Chinese Innovation News – February 2025

TL;DR:

1. Chinese research generates oxygen, rocket fuel in major space exploration leap

2. Chinese scientists achieve breakthrough in integrated photonic quantum chips

3. China builds extreme "super lab" to assist scientists in probing mysteries of matter

4.  Chinese scientists create new superconducting material based on nickel

5. China dreams of building a world-class jumbo jet to take on Airbus and Boeing

6. China develop ‘injection’ to make smartphone and EV batteries last longer

7. Chinese scientists decode 'blueprint' of human brain

8. China Generative AI updates February 2025

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(Click the links in titles below to read a larger news article on each topic)

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1. China’s Tiangong research generates oxygen, rocket fuel in major space exploration leap

Imagine a future where humans are not just exploring space but living there.

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China has taken a significant step toward this reality. For the first time, experiments aboard China’s Tiangong space station have successfully produced artificial photosynthesis, generating oxygen and key ingredients for rocket fuel.

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If you recall from your childhood biology classes, plants convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O) into oxygen (O₂) and glucose using sunlight—an essential process that provides the air we breathe.

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Now, Chinese astronauts have replicated this natural process in space using engineered physical and chemical methods. By employing semiconductor catalysts, they have converted CO₂ and water into oxygen while simultaneously producing ethylene, a hydrocarbon that can be further processed into spacecraft propellants.

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What makes this experiment groundbreaking is that it operates at room temperature and normal atmospheric pressure. This is a stark contrast to the traditional electrolysis methods used on the International Space Station (ISS), which require about one-third of the ISS’s solar energy just to sustain life support. Such energy-intensive systems are impractical for long-duration missions to the Moon or Mars.

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China’s breakthrough not only enables a sustainable oxygen supply for deep-space missions but also paves the way for producing valuable compounds like methanol and formic acid, which can be used for fuel or even synthesized into sugars—the fundamental building blocks for sustaining life in space.

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2. Chinese scientists achieve breakthrough in integrated photonic quantum chips

You may have heard about Microsoft’s new quantum chip, Majorana 1, designed to store up to a million qubits while resisting the errors that typically hinder quantum computing.

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Despite skepticism from the scientific community, media coverage was abuzz with excitement over Microsoft’s claim of a “holy grail” breakthrough—potentially enabling millions of qubits to work together on a single chip.

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On the same day, China achieved  a breakthrough in integrated photonic quantum chips, yet it received little attention. Chinese researchers successfully demonstrated the first continuous-variable quantum multipartite entanglement and cluster states on a chip.

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Using light, they created and controlled a network of interconnected quantum states, showcasing the potential to build a quantum network on a chip.

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By developing technologies for coherent pumping, control, and measurement of continuous-variable cluster states, Chinese scientists prepared multiple cluster states in a deterministic and reconfigurable manner.

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This breakthrough paves the way for large-scale quantum entanglement—crucial for the advancement of quantum computing and quantum networks. While America basks in the spotlight, China is quietly using light to secure its place in the future of quantum technology.

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3. China builds extreme "super lab" to assist scientists in probing mysteries of matter

The Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF) in Beijing is unlocking new frontiers in materials science, providing scientists with a unique platform to study the strange behavior of matter under extreme conditions.

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Led by the Institute of Physics, SECUF consists of a cluster of precisely controlled “extreme environment generators”, making it a “super lab” for cutting-edge research. Construction began in 2017, and the facility is now complete, integrating advanced experimental capabilities, including ultra-low temperatures, ultra-high pressures, strong magnetic fields, and ultra-fast optical fields.

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SECUF can cool materials to 1 millikelvin, an astonishing 1,000 times colder than the cosmic background temperature. It can generate a steady 30 Tesla magnetic field, which is 600,000 times stronger than Earth's magnetic field.

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The facility also achieves ultra-high pressures of 300 GPa, comparable to the pressure found at Earth’s core. It also produces ultra-fast laser pulses lasting just 100 attoseconds, enabling scientists to observe electron dynamics in real time.

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With these capabilities, SECUF is expected to drive breakthroughs in superconducting materials, microscopic structures, and dynamic material behaviors. It also supports advanced experiments in material synthesis, quantum control, and ultrafast dynamics. Open to scientists worldwide, SECUF stands as a global hub for pioneering discoveries at the extreme limits of physics.

