China conducts 5 rocket engine tests in Beijing, Hebei

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) carried out a total of five rocket engine tests in Beijing and Laiyuan County, north China's Hebei Province on Thursday, laying a solid foundation for the implementation of major aerospace projects later this year.

In Beijing, Institute 101 of the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology under the CASC conducted a test on four types of engines, including a new hydrogen-oxygen engine.

At 11:21, a new engine was ignited and shut down normally after working for about 100 seconds, successfully completing ground calibration testing before its delivery.

"The just-completed experiment tested an upper-stage hydrogen-oxygen engine. It tested the overall coordination of the engine and obtained performance data. After assessment, we concluded that the test was a complete success," said Xia Wei, an engineer of the CASC.

Besides the test, Beijing also witnessed the other three tests on the rockets' main thrust engine, upper-stage engine, and reaction and orbit control engine.

In Laiyuan, a test of a liquid oxygen-methane engine was also successfully completed on Thursday.

China conducts 5 rocket engine tests in Beijing, Hebei

China conducts 5 rocket engine tests in Beijing, Hebei

China conducts 5 rocket engine tests in Beijing, Hebei

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Thursday that it would slash key interest rates by 25 basis points in a bid to wind down the restrictive monetary policy.

Effective from March 12, the interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will be decreased to 2.50 percent, 2.65 percent and 2.90 percent respectively, said the central bank in a statement.

The disinflation process is well on track, with headline inflation averaging 2.3 percent in 2025, 1.9 percent in 2026 and 2.0 percent in 2027, the ECB said.

The decision to keep on cutting rates came at a time when the economy in the eurozone is facing increasing uncertainties.

In its latest edition of the staff projections on Thursday, the ECB lowered its forecast for economic growth in the eurozone to 0.9 percent for 2025, 1.2 percent for 2026 and 1.3 percent for 2027.

This marks a downward revision from the ECB's forecast in December last year, which had projected 1.1 percent growth in 2025 and 1.4 percent in 2026, while the 2027 outlook remains unchanged.

The ECB attributed the weaker growth outlook for 2025 and 2026 to declining exports and sluggish investment, citing high trade policy uncertainty and broader economic instability as key factors.

ECB cuts interest rates by 25 basis points