Science | Wandering China

April 26, 2013 • 6:47 am 0

China tests self-developed-biofuel flight [Xinhua] #RisingChina #BioJetFuel #Aviation

Palm + recycled cooking oil = Bio-Jet fuel. China becomes fourth country to independently produce bio-jet fuel…

More on Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company at its official site here. For a Businessweek snapshot, click here.

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China tests self-developed-biofuel flight
Editor: Chen Zhi
Source – Xinhua, published April 24, 2013

Source – news.com.cn

A ceremony is held to celebrate the test flight of an airplane using aviation biofuel at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai, east China, April 24, 2013. Sinopec, China’s top oil refiner, announced the success of the first test flight powered by the company’s newly developed aviation biofuel product on Wednesday. An Airbus A320 owned by China Eastern Airlines landed at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on Wednesday morning after completing an 85-minute journey using Sinopec’s aviation biofuel, the company said. The biofuel made of palm oil and recycled cooking oil was produced by Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)

China on Wednesday successfully conducted a first test flight powered by self-developed biofuel made mainly from palm oil and recycled cooking oil.

An Airbus A320 operated by China Eastern Airlines landed at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 7:08 a.m. after completing an 85-minute journey using aviation biofuel produced by Sinopec, the country’s top oil refiner.

The success made China the fourth country after the United States, France and Finland to boast independent production of bio-jet-fuel.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Aviation, Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Domestic Growth, Economics, Environment, Government & Policy, Influence, Infrastructure, Nationalism, Public Diplomacy, Reform, Resources, Science, Soft Power, Strategy, Technology, The Chinese Identity, xinhua

March 9, 2013 • 8:35 pm 0

Space station dream closer [China Daily] #China #Space

On the Chinese final frontier.

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Space station dream closer
By Xin Dingding
Source – China Daily, published March 8, 2013

A space lab will be launched in two years ahead of a key fueling experiment vital for the building of a space station, a leading official with the manned space program said.

Shortly after the lab goes into orbit, a freighter will be launched. Tests and research on the freighter technology have produced encouraging results, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of the manned space program and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

The space lab, Tiangong-2, will be built using backup craft for the Tiangong-1 space module.
Tiangong-1 was launched in September 2011. Tiangong-2 will have a number of upgrades and modifications, the most important being its ability to refuel from the freighter, he said.
China will work to build a space station after the Tiangong-2 space lab completes its mission, Zhou added.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Aviation, Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Domestic Growth, Economics, Finance, Government & Policy, Hard Power, Influence, International Relations, military, Nationalism, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Science, space, Strategy, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), Technology, Territorial Disputes, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities

January 20, 2013 • 2:42 am 0

Behind China’s Roaring Solar Industry #GreenChina #Solar #HarvardBusinessReview

Harvard Business Review: ‘China’s National Energy Administration announced its intention to add 10 gigawatts of solar power capacity in 2013.’

The time to cross great divides and collaboratively develop a sustainable, profitable development model for Green China to come. The travels around China’s east coast, periphery and centre have revealed early seeds sown – solar heating and panels were a dime a dozen atop rooftops even in China’s far flung out frontiers. Perhaps, like a good tennis stroke, a good follow through; with sensible business minds, is needed to convert more of its burgeoning middle class into proponents of renewable energy.

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Behind China’s Roaring Solar Industry
by Michael J. Silverstein |
Source – Harvard Business Review, published Jan 11, 2013

Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Chinese solar stocks had soared based on market expectations that demand in China for alternative energy will increase given the Chinese government’s increasing solar capacity targets. Earlier this week, China’s National Energy Administration announced its intention to add 10 gigawatts of solar power capacity in 2013, more than twice its current level. According to Barron’s and others, China has already begun implementing its ambitious plan to increase installations. It previously approved the Golden Sun initiative for the first half of this year and committed prodigious amounts of government cash to the sector.

China has also begun offering subsidies for rooftop solar projects. These aren’t controversial production-side subsidies (of the kind that have been challenged as contravening international trade agreements) but rather incentivizing domestic subsidies intended to help Chinese citizens and organizations to purchase solar systems at an affordable price. This week, the share price of Trina Solar Ltd. the nation’s third-biggest maker of solar panels, jumped to the highest level in five months even as that of LDK Solar Co. rallied 7.7 percent.

Although some commentators may see this uptick in China’s solar investments (and equity values) as an intriguing short term phenomenon, we at The Boston Consulting Group believe it reflects a public commitment on the part of China’s government to embrace clean energy sources and to seek economic growth that is less energy dependent, as well as these profound long-term trends:

Please click here to read the rest of the article at the source.

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Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Climate Change, Collectivism, Culture, Domestic Growth, Economics, Government & Policy, Green China, Influence, Infrastructure, Lifestyle, Population, Reform, Science, Technology, The Chinese Identity, China's Rise

September 24, 2012 • 8:23 am 0

Questioning attitude pivotal: giving Chinese think tanks valuable answers [China Daily Europe]

China Daily: A glimpse into the thinkers and acquirers of the complex vein of Chinese data.

