china

30 years ago we laughed at China and Japan for their obsession with sun protection. Now we’re following your path

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If you travel to Qingdao or any other beach in China, you may come across bathers who, in addition to bikinis, sandals and glasses, look colorful ‘facekinis’. That’s how it was at least a few years ago (even in 2025), when this peculiar garment that covers the entire face to protect it from ultraviolet rays gained popularity in the middle of a heat wave. In Europe, the image of Chinese women with their heads in XL swim caps that only leave their eyes and mouth visible was interpreted as an eccentricityone more proof of the aversion of Asians to tan. On the beaches of Spain it may not be common see ‘facekinis’but an idea is beginning to sink in: cultural issues aside, Chinese, Japanese and Koreans may not have been wrong when they did everything possible to protect themselves from the sun. “It is very frowned upon”. The facekini It is its most obvious (and graphic) demonstration, but it connects with a much larger phenomenon: not everyone values ​​tanning in the same way. Vincent Coëffé, from the University of Angers, explained it a few years ago in an article published in The Conversation: The prospect of sporting a tan skin tone may sound great in California, but things are quite different if you talk to an Asian. “Light skin continues to be viewed favorably in Asian cultures (China, India, Japan, Korea…), to the point that exposing the body to the sun is perceived as a subversive act,” comment coffee, geographer and tourism expert. “In China, tanning is very frowned upon, especially if it alters the female body, particularly influenced by the ideal of ‘milky’ skin.” Tanning is becoming globalized and it is increasingly easier to find Asians sunbathing both abroad and on the beaches of their countries, but there is still an important cultural gap with respect to the West. Why the hell do they do it? These differences in sun exposure explain why for decades, in countries like Spain, we have seen with a mixture of fascination and incomprehension Asian tourists walking down the street in the middle of summer, fleeing the ultraviolet rays like the plague. It caught our attention that, in addition to caps and sunglasses, they wore gloveslong-sleeved t-shirts, arm warmers, sun-protective clothing and umbrellas. “Why does everyone use umbrellas on the streets of Japan? Is it very hot? Do they protect themselves from the sun or is it extremely hot?” I asked intrigued a traveler in August 2025 in the ‘Backpackers in Japan’ Facebook community. The person writing this had the opportunity to travel to Cairo a couple of years ago and one of the details that most caught his attention, in addition to the monuments of Ancient Egypt, was seeing Korean tourists with very white skin walking around with umbrellas and long dresses that covered their arms and legs. Nothing to do with us Spaniards who walked under the sun in shorts and t-shirts. Lesson in humility. In Benidorm, Malaga, Barcelona or any other beach destination in Spain it is still very difficult to meet someone with their face covered by a ‘facekini’, but it is just as undeniable that something is changing. It is less difficult to find people who opt for long sleeves and sun protection pants (even muffs) in the hottest moments and, above all, no one is surprised anymore when they come across people who cover themselves with umbrellas. We told you recently: it is increasingly common to see Spaniards walking at five or six in the afternoon in July umbrella in hand. Also parents who, before going to the beach or the river, dress their young children in sun protection shirts. Umbrellas, t-shirts and more. Umbrellas may be the clearest demonstration that we are changing our way of relating to the sun, but it is certainly not the only nor the most important one. A quick search in the newspaper library arrives to find interviews with experts determined to debunk hoaxes and who warn of the risks of sunbathing without protection, the threat of melanomas, burns… They speak because there is an underlying problem, but the fact that they do so also demonstrates a growing sensitivity. It’s not about changing our cultural perception of tanned bodies, but that the message of experts is getting through who warn that, when 20, 30 or 40 years ago we looked strangely at Asians who protected themselves from the sun at all costs, we were the eccentrics. What is ‘strange’ is not walking around with an umbrella and protective clothing on a July day at five in the afternoon. The ‘strange’ thing is deliberately punishing our body, with all the risks that entails. “The Sun is an electromagnetic radiation that, when it reaches our skin, will produce mutations in our nucleic acid, and these mutations can initially be canceled by our body,” already warned in 2016 Dr. Julián Conejo Mir, Honorary President of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. “Any person who goes to the beach every day develops skin cancer, but our defensive system, if it works, cancels it out.” Great, right? Half. We may no longer be surprised to see someone using an umbrella on a sunny August afternoon, but that does not mean that we have internalized what it means to sunbathe irresponsibly. What’s more, we even run the risk of trusting us and think that protective clothing or umbrellas are infallible tools to keep us safe from melanoma. It is clearly demonstrated by a recent study from Nivea Sun that leaves two percentages that invite reflection: 85% of Spaniards admit to being worried about the effects of the sun on their skin, but nevertheless a large majority (67%) also admit that they do not regularly use sunscreen. Another clear example is in the networks. Thanks to them, doctors can warn of the risks of lying for hours and hours in the sun without protection, but X, Instagram or TikTok also serve as a loudspeaker for people who … Read more

