China's AS700 manned airship completes maiden low-altitude flight in plateau region

China's homegrown AS700 manned airship successfully completed its first flight over southwest China's Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, comprehensively verifying the airship's stability and safety in low-altitude flight environments over plateau areas, said the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the country's leading plane maker, on Monday.

The airship flew at an altitude of 1,200 meters over the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. It boasts a maximum range of 700 kilometers and a maximum endurance of 10 hours. Leveraging its unique thrust vector control technology, it can achieve short takeoff and landing, and vertical takeoff and landing in simple sites with a diameter of just 150 meters.

According to the AVIC, the parameters and data on plateau flight performance and environmental adaptation obtained from this flight will further drive product improvements and iterations. This will also enable the airship to better adapt to diverse application scenarios and lay the foundation for expanding into more fields including emergency rescue and aerial monitoring, as well as developing customized flight support solutions.

The AVIC plans to further refine its application solutions for the southwestern region in China, with a particular focus on low-altitude tourism. This initiative is designed to position aviation equipment as a "new engine" for energizing the local low-altitude economy.

China's AS700 manned airship completes maiden low-altitude flight in plateau region

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"