Nigeria Times

By Shao Yuzi, People’s Daily

In Cangxian county, Cangzhou, north China’s Hebei province, the humble jujube (red date) is undergoing a remarkable transformation, powered by big data and artificial intelligence. This region, renowned for its prized Jinsi (Golden Thread) jujube cultivated for over 3,000 years, is leveraging technology to innovate and revitalize its signature industry.

With vast orchards covering approximately 12,733 hectares and a major trading hub, Cangxian’s jujube sector is embracing digital tools. Local enterprises are utilizing big data analytics and AI to drive cross-sector innovation, leading to a surge in popular new products.

Beyond traditional sun-dried jujubes, producers now offer a diverse range including creamy stuffed dates favored by younger consumers and health-focused varieties infused with ingredients like codonopsis.

“Each year, we sift through 10,000 product ideas to create 1,000 samples. From those, 100 make it to trial sales, and based on real feedback, just 10 go into mass production,” said Wang Yunfei, general manager of Cangzhou-based jujube company Meizaowang, speaking at the company’s exhibition hall. Behind him, shelves overflowed with an array of jujube-based snacks and nut products.

Where do so many ideas come from? “Building on our existing research and development (R&D) system, we use a Recipe Engine powered by big data to generate creative concepts,” Wang explained. 

In 2023, he conceived the idea of integrating food product R&D with artificial intelligence. That same year, he partnered with a team from Fudan University to jointly develop the Recipe Engine.

“With the help of this big data model, a product concept can be generated in just 30 seconds,” Wang said. The system aggregates data on production processes, ingredient properties, formulations, and market demand, forming a multidimensional knowledge graph covering food technology, raw materials, and market trends. 

By dynamically analyzing content from e-commerce platforms, content-sharing platforms, and industry information websites, it can automatically generate new product ideas.

“The system can not only generate ideas on its own but also design products based on specific requirements.” Wang demonstrated by inputting a request: “Create a healthy snack featuring jujube, ginseng, longan, and goji berries as main ingredients.” Within moments, the system produced two product concepts, complete with ingredient ratios, product renderings, process parameters, packaging suggestions, and cost estimates.

“The Recipe Engine has transformed our traditional R&D model, shifting us from experience-driven to data-driven innovation, and significantly improving efficiency,” Wang noted. Since its adoption, the company’s product range has expanded from eight varieties to more than 50, with sales continuing to rise.

Beyond enriching product categories, big data is also helping companies refine their production and operations.

At the digital operations center of food company Huaju in Cangzhou, a large screen displays real-time sales dynamics across the company’s product lines. Order distribution heat maps, product sales rankings, shipping progress bars, and channel share analyses are all clearly visible.

“These visualized data serve as the ‘brain’ guiding our production and operations,” said Sun Zehui, chairman of Huaju. Leveraging the digital platform, the company has not only built an e-commerce sales network but also optimized its production structure. 

“Over the past two years, based on market data analysis, we have phased out dozens of products with low sales and weak returns,” Sun said, adding that the freed-up capacity has been redirected toward developing new products.

Data has also helped forge a collaborative industrial ecosystem. According to Sun, by enabling resource sharing through the digital platform, the company has integrated logistics, warehousing, and wholesale market resources, driving the coordinated development of small and medium-sized enterprises.

“We are actively advancing the development of a jujube industry cluster, promoting the optimization and upgrading of the entire industrial chain, and encouraging enterprises to use digital tools to diversify products, improve quality, and build stronger brands,” said Cai Yong, director of the Cangxian bureau of science, industry, information technology and commerce.

Today, Cangxian is home to more than 3,000 enterprises engaged in jujube processing and sales, with an annual deep-processing volume of around 300,000 tons.

By Wang Xinyue, People’s Daily

At 9 a.m., a gym for seniors at the activity center of Lijia community in Liangjiang New Area, southwest China’s Chongqing municipality, came alive. Wan Ming, 85, walked in, fastened a real-time heart rate monitoring armband and headed for a smart vertical vibration therapy chair.

There was no blasting music or crowds of young gym-goers. Soft lighting, non-slip flooring, barrier-free access, handrails and emergency stop buttons created a calm and reassuring environment at the city’s first gym designed exclusively for senior citizens.