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4. Chinese scientists create new superconducting material based on nickel

Chinese physicists have developed a new high-temperature superconductor at ambient pressure using nickel-based compounds. This breakthrough makes nickel the third class of materials—after copper oxide-based and iron-based compounds—to exhibit superconductivity above -233°C under normal pressure conditions.

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Superconductivity is a phenomenon where a material has zero electrical resistance and repels magnetic fields when cooled below a critical temperature. Superconductors have vast potential applications, including power transmission, fusion reactor magnets, and levitating trains. This discovery enables the new superconductor to be cooled using liquid nitrogen, which is more cost-effective and efficient than previously required coolants.

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Another breakthrough, announced in February, came from a collaboration between Chinese and Austrian researchers. They developed a unique alloy with practically zero thermal expansion over an extremely wide temperature range, from -270°C to 167°C—spanning from cryogenic temperatures to well above boiling point.

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This alloy, composed of zirconium, cobalt, iron, and niobium, has potential applications in aviation, aerospace, and high-precision microelectronics.

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China is poised to lead the world in materials science, particularly in nanotechnology, solidifying its position as a global innovator in advanced materials research.

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5. China dreams of building a world-class jumbo jet to take on Airbus and Boeing

The global aviation industry is being dominated by two giants: Airbus and Boeing. However,

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China is making significant strides with its entry into the commercial jet market. COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China), founded in 2008, has already received hundreds of regional orders for its narrowbody aircraft, the C909 and C919. Since its launch in 2023, the C919 has carried over 1 million passengers.

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Now, COMAC is accelerating its plans to develop two widebody models: the C929 and C939. The C929 is expected to accommodate up to 440 passengers and offer a range of 12,000 kilometers, making it a competitor to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 in terms of performance.

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Meanwhile, the larger C939, still in the early design phase, is projected to be comparable in size to the Boeing 777 and 747. Both aircrafts are expected to be commercially available within the next decade.

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However, the timeline for their release depends on several external factors, including certification processes, engine supply, and export licenses for critical components.

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The C929 and C939 will be even more dependent on Western technology than the C919. That said, Boeing and Airbus widebody jets also rely on foreign components, highlighting a broader industry issue. If successful, China could brake the Western duopoly in commercial aviation, making the C929 and C939 serious competitors.

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Notably, Air China has already placed an order for a C929 by the end of 2024, marking a significant milestone. Now, the challenge remains to get the aircraft airborne and certified for commercial use.

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6. Chinese scientists develop ‘injection’ to make smartphone and EV batteries last longer

One of the biggest concerns preventing people from switching from combustion engine cars to electric vehicles (EVs) is the battery life cycle, as battery replacement is the most expensive component of an EV.

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Lithium-ion batteries rely on advanced materials to generate lithium ions, which move from the positive terminal to the negative during charging and then reverse when discharging power. Once the supply of lithium ions is depleted, the battery—and by extension, the value of the car—is considered expired.

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However, while lithium ions diminish over time, the other components of the battery often remain functional. This realization led Chinese researchers to explore whether replenishing the supply of active lithium ions could extend battery life.

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They have now successfully developed a low-cost, eco-friendly injection repair technology that could extend lithium-ion battery lifespan by more than six times.

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The team created a lithium carrier molecule, which can be injected into the battery to regulate and restore lithium ions.

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It took four years of research to identify the ideal candidate: trifluoromethylsulfonate lithium. For an EV that charges twice daily, this innovation could extend battery life to up to 18 years. The technology could also be applied to smartphones and other electronic devices.

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Most importantly, this breakthrough would significantly reduce the need for lithium mining, making EVs more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Could this new method potentially render the battery-swapping concept like from NIO obsolete?

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7. Chinese scientists decode 'blueprint' of human brain

This title intrigued me. Chinese scientists have made a significant breakthrough in understanding the human brain's complex organization, revealing a deep connection between genetics and neural network formation.

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By analyzing tens of thousands of brain scans, the research team identified three primary "axes" that dictate how different regions of the cerebral cortex are arranged. They then mapped how these axes are influenced by genetic factors.

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For years, scientists have debated whether brain partitioning is determined primarily by inherited genetic instructions or shaped by acquired neural connections. This study provides a clear answer: genes establish the brain’s macrostructure, forming a foundational blueprint that guides how neural networks develop through spatial gradients over time.

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This discovery has far-reaching implications for understanding brain development, particularly during early childhood, and could offer new insights into neurological disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. Beyond medicine, this knowledge could also advance artificial intelligence, particularly in areas like brain-machine interfaces and brain-inspired chip design.

