China accelerates integration of AI and transportation

By Han Xin, People’s Daily

China is accelerating the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the transportation sector, opening up new applications across roads, railways, aviation, ports and postal services. From intelligent driving and smart highways to automated sorting and drone-based inspections, AI is increasingly being deployed to improve transport efficiency, safety and services.

In June, China’s Ministry of Transport, together with four other government departments, issued an action plan for innovation in typical application scenarios of “AI + transportation.” The plan envisages that by 2030, a new wave of infrastructure, technical equipment, service models, and industrial forms driven by “AI + transportation” will emerge.

How will innovation in these application scenarios be advanced? And how can AI help drive high-quality development in transportation? People’s Daily spoke with officials and industry experts.

On the Beijing-Xiong’an Expressway, AI-powered technologies are becoming part of the driving experience within the one-hour journey. A dedicated mini program provides drivers with real-time traffic updates. 

Smart roadside poles flash yellow in heavy fog, helping drivers identify their position on the road. At toll stations, robots dispense tickets automatically, helping shorten waiting times.

“Through cooperation with Baidu AI Cloud and leveraging large-scale AI models, the Beijing-Xiong’an Expressway achieves second-level alert push and one-click notification for abnormal incidents, with an accuracy rate of over 95 percent in identifying emergencies,” said an executive from Hebei Expressway Group, which manages the expressway.

As roads become smarter, vehicles are becoming more intelligent, too.

“In recent years, we have accelerated the integration of AI with transportation, focusing on infrastructure, vehicles and equipment, transport services and industry governance. We have identified 860 pioneering application scenarios covering all major transport sectors, including railways, highways, waterways, aviation and postal services,” said Xu Wenqiang, director of the science and technology department of the Ministry of Transport.

The action plan identifies 10 major areas, including intelligent driving, smart highways, intelligent railways, smart civil aviation, smart postal services and intelligent multimodal transport. It also sets out a first batch of 41 typical application scenarios, along with guidelines for their development.

A review of these scenarios reveals two notable features.

The first is a strong focus on people’s needs and tangible benefits for the public.

For example, the plan promotes applications such as intelligent passenger-flow management for urban public transportation and smart route optimization. It also includes applications addressing shared concerns of the public and businesses, such as early warning systems for dense fog on expressways, intelligent security check, and smart monitoring of cold-chain transportation. The aim is to use AI to make travel more convenient and ensure the smooth movement of goods.

The second is a strong focus on industrial applications and two-way benefits.

Many of the typical scenarios target areas with strong potential to drive industrial transformation, including intelligent driving for heavy-duty trucks, smart scheduling at ports and autonomous health management of railway equipment. Such applications can inject new momentum into the transformation and upgrading of the transportation sector while providing AI companies with large-scale, real-world testing environments. This helps align transport needs with AI technologies, creating opportunities for both sides to grow.

“These 10 areas will help promote large-scale innovation and application of AI in transportation,” Xu said. He added that the ministry will continue to monitor technological advances and industry needs, issue guidelines for additional batches of application scenarios, and continuously expand the range of available AI applications.

The postal and express delivery sector is another important area for AI applications. At the front end, intelligent route-planning technologies are improving network-wide scheduling. At the middle end, smart sorting systems boost operational efficiency. At the last mile, more than 16,000 autonomous delivery vehicles and over 400 drones are now in operation across China, improving the quality and efficiency of delivery services.

“By focusing on production, services and management across the postal and express delivery sector, AI is helping improve quality while reducing costs and increasing efficiency,” said Xu Huarong, deputy director-general of the department of policy and regulation of the State Post Bureau.

Safety is the lifeline of railway operations. “AI enables us to identify potential safety risks on railways in advance and take preventive action proactively,” said Liu Yan, deputy director-general of the department of science, technology and law of the National Railway Administration.

Along China’s high-speed railways, 56,000 cameras have been connected to monitoring systems, covering key locations such as tunnel entrances and bridge approaches. Using AI-powered analysis that combines video and radar data, the systems can automatically identify people or foreign objects that have entered railway tracks. As of April 2026, nearly 310,000 valid alerts had been handled.

Looking ahead, the action plan calls for advancing large-scale innovative application of “AI + transportation” in a steady and orderly manner. It aims to support the building of an intelligent, comprehensive and multi-dimensional transport network, and to boost integrated development, safety improvement, digital-intelligent upgrading and green transition of the transportation sector.

“Building a modern, high-quality national comprehensive multi-dimensional transport network, alongside progress in integrated development, safety improvement, digital-intelligent upgrading, and green transition, constitutes the core guideline for high-quality transportation development both now and in the long run,” Xu Wenqiang said. “AI + transportation will serve as the key technological engine to drive its implementation.”

China’s service ecports expand globally

By Luo Shanshan, People’s Daily

Data released by China’s Ministry of Commerce indicated that the country’s total trade in services reached nearly 3.78 trillion yuan ($562.47 billion) in the first half of this year, up 8.3 percent year on year. Service exports totaled 1.50 trillion yuan, an increase of 17.6 percent. Behind these figures is the steady upgrading and growing efficiency of China’s services sector.

What new trends and highlights are emerging in China’s service exports? People’s Daily spoke with industry insiders to find out.

In the first half of this year, China’s travel service exports reached 229.2 billion yuan, up 31.1 percent year on year, the fastest growth among the country’s five major service export categories.

