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China–ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0: Regional Integration and High-Quality Cooperation

POLITIK

Tendenzblick

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October 28, 2025

China–ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0: Regional Integration and High-Quality Cooperation

More than five months after the conclusion of negotiations, the upgraded 3.0 version of the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area Protocol was formally signed, marking a new milestone in regional cooperation.

On October 28, during the 47th ASEAN Summit held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, China and ASEAN signed the 3.0-version upgrade protocol of the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area. Negotiations for the 3.0 upgrade began in November 2022 and reached substantive completion in October 2024. Based on the existing China–ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), this new version further expands mutually beneficial cooperation in emerging areas, strengthens interconnection in standards and regulations, and promotes regional trade facilitation and inclusive development.

The 3.0 upgrade covers nine key fields: the digital economy, green economy, supply-chain connectivity, standards and technical regulations with conformity assessment, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, customs procedures and trade facilitation, competition and consumer protection, micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and economic and technological cooperation. These areas reflect both sides’ determination to lead in the formulation of international rules and to deepen cooperation in new domains.

As China’s first foreign free trade partner and ASEAN’s first FTA partner, the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area has always held a pivotal position in the regional economic landscape. From its early 1.0 stage to the current 3.0 era, the evolution of this partnership demonstrates the steady progress of both sides in promoting regional economic integration. After the signing of the protocol, both parties will complete their domestic ratification procedures to bring the agreement into force as soon as possible.

With this upgrade, China–ASEAN economic cooperation has reached a new starting point. Scholars note that while globalization was once defined primarily by free trade and investment on a global scale, today the trend is shifting toward regional integration. China and ASEAN, as leaders in regional cooperation, have built one of the world’s most dynamic economic relationships. For sixteen consecutive years, China has remained ASEAN’s largest trading partner, while ASEAN has been China’s largest partner for the past five years. The 3.0 version thus reflects not only a higher standard of openness but also a new direction for global economic cooperation led by regional partnerships.

Experts believe that at a time when the global economy faces mounting uncertainty, the signing of this upgraded protocol represents a significant step toward high-quality openness and cooperation. It shows China and ASEAN’s shared commitment to defending the multilateral trading system, countering protectionist trends, and strengthening regional economic resilience through deeper institutional cooperation. For both sides, this means a more stable space for small and medium-sized enterprises and reduced exposure to external risks. The 3.0 version is also a leap beyond tariff reduction: it embodies rule-making, standard integration, and governance innovation — a systemic upgrade that reflects Asia’s capacity to craft its own solutions for regional trade and development.

From focusing on tariff reduction in goods to expanding markets in services, the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area has evolved in scope and sophistication. The 3.0 version marks a fundamental shift — from a “list of goods” approach to one led by “rules and standards.” It introduces mutual recognition of standards within its framework, establishes a unified standard for electronic invoices in digital trade, promotes a “white list” mechanism for cross-border data flows, and creates a carbon-footprint tracing system and photovoltaic component standard recognition in support of green transformation.

Analysts also point out that ASEAN has never been a uniform entity — internal rules and standards vary significantly from one country to another. The 3.0 version seeks to break through these regulatory barriers by fostering convergence in rules. In the field of green economy, for instance, both sides are working to remove trade barriers related to environmental goods and services and to promote mutual recognition of industrial standards, thus facilitating cooperation in green industries and sustainable production capacity.

Under the framework of high-standard rules, China and ASEAN are not only enhancing traditional trade and investment but also broadening collaboration into new sectors. The nine areas covered by the 3.0 upgrade — particularly digital and green economies — are at the heart of global trade transformation. Experts emphasize that these two fields exemplify the complementary advantages between China and ASEAN. In the green economy, for example, Chinese companies in new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, and energy storage are rapidly expanding in Southeast Asia, helping to upgrade local industries and accelerate the region’s green transition. This cooperation not only represents new opportunities for China’s high-tech industries but also injects momentum into ASEAN’s sustainable development.

Despite the current climate of uncertainty in global trade, China and ASEAN have maintained remarkable resilience in their economic relations, sending a clear signal of openness, cooperation, and shared prosperity. According to the General Administration of Customs of China, in the first three quarters of this year, China’s trade with ASEAN reached 5.57 trillion yuan, up 9.6 percent year on year, accounting for 16.6 percent of China’s total foreign trade — reaffirming ASEAN’s position as China’s largest trading partner.

Both sides have long been committed to deepening regional economic integration. Their industrial and supply chains are closely intertwined, with rapid growth in both upstream and downstream trade. As multiple bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements between China and ASEAN members take effect, tariff reductions and trade facilitation continue to deliver tangible benefits, strengthening the integration of regional production networks. In the first three quarters alone, China’s exports of textile machinery and raw materials to ASEAN rose by 28.2 percent and 13.4 percent respectively, while imports of garments increased by 9.3 percent. Imports of rubber from ASEAN surged by 40.7 percent, and exports of tires and auto parts grew by 19.8 percent.

Experts consistently highlight the complementary nature of both sides’ industrial structures. China provides ASEAN with intermediate goods, digital technology, green equipment, and capital, while ASEAN contributes abundant natural resources, labor, and vast emerging markets. China’s technological capability, skilled workforce, and advanced manufacturing combine naturally with ASEAN’s youthful demographics and resource advantages. This synergy allows both sides to maximize their respective strengths.

Such complementarity extends into high-tech sectors. Many Chinese semiconductor companies, for instance, are investing in Malaysia’s Penang region, symbolizing a new wave of two-way industrial cooperation. Institutional frameworks such as RCEP and now CAFTA 3.0 are providing the legal and structural backbone that sustains this dynamic integration.

China’s consistent advocacy of free trade and open regionalism continues to benefit ASEAN economies. As RCEP marks its third anniversary, cooperation between China and ASEAN has grown closer than ever. With China actively pursuing accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — of which several ASEAN countries are already members — the foundation for broader regional cooperation is steadily expanding.

The signing of the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 upgrade protocol thus stands as a landmark achievement. It embodies China’s determination to safeguard multilateralism, deepen institutional openness, and jointly shape the future of regional economic governance with its ASEAN partners. Beyond economic integration, it showcases a distinctly Asian model of cooperation — one rooted in equality, mutual respect, and shared progress — and offers the world a new vision of globalization led not by confrontation, but by collaboration and common development.

Source: Global Times, Reuters, CGTN, ASEAN Main Portal

Why Were Tianjin Merchants Indispensable in the Qing Campaign to Reclaim Xinjiang?

KULTUR

Tendenzblick

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October 26, 2025

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Why Were Tianjin Merchants Indispensable in the Qing Campaign to Reclaim Xinjiang?

In the winter of 1942, inside a modest apartment in Tianjin, a ninety-one-year-old man quietly passed away. His death attracted little attention in the chaos of wartime China, yet the life behind it was extraordinary. Born into a poor boatman’s family and later celebrated as a pioneering merchant, An Wenzhong embodied a rare fusion of personal grit, national commitment, and commercial ingenuity. His story, though rooted in one man’s fate, reflects a broader historical transformation in which ordinary people became unwitting participants in the reshaping of China’s frontier.

An Wenzhong’s life intersected early with the turbulence of the late Qing dynasty. As a young laborer hauling towboats along the rivers of Zhili, he had already grown familiar with hardship. In 1868, when Zuo Zongtang prepared to transport massive quantities of military supplies to Shaanxi after suppressing the Western Nian rebels, the government issued a public call for vessels and boatmen. The wages were attractive, but the task was demanding and dangerous. War had barely receded, the route was long, and few were willing to gamble their lives for silver. Driven by poverty but also by a keen sense of opportunity, An volunteered immediately. It was a decision that would reshape not only his own future, but also the commercial history of China’s northwest.

