BEIJING, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China.
AUTONOMOUS DRIVING
To date, Chinese public security authorities have issued a total of 16,000 test licenses for autonomous vehicles, the Ministry of Public Security announced on Tuesday.
At a press conference in Beijing, the ministry also revealed that 32,000 kilometers of roads nationwide have been opened for autonomous vehicle testing.
These initiatives have provided strong support for the advancement of autonomous driving technology in China, said Wang Qiang, a senior official from the ministry.
AORTIC STENT GRAFTS
The prices of aortic stent grafts developed by a Shanghai-based company have been lowered after China's National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) launched an open inquiry into the firm, the NHSA said on Monday.
The Shanghai MicroPort Endovascular MedTech (Group) Co., Ltd., or Endovastec, has reduced the prices of its Castor branched aortic stent graft, which is available in different sizes, to about 70,000 yuan (about 9,800 U.S. dollars).
Before the adjustment, the selling price of its (200 mm long) Castor branched aortic stent graft was above 120,000 yuan.
INDUSTRIAL PROFIT GROWTH
China's industrial sector has shown signs of continued recovery with profit growth accelerating in the first seven months of 2024, driven by improving market demand and strengthening new growth drivers.
The combined profit of major industrial enterprises rose 3.6 percent year on year in the January-July period, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from the first half of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement on Tuesday. ■
