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☆ Chinese scientists want to use lasers to power ultrafast, stealthy submarines. A laser expert says there's a major flaw in their plan.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Chinese researchers say they have made a breakthrough in laser propulsion technology that could one day be used on submarines and missiles. A laser propulsion expert at McGill University told Business Insider they see flaws in the claims. Rather than relying on nuclear or battery power, the scientists say they have found a way to use lasers to propel submarines — known as underwater laser propulsion. This technology has already been used in Russian Shkval torpedoes since the 1970s, using rocket exhaust rather than laser power. "The average overall thrust is low and the jet power cannot exceed the power supply of the laser."

Persons: —, Yang Ge, Xulong Yang, Ge Yang, Andrew Higgins, Higgins Organizations: McGill University, Business, Service, Submarines, China's Harbin University, China Morning Post, NASA, Harbin University, China Defense Locations: China, Sinica, torpedos

☆ Social media chatter helps draw 3 million tourists in 3 days to a frigid city in northern China
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Yulia Jiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"He said he was happy to see so many southern visitors in Harbin." The plump, bundled-up appearance of Harbin tourists, many hailing from southern China, led to locals calling them "Little Southern Taters" — a nickname that was widely discussed on Chinese social media. Tourists new nickname for Harbin — the shorter "Rbin" — has swept across Chinese social media too, representing their newfound affection for the city. A larger plan to use social media to publicize Harbin and the larger province of Heilongjiang may be at play. He Jing, head of Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, told China Central Television that his department has been focusing on using social media "since the beginning of 2023."

Persons: Yuying Zhang, Zhang, Zhang Zhang, Zhang Tao, she's, —, Andrea Verdelli, Jing, Jiang, Yuetong Jiang Organizations: Harbin Cultural Broadcasting, Tourism Bureau, CNBC, Xinhua News Agency, Getty, Street, Bloomberg, Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Culture, China Central Television, Harbin Locations: Harbin, China, Shanghai, Heilongjiang, Tourism, Changchun, China's Jilin

☆ A mega restaurant chain is on a mission to get half of China to eat KFC and Pizza Hut by 2026
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"Currently serving just one-third of China's population, our ambitious goal is to extend our reach to half of the population by 2026," Yum China CEO Joey Wat said in the company's latest quarterly results report. Yum plans to fuel its growth through restaurants in China's "lower-tier cities," which host over half of the firm's stores, Wat said. That's more than twice the number of KFC restaurants in the US, which has 4,293 stores, though only half of the around 6,750 Pizza Huts in the US. Both restaurant brands also have 470 million members in China, Yum said, though it didn't say if this number accounted for any overlap. "2023 was a pivotal year for Yum China," Wat said.

Persons: —, Joey Wat, Yum, China's COVID, Wat Organizations: Service, China Holdings, Business, KFC Locations: China, China's, Cities, Shanghai, Beijing, Xiamen, Harbin

Before the sequel to “Aquaman” was released in China last month, Warner Bros. did everything it could to sustain the original movie’s success. The Hollywood studio blanketed Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, with movie clips, behind-the-scenes footage and a video of an Aquaman ice sculpture at a winter festival in Harbin, a city in China’s northeast. It sent the franchise’s star, Jason Momoa, and director, James Wan, on a publicity tour in China — the type of barnstorming that had disappeared since the Covid pandemic. Mr. Momoa said China’s fondness for the first “Aquaman” was why the sequel was debuting in China two days before the U.S. release. “I’m very proud that China loved it, so that’s why we brought it to you, and you guys are going to see it before the whole world,” he said in an interview with CCTV 6, China’s state-run film channel.

Persons: ”, Douyin, Jason Momoa, James Wan, Momoa, “ Organizations: Warner Bros Locations: China, Harbin, China’s, U.S

☆ China’s northeast hit by unseasonable blizzard as heavy snow causes mass disruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

In Heilongjiang, China’s northernmost province, the railway operator halted 51 passenger trains on Tuesday due to the snowstorm. Heavy snow falls in Xiangfang district of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on November 6, 2023. Harbin issued a red blizzard alert – the highest in China’s four-tier warning system – on Sunday and Monday. In the neighboring province of Jilin, more than 200 expressway entrances were closed on Monday due to heavy snowfall. China’s national weather forecaster issued an orange blizzard alert – the second highest level after red – on Saturday and renewed it on Monday for parts of Jilin, Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Xie Jianfei Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, National Meteorological Center, CCTV, Xinhua Locations: China, Hong Kong, Heilongjiang, China’s, Harbin, Jiamusi, Xinhua, Xiangfang, Heilongjiang province, Qiqihar, Jilin, Inner Mongolia

