China saw steady expansion of employment in 2023, with the emerging digital economy and technology sectors creating more opportunities for young job seekers, multiple industry insiders and enterprises have told the Global Times.

Despite the pessimistic picture painted by some foreign media reports, observers remained optimistic and confident in China’s employment situation, given the country’s efforts to stabilize the labor market as well as various favorable trends.

The emergence of cutting-edge technologies in the digital economy combined with new scenarios and sources of demand have brought more options and chances for young people, Li Qiang, vice-president of Zhaopin.com, told the Global Times in a recent interview.

Li noted that a diverse range of job opportunities have emerged with different entry levels, from the frontiers of digital technology to more basic jobs in expanding sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Mexin Group, a door company based in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, told the Global Times on Monday that it has opened new positions and expanded hiring of AI engineers amid the development of its intelligent production.

The company hopes its AI engineers can integrate the technology into different applications and platforms, while carrying out new practices complying with various corporate projects, Mexin said in a statement.

Digital transformation has not only advanced the production and development patterns for enterprises in the manufacturing sector, but also provided growing potential and space for young job applicants, particularly in rising sectors such as industrial automation and new energy.

The proportion of jobs classified under the category of production, processing and manufacturing on Zhaopin.com increased from 15.3 percent in 2022 to 16.8 percent in 2023, with the growth rate ranking first among all industries. Meanwhile, the talent gap related to the energy-saving industry and new-energy vehicles is expected to reach 1.03 million people in 2025, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

In addition, Li said the digital economy has created more flexible jobs with higher job autonomy and lower entry barriers.

The number of newly registered drivers for on-demand delivery service provider Lalamove, also known as Huolala, increased by more than 70 percent in 2023, while the active drivers born in and after 1990 accounted for 30 percent of the total number, a yearly increase of 45 percent, the company told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Huolala said that 60 percent of their surveyed drivers born in and after 2000 chose to be cargo drivers due to the job’s flexibility, as they can pursue different passions such as being e-sports players and technicians at the same time.

The urban unemployment rate in China stood at 5.2 percent on average in 2023, down 0.4 percentage points year-on-year, official data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed last week, amid an overall improvement in employment.

The NBS also resumed the release of data for youth unemployment after a four-month suspension. The surveyed unemployment rate of the population aged 16 to 24 (excluding students) was 14.9 percent in December.

However, pressure is still persisting in 2024 given the structural contradictions for employment of some groups and in certain industries, said Kang Yi, a spokesperson for the NBS at a press conference on January 17.

Kang added that the employment situation will remain stable in 2024 thanks to the economic recovery, accelerated industrial upgrading and other positive factors such as supportive policies.

Li said that market confidence, bolstered by policy support taking further effect, has been rebounding, adding that the recovering confidence among enterprises is another positive factor for 2024.

France-based airplane manufacturer Airbus started operations at the Airbus Lifecycle Services Center in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Wednesday, a latest example of aviation cooperation between China and France.

The center's opening came just days before Saturday, which will mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France.

This center is the first of its kind to cover, as a one-stop shop, the full range of activities from aircraft parking and storage to maintenance, upgrades, conversions, dismantling and recycling services for various aircraft types, as well as the controlled distribution of used parts from dismantling, Airbus said. 

It plans to obtain overhaul qualifications and aircraft dismantling qualifications for Airbus A320/A330 within the year, and Boeing 737 maintenance qualifications are also expected. 

Covering a space of 717,000 square meters with storage capacity for 125 aircraft, the site will ramp up operations between now and 2025, directly employing up to 150 people, the company said.

The center unites under one roof a joint venture among Airbus, Tarmac Aerosave and the city of Chengdu, along with the Airbus company Satair. 

Located in the same center, Satair will acquire aging aircraft and trade and distribute the used parts to complete the full scope of lifecycle services. 

After storage and upgrading, 75 percent of the aircraft stored in the center are expected to fly again. The remaining planes will be dismantled with the unique Tarmac Aerosave process, recovering about 90 percent of the aircraft weight, the company said. 

