The US' so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) is one of the most notorious laws of the 21st century. It is essentially a tool used by US politicians to destabilize Xinjiang and curb China's development, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday, responding to US suspension of garment imports from the Philippines on suspicion that cotton used is involved in "forced labor" in Xinjiang.
So-called "forced labor" in Xinjiang is the lie of the century concocted by anti-China forces to create forced unemployment and poverty in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Friday during a routine press conference.
"Such a lie is a tool used by US politicians to destabilize Xinjiang and curb China's development," said Wang.
Wang shared several examples during the press conference, which clearly showed that what the US has done on Xinjiang violated human rights under the banner of "human rights protection."
One example was a private clothing company in Xinjiang, which employed more than 2,200 people as of the end of 2018, with ethnic minority employees accounting for more than 95 percent. However, due to the impact of the US and Western sanctions, the main partners of the company have cancelled all orders in 2019, resulting in direct losses of over 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) and a reduction in employees to less than 500 people. At present, most of the factory and equipment owned by the enterprise remains idle, and it is barely able to maintain its operation through domestic orders.
Another example is a Xinjiang hair ornament production enterprise which saw its order volume decrease by 40 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, after being sanctioned by the US. The company's production and operations have continued to deteriorate.
While it used to produce 50 million hair ornament products annually, with an annual export volume reaching $30 million in 2022, it also made a great contribution to solving local employment.
Wang also cited a villager living in Xinjiang's Kashi, who found a job in a wholly foreign-funded enterprise doing trade in Central China's Hunan in September 2019, with a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan. In 2020, due to the impact of the US sanctions, the enterprise canceled the labor contract with the villager, which forced the villager to return to his/her hometown to make a living, and the monthly income was greatly reduced.
In addition, for the sake of so-called compliance, some US companies have unilaterally terminated the supply of medical products purchased from Xinjiang, seriously affecting the right to life and health of the Xinjiang people, Wang noted.
"Facts have proved that the so-called UFLPA is in essence a tool used by US politicians to destabilize Xinjiang and curb China's development. It not only seriously infringes on the human rights of the people in Xinjiang, but also seriously disrupts the stability of the global industrial and supply chain, and seriously undermines international economic and trade rules. It is one of the most notorious evil laws of the 21st century," the spokesperson said.
Wang also called on the international community to firmly resist the wrongful actions of the US, which smears other countries, interferes in their internal affairs, oppresses their enterprises and stifles their development under the pretext of "human rights." China will continue to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.
A Hong Kong research center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has unveiled its latest artificial intelligence (AI) model for the healthcare industry, providing efficient clinical diagnosis and helping doctors in complex neurosurgery.
The development highlights the increasingly close academic collaboration between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, showcasing the country's leading position in the sector.
Developed by the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) of the CAS Hong Kong Institute of Science and Innovation, the CARES Copilot 1.0 model offers physicians enhanced accuracy in data retrieval. It can generate information and citations from academic sources, with data accuracy up to 95 percent, CAIR said on Monday.
Using the AI model for complement surgery, image navigation, and medical robotics in clinics, operating rooms and research institutes can directly assist medical staff in dealing with emergencies. They are able to provide supervision and early warnings and prevent risks during surgical procedures, Danny Chan Tat-ming, head of the neurosurgery division at the Department of Surgery in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was quoted as saying.
The CARES Copilot system is designed to work with smart medical devices, providing trustable and explainable AI for surgery. It is able to process surgical data across modalities, including images, text, voice, video and ultrasound.
The performance of the Copilot 1.0 system was strictly tested using the challenging Zero-shot Top Token Selection standard, across five public datasets and two proprietary neurosurgical knowledge evaluation datasets, according to the research team of the CARES Copilot 1.0 AI model.
"We aim to integrate the Copilot 1.0 AI model with smart medical devices in the future, based on CAIR's achievements in medical robotics. The center is now collaborating with Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing, and the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou on these subjects," Xu Jun, a senior manager at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The CARES Copilot 1.0 system exemplifies CAIR's unique position and academic background, reflecting the close academic cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.
According to CAIR's official website, the center was established under a memorandum of understanding signed between the Hong Kong SAR Government and the CAS. It is part of the Hong Kong Institute of Science and Innovation, the CAS' first affiliated branch outside of the Chinese mainland.
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is further advancing technological cooperation. In August 2023, China's State Council issued a plan to develop the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, aiming to deepen scientific and technological collaboration in the Greater Bay Area.