Travel services encompass tourism, overseas study and medical care, among other areas. Spending by inbound visitors in China is counted as travel service exports. In recent years, as policies such as visa-free entry and departure tax refund have been further improved, travel to China and shopping within the country have continued to gain momentum.

Starting July 1, a new random inspection system for low-value tax refund claims was implemented nationwide. Applications involving tax-refund purchases of less than 10,000 yuan are now subject to random checks rather than physical verification of every transaction. 

In the first month after the policy took effect, Shenzhen Customs in north China’s Guangdong province handled 13,000 tax-refund verification cases, involving 170 million yuan in applications, increases of 2.2 times and 94.1 percent, respectively, year on year.

According to a Shenzhen Customs official, overseas visitors are now purchasing a wider range of products. In addition to traditional souvenirs such as tea and silk, domestically produced digital products, clothing, and cultural and creative items have become increasingly popular.

As “China travel” continues to gain popularity, foreign visitors are venturing beyond China’s major cities to less familiar destinations. Data from online tourism platform Qunar showed that in the first half of the year, inbound flights booked by foreign travelers on the platform covered 160 Chinese cities, 20 more than in the same period last year.

Foreign visitors are also staying longer. According to statistics from Chinese homestay platform Tujia, in the first half of the year, international guests booked homestays in 330 cities across China, with an average stay of 2.8 days, roughly 10 percent longer than in the same period last year. During this summer vacation period, their average stay reached 4.7 days.

“Many foreign tourists are now willing to venture into China’s smaller cities, communities and rural areas and spend more time seeing a more authentic and diverse China,” said Hu Yang, senior vice president of Tujia.

“China is awesome. I strongly encourage people to visit,” Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO recently wrote on social media. His mother, Maye Musk, later shared the post and claimed with her own take: “Each city has its own charm with different cultural sites to see.”

Another highlight of China’s growing trade in services is the expansion of knowledge-intensive services. In the first half of the year, China’s exports of knowledge-intensive services totaled 805.67 billion yuan, up 12.8 percent year on year and accounting for 53.5 percent of total service exports.

During the period, Chinese biotechnology company XtalPi accelerated its global expansion, delivering intelligent, automated robotic laboratories for drug discovery and process optimization to South Korea’s leading pharmaceutical company JW Pharmaceutical, making key progress in strategic cooperation with innovative U.S. biopharmaceutical companies and reaching an AI drug-discovery cooperation deal worth more than $400 million with a major international pharmaceutical company.

“We are turning our independently developed AI algorithms, tools, workflows and automated experimental capabilities into standardized, deliverable solutions for pharmaceutical and materials research and development,” said Zhang Peiyu, chief scientific officer of XtalPi. The company has one of the world’s largest clusters of AI-enabled chemical robots and has already provided services to several of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies.

As technologies such as AI continue to advance, Chinese companies are increasingly shifting from exporting finished technological products to exporting technological services and capabilities.

One emerging area is the export of AI tokens. A token is a basic unit that AI systems use to process and generate information and can be viewed as a digital output generated through the conversion of electricity and computing power. 

Chinese companies are now packaging the computing power of mature domestic large language models into standardized application programming interfaces, allowing overseas customers to access and use them without having to build their own computing infrastructure. This flexible and efficient model of tokens export is gaining favor among an increasing number of foreign businesses.

At the same time, as Chinese companies expand overseas, the consumption concepts and cultural elements associated with Chinese brands are also gaining wider recognition and popularity.

MIXUE, a Chinese tea and beverage chain brand, offers acai berry ice cream in Brazil, provides customers in the United States with a range of sweetness levels and develops tropical flavors tailored to Southeast Asian markets. 

By adopting an operating model that combines global standards with regional customization, the company respects and embraces local cultures while bringing Chinese-style tea beverages to local markets. It now operates more than 4,500 stores in 16 overseas countries.

The global footprints of MIXUE is a microcosm of the international expansion of Chinese brands. Chinese companies are focusing not only on expanding their market presence, but also on building emotional connections with local consumers.

From the rapid growth of travel services and the expansion of knowledge-intensive services to the accelerating global reach of Chinese brands, a series of data points and real-world examples chart the transformation and upgrading of China’s trade in services.

As China continues to open up its services sector, Chinese services will participate in the global division of labor in increasingly diverse forms, unlocking new sources of growth and injecting fresh momentum into the world economy.

What Shenzhen’s transformation reveals about the path to an Asia-Pacific community

By Gong Ming, Cheng Yuanzhou, People’s Daily

The transformation of a single city can reflect the prosperity of an entire region. As a window into China’s reform and opening-up, Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong province has grown from a small border town into an international innovation hub over the past four decades. Its development has been closely intertwined with the process of economic integration across the Asia-Pacific.

This year, Shenzhen will host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. In just a few days, a high-level media forum for Asia-Pacific will also convene in the city. A closer look at Shenzhen’s transformation offers a vivid glimpse into the interconnected development and shared prosperity that define the Asia-Pacific region.

Trade connectivity serves as a telling starting point. 

According to data from Shenzhen Customs, Shenzhen’s imports and exports with APEC economies grew from 267.5 billion yuan ($39.81 billion) in 1996 to 3.13 trillion yuan in 2025, an average annual growth rate of 8.5 percent and an increase of more than tenfold. 

