from the pressing need to solve practical problems, and conversely, technological breakthroughs provide basic research with more precise tools, richer phenomena, and more powerful means, forming a continuous upward spiral. For example, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics were born from the need to improve internal combustion engine efficiency during the First Industrial Revolution. The development of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics in turn drove innovations in basic theories such as quantum mechanics; quantum mechanics gave rise to modern information technology, and information technology in turn provided powerful tools for basic research.
Having devoted myself to quantum information research for over twenty years, looking back on the path our team has traveled — from the Micius quantum science experiment satellite to the Jiuzhang and Zuchongzhi quantum computing prototypes — every leap began with basic scientific questions oriented toward long-term strategic goals. Basic research is not only the source and foundation of original breakthroughs; it is also our strongest confidence for seizing future industry tracks and achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening.
More than twenty years ago, when we proposed using a quantum satellite platform to realize thousand-kilometer-scale quantum communication, there was no successful precedent internationally, and many people thought it was 天方夜谭 (tiān fāng yè tán — “Arabian Nights tale,” a fantastic or impossible story). A fantastic story is sometimes the starting point of scientific research; daring to explore goals that no one has achieved before is precisely the meaning of basic research.
Early this year, our team successfully pushed the stability and uncertainty indicators of the strontium atomic optical lattice clock comprehensively beyond the 10⁻¹⁹ order of magnitude. This means the optical clock can reach its system uncertainty limit within a shorter measurement time, making it applicable to time standards, precision navigation, geodesy, and other fields. This achievement marks that the level of our country’s research in the field of time precision measurement has entered the international forefront.
Many people ask me why we expend so much effort to develop a strontium atomic optical clock that can achieve “an error not exceeding one second in 30 billion years.” Our goal is not merely to pursue an ultimate number; it is also to redefine the basic unit of time, the “second,” and to control our own sovereignty over time measurement. By combining ultra-high-precision optical clocks with advanced technologies developed from quantum communication, we can construct a wide-area network for transmitting high-precision time standards. In the future, this will allow us to monitor minute deformations of the Earth’s crust, provide early warnings of volcanic activity, and even offer new methods for detecting gravitational waves and searching for dark matter, all with unprecedented precision.
Starting from the fundamental properties of light quanta and atoms, we have developed ultimate information security transmission and time precision measurement technologies, and these technologies in turn provide a new platform for exploring the basic principles of physics. Our research work fully embodies the cycle in which “basic research drives technological progress, and technological progress nourishes basic research.”
Today, our country’s development in the three major directions of quantum communication, quantum computing, and quantum precision measurement is attracting widespread attention and generating high social enthusiasm. This is the fruit of decades of hard work on the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. It shows that basic research determines how fast we can go and how far we can go.
Looking to the future, quantum science and technology is accelerating from the “laboratory economy” toward application. Quantum communication has already been preliminarily applied in fields such as finance and government affairs; quantum precision measurement is expected to first form industrial scale in areas like navigation and medical imaging. As for general-purpose quantum computing, it may still require 10 to 15 years or even longer, but it will undoubtedly bring about revolutionary changes for human society.
There are no shortcuts in basic research. Every step must be made by people groping forward bit by bit. Many people spend their entire lives in obscurity, yet they have taken risks and paved the way for those who come after them. This is the scientific spirit. Right now, we especially need a group of young people who dare to 仰望星空 (yǎng wàng xīng kōng — “look up at the starry sky,” to aim high and think boldly) and can also 脚踏实地 (jiǎo tà shí dì — “stand on solid ground,” to be down-to-earth and practical), willing to take root in basic research. Let them enter the “frontline” of scientific research as early as possible, let them be “battered” in major projects, let them be tempered in the most cutting-edge tasks — only then can they become a new force in scientific research capable of 独当一面 (dú dāng yī miàn — “shouldering one side alone,” to take charge of one’s own area).
I firmly believe that as long as we maintain our passion and patience for basic research, we will surely light up more lights of science and technology belonging to China, and contribute to nurturing and strengthening future industries and shaping new drivers of development.
(The author is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Executive Vice President of the University of Science and Technology of China. Interviewed and compiled by Yan Yiqiao (闫伊乔), a reporter of this newspaper.)
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 王 珏
On July 9, the Shanghai Museum (上海博物馆) welcomed the sixth major exhibition in its "Dialogue with the World" (对话世界) series of cultural relic and art exhibitions — "World Tree Summit: Great Exhibition of Ancient American Civilizations" (世界树之巅：美洲古代文明大展, hereinafter "Americas Exhibition"). This is the largest exhibition of ancient American civilizations in global history, and also another world civilization exhibition held by the Shanghai Museum following the "Pyramid Summit: Great Exhibition of Ancient Egyptian Civilization" (金字塔之巅：古埃及文明大展, hereinafter "Egypt Exhibition").
Previously, the 13-month-long Egypt Exhibition received a total of over 2.77 million visitors and drove comprehensive urban consumption exceeding 35 billion yuan — these figures are still repeatedly cited to this day.
In an era when the museum craze is burgeoning, why can the world civilization exhibitions launched by the Shanghai Museum continuously capture the interest of audiences? And what can the high-quality development of museums bring to the city?
Exchange and mutual learning, turning "one exhibition" into "a two-way cultural exchange channel"
On July 9, at the Shanghai Museum's People's Square venue, the Americas Exhibition officially opened its doors. At the entrance, corn sown more than a month ago had grown to waist height; a gentle breeze passed by, the leaves rustling, allowing every visitor entering the museum to feel, amid the corn grove, the breath of the "corn civilization" of the Americas. Inside the hall, a lush, gnarled "world tree" greeted visitors as they walked into the exhibition hall, embarking on a cross-temporal and cross-spatial dialogue of civilizations.
This is the sixth exhibition in the Shanghai Museum's "Dialogue with the World" series, and also the largest exhibition of ancient American civilizations in global history.
"What did the Shanghai Museum do right? And how could it do even better?" Chu Xiaobo (褚晓波), director of the Shanghai Museum, recalling the previous 13-month-long Egypt Exhibition and looking ahead to the 16-month-long Americas Exhibition, found this question recurring in his mind.
For a long time, major exhibitions of overseas cultural relics introduced domestically in China have mostly relied on European and American museums to export their collections and narrative frameworks.
"In the past, when we looked at foreign cultural relics, we were often looking at stories told by Western curators," said Chu Xin (褚馨), head of the Exhibition Department at the Shanghai Museum. The Shanghai Museum broke the industry's established model, viewing world civilizations through the eyes of Chinese scholars, while simultaneously exhibiting Chinese cultural relics in the same exhibition, allowing two ancient civilizations to engage in direct dialogue.
The Egypt Exhibition was independently curated in collaboration with Chinese scholars, including Yan Haiying (颜海英), a professor in the Department of History at Peking University. Yan Haiying introduced that the curatorial team prepared a year and a half in advance, made multiple field trips to Egypt to survey and select artifacts, and ultimately borrowed 788 precious cultural relics from seven key Egyptian museums and the Saqqara archaeological site, of which over 95% came to Asia for the first time.
Large stone sculptures from the era of Tutankhamun recounted the glory of the pharaonic dynasties; bronze statues of the cat goddess Bastet and cat mummies revealed the mysterious and intimate spiritual world between ancient Egyptians and animal worship... The exhibition was divided into three units: "The Realm of the Pharaohs" (法老的国度), "The Secrets of Saqqara" (萨卡拉的秘密), and "The Era of Tutankhamun" (图坦卡蒙的时代).
"This is not a simple introduction of cultural relics, but an equal dialogue of civilizations spanning mountains and seas," said Chu Xiaobo. He indicated that the exhibition's ability to break conventions and win audience affection lay mainly in "superior content, a fresh perspective, and a rare opportunity," supplemented by localized academic interpretation, allowing audiences to truly grasp the charm of a foreign civilization.
For this Americas Exhibition, the Shanghai Museum continues to insist on Chinese-led narrative planning, co-curating with international teams, and constructing a context for equal and mutually beneficial civilizational dialogue. At the same time, it draws on the mature experience of the Egypt Exhibition in artifact selection, academic compilation, and exhibition layout to create a new special exhibition that combines scarce collections with an Eastern interpretive perspective.
More importantly, the exhibition serves as a medium to form long-term cooperative ties.
As early as during the preparation of the Egypt Exhibition, the Shanghai Museum began considering the feasibility of conducting joint archaeological excavations in Egypt. Chen Jie (陈杰), deputy director of the Shanghai Museum, explained that taking the Egypt Exhibition as an opportunity, the Shanghai Museum and the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities jointly launched archaeological excavations in the Memphis region — the first time a Chinese archaeological team has deeply participated in archaeological work in Egypt's oldest core site area.
And during the preparation of the Americas Exhibition, the Shanghai Museum has already finalized a new round of civilizational mutual learning landing projects, planning to hold a special exhibition on the traditional costumes of China's 56 ethnic groups in Mexico in 2027.
Taking the exhibition as an opportunity, the Shanghai Museum has established cooperation with Egypt, Mexico, and others in archaeological excavation, research, conservation, display, and utilization, building a cooperative mechanism in the field of Chinese and foreign cultural heritage, turning "one exhibition" into "a two-way cultural exchange channel."
Synergy among all parties, turning "one ticket" into "a consumption chain and an emotional chain"
"I thought the exhibition would be popular, but I didn't expect it to be this popular!" Recalling the grand occasion of the Egypt Exhibition, Chu Xiaobo admitted that it exceeded his expectations. The 200,000 early-bird tickets for the Egypt Exhibition sold out within 30 days, and over 300 open days averaged more than 8,000 visitors per day.
