分类： science

For years, Chinese researchers have watched a growing share of their precious public research funding flow not into lab experiments, equipment or fieldwork, but into the pocket of international academic publishers in the form of soaring article processing charges (APCs) for open-access publications. Now, the country is rolling out a sweeping set of reforms to its scientific research evaluation and funding systems, designed to redirect that money back to actual experimental work and boost the overall quality of Chinese scientific output.

The shift comes as the global academic publishing industry has undergone a major structural transformation over the past two decades. Traditionally, publishing operated under a subscription model, where institutions and readers paid to access published research, and authors bore no cost to submit or publish their work. The move to open access was intended to tear down paywalls, making cutting-edge scientific research freely available to scholars, clinicians and the public worldwide to speed up knowledge dissemination. But under the dominant open-access model today, the costs of publishing are shifted entirely to authors, and APCs have climbed steadily year after year, putting an unsustainable strain on research budgets.

Data from the National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) underscores the scale of the financial drain. In 2024 alone, the average APC for a single article published in an international open-access journal exceeded $3,000. Chinese scholars contributed nearly one-third of all open-access articles published globally that year, totaling 313,500 papers, and collectively spent more than $909 million on APCs — a 20% year-over-year jump in total spending.

Many researchers argue that this situation amounts to Chinese public research funding effectively subsidizing large international publishing groups, and the systemic impact goes far beyond drained budgets. High APCs entrench existing academic hierarchies, they say, widening gaps in academic discourse power along financial lines: well-funded labs can afford to publish dozens of papers a year, while early-career researchers and teams working at smaller institutions are locked out of high-profile publishing opportunities simply because they cannot cover the fees. Even for established teams, the rising costs eat directly into resources for core research.

A graduate student at CAS’s Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology told China Central Television that when APCs eat up a large chunk of a research project’s total budget, there is no way to avoid cuts to the experimental work that is the core of scientific progress.

Prominent CAS academician Yan Ning has been one of the most vocal critics of the current system. Late last year, she took to Chinese social platform Weibo to point out that while the open-access model was founded on good intentions, APCs have grown to excessive levels. Her lab has stopped paying publication fees for journals that charge exorbitant APCs, she said, instead sharing new work as freely available preprints and only publishing in formal journals if fee waivers are granted.

“It feels like researchers are being exploited, making us suffer. Why should the funding we apply for be taken by middlemen?” Yan told CCTV, noting that most major publishing groups are publicly traded companies driven first by commercial profit. She called for efforts to restore a healthy, equitable publishing ecosystem that serves the global academic community, rather than shareholder interests.

To break the current deadlock, China is pursuing two interconnected tracks of reform: curbing unreasonable spending on international journal fees, and building up a robust, high-quality ecosystem of domestic open-access academic journals that serve researchers worldwide. One notable new entry is *Vita*, a new open-access journal focused on life sciences and biomedicine, which will launch its print edition in June 2026. The journal’s main content is freely accessible to researchers globally, and the first paper published online in *Vita* comes from Yan Ning’s own research team.

In a landmark policy shift that drew global academic attention, CAS stopped covering APCs for 30 major international open-access journals — including high-profile titles such as *Nature Communications*, *Cell Reports* and *Science Advances* — using academic funds and central government allocations starting in March 2026, according to the journal *Science*. The policy also prohibits reimbursement for APCs for any articles published in journals suspected of academic misconduct, with the dual goals of strengthening oversight of academic publishing and bringing charges down to reasonable levels.

Additional national policies have been introduced to encourage researchers to prioritize high-quality work over publication in high-fee international journals, and to support the growth of domestic academic publishing. Revised guidelines for national science and technology awards, issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology, call for a gradual increase in the weight given to major research publications published in domestic Chinese journals. The National Natural Science Foundation of China has introduced a new requirement for all projects funded starting in 2025: at least 20% of a project’s representative research papers must be published in domestic journals to meet funding requirements.

