The overall economic performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China was stable in the first half of this year, with key economic indicators showing growth, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
In the first six months, the added value of SMEs above the designated size rose by 8 percent year on year. Notably, "little giant" SMEs that use specialized and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products, saw an 8.6 percent increase year on year. Over 80 percent of newly listed A-share companies are also in this category.
Industrial enterprises above designated size are those with annual revenue from principal business reaching over 20 million yuan. In terms of sales, 19 of the 31 major manufacturing sectors saw profit growth for SMEs. The computer, communication electronics, and electrical machinery sectors experienced significant increases.
Meanwhile, SMEs continued to show strong export performance. In June, the SME export index reached 52.1 percent, indicating expansion for 15 consecutive months.
"In the first half of the year, the quality and efficiency of SMEs improved steadily, with 'little giant' SMEs that use specialized and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products experiencing significant growth. By enhancing the integration of technological and industrial innovations, these specialized firms actively engaged in the industrial chain, focusing on key technologies and contributing to strengthening, supplementing, and extending the supply chain while targeting niche markets. This has effectively supported the stable operation of the industrial economy," said Weng Qiwen, director of the China Center for Promotion of SME Development of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Furthermore, the innovation capabilities of SMEs have been steadily improving. In the first half of the year, the research and development expenses of "little giant" SMEs above the designated size using specialized and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products accounted for 5.3 percent of their operating income, which was 3.1 percentage points higher than the average for all industrial enterprises above the designated size.
China's SMEs show stable performance in H1
A video featuring a former member of Unit 731, a notorious Japanese germ-warfare unit during World War II (WWII), was released on Thursday in northeast China's Harbin, revealing details of how the unit used meteorological data to conduct horrific bacterial experiments on human beings.
The video was released by the Exhibition Hall of Evidence of Crimes Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army, in which former Unit 731 member Tsuruo Nishijima detailed how the unit used meteorological data to carry out a bacterial dispersal experiment.
The video was recorded in 1997 by Japanese scholar Fuyuko Nishisato and donated to the exhibition hall in 2019, according to the hall, which was built on the former site of the headquarters of Unit 731 in Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang Province.
Jin Shicheng, director of the Department of Publicity, Education and Exhibition of the exhibition hall, said that Nishijima joined Unit 731 in October 1938 and served in the unit's meteorological squad. The squad was not a simple observation section but rather an auxiliary force supporting the unit's field human experiments by measuring wind direction, wind speed, and other conditions to ensure optimal experimental results, according to Jin.
Nishijima confirmed in the footage that "the meteorological squad had to be present at every field experiment." He testified to the "rainfall experiments" conducted by Unit 731, which involved aircraft releasing bacterial agents at extremely low altitudes.
At a field-testing site in Anda City, Heilongjiang, Unit 731 aircraft descended to about 50 meters above the ground. They sprayed bacterial culture liquids onto "maruta" -- human test subjects -- who were tied to wooden stakes. Each experiment involved about 30 people, spaced roughly 5 meters apart. After the experiments, the victims were loaded into sealed trucks and transported back to the unit, where their symptoms and disease progression were recorded over a period of several days.
"Unit 731's bacterial weapons were dropped by aircraft from a height of 50 meters in the open air. Therefore, the meteorological squad needed to observe wind direction and speed, which directly affected the precision and accuracy of the bacterial weapons deployment," said Jin.
Nishijima recounted the harrowing experience of the human test subjects.
"They were fully aware that inhaling the substances would certainly lead to death, so they closed their eyes and held their breath to avoid breathing them in. Their resistance prevented the experiment from proceeding. To compel them to comply, they were forced at gunpoint to open their mouths and lift their heads," said Nishijima.
These experiments, disguised as "scientific research," were in fact systematic tests of biological warfare weapons conducted by the Japanese military. The data generated from these inhumane activities became "research findings" shared among the Japanese army medical school, the medical community, and the military at large.
"At that time, the entire Japanese medical community tacitly approved, encouraged, and even participated in the criminal acts of Unit 731. The unit comprised members from Japan's medical and academic sectors who served the Japanese war of aggression against China. Thus, Unit 731 was not just a military unit but represented an organized and systematic criminal enterprise operating from the top down," said Jin.
Unit 731 was a top-secret biological and chemical warfare research base established in Harbin as the nerve center for Japanese biological warfare in China and Southeast Asia during WWII.
At least 3,000 people were used for human experiments by Unit 731, and Japan's biological weapons killed more than 300,000 people in China.
Video offers details of Japan's germ-warfare crimes in northeast China
