Nigeria Times

By Wu Jun, People’s Daily

Industry projections indicate that China generated nearly 400,000 tons of end-of-life electric vehicle (EV) power batteries in 2025, with that volume expected to surpass 1 million tons by 2030. 

What happens to these batteries once they reach end-of-life? A recent visit by People’s Daily reporters offers a closer look.

Trucks laden with retired EV batteries arrive daily at an integrated circular economy industrial park managed by Brunp Recycling, a holding subsidiary of Chinese battery giant CATL. Located in the Yichang Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone in Yichang, central China’s Hubei province, this is where these batteries begin a new journey through the recycling chain.

“Upon arrival, retired batteries are sorted and stored according to their models, conditions, and sources,” said Chen Zhaozhe, production manager at Yichang Brunp Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. The company recycles more than 150,000 tons of power batteries annually.

Inside the storage area, rows of battery packs were neatly stacked. “All these power batteries have degraded to less than 80 percent health,” Chen noted. “They suffer slower charging speeds, reduced driving range, diminished power output, and elevated risks of thermal runaway.”

Historically, gaps in battery management sometimes allowed end-of-life batteries to re-enter the market. Others ended up in unauthorized workshops with inadequate facilities and recycling technologies, posing significant safety and environmental risks.

To address these issues, China launched a national traceability information platform for new energy vehicle power batteries on March 31 this year. Every battery is now required to have its digital identification number recorded throughout its entire lifecycle from manufacturing and vehicle installation to operation, maintenance, retirement, and recycling.

“This not only helps ensure that we follow standardized procedures, but also allows vehicle owners to track where their batteries ultimately go,” Chen said. “That increases their willingness to sell retired batteries to authorized recyclers.”

The company has established a comprehensive traceability system that tracks every stage of the recycling process, from incoming materials and production procedures to final product shipments.

Once a battery’s digital identity is verified, the retired pack moves to an automated dismantling line. Robotic arms skillfully remove the outer casing, revealing densely packed, brick-sized battery cells inside.

These cells, still potentially unstable, undergo a complete discharge process first to reduce their voltage to safe levels.

Following discharge, the cells are processed in crushing equipment, breaking them into uniformly sized fragments. The resulting mixture enters a nitrogen-protected furnace for high-temperature pyrolysis. Subsequent procedures, including dispersion, screening, and sorting, separate constituent materials such as casings, copper, and aluminum.

“Some of these separated materials can be reused directly,” said Wang Hao, technical director at Yichang Brunp Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. “What remains is a high-purity black powder known as black mass.”

This “black mass” is the most valuable material recovered from the cell, containing concentrated quantities of high-value elements such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese — the critical raw materials for future batteries.

In the hydrometallurgical workshop, the black mass is fed into enormous reaction tanks and mixed with specially formulated acidic solutions. Under carefully controlled conditions, an intense chemical reaction takes place. The solid black mass dissolves completely, and its metal elements enter the solution in ionic form, creating a complex “metal soup.”

For years, a major challenge in the industry was efficiently and accurately separating and purifying individual metals from this intricate mixture. 

“Traditional recycling methods often suffered from low recovery rates, poor product purity, high energy consumption, and the generation of large amounts of difficult-to-treat waste residue,” Wang said.

To overcome these limitations, the company developed a direct recycling technology. Using this process, the combined recovery rate for nickel, cobalt, and manganese reaches 99.6 percent, while lithium recovery reaches 96.5 percent.

After passing through multiple processing stages, the dissolved black mass is ultimately transformed into high-purity lithium carbonate and iron phosphate. These newly regenerated raw materials can then be transported directly via pipelines or short-distance logistics to nearby downstream battery manufacturing facilities located just across the road.

“The iron phosphate and lithium carbonate supplied by Brunp Recycling are precisely blended and processed to manufacture new high high-performance lithium iron phosphate cathode materials,” said Shi Jiang, head of the cathode materials division at another company under Brunp Recycling.

Compared with battery materials produced from newly mined ores, the next-generation lithium iron phosphate batteries made with recycled materials deliver outstanding performance.

“EVs equipped with these batteries offer faster charging speeds and longer driving ranges,” Shi said. “They are better able to meet market demand for fast charging, extended range, and greener, lower-carbon transportation.”

The full regeneration cycle from discarded battery pack to new raw cathode materials takes just a week.

In recent years, the industrial park has also established a closed-loop system of reverse product design. Lessons learned from the recycling process are fed back to battery manufacturers, helping them design batteries that are easier to recycle.

“For example, we recommend optimizing battery pack structures so they can be dismantled more easily through automated processes after retirement,” Chen explained. “We also suggest adjusting the composition of certain metal materials so they can be separated and purified more efficiently during future recycling.”

By Han Xin, People’s Daily

Historically, cellular connectivity was lost during maritime travel. However, passengers journeying between Northeast China’s Liaoning province and Eastern China’s Shandong province across the Bohai Sea now enjoy seamless 5G connectivity throughout their voyage. 