At the institutional level, many leading Chinese universities are revising their faculty evaluation and recruitment criteria to move away from an overreliance on publication metrics like impact factor and total paper count, creating a more flexible, supportive environment for long-term original research. Tsinghua University now asks faculty to submit up to five works that best represent their actual academic standing — which can include papers, monographs or patents — rather than rewarding quantity or impact factor rankings. Fudan University has launched a special pilot zone for basic research, providing long-term support for original work for up to 10 years with minimal disruptive interim evaluations.

Zhao Dongyuan, a CAS academician and dean of Fudan University’s Xianghui Academy, emphasized the transformative impact of these new evaluation models in an interview with CCTV. “Over a 10-year period, instead of formal high-stakes evaluations, we organize regular salons and academic activities where researchers present their ongoing work. These presentations allow us to observe the progress of their research firsthand,” Zhao explained. “By fostering such a supportive research environment, we enable them to pursue ambitious work and achieve significant breakthroughs that would not be possible under a pressure-driven, metric-heavy evaluation system.”

The long-standing strategic competition between China and the United States has expanded beyond high-profile domains like artificial intelligence and space exploration into a new frontier: fusion energy, a game-changing power source widely hailed as a near-limitless, zero-carbon solution to the global climate crisis. Both nations are racing to scale domestic fusion capabilities and lock in resilient supply chains to support future commercial reactor deployment, and both have turned to Europe for its irreplaceable expertise in core fusion technologies ranging from superconducting magnets and high-power lasers to advanced robotics and tokamak design—expertise that is critical to moving fusion from small-scale laboratory research to full-grid commercial operation.

Tokamaks, the most widely tested magnetic confinement fusion design, are doughnut-shaped chambers that use intense magnetic fields to contain superheated plasma heated to hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius, the core condition required to sustain a fusion reaction. But as Washington and Beijing both court European partnership, the global fusion community remains deeply divided over how Europe should navigate the growing US-China rivalry in this sector. Some experts urge European stakeholders to align exclusively with the United States, arguing that denying China access to advanced fusion technology is critical to preventing Beijing from gaining an edge that could reshape the existing global geopolitical order. Others counter that the extraordinary technical complexity of commercial fusion development demands broad, inclusive international collaboration—including active participation from China.

One of the most prominent voices calling for open international partnership is Laban Coblentz, chief strategic advisor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the world’s largest multinational fusion megaproject hosted in southern France. In an interview with Asia Times in London, Coblentz pointed to China’s track record of large-scale nuclear infrastructure delivery to illustrate the benefits of integrating global supply chains: China completed construction of its 1,000-megawatt Hualong-1 third-generation fission reactor in just five years for $5 billion, a timeline and cost that outpaces most comparable projects in the United States and Europe. What many observers miss, he noted, is that 140 French firms are embedded in the Hualong-1 supply chain, a clear example of how cross-border collaboration drives efficient, affordable progress.

Coblentz also voiced hope that upcoming talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, scheduled for mid-May in China, will break down existing trade and technology barriers and shift the relationship from pure competition to complementary collaboration. His remarks referenced ongoing contract negotiation challenges between ITER and American firms, where trade barriers have created unnecessary delays and added costs. During a speech at the Fusion Industry event organized by Economist Impact on April 14, Coblentz shared a surprising anecdote about US Senator Joe Manchin, a prominent critic of Chinese technology policy who has publicly accused Chinese scientists of intellectual property theft from US research labs. After touring the ITER assembly hall in 2022, Manchin told a gathering of 30 US ITER staff that he saw, for the first time in years, a “light at the end of the tunnel” for global energy security, and even a path to long-term world peace. Manchin noted that many historical conflicts have been rooted in competition over energy access, and observed that the ITER site brings together scientists and engineers speaking Mandarin, French, Italian, English, Russian and dozens of other languages—proof that if fusion succeeds, it could fundamentally rewrite the rules of global geopolitics.

ITER, the foundational global fusion project, traces its origins back to 1986, when Euratom, Japan, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed to co-design a large-scale international fusion test facility. Concept development began in 1988, with the final design approved in 2001, laying the groundwork for one of the most ambitious international scientific collaborations in modern history. Construction launched in 2013 with an initial budget of 6 billion euros ($6.8 billion), but costs have ballooned far beyond initial projections: ITER’s official 2021 estimate put total costs at roughly 22 billion euros, while the US Department of Energy projects total costs could reach $65 billion by 2039, the current target date for full fusion operations. The European Union covers 45.6% of ITER’s total costs, with China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States each contributing approximately 9.1%.

