In the vast desert 45 kilometers east of Cairo, a modern skyscraper is rising from the ground, which is an iconic landmark building in the central business district(CBD) of Egypt's New Administrative Capital (NAC) built with the assistance of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) Egypt. A Global Times reporter visited the new CBD and the tower, which is known as the "tallest building in Africa," and discovered how Chinese contractors helped Egypt build its new landmark building.
New landmark in desert

The tower sits at an imposing 385 meters high, 150 meters taller than The Leonardo in South Africa. A reporter from Al Akhbar in Egypt told the Global Times that "the tower is a symbol of the new Egypt… and it's all made possible by our Chinese brothers."

Chang Weicai, general manager of CSCEC Egypt, told the Global Times that the CBD project of Egypt's NAC, signed under the joint witness of the two heads of state on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt, is a model of economic and technological cooperation be-tween the two countries, which successfully synergizes Egypt's Vision 2030 and China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and will promote the rapid development of Egypt's economy and society."

According to Egyptian media, the country has set high expectations on the construction of the new capital to ease the population pressure on the capital - Cairo, im-prove transport, create jobs, attract foreign investment and enhance the image of the country.

Data shows that the CBD project of the new administrative capital covers a total area of about 600,000 square meters, with a total construction area of about 1.92 million square meters, including 10 high-grade office towers, five luxury residential towers and four large hotels. The main structure of the CBD project has been completed, and it has entered the stage of interior decoration and mechanical and electrical construction.

Green and advanced

The Global Times learnt that the Egyptian government initially considered cooperating with Arab companies with strong financial backing in view of the project's huge demand for funds. But in September 2015, the Egyptian side cancelled the cooperation, because "the project did not make any progress." At this time, Chinese companies entered the Egyptian government's consideration.

According to local media reports, during the construction of the building, the Chinese company has introduced many advanced concepts, such as the underground gar-age designed with electric vehicle charging piles, to create a truly "green intelligent building." According to the project's chief mechanical engineer, in the CBD project, the Chinese company has integrated the concept of sustainable development from the selection of materials to the use of new technologies, which has benefited the Egyptian side.

Based on the design, the roofs of buildings in the CBD of the new administrative capital will be covered with solar panels in order to gradually increase the propor-tion of clean energy applications. In the future, 60 percent of the energy used in the city will come from renewable sources such as solar energy, with sewage utilization rate expected to reach 100 percent.

At the same time, residents will have access to a certain amount of green space, with a landscaping project in the center of the city, which is expected to be twice the size of New York's Central Park.

The Global Times also learnt that the basalt geology of the new administrative capital area is the biggest challenge in construction. Chinese technicians adopted a com-posite steel construction method, and the "iconic tower" sits on a reinforced concrete raft foundation poured on the rocky surface.

"With a total of 4,600 tons of high-strength steel supporting the full weight of the 78-story building, the foundations of this new tower are rock-solid," Egyptian media glowingly reported.

Win-win cooperation

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi once said that the construction of the new administrative capital will be a new point of economic growth, creating a large number of jobs, and all-round lifting and boosting the development of the Egyptian economy.

According to Chang, CSCEC Egypt has always adhered to the strategy of localized development, pursuing mutual benefits and win-win cooperation with local companies in Egypt, and committed to deepening the traditional friendship between China and Egypt.

In terms of cooperation, CSCEC Egypt and the Egyptian government have jointly built a platform for joint discussion, joint construction and resource sharing. This project is led by CSCEC, with the participation of hundreds of local companies, including material suppliers, equipment suppliers and construction companies, which truly achieved the sharing of opportunities and win-win cooperation, Chang said.

According to Egyptian media, the CBD project constructed by CSCEC has made maximum use of local resources during the construction process, cooperated with more than 300 local enterprises, and directly or indirectly helped nearly 30,000 laborers to be employed. And the CSCEC has actively shared its mature technology, and drove the upgrading of the local industrial structure.

In January 2020, a "Luban Workshop" was established as part of the new CBD project. It is a public educational institution specialized in training Egyptian employees in construction skills.

Chang said that the inauguration of "Luban Workshop" marks a new chapter in the development of localization of CSCEC Egypt. "The workshop will help the development of Egypt's construction industry through the training of local staff and the better use of Chinese technology."