It echoes our purpose to pioneer sustainable aerospace and shows our approach to environmental responsibility across the entire aircraft lifecycle, and the center is a great example of Chinese-European cooperation in the development of the circular economy for the aviation industry, said Cristina Aguilar, Airbus' senior vice president customer services.

The project is of special significance, when China is entering a new cycle of mass withdrawal of aircraft, with a large number of aircraft to be involved, and the project will play an important role in the circular economy, Lin Zhijie, an independent market watcher, told the Global Times. 

Chinese experts attributed the robust growth of aviation to the huge Chinese aviation market. 

Airbus predicted in December 2023 that China will overtake Europe and North America to become the world's largest aviation services market by 2042, with its market value climbing to $54.1 billion.

Aviation cooperation between China and France has seen sound development in recent years.

In June last year, China Southern Airlines, the carrier offering the largest annual air passenger capacity in China, said it would equip its new fleet of 96 A320neo planes with Thales' market-leading avionics solutions. This new agreement is a fitting testament to the extensive cooperation in the field of civil aviation between France and China. In the helicopter domain, Thales also partnered with Simaero to deliver China's first H225 level D Full Flight Simulator to China Sky-Wings training center in Shanghai, for improving the overall safety of Chinese helicopter pilots.

Thales has been present in China for more than 40 years. It has three joint ventures and employs 1,800 people with offices located in seven cities in China. 

In April 2023, Airbus signed a purchase agreement for 160 commercial aircraft with a Chinese partner, and it will open a second assembly line in North China's Tianjin Municipality, further expanding its presence in one of the largest aviation markets in the world.

During the ninth China-France High Level Economic and Financial Dialogue held in July 2023 in Beijing, China vowed to strengthen policy communication with France, deepen practical cooperation, step up coordination on international and multilateral affairs, and push the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership to a new high, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The year-on-year decline in China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) over recent months is caused by structural and cyclical factors, while core CPI remained stable excluding the impact of food and energy prices. It is anticipated that CPI will see a mild rise in 2024, a Chinese official said on Wednesday.

Prices have fallen in China lately, led by a retreat in the cost of food and energy. Excluding the impact of food and energy prices, core CPI has remained stable, suggesting that the decline in prices was not widespread or broad-based, but rather cyclical and structural, head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Kang Yi told a press conference in Beijing.

In 2023, China's overall prices remained on a moderate upward trend, with the annual CPI rising by 0.2 percent, and the core CPI increasing by 0.7 percent, Kang noted.

As for the structural factors, the decline in food and energy prices is not solely a result of changes in market supply and demand dynamics. In 2022 and 2023, their prices were primarily influenced by non-economic and unconventional factors, Kang said.

Energy prices, particularly those of petroleum, play a substantial role in the CPI basket in China. In December 2023, energy prices witnessed a 0.5 percent drop, in contrast to the 5.2 percent increase in December 2022. The significant rise in energy prices in 2022 followed by a decline in 2023, with one acting as a positive factor and the other as a negative factor, has exerted a considerable downward pull on the year-on-year CPI comparison, Kang explained.

As for food prices, there was a 3.7-percent drop in December 2023, contrasting with a 4.8-percent rise in December 2022. The increase in December 2022 was caused by pandemic-related measures, leading to logistical challenges and an across-the-board rise in food prices. As the economy returned to normal, accompanied by ample supply, food prices eased from the high baseline of the previous year, he said.

As the Chinese economy continues to recover on the back of steady growth in income levels and an expansion in domestic market demand, there is a foundation for upward movement of prices. As the Spring Festival holidays approach, demand for food spending is rising. Increased activity in service spending, such as dining out, visiting relatives and friends, and trave will further drive the seasonal rise in CPI, Kang said.

In the first 10 days of January 2024, monitored data indicates food prices have remained generally stable, experiencing mild increases in some regions, he said.

The low-level operation of prices also reflects, to some extent, issues such as insufficient market demand, Kang said, noting that it is a cyclical phenomenon in China as the economy returns to normalcy after three years of pandemic impact. "In the short term, inadequate demand can lead to downward pressure on prices."

