Nigeria Times

By Sun Yi

When a Tibetan carpet unfolds before one’s eyes, it’s hard to tell whether it is a functional household item or a work of art because of its distinct ethnic patterns and colors, soft and delicate texture and exquisite craftsmanship.

As one of the world’s three famous carpets alongside Persian and Turkish carpets, Tibetan carpets are renowned far and wide for their vibrant colors, strong ethnic styles, and distinct regional characteristics.

The Tibetan carpet weaving skills have been passed down for thousands of years. In the Neolithic Age, ancient residents of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau already formed a unique weaving culture.

According to historical records, 3,500 years ago, nomadic tribes there were adept at weaving woolen fabrics into clothes and quilts to fend off the cold. These weaving techniques were handed down generation after generation, forming the Tibetan carpet weaving skills still in use today.

Carrying profound Tibetan culture, the Tibetan carpet evolved from a simple household item into a work of art. Tibetan carpet weaving also grew into a featured industry, with the products being sold worldwide.

The development of the Tibetan carpet industry has not always been smooth sailing. Traditional Tibetan carpets were mostly handmade in small workshops, with high labor and time costs. Facing competition from lower-cost machine-made carpets produced in bulk, many Tibetan carpet companies saw shrinking orders and losses.

In recent years, affected by factors like the COVID-19 pandemic, hotel occupancy was on a decline, which decreased the demand for carpet replacement, hence a depressed Tibetan carpet market.

The ever-changing market demands have pressed Tibetan carpet companies to take the initiative through innovation. A number of leading Tibetan carpet companies have blazed a trail of innovation for the industry.

To better incorporate ancient skills into modern life, some Tibetan carpet companies have combined modern carpet weaving techniques with traditional hand-knotting skills.

They use special materials and techniques on Tibetan carpets, turning their products from hand-woven carpets to machine-woven, hand-knotted, and fluorescent ones.

They are gradually moving away from mass production and traditional marketing models in the past days, and start embracing digital production methods.

By adopting advanced weaving techniques and innovating pattern designs, a batch of machine-woven Tibetan carpets with cost advantages, fine workmanship, and exquisite patterns are winning the favor of the market.

Nowadays, Tibetan carpet enterprises design patterns and use materials based on customers’ preferences and home decor styles, and customize the sizes of carpets according to the need of customers.

Some Tibetan companies have shifted production from large-scale manufacturing to personalized customization, in order to meet diverse individualized customer demands. They have even developed antibacterial and flame-retardant Tibetan carpets using new technologies to meet modern requirements for eco-friendly home furnishing.

Tibetan carpets from China are seen in many parts of the world, from the Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai to Marriott hotels, and from Las Vegas to Carnival Cruise ships. With continuous innovation in recent years in functions, designs, craftsmanship and standards, Tibetan carpets are increasingly gaining an “international style,” becoming the first choice for many foreign customers.

Tibetan carpets are a treasure of Chinese ethnic traditional crafts. In the interplay between tradition and modernity, in its interaction with the world, the Tibetan carpet industry has undergone an innovative transformation. This not only injects new vitality into the traditional skills passed down over thousands of years, but also provides valuable experience for the industrialization and modernization of other ethnic traditional crafts.

By Yang Junfeng

A digital twin is a digital representation of a physical object or process. It builds a bond between the real and virtual worlds.

In today’s China, the digital twin technology is empowering various booming industries, such as digital transportation, smart city and environmental protection, making economic and social development more intelligent.

A new expressway currently under construction in east China’s Anhui province has utilized digital twin technology from its inception. A virtual version of the expressway is being built concurrently as construction progresses.

“As the first intelligent expressway in Anhui, it incorporates emerging technologies to construct an underlying digital twin model,” said a representative from Anhui Transport Consulting & Design Institute. It allows real-time collection of vehicle movements, weather and other multi-dimensional traffic data, and thus enables precise monitoring and management of the expressway.

According to the representative, digital twin technology is expected to enhance the traffic efficiency of the expressway, bolster its whole-process emergency response capabilities, and reduce the duration of closures resulting from adverse weather conditions.

Insiders believe that the evolution and application of digital technologies are leading to more efficient and intelligent transport solutions. In the near future, the Chinese highway network will be highly digitalized, with the rising of a trillion-yuan ($136.7 billion) digital economy market related to highways, injecting new momentum into the transportation sector to advance Chinese modernization.

