Nigeria Times

By Qin Ruijie, People’s Daily

It’s impossible for saline-alkali soil to turn fertile, but it can generate profits when used properly.

In an industrial park in Yanchi, a county in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region that lies on the southern brink of the Mu Us Desert, there are nearly 800 greenhouses built on a vast expanse of saline-alkali soil.

In the greenhouses, no trace of fruits or vegetables can be found, and what’s seen there is spirulina. Besides, whiteleg shrimps are also bred in some of the greenhouses.

The annual precipitation in Yanchi county stands at around 200 millimeters, while the evaporation is as high as 1,500 millimeters. That’s why the county is covered by a number of salt lakes.

To make the infertile saline-alkali soil productive, local authorities have introduced aquaculture and algae processing enterprises, and established 2,500 mu (167 hectares) of breeding bases. Today, the industrial park produces 500 tons of spirulina and 20 tons of phycocyanin on an annual basis.

The story of Yanchi proves that only by thinking out of the box and proactively making changes can industrial structure be optimized, industries well developed, and high-quality development achieved.

Yanchi has transformed the elements that once constrained its development into unique advantages that help it achieve success.

For instance, Yanchi is home to 280,000 mu of saline-alkali land with a pH value of over 9. The underground water there perfectly meets the demand for brine in spirulina breeding. The long sunshine duration in the county ensures that the spirulina receives enough heat for growth, and the low rent of saline-alkali land has reduced the operation costs of the business.

Most of the enterprises in the industrial park were engaged in the production of spirulina tablets and powder. However, they faced severe market competition due to the single product line. To improve the added value of their products, some enterprises have introduced new technologies to abstract phycocyanin, the most nutritious part, from spirulina. The extended industrial chain further expanded the prospects of the local spirulina industry.

Enterprises must adhere to green development and circular economy in order to further expand their businesses. At present, the industrial park is trying to relocate spirulina from the greenhouses to glass tubes, as the tubes, which stretch a total of over 8,000 meters, ensure sufficient sunlight and thus improve the algae’s growth efficiency. Besides, the tubes also help the centralized disposal of waste brine.

The industrial park will also launch a demonstration program that involves photovoltaic power generation, spirulina breeding and aquaculture, as well as sewage disposal.

The success of the industrial park indicates that it is totally possible to turn negative factors into advantages and achieve a win-win of economic growth and environmental protection by efficiently exploiting local resources, advancing technological innovation, and following a path of sustainable development that’s energy-conserving and environmental-friendly.

It is believed that with targeted measures that suit local conditions, China’s high-quality development will embrace brighter prospects.

By Ding Yiting, People’s Daily

China has become a dominant player in the global photovoltaic (PV) industry, huge progress from ten years ago when it had to import raw materials and core equipment from overseas and had few domestic clients

Today, the country makes over 2/3 of the world’s major PV products, and the value of its PV industry has exceeded 750 billion yuan ($105.4 billion). In particular, the country has maintained the world’s largest producer of polycrystalline silicon and PV parts for 11 and 15 years, respectively.

China had installed 306 GW of solar power capacity as of the end of 2021, up from 6.5 GW in 2012, ranking first in the world for seven years in a row.

Ten years ago, the Chinese PV industry was seeing an over-dependence on the foreign market, slow development of key equipment and materials, as well as antidumping and countervailing duties imposed by some countries.

In 2013, China rolled out a slew of policies to support and regulate the PV industry, covering market applications, taxation, land use and many other aspects.

The policies have created a sound environment for technological innovation. The diamond wire-cutting technology, for instance, was able to lower over 30 billion yuan of cost for Chinese PV enterprises each year after being developed domestically.

Over the past 10 years, the average cost of PV generation per kilowatt-hour has been lowered by 70 percent to 0.3 yuan.

“China’s PV industry has a significant advantage It has built the world’s most complete industrial ecology that covers the manufacturing of polycrystalline silicon, silicon wafers, cells and PV parts, as well as holders, inverter and other supportive equipment,” said Wang Bohua, honorary chairman of China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA).

“The supply chain of China’s PV industry is generally independent and controllable. Once technological innovations are made, we can soon put them into use,” Wang added.

Wang introduced that China has achieved constant progress in frontier researches of PV technology. Since 2014, Chinese enterprises and research institutions have constantly improved the conversion efficiency of crystalline silicon cells.