China's CPI saw a year-on-year decrease of 0.2 percent in October 2023, followed by declines of 0.5 percent in November and 0.3 percent in December, NBS data showed.

During the key annual Central Economic Work Conference held in Beijing in December 2023, policymakers stressed the need to expand domestic demand, noting that "efforts should be made to stimulate consumption with potentials and expand productive investment to create a virtuous cycle of mutual promotion between consumption and investment."

"The development of digital consumption, green consumption and health consumption should be further promoted, and new growth areas such as consumption of smart home appliances, entertainment and tourism, sports events and trendy domestic brands should be fostered," the meeting noted.

With the introduction of relevant policies, the issue of insufficient market demand will ease. As a result, consumer prices will most likely stabilize and rebound. "We anticipate a mild increase in prices in 2024," Kang said.

US and UK fighter jets launched strikes against multiple targets in Yemen's capital Sanaa, the western Red Sea city of Al Hudaydah and the northern province of Saada on Friday local time. The situation in the Red Sea has seen a new round of increased tensions and faces the risk of further escalation.

The air strikes took place exactly one day after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution regarding the situation in the Red Sea, giving the impression that the UN resolution gave the green light for the US and UK actions. It must be pointed out that this is an illusion. The US and the UK may have deliberately created and strengthened this illusion, but it is far from the truth. The resolution was proposed by the US and Japan and passed with a vote of 11 in favor to none against, with four abstentions. It demanded "that the Houthis immediately cease all such attacks, which impede global commerce and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security." Russia, China, Algeria and Mozambique abstained from the vote.

The Red Sea is an important international trade channel for goods and energy, and its stability is related to the common interests of the international community. China emphasized that "No country should misinterpret or abuse relevant provisions in this resolution to create new tensions in the Red Sea." Unexpectedly, what China was worried about became a reality the next day. After the attack, some US allies in the Middle East, including Jordan and Oman, expressed concern that the situation might get out of control. Yemen's neighbor Saudi Arabia also called for avoiding escalation of the situation. There is also a lot of opposition in the US. Nabeel Khoury, former deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Yemen, said on X (formerly Twitter), "US/UK bombing campaign in Yemen is another failure of Biden diplomacy."

The current situation in the region is dire. A cease-fire between Palestine and Israel has not yet been achieved, and the spillover conflict in the Red Sea is further escalating and expanding. The Supreme Political Committee of the Houthi armed forces of Yemen claimed that all "interests" of the US and Britain are now "legitimate targets." Retaliation and harassment against the US and the UK will start another cycle of attacks, and multiple spillover conflicts are possible. In short, the possibility of the situation deteriorating has increased and deepened, and this outcome requires all parties to do their best to avoid it.

It needs to be said that the development of the situation to this point has been both accidental and inevitable. It is the US that has pushed the situation to the current stage step by step according to its own style and behavioral logic. The skewed stance of the US in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has led to the conflict becoming protracted and caused spillovers. When dealing with Middle East issues, which are intertwined with contradictions and have complex historical latitudes, the US' strategy is thoughtless, even crude.

Military means is still the most familiar, preferred and convenient method for the US. It has been used in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria and now against the Houthi armed forces in Yemen. The US has become quite dependent on it. Many bloody lessons have taught us that force as the main means cannot solve the problem, but instead makes the situation worse and more complicated. Ultimately, we have to return to the path of political settlement. The same is true for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. China has repeatedly stressed the urgency of achieving an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, and it is the overriding prerequisite for everything else and a top priority for international diplomatic efforts.

Whether it is the current Red Sea crisis or the protracted conflict in Gaza, the real solution to the problem has always been clear, which is to immediately implement a cease-fire in Gaza. But for this core demand, the US currently does not have the courage to truly take supportive action. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made four trips to the Middle East in three months. He has made so many trips, but he can't even say the word "instant cease-fire." If Washington continues on its current path, it will not solve the Middle East problem, but will become an active promoter of risk proliferation.