A regular visitor since the trial opening, Wan said treadmills in conventional gyms are often difficult for seniors to use and carry a higher risk of falls. “The equipment here is made specifically for seniors, he added.”

His experience reflects the concerns of many older residents who find standard fitness facilities unsuitable. 

“I feel my coordination has improved,” Wan said. He used to to exercise at home by follow workout videos at home, but now comes to the gym every day. He added that the fees are kept affordably low.

Since its soft launch, the gym has received more than 20 senior visiotrs per day on average, with peak attendance exceeding 40, according to Ma Liya, the facility’s operations manager. Some seniors even travel by bus specifically to work out there.

Ma noted that before becoming members, older adults undergo physical assessments and surveys covering exercise habits, health conditions, and lifestyles. Based on the results, customized health profiles and targeted exercise plans are developed. Ma highlighted adaptations like dual-height handrails and reduced-speed treadmills, contrasting them with standard models challenging for seniors to operate.

The facility also features an intelligent full-body recumbent trainer with coordinated arm-leg movement, allowing even hemiplegic users to exercise effectively. Another device, a passive hand exerciser, is designed for seniors with reduced finger mobility after stroke, using passive oscillation to stimulate blood circulation.

Safety protocols include continuous heart rate monitoring via armbands linked to a central display, triggering alerts if thresholds are exceeded. Pre-workout blood pressure and heart rate checks are mandatory.

“The core mission is straightforward: provide seniors a dedicated space to exercise safely and effectively,” said Xin Lin, publicity chief of Lijia community.

Beyond fitness, the gym has also become a social space. After exercising, seniors often stay for tea, health lectures, and cultural activities, Xin added.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

The recently concluded Spring Festival holiday offered more than just festive cheer. Record-breaking figures — including over 2.6 billion inter-regional trips, a surge of foreign visitors experiencing the Chinese New Year, and a Spring Festival box office exceeding 5.5 billion yuan (about $700 million) — provide a revealing snapshot of China’s economic resilience, innovative vitality, and cultural appeal. 

This lively celebration, linking past traditions with the future and connecting China globally, painted a picture of shared harmony across borders.

Marking the longest such holiday on record, extended to nine days from the usual seven, this year’s festivities highlighted the sustained vibrancy of China’s consumer market. Robust consumption was evident across diverse activities: festive shopping, family reunions, cultural travel, smart home upgrades, bustling city malls, and lively country markets. Together, these scenes illustrate a consumer market undergoing steady transformation.

A February 23rd WeChat data report confirmed this trend, showing offline transactions in travel and entertainment both rising by more than 20 percent year-on-year. Commercial districts nationwide enhanced visitor experiences. For example, Jinling Changlefang, an immersive cultural space themed on the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu province, offered immersive, theatrical-style consumption, while more than 30 temple fairs and lantern fairs,   including Beijing’s Changdian Temple Fair, enlivened major shopping areas.

Demand for premium travel experiences continued to thrive, with long-haul trips, in-depth tours and customized itineraries gaining traction. At the same time, intra-provincial getaways, short-distance excursions and urban micro-vacations remained popular, fueling the sustained and healthy expansion of the consumer market.

International media noted that Chinese citizens maximized the extended holiday setting multiple records in travel, leisure and spending. As one report noted, the Spring Festival has evolved beyond a traditional celebration into a catalyst capable of energizing the global economy.

Technology was a defining feature this year, adding a futuristic flair. On Chinese New Year’s Eve, humanoid robots stole the spotlight at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, delivering a human-robot martial arts performance that left international media in awe. 

“China is already showcasing real robots,” one outlet noted, marveling at how far the technology has come in just one year — from executing backflips to deftly handling nunchaku. The dazzling display underscored the steady breakthroughs Chinese companies are making in core robotics technologies.

The use of large AI models surged during this year’s Spring Festival holiday. From Chinese New Year’s Eve to the third day of the Chinese New Year, total interactions topped 10 billion. 

The blend of cutting-edge technology and time-honored traditions added a unique warmth to the festivities, offering a vivid glimpse of how innovation is increasingly serving people’s lives.

Chinese robots made their debut at the United Nations headquarters in New York, captivating visitors as they wrote the character “fu” (blessing) and engaged in playful interactions. In Sydney, immersive holographic digital displays at DigiPark offered dazzling new ways to experience Chinese culture. Meanwhile, virtual reality-based programs from China drew eager crowds in Amman, Jordan. People around the world are embracing China’s rapidly evolving technology and the dynamic future it represents.