Today, guided by the “dual carbon” goals and under the backdrop of accelerated clean energy development around the world, the major sectors of China’s PV industry have maintained a strong momentum for development. The production of polycrystalline silicon, silicon wafers, cells and PV parts surged 53.4 percent, 45.5 percent, 46.6 percent and 54.1 percent from a year ago in the first half of 2022, respectively.

The application market is also expanding, where both distributed and centralized PV installation see rapid development. During the same period, China deployed around 30.88 GW of new PV power generation, and the new distributed PV installation accounted for 63.6 percent, up 10 percentage points from a year ago.

The constructions of large-scale PV bases in deserts are in full swing. Currently, a 1 GW PV and wind power generation project is under construction in Urumqi, capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The project, built by China Huadian Corporation, includes 124 wind turbines and over 140,000 solar panels.

“In the first half of this year, we commenced 14 PV and wind power projects in Xinjiang. We plan to invest 100 billion yuan to build new energy projects with a total capacity of 20 GW between 2021 and 2025,” said Han Song, chairman of a Xinjiang branch of China Huadian Corporation.

The overseas market of China’s PV industry is also growing fast. According to CPIA statistics, China exported $25.9 billion of silicon wafers, cells and PV parts in the first half of this year, surging 113 percent from a year ago and hitting a new record high.

The association said that over 300 PV projects in China had expanded their capacity between early 2021 and June this year. As of August, there were 496,200 PV-related enterprises across China, and the number of newly established PV companies in the first eight months of this year saw year-on-year growth of over 45 percent.

Experts predicted that the PV sector will enjoy brighter prospects as PV technologies can be employed in construction, transport, energy storage, hydrogen production and other industries,

By HaoYingcan, People’s Daily

“Over ten thousand years ago, the volcano erupted, and a volcanic plateau was thus formed. Being weathered, the plateau was then covered by a thick layer of nutritious humus soil and then evolved into a unique type of field called ‘shiban,’ which literally means a rock board.”

In Shangguandi village, Bohaitownship, Ning’an, northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, Chen Yujia, sales manager of a local rice cooperative, introduced the history of shiban rice to online audiences on a livestream platform.

Thanks to the unique natural environment and traditional cultivation methods, shiban rice is both tasty and nutritious.

The cooperative that Chen works for was established in 2008 by Shangguandi village for better development of the village’s rice business. However, it failed to increase villagers’ income because little innovation was made to renew planting techniques or to expand sales channels.

In 2016, Chen returned to the village and volunteered to serve as the sales manager of the cooperative. She has successfully helped her fellow villagers increase income by optimizing rice growing, processing and sales with internet thinking.

Chen, who was 27 then, together with other two young employees of the cooperative, presented the cultivation of shiban rice to consumers via short videos and livestreaming,sharing with the latter the stories of the crop and authentic rural lifestyles. Besides, they also opened online shops to expand the sales channels of the rice. Gradually, they gained many followers online and received more and more orders.

In the meantime, the cooperative also worked to improve the quality of shiban rice, “greening” every procedure from seed selection to farming and processing.

Besides, Chen constantly upgraded the sales models to bring the consumers better experiences. For instance, the cooperative launched an innovative activity that allows customers to “adopt” rice fields in the spring and reap the yield in the autumn. It would also invite the “adopters” to join rice transplanting and harvesting in the village.

“All the 200 mu (13.3 hectares) of organic rice field had been booked before the transplanting started, and we received earnest payment of nearly 4 million yuan ($526,113),” Chen said.

What’s more, customers can preserve their rice in a barn in the village with thermostats and hygrostats, and get the rice back whenever they want. The cooperative has also established an agricultural internet of things, with which the customers can see how the rice is produced by only scanning a QR code.

It is learned that currently, around 1/3 of the cooperative’s turnover is from online channels.

Xu believes that the internet has become a powerful engine driving rural vitalization. “On one hand, we should advance the branding of agricultural products through the internet. On the other hand, we must have the courage to employ new methods to further expand the market,” Chen said.

By Li Zhongwen, Dou Hanyang, People’s Daily

Li Xiaoping, 62, opened a smart telemedicine program at a community health service center under the guidance of a health instructor, 20 seconds later, she was connected to a doctor on the other side of the screen and started the online consultation.

Li, who suffers from high blood pressure, used to take a long time back and forth to hospitals whenever she felt uncomfortable. The online medical service brought her a whole new experience.

