China in Africa

CAS CNIC and the Network Technology Research Institute of China Unicom signed a cooperative agreement to establish a 5G Technology Joint Laboratory. The two sides will strengthen cooperation in 5G technology development in the near future, and in the long run collaborate on a series of key technologies such as edge computing, network slicing, Internet of Things and industrial Internet. 5G technology is the key strategic direction of the country’s scientific and technological development, which has far-reaching impact on economic development and research.

CAS news release, June 6, 2018

The aircraft is built by Shanghai Okushi Saisei Co. and completely based in Chinese IP. The carbon fiber construction. The plan has an efficient boat fuselage that reduces both air and water resistance, which prevents water interference when flying from water by a T-shaped high level tail. Construction is based on FAA and the Chinese Civil Aviation Bureau’s lightweight aircraft flight permission standards, and intended to be delivered to the US market. The number of orders is 75 aircrafts, including 11 from the United States, Australia, Finland, Canada, etc., and the order value is 200 million RMB.

Japan China news, July 5, 2018

The bus, developed jointly by Baidu and Xiamen Dynasty Railway Automobile Industry Co., is is full of sensors and IT equipment, but without handle and driver’s seat , and without pedals for accelerator and brake. The first 100 units of “Apollo” will soon be shipped to Beijing, Yuanxin District, Shenzhen, Fujian Heian County, and Wuhan City of Hubei Province, and commercial operation will be carried out. Uses are foreseen in tourism support at sightseeing spots, transportation of elderly people in the community, etc.. It is noteworthy that “Apollon” is first shown abroad in Japan, through an MOU with Kanryu Bus Co., Softbank and Baidu Japan.

Japan China news, July 5, 2018

The production of high-quality SWCNT thin films by an efficient and scalable method is a key issue for their practical application in electronics. However, two major obstacles remain: first, the size of fabricated SWCNT films is usually limited to the square centimeter scale, and the batch processing used is not scalable. Second, the optoelectrical performance of SWCNT films remains unsatisfactory due to impurities and structural defects introduced during the fabrication processes. WANG Bingwei and colleagues used a floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition technique for continuous synthesis of SWCNTs which were deposited on a repeatedly used moving membrane filter forming SWCNT thin films. Then, the as-deposited film was transferred onto a flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate with the aid of a roll-to-roll transfer system. As there are no impurities and defects introduced in the production processes, these SWCNT films have an excellent optoelectrical performance including a low sheet resistance of 65 Ω/□ with a transmittance of 90% at a wavelength of 550 nm. They are promising candidates for flexible and transparent electronic devices due to their extraordinary mechanical, electrical, and optical properties.

CAS news release, July 5, 2018

The group of YIP Hin-Lap at South China University of Technology has constructed a glass device that let the familiar visible portions of sunlight through, turning back the infrared light, and converting the near-infrared region in-between into an electric current. In theory, installing windows outfitted with dual electricity-generating and heat-insulating properties could cut an average household’s reliance on external electric sources by over 50 percent. Applications of this technology to greenhouses are also foreseen.

CAS news release, July 4, 2018

The crosswalk with luminescence function is located in Hangzhou’s Xixi Road. The main purpose is to increase pedestrian’s safety when crossing overnight. The lights on both sides of the crossing are turned on at night, but visibility is bad in case of rain or thick fog. It automatically turns off when a pedestrian leaves the pedestrian crossing. In addition, sensors are mounted incorporating an AI algorithm which automatically analyzes traffic conditions, distinguishes between people and electric bicycles, and gives instructions to the system whether to turn on lights, preventing waste of energy.

Japan China news, July 4, 2018

Unlike in the traditional viscose process, the ionic liquds dissolve cellulose in one-step without chemical derivatization process. The regenerated cellulose fiber is 90% similar to natural cellulose. The team around    has designed novel functional ionic liquds, optimized spinning technology and efficient recycling of ionic liquids, and has set up 5L/batch dry-jet wet-spinning devices to obtain regenerated cellulose fibers with good performance.

