Chinese vice-premier extends greetings to polar research teams

BEIJING -- Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng on Monday extended festive greetings and good wishes via satellite video link to Chinese scientific researchers conducting missions in the Arctic and Antarctic.

He, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, was briefed by representatives of the Xuelong research icebreaker, the Qinling Station in Antarctica and the Yellow River Station in the Arctic.

The vice-premier noted that China's polar researchers have worked with dedication and successfully completed a wide range of scientific missions during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), bringing China's comprehensive polar capabilities to a new level.

He called for strengthened comprehensive support for polar research, enhanced sci-tech research to deepen human's understanding and protection of polar regions, expanded international exchange and cooperation, and greater care and support for polar researchers.