Deng Wenhao, a Communist Party of China member, conducts sample analysis in a laboratory at Taiyuan University of Technology in Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi Province, June 10, 2025. (Xinhua)

Deng Wenhao, a CPC member and a doctoral candidate at Taiyuan University of Technology in north China's Shanxi Province, remembers the day in 2024 when he stood up at the United Nations headquarters in New York to present a technique his team had developed to address both climate change and food security.

"It was really exciting -- turning what I've learned into something meaningful. There's nothing more rewarding for a researcher," he said.

Born in 1991 in Datong, a traditional coal hub in north China's Shanxi Province, Deng grew up witnessing firsthand how coal and power plants affected people's lives. As his grandparents were farmers, he also saw vast stretches of barren saline-alkaline land covered with what he remembers as "a layer of salt crusted on the surface."

When his supervisor suggested exploring more natural methods to treat carbon emissions, Deng immediately thought of that land. "I thought, why not capture carbon emissions and use them to fix alkaline soil?" he said.

His department thought the idea was unconventional, but his proposal won support. Li Ping, Party chief of the university's college of safety and emergency management and engineering, said that the topic addresses local economic needs.

"We encourage our researchers to innovate and solve practical problems. We don't restrict them in terms of research direction."

Still, the road wasn't smooth. Just collecting sufficient varieties of saline-alkaline soil turned out to be a challenge.

"That's when the Party really stepped in," Deng said. "Grassroots Party organizations helped connect me with locals who knew where to find the land I needed."

"The CPC keeps renewing itself and adapting to the times. It's vibrant and full of energy -- and that's why so many young people are drawn to it," Deng said.