News on China's scientific and technological development.

On October 1, good news came from the construction site of the compact fusion energy experimental device (BEST) located in Hefei, Anhui Province. The first key component of the device's host, the Dewar base, was successfully installed.

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Top battery scientist Stefano Passerini relocates from Germany to China​

Italian researcher, a member of Germany’s National Academy of Sciences, will head a new institute at Nanjing Normal University​

sunnymaxi said:

Top battery scientist Stefano Passerini relocates from Germany to China​

Italian researcher, a member of Germany’s National Academy of Sciences, will head a new institute at Nanjing Normal University​

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Alibaba’s Qwen3-Omni tops Hugging Face AI ranking as Chinese open systems flourish​

Alibaba’s open-source models make up half of the top 10 spots on Hugging Face’s trending rankings
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Alibaba transfers AI scientist Steven Hoi to Tongyi Lab, boosting Qwen’s momentum​

At Tongyi Lab, Hoi is expected to help further develop Qwen, the world’s largest open-source AI ecosystem
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Songjiang, a major grain-producing area for Shanghai, is helping the city meet its goal of building 6,666 hectares (16,473 acres) of automated farms by the end of this year. He’s team has already exceeded expectations, developing nearly 133 hectares of automated farmland – mainly used to grow rice – ahead of schedule. “Young people today are better educated and enjoy a higher standard of living – they don’t want to farm like their parents or grandparents, with their faces in the dirt and backs under the sun,” said He, now in his early 30s. “So how do we get them into farming? Automated digital agriculture answers both who will farm the land and how.”

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One of China’s best-known economic hubs – manufacturing everything from C919 airliners to Tesla electric vehicles – Shanghai is less known for its production of rice, watermelons, peaches and vegetables. But even though its farmland is limited and its farming population is small, the sprawling city is consistently among the leading regions in China in grain yield per hectare. According to official data, Shanghai’s grain yield was around 7.54 tonnes per hectare last year, keeping it in second place nationally – just behind the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. From 2017 to 2022, it ranked first.

Shanghai’s success is based on its tech-driven, moderately scaled and quality-focused approach to urban farming, observers said. The model matters for China, home to 1.4 billion people and perennial food security concerns, and offers a template for raising farm efficiency nationwide, they said. An “automated farm” uses technologies including the Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence, 5G telecommunications and robotics to enable remote and fully automated operations with minimal human intervention.

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求，促进资源高效利用，提高资源保障水平。实施新一轮找矿突破战略行动，加强铜、铝、锂、镍、钴、锡等资源调查与勘探，科学有序投放矿业权。支持低品位、共伴生、难选冶资源绿色高效采选冶技术及装备攻关。强化废铜、废铝等废有色金属综合利用，以及废旧动力电池、废旧光伏组件等新兴固废综合利用。
在深化开放合作方面，《工作方案》要求，提高国际化发展水平。指导和帮助企业积极应对国外不合理贸易限制措施，引导高端新材料及制品等精深加工产品合规出口。加大阳极铜、氧化铝等初级产品进口。加快制定钨等再生金属进口标准，支持符合要求的再生资源进口。稳步推进境外有色金属项目建设，支持与周边国家合作建设有色金属境外经贸合作区，引导产品与成套装备、技术、标准、服务等协同走出去。

以今年价格飙涨的小金属钨为例，上海有色网分析师李加会接受上证报记者采访时表示，我国已有多年不曾进口废钨产品，《工作方案》有意推动钨废料的进口。虽然我国钨资源储量、产量均处全球第一，但同时也面临钨矿山品位下降，矿端供应紧张的局面。

上海钢联铁合金事业部钨业分析师施佳表示，现有矿山中，高品位黑钨矿近乎枯竭，白钨矿占比升至75%，但浮选成本高、回收率较低。此外，国内新矿山投产周期较长，朱溪、大湖塘等大型钨矿从建设到投产需5至10年，短期内难以贡献新增产量。再生钨产业方面，当前我国高端钨材中再生钨占比仅有15%，且回收成本比原生钨高20%，短期内难以大规模替代原生钨。

值得一提的是，钨被称为“工业牙齿”，在供应刚性逻辑演绎下，当前钨价高企，9月28日钨精矿、仲钨酸铵价格相较年初均上涨约九成。美国地质调查局今年1月发布的报告显示，2024年我国钨产量为6.7万吨，占全球总产量的82.7%。

李加会表示，增加再生钨废料进口，能一定程度上增加钨资源，推动产业链可持续化发展。

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Scrap Is the Western World’s Bloodline​

The scale of tungsten scrap supply is significant, with approximately one-third of global tungsten sourced from recycled materials. This situation is particularly critical given that China has halted new ore extraction while continuing to dominate the scrap market. As a result, recycled scrap has accounted for around 70% of the tungsten supply flow in the Western markets.

Quality and cost play a crucial role as well, since much of the scrap originates from high-grade carbide parts. This recycled tungsten is often more economical per unit of tungsten than mining new ore, making it a vital resource within the industry. Even analysts in China recognize the importance of recycled tungsten, underscoring its value as a major resource.

Furthermore, the dynamics of price arbitrage are set to emerge due to the current high prices of tungsten in China. If any channels for scrap imports to China reopen, it’s likely that Chinese processors will quickly capitalize on the opportunity, rapidly acquiring available scrap and leaving Western smelters at a disadvantage.

The wider implications of this trend have led Chinese economists to describe a "siphon effect," where scrap materials are drawn into China’s closed resource loop. They predict that if China liberalizes its scrap imports while maintaining stringent export restrictions, it could “completely lock out” international competitors, further solidifying its grip on the tungsten market.

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tphuang said:

Looks pretty clear from this recent announcement that China will expand its import of Tungsten and Copper scraps. China has had an import ban on Tungsten scraps for a while, but this was a problematic policy after it imposed export control on Tungsten.

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zbb said:

Why did China ban imports of Tungsten scraps?

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