In 2025, distinctive products such as the “new trio” of exported products — electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products — as well as AI-powered products and medical instruments and equipment, accounted for 25.6 percent of Shenzhen’s exports to APEC member economies.

APEC was established in November 1989 in response to the trend of economic globalization, with the goal of promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and sustainable  economic growth. China officially joined APEC in November 1991. The evolution of Shenzhen’s foreign trade is a microcosm of how China and other Asia-Pacific economies have advanced and integrated together.

This summer, a new shipment of Peruvian blueberries entered the Chinese market. These small berries have become a symbol of the opportunities created by closer trade ties between China and the Asia-Pacific.

Sandra Wenz, Asia commercial manager at global berry giant Hortifrut, said that in recent years, tariff reductions under the China-Peru Free Trade Agreement and the opening of a shipping route between Peru’s Chancay Port and China’s Shanghai Port have enabled Peruvian blueberries to reach Chinese consumers faster, with better freshness and higher competitiveness.

“Free trade and open cooperation are essential to the prosperity and development of the Asia-Pacific. We hope the APEC meeting in Shenzhen will further promote regional free trade and unlock more opportunities for cooperation,” Wenz said.

Industrial integration offers another compelling perspective.

In July 1979, a blasting work at Shekou ushered in the dawn of Shenzhen’s large‑scale development. A year and a half later, Chia Tai Conti, a joint‑venture project invested by Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group and U.S.-based Continental Grain Company, landed in Shenzhen. 

This led to the construction of China’s first modern feed mill at Hongzhuling in Shekou.  Adopting the pioneering practice of “building the factory first, completing official formalities afterward”, it went into operation as the first foreign‑funded enterprise in the People’s Republic of China.

Following in the footsteps of Chia Tai Conti, investors from Hong Kong, Japan, the United States and elsewhere began arriving in Shenzhen. To date, companies from 180 countries and regions have invested in the city, including more than 340 Fortune Global 500 companies. In 2025, about 16,000 foreign-funded enterprises were established in Shenzhen, with companies from Asia-Pacific economies accounting for 93.3 percent, up 71.7 percent year on year.

Shenzhen has remained committed to opening up across the board, continually enhancing its appeal to foreign investment while strengthening the competitiveness of its companies going global. By integrating deeply into the high end of global value chain, the city has pursued development alongside its partners in the Asia-Pacific region.

At the end of 2024, Keyto, a Shenzhen-based leading manufacturer of precision fluid control components and system solutions, invested in a factory in Penang, Malaysia, serving customers in North America, ASEAN and other Asia-Pacific economies. The factory reached break-even within its first year of operation.

The general manager of the company’s Malaysian factory noted that the facility combines the respective strengths of China and Malaysia and has created an efficient cross-border supply chain. “This kind of regional division of labor and cooperation is vital to strengthening the resilience of industrial and supply chains,” he said.

Innovation and mutually beneficial cooperation provides a final illuminating perspective.

Shenzhen, shaped by reform and opening up, has innovation embedded in its DNA and has cultivated fertile ground for new ideas and technologies. Big names including Huawei, Tencent and BYD all got their start here before growing into Fortune Global 500 companies. 

Over the past decade, the number of unicorn companies in Shenzhen has risen from 10 to 44, while cutting-edge technologies such as robotics, semiconductors and artificial intelligence have continued to make breakthroughs. Many Shenzhen-based companies are expanding overseas, bringing new growth momentum to the Asia-Pacific through an ecosystem built on openness and innovation.

Driven by innovation, foreign investment in Shenzhen is increasingly moving toward high-value-added areas such as research and development and regional headquarters. In the first half of this year, actually utilized foreign investment in the city’s high-tech industries accounted for more than 70 percent of the total, making high-tech industries the key engine of foreign investment growth. 

Innovation partnerships between multinational companies and local firms are accelerating the commercialization of cutting-edge technologies, enabling the Asia-Pacific region to share the fruits of innovation.

By the end of this year, Singapore-based multi-modal transport operator ComfortDelGro Group will establish its autonomous driving mobility headquarters in Shenzhen. The project aims to develop a replicable and standardized operating model for autonomous vehicle fleets and then roll it out across the group’s markets worldwide.

“When more companies can innovate in one place and apply those innovations across multiple countries, regional prosperity gains a sustainable source of momentum,” said Wu Xiangfeng, chief executive officer of the China business unit at ComfortDelGro.

As a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation gathers pace, how can Asia-Pacific economies seize new opportunities and meet new challenges?

Openness, innovation and cooperation — Shenzhen has offered an answer that Asia-Pacific economies can build on together.

Global economic imbalances are not caused by surplus countries

By Huan Xiang, People’s Daily

Recently, some forces have once again revived the “China’s overcapacity” narrative, attempting to blame China for global economic imbalances and find a convenient scapegoat for their own economic difficulties. Yet global economic imbalances are, in essence, a systemic issue shaped by a combination of geopolitical shifts, the evolving international division of labor, and technological change. The blame-shifting narrative built around “overcapacity” does not hold up under scrutiny of hard data and sound logic.