The pre-sale record of the Egypt Exhibition is being replicated, and even surpassed, by the Americas Exhibition. Early-bird tickets exceeded 10,000 within 40 minutes of going on sale, breaking the Egypt Exhibition record, and overall pre-sales for various ticket types far exceeded expectations. On opening day, crowds surged into the museum.
According to statistics, in the Americas Exhibition, nearly 3,000 artifacts, with the "world tree" as the main thread, present the essence of American civilizations such as Olmec, Maya, and Inca. Key exhibits include a 4.5-ton colossal head, the Calakmul Stela, and others.
However, the Shanghai Museum team knew that what truly allowed the exhibition to "break out of its circle" was not just the artifacts.
From the Egypt Exhibition to the Americas Exhibition, a vast "cultural consumption ecosystem" has been built.
First, there are cultural and creative products. The Egypt Exhibition launched over 1,200 types of cultural and creative products, from refrigerator magnets and badges costing tens of yuan to replica statues costing several hundred yuan. For the Americas Exhibition, the number of cultural and creative product categories will exceed 3,000 — more than double.
"We followed the principles of the Egypt Exhibition: first, price-friendly — over 70% of products are priced under 100 yuan; second, culturally relatable — we want to turn symbols from thousands of years ago into products that can provide emotional value today and that young people are willing to show off online," said Feng Wei (冯炜), director of the Cultural and Creative Center at the Shanghai Museum. During the Egypt Exhibition, total sales of cultural and creative products exceeded 3 million items, with total revenue from cultural and creative products reaching 440 million yuan.
Educational activities simultaneously "broke down walls." Shi Weichen (石维尘), director of the Education Department at the Shanghai Museum, said the breakthrough lay in shifting from "waiting for visitors to come" to "door-to-door service." The team "lightened" the major exhibition and brought it into communities. In 2025, the "Pyramid Summit" (金字塔之巅) pictorial exhibition entered communities. The project precisely matched Shanghai's "15-minute community life circle" (15分钟社区生活圈), covering 100,000 person-visits in two years. "Let citizens of different ages and occupations feel the charm of civilization at their doorstep, making the museum truly a source that nourishes urban life," said Shi Weichen.
The exhibition's heat continued to rise, testing the museum's refined services. During the Egypt Exhibition, the Shanghai Museum proactively broke through the limitations of venue opening hours, adding 220 evening sessions cumulatively, and in the final week, it set a global museum record by being open 168 hours non-stop. Some visitors left messages on social media: "The museum at 3 a.m. was still warm and bright, and the staff smiled as they handed us drinking water as we waited through the night."
"The heat of the exhibition comes from quality content; the warmth of the exhibition comes from attentive service," said Li Hua (李华), head of the Open Department at the Shanghai Museum. The Shanghai Museum adheres to an operational philosophy of "audience-centered," establishing a routine audience research mechanism, relying on questionnaire data to create precise profiles and dynamically optimize services, upgrading a single visit experience into a full-time, personalized, warm cultural consumption scene, ensuring that blockbuster exhibitions maintain long-term appeal.
What is even more noteworthy is that the exhibition drove urban consumption. During the Egypt Exhibition, the Shanghai Museum partnered with China Eastern Airlines to launch a "flight ticket + admission ticket" package, collaborated with a cruise company to create the "Shanghai Museum" ancient Egyptian-themed cruise ship, and joined with commercial districts to launch a "one ticket, multiple benefits" campaign. According to third-party estimates, the exhibition drove comprehensive urban consumption exceeding 35 billion yuan — equivalent to every 1 yuan in ticket revenue generating nearly 48 yuan in urban consumption.
The Americas Exhibition pushes the cross-boundary logic to a new height. The Shanghai Museum innovatively launched a "five-things linkage" (五物联动) model linking cultural relics, people, animals, plants, and food, cooperating with the Shanghai Zoo to create a "World Tree Spirit" (世界树之灵) Americas animal exhibition area, collaborating with the World Expo Cultural Park Greenhouse Garden to present a "World Tree Realm" (世界树之境) agave grand exhibition, and working with the Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden to create a "World Tree Root" (世界树之根) maize crop exhibition area — each section offering joint tickets.
"The five-things linkage transforms the museum from an isolated cultural space into a comprehensive experiential field linking commercial districts, parks, and waterways," said Kong Ning (孔宁), head of the Office at the Shanghai Museum. After viewing the exhibition, audiences can seek out macaws, explore agaves, or board themed cruise ships — creating a complete consumption chain and emotional chain.
Gao Menghe (高蒙河), professor in the Department of Cultural Heritage and Museology at Fudan University, said that through its phenomenal exhibitions, the Shanghai Museum, by means of "full-end linkage" (全端式联动) involving the main body, content, channels, activities, and products, has innovated the system for transmitting and promoting the cultural value of Chinese museums.
System support, turning "the success of one museum" into "the ecology of one city"
The phenomenal success of the Egypt Exhibition is by no means the "single-handed breakout" of the Shanghai Museum, but rather the result of Shanghai's top-level empowerment, integrated urban-rural cultural and museum linkage, and the safeguarding of a supportive policy system. Through institutional innovation, resource sinking, and pairing assistance, Shanghai has enabled top-tier cultural and museum resources to move out of the central urban areas and empower grassroots venues.
Currently, Shanghai has incorporated the museums of five new towns — Qingpu, Jiading, Songjiang, Fengxian, and Nanhui — into the city's overall cultural and museum layout, coordinating the allocation of collection resources, talent, curatorial experience, and promotion channels to promote the balanced sinking of high-quality public cultural resources. At the same time, Shanghai has innovated incentive policies for the distribution of income from cultural and creative development, allowing pilot units to use cultural and creative revenue for personnel incentives and project reinvestment, thereby activating the innovation vitality of museums across the entire region.
Taking Metro Line 17 from downtown Shanghai to Qingpu New City, the Qingpu Museum (青浦博物馆) is situated in a garden. Entering the exhibition hall of the Qingpu Museum, the special exhibition "Stars Shining over the East: Qingpu Archaeology and the Origins of the Yangtze River Delta Civilization" (星耀东方·青浦考古与长三角文明探源) brings together 148 artifacts from nine institutions in the Yangtze River Delta, including the Shanghai Museum. As visitors pause and take it in, they can appreciate the life of ancient people 6,000 years ago; painted pottery pigs, four-legged square pots, and Liangzhu jade cong appear on the same stage, confirming the millennia-old cultural roots of the Yangtze River Delta.
"In the past, district-level museums, limited by artifact resources, curatorial capacity, and academic teams, found it difficult to create exhibitions that could break out of their circles; most were limited to routine displays and small temporary exhibitions," said Wang Zheng (王正), director of the Qingpu Museum. The cultural and museum cooperation between the Shanghai Museum and Qingpu District is not a simple "sinking of resources," but a deep embedding that transcends the traditional "city museum leading district museum" model, forming a comprehensive, deep-level strategic symbiotic relationship.
Wang Zheng explained that from the content output of inter-museum linkage, to the institutional support of pre-archaeology, to the strategic site selection planning of the Shanghai Museum's west wing, the Shanghai Museum is becoming a solid backbone for the development of Qingpu's cultural and museum undertakings.
From passively receiving resources to actively incubating distinctive exhibitions, from a small grassroots venue to a regional cultural landmark, the transformation of the Qingpu Museum is a vivid microcosm of the comprehensive ecological upgrade of Shanghai's cultural and museum sector.
Today, a comprehensive cultural and museum development matrix has taken shape, with the Shanghai Museum as the flagship and various distinctive venues as extensions.
The dividends of resource sinking and full-region linkage continue to be released. In 2025, on average, there is one museum for every 145,000 people in Shanghai; total revenue from cultural and creative products of museums in the city exceeded 221 million yuan; and the proportion of non-local visitors to the city's museums rose to 67.89%.
From independent curation to build Chinese narrative authority, to refined services that uphold the warmth of museums, to deep cultivation of cultural and creative works to unleash IP value, to cultural-commerce-tourism linkage to activate the urban economy, and to institutional empowerment for full-region linkage with top-tier resources revitalizing the grassroots ecosystem — this ongoing breakout cultural and museum practice also proves that museums can be: windows for civilizational exchange, gateways for urban cultural tourism, and fulcrums for cultural empowerment.
"The museum is no longer an isolated venue, but a nerve center embedded in the cultural tourism industry chain, capable of playing a greater role," said Chu Xiaobo.
Return to TopBy: 傅录志
Calligraphy is rooted in Chinese characters, is an important carrier of the Chinese cultural lineage, embodies national spirit and Eastern aesthetics. Its vitality lies not only in professional exhibition halls, but more in integrating into daily life and benefiting the common people, achieving an organic unity of aesthetics and utility.
The Chinese cultural lineage has always stressed “taking practical use as the foundation, taking clever ornamentation as the dregs.” Confucius advocated “wandering in the arts,” maintaining that art should be integrated into life and beauty seen in daily use. The classic calligraphic works of every dynasty all originated from application: Wang Xizhi’s Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion (《兰亭集序》) of the Eastern Jin dynasty was the preface to an elegant gathering of poetry; Yan Zhenqing’s Draft of a Eulogy for My Nephew (《祭侄文稿》) of the Tang dynasty was a grief-filled funeral oration; Su Shi’s Cold Food Observance in Huangzhou (《黄州寒食帖》) of the Song dynasty was an expression of frustration. These “three greatest running-script calligraphy works in the world” all arose from everyday writing and reached the realm of art through practical use. The cultural tradition that art thrives through use and is transmitted through use continues to this day: in the brushwork of literati, Fu Lei’s Family Letters (《傅雷家书》) were written casually and yet the calligraphy is elegant and meaningful; in public spaces, the names of Nanjing metro stations were personally inscribed by contemporary famous masters, and many squares, parks, and cultural tourist sites also commonly display calligraphic ink traces; in traditional customs, street and alley plaques, ancient building couplets, and festive couplets exude a rich scholarly fragrance; in modern design, clothing patterns, packaging visuals, and creative bookmarks integrate the artistic conception of calligraphy, overflowing with a charm of Chinese style. Thus calligraphy steps out of temples and high halls, enters the world of common life, transmits the warmth of the cultural lineage through daily application, and nourishes a broader and deeper social foundation.
