Major developments this week
A lupus cure–at last. Smartphone/walkie-talkies. A magnet that can lift a ship. An mBridge update..
Tech
The ranking above, produced by Leiden University, exclusively focuses on universities’ scientific performance and is based entirely on bibliographic data on scientific publications. It relies on sophisticated data collection and provides a set of advanced bibliometric indicators.
Central SoEs have invested $200 billion in strategic emerging industries, up 17.6% YTD and nearly 40% of central SoEs’ total investment during this period. They covered domains like new generation information technology, AI, aerospace, new energy, new materials, high-end equipment, biomedicine, quantum technology and other fields.
China’s lunar exploration architecture includes development of the Long March 10 heavy-lift rocket, a new crew spacecraft and a lunar lander. The initial crewed lunar mission plan calls for two astronauts conducting surface exploration for six hours. Expect robotic missions to the lunar south pole in 2026 and, in 2028, resource surveys and in-situ resource utilization tests, leading toward the establishment of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) in the 2030s.
CAR-T cell therapy cures 20 children with systemic lupus erythematosus by removing T-cells from their blood and genetically altering them so that, upon re-injection into the body, they can recognize and target sick cells. Researchers will start a second research this month that will gather T-cells from healthy donors and tweak and magnify them. It is hoped that this method will help make the advanced treatment available to lupus patients whose T-cells are ineligible for modification.
Scientists identify bacteria at the single-cell level without requiring chemical labels. Filter-array-based hyperspectral imaging, enhanced by super-resolution de-mosaicing (aka color reconstruction) and a 3D convolutional neural network streamline detection and provide 91.7% accuracy in the recognition of pathogenic bacteria–a promising solution for critical applications in public health and the food industry.
Surgical suture heals wounds 50% faster. Active electrical stimulation devices have limitations in wound therapy due to the need for an external power source, so Chinese scientists made the stitches themselves generate current. The biodegradable suture’s multiple layers take the strains caused by movement and turn it into electrical stimulation. “Tests on rats show that this suture can help wounds heal faster by creating electric fields through the subject’s natural movements,” says Dr Chengyi Hou, from Donghua University
A Chinese magnet, above, sustained a steady magnetic field of 42.02 tesla–800,000 times stronger than Earth’s, making it the world’s most powerful resistive magnet and a handy tool for uncovering hidden properties of advanced materials, such as superconductors. It used 32.3 MW of electricity–enough to power 32,000 homes. “You’ve got to have a very good science case to justify that resource,” says condensed-matter physicist Alexander Eaton.
Vivo X200 phone features long range offline connectivity, its latest kilometer-long offline communication tech enables several kilometers of free communication for two or more users. This walkie-talkie design could enhance connectivity in remote areas and during emergencies.
WeChat users are beta testing Huawei’s HarmonyOS NEXT independent operating system. The beta version includes messaging, audio and video calls, Moments (social media feed), and QR code payment functions. The technical team said that developing the native version of WeChat for HarmonyOS NEXT feels like creating the first version of WeChat all over again, with many issues requiring hands-on learning with documentation, one Tencent employee shared on the Chinese X-like platform Weibo.
China’s first returnable, reusable satellite has been successfully recovered. The Shijian 19 satellite touched down on the Dongfeng Landing Site at 10:39 am and was then opened by ground recovery personnel sent by the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to take out mission payloads. There were plant seeds, microorganism samples, technology demonstration devices, space experimental instruments and science payloads from five nations. The spacecraft was placed into orbit on Sept 27.
Scientists demonstrated a 1 kg., thermos-sized portable seawater desalination device that can provide fresh water for over a week. It uses a graphene oxide membrane that blocks and filters salt ions while allowing water molecules through.
The world’s first chip that measures dose rates of X- and gamma-ray radiation ranging from 100 nanoSievert to 10 milliSievert per hour has started mass production. Flying on an airplane gives 3,000 nanoSievert per hour. Customers can use the chip to monitor radiation doses in various scenarios including nuclear-related workplaces, personnel and environmental settings.
China, which holds 20% of the domestic seed market, plants 12.5 million tons of seeds annually, valued at $15 billion. By sending them on short trips into space that exposes them to cosmic radiation and mutates their genes, , China is developing new crop varieties with greater diversity, contributing to the advancement of agricultural science and bolstering food security.
