Global trade frictions, or barriers to trade that hinder commerce, remained at a high level in May, according to data released by China's trade promotion body on Friday. The global economic and trade measures index, presented by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), is a tool used for assessing and measuring the level of economic and trade frictions on a global scale. It serves as an indicator of the degree of trade barriers encountered by countries in their international trade endeavors. The index looks into trade frictions in 20 countries and regions, including the United States, China, and Japan, and trade-measure usages such as import and export duties, trade remedies, and technical barriers. The index reached 106 points in May, marking a decrease of 11 points year on year but an increase of 3 points from the previous month. Monetary value associated with global trade friction measures dropped 27.6 percent year on year, but rose 54 percent compared to the previous month.
In terms of the sub-index for countries, the United States had the highest index and the highest total money value involved in trade friction measures, followed by South Korea and India. "Judged by the sub-indexes of the relevant industries, out of the 13 major industries whose sub-indexes were monitored, the points of conflict involving measures giving rise to economic and trade frictions have been concentrated in the electronics, machinery and equipment, transportation equipment, the chemical industry, the light industry and the pharmaceutical industry, with the sub-index of economic and trade friction involving the electronics industry ranking the first," said Wang Linjie, a spokeswoman of the CCPIT, at a press conference in Beijing.
Global trade frictions remain severe in May: data
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
