Home Blog Page 1111

Hecto Media Launches AI-Powered Multilingual K-Culture Platform, ‘K-snapp’

  • Real-time, AI-driven multilingual delivery of K-entertainment news to expand global fan engagement

SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Hecto Media, a subsidiary of Hecto Group, has officially launched K-snapp (k-snapp.com), Korea’s first AI-powered multilingual K-culture service. K-snapp represents a new global media model that delivers entertainment and cultural content produced in Korea to audiences around the world in real time.

[K-snapp Photo] Image generated by AI
[K-snapp Photo] Image generated by AI

As K-content such as K-Pop Demon Hunters gains global attention, demand for rapid access to Korean entertainment and cultural news is increasing. However, services that allow international fans to follow Korea’s entertainment industry in real time without language barriers remain limited, with concerns over the speed and accuracy of translation and editing.

To address these structural limitations, Hecto Media has implemented an AI-driven system that collects and analyzes entertainment news and K-star social media data, identifies key issues based on global fan interest, and automates the entire process—from translation and editing to multilingual distribution. Through this AI-based approach, K-snapp positions itself as a global fandom platform delivering K-culture news in multiple languages with unmatched speed.

Since its early stages, K-snapp has attracted a steady influx of international fans primarily through Instagram, with its follower count approaching 30,000. Following the launch of English and Spanish services, the platform introduced its Japanese-language service on the 16th and plans to expand into additional languages, including Chinese, to accelerate its global market expansion.

Leveraging its proprietary technology framework, Hecto Media is exploring collaboration opportunities with global media outlets, entertainment companies, and platform operators. By automating the entire content production and distribution process through AI, partners can achieve both cost efficiency and global scalability, while rapidly deploying customized K-content services tailored to their own platforms.

In addition, K-snapp has a roadmap to evolve into a participatory fandom platform and plans to introduce new fandom experiences through global payment and community features.

A representative from K-snapp said, “As global expectations continue to rise with the expansion of K-content, K-snapp is a platform that delivers news about Korean artists with speed and accuracy,” adding that “starting with the expansion of its multilingual services, the company aims to evolve into a global fandom platform encompassing community and payment features.”

For More Information

Venturing into the “Robotics + Artificial Intelligence” Frontier Shenzhen Kingkey Smart Agriculture Times Strategically Invests in Huibo Robotics

HONG KONG, Dec. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On the evening of December 30th, Shenzhen Kingkey Smart Agriculture Times (stock code: a000048) announced the formal signing of an《Equity Investment Intention Agreement》with Jiangsu Huibo Robotics Technology Co., Ltd. (“Huibo Robotics”). Shenzhen Kingkey Smart Agriculture Times intends to acquire a controlling stake through a capital increase and equity transfer, and will jointly establish an “Embodied Robotics Research Institute” with Huibo Robotics’ core team, led by Academician Sun Li Ning. This marks a significant step for the listed company, whose primary business is hog raising, into cutting-edge technology fields such as robotics, Embodied Intelligence, and Artificial Intelligence. Shenzhen Kingkey Smart Agriculture Times is officially entering the burgeoning field of AI and robotics integration, establishing a foundation for its second growth curve.

Huibo Robotics: Leading the Way in AI-Powered Intelligent Manufacturing Full-Stack Solutions

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Suzhou, Jiangsu Huibo Robotics Technology Co., Ltd. is a national high-tech enterprise specializing in the research and industrialization of robotics, intelligent manufacturing, and Artificial Intelligence technologies. Huibo has constructed a full-stack technology system encompassing “core components, operating systems, complete machine systems, and application scenarios.” The company was previously listed on the New Third Board, demonstrating financial transparency and standardized governance.

Huibo Robotics’ core team hails from the Harbin Institute of Technology’s Robotics Research Institute, Huawei, and other prominent enterprises. Led by academicians, Chang Jiang Scholars, and other leading experts, the team has spearheaded multiple national-level research and development projects. Huibo Robotics has been recognized as a “Specialized, Refined, and New Little Giant” by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and as an Innovative Team by the Ministry of Science and Technology, holding over 400 authorized patents, including 114 invention patents.