Despite the long history of multinational collaboration on ITER, a growing cohort of US experts are warning that the West risks falling behind China’s rapid fusion expansion, pointing to China’s close diplomatic and trade ties with US adversaries including Russia, Iran and North Korea. Ylli Bajraktari, president and CEO of the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), a non-partisan US think tank, used an address at the same Fusion Fest event to warn that the West is at risk of repeating the same mistakes it made in other emerging clean energy sectors, where China now holds dominant global market share.

“China didn’t create the original scientific breakthroughs for electric vehicles, solar panels or 5G infrastructure, but they prioritized government subsidies and scaled manufacturing capacity rapidly, and that strategy paid off massively,” Bajraktari argued. “China didn’t scale solar manufacturing just to hit net-zero emissions targets; they sold panels at below production cost to lock in global economic dependence. The same scenario will play out in fusion if the US and EU don’t move quickly and coordinate closely.”

Bajraktari noted that since the Lawrence Livermore National Ignition Facility achieved the first net energy gain from fusion three years ago, China has invested $6.5 billion in new fusion infrastructure—with independent analysts putting the actual figure as high as $10 to $13 billion, a level of spending that outpaces current US investment. He outlined four major public projects that form the backbone of China’s national fusion strategy: the Chinese Fusion Engineering Testing Reactor (CRAFT) and Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST) in Hefei, Anhui, an integrated research campus designed to move from component testing to grid-connected net fusion power demonstration by the end of this decade; the Xinghuo fission-fusion hybrid reactor in Nanchang, Jiangxi, which targets 100 megawatts of output by the early 2030s; the Shengguang-IV laser fusion facility in Mianyang, Sichuan, a large inertial confinement fusion facility estimated to be far larger than the US National Ignition Facility; and the long-running Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Hefei, which has repeatedly set global records for plasma confinement and serves as the anchor of China’s domestic fusion research program.

Beyond large-scale test facilities, Bajraktari emphasized that China is also investing heavily across the entire fusion supply chain: scaling domestic production of high-temperature superconductors for fusion magnets, tightening export controls on critical raw materials including gallium and germanium, securing long-term access to copper and other key resources through overseas investment, and expanding domestic capacity in precision manufacturing and advanced components. “Control of the fusion supply chain is an existential threat to the West’s long-term energy future,” he said. “We can’t outcompete China by copying their state-driven model. For the West to succeed, we need to collaborate across our allied bloc.” Bajraktari outlined a proposed allied division of labor that leverages each partner’s existing strengths: the United Kingdom leads in magnetic confinement and radiation-resistant robotics, the US in inertial confinement, beryllium supply and venture-backed private innovation, Germany in laser technology, and Japan in high-performance superconductors. “It’s time to stop treating fusion like a distant academic science project,” he said. “It’s no longer a curiosity. We need to take it as seriously as China does—this is critical national infrastructure that we have to build.”

Global fusion development currently follows two primary technical pathways: magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) and inertial confinement fusion (ICF). MCF is the more mature approach, which includes tokamak and stellarator designs: tokamaks use magnetic fields in a doughnut-shaped chamber to contain and heat plasma, while stellarators use complex twisted coils to achieve more stable long-term plasma confinement. ICF, by contrast, uses high-energy lasers or particle beams to rapidly compress and heat fusion fuel pellets to trigger the reaction, a pathway pursued most prominently at the US National Ignition Facility.

China’s state-led fusion program pursues a diversified portfolio across both pathways, with active projects in tokamaks, stellarators and inertial confinement systems. Its EAST project, often nicknamed the “artificial sun,” made global headlines in January 2025 when it sustained plasma at 100 million degrees Celsius for 1,066 seconds, a new world record for fusion plasma confinement. The EAST program aligns closely with research at France’s WEST tokamak, which tests tungsten plasma-facing components and steady-state plasma conditions to support ITER development. As a core ITER member, China has not only absorbed European tokamak technology through the project but has also emerged as a key supplier of large-scale critical components: in April 2025, China shipped key oversize components for ITER’s tokamak magnet feeder system to the project site in southern France.

