A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy fleet comprising three warships arrived in Tanzania on Wednesday for joint exercises with armed forces units of Tanzania and Mozambique, a Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesman said on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Zhang Xiaogang, the spokesman, said that the exercises will focus on counter-terrorism.
"Armed forces of China, Tanzania and Mozambique will hold the 'Peace Unity-2024' joint exercise from late July to mid-August. The subject of the exercise is joint counter-terrorism military operations, which will be conducted both on land and at sea. The joint exercise aims to enhancing the capabilities of participating troops in joint counter-terrorism operations, and deepening military mutual trust and practical cooperation. It will also be conducive for the three countries to jointly preserving regional peace and stability," Zhang said.
Upon the arrival at the Dar es Salaam Port of Tanzania, the Chinese naval fleet was greeted with a grand welcoming ceremony. The attendees at the ceremony included Commander of the Tanzanian Navy Ameir Ramadhan Hassan, other military and political officials of the host country, Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Chen Mingjian and other staff members of the Chinese Embassy to Tanzania, local residents, overseas Chinese and representatives from Chinese companies operating in the country.
"During the joint maritime exercises, training will be organized, with the involvement of multiple regions, multiple arms of service, and multiple subjects, aiming to promote professional exchanges between the Chinese and Tanzanian navies, strengthen pragmatic maritime security cooperation, and fully demonstrate the positive image of the People's Liberation Army Navy in the new era," said Senior Colonel Li Bo, Chinese naval formation commander.
Chinese naval fleet arrives in Tanzania for joint exercises
China’s first intelligent field plant phenotype precision identification platform went into operation recently in Sanya City, south China’s Hainan Province, which is a milestone in the country’s development of intelligent breeding.
The phenotype of a plant is a term used to describe observable characteristics of the plant, such as its appearance, and some inherent physiological characteristics, such as resistance to drought and diseases.
In an experimental field of the National Nanfan Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a large piece of equipment is moving across the field. The equipment, called the field plant phenotype precision identification platform, can move according to the preset track and can be remotely controlled. While moving, the equipment can scan the plants with its six sensors, just like a CT machine for plants.
"The ultimate goal is to achieve high-throughput, large-scale, efficient and precise collection of germplasm resources, which can be four to five times higher than the efficiency of the traditional manual collection," said Jin Xiuliang, a researcher at the institute.
Although the equipment looks simple from the outside, it contains six high-precision image acquisition devices such as multi-spectral, thermal infrared, and chlorophyll fluorescence devices. Data can be collected at fixed times and points according to experimental needs, and the collection of a germplasm material can be completed within 30 seconds.
After the data collected through this platform is transmitted to the data analysis center, researchers can more quickly and accurately screen out germplasm resources with excellent traits, laying the foundation for subsequent crop breeding.
"The plant phenotype identification facility at the National Nanfan Research Institute is a milestone in the field of crop science in China. It can greatly enhance the independent innovation capabilities of germplasm innovation, gene mining, and variety breeding, and enhance the international competitiveness of China's seed industry," said Li Huihui, vice president of the institute.
China makes major progress in smart crop breeding
