China welcomes more US-funded enterprises, including GE HealthCare, to keep deepening mutually beneficial cooperation with China and share the opportunities brought by China's vast market and high-quality development, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said on Tuesday.

He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a meeting with Peter J. Arduini, president and CEO of GE HealthCare.

He noted that China's economy has made a good start this year, showing strong resilience and vitality.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), He said, China will unswervingly expand high-level opening up and keep building a first-class business environment.

Arduini said that GE HealthCare is fully confident in its long-term development in China, will continue to deepen its presence in the Chinese market, and is willing to contribute to promoting economic and trade cooperation between the United States and China.

A zoo in Central China's Henan Province has introduced hotel rooms featuring floor-to-ceiling windows that allow guests an up-close view of tigers, sparking public concerns over safety.
Located in Qinyang, Henan Province, the Hesheng Forest Zoo is offering 30 “tiger-view rooms,” with these rooms situated within the tiger observation area, Beijing News reported. In addition to the hotel accommodations, the observation area also contains the tigers' living quarters, which house Siberian tigers, Bengal golden tigers, and white tigers, according to the report.

Guests are able to view two to three tigers through the transparent glass windows from a single room, Beijing Daily reported, citing a staff member from the zoo.

Online booking platforms show that a tiger-view room is a twin-bedded standard room of 25 to 35 square meters, priced at 168 yuan ($24.65) and includes two tickets to the zoo.

This unique accommodation has drawn widespread attention from netizens. Some expressed curiosity and called on those who have stayed there to share their experience, while others raised concerns about the quality of lodging given the low price. 

Several people expressed concern over safety. The zoo addressed the concerns, stating that the viewing area and the tigers’ living quarters are separated by three layers of professional glass, ensuring complete safety, Beijing Daily reported.

According to the Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau of Qinyang, the “tiger-view rooms” have met safety standards and passed local inspection, based on information provided by the Xingwan town people's government, the responsible regulatory body, according to Beijing News.

The report also noted that the zoo is a privately operated facility. Corporate information platform Tianyancha shows that the zoo, founded in 2021, is an enterprise primarily engaged in the entertainment business.

Several netizens also raised concerns over whether the operation of the tiger-view rooms will affect the tigers’ daily lives.

Zhang Minghai, director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration Feline Research Center and Professor at the College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, was quoted by Beijing Daily as saying that whether tigers’ daily lives are disrupted mainly depends on whether their activity space is restricted and whether the materials of the barrier facilities could harm the animals.

“If both of these factors are acceptable and the associated facilities meet standards, these ‘tiger-view rooms’ will generally not cause additional adverse effects on the tigers,” Zhang added.

Zhang also said that the protection and utilization of wild animals are mutually reinforcing, with protection as the prerequisite for utilization. “It would be ideal if the revenue generated can be used to improve the tigers’ welfare and form a virtuous cycle,” he said, according to Beijing Daily.

America's ability to understand and manage its most consequential strategic relationship is eroding. Fewer than 2,000 Americans per year are currently estimated to be studying in China compared to 11,000 in 2019, according to a latest report released by the Washington-based non-profit US-China Education Trust (USCET).

If this pattern persists, the critical shortage will become a reality "as today's specialists with deep in-country experience retire without replacement," David M. Lampton, 80 years old, chair of the working group of the report and a renowned "China Hand" in the US, said in the foreword of the report.

At the launching ceremony of the report on March 20, Nicholas Burns, the US ambassador to China under President Joe Biden, said it would be "a national security imperative," referring to American students studying in China, according to The South China Morning Post.

Not only in the research sphere, in the politics circle, the US is also witnessing a downward trend in the number of officials with practical experiences in dealing with China. "US leaders need to see what's happening in China," read the title of an opinion article published by The New York Times on March 22.

If these trends continue, the US will get ill-informed and disoriented in formulating its China policy, putting the entire American China studies system - which the US itself built after World War II - at risk of generational collapse, warned Mei Yang, an expert in China-US defense and security affairs from The Institute for International Affairs, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen).

