LANdMARK VISIT

Xi Jinping， General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China， meets Lien Chan， Honorary Chairman of the Kuomintang of Taiwan， in Beijing on February 18.

Lien， accompanied by his wife Lien Fang-yu and a delegation， made an unofficial visit to the mainland during February 17-20. It was the 15th mainland tour Lien has made since February 2005.

Appealing Site

Tourists ride camels in the Shapotou Desert Area， Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

At least 2 billion yuan （$321 million） will be invested over the next five years to develop Shapotou as an international tourism destination， according to a cooperation agreement signed by the local government and the China National Travel Service（HK） Group Corp.， the countrys largest travel group.

The money will be spent on constructing tourist service centers， business districts and themed hotels as well as restaurants.

Aid Money

China allocated more than 156.6 billion yuan （$25.78 billion） in subsistence allowances for the poor in 2013， Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Dou Yupei said on February 19.

Last year， subsistence allowances for poor urban residents totaled more than 72.4 billion yuan（$11.92 billion）， up 13.9 percent year on year， and those for poor people in rural areas added up to 84.2 billion yuan （$13.86 billion）， with an annual increase of 17.3 percent， Dou revealed at a press conference.

“A total of 79.8 million people are receiving government assistance on a regular basis， with 174 billion yuan （$28.64 billion） spent on them in 2013，” said Dou， adding that some 100 million medical grants were also issued.

According to the vice minister， the Chinese Government also allocated disaster-relief funding of more than 10.6 billion yuan （$1.74 billion） last year， with 12 million people being relocated from areas hit by earthquakes or floods.

Since China issued guidelines for bringing more security to orphans in 2010， the country has given a monthly allowance of 1，000 yuan（$165） to each child living in orphanages and 600 yuan （$99） to each of those in foster homes， Dou noted.

Attracting Talent

China will recruit more high-level professionals from abroad this year， the countrys human resources authorities revealed on February 19.endprint

It is hoped that such experts will be engaged in the countrys development， according to a statement from the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee， after a national meeting of Party and government officials in charge of human resources.

China has operated a recruitment program to attract overseas Chinese experts to build their careers in the country since 2008.

So far 4，180 people have been recruited， with 861 of those being hired last year， the statement revealed.

These professionals， who are mostly scientists， have contributed to research in bioscience， plasma physics， nuclear technologies， space programs and satellites， it said.

But the government is also working on rules to end contracts with those who do not meet the needs of the country or fail to do their jobs， the statement added.

Supervising Education

The Ministry of Education announced on February 18 that it would step up supervision over the countrys primary and middle schools in a bid to enhance education quality and fairness.

The move is aimed at tackling the imbalance of educational resources at the local level and reducing students workloads， according to a document the ministry posted on its website.

Despite continuous efforts to provide quality education to all， a remarkable educational imbalance has emerged among schools and between urban and rural areas， often forcing parents to pay extra， sometimes illicit， fees to get their children into better schools.

An evaluation system will be established for local governments in order to direct them to prioritize the education sector and improve the quality of public education， according to the ministry.

Underwater Robot

China has used a domestically built unmanned submersible to study polymetallic sulfide in the southwest Indian Ocean， the State Oceanic Administration （SOA） revealed on February 13.

The country signed a 15-year exploration contract with the International Seabed Authority in 2011 to mine for polymetallic sulfide in the area.

Scientists aboard the Dayang-1 oceanic research vessel remotely operated the underwater vehicle Hailong on five occasions from late January to early February， with one of their five attempts failing.

The researches found sulfide in even more parts of Chinas contracted exploration area， and gained a new understanding of the characteristics of the carbonate area， according to the SOA.endprint

This detailed information gathered is important for Chinas future research of polymetallic sulfide， which is often found in seabed deposits containing copper， zinc and precious metals such as gold and silver， the SOA added.

Tibetan Internet Users

The number of Internet users in southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region reached 2.03 million at the end of 2013， a local official revealed on February 14.

This means 67.5 percent of Tibets 3 million residents have access to the Internet， according to Qunggyi， head of the Tibet Communications Administration.