More on the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (now 31 research units strong, run directly by the State Council and established in 1977) here.

Recently, Fan Jida, an associate professor at CAG, surveyed 210 officials at director-general level to identify the top 10 key economic issues facing the 18th National Congress of the CPC. More than 70 percent pointed to the real estate sector, while 69 percent said food safety should be improved. Small and medium-sized enterprises drew the least attention – just 11 percent.

“China has about 50,000 officials at this level and we surveyed 210 for one questionnaire. Who else could invite so many top leaders to give their views at the same time?” said Fan. In this way, Fan and his fellow researchers are able to gauge which topics are the most important.

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Questioning attitude gives think tanks valuable answers
By Hu Yongqi
Source – China Daily, published September 20, 2012

Institutions play a vital role in getting data, reports Hu Yongqi.

In the main building of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in downtown Beijing, Xu Jin and his colleagues were preparing to move to a new office. Everything was packed, except for a mountain of questionnaire papers and publications.

“The cities and the rural areas are different, and the interior is different from the coastal areas. So we have to go to these places to investigate the characteristics of the local workforce. It’s the only way to acquire precise data.”
Xu Jin, deputy director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics
Source – China Daily, 2012

In the past two months, researchers have collected 4,000 copies of a questionnaire about the workforce in Shanghai and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu. The papers were safely locked up in a meeting room, along with some other publications, to ensure they weren’t lost in the move that had brought chaos to the offices. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Danwei, Domestic Growth, Economics, Education, Environment, Finance, Government & Policy, Media, Modernisation, New Leadership, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Research, Resources, Science, Social, Strategy, China's Rise, Media, Science, Statistics, Strategy

September 7, 2012 • 8:13 am 0

S’pore welcomes resident pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia [Straits Times]

2,000 miles onboard a Singapore Airlines flight and Sino-Singapore panda diplomacy will be set in place/exerted for the next ten years. Will it help defuse some of the anti-Chinese vitriol on an increasingly compact island-state?

Caricature: Singapore’s local Orang Utans rubbing in the anti-foreign talent spiel to the Chinese pandas. Source – by Ching Choon Hiong, The New Paper, Singapore

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S’pore welcomes resident pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia Photo Gallery
by Jessica Lim
Source – Straits Times, published September 7, 2012

Airside crew securing the cage holding Jia Jia who was loaded after Kai Kai on board the Singapore Airlines cargo plane at the tarmac of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport Cargo Terminal. — ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

Unveiling of pandas Kai Kai (left) and Jia Jia (right) before VIPs and media on the tarmac of Freighter Bay 509 on Sept 6, 2012. They flew over 2,000 miles via Singapore Airlines Cargo from Chengdu to their new home in Singapore. — ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

Please click here to access the full gallery at Singapore’s national broadsheet.

Filed under: ASEAN, Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Government & Policy, Influence, International Relations, Panda Diplomacy, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Science, Singapore, Soft Power, Straits Times, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, China's Rise, culture, International Relations, Public Diplomacy, Science, Singapore, Strategy

September 4, 2012 • 12:01 am 0

[Singapore] Pandas from China to arrive by year-end [Channel News Asia]

Pandas are the gentler face of Chinese soft power. There was previously debate amongst the Chinese if the panda should replace the dragon as representative of Chinese identity. However, rise of the panda never resonated as well as rise of the dragon. In any case…

Panda diplomacy meant to celebrate two decades of diplomatic ties between Singapore and China back in 2010 is finally going to be realised end 2012. Singapore is to be the seventh country to receive a panda on loan from China.

Capitaland, a Singapore developer that has huge inroads into the Chinese property market will be sponsor over a ten year period for facilitaties such as a climate-controlled enclosure, 8,000m2 of bamboo and breeding programmes.

For more, see Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‘Pandas should arrive by year-end’ and Straits Times ‘Panda exhibit featuring Kai Kai and Jia Jia to open in December’ (August 15, 2012)

And here’s a reaction from an influential blogger from Singapore, Mr Brown.

Mr Brown makes allusions to Singapore’s issues with overwhelming numbers of foreign talent/workers currently making up more than a third of Singapore’s total population. Source – mrbrown.com, Sep 2012

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Pandas from China to arrive by year-end
By Kristine Lim
Source – Channel News Asia, published July 6, 2012

SINGAPORE: A pair of giant pandas from China will arrive in Singapore by the end of the year. The pandas, Kai Kai and Jia Jia, will be on loan to Singapore for 10 years, to foster good ties between the two countries.

This was confirmed after the 9th meeting of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation in Suzhou, co-chaired by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and China Vice Premier Wang Qi Shan.

DPM Teo and Mr Wang also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding with respect to the scope of banking services under the China-Singapore FTA. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Channel News Asia, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Education, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Overseas Chinese, Panda Diplomacy, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Science, Singapore, Soft Power, Strategy, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, China's Rise, Education, International Relations, Panda Diplomacy, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Singapore

July 6, 2012 • 3:06 am 0

Liu Yang: China sends a woman to the final frontier [Newsweek]

Source – Newsweek, July 2 and 9 double issue, page 8,, 2012

So it seems a wider international audience is getting a healthy dose of Liu Yang, China’s little master stroke to fan the flames of public imagination in the second largest news weekly from the US. A public relations chess move a few games ahead, perhaps? And on page 8 too, a number the Chinese value as prosperous. Titled Liu Yang: China sends a woman to the final frontier, the piece by Melinda Liu is one of few positive China stories that gets international attention nowadays.

