Manufacturing

Industrial and supply chains, auto parts and intelligent and smart manufacturing are becoming new competitive advantages of China's automotive industry chain, industry players at the 32nd China-SAE Congress & Exhibition said.

Held in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality from Tuesday through Friday, the event attracted more than 10,000 representatives from more than 30 countries and regions, according to the organizers. More than 210 auto companies attended the event.

From nuts and bolts to chips and power trains, exhibitors have put China's auto supply chain advantage and the latest new-energy vehicle (NEV) technology on full display.

Chinese researchers have developed a spectroscopic chip with a novel technique that offers an unprecedented combination of exceptional resolution and a panoramic view, unlocking the potential for sharper, faster and wider scans of the universe.

While conventional high-resolution spectrometers are often bulky and heavy, the chip, named RAFAEL in English and Yuheng in Chinese, is the size of a mobile phone SIM card, researchers from Tsinghua University said. The study was published in the international journal Nature on Oct 15.

A new dual-fuel luxury ro-ro passenger vessel, named GNV·VIRGO, was delivered after a naming ceremony held in Guangzhou's Nansha district, Guangdong province, on Thursday.

This modern, green and luxurious dual-fuel ro-ro passenger vessel was built by Guangzhou Shipyard International, a subsidy of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, and tailored for Italian company Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV), a ferry operator under MSC Group.

China intensified efforts to bolster the integration of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation, with notable strides made in key and core technologies, as part of its broader push to drive the development of new quality productive forces during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

Experts said the country has sent a clear signal that it is dedicated to implementing the innovation-driven development strategy to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology, boosting its core competitiveness globally and injecting strong momentum into high-quality economic growth amid external uncertainties.

Over the past five years, China's innovation capacity has steadily improved, and its foundation for becoming a technological powerhouse has been continuously strengthened.

The country's investment in sci-tech has continued to rise, with its research and development expenditure exceeding 3.6 trillion yuan ($505 billion) in an increase of 48 percent compared with 2020, said Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun.

R&D intensity reached 2.68 percent, surpassing the average level of European Union countries, while the total number of people engaged in R&D ranked first in the world, Yin said, adding that China's spending on basic research stood at 250.09 billion yuan last year, a rise of more than 70 percent compared with 2020.