US defense officials said the strike was intended to thread the needle - pressing the Houthis to quit their attacks without spurring more conflicts in the volatile region. Threading the needle can be regarded as progress in US thinking, but can it achieve this via force? Can this restore peace in the Red Sea? The answer is obviously no.

At the invitation of Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, Viola Amherd, President of the Swiss Confederation, and Leo Varadkar, Irish Taoiseach, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council will attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 and pay an official visit to Switzerland and Ireland from January 14 to 17: Chinese Foreign Ministry

Chinese private aerospace firm iSpace completed the country's first reusable launch vehicle test on Sunday. The achievement marks a milestone in China's development of space technology.

The Hyperbola-2 is the company's latest model for reusable launch vehicle tests. During the flight, the vehicle reached an altitude of 343.12 meters, with a flight time of 63.15 seconds, and landed with a landing speed of 1.1 m/s and a landing attitude angle of 1.18 degrees.

The rocket had its first stage test flight on November 2, with a well-controlled descent and touchdown. I-Space then spent less than 20 days on preparation and maintenance work for the rocket.

The test flight verified the reuse capability of a full-size liquid-oxygen-methane rocket and its reliability for low-altitude descent and touchdown, as well as the testing process, norms, and standards. It also verified the company's rocket recovery system, marking a step forward in the global market of reusable launch vehicles.

The successful test flight of the Hyperbola-2 rocket represented more than just a technological breakthrough for iSpace. In the field of reusable launch vehicles, large companies including SpaceX and Blue Origin have established dominant technology advantages. The success of the iSpace test signals that the Chinese company is making strides in the emerging market.

China has continuously invested in the space sector and maintains advancements in key areas. On Sunday, the Yaogan-39 satellite was successfully launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, marking the completion of the 500th flight mission of China's most iconic Long March series rockets.

China's private companies have been increasingly involved in the development of space technology in recent years. On Saturday, Landspace successfully launched a Zhuque-3 rocket with three satellites, Honghu, Honghu-2, and Tianyi-33, marking the first time the startup company has sent satellites into orbit.

The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced on Thursday the global opening of the next generation artificial sun, "China Circulation-3," after the group's affiliated Southwestern Institute of Physics signed an agreement with the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The initiative invites scientists worldwide to come to China and collaborate toward the shared goal of pursuing "artificial sun energy."

The "China Circulation-3" is currently China's most advanced and largest-scale nuclear fusion device, also referred to as China's next generation "artificial sun." 

In August this year, it successfully achieved high-constraint operation mode under a plasma current of 1 million amperes, marking a significant advancement in China's magnetic confinement nuclear fusion device, propelling it to the forefront of international research. 

Over the years, the Southwestern Institute of Physics has been deeply involved in the development of key components for ITER, the world's largest "artificial sun" project, CNNC said, and together overcame numerous engineering and technical challenges.

This involvement of the Chinese institute has led to the accumulation of extensive experience in the construction, debugging, operation, and maintenance of fusion devices, laying a solid foundation for China to integrate with international advanced technology and eventually construct its own fusion reactor. 

Due to the similarity in the principles of the two experiments, the openness of "China Circulation-3" will not only focus on addressing key technical issues of interest to the ITER but will also enhance China's research and development capabilities and foster talent development.

In April this year, the other Chinese "artificial sun," the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), which is also the world's first fully superconducting tokamak device in operation, saw a major breakthrough as it achieved a high power, stable, 403-second steady-state long-pulse high confinement mode plasma operation, setting a new world record for steady-state high confinement mode operation of a tokamak device.

Developer of the EAST, the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that they are aiming to use the EAST to generate fusion power before the centenary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, which falls in 2049.

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck Jishishan county in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture of Northwest China's Gansu Province on Monday midnight. As of press time, the earthquake has caused 105 fatalities and 186 injuries in Gansu and another 11 were killed in neighboring Qinghai Province.

Chinese President Xi Jinping issued important instructions on Tuesday regarding the earthquake in Gansu, demanding full-scale search and rescue efforts, proper resettlement of affected people, and maximum efforts to ensure the safety of people's lives and property. Premier Li Qiang also issued instructions.

