The Datang Tuoketuo, the world's largest thermal power plant, in Hohhot of north China's Inner Mongolia, has expanded its heating supply capacity to cover over 53 million square meters this winter as temperatures plummeted by 8 to 10 degrees Celsius across most parts of the region.
As the largest operational coal-fired power plant in the world, Tuoketuo plays a pivotal role in keeping Hohhot's residents warm. Its advanced long-distance heating system circulates over 24,000 tons of hot water per hour through a complex network that includes two relay pump stations and a heat exchange station.
A key initiative of Inner Mongolia's Warmth Project, the plant's main pipeline extends 105 kilometers, making it China's longest heat transmission system with the largest pipe diameter.
Regarding Inner Monglia's extremely cold winters, the system operates with an outlet temperature of 130 degrees Celsius, 10 percent higher than typical systems. Currently, the plant guarantees the heating supply for nearly a quarter of Hohhot's urban area.
During the peak heating periods, the plant has more than 1,000 trucks and 12 trains of 70,000 tons of coal come in everyday. With a stockpile of approximately one million tons of coal, sufficient for at least 21 days of uninterrupted operation, the plant ensures reliable fuel supplies to power its heating units.
Since the heating season began on October 15, the plant has supplied over three million gigajoules of heat.
The Tuoketuo Power Plant is also a critical electricity provider. A significant portion of its output is directly transmitted to Beijing, supplying about 25 percent of the national capital's total electricity consumption.
This positions the plant as a vital source of power for Beijing's safe electricity consumption.
World's largest thermal plant increases heating capacity
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Sunday said Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign nation, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump's accusations that the island country provided "security services" to Venezuela in exchange for oil.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump suggested Cuba should make a deal with Washington.
"There will be no more oil or money going to Cuba -- Zero! I strongly suggest they make a deal, before it is too late," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
"Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of oil and money from Venezuela," Trump said.
However, Trump did not specify the terms of a deal or the consequences Cuba could face.
Diaz-Canel said on X that the United States has "no moral authority to point the finger at Cuba in anything", adding that the U.S. side turns everything, even human lives, into a business.
Diaz-Canel said that the United States is "hysterical" against the Caribbean nation because of the sovereign decision of the Cuban people to choose their political model.
"Those who blame the Revolution for the severe economic hardships we suffer should be ashamed and keep quiet," he said. "Because they know and recognize that they are the result of the draconian measures of extreme asphyxiation that the United States has imposed on us for six decades."
Cuba does not attack or threaten other countries, said Diaz-Canel, adding that the country is ready to defend itself "to the last drop of blood".
Also on Sunday, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the United States behaves like a criminal and unchecked hegemon that threatens peace and security, not only in Cuba and this hemisphere, but throughout the entire world.
In an X post, Rodriguez said Cuba has the absolute right to import fuel from markets willing to export it and develop trade relations without interference or subordination to unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States.
Venezuela on Sunday reiterated its "historic stance" toward Cuba, reaffirming its unwavering commitment to the principles of "fraternity, solidarity, cooperation and complementarity", despite mounting pressure from Washington to isolate the Caribbean nation.
The Venezuelan government released a statement underscoring its support for the free exercise of self-determination and sovereignty of peoples, which it considers fundamental pillars of international relations.
It emphasized its adherence to the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and international law, highlighting the longstanding and evolving ties between Venezuela and Cuba.
The Venezuelan government stressed that relations between states should be governed by the principles of non-intervention, sovereign equality and self-determination, and that "political and diplomatic dialogue" is the only viable path to "peacefully resolve disputes of any kind".
Cuban president says ready to defend Cuba, refutes Trump's accusations
