Of AI, calculators and learning maths

 

WHILE teaching mathematics in two countries, Malaysia and China, I have noticed that the way students master this subject is deeply influenced by their own educational culture and assessment systems.

Scientific calculators and artificial intelligence (AI) are now part and parcel of the learning process. However, the students’ approaches to using these tools are still firmly rooted in the foundational values shaped by their respective systems.

In Malaysia, the use of scientific calculators is a standard practice among students at the upper secondary level.

Students are allowed to use them for mathematics and additional mathematics papers in the SPM exams, especially for questions involving trigonometry, logarithms or statistical calculations.

They do speed up calculations and minimise errors, but overly relying on them can sometimes lead to weaker mastery of basic computational skills and reduced understanding of the core mathematical concepts.

Teaching foundation students at Xi’an International University in China under the Universiti Malaya (UM) offshore programme revealed a very different learning system.

Many students there had never used scientific calculators before.

As they were preparing to pursue their undergraduate studies at UM, I made them use the calculators during lectures and assessments.

They were hesitant at first, but I could see their excitement when they tried to use the device.

Nevertheless, most of them continued to solve problems, such as multiplication, square roots and trigonometric expressions, manually and did so with remarkable speed and precision.

This comfort with manual computation stemmed from their early training and a system that actively reinforces such skills.

One of the main reasons for this is China’s national university entrance exam, Gaokao. Known for its intensity and competitiveness, Gaokao strictly prohibits the use of calculators in the mathematics paper. This policy is intentional; it aims to assess a student’s genuine computational skills, ensure fairness across all regions and backgrounds, and encourage deep mastery of mathematical principles without relying on technology. As a result, Chinese students are trained from young to memorise formulas and solve problems manually.

The outcome is a generation of students who possess strong fundamental skills and a high level of confidence when tackling complex problems using logical and structured steps.

Despite these systemic differences, global developments continue to impact both countries. Students in Malaysia and China are now turning to Ai-powered apps such as CHATGPT, Deepseek, Symbolab, and Photomath, and are becoming increasingly dependent on Ai-generated solutions without fully engaging with the problem-solving process.

To address this, I apply a simple yet effective approach in my classroom. Students are required to answer the questions using their own reasoning first before they are allowed to check or verify their answers using AI.

This approach trains them to think critically, assess their own solutions, and compare them with the output provided by AI tools. It also builds confidence in their conceptual understanding.

What I find most encouraging is how students respond when their answers differ from the Ai-generated ones. On several occasions, I have heard them say confidently, “I think my answer is correct. The AI is wrong.” To me, this is a clear indicator of authentic learning.

These students are not simply replicating solutions; they have internalised the logic, are able to explain their reasoning, and are not afraid to challenge the authority of a machine when they believe in their own understanding.

I fully support the integration of AI as a learning tool, but I also believe that solving problems manually and conceptual mastery of the subject – in this case mathematics – must remain the foundation of education.

Technology should enhance students’ learning but not replace their ability to think.

FATIN NABILA ABD LATIFF Senior lecturer Mathematics Division Centre for Foundation Studies in Science Universiti Malaya

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The more open the country, the more it will drive our progress: Ren Zhengfei speaks to People’s Daily

 

Ren Zhengfei photo

Recently, reporters from People's Daily (PD) engaged in face-to-face communication with Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei (Ren) on various hot topics of public interest at the company's headquarters in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province.

From this interaction, we genuinely felt the confidence of an entrepreneur who "unswervingly manages own affairs well."

'Moving forward step by step'

PD: Facing external blockades and suppression, with many difficulties, what goes through your mind?
Ren: I haven't thought about them; thinking is useless. Don't dwell on difficulties, just take action and move forward step by step.

PD: Huawei's Ascend chip has been "warned" about usage risks. What impact does this have on Huawei?
Ren: There are many companies in China making chips, and many are doing well; Huawei is just one of them. The US has exaggerated Huawei's achievements — the company isn't that powerful yet. We need to work hard to live up to their evaluation. Our single chips still lag behind the US by a generation. We use mathematics to compensate for physics, non-Moore's Law approaches to complement Moore's Law, and group computing to make up for single-chip limitations, which can also achieve practical results.