This is thanks to China launching its first large-scale, continuous maritime 5G network covering the vital shipping corridor connecting Dalian to Yantai in June 2024. This achievement means stable, high-speed internet is available along the entire 150-kilometer route, transforming the travel experience.

Passengers embarking on the six-hour journey can now do far more than simply place calls; uninterrupted video chats and high-bandwidth online activities are readily possible aboard major ferries.

Two years after its initial deployment, what impacts has this network generated? Recently, a People’s Daily reporter boarded a vessel to find out.

Mid-morning was bustling at Dalian Bay’s integrated transportation hub in Liaoning province as summer travel approached. Vehicles streamed onto the lower deck of the Jilongdao, a large roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) vessel operated by COSCO Shipping Ferry, while passengers boarded via gangways. Forty minutes later, the 208-meter-long ship departed for Yantai Port. Capable of carrying over 1,300 passengers and more than 500 vehicles, the Jilongdao is among the fastest ferries operating in Chinese waters.

Following the guidance of Hu Xiaofeng, general manager of COSCO Shipping Ferry, the reporter noticed a sign above a bedside table in one of the cabins that read “Passenger Wi-Fi.” After connecting, messaging, photo sharing, and other online activities worked smoothly.

The upgrade has greatly enriched the passenger travel experience.

“Before maritime 5G coverage, taking the ferry basically meant going offline for hours,” said Xu Hongwei, who has traveled regularly between the two regions for nearly a decade. “I usually chose overnight sailings so I could sleep through the trip.”

Since 5G coverage became available, she has increasingly opted for daytime crossings. “Now I can browse on my phone, stay connected, and enjoy the sea views along the way,” she said. “I’ve actually come to enjoy the journey.”

Beyond enhancing passenger comfort, connectivity has significantly improved operational efficiency for crews and management. Previously, maintaining real-time communication with shore support was challenging. Today, crews can instantly access vital information on port conditions, navigation updates, cargo status, and weather, enabling better route planning and docking schedules. Medical emergencies benefit too, as shore-based medical assistance can be coordinated much faster.

For the ferry companies, it revolutionizes management. “Tasks previously requiring manual forms or radios can now be handled through online systems,” Hu explained, “dramatically improving our digital capability.” Stable mobile payment services also facilitate a wider range of onboard retail offerings.

Perhaps most critically, the 5G network bolsters maritime emergency response. When vessels encounter difficulty, real-time distress information can be immediately relayed via the 5G network to rescue coordination centers. This enables rapid dispatch of drones, unmanned surface vessels, and other smart equipment, forming what officials describe as an integrated “smart safety net” for maritime operations.

“Over the past two years, this 5G network, covering more than 20,000 square kilometers of sea area, has undergone continuous optimization and upgrading,” said Li Wei, deputy director of the communications and information division of the Maritime Safety Administration’s Northern Navigation Service Center. “It has truly achieved seamless capabilities for observation, communication, and data transmission.”

The numbers tell the story. Following dozens of equipment upgrades, 5G coverage along the Liaoning-Shandong route has expanded by 30 percent, while signal reception strength has improved by 5 percent. Individual base stations now serve more than 2,500 users on peak days, and average daily data traffic exceeds 3 terabytes. 

Stable high-bandwidth services, including messaging, voice communications, and video streaming, can be transmitted smoothly, serving more than 5 million passenger trips each year.

Building on this successful pilot, the Northern Navigation Service Center is working with maritime authorities in Tianjin, Liaoning, Hebei, and Shandong, as well as wireless carrier China Mobile, to expand maritime 5G coverage across the Bohai Sea.

“By making full use of existing maritime infrastructure and navigation support resources, while also leveraging offshore oil platforms, wind farms, and other facilities, we plan to build 48 additional 5G base stations across the Bohai Sea by the end of this year,” Li said.

The ongoing expansion aims to deliver full, continuous 5G coverage over major Bohai Sea shipping routes, bringing reliable connectivity to even more vessels and passengers navigating China’s northern waters.

By Yu Sinan, People’s Daily

Artificial intelligence continues to evolve remarkably — from image recognition and text generation to video creation — demonstrating increasingly sophisticated capabilities.

As these digital capabilities mature, the technology sector is shifting focus toward integrating AI into physical environments. This emerging concept, known as physical AI, is gaining significant traction within the industry.

Physical AI represents intelligent agents capable of perceiving physical environments and performing human-like actions beyond digital interfaces.

Ma Xiaojian, head of the joint laboratory between the Beijing Institute for General Artificial Intelligence and Delta Intelligence, noted that physical AI has three defining features: its capabilities are built on real-world physical interaction data, it incorporates an understanding of the physical world, and it can be deployed in real-world physical entities.

Where generative AI excels in content creation and data analysis, physical AI specializes in environmental interaction and motion control tasks. “While representing different AI dimensions, these domains demonstrate growing convergence,” Ma noted. Generative AI’s capabilities — including language interpretation, scenario modeling, and automated coding — enhance physical AI’s task execution and environmental navigation.

