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Latest news on research and breakthroughs by Chinese scientists, as the country ramps up investment in science and innovation as part of its ambitions to become a world-leading power by 2035, and other developments worldwide.
LATEST China Science NEWS

China launches new satellite to test high-speed communication tech

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Thursday marked the 11th flight of the Long March 5 series and its first launch of 2026. Photo: Xinhua

Don’t panic if you see a snake on a Chinese power line. It might be a robot

The robotic snake’s head is equipped with a camera and sensors to identify safety hazards, while the tail has a power harvesting device that lets it draw power from the lines it is inspecting. Photo: qq.com

Starlink rival Qianfan hits satellite milestone, but is it too slow and costly?

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A Long March-12B Y1 rocket blasts off from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone on June 1, carrying satellites for the Qianfan constellation. Photo: Xinhua

China delivers first samples collected from far side of the moon to Russia

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The Chang’e-6 mission was the first to collect samples from the far side of the moon. Photo: AP

China’s rail gun milestone: guided projectile prototype passes real firing test

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A prototype of a chip-protecting component for China’s guided rail gun shell used in a live firing test. Photo: North University of China
MORE China Science NEWS
Thursday marked the 11th flight of the Long March 5 series and its first launch of 2026. Photo: Xinhua
Mainland China

China launches new satellite to test high-speed communication tech

Long March 5 rocket’s lift-off marks pivotal step in validating technologies for next-generation orbital connectivity speeds and reliability.

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Mainland China

Don’t panic if you see a snake on a Chinese power line. It might be a robot

Shanghai

Starlink rival Qianfan hits satellite milestone, but is it too slow and costly?

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Archaeology and palaeontology

Scientists find woolly mammoth DNA while digging through squirrel poo

A treasure trove of ancient genetic material was stashed away by the rodents before being ‘frozen in time’ by permafrost.

Squirrels pack their burrows with nuts, seeds, leaves, bones, fur and anything else they can find. Photo illustration: dpa
Russia

China delivers first samples collected from far side of the moon to Russia

The rocks were collected during the Chang’e-6 mission and the handover is the first time foreign scientists will have a chance to study them.

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Japan

China’s rail gun milestone: guided projectile prototype passes real firing test

Breakthrough as a delicate silicon shell fitted with a guidance chip is shot from an electromagnetic rail gun, survives and records the ride.

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Mainland China

China performs world’s first combined transplant of pig liver and kidney to human

The organs worked for several days, offering evidence that transplanting multiple organs between the species is feasible.

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Despite the potential of animal-to-human xenotransplantation, there are still many barriers scientists and doctors have to overcome before it can become a clinical practice. Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Mainland China

China’s test flight of a giant coil array: can it detect nuclear submarines?

Groundbreaking study details the engineering feat of making an airborne electromagnetic detection system capable of hunting down submarines.

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Mainland China

Spying in Xinjiang? No, I was reporting from China’s energy heartland

Senior reporter Dannie Peng visited Xinjiang in April to see first-hand how a vast industrial ecosystem is rapidly taking shape.

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United States

China begins large-scale delivery of gallium chips for space-ground 6G network

Critical to the planned communications system are millions of third-generation semiconductors that use a silicon-based platform.

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Chips made from gallium nitride (GaN) are smaller and more powerful than silicon-based semiconductors. Photo: Shutterstock
Xinjiang

Chinese team injects moss gene into Xinjiang cotton to beat fungus, boost output

Scientists report potential to boost cotton yield by nearly a quarter after inserting stress-resistance gene from a species of steppe moss.

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A team led by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography say they genetically modified cotton for resistance to “cotton cancer”. Photo: Xinhua
Energy storage

New Energy | China’s new battery tech set to turbocharge EVs, energy storage

Car batteries that charge in under 7 minutes, innovations in renewable-energy storage – Chinese advances make alternatives to fossil-fuel power more appealing.

China technology

Tibet quartz discovery boosts China’s self-sufficiency push for hi-tech materials

China’s discovery of rare quartz used to make solar panels and semiconductors could help rewrite US import dominance.