“I never thought that I could see a doctor on the screen, which took me only five minutes,” Li said.

Apart from the telemedicine program, an unattended gym and a home-based nursing center have also been put into use in Li’s community, which lies in Nanxun district, Huzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province.

Li’s experience is a miniature of the low-carbon lifestyles that are being widely promoted in Ditang community these days, and also a new exploration of Huzhou to make people’s life greener.

In March 2019, the provincial government of Zhejiang issued a pilot plan to build “communities of the future” that are harmonious, green and intelligent, in an effort to forge a green and low-carbon living environment.

Zheng Zhifeng, operation manager of the “communities of the future” program in Ditang community, told People’s Daily that as one of the first batch of communities where the program was piloted, Ditang has adopted low-carbon and environment-friendly approaches at the very beginning of construction.

According to him, kitchen waste can be fermented at garbage classification stations in the community, each of which is able to dispose of more than 100 kilograms of kitchen waste on a daily basis. No exhaust gas or water is generated during the process, and the disposed waste can be used as fertilizer for landscaping in the community, he added.

“We want to build a carbon-neutral community, so we used as many low-carbon materials as possible for the construction work,” Zheng introduced.

According to him, a neighborhood center of Ditang community is about to be completed, and it is able to save 54.4 percent of energy consumption in general, of which the energy-saving rate of buildings reaches 39.1%.

The community has built a renewable energy supply system that includes photovoltaic power generation and water source heat pumps, as well as a smart transport system that includes intelligent parking and logistics, Zheng said.

Ditang is not the only effort made in Huzhou that advocates green and low-carbon lifestyles.

For instance, Wuxing district has set up a smart carbon-control platform that records the real-time energy consumption of local industrial enterprises. Anji county has made the once-useless moso bamboos valuable by advancing carbon sink reform.

In Changxing county, a computer is able to control a mine thanks to the development of digital green manufacturing. And in Nantaihu New Area, over 90 percent of enterprises above designated size have built green factories.

Today, green and low-carbon lifestyles are seen everywhere in Huzhou. Since 2022, the city has expanded the area of its green construction by 16 million square meters and all of the newly constructed buildings are built in accordance with green standards.

Forty-two “communities of the future” programs have been launched in the city, and more than 470,000 families are implementing waste sorting based on regular schedules, with 94.6 percent of public participation and 98.8 percent of support.

Besides, the 2022 China Green Low-Carbon Innovation Conference was recently held in Huzhou, offering green Chinese schemes for the sustainable development of the world.

By Qi Zhiming, People’s Daily

Walking on a tree-lined sidewalk embellished with flower beds is definitely a pleasant experience that soothes your mood.

Today, green and low-carbon modes of transport have become a choice for more and more Chinese people as they see the convenience of urban pedestrian and bicycle systems.

To build sound pedestrian and bicycle systems, footpaths and bike lanes should be taken as an important part of urban transport. Science-based improvement of the systems can raise the class of a city, meet people’s diversified demand for transportation, improve transport efficiency and lower vehicle exhaust emissions. It is beneficial for both social and economic development.

Green and low-carbon modes of transport have been largely promoted in China over recent years. For instance, between 2016 and 2020, Beijing has renovated 3,200 kilometers of non-motorized vehicle lanes and built its first bike-only path that stretches 6.5 kilometers. Last year, green transport made up 78 percent of the traffic in downtown Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong province.

Pedestrian and bicycle systems represent a low-carbon way of transport, and they also make public space better and more human-centered.

According to statistics released by the Chinese Cycling Association, cycling is joined by nearly 10 million people in China. To better meet people’s demand for transportation, the country still needs to make more efforts to advance the construction of urban pedestrian and bicycle systems.

If trunk roads and public transport systems are an artery, then pedestrian and bicycle systems are capillaries. The two parts must work in close collaboration to make urban transport efficient.

More room shall be left for pedestrians and cyclists when urban plans are made, and public resources of different types shall be coordinated for better utilization of transport modes. Besides, footpaths and bike lanes must be designated in a science-based manner and connected to hospitals, schools, metro stations and other key areas.

Relevant facilities should be built to improve the safety of cyclists, such as reflective markers and high-friction surfacing. Traffic at crossroads should be maintained well, and more bike parking space should be offered. The right of way of cyclists and pedestrians must be ensured, and more shade trees should be planted to make pedestrian and bicycle systems more attractive and environmental-friendly.

