China plans to invest over five trillion yuan (about 746 billion U.S. dollars) in building a new type of power grid during the country's 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), launching a comprehensive upgrade of its power network to cope with surging electricity demand and energy transition challenges.
With the rapid growth in total power consumption, China's electricity demand is expected to maintain an average annual growth rate of around five percent during the 15th Five-Year Plan period -- a key blueprint which maps out the country's socio-economic development priorities through to the end of the decade and beyond.
Alongside the massive volume increase, the structure of power usage is also undergoing profound changes. As the installed capacity of new energy surges year by year, the grid must urgently enhance its ability to integrate, allocate and regulate green power to prevent resource waste.
Furthermore, the booming high-tech industries, such as chip manufacturing and precision machining, demand significantly higher power supply quality under the new circumstances.
To address these challenges, the core of building the new power grid lies in an across-the-board upgrade of its architecture, technology and services.
Structurally, it will form a new layout based on the main and distribution grids, supplemented by smart microgrids. Technologically, the application of cutting-edge solutions like artificial intelligence, flexible grid-forming and long-duration energy storage will make the network more agile and intelligent. On the service side, the grid will fully adapt to emerging business models such as computing-power synergy and direct green power connections.
China plans over 5 trln yuan investment in new power grid during 2026-2030 period
Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Alexander De Croo has expressed concern regarding Tuesday's drone attacks on two merchant ships in the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria, citing global food insecurity, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a daily press briefing.
At around 15:00 on Tuesday, the two merchant ships were attacked with sea and air drones around 70 nautical miles east of the town of Byala in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said at the beginning of a meeting with representatives of the Bulgarian institutions.
The first ship, flying the flag of Togo, has sunk, while the second one, loaded with wheat, was on fire, Radev said, adding the 18-member crew on the second ship managed to evacuate and was rescued.
"The UN Administrator for the UNDP, Alexander De Croo, expressed concern on today's attacks on grain-carrying vessels in the Black Sea, stressing that the Black Sea is a vital route for global food supplies. Noting that these attacks violate international law and endanger crews, the administrator warned that the consequences of these attacks reach far beyond the region, deepening food insecurity and undermining development where millions already face hunger, stressing that the world's most vulnerable must not pay the price and food must never be a target," Dujarric said.
The UNDP will publish a detailed policy brief this week that looks into the development impact of the compounding crisis, the spokesman added.
On the same day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a social media post that the situation in the Black Sea is increasingly concerning.
Noting commercial ships and innocent crews are being targeted, she stressed that attacks on civilian shipping are unacceptable.
UN voices food security concern after drones attack two merchant ships in Black Sea
