China has broken its own deep-dive record as a team plunged itself into the Mariana Trench in an attempt to find a source for deep-sea minerals, according to the state-run media outlet Xinhua.
The Fendouzhe, or strider, was the submersible that made the descent.
They submerged to a depth of 10,909 metres below sea level, nearly covering the maximum depth of the Trench, which is located just off the coast of the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific.
According to Xinhua, a submersible landed on the seabed on Tuesday morning after setting off from China's Hainan province a month prior.
China's previous record clocked in at around 10,100 metres and the second dive narrowly missed the world record for the deepest Mariana trench dive to around 10,928 metres performed by private investor Victor Vescovo in 2019.
The three-man team braved the depths of the world's deepest ocean trench in a bid to find resources such as rare earth elements which China's economy is dependant on.
The dive began at 8:20 pm GMT on Monday and the crew had reached the depths by 12:12 am on Tuesday, according to public broadcasting body CCTV.
These rare earth metals comprise a number of chemically-similar elements such as the lanthanide series, scandium and yttrium. They are commonly found in both thorium and uranium deposits.
According to Ye Cong, who designed the submersible, the Mariana Trench is abundant with natural resources that have gone untouched owing to the treacherous nature of their location.
He added: "It took us less than 200 minutes to reach the bottom of the sea.
"The submersible travelled on the seabed and carried out relevant works. The overall performance of the entire submersible was very stable."
According to an interview performed by Xinhua, high-tech diving equipment can provide a "treasure map" of the deep sea with the Chinese hoping to capitalise on this.
They stayed at the bottom of the trench for six hours to collect samples and document the surrounding landscape to see if their theories were correct.
The event was joined by a commentary on Chinese social media app WeChat which claims that deep-sea exploration is vital in exploring what they referred to as the "international strategic landscape."
The commentary said: "For example, Japan recently discovered rare earth resources in the Pacific Ocean, where the recoverable reserves are said to be 1,000 times more than on land. The ocean floor is a whole new world. If we don't explore this world, others will explore it."
Rare earth minerals, particularly those used in tech products such as smartphones are majority-controlled by China, who are looking to maintain their monopoly.
Beijing recently laid out plans for an annual quota of rare earth to a total of 140,000 tonnes annually, however, they are facing heavy competition from other countries.
China recently explored avenues in Greenland rich in rare earth but have had little luck securing them yet.
The International Seabed Authority was set to agree on a mining code in mid-2020, with China being one of the nations eager to browse the seafloor for minerals, but so far, nothing has been confirmed.
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