Nigeria Times

By Gong Ming, Zhou Hanbo, People’s Daily

China has developed strategic partnerships with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan since it established diplomatic ties with the five Central Asian countries 31 years ago, blazing a new path of good-neighborliness, friendship and win-win cooperation, thereby setting up a paradigm for a new type of international relations.

Under the strategic guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, China has deepened practical cooperation with the five countries and achieved fruitful results in bilateral and multilateral cooperation in agriculture, trade, investment, infrastructure and other fields.

From May 1 to 12, a number of featured products from Central Asian countries were displayed at an e-commerce exhibition held in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong province, including fruit puree and juice from Kazakhstan, natural mineral water from Uzbekistan and traditional handbags from Tajikistan. The exhibition showcased the strong vitality of China-Central Asia economic and trade cooperation.

Trade between China and the five Central Asian countries set a record high last year. In the first two months this year, the trade volume saw year-on-year growth of 22 percent, maintaining strong momentum of development.

By the end of 2022, China’s direct investment stock in the five Central Asian countries reached nearly $15 billion, with a number of cooperation projects launched in fields such as oil and gas exploration, processing and manufacturing, connectivity and digital technologies, bringing tangible benefits to people in these countries.

On April 26 in 2023, foreign ministers from China and the five countries jointly pushed the lever, launching the Chang’an Train from Xi’an to Central Asia commemorating the 10th anniversary of the China-Europe Railway Express and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), at the Xi’an International Trade & Logistics Park in northwest China’s Shaanxi province.

Over the past ten years, the Chang’an China-Europe freight train service has operated over 16,000 trips, including over 4,250 trips to Central Asian countries. These trips witnessed the rapid development and remarkable results of the BRI in Central Asia.

Central Asia is where the BRI was initiated and has grown into a model area that sees tangible results of BRI cooperation. All relevant parties have actively pursued synergetic development between the BRI and their own development strategies and launched efficient cooperation projects.

A large batch of mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation have been completed under the framework of the BRI, such as the China-Kazakhstan crude oil pipeline, the China-Central Asia gas pipeline, a China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway, the Pengsheng Industrial Park and a China-Tajikistan-Uzbekistan highway, bringing tangible benefits to the people in the region.

China and the five Central Asian countries have constantly deepened and expanded BRI cooperation. Together, they promoted the construction of the China-Central Asia transport corridor and the fourth line of the China-Central Asia gas pipeline project. They also strengthened cooperation on artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and other high technologies.

Uzbek Ambassador to China Farhod Arziev noted that Uzbekistan attaches high importance to strengthening cooperation with China in various fields and will continue promoting the synergetic development between Uzbek strategies and the BRI for better development.

China and Tajikistan have jointly built a textile industrial park in Tajikistan, which employs advanced digital and intelligent agricultural machinery and textile equipment. Products produced in the industrial park have gained a foothold in the global high-end market.

A dairy factory jointly built by China and Kazakhstan in central Kazakhstan’s Karaganda Region has been put into operation. Its camel dairy products are very popular among Chinese consumers.

In the Sirdaryo region of Uzbekistan, a China-Uzbekistan demonstration park of modern agricultural technology has been put into use. It has introduced a number of new varieties of high oleic peanuts, oil sunflowers, soybeans and corn.

From capacity cooperation to sci-tech exchanges and talent training, China and the five Central Asian countries have continuously deepened agricultural cooperation and built an agricultural partnership that carries rich connotations and brims with strong vitality.

Agricultural trade between the two sides continues to expand. More Chinese enterprises have settled in the five Central Asian countries for investment and development, whose cooperation projects cover many fields including the processing of wheat flour and vegetable oil, cotton planting and textile. They are contributing to the local agricultural development.

A training program on advanced and applicable agricultural technology for Central Asia was launched by China this April. More than 80 trainees from the five Central Asian countries joined the program and learned about China’s experience and application of water-conservation technologies, facility agriculture technologies and environmental protection in agricultural production.

Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov said China’s achievements and experience in poverty alleviation, as well as agricultural rural development, are worth learning from. Uzbekistan is willing to work with China to promote poverty alleviation cooperation, so as to achieve win-win results and bring more benefits to the two peoples, he added.

By Wang Liang, Li Yang, People’s Daily

Cycling is just all the rage in China.

According to statistics released by the China Bicycle Association, the revenue of bicycle and electric bicycle manufacturers above designated size, or those with an annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($2.88 million), increased 3 percent year on year to hit 210 billion yuan. Their profit exceeded 10 billion yuan, up more than 20 percent from a year ago. Economic indicators of the industry are expected to keep recovering in 2023.