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8. China Generative AI updates of February 2025

Alibaba makes Sora-style video models open source

Alibaba is set to open-source four Sora-style video-generation models from its Wan2.1 series, which was first released in January.

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Wan2.1 was the first video-generation model to support text effects in both Chinese and English. It currently holds the top ranking on the VBench Leaderboard for video-generation models.

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AI’s new frontier: affordable, domain-specific models are coming

Chinese scientists are collaborating with experts from various fields to develop affordable domain-specific AI models.

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Their goal is to create a platform where domain experts can train small AI models—ranging from 1 billion to 3 billion parameters—that can achieve state-of-the-art reasoning capabilities within 6,000 GPU hours, using entry-level GPUs.

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Alibaba previews new AI reasoning model to challenge DeepSeek R1, OpenAI o1

Alibaba has unveiled a preview of its upcoming reasoning model, QwQ-Max, which could compete with OpenAI’s o1 and DeepSeek’s R1. The company also announced plans to open-source QwQ-Max along with the base version of Qwen 2.5 Max.

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Alibaba commits US$53 billion for AI infrastructure

Alibaba has plans to invest at least 380 billion yuan (US$52.4 billion) over the next three years in cloud computing and AI infrastructure.

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This marks China’s largest-ever computing project funded by a private company. Following this announcement, other companies are expected to accelerate their capital investment plans.

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DeepSeek to open-source 5 code repositories for ‘full transparency’

DeepSeek has plans to strengthen its commitment to open-source technology by making five of its code repositories public.

A code repository is a centralized storage space where developers can access, review, and contribute to software development.

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China’s ports adopt DeepSeek AI model to streamline operations

Three major ports in China have already implemented or are planning to adopt DeepSeek to enhance efficiency and service quality. The technology is being used for intelligent gate systems to recognize containers and improve customer services.

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Additionally, the ports have expansive plans to integrate DeepSeek into cargo handling, gantry crane operations, and security systems.

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China’s universities get students up to speed on DeepSeek with new AI classes

Shenzhen University has partnered with Tencent Cloud to launch a general AI course based on DeepSeek. Meanwhile, Zhejiang University, located in Hangzhou, home to DeepSeek, has introduced an online course series focused on DeepSeek.

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Tencent testing to add DeepSeek to its WeChat super app

Tencent is testing the integration of DeepSeek’s services into WeChat, allowing users to access DeepSeek’s R1 model for free through an “AI Search” option in the search bar. This feature will be available alongside Tencent’s Hunyuan foundational model.

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Baidu to offer Ernie Bot service for free as DeepSeek heats up China’s AI market

Starting April 1, Baidu will make its Ernie Bot service free to use. On the same day, it will also offer Deep Search, a feature with enhanced capabilities in reasoning, planning, and providing expert-level responses across various scenarios, at no cost.

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China’s smartphone brands embrace DeepSeek’s as Apple partners with Alibaba

Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Honor are integrating DeepSeek, with some using it as a complement to their own AI models. Meanwhile, Apple is collaborating with Alibaba in China, and Xiaomi is incorporating Google’s Gemini model for global markets.

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DeepSeek drives AI adoption by local Chinese governments from Shenzhen to Kunshan

An increasing number of local governments in China are rapidly adopting DeepSeek’s AI models to improve administration and governance. Authorities are proactively integrating government data into the model to enhance its capabilities.

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Alibaba’s Qwen powers top 10 open-source models

The latest Hugging Face rankings reveal that the top-ranked open-source large language models were all trained on Qwen’s series. This suggests that Alibaba has now become the preferred source for training open-source models, replacing Meta’s LLaMA, which previously held that position.

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China Launches Its First AI Model for Rare Disease Diagnosis

While individual rare diseases are uncommon, their vast diversity presents significant diagnostic challenges. Leveraging China’s extensive rare disease research and genetic data from its population, PUMCH-GENESIS has become the world’s first rare disease model specifically tailored to the genetic characteristics of the Chinese population.

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Rokid’s AI-infused AR glasses wow China with script projection, smart ring control

Rokid gained attention on social media after its founder, Misa Zhu Mingming, demonstrated the real-world application of the company's AI-powered AR glasses. During his speech, he used a smart ring on his finger to flip through virtual pages, with his notes projected directly onto the AR glasses he was wearing.

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