China is researching how to have babies in space. And he has bad news

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China has been putting its batteries into the new space race. Apart from test your rockets back and forth as a key element to reduce the cost of missions and to fill the low orbit of satellites of all types (both military as data centers), are taking advantage of the Tiangong. In one of the last shipments sent to its space station via Tianzhou-10, there was a very special package: a cell with embryos of zebrafish, mice and artificial humans. The idea is to experiment with them to try answer the question of whether it is possible to have babies in spacealthough it is by no means the first time that China has experimented with something like this. The problem is that the results of some previous tests have begun to arrive and the outlook does not seem very positive for spatial reproduction. China has been exploring this line of research for a long time. At the beginning of the year we already said that the Asian giant had sent a mouse to have babies on the space station with the aim of analyzing whether radiation and microgravity caused any problems or alterations in the babies. Of the nine that were born, six survived, so the study was considered a success and the decision was made to continue researching, but now with artificial humans. Having babies in space is complicated Don’t think about science fiction yet, those artificial humans are something much easier to understand. As they pointed According to Chinese authorities, these were not complete organisms that could become babies, but rather structures made from stem cells that mimic the very early phases of human development. What was sent to Tiangong corresponded to embryos approximately 14 to 21 days after fertilization. Although early, this phase is crucial because it is where all the organs begin to form and where anomalies could be observed due to the aforementioned space radiation. These samples must be studied, but within the same line of research there are previous works whose results have just been published. And the prospects are not very good despite leaving room for optimism. As they point From the South China Morning Post, researchers from the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University in Beijing note that cells sent on the Tianzhou-6 mission and that were at an early stage did not grow and develop as well as they would have on Earth. In the experiment, the success rate of generating germ cells dropped by about half, while sperm precursor cells multiplied more than 25% more slowly. Guilty? Microgravity and cosmic radiationexactly the main suspects if something went wrong in these tests. That is, it is not only that the cells already formed did not develop at the normal rate, but if you try to conceive in space, the sperm does not work either. As we say, it is not the first time that China has investigated this and, in 2023, a set of automated cell cultures was already studied in the experiment module of the station. When they returned to Earth, they discovered that the success rate of growth of those special stem cells (primordial germ cells derived from pluripotent stem cells induced by humans) was reduced by half. That is, a success of 2% to 6% in the tests compared to the 6% to 15% measured in the terrestrial group. The bottom line is that the more hostile environment in outer space made it much more difficult for primordial cells to become eggs or sperm. However, there is a glimmer of hope, as human-induced ovarian follicle count and activity did not show a notable decrease, so it appears that space radiation has a limited short-term impact on germ cells. Researchers have already indicated that, despite the “slump” in the latest results, they will continue experimenting, since with potential long-duration missions in space, the prospect of pregnancies in space is something worth exploring further and it remains to be seen what happens with the Tianzhou-10 artificial humans. In Xataka | Putting solar panels in space and generating unlimited energy seemed like a pipe dream. China is already chasing her

China has a plan to win the AI ​​war against the US. And DeepSeek is its champion

