Xi sends congratulatory letter on opening of Shenzhen-Zhongshan cross-sea passage

China

Xi sends congratulatory letter on opening of Shenzhen-Zhongshan cross-sea passage

2024-06-30 19:40 Last Updated At：21:37

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday sent a congratulatory letter as a cross-sea passage opened, linking the cities of Shenzhen and Zhongshan in southern China's Guangdong Province.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link is another large-scale transportation project in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area following the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. The project managed to overcome multiple world-class technical challenges and set multiple world records.

All participants, through their hard work and unwavering determination, have successfully completed the project with high quality, Xi said.

This fully illustrates that Chinese modernization can only be achieved through solid work, as all great causes are accomplished through concrete actions, he said.

Xi underscored efforts to manage and make good use of the passage, and promote infrastructure connectivity and alignment of rules and mechanisms to facilitate the building of an integrated market in the Greater Bay Area.

Xi's congratulatory letter was read out by Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, who also announced the passage's opening to traffic at the west artificial island on route of the link.

Spanning about 24 km, the passage cuts travel time between the city of Zhongshan and the technology hub of Shenzhen -- situated on opposite sides of the Pearl River Estuary in Guangdong Province -- from two hours to approximately 30 minutes.

The construction of the project began in February 2017. The new link marks the world's first cross-sea cluster project that features two bridges, two artificial islands, and an underwater tunnel.

Shenzhou-18 crew to conduct second extravehicular activities

2024-07-02 17:16 Last Updated At：18:07

The Shenzhou-18 crew members, who are currently on board China's Tiangong space station, will conduct their second extravehicular activities (EVA) within the next few days, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Tuesday.

The Shenzhou-18 crew was launched into space on April 25, as the third manned mission during the application and development stage of China's space station and the 32nd flight mission of the country's manned space program overall.

Since the successful completion of their first EVA on May 28, the Shenzhou-18 crew has completed the maintenance of the space station experimental cabinet and component installation, space station cabin environment monitoring, and preparation for the second EVA, according to the CMSA.

The experimental projects in the fields of space material science, space life science, and aerospace medicine have also been steadily advanced by the mission crew, according to the CMSA.