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胡晨璇：
From ballpoint pens to bullet trains: the "Made in China" dream
If you see Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Group) Co's recently attained capability to make domestic pen-tip steel for ballpoint pens as a sign of an exclusive focus on small things, you will be mistaken. The nation's top maker of stainless steel has decidedly big plans.
For one, TISCO is going global in line with the Belt and Road Initiative. For another, it is strengthening the supply of high-strength and high-end steel available for China's big-ticket projects, such as bullet trains, next-generation nuclear power plants and aerospace programs.
It is now a key cog in the massive manufacturing wheel that powers China's endeavors in industry and science.
As of March, TISCO started to supply stainless steel to Hualong One, the country's domestically developed third-generation reactor, adding one more name to the list of over 10 completed or under construction nuclear power stations that use TISCO-made stainless steel.
TISCO's high-end products also will shine on the global stage through integration with the Belt and Road vision of huge advances in infrastructure and trade, company officials said.
TISCO-made materials are used in the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, Temburong Bridge in Brunei, China-Russia and China-Myanmar natural gas pipelines, a nuclear power station in Pakistan and even for the coins cast in Malaysia, the Netherlands, Poland and Brazil.
For China's military forces, TISCO's materials have proved essential in making Dongfeng missile shells and the latest series of destroyers. It is the only qualified Chinese supplier of low-magnetic steel plate for warships and vessels, TISCO officials said in a statement released exclusively to China Daily.
The company's staff has worked hard to achieve technical prowess, particularly in research and development. It has further sharpened its competitive edge through R&D, officials at the Shanxi-headquartered company said.
In 2016, TISCO introduced more than 10 new products, which have garnered a more than 70 percent share of the Chinese market.
Its products have given a major boost to the country's aerospace industry, TISCO said. It made a number of components of the new Long March 7 Y2 rocket, which lifted China's first cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou 1, into orbit on April 20. Tianzhou 1 is the nation's largest and heaviest spacecraft.
The Long March 7 Y2 included TISCO's stainless steel, electromagnetic pure iron, high-strength alloy structural steel and other materials. The company's materials also played a key role in the Long March 7 Y1 rocket, the Y2's predecessor and an important milestone.
According to the SOE's military and nuclear power business department, TISCO's high-end steel and iron have been widely used in China's crucial aerospace programs, including the Shenzhou spaceship series and the Chang'e lunar orbiters. Rocket engines use TISCO stainless steel that is resistant to high temperatures.
With Tianzhou 1's launch behind us, we're set to supply essential materials for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, the world's largest and one of the most critical fusion experiments," the company said in a statement to China Daily.
All the moves would mark TISCO's heightened efforts to expand into the international market, its chairman, Li Xiaobo, said in a written interview.
"We need to move fast to figure out potential demand, and to design the best material for clients," Li told China Daily. "Simply following others isn't going to work. We'll provide optimized solutions to win the (world's) trust."
TISCO's next ambition is to become the world's most competitive stainless steel enterprise, Li said.
TISCO is further fine-tuning its alignment with visionary national campaigns such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the Made in China 2025 industrial upgrading plan, and the go-global drive of Chinese enterprises. In doing so, TISCO aims to serve high-end markets as well as burgeoning industries from a global perspective, Li said.
Experts see merit in TISCO's future plans. Belt and Road and the go-global drive will create new, long-term opportunities for iron and steel companies, said Chen Ziqi, deputy director of metallurgical and building materials for China International Engineering Consulting Corp.
Zhao Ying, a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics, which is part of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said when Chinese firms, particularly SOEs, seek to expand abroad, industrial innovation and long-term investment goals are key to maintaining earnings.
TISCO is allocating 3.5 percent of its annual sales to R&D and innovation, which could mean several billion yuan annually for leading-edge work. This is expected to help TISCO go from a traditional manufacturer to a digital-age global supplier of new products.
"TISCO needs to grab the opportunity presented by supply-side structural reform to expand its product catalog and enhance its competitive edge," Li said
The company has set a goal to produce 4.5 million metric tons of stainless steel this year, the nation's largest amount. It also intends to top its peers in more than 20 high-end stainless categories, such as steel for aerospace ships and nuclear power reactors.
By the end of 2020, TISCO expects high-end and specialized steel to comprise 90 percent of its total production, with R&D expenses reaching 5 percent of annual sales.
The company said it made a major breakthrough this year by launching its duplex stainless steel products－high-strength steel with lots of chromium－in Europe's high-end materials market.
"In the past, we had to import steel to produce motors for new energy vehicles, which require extremely good quality," said Zhang Wenkang, chief engineer of TISCO's silicon steel mill. "Now, we've independently developed such material that also performs better in energy efficiency."