PD: If there are difficulties, what are the main ones?
Ren: When have there ever not been difficulties? Wasn't it difficult during the era of slash-and-burn farming? Wasn't it difficult in the Stone Age? When humans used stone tools, could they have imagined high-speed trains? China has opportunities in low- and mid-range chips, with dozens or even hundreds of chip companies working hard. 

The opportunities are even greater for compound semiconductors. For silicon-based chips, we use mathematics to compensate for physics, non-Moore's Law approaches to complement Moore's Law, and leverage cluster computing principles to meet our current needs. 

Software cannot be choked — it's built on mathematical graphic symbols, code, and advanced operators and algorithms, with no barriers. The difficulties lie in our education and building a talent pipeline. In the future, China will have hundreds or thousands of operating systems, supporting progress in Chinese industry, agriculture, healthcare, and more.

PD: There are many voices praising Huawei now, and the recognition of Huawei is very high.
Ren: When people say we're good, it puts a lot of pressure on us. A bit of criticism keeps us more clear-headed. We make products, and it's normal for people to criticize them when they use them. We allow criticism. As long as it's truthful, even if it's critical, we support it. Don't pay too much attention to either praise or criticism; focus on whether we can do our job well. If we do our job well, there's no problem.

PD: From your attitude toward difficulties and criticism, we sense you have a strong inner resolve, remaining unconcerned with praise or criticism and instead focusing on doing your own work well. This must be a key reason why Huawei has come this far.
Ren: There's still too much praise directed at us. People should pay more attention to understanding those engaged in theoretical research. Their work is profound and often underappreciated by the public, with contributions that may only be recognized after decades or even centuries. Baselessly criticizing them is detrimental to the country's long-term development. We must understand and support those doing theoretical work. We need to appreciate their vision; their great, quiet dedication is the hope of our nation. We shouldn't elevate one group while diminishing another; those engaged in theoretical research are the hope for our country's future.

'We must understand theoretical scientists with strategic patience'

PD: How to view basic theoretical research?
Ren: When our country has a certain economic strength, we must attach importance to theoretical research, especially basic theoretical research. Basic research takes more than five to 10 years; it generally requires 10 years, 20 years, or even longer. If we do not engage in basic research, it is akin to having no roots. Even if the leaves are lush and thriving, they will fall when the wind blows. Purchasing foreign products is expensive because the price includes their investment in basic research. Therefore, whether China engages in basic research or not, it will have to pay costs. The question is whether we can pay our own researchers engaged in basic research.

PD: Regarding basic research, people may not understand it and ask, "What is the purpose of this research? What benefits can it generate?" 
Ren: Scientific breakthroughs are understood by few people in the world. Those who do not understand should not evaluate them. Einstein's discovery that light rays can bend was confirmed a hundred years later. In Southwest China's Guizhou Province, there was an agronomist named Luo Dengyi. In the 1940s, when analyzing the nutritional components of fruits and vegetables, he discovered a wild fruit called thorn pear with extremely high vitamin content. At that time, China was still in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and the social education level was very low, so few people understood his research. Later, he wrote a paper stating that thorn pear was the "king of vitamin C." Nearly a hundred years later, Guizhou developed it into a natural vitamin-rich thorn pear beverage, a luxury in the vitamin beverage market, priced at nearly 100 yuan per bottle and highly sought after. The thorn pear industry has become a channel for farmers to lift out of poverty and become prosperous. Only then did people truly recognize Luo, who had been working at a broken desk amid the flames of war.

PD: Many research achievements seem insignificant at first, but they often prove extremely useful in the end. 
Ren: Theoretical scientists are lonely. We need to have strategic patience and understand them. Tu Youyou's work on artemisinin is a case in point. So is Huang Danian, who upheld the spirit of "exploration, innovation, and sincere dedication to the country." The symbols, formulas, and thoughts in their minds can only be communicated with by a few people in the world. We must respect theoretical scientists because we may not understand their field of expertise. Society should be tolerant, and the state should support them.

