Grain enterprises across China's major agricultural provinces have purchased more than 60 million tons of summer grain now, an increase of approximately 4 million tons year-on-year, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the latest data released by the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration.

The purchase volume has remained at a relatively high level over the recent years, the report said.

The progress of summer grain purchases is proceeding smoothly. Wheat purchases in Central China's Henan and Hubei provinces, and East China's Jiangsu and Anhui provinces are nearing completion, while the progress in North China's Hebei Province, East China's Shandong Province, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is between 70 to 80 percent.

And the early indica rice purchases in Central China's Hunan Province and East China's Jiangxi Province have almost come to an end.

This year, the government continued to implement the minimum purchase price policy in the major wheat and rice producing regions, effectively guiding grain purchases by grain enterprises, Li Guoxiang, a researcher from the Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

“This policy played a crucial role in preventing difficulties for farmers in selling their grain and curbing excessive price drops, making a significant and successful contribution to the summer grain purchases,” Li said.

The initial forecast for the 2024 summer grain purchases was approximately 70 million tons, a slight increase compared to 2023, people.cn reported in May, citing Tang Cheng, an official with the administration.

China's output of summer grain totaled 149.78 million tons in 2024, an increase of 3.63 million tons, or 2.5 percent, over the 2023 level, the National Bureau of Statistics said on July 12.

Although extreme weather events have become more frequent in recent years, “their impact on China’s grain production has been limited,” Li said.

The expectation of a bumper grain output throughout the year has not changed, Li noted.

The School of Future Technology under Tianjin University has recently opened a new major specializing in brain-computer interfaces (BCI), with a major recruitment process underway, the Global Times learned. It marks the first Chinese university to do so, as the development of BCI technology has entered a critical stage of innovation breakthrough and application expansion and China is therefore in a thirst for “diversified, interdisciplinary” talent, the university said in a statement shared with the Global Times on Friday. 

The new program adopts a “secondary selection” from the new students enrolled in Tianjin University. The selection procedures include comprehensive test and experts’ interview, and admissions will be based on the combined results from those processes. 

In terms of the curriculum, the new BCI major will provide lessons involving medicine, electrical and information engineering, covering the entire industrial chain from the basic theory underpinning BCI, related device systems as well as translation and market application, the statement read.  

The program will also adopt a unique training model through research training and collaborative education training between academia and industry companies. It aims to cultivate a new generation of engineers and scientists who possess the ability to design, manufacture, and develop future bio-intelligent electronic interfaces, and who can lead the advancement of China’s BCI technology and industry development.

BCI is one of several cutting-edged tech fields at the forefront of global technology. 

Industry insiders said that at the current stage, individual countries are still developing core BCI technology and tentatively applying it in commercial settings. China has an edge in areas such as core component device, and it is expected that with government policy support and concerted efforts, as well as an amassing talent pool, the country will achieve breakthrough in certain directions such as non-invasive BCI technology.

In July, China is mulling over establishing a BCI standardization technical committee under its Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), aiming to guide enterprises to enhance industrial standards and boost domestic innovation.

China's new-energy vehicle (NEV) sector is still on a robust upward trajectory, with industry insiders projecting production and sales both to exceed 10 million units by November this year, with sustained growth of 10-20 percent annually in the future.

Fu Bingfeng, executive vice president of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said on Saturday that China's NEV production and sales will surpass 10 million units each by November, compared with 9.5 million units for all of 2023, cls.cn reported on Sunday.

This bullish forecast follows the sector's impressive performance in the first half of the year, a success that industry experts attributed to sustained strong domestic and international demand, despite trade protectionist suppression from some Western countries.

Experts said that as the industry shifts into a smart technology-driven era, the introduction of new technologies and products will supercharge upgrades across the entire NEV supply and value chains, further enhancing industry prosperity.

"This trend is also fueling rapid expansion in the upstream NEV supply chains, such as battery production and installation, highlighting the sector's development potential," Fu noted.

At the 2024 World EV & ES Battery Conference held on Sunday, Miao Wei, a national political advisor, said that NEV sales in China are expected to exceed 11 million units this year, with a 10-20 percent growth rate annually until domestic annual sales reach 20 million units.

Miao also projected that the penetration rate of NEVs will exceed 50 percent by 2026, meaning that a majority of consumers will opt for NEVs when purchasing passenger cars.

China's NEV market has greatly expanded in recent years thanks to innovation that lowers manufacturing costs and improves performance, Zhang Xiang, secretary-general of the International Intelligent Vehicle Engineering Association, told the Global Times on Sunday.

