Focus on Arts and Ecology

April 28, 2023 An international team led by Chinese astronomers has unveiled a new image of a supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy more than 50 million light years from Earth. The image is the first of its kind to show the black hole's accretion disk and jet. The disk is made of rapidly rotating particles orbiting around the black hole, while the jet is accelerated particles traveling away from the black hole at nearly

April 28, 2023 A city that was a key starting point of the ancient Silk Road will play host to the first summit between China and five Central Asian nations. Foreign ministers from the six countries gathered April 27 in Northwest China's Xi'an to pave the way for the meeting, which is to take place there in May. The summit will establish a mechanism for regular meetings among the heads of state. Chinese State Councilor

April 28, 2023 Chinese naval ships have evacuated more than 1,300 Chinese nationals from Sudan to Saudi Arabia's Jeddah Port. Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Thursday there were still a small number of Chinese in Sudan but outside the capital Khartoum, adding that the government would continue to offer them assistance. Despite a temporary ceasefire, the United Nations called for an immediate end to fighting

 April 28, 2023Ever since Xi Jinping visited Moscow in March, anticipation had been building about a possible contact between the Chinese president and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy. All speculation ended on April 26. President Xi spoke by telephone with Zelenskyy and assured him that China will always stand on the side of peace. He said China's core stance is to facilitate talks to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. President Xi also

 This week’s big environmental story, April 21-27China’s ecological conservation redlines have been fully laid out, the Ministry of Natural Resources announced on 22 April, Earth Day. The redlines demarcate areas with important ecological functions, including coastal waters, wetlands, glaciers and forests. The aim is to protect these habitats and their species, while making gains for flood and sandstorm prevention, clean water provision

The African Carbon Markets Initiative, announced at COP27, raises more questions than it answers. By Solomon Elusoji, April 27, 2023Mikongo Forest in Gabon, one of the most densely forested nations on Earth (Image: Alamy)Africa urgently needs climate finance to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Its negotiators have asked for between US$750 billion and $1.3 trillion per year by 2025. This is an ambitious goal considering the

A mix of government initiatives, marketing and consumer choice can help cut emissions from China’s food system. By You Xiaoying, April 26, 2023Buying vegetables in a Shanghai food market. China’s latest dietary guidelines encourage citizens to consume “plenty of vegetables, fruits, dairy, whole grains and soybeans” (Image: Alamy)There is no kitchen waste at Li Yan’s restaurant: everything gets eaten, reused or composted.There is no fixed