PD: Basic research has a long cycle, but enterprises need to focus on efficiency. 
Ren: We invest 180 billion yuan ($25.06 billion) in research and development each year, with approximately 60 billion yuan allocated to basic theoretical research, which is not subject to performance evaluation. About 120 billion yuan is invested in product research and development, which is subject to evaluation. Without theoretical support, there can be no breakthroughs, and we will not be able to catch up with the US.

PD: This reflects a long-term perspective. It is said that Huawei has a "Chaspark." 
Ren: Huang Danian was a great scientist. Our country became aware of him during the Gulf War. The US military had a pod under its helicopter that could detect weapons buried by Saddam in the desert and destroy them accurately at the start of the war. Further investigation revealed that this pod was developed by a Chinese person — Huang's mining survey pod developed during his time at a British university, which was used as a weapon by NATO. He resigned and returned to China to become a teacher at Jilin University. He used his own money to request a 40-square-meter room from the university, opened a "Chaspark," and provided free coffee, advocating "absorbing cosmic energy over a cup of coffee." With the authorization of his family, we established a non-profit online platform called "Chaspark," which provides free access to global scientific and technological information. At the same time, it opens inclusive cooperation mechanism for basic research, collaborating with major universities and colleges. These are all strategic investments that are not subject to performance evaluation. In terms of basic theory, we have established an internal mechanism. We don't know when results will be achieved, and we don't set requirements for scientists.

'Goal of socialism is to develop society'

PD: American economists such as Richard Wolff questioned why the US has failed to develop a modern high-speed rail system like China and argued that the real issue is profitability under capitalism, noting that since high-speed rail is "not profitable," the US doesn't have it. In contrast, Wolff pointed out that while it may also not be profitable in China, the country still built it - "because the government did it." None of these are inherently profitable, but they lay the foundation for a developed society, contributing to the modernization of industry and agriculture. They reflect the social value of state-owned enterprises. For competing products, China implements marketization - allowing market competition to realize their commercial value and generate tax revenue for the society. What's your view on this?

Ren: Why is it that only socialism can take on projects that is not profitable? One of the core purposes of socialism is to advance societal development. The socialist market economy system adopted in China is a remarkable feat. When it comes to infrastructure development, we can only follow the path of the socialist market economy - otherwise, large-scale projects like high-speed railways, expressways, and dams... simply could not be built.

PD: What's your insight for the development prospects of artificial intelligence (AI)?
Ren: AI may be the last technological revolution in human society, though there might also be nuclear fusion in the energy field. The development of AI will span decades and centuries. Don't worry. China also has many advantages.
 
PD: What's your view on these advantages?
Ren: China is home to hundreds of millions of youth, who are the future of the country. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, pointed out that the strength of a country or a nation is always underpinned by cultural prosperity. The critical technical requirement for AI lies in having ample power supply and a well-developed information network. Developing AI requires robust power guarantees. China excels in power generation and grid transmission, boasts the world's most advanced telecommunications network. The "east data, west computing" project is able to be realized.
 
PD: Any other advantages?
Ren: There's actually no need to worry about the chip issue. By leveraging methods such as superposition and clustering, computational results can match the most advanced global standards. In terms of software, thousands upon thousands of open-source software will meet the needs of the entire society in the future.

PD: How do you view China's future?
Ren: Thomas L. Friedman left our company and bought a second-class high-speed rail ticket to experience China. Later, he wrote an article titled, "I Just Saw the Future. It Was Not in America." 
 
PD: We've read that article, where he says "what makes China's manufacturing juggernaut so powerful today is not that it just makes things cheaper; it makes them cheaper, faster, better, smarter and increasingly infused with AI."
Ren: Fundamentally, algorithms are not in the hands of IT experts but in the hands of power experts, infrastructure experts, coal experts, medical experts, and various industry experts. From a practical perspective, Chinese manufacturing is adopting artificial intelligence very quickly, and it will give rise to many Chinese models. 
 
