A vision to ‘transform’ desert regions.
Photo: SKI

China is a geoengineering behemoth.

THE ‘GREAT GREEN WALL’

Researchers in northwest China have developed a technique to spray or spread drought-tolerant cyanobacteria – often called blue-green algae – on barren desert sand.

Scientists and local authorities say the goal is to ‘stabilise shifting sands’, ‘improve soil quality’, and ‘prepare desert land for future vegetation growth’.

They say these microbes lie dormant until rain arrives, and when hydrated, they quickly grow and form a “biological soil crust” that binds sand grains together.

This “living crust” stabilises dunes and reduces erosion by wind and rain.

Natural soil crusts can take many years to form in deserts – whereas the geoengineered version can build “similarly stabilising crusts in around 1-3 years”.

The experiment is being scaled up in the Tengger Desert margins, near Ningxia. Local authorities plan to apply it to several thousand hectares over the next few years.

The algae-crust approach is part of China’s long-term “Great Green Wall” desertification control strategy, which historically involved massive tree planting and sand-stabilisation methods (like straw grids and vegetation belts).

I can’t stop to think of how this type of thing is straight out of a science fiction novel. Super advanced, high-tech world powers, bending and re-shaping the landscape to their will.

Terraforming, as it is known in science fiction and science, is the process of modifying another planet for more suitable conditions, making it habitable for humans.

It is a popular theme exploring concepts of colonisation, environmentalism, and human adaptation through creating breathable atmospheres, water, and suitable climates.

Famously depicted in Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars Trilogy, and often contrasted with bioforming (modifying humans), the concept reflects real scientific challenges and ethical questions about technological mastery over nature.

The idea goes right back to Francis Bacon, whose New Atlantis in 1627 established the theme of exploiting nature for humanity’s benefit. A little wink for TOTT members there.

China doesn’t see things as dramatically as I do, though.

They say the project is an “ecological restoration technique” aimed at ‘combating desertification’, not for altering climates or creating new ecosystems on a planetary scale.

Geoengineering, and ultimately terraforming, takes all shapes and forms – not just in the skies above us, but in the oceans and deserts too.

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While many focus on Western companies and techniques, China has actually been at the forefront of modifying the weather and environment for many years now.

Weather manipulation is going mainstream, and everyone wants in on the race.

But what happens if these countries start to see geoengineering as a means of control?

WORLDWIDE GEOENGINEERING

Geoengineering and weather manipulation techniques are not just exclusively done by Western countries. In fact, one of the largest programs in the world is run by China.

In 2020, we reported on how China planned to extend their controversial geoengineering program to cover at least 5.5 million square kilometres of land.

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At the time, China’s State Council said it would ensure modification capabilities would reach a “developed” level by 2025 – and now here we are.

Today, China operates one of the biggest programs seen in any country on Earth.

They openly celebrate being able to create tens of billions of tones of artificial rainfall per year – something Western media tells us is just a ‘crazy conspiracy theory’ here at home.

The Beijing Weather Modification Office is a long-standing branch of the national meteorological system, responsible for cloud seeding to increase precipitation or reduce hail in and around the capital. An open government department wing, not hidden like ours.

But it’s not all ‘sunshine and rainbows’ (pun intended).

There are concerns China is using this artificial rainfall, and underlying geoengineering programs, to wage ‘weather wars’ against border regions like India.

These narratives often describe China’s system coverage in millions of square kilometres, sometimes invoking geopolitical rivalries or border friction.

A 2025 article in Fortune noted that intensive weather modification efforts could raise perceptions of “cloud theft” or interference if neighbouring countries see changes in rainfall patterns and seek explanations.

The potential for misunderstanding, mistrust, and diplomatic friction if neighbours perceive weather modification efforts as unfairly affecting shared weather systems or water resources, is an evident reality as these technologies continue to advance.

We already know how the military already incorporates chemtrails into signal disruption strategies, and it is only a matter of time before weather wars join them.

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This is not even touching on the environmental and ecological harms that many practices in the field are having on our planet, which is an entirely separate discussion on its own.

Will China achieve its aims to ‘restore desert regions’ with microbial geoengineering?

Are we at a point where political powers can easily terraform landscapes to their will?

What is that kind of power is used as a weapon against opponents?

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