BEIJING, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Unseasonably cold weather and blizzards hit northeast China on Monday, forcing hundreds of flights to be rescheduled and closing schools as several cities issued heightened weather alerts and warned people to stay indoors. China's weather authority warned of a drastic drop in temperature in coming days, along with blizzards, anticipated to substantially affect several cities, state media reported. Provinces and cities upgraded weather response protocols as heavy snowfall is expected in parts of Inner Mongolia, and Hebei, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, China Daily reported. Chinese weather forecasters kept orange alerts for blizzards in several areas, while China's National Meteorological Center issued an orange alert for blizzards and a blue alert for cold waves and strong wind, Global Times reported. China has a four-tier colour-coded weather alert system, with red the highest, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Persons: Bernard Orr, Ella Cao, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Harbin Taiping International Airport, China Daily, Central Meteorological Observatory, Meteorological Center, Global Times, Central Meteorological Administration, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Heilongjiang, Harbin, Jilin, Liaoning, Mongolia, Weibo, Provinces, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai

People wearing face masks wait at an intersection in Beijing's Central Business District (CBD), as the city is shrouded in smog, in China November 1, 2023. The weather in many parts of China had stayed stubbornly warm entering November, with cities in eastern and central provinces such as Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu and Henan still logging temperatures above 30C. In tandem with the warm weather, smog has also shrouded Beijing and its surrounding areas for days. In coming days, temperatures across northern China are expected to drop sharply. Other cities such as Beijing, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Xian and Shijiazhuang will see a sudden decline of 10C to 15C.

Persons: REUTER, Tingshu Wang, Ethan Wang, Ryan Woo, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Business, Rights, Beijing Daily, Xinhua, National Meteorological Center, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: China, Rights BEIJING, Beijing, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, Hebei province, Shenyang, Changchun, Harbin, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Xian, Shijiazhuang

☆ China rushes to swap Western tech with domestic options as U.S. cracks down
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

China spent 1.4 trillion yuan ($191 billion) replacing foreign hardware and software in 2022, marking a year-on-year increase of 16.2%, according to IT research firm First New Voice. Two firms awarded the Harbin tenders were subsidiaries of China Electronics Corporation and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation - both heavily targeted by U.S. sanctions. The U.S. Department of Commerce, China Electronics Corporation and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation did not return requests for comment. Despite heavy spending on domestic substitution, however, foreign firms are still dominant suppliers for banking and telecoms database management. Non-Chinese companies held 90% of market share for banking database systems at the end of 2022, according to EqualOcean, a tech consultancy.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, Kendra Schaefer, Mo Jianlei, Eric Zheng, Brenda Goh, Katerina Ang Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Beijing, Reuters, New, Trivium China, Liberation Army, Tech, Chinese Academy of Sciences, BMC, U.S, Cyberspace Security, China Telecommunications Corporation, Qualcomm, U.S . Treasury, Google, Apple, China Electronics Corporation, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, Microsoft, Adobe, China Tobacco, Microsoft Windows, Chinese Academy of Engineering, European Union Chamber of Commerce, of Commerce, Shanghai, U.S . Department of Commerce, HUAWEI, Huawei, IDC, Financial, Lenovo, HK, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, BEIJING, Washington, State, Beijing, Gansu province, Harbin, Xiamen, U.S, American, Shanghai

☆ Floods, mudslides kill two in northwestern China city
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Qinling Mountains in Xian will continue to experience extreme weather conditions, which will lead to soil erosion and possibly further mudslides, the broadcaster said. A man holding a child walks across a damaged bridge after the rains and floods brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, in Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China August 7, 2023. In southwestern Guangxi on Friday, heavy rainfall in the city of Nanning led to urban flooding, forcing rush hour commuters to drive vehicles and motorcycles through waterlogged roads, CCTV said. Local authorities set up cordons to allow drainage work on some roads, while the city dispatched nearly 3,900 police to help. In Huozhou city in the northern province of Shanxi, some low-lying houses faced stagnant water breaches, as floods from heavy rain trapped some residents in their buildings, the broadcaster said.

