(Machine translated) The Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences 中国科学院力学研究所 quietly released a message that 范学军 Fan Xuejun’s team achieved a continuous 600-second run time in a ground test of a super-combustion ram engine, breaking the world record of 210 seconds for an American X-51 research aircraft. in 2016, India announced that it had achieved a super-combustion ram-powered M6 high supersonic flight, but the engine worked for only five seconds. Not long ago, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced the second national innovation first prize list, 北航 high supersonic speed strong pre-cooling team won the award, also attracted great attention. The significance of these two breakthrough technologies is immense. Hypersonic speed is at the forefront of aerospace technology. This is also the gray area between aviation in the lower atmosphere and the outer space. In between, the high supersonic speed of flight not only allows the M5-20 to fly at very high speed, but also has considerable maneuverability.
On 70th anniversary of the National Day in 2019, China made a display of the 东风 Dongfeng 17 hypersonic missile, which represents the highest level of hypersonic speed currently available, but this is still the hypersonic glider (HGV for short). In other words, after the missile is propelled to near ground altitude with a rocket engine, it changes attitude and transitions into a hypersonic glide.
Compared to ballistic missiles, HGVs have a low flight altitude, and because of the curvature of the Earth, the ground radar’s detection range is much lower than that of ballistic missiles, and the cruise altitude of the early warning aircraft does not fundamentally solve the problem. Space-based detection in orbit is theoretically not limited by field of view, but conventional missile warning is based on the huge tail flames and initial trajectory of the missile at launch to infer trajectory, HGV still has the tail flames problem at launch, but after switching to glide, it can completely get rid of simple trajectory by its maneuvering capability, making the trajectory of the missile unpredictable. While it is theoretically possible to track with an on-board radar the entire time immediately after detection of launch, tracking of medium-orbit satellites requires a large on-board radar, while low-orbit satellites require a dense constellation and “dynamic-to-active” gapless relay tracking. Infrared photonics tracking not only has similar optical aperture problems, but also faces the problem of detecting faint HGV thermal features in the complex thermal environment of the Earth’s surface. In the foreseeable future, space-based detection will also have insurmountable technical difficulties. Without effective tracking, you can’t talk about effective interception, so the HGV has a higher assault capability than a faster but dull ballistic missile. It is for this reason that HGVs have become the focus of military research in various countries. China has not only the Dongfeng 17, but also the Dongfeng 26, which also has the ability to glide at high supersonic speeds. The Russian “pioneer” is the Intercontinental HGV, which reaches the extreme high speed of the M27. The U.S. is behind, and after a dizzying array of fast-track R&D plans, it’s finally starting to get a bit of a head start. However, the range of the HGV depends on the altitude reached by the booster section or the leveling acceleration in the atmosphere, the former increasing the difficulty of the smooth transition from the abrupt back to horizontal sliding, the latter forcefully twisting the booster section of the ballistics and spending fuel.
Higher up the hierarchy than the HGV is the high supersonic cruise missile. Cruise missiles are an ambiguity-prone designation, which is really an umbrella term for all missiles that are powered at the vast majority of their range, and high-subsonic cruise missiles that sweep the ground are just one type of cruise missile. Most tactical missiles are not called cruise missiles because the rocket engine only works for a short time and the main part of the range is gliding flight. This is true not only for ballistic missiles, but also for air-air, air-ground and even anti-tank missiles. The only common missiles are anti-ship missiles and land-attack cruise missiles that are fully powered. The hypersonic missile is called a hypersonic cruise missile (HCM) because it is powered by a super-combustion ram engine.
Compared to the HGV, the HCM has a larger range and more difficult ballistics to detect, and all of the HGV’s energy comes from the booster stage rocket engine. A rocket engine with its own oxidizer always is heavier than a jet engine that can suck oxygen out of the air. In the case of a kerosene-liquid oxygen rocket, the ideal combustion air-to-air ratio is 15:1, i.e., each kilogram of aviation kerosene requires 15 kilograms of oxygen to burn completely. You can save volume with liquid oxygen, but the weight is still the same. If oxygen could come from air, in theory, all of that 15 kg of liquid oxygen weight could be diverted to kerosene, with an increase in range .
The longer operating time of the jet engine also means that there can be longer acceleration times, the same top speed can be reached with less initial energy, and the same top speed can be maintained for longer. More power from a jet engine also means allowing for more maneuverability, since maneuvering is about expending energy. Unlike HGVs that can only do relatively simple lateral maneuvers, HCMs can do more complex maneuvers and even evasive attacks.