In contrast to China’s state-driven model, the US Department of Energy supports a market-driven approach that prioritizes funding for private fusion firms. Current US funding supports projects including Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ tokamak development, Type One Energy Group’s stellarator program, and Xcimer Energy’s laser-based inertial confinement fusion work. Jennifer Arrigo, senior adviser for fusion energy sciences at the US Department of Energy, acknowledged that China is a major global fusion player but emphasized that the West’s core advantage lies in dynamic public-private collaboration. “China is one of the big players in this space, but if you look at the innovation ecosystem across the US and Europe, the partnership between private industry and government is just as powerful,” Arrigo said. “It’s critical that we support our domestic industry and lead on inclusive international collaboration with our allies. That’s how we win the fusion race—by keeping it a global endeavor with the US at the center of that effort.”

In comments to Asia Times, Arrigo added that a core goal of the US Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap, launched in October 2025, is to build out a diversified domestic and allied supply chain. The Department of Energy is currently working with fusion-related private firms, supporting university spinouts and expanding domestic industrial capacity, with the explicit goal of reducing reliance on Chinese parts, components and services and securing alternative supply sources across the US and its allied partners.

Last month, Duan Xuru, chief scientist for fusion energy at China National Nuclear Corporation, noted that global commercial fusion development is accelerating faster than many forecasts predicted. Following China’s phased, risk-mitigation strategy, the country aims to complete its first full-scale engineering test reactor by around 2035 and a full commercial demonstration reactor by approximately 2045, putting it on track to be one of the first nations to deploy grid-connected commercial fusion power.

A research team based at Jiangxi Agricultural University has marked a notable breakthrough in ornamental rapeseed cultivation, adding five brand-new flower colors to push the total number of available distinct hues to 80. This innovation is designed to reinvigorate rural rapeseed-focused agritourism and drive more integrated, sustainable development across China’s rural regions.

Leading the project is Fu Donghui, a researcher from the university’s School of Agricultural Sciences. He explained that prior to this year’s development, the team had successfully cultivated 75 unique rapeseed colors by 2025. The five new additions expand the visual range of ornamental rapeseed varieties, opening up new possibilities for scenic agricultural attractions.

For decades, vast rapeseed fields across China have drawn millions of spring tourists every year, drawn by their iconic vivid golden yellow blooms. These seasonal floral displays have grown into one of the most popular rural tourism draws, supporting countless local small businesses from accommodation to catering. However, the universal single yellow color has long created unaddressed challenges for the tourism sector. Fu notes that the lack of visual variation can quickly lead to aesthetic fatigue for repeat visitors, shortening the seasonal tourism window and limiting long-term industry growth.

To solve this problem, Fu’s team spent years refining targeted breeding techniques. Working with pollen samples provided by a research collaborator in Shifang, Sichuan Province, the scientists used a combination of crossbreeding, backcrossing and self-pollination methods to rearrange and recombine flower color genes from a wide range of existing rapeseed materials. After years of deliberate, selective breeding, the team successfully stabilized five completely new, distinct color combinations that can be reliably reproduced for commercial planting.

The breakthrough is expected to extend the appeal of rapeseed tourism, creating more visually diverse scenic attractions that can draw visitors for longer seasons. Beyond tourism, the development of multi-colored ornamental rapeseed varieties also creates new income streams for rural farmers, supporting broader rural revitalization efforts across China by linking agricultural production with leisure tourism.

