A compilation of discourses on improving Party conduct by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has been published by the Central Party Literature Press.
Compiled by the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, the book features nine themes, bringing together 299 excerpts extracted from over 130 of Xi's important speeches and written works from November 2012 to February 2025. Some of these works have been made public for the first time.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core formulated and has been implementing the eight-point decision on improving conduct, leading to significant improvements in Party conduct, social morality and individual virtues.
Xi's discourses in this regard are of great significance for consistently and sustainably improving Party conduct, exercising Party self-governance with the spirit of reform and strict standards, and ensuring that the Party remains the strong leadership core in building socialism with Chinese characteristics.
A total of 25,320 sci-tech volunteers have registered at the Beijing Science and Technology Popularization Volunteer Service Team, collectively contributing over 310,000 service hours, as revealed during a volunteer launch event on March 3.
The Beijing Science and Technology Popularization Volunteer Service Team, founded in 2012, saw its 220 sub-teams release nearly 300 science popularization projects, with over 10,000 volunteers involved in more than 100,000 service hours in 2024.
The 2025 Beijing Sci-Tech Popularization Volunteer Service Week kicked off ahead of the "Lei Feng Day," an annual event commemorated on March 5 aimed at celebrating the life and spirit of the young soldier who devoted his spare time and money to helping the needy. Science "Lei Fengs" will carry out a series of sci-tech popularization activities to make science more accessible and relatable.
The event also saw the launching of a "Smiling Beijing" volunteer service brand. The brand will feature six key application scenarios, including the professional science popularization service, science museum service, science popularization events, targeted service for key groups, and grassroots social governance supporting.
Five individual volunteers, five organizations, five projects, and three community service hubs were honored as 2024's standout contributors. One of the highlights was the award-winning team project "Touching the Sci-Tech Frontiers, Experiencing the Innovation" led by volunteer Zheng Tianlong. This young team, averaging 29 years old, leverages Beijing's key industrial plans like new energy, AI and bio-medicine to transform advanced technologies into accessible knowledge, benefiting over 300,000 people and creating a replicable model.
"Through a series of diverse and innovative science outreach initiatives, we aim to nurture a passion for science in more people and ensure the benefits of technological progress reach every household," emphasized an official from the Beijing Association of Science and Technology (BAST). He added that BAST will further leverage the roles of scientific workers and science popularization volunteers to innovate science popularization concepts, enrich the content and forms of science popularization, and strengthen public science popularization infrastructure construction throughout the city. They will play an irreplaceable role in advancing the construction of Beijing as a science and technology innovation center and achieving the goal of a strong technological nation.
With an extensive coastline, China is turning to the vast ocean to bolster food security by building modern marine ranches.
The construction of marine ranches, dubbed "blue granaries" in the vast blue ocean, highlights the nation's efforts to diversify food supplies. With more investment and innovative technologies, China's marine ranching industry is playing a role in strengthening food security. With an extensive coastline, China is turning to the vast ocean to bolster food security by building modern marine ranches.
The construction of marine ranches, dubbed "blue granaries" in the vast blue ocean, highlights the nation's efforts to diversify food supplies. With more investment and innovative technologies, China's marine ranching industry is playing a role in strengthening food security. In recent years, marine ranching has gained momentum along China's coast. In 2024, the city of Shanwei, in the southern province of Guangdong, invested more than 2 billion yuan (about 279 million U.S. dollars) to build eight marine ranches as well as cold chain and sales facilities.
To date, China has built more than 180 national-level marine ranches. The eastern province of Shandong ranked top with 71 national-level marine ranches, accounting for 38 percent of the country's total, said Zhang Jiandong, head of the Oceanic Administration of Shandong Province.
SMART AQUACULTURE
The technological advances, including automated feeding and underwater imaging systems, have transformed the aquaculture industry.
As the spring aquatic farming season started recently, Liu Yulei started his work on a marine ranch with eight giant aquaculture cages located 42 nautical miles off the coast of Yantai. Each cage, 68 meters long and wide, could enclose 94,000 cubic meters of seawater, providing an optimal environment for 1 million fish with an annual fish catch of 1,000 tonnes.
"The fish farm is built here with Class I water quality and suitable temperature and salinity," Liu said. "With strong currents moving at 1.5 meters per second, the water in the cage could be completely refreshed within dozens of seconds, much more frequently than in traditional aquaculture facilities."
