The scientific payloads for space breeding and other sci-tech experiments carried by China's first reusable and returnable satellite, Shijian-19, were delivered to Chinese and foreign researchers on Thursday.
At the payloads handover ceremony held by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) in Beijing on Thursday, the CNSA and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation signed payload delivery certificates with domestic and international users, including those from Thailand and Pakistan.
Launched on Sept 27 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Shijian-19 has achieved a number of technological breakthroughs during its flight tests, including in reusability and damage-free recovery.
The satellite was retrieved on Oct 11 together with all payloads aboard, coming from five countries, including Thailand, Türkiye and Pakistan, highlighting China's commitment to international cooperation in space exploration.
A total of 20 categories of payloads, including those for staple crops, industrial crops, microbial space breeding, electron components and space technology experiments, were delivered to the relevant countries.
The primary advantage of carrying crop seeds to space is that cosmic rays, normally blocked by the earth's atmosphere, can alter the seeds' genetic code, accelerating the evolutionary process.
"After being carried into space, the seeds exhibit various mutations. We select only those with improved traits, obtaining new seed resources that can be crossed with our existing varieties. This approach enhances the superior characteristics that our current varieties may lack, enabling us to accumulate these advantages and ultimately improve the overall quality of the crops," Liu Luxiang, executive director general of the Institute of Crop Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
The Shijian-19 mission carried seeds of about 1,800 plant materials and more than 1,000 species of microorganisms, encompassing nearly all major kinds of agricultural products.
"The payloads it carries are highly diverse, playing a crucial role in cultivating new seed varieties, supporting the innovation of genetic resources, advancing biomedicine and space science, and promoting international scientific cooperation in space," said Meng Lingjie, director of the Earth Observation System and Data Center under CNSA.
Scientific payloads of China's first reusable, returnable satellite delivered to researchers
China will strengthen fiscal and financial coordination to amplify policy effectiveness, experts said as the draft central and local budgets for 2026 were unveiled on Friday at the ongoing fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress.
According to the draft central and local budgets for 2026, 1.3 trillion yuan (190 billion U.S. dollars) of ultra-long special treasury bonds will be issued to provide continued support for the implementation of major national strategies and security capacity-building in key areas and for large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs.
Ultra-long special treasury bonds totaling 800 billion yuan will be allocated to support the implementation of major national strategies and security capacity-building in key areas, and 250 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds will be earmarked for consumer goods trade-in programs.
The country will refine these programs in terms of their scope and subsidy standards, and continue to support the scrapping and replacement of automobiles, home appliance trade-in schemes, and purchases of new digital and smart products.
China will also set up a 100-billion-yuan fiscal-financial coordination fund to boost domestic demand. The fund will support consumption and private investment through loan interest subsidies, financing guarantee, and risk compensation.
"Fiscal and monetary policies are the two major macroeconomic tools for macro-control, and their coordination is crucial. For instance, fiscal funds primarily serve as a guiding role, while financial institutions provide the capital. When fiscal guidance and financial resources are combined, the synergistic effect creates a result greater than the sum of its parts," said Yang Zhiyong, director of the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences.
"By leveraging interest subsidies, we can mobilize substantial credit from financial institutions, thereby naturally stimulating consumption. The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the People's Bank of China, has introduced highly innovative measures, such as providing guarantees for the issuance of corporate bonds by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and compensating investors for losses. I believe the leveraging effect, making minimal efforts for maximum results, will become even more potent," said Yao Dongmin, director of the Center for China Fiscal Development under the Central University of Finance and Economics.
China's top legislature opened its annual session on Thursday morning at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Party and state leaders attending the opening meeting alongside more than 2,700 NPC deputies. This year's NPC session is scheduled to run till March 12.
China to strengthen fiscal, financial coordination to amplify policy effectiveness: experts