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Liang Wenfeng is the most elusive person in the Chinese manufacturing industry. artificial intelligence (AI). The founder of DeepSeekwho also runs the hedge fund High-Flyer, recently held a four-hour video call with potential investors from Hangzhou, China, an unusual format in every sense: only two representatives per institution, and for most of the attendees it was the first time they had seen the founder. “We are a very normal group of people,” Wenfeng told them. And this apparent simplicity hides the company that, in just over a year, has rewritten the economic rules of generative AI. However, what began as a start-up reluctant to any outside investment has come full circle. DeepSeek recently closed a financing round of around $7 billion, with a valuation of $52 billion. The most revealing data, however, is provided by SCMP: This company is already negotiating a second round that is expected to raise that figure to $71 billion just weeks after closing the first. The power map of Chinese AI Reuters has confirmed that DeepSeek develops its own ASIC chip aimed at inference and not training. With it, it aims to reduce its dependence on Nvidia and Huawei, its two current suppliers. If the project succeeds, it would mark a huge strategic shift for a company that until now has built its entire reputation on software efficiency rather than hardware control. Be that as it may, this move would add additional pressure to Huawei, which competes for the same space within China. Huawei now integrates DeepSeek into its cloud services in sub-Saharan Africa In this scenario we are interested in focusing on the real magnitude of this phenomenon. According to FortuneChinese open source models (led by Qwen, MiniMax and DeepSeek) already represent a third of global use of large language models, compared to an almost non-existent presence at the end of 2024. Emerging companies in Silicon Valley and Southeast Asia adopt them due to their openness, transparency and a much lower operating cost than American alternatives. Huawei, in fact, already integrates DeepSeek into its cloud services in sub-Saharan Africa. As expected after such an escalation in valuation, several sources suggest that DeepSeek could present its IPO this year, following in the wake of other low-cost Chinese startups such as Zhipu AI and MiniMax, which are already listed on public markets. A successful placement would give DeepSeek the institutional capital necessary to scale its computing infrastructure and sustain its long-term price war against large American players. DeepSeek is no longer just the startup that sparked Nvidia’s biggest stock scare in a single day: it is the battering ram with which China tries impose its open and cheap AI model as a global standard. Image | Generated by Xataka with ChatGPT More information | Bloomberg In Xataka | While most oppose AI data centers, there is one group enthusiastic about them: merchandise thieves

OnePlus closes in Europe and Realme closes in China. This is the logic that explains why it is not the other way around

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Oppo has confirmed the movements that had been circulating for weeks about the future of OnePlus and Realmein an official announcement that sheds light on the future of each brand. The result is almost a mirror image between China and Europe: where one brand disappears, the other stays. And vice versa. What Oppo has confirmed. The distribution is like this: in ChinaRealme closes. OnePlus and Oppo remain. In Europe and SpainOnePlus closes. Realme and Oppo remain. Realme UIRealme’s customization layer, disappears and merges with ColorOSthe one from Oppo. Realme users will be able to voluntarily update to ColorOS, although there is still no confirmation of which model range this update will reach. The commitment to support and updates for devices already sold is maintained in both cases. The important nuance. It doesn’t matter how it was told in China: Realme does not disappear in Europe. It is an easy distinction to lose if international coverage simplifies the headline as “Oppo closes Realme” without further context, because the announcement is born in a Chinese key. In Spain and the rest of Europe, Realme continues to sell normally. The brand that is leaving our market is OnePlus, something that has already been talked about for months and that we counted a few days ago as something imminent. Between the lines. That Oppo closes different brands in each region depending on the strength they have there says a lot about its strategy. Realme has been the most aggressive brand in terms of price for years in markets such as Spain, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, with a commercial pull especially among the young public. In China, on the other hand, it is Oppo that dominates the terrain and Realme weighs less: It is the third after Huawei and Apple. Closing where it does not pay off and maintaining where it does work is a purely pragmatic and accounting balance decision. There is a second reading that the announcement has not yet clarified: it would not be strange for Oppo to distribute its brands by range in addition to geography, leaving Realme the entry and mid-range and reserving the high range for Oppo. The CEO suggests something like this, whose statement sent by the brand includes the phrase “OPPO’s European business remains stable, with strong momentum in the premium flagship segment.” On the other hand, the Realme that arrive in Spain in the coming months could be the successors of the low and mid-range OnePlus that the brand continues to manufacture in China with another logo. And now what. The announcement closes, on paper, the months-long mystery about the future of OnePlus in Europe. What remains to be seen is the fine print: what happens with Realme outside of Spain, up to what range the migration to ColorOS reaches and if the price distribution between Realme and Oppo confirms the hypothesis of the low range disguised as Chinese OnePlus. In Xataka | OnePlus 15, analysis: if the question is how long the battery of a high-end device should last, this mobile is the answer we wanted Featured image | Xataka