The rapid development and wide application of digital twin technology have generated new ideas for urban planning, construction, governance and management.

In Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City (YZBSTC) in Sanya, south China’s Hainan province, a new smart industrial park is under construction. Built by iFlytek, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company, this industrial park utilizes digital twin technology and has constructed an information model by modeling relevant spatio-temporal data, thus supporting various application systems.

“Leveraging AI algorithms and the digital twin platform, we have completed the upgrading from collecting data of single units to sourcing big data of the whole YZBSTC. Digital innovations make urban development and planning manageable, controllable and visible,” said an executive of iFlytek.

Today, Chinese cities are on a “fast lane” in terms of digital twin development.

Suzhou in east China’s Jiangsu province has collected comprehensive and high-precision data on its ancient architectures, providing support for protection and restoration efforts. The Xiong’an New Area in north China’s Hebei province has synchronized virtual and real urban planning and construction.

Experts believe building a digital twin of a tangible city would enable more efficient urban management, and facilitate the city’s sustainable development.

During a 2023 Yellow River flood control drill, a “digital Yellow River” “flowed” rapidly on a panoramic digital twin platform, displaying hazard distribution that could be caused by extreme weather. This platform showed clearly the flood progression and damage in shoal areas, with an aim to improve flood control efficiency.

Wu Dan, deputy director of the information engineering center of the Yellow River Laboratory’s digital twin team, explained that constructing a digital twin is crucial for intelligent governance of the Yellow River basin and will comprehensively enhance the capabilities to ensure water security across the basin.

Digital twin technology has also provided technical support for environmental protection in Zhejiang province.

This May, in a 1,800-meter altitude alpine wetland in Baishanzu National Nature Reserve, a pair of Chinese spot-billed ducks foraging were captured by cameras. Location, meteorological and hydrological data were soon transmitted back to the system via Internet of Things monitoring devices and a digital twin platform.

“It marked the first time that Chinese spot-billed ducks were spotted at such a high altitude since the nature reserve was established, providing valuable insights for experts studying the animal’s migration patterns and habits,” said Ye Lixin, an engineer of the nature reserve.

Experts believe that digital twin technology has broad application prospects in ecological conservation. It not only offers scientists more tools to research and safeguard the natural environment, but also helps government agencies and related businesses strike a better balance between economic growth and environmental protection.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

Global modernization should be pursued to enhance peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation and bring prosperity to all, said Chinese President Xi Jinping when addressing the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF).

This grand vision is consistent with building a community with a shared future for mankind, and charts the course for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has forged a cooperation platform for common development, and enabled many developing countries to accelerate their progress of modernization. In the future, it will get onto a new stage of higher-quality and higher-level development, and portrait a grand picture of countries working together for modernization.

“China is endeavoring to build itself into a stronger country and rejuvenate the Chinese nation on all fronts by pursuing Chinese modernization. The modernization we are pursuing is not for China alone, but for all developing countries through our joint efforts.”

Xi’s words explained the logic of “When China does well, the world will get even better,” and revealed China’s intention to seek win-win cooperation and common development in promoting the BRI.

To achieve modernization is a shared dream of people of all countries, and no country shall be left behind in humanity’s modernization process.

The BRI, taking building a community with a shared future for mankind as the ultimate goal, is a path to modernization for all countries as well as a path to a bright future for humanity. With the initiative, countries can independently explore a path to modernization that suits their own national realities and share the opportunities created by Chinese modernization.

British scholar Martin Jacques said that Chinese modernization in essence is providing opportunities to the world, especially developing countries.

The BRI injects impetus into the realization of global modernization. Over the past decade, Belt and Road international cooperation has gotten off the ground, turning blueprints  into real projects. It has launched thousands of practical cooperation projects, and achieved fruitful and tangible outcomes.

From the massive infrastructure projects that vitalize participating countries’ development momentum, to industrial cooperation aiming to enhance these countries’ poverty reduction capabilities, the BRI focuses on tackling the bottlenecks containing participating countries’ development and has contributed to the modernization of all countries.