Persons: Xian, Doksuri, Tingshu Wang, Engen Tham, Miral Organizations: China Central Television, REUTERS, Local, Xinhua News Agency, Thomson Locations: Nanning, Beijing, Harbin SHANGHAI, China, Fujian, Xian, Zhuozhou, Hebei province, Harbin, Guangxi, Jilin, Huozhou, Shanxi, Mongolia

☆ Changan Ford Motor to set up electric car JV with Chongqing Changan Auto
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Workers assemble vehicles at a plant of Changan Ford, a joint venture between Changan Automobile and Ford Motor Company, in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer/File PhotoBEIJING, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Changan Ford Motor plans to set up a new-energy passenger car joint venture with state-owned Chongqing Changan Automobile (000625.SZ), according to a document published by China's market regulator on Friday. Changan Ford Motor will own a 60% stake and Chongqing Changan Automobile will have the remaining 40% stake. In the future, the joint venture plans to engage in the "supply business of mainstream brand new energy passenger vehicles and the distribution business of Ford brand models that Changan Ford has invested in," the statement said. Officials at Ford and Changan could not immediately be reached for further comment.

Persons: Changan Ford, Stringer, Ford, Tesla, Farah Master, Twinnie Siu, Zhang Yan, Ben Klayman, Louise Heavens, Susan Fenton Organizations: Changan Automobile, Ford Motor Company, REUTERS, Ford Motor, Chongqing Changan Automobile, Ford, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Thomson Locations: Harbin, Heilongjiang province, China, BEIJING, Chongqing, Changan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Detroit

CNN —Days of heavy rain have caused severe flooding in China’s leading grain-producing region in the northeast, killing 14 people and raising concerns about food security as floodwater inundated farmlands. As the storm moved further north, another 14 deaths were reported Sunday in the city of Shulan in Jilin province. Firefighters operate a drainage machine near a village in the city of Mudanjiang in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province on August 5. A cornfield is submerged by floodwater in a village in Hebi city, Henan province on August 5. A flooded farm in Xinxiang city, Henan province on August 5.

Persons: Doksuri, Zhang Tao, floodwater, Typhoon Khanun, Xi Jinping Organizations: CNN, Xinhua, Firefighters, China’s Ministry of Water Resources, Communist Party, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Affairs, National Bureau of Statistics, China Meteorological Administration, Qiushi, Communist Locations: China, Beijing, Hebei, Shulan, Jilin province, Heilongjiang, Mudanjiang, China's Heilongjiang, Jilin, Harbin, Shangzhi, Wuchang, Liaoning, Hebi city, Henan province, Henan, Xinxiang city

In the waterlogged provincial capital Harbin, two vehicles plunged into a sinkhole that appeared on an expressway near a swollen river, local media reported. Paddy fields have also been inundated, and villagers in low-lying areas told to evacuate, local media reported. The storms and floods also triggered power cuts in nearby Shangzhi city, where supermarkets were running low on provisions, according to media reports. "I only managed to get a few bottles of mineral water and two boxes of instant noodles," a Shangzhi resident told local media after rushing to the supermarket after the storm alerts. "Some production and power equipments were damaged, and production had been suspended," the company said in an exchange filing on Friday.

Persons: Typhoon Doksuri, Tingshu Wang, Doksuri, Jinrui, Liz Lee, Ella Cao, Samuel Shen, Ryan Woo, Gerry Doyle, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Aerospace, Holdings Group, Mineral Development, Thomson Locations: Mentougou district, Beijing, China, Tingshu Wang BEIJING, Northeastern Heilongjiang, Heilongjiang, Daqing, Harbin, Shangzhi, Jilin, Shulan, Zhuozhou, Hebei province, Hebei, Qinghai, Chongqing, Shanghai

☆ Seiichi Morimura, 90, Who Exposed Japanese Wartime Atrocities, Dies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Richard Sandomir | More About Richard Sandomir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Seiichi Morimura, who wrote a searing exposé of the Japanese Army’s secret biological warfare program in occupied China, describing how it forcibly infected thousands of prisoners with deadly pathogens, died on July 24 in Tokyo. The announcement of his death by his publisher, Kadokawa, was cited in Japanese media. Mr. Morimura detailed the atrocities committed by the Japanese program — called Unit 731 — in a widely sold book, “Akuma no Hoshoku,” or “The Devil’s Gluttony” (1981). Under the Japanese occupation, before and during World War II, at least 3,000 prisoners — men, women and children — became guinea pigs at a facility euphemistically named the 731st Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Headquarters, on the Manchurian plain near Harbin. Most of the victims were Chinese, but some were Korean, Russian and Mongolian.