As Vietnam prepares to debut its first domestic carbon trading exchange, a new collaborative academic work has emerged to unpack and compare carbon market frameworks in both China and Vietnam, offering targeted insights to support the Southeast Asian nation’s emerging climate market buildout. Titled *China-Vietnam Carbon Market*, the new book is the product of a cross-border research partnership between Vietnamese scholar Duong Thi Thanh — a long-time specialist in forest carbon sinks — and her doctoral advisor, Professor Zhang Ying from Beijing Forestry University (BFU). More than just an academic analysis, the publication stands as a tangible example of joint Sino-Vietnamese collaboration between research institutions and industry stakeholders, designed to deliver evidence-based academic backing for cross-border climate governance under the Belt and Road Initiative. Long before she enrolled in the doctoral program at BFU’s School of Economics and Management, Duong identified a critical gap in existing research: Vietnam’s forest carbon sink market had remained largely unexamined and understudied by the academic community. With a national forest coverage rate of 42 percent, spanning 14.7 million hectares of forest land that sequester an estimated 69.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, Vietnam holds enormous untapped potential in forest-based carbon mitigation. “This vast green asset gives Vietnam a strong foundation to develop a thriving forest carbon sink market,” Duong explained. She emphasized that establishing a standardized, scientific carbon accounting methodology is an essential first step to attract greater private and public investment into forest conservation and sustainable forest management. Through her doctoral research at BFU, Duong found that China’s decades-long journey building forestry carbon sink markets — from launching early regional pilot projects to rolling out a unified national carbon market — has generated a wealth of actionable expertise. Lessons from China’s work on carbon credit development, trading rule design, and market regulation carry direct, practical reference value for Vietnam, which is currently navigating the early stages of constructing its own national carbon market. The collaborative study not only addresses a key knowledge gap in regional climate governance research but also strengthens academic and environmental ties between the two neighboring countries, laying groundwork for future cross-border carbon cooperation under the BRI.

The 5th International Conference on Regenerative Medicine for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has concluded its 2026 iteration, co-hosted across Macao and the neighboring Guangdong province’s Hengqin New Area by the University of Macau (UM), the institution confirmed in an official media briefing this Monday, April 21. Drawing close to 400 attendees spanning the global scientific and healthcare community, the gathering brought together top-tier academic researchers, practicing clinical specialists, biotech industry leaders, early-career scientists and graduate students from dozens of countries to exchange cutting-edge insights in the fast-growing field.

Centered around the core theme “Decoding Pluripotency and Reshaping Therapy,” this year’s conference centered its discussions and collaborative workshops on three key focus areas: advances in pluripotent stem cell research, breakthrough innovations in regenerative medicine, and the growing importance of cross-sector interdisciplinary collaboration to move the field forward. Unlike many single-venue academic events, the dual-site format across Macao and Hengqin was designed to reflect the integrated development agenda of the Greater Bay Area, facilitating cross-jurisdictional exchange of knowledge, talent and innovative resources.

In his opening remarks at the event, UM Vice-Rector Ge Wei emphasized that the annual conference has evolved into a foundational regional platform for driving research progress and innovation in regenerative medicine across the Greater Bay Area. He noted that the successful organization of the cross-border conference serves as a tangible example of how the Greater Bay Area is advancing deep integration, enabling the free dynamic flow of talented researchers, groundbreaking ideas, and innovative development resources across its constituent regions.

Xu Renhe, Associate Dean of UM’s Faculty of Health Sciences and co-chair of the 2026 conference, highlighted the event’s unique strategic focus: closing the long-standing gap between foundational laboratory research and real-world clinical use. By creating dedicated spaces for conversation between basic scientists and clinical practitioners, the conference aims to speed up the translation of promising early-stage research outcomes into life-changing clinical therapies and accessible medical applications that can benefit patients globally.

On Saturday, a landmark international agricultural research collaboration took a major step forward in Chongqing’s Beibei District, as China inaugurated two joint citrus research laboratories alongside partners from Brazil and Montenegro. The new facilities were launched as part of a broader global push to strengthen cross-border cooperation in the citrus sector, addressing shared threats that hamper production worldwide.

The opening ceremony unfolded during a two-day international symposium focused on citrus pest and disease management, which gathered leading experts from six nations: China, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Italy, and Montenegro. Beyond the unveiling of the labs, the symposium brought together global stakeholders to advance collaborative research on emergent pest and disease outbreaks, refine evidence-based control measures, and drive sustainable, high-quality growth of the global citrus industry.

Officially named the China-Brazil Joint Laboratory for the Prevention and Control of Major Citrus Diseases and Pests, and the China-Montenegro Joint Laboratory for Sustainable Control of Crop Pests, the two facilities are tasked with developing cutting-edge strategies for disease-resistant citrus breeding and cross-border disease transmission prevention. The overarching goal of the work conducted at the labs is to advance long-term sustainable development of the global citrus sector.

