Foreign
China’s largest ultra-deep oil, gas field built in Tarim Basin

By Wu Yan, Lyu Li, People’s Daily
Located in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Tarim Basin is a major petroliferous basin in the country. The oil and gas resources at a depth of more than 6,000 meters underground in the basin account for 83.2 percent and 63.9 percent, respectively, of China’s total.
Currently, China’s exploration and development of the Tarim Basin has entered a comprehensive phase of ultra-deep drilling, and the largest ultra-deep oil and gas field in China has been built there.
In Xayar county, Aksu prefecture, a gigantic white-and-red derrick is standing in the desert, with the deafening sound of drilling rigs. This is the site of a drilling project of the Take-1 well by PetroChina, China’s leading oil and gas producer.
With a design depth of 11,100 meters, the exploration well will be the first in China with a depth of more than 10,000 meters.
In a prefab house beside the derrick, there is an intelligent control platform, which comes with a big screen that displays all types of construction parameters and real-time surveillance videos. It shows the progress of the drilling project.
So far, the well has been drilled to a depth of 5,856 meters, according to Wang Chunsheng, chief technical expert of the Tarim oilfield branch of PetroChina.
In the Tarim Basin, there are many other drilling projects probing deep into the Earth.
According to statistics, PetroChina’s Tarim oilfield is home to over 1,700 wells with a depth of more than 6,000 meters, which account for over 80 percent of China’s total. In particular, more than 100 of them have reached or exceeded the depth of 8,000 meters.
In general, a well between 4,500 and 6,000 meters deep is defined as a deep well, while those between 6,000 and 9,000 meters are super-deep wells. Those that are more than 9,000 meters are ultra-deep wells.
It is the overall improvement of industrial manufacturing capabilities that has enabled China to drill wells thousands of meters underground.
The completion of the 11,100-meter drilling project is estimated to take 457 days. So far, over half of the targeted depth has been completed in just dozens of days, but that is less than 10 percent of the total workload.
As the depth increases, the difficulty of drilling grows exponentially, explained Duan Yongxian, manager of the geological investigation division of PetroChina’s Tarim oilfield branch.
“The deeper you drill, the higher the pressure and the temperature it will be. At over 10,000 meters underground, we face challenges like ultra-high temperatures above 210 degrees Celsius and pressures above 130 MPa,” Duan noted.
Drilling rigs are the “heart” of ultra-deep drilling projects. A 72-meter-high rig is adopted for the project of the Take-1 well, as tall as a 24-storey building.
Independently developed by China, the rig is the first one in the world able to drill to a depth of 12,000 meters. Compared with regular rigs, it has improved its lifting capacity from around 300 or 400 tons to 900 tons, which means it can lift 150 adult elephants at once.
Besides, the rig is equipped with high-performance PDC drill bits and fluids that ensure work efficiency in extreme temperatures.
How are oil and gas discovered in the deep underground?
Some metal rods are equipped with downhole logging tools that can work at a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius and transmit real-time drilling data 8,000 meters below the surface to the ground control platform. They help the drill bits to find the right directions.
Ultra-deep drilling is the field with the most bottlenecks and challenges in oil and gas engineering, facing extreme temperatures, ultra-high pressures, and fragile strata. The complex underground rock combinations in the Tarim Basin make the drilling even more difficult.
The Tarim Basin ranks first globally in seven of the 13 globally recognized indicators for engineering difficulty, and it also ranks high in the remaining indicators, Wang said.
In recent years, relying on major scientific and technological projects, China has made multiple innovative achievements in geological theory and engineering technology, laying the foundation for exploring ultra-deep resources.
World-leading 3D seismic technology also allows researchers to clearly “see” the stratigraphic structure where the well is located, like a CT scan of the formation, making the intricate underground oil and gas veins even more distinct.
However, sometimes drilling is still like “opening blind boxes” despite the systematic scientific support, said Zhang Yu with Sinopec’s northwest oilfield branch.
According to Zhang, the exploration wells drilling for oil and gas can reach a success rate of more than 50 percent in China, much higher than the world average of 30 percent.
At the drilling site of PetroChina’s Take-1 well, numbered boxes containing rock cuttings were arranged in rows, with numbers denoting the depths the samples were extracted from.
In addition to finding oil and gas, the project is also tasked with scientific exploration. These ultra-deep wells are searching for the secrets deep in the Earth, unearthing mysteries of the planet’s interior and evolution, and providing data for further studies of geoscience.
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.
Foreign
Chinese democracy in action:a village bench meeting shapes national law

By Wei Zhezhe, Liu Botong, People’s Daily
In a modest corner of Jiangmen, south China’s Guangdong province, residents of Weidong village are experiencing firsthand a form of democracy that starts at the grassroots level and reverberates all the way to Beijing.
Wu Tengxin, a local villager who relies on a scooter for daily mobility after contracting polio, recalls a time when the village’s public spaces were ill-equipped for people with disabilities. Now, thanks to a simple suggestion made during a meeting, his everyday life has changed.
In November 2022, a team from a local legislative outreach office – a branch of China’sNational People’s Congress (NPC) – visited Weidong village and set up a “bench-style meeting.” Residents, including the elderly and those with disabilities, gathered to voice their concerns about inadequate accessibility.
Amid the conversation, Wu offered a straightforward proposal: “I hope rural accessible facilities can be improved to make mobility easier for people with disabilities and the elderly.” His words were relayed verbatim to lawmakers.
The response was swift. On June 28, 2023, at the third session of the 14th NPC Standing Committee, legislators passed a law on building a barrier-free living environment. The law stipulates that improvements”shall align with social and economic development levels, coordinate urban and rural progress, and gradually narrow the gap in infrastructure between urban and rural areas.”
Today, Wu observes that the village’s main roads and public squares have been upgraded with accessibility features that make getting around considerably easier.
This episode illustrates what Chinese officials call “whole-process people’s democracy” – a system where citizen input is woven into every stage of policy development.
Jilie Ziri, head of Abuluoha village in Butuo county, southwest China’s Sichuan province, remarked that for young generations in China, democracy has become a lived experience. “Villagers are the masters of village affairs,” he said, emphasizing how active villager participation has injected new vitality into local governance.
Experts point to consultative democracy as a cornerstone of this process. Tao Kaiyuan, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy and vice president of the Supreme People’s Court, underscores the important role of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, whose members hail from every stratum of society and bring a wealth of expertise and connections.
Their regular forums, field research, and public consultations have created robust channels for citizens to contribute ideas and forge consensus.”This approach gathers collective wisdom and transforms public voices into policy,” Tao said.
Another crucial manifestation is the effectiveness of China’s political party system. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, Chinese democratic parties actively fulfill their duties, offering recommendations that often translate into concrete policy decisions. This integrated approach demonstrates the unique strengths of China’s political system and the advantages of whole-process people’s democracy.
Tao emphasized that whole-process people’s democracyhas evolved into an efficient and dynamic democratic practice – one that not only reflects the essence of socialist democracy but also presents a pioneering model of political civilization, contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions to global governance and democratic development.
-
Foreign12 hours ago
Judge blocks Trump from deporting non-citizens using wartime law
-
News13 hours ago
Obasanjo bemoans selection process of traditional rulers in Nigeria
-
News12 hours ago
SERAP sues Akpabio over ‘failure to reverse unlawful suspension of Natasha Akpoti’
-
Metro12 hours ago
4 abducted victims rescued as police neutralise wanted kidnap kingpin
-
News13 hours ago
Market associations, women groups knock el-Rufai, rally support for Tinubu, Gov Sani