The "Luban Workshop" offers both practical training and theory, which can meet the needs of internship teaching, skills training and pre-employment training. The first training terms offer 12 courses in three major disciplines: civil construction, installation and decoration.

Egyptian media said the Chinese company has cultivated a large number of professional and technical talents for Egypt by not only "giving people fish" but also "teaching people to fish."

An Egyptian engineer told the Global Times that from his Chinese teachers, he learned many professional skills that he had never used in Egypt before, such as ultra-highrise pumped concrete, movable jib tower cranes, and steel structure welding.

The EU's anti-subsidy probe into Chinese new energy vehicles (NEV) is based on subjective assumptions, lacks sufficient evidence and goes against WTO rules, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Wednesday, responding to an EU decision to conduct the probe.

We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the EU decision, the MOFCOM said in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday.

China will closely follow Europe's investigative procedure and firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, the MOFCOM said.

The EU requires negotiation with the Chinese side under extremely short notice and failed to provide effective materials for negotiation, which has seriously infringed China's rights, according to the ministry.

The ministry noted that in the 10th China-EU High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue, held in late September, the Chinese side clearly stated that the EU's proposed probe is blatant protectionism and aimed at protecting the EU's industry under the guise of "fair trade," the moves of which will seriously disrupt and distort the global automotive industrial and supply chain, of which the EU has a part, and result in negative impacts on China-EU trade and economic ties.

China urged the EU to exert caution in applying trade remedy measures, considering the big picture of maintaining the stability of global industrial and supply chains and the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, the MOFCOM said.

"The EU should encourage deepened cooperation in the new energy industry which has NEVs as one of its spearheads, and create a fair, non-discriminatory and predictable market environment for the common development of the China-EU EV industry," the MOFCOM said.

In recent years, China's EV industry has seen rapid development thanks to its unremitting technological innovation and building up of a complete industrial and supply chain. And Chinese EVs have been favored by consumers including those in the EU.

According to auto consultancy Inovev, 8 percent of new EVs sold in Europe as of September this year were Chinese, up from 6 percent in 2022 and 4 percent in 2021.

In 2022, Chinese automakers exported 545,244 NEVs to Europe, accounting for 48.66 percent of all NEV exports, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed.

On Wednesday, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) expressed its strong opposition to the EU’s decision.

It is a clear fact that the Chinese EV market is a fiercely competitive market and not one supported and protected by subsidies, the industry association said, adding that the EU’s stubbornness in launching the probe regardless of the fact constitutes a blatant protectionist behavior and will definitely impede the global development of the EV industry and pose hazard to the global carbon neutralization process.

The Chinese and European automotive industries are partners, not rivals, and the development of the automotive industry needs fair competition, not protectionism, the CAAM said.

Taikonauts of the Shenzhou-14 manned spaceflight mission crew are conducting their third spacewalk operation on Thursday, which marked the first extravehicular activities (EVA) after the China Space Station completed its T-shape basic structure assembly on November 3.

As of 11:16 am, taikonauts have successfully opened the airlock and the Shenzhou-14 mission commander Chen Dong first came out of the cabin. Chen will be followed by his fellow crewmember Cai Xudong for the Thursday spacewalk. Liu Yang, the only female crewmember, will be supporting them on the inside, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

During the Thursday operation, which is the seventh at the China Space Station executed by taikonauts, spacewalking taikonauts are expected to carry out works including the installation of connecting devices to bridge space station modules to facilitate future spacewalk missions and the elevation of the panorama camera on the Wentian lab module. 

The Global Times learned from mission insiders that the Thursday spacewalk will also mark a first in the use of the combination of the large and small robotic arms to support taikonauts activities all over the mega space station combination.

Having been connected at the ends, the combination of the large and small robotic arms could provide a larger operation range for taikonauts that extends to 15 meters, meaning it will be able to cover almost every corner of the space station combination, according to mission insiders. 

The second space station lab module Mengtian conducted successful transposition in orbit at 9:32 am on November 3, marking the completion of the China Space Station's T-shape basic structure assembly and a key step forward toward the completion of the space station.

