China's 41st Antarctic expedition team on Wednesday passed the equator on its way to the South Pole for a seven-month-mission.
The expedition, organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources, set sail earlier this month from Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong Province, with the team members traveling aboard the research icebreakers Xuelong and Xuelong 2, or Snow Dragon and Snow Dragon 2.
As the two vessels continue their journey southward, they are now preparing to embrace the challenging weather conditions of the Southern Hemisphere's westerly winds.
"Since leaving Guangzhou, we have not encountered bad weather yet and the sea conditions have been favorable. At current speed, we expect to reach the Lombok Strait around November 8. After that, we may be impacted by a swell and we will keep an eye on it. Once we head further south, we'll begin to focus on the westerly winds," said Liu Sufang, a meteorologist on board the Snow Dragon 2.
Over the coming months, researchers will build the supporting infrastructure for the Qinling Station in Antarctica, investigate the impact of climate change on the Antarctic ecosystem, and conduct international research and logistics cooperation.
Chinese expedition team crosses equator on way to South Pole
Chinese expedition team crosses equator on way to South Pole
Chinese expedition team crosses equator on way to South Pole
The European Union should look to learn from China and tap into the various advantages offered by the vast Chinese market across a broad spectrum of fast-developing industries, according to Slovakia's Deputy Prime Minister Denisa Sakova.
Sakova is currently in Shanghai to attend the seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE), which is running through to Nov. 10 under the theme of "New Era, Shared Future," and has attracted participants from 152 countries, regions and international organizations.
In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the opening day of the expo on Tuesday, Sakova said Slovakia is looking forward to future cooperation with China and noted there are many areas for potential collaboration including in the energy, automotive and infrastructure industries.
"We have to learn something from China within the European Union, and we would like to customize it for the European market. China is the biggest market and you have 1.4 billion people and it [has] really good potential to import everything. Also there is a potential for industry, for the automotive industry. Of course, there is the area of renewables, energy grid, traffic infrastructure. There are several potential areas for our cooperation and collaboration in the future," said Sakova in an interview on opening day of the expo on Tuesday.
First held in 2018, the CIIE is the world's first national-level exhibition dedicated to import. This year, the event has achieved a new record with 297 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders in attendance, which experts say signals confidence in the Chinese market amid a sluggish global economic recovery.
EU should learn from China, explore potential cooperation: Slovakian deputy PM