Faster development of pedestrian and bicycle systems makes transportation greener and people’s lives better. China should further prioritize pedestrian and bicycle systems, public transport and green transport, build “slow transport” networks that are friendly to both travelers and tourists, build a sound environment for pedestrians and cyclists, and make footpaths and bike lanes safe, convenient, comfortable and accessible to people of all ages, so as to contribute to the “dual carbon” goals and make urban life better.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

TheKnottedGun statue in front of the UN headquarters provokes the world’s reflection on war and peace. Over the past century or so, the world has gone through both bloody “hot wars” and the silent Cold War. To make the world a peaceful place free of war and in pursuit of development is an aspiration of generations of people.

A country or a nation must follow the trend of history and the times on its way to vitalization.

“What is the trend of today’s world? The answer is unequivocal. It is the trend of peace, development, cooperation and win-win progress,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping.

China, following a path of peaceful development, has explored a new way of vitalization that’s different from what has been taken by other major countries. It pursues development in the context of world development and forges ahead by actively engaging all countries for mutual benefit, so as to safeguard its own national interests and promote global development simultaneously.

China’s path of peaceful development derives from the legacy of Chinese civilization, the country’s clear understanding of its own goals and conditions, and its deep understanding of global trends favoring peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit.

The pursuit of peace, amity, and harmony is an integral part of the Chinese character which runs deep in the blood of the Chinese people, who believe that “the strong should not oppress the weak and the rich should not bully the poor,” and that “though a country is now strong, bellicosity will lead to its ruin.” They refuse to do to others what they would not want for themselves, and would like to replace weapons of war with gifts of jade and silk.

Since the beginning of modern times, the Chinese people had been bullied, insulted and pillaged by imperialist powers for over 100 years. However, what they have gained from it is not the gangster logic that the strong prey on the weak, but a firmer determination to safeguard peace.

For 70-plus years since the founding of the People’s Republic, China has never provoked a conflict, occupied one inch of foreign soil, started a proxy war, or joined any military bloc. China has the best peace record among the world’s major countries.

China’s following the path of peaceful development contributes to the common development of the world.

China actively promotes South-South cooperation and North-South dialogue to help other developing countries strengthen their capability of independent development. It offers sincere and selfless assistance to other developing countries, providing the latter with a huge amount of material, technical, personnel and intellectual assistance. China called for the establishment of multilateral financial organizations such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank to increase the representation and voice of developing countries in international affairs.

Constantly sharing its development opportunities with the rest of the world, China has made important contributions to the peace, stability, development and prosperity of the world.

It puts forward the Global Development Initiative and advocates the building of a global community of development with a share future, demonstrating the global vision of China as a responsible major country to synergize its own development with the common development of the world.

A foreign political dignitary pointed out that China always adheres to multilateralism, which has made important contributions to promoting world peace and development.

China’s following the path of peaceful development contributes to international and regional security. China pursues a national defense policy that is defensive in nature and has codified its commitment to peaceful development into its Constitution. It firmly safeguards the international system with the UN at its core and the international order underpinned by international law, and always represents positive energy in peaceful development.

China explicitly undertakes not to be the first to use nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstances, and unconditionally commits itself not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states or nuclear-weapon-free-zones. Besides, it is actively advancing the international progress of arms control and non-proliferation.

China is the second largest funding contributor to the UN peacekeeping operations, and the top contributor of peacekeeping personnel among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. It plays a constructive role in international and regional hotspot issues.

As the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, China proposed the Global Security Initiative, calling on the world to build on the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and demonstrate the great potential of a new type of security that features dialogue, partnership and win-win instead of confrontation, alliance and a zero-sum approach. The country thus offers a new approach to eradicating the root causes of international conflicts and achieving durable stability and security in the world.

The international society generally believes that China is a peaceful force that the world needs today.

China firmly safeguards its core interests on the path of peaceful development. Any practice that undermines China’s sovereignty, security, development interests and national dignity will be met with forceful fight back.

Only by being brave and adept in carrying out struggle can China maintain peaceful development when confronted with hegemonism and power politics. Only by firmly safeguarding the path and system chosen by the Chinese people, upholding China’s sovereignty, security and development interests, defeating external forces that interfere in China’s domestic affairs and hurt China’s legitimate interests, fighting back the so-called unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, and safeguarding China’s dignity and the legitimate rights and interests enjoyed by the Chinese people, can China finally succeed on its path of peaceful development.