Declining China experts

China experts in the US refer to American specialists in overseas China studies with a focus primarily on political science, strategic studies and international relations, and are mainly devoted to research on contemporary and practical issues concerning China, according to Mei.

Among them, some actively participated in the two sides' exchanges and exerted influence in the US' China policies, for example, Henry Kissinger, the eminent US diplomat and strategist who played a pivotal role in shaping China-US relations as he spearheaded the historic normalization process. This group is also dubbed China Hands.
Veteran China Hands like Kissinger usually maintained close connections with various sectors of Chinese society, possessed a solid command of Chinese and conducted regular field research in China. This allowed them to develop a relatively profound understanding of Chinese culture and realities. Even when they held personal differing views, these were rooted in on-the-ground observations of China, with Robert D. Barnett, an affiliate of the Lau China Institute at King's College of London, being one such example, Mei explained.

Other renowned American China Hands include Kenneth Lieberthal, Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan, and Thomas Christensen, Director of the China and the World Program at Columbia University.

Many veteran China Hands began studying China in the 1960s and 1970s. They saw their research coincide with the gradual normalization of China US relations, as well as China's shift from isolation to reform and opening up and from underdevelopment to progress. Thus, they generally held optimistic and favorable views toward China, Da Wei, director of Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times.

However, the group of veteran China Hands is facing a risk of a generational gap with no adequate successors to take over. "If we take 1975 as the dividing line, or classify middle-aged and young experts from senior ones by the age of 50, the US has already encountered a serious generational gap among veteran China Hands. Scholars under 50 are few while most scholars over 50 are generally over 70 and facing retirement," Mei told the Global Times.

In 2015, China Foreign Affairs University released a list of influential China Hands in the US, based on their impact on US policy-making, academic influence and social influence. Lampton topped the list, followed by David Shambaugh, the founding Director of the China Policy Program in the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, and Avery Goldstein, the Inaugural Director of the Center for the Study of Contemporary China at the University of Pennsylvania. The Global Times found that all 10 candidates on the list were born no later than 1975, and eight of them were aged over 70 as of 2026.

The youngest among the top 10 was M. Taylor Fravel, director of MIT Security Studies Program who focuses on international security, China, and East Asia, according to an introduction of him on MIT website. He was reportedly born in 1971.

Beyond general gap risk, veteran China Hands in the US have increasingly returned to academic research at universities, with their students similarly gravitating toward higher education. Consequently, the discourse power over China policy has gradually shifted to think tanks. A growing divide has thus emerged in US' China studies between the university-based "academic camp" and the think tank-led "policy camp," with policy-oriented research from think tanks increasingly gaining the upper hand, Mei said.
According to Mei, the younger generation China experts also present a notable shift in research interest toward military and security issues.

This not only underscores the growing adversarial dynamics in future China-US relations, but also suggests that the new generation of China Hands who will shape the bilateral relationship over an extended period may adopt a more objective, and even detached, attitude toward China. They treat China as a country for calm, dispassionate analysis, rather than a field for in-depth exploration of its historical and cultural connotations, infused with personal sentiment and academic idealism. Against this backdrop, many China Hands are no longer broadly knowledgeable about China; instead, they focus narrowly on specific issues concerning the country, he analyzed.

In this point, Michael S. Chase, former US deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, whose expertise lies in China's maritime security and military modernization, serves as a typical example.

"While well researched on military reforms and naval capabilities, Chase shows little interest in other dimensions of China. This shows a sharp contrast to his mentor Lampton, who grasps China holistically and practices empathetic understanding. Chase maintains an objective and distant stance," Mei said.

Chilling effect

Apart from the internal elements, the toxic political environment and intensified policies play a more vital role in the declining of America's China experts. "Undoubtedly, a 'chilling effect' has emerged in the US regarding engagement with China. China-US people-to-people and cultural exchanges have been significantly 'securitized,'" Zhao Minghao, an expert at the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University, told the Global Times.