Over the past few years, the tech industry has advanced physical AI from core algorithms to ontology engineering through multiple approaches.

Ma said that there are three main technical pathways currently used to implement physical AI.

The first is the “pre-training and post-training” approach, in which models undergo large-scale pre-training on internet videos, first-person videos, and cross-robot manipulation data before being further refined through teleoperation data, reinforcement learning, or real-world fine-tuning.

The second is the “real-simulation-real” approach, which reconstructs real-world geometry, materials, and dynamics into high-fidelity simulation environments, enabling robots to learn through extensive trial and error in digital twins before deployment in physical systems. The third is a large model programming approach, where language models generate robot control programs that integrate perception, planning, execution and other functions.

Each approach has its own strengths and limitations. “Overall, the three routes are unlikely to replace one another. Instead, they will gradually converge in data, simulation, and model reasoning,” Ma said.

Industry experts are optimistic about the commercialization prospects of physical AI. On one hand, physical AI follows the same development trajectory as large AI models, leveraging larger datasets, more capable models, systematic evaluation, and continuous iteration to steadily improve performance. On the other hand, commercialization does not depend on the arrival of fully general-purpose robots. In specialized domains, demonstrating strong generalization across similar tasks is already a major step toward real-world adoption.

Looking ahead, frontier fields such as the low-altitude economy, new energy batteries, embodied intelligence, advanced chips, and aerospace, where complex simulation and optimization are required, are expected to become key application areas for physical AI. Ma believes the technology will first emerge in scenarios that are unsuitable for long-term human labor and difficult for traditional automation to fully address.

A real-world example exists in remote mountainous power grid inspections. Tiangong, a humanoid robot developed by Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, now performs complex tasks previously requiring human workers — including high-altitude inspections, substation operations, and grounding wire installation.

“Physical AI complements rather than replaces traditional automation,” Ma clarified. Conventional solutions remain more cost-effective when operating in structured environments with fixed workflows. Physical AI’s unique advantage lies in dynamic environments demanding real-time adaptation, flexible decision-making, and safe execution of hazardous tasks.

In industrial applications, training efficiency for physical AI models is also improving rapidly.

“Thanks to years of accumulation in AI infrastructure, we have increased training speed for vision-language-action models by 70 percent, and reduced inference latency for world models by 50 percent. Training cycles that once took weeks can now be reduced to hours,” said Shen Dou, executive vice president of Baidu.

The real-world application of physical AI depends on continuous iteration driven by feedback from real scenarios.

Industry experts noted that China’s rich application scenarios offer a unique advantage. “Only by applying technologies in frontline settings such as mines, factories, warehouses, and inspection sites can physical AI form a virtuous cycle of scenario-data-model-product,” Ma said.

By Wu Yuehui, People’s Daily

The newly launched Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE), a collaborative satellite mission between China and Europe, has successfully entered its designated orbit. This mission marks a groundbreaking advance in solar-terrestrial exploration. Using innovative soft X-ray imaging — a global first — SMILE will achieve panoramic imaging of the Earth’s magnetosphere.

As the last mission of the strategic pioneer program on space science (Phase II) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, SMILE addresses a gap in China’s space exploration capabilities and marks a pivotal transformation — from isolated breakthroughs to a constellation of space science satellites.

Space science defines the frontier of deep-space exploration and serves as a key benchmark of national scientific and technological strength. For many years, China’s space science program operated from a relatively modest foundation, lacking self-developed high-end exploration satellites and independent data streams. Research largely depended on publicly available foreign datasets, creating major constraints on advanced, frontier scientific research.

A structured national program dedicated to space science satellites began in 2011. This launched a concerted effort over the subsequent decade. A series of dedicated science satellites were successfully developed and launched, including the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Satellite, the world’s first quantum science satellite Micius, the X-ray astronomy satellite Insight-HXMT (Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope), and the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S), the country’s first comprehensive solar observation satellite, achieving major breakthroughs across multiple fields.

DAMPE has detected high-energy cosmic particles all year round in its ongoing search for dark matter, generating critical data to help unravel the mysteries of the universe’s origins. Micius was the first to achieve space-to-ground quantum communication over distances of more than 1,000 kilometers, placing China at the forefront of space-based quantum applications. Insight-HXMT has monitored extreme astrophysical phenomena, precisely detecting burst signals from black holes and neutron stars and yielding a series of major original achievements.

Each of these missions pursued distinct scientific objectives with unique capabilities. Progress across multiple fields within space science has been remarkable, propelling China from a late entrant to a significant global contributor. This progression has steadily fortified the technological bedrock essential for future deep-space endeavors.

As deep-space exploration progresses, the inherent limitations of conducting observations using single, independent satellites have become increasingly clear. These include constrained observational scope, gaps in temporal continuity, and data primarily confined to a single dimension or measurement type. This makes it challenging to reconstruct complex dynamic processes that occur in space. Drawing on years of operational experience and research insights, China’s space science program is now embracing a new paradigm characterized by constellations of satellites working in concert and integrated networks combining space-based and ground-based observations.