I. Surplus countries change; deficit countries remain largely the same

Over the past 40 years, the global trade landscape has undergone repeated transformations. Yet one pattern remains clear: economies running persistent trade deficits have remained highly concentrated and largely unchanged, while those running persistent trade surpluses have shifted over time with changes in the global division of labor — from Japan, Germany, and Switzerland in earlier years, to China later, and more recently to several emerging economies in Southeast Asia. If “overcapacity” were the root cause of global imbalances, it would be impossible to explain why the identity of surplus countries has changed so frequently.

A look at external debt tells a similar story. When both external assets and liabilities are considered together, the concentration of global imbalances becomes even more evident. In 2025, the United States’ net international investment position (NIIP) — the net value of its total foreign assets minus its external liabilities — stood at negative $27.5 trillion, equivalent to about -90 percent of GDP. In 2007, that figure was only -9%.

Cross-country comparisons are even more revealing. The largest net external liabilities of other major debtor economies were around $1 trillion, while Germany, China, Japan, and other major surplus countries each held around $4 trillion in net external assets, all far below the U.S. net liability in absolute terms. To ignore the sharp increase in the world’s largest deficit country’s debt while singling out surplus countries for blame is nothing short of selective blindness.

II. Geopolitical and technological shifts are amplifying global imbalances

As global economic imbalances continue to widen, geopolitical and technological factors cannot be overlooked. In recent years, geopolitical conflicts around the world have intensified. Benefiting from its geographical distance from conflict zones and its highly developed financial markets, the U.S. has further strengthened the safe-haven appeal of the U.S. dollar and dollar-denominated assets. This has attracted continued inflows of global capital and directly driven up its net external liabilities. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen and euro have depreciated significantly, weakening their traditional safe-haven roles and severely undermining the conventional mechanism of using exchange rates to correct trade imbalances. This one-way flow of capital driven by geopolitical factors is an important force behind the current widening of global economic imbalances.


The new round of scientific and technological revolution, particularly the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), is also reshaping the dynamics of global imbalances. Leveraging its first-mover advantage in AI, the U.S. is attracting large amounts of related capital from around the world. According to basic balance-of-payments principles, sustained capital inflows into a country necessarily correspond to a widening of its current account deficit. Data show that U.S. equities now account for nearly 50 percent of global stock market capitalization, while foreign investors hold close to 30 percent of U.S. equities by market value. Equity assets have replaced bonds as the primary form of U.S. external liabilities.

This shift carries two major implications. First, the channels through which imbalance risks are transmitted are evolving: whereas such risks were once channeled primarily through interest rates and debt, they are now increasingly conveyed through fluctuations in equity valuations and asset prices. Second, the global trade structure is being reshaped. U.S. demand for high-tech products keeps widening. This transformation in trade structure is driven by the internal development of the U.S. economy itself and, therefore, cannot reasonably be attributed to the production capacity of other countries.

Ⅲ. Expanding domestic demand in China: a key driver of global rebalancing

Trade surpluses arise naturally from the global division of labor and the supply-demand structures of individual economies. China’s sustained export growth fundamentally reflects the deep integration of its high-quality production capacity into global supply chains, thereby providing strong support for global economic stability and industrial transformation worldwide.

More importantly, China is injecting sustained momentum into global economic rebalancing through a systemic transformation of its development model. In recent years, China has firmly pursued the strategic priority of expanding domestic demand by boosting consumption, expanding effective investment, and ensuring the smooth circulation of the national economy. This has steadily shifted the driver of economic growth from investment and exports toward greater reliance on domestic demand.

In the first half of 2026, China’s import growth outpaced its export growth by 8.7 percentage points. China’s increasingly dynamic and expanding domestic market is not only a major engine of its own economic growth but also provides broader market opportunities and more stable demand for countries around the world.

In the first half of 2026, China’s import growth outpaced its export growth by 8.7 percentage points. China’s increasingly dynamic and expanding domestic market is not only a major engine of its own economic growth but also provides broader market opportunities and more stable demand for countries around the world.China has consistently contributed to global stability through high-quality development and has injected fresh momentum into global growth by continuing to open up its vast domestic market. This is precisely its most solid and powerful contribution to global economic rebalancing.

AI reshaping the job market, creating new opportunities

By Li Junqiang, People’s Daily

Not sure how to structure a proposal? Ask AI. Need to update products on an online store? AI can help polish product images in just minutes. In some factories, intelligent robots are efficiently taking over repetitive tasks such as handling and sorting. As AI continues to advance, it is becoming part of everyday life and powering a wide range of industries.

These changes bring both opportunities and challenges. What new industries and jobs will AI create? Will it replace human workers?

Consider a set of figures. According to a report released by the World Economic Forum, about 92 million jobs worldwide are expected to be displaced by 2030 due to factors including AI, while 170 million new jobs are expected to be created.

Objectively speaking, AI will indeed reshape the job market. Tasks that are highly repetitive and standardized are increasingly being assisted or performed by AI, altering demand for workers in some occupations. However, changes in the number of jobs and the nature of work do not necessarily mean fewer employment opportunities overall.

More importantly, as AI adoption accelerates, existing employment structures and ways of working are also evolving. Some new opportunities are emerging from the integration of AI with traditional industries, while others are being created by the AI industry itself.

Recently, an e-commerce platform recruited an “AI visual designer,” looking for candidates proficient in AI tools and able to apply them in areas such as content generation and style experimentation. In the past, designing a webpage could take several days. With AI, designers can now generate multiple proposals within hours, allowing them to devote more time to refining creative ideas, exploring new styles, and shaping brand identities.