The bicycle boom drives rapid development of relevant industries, leads to secondary consumption, integrates the bicycle and other industries, and creates new jobs.

Li Gensheng is the manager of a bicycle store in Rizhao, east China’s Shandong province. He told People’s Daily that racing bicycles, also known as road bikes, are unquestionably the most popular type.

“New arrivals of this type are sold very soon,” he said.

This bicycle store started operation 10 years ago, and it was in the last year that Li began feeling that cycling has gone viral. According to the man, his store sold more than 1,500 bicycles in 2022, a historical high.

Li attributed the remarkable performance to a sound environment for cycling and adequate supporting facilities. Rizhao has opened two fitness trails totaling over 60 kilometers in the recent years, along which there are beautiful sceneries and 16 tourist sites and folk custom-themed tourism villages.

The optimization and expansion of the cycling environment are creating more consumption scenarios. China is home to a number of cycling routes, including traditional ones such as the loop line around the Qinghai Lake, the Qinghai-Tibet Highway and the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway. There are also emerging routes such as the one that encircles the elegantly beautiful Shangri-La, the one along the Hexi Corridor which presents the magnificence of the ancient Silk Road, the one along the Grand Canal that features a feast of both ancient and modern Chinese culture, and the one that circles Hainan province with refreshing seaside sceneries. These cycling routes are forcefully driving the development of regions along them.

As Chinese people are seeing higher living standards and pursuing healthier lifestyles, their demand for cycling equipment is moving toward the higher end, which contributes to the upgrading of the cycling industry.

Pardus, a bicycle manufacturer based in Laoling, east China’s Shandong province, has developed a racing bicycle that weighs only 5.8 kilograms.

“This is the lightest bike we have launched so far, which is as light as a bottle of peanut oil,” said Wang Chunqing, general manager of the company.

Weight is a key indicator of a racing bicycle’s performance. To make light bicycles, it calls for the application of new materials. It is learned that Pardus, as a leading player among specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce new and unique products, owns 65 independently developed technologies regarding the manufacturing of wheels, frames and saddles.

“Our domestic sales doubled last year, and the orders we receive now have been scheduled to be produced at the end of this year,” Wang told People’s Daily, adding that the company has expanded its production line and launched intelligent manufacturing programs to better meet the demand of the market.

Luo Jie, vice president and general secretary of the China Sporting Goods Federation, noted that China’s optimizing cycling environment and increasing number of cycling events will benefit more enterprises.

Today, more and more places in China are willing to host cycling events. Huang Weisheng, who runs a sports company in Yixian county, east China’s Anhui province, explained the reason behind this with an example of the 18th China Huangshan (Yixian) International Cycling Open recently held in Yixian county.

Yixian, as a famous historical and cultural county, boasts rich tourism resources. It enjoys geographical advantages in hosting cycling events, and the cycling events in turn enrich the county’s tourism development and promote sports-tourism integration.

It is learned that the registration for the 18th China Huangshan (Yixian) International Cycling Open was full just hours after spots were open. According to Huang, the souvenir package offered for competitors in the event included not only cycling equipment, but also local specialties of Yixian. The organizer of the event established sales and exhibition areas for local farm produce and cultural heritage, Huang added. According to him, the county received over 6 million yuan of online orders during the cycling event.

A business structure centering on cycling events and covering culture, ecology, tourism and exhibition sectors has taken shape in Yixian county.

“Cycling and other outdoor sports can vitalize tourist attractions, B&B hotels and villages, and thus sectors with different economic features can complement each other, which expands market and helps meet the diverse demands of consumers,” said Wang Yuxiong, director of the China Center for Sport Industry Development Research, Central University of Finance and Economics.

By Li Jie

Recently, China’s hospitality industry has witnessed rapid recovery and regions across the country are gearing up for higher industrial production.

This has led to a significant rise in power consumption. The manufacturing sector reported daily electricity consumption of 12.44 billion kWh, and 26 provinces’ power consumption achieved positive growth.

These figures indicate the stable recovery and growth of the Chinese economy.

Thanks to a tourism boom, power consumption in the commercial and tourism sectors increased obviously during the past May Day holiday.

Power consumption of commercial districts in Changsha, central China’s Hunan province, went up 13.27 percent year-on-year during the five-day holiday. In southwest China’s Guizhou province, electricity consumption of commercial buildings hit 147 million kWh, up 9.7 percent year-on-year.