SMILE plays a pivotal role within this evolving structure of systematic exploration. It is designed to function synergistically with ASO-S and the Chinese Meridian Project (CMP), also known as the Ground-based Space Environment Monitoring Network. Together, this integrated space-ground system delivers comprehensive and precise monitoring of the solar-terrestrial space environment. This capability provides vital support for a range of activities, including spacecraft operations, communications, and navigation.

China has also established the world’s first three-satellite constellation on the Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO) in the Earth-moon region of space. The accomplishment has yielded variety of original scientific and technological breakthroughs, laying a solid foundation for future Earth-moon space utilization and and cutting-edge deep-space exploration.

Technological self-reliance underpins confidence in systematic space exploration. Today, every critical link in the chain — from satellite platforms and core payloads to precise on-orbit TT&C (telemetry, tracking and command) and raw data processing — relies entirely on domestically developed technologies. 

At the same time, China remains committed to an open and mutually beneficial approach to international space cooperation. Through collaborative programs such as the SMILE mission, China shares exploration data and co-develops research platforms, integrating into the global space exploration network on the basis of independent innovation while demonstrating the openness and responsibility of a major player in outer space.

Space technology enables space science exploration, while the goals of space science, in turn, drive breakthroughs in space technology. The national mid and long-term development program for space science (2024-2050) released in 2024, outlines a three-step strategic roadmap for China’s space science development. Its implementation is expected to elevate the country’s space science capabilities and provide stronger support for building China into a space power and a science and technology giant.

From pioneering single-satellite missions to developing satellite constellations and systematic exploration capabilities, the evolution of China’s science missions vividly reflects the country’s pursuit of greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology. As more science satellite constellations take shape and begin operating in coordination, the foundation for China’s self-reliant development in space science will grow ever more solid, driving deep-space exploration further into the unknown.

By Yu Jingxian, Su Bin and Dou Hanyang, People’s Daily

China is the birthplace of tea and the cradle of tea culture. In recent years, the country’s matcha industry has expanded rapidly, with both production capacity and international competitiveness reaching new heights. 

According to a 2026 report on the development of China’s matcha industry, the country’s matcha output exceeded 12,000 tons in 2025, accounting for nearly 70 percent of global production. Over the past five years, the industry has posted a compound annual growth rate of 28.67 percent.

Wuyi county of Jinhua, east China’s Zhejiang province, is a time-honored tea-growing area. Zhou Xiaofen, director of the tea technical service station under the county’s bureau of agriculture and rural affairs, noted that evolving tea consumption patterns have driven a sharp rise in demand for deep-processed tea goods and diversified tea drinks. This presents great opportunities to revitalize local tea resources, expand the industrial chain and cater to the emerging consumer market.

Inside a matcha processing workshop of Zhejiang Xiangyu Tea Co., Ltd., freshly harvested tea leaves undergo 12 processing steps before being transformed into finely milled, aromatic matcha powder destined for markets around the world.

“We launched our matcha production line in 2019 and built a dedicated 15-member research and development team,” said company head Zhu Lingping. 

After over five years of trials and refinements, the team has mastered core processing techniques for matcha production. It has also tackled tough technical hurdles including maintaining the tea’s green hue and achieving precise fineness control. The company now holds distinct technological advantages, delivering premium matcha featuring vivid color, rich fragrance, pure freshness and an ultra-fine texture.

A pioneer in China’s matcha production, Zhejiang has emerged as an industrial powerhouse. In 2025, the province produced 8,851 tons of matcha with an output value of 1.1 billion yuan ($162.45 million). During the first quarter of this year, Zhejiang exported 1,241.97 tons of matcha worth 140 million yuan($20.66 million), representing a 7.3-fold increase year on year.

Tongren in southwest China’s Guizhou province is another key hub of the matcha industry. There, a unique ecological environment characterized by high elevation, low latitude, abundant cloud cover, and limited direct sunlight has provided favorable conditions for the differentiated development of its roughly 467,000 hectares of tea plantations.

Tongren’s matcha is primarily supplied to food-processing enterprises worldwide and the premium tea beverage industry. The city has established close partnerships with more than 300 leading new-style tea brands at home and abroad. 

In 2025, the city produced and sold 2,500 tons of matcha, including 1,300 tons for export, three times the previous year’s volume. Its export volume ranked first nationwide and second globally. In the first quarter alone, exports rose by more than 40 percent year on year, while the number of export destinations expanded to 54 countries and regions.

China’s matcha industry has entered a new stage marked by simultaneous growth in both quantity and quality. The number of enterprises, supporting industrial facilities, and export scale have all expanded significantly.

“Premium matcha requires a fineness of 800 to 1,000 mesh — less than 1/10 the size of milk powder particles,” said Meng Zude, chairman and general manager of GuiTea, a major matcha producer in Guizhou. “Traditional stone mills are no longer sufficient for large-scale production. Advanced equipment such as ultrafine pulverizers, low-temperature ball mills, and jet mills is essential.”