At present, influenced by the prevalence of digital input, the stratification of artistic creation into circles, and the scarcity of application scenarios, calligraphy seems to be gradually drifting away from marketplace daily use, and its cultural diffusing power and degree of connection to life appear to be continuously weakening.
Contemporary calligraphy encounters three major challenges in terms of application. First, as smart writing becomes widespread, the frequency of traditional handwriting continuously decreases, and the practical function of calligraphy steadily weakens; calligraphic works are mostly concentrated in professional venues such as art museums and painting-and-calligraphy academies, while ordinary spaces such as street signs and community notices rarely show the charm of brush and ink. Second, some authors excessively pursue visual impact, neglecting the depth of brush-and-ink technique and spiritual connotation, causing the works to possess only outward form but no inner verve, making it difficult to move people or evoke resonance; there are even those who seek novelty and ostentation, exaggeration and weirdness, sparking controversy. Third, the distribution of teaching faculty for calligraphy education and training is uneven, and the supply at the grassroots level is especially weak. In the process of dissemination and popularization, emphasis is placed on technique and light on application, the value of regular writing is overlooked, so it cannot meet actual needs, making it hard to build a long-term support system, thus constraining the vital energy of calligraphy in application.
How to activate calligraphy’s contemporary vitality? The answer is that calligraphy must 与时俱进 (yǔ shí jù jìn – “advance with the times”), broadening application scenarios.
From ancient times to the present, calligraphy has always resonated in step with the times. In the Qin dynasty, Li Si’s “Engraved Stone on Mount Yi” (峄山刻石) praised the unification of the state, bearing witness to the civilizational process of “unifying the written script.” In the Qing dynasty, Zuo Zongtang inscribed the “Monument of Heaven and Earth’s Righteous Qi” (天地正气碑), manifesting the responsibility of family and country. Today, the Guangzhou Branch of the China National Archives of Publications and Culture has launched the “Yongle Encyclopedia Style” (永乐大典体) font library, using digital technology to let the calligraphy of Ming-dynasty rare books from deep storage move into thousands of trades and hundreds of professions; the emblem of the Changchun 2027 Winter Universiade takes the cursive-script character “长” (chang) as its morphological base, organically blending the lines of calligraphy with the spirit of ice-and-snow sports; the Palace Museum digital collections, the Xi’an Stele Forest VR (virtual reality) cloud exhibition hall, Dunhuang digital study tours, school smart calligraphy classrooms, and more, use technology to break through the constraints of time and space, allowing ancient calligraphy to span millennia and be presented anew within reach.
Brush and ink follow the times; applications spark new vitality. Calligraphy should step out of halls, take root in life, and serve the masses. From vast public exhibitions to folk daily use, from offline carriers to digital dissemination, promote calligraphy’s deep integration into fields such as education, culture and tourism, design, and technology, build a “calligraphy+” integrated application model, blend ancient and modern in diverse scenarios, revitalize inheritance, and let the millennium ink flame be perpetuated forever, 历久弥新 (lì jiǔ mí xīn – “the longer it lasts, the newer it becomes”).
Return to TopBy: 本报记者 宋朝军
In Guweihe Village (固堆河村), Changjiahe Town (常家河镇), Tongwei County (通渭县), Dingxi City (定西市), Gansu Province, Liu Mancang (刘满仓) is busy with the summer harvest while also managing shadow puppetry. From birth to adulthood, over more than 60 years, he grew up watching shadow puppetry, learning the singing tunes by imitation, becoming the seventh-generation inheritor of Tongwei Liu-style shadow puppetry (通渭刘氏皮影戏), and becoming a national-level representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage “shadow puppetry (Tongwei Shadow Tone)” (皮影戏（通渭影子腔）).
In the mountain hollows, how did an intangible cultural heritage passed down for over 200 years emerge? It turns out that the local shadow puppetry is commonly called “Tongwei Shadow Tone” (通渭影子腔) and “Lamp Opera” (灯戏). According to Liu Mancang’s family records, his family had already begun performing shadow puppetry in the surrounding area during the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty. When local families had major events or happy occasions, they would invite a shadow puppetry troupe to perform, gradually forming a custom.
“Shadow Tone is generally sung in our local dialect, while also absorbing some elements of Qinqiang, folk songs, etc., thus forming Tongwei’s unique shadow puppetry singing style, which has been passed down and become ‘Tongwei Shadow Tone,’” Liu Mancang explained.
Passed down through generations, the performance environment has changed, the stories have become richer, but the splendor of the performance has remained consistent. Within this splendor, the most distinctive feature is the unique performance method of Tongwei Shadow Tone actors. A single performance often lasts more than three hours. Liu Mancang must both manipulate the shadow puppet characters and simultaneously sing. Throughout, Liu Mancang’s hands never stop moving and his mouth never stops humming.
“A shadow puppet is generally manipulated with three wooden sticks. You set up the character in hand on the screen with the sticks, while your mouth is still singing its lyrics, but your hand has already turned to the side, picked up the next character, and is preparing to bring it on stage.” Liu Mancang is busy like this. At most, one character’s body needs to change head pieces seven times (the head image of the shadow puppet); one figure has 13 joints, all of which must be manipulated and replaced on time; the sheng, dan, jing, mo, and chou roles are concentrated in one person. The tense rhythm tests not only his familiarity with the plot and characters but also his singing skill.
In a performance, the show itself is only the final link. From preparation to finishing and packing up, it covers all aspects and elements. Liu Mancang carries on the tradition by participating in everything from the very beginning, merging himself with shadow puppetry.
This full participation is based on Liu Mancang’s experience of learning with the troupe since childhood. In the 1970s, he followed his grandfather to learn playing the crash bells, playing the slapping board, singing supporting roles, and making shadow puppet pieces. In 1980, he was recruited by the Changjiahe Town Qinqiang Troupe of Tongwei County. In 1986, he returned home to inherit Liu’s shadow puppetry troupe.
“I collect and organize the scripts, I draw the line scores and sketches, I carve the shadow puppets knife by knife, and during performances I sing scene by scene for everyone…” Liu Mancang enumerated. Over 100 dusty traditional repertoire scripts, over 1,000 precious shadow puppet line scores, and over 2,000 finely carved shadow puppet pieces not only record the rich connotation of Tongwei Shadow Tone but also carry Liu Mancang’s growth process.
The essence handed down cannot be lost, and the current technology, audience, and market also need to be taken seriously. Through exchange and learning with peers of different opera genres and different regions of shadow puppetry, Liu Mancang has added some “new flavors” to Tongwei Shadow Tone.
“A flower petal was originally painted flatly with one color. Now, through reasonable color matching and gradual transition, isn’t the whole flower more lifelike?” Pointing to a pattern on a shadow puppet, Liu Mancang recalled the gradient color technique he learned from a peer during a meeting and exchange in Beijing a few years ago.
Originally, Liu Mancang only used one carving knife to carve cowhide. Now he has learned the making techniques of Shaanxi shadow puppetry and uses more than ten carving knives of varying widths and lengths, making the character details more exquisite.
In the midsummer season, the honeysuckle in Liu Mancang’s home is at the perfect time for picking, and the wheat is about to be harvested. After finishing the farm work, it becomes the peak period for invitations from surrounding areas for him to perform. Every day after returning from farm work, Liu Mancang tidies up his performance tools. Pointing to the performance box, he said with emotion: “From the wooden box at the beginning to the iron box now; from carrying on people’s backs and horses’ backs to being picked up and sent off by car, our Tongwei Shadow Tone can reach more and farther places, and more people will surely come to like it.”
Return to TopAnswering the "Pension Finance" Livelihood Question
Ying Weiwei (应惟伟), Assistant President and Board Secretary of Taikang Insurance Group
To actively respond to population aging, Taikang Insurance Group, based on its insurance main business, makes every effort to write a great article on pension finance and meet the needs of the people's livelihood.
In the traditional life insurance "payment end" and "investment end," it adds the medical, health, and care "service end," creating a "payment + service + investment" three-end synergistic model, and building a high-quality seamlessly connected full-life-cycle medical, health, and care service system.
In terms of pension fund finance, it continuously strengthens pension筹资 and payment capabilities. As of the end of 2025, Taikang manages approximately 1.3 trillion yuan in first-pillar and second-pillar retirement funds, and the management scale of third-pillar personal pensions ranks among the forefront of the industry.
In terms of pension service finance, Taikang Insurance Group's "Happy Appointment" (幸福有约) annuity product provides customers with strong pension protection, helping them achieve a high-quality later life. In terms of pension industry finance, it deeply cultivates the silver economy; the total number of pension beds, number of elderly care institutions, and number of hospitals rank among the forefront of insurance funds. As of the end of 2025, cumulative investment exceeded 700 billion yuan in the construction and operation of medical and elderly care entities, with the layout of "longevity communities + longevity medical care" entities exceeding 200, covering 56 cities. Currently, Taikang Community elderly care communities are laid out in 37 cities with 48 projects, with 24 locations and 30 homes opened, and the number of residents in elderly care communities exceeds 22,000. Taikang Insurance Group has built an "elderly care consortium" (养联体), radiating elderly care service capabilities to community and home-based elderly care scenarios on the basis of institutional elderly care.