According to the USCET report, in the US, federal funding for China-focused study has declined sharply, and many longstanding exchange programs have been suspended. Heightened US university research security rules and new state-level restrictions on university engagement with China have further reduced opportunities for academic travel.

Since the US adopted the "great-power competition" strategy toward China in 2017, the US government has imposed a host of restrictive measures on people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, particularly educational interaction. During that period, the US Department of Justice launched the "China Initiative," and agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation targeted Chinese American scientists with ties to China, Zhao said.

During the Biden administration, while Washington formally scrapped the China Initiative in name, it has continued to restrict China-related cooperation at US universities and research institutions. Under this circumstance, many US colleges and universities have suspended partnerships with Chinese institutions, even explicitly restricting faculty and staff travel to China, and warning American students that visiting or studying in China carries security risks such as "wrongful detention," according to Zhao.
Li Cheng, a Chinese American political science expert and a China Hand listed on the abovementioned list, returned to China in 2023 after living in the US for nearly 40 years. He is now a professor of political science and founding director of the Centre on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong.

In an interview with the Lianhe Zaobao in July 2023, Li said that life in the US has grown more uncomfortable for Chinese Americans. He said that he is increasingly asked to clarify which side he represents during public speeches. "When I say 'we,' people ask: Who exactly do you mean by 'we'?" Li was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The "decoupling" from China pushed by the US government in recent years has effectively weakened Americans' access to professional knowledge about China in the name of national security. Any American scholar whose research agenda involves China may face investigations by the federal government, or be denounced by the US officials on social media for assisting China's development. This has further reduced the number of young people coming to China to study the Chinese language and culture, Mei said.

As the USCET report noted, today, American students and scholars are deterred from studying in China because of a widespread perception that such experience will prevent them from obtaining a security clearance for a US government job in the future.

Mei deemed the Trump administration's two terms in office were eight years that witnessed the declining of America's China Hands. He noted that some hardline China experts, such as Miles Yu and Michael Pillsbury (who emphasized the "China threat" rhetoric, claiming that China seeks expansion and to surpass the US), were hired during the Trump administration's first term. However, now, in its second term, even hardline China experts have been excluded from the government's decision-making circle.

Exchanges needed

In the eyes of Da, China is developing and updating its concepts at a rapid pace, yet the current generation of American China Hands lacks on-the-ground experience and is unable to develop a nuanced and accurate understanding of the country.

Universities and institutes in the US have been aware of this crisis and are making sincere efforts to restore bilateral exchanges, including the National Committee on US-China Relations, the Asia Society, and the Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins University. Former US Ambassador to China Max Baucus, a native of Montana, has in recent years personally led student delegations from the state on visits to China on multiple occasions, Zhao noted.

The launch of the initiative to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs over a five-year period has also helped to boost educational and cultural exchanges between the two countries. As of January 2026, over 40,000 US youth have actively participated in the initiative, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Da called for more favorable policies to make it easier for American students to study and work in China. "Over time, these students will grow into a new generation of China Hands."

This year is a vital year for the China-US relationship with a series of planned interactions between the two sides. We also hope that renewed engagement in the field of education between the two sides will achieve fresh progress as this represents a major and positive development serving the long-term interests of both countries, Zhao said.

China's position is very clear - there are no winners in tariff wars, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday, when asked to comment on remarks by US President Donald Trump on Truth Social that "a Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately."

On April 7, the foothills of the Dabie Mountains in southern Henan were shrouded in mist and covered with fresh greenery, ushering in the prime season for picking and processing Xinyang Maojian — one of China's Top Ten Famous Teas. Stretching across Hanchong in Shangcheng county, Xinyang city, the 10,000-mu tea plantations present a delightful scene of fragrant spring tea, attracting visitors to taste its flavor.