HCM’s boosters are simply accelerated to ignition speed for super-combustion ramming, so the booster requirements are greatly reduced, helping to reduce the size and weight of the booster. A smaller booster means a smaller thermal signature at launch, and the super-combustion ram itself has a much smaller thermal signature than the rocket engine, meaning that the HCM is virtually impossible to capture by space-based probes, further enhancing its ability to resist early warning. High supersonic missiles are already difficult to intercept, and interception without warning is almost impossible. The HCM is the ultimate hypersonic weapon. The U.S. had wanted to develop HCM directly in one step, but was stuck on the power issue; although the X-51 reached 210 seconds, it was a highly optimized test condition, and its operating time was too short to be practical. When the United States slowly progresses, China quietly caught up, and at once made a breakthrough in two key technologies.
Of the various known aerodynamic forces, rocket engines have too short an operating time for conventional turbojet engines to break above M2.5, and conventional sub-combustion ramming is difficult to break above M4, as the increase in drag is already faster than the increase in thrust. Only super-combustion ramming can be used for HCM, which is both a ramming engine and a jet engine, unlike the turbo-mechanics of a conventional turbojet engine. A super-combustible punch is a hollow tube in appearance, but there’s a lot more to this hollow tube. In contrast to sub-combustion ramming, the inlet compression, combustion and formation of thrusts in super-combustion ramming are carried out at supersonic speeds. Compared to sub-combustion ramming which requires lowering the intake to subsonic speeds and then accelerating the gas to supersonic speeds, the drag is greatly reduced. However, under supersonic conditions, not only is the combustion difficult to stabilize, but there is also the problem of high temperatures, which can easily exceed the temperature resistance limit of the structural material. The main contribution of the FAN team is the active cooling technology of the hot end components.
Engines powered by combustion usually have some sort of cooling. Automotive engines are essentially liquid-cooled, with the circulating coolant taking heat away from the engine and sending it through the radiator into the air; jet engines rely primarily on air flow and gas ejection to take heat away. But active cooling spreads under the surface of the hot end engine components (in the case of super-combustion ramming, that’s the combustion chamber and nozzles) in capillaries that pass into the hydrocarbon fuel, taking heat away in the flow and lowering the surface temperature. The actual temperature of the hydrocarbon fuel after heat absorption rises above the ignition temperature, but only rises due to the anaerobic environment and does not burn. However, when hydrocarbon fuel is injected into the combustion chamber, it is naturally depressurized on the one hand, and mixed with oxygen in the incoming gas and burned naturally on the other, which is more efficient and reliable than the usual ignition.
Hydrocarbon fuel is an advanced form of fuel oil, which can be easily converted to liquid hydrogen for greater heat absorption and combustion efficiency. However, liquid hydrogen is more complex to prepare and store than hydrocarbon fuels, and is less stable at room temperature and pressure. Fan Xuejun’s team uses hydrocarbon fuel, which is less expensive and more stable.
The rationale for active cooling isn’t complicated and the benefits are obvious, but the devil is in the details. The flow of hydrocarbon fuel in capillaries requires consideration of blockage. The distribution of capillaries is of great importance, it is not necessary to be too fine, cooling is not achieved if too large. The bigger problem is that in the flow network, the preferential flow makes the flow distribution deviate from the expected uniformity, and in a bundle of seemingly similar tubes, the flow rate inside the tubes may not be even. Midway interconnection between paths can be made up with bypass flow when part of the path is blocked, but further complicates the problem of achieving optimate flow. The problem of gas resistance after the fluid is heated and vaporized has to be avoided also.
Fan Xuejun’s team not only solved a large number of theoretical and design problems, but also built a large test set in 怀柔, solving engineering problems and bringing the research results to a high level of technical maturity.
Fan Xuejun received his PhD in Princeton and became a researcher and PhD director of the Institute of Mechanics, serving as an expert in the professional group of delivery technology of a certain ministry, an expert in the national major special fuel group and the chief technology of a certain major project. He took the lead in conducting research on active cooling engine technology in China and built the first set of active cooling technology comprehensive test platform at the 怀柔 base of the Institute of Mechanics, which is at the international leading level in technology. He led the development of China’s first active cooling combustion chamber and passed a long test. In recent years, the company has published more than 50 papers in domestic and foreign magazines, more than 100 conference papers and national defense technical reports, and applied for more than 30 invention patents and has authorized nearly 20 inventions. But this isn’t the only top team in China’s hypersonic research army; 北航 Beihang’s hypersonic strong precooling team is another.