When the supplies reached Xi’an, An observed the severe scarcity of daily necessities within Zuo Zongtang’s camp. Soldiers possessed money but had nowhere to spend it; the rugged frontier terrain made access to basic goods nearly impossible. Sensing both need and opportunity, An modified his role: instead of returning home, he acquired a pair of shoulder baskets, filled them with locally sourced essentials, and followed the army, selling goods as the troops marched. His small mobile business—improvised, risky, and physically exhausting—proved remarkably successful. Within a few years, he had saved three hundred taels of silver, a fortune for a man of his background, and returned home to Yangliuqing amid the admiration of neighbors who saw in him a rare example of upward mobility.

But fortune never promised constancy. While later transporting grain with partners, An encountered a sudden sea storm and lost everything he had worked for. Stripped again to poverty, he made a familiar decision: he repacked his baskets and rejoined Zuo Zongtang’s forces, which were now advancing into Xinjiang to confront the regime of Yakub Beg. This recurrence marked more than personal persistence—it signaled the beginning of a commercial phenomenon. His example inspired other Yangliuqing men to follow military camps westward, forming what later became known as the camp merchants.

By 1875, when Zuo Zongtang, already past sixty, launched the grand campaign to reclaim Xinjiang, the logistical deficiencies of the expedition became painfully clear. Supply lines stretched thin across desolate terrain, leaving over 100,000 soldiers without reliable access to basic provisions. Recognizing the crisis, Liu Jintang, commander of the vanguard, proposed recruiting merchants to accompany the army and provide goods. Zuo agreed without hesitation. In that moment, a symbiotic relationship emerged: the military gained supplemental supply chains, while merchants gained unprecedented access to new markets across the frontier.

Among these merchants, An Wenzhong became a central figure. His understanding of soldiers’ needs was intimate and pragmatic. Beyond staple goods, he carried medicinal plasters, simple clothing, toiletries, and even small luxuries like tobacco, dried fruits, and wine—items that restored a sense of humanity to men stationed far from home. The journey was grueling. Caravans traveled through barren deserts and snow-covered passes, losing men to illness, bandit attacks, and extreme weather. Many who followed the advancing camps never returned. Yet the merchants persisted, propelled by necessity, opportunity, and a growing sense that their work served not just their own survival but also the survival of the army.

As the campaign progressed, Yangliuqing peddlers expanded their presence across the frontier, eventually spreading into nearly every major settlement in Xinjiang. Recognizing their contributions to the supply effort and the stabilization of newly reclaimed territories, the Qing court granted An Wenzhong and others permission to build rammed-earth houses near the Grand Crossroads of Ürümqi. What began as itinerant, precarious commerce thus transformed into permanent settlement. Shops emerged, markets formed, and a new commercial ecosystem took root.

Once settled, An established a store called Wenfengtai, which became a key node in Xinjiang’s developing economy. He supplied troops with necessities but also served local residents of various ethnicities. Xinjiang’s communities were eager for goods from inland China—copperware, medicinal herbs, silk, and household items—while merchants like An recognized the high value of local specialties such as Hetian jade, Ili animal furs, and Turpan raisins. Through these exchanges, a two-way commercial bridge emerged between Tianjin and the distant frontier.

Trade between the camp merchants and nomadic groups followed rhythms shaped by season and tradition. Barter dominated: flour, tea, cloth, and tools were exchanged for livestock, fine pelts, and high-quality leather. Transactions were grounded in trust and mutual benefit, qualities that enabled merchants to operate safely in regions where political control was often fragile. Over time, these exchanges strengthened economic links between the interior and the frontier, contributing to broader patterns of cultural interaction and mutual dependence.

As commerce flourished, so did cultural exchange. Through the merchants’ movement, technologies, artistic styles, and social ideas from inland China gradually reached Xinjiang. At the same time, frontier customs and goods entered the consciousness of the interior. The merchants’ presence fostered a subtle but significant process of integration. It supplemented the Qing government’s frontier strategy with grassroots economic and cultural networks that the state itself struggled to build. In this sense, An Wenzhong and his peers were not merely merchants; they were intermediaries between worlds.

Over the decades, the Great Camp Merchants evolved from battlefield suppliers into fully entrenched participants in the frontier economy. Their families took root, communities formed, and a new generation grew up speaking multiple languages and navigating multiple cultures. Their work supported soldiers but also facilitated exchanges among Han, Uyghur, Hui, Kazakh, Mongol, and other ethnic groups. In doing so, they shaped a century-long record of ethnic interaction and commercial integration in China’s northwest.

When An Wenzhong died in 1942, his personal fortune mattered less than the transformation he helped initiate. His life was a microcosm of resilience: a man repeatedly battered by circumstance yet continuously rebuilding, innovating, and expanding the possibilities of his environment. From a poor boatman’s son to a frontier magnate, he demonstrated how individual agency—when aligned with national needs and historical opportunity—can leave a lasting imprint far beyond one lifetime. His journey remains a reminder that history is often advanced not only by generals and officials, but also by the ordinary individuals who shoulder their baskets, follow the uncertain road, and carve new paths across unfamiliar lands.

Source: dzh, tjxqda, xinhua

As the World Rushes for Gold, China’s Past Reveals How It Once Guarded Thrones and Prosperity

KULTUR

Tendenzblick

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October 24, 2025

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As the World Rushes for Gold, China’s Past Reveals How It Once Guarded Thrones and Prosperity

In recent years, gold prices have surged relentlessly. Entering October, international gold prices hovered at a high of $3,900 per ounce. As the world is enveloped by unilateralism and uncertainty, gold has once again become the reliable ark amidst the stormy seas. Its soaring value reflects humanity’s quest for security amid turmoil.

Why has gold been revered as currency from ancient city-states to modern nations? And why does it continue safeguarding wealth in today’s modern world? The reasons lie not only in its high density, divisibility, and stable properties, but also in its scarce reserves and arduous extraction—this very scarcity acts as a bulwark against hyperinflation.

China ranks seventh globally in gold reserves, yet its preciousness remains evident relative to its vast territory. So how did ancient people, with limited technology, carve through mountains, refine pure gold, and safeguard this rare splendor?

Beneath all the Song Dynasty’s prosperity lay a crucial foundation: ample currency. This brings us to the unsung hero behind the Song Dynasty’s economic boom—Pan Mei—and the Linglong Gold Mine he personally oversaw.

In popular imagination, Pan Mei is the real-life inspiration for Pan Renmei, a villainous minister in the Generals of the Yang Family. Yet historical truth is often more complex than the stage.

In the fourth year of the Jingde era (1205 AD), Pan Mei arrived at Luoshan Mountain in Zhaoyuan (present-day Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province). Fresh from a crushing defeat on the northern front, he now carried a mission to redeem his failures through action: the Liao forces in the north loomed menacingly, while years of warfare had drained the imperial treasury. Gold had become the “lifeblood” sustaining the Northern Song Dynasty.

In Zhaoyuan, he witnessed miners still using inefficient, millennia-old sand-washing methods, rampant illegal mining, and bandit-infested wilderness. This had to change.

Thus, a quiet revolution unfolded in these mountains: Pan Mei implemented a system of government-established mining sites overseen by supervisors, with mining rights granted to private operators, merging state will with private initiative. He boldly introduced gunpowder into mining operations, using blasting to fracture rock layers. This innovative break first, sift later technique unlocked the buried gold treasures deep underground. He also established tax supervisors and enforced strict regulations, transforming the chaotic mines into orderly production bases through decisive action.

People from all corners transformed the gold mine, and the mine, in turn, reshaped Zhaoyuan. Shandong artisans, Hebei farmers, Henan merchants, and technicians from various ethnic groups converged like countless streams into this bubbling land.