It is the deadliest earthquake in terms of casualties in China following the devastating 2010 earthquake in Yushu, Qinghai Province, and the second-largest in magnitude. 

Notably, since the 2010 Yushu quake, the biggest earthquake had also occurred in Gansu Province with a maximum magnitude of 6.6, resulting in nearly 100 fatalities.

Houses and infrastructure related to water, electricity, and roads in and around the epicenter have been damaged to varying degrees.

It has also been found that the earthquake-stricken area in Gansu experienced mountain collapses, and there was displacement in the supports of a local bridge. 

"I live on the 16th floor and felt the tremors so strongly. The moment of the earthquake was feeling like being tossed up after surging waves… I woke my family up and we rushed down all 16 floors in one breath," A resident living near the epicenter surnamed Qin told media. 

It was freezing cold out there at minus 12 C, and Qin noticed his neighbors also fleeing from surrounding buildings, some wearing down jackets, some wrapped in blankets, and some even bare-chested.

The earthquake also affected the neighboring province of Qinghai. As of 6 am on Tuesday, the earthquake has resulted in 11 deaths and 140 injuries in Haidong city in Qinghai Province. 

Some houses have collapsed in counties and districts such as Minhe, Xunhua, and Hualong. Local electricity lines and communication networks are under urgent repair, and efforts in personnel rescue and disaster assessment are still ongoing.

In light of the severe disaster, the State Council's Earthquake Relief Command and the Ministry of Emergency Management have raised the national earthquake emergency response to Level II. The National Disaster Prevention and Relief Committee and the Ministry of Emergency Management have also elevated the national disaster relief emergency response to Level II.

Following the earthquake, a total of 1,440 firefighters from the national comprehensive fire and rescue teams were deployed to the disaster area for rescue efforts. Additionally, 1,603 firefighters from Gansu and surrounding provinces have been assembled and are on standby.

Army units from the PLA Western Theater Command swiftly prepared for emergency response. Over 300 officers and soldiers were mobilized overnight and arrived in the severely affected area by 4 am Tuesday to commence personnel search and rescue operations, road clearance, and other tasks.

According to Gansu earthquake administration, multiple consecutive tremors occurred late at night, with the maximum magnitude reaching 6.2. A total of 140 aftershocks have been recorded, with the largest measuring 4.1 in magnitude. 

Areas in other regions including Southwest China's Sichuan Province, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, also experienced tremors.

The China Earthquake Networks Center has organized experts to conduct analysis on the seismic activity near the epicenter in Gansu, which occurred in the southeastern part of the province, approximately three kilometers from the nearest fault line - the northern edge fault of Laji Mountain. 

Preliminary analysis of the focal mechanism indicates that this earthquake was a thrust rupture. 

The active tectonic zone in southeastern Gansu lies in the northern part of the North-South Seismic Belt in China and is an important region on the northeastern edge of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau. Due to the long-term compression between the Eurasian Plate and the Indian Plate, intense tectonic activity occurs in this region, characterized by the development of numerous deep-seated faults.

Within a 200-kilometer radius of the epicenter of this earthquake, there have been three earthquakes measuring magnitude 6 or higher since 1900. All were either isolated or main shock-aftershock type earthquakes.

The significant casualties this time also stem from the poor seismic resistance of buildings, relatively dense population in affected areas, and the timing of the quake when people are usually asleep and unable to evacuate in time.

The Earthquake Early Warning System, jointly developed by the Institute of Care-life and the China Earthquake Administration, told the Global Times that it had alerted the regions ahead of the earthquake. 

It provided warning to the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture located 56 kilometers from the epicenter 12 seconds before the quake, and some 20 seconds to regions adjacent, including Gansu's capital city of Lanzhou. 

Preliminary statistics show that domestically manufactured mobile phones, televisions, and other devices equipped with the warning system were able to issue alerts in advance within the affected earthquake zone. 

China's Guo Hanyu won the women's singles tennis gold medal at the FISU Games on Sunday by making a comeback victory over Chinese Taipei player Yang Ya-yi 2-6, 6-1,6-1 

"The FISU Games have been fruitful for me," Guo told reporters after the match, as Sunday's win came on top of her silver medal in the women's doubles with teammate Jiang Xinyu on Saturday.