With a firm determination, concrete actions and forceful measures, China has built a solid line of defense for its national sovereignty, security, development interests and national dignity, which not only shapes a sound external environment for national development and rejuvenation, and creates favorable conditions for the peaceful development of the world.

Peace and development are an eternal aspiration of mankind and a common pursuit of all countries. Every country in the world should take up the baton of history and forge ahead on the marathon track toward peace and development.

No matter how the global situation might have changed, China has always remained committed to world peace, global development and international order. The country will keep working with the rest of the world to pursue, protect and enjoy peace, and make relentless efforts to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

By YueLinwei, People’s Daily

“My father always keeps the letter from President Xi Jinping,” said Hiroaki Tsukamoto, president of Japanese company Tokai Lease Co., Ltd., during a recent interview with People’s Daily, showing a photo in his mobile phone in which his father Yukishi Tsukamoto is holding the letter.

The letter was sent from the Chinese president on May 10, 2019. In the letter, Xi said he often recalled his visit to the Tsukamoto family in Japan. Xi expressed his appreciation for the decades-long efforts made by the Japanese businessman to promote China-Japan friendship. He said he was looking forward to meeting Yukishi Tsukamoto again.

“Though my father is getting on in years and has not visited China since 2008, he always hopes to go to China again and meet President Xi,” Hiroaki Tsukamoto told People’s Daily.

Yukishi Tsukamoto is the founding president of Tokai Lease Co., Ltd. In 1988, the man, in his sixties, expanded his business and set up a company in Fuzhou, southeast China’s Fujian province.

In May, 1991, Xi, who then served as the secretary of the Communist Party of China’s (CPC)Fuzhou municipal committee, visited Japan and went to the Tsukamoto family.

“The Chinese guest was amiable and polite. He showed his wisdom and long-term vision in the conversations, and soon hit it off with my family,” Hiroaki Tsukamoto recalled.

“My mother told me that I should learn from Xi.Though he was just a few years older than me,Xi has such a visionary view,” Hiroaki Tsukamoto noted, who still has a vivid memory of the visit though it’s been more than 30 years.

Hiroaki Tsukamoto has visited Fujian multiple times with his father, and called on Xi who was then working in the province.

“He was kind and easy-going. In our conversations, he not only mentioned the industrial cooperation between China and Japan, but also introduced to us the economic development of Fujian, as well as the improvement in the livelihood of the local people,” Hiroaki Tsukamoto said.

At that moment, the Japanese businessman realized that Xi always bears the Chinese people in mind and saw the noble mission of the CPC to seek happiness for the Chinese people.

Yukishi Tsukamoto has been honored for times in China due to his important contributions to China-Japan economic cooperation and exchanges.

In April, 1996, he received honorary citizenship of Fuzhou city, and a year later, he was awarded the Friendship Award from the Chinese government. In October, 2001, he became an honorary citizen of Fujian province and attended the awarding ceremony with his three-generation family.

With the steps of China’s opening up, the business of the Tsukamoto family in China has further expanded. Hiroaki Tsukamoto said that China’s development and changes since the 18th CPC National Congress are obvious to all, and the CPC’s anti-corruption efforts have created a clean social environment.

“My father always says that the CPC’s anti-corruption fight suggests that the CPC is a political party that is courageous enough to carry out self-reform,” Hiroaki Tsukamoto said.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has lifted hundreds of millions of Chinese people out of poverty, put an end to absolute poverty, and implemented the rural vitalization strategy.

Hiroaki Tsukamoto has paid multiple visits to rural Fujian for business, where he was quite impressed by the historic achievements and changes in China’s agriculture and rural affairs.

“When we built factories in Fujian a few decades ago, the factories were surrounded by barren land, but now they have been developed into central districts, which are completely different from what I saw earlier,” Hiroaki Tsukamoto said, adding that the transport today is well connected, the rural environment is more beautiful and the infrastructure is more complete.

Hiroaki Tsukamoto always shares what he sees nowadays in China with his parents, who were full of praise every time they learned about the country’s rapid development achieved under the leadership of Xi.

All three generations in the Tsukamoto family share a close bond with China. Hiroaki Tsukamoto’s child went to China for study this September.

“It’s a pity for me and my father that we can’t speak Chinese, so I hope my child can learn to speak the language. We will keep working generation after generation to carry forward our friendship with China,” Hiroaki Tsukamoto said.