Xinyang Maojian is famous for plump buds, prominent white pekoe, and fresh, crisp taste. The picking windows for pre-Qingming Festival tea and pre-Grain Rain tea are short but the tea is of premium quality. Fresh tea leaves must go through fixation, strip shaping, baking and other processes on the same day to lock in the unique chestnut aroma and fresh, mellow taste of Maojian. With modern tea processing equipment, stable power supply has become critical to ensure stable output and improved quality of spring tea.

As spring tea processing enters its peak period, fixation machines, strip shaping machines and dryers in tea factories run continuously, leading to a rise in electricity load in tea-growing areas. To guarantee uninterrupted spring tea production, State Grid Shangcheng County Power Supply Company acted in strict accordance with the three-year drive to address the root causes of workplace accidents and ensure production safety, and carried out special power inspections for tea plantations and tea enterprises in advance. It conducted thorough checks on power lines, transformers and processing equipment to eliminate potential electrical hazards in a timely manner. Meanwhile, convenient online service channels were launched to provide all-day power support and rapid response, offering reliable electricity support for tea farmers and enterprises to facilitate efficient processing and on-schedule marketing of spring tea.

At present, hundreds of thousands of mu of tea plantations in Shangcheng county are fully harvested. The tea industry has boosted income for tens of thousands of farming households and become a pillar industry for local rural revitalization. Stable and sufficient power supply has accelerated the production of Xinyang Maojian spring tea, enabling the green leaves from southern Henan to spread their fragrance far and wide, benefiting tea farmers in the spring.

At the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Vietnamese President To Lam will pay a state visit to China from April 14 to 17, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

The announcement was made by Hu Zhaoming, spokesperson for the International Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Vietnamese local media outlet VietNamNet highlighted on Thursday that this marks the first overseas trip by To Lam in his capacity as head of state since being elected President at the first session of the 16th National Assembly, Vietnam's top legislature, on Tuesday.

Chinese observers noted that the official announcement of the visit, which comes shortly after To Lam assumed the office of president, underscores the strong emphasis both sides place on bilateral ties.

This visit not only consolidates the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future, but also facilitates cooperation and exchanges across various fields, advancing alignment between the two sides in their respective modernization drives, observers added.

Deeply valued

Nhan Dan Newspaper of Vietnam reported on Thursday that To Lam's wife and a high-level Vietnamese delegation will accompany him on the visit to China.

A Reuters report described To Lam's visit as taking place "as ties between the two nations continue to warm."

Gu Xiaosong, dean of the ASEAN Research Institute at Hainan Tropical Ocean University, told the Global Times on Thursday that the visit underscored the distinctive strategic standing between China and Vietnam as socialist neighbors - with China being regarded as the primary partner in ensuring a stable external environment and advancing Vietnam's own development.

Echoing Gu, Ding Duo, a deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Law and Policy at China's National Institute for South China Sea Studies, also said that amid the current global geopolitical tensions, this upcoming visit sends a signal that Vietnam's new leadership is unwilling to be swayed by external interference and remains resolutely committed to safeguarding the high-level bilateral relations.

Since the beginning of this year, the two countries have maintained close exchanges across various fields.

From January 29 to 30, Liu Haixing, special envoy of General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping, visited Vietnam, Xinhua reported. Several days later, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Le Hoai Trung, special envoy of General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee To Lam, in Beijing on February 3, per Xinhua.

On March 16, the first ministerial meeting of the China-Vietnam "3+3" strategic dialogue on diplomacy, defense and public security was held in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on March 16. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong and Minister of National Defense Dong Jun chaired the meeting, together with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, Defense Minister Phan Van Giang and Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang.

Both sides agreed the successful conclusion of the event signifies that China-Vietnam strategic communication and coordination have established a new platform, advanced to a new stage, and been elevated to a new level, according to a release from Chinese Foreign Ministry on March 17.

Ding said To Lam's upcoming visit also clearly conveys the continuity of Vietnam's policy toward China, prioritizing ties with China in the country's diplomacy.