The Spring Festival is not only China’s premier time for family reunions but is increasingly becoming a global travel season. As China’s visa-free policies continue to expand, celebrating the Chinese New Year in China has become a growing trend among international visitors. 

China’s National Immigration Administration projected that average daily cross-border trips during the holiday would exceed 2.05 million, up 14.1 percent year on year. 

U.S. magazine Global Traveler recently observed that more foreign tourists are shifting from traditional sightseeing to immersive cultural experiences, seeking deeper connections with China’s rich cultural heritage.

Data from Chinese travel platform Qunar showed a 20-percent year-on-year increase in domestic flight bookings made with non-Chinese passports, with international visitors traveling to 107 cities across China. 

From immersive cultural experiences to practical perks like departure tax refunds, foreign tourists are discovering both the richness of Chinese traditions and the convenience of traveler-friendly policies. More than just “traveling in China,” they are now “shopping in China” — gaining a firsthand appreciation of a country that is warm, open and inclusive.

As spring returns and all things renew, the holiday has reflected a China vibrant and confident in its forward momentum. The consumption potential of the vast Chinese market, the opportunities created by continued opening up, and the powerful momentum driven by technological innovation together form the foundation for China’s steady and long-term economic growth. A confident China will continue to move forward hand in hand with the world toward a brighter shared future.

By Li Gang, Shen Wenmin, Wang Weijian, Dou Hanyang

In a landmark development for Chinese automotive exports, BYD’s vehicle carrier Changzhou recently delivered over 5,800 new energy vehicles (NEVs) to Argentina’s Port of Zarate. 

This shipment represents both the largest single import of Chinese-branded electric vehicles into Argentina and marks BYD’s pioneering entry into the market through a vertically integrated approach featuring a self-operated fleet, direct sales model, and full product lineup.

This achievement reflects China’s broader foreign trade momentum. In 2025, the country’s total goods imports and exports reached 45.47 trillion yuan (about $6.59 trillion), up 3.8 percent year on year, consolidating the country’s position as the world’s largest trader in goods.

Leveraging their geographic advantages and industrial strengths, provincial-level regions across the country reported robust trade performance.

Guangdong, China’s leading province in foreign trade, recorded 9.49 trillion yuan in total foreign trade in 2025, ranking first nationwide for the 40th consecutive year. A significant milestone was achieved as high-tech product exports exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the first time, reaching 1.14 trillion yuan, signaling a clear move up the value chain.

Demonstrating industrial cluster strength, Jiangsu’s trade transformation is exemplified by shipments like the 36 wind turbine blades recently exported from Jiangyin Comprehensive Bonded Zone by Chinese company Envision. In 2025, mechanical and electrical products exceeded 70 percent of the province’s exports for the first time, with leading sectors including electrical equipment and shipbuilding.

Digital trade is reshaping Zhejiang’s commerce, highlighted by the launch of the Global Digital Trade Center in Yiwu. In 2025, the sampled transaction value at the Yiwu International Trade market is expected to exceed 320 billion yuan, with a daily average of over 4,000 international buyers, the highest level in a decade. Zhejiang’s total foreign trade reached 5.55 trillion yuan in 2025, with digital transformation emerging as a defining feature.

According to Jiang Zhao, associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Shandong, Beijing and Fujian together recorded 34.11 trillion yuan in foreign trade in 2025, contributing more than half of the country’s total trade growth. 

China’s exports, he noted, are shifting from a focus on expanding volume to pursuing both scale and quality, with high-tech and technology-intensive products playing an increasingly prominent role.

Amid a shifting and increasingly complex global trade landscape, regions across China are accelerating their push for greater international market diversification. By deepening engagement 

have effectively hedged against the risks of overreliance on any single market.

After a 14-day journey across Eurasia, the first China-Europe freight train of the year departing from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area arrived in Malaszewicze, Poland. Among the 110 standard containers were semiconductor display panels and key components of Chinese home appliance giant TCL, which were swiftly transferred to the company’s television factory in Zyrardow in central Poland.