Similar changes are taking place across many sectors. In the legal profession, AI can quickly screen for compliance risks and sort through relevant laws and regulations, allowing professionals to focus on researching complex cases. In manufacturing, interdisciplinary talent with both engineering expertise and digital skills is increasingly in demand. AI is opening up more opportunities for people to move across fields, transform their careers and develop new skills.

At the same time, the rapid growth of the AI industry itself is bringing a range of new occupations into the public eye.

Since 2019, more than 30 of the 110 new occupations identified by China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security have been closely related to AI.

One example is the AI trainer. In 2025 alone, more than 10,000 people in Shanghai took professional skills assessments for AI trainers. According to local business executives, what the market needs most today is interdisciplinary talent who understand both AI technologies and specific industry applications.

Other emerging positions, including robotics product manager, digital human designer, and prompt engineer, are also becoming new career choices for many young people.

AI is not only creating new jobs; it is also lowering the barriers to entrepreneurship.

In the past, developing a digital product often required a team, substantial investment and considerable time and resources. Today, AI enables individuals to handle multiple tasks on their own, from coding and content creation to operational optimization. Some cross-border e-commerce entrepreneurs are using AI to quickly generate multilingual product copy and automate online-store operations, making it possible to run a business single-handedly.

Looking back at human history, every major technological revolution has reshaped the way people work while inevitably giving rise to new demands, industries and occupations. The steam engine ushered in the industrial age, the internet fueled the growth of the digital economy, and now AI is driving the rise of the intelligent economy.

As opportunities expand, so do the skills required to seize them. For job seekers, instead of worrying about what AI might take away, it may be more useful to think one step ahead: Which parts of my job could AI help me do more efficiently? What professional skills are my strengths? Every new skill we acquire today could become a key to opening the door to new career opportunities and building a place for ourselves in the future workplace.

By embracing the AI wave, continuously strengthening capabilities, and combining AI’s strengths in efficiency with uniquely human abilities such as critical thinking and empathy, people can find their footing, chart the right course, seize new opportunities and build better futures.

Openness helps robots go faster, higher, stronger

By Lin Ziye, People’s Daily

On Aug. 19, the 2026 World Robot Conference opened in Beijing, bringing together participants from China and around the world to share opportunities in the robotics industry. 

Three days later, the second World Humanoid Robot Games kicked off at the National Speed Skating Oval, known as the “Ice Ribbon.” Originally built for human racing, the venue has been transformed into a high-tech arena for robots. What remains unchanged is the pursuit of going “faster, higher and stronger.”

This August offers a glimpse into the latest global trends in robotics, while also providing an important window into the emerging opportunities in China.

Openness has been a defining feature of both events. 

More than 300 Chinese and international robotics companies took part in the 2026 World Robot Conference, while 2,056 robots from 16 countries across six continents competed in the Games. 

Amid the sweeping transformation driven by artificial intelligence (AI), China is embracing a more open approach, taking more practical steps and adopting a longer-term perspective to provide a platform where countries around the world to create and share opportunities together.

Embracing openness allows businesses to learn from one another through exchange.

“We come here to compete because we want to test our robots’ ability to work together. Cooperation among teams from different parts of the world, with different cultural backgrounds, is very important to the development of humanoid robots,” said a foreign team leader at this year’s World Humanoid Robot Games.

Whether it is scoring one more goal, jumping one centimeter higher, making an incorrect turn, or sustaining damage to a robot’s body, every outcome offers valuable feedback for improving products. Competitions drive research and industrial development, helping companies identify technological trends through head-to-head contests and encouraging the industry to learn from one another and progress together.

Embracing openness allows market players to tap into broader international markets.

For the first time, the 2026 World Robot Conference was organized around four thematic days, including a dedicated procurement day. “It’s great to see so many manufacturers and such a wide variety of robots here in China,” said a Belgian buyer.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China’s industrial robot production and localization rates continued to rise. In the first half of 2026, China’s shipments of humanoid robots exceeded 40,000 units, accounting for 97 percent of the global total. Industrial robot exports reached 6.29 billion yuan ($936 million), up 18.6 percent year on year.

With an expanding range of applications, Chinese robots are injecting new momentum into the global transformation toward intelligent production, while quietly entering and benefiting people’s work and daily lives around the world.

Embracing openness means drawing on an inexhaustible source of innovation.

At the exhibition booths of the 2026 World Robot Conference, robots demonstrated their ability to unpack parcels, fold clothes, and clear tables — leaving many visitors exclaiming: “Can I get one of these robots for my home right away?”

From exhibition displays to real-world products, and from struggling to maintain balance to challenging human sprinting records, the embodied intelligence industry is accelerating technological advances at an unprecedented pace, opening up ever greater possibilities for industrial development.

An open arena creates opportunities to break records. Embracing openness means embracing more possibilities. Looking to the future, the right approach is to attract participants through fair rules and drive breakthroughs through intensive exchange and competition.

A green bond bridging China and the U.S.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

The Mu Us Desert in north China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region is now lush with trees and teeming with life. It is here that Yin Yuzhen,a pioneering Chinese desertification fighter, reunited with her American friend Ronald Sakolsky after 26 years apart.

