A sharp temperature drop of up to 18 C is forecast in parts of China this week, while some southern regions may see highs above 30 C, the National Meteorological Centre (NMC) said Monday.

In recent days, temperatures across central and eastern China have steadily climbed. During the weekend, many regions recorded daily maximum temperatures around 25 C, with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, South China and other regions, reaching highs of 28 to 30 C, National Meteorological Centre said on Monday.

According to the NMC, temperatures in northern China are expected to gradually decline through Wednesday, while southern areas will continue to warm, with some regions potentially hitting temperatures above 30 C.

In Haidian district of Beijing, the temperature on Saturday set a record for the highest temperature in March locally. It reached 30 C, the first time since 1959 that the district has hit this mark in March, local authorities said Monday. This also became the earliest recorded date for a temperature of 30 C, surpassing the previous record of April 8, 2004 in the region, according to Beijing local authorities on Monday.

However, this warming trend is expected to reverse starting March 25, as a strong cold wave moves west to east across most of China. The northern region will experience widespread strong winds and dust storms, according to National Meteorological Centre.

Residents are advised to stay updated on forecasts and take precautions as conditions shift rapidly across different regions.

China's banks are accelerating efforts to deploy DeepSeek artificial intelligence (AI) models in multiple business scenarios, with major state-owned and joint-stock banks integrating them into intelligent customer service, operational efficiency and credit approval.

The country's biggest commercial lender, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), recently completed the localized deployment of the latest open-source DeepSeek AI model, the bank announced on Saturday. The model has been integrated into ICBC's large model matrix framework to enhance intelligence across financial business scenarios. 

According to the bank's statement, ICBC has built a multi-layered framework with multi-modal perception and multi-task collaboration, forming a collaborative application matrix of over 10 large models and more than 2,000 traditional models, enabling optimized coordination among different models.

The bank has already implemented large language models to empower over 20 major business areas, with more than 200 real-world applications, showcasing the strong driving force of AI technology in promoting high-quality development of the financial industry.

In terms of product innovation, ICBC has developed the ChatDealing intelligent dialogue system, reshaping the trading process and significantly increasing transaction volumes.

Centered on the whole credit process, ICBC has developed a dedicated credit approval risk control assistant, which integrates credit policy inquiries, report writing, risk assessment, data analyses and loan approval recommendations. 

Also, in February, the Postal Savings Bank of China announced that, leveraging its own large model, the bank has deployed and integrated the DeepSeek-V3 model and the lightweight DeepSeek-R1 inference model, as reported by the Xinhua Net.

The bank has applied the DeepSeek into its AI Assistant, adding logical reasoning capabilities to enhance service precision. Through functions such as deep analyses, it accurately identifies user's needs and provides personalized and scenario-based service solutions. Leveraging efficient reasoning performance, the bank has accelerated response time and task processing efficiency.

Among joint-stock banks, the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank has also deployed the DeepSeek-R1 671B large model, which is embedded in digital assistant applications, enhancing scenarios like intelligent Q&A, financial analyses and report writing, as reported by CNR.

The move by multiple banks to deploy DeepSeek AI models has positive effects on banking operations and digital transformation, such as improving business efficiency and service quality, Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Wang added that the introduction of DeepSeek models can enhance risk management capabilities and drive business innovation by improving the efficiency of decision-making.

However, given the high sensitivity of bank customers' information and DeepSeek's reliance on large volumes of data for training, the risk of data leakage increases, Wang said. As AI technologies are widely adopted, banks should ensure that the development, training and application of DeepSeek models comply with relevant laws, regulations and supervisory requirements.

Additionally, in order to enhance the model's interpretability, banks should develop visualization tools to present the decision-making process and rationale of the model in an intuitive way, Wang said. 

He also noted that banks need to strengthen internal talent training by developing systematic programs to improve staff's technical capabilities to keep pace with the speed and efficiency of model iteration.

China's Ministry of Public Security said on Friday that an additional 2,255 Chinese nationals suspected of involvement in telecom fraud recently were repatriated to China by Chinese public security authorities through Thailand from Myanmar's Myawaddy region. 

Since the joint operation of repatriating and escorting suspects involved in telecom fraud in Myawaddy, Myanmar, was launched by China, Myanmar and Thailand on February 20, a total of 2,876 Chinese suspects involved in telecom fraud have been escorted back to China, said the ministry on its official Wechat account.

Currently, the ministry has directed public security authorities in East China's Jiangsu Province and Shanghai to fully engage in case investigation operations.

A chartered flight repatriating the first batch of 200 Chinese nationals suspected of being involved in fraud crimes from Myanmar landed in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, via Thailand on February 20. This marks a milestone and remarkable achievement in multinational law-enforcement efforts between China, Thailand and Myanmar to crack down on telecom and cyber fraud, according to the ministry.

