China accelerates layout of future industries in 2026

China has stepped up efforts to optimize the layout of its future industries since the beginning of the year, with breakthroughs accelerating in frontier technologies from advanced robotics to orbiting data centers.

In 2026, a series of landmark projects have taken shape across the country. In Beijing, preparations are underway for the country's first space computing innovation center. The areas of research at the center will aim to gradually relocate ground-based data centers to outer space to enable data collection, processing and output in orbit. China has also issued plans to accelerate the development and improvement of the space computing industrial ecosystem this year.

In Shanghai, the world's first pilot platform for humanoid robot components is taking shape. By establishing small-scale trial production lines for five categories of components, including reducers, the platform offers 72 testing and verification services, significantly lowering the development threshold for humanoid robots.

Since the beginning of 2026, China has launched over 100 innovation and research tasks for future industries through its open competition mechanism, focusing on general artificial intelligence, quantum technology, atomic-level manufacturing and clean low-carbon hydrogen energy. Key areas of application have been identified, while manufacturing innovation centers and pilot platforms in priority fields have been established to speed up the translation of cutting-edge technologies from laboratories to production lines.

The momentum is also evident in the clean energy sector. In north China's Shanxi Province, hydrogen-powered shared bicycles have hit urban streets, while more than 15,000 hydrogen heavy-duty trucks operate on logistics routes. Local authorities are also planning several cross-provincial hydrogen logistics corridors.

To sustain this growth, China will implement tiered nurturing for unicorn enterprises and specialized, sophisticated small and medium-sized enterprises in key sectors this year. The country will also advance the development of future industry pilot zones based on local industrial strengths. To date, some 54,000 innovative businesses nationwide have settled into the country's 193 innovative industrial clusters.

China accelerates layout of future industries in 2026

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that 11 hantavirus cases have now been linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, including nine confirmed infections of the Andes strain of the virus and two suspected cases.

The ship was carrying around 150 passengers and crew members from more than 20 countries, including 38 from the Philippines, 23 from Britain, 17 from the United States, 14 from Spain, 11 from the Netherlands, eight from Germany, and five each from France and Ukraine.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the Spanish government in Madrid, WHO officials warned that additional confirmed cases could still emerge due to the virus's long incubation period, despite the completion of evacuation operations from the vessel, and urged countries to follow its epidemic prevention and control guidelines.

The WHO also said no new deaths had been reported since May 2.

All confirmed and suspected cases linked to the vessel had been isolated, minimizing the risk of further transmission, it said, adding that there is currently no indication of a larger-scale outbreak.

In related developments, Spain's Ministry of Health announced in a social media update on Tuesday that a Spanish passenger evacuated from the ship had tested positive again after a second hantavirus test, confirming the infection.

The ministry did not specify whether the patient had contracted the Andes virus strain.

Meanwhile, the operator of the ship said the vessel departed on Monday on its return voyage to the Netherlands. Only 25 crew members, along with one doctor and one nurse, remain onboard after all passengers had disembarked.

The ship is expected to arrive in Rotterdam on May 17.

Hantavirus was first isolated and named in 1978 after the Hantan River in the Republic of Korea (ROK), where an outbreak occurred among soldiers during wartime.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), humans usually contract hantavirus through contact with infected rodents or their saliva, urine and droppings, most commonly by inhaling virus particles emitted into the air from contaminated waste. Rodent bites can also transmit the virus.

WHO reports 11 hantavirus cases linked to cruise ship