PD: What kind of support does the development of private enterprises need from the country?
Ren: A legalized and market-oriented environment where the government administers in accordance with laws and regulations. Enterprises should focus on value creation, technological breakthroughs, law-abiding operations, and tax compliance. This harmonious development model will gradually unleash economic vitality.
 
PD: How do you view openness and development?
Ren: The more open the country becomes, the more it will drive our progress. Under the leadership of the Party, with unified administration and clear policies, it is possible to gradually form a unified national market. This will surely break through all blockades and achieve great rejuvenation.


 

Photo: Screenshot from People's Daily
 

The article was originally published on the front page of the People's Daily on June 10, 2025 -By Hu Jian and Chen Jiaxing .

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China's quantum computing industry has developed replicable, iterative engineering production capabilities: developer

 

A model of Origin Wukong, China's independently developed third-generation superconducting quantum computer Photo: VCG

China's quantum computing industry has made new progress. Recently, Chinese startup Origin Quantum in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province, launched Origin Tianji 4.0, a self-developed superconducting quantum measurement and control system that supports 500-plus-qubit quantum computers. The progress indicates that China's quantum computing industry has achieved replicable and iterative engineering production capabilities, laying the foundation for the mass production of hundred-bit quantum computers, Kong Weicheng, head of the system's development team, told the Global Times.

Dubbed the "nerve centers" of quantum computers, measurement and control systems manage precise signal generation, acquisition, and control for quantum chips. In 2018, Kong's team developed the first domestically produced quantum computer control system with completely independent intellectual property rights, filling a gap in the domestic quantum computing measurement and control field.

The latest Origin Tianji 4.0 system can effectively shorten the development and delivery time for quantum computers at the hundred-bit scale, while enhancing the system's automation capabilities and long-term stability, according to Kong, who is also deputy director of Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center.  

Previously, China relied heavily on imports for high-end instruments and equipment, and we could only use traditional commercial instruments to build our quantum computing measurement and control systems, with signal output and acquisition tasks being conducted separately. This approach was not only costly and redundant in functionality, but also had drawbacks such as poor compatibility and difficulty in integration, Kong told the Global Times. 

"Now, after multiple iterations, China's quantum computing measurement and control system has improved in terms of product scalability, integration, performance stability, and automation level. What we need to do is to go from nothing to something, and from something to a usable and durable product," Kong said. 

The Origin Tianjin 4.0 system was built and upgraded based on its preceding 3.0 version, which powers Origin Wukong, China's independently developed third-generation superconducting quantum computer. 

Since it went into operation on January 6, 2024, Origin Wukong has served users in 139 countries and regions over 26 million times, and completed more than 380,000 quantum computing tasks, covering a wide range of industries from finance to biomedicine, the Global Times learned from the team. 

According to Kong, in recent years, the process of quantum computing industrialization has been growing rapidly around the world. Eight years ago, Barclays Bank began to explore the application scenarios of quantum technology in the financial sector. Subsequently, leading international financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs formed quantum research teams to explore quantum computing applications.

Domestically, quantum computing has been explored in various industries, including national defense and security, biopharmaceuticals, energy materials, artificial intelligence, financial markets, and transportation and aviation. However, "there is still a significant gap from the industry's expectations for exponential acceleration and leaps in computing power," Kong said. 

According to Kong, the development of quantum computers is influenced by various factors such as hardware devices, cooling environments, and temperature, and these challenges require cross-disciplinary collaboration, including efforts in ecological construction and other dimensions. - Global Times In Depth

Highlights of Shenzhou-20 manned mission, Shenzhou 19 astronauts return after six-month mission, China's Tiandu satellite pulls off laser ranging in Earth-moon space under daylight, marking a world first

Highlights of Shenzhou-20 manned mission

Missions of the Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship, scheduled to be launched at 5:17 pm, April 24, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China, include: - Completing an in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-19 crew, staying at the China Space Station for ...

