China is set to promote the charging of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) during off-peak power usage by strengthening the interaction between NEVs and the power grids, with a relevant technical standard system established by 2025 and completed by 2030, several Chinese ministries jointly announced on Thursday.

By 2030, the interaction between China's NEVs and the power grid is expected to achieve large-scale application, facilitating the comprehensive promotion of intelligent and orderly NEV charging. The NEV-power grid interaction involves energy and information exchange through charging and discharging devices, enabling NEVs to participate in scenarios like virtual power plants.

According to an implementation suggestion released by four Chinese ministries, connecting NEVs to the power supply network can effectively leverage the flexible adjustment ability of vehicle power batteries as mobile energy storage.

Analysts highlight the significance of this suggestion, supporting the large-scale development of the NEV industry, the construction of new energy systems, and new power systems.

The suggestion sets a target that, by 2025, more than 80 percent of NEV power charged with private charging piles should be during off-peak power usage, with over 60 percent of NEV power charged in the off-peak period for the entire society in pilot cities.

Large-scale pilot demonstrations of NEV-power grid interaction are planned in regions such as the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei-Shandong region, Sichuan-Chongqing region, and other areas with favorable environments. Ministries aim to build more than five demonstration cities and over 50 two-way charging and discharging demonstration projects by the end of 2025.

In addition to the goal of charging NEVs during off-peak periods, the suggestion outlines six major tasks, including technological breakthroughs to extend battery lifetime and improvements in the market mechanism of electricity prices.

Furthermore, the suggestion encourages power suppliers to engage in the construction and servicing of charging facilities in residential areas. Power suppliers are also urged to build terminals integrating solar power generation, storage, and charging facilities based on local conditions, promoting the integrated development of transportation and energy generation.

As a cold wave swept across northern China, the Chinese capital welcomed its first snow of the winter on Sunday evening. Traffic in Beijing has also been affected by the snowfall, with heavy congestion during the morning rush hour on Monday.

Following the snowfall, Beijing was covered in a silver-white coat, presenting picturesque scenes at Beihai Park, the watchtowers and the Shenwu Gate of the Forbidden City. The snow covered the buildings of the Forbidden City, making the red walls and golden tiles appear more vibrant, creating a striking contrast with the pristine white snow, resulting in a beautiful and magnificent sight. Coincidentally, the Forbidden City is closed on Mondays, presenting a serene and peaceful atmosphere after the closure.

Different from the Forbidden City, the Universal Studios theme park is bustling as usual.  Many visitors wearing wizard robes headed straight to the Harry Potter's Wizarding World area, checking in at the silver-clad Hogsmeade Village, as if they have "traveled" into the classic snow scenes from the movies.

Netizens were amazed by the snowy scenes and expressed optimism for a prosperous year with auspicious snowfall. Many netizens from the southern regions expressed their envy, saying, "Beijing has already seen the first snow, while in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, we still need to use electric fans. Southerners who have never seen snow are eager to personally experience it!"

Also enjoying the first snow was the star giant panda Meng Lan, "the 3rd Prince of Xizhimen," who once went viral for "breaking through" the enclosure at the Beijing Zoo. On the snowy day, Meng Lan rolled and happily frolicked in powedery snow. Visitors couldn't help but chuckle at the adorable sight.

From 7 pm on Sunday to 6 am on Monday, the average snowfall in Beijing was 5.1 millimeters, with the urban area averaging 5.8 millimeters. The highest snowfall occurred in Pupuwa, Fangshan district reaching 9.8 millimeters. According to Beijing Public Transport Group, as of 6 am, a total of 172 bus routes had been adjusted due to the snowy weather, including 157 routes that had been suspended, nine routes with adjusted sections, and six routes with detours and skipped stops.

The Beijing Capital International Airport plans to operate 1,100 flights and transport approximately 150,000 passengers on Monday. As of 7 am, 84 flights had been executed and 59 flights had been canceled. At 6 am, the airport initiated targeted de-icing operations, and a total of 22 flights had been de-iced. The overall operation of Beijing Capital International Airport remains normal.

Affected by a strong cold air mass, the meteorological department in East China's Shandong Province issued a blue warning for cold wave and a yellow warning for road icing on Saturday, and continued to issue a yellow warning for strong winds at sea on Sunday. Under the influence of the cold wave, there was also moderate to heavy snow and local blizzards in the northwest and central regions of Shandong. In addition, the city of Yulin in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province experienced significant rain and snow and a drop in temperatures on Sunday. Several local meteorological monitoring stations recorded snowfall at the level of heavy snow, and the average temperature dropped by 6 C to 8 C.

In Zhengzhou and Xinxiang, Central China's Henan Province, primary and secondary schools, as well as kindergartens, had half-day off on Monday.

On Sunday, a significant drop in temperatures occurred across most parts of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, with the lowest temperatures expected to reach -25 C to -30 C in some areas from December 10 to December 15. To cope with the cold weather, various measures had been taken to strengthen water and heating supply and other livelihood guarantees. In Fujin city, the local heating company has increased the frequency of inspections on heating equipment such as pipelines and valves to ensure the quality of heating.

To ensure the safety of passengers, the railway departments had suspended 112 passenger trains heading to Beijing, Xiamen, Chengdu, Taiyuan, among other routes, with some trains experiencing delays.

Researchers from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have proposed a new "nano-micro composite" delivery concept for vaccines and developed a single-dose, dry-powder, inhalable vaccine platform. The vaccine made in the laboratory based on the technology is effective in blocking respiratory viral infection and transmission in animal test, showing great promise for combating future emerging and epidemic infectious diseases. This study was published in Nature on Wednesday. 

In recent years, researchers have made significant progress in developing vaccines for infectious respiratory diseases. However, most of these vaccines are administered through intramuscular injection, which primarily induces a humoral immune response and relies on blood antibodies to neutralize the virus. This approach fails to trigger a mucosal immune response and establish a robust immune barrier in the respiratory tract, according to a release from the research group.

The current liquid form of vaccines requires to be stored in strict low-temperature, and the two- or three-dose vaccination schedule also impacts the overall vaccination rate.

In confronting these problems, professor Wei Wei and professor Ma Guanghui from the State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering at IPE, in cross-disciplinary collaboration with professor Wang Hengliang and professor Zhu Li from the State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, have developed a new vaccine platform.

This platform combines biodegradable microspheres with protein nanoparticles. The surface of these nanoparticles can simultaneously display multiple antigens, thus inducing a broad-spectrum immune response and expanding the range of vaccine protection. The platform also allows for the quick and convenient development of other respiratory virus vaccines due to the flexibility of antigen presentation.

The platform's unique nano-micro composite structure enables an efficient immune response in the lungs by facilitating high-performance delivery. Once antigen-nanoparticles are released, they can be efficiently taken up by antigen-presenting cells. 

Moreover, this dry powder vaccine significantly reduces storage and transportation costs, making it suitable for areas with limited refrigeration facilities, thus improving immunization rates.

The sustained release of antigens in the vaccine induces long-lasting humoral, cellular, and mucosal immunity with just a single inhalation

In cooperation with professor He Zhanlong of the Institute of Medical Biology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, the researchers developed a model of airborne protection, close contact protection, and airborne transmission blocking, which demonstrated that an inhaled vaccine is highly effective in preventing the virus infection and transmission.

"The components of this nano-micro system used natural proteins and approved polymer materials, and the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine have been systematically studied in non-human primates, indicating its great potential for clinical translation," professor Wei said.