Active cooling technology improves the heat resistance of the hot end components of the engine, which can be further improved by strong pre-cooling of the intake air. Not long ago, the SABRE engine in the UK achieved strong pre-cooling, cooling an intake of 1000 degrees to minus 150 degrees in 0.01 seconds. That’s quite an achievement. The specific techniques and applications of the 北航s team were not published, but are of the same nature.
Strong pre-cooling not only dramatically increases the high temperature resistance limit of the hot end components of the engine, but also drastically reduces the volume of air intake and increases the air intake density. This results in a significant reduction in the volume flow of the compressor at the same inlet volume flow, or a significant increase in the oxygen content of the air stream at the same compressor volume flow. The former can be equated with an increase in the upper limit of air inlet velocity, making the same engine technology work at higher speeds; the latter is particularly important for very thin air at very high altitudes, allowing jet engines to work steadily at higher altitudes, reducing air frictional resistance, otherwise it would be necessary to use heavy, costly and short working time of the rocket engine. SABRE is exactly that.The full name of SABRE is Synergetic Air Breathing Rocket Engine, which means Accompanying Aspirated Rocket Engine. This is a new concept hybrid engine for the horizontal take-off, single-stage, orbiting space shuttle, which uses strong pre-cooling to maintain the working state of drawing oxygen from the air all the way to M5 and ultra-high altitude, before being transferred to rocket power and into space flight.
Specifically, the incoming air, after being strongly pre-cooled in a pre-cooler (PC), reaches high pressure through an air compressor (AC); part of it enters the combustion chamber (CC), where it is mixed with the pre-fired hot, oxygen-poor, hydrogen-rich gas and burned to generate thrust through a nozzle; most of the air enters the pre-fired chamber (PB), where it is mixed with the hydrogen and burned to heat helium gas. The helium gas is heated to expand and drives a helium turbine (HeT) to drive the gas press. The helium gas, which is still very hot after being cooled down, is heated and vaporized by a heat exchanger (HX4) to form a high pressure, which drives a hydrogen turbine (HT1) to drive a liquid hydrogen pump (LHP) to pump liquid hydrogen from a liquid hydrogen storage tank (LHT). There is still enough hydrogen pressure left to continue to drive another hydrogen turbine (HT2) that drives a helium refrigeration compressor (HeC) for the pre-cooler, just as a Freon compressor in a refrigerator supplies refrigerant. In fact, helium is the equivalent of Freon here.
SABRE’s thermodynamic cycle is complex and sophisticated; SABRE was not originally designed for super-combustion ramming; the use of aspirated rocket engines avoids the problem of super-combustion ramming, and high supersonic speeds within the atmosphere are only a transitional phase, providing the highest possible starting speed and altitude for rocket powered flights outside the atmosphere. But properly simplified, SABRE’s thinking can also be applied to super-combustion ramming. For example, by eliminating the helium loop, the fuel pumped out goes directly to the pre-cooler and hot end cooling system, heating gasification generates high pressure, and the driven turbine drives the fuel pump directly. This way, even the pre-combustion chamber can be eliminated.
Active cooling and strong pre-cooling are both thermal management techniques for super-combustion ram engines. People often focus on the combustion stability of super-combustion ramming, which is indeed a huge technical challenge, as tough as a controlled explosion, but thermal management is an equally huge challenge. China hinted at a fairly high level of technical maturity in super-combustion stamping technology at the landmark Xiamen International Conference in 2017. Thermal management technology has also now reached a high level of technical maturity, and what is not publicly available is only a high supersonic flight test of a complete super-combustion ram engine with advanced thermal management.
The significance of the practicality of super-combustion stamping cannot be overstated. Only the appearance of the Dongfeng 17 was made public at the National Day 70 celebration, the range was not announced, and is estimated to be in the 1800-2500 km range. By using super-combustion ramming and changing from HGV to HCM, only a small booster rocket is needed for take-off, and the weight of the large amount of oxidizer used can be converted to fuel, greatly increasing the range. Even accounting for the heavier super-combustion ram engine and auxiliary systems, the increase in range is conceivable. Even if it is not possible to increase the range by a factor of 15, but only by a factor of 5, it will be possible to achieve a range of 9000-12500 km with roughly the same full system size and weight. If the Dongfeng 17 is still just “Guam Express”, then “Super Dongfeng 17” is not just Guam Express, but “Hawaii Express”, “Los Angeles Express”, the military significance is self-evident.