Electricity consumption is a barometer and wind vane mirroring a country’s economic performance. Since this year, multiple regions in China have experienced an uplift in energy consumption following the gradually recovery of the consumption market and the rebounding production of industrial enterprises.

According to statistics, power consumption increased in 26 provincial-level regions across China in the first quarter this year. In particular, growth was over 10 percent in Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Qinghai province, Gansu province and Tibet autonomous region. Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region reported growth of over 8 percent. The expanding demand for electricity exactly indicated accelerated economic recovery.

The volume of power consumption directly mirrors people’s work and life, and is a true indicator in observing economic activities, said Liu Xiangdong, deputy head of the Economics Research Department, China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

Power consumption bounced back rapidly this year, which indicates expansion of economic activities and a continuous trend of economic recovery, Liu added.

The pickup of power consumption came from the improving production and consumption.

According to statistics released by the National Energy Administration, total power use in China rose 3.6 percent year-on-year in the first three months this year. In particular, electricity consumed in the secondary industry rose 4.4 percent, contributing 78 percent to the rise in power consumption.

In march, the daily power consumption in the manufacturing sector stood at 12.44 billion kWh, 950 million kWh more than that in the same period of 2022.

There has been a significant rise in the power consumption by high-tech and equipment manufacturing enterprises, which exceeded 10 percent in multiple provincial-level regions. For instance, power consumption in the manufacturing industry of Zhejiang province returned to nearly the highest level in history, and volume of electricity consumed by computer, telecommunications and other electronic equipment manufacturers in Ningxia Hui autonomous region surged 113 percent from a year ago.

In the January-March period, the power use of accommodation and catering industries rose 4.1 percent year-on-year, 7.1 percentage points higher than the growth in the fourth quarter of 2022. Thanks to the rapid development of the electric vehicle industry, the power use of the battery charging and swapping enterprises jumped 63 percent from a year ago.

As China restores the pace and order of work and life, all sectors are seeing an increasingly higher demand for electricity, which is the reflection of economic recovery, said Liu.

Many experts believe that the expanding demand and recovering economy are factors driving the surge in power use, and the expanding power consumption mirrors the confidence of market entities and the vitality of the economy.

Power use, while going up, has turned greener.

Statistics show that China’s renewable energy generation rose 11.4 percent year on year to 594.7 billion kWh in the first quarter this year. In particular, wind and photovoltaic power generation stood at 342.2 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 27.8 percent. New installed capacity of renewable energy reached 47.4 million kWh, surging 86.5 percent year on year and accounting for 80.3 percent of the total new capacity.

The expanding investment in the power industry has further strengthened the guarantee of power supply. In the first quarter, major power generation enterprises in China completed an investment of 126.4 billion yuan ($18.23 billion) in power supply projects, up 55.2 percent year on year. In particular, the investment in solar power generation projects surged by 177.6 percent, and that in nuclear power generation increased by 53.5 percent.

The recovery of macro economy this year will promote the growth of the consumption of power, said an executive of the China Electricity Council, adding that the growth in the consumption of power is expected to bounce back rapidly in the second quarter this year.

According to the estimates of the China Electricity Council, the total power use of China will hit 9.15 trillion kWh this year, with a yearly growth of around 6 percent.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

The China-Central Asia Summit will be held on May 18 and 19 in Xi’an, northwest China’s Shaanxi province. It will be chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended by heads of state of five Central Asian countries.

It will be the first major diplomatic event that China hosts this year and the first in-person summit among the heads of state of the six countries over the 31 years since China established diplomatic relations with these countries. It is of milestone significance in the history of the relations between China and Central Asian countries.

This Summit will help draw a new blueprint for China-Central Asia relations and open up a new era for cooperation between the two sides. It will inject new impetus into building a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future and contribute positive energy to regional and world peace, stability, development and prosperity.

“No matter how the international landscape may evolve or how developed China may grow, China will always remain a good neighbor, a good partner, a good friend, and a good brother that Central Asian countries can trust and count on,” said Xi when chairing the Virtual Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations Between China and Central Asian Countries in January last year.

Over the past 10 years, under the strategic guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, cooperation between China and Central Asia has achieved a series of historic and groundbreaking outcomes.

Last year, the heads of state of the six countries jointly announced the building of a China-Central Asia community with a shared future, and the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism came into being.

Today, China has established comprehensive strategic partnerships and signed Belt and Road cooperation documents with all the five Central Asian countries. Bilateral strategic mutual trust has reached a new level; mutually beneficial cooperation has gained new impetus; friendly exchanges have entered a new stage; and China-Central Asia relations and regional development have shown unprecedented vitality.