China is preparing to pilot opening-up of internet data centers, an official from Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Friday, against the backdrop as China is boosting a high-level reform and opening-up.
Jin Zhuanglong, minister of MIIT made the remarks at the Ministers' Corridor at second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), as China kicked off the two sessions this week.
The remarks also came after the Government Work Report delivered by Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday, when Li said that China will further shorten the negative list for foreign investment. All market access restrictions on foreign investment in manufacturing will be abolished, and market access restrictions in services sectors, such as telecommunications and healthcare, will be reduced.
Promoting new industrialization needs to deepen reform and expand opening-up. China has announced to completely lift restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, while the MIIT is preparing to pilot the opening of value-added telecommunications services such as internet data centers, Jin said.
He said MIIT is promoting the deep integration of informatization and industrialization, including the advanced construction of 5G computing power and other information facilities, and also creating a number of Chinese-made brands with international influence.
Creating national-level manufacturing innovation center is also mentioned in his remarks, as Jin said China is vowing to quickly form new quality productive forces and expand advanced manufacturing clusters.
The opening of internet data centers has a close connection with the big data, and it will be a big help to promote China's artificial intelligence (AI) industry in technology competition, Liu Dingding, a Beijing-based tech analyst, told the Global Times on Friday.
The internet data center refers to a device network center that performs data storage, processing and interaction in a specific physical space. In China, the data center industry is dominated by basic telecom operators and third-party internet data center operators, among which third-party internet data center service providers have become the main participants.
A report released by Cyberspace Administration of China showed that by the end of 2022, data centers in use nationwide now have more than 6.5 million standard racks, with the total computing power ranking second in the world.
Chinese experts also projected that China's high-quality development in 2024 and medium to long term will be driven by new quality productive forces such as AI, digital economy and other innovation industries and Chinese economy will remain a major destination for foreign investment and a major engine driving global growth.
In October 2023, China announced that it will remove all restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector. The annual central economic work conference also emphasized the importance of improving market access for the telecommunications and medical industries.
Chinese experts said that lifting restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector will help attract more foreign investment to China's manufacturing industry, and also promote China's manufacturing industry for a higher level of modernization.
In his first public appearance before media since taking his new post, Wu Qing, head of China's securities watchdog, outlined on Wednesday his plan to ensure the stable development of the capital market, the world's second largest, and vowed to beef up institutional buildup and to better ensure investor protection.
Chinese analysts noted that the institutional and holistic approach outlined by the head of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), who takes a harsh tone on illegal behavior while being considerate to small investors, is a pragmatic approach that suits the market reality, and is set to boost market confidence, stabilize expectations and shore up the overall investment value of China's capital market.
A number of delegates to the ongoing two sessions also contributed their thoughts on the topic, which is under the global media spotlight and has become a target for Western doomsayers in recent weeks.
Wu's appearance at the press conference, held during the ongoing two sessions, along with several other top government officials in charge of China's economic and trade affairs, is one of the highlights of the political event, as ensuring the stability of the capital market was mentioned in the Government Work Report for the first time following a period of turbulence in the Chinese A-share market ahead of China's Spring Festival holidays in February.
The Government Work Report, delivered by Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday at the opening meeting of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, set a growth target of around 5 percent for the country's economy in 2024.
Notably, the report pointed out that "the underlying stability of the capital market should be enhanced."
Giving his insight on how to ensure the stable development of the capital market, Wu the CSRC chairman, who is one day short of completing his first month in the new post, said enhancing institutional buildup and attracting long-term investment into the market will be among the measures to be taken to accomplish the task outlined in the Government Work Report.
Acknowledging that market operation has its own rules and should not be interfered with under normal circumstances, Wu told the press conference that the regulator "won't hesitate to act to correct extreme situations when the market seriously deviates from its fundamentals, irrational and violent fluctuations occur, liquidity is exhausted, market panic occurs and serious draining of confidence appears."
The first-time ever mentioning of enhancing the underlying stability of the capital market sends a strong signal of China's commitment to building itself into a financial powerhouse and sets the tone for the future development in related fields, delegates to the two sessions said.
Outside of the two sessions venue, Chinese scholars also shared their views on what Wu had said at the press conference.
Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the announcement made by CSRC chairman Wu, with an emphasis on both strength and toughness, laid out a clear-cut vision on improving the construction of fundamental institutions and better regulating the capital market, and is a "pragmatic approach in line with reality."
"The dual emphasis by the CSRC on strengthening regulation and bolstering investor protection are set to improve the stability and quality of the Chinese capital market," Dong noted.