At the opening ceremony of the third BRF, Xi announced eight major steps China will take to support the joint pursuit of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. These steps include both concrete measures and long-term mechanisms, injecting new momentum into humanity’s global modernization process with action-oriented, efficient and pragmatic efforts.

Foreign dignitaries commended the BRI for bringing opportunities to their countries’ development. Some said the initiative effectively promoted Egypt’s economic development and created important opportunities for developing countries, and some said the eight major steps will further assist Africa in achieving industrialization, agricultural modernization and economic integration. They are expecting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to continue powering their countries’ modernization process.

The BRI provides a path to realizing global modernization. Every country should adhere to the philosophy of solidarity, cooperation and common development in its pursuit of modernization, and follow a path of joint contribution, shared benefits and win-win cooperation.

The BRI always upholds the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. It has established a new framework for international cooperation, and blazed a trail for achieving global modernization that features peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation and prosperity for all.

During the third BRF, a total of 458 outcomes were achieved, further expanding the areas of BRI cooperation. China will promote local employment through cooperation projects and carry out 1,000 small-scale livelihood assistance projects. These important measures, once implemented, will surely promote the modernization process of relevant countries.

Zamir Ahmed Awan, founding chair of Islamabad-based think tank, the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, believes that the BRI, emphasizing inclusiveness and openness, helps the Global South achieve economic growth and sustainable growth, and helps developing countries accelerate modernization.

Belt and Road cooperation pursues development, aims at mutual benefits, and conveys a message of hope. To promote such a great undertaking that benefits the people of participating countries, it is important to stay focused on the goal, take results-oriented actions, persevere, and keep moving forward until the goal is met.

China will work with relevant parties to continue deepening Belt and Road partnership, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and make unremitted efforts to advance global modernization.

By Su Bomin

The city of Dunhuang in northwest China’s Gansu Province was a pivotal hub on the ancient Silk Road. Through the road, camel caravans and commercial fleets boosted the exchange of goods, which also stimulated diverse civilization exchanges between the East and the West.

Represented by the Buddhist art of the Mogao Grottoes and cultural relics from the Library Cave, Dunhuang culture has spanned nearly 2,000 years. It is a crystallization of the integration and convergence of Chinese culture with foreign cultures such as Indian, Greek, and Persian, and a shining pearl in the long river of world civilizations.

The Dunhuang Academy is the largest institution in the world studying Dunhuangology. In recent years the Dunhuang Academy has launched The Great Art of Dunhuang exhibition and public exhibitions of Dunhuang murals in Austria, France, Uzbekistan and other countries and regions, and brought creative cultural activities to Australia and Thailand, in an attempt to enhance the world’s understanding of Dunhuang culture.

The Dunhuang Grottoes boasts rich historical, cultural, and artistic value, and after thousands of years, the murals there are facing the danger of degradation. How can we permanently preserve the information of the Dunhuang Grottoes?

In the late 1980s, Fan Jinshi, then executive deputy dean of the Dunhuang Academy, first proposed the concept of “digital Dunhuang,” which aimed at using digital technology to permanently and faithfully preserve the murals and colored sculptures.

Over the past 30 years, the professional digitalization team at the Dunhuang Academy has actively collaborated with domestic and international research institutions, gradually establishing an accurate, authentic, and high-definition “digital Dunhuang” database. This database provides crucial support for the preservation of the Dunhuang Grottoes, the studies of Dunhuangology, and the promotion of Dunhuang culture.

Today, the once immovable grotto relics have taken flight with the wings of digital technology, reaching destinations all around the world.

In 2022, the world’s first blockchain-based digital resource-sharing platform went online. Through the use of artificial intelligence technology, the platform collects elements from murals in the Dunhuang Grottoes, making available more than 6,500 archived high-definition digital images showing murals and manuscripts from the Mogao Grottoes and other grotto sites in Dunhuang. These resources are now open to the world in 19 thematic categories.

Thanks to the continuous efforts to improve the preservation of cultural relics and outreach approaches, the gap between the Dunhuang cultural heritage and the general public has been significantly narrowed. In 2022 alone, the Dunhuang Academy has garnered over 200 million views on media platforms, with visitors from 120 countries and regions.

In the past decade since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed, the Dunhuang Academy has carried out a series of international academic and cultural exchange activities.