This gold mine became the veritable “economic ballast” of the Northern Song Dynasty. Historical records estimate that Linglong Gold Mine’s annual output provided nearly one-tenth of the precious metals sustaining the central treasury.

Beyond commercial circulation, gold flowing from these mountains was indispensable—whether for supplying military provisions at the frontiers, aiding disaster-stricken refugees across the land, or regulating the nation’s monetary flow.

During the Han Dynasty, Chao Cuo passionately argued that a wise emperor values grain over gold and jade, yet no emperor ever truly dared to devalue gold. As history’s wheel inevitably shifted from a natural economy toward a commodity-based one, gold’s status became increasingly unshakable.

The late Ming dynasty’s predicament stands as a bloody lesson: the imperial treasury lay bare, with fiscal revenues insufficient even to sustain the silver pay for a single army stationed in Liaodong. The shortage of gold and silver, coupled with economic decline and deflation, acted like an invisible noose that ultimately strangled the dynasty’s lifeline. This demonstrates that the functioning of a nation’s economy ultimately requires solid precious metals as its foundation.

This was the legacy of Pan Mei and the Linglong Gold Mine. The praise and criticism on the theatrical stage were but fleeting smoke and clouds; yet the veins of gold buried deep underground, and the river of currency they spawned, laid a silent yet solid foundation for the economic prosperity of the Northern Song Dynasty.

During the War of Resistance, the people protected the gold from Japanese plunder and supplied it to the Communist Party for the fight.

In 1938, the crackle of Japanese gunfire shattered the tranquility of Zhaoyuan. The invaders’ greedy eyes locked onto the Linglong Gold Mine—they intended to fund their war efforts by exploiting the veins our ancestors had mined.

Bunkers sprouted like poisonous mushrooms atop the hills, barbed wire severing the ancestral lands. Yet the people of Zhaoyuan refused to bow. A silent yet resolute “Battle to Protect the Gold” quietly commenced within the familiar mine shafts and the silent wilderness.

Miner Wang Dechang would forever remember those secret moments under dim miner’s lamps. Using the clanging of chisels as cover, he and his comrades carved hidden compartments into rock walls beyond the Japanese soldiers’ line of sight. They wrapped heavy gold bars in layers of coarse cloth, carefully tucked them into bamboo tubes, and hid them deep within the mine tunnels or in crevices along mountain streams.

Women concealed gold dust deep within their hair buns, calmly passing through Japanese checkpoints despite searches. Returning home, they bent over basins, gently shaking loose their black tresses—where specks of gold glimmered at the bottom.

As night deepened, guerrilla fighters disguised as porters shouldered these “special cargo” still warm from human touch. They navigated barbed wire and sentry posts, delivering this fiery devotion from the depths of Zhaoyuan step by step to distant Yan’an.

This gold-guarding route flowed with blood that knew no boundaries.

Under flickering miner’s lamps, Han Chinese miners—with their intimate knowledge of the tunnels—secretly handed spider-web-like mine maps to the guerrillas; Amidst the ringing of camel bells, Hui merchants leveraged their extensive trade networks to carve out covert routes for gold transit; Through forests and snowfields, Manchu hunters guided convoys through remote mountains using ancestral tracking skills.

This gold was no longer mere treasure—it transformed into steel rifles in soldiers’ hands, becoming the force for national salvation.

In those years, the gold transported from Zhaoyuan shone brightly in the darkest hour— During the War of Resistance, the gold sent to Yan’an funded the purchase of vast quantities of military supplies, propping up half the foundation of the Jiaodong Anti-Japanese Base Area.

By this point, Linglong Gold Mine had long transcended the significance of a mere mining site. It became a spiritual bastion forged in gold—a solemn oath to defend the nation, written in blood by the Chinese people when their homeland lay shattered.

From the Northern Song Dynasty to the War of Resistance, Zhaoyuan Gold Mine once underpinned the prosperity of an empire, and later became the pillar of survival when the nation faced ruin.

Though the world has changed and the seas have turned to fields, the veins of gold buried deep beneath the earth still shimmer silently in the depths of history. They bear witness to the resilience and dignity of the Chinese nation in the face of every storm. Gold and silver may fade, but the spirit forged by a nation in the act of protection will shine forever.

Source: dzh, cgsjournals, newsduan, goldmarket

Tibetan Buddhism and Its Sinicization through History

KULTUR

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October 22, 2025

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Tibetan Buddhism and Its Sinicization through History

Tibetan Buddhism is a Buddhist tradition with distinct Tibetan characteristics that emerged and developed in the Snowland. Yet it has never been an exclusive belief of the Tibetan people alone. Rather, it has long been a shared faith among numerous ethnic groups within the Chinese nation, including Tibetans, the Tanguts of Western Xia, Han Chinese, Mongols, Manchus, and historically the Uyghurs.

Throughout ancient Chinese history, Tibetan Buddhism served as the dominant religion under multiple dynasties, including the Western Xia, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. Its dissemination and flourishing among these diverse ethnic groups not only reflected but also strengthened the political and cultural unity of the Chinese state, profoundly reshaping the religious and ethnic landscape of ancient China.

Nearly two decades ago, the concept of “Han-Tibetan Buddhism” was proposed as a corrective to the long-dominant Western academic notion of “Indian-Tibetan Buddhism.” This framework emphasizes the historical emergence and development of Tibetan Buddhism from a Han-Tibetan perspective, highlighting its deep connections with Han Chinese Buddhism. In truth, Tibetan Buddhism represents not merely the localization of Buddhism in Tibet, but also a monumental achievement in the broader process of the Sinicization of Buddhism.

The early propagation of Tibetan Buddhism was closely intertwined with the introduction of Chinese Buddhism and its absorption of Han culture. Many of the Buddhist scriptures translated during the Tibetan Empire were derived from Chinese Buddhist texts. The great translator Chos grub (c. 755–849) was fluent in Chinese, Tibetan, and Sanskrit, and his achievements in translation rivaled those of the great translators of Chinese Buddhism, such as Kumarajiva (343–413) and Xuanzang (602–664).

One of the most significant events of the early propagation period was the Samye Debate (792–794) between the Indian gradualist master Padmasambhava and the Chinese Chan monk Moheyan. This debate represented a confrontation between the Chinese doctrine of “sudden enlightenment” and the Indian “gradual enlightenment” tradition. Although later Buddhist historians reinterpreted this event as a symbolic “memory field” in Tibetan Buddhist history, demonizing the “monk’s teachings” as heresy, it in fact reflected the vibrant presence of Chinese Chan Buddhism in early Tibet. The “monk’s teachings,” like the legendary boot left behind by Mahayana upon departing Tibet, never entirely disappeared. Their influence, possibly connected to later Tibetan doctrines such as the Great Perfection (Dzogchen), Mahamudra, and the “Other-Emptiness” philosophy, deserves continued scholarly attention.

Tibetan Buddhism turned eastward at an early stage, embarking on a long process of Sinicization. From the mid-eighth to the mid-ninth century, when the Tibetan Empire ruled the Western Regions, Tibetan culture centered on Buddhism became deeply intertwined with the civilizations of the Western Regions, initiating a long history of exchange and integration. Dunhuang, in particular, served as a pivotal meeting point for Han-Tibetan cultural interaction. Both Han and Tibetan Buddhist traditions converged there, forming the earliest expressions of Han-Tibetan Buddhism.