Huibo Robotics’ core technologies encompass robot core components (such as high-performance integrated joints), domestic robot operating systems, and Artificial Intelligence technologies (machine vision, multi-modal perception, etc.). Its main products include new energy operation and maintenance robots, Embodied Intelligence robots (humanoid, quadruped), university education products, and intelligent manufacturing factories, serving customers in higher education, energy, intelligent manufacturing, and other industries.

The company is a domestic leader in the construction of university robotics laboratories and intelligent operation and maintenance for photovoltaic power stations. It also has advantages in intelligent factory solutions for niche areas such as the nuclear industry, having cumulatively served over 1,000 leading enterprises, including Huaneng and Huadian, and nearly 2,000 institutions, such as Harbin Institute of Technology and Northwestern Polytechnical University. As of the end of September 2025, the company’s total assets reached RMB 1.004 billion, with net assets of RMB 317 million. Full-year revenue for 2024 was RMB 380 million, and the projected full-year revenue for 2025 is approximately RMB 400 million, demonstrating a strong foundation and promising growth potential.

Steered by Academician Sun Li Ning, Pioneering Breakthroughs and Industrialization of Embodied Intelligence Technology

Academician Sun Li Ning, a renowned robotics expert, co-founded Huibo Robotics in 2009 and serves as its founder and chief scientist. In leading the company’s development, Academician Sun strategically established a forward-looking “dual-engine” strategy focused on industry and education, taking the lead in deploying the “robotics + AI” and Embodied Intelligence technology roadmap. By spearheading initiatives such as the establishment of provincial-level Academician Expert Innovation Centers, he provides strategic support for the company’s technological research and development, and industrialization efforts.

With thirty years of dedicated research in the robotics field, Academician Sun has achieved systematic and innovative breakthroughs in cutting-edge areas such as industrial robots, medical robots, and micro-nano robots. He has twice been awarded the second prize of the National Technology Invention Award/National Science and Technology Progress Award, and has received numerous national honors, including the Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize and the National Innovation and Competition Award Certificate.

As a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, a Distinguished Professor of the Ministry of Education’s “Changjiang Scholars Program,” a leading talent in the National Ten Thousand Talents Program, the head of the Innovation Team in Key Fields of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Innovation Talent Promotion Plan, and a Fellow of the Chinese Society of Micro-Nano Technology, Academician Sun enjoys a highly esteemed reputation in both academic and industrial sectors.

Notably, Academician Sun leads the core team of the Harbin Institute of Technology Robotics Research Institute, establishing a unique team advantage combining “top university research expertise + practical experience from leading technology enterprises.” This continuously provides Huibo Robotics with high-caliber talent, national-level research projects, and industrial resources, injecting crucial momentum into the company’s innovative breakthroughs and commercialization efforts in the age of Embodied Intelligence.

Embracing the Technological Revolution, Creating New Synergistic Value

Currently, the world is experiencing a technological revolution and industrial transformation driven by Artificial Intelligence and robotics. Shenzhen Kingkey Smart Agriculture Times’s strategic investment in Huibo Robotics marks its official entry into the “robotics + AI” sector. This move not only lays the groundwork for future growth and optimizes the business structure, but also represents a key strategic decision to promote industrial synergy.

As per the agreement, Huibo Robotics will center its operations on “robotics + AI” within high-value sectors like industry and new energy. The company will commit to full-stack development and practical application, building a sustainable profit model based on “robot sales + value-added services” through precision manufacturing and process optimization. Huibo Robotics has also committed to launching two humanoid robot products by 2026, achieving an average annual revenue growth of at least 30% from 2026 to 2028, and filing applications for no fewer than 200 related patents.