Analysts say a steady stream of exchanges over the past four months, capped by the upcoming visit, underscores both sides' resolve to deepen a China-Vietnam community with a shared future. They expect the high-level trip to unlock further tangible gains in bilateral cooperation.

Practical outcomes expected

Given the substantial similarities in the political systems of the two countries, the visit is expected not only to consolidate bilateral relations but also to enable Vietnam to draw on China's experience in economic development, energy, infrastructure construction and other sectors, Chinese observers noted.

This visit is expected to yield a series of practical outcomes, potentially cooperation in fields such as railways, energy, economy and trade, as well as Science and technology, they said.

Vietnam Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan noted that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has significantly disrupted global oil and gas supply chains, with impacts surpassing previous oil shocks in scale and intensity, VNExpress news reported on April 4.

Ding said as a major country in terms of technology and resources, China could provide power grid interconnection, investment in clean energy projects, as well as technical support for LNG and renewable energy. This can help Vietnam ease supply pressures, stabilize regional supply chains, and prevent disruptions to global manufacturing caused by energy shortages, he added.

BBC reported that a test to To Lam will be whether he can meet the ambitious growth targets he has set his government, at a time when the global economic outlook is so unsettled.

Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam He Wei said that in 2025, the bilateral trade volume between China and Vietnam historically surpassed the $290 billion mark, with China continuing to be Vietnam's largest export market for agricultural and aquatic products, chinanews.com reported on February 12.

Vietnamese fruits and vegetables earned $5.5 billion in foreign exchange from exports to China, greatly contributing to local farmers' income growth and prosperity, He added.

In the first two months of 2026, China was Vietnam's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade turnover reaching $66.7 billion, an increase of 30.2 percent, according to information released on the official website of the Government of Vietnam on Thursday.

Vietnam's exports amounted to $17.4 billion, up 32.5 percent, while its imports reached $49.3 billion, up 29.4 percent, according to the government.

Vietnam's economic development is currently constrained by inadequate infrastructure, an area where China is well positioned to offer substantial support, Gu noted.

Vietnam and China have signed a technical cooperation agreement on planning two standard-gauge railways - Hanoi-Dong Dang and Hai Phong-Ha Long-Mong Cai - marking progress in bilateral railway connectivity, VietNamNet reported on March 25.

Ding said the alignment of railway systems via standard gauge can enhance cross-border logistics efficiency, and when coupled with cooperation on infrastructure such as 5G, it can drive the integration of digital economies, collectively transforming the "hard connectivity" between the two countries into a growth pole for shared development.

Chinese analysts said the two parties, CPC and CPV, are also expected to deepen exchanges on governance through party-to-party channels, sharing experience on reform and development, and anti-corruption efforts. At the same time, broader ties—in areas such as youth engagement, local cooperation, tourism, and cultural exchange—are set to expand, reinforcing the foundation of the bilateral relationship.

Against this backdrop, analysts said closer coordination between China and Vietnam as neighboring socialist countries could help inject greater certainty and stability into regional industrial and supply chains. Such cooperation is also expected to bolster opposition to unilateral pressure and lend momentum to multilateral approaches.

Seventy-five days after having returned to the ground, the Shenzhou-14 crew members met the press on Friday and were in good spirits. They were also in good physical and mental shape, said health experts at the press conference, noting that they have now moved into the recovery observation stage and will be able to return to normal soon.

The recovery of normal body function for the taikonauts after they returned from space consists of three stages - quarantine, convalescence and observation - according to health experts speaking at the press conference on Friday.

The Shenzhou-14 crew has completed the first two stages, showing a stable emotional status and good mental condition, and their body weight has stabilized at pre-flight level. The muscle strength, endurance and cardiorespiratory reserves have been further restored, achieving the expected results.

They have now moved into the third stage of recovery observation. After an overall evaluation, the three taikonauts will be able to return to normal training and work.

After concluding their six-month stay at the China Space Station and completing the first direct handover in orbit in the country's history, Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, the three taikonauts of the Shenzhou-14 safely returned to Earth on December 4, 2022.