Nelson Arno Wulff, chief scientist in biotechnology and diagnostics at Fundecitrus — Brazil’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to citrus plant protection — emphasized the transformative potential of the new partnership. He noted that the collaborative research will help nurture robust, productive citrus cultivation practices, directly support growers across global markets, and strengthen the entire global citrus supply chain.

As two of the world’s top citrus producing nations, China and Brazil face overlapping, high-stakes challenges in the sector. One of the most pressing shared threats is citrus greening disease, a devastating incurable pathogen that gradually kills infected citrus trees and has caused widespread production losses across major growing regions globally.

Chongqing has long been a core hub of China’s domestic citrus industry, and local data underscores this significance. Liu Chenglong, vice-chairman of the Chongqing Association for Science and Technology, shared that the city currently maintains more than 256,667 hectares of citrus orchards, with an annual total output reaching 5.3 million tons and an annual industrial output value exceeding 50 billion yuan, equivalent to roughly $7.33 billion.

Beibei District, the host of the new laboratories, holds an especially critical position in China’s citrus supply chain. Lyu Jun, deputy head of Beibei District, explained that the region supplies more than half of all virus-free container-grown citrus seedlings used across China, solidifying its status as the country’s largest production base for high-quality citrus planting material.

The symposium, which featured keynote presentations and technical discussions from global experts, was hosted by Southwest University and the Beibei District government. The event forms part of the broader Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle development initiative, with co-organization support from the science and technology bureaus of Beibei District in Chongqing and Mianyang City in neighboring Sichuan Province.

A team of marine biologists from Shanghai Ocean University’s College of Fisheries and Life Science has made a notable addition to global biodiversity records, confirming the discovery of a previously undocumented diatom species in the waterways of Shanghai’s Chongming Island. The new finding, formally published in the peer-reviewed international botanical journal Phytotaxa, marks a meaningful contribution to algal taxonomy and freshwater ecological research in the Yangtze River Delta region.

The new species, officially named *Tryblionella chongmingensis* after its place of discovery, was first collected during a systematic regional ecological field survey carried out by the research team in August 2024. Scientists encountered the previously unknown algal specimen while sampling water and sediment in the Nanheng Diversion Canal and the interconnected small tributaries that crisscross Chongming Island, a major ecological conservation zone located at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

Taxonomic analysis confirmed that *Tryblionella chongmingensis* holds a set of unique morphological characteristics that set it apart from all other recorded species within the Tryblionella genus. Its defining features include a longitudinal undulating valve structure with the lowest elevation positioned on the proximal side, and the complete absence of an axial sternum. These distinct traits form the diagnostic basis for classifying the new species within the aphyletic Tryblionella group. Additionally, the new species is marked by a comparatively larger cell size than its close relatives, further distinguishing it from similar known taxa.

Biodiversity surveys of freshwater microalgae play a key role in understanding regional aquatic ecosystem health, particularly in ecologically critical areas like Chongming Island, which functions as an important ecological barrier for Shanghai and the lower Yangtze basin. This discovery adds new data to global diatom diversity research and provides a foundational reference for future studies on algal evolution, aquatic environmental monitoring, and biodiversity conservation in eastern China.

As global energy systems grapple with the dual challenge of meeting rising power demand and cutting greenhouse gas emissions, a team of Chinese researchers has introduced a groundbreaking new approach to coal-based power generation that promises near-zero carbon dioxide output. The innovation, led by Xie Heping, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at Shenzhen University, was officially published in the academic journal *Energy Reviews* on Thursday, according to an official statement released on the university’s website.

Traditional coal-fired power generation relies on thermal combustion to heat water into steam, which then drives turbines to produce electricity. This centuries-old approach is inherently inefficient, and it releases massive volumes of carbon dioxide that drive climate change. By contrast, the new zero-carbon-emission direct coal fuel cell (ZC-DCFC) technology skips the combustion step entirely. Instead, it converts the chemical energy stored in coal directly into electrical power through a controlled electrochemical oxidation reaction, eliminating the carbon emissions associated with burning fuel.