The company has expanded its intelligent grinding facilities by adding 10 production lines. Using low-temperature ball-milling technology, it consistently achieves a fineness of 1,200 to 1,300 mesh. A newly built digital and intelligent cold-storage facility with a capacity of 5,000 tons has also been put into operation, providing strong support for raw-material storage and quality assurance.

“We established a dedicated matcha research institute and have worked with research institutions such as the Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Jiangnan University to tackle key technological challenges and build joint innovation platforms,” Meng said. 

The company has filed more than 40 patents while continuously improving tea cultivars and processing techniques. Today, Tongren’s matcha has passed more than 500 European Union pesticide-residue tests.

Beyond cutting-edge production, a comprehensive standards system has become another pillar of the industry’s success. In recent years, Zhejiang has introduced a series of technical standards covering tea plantation management, matcha processing, and product development.

At Zhejiang Gengxiang Organic Tea Development Co., Ltd. in Baimu township, Wuyi county, more than 74 hectares of organic tea gardens have been transformed into a “5G smart tea plantation.” Using Internet of Things technology, the plantation integrates solar-powered insect-trapping lamps, frost-prevention fans, weather-monitoring stations, and other intelligent management facilities. These systems enable functions ranging from growth monitoring and harvest forecasting to pest surveillance and farm-operation record keeping.

“Rigorous quality control has opened global markets for us. End-to-end organic and standardized production is the key to securing a place in the world’s high-end supply chains,” said Jin Guoqing, general manager of the company.

From admiring, sipping and buying tea to exploring tea culture, matcha serves as a wonderful link. All over China, tea and tourism integration continues to deepen, offering diverse immersive experiences for visitors worldwide.

Jingshan township in Yuhang district, Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, is renowned for its Jingshan tea tradition, which stretches back more than 1,280 years to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It is widely recognized as the birthplace of the tea-whisking culture that flourished during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and Japan’s matcha-making tradition can trace its origins to Jingshan. 

In 2022, the “traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China,” rooted in the Jingshan Tea Ceremony, were added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

At Wufeng Tea Garden in Jingshan township, rolling green hills and the fragrance of tea create a picturesque setting. On weekends, primary and secondary school students often visit the plantation for matcha-themed study tours.

“We have turned tea plantations into open-air classrooms. By taking part in the full immersive journey from tea bushes to finished drinks, young people get to learn about and carry forward matcha culture,” said Ma Kuan, the tea garden’s manager.

Meanwhile, in Tongren, local authorities are tapping into historical and cultural resources, preserving the Song Dynasty tea-whisking tradition, and planning the construction of matcha-themed industrial parks, towns, and cultural attractions. 

During China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), Guizhou aims to integrate matcha into 10,000 consumption scenarios and expand the industry’s total output value to 10 billion yuan($1.48 billion).

People’s Daily reporters

Along the Mediterranean shores, Greece’s Port of Piraeus in Greece is bustling with activity and vitality. Massive cargo vessels line its docks, rows of containers stretch across the docks, towering cranes dominate the skyline, and China-Europe Land-Sea Express trains loaded with goods stand ready for departure.

A decade ago, this historic harbor faced near-irrelevance due to aging infrastructure, operational inefficiency, and outdated management. The turning point arrived in 2016 when China’s global shipping leader, COSCO Shipping, revitalized the port as a centerpiece of China-Greece collaboration under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Located about 10 kilometers southwest of Athens, Piraeus is Greece’s largest port. As one of the world’s oldest seaports, it occupies a strategic location, linking maritime routes from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean, from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, and through the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea.

A decade ago, however, the port faced severe challenges. Aging facilities, inefficient operations, and outdated management had left it struggling to compete. Many international shipping companies shifted their business elsewhere, and economic activity around the port stagnated. 

In 2016, COSCO Shipping officially assumed management of the port. At that time, the port handled approximately 3.74 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually and ranked 93rd among the world’s container ports. Today, it is one of the busiest ports in the Mediterranean, with annual container throughput exceeding 5.6 million TEUs and a global ranking that has risen as high as 25th.

“The past 10 years have witnessed how the Port of Piraeus has transformed from a corner of the Mediterranean to a global hub,” Han Chao, chairman of COSCO Shipping Piraeus Port Authority SA, told People’s Daily.

According to Han, a decade of modernization and refined management has transformed every major segment of the port’s operations. 

Its cruise business has expanded significantly, attracting nearly 1.8 million international visitors annually and placing the Port of Piraeus among the world’s top 10 cruise home ports and the Mediterranean’s top three. 

Its ferry operations have become industry-leading, with high-speed passenger and vehicle ferry capacity ranking first in Europe and among the strongest worldwide, serving more than 18 million passengers each year.

Meanwhile, container operations have achieved rapid growth, dramatically improving the port’s global standing. Looking ahead, the Port of Piraeus is aiming to become one of the world’s top 20 ports and one of Europe’s top three container hubs. 

Supported by a comprehensive industrial ecosystem, the port has also developed into a major ship repair center and automotive transshipment hub in the Eastern Mediterranean. In 2025, it ranked eighth in the Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index, further strengthening its influence as a regional shipping center.