 

 

China's Shenzhou 19 astronauts return after six-month mission

China's Tiandu satellite pulls off laser ranging in Earth-moon space under daylight, marking a world first 

Photo: DSEL

From Saturday to Sunday, China's Tiandu-1 communication and navigation technology experiment satellite successfully conducted a laser ranging technology test in the Earth-moon space under strong daylight interference conditions, marking a world first in overcoming the time restriction of satellite laser ranging in Earth-Moon space only being performed at night, signifying a new technological advancement in the field of precision measurement in deep space orbits, Global Times learned from the satellite developer China's Deep Space Exploration Lab (DSEL) on Monday.

Due to the vast scale of Earth-moon space and the extremely high speed of satellite motion, conducting laser ranging on satellites in such an environment is akin to aiming at a single hair (sub-millimeter target) from 10,000 meters away while performing precise tracking and signal acquisition, said DSEL in a statement it provided to the Global Times on Sunday. 

Satellite laser ranging in Earth-moon space was limited to nighttime conditions without light interference, restricting observation periods and resulting in insufficient frequency of orbital dynamic data collection. The successful execution of this laser ranging test under daylight interference conditions significantly expands the observation window for this technology, providing a practical engineering foundation for its widespread application, DSEL said. 

This achievement will strongly support the validation and implementation of major deep space exploration missions, such as the International Lunar Research Station, it added. 

As the first satellites ever developed by DSEL, the Tiandu-1 and -2 satellites were sent into space together with the Queqiao-2 relay satellite on March 20, 2024. They entered their target circumlunar orbits on March 29 and separated on April 3, according to the Xinhua News Agency. They have conducted a series of technological experiments for lunar communication and navigation.

Chip ambitions hinge on talent development

 

M’sia must overcome shortage of engineers, Ic designers

”There are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 IC designers in the country, but the bulk of them work in multinational companies like Intel and Infineon. It is a challenge to coax these experienced personnel out of their comfort zones and venture into a startup. Hence, talent is concentrated in multinational corporations.”

PETALING JAYA: The country’s potential to be a key hub for advanced semiconductor manufacturing, packaging and fabrication hinges on talent.

Kenanga Research said in a report that talent remained an important concern, after taking into account the country’s strengths, including a well-developed infrastructure, pro-business policies and neutral stance in geopolitics.

The research house said during a meeting with the Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA), the question of how players can move up the value chain and how the government can pivot away from the typical tax incentive mindset to one of attracting and retaining talent was raised.

“Among the environmental, social and governance or ESG components, talent development is a constant concern for the semiconductor industry.

“Key findings from the Semiconductor Quarterly Pulse Survey (fourth quarter of 2024 or 4Q24) showed that talent – specifically a shortage of engineers and integrated circuit (IC) designers, and market competition remained the top challenges for the industry,” it said.

Additionally, data showed that 72% of companies were hiring engineers and technicians in 1Q25, a trend that has continued from previous quarters, indicating a continuous need for talent.

Data also showed that in 2022, the average monthly salary for employees within the electrical and electronics (E&E) industry was RM6,450.

However, only 0.3% of the E&E workforce held an advanced degree, indicating potential for further growth.

According to the research house, there are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 IC designers in the country, but the bulk of them work in multinational companies like Intel and Infineon.

“It is a challenge to coax these experienced personnel out of their comfort zones and venture into a startup. Hence, talent is mostly concentrated in the already well-established multinational corporations,” Kenanga Research noted.

MSIA then said some steps must be taken to mitigate this.

These include setting up a university focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), facilitating the hiring of foreign STEM students studying in Malaysia, providing the right incentives to attract foreign talent and encouraging semiconductor players to intensify training.

“The government has earmarked about 10% of the RM25bil allocation to train and upskill 60,000 engineers by 2030 to support advanced manufacturing, research and development, and technological advancements in the semiconductor industry,” it noted.

Meanwhile, Kenanga Research said there were potential opportunities that could emerge in the industry for Malaysia.

