Foreign
Yancheng making “green generators” with “green electricity”

By Yao Xueqing, People’s Daily
As the sea breeze rushes toward a wind farm on the shores of the Yellow Sea, at a speed of 7.6 meters per second, the blades of towering wind turbines start spinning.
These turbines convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, and in an instant, the “green electricity” is transmitted through undersea cables to the land, where it is fed into the power grid.
Over 70 kilometers away from the wind farm, machines in a turbine general assembly factory are running tirelessly, powered by the “green electricity” from the sea. Nacelles and hubs are assembled here and then transported offshore to join with blades and towers to form gigantic “windmills.”
Yancheng, located on the coast of east China’s Jiangsu province, boasts the country’s largest offshore wind power industrial cluster and a huge capacity of offshore wind power. It has developed a comprehensive offshore wind power industrial chain that integrates research and design, equipment manufacturing, resource development, and operational services. It is using “green electricity” to produce “green generators.”
In a lab in the general assembly factory of Goldwind Science and Technology Co., Ltd. in Dafeng Economic Development Zone, Yancheng, a prototype of a 10 MW wind turbine was being tested, with real-time data flashing on a large screen.
“Research and design, as well as prototype testing, are the starting point for wind turbine manufacturing,” said Lu Jinhong, deputy director of the lab.
According to him, the company would first collaborate with suppliers to produce a prototype based on blueprints, and then send it to the laboratory and a test field for hundreds of integrated tests. After third-party certification, the prototype then enters mass production. The entire process takes about a year.
The general assembly factory of Goldwind Science and Technology Co., Ltd. primarily assembles the structural components of nacelles and hubs. As a facility that started with producing 2 MW offshore wind turbines, it is now able to manufacture turbines up to 11 MW, with an annual production capacity exceeding 1,200 units, 30 percent of which are exported.
Deputy general manager Ning Haifeng attributes the company’s growth to the efforts made by the local industry to strengthen and extend the industrial chain.
A wind turbine comprises a nacelle, a hub, blades, and a tower. It has thousands of components manufactured by over 300 first-tier suppliers.
Most of the large components can be sourced in Dafeng Economic Development Zone, while key parts are available from suppliers in Yancheng. About 95 percent of all components can be found in Jiangsu province, where a supply chain that enables delivery within three hours is developed.
In recent years, Yancheng has gathered 41 enterprises above the designated size, building the largest offshore wind power industrial cluster in the country, with the total production capacity accounting for approximately 40 percent of the national output.
Yancheng boasts a coastline of 582 kilometers, with an average annual wind speed of 7.6 meters per second at a height of 100 meters above the sea level, and annual full-load hours exceeding 3,000.
Since 2016, Yancheng has established 23 offshore wind farms, with a total installed capacity of over 5.54 million kW, accounting for 46.9 percent of Jiangsu province’s total and 14.9 percent of the national total.
In the city’s Binhai county, 75 virtual wind turbines were displayed on a large screen at the central control center of a smart wind farm. Real-time parameters, such as wind speed and rotation speed, would be revealed with just a click on any of these virtual turbines.
“To make the turbines turn, we first need to know where the wind is coming from,” said Yang Rong, deputy general manager of the Jiangsu Offshore Wind Power Company, State Power Investment Corporation.
Each turbine’s nacelle is equipped with a yaw system that can accurately predict wind direction and speed each hour, helping adjust the turbine’s orientation – similar to how sunflowers always face the sun – to maximize their exposure to the wind.
Yang told People’s Daily that the blades can rotate at a maximum speed of 12 revolutions per minute. It is seemingly slow, but given their length of about 100 meters, the tips can reach speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour. The blades drive the gearbox to rotate at 1,600 revolutions per minute, enabling the conversion of wind energy into electrical energy through electromagnetic induction in the machine.
In 2023, Yancheng’s offshore wind farms generated 14.807 billion kWh of “green electricity,” all of which was integrated into the power grid. Of this, 12.16 billion kWh was consumed locally, while the remainder was transmitted to other regions.
The three offshore wind farms in Binhai county have a total installed capacity of more than 1.1 million kW, generating 3.079 billion kWh of electricity annually, which accounts for 95.6 percent of the county’s total electricity consumption. In Dafeng, this figure stands at 70.24 percent. It means that most of the electricity used in the production of wind turbines by companies like Goldwind comes from the turbines themselves.
Today, it’s becoming a reality that wind turbines are generating electricity, and that same electricity is being used to produce more turbines.
Foreign
Trump begins mass layoffs at Voice of America