In 1999, Sakolsky was teaching in Luoyang, Henan province in central China, he was deeply moved by Yin’s story of planting trees and battling desertification in the arid landscape. Under the Chinese name “Sai Kaosi,” he raised $5,000 to support her work.

More than two decades later, those early acts of kindness have helped nurture more than 50,000 trees, turning once-barren stretches of sand into green oases. What began as a simple gesture has grown into a lasting story of friendship between ordinary people in China and the United States.

This is a vivid example of how friendship between the Chinese and American peoples is carried forward from generation to generation. 

Though separated by oceans, language, and culture, Yin and Sakolsky found common ground in a shared commitment to making their home greener and better. 

Their story reflects some of the most fundamental values shared by the two peoples: the aspiration for a better life, respect for nature, and a willingness to stand up for what is right. Such sentiments can transcend borders and bridge cultural differences.

The Chinese tradition of building friendships through sincerity and cherishing the kindness of others has met with the goodwill of an international friend half a world away, giving this people-to-people friendship the strength to endure the test of time.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the hope of the China-U.S. relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in the societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels.

This view is firmly rooted in the long history of friendship and mutual understanding between the Chinese and American people. Over the years, countless stories of people-to-people exchanges have shown that friendship can overcome differences in geography, culture, and national borders.

The century-old friendship forged in Kuliang, the shared experience of fighting side by side during the World Anti-Fascist War, and “Ping-Pong Diplomacy,” which helped pave the way for the normalization of China-U.S. relations, are among the best-known examples. Each has left memories that continue to resonate across generations.

In 2023, Xi proposed to invite 50,000 young Americans to China on exchange and study programs in the next five years, and the target has been achieved two and a half years ahead of schedule. Exchanges and mutual understanding among young people are injecting a steady stream of fresh vitality into the friendship between the Chinese and American peoples. 

History and reality have repeatedly proved that friendship between the peoples is the deepest social foundation of China-U.S. relations and a reliable source of strength for the relationship to withstand challenges and move forward on a steady course.

Mutual understanding and goodwill between the peoples can, in turn, create space for practical cooperation. Ecological conservation is one area where the interests and ideas of China and the United States converge. 

The transformation of the Mu Us Desert from barren sands into a green landscape is a vivid testament to China’s historic achievements in combating desertification. 

For more than half a century, generations of Chinese people dedicated to this cause have worked tirelessly to explore a path suited to the laws of nature and China’s national conditions, achieving a historic transformation from “sand forcing humans to retreat” to “trees forcing sand to retreat.”

China’s consistent efforts to promote ecological conservation have not only strengthened its own ecological security, but also created broad opportunities for international exchanges and cooperation in this field, enabling more international friends to see firsthand China’s commitment to and sense of responsibility for green development.

Today, global challenges such as climate change, land desertification and biodiversity loss are becoming increasingly acute. Protecting our shared planet is a common cause of all humanity. No country can stand apart from these challenges, and working together to address them remains the right path forward. 

Guided by the vision of building a community of life for man and nature, China has actively shared its experience in combating desertification, promoted appropriate technologies and trained professionals. 

Through concrete actions, China is contributing its strength to global ecological governance. It has contributed to the development of Africa’s Great Green Wall project, supported ecological restoration efforts around the Aral Sea in Central Asian countries, and conducted exchanges and cooperation with Arab countries on water-saving agricultural technologies for arid regions. 

As two major countries with significant global influence, China and the United States share extensive common interests in areas including environmental protection, clean energy and climate governance. Cooperation in these fields would benefit not only the peoples of both countries, but also give new impetus to global green development.

A single sapling can grow into a vast forest, and a single act of kindness can bridge mountains and seas. The story of Sakolsky and Yin shows that the sincere efforts of ordinary people can create an impact far beyond their expectations. When major countries approach each other with goodwill, they can bring even greater benefits to the world. 

By continuing to nurture the strong foundation of people-to-people friendship and uphold the principle of mutually beneficial cooperation, China and the United States can build greater consensus and expand cooperation, allowing more seeds of friendship to take root and flourish. 

Together, they can bring greater stability and positive energy to a world undergoing profound changes and turbulence, and work hand in hand to protect the common home on which humanity depends.

Chief Ambassador Eka A’adu Dickson Extends Warm Felicitations to Igede Nation on Igede Agba Celebration