This Newsweek report reveals that while China’s first taikonaut Yang Liwei’s 2003 flight was not broadcast live, more than 250 media outlets were at the remote Gobi desert to watch blastoff. The move to have a woman on board, it is reported was to also fulfill expectations of the public on top of the fundamental aim of advancing human spaceflight. If China’s aim was to be on equal footing as the US, then this may be one area where it has done better already.

For decades China was third behind the US and Russia in the rocket race. So, the Chinese have come a long way since the successful launch of the Dong Feng 1 东风 guided rocket launch in 1960. As the rise of China coincides with the power dilution of these two cold war icons, an opening seems ripe for China’s grand entrance; and one with tones of gender equivalence one, 52 years later at that at a time the US retires its shuttle fleet. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Aviation, Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Education, Human Rights, Influence, International Relations, Liu Yang, Newsweek, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Science, Soft Power, space, Strategy, Technology, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Uncategorized, Aviation, China National Space Administration, Human Space Missions, Liu Yang, Space

November 4, 2011 • 12:17 am 0

China accomplishes first space docking [Xinhua]

The politics of space has a new permanent human presence. China joins the US and Russia as the only countries to accomplish space docking after the Shenzhou VIII spacecraft docked with the Tiangong-1 experimental module 343km in orbit. Check out the CCTV annoucement below.

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China accomplishes first space docking
Source – Xinhua, published November 3, 2011

: A video grab taken from the China Central Television on Nov.3, 2011 shows the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft docking with the Tiangong-1 space lab module. Unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou-8 docked with space lab module Tiangong-1 early Thursday, according to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. Photo – Xinhua

BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) — Two Chinese spacecraft accomplished the country’s first space docking procedure early Thursday, silently coupling in space more than 343 km above Earth’s surface.

Nearly two days after it was launched, the unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou-8 docked with space lab module Tiangong-1 at 1:36 a.m., marking another great leap for China’s space program.

The success of the docking procedure makes China the third country in the world, after the United States and Russia, to master the technique, moving the country one step closer to establishing its own space station. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Environment, Influence, International Relations, Modernisation, Nationalism, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Research, Science, Soft Power, space, Strategy, Technology, Territorial Disputes, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Transport, xinhua

April 10, 2011 • 1:05 am 0

Coming China Space Wars — Navarro’s China Effect [Youtube]

Peter Navarro is author of the ‘Coming China Wars’. Here he investigates China’s ‘rush’ for the ‘ultimate strategic high ground’.

This, he posits, is centered on its desire for resources – in Space; and space militarization – its weaponisation of space and development of anti-satellite capability (ASAT).

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Domestic Growth, Economics, Environment, Greater China, Influence, International Relations, Media, military, Politics, Science, space, Strategy, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, U.S.

April 3, 2011 • 11:51 pm 0

Chang’e-2 satellite ends mission with success

China continues to enter the playground for the politics of space…

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Chang’e-2 satellite ends mission with success
CCTV
Source – China Daily, published April 2, 2011

China’s second lunar satellite, the Chang’e-2, has been safely operating for 180 days as of April 1, and has reached its six-month designed life, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND).

Currently, the satellite system status is normal and stable, and the satellite has fully realized its given project targets and achieved a number of important scientific results.

The Chang’e-2 satellite was launched on Oct 1, 2010. It began its work when it entered lunar orbit after completing several key stages, such as flying to the moon, braking at the perilune, orbiting the moon and rail lifting controls. The satellite conducted high-resolution imaging and lunar exploration tasks in the 100-kilometer-long and 100-kilometer-wide circular orbit and the 100-kilometer-long and 15-kilometer-wide elliptical orbit.

Currently, the Chang’e-2 satellite is in good condition. After it completes the various given tasks in its lifetime, the satellite will further launch expanded detection tests to lay a solid foundation for completing the follow-up tasks of the second step of China’s lunar exploration project.

Filed under: Charm Offensive, China Daily, Chinese Model, Communications, Domestic Growth, Economics, Environment, Influence, International Relations, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Science, Soft Power, Technology, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities

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Wandering China

China tests self-developed-biofuel flight [Xinhua] #RisingChina #BioJetFuel #Aviation

Space station dream closer [China Daily] #China #Space

Behind China’s Roaring Solar Industry #GreenChina #Solar #HarvardBusinessReview

S’pore welcomes resident pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia [Straits Times]

[Singapore] Pandas from China to arrive by year-end [Channel News Asia]

Liu Yang: China sends a woman to the final frontier [Newsweek]

China accomplishes first space docking [Xinhua]

Coming China Space Wars — Navarro’s China Effect [Youtube]

Chang’e-2 satellite ends mission with success

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