China’s high-tech research and development of military significance has a tradition of secrecy, and the complete super-combustion ramming test with heat management has been carried out or not, and whether it was successful or not, the outside world can only speculate. But one needn’t be too surprised to find out where another innovation award was quietly declared not too long ago, or where a brand new HCM was swooped in at a major celebration.
On the other side of the Pacific, the U.S. tested the successful C-HGB on March 19, an HGV common to all three armies, but still using the first-generation bicone (also known as a spintron), rather than the more advanced multiplier used by Dongfeng 17. On the other hand, the United States Under Secretary of Defense for Scientific Research Griffin, speaking about hypersonic research, specifically mentioned the lack of access to thermal management in the United States, which has reduced the range of hypersonic missiles, which would have reached 3,000 km, to 1,000 km. If China is still a step away from HCM, the United States is yet to cross the midfield. Hypersonic speed is one of the few military-industrial technologies in which China holds a decisive lead, which happens to be the core military-industrial technology that will be critical to future wars.
The Launch of 2020 National Joint Planting of Seawater rice
The Launch of 2020 National Joint Planting of Seawater rice in Qingdao and Weifang, Shandong Province, Qinghai Province and Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. The launch of the seawater rice was led by Yuan Longping, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and his team. This year the national sea rice plantation area will be expanded to 16,400 acres, the team also carried out saline soil transformation of 164,000 acres, and strive to lay out 1.64 million acres of saline land transformation in the country, in order to eventually transform 16.4 million acres nationwide.
US latest attack on China in the form of banning Chinese airlines
The US government’s latest attack on China in the form of banning Chinese airlines from continuing the already limited passenger air services between the two countries has been motivated by US politics pandering to anti-China forces, Chinese insiders and analysts said on Friday.
It is the Chinese government that initially made full preparations to ease the restrictions, driven by the demand of Chinese nationals to return home, and also the work and production resumption needs.
And even with the new rule, US carriers at most can fly twice per week, still far fewer than what the US government said their aviation agreement with China allows, plus a precondition that none of their passengers test positive for COVID-19 for three consecutive weeks, showing that China still puts preventing imported COVID-19 cases as the priority.
Industry insiders suspect that the US issued a flight suspension, which came ahead of China’s adjustment policy only half a day, as a political operation intended to create the illusion of “the US forcing China to follow suit.”
By getting into a new war over flights with China, the Trump administration in essence holds the US airline industry hostage but will fail to pressure China into offering any concessions, as the Chinese rules made it clear how foreign airlines, including those from the US, can resume flights, analysts said.
China keeps own pace
“The new rules the CAAC released on Thursday to ease flight restrictions were prepared for days, which was not forced out by Washington’s flight ban, although it was only a matter of hours,” Zheng Hongfeng, CEO of industry information provider VariFlight told the Global Times on Friday. He cited the details in the CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) statement, such as starting Monday as many as 64 international flights could be added, bringing total international arrivals to about 33,000 a week.
“Those numbers, such as the number of international flights that could be added, could not be calculated overnight, and different departments – ranging from diplomacy to healthcare and immigration–were involved to show that the Chinese regulator fully prepared for it,” he said.
As early as in May, Li Jian, deputy head of China’s aviation authority, said it would consider increasing international flights as long as imported virus risks are under control.
The US government is used to bluffing and has resorted to its bullying tactics, while China always sticks to its own plan, and the move fits into the Trump administration’s approach to all issues: always impose sanctions first, Shen Yi, a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Fudan University, told the Global Times on Friday.
Washington political trap
The global aviation industry is suffering heavily from the pandemic, and US airlines are no exception. But insiders said the US flight polices mirror not only the fight between American political parties, but also the conflict between Trump and the carriers.
As early as late January, US President Donald Trump set up travel restrictions toward Chinese citizens, followed by a ban on flights from 26 European countries in March, later adding the UK and Ireland to the list.
“US airlines are pissed by the suspension, as Trump’s failure destroyed their domestic and international business,” an insider surnamed Li in the US told the Global Times on Friday.
The three major airlines, each employs around 100,000 people, bolstered one of the most industry in the US, providing more than ten million peoples with employments. With hubs mostly in pro-Democrat areas and passengers mostly pro-Democrat professionals, the airlines found them at the heart of the bipartisan quarrel, experts said.
Meanwhile, US businesses such as Apple and Qualcomm also suffered from the flight suspensions, as they have become the driving force behind resuming flights to China.