There has been growing interest in expanding to Malaysia, especially from Chinese semiconductor firms which are looking to leverage on local infrastructure to facilitate global exports.

“Malaysia remains focused on driving economic growth by fostering a pro-business environment that attracts foreign investments.

“Moreover, Malaysia is actively pursuing high-value foreign direct investment while encouraging collaboration between the local private sector and the government to strengthen and develop a robust semiconductor ecosystem, particularly in advanced packaging,” it added.

To successfully do this, the country will focus on several key factors, including strengthening government incentives for IC design, improving supply chain resilience to support high-end semiconductor manufacturing, and attracting semiconductor fabrication investments.

To add to this, the country had committed US$250mil over 10 years in a strategic partnership with Arm Holdings plc recently to access chip design blueprints and training, aiming to transition from chip assembly and testing (back-end) to high-value semiconductor design and production.

With that, Kenanga Research reiterated the need for greater investments into the semiconductor supply chain to strengthen resilience and attract suppliers from key markets.

“While Malaysia has a strong semiconductor foundation, it must accelerate technological adoption, talent development and infrastructure investments to maintain its competitive edge in the rapidly evolving global market,” the research house said.

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The Chinese People

 

CHINESE FREIGHT TRAIN POPS ANOTHER SURPRISE - 6TH GENERATION JET. 

Did China Make The Most Advanced Fighter Jet In The World?

China's Chang'e-6 safely returns to Earth with first-ever lunar far side samples

 

Photo: Wang Sijiang

Chang'e-6 - China's latest leap of moon exploration - has claimed full success, as the returning capsule of the craft, carrying the first batch of lunar samples collected from the far side of the moon in human history, safely touched down in designated landing site in the Siziwang Banner, in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Tuesday afternoon at 2:07 pm.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday extended congratulations on the complete success of the Chang'e-6 mission that brought back the world's first samples collected from the moon's far side. It marks "another landmark achievement in China's endeavor to become a space and sci-tech power," Xi noted. 

In the congratulatory letter, Xi also stressed the hope to strengthen international exchange and cooperation in carrying out major aerospace engineering projects including deep-space explorations.

According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), as planned, after the necessary ground processing work is completed, the recovered Chang'e-6 returner will be airlifted to Beijing, where the sample containers and payload will be extracted. The CNSA will hold a handover ceremony at an appropriate time to officially transfer the lunar samples to the ground application system. Subsequently, the samples will undergo storage, analysis and related research work.

After successfully completing the Chang'e-6 mission, the Queqiao-2 relay satellite will carry out scientific exploration missions at an appropriate time. It will use its onboard instruments, including an extreme ultraviolet camera, an arrayed neutral atom imager, and an Earth-Moon Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) experiment system, to collect scientific data from the moon and deep space, the CNSA said in a statement sent to the Global Times. 

Stargazers from all over the world have paid close attention to the 53 day-long round trip of Chang'e-6, and applauded Tuesday for the unprecedented feat of it retrieving precious lunar samples from the far side of the moon, while suggesting that these samples would not only help enhance the humanity's understanding of the Earth's natural satellite but also create new opportunities for international cooperation in space studies, including those with the US.

"I do think a successful conclusion to this very complex mission [Chang'e-6] will show that Chang'e-5 was not just a fluke, and that Chinese space engineers really have mastered the challenges of carrying out these very difficult missions far from Earth, it's a real step forward in the maturity of the Chinese space effort," Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in the US, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"The successful execution of the Chang'e-6 mission has achieved breakthroughs in key technologies such as retrograde lunar orbit design and control, rapid intelligent sampling on the lunar far side, and ascent from the lunar far side. These technological advancements lay a foundation for future deep space exploration missions," Kang Guohua, a professor of Aerospace Engineering at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The mission not only sets a new record for China's lunar exploration program but also has a profound impact on the global aerospace field. Through the Chang'e-6 mission, China has demonstrated its leadership and influence in space exploration, Kang said noting that lunar soil from the far side of the moon holds immense value for scientific research and deep space exploration due to its uniqueness. 