Dong said that the emphasis on protecting small and medium-sized investors addresses the root of the problem facing China's capital market, as their ranks formed the ultimate source of long-term funding for the Chinese A-share market.
The stock market has drawn much attention during this year's two sessions, with members, legislators, and officials putting forward practical and broad-perspective suggestions and motions on stabilizing the capital market, Xi Junyang, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Wu's remarks at the press conference will be heard by both domestic and overseas investors, Xi Junyang noted. "And his remarks, including protecting investors' interests, lifting the quality of listed companies, and implementing a stricter delisting system, are conducive to boosting investor confidence and the overall investment value of China's capital market."
"We can expect proactive measures to be announced in these areas," Xi Junyang said.
The Government Work Report set priorities and the direction for this year's economic work, and also offers much-needed reassurance to the capital market, Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund Management Co, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"The stock market is a barometer of a country's economy," Yang said. "Stepped-up macro-policies and stable economic recovery will contribute to a rebound in the A-share market."
A note of reassurance
With the sound development of the capital market a matter of vital concern, delegates to the two sessions are also contributing their ideas, with some pointing out that the Government Work Report has brought "a certain sense of reassurance to the market."
"The Chinese equities market was on a turbulent ride at the beginning of 2024, so the statement in the Government Work Report gives investors a sense of encouragement as well as a certain sense of reassurance," Fang Jie, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of Hubei University of Economics, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
There is a lot of work to be done to improve the underlying stability of the capital market and ensure its sound development, and first and foremost is to continue shoring up the macroeconomy, which provides a foundation for market performance, noted Fang, who has also served as the deputy secretary general of Wuhan government in Central China's Hubei Province and the director of the Wuhan Financial Work Bureau.
Chinese financial authorities also need to further carry out sweeping market reforms, such as creating more innovative capital market products to help release market vigor, and improve the systemic design of the capital market through measures such as increasing the transparency of listed companies' information disclosure and carrying out holistic supervision over the A-share market, Fang said.
Yang Chengzhang, a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and chief economist with Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, told the Global Times on Wednesday that in order to ensure the stable development of the capital market, the government should also continuously put efforts and resources into stemming risks in the property sector, local debt and small and medium-sized financial institutions, as these three sectors are major sources of concern for capital market investors in 2023.
The Government Work Report's call to tackle risks in key areas and beef up security in key sectors will help ease excessive worries and curb the pessimistic outlook in the market, according to Yang Chengzhang.
In order to promote the sound development of the capital market and protect investors' rights and interests, the CSRC has held symposiums to solicit opinions and suggestions on improving the basic system of the capital market, strengthening the protection of the rule of law, and it has also paid visits to listed firms to help them address difficulties to achieve high-quality development.
Since Wu took office, the Chinese A-share market has recovered much of its losses from the recent cycle, finishing at 3,039.93 points at the Shanghai bourse and 9,395.65 points at the Shenzhen bourse on Wednesday.
Following robust travel and tourism activity during the eight-day Spring Festival holidays, the Chinese economy is off to a good start.
Preliminary economic indicators suggest that China is poised to achieve a good start in the first quarter, Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, said at the same press conference.
Zheng revealed that industrial power use grew at 9.7 percent in the January-February period, exports are likely to grow 10 percent year-on-year, indicating robustness in the economy.
Enterprises from the Taiwan region are optimistic about the economic development of the Chinese mainland and pledge to continue investing to better take advantage of the economic recovery in 2024, representatives of business and industry groups from the island told the Global Times on Monday.
The representatives also stressed their strong expectations for the mainland and the Taiwan region to continue to uphold the 1992 Consensus, opposing secessionism while maintaining peaceful and steady relations and cooperation across the Straits.
The remarks came on the sidelines of the annual two sessions, during which the Government Work Report will be released, outlining the development direction of the world's second-largest economy and setting economic and policy goals for 2024.
On this special occasion, businesses from the Taiwan region are embracing the mainland market, calling for peaceful and integrated development across the Straits with more interaction and cooperation.
The mainland's active efforts on promoting infrastructure development nationwide in recent years, with new roads being built and subway systems being launched, reflected the determination of the central and local governments in boosting the economy, Lai Cheng-i, chairman of the General Chamber of Commerce of the Taiwan island, told the Global Times on Monday.
Despite facing challenges such as China-US trade tensions, the lingering impact from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the mainland's economy still achieved a remarkable growth rate of 5.2 percent in 2023. This growth rate significantly surpassed that of other major economies worldwide including the US at 2.5 percent, the EU at 0.5 percent, the UK at 0.1 percent and Japan at 1.9 percent.