Modern technology has made fish farming more efficient. "Work on the marine ranch is busy but far easier than traditional fish farming. Only four workers can oversee a cage," Liu added.
Each giant cage is equipped with advanced sonar, lidar and binocular vision systems that allow workers to monitor the fish population, distribution and health, equipment, water quality, hydrology, and meteorological conditions in real time. "We used to lack proper feeding knowledge, which led to excessive food waste accumulating on the seabed. Now, with scientific breeding, we have significantly improved both quality and output while also protecting the marine environment," said Luan Jianguo from another marine ranch off Changdao Island of Yantai.
A local fishing company purchases juvenile fish of certain sizes from local seafood farmers. The partnership means a faster return on investment, lower financial risks, and a larger seafood production with better quality.
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Marine ranching also creates new business opportunities as some ranches offer travel services to tap into the consumer market better.
Off the coast of Yantai's Laishan District, the "Genghai No. 1" ecological marine ranch complex integrates aquaculture and tourism facilities to generate additional revenues. On weekends, tourists visit the complex for an immersive marine experience. On the main deck, visitors can engage in interactive activities such as a "deep-sea elevator" simulation using VR and AR devices. They can also participate in recreational fishing and enjoy the sea view.
"We provide 71 sea-view hotel rooms, and guests can also enjoy freshly caught seafood at our canteen," said Yan Haidong, deputy general manager of Shandong Ocean Harvest Corporation, which operates the complex.
Low carbon is also at the core of the complex's operation. "Our total installed solar and wind power capacity is 426 kW, with power generation of approximately 500,000 kWh annually," Yan added.
A group of postgraduate students from the University of Malta experienced traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatments, including acupuncture, cupping and Gua Sha therapies at the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM) in Paola, southeastern Malta, on Sunday.
During the event, Tang Limei, a member of the 20th Chinese medical team for Malta, delivered a lecture on acupoint massage techniques and guided students through hands-on practice.
Following demonstrations by the Chinese medical team, students performed Baduanjin, a traditional form of Chinese aerobic exercise, in the MRCTCM garden. Before leaving, each student crafted a fragrant sachet to take home as a keepsake.
"From acupuncture to cupping, from Baduanjin to acupoint massage, these are techniques you can incorporate into daily life," said Josh Wiebe, one of the students, after receiving acupuncture and cupping therapy. Having undergone TCM treatment before, Wiebe emphasized its effectiveness in relieving pain and muscle stress.
Nour Nasserallah, who tried cupping therapy on her back, described the experience as fascinating. "We learned about therapeutic methods that have been used for thousands of years," she told Xinhua, adding that she would consider TCM in the future if she felt unwell.
Since its establishment in 1994 through cooperation between the Chinese and Maltese governments, the MRCTCM has hosted 20 Chinese medical teams comprising over 100 physicians, providing TCM treatment to approximately 250,000 Maltese patients.
In response to Australian defense department's recent claim that an Australian air force patrol aircraft experienced an "unsafe and unprofessional" interaction with a Chinese Air Force aircraft in the South China Sea, Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, said that Australia deliberately provoked and infringed upon China's rights in the South China Sea on February 11, and then falsely accused China, spreading misleading narratives. China firmly opposes this and has lodged serious protests with Australia.
While Australian military aircraft could have taken the main routes in the South China Sea, they chose to intrude into another country's territory. China's actions to drive it away are completely reasonable, legal, and beyond reproach. China's actions are a legitimate defense of national sovereignty and security, Zhang said in a statement published by the ministry on Friday.
We urge Australia to abandon its reckless and opportunistic fantasies, to strictly restrain the actions of its frontline naval and air forces, and not to act as a follower, stirring up trouble in the South China Sea to the detriment of others and itself, said Zhang.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press conference on Thursday that the Australian military airplane deliberately intruded into China's airspace over Xisha Qundao without China's permission. Such move violated China's sovereignty and undermined China's national security.
The Chinese side took legitimate, lawful, professional and restrained measures to expel the airplane. China has lodged serious protests with Australia and urged it to stop infringing on China's sovereignty and making provocations and stop disrupting peace and stability in the South China Sea, said Guo.