This investment holds significant potential for industrial synergy. By leveraging Huibo’s technological advantages, Shenzhen Kingkey Smart Agriculture Times’s Hog Raising business can accelerate its transformation toward intelligent operations on the existing foundation of standardization, industrialization, and digitalization, further enhancing its sustainable development momentum and core competitiveness. Through technological innovation and industrial integration, the company will unlock new development opportunities, inject momentum into long-term value enhancement, and generate improved returns for shareholders.

From Livestock to Learning: Kansa’s Story

An Education Cannot Wait-funded, Norwegian Refugee Council and Save the Children-supported holistic education programme is bringing internally-displaced children to school for the very first time in Ethiopia.

BABILE WOREDA, Ethiopia, Dec. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — When Kansa was eleven years old, her quiet life was turned upside down. Born in Belbelītī Village in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, the young girl’s days were spent helping her family tend to their livestock. But when the border conflict between the Somali and Oromia regions arrived at their doorstep, Kansa and her family were forced to flee their home – leaving everything but the clothes on their backs behind. 

Kansa writes on the blackboard in her classroom in the Kologi IDP Camp, Ethiopia. © Save the Children and NRC Ethiopia/Saron Habtamu
Kansa writes on the blackboard in her classroom in the Kologi IDP Camp, Ethiopia. © Save the Children and NRC Ethiopia/Saron Habtamu

The family of nine – Kansa, her parents and six siblings – eventually found safety and settled in the Kologi IDP Camp in Babile Woreda, Somali Region. Despite the upheaval and loss that young Kansa experienced during this unimaginable time, she notes one shining silver lining to her new life: school.

Before coming to the IDP camp, Kansa had never stepped foot inside of a classroom.

After arriving at Kologi Camp, a back-to-school campaign created awareness in the community about the benefits of education and encouraged parents, including Kansa’s, to enroll their daughters and sons in the camp primary school. Now 15, Kansa is a star student at Horsade Primary School and looks forward to class every day. 

Supported by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) with funding from Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations, the camp school is providing a holistic education response in the crisis-affected community.

Growing up in Belbelītī Village, Kansa didn’t think she would ever have the opportunity to attend school, or dream of a life outside of tending livestock and doing household chores.  “Most girls like me despaired of ever getting an education,” she says.

Today, Kansa is in the fourth grade. A student at Horsade Primary School in the Kologi IDP Camp, she has been regularly attending school for four years. Her favorite subjects are English, mathematics and environmental science. 

The fifteen-year-old has big dreams for her future, too. She says, “I want to be educated and become a university lecturer.”

Ethiopia is facing one of the worst humanitarian crises it has seen in decades due to internal violence, insecurity, poverty, displacement, hunger and malnutrition compounded by the impacts of climate change. The worst drought in four decades, exacerbated by climate change, is triggering conflicts and has made survival a daily struggle for many in the country. These challenges are compromising the education of hundreds of thousands of children.

Since 2017, ECW has been supporting refugee, internally-displaced and host community children to access safe and inclusive educational opportunities – with the aim of increasing enrolment and continuity of education; providing training for teachers; strengthening school infrastructure; and building community support for safe, inclusive, holistic learning environments, with a focus on girls and children with disabilities.

ECW’s investments in Ethiopia are ensuring that in-country partners like NRC are able to provide critical ‘whole-of-child’ interventions. For Kansa and the children in Kologi IDP Camp, this translates to quality education, the provision of school materials and menstrual hygiene products, school feeding programmes, access to clean water, mental health and psychosocial support, support from peer and girls’ clubs, and more.

ECW-supported partners Save the Children and NRC work in close collaboration to ensure school feeding for crisis-affected children like Kansa. “My family and I eat once or twice a day. But unlike us, most of my classmates are not able to eat even once daily,” she says. “Getting this service in school has tremendously increased our enrollment. School feeding is crucial for all of us.” 

Joining an NRC-facilitated girls’ club at school, Kansa has continued to flourish under the encouragement and support of peers and coaches. The club has provided girls in the camp with a safe place to discuss things such as school and menstrual hygiene management.

