Hydropower station

President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a congratulatory letter on the operation of the first batch of generating units at Baihetan Hydropower Station, the world’s second-largest in terms of installed capacity.

As a major project in China’s west-east power transmission program, the station is the world’s largest and most technically difficult hydropower project under construction, Xi said in his letter. The generating units, each with a capacity of 1 million kilowatts, the largest single-unit capacity in the world, mark a major breakthrough in China’s high-end equipment manufacturing, he said. He stressed the project’s importance in transferring power from the western part of China to the eastern region. He also highlighted the station’s role in helping the country achieve its targets for peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality.

Economic growth

China’s economy has grown by 189 times over the past 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Chinese official said on Monday at a press conference held to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC.

China’s total economic volume has exceeded 100 trillion yuan (US$15.5 trillion), making it the world’s second- largest economy and accounting for over 17 percent of the global economy, said Han Wenxiu, an official with the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs. More than 220 kinds of industrial products, including automobiles and computers, rank first in the world in terms of output, the official said.

Mars probe

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Sunday released new videos and images of the country’s Mars probe Tianwen-1 landing on and exploring the red planet.

The videos show the landing rover deploying its parachute and descending to the Martian surface, and its Mars rover Zhurong driving away from its landing platform and moving over the land. The images include the Martian landscape and the ruts left behind by the rover. The Mars rover Zhurong has been working on Mars for 42 Martian days and has driven a total of 236 meters.

Vaccine exports

The country has included four COVID-19 vaccines that have been granted conditional market approval domestically in a list of vaccine products available for export.

The four vaccines are manufactured by Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co., Sinovac Life Sciences Co., CanSino Biologics Inc. and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co., according to an announcement posted on the official website of the Ministry of Commerce. Among the vaccines, two manufactured by Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co. and Sinovac Life Sciences Co. have already been listed by the World Health Organization for emergency use. They have been administered on a large scale in China and have been approved for use in around 100 countries, said Li Xingqian, an official with the ministry. (SD-Agencies)