Despite China's ban on solid waste imports three years ago, developed countries continue to exploit regulatory loopholes to export waste to developing countries including China, avoiding higher recycling costs at home.

Other developing countries, such as those in Southeast Asia, alongside China, have increasingly restricted foreign waste imports, but this has not halted the practice.

A key driver of this issue is the profitability and low risk of waste trafficking. Developed countries, aiming to cut costs, use "waste colonialism" as a tactic, exporting plastic and other low-value waste, Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times.

Many of these wastes are contaminated with toxic heavy metals and other hazardous substances, leading to significant environmental and public health risks in receiving countries, Ma noted, calling for global efforts to tackle these issues.

'Low-risk crimes'

In China, the imported or smuggled waste is straightforwardly called "foreign waste." Those are low-value waste products from other countries, including untreated organic materials, household waste, medical waste, various industrial waste liquids and residues, as well as certain used electronics or components.

Although some items may hold limited recycling potential, they often fail to meet environmental standards and may release toxic heavy metals, organic chemicals or even radioactive substances during processing, leading to resource depletion and environmental contamination.

In September this year, Lianhe Zaobao reported that a ship carrying 102 containers departed from Albania's Durres port, only to be denied entry upon arrival in Thailand. Some reports indicated that these containers held toxic waste, prompting Thai authorities to reject them.

The term "waste colonialism," as The Guardian's article called it, aptly describes the practice by which Western countries export plastic and other types of waste to less-developed countries.

The EU parliament noted that in 2021 the EU generated 16.13 million tons of plastic waste, averaging 36.1 kilograms per person. Although 6.56 million tons were recycled, about half of the collected plastic waste was exported for processing, often to non-EU countries with fewer resources for safe waste management.

In 2022, the US exported more than 950 million tons of plastic waste meant for recycling and a significant portion of that ended up in Southeast Asia, PBS reported.

Historically, China was a primary destination for these exports, but recent restrictions have prompted the waste to go to other countries, primarily Turkey, India and Egypt, with increasing risks of incineration and landfill use, according to the EU parliament.

Southeast Asia is another destination of developed countries' dumps.

Nikkei Asia reported that from 2017 to 2021, ASEAN countries, which comprise less than 9 percent of the global population, received approximately 17 percent of all global plastic waste imports, based on UN data. A Greenpeace report from 2019 highlighted a sharp 171 percent increase in plastic waste imports to Southeast Asia, rising to 2.26 million tons between 2016 and 2018 alone.

Imported trash has swamped Southeast Asia, Nikkei Asia said.

Liu Jianguo, a professor from Tsinghua University's School of Environment told Global Times that the global flow of "foreign waste" from developed to developing countries has not significantly changed, primarily due to the ongoing disparity in global industrial division. Developed countries tend to focus on high-value industries like R&D and manufacturing, while lower-value waste recycling industries are relegated to developing countries.

"In today's globalized world, waste management has become an increasingly pressing concern in which production, consumption habits, waste crime, waste trafficking, corruption, organized crime, money laundering and the circular economy are intertwined," said Masood Karimipour, UN Office on Drugs and Crime Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. "The crime of waste trafficking is taking away the value that legal, well-regulated waste trade brings to sustainable economies."

"Waste trafficking is a crime that has a profound impact on the environment, bringing high profits and low risks to perpetrators. If we are to fight this crime, we must change this by closing regulatory gaps, increasing enforcement, and strengthening cooperation at home and abroad," said Preeyaporn Suwannaked, Director General of the Pollution Control Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Thailand.

International push

In response to escalating global plastic pollution, ethical responsibility and strengthened regulation are emphasized as essential measures to address the problem of "foreign waste."

In March 2022, the resumed fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) adopted a historic resolution to establish an international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution, including oceanic plastic pollution.

Following China's lead, several countries are also taking action. Thailand has announced a comprehensive ban on plastic waste imports, set to take full effect by January 1, 2025.

"To resolve this issue, there must be a balanced international industrial division and an improvement in developing countries' economic and regulatory capabilities," Liu emphasized. "For developed countries, voicing environmental slogans is futile without genuine accountability. They must both regulate waste exports and establish robust domestic recycling systems to avoid outsourcing the cost to less affluent countries," Liu said.