The key to the successful cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries lies in their abiding commitment to mutual respect, good-neighborly friendship, solidarity in trying times, and mutual benefit. These four principles are a political guarantee for the steady and sustained growth of China’s relations with Central Asian countries and a source of inspiration for China and Central Asian countries to further advance friendly exchanges.

China and the five countries firmly support each other in following development paths that suit their own national conditions, firmly support each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests, actively work for the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, work together to combat the “three evil forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism”, drug trafficking and transborder organized crime, and resolutely oppose external interference or attempts to instigate color revolutions.

China and the five countries share the same or similar positions on major international and regional issues, and will keep close collaboration within multilateral institutions and frameworks such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, practice true multilateralism, and make contribution to promoting the reform of the global governance system and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Central Asian countries have actively responded to and firmly supported the major initiatives proposed by China, such as the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative. Facing the complicated and volatile international landscape, China and the five Central Asian countries will always magnify the exemplary role of good-neighborly friendship, build a cooperation belt for high-quality development, strengthen the shield for defending peace, build a family with diverse interactions, and protect the global village that enjoys peace and development.

Central Asia is where the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was firstly proposed, as well as one of the regions that have reaped the early fruits of the initiative.

Over the past 10 years since the BRI was proposed, China and the five Central Asian countries have actively synergized their development strategies and achieved fruitful results in the high-quality construction of the BRI.

A series of major projects have been completed, including the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline, the China-Kazakhstan crude oil pipeline, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway, and the China-Tajikistan highway. The China-Europe Railway Express which runs through Central Asia has seen rapid growth.

China and Central Asia have jointly built an all-round and multi-dimensional connectivity network that covers roads, railways, air routes and oil and gas pipelines, which not only contributes to the upgrading of industries, connectivity and livelihood in Central Asian countries, but also lays a solid foundation for safeguarding industrial and supply chains in Eurasia.

The China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism, characterized by openness and transparency, mutual benefit, equality, reciprocity and real results, is a new format of cooperation between China and Central Asian countries.

China believes that efforts shall be focused on promoting cooperation in priority areas such as transportation, economy, trade, investment, industry, agriculture, energy, customs, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, so as to build an all-round, multi-tiered and multi-dimensional sub-regional cooperation pattern.

This conforms to the demands of Central Asian countries and the trend of regional integration, and has been widely responded by relevant parties.

The foreign ministers of the five Central Asian countries said the Central Asia-China cooperation has played an important role in consolidating strategic mutual trust, accelerating their respective development, promoting connectivity and safeguarding common security, and has set an example of mutually beneficial cooperation among countries. They believe the China-Central Asia Summit will open a new chapter of Central Asia-China relations and provide new opportunities for Central Asian countries’ transformation and promote the region’s influence.

As an ancient Chinese adage goes, “With one heart and one mind, we can accomplish everything we aspire for.” To promote the well-being of the people of the six countries, the China-Central Asia Summit will surely make new contributions to a brighter future for the relations between China and Central Asian countries and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

By Zhao Shan

The restart of outbound tourism just ignited the passion of Chinese tourists. Nowadays, Chinese travelers are seen in almost every popular tourist destination across the world. Among them, young people make up the majority. What are their features? What are the most popular attractions with them and what do they usually do during their outbound trips?

According to a report recently issued by online tourism platform Mafengwo, people born in 1990s accounted for 57 percent of the first batch of outbound tourists from China after the country optimized COVID-19 response measures.

Backpackers who used to travel alone now favor traveling in groups, and 77.7 percent of outbound tourists prefer trips with families, friends and partners, the report said.

About 57.4 percent of Chinese young outbound tourists stayed over a week at their destinations, and 24.6 percent extended the period to 15 days or above. Nearly half of this group’s per capita consumption exceeded 10,000 yuan ($1,444), who were potential consumers of higher-quality tourism products and experiences.

Countries in Southeast Asia remained the first stop of most young outbound travelers from China, with Thailand being one of the hottest destinations.

The operation of the China-Laos Railway further enriched the choices of young travelers in terms of transport. The hashtag “a railway trip to Laos” became a hot topic on Mafengwo, which made Laos’ Luang Prabang, a station along the China-Laos Railway, one of the overseas destinations that saw the highest growth in search volume.

Young Chinese are crazy about seaside destinations, and islands no doubt became top destinations for many young travelers from China. Phuket, Pattaya, Singapore, Maldives and other destinations were extremely popular among them.