In 2018, it sent a delegation to Afghanistan for an academic survey. After learning in detail the difficulties faced by and demands of Afghanistan’s Bamyan Province in cultural heritage research, protection and education, the delegation provided targeted recommendations and discussed future areas and methods for strengthening cooperation, in an attempt to jointly safeguard and promote the historical and cultural heritage of the Silk Road.

The BRI creates new opportunities for the development of Dunhuang culture, and the Dunhuang culture in turn provides cultural support for advancing Belt and Road cooperation.

Over the past 10 years, experts with the Dunhuang Academy have visited Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and other countries many times for investigations and exchanges on ancient Silk Road sites.

In 2017, at the invitation of the Kyrgyz side, the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China assigned the Dunhuang Academy to conduct feasibility research on a protection and restoration project of ancient castle ruins in Kochkor District, Naryn Region, Kyrgyzstan.

Based on a comprehensive investigation and study of this ruins, engineering projects were carried out for cultural relics protection, digital preservation, preventive heritage protection, and site display, laying a solid foundation for China’s cooperation with more countries in the field of cultural heritage.

As we gradually carried out investigations at ancient sites in Silk Road countries, we discovered that though these countries’ cultural relics were made from different materials and with different techniques, there has been a very close cultural connection among these sites.

The cultural heritage protection technology system of the Dunhuang Academy not only has contributed to over 200 key national cultural relics protection projects in China, but also plays a positive role in the protection of cultural relics and sites in other Silk Road-related countries.

This year, we have undertaken an international aid project that aims to digitally document the murals on the west door arch wall on the first floor of the Thatbyinnyu Temple in Bagan, Myanmar, as well as the ruins of the temple’s north gate.

Going forward, we will continue to cooperate with other countries and contribute to the protection and research of Silk Road cultural heritage.

By Li Zheng, People’s Daily

“Customers can get their cars delivered in only 10 days after placing an order on a mobile application,” said the head of a workshop of Voyah, a luxury division of Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Corporation, in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei province, explaining that Voyah has achieved customized and order-oriented production.

Voyah’s production is driven by orders, which can eliminate the pressure of inventory costs. Customer can design their personalized high-end new energy vehicles (NEVs) on their phones – picking colors and configurations – rather than settling for an off-the-shelf model.

In the workshop, vehicles with different colors and models can be made on the same assembly line. This flexible production allows the brand to build customized cars that meet different preferences,  forming a user-centered innovation model.

It shows the innovative power of this traditional automobile enterprise in its active transition to NEVs. With over 2,400 patents, the automaker has R&D personnel accounting for 36.5 percent of its total and stimulates the participation of employees in its shareholding.

Voyah fosters a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. It has vigorously ventured beyond existing products into new markets against the pressure of transformation and upgrading, creating an atmosphere of hard work and an impulse to seek opportunities.

Fostering an innovative ecosystem is key to driving enterprise innovation. This requires a supportive environment with improving public services.

Across China, various measures have been taken to stimulate innovation in companies.

For instance, to assist technological advances, the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone has built a comprehensive road network to facilitate the testing of intelligent connected vehicles. By linking the 5G communication network, digital space network and smart road network, it has enabled a favorable environment for NEV makers to innovate.

Additionally, to help researchers bridge the laboratory-to-market gap with high risk and cost, Huazhong University of Science and Technology pioneered a pilot-scale service platform. By providing resources to enterprises and reducing trial and error costs, the platform sparks enthusiasm for innovation.

Fertile soil nurtures beautiful flowers, and a supportive environment allows companies to thrive through innovation in niche fields.

In Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, information technology company Bitland is working to build a complete and controllable computer supply chain system, continuously improving its independent production of components. Zhongxing Innovative Material Technologies Co., Ltd. has become a specialized and sophisticated small and medium-sized enterprise that produces lithium-ion battery diaphragms.

Enterprises are the most active cells in the market economy, with each firm acting as an engine of innovation. When companies in different industries spontaneously innovate, their collective efforts can generate the innovation potential of the entire economic system.

A new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation has spurred the growth of advanced, smart and green industries, which are crucial for industrial transformation and upgrading. Digitalization is empowering new industrialization and injecting powerful momentum into constructing a modern industrial system.

Companies like Jointown Pharmaceutical Group and Bestore Co., Ltd. have already built intelligent warehousing centers. Using QR code identification, their unmanned warehouses are able to automatically classify, sort, circulate and discharge massive items.

