The mystery of where Xi Jinping is headed on his first foreign visit since the start of 2020 has now been solved. Recent speculation pointed to Saudi Arabia. A hoax, as is now clear. Instead, China’s president and party leader is traveling to Central Asia. On Wednesday, Xi will be in Kazakhstan; from there he will continue to Uzbekistan for a summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others, are also expected to attend there. We will monitor and analyze Xi’s trip and possible meetings with Putin or Modi for you.
The topics of today are poisonous algae and stolen art treasures. Fabian Peltsch has taken a closer look at stolen art. So far, the debate has focused mainly on objects from Germany’s former African colonies. But now China is also shifting into the focus of so-called provenance research, for unflattering reasons: German soldiers were involved in the suppression of the “Boxer Rebellion,” which resulted in an “orgy of looting”. Many Chinese art pieces have since been scattered all over the world and can also be found in Germany.
Frank Sieren presents an invention by Chinese researchers who want to fight blue-green algae with relatively simple methods. These harmful algae are spreading rapidly in many countries as temperatures rise. The process developed in China could thus attract interest worldwide.
The project “Traces of the Boxer War” already has international resonance. Just recently, Christine Howald, the project manager, and Kerstin Pannhorst, a historian involved in the project, accompanied a Japanese film team through the Ethnological Museum in Berlin-Dahlem. The public television company NHK from Tokyo is shooting a film about art pieces from the colonial context in the possession of European museums.
The Japanese journalists asked the two scientists about provenance research. And they first had to explain what it is about in the first place: The still fairly young area of research aims to determine the origin of art pieces – and also shed light on the unequal power relationships that played a role in the change of ownership. In other words, were they bought, stolen, exchanged, donated, blackmailed, or looted?
“Traces of the Boxer War” is a joint project of seven state museums. It is funded by the German Centre for Lost Cultural Property. Together with their colleagues, Pannhorst and Howald are focusing on the suppression of the so-called Boxers – a freedom movement that rebelled against foreign occupiers in China around 1899. The “Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists,” as the Boxers called themselves, was crushed in 1900 by an alliance of German, French, British, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and American troops. Tens of thousands of people were killed, and cultural monuments such as the Imperial Winter Palace were downright gutted. Thousands of artifacts, including paintings, calligraphy, clothing and even hair braids were looted and scattered all over the world throughout the years.
Today, these objects are to be found in private art collections, but also in museums. According to estimates by the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin, hundreds of artworks and other looted artifacts ended up directly or even indirectly in German museum collections, where they remain stored and exhibited to this day. Tracing their origins tends to be a lengthy process. “The exact location of any object at any given time cannot be determined with certainty,” the researchers explain. Basic research is still required. This includes, for example, the question: Who was in Beijing in 1900 in the first place? “Germany had about 20,000 soldiers stationed there at the time,” Pannhorst says. “That’s no small task.”
Until now, museums have focused on the Nazi era and looted African art, where Germany maintained permanent colonies. China has mostly fallen by the wayside. “China was a semi-colony, or a base colony – there are different terms,” explains Howald, who is also the deputy director of the Central Archive, which coordinates provenance research at the National Museums. “However, one must not forget how violent the suppression of the Boxers was. We all know the images of the severed heads.”
The fact that, unlike African countries, China has not yet made any official demands for restitution has also contributed to the fact that many museums have ignored the issue. This time, provenance researchers are working closely with a team from China. “Our partner is Shanghai University because they have been studying cultural property in non-Chinese collections for many years,” says Pannhorst. Together, they will discuss questions about shared history, new approaches to research and the future of these artifacts. Hence the subtitle “A Joint Approach”. The fact that the cooperation may also result in the return of certain artifacts is part of the joint research process. “Of course, that’s in the cards, and it’s also what the German museums want,” says Pannhorst. “But restitution is not always the primary declared goal. It is a matter of very delicate diplomacy here.”