However, companies with business in China are not in line with Trump’s strategy of bringing manufacturing back to the US, which “makes Trump unhappy again,” Li said.
Data from GM’s website shows that China was the company’s largest market from 2017 to 2019, accounting for 40 percent of its sales. Chip manufacturers such as Qualcomm and Intel are also heavily dependent on the Chinese market. For fiscal year 2019, which ended in September 2019, roughly 48 percent of Qualcomm’s revenue, or $11.6 billion, came from its business with China.
Before the virus, United Airlines had daily flights from San Francisco and New York to Shanghai and Beijing, and both cities in the US are home to corporate giants such as Apple. Delta’s major trans-Pacific customers are in Seattle’s retail and software industries and Detroit’s automotive industry such as General Motors.
Flight schedules of two giant US airlines have remained unchanged on China’s easing restrictions, with United telling the Global Times that they look forward to resuming passenger service between the US and China when the regulatory environment allows them to do so, while Delta hasn’t confirmed plans to move forward. But analysts said their cautious attitude is partly due to the possibility Trump could play the card to pressure China despite himself.
‘Knife to neck of Chinese students abroad’
It also seems that Chinese students in the US have also become victims of the US government’s policy.
Several Chinese students studying in the US told the Global Times they are worried that they will face growing difficulty returning to China due to the upcoming restrictions on Chinese airlines.
Facing soaring coronavirus cases and nationwide protests in the US, a growing number of Chinese students in the US plan to return to their motherland. They have been using third countries in Europe and Asia to get back to China, but many have failed due to various travel restrictions of different airlines.
“With the US restrictions on Chinese airlines, it will get even more difficult for Chinese students to return to China. It seems that the US is using Chinese students as a bargaining chip in exchange for its interests amid disputes with China,” Zhang Sheng, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, told the Global Times on Friday. He flew back from New York on May 27 for fear of the pandemic.
“It’s like the US is putting a knife to the neck of Chinese students abroad, saying ‘unless you open the door, I will not let you back home,’ and the US forgets that they were the first to ban flights from China, and if it does not fully control the virus, it would worsen the situation,” Shen said.
By late Thursday, the virus had killed more than 108,000 people in the US and infected at least 1.8 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, and CNN reported that officials fear those numbers will rise following the protests.
The biggest difference between China and the US is that after the epidemic’s outbreak, the Chinese government’s attitude was simple and pure – to control the virus and return to normal life. But the Trump administration mixed too many other factors from the beginning, and put Trump’s reelection first, Shen said.
“The Trump administration is selfish and arrogant, and its policy does not serve US interests, but Trump’s. Trump has kidnapped the US and does whatever he wants,” Shen said.
China’s new policy on easing restrictions has a higher requirement on local virus control in the country, and it also poses a challenge to the US as the country faces a rising number of cases. The US should control the virus first, then talk about flight resumptions, analysts noted.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1190698.shtml#.XtrXqaW7uO4.facebook
Guinea approves SMB-Winning deal for Simandou iron mine project
Guinea approves SMB-Winning deal for Simandou iron mine project 6-5-20 spells the doom of Australia (15% of total export) in the war with China. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-guinea-simandou/guinea-approves-smb-winning-deal-for-simandou-iron-mine-project-idUSKBN23B2XI
Guinea’s government approved on Thursday a basic agreement for the development of its giant Simandou iron ore project by a consortium representing Chinese, French and Singaporean interests, the mines minister told Reuters.
The consortium – which includes Société Minière de Boké (SMB) and Singapore’s Winning Shipping as well as Guinean government interests – won a $14 billion tender last November to develop blocks 1 and 2 of the largest known deposit of its kind, holding more than 2 billion tonnes of high-grade ore.
On Tuesday, its development agreement “was approved. We will proceed to sign it in the coming days,” Mines Minister Abdoulaye Magassouba said without giving further details.
ZTE is Importing 5 nm Chips and has Realized the Commercial Use of 7nm Chips
ZTE is Importing 5 nm Chips and has Realized the Commercial Use of 7nm Chips 6-18-20 Another step towards self-sufficiency.
https://equalocean.com/company/zte/news/zte-is-importing-5-nm-chips-and-has-realized-the-commercial-use-of-7nm-chips
ZTE Corp is focusing on designing telecoms chips but is not able to make them, said a ZTE statement as the company refuted some market rumors that ZTE had started to mass-produce 7nm chips.
Chinese bikes and e-bikes sold out in Europe
In early May, as the epidemic eased in Europe, countries began to gradually “unlock”. Europeans are finally getting out and about, but are still afraid to take public transport, and have started snapping up electric bikes for transportation.