Manuscripts unearthed at Dunhuang reveal that Chinese Chan literature was extensively translated into Tibetan, indicating the widespread dissemination of Han Chan Buddhism during the Tibetan Empire. At the same time, numerous Tibetan texts and artworks related to the Old Translation Tantras show that the Nyingma School’s tantric practices were already flourishing in the region by the ninth and tenth centuries. Although the Tibetan Empire’s rule over the Western Regions lasted less than a century, it left a deep and lasting cultural imprint. Tibetan remained a common language in the Khotan region until the twelfth century, and Tibetan Buddhism continued to thrive there. By the time of the Mongol Khanate and the Yuan dynasty, the Uyghurs—profoundly influenced by Tibetan Buddhism—served as crucial intermediaries in religious and cultural exchanges between Tibetan lamas and Mongol rulers.

In the early twelfth century, newly translated tantric teachings of Tibetan Buddhism became the dominant esoteric tradition in Tibet and spread widely throughout the Western Xia dynasty. Research on Tibetan Buddhist texts unearthed at Black Water City reveals that Western Xia Buddhism represents an important chapter in the Later Propagation period of Tibetan Buddhism. Among these texts are both Chinese and Western Xia translations of Milarepa’s (1052–1135) “Tummo Meditation” instructions, suggesting that their dissemination in both Tibet and Western Xia occurred almost simultaneously. Furthermore, the Black Water City manuscripts contain esoteric materials from diverse lineages, including Nyingma, Kadam, Sakya, and Kagyu, showing that Tibetan esotericism flourished in Western Xia nearly as early as in Tibet itself. Western Xia likely elevated Tibetan Buddhism to the level of a state religion, with Tibetan lamas serving as imperial tutors to its kings.

Following the fall of Western Xia, several tribal groups tracing their lineage to its royal house migrated into Tibet. Western Xia thus became deeply embedded in Tibetan historical memory, recognized by later Buddhist historians as a Buddhist kingdom and a vital part of Tibetan Buddhist lineage history.

Tibetan Buddhism spread even more extensively under the Mongol Khanate and the Yuan dynasty. Beginning with the alliance between the Mongol prince Köden and the Sakya Pandita uncle-nephew duo in Liangzhou, Tibetan Buddhism became the faith of the Mongols and profoundly transformed their spiritual world. It achieved its widest dissemination across the vast territories of the Mongol Empire. Numerous ethnic groups within the Yuan realm—including Han Chinese, Tanguts, and Uyghurs—embraced Tibetan Buddhism in significant numbers. Under Yuan rule, generations of Sakya lamas served as Imperial Preceptors to the emperors, presiding over the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs and overseeing Buddhist activity across the empire.

During this period, Tibetan masters of various schools—Sakya, Nyingma, and Kagyu—traveled to the Central Plains to teach. The Yuan capital Dadu (modern Beijing) became a major center of Tibetan Buddhism, with esoteric practices flourishing within and beyond the imperial court. Tibetan Buddhist texts were translated into Chinese, Mongolian, Uyghur, and other languages. Among the Uyghur manuscripts discovered in Turpan, a significant portion consists of Tibetan esoteric literature, showing that before their conversion to Islam in the late Yuan period, the Uyghurs were largely adherents of Tibetan Buddhism. Though the Yuan dynasty lasted less than a century, it left a profound political and cultural legacy: the close religious ties between Tibetan lamas, imperial rulers, and the populace helped sustain Tibet’s vassal relationship with successive Chinese central governments.

From the Yuan onward, Mongol devotion to Tibetan Buddhism reshaped the political and religious landscape of northern and northwestern China. The Mongols played a pivotal role in Tibet’s religious history: from Sakya Pandita and Kublai Khan to the Third Dalai Lama and Altan Khan, and later the Fifth Dalai Lama and Gushri Khan, they established enduring patron-priest relationships that embodied the fusion of politics and religion between Mongolia and Tibet. The Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty explicitly stated that the Qing promotion of the Yellow Sect aimed to pacify the Mongols, affirming that Tibetan Buddhism had long served as a bridge uniting the Mongol and Tibetan peoples.

Under the unprecedented unification of the Mongol Khanate and Yuan Empire, Tibetan Buddhism spread widely among Han, Tibetan, and Mongol populations, as well as throughout Western Xia and the Western Regions, marking a glorious chapter in its Sinicization. The Mongols’ rapid adoption of Tibetan Buddhism had deep roots in the Western Xia legacy, while its flourishing during the Yuan dynasty laid the foundation for its broader acceptance in the Ming and Qing periods. From Western Xia through the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, Tibetan Buddhism became a shared faith among multiple ethnic groups and a crucial spiritual bond linking these successive dynasties.

Following the fall of the Yuan, the Ming emperors continued and even deepened imperial support for Tibetan Buddhism. The Yongle Emperor, shortly after ascending the throne, invited the Fifth Karmapa to the capital and hosted a grand Buddhist assembly at Linggu Temple in Nanjing attended by over twenty thousand monks to pray for the souls of his parents, the founding emperor and empress of the Ming dynasty. The Yongle Emperor also invited eminent Tibetan masters from Ü-Tsang, conferring upon them the titles of “Three Great Dharma Kings” and “Five Great Dharma Kings,” and allowed over two thousand Tibetan monks to reside permanently in the capital to serve the imperial court.

Throughout the Ming dynasty, Beijing became a major center for Tibetan Buddhism. The Tibetan Scripture Workshop in the city produced numerous translations, while the western suburbs housed large monasteries accommodating thousands of Tibetan monks. Nearly all major monasteries in Ü-Tsang maintained tribute relations with the Ming court. Most surviving Chinese translations of Tibetan esoteric texts date from the early Ming period, and the number of Han Chinese practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism far exceeded that of the Yuan era. Many high-ranking Ming court monks, bearing titles such as “National Preceptor” and “Dharma King,” were Tibetan lamas. Tibetan Buddhism thus achieved a remarkable level of Sinicization during the Ming dynasty, surpassing Han Buddhism in imperial prestige and influence.

The Qing rulers, like their Ming predecessors, actively supported Tibetan Buddhism, which became the dominant Buddhist tradition of the Qing era. Emperors Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong all demonstrated sincere devotion to it. Although Emperor Qianlong often claimed his promotion of the Yellow Sect served political goals—chiefly to stabilize the Mongols—his personal faith was evident. He constructed the Fanhualou temple within the imperial palace for his own esoteric practice, collected extensive Tibetan ritual texts, commissioned the translation of the Tibetan Buddhist canon into Manchu, and even designed his mausoleum as a mandala. He also built the Eight Outer Temples around the Rehe Summer Palace, integrating political strategy with religious devotion and creating a permanent center for Tibetan Buddhism in the Chinese heartland.

The Qing dynasty’s state masters, including the Zhangjia Hutuktu and other lamas stationed in Beijing, played key roles in spreading Tibetan Buddhism throughout the empire. Together with the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama, they served as spiritual leaders of the Qing realm. Tibetan Buddhism continued to flourish, reaching broader audiences among the multi-ethnic population and undergoing further Sinicization. Emperor Qianlong, who regarded himself as a Bodhisattva Emperor, actively shaped its development through policies such as the Golden Urn selection system, which formalized reincarnation recognition and strengthened state oversight of the faith.

Through continuous fusion across the Western Xia, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, this process produced the distinctive form of Tibetan Buddhism that endures today—a form deeply rooted in Chinese civilization and distinct from its Indian origins. Tibetan Buddhism, therefore, must be understood not merely as a regional adaptation of Buddhism, but as an integral and vital component of Chinese Buddhism itself.

Source: dzh, cpc people, kdl gov, xizang gov

How the First Five-Star Red Flag Was Raised on Hainan Island

KULTUR

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October 20, 2025

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How the First Five-Star Red Flag Was Raised on Hainan Island

In 1926, in a modest house on Zhongshan Road in Haikou, the First Congress of the Communist Party of Qiongya was held in secret. There were no grand slogans or fanfare—only a handful of determined men and women planning how to awaken the people of Hainan. This meeting marked the true beginning of the island’s revolutionary movement.