Stolen artworks, especially those from stormed palaces, have a high symbolic value for China. This was evident in 2009, for example, when Chinese bronze heads from the art collection of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent surfaced on the British auction platform Christie’s. The objects originated from the Beijing Summer Palace, which was looted by French and British troops during the Second Opium War in 1860. A storm of outrage erupted on both the Chinese Internet and in state media, claiming that the sculptures were national treasures and that China was the rightful owner. In such cases, the Chinese government used to encourage private collectors to buy certain pieces on the open art market and then donate them to state museums, Howald explains.
But there has been a change in thinking since then: “They now say we don’t buy these things anymore, they belong to us anyway.” That is why Chinese authorities are keeping a close eye on how the provenance and restitution debate in Germany develops. A guide published in 2018 by the German Museums Association on how to deal with objects from colonial contexts was immediately translated into Chinese. “A room for opportunity has opened up here,” Howald says. “That is why the Chinese side also finds our project so important.”
The provenance researchers also aim to release a guideline for museums and private collectors next year. “We want to provide as many tools as possible,” says Pannhorst. “What archives are there, how do you get in touch with experts, what factors indicate that a piece might actually be looted.” One indication, for example, would be the evidence that an object came from the emperor’s Winter Palace. It was there, in the “Hall of Purple Light,” where German troops were quartered at the time. “Many soldiers sold off their loot quite quickly back then, including to museums,” Howald says. Chinese also participated in the “orgy of looting,” as one contemporary witness described it.
Even back then, the German public was aware of the injustice of looting foreign cultural artifacts. “The topic was already present in major daily newspapers in 1901,” says Pannhorst. “But that also means that a lot of things were not openly declared as looted to avoid exposing themselves to public criticism.”
Fortunately, the frequently used argument that the pieces are better preserved here than in their countries of origin has disappeared from scientific discourse. Even in Europe, the depots have not always met the best conservation standards, explains Howald. Moreover, much was destroyed during World War II, Pannhorst adds – “so much for preservation”. As for China, the argument has never applied anyway, he says. “There is a long tradition of art collecting there, and then later also in museums. Especially in recent years, great conditions for conservation have been created there,” says Howald.
They hope that other exhibition houses will soon follow their example. “What we are doing in our joint project is new territory,” explains Howald. The researchers still have to deal with prejudices among the public and also overcome mistrust in some museums that are afraid of losing their collections. “But I see us and our project as having the responsibility to come to terms with the colonial period and our history,” says Pannhorst. “Transparency is very important here.”
North Asia is one of the world’s most affected regions by blue-green algae plagues. Chinese scientists have now found a way to contain the spread of the harmful aquatic creatures in one of the country’s largest lakes with the help of a new technology. This was reported in late August by Science and Technology Daily, the official journal of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
With the help of a new type of boat developed by Cong Haibing, a professor at Yangzhou University’s College of Environmental Science and Engineering, the concentration of floating blue-green algae in Lake Tai has been reduced by more than 80 percent. Lake Tai (Chinese: Taihu), China’s third-largest freshwater lake, covers 2,250 square kilometers in the hinterland of the coastal provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The huge lake has been affected by algae plagues for some time: For decades, it has been plagued by an explosive growth of algae blooms.
Blue-green algae are one of the oldest forms of life on earth, dating back as far as 3.5 billion years. In fact, they are not algae at all (and thus not plants), but are counted as bacteria, or more precisely, as cyanobacteria. These are able to feed on almost anything that contains nitrogen and phosphorus. Thanks to humans, urban wastewater, industrial pollutants and agricultural fertilizers are now some of their preferred food sources. Larger amounts of blue-green algae decrease the oxygen level in the water and produce large amounts of toxins that are harmful to both animals and humans.
This new method of fighting blue-green algae is cheap and simple, according to the state publication. The boat is able to “sterilize” algae colonies as soon as they appear on the lake surface. No chemicals are required for the process, Cong Haibing points out in the science paper. To stay on the water’s surface and receive the light necessary for growth and reproduction, cyanobacteria have developed a tiny air pocket in their bodies that provides buoyancy. The boat, in turn, is outfitted with technology that crushes these air pockets, sending the cyanobacteria sinking to the bottom of the lake and dying.