Many of Tibets Internet users surf the Internet using their smartphones. So far the number of 3G network subscribers in Tibet has reached 964，000. The new 4G network will be promoted and launched in 2014， according to the official.

Poisoning Trial

A medical student at the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai was sentenced to death on February 18 after he was convicted of poisoning and killing his roommate in April 2013.

Lin Senhao used N-Nitrosodimethylamine， a deadly chemical compound he took from the university laboratory， to contaminate a water dispenser in his dorm. His roommate， Huang Yang， drank from the dispenser on April 1 and died of organ failure on April 16.（More details on P.24-25 on Beijing Review Issue No.21， 2013）

According to the court， the poisoning that led to Huangs death was motivated by Lins growing discontent with Huang over trivial matters after Huang moved into Lins dorm in August 2011.

WWII Documentary

Filming of a documentary about the atrocities of Japans notorious Unit 731 during World War II （WWII） began in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin on February 19.

The documentary， consisting of five 60-minute episodes， will be jointly shot by the municipal government of Harbin in Heilongjiang Province and state broadcaster China Central Television in China， the United States， Russia and Japan. It is expected to be broadcast by the end of the year. Entitled 731， the documentary will interview witnesses and scholars as well as sharing evidence from historical archives.

Unit 731 was a top-secret biological and chemical warfare research base established in Harbin in 1935， serving as the center of Japans biological warfare research in China and Southeast Asia during WWII. At least 3，000 people were killed in experiments that were undertaken on humans at Unit 731.endprint

Solar Energy

Solar panels lay on the ground in the Zhongxin Eco City， Binhai New District of north Chinas Tianjin City.

Electricity generated by the photovoltaic （PV） power generation plant is connected to the local grid for sale on February 19 in Tianjin.

Auto Investment

Chinas Dongfeng Motor Group Co. Ltd. on February 19 announced it has signed an agreement to buy a 14-percent stake in PSA Peugeot Citroen. The deal， if approved， would become the latest major overseas investment made by a Chinese carmaker， following SAIC Motor and Geely.

According to a memorandum of understanding signed on February 18， the state-owned Chinese automaker headquartered in Wuhan， central Chinas Hubei Province， and the French Government will each invest 800 million euros （$1.1 billion） to the struggling French carmaker. The share sale is subject to regulatory approvals in China and France.

PSA Peugeot Citroen will also raise a further 1.4 billion euros （$1.92 billion） from other investors， including the Peugeot family. Should the share sale be approved， the Peugeot familys current 25.4-percent stake will be diluted to 14 percent， equivalent to shares held by Dongfeng Motor and the French Government.

Thierry Peugeot， Chairman of PSA Peugeot Citroen， said the share sale will help boost the carmakers financial conditions and growth.

Dongfeng Motor and PSA Peugeot Citroen also agreed to strengthen cooperation in technology， research and development（R&D）， manufacturing and overseas distribution.

Also on February 19， PSA Peugeot Citroen released its 2013 results. It posted a loss of 2.32 billion euros last year， following a loss of 5.01 billion euros in 2012.

Cutting Overcapacity

Chinas Industry and Information Technology Ministry （MIIT） on February 18 pledged tougher measures to cut overcapacity in bloated sectors as the problem has become a severe drag on economic growth.

China will ban new projects in steel， cement， electrolytic aluminum， flat glass and shipbuilding industries before 2017， while gradually eliminating existing projects that were found to be below standards， Mao Weiming， Vice Minister of MIIT， said.

While placing stricter standards in environmental protection， energy efficiency and safety， China will also encourage mergers and acquisitions in industries to slash outdated capacities， Mao said.endprint

The government has been at pains to digest production gluts from an investment boom and generous subsidies in the past few years that saw producers in “favored” sectors expand rapidly with little regard to real market demand.

O2O Competition

Tencent， one of Chinas biggest Internet companies， announced on February 19 that it will purchase a 20-percent stake in restaurant ratings and group-buying website Dianping for $400 million.

Competition has escalated among BAT， the acronym for Chinas three Internet giants （the other two being the leading search engine Baidu and e-commerce group Alibaba） as they seek growth through the expansion of O2O（online to offline） services.

