Nigeria Times

By Du Yifei, People’s Daily

China’s total installed capacity for renewable energy generation exceeded 1.2 billion kW, ranking first in the world. The new energy vehicle (NEV) industry registered exponential growth in the country, with production and sales topping the world for eight consecutive years.

Besides, thanks to afforestation efforts, 64 million hectares of trees have been planted in China over the past decade. During this period, desertification prevention and control was carried out on over 18.53 million hectares of land, 40 million hectares of land were improved through sowing grass, and more than 800,000 hectares of wetland were added or restored.

This set of data indicates China’s accelerated green transition as well as remarkable progress towards its aim to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

Chinese modernization is the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature.

Efforts to prioritize ecological conservation and to advance green, low-carbon and high-quality development can be observed everywhere in the country, from the southeast coast to the inland area in northwest China, and from vast fields to the Gobi Desert.

On the fringe of northwest China’s Mu Us Desert, a 2,000-MW photovoltaic (PV) project is currently being built by the Ningxia branch of the China Energy Investment Corporation. The project, built on unused lands such as goafs and barren slopes, is expected to transmit 3.7 billion kWh of green electricity to east China each year upon completion.

In Zhangpu, southeast China’s Fujian province, China’s first large-scale offshore wind farm using turbines with a single capacity of 16 MW is under construction. The wind farm will save about 500,000 tons of standard coal and reduce around 1.35 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

China has built the world’s largest clean power generation system. It ranks first in the world in terms of the installed capacities of wind, PV, hydro and biomass power generation.

Besides, the country has witnessed a significant rise in the efficiency of energy utilization.

According to Zhao Chenxin, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s average annual economic growth of 6.6 percent has been supported by an average annual growth of 3 percent in energy consumption from 2012, and the per unit GDP energy consumption dropped by 26.4%. China is among the countries with the fastest reduction in energy intensity, Zhao added.

As China pushes for the synergetic progress of economic development and pollution reduction, green industries have grown into a new driver of the country’s economic growth.

China produces 70 percent of the global market share of key components such as PV modules and wind turbines. The country produced over 7 million NEVs last year, and Chinese-made vessels powered by liquefied natural gas, methanol and other green energy constituted nearly half of the global market.

The country sees fruitful results in the building of green and low-carbon industrial chains, and is leading the world in new energy, pollution treatment and environment monitoring technologies.

Ceaseless efforts have brought prominent improvements in ecology and the environment. People are getting more sense of happiness and security from the sound ecological environment.

China has become the world’s fastest country in improving air quality. In 2022, the average concentration of PM2.5 in cities at and above the prefecture-level fell to 29 micrograms per cubic meter, from 46 micrograms per cubic meter in 2015.

Besides, the proportion of surface water at or above Grade III in the country’s five-tier water quality system reached 87.9 percent last year, and the country has hit the target of “zero import” of solid waste.

China has always been taking earnest actions in climate governance. It has reinforced the effort to achieve its nationally determined contributions targets. It will make the steepest cuts in the world to the intensity of its carbon emissions, and complete the process from carbon emissions peaking to carbon neutrality in the shortest span of time.

In 2022, China’s renewable energy generation was equivalent to a reduction of 2.26 billion tons of domestic carbon dioxide emissions. Its exports of wind power and PV products helped other countries reduce emissions by approximately 573 million tons.

The two figures added up to 2.83 billion tons of emissions, or about 41 percent of the world’s total carbon emissions reduction converted from renewable energy.

Since 2016, working in other developing countries, China has launched 10 low-carbon demonstration zones, 100 projects for climate change mitigation and adaptation, training sessions on climate change response for 1,000 people, and more than 200 foreign assistance programs on climate change.

China is committed to working with other countries on promoting green development under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In order to establish a cooperation mechanism for green and low-carbon development under the BRI, China has signed an MoU with the United Nations Environment Programme on building a green Belt and Road, and reached more than 50 cooperation agreements on eco-environmental conservation with relevant countries and international organizations.

It also has trained 3,000 people from more than 120 countries under the Green Silk Road Envoys Program.

China’s mature technologies and experiences in desertification prevention and control are helping Africa build a “green Great Wall” that enhances the continent’s capability in resisting the southward expansion of the Sahara Desert.

The Beleolico offshore wind farm, the first offshore wind power project of Italy, whose key equipment was supplied by a Chinese enterprise, was connected to the grid. The project is able to power nearly 20,000 households.