The mainland's GDP growth also far exceeded the 1.31 percent rate of the Taiwan region.
Business representatives of the Taiwan region said that this economic achievement is commendable and it reaffirms the nation's position as the primary engine driving global economic growth.
"Despite the tough international situation in 2023, the mainland's economic growth remained strong, backed up by the government's efforts and consumption recovery, and I am confident that this trend will continue in 2024," Lai said.
Local governments, including East China's Fujian Province, neighboring the Taiwan region, are constantly improving policies and measures to promote the integrated development of their regions and Taiwan, which have brought significant benefits to businesspeople from the island. It's also made more companies, including those headed by young entrepreneurs, more willing to develop and invest in the mainland, the chamber head said.
There are strong expectations for more trade to take place on both sides.
The first shipment of 23.96 tons of grouper fish from the island of Taiwan arrived in Xiamen, Fujian Province on January 11, marking the formal resumption of related trade after the mainland customs lifted the ban on imports in late December, according to media reports.
Lai expects that there will be more farm and fishery products exported to the mainland.
Moreover, there are expectations for more tourism activities to be promoted across the Straits.
Speaking about the new potential for cooperation, Teng Tai-Hsien, secretary-general of the Straits Economic & Cultural Interchange Association, gives the examples of the mainland's continuous adjustment of its economic structure in moving in the direction of low-carbon consumption, high automation and digitalization, and companies from the island love to take part in the industrial transformation.
Opportunities have emerged in the vast domestic market ranging from the healthcare industry, spurred by an aging population, to modern agriculture and education, Teng said, noting that "businesses of the island of Taiwan should seize the opportunity presented by the mainland's economic transformation and upgrading."
Businesses of the Taiwan island remain optimistic about investing in the mainland this year as the mainland's economy is expected to continue its steady growth trajectory.
In 2023, the Taiwan region approved 328 cases of direct investment in the mainland totaling $3.04 billion. Teng said that 71.23 percent of listed companies in Taiwan had invested in business operations in the mainland.
"After these enterprises generate profits in the mainland, they often intend to reinvest. I believe that the scope of investment will expand this year," Teng said.
The Taiwan secessionist Democratic Progressive Party continues to implement a decoupling policy targeting the mainland, including on the chip industry and people-to-people exchanges, which has affected normal economic interactions across the Straits. Regional business representatives have called for sustainable and stable cross-Straits relations.
This year, the annual two sessions are crucial for the development of cross-Straits relations, especially given the severe impact of "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces and external forces, business representatives told the Global Times.
It is hoped that the two sessions will continue to uphold peaceful and integrated development, promote more exchanges and cooperation across the Straits, and naturally bring the two sides closer together, Teng said.
Over the years, the mainland has offered many preferential policies to businesses from the Taiwan region. For example, the nation is making Fujian Province a demonstration zone for integrated development across the Taiwan Straits, a move that is highly attractive to the businesses from the island.
"It is hoped that more measures like this will be implemented, allowing businesses from the Taiwan region to thrive in the mainland while creating a closer cooperation space for cross-Straits economic and trade exchanges," Teng said.
Chinese officials have called on Chinese and US businesses to expand cooperation and help stabilize bilateral ties, as US companies continue to express great interest in the Chinese market; however, Chinese officials are also firmly countering Washington's slander and crackdowns against China.
This is the current dynamic between China and the US in terms of economic and trade ties, and it will remain the situation for the foreseeable future, as Washington has adopted a "two-faced" approach in both seeking to stabilize ties as well as cracking down on China in areas where the US is lagging behind, experts said on Sunday.
On Friday, when addressing the annual appreciation dinner of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) in Beijing, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng called for business circles of the two countries to consolidate the foundation of friendship and mutual trust and expand areas of cooperation, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.
Han said that the Chinese economy has strong resilience, potential and vast space, and new drivers and advantages are still growing, China will unswervingly expand opening-up at a high level, and it welcomes more US companies to invest and develop in China.
Such a welcoming attitude has also been echoed by many Chinese officials amid increasing interactions between officials and businesses of the two countries in recent months. In the latest positive engagement, senior Chinese officials met with a visiting US delegation led by Suzanne P. Clark, president and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce (USCC). During meetings, Chinese officials welcomed US businesses to invest and do business in China, while also firmly pushing back against "decoupling" and "small yard and high fence" approaches.
Many US business leaders have expressed opposition to economic decoupling. In a statement sent to the Global Times, the USCC said that in meetings with Chinese leaders during the trip, it "emphasized its longstanding support of mutually beneficial US-China commercial ties that do not compromise US national security interests" and "underscored that decoupling is not an option."
However, the USCC statement also contained claims that have been widely hyped by US officials and media outlets, including "heavy-handed commercial pressure tactics, digital protectionism and intellectual property theft."
The need for the US business community to strike a delicate balance between pursuing win-win cooperation and supporting the US government's efforts to protect "national security" underscored the chilling effect of Washington's efforts to contain China's rise, even though the US officially and publicly repeats pledges not to seek to decouple from or contain China, experts said.
"The 'two-faced' US approach when it comes to economic and trade ties with China has been very clear. It has always been seeking to cooperate in areas where it needs cooperation, while cracking down on China where it cannot compete," Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Such an approach has also been vividly displayed over the past few days. At the AmCham China dinner on Friday, US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said that "the [US] wants to keep trade going forward with China. We are not seeking to decouple these two major global economies."
However, almost at the same time as Burns uttered those words, the US government announced on Friday that it was opening an investigation into whether Chinese vehicle imports pose national security risks to the US, which could lead to restrictions or even bans on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), according to Reuters.
In what has been widely described on Chinese social media as absurd, clichéd "China threat" claims against Chinese EVs, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo even suggested that China could, "with the flip of a switch," make millions of cars "disabled."
"Forget about how few Chinese EVs are in the US… we didn't know until now how powerful Chinese EVs are," a Chinese auto industry analyst surnamed Zhang told the Global Times in a mocking tone.
"But think about it again, with so many Tesla cars in China, does it mean Washington can also realize this 'with the flip of a switch'?"
Chinese officials have harshly criticized unfounded US claims against Chinese EVs.
In responding to the planned US probe, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Friday that China's door has been open to global auto companies, including US auto companies, but by contrast, the US has engaged in trade protectionism and set up obstacles including discriminatory subsidy policies to obstruct access to the US market by China-made cars.
"Such acts of politicizing economic and trade issues will only hinder the development of the US auto industry itself," Mao said.
Gao said that China has been very clear and consistent about its approach toward the US, that it aims to boost mutually beneficial cooperation with the US, but will also counter crackdowns by the US whenever necessary.
"Even when we are fighting back against the US crackdown measures, our ultimate goal is to ensure win-win cooperation," Gao said.
The "price war" among automakers in China that started in early 2023 has shown no signs of abating. Particularly in the new-energy vehicle (NEV) sector, both traditional and emerging players keep cutting prices or launching limited-time promotions, tactics that analysts anticipate will persist throughout the year.
XPeng Motors, one of the smart EV startups, announced on Sunday that all models of its G6 series will be discounted by 20,000 yuan ($2,779) until March 31, with prices starting at 189,900 yuan after the discount.
Huawei-backed AITO on Saturday launched limited-time promotions for its M5 series. On Friday, nine carmakers, including Geely, SAIC Volkswagen, Rising Auto and Chery, announced price reductions or limited-time promotions.
Auto giant BYD fired the first shot in this round of the "price war" after the Spring Festival holidays, introducing new versions of two models that are 20,000 yuan cheaper than the previous versions. US-based Tesla followed suit by launching limited-time discounts of up to 34,600 yuan for buyers.
The recent "price war" in the passenger vehicle market is fundamentally driven by the replacement of old technologies with new ones, and the transition from traditional fuel vehicles to NEVs, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, told the Global Times on Sunday.
"As a new market order emerges, intense competition between old and new manufacturers ensues, and this process is expected to persist for several years until a new industry landscape takes shape," Cui said.
In the rapid growth expected in the coming years, 2024 is expected to be a pivotal year for NEV producers to establish a solid footing in the market, Cui said.
China's NEV industry started early and has developed rapidly. With more than 100 manufacturers in the market, the competition is fierce. Top players are leveraging "price wars" to squeeze out smaller firms with limited innovation and funding, Zhang Xiang, director of the Digital Automotive International Cooperation Research Center of the World Digital Economy Forum, told the Global Times on Sunday.
The "price war" will persist throughout the year, Zhang said, noting that 2024 will be very significant for the players as governments at all levels roll out policies to promote vehicle consumption.
During the tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference held in Beijing in December 2023, Chinese leaders stressed that consumption of products, including NEVs and electronic products, should be stimulated.
In January, domestic NEV sales reached 1.06 million, accounting for 66 percent of the global market share, data from the CPCA showed.