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Mainland China

Nuclear weapons scientist Du Xiangwan clarifies role in China’s war on waste

Veteran physicist has been one of the strongest advocates for waste-to-energy incineration in China.

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Nuclear weapons scientist Du Xiangwan during an interview on CCTV. Photo: China Media Group Mobile
Space

China wants to build the world’s largest astronomy base on Saishiteng Mountain

Telescopes at the remote site are set to surpass Hawaii’s Mauna Kea in light-gathering power by the mid-2030s, scientists say.

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Saishiteng Mountain’s high altitude, dry weather and low light pollution make it one of the best stargazing spots on Earth. Photo: Ling Xin
United States

Chinese black hole-hunting scientist Dai Liang quits US for Shanghai post

The physicist who received a fellowship reserved for the ‘brightest young scientists’ in North America has joined Fudan University.

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Mainland China

China debuts world’s first superfast quantum memory enabling practical computing

Advance establishes core element required for general-purpose quantum computing that can read massive amounts of data.

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Transport and logistics

China proposes nuclear-powered floating island to reshape global shipping

Powered by molten salt reactors, the complex will function as a container terminal and zero-carbon platform.

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Jiangnan Shipyard has announced the blueprint of a nuclear-powered floating island designed to serve as a container transfer terminal and charging station for vessels. Photo: Handout
Iran

Chinese satellite company releases images of Nvidia, Apple HQs

Photos offering bird’s-eye view of the campuses are ‘routine satellite news’ according to the firm, which has been sanctioned by the US.

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State-owned enterprises

China orders central state-owned enterprises to double basic research spending

Regulator calls on major state-owned companies to become ‘globally influential’ sources of technology in 10 strategic sectors.

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Energy

Why wind and solar power is going to ‘waste’ in China in the global energy crisis

Use of renewables held back by ‘inflexible management of coal power plants and power grids, not a lack of grid infrastructure’: CREA.

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A new report says China’s “wasted” wind and solar energy stems from inflexible grid management that continues to position coal as a stabilising source of power and stymies a clean energy expansion. Photo: Xinhua
Mainland China

Chinese robot helps children with nerve disorder stand up for the first time

Six weeks of resistance training with a new wearable device more than doubled spinal muscular atrophy patients’ leg strength, study finds.

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Feng Yanggang, the study’s corresponding author and a Beihang University professor, says resistive rather than assistive wearable robots may be more suitable for fostering progressive neuromuscular growth in individuals with spinal muscular atrophy. Photo: Handout
Mainland China

Chinese AI lets everyday users command quantum computing with natural language

Shanghai-based start-up and researchers unveil platform to turn complex emergent field of computer science into mass-accessible technology.

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SCMP Highlights

Chip prodigy returns to China, hybrid crop grown in desert: 7 science highlights

From the world’s first parallel processor to doubts over Elon Musk’s Starship, here are some highlights from SCMP’s recent science reporting.

Mainland China

Can China’s caesium-from-brine tech cut reliance on Canadian, Australian ores?

Research team lead says while China follows research on salt lake resource extraction, ‘most efforts focus on lithium and potassium’.

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The Tanco mine in Canada is among the major global commercial sources of caesium. China’s Sinomine Resources controls operations here. Photo: Handout
China’s Communist Party

Top Chinese map-making scientist Zhou Chenghu netted in anti-corruption sweep

Cartographer with business empire in spatial data and low-altitude economy suspected of ‘serious violations of duty’.

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Leading cartographic scientist Zhou Chenghu is being investigated by central and local anti-corruption bodies for “suspected serious violations of duty”, Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has confirmed. Photo: Handout
Dementia

Biomedicine | China steps up Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s drug push, looks to TCM

With the most cases of the two leading neurodegenerative diseases, and affected population rising as country ages, China needs to find new treatments.

United States

China team drafts sanctions list on 63 key sectors to preserve technology

Scientists have listed sensitive or globally competitive tech that may benefit from export restrictions to keep them out of foreign hands.

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