Four years into her education, Kansa has gained more than the ability to read, write and do math. She has become a happier child and learned to dream. “We, as displaced people, used to feel that we were not equal to others and that we couldn’t get an education. As a girl, going to school was unthinkable. However, attending this school and receiving support from the girls’ club has boosted my confidence and shown me that we have the same right to learn as boys do – and that I can do anything,” says Kansa.

 

Pepsi & 7UP Team Up with Disney on Zootopia 2, Sparking Fresh Wave of Crossover Youthful Energy

SHANGHAI, Dec. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Pepsi and 7UP have teamed up with Disney to launch the Zootopia 2 campaign, bringing the movie’s thrilling chase and adventure to life under the brand message “Zero Sugar for City-Wide Craze.” This collaboration not only appeals to the younger generation from the aesthetic perspective but also delivers a rich, multi-faceted, and immersive experience. More than another major initiative to engage young consumers and reach young families, it represents Pepsi’s long-term commitment to infusing pop culture into its brand narrative, leveraging crossover innovations to forge a stronger emotional connection with consumers.


Zero-Sugar Attitude Connects with Gen Z, Crossover Collaboration Resonates with Pop Culture

For years, Pepsi has made youth culture the heartbeat of its brand, constantly seeking fresh ways to engage with Gen Z. In China’s beverage market, zero sugar drinks have become more than a choice. They’re a form of self-expression. Leading this shift, Pepsi and 7UP have consistently rolled out new taste experiences, bold visual identities, and cultural collaborations to build brand experiences rich in social currency. This isn’t the first time Pepsi and 7UP have joined forces with Disney. From earlier collaboration around Star Wars and Fantastic Four to the Zootopia franchise, the brands have repeatedly used iconic IPs as vibrant cultural touchpoints. Through these collaborations, they have infused the Zero Sugar for City-Wide Craze message into pop culture, creating shared moments that resonate across generations and social circles.

It’s worth highlighting that as the prime beverage supplier, PepsiCo has formed a strategic alliance with Shanghai Disney Resort since the resort’s official opening. The two have been working together to explore how brands can embrace pop culture. Together, they’ve refined a collaboration model built on speed, precision, and impact: precise targeting of key audiences, agile adaptation to cultural trends, and the power to turn creative vision into real-world impact.

Since its debut, Zootopia has captivated audiences worldwide, earning its place as an animated classic with both critical acclaim and box office success. In China, where it became the highest-grossing imported animated movie to date, it has built a massive fanbase and lasting emotional resonance. The return of Zootopia 2 is more than a cultural event. It’s a moment eagerly awaited by Gen Z. Riding this wave of excitement and social buzz, the collaboration turns Pepsi and 7UP into fresh markers of identity, empowering fans and young consumers to express who they are through the brands they embrace.

New Can Characters Unveiled, Tapping into the Zootopia Fanbase

The four limited-edition cans are inspired by the distinct personalities of the movie’s iconic characters:

  • Pepsi Zero Sugar channels the courage and determination of Judy Hopps.
  • 7UP Zero Sugar captures the wit and free-spirited charm of Nick Wilde.
  • New characters Gary and Nibbles also make a surprise appearance.

Beyond strengthening the Zero Sugar for City-Wide Craze message, these character-driven designs broaden the brands’ reach to include young families. Seamlessly blending Disney’s storytelling magic with Pepsi and 7UP’s bold, youthful identity, the collection turns each can into a canvas of creativity and connection.

These limited-edition cans become a form of social currency: collectible, shareable, and brimming with meaning. They translate the charisma and camaraderie of the characters into a tangible, refreshing experience right in the hands of consumers. Every moment of drinking becomes a statement, letting people express themselves through the characters while bridging the emotional world of the movie with their own real-life moments.

