Heavy-lift drones have been used to transport power transmission tower parts to designated positions across a rainforest in southwest China's Yunnan Province, in a bid to reduce damage to the environment.
As a flagship energy cooperation project under the Belt and Road Initiative, the lines of China-Laos 500-kilovolt interconnection power transmission project cross dense tropical forests along the China section of the project, where Asian elephants live.
To minimize disruption and reduce environment damage, engineers have adopted a "four-drone joint lift" technique to move tower parts and components weighing up to 600 kilograms each.
Meanwhile, over 30 drones of various types and two helicopters can be deployed to form an aerial formation, capable of completing the transportation of tower parts each weighing nearly one ton.
Using drones and helicopters, crews have completed foundation laying for 255 transmission towers so far, accessing 88% of the sites without any new road construction.
"We cut back on 15 cableway installations, reduced temporary land use by over 80,000 square meters, and avoided the felling of more than 30,000 trees," said Wang Xiong, construction manager of Yunnan Electric Power Transmission and Transformation Construction Co., Ltd. under China Southern Power Grid.
The China–Laos 500-kilovolt interconnection power transmission line spans 183.5 kilometers from Namo in Laos' Oudomxay Province to Xishuangbanna in China's Yunnan Province. Scheduled for completion in 2026, the project is expected to support two‑way power transmission of up to 1.5 million kilowatts and deliver about 3 billion kWh of clean electricity each year.
Drones used in transmission line construction to reduce environment damage
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone conversation on Wednesday, discussing the recent shooting at the White House press dinner, the situation in Iran and the Ukraine crisis, the Kremlin said.
The Russian president informed his U.S. counterpart of Russia's readiness to declare a truce with Ukraine for the period of Victory Day commemorations.
Trump voiced strong support for the initiative, noting that "the holiday marks our common victory over Nazism in World War II," said Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov after the phone conversation that lasted over an hour and a half.
At Trump's request, Putin described the current situation along the contact line with Ukraine, where Russian troops maintain the strategic initiative and are pushing back enemy positions, said Ushakov.
Putin reaffirmed that the goals of the special military operation will be achieved in any case, the aide said. Russia would prefer this to be achieved through negotiations, for which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskymust respond positively to the well-known proposals that have been repeatedly put forward, including by the U.S. side, he said. Russia has handed over more than 20,000 bodies of the deceased to Ukraine, Putin told Trump, adding that Ukraine has returned just over 500 bodies to Russia since the beginning of 2025.
Among the issues on the international agenda, the two leaders focused primarily on the situation in Iran and the Persian Gulf, according to the Kremlin.
Putin viewed Trump's decision to extend the ceasefire with Iran as the right move, as it will help stabilize the situation, Ushakov said, adding that Putin drew attention to the inevitable, extremely dire consequences not only for Iran and its neighbors, but also for the entire international community should the United States and Israel resort to force again.
Russia remains firmly determined to fully support diplomatic efforts aimed at finding a peaceful settlement to the crisis, and has put forward a number of proposals intended to resolve differences over the Iranian nuclear program, said the presidential aide.
Ushakov noted that to this end, Moscow will maintain active contacts with Iranian representatives, leaders of Persian Gulf states, as well as with Israel and the U.S. negotiating team.
For his part, Trump also outlined his assessment of the Middle East situation to Putin.
Putin, Trump hold phone call on issues of Iran, Ukraine
