Foreign
Xiong’an emerges as high-level modern city

By Wan Xiubin, Zhang Zhifeng, Zhang Tengyang, People’s Daily
On April 1, 2017, the Chinese government decided to establish Xiong’an New Area in north China’s Hebei province. Over the past seven years, Xiong’an New Area has transformed from a blueprint to reality, seeing a total investment of over 670 billion yuan ($92.62 billion) in key projects, with more than 4,000 buildings constructed. A high-level modern city is taking shape.
Green development is the defining feature of Xiong’an New Area. In the start-up area stands the headquarters building of China Huaneng Group, one of the initial centrally-administered state-owned enterprises to be relocated from Beijing. Environmental protection is a key consideration in every aspect of the building’s construction and operation.
“We built a comprehensive energy system for the building, utilizing technologies such as ground source heat pumps to achieve clean and efficient heating and cooling. Photovoltaic modules are installed on the roof and facade of the building to provide green electricity,” said Liu Shaohua, head of the comprehensive department of China Huaneng Group’s Xiong’an branch.
This spring, high-quality green spaces and parks like the Yuerong Park have opened to the public for free, becoming a popular destination for citizens.
Prioritizing green development, Xiong’an New Area had planted a huge number of trees before the urban construction commenced. So far, a total of 478,000 mu (31,867 hectares) of forests have been planted, raising the forest coverage rate to 34.9 percent from 11 percent before the new area was constructed.
The Xiong’an sports center is the largest public sports facility in Xiong’an New Area, with the main stadium being the largest single building in terms of construction area.
“Unlike typical venues, the main stadium boasts a prefabricated steel construction for its upper portion. To ensure higher quality, the height of excess weld seam on the steel structure is controlled within 2 millimeters, twice as stringent as normal standards,” said Yao Wenbo, project manager of the Xiong’an sports center with Beijing Urban Construction Group Co., Ltd.
As a matter of fact, high standards and high quality permeate every aspect of the construction of public infrastructure, transportation, industrial parks, and residential areas in Xiong’an New Area.
Xiong’an advances high-quality development with innovative approaches. It follows a principle of building underground infrastructure prior to the aboveground construction, and plans and builds digital city and physical city in parallel. As a result, it has witnessed simultaneous development of underground infrastructure, aboveground buildings and cloud-based systems.
So far, Xiong’an has implemented 383 key projects with a total construction area of 43.7 million square meters, and has built approximately 97.3 kilometers of utility tunnels.
In the past seven years, around 120,000 residents have moved to newly built districts such as Rongdong, Rongxi, and Xiongdong.
As a new city with new communities, how is Xiong’an New Area modernizing urban governance?
Xiong’an New Area has established a “city brain” management system supported by the Xiong’an Urban Computing Center, an Internet of Things platform, a video surveillance network, an information modeling platform, and a block data platform. This system has made urban services and management more intelligent, human-centric, and targeted.
Both intelligent urban management and caring urban services are offered in Xiong’an. Wang Kun, deputy director of the Rongdong urban operations and management center, said after obtaining consent from senior residents living alone, the center monitors their water usage every morning and evening. Whenever there is no water usage detected, an alert will be triggered and sent to community workers to promptly check on the senior residents. Currently, over 200 senior residents living alone in Rongdong benefit from this smart service.
In newly built districts of Xiong’an, a 15-minute “living circle” has been thoughtfully designed, providing residents with easy access to community canteens, senior care facilities, health service centers, schools, supermarkets and other amenities, all aimed at improving their overall well-being.
As a major recipient of functions transferred from Beijing that are not essential to its role as China’s capital, Xiong’an New Area is gaining more carrying capacity and appeal.
China Telecom has transferred its entire digital city business to Xiong’an, where it established the China Telecom Digital City Technology Co., Ltd..
“Xiong’an New Area seeks to achieve high-quality development through effective measures in relieving Beijing of non-essential functions related to its status as the nation’s capital. Its development as an intelligent city has opened up ample opportunities for the application of new technologies,” said Hu Junjun, head of the R&D department of China Telecom Digital City Technology Co., Ltd.
The company has developed an intelligent transportation system and built 153 kilometers of regional-level digital roads in Rongdong to explore applications including autonomous driving, according to Hu.
The Xiong’an New Area Zhongguancun Science Park has been operating for seven months now and during this time, it has launched over 30 events and connected with more than 2,000 enterprises. Additionally, 70 innovative companies have moved into the science park.
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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