China has just gathered 100,000 national accelerators into a supercluster. The challenge now is for them to work together efficiently.

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China has launched in Zhengzhou the Dawning 8000, an artificial intelligence supercluster that, according to Sugon, can integrate 100,000 calculation cards developed in the country. The company presents it as the first Chinese system of this size built around a national infrastructure, from chips and network to storage and cooling. Sugon assures that the project is already connected to the national supercomputing network, although it has not yet published its complete technical specifications. The scale is not enough. The size of the installation does not in itself imply an equivalent leap in computing capacity. In loads that intend to take advantage of thousands of processors, the work must be dividedsynchronize and recompose without communication between nodes ending up consuming a disproportionate part of the time. As the stack grows, so do the points of failure, software complexity, and demands on network and storage. The real challenge begins when those cards have to behave as a single machine. The pending jump. Sugon maintains that the central node has already been optimized for more than 300 applications in about twenty fields, including large models, robotics, automotive, pharmaceutical industry and weather forecasting. The company adds that more than 70 applications have completed deployments at scale of 10,000 cards. These are relevant data to evaluate the maturity of the platform, although the information released does not detail a public load executed with the 100,000 units simultaneously. Autonomy under pressure. Zhengzhou’s bet cannot be separated from the pressure facing the Chinese technology industry. The United States included Sugon in its Entity List in 2019 and has since expanded restrictions on advanced semiconductors and equipment related to high-performance computing. In this scenario, building an infrastructure based on national technology has a value that goes beyond the power achieved. The project fits into China’s effort to expand its own capacity and reduce supply chain dependencies. The figure is not enough. One hundred thousand Chinese accelerators do not automatically equal one hundred thousand comparable Nvidia GPUs. The deployment also does not allow us to affirm that China has left behind its dependence on Western hardware to sustain its artificial intelligence infrastructure. It does demonstrate, according to Sugon, that the country can now build its own systems on an increasingly larger scale. It is not complete autonomy, but it is another step on the path to depending less on foreign suppliers. Images | Sugon In Xataka | Claude has a space in which he manipulates concepts before his final response. And it has surprised Anthropic itself

China closes the helium tap and the US becomes the great beneficiary of the Iran war