To perform this, two large water tanks are used. Lake water is sucked into the boat’s tanks with a 500-watt pump before water pressure is increased to cause the membrane of algae bubbles to break open. The boat uses only 0.005 kilowatt-hours of electricity to process one cubic meter of water containing blue-green algae, Yangzhou University researchers explain: “The technology is energy-saving, environmentally friendly and efficient.” After proving itself on Lake Tai this summer, the technology will soon be used in other large bodies of water.
Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, are spreading almost worldwide due to climate change. The innovation of Yangzhou University could thus gain global significance.
Hot, dry weather like this summer in many places around the world can favor explosive bacteria growth. Therefore, the problems will continue to worsen. Mass growth of blue-green algae can be recognized by a blue-green discoloration of the water.
The toxins of cyanobacteria can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pain in the limbs, conjunctivitis, earache and respiratory problems if swallowed or sometimes even after skin contact. If very large amounts of the contaminated water are swallowed, it can even cause paralysis of parts of the lungs and thus lead to death by suffocation. The algae are also dangerous for dogs.
The Ministry of the Environment of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, for example, recently recommended not to eat fish from the Moselle River, where blue-green algae had multiplied en masse due to its low water level. The Moselle had more blue-green algae than ever before. An algae warning was issued at 30 bathing lakes in Lower Saxony this summer.
In the Baltic Sea, too, blue-green algae are a regularly recurring problem for people and the environment in midsummer. And even in thinly populated Canada, these algae bacteria are a problem. The province of Nova Scotia alone – after the Prince Edward Islands Canada’s second-smallest province – warned of the algae in over 50 lakes this summer.
Europe also has innovative projects concerning the question of how to deal with algae. Earlier this year, Europe’s first CO2-negative biorefinery opened in Turkey. Its development was 85 percent funded by the EU. The goal of the project is to utilize the algae. The facility processes the algae into bio-jet fuel. But this requires time-consuming manual removal of the algae. This is only viable with very large quantities.
Another method is the use of chemicals. However, this process is expensive and can cause lasting damage to the environment.
The new technology from China, however, does not kill the algae immediately. After the loss of the air pockets, they continue to live for days at the bottom of the lake, but only reproduce much slower there, according to the Chinese researchers. The reason is that they do not receive enough solar energy for photosynthesis at the dark bottom of the lake.
Sinolytics is a European research-based consultancy entirely focused on China. It advises European companies on their strategic orientation and concrete business activities in the People’s Republic.
A heat wave of historic proportions is currently afflicting the south and southwest of China. For weeks now, temperatures above the 40-degree mark have plagued people and nature in the central Chinese and southern provinces along the Yangtze River. This is compounded by a severe water shortage in the otherwise high precipitation region. It is the worst drought since record-keeping began in 1961. The longest river, the Yangtze, is at low levels, tributaries such as the Jialing in the metropolis of Chongqing have run dry – and China’s largest freshwater lake, the Poyang in the southern Chinese province of Jiangxi, has dwindled to a quarter of its size.
Agriculture suffers particularly under the effects of the current drought. 2.2 million hectares of arable land in nine provinces along the Yangtze River are hit by crop failures, according to recent media reports. This year’s rice harvest is particularly at risk. 45 percent of the country’s annual rice production comes from drought-affected provinces, according to a statistical analysis by geography professor Gregory Veeck and colleagues.
But even the cultivation of fresh and high-quality agricultural products such as vegetables, tea or peanuts is affected by the high temperatures and the lack of precipitation. Farmers from Zigong and Guangyuan in the province of Sichuan report that they are currently not even able to grow enough food for their own consumption. At present, the only source of fresh food, if at all, is not from their own fields, but from trade.
Indirect consequences for agriculture are also to be expected. A sharp decline in hydropower generation in provinces like Sichuan already affects energy-intensive fertilizer production and will likely drive up the cost of agricultural inputs even further. Many other parts of the agricultural value chain also depend on reliable energy supplies. For example, a recent video made by a Sichuan chicken farmer that showed thousands of dead animals dying in the heat drew attention. According to the desperate farmer, power shortages had caused the air conditioning systems in the sheds to fail.