In addition, Chinese new energy equipment and intelligent digital systems are now contributing to the green and low-carbon development of Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone, Laos.

These stories of green development, jointly realized by China and other countries, are making important contributions to the world’s ecological progress.

By Qiang Wei, People’s Daily

With snow on the grey tiled roof and red lanterns strung on the porch, every house in Zhanghe village, Lingchuan county, Jincheng, north China’s Shanxi province had already been immersed in a festive atmosphere before the 2023 Spring Festival, or the 2023 Chinese Lunar New Year.

Wang Chuan, a villager of Zhanghe village, was busy preparing his B&B hotel for the coming holiday.

“Many regulars have spent New Year’s Eve and enjoyed the reunion dinner here in my house for several years. The meat prepared used up quickly, and I need to go to the town to buy some more,” Wang told People’s Daily.

Zhanghe village used to be an important transportation hub of ancient trade routes, and has retained many features and folk customs of traditional villages in northern China. The village has vigorously developed characteristic tourism leveraging its cultural traditions in recent years.

Motivated by the positive changes in his hometown, Wang, who has worked as a cook for years, decided to return to the village with his wife to start their own business.

Their old house was invested in and transformed into a B&B hotel, which has enjoyed booming business. Wang no longer has to leave his hometown for employment.    

The development of Zhanghe village is an epitome of the industrial upgrading achieved through transformation and investment in many villages of the country in recent years. The practice has given villages brand new looks, attracting more and more migrant workers back home.

It’s estimated that the per capita annual income of Zhanghe village will exceed 30,000 yuan ($4,383.27) by 2025.

At present, nearly 510 million people live in rural areas of China, accounting for 36.11 percent of the country’s total population. Since farmers constitute the main part of China’s low-income earners, the well-off life of farmers is important for the country to achieve its goal of common prosperity.

In Wenzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province, “city study rooms”, 24-hour self-service public libraries, have enjoyed growing popularity among readers.

These libraries provide free, equal, and barrier-free services for readers, representing a vivid practice of Wenzhou’s efforts to achieve common prosperity in the pursuit of spiritual development.

The city has established 136 “city study rooms” since the first one opened to the public in 2014, with a combined area of more than 34,800 square meters and a total collection of nearly 1.43 million volumes. These libraries have received more than 15.06 million visits and witnessed the circulation of over 14.8 million volumes of books.

“Unlike traditional libraries or bookstores, ‘city study rooms’ usually have a cozy and beautiful environment, making people feel at home,” a student surnamed Chen told People’s Daily in a “city study room” on Nantang Street in Wenzhou.

“At first I just came in to shelter from the rain, and I didn’t expect to find an amazing ‘new world’ here. Now I’m a big fan of the place,” Chen said. 

China has become the second-largest economy in the world. In 2022, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) surpassed 120 trillion yuan, which was equivalent to about $18 trillion based on the average annual exchange rate.

Meanwhile, China’s per capita GDP is only $12,700, which is still a long way from reaching the level of medium-developed countries.

Continuously promoting the material and spiritual civilizations for the people on the path to common prosperity is an important feature of Chinese modernization and a direction of China’s development.

Chinese modernization offers a new choice for achieving modernization.

“The amount of disruption brought about by technology, together with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, has exacerbated the already serious income and wealth gaps, highlighting the urgent need to promote inclusiveness and common prosperity within the global sphere,” pointed out an article published on the website of International Institute for Management Development, a think tank in Switzerland.

China’s promotion of common prosperity contributes “Chinese wisdom and solutions to the important challenges of human development worldwide,” according to the article.

“For China to embrace common prosperity, to establish a society of greater fairness, greater equity, that is a very important message not only to China, Chinese people but to the world as well,” British scholar and political commentator Martin Jacques said.

As China marches toward modernization, it will bring more opportunities to the world, inject stronger momentum for international cooperation, and make greater contributions to human progress.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). So far, China has signed BRI cooperation documents with a total of 151 countries.

By the end of 2022, Chinese companies had invested 397.9 billion yuan in the cooperation zones in countries along the routes of the BRI, and created 421,000 local jobs. A World Bank report estimated that BRI-related investments could lift 7.6 million from extreme poverty and 32 million from moderate poverty by 2030.