On April 22, 1927, the Kuomintang authorities launched the Four Two Two Incident. More than 2,000 Communists and supporters were arrested, and over 500 were executed. Many gave way under terror, but Feng Baiju and his comrades stood firm. They gathered the survivors, retrieved hidden rifles and makeshift weapons, and organized a revolutionary army.

At dawn on September 23, 1927, their forces attacked Yezizhai near Jiaji Town, firing the first shot of armed resistance on Hainan. Though leaders Yang Shanji and Chen Yongqin died in battle, the spark of revolution had been lit.

In November that year, the Qiongya Special Committee decided to establish a rural revolutionary base. Soon after, the Workers’ and Peasants’ Revolutionary Army captured Lingshui County, setting up the island’s first red regime—the Lingshui County Soviet Government. By the spring of 1928, the red flag had spread across Hainan.

The struggle was long and bitter. In July 1932, the Kuomintang sent 3,000 troops to launch a second encirclement and suppression campaign. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Qiongya Red Army retreated deep into the Mount Murui forests. There they survived for eight months, enduring starvation, cold, and disease. Soldiers ate wild roots, wrapped themselves in leaves, and clung to the belief that the red flag must never be lost.

Their numbers fell from hundreds to twenty-five. Barefoot and starving, they carried the bloodstained red banner pressed to their hearts. In April 1933, they broke through to Changtai Village in Qiongshan County. When the villagers recognized them, they cried out, “The Red Army still lives!” From that moment, the revolution’s flame burned again.

When the War of Resistance Against Japan began, the Qiongya Red Army reorganized as the Qiongya Anti-Japanese Independent Unit, with Feng Baiju as commander. On February 10, 1939, Japanese troops landed at Tianwei Port, and the unit fired Hainan’s first shot of anti-Japanese resistance at the Tangkou Ferry on the Nandu River.

As the Japanese advanced, the Kuomintang authorities retreated into the Wuzhi Mountain region and imposed brutal rule over the Li and Miao ethnic groups. In August 1943, Li leader Wang Guoxing led the Baisha Uprising, rallying his people with machetes and spears. They defeated local Kuomintang forces but were soon forced to retreat into the mountains.

During this time, the Li and Miao insurgents learned that the Qiongya Column fought truly for the people. Wang Guoxing sent representatives to the Communist Party, declaring solidarity. The Qiongya Special Committee immediately sent cadres to assist. They helped reorganize the uprising forces, formed Li and Miao armed units, and promoted policies of rent reduction and tax abolition. These actions gained strong popular support. By mid-1945, most of Baisha had been liberated.

After Japan’s surrender, the Kuomintang reoccupied Hainan, imposing harsh rule and economic plunder. In response, the Qiongya Column fought to preserve its liberated zones. In October 1946, the Qiongya Special Committee decided to merge Baisha, Baoting, and Ledong into one continuous revolutionary base.

By early 1947, Party and army headquarters moved to Maogui Village in Baisha. The troops captured Shuiman and Baoting, overthrew enemy strongholds in Fanyangdong, and consolidated the base area. In 1948, the liberated zones of Baisha, Ledong, and Baoting connected, forming the Wuzhi Mountain Revolutionary Base—Hainan’s firm red heartland.

On the morning of September 28, 1949, Wang Lugui, head of the Qiongya West District radio station, received an urgent telegram from the Qiongya Column Headquarters: “Immediately receive the Xinhua News Agency’s Instructions for the Design of the Flag of the People’s Republic of China.” The new China was about to be born, and Hainan was determined to raise its first Five-Star Red Flag.

That night, Nationalist troops suddenly surrounded the village. Wang quickly hid the radio set in straw and climbed into an old banyan tree with his operator. Soldiers searched below with torches, their voices echoing in the dark. The two men held their breath until the danger passed.

At 3 a.m., faint radio waves reached the receiver. By the light of an oil lamp, Wang transcribed more than 650 lines of code, deciphering the design of the new national flag: a red background with five yellow stars—one large, four small.

Red cloth was easy to find, but yellow dye was not. When the problem reached the local villagers, the Li and Miao people volunteered to help. They gathered yellow ginger from the mountains, crushed it to extract dye, and repeatedly soaked and dried white cloth until it turned golden. Around a dim lamp, the villagers cut the yellow cloth into stars and stitched them carefully onto the red fabric. Fingers bled, but no one stopped. In the midst of war and hardship, Hainan’s first Five-Star Red Flag was born.

That flag, made by hand in secrecy, became the symbol of an unbroken spirit. It marked not only the dawn of a new nation but also the perseverance of generations who refused to surrender.

Seventy years later, the flag remains one of Hainan’s most precious revolutionary relics. In 2019, Wu Xiaoyuan, daughter of Wu Kezhi, former Deputy Commander of the Qiongya Column, visited the Wuzhishan Revolutionary Memorial Park. Standing before the replica of that flag, she touched its seams gently and told the younger visitors, “When I tell you stories about them, I must begin with this flag. It witnessed victory—but more than that, it holds the convictions of his generation.”

Today, the same wind that once carried gunfire across Hainan’s hills now ripples the red flag high above peaceful towns. It reminds all who see it that on this island, even when the light was faintest and hope seemed lost, the people’s faith never wavered. The red flag never fell—and it never will.

Source: neac gov, Xinhua, China Daily, sohu, ifeng

Chinese Energy Storage Leader Shuangdeng Unveils Next-Gen AIDC Battery System

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October 18, 2025

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Chinese Energy Storage Leader Shuangdeng Unveils Next-Gen AIDC Battery System

Singapore, October 8–9, 2025 — DATA CENTRE WORLD ASIA convened at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre in Singapore, bringing together the world’s top innovators in data center technology, energy solutions, and digital infrastructure. Among the distinguished exhibitors, Shuangdeng Group showcased its leadership in energy storage solutions for big data and telecommunication industries and reinforcing its reputation as a global technology pioneer.

Founded in 2011, Shuangdeng Group has established itself as a global leader in the design, research and development, manufacturing, and sales of energy storage batteries and systems. Leveraging over a decade of experience serving diverse clients—including telecom base stations, AI data centers, power stations, and grids—the company is strategically positioned to capture the enormous opportunities presented by the big data era while continuing to drive industry innovation. In 2023, according to Frost & Sullivan, Shuangdeng ranked first globally in shipment volume among telecom base station and data center energy storage battery providers, securing a market share of 10.4%. Its client portfolio includes five of the world’s top ten telecom operators and equipment manufacturers, nearly 30% of the world’s top 100, and all of China’s top five operators, reflecting its deep market influence and trusted reputation.

Shuangdeng has built long-term relationships with industry leaders and technology companies through its commitment to safety, reliability, and high-quality energy solutions. Its customers rely on Shuangdeng’s products for mission-critical operations, including AI-driven data centers and telecom networks, where uninterrupted energy supply is crucial. By continuously investing in technology, research, and multi-scenario applications, the company ensures that its energy storage solutions meet the complex, evolving demands of global digital infrastructure.

At DATA CENTRE WORLD ASIA 2025, Shuangdeng unveiled its AIDC Smart Computing Center Immersion-Protected Lithium Battery System to the international market for the first time. This groundbreaking product represents a major advancement in energy storage technology, specifically designed to meet the stringent requirements of modern AIDC smart computing centers. By integrating ultimate safety, high-power output, and flexible scalability, the system sets a new standard for energy supply in data-intensive applications.

The system’s advanced immersion-protection technology effectively suppresses thermal runaway in battery cells, significantly reducing combustible gas emissions and ensuring true “zero combustion, zero smoke” performance even under extreme conditions. This level of safety is critical in AI-driven data centers, where high-power operations and dense computing loads demand both performance and reliability. In addition to its safety advantages, the system delivers up to 540 kW discharge power per cabinet while reducing the physical footprint by 33%, enabling higher energy density and unlocking new possibilities for expansion in limited data center space.