Persons: Seiichi Morimura, Morimura, ”, vivisections, — Organizations: Kadokawa, —, 731st, Water Supply Locations: China, Tokyo, Harbin

☆ Loneliness, social isolation linked with early death
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The new paper, however, is a meta-analysis of 90 studies that had examined the links between loneliness, social isolation and early death among more than 2 million adults. People who experienced social isolation had a 32% higher risk of dying early from any cause compared with those who weren’t socially isolated. Holt-Lunstad was the lead scientist on the US Surgeon General’s recent advisory report on social isolation and loneliness. Broadening social connectionsPeople experiencing social isolation and loneliness should actively seek social support, Wang said. Public health strategies to address loneliness and social isolation, including raising awareness, are also needed, Wang said.

Persons: Turhan Canli, Canli wasn’t, Julianne Holt, wasn’t, Holt, Lunstad, Anthony Ong, Ong wasn’t, ” Holt, Canli, “, ” Canli, Fan Wang, ”, Ong, Wang Organizations: CNN, Stony Brook University, Brigham Young University in, Center, Integrative Developmental, Human Health Labs, Cornell University, “, Harbin Medical University Locations: Brigham Young University in Utah, New York, China

☆ Horrific World War II bunker where Japanese scientists experimented on prisoners with biological weapons, found by archaeologists, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Archaeologists found a bunker used by WWII Japanese scientists to conduct human experiments, says a report. The Japanese scientists captured by the US were granted immunity in exchange for their research findings. Japanese scientists exposed prisoners to pathogens and dissected them to learn about the effects on the human body. The researchers are yet to enter the bunkers, but the survey has revealed details about the underground structures, South China Morning Post reported. Most of the surface-level buildings at the Anda site were destroyed in 1945 to erase evidence of the experiments, but the underground structures remain, archaeologists said.

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, April 28 (Reuters) - Chinese banks are ramping up efforts to promote international use of the yuan, and reporting a surge in cross-border yuan business from the country's booming trade with Russia and deepening ties with the Middle East. Harbin Bank Co (6138.HK), in China's Heilongjiang province neighboring Russia, saw its cross-border yuan business grow nine-fold last year to a record, as the Sino-Russia trade grew briskly after the Ukraine war began. Industrial Bank Co (601166.SS), whose cross-border, corporate payment business jumped 50% last year, has also been actively promoting CIPS, China's own global payment system. The bank said it currently helps 153 foreign and Chinese banks connect to CIPS, to advance China's yuan internationalisation strategy. "Increasing the use of yuan in pricing, and settling cross-border oil and gas trade will give a boost to yuan internationalization."

RIO DE JANEIRO, April 11 (Reuters) - Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA) aims to sign a deal for the sale of 20 commercial jets to a Chinese airline during President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's visit to China this week, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. The deal would mark a breakthrough for Embraer in China, where it has struggled to find new business since the 2016 closure of a joint venture at a factory in Harbin. That venture with Chinese group Avic, launched in 2003 during Lula's first presidential term, produced a previous generation of regional jets and Legacy 650 executive jets. Embraer has delivered 110 commercial aircraft to Chinese airlines, including 70 to Hainan Airlines (600221.SS) and 20 to China Southern (600029.SS), according to securities filings. The planemaker has not received a new order from a Chinese airline since leaving Harbin in 2016.

"I am convinced that both Ukraine and Russia are waiting for someone else to say, 'Let's sit down and talk,'" Lula told journalists last week. Lula has suggested a peace solution could be the return of newly invaded territory, though not Crimea - an option that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has rejected outright. For his initiative to advance, Lula needs China to send a message to Russia, said a European diplomat in Brasilia. Some 20 agreements to be signed include creation of a sixth satellite in a joint program started in 1988, which will be used for monitoring the Amazon, Brazil's foreign ministry said. China overtook the United States as Brazil's top trading partner in 2009 and is a major market for Brazilian soybeans, iron ore and oil.