Li Mengran, media public relation manager of travel agency company UTour, told People’s Daily that young tourists today prefer joining tour groups after arriving at their destinations. They usually make travel plans in advance and then purchase tour services at destinations, Li said.

According to online travel platform Fliggy, self-guided trips were chosen by over half of Chinese outbound tourists. The number of orders for one-day tour packages, which are more flexible, surged 15-fold year on year. One-day trips to Phuket and Similan Islands of Thailand as well as Malaysia’s Kota Kinabalu and Kapalai were hot among Chinese tourists.

An executive from Tuniu, a Chinese online travel agency, told People’s Daily that the agency has launched glacier hike, helicopter tour, and stargazing activities in the Mount Cook National Park of New Zealand, to cater to young tourists who love thrilling experiences.

According to the executive, hotels of these tour packages are mostly located in the national park so that young tourists would get better experiences.

The agency also launched novel tour services for young tourists going to the United Arab Emirates, such as desert offroad adventures, visits to the Museum of the Future in Dubai and the Ferrari World Abu Dhabi.

Quality, experience and entertainment have become the major factors that affect young tourists’ choices, and this is also true when it comes to outbound tourism. A long-term stay in Thailand’s Chiang Mai, motorboat rides around Phuket Island or the Camino de Santiago in Europe, the outbound trips of Chinese young tourists are becoming more and more interest-driven.

Apart from exit & entry policies, visa policies, transport and hotel information, emerging entertainment programs and internet-famous attractions are also receiving high attention from young outbound tourists from China.

An employee with Mafengwo told People’s Daily that timely, precise and complete information is just the basics of a good travel plan for many young people, what really attracts them is fresh, niche and individualized experience.

“There are many travelers sharing their new discoveries in our outbound tourism online community,” the employee said.

By Qin Haifeng, People’s Daily

Recently, an domestically developed endoscopic surgery robot assisted two doctors to complete two challenging surgeries at the First People’s Hospital of Xiushui County, east China’s Jiangxi province.

Meanwhile, China’s first county-level demonstration center of robotic-assisted diagnosis and treatment was inaugurated in the county, which has laid a solid foundation for the future application of surgical robots in county-level hospitals across China.

The two surgeries were performed on the morning of April 23 by Wang Baojun, deputy chief physician and associate professor with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, and Wang Gongxian, professor with The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University.

One of the patients was hospitalized because of a lump in the right adrenal gland. Since the big lump was very close to the inferior vena cava and had a high blood flow, the patient could face a high risk of bleeding during the surgery. Besides, the patient’s liver was large, which made it very difficult to perform the surgery.

Thanks to the assistance from the domestically developed endoscopic surgery robot, which offered clear and three-dimensional vision, Wang Baojun soon located the lump, removed it and stopped the patient’s bleeding. The surgery lasted only some 20 minutes.

The other surgery was a radical cystectomy for a senior patient with underlying diseases. Assisted by the robot, Wang Gongxian completed the surgery in just some three hours.

The two surgeries were livestreamed and viewed by medical workers from 36 township-level hospitals and some rural settlements in Xiushui county.

“They were overwhelming and difficult, and completely renewed our perception of diagnosis and treatment,” said Deng Qiulin, head of the medical administration office of the Zhajin township hospital of Xiushui county.

“It’s a rare opportunity for primary-level hospitals like ours to get close to such advanced medical technologies through the county-level hospital. The medical capability of Xiushui county has been on a rise over the recent years. From traditional laparotomy to endoscopic surgery, and to today’s robotic-assisted surgery, impairments caused by surgeries have been reduced, and patients are  making faster recovery,” Deng noted.

The introduction of surgery robots has provided more options for local patients in Xiushui county. The county is one with inadequate transport facilities, so it’s inconvenient for residents with serious illnesses to seek medical services outside the county. Besides, robotic-assisted surgeries might be consideribly expensive in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi province and first-tier cities, but the price is much lower in Xiushui. With the part that can be reimbursed by health insurance, patients won’t have to shoulder much expense.

The application of surgery robots makes it easier to perform higher-risk and precision-demanding operations in smaller spaces and important anatomical regions, which makes surgeries more efficient and convenient, helps reduce stress and fatigue of medical workers and lowers errors.

“Thanks to the application of the laparoscopic surgery robot, we are able to perform surgeries that we dared not to perform in the past and treat diseases that we couldn’t treat in the past,” said Xu Baisheng, an executive of the First People’s Hospital of Xiushui County.