Igniting Online and Offline Buzz, Delivering a Full Immersive Experience of City-Wide Craze

Building on their core products, Pepsi and 7UP launched an integrated campaign that merged online and offline touchpoints, igniting a “City-Wide Craze” through interactive city-wide activations and full-scenario engagement. From eye-catching out-of-home installations to buzzworthy social media interactions, the brands brought the Zero Sugar for City-Wide Craze message to life across key cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, and Shenzhen, seamlessly blending into the entertaining lives of young consumers and forging an emotional bond that goes beyond the product itself.

Meanwhile, Pepsi and 7UP orchestrated a multi-channel campaign spanning online and offline touchpoints to sustain momentum for the collaboration. They also released a series of free Zootopia 2 merchandise, creating the “Zero Sugar for City-Wide Craze” experience that helps translate public buzz into actual sales and turning every “pop of the can” into a heightened moment of social connection and joy.

From a strategic perspective, this relationship underscores PepsiCo China’s role as an innovation leader in the APAC region. Pepsi and 7UP are continuously pushing the boundaries of the zero sugar category with crossover creativity and youthful energy. By building a holistic, integrated marketing ecosystem, they achieve a deep fusion of brand, content, and context. While extending the magic of the Disney experience, this collaboration incorporates Pepsi’s unique youthful dynamism to offer consumers a more diverse and interactive engagement. The tripartite model also serves as an inspiring playbook for other global markets, unlocking greater potential at the intersection of brands, entertainment, culture, and consumer experience. Moving forward, Pepsi will continue to be driven by a youth-centric vision and cultural co-creation, spreading the zero-sugar trend to more young consumers, exploring new possibilities in family context, and brightening every moment for those who love to try something new.

 

KLMBio Accelerates Global Expansion in Bone Graft Market with Human Tissue-Based Medical Devices

SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — KLMBio, a manufacturer and exporter of human tissue-based medical devices, is accelerating its global business expansion by strengthening its high-value tissue-based product portfolio to target the rapidly growing global bone graft market.

The global bone graft market is a high-growth medical device sector, driven by steadily increasing usage in orthopedic surgery, spinal procedures, and dental implants. The market is projected to reach approximately USD 6.66 billion by 2032. In particular, human tissue-based products continue to gain market preference and profitability due to their limited supply and consistently strong demand.

Aligned with these market trends, KLMBio focuses on the production of high-value human tissue-based products, including bone grafts, ligaments, and secondary processed bone materials. The company has secured a stable raw material supply chain through partnerships with U.S.-based tissue banks and operates in-house Class II-level sterilization and freeze-drying manufacturing facilities. In addition, its U.S. subsidiary, MRTbio, is registered as an FDA Tissue Bank and operates direct distribution networks across the United States and Canada.

KLMBio is implementing a global marketing strategy under the slogan “Korea’s Specialized Manufacturer of Tissue-Based Therapeutic Materials.” The company has obtained key regulatory certifications, including AATB and FDA approvals in the United States, KFDA approval in Korea, and CTO certification in Canada. Leveraging these credentials, KLMBio is expanding its global presence across North America, Asia, and the Middle East. The company participates in major international exhibitions and academic conferences twice a year while continuously monitoring patent trends in the field of tissue engineering.

KLMBio has positioned high-complexity tissue-based products as its next-generation core pipeline and continues to strengthen its research and development efforts. As part of its global outreach, the company plans to participate in the New York Dental Meeting in December 2025. KLMBio aims to increase its overseas sales ratio from the current 10% to a balanced 50:50 split between domestic and international markets after 2026.

Through its U.S. subsidiary MRTbio, KLMBio provides OEM customers with comprehensive local support, including consultation, exhibitions, product sampling, and regulatory affairs (RA) assistance. This strategy enhances trust in KLMBio as a reliable global manufacturing partner for tissue-based medical devices while ensuring stable product supply.

Looking ahead, KLMBio plans to allocate approximately 40% of its total investment toward expanding production capacity, including the construction of a second manufacturing facility with cleanrooms and additional sterilization, freeze-drying, and packaging equipment. The company will also accelerate the commercialization of high-value products such as DBM Fiber, Dental Plug, and Amnion, strengthen regulatory capabilities through GMP and AATB certifications, and expand its specialized workforce to further enhance global competitiveness.

