Young Chinese innovators share bold ideas at national space competition

Thousands of young aerospace enthusiasts from across China showcased astonishing creativity as they put forward their bright ideas at a special space innovation competition which got underway in Wenchang of south China's Hainan Province on Tuesday.

The three-day event, which marks the finals of the 2025 National Youth Space Innovation Competition, is taking place in a city known for being home to one of China's main spacecraft launch sites.

It has brought together more than 4,600 students from across the Chinese mainland, as well as the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and challenged youngsters to share their proposals across three main categories, including space innovation concepts, aerospace scientific research and innovative design, and space exploration -- comprising 14 specific events in total.

Among the many ambitious project concepts entered into the competition was a lunar cave exploration robot, a mining facility for the planet Venus, and a space station capable of carefully observing the sun round-the-clock.

Students have been enthusiastically presenting their creative works in the main exhibition area while also observing and learning from other participants' projects, creating a warm atmosphere for vibrant academic exchanges to flourish.

"The project we brought today is called the 'Solar Sentinel Space Station.' It's primarily designed for 24-hour solar observation. Since the Earth has blind spots during night-time observations, we wanted to create a continuous monitoring station in space," said Li Chenxuan, a participant from Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province.

These imaginative works not only demonstrated the student's profound understanding of aerospace technology but also, through hands-on practice, has further ignited their passion for space exploration, injecting fresh vitality into cultivating new talent for China's aerospace industry.

The event was jointly organized by the International Cooperation Center of China Aerospace, the Wenchang International Aerospace City Administration, and the Wenchang municipal government, and aims to inspire greater interest and future participation in China's fast-growing space sector.

Young Chinese innovators share bold ideas at national space competition

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.

Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.

"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.

The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.

Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar