A Chinese steel firm has made an unlikely breakthrough in the country famous for replicating just about every technology as soon as it hits the market.
After five years of research and development, Taiyuan Iron & Steel has produced a ballpoint pen. Specifically, the tip of a ballpoint pen.
Extraordinary as it sounds, it's a first for a company in the country which manufactures nearly 40 billion ballpoint pens every year.
It's also a point of much pride in China. Around this time last year, many Chinese were unaware of their country's inability to create such a common item.