Thailand Releases 18 Cambodian Soldiers Held Since July: Govts

This photo is used for representational purpose only.

AFP – Thailand on Wednesday, 31 December, released 18 Cambodian soldiers captured in July, both governments said, after a fresh ceasefire between the neighbors held for more than three days following weeks of deadly border clashes.

“I can confirm that our 18 heroic soldiers have safely arrived on Cambodian soil at around 10:00 am (0300 GMT),” Cambodia’s information minister Neth Pheaktra told AFP.

Thailand’s foreign ministry also confirmed the repatriation of the 18 soldiers to Cambodia, saying it was done “as a demonstration of goodwill and confidence-building”, according to a statement.

“I am so happy. I can’t wait to see him. I miss him so much,” Voeung Vy, the father of one of the returned soldiers, told AFP.

He said he would welcome his son home in the capital, Phnom Penh.

The Southeast Asian neighbors agreed a truce on Saturday, ending renewed fighting at their border that killed dozens of people and displaced more than a million this month.

Under the truce, Cambodia and Thailand pledged to cease fire, freeze troop movements and cooperate on demining efforts along their disputed frontier.

They also agreed to allow civilians living in border areas to return home as soon as possible, while Thailand was to return 18 Cambodian soldiers captured in July within 72 hours, if the ceasefire held.

Cambodia has said its soldiers were captured by Thai forces on 29 July, nearly eight hours after a ceasefire that halted five days of deadly clashes went into effect.

The United States, China and Malaysia brokered a truce to end that round of fighting, but the ceasefire was short-lived.

US President Donald Trump jetted to Malaysia in October to oversee the signing of a follow-on declaration between Thailand and Cambodia, touting new trade deals after the neighbors agreed to prolong their truce.

That pact said that Thailand would “promptly release” the captured Cambodian soldiers, calling them “prisoners of war”.

But Bangkok suspended the agreement the following month, after Thai soldiers were wounded by landmines while on patrol at the border.

The reignited fighting this month, with artillery, tanks, drones and jets, spread to nearly every border province on both sides.

The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of the 800-kilometre (500-mile) Thai-Cambodian border, where both sides claim centuries-old temple ruins.

While the two nations agreed on Saturday to stop fighting, they still need to resolve the demarcation of their disputed border.


© Agence France-Presse

LA ROCHE-POSAY ANNOUNCES SUN YINGSHA AS BRAND SPOKESPERSON (SERUM & MASK) AND GLOBAL PARTNER

SHANGHAI, Dec. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — La Roche-Posay—the most prescribed skincare brand worldwide, recommended by over 100,000 dermatologists—officially announces Sun Yingsha as its Brand Spokesperson (Serum & Mask) and Global Partner on December 31, 2025.

LA ROCHE-POSAY ANNOUNCES SUN YINGSHA AS BRAND SPOKESPERSON (SERUM & MASK) AND GLOBAL PARTNER
LA ROCHE-POSAY ANNOUNCES SUN YINGSHA AS BRAND SPOKESPERSON (SERUM & MASK) AND GLOBAL PARTNER

The Chinese table tennis player Sun Yingsha, who is currently holding the world No.1 ranking in women’s singles[1], has become a defining figure in her sport through her unwavering willpower and deep passion for the game. Her outstanding achievements and charisma strongly resonate with sports fans and Gen-Z consumers worldwide, making her a natural fit with La Roche-Posay’s life-changing skincare spirit.

As the most prescribed brand worldwide from dermatological recommendation[2], La Roche-Posay has been at the forefront of dermatological research for over five decades. Through this partnership, the brand resonates strategically with Sun Yingsha to promote professional, safe and effective skincare solutions for consumers, from newborns to cancer patients, from UV protection to repairing the severely-injured skin, bringing a better life to all skin.

 

[1] International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), November2025.