Over the past decade, the Port of Piraeus has expanded its business portfolio in all directions, building 6 core business segments: container shipping, cruise services, ferry transportation, automobile roll-on/roll-off operations, logistics and warehousing, and ship repair and shipbuilding. Together, these sectors have created a diversified and integrated maritime industrial ecosystem.

Han noted that the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line, built around the port’s strategic advantages, now connects 9 European countries and more than 1,500 service points, serving a population of 71 million. The service has established a major sea-rail transport corridor stretching from the Mediterranean deep into Central and Eastern Europe. It has enabled Chinese products and opportunities generated by the Belt and Road Initiative to reach European markets more efficiently, while helping high-quality European goods and resources gain better access to the Asia-Pacific region.

“Since COSCO Shipping took over the port, I have witnessed the fastest period of development in the port’s history,” said Savvas Sanozidis, a resident of Piraeus who has served as the secretary of the board of directors of Piraeus Port Authority for nearly 20 years.

He observed that the Chinese company combined strategic vision with practical execution, completing a comprehensive modernization of the port within a relatively short period of time and driving its transformation from a regional harbor into an international maritime hub.

“The expansion and upgrading of the three container terminals, alongside simultaneous development of the cruise terminal, automobile facilities, and shipbuilding and repair zone, have fundamentally reshaped the port,” he said. “It is no exaggeration to describe this as a rebirth for Piraeus, and COSCO Shipping deserves enormous credit.”

The port’s revival has also generated substantial benefits for the local community. Over the past decade, COSCO Shipping Piraeus Port Authority SA has directly created thousands of quality jobs and indirectly supported tens of thousands more positions in logistics, maintenance, trade, and services. As a result, many local residents have enjoyed more stable incomes and improved living standards.

From dockworkers and equipment maintenance technicians to truck drivers and service personnel within the port area, many families have benefited from the resurgence of the Port of Piraeus.

“China-Greece cooperation has changed far more than the appearance of a port. It has reshaped urban development trajectories and improved the lives of the people,” said Yiannis Moralis, Mayor of Piraeus.

During the past decade, COSCO Shipping has invested more than 10 billion yuan ($1.48 billion) in Greece. These investments have not only revitalized the port itself but also stimulated broader regional economic development. More than 20 workshops and supporting businesses now operate around the port, providing services ranging from electrical systems and marine engineering equipment to structural repairs and hull painting. Many also offer training programs that help local workers acquire ship repair skills.

The rebirth and rise of the Port of Piraeus have challenged simplistic perceptions of international port cooperation and vividly demonstrated the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. In Han’s view, the project is far more than a conventional overseas investment.

“It is a vivid example of civilizational exchange and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Greece,” he said. “Chinese capital, technology, and management expertise have complemented Greece’s local resources and geographical advantages, contributing to economic growth and development. At the same time, the port’s growing role as a maritime hub has strengthened the land-sea connectivity framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and enhanced the efficiency of international logistics corridors linking Asia and Europe.”

By Han Shuo, People’s Daily

This year commemorates two key milestones: the 40th anniversary of China’s systematic, large-scale poverty alleviation initiatives and the 30th anniversary of its poverty alleviation cooperation and pairing assistance between its eastern and western regions. 

Drawing on insights from global scholars and experts, it is evident that China has successfully addressed one of humanity’s most persistent development challenges — extreme poverty. The nation’s pioneering achievements in poverty reduction have earned international recognition, offering practical, evidence-based solutions to advance poverty governance worldwide.

Over recent decades, China has lifted over 800 million people out of poverty, an unprecedented accomplishment in economic history.  

Hassan Daud Butt, a scholar from Pakistan’s Sustainable Development Policy Institute, highlighted China’s commitment to a people-centered approach and forged a path to poverty reduction that diverges significantly from traditional Western aid frameworks. 

Beyond economics, China’s victory over extreme poverty represents a major advance in global human rights. It substantially improved living conditions across essential domains like food access, housing, transportation, education, healthcare, and employment, while ensuring the fundamental right to development.

Chea Munyrith, president of the Cambodian Chinese Evolution Researcher Association, observed that China’s anti-poverty theory evolved from one-way assistance to fostering self-sustaining development capacity. 

By integrating poverty relief with efforts to boost people’s self-motivation and practical skills, China has avoided the pitfalls of dependency seen in traditional welfare models.  

Its experience delivers an important global lesson: poverty reduction cannot rely solely on external assistance but requires long-term mechanisms that empower individuals and unlock local vitality.

“China has deeply recognized that poverty stems from a combination of factors, including inadequate infrastructure, limited access to education and health care, and underdeveloped market systems,” said Evandro Menezes de Carvalho, professor at the Fluminense Federal University in Brazil and an expert on international affairs. 

He noted that a key factor behind China’s success was elevating poverty reduction to the level of a national strategy and advancing coordinated efforts in industrial development, regional cooperation, and cultural progress.

