China's Przewalski's horse population tops 900, a third of global total

The population of Przewalski's horses in China has surpassed 900, accounting for one-third of the global total, according to officials.

The details were announced at a recent event in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, marking 40 years since the species was reintroduced to China. The growth in the horse's population in China has been internationally recognized as a successful model for species reintroduction.

Przewalski's horse, the world's only remaining wild horse species, boasts an evolutionary history spanning over 60 million years.

Native to the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang and parts of Mongolia, the species is listed as a national first-class protected animal in China and remains endangered globally.

In 1985, China launched a program to reintroduce Przewalski's horses from overseas and established breeding bases in Xinjiang and northwest China's Gansu Province.

Through years of scientific conservation efforts, including habitat restoration, the population has seen steady growth.

"According to our incomplete statistics, the vegetation coverage increased from 8.2 percent in 2022 to 9.41 percent by the end of 2024, thus providing ample food for wild animals and aiding in their reproduction and improving their quality of life," said Li Jicai, an official of the management center of a local natural reserve.

The Xinjiang Wild Horse Breeding and Research Center, the largest breeding center for Przewalski's horse in Asia, has bred over 800 such horses to date and released 146 of them into the wild across 18 separate batches.

China's Przewalski's horse population tops 900, a third of global total

The multilateral system is "under attack" amid global turmoil, President of the 80th UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock warned in her remarks on Wednesday.

In her briefing on the priorities for the resumed 80th Session of the General Assembly, the UNGA president noted that the current multilateral system does not collapse all in a sudden, but "crumbles piece by piece" in divisions, compromises, and lack of political commitment.

The president called all the UN member states to defend the UN Charter and international law and promote cross-regional cooperation.

She also urged to push forward the work of the UNGA on certain critical issues with a strong majority, rather than an absolute consensus among all member states. Such act is not a failure of multilateralism, but "an affirmation of it," she said.

The foundational principles of the institution should not be eroded by appeasement, she said, calling the member states to show courage, leadership, and responsibility at the UN's "critical make-or-break moment."

"The UN needs you. Your support, your leadership, your principle, stand, your cross-regional cooperation, if we are to preserve and modernize this institution, if we are to make it, rather than break it," she said.

UNGA President warns global multilateral system "under attack"