"Price competition in the electric vehicle sector reflects a fully competitive market, offering consumers better deals and serving as a key competitive advantage for China's electric vehicles in the global market," Cui said.
NEV exports also performed strongly in January, particularly in Southeast Asian and European markets, which reflected the strength of China's industry chain and produced growth in both the domestic market and exports, Cui noted.
In 2023, China's vehicle production reached 30.16 million, up 11.6 percent year-on-year, while sales hit 30.09 million, up 12 percent. Both output and sales set new records, ranking first in the world for 15 consecutive years, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed.
Back in 2004, archaeologists excavated two pits in northern China that looked a lot like homebrewing operations. Constructed between 3400 and 2900 B.C. by the Yangshao culture, each pit contained the remnants of a stove and assorted funnels, pots and amphorae.
Now, Jiajing Wang of Stanford University and colleagues report that the pottery shards contain residue and other evidence of starches, chemicals and plant minerals from specific fermented grains. The ancient beer recipe included broomcorn millet, barley, Job’s tears and tubers — that probably gave the beer a sweet flavor, the team writes May 23 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The findings predate the earliest evidence of barley in China by around 1,000 years. Beer may have been consumed at social gatherings, and brewing, not agriculture, spurred the introduction of barley to China, the researchers argue.
Climate commotion In “Changing Climate: 10 years after An Inconvenient Truth” (SN: 4/16/16, p. 22), Thomas Sumner reported on the progress scientists have made revising forecasts of the far-reaching effects of climate change — from extreme temperatures and sea level rise to severe drought and human conflict — in the decade since the Oscar-winning film’s release.
Reader response to the article was overwhelming, with hundreds of online comments. Some people enjoyed the in-depth look at climate change science, while others expressed skepticism about humans’ contribution to climate change and a general distrust of climate scientists.
“One of my goals for this article was to highlight that climate change research has itself changed over the last decade,” Sumner says. Scientists are still working to understand how the consequences of atmospheric warming will play out in the coming centuries. But one big message from the last decade of research is that the fundamentals have held up: Natural variability exists, says Sumner, but human activities are largely responsible for the current warming trend. “The question now is what impact will human contributions have down the line and what should we do to prevent and mitigate those effects,” he says. Plastic feast Sarah Schwartz wrote about the discovery of a microbe, Ideonella sakaiensis, that chows down on a hard-to-degrade polymer in “This microbe makes a meal of plastic” (SN: 4/16/16, p. 5). Online commenters were amazed by this new plastic-gobbling organism. “This is great news,” Dan said. “Our world would be doomed if there wasn’t a microbe able to do this.” Chuckawobbly wondered how long it takes I. sakaiensis to digest the plastic. And Jean Harlow was concerned about the potential by-products of worldwide plastic digestion. “The waste product would be a significant amount … of what?” she asked.
Researchers observed that I. sakaiensis almost completely degraded a thin film of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, after six weeks in a laboratory. But when extracted from the bacterium, the proteins used to break down plastic begin working in about 18 hours.
I. sakaiensisappears to break PET into smaller molecules, like amino acids and carbon dioxide, says coauthor Kenji Miyamoto of Keio University in Yokohama, Japan. But it would probably be hard for the microbe to break down plastic in the outdoors because of its specific growth requirements, he says. Miyamoto envisions that it could be possible to use the specialized proteins in a closed environment to break PET down into molecules such as terephthalic acid— one of the plastic’s main building blocks, which seems benign in the environment.
Prairie dog predators Herbivorous prairie dog mothers routinely kill baby ground squirrels that encroach on their territories, researchers found. Competition for resources may be a contributing factor to the killings, Susan Milius reported in “Killer prairie dogs make good moms” (SN: 4/16/16, p. 14).
One reader had other ideas. Audrey Boag wondered if prairie dog moms kill ground squirrels to protect their pups from predation or from diseases carried by the squirrels. “In either case, minimizing the number of ground squirrels would pay in lifetime biological fitness,” she wrote.
“We never observed a ground squirrel kill or injure an adult or juvenile prairie dog,” says study coauthor John Hoogland. “Perhaps such attacks sometimes occur underground.” Hoogland notes that the majority of ground squirrels killed by prairie dogs were juveniles, which are too small to be a threat.
One threat, however, is a species of disease-carrying flea that infests both animals. Hoogland found that prairie dog killers and their offspring had fewer fleas than nonkillers and their offspring, “but this trend was not significant,” he says.