In 2016, TISCO launched its ballpoint pen-tip steel after spending five years in R&D to develop its own patented technology. It could help end China's long reliance on imported products. Pen-tip steel imports cost $17.3 million a year, the China National Light Industry Council said
鲍俞哲：
Decisive round of French presidential elections start overseas ahead of mainland
PARIS - French voters in overseas territories started their voting for the decisive second round of presidential elections on Saturday, a day before it is scheduled in the mainland.
But the results will be only know after all votes are casted on the French mainland.
Official campaigning period ended Friday night, signalling the start of a blackout on any campaigning and media coverage, according to French electoral laws.
The polling stations in French mainland are scheduled to open at 08:00 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) and close at 20:00 p.m. (1800 GMT) in big cities, and at 19:00 (1700 GMT) in other places.
According to French law, no exit poll or early counting results of the vote is allowed to be released until all polling stations are closed.
Nearly 47 million voters are expected to cast their ballots on Sunday in 66,546 polling stations in the French mainland, where final preparation work is being carried out on Saturday.
Opinion polls indicate that pro-European Union (EU) centrist Emmanuel Macron is on course to become the country's youngest ever leader, after a tense campaign against his anti-EU challenger far-rightist Marine Le Pen.
An Ipsos-Sopra Sterna poll released on Friday showed Macron widening his lead to 63 percent of votes, up by two points compared with the previous poll, while Le Pen dropped to 37 percent.
This is Macron's best score in polls since the first round of votes on April 23.
Analysts say Macron has been improving his performance since a final and harsh televised debate between the two contenders on Wednesday evening, in which he was more convincing to French viewers, according to surveys.
Unlike the 2012 election, which was a race between candidates from France's right and left parties which had dominated the country's political mainstream for decades, this year, two anti-establishment candidates emerged as the frontrunners in the first round.
Macron, never held an elected office, aims to build a democratic front involving faithfuls from different political views, as well as new, talented faces.
A pro-market advocate, the 39-year-old ex-investment banker has been campaigning for a stronger eurozone and further economic openness to bolster domestic economy and create wider business opportunities for millions of people without work.
His rival, Le Pen proposed the other face of the coin via a nationalist project aiming to install internal borders to slash immigration which she considers the main cause of rising security risks and rampant unemployment.
柯长霖：
Migrant worker's viral essay unveils social problems
An essay written by a migrant worker about her family went viral on Chinese social media with her plain, vivid and humorous words resonating with many readers.
Fan Yusu, 44, from a village in Xiangyang, Central China's Hubei province, currently does housekeeping work in Beijing. In an article named I'm Fan Yusu published Monday on WeChat, one of China's most popular social media platforms, Fan tells the story of her and her family.
My mother was elected village official of women affairs in 1950 and stayed in power for 40 years, even exceeding the reigning time of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi," Fan wrote.
The story instantly attracted over 100,000 viewers in one day, with over 20,000 comments.
"I see an extremely strong mind behind the small body of a mother," a reader said.
"Generally, the most touching words in life are not rhetorical ones, but the plain ones refined by life," one reader commented.
"The article exposed many social problems in China, but stopped where it should," another commenter said.
The life of Fan did not sound as easy as how she wrote it. A high fever left Fan's elder sister with a mental impairment and her other sister contracted polio.
Her two brothers lived an unrealistic life in the impoverished village. The elder brother's dream of being a litterateur put a larger burden on the poor family. And the other brother buried his political future under a mountain of gambling debt.
Fan moved to Beijing to work at 20 and married five years later, but got divorced soon after due to his alcohol abuse and domestic violence. Fan now takes care of her two daughters on her own. She makes a living by babysitting for a mega-rich listed in the Hulun Wealth Report.
Fan's two daughters live in Picun village on the outskirts of Beijing, a settlement of migrant workers.
Fan is endowed with literary talent. At the age of six or seven, she taught herself to read novels. She has kept up her habit of reading and writing ever since her years at school, which likely laid a solid foundation for her writing skills.
In an interview with Beijing Youth Daily, Fan said she used to read masterpieces by world renowned writers from China and other countries.
At 12, Fan was inspired by the novels describing the lives of educated youth and decided to take her first solo trip. She took a train to Hainan island without buying a ticket and stayed there for three months living on papaya and coconuts.
After moving in Beijing, Fan studied writing in a literature group organized by an NGO that provides services for migrant workers.
Fan said she did not expect the article to gain that much popularity as she only wanted to earn some extra money to support her family.
"What happened to me after the story was published is beyond my imagination. Anyway, I make a living through manual labor, not with writing," she said. " I could barely use a computer to write."
Fan said she felt sorry for her two daughters as she failed to offer good study conditions but she hoped her daughters will be able to get a good education at universities in the future.
Fan's essay gives us a glance into t
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