UPLIFTING VENTURE: A worker uses a forklift to load goods onto a freight train in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, on March 10. Using freight trains to deliver goods has greatly lowered costs for local businesses (ZHANG NAN)

Silk Road Atlas

A map covering the major countries along the proposed Silk Road Economic Belt was published in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, compilers said on March 9.

According to the Shaanxi Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation, the atlas includes geographic, transportation, cultural and economic information covering 16 countries and regions including China, Kazakhstan, Iran and Turkey.

The atlas is the first comprehensive profile of the major countries along the Silk Road.

China's Silk Road Economic Belt initiative was proposed in 2013 to improve cooperation between China and countries in Central Asia and Europe. The belt will be established along the ancient Silk Road trade route, stretching northwest from China's coastal area through Central Asia, the Middle East and on to Europe.

Back to Power

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has approved the construction of the second phase of a nuclear power in northeast China's Liaoning Province, the first approved since 2011, a company source said on March 10.

The second phase of the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Station involves 2 million-kilowatt generators. Approved by the NDRC, the second phase still needs a construction license from the National Nuclear Safety Administration.

The construction of the project in Liaoning will use the self-developed nuclear power technology of China General Nuclear Power Group based in south China's Guangdong Province, said Yang Xiaofeng, General Manager of Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Co. Ltd.

China suspended the approval of new nuclear plants and carried out a nationwide safety review after Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011. Last year, China said it would restart nuclear power generation projects in eastern coastal areas with the world's highest safety standards.

Nuclear power generation takes up about 2 percent of the total in China, much lower than the world average of 15 percent.

Aircraft Manufacturing

China expects breakthroughs in aircraft manufacturing this year, as the plans for several types of large planes will likely come to fruition after years of effort, sources close to the matter said on March 9.

"China's largest homegrown airfreighter Xi'an Y-20 (Kunpeng) will become available for delivery in the near term," Tang Changhong, Deputy Chief Engineer of Aviation Industry Corp. of China (AVIC), said on March 9.

The aircraft is able to rival international counterparts with cutting-edge technology after being tested in highly challenging and extreme conditions, Tang said.

Manufactured by Xi'an Aircraft Industry (Group) Co., a subsidiary of AVIC, it made a smooth maiden flight in 2013 after seven years of development.

Tang said the project has high value-added and an enormous industrial chain that will help the country's hi-tech industry.

China's first large passenger aircraft, the C919, and a new large amphibious aircraft, the AG600, will also come online in 2015. The latter will make its maiden flight in 2016.