Since the beginning of this year, in response to the severe situation of telecom and cyber fraud crimes involving Chinese nationals in Myanmar's Myawaddy region, police forces from China, Myanmar, and Thailand have continuously deepened pragmatic law enforcement cooperation by establishing mechanisms, severing criminal channels and dismantling operation hubs, drastically reducing the operational space for such crimes in the region, said the ministry.

An official from the ministry said that public security authorities will intensify efforts with greater determination to deepen international law enforcement cooperation, further advance joint crackdown operations, resolutely eradicate criminal hubs, spare no effort in apprehending suspects, and safeguard the lives and property of Chinese citizens. 

The public security authorities also warn Chinese telecom and cyber fraud criminals that overseas locations are not beyond the reach of the law, urging them to return to China to surrender at the earliest opportunity and seek lenient treatment.

A delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), led by Ma Hui, vice minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, visited Panama from Friday to Saturday, during which they met with leaders of major political parties in Panama and scholars of think tank, CCTV News reported on Sunday.

During the visit, Ma said that China is willing to strengthen exchanges with Panamanian political parties and think tanks to deepen mutual understanding and trust, thereby consolidating public support for China-Panama friendly relations, according to the report.

The Panamanian side expressed its commitment to deepening friendly exchanges, building consensus on cooperation, and promoting the sustained development of Panama-China friendly cause, CCTV reported.

Recent reports of a potential asteroid impact have sparked widespread concern on Chinese social media, with many voicing safety worries. Amid the discussions, public attention has turned to China's recruitment of planetary defense experts. On Thursday, media reported that Shan Zhongde, head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), visited the Earth Observation and Data Center - a move expert says highlights China's growing focus on this critical field.

Shan said during a symposium held at the center that recent efforts in asteroid monitoring and early warning have shown promising progress. He emphasized the need to strengthen technological innovation, actively explore new models of digital and intelligent supervision, and enhance capabilities in identifying, assessing, warning against and responding to safety risks, according to the official WeChat account of Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.

The visit follows mounting worries from the public, after news broke out that an asteroid that could be as big as a football field could strike Earth in December 2032. According to an ABC News report on Wednesday, the chances of the asteroid named 2024 YR4 impacting Earth within the next decade have doubled within weeks, according to NASA astronomers.

When the detection of the asteroid was announced last month, NASA predicted just a 1.3 percent probability of it hitting Earth. The likelihood has now increased to 2.1 percent, per the report. On Friday, the European Space Agency (ESA) updated the likelihood of 2024 YR4 hitting Earth to 2.2 percent, making it the highest-ranked threat on ESA's risk list.

Scientists around the world are continuing observations to track its trajectory. "By April, additional data will be available, and by 2028, during the next observation window, we can better assess its probability of hitting Earth," Li Mingtao, a professor at the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times. 

If it does happen, Li said the asteroid is unlikely to directly hit Earth's surface but would disintegrate in the atmosphere. Even if it hits the surface, the asteroid would most likely land in the ocean. "A distant ocean impact would have minimal effects, while a near-shore impact might generate tsunamis impacting coastal areas. A land impact could generate shockwaves, thermal radiation, and light radiation, potentially devastating an area the size of a medium-sized city," Li noted.

A most viable solution at present is launching a spacecraft to collide with the asteroid at high speed, altering its orbit to avoid Earth. In 2022, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission successfully demonstrated humanity's ability to change an asteroid's trajectory, China Science Daily reported.

Amid the public's heated discussions, netizens recently uncovered a 2025 public recruitment notice issued by the Major Project Center of China's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. Released on January 14, 2025, the notice revealed plans to hire three planetary defense specialists, whose responsibilities will include research on near-Earth asteroid monitoring and early warning.

"The visit by the CNSA head to the Earth Observation and Data Center, along with the recent recruitment of talents in this field, indicates that China has placed heightened attention on asteroid impact monitoring," Kang Guohua, a senior member of the Chinese Society of Astronautics and professor of Aerospace Engineering at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The establishment of this position is likely more focused on management coordination, Kang said. Planetary defense primarily refers to a systematic engineering effort aimed at preventing near-Earth asteroids or comets from colliding with Earth through technologies such as monitoring, early warning, interception, or deflection. As such, it involves multiple units and various technical approaches, necessitating unified management and coordination.

China unveiled its first near-Earth asteroid defense mission NEA in September 2024, aimed at closely observing an asteroid before executing a kinetic impact to alter its trajectory around 2030, according to Tang Yuhua, a deputy chief designer of Chang'e-7 Mission, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The blueprint for the country's asteroid defense involves two spacecraft - an impactor and an observer - launched into space with one rocket. The observer will first move around the small asteroid to be targeted, for the purposes of detection, before guiding the impactor from afar to strike it. After the kinetic impact, the observer will further have an accompanying flight with the very asteroid that changes its orbit, according to Tang.