The drought comes at a critical moment for the Chinese leadership. Maximizing the country’s food self-sufficiency is more important than ever in light of geopolitical tensions and the resulting turmoil on international agricultural markets. Although China imports large quantities of oilseeds and grains, most of which are processed into animal feed, the country strives for a high degree of self-sufficiency, particularly in crops for human consumption and the production of meat, fruit and vegetables.
A political response quickly followed. After an emergency meeting on August 22, representatives of four ministries announced a comprehensive package of measures to minimize crop losses in the fall harvest. In addition to the immediate disbursement of aid amounting to ¥300 million, specialist teams dispatched to affected provinces are to help farmers on the ground to save their harvests.
The focus is above all on the targeted irrigation of affected agricultural areas. After all, many farms in the region do not have any professional irrigation systems due to the usually high precipitation levels in the summer. As a result, many farmers had to watch helplessly as their crops dried up in the fields. Methods to reduce water evaporation and control pests on crops weakened by heat are also at the forefront of current efforts.
Nevertheless, the immediate impact of the drought on China’s food security is estimated to be rather low. Despite the high importance for the rice harvest, the drought-affected areas along the Yangtze River account for only about two percent of the total cultivated area. Particularly in the vast agricultural regions in the north and northeast of the country, good yields are expected this year for the wheat, soybean and corn harvests – with the latter crops serving primarily as animal feed for meat production.
While short-term price spikes for fresh foods such as fruits and vegetables are probably inevitable, possible bottlenecks in the supply of rice could at least be cushioned with the help of China’s huge food reserves. It is estimated that more than half of the world’s grain and rice reserves are stored in Chinese granaries.
The current drought is thus not so much the prelude to an immediate food crisis for China as a wake-up call to take the medium-term effects of climate change on agriculture seriously. Experts agree on one thing: Extreme weather conditions such as these are not an isolated event, but will occur more and more frequently in the future.
The Chinese government is well aware of the consequences of climate change on agriculture, as is evident from the National Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation 2035 announced in June of this year. For example, extensive research on new crop varieties that are better able to cope with heat and drought is currently on the way. Initial successes in cultivating heat-resistant rice varieties have already been reported. The use of “smart agriculture” technologies could also reduce the use of climate-damaging fertilizers and pesticides, while improved early warning systems are intended to minimize crop damage. The expansion of the insurance system to protect farmers against damage caused by extreme weather events, which are often very localized, also plays an important role.
However, a concrete package of measures to implement these goals is still lacking. Financial problems currently also stand in the way of implementing adaptation strategies for agriculture. And not least, it is the holy grail of food security itself that turns the transformation to a climate-resilient and eco-friendly agriculture into a tightrope act. After all, the Chinese government knows that climate measures cannot be implemented at the expense of high production targets.
China’s agriculture is not the only country to face the current challenges posed by climate change. Other countries see themselves confronted with very similar problems, as the German Crop Report 2022 shows, for example. In this way, the current crisis can also be interpreted as an opportunity for more cooperation in the fight against climate change.
Michaela Boehme is an expert at the Sino-German Agricultural Center (DCZ). Her work deals with the transformation of Chinese agricultural policy in the context of global agri-food systems. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Leipzig with a thesis on China’s transnational land acquisitions.
The Sino-German Agricultural Center (DCZ) was founded in March 2015 as a central contact and information center to coordinate cooperation between Germany and China in the agricultural and food sector. It promotes the exchange between German and Chinese representatives from politics, business and science for a sustainable transformation of agriculture. The DCZ is a joint initiative by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) of the People’s Republic of China. On the German side, the DCZ is implemented by IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH Leipzig.
Over the weekend, more than 2,500 Hong Kongers gathered in front of the British Consulate General to pay tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II. Although the legacy of the former “colonial mistress” is certainly controversial in the special administrative region, the gathering was also a subversive act for some: during the 2019 umbrella protests, demonstrators had intoned “God Save The Queen” in front of the consulate – to commemorate the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which was supposed to secure basic freedom rights for citizens. The National Security Act for Hong Kong, passed in June 2020 under pressure from Beijing, drastically restricted freedom of assembly in the city.