At the same time, Taikang Insurance Group actively uses public welfare forces to promote the elderly care cause. Since its establishment eight years ago, the Taikang Yicai Public Welfare Foundation (泰康溢彩公益基金会) has focused on inclusive elderly care, empowering elderly care institutions, elderly care practitioners, and elderly care social organizations. It has currently funded 500 elderly care institutions, assisting in the construction of China's elderly care ecosystem and industry innovation.
(Arranged by People's Daily Online reporter Fang Jinglun (方经纶))
Closely Align with Customer Needs, Serve a Better Life
Zhang Min (张敏), Vice President and Chief Customer Officer, Chief Health Business Officer of AIA Life Insurance
Guided by policies and under the direction of regulatory authorities, AIA Life Insurance actively practices the concept of high-quality development, takes serving the people's "healthy, long-lasting, good life" as its brand commitment, and adheres to long-termism as its unchanging tenet.
Closely follow policy requirements and optimize the protection brand. For a long time, AIA Life Insurance has continuously promoted the research and development, sales, and service of various types of protection products, acting as a "protection expert" for customers, helping to release diversified insurance protection needs, with particular emphasis on implementation and innovative practice under policy guidance. For example, after the introduction of the personal pension system, the company promptly elevated related businesses to a strategic level for vigorous promotion. As of October last year, the number of customers exceeded 300,000, with a market share ranking among the forefront of the industry.
Closely align with customer needs and polish the service brand. As the people's pursuit of a better life continues to enrich, customer demand for insurance is gradually shifting from "post-event compensation" to "full-process companionship." To better meet customer expectations, since 2017, AIA Life Insurance has transformed to be "customer-driven," continuously improving customer experience. During the transformation process, the company has accelerated the construction of a "pension ecosystem" and a "health ecosystem." By cooperating with high-quality domestic and international upstream and downstream enterprises in the health and pension industry and medical institutions, AIA Life Insurance continuously extends the breadth and depth of health services and pension services.
In recent years, AIA Life Insurance has fully leveraged its advantages, increased investment in the mainland market, and further deepened its investment layout in the real economy of key cities. At the end of 2025, AIA Insurance Asset Management Co., Ltd. received approval for commencement of operations, becoming one of the first batch of wholly foreign-owned insurance asset management companies in Shanghai. AIA Asset Management will adhere to long-term value investment, enhancing the efficiency of fund utilization around stable returns, term matching, and diversified layout.
(Arranged by our reporter Qi Zhiming (齐志明))
Innovate Financial Services, Assist Enterprise Growth
Geng Li (耿黎), General Manager of the Inclusive Finance Business Department (Science and Technology Finance Center) of Postal Savings Bank of China
Postal Savings Bank of China adheres to its strategic positioning of serving agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, urban and rural residents, and small and medium-sized enterprises, building a new force in technology finance and supporting the growth and development of technology enterprises. As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, the balance of inclusive small and micro enterprise loans was 1.9 trillion yuan, and the balance of agriculture-related loans was 2.63 trillion yuan; the proportion of loans to technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises ranked among the top of large state-owned banks, with asset quality remaining excellent.
To do a good job in technology financial services, firstly, build professional organizations to strengthen service guarantees. Establish a Technology Finance Committee and a Technology Finance Center at the head office; set up over 100 technology finance professional institutions at branches, strengthening financial services for key technology industries. Secondly, upgrade the risk management model to solve service pain points. Apply the "look to the future" (看未来) risk control concept, launch the "technology flow" (技术流) evaluation model, and solve the problems of difficulty in accessing and measuring credit for high-growth technology enterprises. Thirdly, build a three-dimensional product matrix to meet full-cycle service needs. Use "Startup Loan" (初创贷) to serve startup enterprises, and rely on R&D loans, technology innovation loans, merger and acquisition loans, etc., to meet the financing needs of enterprises in the growth and maturity stages.
In the future, Postal Savings Bank of China will persist in promoting the organic integration of technology finance with inclusive, green, pension, and digital finance, assisting the growth of technology enterprises. First, technology integration with inclusive finance, insisting on serving small and micro enterprises, and continuously using the power of inclusive finance to promote the development of technology finance. Second, technology leading green finance, innovating low-carbon services, clearly identifying wind power, energy storage, new energy vehicles, etc., as encouraged industries. Third, technology supporting pension finance, improving the ecosystem, supporting biotechnology, elderly care robots, and other technology innovation areas of the pension industry. Fourth, digital intelligence driving development, improving service efficiency. Build the "Science and Technology Innovation Cloud Map" (科创云图) intelligent system tool, innovate the "Postal Savings Bank Financial Management+" (邮银财管+) series of services, and assist technology enterprises in achieving digital and intelligent transformation.
(Arranged by People's Daily Online reporter Fang Jinglun (方经纶))
Continuously Enhance the "Innovation" Power of Technology Finance
Ding Zhengjun (丁正君), Deputy General Manager of the Corporate Banking and Investment Banking Department of Bank of China
Bank of China regards doing a good job in technology finance as one of the important tasks of implementing national strategies and serving the real economy, establishing a differentiated evaluation system for science and innovation enterprises, a接力式授信 mechanism, and a multi-level organizational system of "Technology Finance Committee - Head Office and Branch Technology Finance Centers - Technology Sub-branches - Technology Finance Specialty Outlets," with the balance of technology loans growing steadily. On this basis, it deepens key areas, improves systems and mechanisms, and continuously enhances the "innovation" power of technology finance.
Closely align with national strategy and make systematic arrangements. Respond to the national "AI+" action deployment, build an ecological cooperation platform. Release the "Action Plan to Support the Development of the AI Industry Chain," assist a number of iconic AI (artificial intelligence) enterprises in listing on the capital market. Pioneer the "bond-loan linkage" model, launch "BOC Science Innovation Computing Power Loan" (中银科创算力贷) to support computing power, chip, and other technology enterprises, and participate in the construction of a "Computing Power Bank."
Closely align with emerging industries and provide full-chain services. To solve the financing difficulties of aerospace enterprises, rely on a global service network covering 64 countries and regions and the group's comprehensive operational advantages to build a service system covering the entire industrial chain including R&D, manufacturing, launch, networking, and application.
Closely align with service quality and efficiency, and implement digital and intelligent empowerment. Firmly implement financial technology innovation, establish an innovation R&D base in Xiong'an New Area, Hebei, deeply empowering operation and management with technological change. By integrating internal and external multi-platform data, help science and innovation enterprises achieve the digital goal of "more precise profiling, identifiable needs, reachable customers," and promote the transformation of customer marketing and credit initiation in the technology finance field from the traditional "looking at the past, emphasizing finance" to "investing in the future, emphasizing technology."
In the future, Bank of China will further support the construction of regional innovation systems, leverage the brand influence of "BOC Science Innovation+" (中银科创+), and contribute to high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, and the high-quality development of technology finance.
(Arranged by our reporter Wang Xinyue (王欣悦))
Improve the "Shanjian Technology" Financial Service System
Ji Jie (季节), Deputy General Manager of the Corporate Banking Department of China Construction Bank
China Construction Bank actively responds to the needs of national strategic development, deeply embedding financial services into the entire chain of integrated development of technological innovation and industrial innovation. The "Shanjian Technology" (善建科技) technology financial service system presents six major features and provides three sets of solutions.
First, understand technology, innovate the "technology flow" evaluation system, achieving "not looking at bricks but at patents." Second, know industry, leverage the advantage of engineering cost consulting qualifications, deeply cultivate "finance + consulting." Third, specialize in products, from the two dimensions of technology lifecycle and enterprise lifecycle, divide science and innovation enterprises into 9 customer groups, design differentiated exclusive product systems. Fourth, optimize solutions, develop full-category comprehensive service solutions. Fifth, full functionality, build a comprehensive financial service system such as "equity, loan, bond, insurance, lease." Sixth, broad coverage, services cover various entities including research institutions, technology enterprises, technology talents, technology parks, technology government agencies, etc.
Regarding the three sets of solutions, first is the full lifecycle service of science and technology, covering five stages: technology talent cultivation, scientific and technological innovation, transformation of scientific research achievements, development of technology industries, and operation of science and innovation ecosystems. Second is the full growth process service for science and innovation entities: in the startup period, do a good job of cultivation and growth; in the growth period, solidify chain-group support; in the maturity period, emphasize tailor-made solutions. Third is the full-function comprehensive service for the science and innovation ecosystem: gather resources inside and outside the group, build a ten major comprehensive hub function system, comprehensively utilize "equity, loan, bond, insurance, lease" and "financial + non-financial" services, and promote the integrated financial service of "education, talent, technology, industry."
In the next step, China Construction Bank will continuously improve the "Shanjian Technology" technology financial service system, and serve the country's high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening and the development of new quality productive forces with high quality.
(Arranged by our reporter Qi Zhiming (齐志明))
Science and Innovation Towards the Future, Finance Builds the Ecosystem
Pan Bei (潘蓓), Deputy General Manager of the Corporate and Institutional Business Department of Bank of Communications
Developing technology finance requires financial institutions to make changes in cognition, risk control, service models, etc.
Establish a value-creation-oriented investment banking mindset. Traditional banking looks at statements, collateral, and history; the main logic of credit thinking is risk avoidance. In contrast, establishing an investment banking mindset has the logic of value creation, looking at the team, the track, and the future.
Deeply study industries, grasp industrial laws, and promote the deep integration of technology, industry, and finance. It is necessary to deeply cultivate industrial tracks, follow the logic of upstream and downstream industrial chains, and accurately position and precisely profile enterprises. The banking industry has the ability to prevent and control risks while serving technology, achieving a virtuous cycle of technology, industry, and finance and its own high-quality development.
Improve science and innovation financial products, transforming from "single credit" to "full lifecycle service." Bank of Communications, around the development path of enterprises in the startup, growth, and maturity stages, specifically adapts diversified financial products and services such as talent loans, science and innovation incubation loans, and science and innovation growth loans.