It marked the first return mission after the completion of the China Space Station's T-shape basic structure.

Twenty-one people have died and another six are missing as of Sunday evening after heavy rainfall hit Xi’an, Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, and caused mountain floods and mudslides on Friday evening. 

Due to the impact of short-duration heavy rain, mountain floods and mudslides struck a village in Chang’an district in Xi’an around 6 pm on Friday. The disaster has damaged two houses occupying a total area of 300 square meters, destroyed three sections and slightly damaged 21 sections on the National Highway 210, damaged three electric power supply infrastructures and left 900 households out of power, according to Xi’an Bureau of Emergency Management. 

Xi’an city immediately set up an on-site command center, organized a total of 14 rescue teams including firefighting and police departments with more than 980 personnel, and deployed over 1,100 units of equipment and tools including life detectors, satellite phones, excavators, and search and rescue dogs, working around the clock to carry out search and rescue as well as disaster relief operations.

As of Sunday evening, 186 residents have been relocated and resettled, three severely damaged sections of the National Highway 210 have been restored, 21 slightly damaged road sections are under reinforcement, communication services have been restored in 49 affected areas, and power supply has been restored to 855 households.

The city is making every effort to seize the critical period for rescue operations, continuing to search for missing individuals restlessly, as well as remove risks to prevent the occurrence of secondary disasters.  

Preliminary investigations showed that two houses in the village were washed away, a with nearby roads, bridges, power supplies and other infrastructures damaged, leaving local residents partially cut off with the outside world. 

Local media reported that as of Sunday Morning, four people had been confirmed dead, while 14 others remain missing. 

The Xi'an detachment of the armed police force in Shaanxi deployed more than 100 personnel to the impacted area. Preliminary search and rescue operations remain underway. 

As of Sunday morning, rescue forces have transferred 81 residents and 11 vehicles to safe locations, and are assisting with the search and recovery of four deceased villagers, with emergency workers scanning an area 65 kilometers in length along a nearby river.  

According to a local villager surnamed Li (pseudonym), flooding and mudslides began following one or two hours of heavy rain on Friday afternoon. Two dwellings swept away by flood waters operated agritourism business, but there was yet to be confirmation whether guests were inside during flooding. 

Local fire department, police and emergency management authorities are working to coordinate rescue efforts. 

Upon receiving the report, China's Ministry of Emergency Management has dispatched a working group to the disaster site to assist with rescue and response efforts and have also mobilized a local fire and rescue team consisting of 207 personnel to carry out rescue operations.

Many localities have issued policies to encourage state-owned enterprises to play an exemplary role in stabilizing employment and expand recruitment of college graduates, with some provinces and cities requiring no less than half of the hiring quota at state-owned enterprises be dedicated to college graduates.

The office of the Guangdong Provincial People's Government recently published a notice on optimizing and adjusting stable employment policies and measures to promote development and benefit people's livelihood. Showing clear support for state-owned enterprises expanding the scale of recruitment, the notice pointed out that the number of new college graduates recruited by state-owned enterprises in the province this year should be no lower than that of 2022.

Additionally, East China's Anhui Province also issued a notice requiring state-owned enterprises to recruit at least 50 percent of fresh graduates to ensure that the number of college graduates accepted by state-owned enterprises remains stable.

Besides this, the provinces of Hunan, Gansu and Jiangxi have made similar notices. Among them, Central China's Hunan Province requires that provincial state-owned enterprises accept more than 4,700 graduates, while Northwest China's Gansu requires provincial state-owned enterprises to recruit more than 5,000 college graduates in 2023. Meanwhile, provincial state-owned enterprises funded and supervised by the Jiangxi government are set to recruit no less than 5,000 college graduates this year.

The number of college graduates is expected to reach 11.58 million before the end of 2023, an increase of 820,000, according to estimates by China's Ministry of Education. 