The mystery of where Xi Jinping is headed on his first foreign visit since the start of 2020 has now been solved. Recent speculation pointed to Saudi Arabia. A hoax, as is now clear. Instead, China’s president and party leader is traveling to Central Asia. On Wednesday, Xi will be in Kazakhstan; from there he will continue to Uzbekistan for a summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others, are also expected to attend there. We will monitor and analyze Xi’s trip and possible meetings with Putin or Modi for you.
The topics of today are poisonous algae and stolen art treasures. Fabian Peltsch has taken a closer look at stolen art. So far, the debate has focused mainly on objects from Germany’s former African colonies. But now China is also shifting into the focus of so-called provenance research, for unflattering reasons: German soldiers were involved in the suppression of the “Boxer Rebellion,” which resulted in an “orgy of looting”. Many Chinese art pieces have since been scattered all over the world and can also be found in Germany.
Frank Sieren presents an invention by Chinese researchers who want to fight blue-green algae with relatively simple methods. These harmful algae are spreading rapidly in many countries as temperatures rise. The process developed in China could thus attract interest worldwide.
The project “Traces of the Boxer War” already has international resonance. Just recently, Christine Howald, the project manager, and Kerstin Pannhorst, a historian involved in the project, accompanied a Japanese film team through the Ethnological Museum in Berlin-Dahlem. The public television company NHK from Tokyo is shooting a film about art pieces from the colonial context in the possession of European museums.
The Japanese journalists asked the two scientists about provenance research. And they first had to explain what it is about in the first place: The still fairly young area of research aims to determine the origin of art pieces – and also shed light on the unequal power relationships that played a role in the change of ownership. In other words, were they bought, stolen, exchanged, donated, blackmailed, or looted?
“Traces of the Boxer War” is a joint project of seven state museums. It is funded by the German Centre for Lost Cultural Property. Together with their colleagues, Pannhorst and Howald are focusing on the suppression of the so-called Boxers – a freedom movement that rebelled against foreign occupiers in China around 1899. The “Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists,” as the Boxers called themselves, was crushed in 1900 by an alliance of German, French, British, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and American troops. Tens of thousands of people were killed, and cultural monuments such as the Imperial Winter Palace were downright gutted. Thousands of artifacts, including paintings, calligraphy, clothing and even hair braids were looted and scattered all over the world throughout the years.
Today, these objects are to be found in private art collections, but also in museums. According to estimates by the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin, hundreds of artworks and other looted artifacts ended up directly or even indirectly in German museum collections, where they remain stored and exhibited to this day. Tracing their origins tends to be a lengthy process. “The exact location of any object at any given time cannot be determined with certainty,” the researchers explain. Basic research is still required. This includes, for example, the question: Who was in Beijing in 1900 in the first place? “Germany had about 20,000 soldiers stationed there at the time,” Pannhorst says. “That’s no small task.”
Until now, museums have focused on the Nazi era and looted African art, where Germany maintained permanent colonies. China has mostly fallen by the wayside. “China was a semi-colony, or a base colony – there are different terms,” explains Howald, who is also the deputy director of the Central Archive, which coordinates provenance research at the National Museums. “However, one must not forget how violent the suppression of the Boxers was. We all know the images of the severed heads.”
The fact that, unlike African countries, China has not yet made any official demands for restitution has also contributed to the fact that many museums have ignored the issue. This time, provenance researchers are working closely with a team from China. “Our partner is Shanghai University because they have been studying cultural property in non-Chinese collections for many years,” says Pannhorst. Together, they will discuss questions about shared history, new approaches to research and the future of these artifacts. Hence the subtitle “A Joint Approach”. The fact that the cooperation may also result in the return of certain artifacts is part of the joint research process. “Of course, that’s in the cards, and it’s also what the German museums want,” says Pannhorst. “But restitution is not always the primary declared goal. It is a matter of very delicate diplomacy here.”