Generating 20 MW, the world’s most powerful floating offshore wind turbine has a diameter of 260 m. and a swept area of 53,000 sq.m.–seven soccer fields. It powers 37,000 households with 62 M kWh annually, saves 25,000 tons of coal and 62,000 tons of CO2. Its semi-submersible floating platform and mooring system, enhanced by smart control and sensing technologies extend wind power’s reach into deeper waters, ensuring stable operation.
Shares in ASML led a tech rout on Nasdaq on Tuesday after the chip equipment maker warned of a slower recovery in the semiconductor market. Orders placed by ASML’s customers were €2.6bn for the third quarter, far lower than the €5+ billion analysts expected.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences, through its research institutes, universities, companies and think tanks, CAS provides research, financing, and personnel to support the founding and development of technology companies like AI company iFLYTEK, PC manufacturer Lenovo, supercomputer company Sugon, AI chip developer Cambricon, and CPU designer Loongson.
National Medium and Long-Term Development Plan for Space Science 2024-2025, prioritizes 5 scientific themes and 17 areas of work. The first stage includes carrying out China’s manned lunar exploration and approving five to eight space science satellite missions. The second stage from 2028-2035 will aim at building the lunar scientific research station and implementation of 15 space satellite missions, again with an aim to be the world’s topmost in the field. The 2036-2050 aims to double the implementation of space satellite missions.
The Cyber Security Association of China officially issued an article exposing Intel’s
The content below was originally paywalled.
practice of embedding hardware backdoors in its CPUs, purportedly to enable U.S. intelligence agencies to remotely monitor consumers. The most recent company to face scrutiny was Micron Technology, once a leading player in the memory chip market, which failed a security review and subsequently vanished from the procurement lists of all Chinese government agencies, state-owned enterprises, and public universities.
Economy
HSBC Hong Kong has joined China’s international payments system, Cips, as a direct participant, giving the world’s biggest player in trade finance a key role in Beijing’s push to expand use of the renminbi as the dominant role. The move will make it easier for overseas companies to trade and invest using China’s currency by making those payments faster and cheaper and more secure than America’s SWIFT.
mBridge aims to fill gaps in the international payment system and does not exclude the use of the dollar, said Zhou Xiaochuan, ex PBOC governor. Development will depend on efficiency, cost, security and user choice, “Whether the US dollar maintains itself as a reserve currency and an international trade settlement currency is very much up to the US government itself”.
Hungary, with the lowest electricity costs in Europe, receives even more Russian gas and nearly half of China’s foreign direct investment into the EU. CATL is making its biggest-ever overseas investment there, $9.7 billion, and Chinese battery manufacturer EVE Energy is investing $1.32 billion to produce large cylinder batteries.
When China was admitted to the WTO in 2001, the US and China were in opposite corners in terms of conceptions of economic organization. The US was deep in the grip of ‘free-trade’ fever, the quasi-religious theory that societies are economically self-organizing given certain conditions. Unburdened by this particular religious leaning, the Chinese were free to plan roads leading between factories and ports, to organize supply chains to minimize frictions, and to develop the Chinese economy.
Layoffs at John Deere blow up investment thesis on food shortages; US farmland to see liquidation. Because China.
DJI sued the US DoD for designating it as a military company and adding it to a blacklist. After the DoD claimed DJI has “links” to the Chinese military, it refused to communicate with DJI or provide reasons for the accusations, ultimately offering only a copy of an internal report that fails to substantiate its designation as a “military company. The Pentagon’s unfounded association of DJI with the military is not only an unfair treatment of the company but also stigmatizes Chinese enterprise”.
42,108 new foreign-invested firms established in China YTD, up 11.4% YoY. FDI inflows into medical equipment and instrument manufacturing surged 57%, while inflows into computer and office device manufacturing grew 29%. FDI from Germany and Singapore rose 19% and 12 % respectively.
China Rail swung back to a net profit of $240 million from a loss of $1.5 billion in H1 2023. January-June freight revenue reached a whopping $7 billion, up 4.7% YoY.
Beijing Daxing International Airport has seen 40 million passengers YTD, up 28%, its highest throughout since it opened in September, 2019. 262,100 flights had departed from or arrived at the airport in 2024, and 43 domestic and international airlines had operated a total of 216 air routes from Daxing airport, connecting 197 destinations.