In recent years, TCL has focused on exporting industrial capabilities rather than just products, extending the strengths of Chinese manufacturing to major global markets and building a more open, collaborative and mutually beneficial innovation ecosystem with local partners, said Li Dongsheng, chairman of TCL.

Zhejiang’s trade expansion has been driven in particular by emerging markets. In 2025, ASEAN surpassed the European Union for the first time to become Zhejiang’s largest trading partner, with trade value reaching 869.07 billion yuan, up 16.5 percent. 

Yiwu’s small commodities were shipped to more than 20 countries in Central Asia and Europe via the “Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe” freight train service, which has helped form a global trading network where the city sources from the world and sells to the world.

As an international shipping hub, Shanghai has strengthened its role in linking domestic and global markets. In 2025, its trade with Belt and Road partner countries grew 12.1 percent year on year, supported by coordinated China-Europe freight train service and ocean shipping routes.

Empowered by digital technologies, upgraded logistics systems and an improved policy environment, Chinese foreign trade enterprises are overcoming traditional constraints in time and space, enabling more firms to participate in global competition.

Jiangsu has pioneered a model combining industrial e-commerce with supply chain finance. A comprehensive cross-border e-commerce service platform in the province’s Suzhou integrates customs clearance, logistics, tax rebates and financing services, driving a 35 percent increase in cross-border e-commerce exports among small and medium-sized enterprises in 2025.

Zhejiang has advanced new trade formats powered by digital trade and market procurement. In 2025, exports through market procurement, cross-border e-commerce and bonded maintenance exceeded 900 billion yuan, ranking first nationwide.

“China’s foreign trade innovation is gaining stronger momentum, with its advantages becoming more pronounced, trading partners more diversified, and resilience more robust. This will inject greater certainty into global economic and trade development,” said Liao Bingguang, a researcher with the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences.

By Su Bin, Han Xin, People’s Daily

Supporting the world’s tallest bridge, the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in southwest China’s Guizhou province, relies on two massive main cables. Each cable is formed by nearly 40,000 individual steel wires, each measuring just 5.7 millimeters in diameter. These cables anchor the bridge, which spans a deep canyon often described as an “earth crack.”

As the backbone of any suspension bridge, the main cables for this demanding location required exceptional strength and durability. Remarkably, if the wires from both main cables were laid end to end, their combined length would circle the Earth’s equator twice.

Ensuring the bridge’s longevity involves sophisticated monitoring. An intelligent control center features a large digital screen displaying real-time data from fiber-optic sensors embedded within the cables. These sensors continuously track temperature, humidity, and stress levels, providing 24/7 oversight of the structure’s health. Complementing this, maintenance teams conduct regular inspections of the bridge deck, joints and structural components from locations dozens of kilometers away.

“Winds in the canyon are unpredictable, and temperature and humidity fluctuate significantly. In such a complex environment, the main cables must deliver ultra-high strength, excellent toughness and strong corrosion resistance,” said Luo Zhi’an, general manager of the cable engineering company under Guizhou Steel Rope (Group) Co., Ltd.

The steel wires used in the bridge’s main cables have a tensile strength of up to 2,000 megapascals. This means each square millimeter of wire’s cross-section can withstand loads equivalent to approximately 0.2 metric ton — exceeding prevailing international standards by 7.5 percent. Achieving this strength while maintaining necessary toughness is a significant engineering challenge, as higher strength often reduces flexibility.

In 2022, Guizhou Steel Rope partnered with Guizhou University and Central South University to improve alloy material performance, achieving domestic production of high-performance cable materials for bridges.

“It was like refining a prescription, we tested different alloy combinations to find the optimal balance between strength and toughness,” Luo said. To cope with the canyon’s humid conditions, the team also developed a new zinc-aluminum-magnesium alloy coating and a post-plating controlled cooling process, boosting corrosion resistance by 2.5 times. The innovations have secured nearly 10 invention patents.

Beyond robust materials, the cables are also “smart.” Engineers, in collaboration with Beijing Jiaotong University, pioneered a method of installing fiber grating sensors inside the main cables. Data collected by the sensors are transmitted to monitoring terminals in real time, effectively embedding “intelligent nerves” into the bridge and shifting maintenance from experience-based assessments to data-driven management.