Stolen artworks, especially those from stormed palaces, have a high symbolic value for China. This was evident in 2009, for example, when Chinese bronze heads from the art collection of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent surfaced on the British auction platform Christie’s. The objects originated from the Beijing Summer Palace, which was looted by French and British troops during the Second Opium War in 1860. A storm of outrage erupted on both the Chinese Internet and in state media, claiming that the sculptures were national treasures and that China was the rightful owner. In such cases, the Chinese government used to encourage private collectors to buy certain pieces on the open art market and then donate them to state museums, Howald explains.
But there has been a change in thinking since then: “They now say we don’t buy these things anymore, they belong to us anyway.” That is why Chinese authorities are keeping a close eye on how the provenance and restitution debate in Germany develops. A guide published in 2018 by the German Museums Association on how to deal with objects from colonial contexts was immediately translated into Chinese. “A room for opportunity has opened up here,” Howald says. “That is why the Chinese side also finds our project so important.”
The provenance researchers also aim to release a guideline for museums and private collectors next year. “We want to provide as many tools as possible,” says Pannhorst. “What archives are there, how do you get in touch with experts, what factors indicate that a piece might actually be looted.” One indication, for example, would be the evidence that an object came from the emperor’s Winter Palace. It was there, in the “Hall of Purple Light,” where German troops were quartered at the time. “Many soldiers sold off their loot quite quickly back then, including to museums,” Howald says. Chinese also participated in the “orgy of looting,” as one contemporary witness described it.
Even back then, the German public was aware of the injustice of looting foreign cultural artifacts. “The topic was already present in major daily newspapers in 1901,” says Pannhorst. “But that also means that a lot of things were not openly declared as looted to avoid exposing themselves to public criticism.”
Fortunately, the frequently used argument that the pieces are better preserved here than in their countries of origin has disappeared from scientific discourse. Even in Europe, the depots have not always met the best conservation standards, explains Howald. Moreover, much was destroyed during World War II, Pannhorst adds – “so much for preservation”. As for China, the argument has never applied anyway, he says. “There is a long tradition of art collecting there, and then later also in museums. Especially in recent years, great conditions for conservation have been created there,” says Howald.
They hope that other exhibition houses will soon follow their example. “What we are doing in our joint project is new territory,” explains Howald. The researchers still have to deal with prejudices among the public and also overcome mistrust in some museums that are afraid of losing their collections. “But I see us and our project as having the responsibility to come to terms with the colonial period and our history,” says Pannhorst. “Transparency is very important here.”
North Asia is one of the world’s most affected regions by blue-green algae plagues. Chinese scientists have now found a way to contain the spread of the harmful aquatic creatures in one of the country’s largest lakes with the help of a new technology. This was reported in late August by Science and Technology Daily, the official journal of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
With the help of a new type of boat developed by Cong Haibing, a professor at Yangzhou University’s College of Environmental Science and Engineering, the concentration of floating blue-green algae in Lake Tai has been reduced by more than 80 percent. Lake Tai (Chinese: Taihu), China’s third-largest freshwater lake, covers 2,250 square kilometers in the hinterland of the coastal provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The huge lake has been affected by algae plagues for some time: For decades, it has been plagued by an explosive growth of algae blooms.
Blue-green algae are one of the oldest forms of life on earth, dating back as far as 3.5 billion years. In fact, they are not algae at all (and thus not plants), but are counted as bacteria, or more precisely, as cyanobacteria. These are able to feed on almost anything that contains nitrogen and phosphorus. Thanks to humans, urban wastewater, industrial pollutants and agricultural fertilizers are now some of their preferred food sources. Larger amounts of blue-green algae decrease the oxygen level in the water and produce large amounts of toxins that are harmful to both animals and humans.
This new method of fighting blue-green algae is cheap and simple, according to the state publication. The boat is able to “sterilize” algae colonies as soon as they appear on the lake surface. No chemicals are required for the process, Cong Haibing points out in the science paper. To stay on the water’s surface and receive the light necessary for growth and reproduction, cyanobacteria have developed a tiny air pocket in their bodies that provides buoyancy. The boat, in turn, is outfitted with technology that crushes these air pockets, sending the cyanobacteria sinking to the bottom of the lake and dying.