Chief Ambassador Eka A’adu Dickson, Chairman and CEO of Ekason Group of Companies, has sent heartfelt greetings to the Igede Nation as the people prepare to celebrate the annual Igede Agba Festival today.The Igede Agba Celebration, observed every September, is one of the most significant cultural events of the Igede people. It marks the new yam harvest and symbolizes gratitude, unity, and continuity of tradition. For generations, the festival has been a rallying point for Igede sons and daughters at home and abroad, who gather to honor their heritage through dance, music, prayers, and communal feasting.Chief Dickson, who holds the traditional title of Ota-Okpenyi Ny’Igede, extended his felicitations to the Adirahu Ny’Igede, HRH Chief Oga Ero (Rtd), the Igede Intermediate Area Traditional Council, and the Chairmen of Oju and Obi Local Government Councils, alongside all Igede political, cultural, and religious leaders. He described the festival as a proud reminder of the resilience and cultural identity of the Igede people.He noted that Igede Agba is not only about celebrating the harvest but also about strengthening the bonds of kinship and reaffirming the collective pride of the Igede Nation. He emphasized that the festival serves as a beacon of unity, inspiring younger generations to embrace their roots and uphold the values of hard work, gratitude, and community spirit.“Igede Agba is more than a festival; it is a celebration of who we are as a people. It is a time to strengthen our bonds, honor our traditions, and inspire the younger generation to carry forward the pride of Igede,” he said.As a philanthropist and cultural advocate, Chief Dickson has consistently supported initiatives that uplift communities and promote Igede heritage. His leadership and goodwill have been instrumental in encouraging cultural preservation and fostering development across Igede land. He commended the traditional institutions for their steadfast role in sustaining cultural valuesHere’s the expanded, publication-ready version of the story with the traditional institution and leaders included, written in a straight, professional newspaper style:Chief Ambassador Eka A’adu Dickson Extends Warm Felicitations to Igede Nation on Igede Agba CelebrationChief Ambassador Eka A’adu Dickson, Chairman and CEO of Ekason Group of Companies, has sent heartfelt greetings to the Igede Nation as the people prepare to celebrate the annual Igede Agba Festival today.The Igede Agba Celebration, observed every September, is one of the most significant cultural events of the Igede people. It marks the new yam harvest and symbolizes gratitude, unity, and continuity of tradition. For generations, the festival has been a rallying point for Igede sons and daughters at home and abroad, who gather to honor their heritage through dance, music, prayers, and communal feasting.Chief Dickson, who holds the traditional title of Ota-Okpenyi Ny’Igede, extended his felicitations to the Adirahu Ny’Igede, HRH Chief Oga Ero (Rtd), the Igede Intermediate Area Traditional Council, and the Chairmen of Oju and Obi Local Government Councils, alongside all Igede political, cultural, and religious leaders. He described the festival as a proud reminder of the resilience and cultural identity of the Igede people.He noted that Igede Agba is not only about celebrating the harvest but also about strengthening the bonds of kinship and reaffirming the collective pride of the Igede Nation. He emphasized that the festival serves as a beacon of unity, inspiring younger generations to embrace their roots and uphold the values of hard work, gratitude, and community spirit.“Igede Agba is more than a festival; it is a celebration of who we are as a people. It is a time to strengthen our bonds, honor our traditions, and inspire the younger generation to carry forward the pride of Igede,” he said.As a philanthropist and cultural advocate, Chief Dickson has consistently supported initiatives that uplift communities and promote Igede heritage. His leadership and goodwill have been instrumental in encouraging cultural preservation and fostering development across Igede land. He commended the traditional institutions for their steadfast role in sustaining cultural values and guiding the people, while also praising the local government chairmen for their contributions to community progress.Today’s celebration is expected to be marked by colorful displays of tradition, with masquerades, traditional dances, and communal gatherings that highlight the rich cultural tapestry of the Igede people. It will also serve as a reminder that culture remains a vital force in shaping identity and unity.Chief Dickson’s message resonates with the broader vision of progress and solidarity that the festival embodies. His felicitations to the Igede Nation underscore the importance of cultural pride and the enduring spirit of togetherness that defines Igede Agba.As the Igede Nation celebrates today, the festival stands as a testament to the people’s resilience, their gratitude for the harvest, and their unwavering commitment to preserving their heritage for generations to come.God bless the Igede Nation.

BAVCCA Lauds BPP Over Reforms, Vows Fight Against Procurement Corruption

The Bloggers and Vloggers, Content Creators Association of Nigeria, BAVCCA, has lauded the Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, for his remarkable achievements within a short period in office, while disclosing their resolve help strengthen government institution against corruption and foster national development.

President of BAVCCA, Ikechukwu Chukwunyere, disclosed this on Thursday at the 2026 BPP Procurement Reforms Conference held at the Women Development Centre, Abuja.

Chukwunyere described Adedokun’s achievements and commitment to repositioning the procurement system within a short period in office as exceptional, adding that. the reforms and institutional renewal efforts under Adedokun had attracted the association’s public commendation.

He also revealed BAVCCA will submit detailed letters and evidence of alleged corruption uncovered through its civic monitoring and digital investigations to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Chukwunyere said the association had uncovered what he described as “deeply troubling patterns of wrongdoing” within parts of the public system.

He said the documents to be submitted to the EFCC would identify implicated government institutions and draw attention to alleged acts of corruption observed by the association.

“ No institution is above scrutiny, and transparency must be matched with consequences where necessary,” he said.

The BAVCCA president spoke on the theme, “Celebrating Successes, Identifying Challenges, and Charting Solutions for Public Procurement Reforms,” at the conference organised in collaboration with stakeholders in the procurement sector.

He said public procurement was not merely about contracts and procedures but involved the responsible management of resources belonging to Nigerians.

According to him, every naira saved through efficient procurement could be redirected to critical sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, education and security.

Chukwunyere called for stronger collaboration among the Bureau of Public Procurement, media organisations, civil society groups and digital content creators to promote transparency and public understanding of procurement reforms.

He said digital media practitioners had a responsibility to ensure that information published on their platforms was accurate, balanced and presented within the proper context.

“Responsible digital media can complement the work of institutions such as BPP by educating citizens, explaining procurement reforms, drawing attention to legitimate concerns and helping to counter misinformation,” he said.

While identifying capacity gaps, resistance to change, bid manipulation, data challenges and enforcement as some of the challenges confronting public procurement, Chukwunyere said addressing them would require more than government action.

