3 h. ago China plotting mission to defend Earth from asteroids: top space researcher

China is planning an advanced mission to strike an asteroid and alter its orbit with a spacecraft to mitigate the threat of an impact, according to a top space researcher. If successful, China will become the second country after the United States to achieve this ability. Wu Weiren, the chief designer of China’s lunar exploration programme and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, revealed this “kinetic impact demonstration mission” on Friday, saying it would test the feasibility...

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3 h. ago China designing mission to defend Earth from asteroids: top space researcher

China is planning an advanced mission to strike an asteroid and alter its orbit with a spacecraft to reduce the risk an impact, according to a top space researcher. If successful, China will become the second country after the United States to achieve this ability. Wu Weiren, the chief designer of China’s lunar exploration programme and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, revealed this “kinetic impact demonstration mission” on Friday, saying it would test the feasibility of...

Events

7 d. ago A new model for peace? China takes its Global Security Initiative to Africa

When more than two dozen officers from the Somali National Armed Forces were awarded Chinese training scholarships this month, Beijing’s ambassador to Somalia Wang Yu assured them and the rest of the country that “China will not be absent” in helping the East African country achieve peace. Since the 1991 overthrow of president Siad Barre, Somalia has been plagued by civil war and conflict with extremist groups such as al-Shabab. The training aims to help Somalia build a self-reliant defence...

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7 d. ago China ‘PhD village’ reaches 33 doctorates, celebrates another doctoral student

A village in southeastern China has earned the nickname “PhD Village” due to its remarkable achievement of producing 33 offspring who have obtained doctoral degrees from prestigious universities, both domestically and internationally. Pengdao Village, part of Nanan City in Fujian province, gained widespread attention at the end of August after a video showcasing a grand scholarship presentation held at the local ancestral clan hall went viral, as reported by the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald. This...

Science

7 d. ago China’s ‘PhD village’ celebrates another doctoral student, brings total to 33

A village in southeastern China has earned the nickname “PhD Village” due to its remarkable achievement of producing 33 offspring who have obtained doctoral degrees from prestigious universities, both domestically and internationally. Pengdao Village, part of Nanan City in Fujian province, gained widespread attention at the end of August after a video showcasing a grand scholarship presentation held at the local ancestral clan hall went viral, as reported by the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald. This...

Science

9 d. ago China achieves 99.99997% helium purity using natural gas feedstock

China achieves 99.99997% helium purity using natural gas feedstock  Interesting Engineering

Politics

1 week ago Trump’s fresh tariff threat, China’s invisibility tech: SCMP daily highlights

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Trump says China must ensure rare earth magnets or face 200% tariffs US President Donald Trump said on Monday that China must ensure the US supply of rare earth magnets or face 200 per cent tariffs, and that he will continue to allow Chinese students into the country. 2. Why China and US still invest in crewed military systems when they have drones Rapid...

Politics

1 week ago China achieves invisibility tech breakthrough for early warning aircraft

Chinese air force scientists have developed a revolutionary radar technology capable of rendering its airborne early warning platforms nearly undetectable to enemy electronic surveillance. Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft – long considered indispensable yet vulnerable command nodes – have historically been high-value targets. Their powerful radar emissions, while essential for managing the battlespace, make them visible from hundreds of kilometres away. But the Chinese...

Events

2 w. ago DeepSeek’s ‘UE8M0 FP8’ innovation seen as boost for China’s AI self

A technical change in the latest model from Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek could be a big step towards achieving China’s goal of AI self-sufficiency, as it shows a new level of coordination between local model developers and hardware makers, according to analysts and industry insiders. This week, the Hangzhou-based AI lab said its new V3.1 model was trained using a UE8M0 FP8 scale data format, which was suitable for the “home-grown chips soon to be released”. While DeepSeek...

Politics

2 w. ago Tech war: DeepSeek hints China close to unveiling ‘next generation’ AI chips

Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek said that China will soon have home-grown “next generation” chips for AI stacking, fanning speculation over breakthroughs China may have achieved. In a one-line note on its official WeChat account explaining the “UE8M0 FP8 scale” of its newly released model V3.1, the Hangzhou-based firm said that the model was particularly designed “for the home-grown chips to be released soon”. It did not specify the vendor of these chips or whether their use...

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3 w. ago Why this small vacuum tube can be China’s big advantage in electronic warfare

In a defence tech laboratory in Beijing, a research team powers up a vacuum tube about the size of a pistol. Inside, a stream of electrons surges through thin coiled wires, amplifying microwave pulses ranging from 8 to 18 gigahertz with more than 500 watts of output – performance metrics that until recently were only achievable in devices much bigger. It is the new heart of China’s advanced radar and electronic warfare systems – a miniaturised travelling-wave tube (TWT), and a symbol of how...

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