According to Xu, the county-level demonstration center of robotic-assisted diagnosis and treatment established at the hospital, which is the first of its type in China, aims at providing theoretical training, clinical observation and other services related to surgery robots to county-level hospitals across the country.

It is expected to improve primary-level doctors’ recognition and skills of surgery robots and promote the popularization and application of surgery robots at primary-level health institutions, Xu said.

The application of surgery robots at county-level hospitals is of important significance. It not only improves these hospitals’ medical capability and meets the medical demands in rural and less developed areas, but also further balances the distribution of medical resources in urban and rural areas and thus promotes coordinated regional development.

“Sufficient training is needed before new technologies are put into use. We will set up alliances with first-class hospitals in China, reform the management models of operating theaters and the department of anesthesiology, establish professional teams of robotic-assisted surgery, and send relevant personnel to other institutions for further study, so as to make sure that patients in the county can enjoy first-class medical services,” Xu told People’s Daily.

By Ding Yiting, People’s Daily

A cup of tea is what every visitor to Wuyi Mountain, southeast China’s Fujian province must taste.

Tea in this place is grown in a sound environment with lush forests and fresh air, and then stir-fried by intelligent devices in suitable temperature and humidity that can be controlled with just clicks on the screen.

Tea planting is a green industry, and tea-making is also pursuing low-carbon development.

In the past, tea had to be stirred and roasted for over a dozen hours, which consumed large amounts of charcoal. Today, with intelligent tea-producing systems, which are both environmentally friendly and energy-saving, the production has been lifted by about 35 percent and the comprehensive labor cost has been lowered by 20 percent.

Guided by China’s “dual carbon” goals, the local government has developed electric tea roasting devices, making an important step toward greening the tea industry.

Apart from the tea industry in Wuyi Mountain, a series of other projects have been launched, such as a fishery-photovoltaic-energy storage project in east China’s Jiangsu province, a photovoltaic dock in southeast China’s Fujian province, and a low-carbon block featuring photovoltaic rooftops and street lamps in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan province. These projects have enriched the forms of green development and opened up new space for high-quality development.

The “dual carbon” goals proposed by China, peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060, generate a number of opportunities for green development.

Statistics show that China’s major power generation enterprises completed an investment of 126.4 billion yuan ($18.27 billion) in power supply projects from January to March this year, up 55.2 percent year on year. In particular, the investment in solar power generation projects surged by 177.6 percent, and that in nuclear power generation increased by 53.5 percent.

This proves that to reduce emissions is not to reduce productivity, but to promote the green transition in economic development and seek greater development in the green transition.

China’s new energy sector features randomness, intermittency and volatility, while its resources and demand face a distribution issue. To ensure a reliable and stable supply of new energy, China is accelerating the construction of power supply, power grid and power storage projects, which drives relevant investment, promotes the development along the industrial chain and helps with regional employment.

For instance, an ultra-high voltage power transmission project is being constructed between Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality. According to estimation, the project has drawn nearly 90 billion yuan of investment in equipment manufacturing, power supply construction and other sectors.

It is expected to attract more investment, make greater green contributions to economic growth, and boost energy security.

A number of intelligent B&B hotels have been built on Meizhou Island in Putian, Fujian province, which are equipped with photovoltaic and energy storage equipment, and can be controlled with mobile applications. According to the owners of these hotels, they can save more than 10,000 yuan in electricity costs each year.

Steel, petrochemical and other traditional industries are also working to speed up the development of low-carbon techniques and digitalization. Meanwhile, a number of new energy companies are now focusing on the development of new products and new markets.

For example, last year, China’s production of photovoltaic polysilicon, silicon wafers, cells, and modules all increased by over 55 percent year on year. More and more industries are grasping the opportunity of green development to embrace new potential and achieve upgrades amid the green transition.

The rapid development of the new energy sector and the wide application of distributed energy and storage equipment have posed bigger challenges for the safe, efficient and optimized operation of the power system. Therefore, technological innovation must be advanced.

A series of key technologies and equipment have been put into use. Jiangsu province has built a holographic digital power grid to reduce the troubleshooting time; Fujian province is exploring the low-voltage flexible direct current transmission technology to facilitate the supply of photovoltaic electricity; Sichuan province has made breakthroughs in the development of the cascade water-photovoltaic-storage technology, which will better help connect new energy projects to the power grid.

It is believed that China will enjoy bright prospects in the innovation and application of green and low-carbon technologies by making full use of its institutional advantages, resources, technical potential and market vitality.