China’s exports of bicycles and electric bikes skyrocketed, even the top-end models were snapped up completely. With workers work overtime, orders are scheduled to be filled 1 month later.
Data from Alibaba’s cross-border e-commerce platform, AliExpress, showed that sales of bicycles in the Spanish market rose more than 22 times in May, while Italy and the UK also rose about four times. Sales of electric bikes also rose sharply, with Italy up nearly nine times, the UK up nearly eight times, France up 380%, and Spain up 280% in volume.
“The stock was sold out. The second batch was sold out while being shipped, and the third batch are 3,4 times bigger.” Bruce Lee, founder of electric bike brand Janobike, said sales have grown since returning to work in March, with a 30-40% month-over-month increase. At present, Janobike cooperates with high-end frame manufacturers have been working at full capacity 24 hours a day, even by “going through the back door”. Guo Zhenhe for the bicycle brand SAVA’s AliExpress, said that since April orders rose more than 30 percent, production capacity is tight, the original order can be shipped within three days, new order will have to wait at least a week.
For electric bike brand Sheng Milo, in May, orders on the AliExpress doubled compared to April. He Chong, the company’s head of operations, said, “Workers work overtime until 12 o’clock every day and orders are still scheduled for a month later.” Sheng Milo is doubling both the size of the plant and the number of workers.
Electric bikes and bicycles are normally priced in the European market at around $1,000 and the high-end models at over $1,600, equivalent to more than RMB 10,000. “Local governments in Europe provided subsidies to encourage riding, and with the subsidies, the low end models are cheap and the high end models are like low end ones for the price. The second phase of the Italian resumption of work, which took place on 4 May, in order to encourage alternative travel and limit public transport congestion, the Government provides subsidies of up to 500€ for the purchase of bicycles and electric bikes. The French Government has announced a 20-million-€ funding plan to encourage cycling in France following the national “un-lockdown” on 11 May. Business owners will also receive government funding to provide a transport subsidy of €400 per person for employees who commute by bike.
In the bicycle and electric vehicle industry, China has a complete supply chain from components to the completely assembled bikes. “China exports more than 70 percent of the global bicycles market share, and even more for electric bikes.” Li Kai, head of the Sports Category at AliExpress said, “The price/performance ratio of Chinese products is significant, and overseas demand has been strong.”
With the epidemic, the overseas retail stores closed down, consumers have chosen online shopping, through the e-commerce platform AliExpress, ushered in a surge of orders in a number of categories. In order to ensure the smooth delivery during the epidemic, AliExpress has expanded the warehouse in Spain, to ensure uninterrupted delivery to France, Belgium, Poland and other countries. Merchants use China-European trains to send goods to European warehouses, which takes more than half a month less than if by sea. With the AliExpress warehouse system in Europe, bicycles and the larger electric bikes, generally reach consumers in 3 days, 7 days for the pan-European regions.
China’s street vendor policy may encourage emergence of street artists
More Chinese artists might take to the streets for performances now that the Chinese government has loosened its grip on street vendors in order to boost the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an official of China’s culture department said on Thursday.
In 2018, Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, became one of the earliest cities in China to launch a street culture program, themed ” a city with music.” Now, in light of the improved domestic COVID-19 situation, street artists in Chengdu have begun to resume their performances, bring back vitality to the city.
“The supporting street vendor policy and the performances of street artists could become a win-win strategy benefiting the local economy,” Zhao Liangliang, an official of the Chengdu Culture Center, told the Global Times on Thursday.
She added that the project has matured nicely over the past two years.
“Some officials from cities including Zhuhan city in South China’s Guangdong Province and Jinan city in East China’s Shandong Province have come here for a visit and communication, and they are considering the possibility of implementing the program in their cities,” Zhao said.
According to reports, a total of 27 cities in China are promoting the development of street vending. Many Chinese netizens have shown their support of these programs and have further called for the promotion of street artist culture as well.
“We could learn from some Western countries to include more street entertainers in addition to street vendors,” a Chinese netizen posted on Sina Weibo.
Street artist Chen Huan Photo: Courtesy of Chen HuanChen Huan, better known by his street artist name Hot Pot Brother, has been a street singer for a year and a half. He told the Global Times on Thursday that in Chengdu, only artists who have a street art performance license are allowed to perform at the 60 designated location around the city, most of which are hot scenic spots or shopping centers. Like street artists in Western countries, Chinese street artists perform for tips.