The Global Development Initiative (GDI), a global public good China has offered to the world, has provided a roadmap for narrowing the North-South gap and addressing the imbalance in development, and accelerated the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Over the past more than a year since the initiative was proposed, more than 60 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the GDI.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping said, “On the road to the wellbeing of all mankind, no country or nation should be left behind.”

The concept and practice of Chinese modernization have continuously injected new connotations and impetus into the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, pointed out the way forward for human civilization, and opened up broader prospects for the common development of humanity.

▪︎▪︎says chairman’s anti-corruption war at gun point

A coalition of civil society and anti-corruption groups on Saturday, accused the Executive Chairman of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, of being biased with prosecution and constantly violating fundamental rights of Nigerians.

In a statement, jointly signed, adopted, and endorsed by some pro-democracy and human rights groups, which includes Arewa Transparency and Democratic Youths Initiatives, Northeast Youths Assembly (NYA),
Centre for Rights, Justice and Democratic Integrity(CRJD),Middlebelt Forum for Good Governance (MFG),Southeast Coalition for Leadership (SCL), and Southwest Alliance for Innovation and Good Governance (SAIG).

The statement read; “There is a universal consensus that power is transient, power is ephemeral, and power is temporary, but the EFCC Chairman is not aware and, as such, lives in a fools paradise and acts pedestrian.

“The use of power in the ancient, medieval and gestapo style in which the EFCC operates is indeed shameful and a disgrace to Nigeria in the comity of nations and should be a major concern to the present administration as well as well meaning Nigerians and the international community.

“Watching what has been going on in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since the appointment of Abdulrasheed Bawa, one cannot help but feel sad that something sinister is wrong somewhere in the management of the Commission, the inefficiency and incapacity of Bawa to steer the direction of the agency professionally.
“The selective anti corruption crusader in Bawa and his lacklustre performance in office would help to determine his place in Nigeria’s corruption battle. He came, saw but failed to make a difference. His greatest odds are himself, and posterity will judge him harshly for self-inflicted blunders and failures.
“Indeed, his greatest undoing is his inability to resist the tendency for selective prosecution of accused persons, pre-emptive trial of suspects undergoing investigation, and conferring above-the-law status to questionable individuals working within and outside the Commission.

“There are several instances where Bawa’s EFCC became the accuser, prosecutor, and the judge in handling certain cases. Such cases are all above the online media, including Saharareporters.

“We are therefore giving Bawa 24 hours ultimatum to honourably resign from office or be ready to face mass action against his continuous stay in office to be coordinated by the Coalition for Pro-democracy/Human Rights groups and Coalition of Nigerians against corruption.

“We shall organize a protest match to the EFCC’s office and other select offices of the Commission and anti- graft agencies across Nigeria to register our disapproval with the grave disobedience to the judgement of the Federal High Court and other Courts sentencing Mr Bawa for contempt.

“We are ready to work with the incoming leadership of the EFCC in order to prevent rights abuses, contempt of courts, and disobedience to court orders in the future.

“We shall network with relevant stakeholders in the anti-graft war to undertake objective analysis of their operations nationwide and institute the conscience of unbiased approach to the struggle against corruption in our country – Nigeria.

“The public perception of the EFCC as a tool for settling political scores, vandetta, and prejudicial trial of accused persons under Bawa leadership must be corrected urgently.

“Thus, the EFCC should now investigate, arrest, and genuinely prosecute all persons in Federal Government agencies whose conduct was detrimental to dipping hands in public treasury. Including government officials who personalized public tilt and others involved in stamp duty remittances saga. The current selective prosecution, framing up of some persons and other obnoxious practices against the principles of fair play, equity, and justice, can no longer be tolerated.

“We make bold to state that there are monumental cases of corruption at the federal level than states and local governments. Indeed, the lion share of the monthly generated and federal allocation are domiciled with federal government.The EFCC should use their energy on serious issues and not witch-hunting individuals and state governments not in their good books or perceived enemies.

“The current selective application of the anti corruption campaign is unacceptable to the democratic loving Nigerians. The EFCC should investigate the circumstances surrounding the inflationary cost of their new headquarters in Abuja. The process must transparently disclose the identity of the contractor and the reason why the contract was executed to the tune of almost N30 billion contrary to the original moderated cost approved .

“Henceforth, EFCC must obey the laws of land because they are also the creation of the law. Our laws state that no citizen should be arrested and detained for more than a specific period without being charged to court.

