The United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) data show that the country’s imports of goods from China in the second quarter of 2020 exceeded those of all other countries for the first time in size.
UK #1 importer country
Sinovac’s Covid19 vaccine arrived in Brazil
12-4-20 600 liters (1 mln doses) of Chinese producer Sinovac’s Covid19 vaccine has arrived in Brazil. It is the second batch of the Chinese vaccine after 120,000 doses arrived in November.
African CDC of the African Union
12-2-20 A Chinese company, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation wins bid for the first phase of the African CDC of the African Union. A milestone in cooperation between China and African countries to strengthen their Public Health and epidemic prevention systems.
The first phase of the African CDC project will be located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The construction will include the main office building, laboratory building, office administrative area, emergency response center, information center, biological laboratory, accommodation for staff, and other functional areas.
76 photons (quantum bits) of quantum computing prototype
12-4-20 Chinese scientists announced the construction of 76 photons (quantum bits) of quantum computing prototype “Jiuzhang九章”. In terms of speed, the speed of solving the mathematical algorithm Gaussian boson sampling is only 200 seconds, while the current supercomputer will take 600 million years. It is generally accepted that 50 quantum bits is the critical threshold to prove that a quantum computer has the potential to surpass traditional computers. The “九章” is named after a well-known mathematical treatise 九章算术 from ancient China.
The speed is 10 billion times faster than the 53 superconducting bits of quantum computing prototype released by Google last year. This achievement enables China to successfully reach the first milestone in quantum computing research: the superiority of quantum computing (also known abroad as “quantum supremacy”).
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 12-1-20
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to a meeting held by the UN on Tuesday to observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Chang’e-5 moon success
As of 4:53 am Wednesday, the Chang’e-5 probe’s lander-ascender combination had completed drilling the moon surface and sealed its collected samples.
roscosmos and the European Space Agency esa sent congratulations to China on Chang’e-5’s successful moon landing, after the probe touched down on planned location in Oceanus Procellarum on Tuesday evening.
Cosmochemist and geochemist Ouyang Ziyuan 欧阳自远 from the Chinese Academy of Sciences who is now in charge of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program has already stated on many occasions that one of the main goals of the program would be the mining of helium-3, from which operation “each year, three space shuttle missions could bring enough fuel for all human beings across the world.”
The Chang’e-5 probe, comprising an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a returner, was launched on Nov. 24, and its lander-ascender combination touched down on the north of the Mons Rumker in Oceanus Procellarum, also known as the Ocean of Storms, on the near side of the moon on Dec. 1. After the samples were collected and sealed, the ascender of Chang’e-5 took off from the lunar surface on Dec. 3. Next, the orbiter-returner will separate from the ascender, and wait for the right time to return to Earth.
12-8-20 The ascender of China’s Chang’e-5 lunar probe carried out deorbiting on Tuesday at 6:59 am and landed on the preset landing area on the moon’s surface at 7:30 am in a controlled manner.
12-16-20 ChangE5 orbiter-returner combo successfully conducted second course correction at the moon-Earth transfer orbit on Wed 9:15 am.
12-17-20 Carrying around 2 kilograms of lunar samples, China’s Change5 lunar probe safely landed in the designated area in North China at 1:59 am on Thursday, bringing the craft’s epic round trip between Earth and Moon.
Chang’e-7 and -8 missions will involve inviting relevant countries and agencies to work together to study the feasibility of building a permanent moon base.
The CNSA and scientists are mulling over launching Chang’e-6 sample return mission during China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25); the landing site could be the lunar south pole or far side of the Earth’s natural satellite.
Sanctions on four Americans
Chinese FM announced sanctions on four Americans as countermeasures against earlier US sanctions on Chinese officials over Hong Kong, including NED senior director John Knaus and NDI regional director Manpreet Anand, Rosario, Director of the Hong Kong Chapter, and Xue De-Oo, Director of Programs and urged US to stop interfering in China’s internal affairs. 中方决定对在涉港问题上表现恶劣的美国国家民族基金会亚洲事务高级主任约翰·克劳斯，美国国际事务民主协会亚洲项目负责人阿南德、香港分部主任罗萨里奥、项目主任薛德敖等4人实施制裁。
China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia
Shanghai the world’s largest international air travel hub
The coronavirus pandemic has reshuffled the international air travel market, and Shanghai has replaced London as the world’s largest hub, the latest report released by the International Air Transport Association showed.
Shanghai is now the top-ranked city for connectivity with the top four most connected cities all in China – Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu.
The report said London, the world’s number one most-connected city in September 2019, has seen a 67 percent decline in connectivity. By September 2020, it had fallen to number eight. The report also said New York (-66 percent fall in connectivity), Tokyo (-65 percent), Bangkok (-81 percent), Hong Kong (-81 percent) and Seoul (-69 percent) have all exited the top ten.
Chinese military urged to modernize theories, organization, weapons to reach PLA’s 2027 centennial goal
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1208192.shtml The Chinese military was urged to modernize military theories, organizations, personnel and weapons and equipment in order to reach its centennial goal by 2027 recently set by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday. It marked the first time that the country’s defense ministry explained the goal after it was unveiled in the country’s new development plan for the next five and 15 years approved at a key Party meeting in late October and a new military outline released in early this month stressed design on future warfare.
Chinese military development goal by 2027:
- Integrated devt of mechanization, informatization and intelligentization
- Modernized theories, organizations, personnel and weapons and equipment
- Quality and effectiveness
- In tandem with economic devt