Butt emphasized “targeted poverty alleviation” as China’s principal innovation: a data-driven method focusing on precise identification of poor households, tailored support, and robust monitoring. This approach optimized resource allocation while improving urban-rural infrastructure, logistics, market access for rural industries, and employment skills for low-income groups.

China achieved the poverty reduction target of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule and has contributed to over 70 percent of the poverty reduction across the world. As a result, it has become an important benchmark in global poverty governance. 

Global experts universally acknowledge that China has made major contributions to global poverty reduction and sustainable development in both theory and practice, generating lasting benefits for developing countries around the world.

On May 27, at the 2026 Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum, China, together with 53 countries and nine international organizations, jointly launched the Global Partnership for Poverty Alleviation and Development. The initiative marks an important step forward for the international cause of poverty reduction. 

Going forward, the alliance will serve as an efficient platform for cooperation, facilitating regular exchanges of poverty reduction experience, practical technologies, and talent development programs, while helping China’s experience reach a broader global audience.

China’s Juncao, a hybrid grass originally developed in China for mushroom cultivation, has been promoted internationally for more than three decades. In 2017, it was incorporated into key projects under the China-United Nations Peace and Development Fund, and it has since been introduced to more than 100 countries and regions worldwide. 

Lin Zhanxi, professor at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University and inventor of the Juncao technology, stated that in international Juncao cooperation, China promotes technological localization, simplification and standardization, enabling disadvantaged communities to participate more easily in development initiatives.

Aligned closely with objectives such as poverty reduction and job creation, these projects have improved local livelihoods and won broad recognition across the developing world.

Felix Dapare Dakora, fellow of the African Academy of Sciences and Senior Adviser to the National Nanfan Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, noted that China has consistently shared its poverty reduction experience with Africa through multiple channels while deepening practical cooperation. 

China has established more than 20 agricultural technology demonstration centers across Africa, introduced over 300 agricultural technologies, and carried out programs in improved seed dissemination, agricultural machinery application, and technical training. China and African countries have also pioneered poverty reduction demonstration villages that integrate infrastructure development, industrial growth, and public services at the village level, creating models that can be replicated and scaled up elsewhere.

“China has not only charted an effective path out of poverty for itself,” Dakora said, “but has also transformed its experience into an important global public good, contributing to global poverty governance and the shared development of humanity.”

By Li Zhiwei, People’s Daily

How did achieve its victory over extreme poverty? What drives its commitment to common prosperity? And why is China’s development approach described as “people-centered”?

Robert Lawrence Kuhn, chairman of the Kuhn Foundation in the United States, recently discussed these questions with People’s Daily, exploring the historical lessons of China’s anti-poverty campaign and the contemporary relevance of its common prosperity goals.

Since the 1980s, Kuhn has actively introduced China’s development achievements to international audiences. He has meticulously studied China’s poverty alleviation efforts, producing the documentary Voices from the Frontline: China’s War on Poverty and authoring works such as The Inside Story of China’s 30-Year Reform. These works have helped explain China’s significant progress in reducing poverty to the world, for which he was honored with the China Reform Friendship Medal.

Kuhn characterizes China’s accomplishment of lifting over 800 million people out of poverty during its four-decade reform and opening-up period — particularly the elimination of extreme poverty for nearly 100 million rural residents in just eight years — as truly historic. “When future historians chronicle our era, China’s battle against poverty will likely stand as one of its defining chapters,” he said. 

He believes this success story is perhaps the most potent force for countering misconceptions about China. Understanding it fully, he argues, requires listening to the millions of individual stories from families who escaped poverty.

Having observed poverty relief work at every administrative level, from provinces down to villages, Kuhn studied the responsibilities of local Party leaders and witnessed the coordinated efforts of officials. He attributes the success of China’s “targeted poverty alleviation” strategy to the Communist Party of China (CPC) establishing rigorous, measurable, and transparent working mechanisms. These were enforced through coordinated action by officials across multiple governance levels, ensuring every impoverished household received specific aid and every village had personnel dedicated to implementing relief measures.

Kuhn views the shift from eliminating absolute poverty to advancing common prosperity as a natural progression. Just as eradicating extreme poverty was fundamental to building a “moderately prosperous society in all respects,” achieving more substantial strides towards common prosperity is crucial for realizing China’s goal of “basically realizing socialist modernization” by 2035. “Common prosperity is a defining feature of Chinese modernization and an essential requirement of socialism,” Kuhn explained. “It is a forward-looking goal, grounded in the realities of this new era, and a major development vision aimed at realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.”

To understand contemporary China, Kuhn emphasizes the paramount importance of comprehending the CPC’s position and role. “The first step is recognizing that the CPC is not operating within the conventional Western paradigm,” he noted. He described the CPC as functioning primarily as a governing organization rather than as a typical party competing for power through elections. Although Party members constitute roughly 7% of China’s population, Kuhn observed, their responsibilities are vast and ambitious: improving living standards for all Chinese people, driving reform, ensuring rule of law, encouraging public participation, deepening democracy, and safeguarding rights and freedoms.