[2] Survey conducted among the dermocosmetic market carried out by APLUSA and other partners between January 2024 and May 2024, involving dermatologists in 31 countries, representing more than 80% of the worldwide GDP. pecialists across 31 countries/regions, representing over 80% of global GDP.

CONTACT:
Icey Han
Icey.Han@qingmutec.com 

Exploring peaks, depths, seas, and poles, China notches concrete progress in natural resources technologies during 2021-2025

BEIJING, Dec. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A news report from China.org.cn on China’s natural resources technologies:

Exploring peaks, depths, seas, and poles, China notches concrete progress in natural resources technologies during 2021-2025
https://youtu.be/TInEX6v3QqU

Traces of China’s sci-tech exploration could be found on the snow-capped world’s highest peaks, the underlying ecological texture of the vast land, the dark tranquility of the deep ocean, and the icy expanse of the North and South Poles. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China’s natural resources sci-tech teams, with their fearless spirit of exploration, have built an all-dimensional innovation framework of “reaching for the sky, delving into the earth, scaling peaks, and venturing into the seas,” laying a solid foundation for national security and high-quality development.

The world’s highest peaks have always been a touchstone for surveying and mapping technology. When Chinese domestic equipment stood fully atop Mount Qomolangma for the first time, and when high-precision data was transmitted in real time via satellites, the maturity of China’s independent surveying and mapping technology was proven at an altitude of 8848.86 meters. Beyond this single breakthrough at Mount Qomolangma, the national satellite navigation and positioning reference station network based on the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System has woven an integrated national surveying and mapping benchmark system covering land, sea, air, and space. Centimeter-level precise positioning, like equipping all walks of life with “intelligent eyes,” ensures every voyage has a clear direction and every operation is efficient and accurate.

If outer space represents upward exploration, then deep earth exploration is a downward quest for answers. In China’s Tarim Basin, an ultra-deep borehole named “Shenditake 1” has reached a vertical depth of 10,910 meters, ranking as Asia’s deepest and the world’s second deepest vertical well. The drill pipe has completely penetrated 13 strata of the Tarim Basin, with the drill bit ultimately reaching 500-million-year-old ancient rocks, providing precious original data for studying the evolution of the Tarim Basin and hydrocarbon accumulation.

On the vast sea surface, China’s independently designed and built first ocean drilling vessel, the Meng Xiang, is riding the waves, carrying humanity’s dream of drilling through the earth’s crust to reach the upper mantle. This deep-sea giant boasts a marine drilling capacity of 11,000 meters and is equipped with the world’s largest, most functional, and most optimized on-board laboratory. In the future, it will play a key role in the exploration of resources such as combustible ice, seabed hydrogen, rare earths, and polymetallic nodules.

In the icy polar regions, China conducted its 15th Arctic Ocean scientific expedition. Relying on China’s independently designed and built world’s first ice-breaking manned deep-sea submersible support vessel, Tan Suo San Hao (Exploration No. 3), which carries the “Fendouzhe” (Striver) manned submersible, the expedition team completed 43 diving operations in the Arctic Ocean. Meanwhile, under the ice-breaking guidance of the “Xuelong 2” (Snow Dragon 2), the mother ship “Shenhai 1” (Deep Sea 1) carrying the “Jiaolong” submersible also completed China’s first Arctic dive, and achieved joint operations with the “Fendouzhe” in the deep Arctic Ocean, innovating the collaborative model of dual manned submersibles. Every water, sediment, rock, and biological sample brought back by the expedition team, and every set of observed data recorded, is providing Chinese solutions for revealing the laws of Arctic climate change and safeguarding polar ecological security.

The entire chain of natural resources — including survey and exploration, development and utilization, recycling, spatial governance, and digital intelligence empowerment — requires scientific and technological support. Exploring peaks, depths, seas, and poles, the technological breakthroughs in natural resources during the 14th Five-Year Plan period are bold attempts to explore the unknown, a responsibility to protect the motherland, and a practical answer from Chinese scientists to carry out international marine cooperation and understand, develop, and protect the Earth.