Beyond high power and safety, the system is engineered for resilience and longevity. It achieves over 40% lower temperature rise compared to conventional lithium batteries at equivalent power output, ensuring seamless handling of peak loads and rapid recovery of backup power after a single discharge cycle. The system incorporates triple-lock cell safety mechanisms, automotive-grade integrated circuits in the battery management system, and a sealed IP67-protected structure with specialized coolant materials, ensuring long-term stability even under extreme temperature variations. These features combine to deliver a high-performance, reliable, and safe energy storage solution tailored to the demanding needs of AI and cloud computing environments.

Shuangdeng’s portfolio extends beyond data center applications to communication base stations and power grid energy storage, enabling uninterrupted operations across multiple sectors. In communication networks, Shuangdeng batteries prevent outages and ensure consistent service, while optimizing operational costs through peak-off-peak electricity management. In power grids, the company’s solutions facilitate the coordination of electricity production and consumption, alleviate congestion, and contribute to energy transition efforts, supporting both renewable integration and carbon reduction strategies.

At the exhibition, Shuangdeng also announced a strategic partnership with Thailand’s Planet Systems, aimed at accelerating the deployment of AIDC intelligent computing centers and localized service networks across Southeast Asia. This collaboration reflects Shuangdeng’s commitment to expanding its global footprint while contributing to the region’s rapidly growing demand for digital infrastructure and energy transition solutions. Southeast Asia, as a hub for digital economic growth, presents unique opportunities for energy storage innovation, and this partnership positions Shuangdeng to deliver tailored, high-quality solutions to meet the region’s evolving needs.

Shuangdeng’s success is built on its deep understanding of industry trends and customer requirements. The company’s solutions are customized to meet the specific needs of its major clients, offering models such as “green power direct connection + energy storage,” “peak shaving + energy storage,” and “backup power + energy storage.” These scenario-based solutions provide full-cycle support, ensuring uninterrupted data transmission and stable operations in data centers and telecommunications networks. By aligning closely with client needs, Shuangdeng has built strong, long-term partnerships that span multiple years, with top customers relying on its products and services for over nine years on average.

The company’s focus on innovation extends to the integration of green power and energy storage in AI data centers, reflecting a commitment to sustainability and carbon reduction. By combining renewable energy with high-efficiency energy storage systems, Shuangdeng enables its clients to reduce reliance on traditional grid power, lower operational costs, and minimize environmental impact. This approach demonstrates how energy storage is evolving from a traditional backup solution into a core component of intelligent, sustainable digital infrastructure.

Shuangdeng’s technological leadership is complemented by its robust manufacturing capabilities and service networks, which ensure the consistent delivery of reliable, high-quality energy storage solutions at scale. Its systems have been deployed in mission-critical environments around the globe, including five of the top ten Chinese self-owned data center companies, 60% of the top ten third-party Chinese data centers, and numerous leading telecom operators worldwide. The company’s ability to maintain high service standards while scaling operations underscores its position as a trusted partner for large-scale digital infrastructure projects.

Looking ahead, Shuangdeng remains committed to advancing the frontiers of energy storage technology. By continuously investing in R&D, enhancing product performance, and expanding global partnerships, the company aims to provide safe, cost-efficient, and high-performance energy solutions for the next generation of AI-driven data centers, telecommunications networks, and smart grids. Its mission to build a reliable, efficient, and green zero-carbon energy foundation drives its innovation, ensuring that Shuangdeng not only meets current energy storage needs but also anticipates the challenges and opportunities of the future digital economy.

Source: finance sina, shuangdeng, jufair

The Recognition Paradox: Israel, Palestine, and the UN’s Double Standard

POLITIK

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October 16, 2025

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The Recognition Paradox: Israel, Palestine, and the UN’s Double Standard

In September 2025, a historic wave of global recognition for the State of Palestine swept through the international community, with 152 of 193 UN member states officially acknowledging its sovereignty. Yet, amidst this overwhelming consensus, the United States and Israel chose absence and defiance. The symbolism of their empty seats in the General Assembly could not have been more telling: for all the lofty rhetoric about international norms, when power is at stake, principles are discarded.

This moment laid bare what has long plagued the global legal order: the systematic application of double standards, rooted in the asymmetry of power and the enduring legacy of a Western-centric legal architecture. International law, despite its universalist claims, has always been a terrain of contested narratives, where rules are bent or upheld according to strategic interests—not shared values.

The question is simple: why was the legal framework effective in legitimizing the creation of Israel in 1948, yet impotent in securing the same for Palestine nearly 80 years later? The answer lies not in legal technicalities, but in a structural bias deeply embedded in the international legal order—one that privileges the powerful and selectively weaponizes law under the guise of norms.

The notion that international law is neutral is a myth. It was built within and by the colonial project, under the so-called “standard of civilization,” a doctrine that codified which states were deemed rational actors and which were not. These civilizational hierarchies remain thinly veiled under liberal institutionalism. As long as global power asymmetries persist, double standards will not be an anomaly, but a core feature of international law.

Recent global conflicts have further exposed this duplicity. While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drew swift legal condemnation, the same legal institutions have remained hesitant, even paralyzed, when addressing Israeli actions in Gaza. Calls to prosecute Israeli leaders for war crimes face fierce resistance—despite mounting evidence—while similar demands against non-Western actors proceed with ease. This is not justice; it is geopolitical expediency dressed in legal language.

More insidiously, legal inconsistencies are justified through appeals to identity. Israel insists it must not be morally equated with Hamas, invoking its democratic credentials as immunity against accountability. But this distinction only reveals a deeper pathology: the use of identity to escape the universality of law. Such framing rests on a psychological mechanism long known in critical theory: projective identification, where one’s own violence is denied and externalized onto the “other.” The result is a legal and moral inversion where perpetrators are cast as victims, and victims are criminalized.

The West, particularly the U.S., continues to invoke international norms only when convenient. When unfavorable rulings emerge—from the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court—they are dismissed or ignored. When allies violate the same norms, silence prevails. These patterns have not gone unnoticed by the Global South, which increasingly views international law not as a shield of justice, but as a tool of control.

Yet paradoxically, it is these very countries—those historically excluded from the creation of international law—that are now its fiercest defenders. Nicaragua, South Africa, Vanuatu, and many others have turned to the courts not out of naïveté, but out of strategic resolve: to turn the tools of the system against its architects. This is the essence of using the master’s tools to dismantle the master’s house—or at the very least, to force a reckoning.

The legitimacy of international law is in crisis. Not because law itself has failed, but because those entrusted with upholding it have treated it as optional. The West’s selective engagement with international norms reveals a deeper truth: it is not committed to law, but to a legal order that preserves its dominance.

If this trend continues, the danger is not merely the erosion of legal credibility. It is the collapse of any shared basis for global order. A world where law is applied only to the weak is a world that invites disorder, not stability. The alternative is not relativism or chaos—but a more inclusive, multipolar legal dialogue that acknowledges pluralism without surrendering to hypocrisy.

History will not be kind to a system that speaks of justice while practicing impunity. The time has come to confront the uncomfortable truth: international law, as it stands, does not bind the powerful—it enables them. That must change.

Source: China US Focus, BBC, UN News, Carta Capital

Chinese Scientists Develop Artificial Oceanic Carbon Cycle System to Combat Acidification and Enable Green Manufacturing

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October 14, 2025

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Chinese Scientists Develop Artificial Oceanic Carbon Cycle System to Combat Acidification and Enable Green Manufacturing

The ocean, Earth’s largest natural carbon sink, absorbs over a quarter of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions annually, playing a crucial role in mitigating global warming. However, this ongoing absorption has led to a significant and growing problem: ocean acidification. As CO₂ dissolves into seawater, it forms carbonic acid, lowering pH levels and threatening the delicate balance of marine ecosystems, endangering everything from coral reefs to plankton populations. Addressing this dual challenge of climate change and acidification demands innovative, large-scale, and sustainable carbon management technologies.