Four Yangtze finless porpoises were released into the Yangtze River on Tuesday after being cared for in the National Nature Reserve for Baiji Dolphins in Hubei Province, as part of relocation and protection efforts for the unique species, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

This action is of great significance in promoting the recovery of the natural population of this species and advancing the development of conservation technology, read the report.

The Yangtze finless porpoise is a first-class national protected wild animal in China. According to a scientific survey organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2022, the population of the porpoises has achieved a historic turnaround from overall population decline to growth, with a current population of 1,249, up from 1,012 in 2017.

Significant progress has been made in the translocation protection program for the Yangtze finless porpoise. The National Nature Reserve of Tian'e Zhou in Central China's Hubei Province, which is dedicated to the conservation of this species, has successfully bred and translocated over 100 Yangtze finless porpoises. 

The Yangtze finless porpoise is called the "smiling angel" in China because its mouth appears to be fixed in a permanent grin. After its better-known cousin, the Baiji dolphin, was declared "functionally extinct" in the same waters in 2007, experts believe the finless porpoise is the Yangtze's last surviving mammal.

The ongoing improvement of the ecological environment in the Yangtze River Basin and the rapid growth of the population of relocated Yangtze finless porpoises have provided favorable conditions and solid foundations for the release of these porpoises into the wild through relocation conservation efforts.

The four Yangtze finless porpoises released into the wild this time were all from the National Nature Reserve for Baiji Dolphins in Changjiang Swan Island in Hubei Province. Among them, two male Yangtze finless porpoises around five years old were released after undergoing two years of adaptation training, and they have adapted well to the natural water environment of the Yangtze River.

After the four were released into the Yangtze River, scientists will carry out three months of location tracking, continuous monitoring, and evaluation of their adaptation ability and health condition. If they do not adapt well to the wild environment, the relevant departments will take necessary protective measures in a timely manner.

Hao Yujiang, associate researcher at the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the release of the relocated finless porpoises into the Yangtze River will help to sustainably restore the natural population of the species and improve the genetic diversity of the population. 

Following the reintroduction and safety monitoring of the finless porpoises, technical specifications will be summarized and compiled to further promote the scientific, standardized, and normalized procedures for the finless porpoise reintroduction work, Hao noted.

China has successfully tested a parachute system during a recent launch of a Long March-3B carrier rocket, confirming an ability to narrow the landing area by 80 percent, making the landing more precise, the Global Times learned from the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) on Friday.

The test was conducted on May 17 when the rocket was successfully launched carrying the 56th satellite for China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.

After analysis of experimental data and debris at the site, the academy found that the parachute system can fly in accordance with arranged landing lines and precisely push the detached part of the rocket to the landing area. The system narrowed the landing area range by 80 percent, according to the academy.

The test laid the foundation for large-scale application of the system in future projects, the academy noted.

According to the academy, the parachute system was independently developed by CALT to improve the safety of the landing area of rocket debris at the inland launch site.

Encased atop one of the rocket's four boosters, the high-tech parachute system was activated after the booster separated from the rocket and fell back to a preset altitude in order to control the separated body's altitude and direction and guide it to the arranged landing area, the academy told the Global Times.

The precise controlling of the system was achieved after various rounds of optimization.

The main optimization was carried out in the electrical subsystem. Engineers integrated the design of the parachute system in the boosters with that of the rocket fairings, and also integrated the electrical equipment within the parachute system, achieving a weight reduction of 30 kilograms, according to CALT.

Chinese regulators have required apps and WeChat mini programs by domestic developers to register via the same system as domestic websites. Experts said the move will help optimize registration and management procedures and mechanisms for apps and mini programs while helping to better deal with the issues that have arisen with the expansion of the internet such as online fraud and pornographic content.

According to a notice released by WeChat on Wednesday, starting from September 1 mini programs on the platform have to register with the Internet Content Provider (ICP) system before they can become available on WeChat. The registration has to be completed in accordance with national regulations and rules such as the Law on Combating Telecom and Online Fraud, and Internet Information Service Management Measures, the notice said.

The move came one day after China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued a notice requiring all domestic app developers to complete registration procedures.

China started to require ICP registration in 2000. The mechanism has played an active role in promoting the development of the internet in China over the past two decades. Along with the rapid development of the internet, apps have become the main content carrier of internet service and should register with the same requirements as websites, including registering the developers' real name, network resources and services, according to the notice.