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The US has become the main supplier of helium to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, and its market share will likely continue to grow. This is the conclusion of the analysis of customs data that has been done Nikkei Asiawhich places Washington as the great beneficiary of a crisis that combines the war of USA and Israel against Iran and the export restrictions imposed by Beijing. Be that as it may, it is not a minor trend. Helium is an irreplaceable gas during the chip manufacturing process because it is necessary for cooling wafers and in plasma etching or photolithography. In this context Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are three of semiconductor ecosystems most important on the planet, with TSMC, Samsung and SK hynix at the helm, all of them redirecting part of their supply towards the United States. The trigger has been twofold. On the one hand, the crisis in the Middle East has cast doubt on the Asian supply chain amid fears that a de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz further complicate access to helium and liquefied natural gas. And on this already unstable ground, China has decided to tighten the screws as much as possible. China has turned off the tap at a very delicate moment The Chinese Government announced on July 10 a temporary veto with immediate effect to helium exportsrelying on its Foreign Trade Law and without giving further explanations. The Ministry of Commerce and the Chinese Customs Administration frame this measure in the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, which threatens to cause new bottlenecks in a gas essential for manufacturing integrated circuits. China only produces domestically around 15% or less of the helium it consumes However, at this juncture we are interested in specifying China’s real weight in this market. This country only produces internally around 15% or less of the helium it consumes, so depends on imports from Qatarwhich generates approximately a third of the world’s supply. For this reason, its dependence on the outside borders on critical levels, with estimates that range between 80% and 90%. A quick note before moving forward: Helium is irreplaceable in semiconductor manufacturing because it cannot be synthesized industrially. It is extracted from natural gas deposits with unusually high concentrations of this element, and is used in wafer cooling, plasma etching, chemical and atomic layer deposition, lithography support, and leak detection. Japan and South Korea, exposed in a very different way The exposure of each country to this scenario varies significantly. In 2025, Japan was already obtaining around 60% of its helium imports from the US and 37% from Qatar, which has allowed it to pivot relatively quickly. South Korea, on the other hand, depended on Qatar for 64.7% of its importsa fact that has forced Samsung and SK hynix to move urgently and accept higher prices in new long-term contracts with Linde and Air Products. Helium now joins the rare earths, gallium, germanium and graphite as another chapter in the geopolitical struggle The manufacturing of memory chips is very demanding with the consumption of this gas due to the repeated high-temperature etching and deposition processes required by advanced 3D stacking. Many semiconductor industry analysts expect that American industrial supplierssuch as Air Products, Linde or ExxonMobil, are the big beneficiaries of the tightening of global supply. Be that as it may, helium now joins the rare earths, gallium, germanium and graphite as another chapter in the geopolitical struggle for the resources that support the semiconductor industry. Image | Yuri Shkoda More information | Nikkei Asia In Xataka | Yttrium is another of the many “rare” metals that only China exports. The US just found out the hard way

China conquered the European cheap tire market. The EU has just put the brakes on it

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The European Commission has approved antidumping tariffs definitive rates on tires for passenger cars and light vans from China, which range between 4.3% and 45.3% depending on the manufacturer. The measure comes after an investigation opened in November last year and adds another blow to the growing trade tension between the EU and Chinawhich already affects multiple sectors, including (and one of the most famous), that of electric cars. What has happened? The European Commission maintains that Chinese tires were entering the community market at artificially low prices, a practice known as dumping, and assures that this has harmed the European industry in the sector, which employs more than 80,000 people in 14 EU countries, according to has explained the institution itself. In detail. Tariffs are not the same for all manufacturers. Shandong Yongsheng Rubber Group, a producer focused on more economical tires, receives the highest tariff45.3%. Another 64 companies (including Chinese factories of brands such as Pirelli, Goodyear, Continental or Sumitomo) will have to pay 24.4%. The most striking case is perhaps that of the South Korean company Hankook, which manufactures in China but has escaped with a tariff of only 4.3%, since its researchers concluded that its tires are sold at much higher prices than those of its Chinese competitors and that their impact on the European market was less. Why does it matter? The European market for tires of this type moved more than 18,000 million euros in 2024, with a consumption of about 330 million units, according to data of the European Commission. Of them, almost 93 million came from China, which represents a market share of 28%, a percentage that has been growing strongly from 18% in 2021, according to collect Carscoops. The Commission itself states that indicators such as sales, employment or profitability of European manufacturers showed “a clear negative trend” during the period analyzed. Between the lines. More than 90% of imported Chinese tires are concentrated in the cheapest segment of the market, the so-called “tier 3”, according to data of the Coalition Against Unfair Tire Imports, the association of European manufacturers that filed the initial complaint. This organization assures that the dumping margins detected ranged between 41% and 104%, and that Chinese prices were below European prices by between 30% and 65%. To calculate whether there was dumping, the Commission needed to compare Chinese prices with reliable “reference” prices. The problem is that, according to Brussels, prices within China do not serve as a reference because the State has too much influence over companies in the sector. Therefore, the Commission has decided to use Turkish prices as a proxy to make that comparison. This decision has not pleased the Chinese producers or the South Korean companies Kumho Tire and Hankook, which they argue that Türkiye is not a valid example either, since it imports steel from Russia. The Commission, however, has rejected this argument and has maintained its choice. What China says. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce before the EU has warned that tariffs could place an additional cost burden on the automotive sector. In a statement Quoted by the South China Morning Post newspaper, the organization points out that tariff differences between manufacturers “may have implications for the competitive position of companies operating in the same market”, including European and Asian companies with plants in China. What does it mean for the pocket? According to calculations According to the German media Automobilwoche, tariffs are applied to the import value of the tire, not its final sales price. In 2024, this average value was 30.30 euros per unit. With the 45.3% tariff, the extra cost would be around 13.70 euros; with that of 24.4%, about 7.40 euros. Adding VAT, the increase for the buyer could be between 9 and 16 euros per tire, before the stores apply their own margins. And everything indicates that the entry segment will be the one that will notice the impact the most. And now what. This measure does not close the chapter between the EU and China in this sector. And there is also a parallel investigation for possible illegal subsidies to Chinese manufacturers, also focused on tires, whose conclusions are expected in December of this year. Citi analysts, cited by SCMP, consider that tariffs can help stabilize the European tire sector and anticipate a positive reaction on the stock market for manufacturers such as Goodyear, Michelin, Continental and Pirelli. Cover image | François Genon and Robert Laursoo In Xataka | The camera that watches you while you drive is already mandatory in new cars. And no one guarantees what happens with that data.