The Trump administration has initiated sweeping layoffs at Voice of America (VOA) and other U.S.-funded international broadcasters, effectively dismantling institutions long seen as critical for American influence abroad.
On Sunday, contractors working for VOA received an email notification that their employment would be terminated by the end of March. “You must cease all work immediately and are not permitted to access any agency buildings or systems,” the email read, according to multiple staff members who confirmed the development.
The move, which comes just a day after all employees were placed on administrative leave, disproportionately affects non-English-language services, where contractors make up a significant portion of the workforce. Many of these contractors are not U.S. citizens and may now face visa issues, further complicating their status in the country.
While most full-time staff remain employed for now, they have been told not to work, leaving VOA and its sister organizations in a state of uncertainty. Some services, unable to produce new programming, have resorted to playing music.
VOA, founded during World War II, has been a critical tool for U.S. public diplomacy, broadcasting in 49 languages to audiences in countries where press freedom is restricted. However, President Trump signed an executive order on Friday targeting its parent organization, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), as part of broader federal budget cuts.
The cuts extend beyond VOA, affecting other U.S.-funded media entities such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio Farda (which broadcasts in Persian to Iran), and Alhurra, an Arabic-language network launched after the 2003 Iraq invasion. The administration argues that taxpayers should not fund what it calls “radical propaganda,” despite VOA’s longstanding editorial independence.
Liam Scott, a VOA journalist covering press freedom and disinformation, expressed concern over the decision. “I’ve covered press freedom for a long time, and I’ve never seen something like what’s happened in the U.S. over the past couple of months,” he wrote on social media.
The move has drawn international attention, particularly from China and Russia, which have been expanding their own state-funded media efforts. The Chinese state-run *Global Times* reacted with an editorial declaring that “the monopoly of information held by traditional Western media is being shattered.”
Trump’s administration has pursued aggressive cuts across federal agencies, including eliminating most foreign aid and significantly reducing the Department of Education. With input from tech billionaire Elon Musk, Trump has focused on reducing government size to facilitate tax cuts.
As the global media landscape shifts, the dismantling of U.S.-funded broadcasters leaves a vacuum that could be filled by rival state-controlled networks. Whether Congress or legal challenges will intervene remains to be seen, but for now, the future of America’s international broadcasting efforts hangs in the balance.
Foreign
Judge blocks Trump from deporting non-citizens using wartime law

A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s attempt to deport migrants allegedly linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua under a wartime law.
US District Judge James Boasberg issued a restraining order preventing the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expel undocumented migrants accused of gang ties. The order initially protected five individuals challenging the deportation but was later expanded to all affected noncitizens in US custody.
Boasberg also directed that any planes carrying these migrants be returned to the United States. “Any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned,” he ruled. The restraining order will remain in effect for 14 days or until further court action.
The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act, citing Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization that has “unlawfully infiltrated the United States” and is engaging in hostile actions. However, civil rights groups, including the ACLU, argue that the gang’s activities do not meet the legal definition of an invasion.
The Justice Department has appealed the ruling, while the case continues in court.
Foreign
China’s new chapter in global innovation

By Gu Yekai, Liu Yiqing, People’s Daily
At a smart construction project site managed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation, a quiet technological revolution is underway. Amid cranes and concrete, engineers are deploying advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems that could fundamentally reshape the construction industry.
Li Fengjian, an AI specialistwith Xianyuan Technology, detailed how the company’s latest intelligent system – built on a large model – adapts to complex construction environments.”Engineering machinery equipped with intelligent agents can adjust its operations automatically in response to weather conditions,” Li explained, adding that a spatiotemporal sensing network further enhances the system, providing real-time tracking of both personnel and materials throughout the construction site.
In February this year, Xianyuan Technology rapidly integrated its self-developed model with DeepSeek-R1, effectively blending a general-purpose framework with industry-specific models. This integration, Li noted, has produced a solution capable of delivering expert-level performance in challenging, dynamic environments. The firm is based in the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center, aburgeoning AI incubator that now hosts over 200 innovative enterprises.
China’s technological transformation extends well beyond the construction sector. Overthe past three decades, the country has evolved from its initial forays into internet connectivity to becoming a key player in global digital innovation.
Here, a steady stream of technological innovations are emerging, from the early days of emails and web browsing to the cutting-edge technologies represented by DeepSeek and the dynamic evolution of social media.
Wu Jianping, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and headof the Zhongguancun Laboratory, pointed out that while China had introduced only one internet standard before 2005, it now contributes to over 200 worldwide. Such strides illustrate the country’s concerted push toward high-level technological self-reliance – a journey marked by both persistence and determination.
Beyond the digital realm, China is makingsignificant inroads in aerospace, new energy, and other high-tech sectors. It has transitioned from being a follower to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with global leaders, and in some areas, even taking the lead. Wu attributed these achievements to a dynamic ecosystem of policy reforms and talent cultivation that encourages creativity and technical expertise at every level.
Amid intensifying international competition, collaborative research and the integration of new technologies with traditional industries are central to China’s high-quality economic development.
Mei Linhai, a researcher at China’s State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Intelligence, remarked that the age of AI calls for continuous exploration. “In this era, everyone is an innovator. Only by persistently pushing the boundaries can we remain at the forefront of both technological and industrial development,” Mei observed.
In the field of general-purpose AI, Mei emphasized that independent innovation is paramount. He advocates for a self-driven industrial ecosystem that leveragesbreakthrough technologies to boost productivity and unlock new possibilities, Mei said.
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