Ma also emphasized that the rising living standards in developing countries are leading to increased domestic waste production, which necessitates efficient waste management systems and stringent regulation.

He noted that China currently mandates waste incineration companies to install online monitoring systems and publicly disclose emissions data. This rigorous regulatory approach has garnered interest from other developing countries and serves as a model they could adopt.

Xi, UAE President exchange congratulations over 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties

China launches Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship

Multiple coastal regions in South China and East China on Monday stepped up precautions against the double impact from typhoons Trami and Kong-rey by evacuating personnel, harboring fishing boats and suspending classes, as heavy precipitation, urban waterlogging and secondary disasters have been forecast in these regions due to their combined effects. 

China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast on Monday that the joint impact of the tropical depression Trami and a cold front will bring heavy rainfall in South China's Hainan Province on Monday and Tuesday with most of the province expected to experience intense rainstorms. Especially on Tuesday, the precipitation can reach 250 millimeters to 300 millimeters in some of the eastern parts of the province on a single day. 

Though Trami has weakened, the national meteorological agency still forecast heavy downpours in parts of Hainan and experts warned of severe conditions and secondary disasters such as landslides and debris flow that may be brought about by prolonged heavy rainfall and significant cumulative precipitation, chinanews.com reported on Monday. 

Meanwhile, the tropical storm Kong-rey has strengthened into a severe tropical storm as it moves northwestward and approaches the eastern part of Taiwan island while continuing to intensifying, with expected landfall on the coastal areas on the central or northern parts of Taiwan island later this week. It is forecast that the tropical cyclone may brush along or make landfall on the coastal areas of East China's Zhejiang and Fujian provinces and gradually weaken in intensity, as reported by chinanews.com.

The latest weather forecast shows that Kong-rey may bring heavy rainstorms to areas including Taiwan, Fujian, Zhejiang and Shanghai and the public need to pay attention to the latest typhoon forecast and early warning information, and take preventive measures in advance, since its path is still uncertain, according to the NMC. 

In response to the typhoon, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters in Hainan have relocated personnel from offshore operations such as offshore platforms and hydraulic projects in advance, with 42 projects suspended, 159 construction ships returning to ports for shelter, 1,074 people evacuated, and 34,479 fishing boats harbored at ports. 

In Sanya, Hainan's local education authorities ordered primary schools and kindergartens to suspend classes from Monday noon. Additionally, Xidao Island, a national AAAA-level scenic spot, suspended operations on Monday and the city's cultural center also suspended its activities on the same day. 

The Yangpu checkpoint of Haikou's border inspection station responded swiftly by dispatching additional officers to assist companies and ship operators in implementing various preventive measures, to ensure fast customs clearance and safe repositioning of international vessels to shelter from the rainstorms. As of Friday afternoon, all foreign vessels in the port area had departed to anchorage areas for shelter or exited the country. 

Meanwhile, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters in Fujian activated a Level-IV emergency response against the typhoon on Sunday and demanded local related departments to monitor typhoon developments closely to strengthen preventive efforts, according to chinanews.com. 

Despite that there are more typhoons in autumn this year than usual, it is normal for typhoons to occur at this period of time as long as the conditions are met for the formation of typhoons, Zhang Mingying, a Beijing-based meteorologist, told the Global Times on Monday.

Typhoon Trami has claimed 116 lives in the Philippines, with 39 people missing and more than 6.71 million people affected as of Monday morning, according to the Philippines' National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, China Central Television reported.

The delivery ceremony for the payloads of the Shijian-19, China's first reusable and returnable test satellite, was hosted on Thursday in Beijing by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), which marks the successful completion of the satellite project's return mission.

The CNSA, along with domestic primary users and international rideshare users such as Thailand and Pakistan, signed the payload delivery certificates. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) signed the payload delivery certificates with representatives from domestic commercial rideshare users.

The delivered payloads included staple food crops, economic crops, microbial aerospace breeding materials, and space technology experiment payloads among 20 major categories, CNSA told the Global Times.

Shijian-19 has carried payloads from five countries, including Thailand and Pakistan, fostering extensive international cooperation, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

It took full advantage of the new generation returnable space experiment platform with its "short breeding cycle and high payload efficiency," successfully completing nearly 1,000 space breeding experiments for germplasm resources. This provided significant support for innovations in China's germplasm resources, the CNSA stated.