Along with the rapid development of the internet in China over the years, apps and mini programs became widely used. So it is necessary to standardize and optimize the registration and management mechanism for these products, Xie Yongjiang, executive director of the Internet Management and Legislation Research Center at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunication, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Xie highlighted some issues that have come along with the wide usage of apps and mini programs such as gambling, telecom fraud and pornographic content in education apps for children. Strict registration and review procedures will help to prevent such problems in the future, he said.

This optimized mechanism will also help deal with emerging problems such as private information leakage given the rapid development of big data and artificial intelligence technologies, the expert said.

Mini programs already on the platform also have to finish registration by the end of March 2024 or they will be shut down starting April 1, 2024.

According to the MIIT notice on Tuesday, app developers who started providing apps in the Chinese market before the notice was issued have to register with provincial-level communications administrations where the developer is based between September 2023 and March 2024. MIIT will carry out an inspection in April-June 2024 and developers who have not registered by that time will be dealt with according to the law, the notice said.

The notice stressed that app developers in the fields of journalism, publishing, education, film and television, and religion should also provide approval documentation from provincial-level communication administrations while registering their apps.

Along with EG.5, a sublineage of the Omicron variant, being classified as a "variant of interest" by the World Health Organization (WHO), the topic of a third COVID-19 wave has triggered discussions among Chinese netizens in recent days with many sharing their infection experiences. Experts noted that the COVID-19 situation in China is still stable and that there is no need to panic.

Some netizens on Monday who said on social media that they had been reinfected a third time noted that their symptoms were lighter than previous infections. However, some shared different experiences.

The current COVID-19 infections are more hidden, but generally still at a relatively stable level. There isn't an obvious seasonal pattern for COVID-19 transmission, but usually it will show a small infection peak every five to six months. Generally, "the infection peak is decreasing, with no impact on the country's overall prevention work," Lu Hongzhou, head of the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, told the Global Times on Monday.

Generally speaking, fewer people have been infected for a third or more time in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, according to Lu.

Peng Jie, director of the Difficult Infectious Disease Center at Nanfang Hospital in Guangzhou, also in Guangdong, said since the peak reinfection wave in May, some patients who thought they had ordinary fevers only found out they had COVID-19 after nucleic acid testing. Among them, only a few were infected for the third time, and their symptoms are relatively light, said Peng, according to a report issued on the Guangdong authorities' WeChat account on Saturday.

National fever outpatient treatment and the number of severe COVID-19 cases have shown a fluctuating downward trend, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC).

In July alone, the Chinese mainland reported 455 new serious cases of COVID-19, with 65 deaths. The patients had underlying health issues, and no one died of respiratory failure due to COVID-19, the China CDC said in its latest report issued on August 3. In June, the country reported 1,968 new serious cases, with 239 deaths, said the China CDC.

Based on the July data, the genome sequences of 9,591 local COVID-19 samples were all Omicron variant strains, covering 116 evolutionary branches, and the XBB variant strains were the main circulating ones, said the report released by the China CDC.

Due to the highly infectious nature of COVID-19 and the natural decrease in antibodies in individuals over time, basically most people can expect to be infected one to three times in a year. However, "for people with normal immune function, it will not have a significant impact on them," Lu explained. 

As long as the COVID-19 mutation doesn't completely break away from the Omicron subbranch, an individual will have a cross-immune memory, so when an individual encounters the EG.5 COVID-19 strain, it will respond fast and produce antibodies, according to Lu.

EG.5 was first reported in February, and designated as a variant under monitoring in July, according to a report released by the WHO on August 9. There has been a steady increase in the proportion of EG.5 reported globally. From July 17 to 23, the global prevalence of EG.5 was 17.4 percent, a notable rise from the data reported in the week from June 19 to 25, when the global prevalence of EG.5 was 7.6 percent, according to the WHO.

Lu suggested people with underlying health issues receive COVID-19 vaccinations regularly, including nasal spray vaccines or other multivalent vaccine strategies.

The Culture and Tourism Department of Northwest China's Qinghai Province issued an announcement on Monday, strictly prohibiting tourists from entering unmanned scenic areas for activities such as exploration and tourism, adding that the full cost of rescue operations will be borne entirely by the involved individuals and groups as the rescue work is extremely challenging, in the event of getting stranded.