Since no human probe has directly landed on and sampled from the far side, the soil from this area offers a distinct perspective. The South Pole-Aitken Basin is the oldest and deepest large impact basin on the moon, and samples from here can help scientists study the moon's origin and evolution more deeply, potentially providing critical clues about the formation and evolution of the solar system, he said.

Potential of intl collaboration in space

This year marks the 20th anniversary of China's lunar exploration program. China stands ready to continue working with like-minded international partners to explore humanity's common domain of the outer space, realize the shared dream of people around the world to discover more about the moon, and strive to advance the world's common endeavor of peacefully using the outer space, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday, commenting on Chang'e-6's success.

The Chang'e-6 mission hosted four international payloads to the moon, including the European Space Agency (ESA)'s lunar surface ion composition analyzer, France's radon detection instrument, Italy's laser corner reflector, and a CubeSat from Pakistan, the CNSA revealed to the Global Times.

Pakistan's CubeSat, the country's inaugural lunar satellite, has sent back the first images it captured on May 10. It also achieved its goal of "successful separation and obtaining telemetry," marking the smooth completion of Pakistan's first-ever lunar project.

ESA's lunar surface ion composition analyzer, jointly developed with the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, successfully completed seven scientific detections after it started up on June 2, with the total detection time exceeding 3 hours, thus achieving the scheduled goal of detecting the lunar surface for at least 1 hour. This payload conducted negative ion detection on the lunar surface for the first time internationally, and the joint team is currently conducting scientific data analysis.

For the French payload, Philippe Baptiste, chairman of the French National Center for Space Studies, said it would still take some time to get all the data, but they are looking forward to it, as "the last time France was on the moon with an active instrument, it was in 1970," Baptiste was quoted as saying in a CGTN report.

The Chang'e-6 mission and its collection of precious samples from the far side of the moon will create more opportunities for cooperation between China and Western countries in space, according to space observers. And it is highly likely that NASA would again greenlight its researchers to access to these precious samples retrieved by the Chang'e-6 mission, however, the difficulties still lie in the US' domestic legal barriers, they said. 

McDowell said he would be happy to see sharing of data between China and the US. The US space observer pointed out however that "the political winds here in the US are still strongly against allowing any large-scale cooperation."

In a November 29 statement, NASA said it has certified its intent to the US Congress to "allow NASA-funded researchers to apply to the China National Space Administration for access to lunar samples returned to Earth on the Chang'e 5 mission." However, NASA made it clear that this allowance applies specifically to Chang'e 5 mission samples and "the normal prohibition on bilateral activity with (the) PRC (People's Republic of China) on NASA-funded projects remains in place."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told the Global Times on June 7 at a regular press conference that China is always open toward space exchanges and cooperation with the US. There are, however, difficulties in China-US space cooperation at the moment, which are caused by US domestic legislation such as the Wolf Amendment that prevents normal exchanges and dialogue between Chinese and US space agencies, Mao said.

In a rarely seen friendly move, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson reportedly sent congratulations to China over the Chinese spacecraft's landing on the lunar surface earlier this month, saying he was impressed with its fourth successful moon landing, the Washington Post reported on US local time Monday. 

"I've been fairly pointed in my comments that we're in a space race with the Chinese, and that they are very good," he said in a recent interview with The Washington Post. "Especially in the last 10 years, they've had a lot of success. They usually say what they mean, and they execute on what they say."

However, the China space hawk continued its narrative of creating a new space race with China, by claiming that despite China's many achievements in space - which include an occupied space station in low Earth orbit and landing a rover on Mars in 2021 - the US remains on track to return astronauts to the lunar surface ahead of its chief rival, according to the report.  

In a key step toward that goal, NASA intends to fly four astronauts around the moon late next year, and then land people on the surface in late 2026 for the first time since the last of the Apollo missions, in 1972.

Despite competition between the US and China, the two countries will have to find a way to coexist on and around the moon, Nelson was quoted as saying.

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