Utilize artificial intelligence technology to support technology finance. The use of big data and model agents can help banks improve the professionalism of financial services. Bank of Communications and the Torch Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly build a joint laboratory, innovating the active credit service model. In addition, we also carry out data co-construction in Hangzhou, Zhejiang; Shenzhen, Guangdong; Xiamen, Fujian, and other places, fully tapping the value of data.
Adhere to "investing in people," and continuously forge Bank of Communications financial service talents who understand technology. In recent years, Bank of Communications has formed specialized research teams around the frontiers of science and innovation, cultivated composite talents who "understand the industry, understand enterprises, understand technology," trained "track managers," acted as "technology translators," and helped enterprises more efficiently obtain credit support.
(Arranged by our reporter Ye Chuanzeng (叶传增))
Build a High-Quality Development Model for Technology Finance
Gao Yuan (高远), Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Governor of the Xiong'an New Area Branch of the People's Bank of China
In Xiong'an New Area, Hebei, we adhere to policy coordination, information sharing, and risk sharing, and the "technology-industry-finance" virtuous cycle is accelerating. As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, the balance of technology loans in Xiong'an New Area increased by 43% year-on-year, 29 percentage points higher than the national average.
Introduce one plan. In April this year, we took the lead in formulating a three-year action plan for the high-quality development of technology finance in Xiong'an New Area, with annual task lists attached. We focus on promoting the first implementation of technology financial innovation products and services of major institutions in Xiong'an.
Establish a set of mechanisms. We jointly established a technology finance coordination mechanism with the Xiong'an New Area Industry and Information Technology, Science and Technology Data Bureau, breaking information silos, improving the quality and efficiency of using relending for technological innovation and technological transformation, and leveraging the joint force of financial and fiscal policies to provide fiscal interest subsidies for technology loans supported by relending.
Carry out a series of actions. Organize a major research action, deeply visit the headquarters of various financial institutions to learn from experiences, and identify the financing needs of enterprises; hold multiple government-bank-enterprise matchmaking events around science and innovation platforms; actively introduce various innovative credit enhancement measures to help science and innovation enterprises "get financing and take root" in Xiong'an.
To support the stable and long-term development of the technology industry, we will continue to make efforts. Based on the unique positioning of undertaking relief functions, promote the interconnection of innovation chain, industrial chain, and capital chain. Continuously improve the technology finance coordination mechanism, and further do a good job in institutional innovation and policy supply. Accelerate the construction of a characteristic technology financial ecosystem in Xiong'an New Area, making simultaneous efforts in three dimensions: institutions, products, and promotion.
Looking ahead to the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan" period, we will, with a higher position and more concrete measures, promote more financial capital to "support Xiong'an and support technology," building a high-quality development model for technology finance.
(Arranged by our reporter Li Tielin (李铁林))
Deeply Integrate into the Overall Development of Xiong'an New Area
Jin Huiqing (靳会轻), Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Governor of Bank of China Hebei Branch, concurrently Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Bank of China Hebei Xiong'an Branch
Serving the construction of Xiong'an New Area, Hebei, is a major political responsibility and glorious mission for Bank of China. In recent years, Hebei Xiong'an Branch has deeply integrated its own development into the overall development of the New Area, building a comprehensive, multi-level, and precise financial service system.
Implement the exclusivity of technology enterprise services. The branch established a Technology Finance Center in June 2024, forming an exclusive service team with technological thinking and professional capabilities, responsible for technology enterprise marketing connections and project evaluation and approval. Relying on the "BOC Kuaten" evaluation system, improve risk control level and service quality.
Build a technology finance ecosystem. Continuously strengthen cooperative relations with innovation carriers such as Zhongguancun and Science Park, promote the brand building of the "BOC Science Innovation Ecological Partnership Plan" (中银科创生态伙伴计划), and on May 29, implemented the New Area's first "BOC Science Innovation Ecological Partnership Plan" activity.
Optimize the full-cycle product system. Establish a close collaborative linkage mechanism with subsidiaries such as BOC Asset Management and BOC Securities, focusing on building a technology finance product matrix; discuss the establishment of equity investment funds, striving to introduce more patient capital for technological innovation in the New Area.
We insist on promoting the leap of technology enterprise services from "experience-driven" to "intelligence-driven" through digital and intelligent means. On the one hand, seize the opportunity of central enterprise relief, use leading enterprises and data empowerment to solve financing difficulties. At the same time, "accurately profile" technology enterprises, empower information management, and use digital tools to solve development problems. On the other hand, serve the development of the computing power industry and create an inclusive and open ecosystem. In May, the head office, together with the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, formally signed a China Computing Power Platform Computing Power Bank cooperation agreement in Xiong'an. Our bank will take this opportunity to actively explore and build an open, safe, and inclusive new ecosystem for the computing power industry.
(Arranged by our reporter Yuan Jirong (苑基荣))
Take Root in Xiong'an, Deepen and Solidify Technology Finance
Xu Guoqin (徐国勤), Member of the Party Committee of Postal Savings Bank of China Hebei Branch, concurrently Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Postal Savings Bank of China Hebei Xiong'an Branch
Postal Savings Bank of China Hebei Xiong'an Branch continues to make efforts from three aspects: products, services, and platforms, supporting the innovative development of Xiong'an New Area with a high-quality and efficient technology financial service system.
Product innovation. Xiong'an Branch implemented the New Area's first "technology flow" loan, assisting science and innovation enterprise innovation through exclusive products such as "R&D Loan" and "Science and Innovation Loan."
Service upgrade. Relying on the custody of a 10-billion-yuan science and innovation mother fund, provide "investment-loan linkage" services for science and innovation enterprises; establish the first technology finance flagship store within the system, implement the bank's first "digital employee"; credit approval shortened from 4 days to 1 day.
Platform building. First, undertake the construction of a non-tax revenue blockchain system, pass the People's Bank of China regulatory sandbox test, with a market share of revenue collection exceeding 90%. Second, undertake the construction of a blockchain-based technology achievement transformation platform, with an expected annual transaction volume of 2 billion yuan. Third, directly connect with industrial internet platforms, helping enterprises obtain loans exceeding 5.5 billion yuan. Fourth, participate in the construction of trusted data spaces. Fifth, co-build a provincial-level foreign trade comprehensive service platform, covering 107 industrial clusters, serving tens of thousands of foreign trade enterprises going overseas.
Advancing into the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan," Postal Savings Bank of China Hebei Xiong'an Branch will, around the head office's digital and intelligent transformation requirements, deeply cultivate characteristic scenarios in Xiong'an: first, make data the "second credit report" for science and innovation enterprises, promoting the transformation of government affairs and intellectual property data into financial credit under safe and compliant conditions. Second, promote digital intelligence capabilities from pilot to normal, closely combining technical capabilities with scenario needs, achieving faster approval and more accurate risk control. Third, build an ecological closed loop of "government-bank-enterprise-investment-research" coordination, leveraging the advantages of China Post to explore relay-style services.
(Arranged by our reporter Qi Jiarun (祁嘉润))
Solve the Financing Pain Points of Technology Enterprises
Wu Qiang (吴强), Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Governor of China CITIC Bank Shijiazhuang Branch, concurrently Secretary of the Party Committee of China CITIC Bank Hebei Xiong'an Branch
China CITIC Bank focuses on solving the financing pain points of technology enterprises, promoting the deep integration of technology and finance, and assisting the "key leap" of technological innovation.
Launch a full-lifecycle financial support plan. Around the stages of enterprise seed, startup, growth, and maturity, provide targeted financial services. In April last year, launched the "Set Sail Plan - Technology Achievement Transformation Empowerment Action," introducing six key products including technology achievement transformation loan, scorecard loan, technology talent loan, option right loan, technology fixed asset loan, and technology merger and acquisition loan, accelerating the deep integration of finance and scientific innovation, and assisting the high-quality development of technology finance.
As of the end of 2025, China CITIC Bank's technology loan balance exceeded one trillion yuan, with over 90,000 technology enterprise accounts opened, and over 10,000 accounts opened for specialized and new "little giant" enterprises and manufacturing single champion enterprises, with a service coverage rate exceeding 97%.
Advancing into the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan," China CITIC Bank will fully implement the technology finance layout of "mainly equity investment, with equity-loan-bond-insurance linkage," assisting the stable and long-term development of the technology industry.
First, increase equity investment in industries, optimize long-term patient capital. Jointly set up special industry funds with local governments and industry leaders, accompanying enterprise growth with long-term capital.
Second, innovate equity-debt combination, broaden diversified financing channels. Collaborate with securities firms to provide capital market services for science and innovation enterprises; develop direct financing products such as science and innovation bonds and science and innovation notes, reducing comprehensive financing costs for enterprises.
Third, integrate various financial formats, build a "equity, loan, bond, insurance, lease" integrated service system, contributing financial strength to achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening.
(Arranged by our reporter Qi Jiarun (祁嘉润))
Return to TopBy: 诸 迪
Fine art is the preservation of national memory and the development of national spirit. The glorious history of the Communist Party of China is engraved in documentary archives and also condensed in artistic images. On the eve of July 1st, the “Glorious Course, Era Painting – Fine Art Exhibition Celebrating the 105th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China” (光辉历程 时代丹青) grandly opened in Beijing. Over 140 fine works covering many art categories such as Chinese painting, oil painting, printmaking, sculpture, and mixed media are displayed at the Museum of the Communist Party of China (中国共产党历史展览馆), with the Party history context as the skeleton and artistic creation as the flesh and blood, connecting the revolutionary flames, construction years, reform waves, and the magnificent process of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the new era. These works not only collectively demonstrate the fruitful creative achievements of the Chinese art world in recent years in deeply cultivating major themes and taking root in the fertile soil of reality, but also present the century-long inheritance and innovative evolution of realist art in China.
