Low Visibility

Vehicles move slowly through dense smog in downtown Harbin， northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province， on October 22. Meteorological authorities in the province issued an air-quality red alert for the city and neighboring regions.

All schools in Harbin were ordered to suspend classes. The city’s expressways and airport were also closed.

At the same time， severe smog shrouded other major cities in the country’s northeast， such as Changchun， capital of Jilin Province， and Shenyang， capital of Liaoning Province.

Message of Change

Comprehensive reforms will be planned during the upcoming Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee in November， according to a statement by Chinese President Xi Jinping on October 23.

Xi， also General Secretary of the Party’s Central Committee， made the remarks when meeting with overseas members of the Advisory Board of Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management in Beijing.

“We must properly balance reform， development and stability. With greater political courage and wisdom， we can further unleash and develop social productivity and enhance the creative forces of society，”Xi said.

The president added that it is China’s basic national policy to invigorate the country through science and technology.

Tibet White Paper

The Chinese Government issued a white paper on Tibet Autonomous Region on October 22. The paper， titled Development and Progress of Tibet， gives a detailed account of the region’s advances over the past 60 years.

According to the white paper， 96 percent of Tibet’s local government spending comes from financial assistance from central authorities.

In 2012， the per-capita net income of local farmers and herdsmen was around 6，000 yuan （$1，000）， and 88 percent of the same group lives in government-subsidized housing. Cultural preservation has also been fruitful， with the study and use of Tibetan language and script protected by law.

More than 90 percent of students in local primary and middle schools receive bilingual education， with Tibetan as the principal language.

Traditional religious activities such as studying scriptures and debate， initiation into monk- or nunhood， abhisheka （empowerment ceremony） and self-cultivation are held in Tibet on a regular basis， the white paper stated.

So far， more than 40 incarnated living Buddhas have been confirmed in the region through traditional religious rituals and historical conventions.

Anti-Pollution Plan

Beijing will ban half of all private vehicles and 80 percent of civil servants’ work transports from the city’s roads if an air-quality red alert is issued， the capital’s Information Office said on October 22.

Private vehicles will be barred from using the roads， based on odd and even license plate numbers， when pollution is predicted to linger in the city for more than three days.

Public transport， including buses and subway trains， will extend their service by 30 minutes and increase the number of backup vehicles and trains on days of persistent pollution in order to meet increased demand.

The emergency plan， based on the experiences of foreign countries， has a warning system comprising blue， yellow， orange and red alerts. Red alert will take effect when the air-quality index is forecasted to be above 300 for three consecutive days， the office said.

Classes at kindergarten through to middle school will be suspended when air quality is particularly low to protect students’ health， with 24-hours notice given before emergency measures are put in place.

Record Maker

An auction held in Jingdezhen City， central China’s Jiangxi Province—sometimes known as the nation’s porcelain capital—saw the highest total value of porcelain transactions recorded at a single event on October 20， according to claims by the auction company.

The total transaction value including commission reached nearly 62 million yuan （$10 million）， six times as much as last year， said Jiang Weimin， President of Jingdezhen Huayi Auction Co. Ltd.

More than 100 pieces of porcelain， which were mainly created in the 1950s， 60s and 70s， were sold at the 5-hour-long auction， Jiang said.

The auction was part of the 2013 China Jingdezhen International Ceramic Fair held on October 18-22.

Graft Convictions

A total of 32 ministerial-level officials were investigated for corruption between January 2008 and August this year， according to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate （SPP）.

Around 13，300 of the 198，781 officials investigated under graft cases during the period were at a county level or above， according to Cao Jianming， Procurator General of the SPP， when delivering a report to a session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress， China’s top legislature， on October 22.

Approximately 167，000 people were prosecuted for embezzlement and bribery， with roughly 150，000 convicted.

The number of individuals convicted for taking bribes between 2008 and 2012 increased by 19.5 percent from that in the 2003-07 period， while the number of those convicted of handing bribes increased by 60.4 percent， Cao said.

Food Security

The Chinese Government has allocated 600 million yuan （$98 million） to encourage food production， the Ministry of Finance announced on October 21.

The funds have been allocated to five major agricultural provinces—Heilongjiang， Liaoning， Shandong， Anhui and Jiangxi—to subsidize food production and improve agricultural technology.

China’s grain output this summer， mostly wheat， hit a record high of 132 million tons， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） said.

The production of maize， harvested in autumn， is similarly expected to hit a record high， with total yield forecasted to be 215 million tons， according to the State Administration of Grain.

The country’s grain output has risen 3.2 percent year on year， hitting 589.57 million tons in 2012， marking the ninth consecutive year of growth， according to NBS data.

Weather Modification

A report submitted to China’s top legislature on October 21 said that the country creates about 50 billion tons of artificial rain each year， but extra efforts are required for natural disasters.

The report revealed that a total of 2，266 counties in China use weather modification， with artificial rain used across an area covering 5 million square km， about half of China’s total land area.

The State Council， China’s cabinet， has actively promoted artificial weather systems， which are operated and coordinated on a large scale， the report said.

At the same time， the country has established a geosynchronous and sun-synchronous satellite system to monitor weather conditions. A total of seven meteorological satellites are in orbit， five of them operating normally.