South China's Hainan Province proposed in July that state-owned enterprises should play a role in attracting young employees and ensure that no less than 1,000 college graduates are recruited by the end of 2023, while East China's Fujian Province is requiring the implementation of a one-time increase at state-owned enterprises to ensure that the number of college graduates recruited exceeds that of 2022.

An employee at PetroChina's Beijing branch surnamed Li told the Global Times on Sunday that more than 80 percent of new hires at the branch office in 2023 have been graduates. Moreover, a staff member surnamed Zhao with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's research and development center in Beijing told the Global Times that the recruitment rate of graduates at the company in 2023 reached 90 percent.

The demand for state-owned enterprises to expand the scale of recruitment is in response to graduate demand and aims to alleviate the current problem of comparatively low youth employment, Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute in Beijing, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

According to Xinhua News Agency, as of August 11, the number of college graduates recruited by central enterprises and state-owned enterprises under the national asset supervision system has exceeded the same period in 2022. With the summer recruitment of state-owned enterprises gradually underway, it is expected that the recruitment volume will continue to increase in the future.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council has also made arrangements for the recruitment of college graduates by state-owned enterprises in 2024 at a meeting held in July.

The meeting required central enterprises and local state-owned enterprises to strive to complete the recruitment plan for the 2024 college graduates by the end of August, and gradually provide a batch of high-quality positions in September and October, in order to identify a group of high-quality target candidates as early as possible.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, as of August 11, the number of college graduates recruited by state-owned enterprises under the national asset supervision system has exceeded the same period in 2022. With the summer recruitment of state-owned enterprises gradually underway, it is expected that recruitment volume will continue to increase in the future.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council has made arrangements for the recruitment of college graduates by state-owned enterprises in 2024 at a meeting held in July.

The meeting required central and local state-owned enterprises to strive to complete recruitment plans for the 2024 college graduates by the end of August, and gradually provide a batch of high-quality positions in September and October, in order to identify a group of high-quality target candidates as early as possible.

A fossil from a new species of dinosaur is helping to bridge a crucial 20-million-year gap in tyrannosaur evolution.

The key fossil is a 90-million-year-old, grapefruit-sized partial skull from Uzbekistan’s Bissekty Formation. This tyrannosaur braincase, the first well-preserved one found from the mid-Cretaceous period, shows that, although still small, tyrannosaurs of the time already had brain and ear features of later tyrannosaurs. Researchers have dubbed the in-betweener Timurlengia euotica, meaning “well-eared.” They describe the new species in a paper to appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The braincase sheds light on a long-standing mystery: how tyrannosaurs evolved in the gap from 100 million to 80 million years ago from an “average Joe” horse-sized predator in the Early Cretaceous to the huge apex predators they became in the Late Cretaceous. “Our study is the first to show that the sophisticated brain and hearing of big tyrannosaurs evolved in smaller-bodied species, long before tyrannosaurs got giant,” says study coauthor Stephen Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh. These advantages, he adds, may have helped tyrannosaurs become such successful — and eventually enormous — predators.
Analyzed against a database of other tyrannosaur skulls, the braincase shows that Timurlengia’s brain and ear “are almost identical to T. rex, just smaller,” Brusatte says. In particular, the dinosaur’s long cochlea, a part of the inner ear, is a signature of bigger, badder Late Cretaceous tyrannosaurs. “The long cochlea would have meant better sensitivity to low-frequency sound,” Brusatte explains. That sensitivity would have enabled Timurlengia to detect very subtle or distant sounds, giving the dinosaur clear advantages over other predators.

“Timurlengia fills an important gap in both time and evolution,” says Lawrence Witmer, a paleontologist at Ohio University in Athens who was not involved in the study. “Charles Darwin couldn’t have scripted it any better.”

The next step is to determine if the braincase is typical of a mid-Cretaceous tyrannosaur, or just one oddball data point. “We’ve analyzed the heck out of each scrap of Bissekty tyrannosaur bone,” Brusatte says, “so the thing that could move us forward is the discovery of new specimens in other middle Cretaceous rock units in other parts of the world.”