The realist creative paradigm of composing the nation’s destiny with brush and ink and carrying the narrative of family and country with images has become the conscious pursuit of most artists in the modern transformation of Chinese art, and is also the creative root vein passed down through generations, 薪火相传 (xīn huǒ xiāng chuán – “pass the torch from one to another,” to pass on the flame), and ever-renewing, 历久弥新 (lì jiǔ mí xīn – “long-lasting and ever-new,” enduring and constantly renewed), under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Since the 1930s, the left-wing art trend represented by the “New Woodcut Movement” (新兴木刻运动) not only laid the realist foundation of modern and contemporary Chinese art, but also forged the people-oriented vision of art workers taking root in the masses and real life.
After the founding of New China, realist art creation shifted from the salvation consciousness of the artist community to a systematic and institutionalized artistic construction characterized by state-coordinated thematic art creation projects. During this period, a large number of art workers focused on grand themes such as major historical events, revolutionary heroes, and scenes of socialist construction, creating epic masterpieces that transcend time and deeply resonate with the people, such as Dong Xiwen (董希文)’s oil painting “The Founding Ceremony,” Pan He (潘鹤)’s sculpture “Hard Times,” Zhan Jianjun (詹建俊)’s oil painting “Starting a Family,” and many others. Compared with the visual expression during the revolutionary period, realist art after the founding of New China not only displayed the new appearance of the people being masters of the country and the era’s atmosphere of unity and striving, but also realized the value sublimation of using art works to inscribe history and establish the heart and cast the soul.
Since the new century, with the careful organization and systematic promotion of projects such as the National Major Historical Theme Art Creation Project (国家重大历史题材美术创作工程) and the Chinese Civilization Historical Theme Art Creation Project (中华文明历史题材美术创作工程), thematic art creation has transformed from a single thematic call to a highly conscious academic construction. Especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, multiple thematic art creation activities such as the National Thematic Art Creation Project and the “Remain True to Our Original Aspiration and Keep Our Mission Firmly in Mind – Large-Scale Art Creation Project Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China” (不忘初心 继续前进——庆祝中国共产党成立100周年大型美术创作工程) have been continuously launched. Behind them, clear and rigorous academic thinking and value orientation have always run through, and their goal is to use art as a carrier to construct a complete and three-dimensional visual image history for the Party, the country, and the people. Through these creation projects and projects, realist art, on the basis of continuing the creative tradition, has achieved further expansion of artistic vision, expressive dimensions, and media language, both consolidating the solid historical foundation of Chinese art and nurturing the artistic character of generations of artists rooted in the people and life.
The works exhibited in this “Glorious Course, Era Painting” exhibition possess both historical depth and the temperature of the times, including both visual epics that look back on the revolutionary years and continue the red bloodline, and fine works that depict the great changes of the new era and highlight the principal position of the people. The vitality of historical painting is built on the artist’s transformation of abundant historical resources into highly internalized visual rhetoric. This requires the creator to have a clear subjective consciousness, to interpret the weighty historical text with profound individual thought, and to transform historical language into artistic language. For example, in this exhibition, Shen Yaoyi (沈尧伊)’s oil painting “The Zunyi Conference” avoids the conceptualized “group photo” schema, and through the rigorous deliberation of light and shadow in a closed space and the depiction of characters’ micro-expressions, transforms an epoch-making historical moment into a visual field full of psychological games and ideological confrontation.
History is written by the people, and the epic of the times is brewed on the vibrant land. Since the new era, art creation has advanced with the times, and the tension of subject matter and the embedding of ideas have become increasingly broad and abundant. Art workers have actively broken out of the inherent model of grand narrative, turning their gaze to the hot and vivid scenes of Chinese-style modernization construction, and the people and real life have become the main subject of artistic creation. As presented in this exhibition, Song Guangzhi (宋光智), Li Changxing (李长兴), and Qiao Luyao (乔路遥)’s “Shenzhen: Full of Vitality” relies on the unique texture of printmaking to depict the vigorous vitality of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone; Qi Haifeng (祁海峰)’s oil painting “Brilliant Xiong’an” depicts the grand blueprint of coordinated regional development in the new era; Lu Zhengyuan (卢征远)’s sculpture “Dynamic Energy” uses the spatial volume’s variation to highlight the enthusiasm of grassroots masses spontaneously participating in the “Village Super League” (村超). Compared with previous realist art creation, these works pay more attention to the contemporary interpretation of the spirit of the times, the micro-expression of the people’s perspective, and the diverse exploration of artistic language, demonstrating the artistic tolerance of the new era’s art that accommodates tradition and the contemporary. Especially in composing the great changes of the new era such as poverty alleviation, technological innovation, ecological civilization construction, and improvement of grassroots people’s livelihood, many art workers, with fresh observation perspectives and diverse artistic thinking, continuously expand the expressive boundaries of realist art, presenting unprecedented diversity and richness in artistic appearance. In this process, the vigorous creative practice also continuously cultivates a young creative echelon, and young art workers gradually grow into the backbone and main force of innovation.
Objectively examining from the current multicultural context, although realist art under the guidance of thematic art creation projects has achieved fruitful results, it also harbors several problems. For example, major historical theme creation easily slides into the trap of illustrating historical texts, concept-first, and hollowing out. Once creation is degraded to the mechanical collage of fragmented historical materials and the rigid pile-up of surface images, the weight of history itself and the spiritual appeal contained within it will inevitably dissipate. Facing the complex and vast reality, once creators superficially understand “going deep into life” as a naturalistic copy of daily appearances, the quagmire of photographic recording will appear, and even degenerate into a simple depiction and element collage of new objects such as high-speed trains, spacecraft, technology factories, and smart devices. This kind of image production lacking spiritual purification only captures the superficial appearance of real life, losing the excavation and contemplation of the deep connotations of the times, and will eventually lead to fragmentation and superficiality of works, thereby obscuring the ideological brilliance that realism should possess. When grand historical narrative becomes alienated from individual perception, the work degenerates into an empty illustration; when individual language exploration forgets the logic of the times and the life of the people, art will inevitably fall into a pale self-cycle.
True realism is by no means a direct reflection of nature. Artists must deeply integrate sincere life experience, personal schema language, and full real life, that is, abandon the mechanical tendency to illustrate historical and realistic elements, respect artistic laws, and reshape the visual code of the new era between historical objectivity and the subjectivity of artistic language. The establishment of this code is particularly urgent in the current context of digital floods and image proliferation. Machine algorithms may be able to easily assemble grand and cumbersome image scenes, but they cannot replace the creator’s bits of understanding and feelings refined from real historical texts and the hot soil of reality; technical means can infinitely simulate image symbols, but cannot complete the ideological infusion and aesthetic sublimation of the national spirit carried by the plastic art itself. In this dimension, the deep cultivation of thematic art creation in the new era is not only a visual reshaping of national cultural memory, but also a continuous tempering of the artist’s independent cultivation of mind, sincere life experience, and exclusive schema language. Using painting to forge history inevitably requires creators to deeply integrate the “small self” into the “big self” of creating images for the country and establishing biographies for the people. The code of thematic art creation lies exactly here.
The splendid chapters of the new era are slowly unfolding in continuous struggle. Art workers should always adhere to the “people-centered” (以人民为中心) creation orientation, balance the expression of the era’s propositions, the construction of individual language, and the aesthetic needs of the masses, and use more diverse, more profound, and more contemporary fine works to inscribe the magnificent journey of building a strong country and national rejuvenation, turning it into a spiritual force that spurs forward.
(The author is a member of the Leading Party Members Group and Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles)
Return to TopBy: 范 扬
To celebrate the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, red-theme fine art exhibitions are opening one after another in museums and art galleries across the country, and painting comes alive with splendor on the divine land. When we survey artistic practice from north to south of the great river, we find that the four-direction painting realm, brilliant and diverse, converges into one grand and majestic red symphony.
The four-direction painting realm is first embodied in the diversity of regional narratives. In Beijing, red-theme fine art exhibitions such as "Glorious Course & Era Paintings," "The People · Monument," "Gathering Hearts Together to Paint the Chinese Dream," and "Passing Down the Flame at its Source & The Great Path on a New Journey" each have their own characteristics, and the concentrated display of national-level thematic fine art creations and treasured collections becomes the solemn and authoritative prelude of this red symphony. In Tianjin, the "Art Heart Facing the Party" exhibition gathers more than 130 works in the categories of Chinese painting, oil painting, watercolor, calligraphy, and others; participating artists, rooted in the cultural lineage of Tianjin (津沽文脉), adhering to the artistic characteristics of the Tianjin school of painting's synthesis of south and north, China and the West, elegance and vulgarity, cherishing sincere emotions toward the Party, the country, and the people, look back at the arduous years of the revolutionary era and depict the everyday scenes of the people's happy lives. In Liaoning, relying on the "Six Locations" (六地) red culture, a visual epic is constructed through oil painting and sculpture. In Inner Mongolia, the large-scale thematic creation project "Red Inner Mongolia One Hundred Years" connects four historical stages, freezing the revolutionary flames on the grasslands into eternity on the canvas. In Hubei, the "Hubei Art Essence & Centennial Splendid Chapter" treasured collection exhibition looks back at revolutionary practice on the land of Hubei (荆楚大地), promotes the "Three Great Spirits" (三大精神), and injects into this red symphony the sonorous sound from the middle reaches of the Yangtze River... These paintings from different regions, beneath the same banner, converge into a chord of multiple resonances.