China has reached the asteroid that has been driving astronomers crazy for a decade. And your first photo is already changing the answer

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After 400 days of travel, the Chinese Tianwen-2 probe has reached your goal: object 469219 Kamo’oalewa (2016HO3). The entire world astronomical community has its sights set on this trip, for the answers it can provide to a mystery that has been going on for more than a decade. However, as usually happens with missions carried out by China, we had little information about the journey until the ship was already at its destination. This occurred on July 4, although the Chinese National Space Administration, CNSA, announced it this July 6. Be that as it may, the important thing is that China has reached Kamo’oalewa, that terrestrial “minimoon” that has given scientists so many headaches since it was discovered in 2016. Now comes the good. Tianwen-2 was released on May 29, 2025. 400 days later, it has reached its first stop, just 20 kilometers from Kamo’oalewa. There, he has taken the first photos, which will help him map this object, in order to determine the best places for sampling. Then, it will be time to get down to work, to collect a series of samples that will be sent to Earth in 2027. Then, we will have a definitive answer to the million-dollar question: Is Kamo’oalewa an asteroid or a fragment that was ejected from the Moon? The instruments. This probe has 11 payloads, including instruments that will allow it to study both Kamo’oalewa and its next target: comet 311P/PANSTARRS. These instruments include cameras, laser measuring devices, spectrometers, sonar radars and particle analyzers. It also includes the DIANA dust analyzer, developed in Italy. First mission: map the surface. Currently, the Chinese probe is taking photographs from different angles to create a 3D model that will allow establishing the best places to take samples. Broadly speaking, these places must meet two requirements: be scientifically interesting and not pose risks for sampling. The latter includes, for example, no unstable ground or loose rocks. Second mission: take samples. Since the mission left without knowing exactly what the surface of Kamo’oalewa will be like, Tianwen-2 travels prepared to take samples through three different methods: suspension, touch and match and anchor and coupling. The first consists of keeping the probe in hover, without landing on the object, and taking out a robotic arm that will skim the surface to obtain the samples. The second method, on the other hand, uses a disc-shaped, gas-powered head that briefly but more strongly touches the surface. Afterwards, rotating brushes are released that, together with bursts of air, sweep away the material released with that blow of the disc. Finally, the anchoring and docking method consists of releasing four robotic arms that are fixed to the surface to extract material for a longer period of time. It would be the first time this method has been used in deep space. Tianwen-2 has been traveling for 400 days Third mission: send them to Earth. The samples will be sent to Earth in 2027 for analysis. However, during Tianwen-2’s flyby of Kamo’oalewa, some inquiries are already being made about it. Asteroid or lunar fragment? Until now, all that was known about Kamo’oalewa were hypotheses or estimates. It was believed to measure between 40 and 100 meters in diameter and that It had to be a fragment released from the Moon after a collision or an asteroid. The first hypothesis arose from a study using spectrometry, in which it was concluded that its surface is rich in silicates, like that of the Moon. The second has several origins, although gained weight after another study in which several collisions were modeled on a simulated Moon. In very few cases the released fragments became quasi-satellites of the Earth, so the asteroid would fit better. In its first days in the vicinity of Kamo’oalewa, Tianwen-2 has made a measurement of the surface reflectance of the object, which suggests that it has a high geometric albedo. That of the Moon is quite low, so the asteroid hypothesis would still fit. On the other hand, the first data indicate that Kamo’oalewa measures 20 meters in diameter. It is less than what was originally estimated, but practically the same as what was calculated with observations made by James Webb. According to a study published on July 1in these it was calculated that it would measure 18 meters and, again, it was suggested that it be an asteroid. Specifically, one of type E. What is this about quasi-satellites? Kamo’oalewa is considered a quasi-satellite of the Earth because, when viewed from our planet, it appears to revolve around us. But it’s not true. In reality, this object revolves around the Sun, like the Earth. What happens is that it has a period similar to that on Earth. It also takes about a year to completely circle the sun. This, together with the geometry of its orbit, creates that optical effect that it is actually a kind of terrestrial mini-moon. Now we know that, possibly, in addition to not being a mini moon Due to its orbit, it is not made of fragments of our satellite either. At least, it seems most likely, although, of course, we will have to wait for the samples to reach Earth. Then we can definitively put the mystery to rest. Image | CNSA In Xataka | The Earth has moons that we don’t know about: exploring them is key to revealing the secrets of our solar system