The comments suggest a more muted stance on the prospect for significant orders of large Airbus jets compared with the planemaker's best-selling A320neo medium-haul model, for which it is doubling production capacity in China. It also welcomed an agreement giving delivery clearance for 150 A320neo and 10 A350 jets that Airbus had already sold to China. Airbus is marketing a freighter version of its A350 jet and is keen to sell more wide-body passenger jets to China. The statement also said European and Chinese regulators would accelerate certification involving the Airbus H175 helicopter, Dassault Aviation (AM.PA) 8X business jet and Harbin Y12F turboprop. The H175 was co-developed by Airbus Helicopters and Chinese aerospace conglomerate AVIC and is often used for ambulance or police service.

[1/7] Farmer Wang Zhanling sits next to his wife in their house in Quansheng village, Heilongjiang Province, China, February 8, 2023. The state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences sees the pension system running out of money by 2035. "If the pension system does not change, this is unsustainable," said Xiujian Peng, senior research fellow in the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University in Australia. The province has the lowest birth rate in China, with just over 100,000 births in 2021 and 460,000 deaths. Many experts, including Macquarie's chief China economist Larry Hu, suggest implementing a unified national pension system, backstopped by the more resourceful central government rather than cash-strapped local administrations.

October 2022 Wang Linfang,92, molecular biologist Four members of China’s two most prestigious academic institutions died in October – in line with the average in recent years. October 2022 Wang Linfang,92, molecular biologist Four members of China’s two most prestigious academic institutions died in October – in line with the average in recent years. Zhang Guocheng, 91 Zhao Zisen, 90, developed China’s first practical optical fiber Tang Hongxiao, 91 The obituaries began accumulating. October 2022 Wang Linfang,92, molecular biologist Four members of China’s two most prestigious academic institutions died in October – in line with the average in recent years. October 2022 Wang Linfang,92, molecular biologist Four members of China’s two most prestigious academic institutions died in October – in line with the average in recent years.

☆ China's big consumer market isn't rebounding to pre-pandemic levels just yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

For the past six months, revenue had dropped to 30% of typical levels, Chong said. The travel season for China's big holiday runs this year from around Jan. 7 to Feb. 15. That's twice what it was last year, and 70% of 2019 levels, China's Ministry of Transport said Friday. It noted most of the trips will likely be for visiting family, while just 10% will be for leisure or business travel. By that time, people will have been able to process their passport applications, while the number of international flights may have recovered to 50% or 60% of 2019 levels, Chen said.

☆ Travelers rush to take advantage of China reopening
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

After years of separation from his wife in mainland China, Hong Kong resident Cheung Seng-bun made sure to be among the first in line following the reopening Sunday of border crossing points. Those crossing between Hong Kong and mainland China, however, are still required to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within the last 48 hours — a measure China has protested when imposed by other countries. Hong Kong media reports said around 300,000 travel bookings from the city to mainland China have already been made, with a daily quota of 60,000. "I've been under isolated quarantine for six times in different cities (in mainland China)," said Ivan Tang, a Hong Kong business traveler. Meanwhile, more foreign governments are imposing testing requirements on travelers from China — most recently Germany, Sweden and Portugal.

HONG KONG, Dec 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The pandemic has helped Chinese authorities to keep a lot of money at home. With expectations rising for a full reopening of the country, including its international borders, capital outflows could be Beijing’s next headache. The People’s Republic supposedly has strict controls with cross-border cash transfers for citizens capped at $50,000 per year. Even so, jet-setting travellers splurged $255 billion abroad in 2019, boosting hotel revenue in Thailand and designer handbag sales in Paris. With pent up demand for spending overseas likely to be high, China might be tempted to look for benefits from keeping its borders shut.

REUTERS/Thomas PeterBEIJING, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Searches on Chinese travel sites surged and social media platforms were flooded with delight and relief on Wednesday as the public cheered the biggest loosening of some of the world's strictest COVID policies. CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM, EXHAUSTIONThe news was also welcomed by foreign business groups, many of which had become increasingly outspoken about the damage the zero-COVID policy was having on China's economy and the operations of their companies. "Timely implementation will help stabilise China’s economy and get life back to normal," the European Chamber of Commerce in China said of the 10 measures announced on Wednesday. It also urged China to roll out mRNA vaccines for domestic use as part of a vaccination drive with the elderly a priority. Reporting by Sophie Yu and Martin Pollard, Writing by Brenda Goh; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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