The four-direction painting realm also manifests its combined force through the deep variation of creative paradigms. How to make red-theme fine art creation break out of the rut of conceptualization and formulaicism, and sublimate from illustrating history to artistically re-presenting history? Creators in different places are giving different answers. The Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts (鲁迅美术学院) creates portraits of revolutionary predecessors who lack visual historical materials; while rigorously examining historical facts, it simultaneously attends to precision of appearance and elevation of spirit. Inner Mongolia art workers combine grand history with individual destinies, making historical narrative tangible and perceptible. Tianjin organized creators to go in batches deep into Jizhou (蓟州) villages, the Binhai New Area (滨海新区) industrial parks, central city old communities and other places for sketching and research; landscape painters use cinnabar and ochre to coordinate the tonal foundation of their paintings, endowing natural mountains and rivers with feelings for family and country and red connotations; figure painters, on the other hand, use meticulous and freehand techniques to depict the group portraits of entrepreneurial youth, front-line industrial workers, community-level workers, and others, reflecting the progress of the people's livelihood in a great era through the living conditions of small characters. These different artistic treatments are like the solo passages of different instruments in a symphony, each with its own charm, yet they echo each other under the main theme of "taking the people as the center"—the "Each beautifies its own beauty" (各美其美 - gè měi qí měi, "each brings out the beauty of its own kind") of the four-direction painting realm ultimately results in "beauties in common" (美美与共 - měi měi yǔ gòng, "all beauties being shared together") under the cohesion of the red theme.
The four-direction painting realm, moreover, through the spatial extension of exhibition forms, illuminates a broader world. Jiaxing, Zhejiang (浙江嘉兴) moved the "Ode to the Red Boat" (红船颂) painting exhibition into the high-speed rail station, transforming the waiting space into a "walking Party history lesson." Tianjin Museum (天津博物馆) integrates calligraphy and painting art with the study and education of Party history, constructing a red aesthetic education classroom. Tianjin Academy of Painting (天津画院), through supporting seminars and sketching exchange activities alongside exhibitions, realizes promotion of learning through creation and education through exhibitions, consolidating the reserve of local art talent. These innovations in dissemination methods are precisely like a symphony moving from the concert hall to the square and the cloud, allowing melodies that originally belonged to the hall to resound in a broader space and touch more hearts.
A century of Party history is vast and magnificent, and the mission of artists is precisely to compose the emotions of history and the people into inheritable visual poems with the brushes in their hands. From the systematic advancement of national thematic fine art creation projects to the conscious explorations of local academies of painting and artists associations, the four-direction painting realm has gained a shared soul because of the red theme; the red symphony has gained diverse voices because of the four-direction painting realm. Standing at the new starting point of the opening of the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan" (十五五), we look forward to this symphony continuing to sound new movements—let more warm, principled, and powerful paintings emerge, let the red bloodline live on ceaselessly in the flow of brush and ink, and let feelings for family and country be passed down through generations in the blending of colors.
(The author is the president of Tianjin Academy of Painting (作者为天津画院院长).)
Return to TopBy: 邬大勇
On the occasion of the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the "Glorious Journey, Era Danqing" fine arts exhibition is being held at the Museum of the Communist Party of China (中国共产党历史展览馆); simultaneously, the first phase of the "Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Action" (百千万行动) achievements exhibition under the theme "Art Heart to the Party, Art Beauty for Common Prosperity" (艺心向党 艺美共富) is also presented at the Zhejiang Exhibition Hall (浙江展览馆). Two exhibitions — one looks back at the Party's century-long journey in the historical depth of the national narrative, the other unfolds the vision of the new era from the real scene of the splendid transformation of Zhejiang under the guidance of the Eight-Eight Strategy (八八战略). As an exhibiting artist and a painter who has long participated in the creation of major national-themed fine arts, I prefer to regard them as a professional examination: today's thematic fine arts creation does not mean returning to established schemas or simply illustrating historical facts, but rather, between historical consciousness, the people's standpoint, and the ontology of painting, to reaffirm the artist's contemporary mission.
Thematic fine arts creation first of all concerns the visual transformation of historical consciousness. It cannot replace documentary research, but it can reconstruct historical scenes through images, giving major events, key figures, and spiritual convictions a form that can be seen and recognized. Many people's initial visual memories of major events such as the founding of the Party, the founding of the army, the Long March, and the founding of New China were precisely established through classic historical paintings. Paintings on Party history are not propaganda posters in the ordinary sense, but rather an extremely important pictorial tradition in the history of modern Chinese fine arts. They bear a public narrative function and also continuously test the painter's ability to handle the relationship among historical facts, emotions, imagination, and painting language.
China Academy of Art has a clear and continuous lineage in this tradition. From Mo Pu (莫朴)'s Taking the Party Oath, Li Binghong (黎冰鸿)'s Nanchang Uprising, Quan Shanshi (全山石)'s Unyielding and Eight Women Throwing Themselves into the River (八女投江), to Xiao Feng (肖峰) and Song Ren (宋韧)'s Daybreak (拂晓), the painters have always transformed major themes into painting problems: how to establish figures, how to organize space, how to restore the historical atmosphere through color tones, and how to pull the image from explanatory back to painterly through brushwork and materials. Quan Shanshi, in order to create Eight Women Throwing Themselves into the River, conducted in-depth field investigations and finally fixed the moment when ammunition was exhausted and the eight female warriors faced a life-or-death decision. Xiao Feng and Song Ren's Daybreak, set against the background of the liberation of Shanghai, treats "daybreak" as a dual image symbolizing both the dawn of the city and a historical turning point. These works show that the real power of major themes comes not only from the theme itself, but also from the spiritual weight formed after the theme is transformed into pictorial structure by the painter.
Over the past 20 years, the National Major Historical Theme Fine Arts Creation Project, the Zhejiang Major Theme Fine Arts Creation Project, and the talent cultivation mechanism of China Academy of Art have advanced together, bringing thematic fine arts creation into a new stage. The oil painting Setting Sail—The First Congress of the Communist Party of China by He Hongzhou (何红舟) and Huang Faxiang (黄发祥) does not merely reproduce the First Congress of the Communist Party of China, but presents the beginning of a political party moving from ideals to action through moist sky light, low-pitched tones, and the glances between figures. The oil painting Setting Sun—December 1937, Nanjing (残日——一九三七年十二月·南京) by Xu Jiang (许江), Sun Jinggang (孙景刚), Cui Xiaodong (崔小冬), and myself does not stop at photocopying photographs, but through a low-angle view from below the pit, composite space, and heavy color layers, positions the viewer in the position of witnessing history. These two works reveal that the key to contemporary major theme fine arts creation lies not in replicating history, but in reorganizing historical experience.
The advanced nature of the Communist Party of China constitutes the deepest spiritual source for Party history themed creation. But in painting, it cannot appear only as an abstract concept, nor can it replace truth with hollow grandiosity. Only through the strict transformation of realism can idealism become a spiritual force in the picture; only when politics enters the interior of form, color, space, figure relationships, and material language can it form aesthetic persuasiveness. In recent years, I have participated in the creation of works such as Red Tide—May Fourth Movement (红潮——五四运动) and Heroic Eulogy (英雄的礼赞), and I have come to feel ever more deeply that major themes bring the painter back to the ontological propositions of historical painting: how history obtains truthful presentation in the picture.
Therefore, the two exhibitions also remind us: thematic fine arts creation requires artists to place individual experience into the grand era, to invest professional skill into the construction of national narrative, people's lives, and historical memory. When the painter enters the creative scene of history, what needs to be handled is not only self-expression, but also how to participate in spiritual construction through professional capability. This ultimately must be realized in the judgment of historical materials, the refinement of sketches, the correction of images, and the management of color tones.
History does not automatically enter the picture, nor does the era spontaneously generate images. It requires the painter, with accurate judgment and sincere emotion, to reorganize the moments that constitute the collective memory of the nation into visual experience. The mission of Party history themed fine arts creation lies precisely here: to attest to history through pictures, to narrate history through art, and to engrave the memory of the Party, the nation, and the people with the true feelings of painting.
(The author is the Dean of the School of Painting and Drawing, China Academy of Art.)
Return to TopBy: 刘 红
On the shores of the South China Sea, the wind is strong and the tide surges. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge winds like a giant dragon over the Lingdingyang waters, not only reshaping the geographical pattern, but also promoting the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. A new chapter of prosperity, flowing light of brush and ink. As a classic work showcasing the great development achievements of Hong Kong since its return to the motherland, the Chinese painting Dragon Soaring over Hong Kong Bay (《龙腾香港湾》, partial view shown in figure) co-created by Li Xiang (李翔), Yang Wensen (杨文森), and Zhang Rui (张蕊), through innovative brush-and-ink language, shapes the soul for the grand blueprint and splendid scene of the Greater Bay Area, constructing a new realm of landscape aesthetics that combines Eastern poetry and the spirit of the times.
In contemporary thematic art creation, “Major national engineering + urban landscape,” as an innovative exploration of traditional Chinese landscape painting, implants modern scenes and the spirit of the times into traditional landscape, becoming a highly recognizable artistic expression. In the creative process, the team is no longer limited to the brush-and-ink language and imagery reproduction of traditional landscape painting, but instead incorporates more of modern people’s aesthetic emotions and life experiences, continuously attempts to use new materials, techniques, and forms of expression, so that the works retain both the charm of traditional landscape and the epochal tension of grand narrative.
To open up a new aesthetic realm for landscape painting, the team combines fine brushwork with freehand brushwork, integrating natural landscape, modern architecture, urban culture, and the majestic aura of super-engineering into one, depicting a scene where mountains and sea depend on each other, and bridges and city coexist. The composition is open, the layers are clear, and the opening and closing are well-proportioned. At the visual focal point, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge spans the blue waves; traffic flows unceasingly on the bridge, and shipping is busy under the bridge. The team uses lines that 刚柔并济 (gāng róu bìng jì - “combine strength and softness,” using both firmness and gentleness) to outline the bones and tendons of the bridge structure, fully displaying the magnificent and robust character of the super-engineering, while intentional “broken strokes” or “reserved blankness” dissipate the cold texture of reinforced concrete, making the beauty of modern infrastructure’s power and the charm of traditional freehand brushwork 浑然天成 (hún rán tiān chéng - “merged into a natural whole,” perfectly integrated by nature).
