The first echelon of the 11th Chinese Peacekeeping Infantry Battalion in South Sudan (Juba) arrived at an airport in Zhengzhou City, central China's Henan Province, on early Friday, marking the beginning of their 12-month operation in the African country.
The 350 peacekeepers heading towards South Sudan is a part of the total 700 soldiers of the infantry battalion, who are responsible for tasks like patrols, armed escorts, conflict separation and humanitarian relief in the mission area.
The peacekeepers also received targeted training to handle the possible complex situations they may encounter during the mission. In the simulated scenarios they strengthened drills in force deployment, command and communication, situation handling, self-defense, self-rescue and mutual aid.
"We are honored to carry out this international peacekeeping mission, which is of great significance. This peacekeeping infantry battalion will complete the mission by a higher standard and in a more impeccable manner. We will take concrete actions to implement the idea of building a global community of shared future and contribute more Chinese efforts to the maintenance of global peace," said Lvy Hongyong, a member of the infantry battalion.
The second echelon of the infantry battalion, also 350 members, will start their journey to the mission area by late-December.
First echelon of new Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion heads for South Sudan
China is accelerating the commercialization of marine scientific and technological achievements and fostering new quality productive forces by boosting support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the marine sector, with a focus on investment and financing to drive industry growth.
The development of marine industries is marked by substantial investments, high risks, and slow returns. However, with strong national support, some companies, such as Zhejiang Startest Marine Science and Technology Co., Ltd. in east China, have achieved notable success.
The company is a national high-tech enterprise specializing in the independent research and development of underwater sonar detection equipment and underwater information data systems.
It now holds more than 210 intellectual property rights for its designs.
"We are now fully capable of replacing similar foreign imported products with our own ones, thereby overcoming the bottleneck in production caused by foreign product embargoes," said Su Xiaoyang, president of Zhejiang Startest Marine Science and Technology Co., Ltd.
While some marine SMEs, such as Shenzhen HiCloud Data Center Technology Co., Ltd., China's first underwater data center equipment and service provider, have mastered core technologies, a gap remains compared to international standards. As a result, continuous investment is necessary for them to overcome critical technological challenges.
"The Underwater Data Center Pilot Project is a new infrastructure initiative requiring a significant initial investment and scale effects. However, both users and investors in the market still lack a comprehensive understanding of the project's strategic significance, including the technical risks associated with emerging technologies," said Pu Ding, general manager of the Underwater Data Center Pilot Project in Hainan under Shenzhen HiCloud Data Center Technology Co., Ltd.
To address the challenges faced by marine SMEs in securing investment and financing, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), along with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, has organized a series of roadshows since 2016. Over 200 marine SMEs and innovation teams have participated, securing more than 3 billion yuan (around 409.8 million U.S. dollars) in financing.
In addition to these efforts, the MNR, in collaboration with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, launched China Ocean Economy Stock Price Index in 2024, covering 20 marine and related industries.
"This is the first domestic comprehensive index in the marine sector, covering all the markets of Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Hong Kong. It provides timely insights into the operational performance of listed companies in the marine industry and plays an important role in promoting the efficient allocation of financial capital to the marine real economy," said Feng Lei, deputy director of the Ocean Strategic Planning and Economic Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Small marine firms accelerate commercialization of sci-tech achievements under greater policy support