To perform this, two large water tanks are used. Lake water is sucked into the boat’s tanks with a 500-watt pump before water pressure is increased to cause the membrane of algae bubbles to break open. The boat uses only 0.005 kilowatt-hours of electricity to process one cubic meter of water containing blue-green algae, Yangzhou University researchers explain: “The technology is energy-saving, environmentally friendly and efficient.” After proving itself on Lake Tai this summer, the technology will soon be used in other large bodies of water.
Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, are spreading almost worldwide due to climate change. The innovation of Yangzhou University could thus gain global significance.
Hot, dry weather like this summer in many places around the world can favor explosive bacteria growth. Therefore, the problems will continue to worsen. Mass growth of blue-green algae can be recognized by a blue-green discoloration of the water.
The toxins of cyanobacteria can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pain in the limbs, conjunctivitis, earache and respiratory problems if swallowed or sometimes even after skin contact. If very large amounts of the contaminated water are swallowed, it can even cause paralysis of parts of the lungs and thus lead to death by suffocation. The algae are also dangerous for dogs.
The Ministry of the Environment of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, for example, recently recommended not to eat fish from the Moselle River, where blue-green algae had multiplied en masse due to its low water level. The Moselle had more blue-green algae than ever before. An algae warning was issued at 30 bathing lakes in Lower Saxony this summer.
In the Baltic Sea, too, blue-green algae are a regularly recurring problem for people and the environment in midsummer. And even in thinly populated Canada, these algae bacteria are a problem. The province of Nova Scotia alone – after the Prince Edward Islands Canada’s second-smallest province – warned of the algae in over 50 lakes this summer.
Europe also has innovative projects concerning the question of how to deal with algae. Earlier this year, Europe’s first CO2-negative biorefinery opened in Turkey. Its development was 85 percent funded by the EU. The goal of the project is to utilize the algae. The facility processes the algae into bio-jet fuel. But this requires time-consuming manual removal of the algae. This is only viable with very large quantities.
Another method is the use of chemicals. However, this process is expensive and can cause lasting damage to the environment.
The new technology from China, however, does not kill the algae immediately. After the loss of the air pockets, they continue to live for days at the bottom of the lake, but only reproduce much slower there, according to the Chinese researchers. The reason is that they do not receive enough solar energy for photosynthesis at the dark bottom of the lake.
Sinolytics is a European research-based consultancy entirely focused on China. It advises European companies on their strategic orientation and concrete business activities in the People’s Republic.
A heat wave of historic proportions is currently afflicting the south and southwest of China. For weeks now, temperatures above the 40-degree mark have plagued people and nature in the central Chinese and southern provinces along the Yangtze River. This is compounded by a severe water shortage in the otherwise high precipitation region. It is the worst drought since record-keeping began in 1961. The longest river, the Yangtze, is at low levels, tributaries such as the Jialing in the metropolis of Chongqing have run dry – and China’s largest freshwater lake, the Poyang in the southern Chinese province of Jiangxi, has dwindled to a quarter of its size.
Agriculture suffers particularly under the effects of the current drought. 2.2 million hectares of arable land in nine provinces along the Yangtze River are hit by crop failures, according to recent media reports. This year’s rice harvest is particularly at risk. 45 percent of the country’s annual rice production comes from drought-affected provinces, according to a statistical analysis by geography professor Gregory Veeck and colleagues.
But even the cultivation of fresh and high-quality agricultural products such as vegetables, tea or peanuts is affected by the high temperatures and the lack of precipitation. Farmers from Zigong and Guangyuan in the province of Sichuan report that they are currently not even able to grow enough food for their own consumption. At present, the only source of fresh food, if at all, is not from their own fields, but from trade.
Indirect consequences for agriculture are also to be expected. A sharp decline in hydropower generation in provinces like Sichuan already affects energy-intensive fertilizer production and will likely drive up the cost of agricultural inputs even further. Many other parts of the agricultural value chain also depend on reliable energy supplies. For example, a recent video made by a Sichuan chicken farmer that showed thousands of dead animals dying in the heat drew attention. According to the desperate farmer, power shortages had caused the air conditioning systems in the sheds to fail.