CAS news release, July 3, 2018

Shopping in Tianjin’s 5 floor supermarket is based in IoT, AI and biometrics. In 6 months since the supermarket opened, it is said that no shoplifting has ocurred.

Japan China news, July 3, 2018

In China, more than 2.7 million people die of cancer every year. Guoliang XU, an endoscopy specialist working at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, one of the largest cancer treatment centers in southern China, used endoscopy examination and produced 48 images that were simultaneously sent to Tencent’s tissue database. An AI system there responded within four seconds: based on a huge pool of data, it suggested which position might be a cancer lesion. According to Xu, AI’s accuracy in diagnosing some types of cancer early is as high as 90 percent, and still improving. The Chinese government has meanwhile announced plans to build a national platform for AI diagnostic imaging – a commitment to AI as a pillar in the future of Chinese medicine.

CAS news release, June 29, 2018

In Chinese legend, magpies took pity on two lovers separated by the Milky Way, so they created the Queqiao bridge, allowing the couple to be together for one day a year. Queqiao is also the name of a relay satellite which has entered on June 14 the Halo orbit in order to set up a communication link between the Earth and the future Chang’e 4 lunar probe on the back face of the moon. Getting a satellite into this orbit, circling the second Lagrange point (L2), where the centrifugal force is balanced with the Earth’s and Moon’s gravity, demanded to adjust orbit several times before the satellite could enter the correct orbit, and the time window for the satellite to brake near the moon lasted just 16 minutes.

CAS news release, June 25, 2018

The group of Lijun WU at the Center’s Institute of Technology, Biology and Agriculture constructed a three-dimensional (3D) cell-based novel genotoxicity detection system based on the the CD59 AL mutation detection system. First, a 3D cell mass was obtained by a low adhesion culture method. Relatively stable and uniform 3D cell cultures were used to examine the oncogenic effects of environmental contaminants, nanosilver and arsenic. Results differed from those obtained with 2D cell cultures and relate closer to other geontoxicity tests.

 CAS news release, June 25, 2018

Pigs account for more than 60 percent of Chinese people’s demand for meat, but they also exert major environmental pressure: fecal nitrogen from pig farms accounts for about 20 percent of the country’s total discharge of nitrogen pollutants. Pigs lack three enzymes (phytases) which block the release of nitrogen. By knock-in of the pertinent genes into genetically modified pigs, these enzymes were incorporated into the pig genome, and specifically affected the pigs’ salivary glands. As a result, fecal nitrogen and phosphorus output of the GM pigs was reduced by up to 45 percent, and the pigs showed a 14-percent improvement in their ability to absorb those nutrients.

China Bio news release, June 25, 2018

The group of SONG Yongyang and colleagues synthesized hydrophilic/oleophilic magnetic Janus particles by emulsion interfacial polymerization and the interfacial assembly of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. Based on this material, they achieved a rapid and efficient separation of micro-scaled tiny oil droplets from water.  When adding the particles to a stable oil-in-water emulsion and subsequently shaking for one minute, the emulsion rapidly formed layers. After manipulation with a magnetic field, the upper oil phase could be rapidly attracted toward the magnet. The whole process was accomplished in two minutes. The separation achieved a high efficiency (>99%) and was applicable to various oils and various oil contents.

CAS news release, June 22, 2016

At the 2018 World Transportation “High-speed Railway Technology Development Forum”, Mr ZHANG Feng of Southwest Jiaotong University reported that China explores a super high-speed railway. The world’s fastest vacuum tube high temperature superconducting linear model car test line is currently being built in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and is expected to be completed by the end of the year, to begin testing. Flying height is 10 mm, load is 200 kg. The test speed was said to reach a maximum of 400 kilometers.

JST China news, June 21, 2018

Following the use of 100% non-fossil energy supply for seven consecutive days in 2017, Qinghai Province is aiming for 100% clean energy supply for 216 hours from October 20 through October 28, for 9 days. Qinghai Province is thus trying to take a groundbreaking step to rewrite the world record and to say goodbye to fossil energy. The province will enhance the level of management and control of new energy through mutual complementation, adjustment and control technology of multiple types of energy and a big data platform.

JST China news, June 21, 2018