However， according to the report， present meteorological systems do not meet the demands for disaster prevention and relief， especially in rural areas.

No Visa Needed

Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality will implement regulations allowing 72-hour stays in the city without a visa for some travelers beginning on November 1.

The Jiangbei International Airport in Chongqing will apply the visa-free transit policy to passengers from 45 countries including the United States， Britain， France， Germany， Canada and Japan， according to a statement by the municipal government on October 23.

To date， four other Chinese mainland cities—Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou and Chengdu—have already implemented the same policy.

Green Home

Visitors look at a housing model during the 12th China International Housing Industry Exhibition held in Beijing from October 23 to 25.

The expo attracted over 340 housing companies showcasing their latest projects， including some fitted with solar panels.

Housing Price Hikes

Prices of both new and existing homes continued to rise in most Chinese cities in September， according to official data released on October 22.

Of a statistical pool of 70 major Chinese cities， 65 saw a month-onmonth rise in the cost of new homes， down from 66 in August， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） said.

According to the NBS， 63 cities reported month-on-month price gains for existing and second-hand homes in September， compared to 58 in August.

Growth rates in first-tier cities were significantly higher compared to second- and third-tier cities. New home prices in Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou and Shenzhen rose by an average 1.4 percent month on month while those in 35 third-tier cities rose by 0.6 percent on average， according to the NBS.

Tax Revenue Rises

China’s tax revenue， a major source of the government’s fiscal income， grew 9 percent year on year in the first three quarters， the Ministry of Finance （MOF） announced on October 21.

During the January-SeptembeptPnJYrNvcZ/3CA1ysHssg==r period， the government collected tax revenue totaling 8.44 trillion yuan（$1.38 trillion）. The growth was 0.4 percentage points higher than the rate seen in the same period last year.

The MOF attributed the steady growth to a low comparison base， improving economic strength， as well as the booming property market that has lifted related tax incomes.

The revenue from domestic value-added tax （VAT）， a type of tax levied on the difference between a commodity’s retail price and production cost， increased 8.2 percent to 2.08 trillion yuan （$341.1 billion）， thanks in part to the VAT reform.

Consumption tax revenues saw slower growth in the first nine months， gaining merely 3.8 percent year on year due to a sluggish tobacco and alcohol market， said the MOF.

Turnover tax revenues grew 10.9 percent， while growth for corporate and personal income tax moved up 14.3 percent and 10.8 percent， respectively. Notably， turnover and deed taxes in the property sector surged 37.4 percent and 40.4 percent， respectively， on the back of robust transactions.

Bid Successful

CNOOC Ltd.， China’s largest offshore oil and gas producer， announced on October 22 that it has won a 35-year production-sharing contract to develop a pre-salt oil discovery in Brazil’s Libra oil field.

The company gained the bid as part of a consortium comprising Petrobras， Shell， Total SA and China National Petroleum Corp. （CNPC）， according to CNOOC.

CNOOC will pay 1.5 billion Brazilian reals （$700 million） for a 10-percent share. The operator Petrobras will have a 40-percent stake， followed by Shell and Total with 20 percent each， and CNPC with 10 percent.

The Libra field is located in the Santos Basin， about 170 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro， Brazil. The oil field has recoverable resources of between 8 and 12 billion barrels of oil and total gross peak oil production could reach 1.4 million barrels per day.

Beijing-HK Ties

The 17th Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium was held in Beijing on October 23-24， with the aim of enhancing further cooperation between the two cities.

A total of 370 investment projects in Beijing covering finance， trade， cultural and creative industries， innovative technology， logistics and tourism， were promoted during the symposium.

Investment from Hong Kong reached $3.1 billion in the first nine months of 2013， accounting for 40.7 percent of Beijing’s paid-in foreign direct investment， according to the Beijing Investment Promotion Bureau.

By September， Hong Kong had established a total of 12，468 companies in Beijing， with an actual investment of $27.83 billion.

Hong Kong is also the top investment destination outside the mainland for Beijing-based companies. In the first nine months of this year， Beijing’s direct investment in Hong Kong reached $742 million， up by 572.24 percent year on year.

Auto Joint Venture

Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Group and Germany’s Getrag Group launched a joint venture on October 23 to produce advanced dual-clutch transmissions.

The new company， Dongfeng Getrag Transmission Co. Ltd.， is based in Wuhan， capital of central China’s Hubei Province. Each partner holds a 50-percent stake.

The first phase of the plant， with investments of 120 million euros（$165 million）， is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2016 with an annual production capacity of 250，000 units.

Its production capacity is to gradually grow to 1 million units， according to an agreement signed between the two companies back in October 2012.

The first product of the joint venture will be an all-new six-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The transmissions produced by the joint venture will cater to both the domestic and international markets. They also set up a research and development center.

Getrag is one of the world’s largest transmission manufacturers， while Dongfeng Motor is one of China’s top automakers by sales volume.

Travel in Yunnan

Several women dressed in traditional Yunnan costumes introduce their hometown of Honghe to a visitor at the China International Travel Mart，held in the province on October 24-27. The Travel Mart， which began in 1998， is the most influential travel fair in Asia.