"I enjoyed the match today after seeing room for improvement in yesterday's defeat," said the Southwest University student athlete, who had won the doubles title in the previous FISU Games in 2019 in Napoli, Italy. 

Guo was one of the two flagbearers for China at the opening ceremony of the FISU Games. She said it gave her more of a boost rather than pressure. 

"It gives me a little pressure but more importantly impetus," Guo told the Global Times.

Guo played the match under the gaze of tennis great Zheng Jie, one of the Chinese female tennis trailblazers who won the Grand Slam doubles title at the Australian Open and the Wimbledon Championships in 2006.

Zheng, who is a Chengdu native and now a vice president of the Chinese Tennis Association (CTA), has been promoting tennis among the young generation in the recent years.

In 2010, she initiated youth tournaments with the aim of increasing the number of opportunities for young players to compete. 

Over the past 14 years, the CTA has incorporated more than 90 youth tournaments into their ranking system, providing ample chances for aspiring young talents to showcase their skills. 

"Nowadays, young Chinese tennis players, if they are willing to play, can find matches to play, which is something I never could even imagine during my playing career," Zheng told the Global Times. 

Fans watching the game at the Sichuan International Tennis Center in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, were troubled by the rain, as it has postponed the men's singles as well as pairs final.

Fifteen-year-old Chen Ye has become the youngest Chinese champion in the history of the Asian Games after winning the skateboarding park men's finals in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, on Monday, which is also the first gold medal for the Chinese team in the world championships for skateboarding.         

After the game, the training ground made by Chen's father, which paved the way for this inspirational story, became the focus of media attention. In an interview with the Global Times on Tuesday, Chen expressed his gratitude to his father as the person he most wanted to thank after winning the gold medal. 

"The Asian Games gold medal is the greatest medal I has received so far. I will use it as encouragement to continue striving for higher goals," he said.

"I'm grateful to my father for building two bowl training grounds for me and studying skateboarding skills with me," Chen said. Chen said that he fell in love with skateboarding when he first encountered the sport in a shopping mall at the age of 8. 

"When I started skateboarding, I felt that it was a very exciting and thrilling sport. I felt very happy after completing each move," Chen said, comparing it to the piano and other hobbies that his father, Chen Wanqin, tried to introduce to him but which he found boring.

Once Chen Ye showed his true passion, his father, respected him the choice and supported him. In 2019, Chen Ye joined the Guangdong provincial skateboarding team. To help his son's training, Chen Wanqin and his wife rented a warehouse of more than 200 square meters to build a bowl training ground for him. 

After finishing second in the men's skateboarding park event at the 2021 National Games of China, Chen Wanqin built a new 900-square-meter skateboard park with a max height of nine meters in 2022 in order to improve his son's performance. Chen Ye said that during that time, his father quit his job and even spent all his savings to support his passion. 

But it was all worth it. After winning the Asian Games gold medal, Chen Ye now has the confidence to pursue higher goals. 

"Now that I've won the championship in an Asian event, I hope to perform better in global events and participate in more high-level competitions. In the future, I may participate in more Olympic ranking events," Chen Ye said. 

After entering the Paris Olympic cycle, the Chinese skateboarding team is not only preparing for the Asian Games, but also coordinating their preparations for the Olympic Games. It is worth mentioning that while Chen Ye snatched the championship, other Chinese athletes in the same event also made new breakthroughs. In the skateboarding park women's final held on Monday, Chinese athlete Li Yujuan won the silver medal, while Mao Jiasi won the bronze medal.

In addition, the Chinese skateboarding team has also seen the emergence of several young players with great potential in the Hangzhou Games. Apart from Chen Ye, 13-year-old Cui Chenxi is also considered a rising star. She is also the youngest athlete in the Hangzhou Asian Games Chinese delegation. The Chinese skateboarding team, composed of athletes born after the year of 2000, continues to make breakthroughs, and the future looks promising.