Innovation continues to drive the company forward. Guizhou Steel Rope is now preparing to establish a provincial-level key laboratory for special metal wire materials, aiming to provide core technologies for future mega infrastructure projects.

The bridge has also become a new engine for regional development. As of January 28, it had received more than 1.3 million visitors and handled over 200,000 vehicle crossings, injecting sustained momentum into the local economy.

By Shen Shaotie, Huang Xiaohuui, People’s Daily

Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology is rapidly transitioning from laboratories to real-world applications, enabling patients to control computers, robotic arms, and robot dogs with their thoughts. As integration into daily life accelerates, China marked a significant milestone on January 1, 2026, when its first national standard for BCI-based medical devices took effect.

The new standard defines the scope of BCI medical devices, categorizes technical approaches, standardizes terminology for signals such as electroencephalograms, and provides key definitions for signal acquisition, processing, encoding and decoding, as well as clinical applications.

Why are such standards important?

According to Yuan Peng, deputy director-general of the department of medical device registration at the National Medical Products Administration, as China makes breakthroughs in brain science and neural decoding, BCI medical devices are entering a critical stage of industrialization and clinical translation.

Because these devices integrate neuroscience, clinical medicine and computer science, the same concepts may be described differently across disciplines. Inconsistent terminology and unclear definitions have hindered industrial development, he added, noting that unified standards will help establish a common technical language for this emerging field.

BCI medical devices helps patients regain physical functions and may in the future be used to treat neurological disorders such as epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. The technology holds significant potential and is expected to bring transformative changes to health care.

At the clinical and translational ward for BCI at Beijing Tiantan Hospital, affiliated to the Capital Medical University, a volunteer surnamed Liao wore a wireless BCI cap during a rehabilitation session. As he slowly raised his left arm in front of a computer, the cap transmitted electrical signals from his cerebral cortex in real time to an external decoding device, assisting his rehabilitation training.

Three years ago, Liao suffered a cerebral hemorrhage that left him partially paralyzed on his left side. After more than a year of conventional rehabilitation with limited improvement, he underwent a surgery at Beijing Tiantan Hospital in May 2025. Doctors implanted a semi-transparent, 4-by-4-centimeter thin-film electrode beneath his skull. Following a period of rehabilitation training, his mobility function on the left side of his body improved significantly.

“During post-operative training, when the patient moves his limbs, the system captures brain signals, decodes them through algorithms, and drives external devices to assist in rehabilitation exercises,” said Cao Yong, executive deputy director of the hospital’s neurosurgery center.

Beijing Tiantan Hospital has since launched a BCI evaluation clinic to assess whether patients are suitable candidates for semi-invasive BCI surgery. More than 3,000 patients have made appointments. 

Cao noted that the technology remains in the clinical trial stage and that participant selection is conducted with caution. He expressed the hope that BCI technology will continue to advance and benefit more people in need.

Beyond rehabilitation, BCI technology is restoring independence to those with severe mobility impairments. In June 2025, a collaborative team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fudan University’s Huashan Hospital, and industry partners implanted a BCI device in a quadriplegic patient, enabling thought-controlled computer gameplay. Six months later, a patient with high-level spinal cord injury used BCI to remotely manage an unmanned retail cabinet via video link.

According to Zhao, after two to three weeks of training following implantation, patients were able to control computer cursors and tablet devices. However, he noted that many patients hope to move beyond virtual interactions and regain a more direct connection with the physical world.

To meet this demand, the research team has extended BCI applications from screen-based control to physical external devices. Through a series of technical advances, patients with implanted BCI systems are now able to use their thoughts to operate electric wheelchairs or command robot dogs to retrieve delivered items.

“It’s like controlling a character in a video game,” one patient said. “You don’t consciously think about moving a joystick in a certain direction. You simply think about where you want to go, and the movement follows naturally.”

Zhao explained that the team adopts general-purpose interfaces and widely available devices, such as household robotic arms and robot dogs, with the aim of making BCI systems as user-friendly as Bluetooth or a computer mouse. This allows patients to control multiple external devices through a single, unified hub.

He noted that the value of BCI technology depends not only on advances in neural interfaces but also on the development of external intelligent devices. The growing maturity and accessibility of electric wheelchairs, robot dogs and humanoid robots are providing practical outlets for thought-based control, helping translate technological progress into tangible improvements in patients’ quality of life.