According to Zhao, artists can apply for four types of performance – vocal performances, instrumental performances, intangible cultural heritage handicrafts and storytelling. Applicants need to submit their CV first and then undergo an interview process in which they must perform in front of professional artists.
She added that the artists usually perform on Fridays and weekends from 5pm to 9pm.
While singing for two hours may sound exhausting to many people, Chen said that it makes him very happy.
“I really like singing on the street. I feel much more relaxed compared to singing on TV. I sometimes lose track of time when putting my all in a performance,” Chen said, noting that one of the most rememberable signs he was doing well was when the audience gave him a total of eight bottles of water during a show.
Street artist Du Jingping Photo: Courtesy of Du JingpingDu Jingping, better known as Du Yuanqi, is one of the first batch of street artists in Chengdu. She told the Global Times on Thursday that she often changes her songs depending on the day’s weather or the theme of some public holidays.
“For example, when I knew I was going to perform on Children’s Day, I prepared some songs that children like,” she said, adding that it was very convenient for people to check what performances are available on an app created by the Chengdu Culture Center.
She noted that she has also been feeling a bit of pressure as the quality of street artists has improved.
“We have about 200 to 300 street artists in Chengdu and some of them have even participated in some popular music TV shows.”
Both Chen and Du said the number of audiences now that they are performing again has dropped somewhat, but that they are still excited to be back on the streets and helping create an atmosphere for residents.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1190623.shtml#.Xtualu1TD40.facebook
World’s largest marine dual-fuel low-speed engine WinGD X92DF
5-26-20, China Shipbuilding Group Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD).温特图尔发动机 launched the world’s largest marine dual-fuel low-speed engine WinGD X92DF, the engine has passed the Bureau Veritas classification approval, will be manufactured by Shanghai Sinoship Mitsui Diesel Engine Co.上海中船三井造船柴油机有限公司. Compared with the previous dual-fuel low-speed marine engines, the WinGD X92DF has advantages in terms of more power, intelligent control and environment-friendliness.
WinGD X92DF hits a milestone:
first, Chinese ships now have their own advanced and even world-leading domestic power system;
second, Chinese ship power research has the core technology, starts to develop a supply chain;
third, China has achieved a new breakthrough in independent high-end marine equipment R&D and manufacturing.
Iceland signs free-trade cooperation with China
Iceland is the first country to break the European trade norm and sign free-trade cooperation with China, a short time ago, 250,000 tons of seafood, including salmon and white fish, was flown directly into China. As the first Icelandic country to use air transport for trade, this method enhances the freshness of seafood and at the same time increase the volume of trade between the two sides. According to “Iceland Morning News”, Icelandic airplanes first cooperated with the German logistics group on the transportation of medical supplies from China during the coronovirus outbreak, Iceland saw the advantages of air transport for seafood. Iceland, as the only country in Europe that enjoys zero tariff for export to China, needs to export large quantities of Pacific and Atlantic salmon, white fish and other seafood to China. If it can improve the efficiency, the subsequent gains is substantial. It should be noted that while transportation costs have risen, Iceland has also raised the cost of seafood, which has increased significantly by 0.7% in the first quarter of this year compared to last year. However, even so, the Chinese market is still a “seller’s market”, and has given Iceland a taste of the success.
In fact, Iceland’s cooperation with China is not only limited to seafood, but also includes cooperation in other areas to a greater or lesser extent. For example, Iceland’s mobile phone company Nova’s public announcement earlier this month that it agreed to work with Huawei’s 5G project and that Huawei 5G would be available in its area of involvement shortly thereafter. Not only will Iceland’s communications network be speeded up, but it will also lead to further development in the field of scientific research. Secondly, Iceland is also working with the Chinese tourism industry. According to Icelandic authorities, Iceland’s tourism industry has received 23,372 Chinese tourists in the first quarter of this year, up 6.2% year-on-year, against a backdrop of an international epidemic that is still having more or less of an impact. The data based on February and March after the coronaviru outbreak, is down 18.02%, 43.4% year-on-year. In other words, although the tourism revenue in February and March was not satisfactory enough to meet Iceland’s expectations of 130,000 Chinese tourists in 2020, Chinese tourists have started to look at Iceland as a destination, it is expected that Iceland’s tourism industry will be booming after the epidemic is completely under control.