At 08:02 on Saturday, the Philippine ship 9701 weighed anchor and continued its provocations at China's Xianbin Jiao (also known as Xianbin Reef) in the South China Sea. In response, the Chinese coast guard ship 5205 lawfully issued verbal warnings and conducted monitoring and control measures, according to the China Coast Guard (CCG) on Saturday.

At 12:06, the Philippine ship deliberately rammed into the Chinese ship 5205 in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, causing a collision for which the Philippines bears full responsibility, CCG spokesperson Liu Dejun said.

China once again urges the Philippines to face reality, abandon illusions, and immediately withdraw their illegal ship, as this is the only correct path forward. The Philippines should not misinterpret the situation, provoke conflicts, or escalate tensions, otherwise, the consequences will be solely borne by the Philippine side, the spokesperson warned.

The CCG reiterated China's indisputable sovereignty over Nansha Qundao, or Nansha Islands, including Xianbin Jiao, and their adjacent waters. China will take necessary measures to resolutely thwart any provocative acts of infringement and firmly defend the country's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, the spokesperson said.

Since mid-April, the Philippine Coast Guard ship 9701, also known as BRP Teresa Magbanua, has been illegally and harmfully anchored in the lagoon of the Xianbin Jiao.

The Philippines' long-term anchoring at Xianbin Jiao constitutes illegal occupation, which does not change the legal status of the occupied territory, according to Zhang Qiyue, a research fellow at Shanghai Institute for International Studies.

The Philippines has seriously infringed on China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, violating the basic principles of the United Nations Charter for the peaceful resolution of international disputes, and gone against the spirit of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which promotes peaceful use of the seas, Zhang stressed, noting that this action has caused serious damage to international legal norms and the rule of law.

In response to the illegal intrusion of Philippine vessel 9701 into Xianbin Jiao, China has shown a high degree of restraint by refraining from taking forceful measures against it, and only implementing necessary control measures to prevent the vessel from staying long-term, said Chen Xidi, a research fellow at China Institute for Marine Affairs, noting that China has been actively communicating with the Philippine side throughout this situation.

This fully demonstrates China's sincerity in adhering to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, not expanding and peacefully resolving disputes, Chen said. "In sharp contrast, the Philippines continues provocations by deliberately ramming into the Chinese ship. The Philippines is the one undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea, and violating humanitarian principles," Chen noted.

In fact, the Philippines is not concerned about the safety of its ships, aircraft, and personnel at Xianbin Jiao, nor does it care about the "freedom" and "stability" of the South China Sea, Chen noted. "The only thing the Philippines cares about is whether its actions in the South China Sea are aggressive and attention-grabbing enough, and whether it can win the 'favor' and 'support' of certain countries outside the region," Chen said.

Experts urged the Philippine side not to harbor any illusions about the illegal occupation of Xianbin Jiao, nor to repeatedly test China's bottom line. Otherwise, it will only waste time and be of no benefit to the resolution of the dispute.

"The only way to solve the dispute is for the Philippine side to withdraw its coast guard ship and other vessels as soon as possible, and restore peace and stability in the South China Sea," Zhang said.

On Friday, China released an on-site investigative report regarding the ecological system of the coral reefs in the South China Sea's Xianbin Jiao, revealing the coral reef ecosystem in Xianbin Jiao is generally in good health, in response to allegations made by the Philippines this year, which groundlessly accused China of reclaiming an artificial reef around Xianbin Jiao that led to widespread coral bleaching.

The Embassy of Switzerland in China held an event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the 1949 Geneva Conventions at the Embassy of Switzerland residence in Beijing on August 12.
In his address, Swiss Ambassador to China Jürg Burri said, "If we look around the world today, 75 years later, we note that we are still far from achieving the goal of ending the pains of armed conflict. However, this should not lead us to accept war as inevitable. We should still condemn war as a means prohibited by the UN Charter. And even more importantly, it should not make us give up on the commitment to 'humanize war' and lessen the misery it causes."

Over the decades, the Geneva Conventions have provided a vital bulwark against the atrocities of war, saving millions of lives.

At the event, Balthasar Staehelin, Personal Envoy of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President to China and Head of the ICRC Regional Delegation for East Asia, delivered a speech.

Wang Ping, Vice-President of the Red Cross Society of China, also delivered an opening speech.

China was one of the first countries to accede to the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, and attaches great importance to compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL). The China National Committee on IHL was established in 2007 to promote the dissemination and implementation of the IHL, with the Red Cross Society of China as its secretariat.

"The ever more complex global development and security situation has resulted in an upsurge of humanitarian needs. Dissemination and compliance with the IHL are more relevant than ever before," said Wang.

The Geneva Conventions were adopted in 1949 and are now universally ratified, representing a universal acknowledgment that war needs rules to limit its devastating impact on humanity.