One of the CPC’s most significant strengths, Kuhn concluded, is its capacity to ensure long-term strategic continuity, enabling sustained progress toward national development goals across multiple leadership generations.

Under the CPC’s leadership, China has been able to coordinate economic resources, mobilize social forces, and implement major national initiatives. One example is the paired-assistance mechanism that links more developed eastern provinces with less-developed western regions, facilitating the flow of talent, capital, and technology to impoverished areas and fostering broad societal participation in poverty alleviation efforts.

Kuhn emphasized that the CPC’s people-centered development philosophy effectively connects overarching national objectives with citizens’ everyday concerns, weaving this principle throughout domestic governance, economic policymaking, and international engagement. This focus, he believes, constitutes a fundamental driver of China’s sustained stability and development.

The scholar underscored that Chinese modernization follows a fundamentally distinct trajectory from Western models. On one hand, it is grounded in China’s unique national conditions — including its massive population and inherent regional/urban-rural disparities — forging a development path tailored to its circumstances rather than replicating Western experiences shaped by different scales and more balanced development conditions.

On the other hand, China’s modernization advances within a framework of multiparty cooperation and political consulting under CPC leadership — a distinctive institutional advantage absent in Western multiparty competitive systems.

“Looking forward,” Kuhn stated, “Chinese modernization will continue tackling development constraints by leveraging its unique institutional strengths, vast market foundations, and growing innovation capacity. This creates a modernization pathway distinct from Western models while steadily progressing toward national rejuvenation.”

He concluded that through comprehensive reform acceleration and modernization advancement, China will unlock broader development prospects while offering global partners enhanced opportunities for openness, cooperation, and mutual development.

By Wang Zhimin

The U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) released its 2026 Member Survey, revealing compelling insights.

Eighty percent of surveyed American companies regard the Chinese market as either “very important” or “important” to their global competitiveness, a notable increase from 66 percent in 2025. 

Moreover, 95% asserted that their Chinese operations are “integral” to their global market edge.

This aligns with an earlier report issued by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, which found that 75 percent of U.S. firms plan to reinvest in China throughout 2026.

These results underscore a crucial truth: For American businesses, the Chinese market is not a replaceable side business — it is a strategic pillar essential to their global performance. Against this reality, the political narrative of economic “decoupling” remains disconnected from where companies are placing their investments.

Four core strengths explain China’s enduring and irreplaceable appeal for U.S. corporations.

First, massive scale ensures unparalleled market opportunity. Multinational corporations deploy capital globally around comparative advantage. Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory delivers over half its global production capacity and stands as its largest international export center. Meanwhile, Apple draws significant profits from China through both sales and industrial presence. Consumer leaders like Nike and Walmart similarly depend on China for substantial revenue.

With over 1.4 billion people — including more than 400 million middle-class consumers — and steady economic growth, China remains the world’s most promising consumer market and a resilient engine of global development. Exiting China would weaken American companies’ economies of scale and peel away a key source of profitability.

Second, a comprehensive industrial ecosystem enables unparalleled efficiency. China is unique, globally, in possessing all industrial categories designated by the United Nations — spanning 41 major sectors, 207 medium sectors, and 666 subcategories. Its advanced infrastructure and mature supply chains enable U.S. firms to reduce costs, shorten lead times, and maintain robust operational performance.

Despite supply chain pressures, more than 80 percent of U.S. businesses in China turn a profit. The reason is clear: China offers competitive advantages — speed to market, consolidated logistics, and integrated industrial networks — that cannot be replicated elsewhere at scale. Alternative bases or relocation efforts would sacrifice efficiency without securing comparable capacity.

Third, China’s innovative ecosystem anchors market evolution. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index 2025, China ranks 10th worldwide — one of the fastest-rising innovators over the decade. Its openness to new technologies, rapid consumer adoption, and scalability make it an indispensable testing ground for innovation.

This innovation mutuality shapes key industries. For example, where the U.S. leads in AI models, China excels in hardware, energy efficiency, and large-scale applications. U.S. AI advancement hinges on Chinese talent, markets, and template infrastructure. Companies routinely blend expertise from their U.S. laboratories with localization teams in China to develop globally scalable products.

China also accounts for more than 60 percent of the global market share in the “new trio” of exports — electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells. Its abundant renewable energy resources further provide solid support for computing power infrastructure.

Through a model that combines foundational technologies, global ecosystems, and industry expertise, American companies are able to pursue collaborative innovation in China through “local R&D and local application.” In doing so, they not only generate profits but also refine technologies in the Chinese market before exporting successful experiences and products to the rest of the world.

Fourth, a more stable outlook is boosting business confidence. The concept of building a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability has provided a new framework for bilateral ties, with cooperation as the mainstay, competition within proper limits, manageable differences, and expectable peace.

Newly established dialogue mechanisms, including the China-U.S. boards of trade and investment, have further reassured American businesses.

The U.S. business community has already voted with its investments. For many American companies, “In China, for the world” is not a slogan but a practical choice for maintaining their global competitiveness.

(Wang Zhimin is a researcher at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics.)