The brush-and-ink shaping of the blue sea and misty waves best demonstrates the painter’s skill. The team uses light colors layered and dyed, employing brushwork of 虚实相生 (xū shí xiāng shēng - “the mutual generation of void and solid,” interplay of emptiness and substance) to delicately depict the beautiful scene of rolling clouds and water and glistening sea waves. The entire picture transitions naturally from cyan-green to blue-gray, fully displaying a sense of vastness. Distant mountains tinged with dark blue, clouds and mist ethereal; on both banks of the Xiangjiang River, tall buildings stand in rows, markets bustling with activity; the serene artistic conception of natural landscape and the prosperous scene of the modern city merge and coexist, injecting fresh contemporary connotations into traditional landscape culture.
In recent years, Li Xiang has led students with different professional strengths, researching different forms of innovation around the same theme. Apart from Dragon Soaring over Hong Kong Bay (《龙腾香港湾》), they have also created four Chinese paintings — Dragon Soaring over the Great Bay (《龙腾大湾》), Great Bay Soaring Dragon (《大湾腾龙》), Great Bay Soaring Giant Dragon (《大湾腾巨龙》), and Blue Sea Long Rainbow (《碧海长虹》) — that display the splendor of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge from different perspectives and directions.
The soul of landscape painting lies in artistic conception. The artistic conceptions of these five works all embody the intermingling of natural landscape and humanistic spirit. Dragon Soaring over the Great Bay (《龙腾大湾》) and Great Bay Soaring Dragon (《大湾腾龙》) skillfully combine the “three-distance method” (三远法) with the “broad-distance method” (广远法), placing rows of tall buildings 鳞次栉比 (lín cì zhì bǐ - “row upon row like fish scales and comb teeth,” densely packed) in the foreground; the agile S-shaped composition brings the splendid scene of the bay area into a panoramic view. Great Bay Soaring Giant Dragon (《大湾腾巨龙》) draws upon printmaking artistic techniques; the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in the center of the picture resembles a swimming dragon, winding into the distance, graceful and full of lyrical flavor; on both sides of the painting, construction scenes are specially designed, filling the picture with a sense of historical depth. The entire painting integrates scattered perspective and focal perspective, using the realm of mental imagery to poetically express the epochal significance of “Dragon Soaring over the Great Bay.”
Also a representative landscape work by Li Xiang and others, Blue Sea Long Rainbow (《碧海长虹》) continues and elevates the aesthetic paradigm of their bay-area landscape creation. The team combines blue-green landscape painting with modern artistic concepts, transforming myriad actual scenes into mental imagery, allowing subjective life emotions and objective natural scenes to intermingle and permeate each other, achieving the symbiosis of object image, temporal context, and mental state. In the picture, thousands of hectares of blue sea are vast and boundless, the cross-sea bridge is magnificent in momentum, the rocks along the coast are painted with freehand brushwork, vigorous and thick. The rising sun, layered with washes, injects vigorous vitality and warm tenderness into the entire scroll.
Ink dyes the meaning of mountains and sea; the painting depicts the soul of the bay area. The Dragon Soaring over Hong Kong Bay (《龙腾香港湾》) series of paintings fuse the elegance and refinement of natural landscape, the majestic grandeur of super-engineering, and the vigorous vitality of modern cities 熔于一炉 (róng yú yī lú - “melt in one furnace,” combine into one). These works have not only elevated the team’s creative level, but also completed an artistic sublimation from documentary depiction to shaping the soul, vividly interpreting the openness and inclusiveness of the Greater Bay Area’s spirit of the times, becoming classic works that record the new atmosphere of the Greater Bay Area.
Return to TopOil painting "Drinking from the Same River: The Source of the Yangtze River," by Yang Shaotong (杨少彤).
Return to TopBy: 陈 寰
On the seventh month, Yuelu Mountain is endowed with the finest spirits of nature (钟灵毓秀, zhōng líng yù xiù - “gathered essence and bred excellence,” exceptionally beautiful and inspiring). Climbing step by step from the Zibei Pavilion, the red walls of the Yuelu Academy come into view. Gazing at the couplet on the academy’s gate, 惟楚有材，于斯为盛 (wéi Chǔ yǒu cái, yú sī wéi shèng - “Only Chu has talent, and here it flourishes”), I cannot help but let my thoughts drift. I still remember that at the “Beauty of Chinese Characters” exhibition held by the Chinese Calligraphers Association at the end of last year, young calligraphers as a collective 挑大梁 (tiǎo dà liáng - “shoulder the main beam,” take on the leading role). This shift not only carries the earnest expectations of the industry for us young calligraphers, but also manifests the vigorous innovation and creative vitality of contemporary young calligraphers.
As a treasure of Chinese culture, calligraphy is by no means merely a skill for writing characters that has continued for several millennia; it is also an art form that bears the national spirit, aesthetic pursuits, and emotional expression. To inherit and carry forward the art of calligraphy is the bounden duty of young calligraphers. However, the Way of calligraphy is subtle and profound, not something that can be understood overnight. In my view, every upward step in calligraphic creation begins with downward rooting. This is both an attitude toward tradition and a path for responding to the times. For young calligraphers, very often because the roots are not planted deep enough, they easily fall into the predicament of “separation of text and ink” (文墨分离, wén mò fēn lí) and “supremacy of form” (形式至上, xíng shì zhì shàng).
To break free from this predicament, it is first necessary to deeply cultivate tradition with a reverent and humble heart, and to improve one’s own learning and cultivation. The ancients said, 书如其人 (shū rú qí rén - “the calligraphy is like the person”). The level of calligraphic art is closely related to the creator’s aesthetic taste, self-cultivation, and so on. To produce fine works, one must not only practice but also nourish — nourish the heart, nourish the nature, nourish the realm. In a fast-paced social environment, young calligraphers should all the more let themselves settle down, revere culture, revere Chinese characters, delve deeply into tradition to probe the mysteries of calligraphy, enrich their knowledge, cultivate their aspirations, and continuously elevate their spiritual realm.
To break free from this predicament, it is also necessary to engage in a deep dialogue between “using the present to renew the ancient” (以今焕古, yǐ jīn huàn gǔ) and “using the ancient to reflect on the present” (以古鉴今, yǐ gǔ jiàn jīn). From the early oracle bone script to the later five script styles, Chinese calligraphy has formed a complete aesthetic system over thousands of years of evolution. The “essence, spirit, and vitality” (精气神, jīng qì shén) in classic calligraphy discourses such as 意在笔先 (yì zài bǐ xiān - “the idea precedes the brush”) and 骨力风神 (gǔ lì fēng shén - “bone strength and wind spirit”) must be perceptively realized in the heart before they can be transformed into nourishment for today. “Using the present to renew the ancient” means to reactivate the spirit of traditional aesthetics with contemporary perspectives and emotions, manifesting its enduring and ever-renewing vitality (历久弥新, lì jiǔ mí xīn - “enduring long and becoming ever new,” gaining freshness over time); “using the ancient to reflect on the present” means to draw nourishment from traditional wisdom, providing a foundation of thought for solving current artistic issues and expanding creative space. The two-way interaction between the two helps to expand the expressive boundaries of calligraphic aesthetics.
Calligraphy has never been an art of working behind closed doors (闭门造车, bì mén zào chē - “shut the door and build a cart,” acting without regard for reality); its vitality lies in the calligrapher’s genuine perception of life and existence. Whether it is Wang Xizhi’s Preface to the Orchid Pavilion or Yan Zhenqing’s Draft for a Nephew’s Funeral, the reason they became classics is not only their superb calligraphic art but also the vivid breath of life and the thoughts and emotions they bear. For young calligraphers to achieve their individual artistic style, they should all the more step out of their studies to feel the fiery life of the times, enrich their life experience, and infuse emotional warmth into their ink. In practice, I have deeply felt that only by going deep into the sacred revolutionary sites can one better interpret the revolutionary spirit with brush and ink; only by going deep into the countryside to feel the magnificence of comprehensive revitalization can one write burning poems and essays. These journeys not only enrich the contemporary connotation of calligraphy but also cleanse the soul of the calligrapher.
致用 (zhì yòng - “to put to use”) is the highest realm of art. If personal creation is 独善其身 (dú shàn qí shēn - “cultivate one’s own virtue alone,” attending only to one’s own betterment), then promoting this ancient art to enter life and warm people’s hearts, enabling more people to gain aesthetic inspiration and spiritual nourishment through brush and ink, is the 兼济天下 (jiān jì tiān xià - “benefit the whole world,” caring for all under Heaven) that young calligraphers should undertake. Against the backdrop of the times advancing 社会大美育 (shè huì dà měi yù - “social grand aesthetic education”), young calligraphers must not only fix their eyes on exhibition opportunities; they must also actively think about how to make calligraphy truly “come alive” and “be used” in the present. Many young calligraphers have already begun to act. Some go into remote villages to write Spring Festival couplets for the villagers; some actively participate in volunteer teaching, sowing the seeds of calligraphic art on the vast rural earth; and many young calligraphers use new media platforms to carry out online exchange activities such as 每日一字 (měi rì yī zì - “one character per day”), teaching the beauty of Chinese characters to calligraphy enthusiasts in an easy-to-understand way. In the course of day-after-day dedication, the light of calligraphy not only illuminates the halls of art but also warms ordinary daily life.
Write while “walking”; take root in “serving.” The future narrative of the calligraphy enterprise is now being penned by the younger generation. Young calligraphers should live up to their youth and not waste their prime, constantly writing the most vibrant poems of this era with brush and ink full of vitality.
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