On October 6, a collaborative research team led by Professor Gao Xiang from the National Key Laboratory of Quantitative Synthetic Biology and the Institute of Synthetic Biology at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, alongside Professor Xia Chuan’s team from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, announced a major scientific breakthrough. They have proposed and experimentally validated an artificial oceanic carbon cycle system that integrates electrocatalysis with biocatalysis. The study was published in the high-impact journal Nature Catalysis.

This pioneering system is designed to extract carbon dioxide directly from natural seawater and convert it into valuable intermediates suitable for biomanufacturing. These intermediates can then be transformed into high-value chemicals and sustainable materials. As a proof of concept, the research demonstrates the successful production of biodegradable plastic monomers, laying the foundation for a versatile green manufacturing platform capable of producing fuels, pharmaceuticals, food ingredients, and industrial chemicals.

The first stage of the system, led by Professor Xia Chuan’s team, involves an advanced electrocatalytic process that captures CO₂ from seawater with high efficiency. One of the major technological hurdles in such systems—electrode passivation and salt deposition—was successfully overcome by engineering a novel electrolytic apparatus. The system achieved stable, continuous operation in natural seawater for over 500 hours, with carbon capture efficiencies exceeding 70%. Notably, the system also generates hydrogen as a valuable by-product. Economically, the team estimates the cost of carbon capture at approximately US$229.90 per tonne, a competitive figure in the context of emerging carbon capture technologies.

Further advancing the process, the team developed a high-performance, bismuth-based electrocatalyst (Bi-BEN) that selectively converts captured CO₂ into formic acid—a key intermediary. Their scaled-up electrolyzer operated stably for 20 consecutive days, consistently producing high-concentration, pure formic acid, demonstrating the system’s reliability and scalability.

The second critical phase, led by Professor Gao Xiang’s team, focused on the biological conversion of formic acid into industrially relevant materials. Although formic acid is widely available, its biological toxicity poses a significant challenge for microbial processing. To address this, the researchers engineered a “supercell”—a genetically modified strain of Vibrio natriegens, a fast-growing marine bacterium—capable of thriving in high-formic-acid environments. Using synthetic biology and directed laboratory evolution, the team reprogrammed the organism’s genetic circuitry to efficiently use formic acid as the sole carbon source.

The engineered strain successfully converted formic acid into succinic acid and lactic acid, the monomers for the biodegradable plastics polybutylene succinate (PBS) and polylactic acid (PLA), respectively. These biodegradable plastics are not only environmentally friendly alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, but also demonstrate the feasibility of the system for large-scale production of green materials.

Crucially, PBS and PLA serve only as demonstration products for the broader capabilities of the platform. Thanks to modular design principles and the ability to optimize both the electrocatalytic and metabolic pathways, the system can be tailored to produce a wide variety of bio-based chemicals, including organic acids, plastic monomers, surfactants, and even nutritional ingredients. These products have applications across numerous industries, such as sustainable materials, green chemistry, pharmaceuticals, and food technology.

Looking forward, the research teams plan to establish an integrated “green factory” in coastal areas. These facilities will utilize ocean water directly, capturing CO₂ and converting it continuously into formic acid using the electrocatalytic device, which is then fed into fermentation tanks where engineered microbes manufacture sustainable materials. Such plants could be co-located with existing chemical or manufacturing infrastructure, creating a closed-loop system for carbon utilization and ocean health restoration.

From a strategic and ecological perspective, the significance of this research cannot be overstated. First, it offers a practical solution to ocean acidification, one of the most urgent but often under-addressed consequences of climate change. By actively removing CO₂ from seawater, the system helps restore the ocean’s pH balance, thereby protecting marine biodiversity and fisheries.

Second, the innovation bridges the gap between carbon capture and value-added production. Unlike traditional carbon capture and storage (CCS) methods, which often involve costly long-term storage of captured CO₂ in geological formations, this approach transforms captured carbon into economically viable products. This creates a strong financial incentive for widespread adoption and aligns environmental goals with industrial interests.

Third, the platform promotes the development of a circular carbon economy. Instead of releasing CO₂ into the atmosphere or relying on fossil carbon sources, the system recycles atmospheric carbon—via seawater—into materials essential for daily life, such as plastics, fuels, and nutrients. This model could play a pivotal role in decarbonizing manufacturing sectors while minimizing plastic waste and reducing dependence on petroleum-based feedstocks.

Moreover, the research aligns with China’s broader environmental goals and its ambitions for green innovation under the “dual carbon” targets—carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. The artificial oceanic carbon cycle system, if scaled effectively, could contribute significantly to these goals while strengthening China’s position as a global leader in synthetic biology, clean energy, and green manufacturing.

This groundbreaking research offers a visionary yet scientifically grounded pathway for addressing ocean acidification, mitigating climate change, and building a sustainable bioeconomy. It represents a convergence of advanced electrocatalysis, synthetic biology, and environmental engineering to create a new paradigm: one in which the ocean is not only a passive absorber of carbon but also an active participant in humanity’s transition to a greener, more sustainable future.

Source: Nature, CAS

China’s Wind Power Giant Plows £1.5 Billion into UK Factory

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October 13, 2025

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China’s Wind Power Giant Plows £1.5 Billion into UK Factory

Mingyang Smart Energy Group, a leading Chinese wind power company, has announced its largest overseas investment since going public. Following market close on October 12, the company revealed plans to establish the UK’s first fully integrated wind turbine manufacturing base in Scotland. The project is expected to involve a total investment of £1.5 billion.

The investment will be implemented in three phases. The first phase focuses on establishing advanced manufacturing facilities for wind turbine nacelles and blades, with initial production slated for late 2028. The second phase will expand production lines to accelerate large-scale manufacturing of UK floating wind turbine technology. The third phase aims to further extend operations to encompass the production of control systems, electronic equipment, and other critical components. This phased approach underscores Mingyang Smart Energy Group’s strategy to build a fully integrated offshore wind turbine manufacturing hub in the UK.

The company has engaged in in-depth discussions with both the UK and Scottish governments and conducted detailed commercial negotiations with key stakeholders, including the Great Britain Energy, National Wealth Fund, Scottish National Investment Bank, Crown Estate, and UK Export Finance, signaling its intention to secure both governmental and capital support for the project.

This £1.5 billion investment represents the company’s largest overseas venture to date and poses a significant challenge to its future cash flow. As of the first half of 2025, Mingyang Smart Energy Group’s total assets stood at £9.71 billion, with a debt-to-asset ratio of 69.93%, a three-year high. Nevertheless, the company maintains ample liquidity, holding approximately £1.16 billion in cash and cash equivalents. Key factors influencing future cash flow include the progress of ongoing projects and the sustainability of performance growth. As of mid-2025, construction-in-progress projects totaled £445 million, including the Mingyang Yangjiang Qingzhou IV Offshore Wind Farm Project, the Mingyang Yangjiang 16.6MW Floating Offshore Wind Demonstration Project, the Mingyang Smart Energy Group Southern Region Corporate Headquarters, the Zhanjiang Xuwen Dongsan Offshore Wind Demonstration Project, the Xinjiang Mingyang New Energy Industrial Cluster Base, the Mingyang Hainan Marine Energy R&D and International Business Headquarters, and the Mingyang (Lingao) Large Offshore Wind Turbine Testing Base Project.