The drought comes at a critical moment for the Chinese leadership. Maximizing the country’s food self-sufficiency is more important than ever in light of geopolitical tensions and the resulting turmoil on international agricultural markets. Although China imports large quantities of oilseeds and grains, most of which are processed into animal feed, the country strives for a high degree of self-sufficiency, particularly in crops for human consumption and the production of meat, fruit and vegetables.
A political response quickly followed. After an emergency meeting on August 22, representatives of four ministries announced a comprehensive package of measures to minimize crop losses in the fall harvest. In addition to the immediate disbursement of aid amounting to ¥300 million, specialist teams dispatched to affected provinces are to help farmers on the ground to save their harvests.
The focus is above all on the targeted irrigation of affected agricultural areas. After all, many farms in the region do not have any professional irrigation systems due to the usually high precipitation levels in the summer. As a result, many farmers had to watch helplessly as their crops dried up in the fields. Methods to reduce water evaporation and control pests on crops weakened by heat are also at the forefront of current efforts.
Nevertheless, the immediate impact of the drought on China’s food security is estimated to be rather low. Despite the high importance for the rice harvest, the drought-affected areas along the Yangtze River account for only about two percent of the total cultivated area. Particularly in the vast agricultural regions in the north and northeast of the country, good yields are expected this year for the wheat, soybean and corn harvests – with the latter crops serving primarily as animal feed for meat production.
While short-term price spikes for fresh foods such as fruits and vegetables are probably inevitable, possible bottlenecks in the supply of rice could at least be cushioned with the help of China’s huge food reserves. It is estimated that more than half of the world’s grain and rice reserves are stored in Chinese granaries.
The current drought is thus not so much the prelude to an immediate food crisis for China as a wake-up call to take the medium-term effects of climate change on agriculture seriously. Experts agree on one thing: Extreme weather conditions such as these are not an isolated event, but will occur more and more frequently in the future.
The Chinese government is well aware of the consequences of climate change on agriculture, as is evident from the National Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation 2035 announced in June of this year. For example, extensive research on new crop varieties that are better able to cope with heat and drought is currently on the way. Initial successes in cultivating heat-resistant rice varieties have already been reported. The use of “smart agriculture” technologies could also reduce the use of climate-damaging fertilizers and pesticides, while improved early warning systems are intended to minimize crop damage. The expansion of the insurance system to protect farmers against damage caused by extreme weather events, which are often very localized, also plays an important role.
However, a concrete package of measures to implement these goals is still lacking. Financial problems currently also stand in the way of implementing adaptation strategies for agriculture. And not least, it is the holy grail of food security itself that turns the transformation to a climate-resilient and eco-friendly agriculture into a tightrope act. After all, the Chinese government knows that climate measures cannot be implemented at the expense of high production targets.
China’s agriculture is not the only country to face the current challenges posed by climate change. Other countries see themselves confronted with very similar problems, as the German Crop Report 2022 shows, for example. In this way, the current crisis can also be interpreted as an opportunity for more cooperation in the fight against climate change.
Michaela Boehme is an expert at the Sino-German Agricultural Center (DCZ). Her work deals with the transformation of Chinese agricultural policy in the context of global agri-food systems. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Leipzig with a thesis on China’s transnational land acquisitions.
The Sino-German Agricultural Center (DCZ) was founded in March 2015 as a central contact and information center to coordinate cooperation between Germany and China in the agricultural and food sector. It promotes the exchange between German and Chinese representatives from politics, business and science for a sustainable transformation of agriculture. The DCZ is a joint initiative by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) of the People’s Republic of China. On the German side, the DCZ is implemented by IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH Leipzig.
Over the weekend, more than 2,500 Hong Kongers gathered in front of the British Consulate General to pay tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II. Although the legacy of the former “colonial mistress” is certainly controversial in the special administrative region, the gathering was also a subversive act for some: during the 2019 umbrella protests, demonstrators had intoned “God Save The Queen” in front of the consulate – to commemorate the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which was supposed to secure basic freedom rights for citizens. The National Security Act for Hong Kong, passed in June 2020 under pressure from Beijing, drastically restricted freedom of assembly in the city.