It took China a decade to stop coal through renewable megaprojects. It took him a year to reactivate it

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For years, China has been the absolute reference in renewable energies: they have managed drive down the prices of solar panelsride offshore wind farms or colossal photovoltaic parks flourish in such incredible places like the tibetan plateauwhere also is building mega hydroelectric plants. And its strong commitment to renewables is being noticed: after a decade, coal-fired electricity generation fell for the first time. However, in 2026 China has taken a step back from coal. what’s happening. Between January and May of this year, electricity generation from coal and gas has risen 3.4% compared to the previous year, according to official data from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, from which Reuters echoesstanding at 2.53 billion kWh. The North American media collects estimates from S&P Global Energy and by Wood Mackenziewhich estimate the growth of coal-fired thermoelectric generation in China between 1.5% and 2%. The consulting firm Kpler estimates a 3% increase in coal consumption in the electricity sector, reaching 2.7 billion tons. Why it is important. The first reading of this reality is that the Chinese machinery does not stop, no matter what happens. And several things are happening that explain why the Asian giant resorts to an old acquaintance: El Niño is reducing rainfall in the hydroelectric dams of southwest China, so coal and gas have come to the rescue to compensate in those regions. On the other hand, the war in Iran and the consequent blockade of Hormuz have made access to liquefied gas more expensive and difficult, so China pulls coal and old pacts with Russia to optimize its use. On the other hand, renewable have grown at a slower rate than in 2025so something has to fill that gap in demand. And that something is coal. And this shift is important because China is the country that consumes the most electricity and more carbon dioxide emitted of the planet. In fact, India and China are responsible for more than 90% of the increase in emissions between 2015 and 2024, according to Carbon Brief. If China turns to coal, the global goal of reducing emissions becomes black. And also his promise to reach the emissions ceiling before 2030. Context. In 2020, China stepped on the accelerator in its energy transition towards renewables: fulfilled six years ahead of schedule its goal of 1,200 GW of wind and solar by 2030 and renewables by mid-2023 they surpassed to coal in installed capacity. In 2025 the share of coal in the generation mix fell to 51.4%, according to the think tank Agora Energyalthough this was also helped by the fact that the growth in electricity demand went from 7% in 2024 to 5% in 2025. In detail. This slowdown in the growth of renewables in 2026 also has several reasons: there has been less wind ( according to CREA has been the weakest in a decade), solar panels in the western provinces are being used less and fewer new panels have been installed than the previous year, partly due to the high installation base of the 2025 “boom” and partly due to the growing network congestion and forced discharge that affects wind, solar and even nuclear. On the other hand, in an interview for Inside Climate NewsCREA analyst Qi Qin gives an additional explanation: recently created coal plants: in her opinion, the rebound in coal is more due to the fact that China has commissioned too many new plants since 2024 than to geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. Qin also points out that many of these plants operate under medium and long-term supply contracts that guarantee a minimum level of utilization, which places them in direct competition with renewables for limited electricity demand; In his own words, it is “a competition, and coal plants have an institutional advantage.” Yes, but. Although the rebound in coal in 2026 is currently a documented reality, it is important to highlight that it is more of a temporary alternative and that situations such as El Niño, drought, weak wind or the Hormuz blockade will pass, so this return is more of a plan B than a setback in its energy strategy. In fact, his own CREA May 2026 report underlines that, were it not for the exceptionally weak wind in those months, the growing supply of clean energy would probably have reduced, not increased, coal and gas generation. Of course, given the recent permits and construction of coal plants, the reality is that unless political measures are taken, coal will continue to have a say and will continue to be the lifesaver in emergencies. In Xataka | In its efforts to break all energy records, China is taking wind farms 100 kilometers offshore In Xataka | China manufactured more solar panels in one year than the planet can absorb. Now the market is devouring itself Cover | ダモリ and Chris LeBoutillier