With the increasing popularity and fervor of self-driving tours and adventure sports in recent years, a growing number of tourists and adventurers are opting to venture into uninhabited areas. Consequently, a series of incidents involving missing people and fatalities have unfolded in tandem.

Located within the heart of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Qinghai Province is situated in a cold and high-altitude region. In certain areas, communication signals can be weak or nonexistent. The region features numerous "dangerous zones" and "uninhabited areas," with complex terrain and environmental conditions.

The announcement issued by local authorities highlighted that individuals venturing into uninhabited, unreleased, and undeveloped scenic areas, whether on foot or by vehicle, will face unpredictable risks. Travelers might encounter life-threatening situations such as dehydration, oxygen deficiency, getting lost, vehicle breakdowns, and communication loss at any time.

The latest case is that one of the vehicles carrying four people on a driving holiday has gone missing while crossing the Xinjiang Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve without authorization, resulting in four deaths, according to media reports and local police from Ruoqiang County in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on July 28.

Following extensive search and rescue operations, the missing vehicle was located, with four individuals found dead. The rest of the convoy members have safely returned to Dunhuang in neighboring Gansu Province.

Industry experts said on Saturday that entering the Lop Nur in summer is very risky, as surface temperatures in the area would reach as high as 70 C. Vehicle breakdowns, communication malfunctions, and the lack of adequate logistical support can all lead to adventurers being unable to safely exit unpopulated areas.

The local government emphasized in the statement that tourists should further enhance their self-protection awareness. They should refrain from leaving designated roads and venturing deep into dangerous areas such as uninhabited, unopened, and undeveloped scenic spots for adventure, tourism, and crossings.

Furthermore, the statement particularly underscores that without proper authorization or reporting to relevant authorities, no individual or organization shall organize tourist groups under the pretext of exploration, crossing, or scientific research to venture deep into natural conservation areas. In the event of getting stranded, the full cost of rescue operations will be borne entirely by the involved individuals and groups.

Travelers should carefully assess their routes, and pay attention to weather forecasts, geological hazards, and traffic conditions while also maintaining ample reserves of supplies and ensuring vehicle maintenance, which is essential to ensure the safety of the journey, said the statement.

China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently released a notice announcing the third group of approved outbound group tours, with Japan being one of the most popular tourist destinations. However, following the commencement of Japan's dumping of nuclear-contaminated wastewater, cancellations of tours to the country have already begun, local media reported on Sunday.

According to one of China's largest online travel agencies Ctrip, the platform had launched more than 5,000 outbound group tour packages, flights and hotel bundles, covering more than one-third of the countries and regions across the third group of 78 approved countries, including the US, the UK, Japan and Turkey.

However, everything changed when Japan started to dump nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.

The First Financial Journal reported on Saturday that although Japanese tourism products are still being sold on online travel platforms, they are not being prominently displayed.

At the same time, tourism industry insiders have revealed that some travelers have already started to cancel their trips. Several travel agencies have reported similar situations. In view of the current escalation of the dumping plan, many tourism companies have stated that they will make adjustments in their upcoming marketing plans, especially in promoting travel packages for the upcoming National Day holidays. Many reportedly plan to temporarily reduce the promotion of Japanese tours or suspend related marketing plans for travel to Japan.

Currently, Ctrip's platform has more than 80,000 outbound group tours and flight and hotel packages available for purchase.

"My husband and I booked a tour group to Japan and submitted our visas last week, but after seeing the news of Japan's irresponsible dumping plan, we decided to cancel the trip and switch to another country," a newlywed couple who are picking out a place for their honeymoon told the Global Times on Sunday. 

"Japan is not an irreplaceable tourist destination and their irresponsible behavior is unacceptable to us."

Data from Ctrip shows that the booking volume for Japan group tours increased by nearly 90 percent in the previous week compared with the same period last month, while the booking volume for Japan group tour products departing during the National Day holidays has increased by over fivefold.

However, influenced by the side effect of Japan's forced dumping, travel platforms and agencies are promoting tourist attractions in other countries. For example, Lümama is currently promoting packages to Germany, the UK and other destinations in Northern Europe over those to Japan.