For decades, coal has remained the backbone of global energy supply, meeting roughly one-third of the world’s total energy demand even as renewable energy capacity expands rapidly. Current leading advanced coal power technologies, such as Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC), top out at energy conversion efficiencies of around 45 percent, and still produce more than 800 grams of CO2 for every kilowatt-hour of electricity generated, according to the research team’s analysis.

The research team began developing the ZC-DCFC concept in 2018, and over eight years of iterative development, they have delivered key breakthroughs in three critical areas: high-performance reaction materials, specialized pre-treatment for coal fuel, and optimized electrode design that enables stable, efficient power output. Beyond cutting emissions, the technology opens new possibilities for utilizing coal resources that were previously considered uneconomical or high-impact to develop. As easily accessible shallow coal reserves are gradually depleted around the world, the innovation could unlock deep underground coal deposits while transforming coal from a major climate liability into a fundamentally cleaner energy source to support the global energy transition.

A new El Niño event, defined by anomalously warm sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, has a high likelihood of developing in the coming months, potentially intensifying to moderate or stronger levels by the end of 2026, according to China’s National Climate Center. This development will amplify the risk of elevated global temperatures and an increase in extreme weather events across the planet.

Recent ongoing monitoring from the center confirms that sea surface temperatures in the key equatorial Pacific region have continued a steady upward trend, a defining early indicator that El Niño is already in the early stages of formation. Projections from the center indicate the Pacific will transition into official El Niño conditions around May 2026, with a moderate or stronger event expected to take shape between summer and autumn, persisting at minimum through the end of the calendar year.

The forecast comes amid widespread viral online speculation claiming the world could face the most intense El Niño event in 140 years, paired with predictions of unprecedented record-breaking global heat this year that has drawn broad public concern. However, Chen Lijuan, chief forecaster at the National Climate Center, emphasized that it is far too early to confirm that 2026 will see all-time high global temperatures.

“Taking into account the well-documented lagging effect of El Niño, it remains premature to conclude that the planet will hit a new extreme heat record this year. That said, the associated risks are clearly increasing,” Chen explained.

El Niño forms when sea surface temperatures across large swathes of the tropical Pacific rise far above long-term average levels. This ocean warming releases massive quantities of heat stored deep in the ocean into the atmosphere, driving a measurable rise in global average temperatures. When this additional warming overlays the long-term, human-caused trend of global warming, it makes heat waves more frequent, more intense, and longer-lasting, the center noted.

The full warming impact of an El Niño event typically emerges with a delay, with peak influence most often felt in the calendar year following the event’s formation. “For this reason, we cannot yet confirm whether 2026 will see record-breaking heat,” Chen added.

Wang Yaqi, a senior engineer at the National Climate Center, pointed out that stronger El Niño events carry far-reaching negative impacts across global economies, energy infrastructure, and public health, as they are closely linked to more frequent extreme heat, severe droughts, and intense heavy rainfall events. For example, extreme flooding triggered by intense El Niño-driven rainfall can force hydropower facilities to reduce generation or shut down entirely, while prolonged drought conditions can also cut electricity output sharply across multiple generation types.

In the public health sector, shifts in rainfall and temperature patterns tied to El Niño can increase the transmission rate of a range of infectious diseases. Additionally, drought and sustained extreme heat raise the risk of destructive wildfires in vulnerable regions, Wang explained.

Crucially, the risks associated with El Niño do not stem from the climate pattern alone. Instead, harmful impacts typically emerge from the interaction of multiple overlapping climate factors, with El Niño acting as a triggering event within a broader climate system already altered by long-term global warming.

Climate science confirms that for every 1 degree Celsius increase in global average atmospheric temperature, the maximum moisture capacity of the air rises by roughly 7 percent. This basic physical effect means higher temperatures accelerate evaporation, worsening drought conditions in dry regions, while also increasing the probability of extreme rainfall and destructive flooding when precipitation does occur.

Looking ahead, the combination of long-term background global warming and additional warming driven by El Niño will raise the likelihood of compound extreme weather events, including more intense heat waves and abrupt, destructive shifts between prolonged drought and sudden heavy rainfall, Wang concluded.