After the floods in China, the vice president of BYD has had to remember that their cars are not boats. Its owners have not cared

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Dozens of BYD electric cars have circulated these days on completely flooded roads in the Chinese region of Guangxi, transporting food, water and emergency supplies to villages isolated by the rains. The striking thing is that it was not a decision organized by the brand, but those who left with their cars for the affected areas were volunteers, and they did so just when a senior executive of the company asked for caution regarding the risk of driving through floods. What has happened? Guangxi has suffered historic rains caused by Typhoon Mesaak, with roads and entire municipalities under water. According to collect According to Chinese media, 163, owners of vehicles from brands such as Denza and Fang Cheng Bao, both from the BYD group, organized themselves through networks of owners to form civil rescue convoys. These groups voluntarily entered the areas most affected by the flood, ignoring the recommendations for driving in extreme weather conditions. In detail. Chinese electric cars they usually boast of a construction designed to resist water, including batteries with a highly protective seal and reinforced chassis to cross flooded areas. In the case of Fang Cheng Bao, its independent chassis architecture allows, according to factory data, to cross up to 800 millimeters deep thanks to a specific structural sealing on the underside of the vehicle. And it is not the first time that we see this type of vehicle going out for a ride in extreme conditions. Last year we already saw vehicles like the Yangwang U8 and the Jetour Zongheng G700 do the goat crossing rivers or in flooded areas. There is certainly no better advertising. The notice that arrived late. While the owners were already circulating through the flooded areas, He Zhiqi, senior vice president of BYD, published a message on social networks reminding that an electric car “is not a boat”, according to his Weibo account. The manager explained that, although the Blade Battery of the brand has watertightness certifications IP67 and IP68and that from the factory it is guaranteed that the vehicle can withstand being submerged up to one meter deep for 24 hours without suffering electrical leaks or risk of fire in the battery, driving through deep water is still a real risk that should be avoided. Models on the ground. Among the vehicles that have been seen in the images, the Denza N9 stands out, the brand’s large luxury plug-in hybrid that, according to account CarNewsChina managed to move through areas of mud and water thanks to its all-wheel drive system with several independent motors. The Fang Cheng Bao Bao 8 has also been seen circulating, an all-terrain vehicle with a harder profile with a suspension designed to better distribute the load, in addition to the Denza B5 and B8, which incorporate active body control systems capable of adjusting the height on the fly to avoid obstacles. The money has also moved. In addition to help on the ground, several Chinese brands They have allocated funds to the reconstruction of the area. The BYD Charitable Foundation has donated 10 million yuan (about 1.47 million U.S. dollars) to fund emergency equipment and repair public infrastructure. Xiaomi has contributed the same amount in cash, and the Chery group has donated another 10 million yuan divided between financial aid and supplies. Cover image | CarNewsChina (Bilibili) In Xataka | Sky Nomad is a reality: Xiaomi’s second car brand aims at one of the jewels in BYD’s crown

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