Although traveling to Japan has gotten a lot of attention since the list came into effect, it is actually not the No. I option, a marketing manager from China's CYTS Tours Holding Co, told the Global Times on Sunday.

 It is expected that Japan's forced dumping will have an impact on tourists' travel expectations. For the upcoming National Day holidays, Japan may not be as hot as previously expected, Xu said. At present, CYTS Tours still provides neutral guidance to guests who inquire about traveling to Japan. However, according to Xu, reminders and rescheduling will be offered to guests who are looking to eat seafood.

In the short term, it is expected that Japan's dumping plan will affect tourism to Japan and the export of Japanese brands, and may even affect cultural exchanges such as overseas studying in Japan. However, in the medium- and long-term, the state of communication and the policies of the bilateral governments are the main factors affecting people's mentality, Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Many Chinese netizens have said they would no longer patronize Japanese restaurants and Chinese consumers are increasingly resistant to buying Japanese products, including cosmetics, with many creating blacklists of more than 30 Japanese cosmetic brands and lists of alternatives, while some have even started to return purchased goods.

According to the latest statistics released on August 16, the number of foreign tourists to Japan in July exceeded 2 million for a second consecutive month, about 2,320,600, while the number of tourists in the month recovered to about 78 percent of the same period in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. Visitors from the Chinese mainland ranked fifth in the first half of the month with 594,600 visitors. Additionally, the Japanese government has set a new goal for the recovery of tourism, which is to achieve a new record number of visitors to Japan by 2025.

Observers believe that Japan was expected to benefit from a boost in tourism activity during the week-long Chinese National Day holidays. However, following safety concerns caused by Japan's dumping of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea, Chinese tourists' enthusiasm for traveling to Japan during the holidays has significantly decreased. If Chinese tourists "vote with their feet," the overall tourism economy in Japan may shrink for a considerable period of time due to a sustained decrease in the number of Chinese tourists.

The dumping of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan has raised concerns among Chinese citizens about the state of the marine environment. Chinese environmental authorities on Monday vowed to strengthen the monitoring of marine environmental pollution through multiple means, including conducting baseline surveys of marine pollution and utilizing satellites for monitoring.

China has launched its third marine pollution baseline survey, with the goal of completing a thorough investigation and assessment by 2025, said Wang Juying, the director of the National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, at the ministry's monthly press conference on Monday.

According to Wang, this survey follows the overall approach of "understanding the current situation, identifying problems, analyzing causes, and proposing countermeasures," and focuses on China's coastal waters and the country's 283 bays, with the aim of understanding the baseline levels of various pollutants in China's jurisdictional waters, the ecological conditions of various bays, and the impact of human activities. 

"The survey aims to comprehensively grasp the basic state and trends of the marine ecological environment," Wang said.

China previously conducted the first and second national marine pollution baseline surveys in 1976 and 1996, respectively.

Hu Songqin, deputy director of the Department of Marine Ecology and Environment of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, mentioned during the conference that the recent successful launch of a satellite to serve environmental protection and disaster management will significantly enhance data support and emergency response capabilities for sudden water environmental pollution events.

She stated that the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will actively collaborate with relevant research institutions and coastal regions, making effective use of data sources from monitoring systems. 

"These will provide crucial technical support for addressing sudden environmental events, pollution incidents, investigations of key risk sources, and enhancing marine ecological environmental governance capabilities," she noted.

In response to Japan dumping the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has stated the specific measures that China has taken in terms of marine radiation environment monitoring.

At present, the ministry is actively conducting marine radiation environment monitoring in areas under China's jurisdiction for the year 2023, guided by a focus on critical regions, comprehensive coverage of jurisdictional waters, and a thorough understanding of key pathways, according to the ministry.

The ministry also vowed that in the future it will continue to strengthen relevant monitoring efforts, closely track and assess the potential impact of of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant on China's marine environment, and effectively safeguard the national interests and public health.

In 2021 and 2022, the ministry organized marine radiation environment monitoring in areas under China's jurisdiction, which provided insight into the baseline condition of the marine radiation environment in these regions. The monitoring results indicated that there were no abnormal levels of artificial radioactive isotopes in the seawater and marine organisms in China's jurisdictional waters, and overall, the concentrations remained within the historical fluctuation range.