Innovation is thriving at the micro level, while macro development is driven by collective efforts. From a macro perspective, the Chinese economy is steadily recovering and advancing towards high-quality growth. This progress is made by countless enterprises innovating in their fields, intelligent production lines producing customized products on large scales, and workers striving for better lives.

What’s more impressive than shining innovation outcomes is people’s belief in the future. The vibrant vitality of countless entities ultimately coalesces into a tremendous force propelling macroeconomic development. This dynamism forms a solid foundation for confidence in the Chinese economy.

By Guo Jiping, People’s Daily

China will host the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing from Oct. 17 to 18. It is reported that representatives from over 140 countries and more than 30  international organizations have confirmed their attendance at the event.

Despite the turbulent international situation, China has rolled out the red carpet to welcome guests from all over the world, which demonstrates the country’s unswerving commitment to promoting world peace and development.

Over the past decade since Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), stories of win-win cooperation have continued to unfold along this public road of shared opportunities and common development.

So far, over 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations have signed more than 200 BRI cooperation agreements with China; the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has grown from 57 founding members to 109 members, which account for 81 percent of the world’s population and 65 percent of global GDP; and more than 80 routes have been launched for the China-Europe freight trains, reaching 217 cities in 25 European countries.

Experience over the past 10 years has fully proven that the BRI is an open and inclusive platform and a global public good jointly built by all partners.

International analysts have eagerly sought to understand what allowed China to conceive the grand initiative and accomplish significant achievements in furthering its development.

The BRI is the result of China’s reflections on the future and destiny of humanity. In March 2013, in the face of the profound questions of “What is wrong with the world?” and “What should we do about it?”, which concern the world, history and the times, Xi creatively proposed the concept of building a global community with a shared future for mankind.

By launching the BRI, China aims to put this concept into practice and build a practical platform and open up paths for creating an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity.

The BRI stemmed from China’s unshakeable pursuit of world peace and development. China unswervingly follows the path of peaceful development. It safeguards world peace to ensure its own growth, and contributes to world peace through its own development.

Taking the path of peaceful development is China’s response to international concerns about its development direction, and also a reflection of the confidence and consciousness of the Chinese people in achieving their development goals.

By proposing the BRI, China strives not only to pursue its own development and enhance its capacity to safeguard world peace, but also to benefit the world by strengthening the forces for upholding world peace and development.

In pursuing Belt and Road cooperation, China will not resort to the outdated geopolitical maneuvering, but will create a new model of win-win cooperation. It will not form “a small group detrimental to stability”, but will try to create “a big family of harmonious coexistence“.

The success of the BRI represents the success of China’s development path and experience. China has achieved the two miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability, resolved its problem of absolute poverty once for all, and realized its first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The fundamental reason for these achievements is that China has found a successful development path that is suited to its national conditions and people’s aspirations and supported by its people.

With nine percent of the world’s arable land and six percent of the freshwater resources, China feeds nearly one-fifth of the world’s population. In 2022, China’s GDP expanded to 121 trillion yuan ($16.56 trillion), while its share of the global economy rose to 18 percent, demonstrating remarkable development achievements.

The success of China’s development path has strengthened other developing countries’ determination to pursue paths based on their own national realities, and China’s great achievements in development have boosted other developing countries’ confidence in realizing national prosperity, national rejuvenation and improving people’s wellbeing. The BRI has provided valuable opportunities for other developing countries to draw on China’s development experience.

The success of the BRI is the success of China’s commitment to open development. Only when a country is strong enough can it have the confidence to open its doors to the world, and opening up in turn enhances its prosperity. The BRI is a major initiative China has launched to expand opening up. It is not a solo endeavor by China, but a collaborative effort involving all stakeholders.

In the face of a rising tide of de-globalization, China remains firmly committed to high-level opening up, creating an even brighter future for cooperation under the BRI.

The BRI has continuously broken deadlocks, removed bottlenecks and spurred innovations, showing the world that only by building an open world economy can countries improve the wellbeing of their peoples.

As former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero pointed out, the BRI upholds an open and inclusive vision for development that transcends borders and zero-sum game mindset, which is precisely the development philosophy the world urgently needs today.