When it comes to Europe’s trade with China, pork trade is an good example. The German “Economic News” reported that most of the EU countries are in a state of production self-sufficiency, not able to export much excess, but EU pork exports have become one of its major foreign trade, it is not an exaggeration to say that China’s import of pork helps EU out of the epidemic. During the first quarter, with total pork exports up 4.2% compared to 2019. 75.6 tonnes of pork, which accounts for 54% of EU pork exports, went to China, up 76% from last year. Moreover, even though the epidemic and transport costs combined has led to a one-third increase in pork prices, it has not been able to meet import demand, prompting EU to hit a record €3.5 billion in pork export revenues in the first quarter of the year. However, compared to China’s large increase in imports, countries such as the UK, South Korea, Japan and other countries have seen a more or less significant decrease in their imports. Among them, the UK fell 37.4 percent year-on-year to just 170,000 tons; South Korea fell 39.4 percent year-on-year to just 50,000 tons; and Japan fell 14.8 percent year-on-year to just 101,000 tons. This shows the significance in China’s market.
Largest-yet special economic zone in South China’s Hainan
China on Monday unveiled a mega project to build its largest-yet special economic zone in South China’s Hainan Province into a world-class free trade port, with one of its major focuses on escalating the development of its financial market. Given that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has served as China’s largest free trade port but is now being threatened by the US with revocation of its special privileges, there are rising concerns that Hong Kong’s future status and role are under a cloud, and the city may even be replaced by Hainan.
Though similar concerns were raised in 2018, Hainan will be cultivated into a new financial center to develop alongside Hong Kong in a coordinated manner, rather than replacing Hong Kong as an international financial hub.
Without aiming to replace any aspect of Hong Kong or any other economic entities, building Hainan into a free trade port with Chinese characteristics will be similar to China’s former campaign to cultivate the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone – it is a step to deepen China’s reform and opening-up.
Hainan will become a free trade port closely related to Hong Kong, yet will maintain some distance. With favorable housing conditions and natural environment, and sufficient talent resources, Hainan is capable of attracting financial institutions to extend long-term investment businesses from Hong Kong, and thereafter explore business in the Chinese mainland.
Take the UK’s two financial centers, London and Edinburgh, as examples. The coordinated development patterns of Hong Kong and Hainan as different kinds of financial centers could also divert financial industries into different cities of the country, and that will largely reduce risks.
Hong Kong’s major advantages are free capital convertibility, entry and exit, as well as a sound shorting and hedging mechanism, which is more suitable for short-term capital hoping for high returns. By contrast, Hainan, with an increasingly open financial market, will be a better choice for foreign investors who intend to further expand in the Chinese mainland market in the long run.
Foreign capital could also seek different kinds of investments in the two regions, like buying fixed income products in Hong Kong and launching high-tech venture investments in Hainan.
It would be a triple-win strategy for Hainan, Hong Kong and foreign capital, combining the advantages of the two financial markets and allowing investors to form better portfolios to make both short-term and long-term profits.
China is cultivating new economic growth points while actively adapting to the changing international trade order. Currently, the European and American economies are experiencing downturns, which have reduced their say in the global economy. And the US is trying to change the order and rebuild international trade rules in its own favor so as to maintain its global economic dominance. Before new international trade rules are established, China’s proactive move to build Hainan as a world-class free trade port could pave the way for it to hold a stronger position in the future.
While constructing a high-quality, high-standard Hainan free trade port, the future development of the island province’s foreign trade is facing rosy opportunities. It sits geographically in the middle of the Chinese mainland, Japan and South Korea, as well as Southeast Asian nations like Vietnam and Thailand.
In the first quarter, Hainan’s goods exports hit 8.25 billion yuan ($1.16 billion), up 5.4 percent year-on-year. Its exports to ASEAN and countries along the Belt and Road Initiative have grown faster than the overall national level.
Hainan’s current foreign trade is facing the same coronavirus blow as all countries around the world. But as ASEAN markets and the Chinese mainland have effectively brought the virus under control, their demand has surged amid economic recovery, especially for health, electronic and internet products, leading to a rebound in Hainan’s exports to these markets.
Hainan should make the best of its geographic advantage and develop its foreign trade in the “Hainan+N” model. For the services industry, it could focus on “Hainan+Japan, South Korea” cooperation. For the manufacturing industry, it should consider “Hainan+ASEAN.”
The island province is currently facing great opportunities to develop into a globally influential, high-level free trade port. It’s expected that in the future, the ships and airplanes that leave Hainan will not only be loaded with cargo, but will also be full of ideas and wisdom, and, more importantly, full of Hainanese experience and characteristics.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1190347.shtml