He advocated stronger institutions, competent procurement professionals, technology, public awareness and responsible citizen participation.

On the 2027 general elections, the BAVCCA president announced plans by the association to organise governorship and presidential debates ahead of the polls.

He said the debates would provide candidates with platforms to present their manifestos and explain their plans directly to Nigerians.

Chukwunyere urged Nigerians to participate actively in the electoral process by registering, obtaining their Permanent Voter Cards and making informed choices based on competence, character, capacity and credible programmes.

He also appealed to politicians and their supporters to shun hate speech, incitement, violence and electoral malpractice.

He urged Nigerians not to sell their votes or allow themselves to be used to perpetrate violence, stressing that political disagreements should not destroy relationships among citizens.

“Let us disagree politically without becoming enemies. Let us campaign on issues and ideas, not hatred and violence,” he said.

He maintained that building a better Nigeria required not only political leadership but also an informed, active and responsible citizenry.

ICPC’s War Against Corruption: How Musa Aliyu Is Reclaiming Nigeria’s Stolen Wealth

Barely a week ago, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission once again proved that Nigeria’s anti-graft war is far from a toothless bulldog. Chairman Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, disclosed to State House correspondents in Abuja that his commission had unearthed yet another fake government agency, this time operating brazenly within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The phantom outfit, calling itself the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, had somehow managed to secure office accommodation, gain access to public servants, open bank accounts and even wriggle its way into the 2026 national budget, all without any legitimate presidential authorisation.
The discovery was not accidental. It emerged from the ICPC’s dogged investigation into the earlier scandal involving the fake Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, an outfit promoted by one Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew that had similarly infiltrated government structures before Aliyu’s team blew the lid off it. Following his Friday briefing to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the President ordered the immediate arrest of George Buchi Nwabueze, identified as the man behind the new fake agency, and directed the suspension of three permanent secretaries in the OSGF: M.S. Danjuma, Nandungu Gagare and Richard Pheelangwah, over the circumstances that allowed the fraudulent office to thrive under their watch. Investigators further found that the outfit had built an elaborate structure complete with an executive director, zonal directors, state coordinators and even foreign representatives, a level of sophistication that speaks to how deeply corruption can burrow into government machinery when vigilance slips.
The ICPC did not stop at exposing the fraud. It went further to indict the Budget Office of the Federation for negligence, establishing that officials had processed and onboarded the phantom council into the 2026 Appropriation Act despite glaring gaps in its documentation, relying instead on informal engagements and unverified scanned approvals rather than due diligence. It was a sobering reminder that corruption does not always announce itself with the theft of physical cash; sometimes it hides in the quiet failures of institutional process, waiting for a vigilant commission to catch what ordinary oversight missed.
This latest exposure is only the newest chapter in what has been a remarkably consistent record for Aliyu since he took the reins as the Commission’s fifth substantive chairman. In his first year alone, he reported cash recoveries of nearly ₦30 billion domiciled in ICPC recovery accounts, alongside almost ₦11 billion recovered as Value Added Tax and remitted to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and ₦10 billion clawed back from the COVID-19 vaccine fund and returned to the treasury. Forfeited assets in that period alone were valued at ₦2.5 billion plus close to a million dollars in foreign currency.
The momentum has not slackened. By 2024, the Commission had recovered more than ₦20 billion in cash and properties from corrupt individuals. The following year proved even more fruitful: 2025 closed with the ICPC announcing recoveries of ₦37.44 billion and over $2.35 million through asset seizures and forfeitures, one of its most significant annual hauls since the Commission’s founding. That year also saw the agency investigate 263 cases against a target of 250, file 61 cases in court, and secure a conviction rate of 55.74 percent, including the notable jailing of a University of Calabar professor for abuse of office.
Beyond the courtroom victories and cash recoveries, Aliyu has placed heavy emphasis on tracking public infrastructure spending through the Commission’s Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking Initiative. As of the middle of this year, that initiative had tracked over four thousand five hundred public projects worth more than ₦22.5 trillion nationwide between 2023 and June 2026, recovering stalled projects valued at over ₦507 billion and generating an estimated ₦385.6 billion in savings for government coffers. Separately, the Commission has pointed to recoveries exceeding ₦130 billion drawn from public projects worth more than ₦35 trillion, alongside court-ordered forfeitures including properties worth over ₦5 billion tied to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and nearly ₦942 million recovered from a 2024 payroll fraud scheme.
Taken together, the figures tell a story of an anti-corruption agency that, under Aliyu’s watch, has shifted from mere rhetoric to measurable results, running into hundreds of billions of naira reclaimed, saved or redirected back into the Nigerian treasury. Yet the chairman himself has been candid that the fight is far from over. He has repeatedly appealed to the National Assembly for improved funding, warning that inadequate resources continue to hamper the Commission’s manpower, logistics and operational capacity, even as staff morale suffers under the weight of high-risk investigative work. He has also pushed back firmly against suggestions that the Commission is being weaponised for political witch-hunting, insisting that its work is driven strictly by evidence and due process rather than political considerations.
If the recent unmasking of yet another ghost agency within the corridors of government is any indication, Nigerians can expect the ICPC under Musa Aliyu to keep peeling back the layers of institutional rot, one budget line, one phantom office, and one recovered billion at a time.