“The high handed style of breaking people’s houses in a gestapo like style must not repeat itself anywhere in our country. The same EFCC under Bawa never demonstrated such impunity on a known figure notorious for soiling their hands with stamp duty funds and economic sabotage. An offence is much more grevious than other cases involving paltry amounts.

“It is not acceptable for the EFCC to continue to violate the rights of Nigerians with impunity under the guise of fighting corruption. We shall resist any attempt to take us back to the era of military dictatorship.

“We shall constitute Human Rights/Pro-democracy Tribunal for the trial of government officials who violate the rights of Nigerians, disobey court orders, aid mischief against innocent citizens, selectively handle cases of politically exposed persons, that have acted with indecency and impunity in the discharge of their assigned duties. We shall undertake this onerous responsibility and ensure that fundamental rights of Nigerians are not violated for selfish and parochial political interests pseudo democrats and their running dogs “Transient Manipulators of Political Power” in contemporary Nigeria.” It added.

By Chang Qin, People’s Daily

It’s freezing cold outside in winter, but inside a “plant factory” of an agricultural tech firm in Beijing, it’s as warm as spring.

The “plant factory,” which covers 100,000 square meters, looks just like a technology-based “tomato forest” where 39 varieties of tomatoes are grown. The fresh tomatoes produced in the factory are welcomed by the market.

The factory has its environment controlled by digital platforms and comes with a water-fertilizer irrigation system. It is a nonstop vegetable-growing operation.

Plant factory is an efficient way of agricultural production realized via high-precision environmental control that offers appropriate lighting, temperature and nutrition needed by the growth of plants. The factory-like facility enables all-year-round production of crops.

China, though a latecomer in the area, has witnessed rapid development in key technologies and commercialization of plant factories. It has become a major player in the industry and is home to 250 commercial plant factories.

Besides, the country is a world leader in the field of energy conservation in the industry. The promotion and utilization of energy-saving LED lights, nutrient solutions, intelligent management and other technologies have laid a solid foundation for the rapid development of plant factories.

Plant factory, combining biological technologies, engineering technologies and system management, enjoys abundant advantages and generates multifaceted benefits.

It needs no soil or sunlight, and grows food anytime and anywhere. Through intelligent regulation, it significantly reduces the growth period and multiplies the production of crops. Besides, it features a soilless culture that is clean, safe and pollution-free.

Plant factories expand the function of urban agriculture and also can be built on uncultivated areas such as deserts and saline-alkali land. They help relieve China’s pressure from insufficient agricultural resources and play an important role in promoting agricultural efficiency and increasing farmers’ income.

The industry enjoys bright prospects, but also faces a bottleneck that needs to be shattered – high operational costs caused by big energy consumption.

China is currently working to lower the energy consumption in artificial lighting and air conditioning systems and to achieve intelligent management of plant factories, aiming to further promote research and industrialization of the sector and build a production system that’s low-carbon, smart and efficient.

China is a populous country with relatively scarce land and water resources. Its per capita area of arable land and freshwater resources stand at around 1/3 and 1/4 of the world average, respectively. Therefore, it is necessary to conserve resources and improve resource utilization.

China’s agricultural industrialization level continues to improve, and its first, secondary and tertiary industries highly integrate. New models of agricultural production are emerging, which are less seasonal and more geographically diverse.

Compared with traditional agriculture, plant factory, a type of modern facility agriculture, has overcome deficiencies such as high reliance on weather and weak disaster resistance. Relying on modern facilities and technologies that create a desirable environment, plant factory realizes high utilization of resources and is an important method to build resource-saving and environmentally friendly agriculture.

Facility agriculture experienced rapid development in China over the past four decades. The facility horticulture sector alone has reported an output of over 1.4 trillion yuan ($205 billion), accounting for over 2/5 of the total horticultural output and over a quarter of the agricultural output of China. Its economic benefit is more than 20 times that of field crops and more than four times that of open-field horticulture crops.

The facility horticulture sector has saved over 30 million mu (2 million hectares) of quality land. Besides, water consumption by facility vegetable farming is less than half of that by traditional vegetable farming, and 10-million-mu unheated solar greenhouses can save coal consumption by more than 250 million tons each year.

Technology has become a main trend today to assist and vitalize modern agriculture. From developing plant factories and vertical farms to promoting modern cold-arid agriculture, Gobi agriculture and marine farms, China is advancing the three-dimensional utilization of space and constantly expanding agriculture production. It is believed that the continuous development of facility agriculture will inject a stronger impetus into China’s modern agriculture.