Shijian-19 also offered valuable in-orbit validation opportunities for domestically produced components and raw materials, further solidifying the foundation for the independent innovation and sustainable development of China's aerospace technology.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, the Shijian-19 satellite, China's first reusable and returnable test satellite, was sent into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China on September 27, and was successfully retrieved at the Dongfeng landing site in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on October 11. 

The Shijian-19 satellite has realized a number of technological breakthroughs, and will significantly enhance the technical level and application efficiency of China's returnable satellites, the Xinhua News Agency added.

An AI social simulation platform developed by Chinese scientists was unveiled on Friday at a forum, capable of integrating multidimensional data to support social governance through early warning and analysis, particularly in areas such as intelligent transportation, public safety, and school bullying prevention.

The platform, called "Large Social Simulator 1.0," co-developed by scientists from Peking University-Wuhan Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Peking University, Tsinghua University and other universities and research institutes, was released at a forum in Wuhan, Hubei Province on Friday.

It has been used in seven schools in Donghu New Technology Development Zone, Wuhan, including for campus bullying alerts, AI physical assessments, and VR future classrooms, the Global Times learnt.

Pilot projects have also been applied in communities such as Hukou, Huanglongshan, and Xingyuan in Wuhan. These projects utilize VR simulation environments to simulate emergency population evacuation, and also assist in addressing challenges brought by residents throwing objects from heights.

This simulator is capable of simulating vast interactions among intelligent agents within a 3D modeling environment.

It is able to integrate multidimensional data from individuals, groups, and public services to establish a comprehensive data ecosystem.

The system firstly labels multi-layered model behaviors with two functions, which respectively refer to the utility system and value system, and then utilizes technologies called "distributed computing and high-concurrency scheduling" to accurately conduct the simulation, the Global Times learnt.

Zhu Songchun, director of the Beijing Institute for General Artificial Intelligence, another institute that co-developed the simulator, told the Global Times that he believed that in the future, the simulator will have a wide range of applications in managing mega cities and complex social governance, including monitoring the population flow.

President Xi Jinping has urged east China's Fujian Province to play a pioneering role in the country's modernization drive by staying committed to its development goals.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during an inspection tour in the coastal province on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Fujian should continue to make greater progress in accelerating the development of a modern economic system, Xi said.

On Tuesday afternoon, Xi inspected Dongshan County in the city of Zhangzhou, and learned about the sale of dried seafood and the fishing harvest at a local village.

Xi, who visited the village 23 years ago, said he was delighted to see that the village has undergone tremendous changes, adding that China's countryside will surely have a brighter prospect on the new journey in the new era.

He then paid a visit to the Gu Wenchang memorial hall, where he learned about the inspiring deeds of Gu, a former Party chief of Dongshan.

Calling on officials at all levels to learn from Gu, Xi asked them to win public recognition from the people they serve.

At the Guandi cultural industrial park, Xi learned about local efforts in strengthening the protection of cultural heritage and promoting cultural exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.

On Wednesday morning, Xi visited the Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone, urging local authorities to adapt to the evolving situation, steadily promote institutional opening up, and make new achievements in expanding high-level opening up.

China’s Chang’e-6 lunar samples retrieved from the far side of the moon made their global debut at the 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) held in Milan, Italy from October 14 to 18. The display of such precious lunar samples not only highlights China's advancements in space technology but also provides new research prospects for global space scientists, China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on Saturday. 

Themed “Responsible Space for Sustainability,” this year’s IAC in Italy brought together leaders of space agencies, international organizations, researchers, entrepreneurs and astronauts representing more than 100 countries and regions. The IAC showcased the latest space technologies and achievements, delving into topics such as sustainable exploration of the moon and Mars, space observation of Earth's climate change, the role of private enterprises in space, and the applications of artificial intelligence, the CNSA said in a statement it provided to the Global Times on Saturday.

The significant achievements of China's Chang'e-6 lunar sample return mission became the focal point of the event, according to the CNSA. For the first time, lunar soil samples collected from the far side of the moon were showcased globally. 

The unveiling of this precious sample not only highlights China's technological advancements in space but also provides new research prospects for global space scientists, the CNSA noted. Many heads of space agencies and representatives from international organizations visited the lunar samples. 