Despite strong revenue growth, profitability has lagged. In the first half of 2025, revenue surged to RMB 17.143 billion, while net profit attributable to shareholders declined to RMB 610 million. During its September earnings briefing, the company addressed investor concerns regarding debt levels and profitability, emphasizing plans to optimize asset structure, improve accounts receivable management, and strategically evaluate its approach to capital markets.

Mingyang Smart Energy Group’s technological capabilities and market position in offshore wind remain strong. According to Wood Mackenzie, the company ranked second globally in offshore wind turbine market share in 2024, trailing only Siemens Gamesa. In the first half of 2025, it secured 1.68 GW of new overseas orders, primarily for floating and offshore wind turbines. The MySE18.X-20MW turbine, which connected to the grid in September 2024, is the world’s largest by single-unit capacity and rotor diameter, showcasing the company’s technical leadership in offshore wind.

The UK has been a key focus for Mingyang as its next growth frontier. In July 2025, Chairman Zhang Chuanwei visited the UK to meet Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy, to discuss collaborations on building smart clean energy systems in the UK and Europe, establishing a high-end manufacturing base and full-lifecycle smart center for offshore wind turbines, developing a “home port” network across the offshore wind supply chain, and supporting the global energy transition while stabilizing electricity markets. The UK government’s commitment to offshore wind is significant, with plans to expand capacity to 43–50 GW by 2030, up from 15.9 GW in 2024, while onshore wind and solar capacities are also expected to double and triple, respectively.

However, the UK offshore wind market faces challenges, including policy instability, lengthy project approvals, and the gradual phasing out of subsidies, which extend project payback periods and test investor patience. Mingyang’s entry is expected to strengthen the local supply chain and provide technical support to the growing industry. The company has acknowledged the inherent risks of its billion-dollar investment, noting that the complex international context, lengthy construction cycle, and substantial capital outlays make it difficult to predict the exact impact on profits, with potential risks including increased construction costs and project delays.

Nevertheless, with its strong technological foundation, global strategic vision, and engagement with government and financial stakeholders, Mingyang Smart Energy Group’s UK venture represents a bold step toward establishing itself as a leading player in the rapidly expanding offshore wind sector.

Source: riviera, the hill, mingyang, offshore wind, octopus energy

Pigs, Chips, and QR Codes: The Rise of Smart Farming in China

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October 12, 2025

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Pigs, Chips, and QR Codes: The Rise of Smart Farming in China

“If you can raise pigs well in China, you can raise them well anywhere in the world,” says Yang Jun, Vice Chairman of Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group’s Agriculture and Food Division in China and President of the Zhanjiang and Hainan regions. Yang explains that China presents some of the toughest conditions for pig farming in the world, with immense pressure from disease prevention, environmental and land-use restrictions, and a high reliance on imported feed resources. Yet, through rapid technological advancements, CP Group is proving that these challenges can be overcome—one by one.

Today, CP Group’s smart pig farms require only five workers to manage 30,000 pigs. Consumers can trace the entire journey of the pork they buy—from birth to plate—by scanning a single QR code. Behind the scenes, 5G networks serve as the digital backbone, integrating IoT, AI, and blockchain technologies to automate and optimize every step of the farming process. Real-time data is constantly analysed, generating detailed reports on critical metrics like pigs weaned per sow per year and feed efficiency, allowing for precise, data-driven decisions.

Across CP Group’s operations, a transformation is underway—from traditional, extensive farming to intelligent, digitised systems. The shift is best summed up by the phrase now common in the industry: “people maintain the equipment; the equipment takes care of the pigs.” And this is no exaggeration. On CP’s digital farm in Zhanjiang, pigs live in conditions more like smart villas than conventional pens. Air filtration systems, automatic pressure washing, and odour control technologies ensure optimal hygiene. Temperature and humidity are kept within the pigs’ comfort range, and all environmental indicators—from electricity use to water consumption—are monitored in real time via mobile devices. If anything goes wrong, the system sends immediate alerts.

Each pig is equipped with a personalised ear tag—a microchip that tracks body temperature, movement, and feeding behaviour. This data is uploaded to the cloud, where AI algorithms evaluate health status, detect early signs of illness, and assess development progress. Yang Jun explains that even changes in mood can be detected; pigs eating less than usual trigger alerts, allowing workers to intervene promptly. The same ear tag also serves as a kind of access pass for feeding: pigs can only enter feeding stations if their health data meets preset thresholds, ensuring feed is not wasted and each animal remains in ideal condition.

The financial benefits of this system are striking. According to Yang, CP’s smart farms save approximately 30 million yuan annually in feed and labour, while cutting water and electricity usage by about 5%, which translates to another 3 million yuan. Even more critically, disease prevention is vastly improved. Constant monitoring allows for early detection and isolation of infected animals, acting as a digital biosecurity barrier that significantly reduces the risk of widespread outbreaks.

CP has also fully embraced blockchain technology to ensure traceability throughout the supply chain. Every pig is tracked from birth to processing. As each enters the slaughterhouse, its serial number is automatically matched to a slaughter batch, and the corresponding pork products are tagged with a unique QR code. This enables consumers to access the entire history of their food—slaughter date, production line, and location—at the tap of a smartphone. This “one pig, one code” model has been a key part of CP’s commitment to food safety and transparency.

But technology isn’t the only innovation driving CP’s success. With China consuming around 700 million pigs annually, breeding has emerged as a major bottleneck in domestic pork production. In fact, 90% of pigs slaughtered in China each year are from foreign breeds. To address this, CP has worked with countries like Denmark and France to improve genetic stock, focusing on breeds that grow quickly, consume less feed, and yield high-quality lean meat. One result of this effort is the “Pineapple Pig,” a new breed developed using local resources. In Xuwen County—China’s largest pineapple producer—waste pineapple pulp is converted into nutritious feed using bio-fermentation. The pigs raised on this feed produce manure that is treated and turned into organic fertilizer, closing the loop in a fully circular farming model that supports both agriculture and livestock.

The pens themselves are designed with slatted floors, allowing waste to fall into underground channels. This waste is then transported through pipelines into biogas digesters, where it is fermented and separated. The nutrient-rich liquid is used to irrigate farmland, while the solid waste becomes fertilizer for crop production, further integrating CP’s pig farming into the local agricultural ecosystem.

CP Group’s vertically integrated model is now operating at a massive scale. In cities like Xiangyang, Luoyang, and Xuzhou, the company has built complete industrial chains covering breeding, farming, processing, and distribution. Its Gansu facility has been named a national Core Breeding Farm, and its hogs station has earned the title of China’s Most Influential Hogs Station. In 2020, Zhanjiang became home to China’s first blockchain-based pork traceability pilot, and in December 2021, the “Charoen Pokphand Pineapple Pork” brand launched its own themed high-speed rail service. With immersive branding and over 2 million passengers exposed annually, CP is turning pork into a lifestyle brand—linked to trust, safety, and innovation.

The industrial park in Zhanjiang now features a feed mill with an annual output exceeding 300,000 tonnes and a processing facility capable of handling one million pigs per year. CP has also expanded into ready-to-eat products, including crispy pork belly, char siu, and pineapple pork sausages, all of which have quickly gained consumer popularity.

Today, CP’s Suixi hub anchors a network of 80 industrial bases across Leizhou, Lianjiang, Wuchuan, and beyond. Each is equipped with standardised smart systems, supporting a combined annual production capacity of over one million pigs. All of this aligns with Guangdong Province’s targets, which include maintaining a sow inventory of around 1.9 million head and ensuring more than 5,000 large-scale pig farms remain operational. With a pork self-sufficiency goal of over 70%, the region sees intelligent pig farming not just as an economic upgrade, but as a strategic imperative for food security.

Source: chinafeedm, 21jingji, cpcti