The CNSA also held a press conference for the Chang’e-6 mission on October 15, during which Li Guoping, Chief Engineer of the CNSA, delivered a speech. 

He stated that the CNSA consistently adheres to the principles of "equality, mutual benefit, inclusiveness, openness, and win-win cooperation," opening the doors to collaboration and contributing Chinese wisdom and strength to sustainable space exploration and the construction of a shared future for humanity in outer space. 

Li Guoping also outlined China's future lunar and deep space exploration plans, urging international collaboration in the development for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS.) 

He announced that the second batch of international applications for Chang'e 5 lunar samples would soon begin and welcomed scientists from around the world to engage in joint scientific research. 

Director Guan Feng from the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center introduced the Chang'e-6 mission process and the latest research progress on samples from the far side of the moon, stating that scientific research on the Chang'e-6 lunar samples will be comprehensively launched, aiming for early and rapid results to expand humanity's understanding of the moon.

A wildlife rescue and breeding center in Northwest China's Qinghai Province recently successfully released a Tibetan fox equipped with a satellite tracking collar after it had been rescued, the first of its kind in the world. 

The tracking device will provide rich data for offering clues to the behaviors of Tibetan foxes in the wild.

The Tibetan fox, a species native to the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, was reintroduced to the wild on September 26, 2024, in Riyue township, Huangyuan county, Xining city. 

Data transmitted from the collar showed that the fox's activity remained normal as of Thursday, leading experts to initially conclude the release had been a success, the Qinghai wildlife rescue and breed center confirmed to the Global Times on Sunday.

The Tibetan fox, called Hu San Tiao, is a juvenile male about one year old. On June 4, 2024, Hu San Tiao was found trapped in a fence at a deer farm in Riyue township. 

Initially found weak and suffering from a poor appetite, he had regained a healthy weight, received vaccinations for canine infectious diseases, and undergone deworming treatments at the rescue center before his release in late September.

He was released at a gentle slope at an altitude of 3,300 meters, a typical alpine meadow habitat with abundant plateau pikas, the primary food source for Tibetan foxes in the wild, according to the center.

As of October 10, 14 days after his release, the collar had collected 325 data points and nearly 50 photos.

The Tibetan fox primarily found in China, and in parts of Nepal and India. 

In China, it is classified as a second-class protected wild animal. 

On Chinese social media, Tibetan foxes have gained fame from their famously vacant and indifferent expressions.

Lai Ching-te continued to propagate the "two-state" rhetoric by claiming that the two sides are "not subordinate" to each other in his speech, fabricating fallacies about "Taiwan independence," advocating separatist views, and inciting hostility and confrontation across the Taiwan Straits, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Thursday, slamming Taiwan regional leader Lai who trumpeted secessionism in his provocative "Double Ten" (October 10) speech on Thursday morning.

This clearly demonstrates that Lai stubbornly adheres to the stance of "Taiwan independence," is filled with confrontational thinking, continuously provokes and stirs up trouble, and deliberately creates tensions across the Taiwan Straits, severely undermining peace and stability, Chen said.

The spokesperson said that after 1949, due to the prolonged civil war in China and external interference, the two sides of the Taiwan Straits have been in a prolonged state of political confrontation. However, Taiwan has always been a part of Chinese territory, Taiwan compatriots have always been members of the Chinese nation, the government of the People's Republic of China has always been the sole legitimate government representing all of China, including Taiwan, he said. China has always been the motherland of all Chinese people, and upholding the one-China principle has always been a common consensus in the international community, Chen noted.

Different systems are not a barrier to unification, nor are they an excuse for division. The current fight against "Taiwan independence" is not a fight over systems, it is a fight between reunification and division, Chen highlighted.

Lai is deliberately scheming to fabricate justifications for splitting the country. Chen said that under the guise of so-called "democracy and freedom," Lai continues to seek "independence" by relying on external forces and military means, attempting to tie Taiwan onto the "Taiwan independence" chariot, he said, adding that "his separatist provocations are the root cause of turmoil and instability in the Taiwan Straits, which will bring disaster to the people of Taiwan".

Nothing Lai has said can change Taiwan's legal status as a part of China or the fact and status quo that both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one China, he added.

"We have the confidence and capability to achieve the complete reunification of our motherland. No individual or force can stop the historical trend of national rejuvenation and reunification," Chen said.