On February 10， Alibaba offered$1.1 billion to acquire AutoNavi Holdings Ltd.， making the Chinese digital mapping and navigation firm its wholly owned subsidiary. Given Alibabas previous deals with groupbuying website Meituan.com and taxi-calling app Kuaidi， analysts predict strong O2O performance from the company.

Baidu is expected to fare well too in the O2O sphere thanks to its alliance with Meituans rival Nuomi.com and online app store 91 Wireless.

The deal between Tencent and Dianping is believed to benefit both companies as the former can reap more revenues from bricks and mortar stores while the latter will gain a wider public exposure due to Tencents large user base， especially in its instant message app WeChat.

Monetary Tightening

The Peoples Bank of China （PBC）， Chinas central bank， launched a 14-day forward repurchase operation（repo） at a bid rate of 3.8 percent on February 18， a move which will siphon 48 billion yuan （$7.9 billion） from the money market.

It marked the first time in eight months that the Chinese central bank has issued forward repurchase agreements. A repo is a central bank operation to withdraw funds from the interbank market to prevent excessive liquidity.

Since June of 2013， the PBC has conducted reverse repos in its regular open market operations to inject liquidity to the money market.

Economist Lu Zhengwei of the Industrial Bank said the central banks move fell within market expectations.

“It has been a routine post-holiday operation for years following the Chinese New Year，” he said.

Plenty of cash has flowed back into the interbank market from individuals following the weeklong Chinese New Year， and there was a notable increase of the funds outstanding for foreign exchange as Chinas exports surged in January， he said.endprint

The overnight and 7-day Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate（Shibor）， a gauge of interbank lending rates， had fallen within a reasonable range， Lu said.

“The operation points to potential excessive liquidity in the interbank market， which doesnt entail any sudden change of the policy bias （by the PBC），” he added.

Spring Ploughing

A farmer plough his land in Chiluocheng County， southwest Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， on February 19.

Numbers

$10.76 bln

Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland in January， up 16.11 percent year on year， underlining investor confidence in Chinas economic outlook

2.5%

Year-on-year growth of Chinas consumer price index in January

90.8 mln sets

Chinas smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter of 2013， 4.3 percent less than that in the third quarter of 2013

1.32 tln yuan

Chinas new yuandenominated lending in January， up 246.9 billion yuan year on year

“Prostitution， gambling and the use of drugs， which have decayed social morality， should be rooted out. The ongoing crackdown on prostitution and pornography will help to create a more favorable social atmosphere and a cleaner government.”

Zhu Lijia， a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance， commenting

on the nationwide crackdown on prostitution

“The exchange between Chinese and Western musicians will help Chinese music reach the rest of the world. I want to introduce more Chinese musical elements into pop music to attract young people.”

Renowned Chinese pianist Lang Lang， after presenting a concert in Charlottesville， a city in the state of Virginia， on February 14

“The National Center for Performing Arts（NCPA） not only provides a platform for the exhibition of national art forms such as Peking and Kunqu operas， but also for local arts like Yue Opera.”

Meng Xin， Deputy Director of the Performing Department of the NCPA， upon the centers announcement of a promotional season of performances from February 22 to March 16 of Yue Opera， which dates back at least 800 years.

“More Chinese students are learning fashion and design in Britain， and more Chinese designers were involved in the event this year. The London Fashion Week is a great platform for new Chinese designers， and the transformation of ‘Chinese creation.”endprint

Xiang Xiaowei， Minister Counsellor of the Cultural Department with the Chinese Embassy to Britain， after watching Chinese designer Gao Yangs presentation of his new collection on February 18

BEST ACTOR

Chinese actor Liao Fan won the Silver Bear for Best Actor

at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival for his performance in film Black Coal， Thin Ice on February 15， which also grabbed the Golden Bear for Best Picture. Liao， who played a devoted former criminal investigator in the film， became the first Chinese actor to win the honor. The movie， a detective thriller set in northeast China， is scheduled to debut in China in March. Liao， 40， graduated from the Shanghai Theater Academy in 1997 and has played in dozens of TV operas， movies and plays. He was nominated for best actor at the Golden Horse Film Festival in 2008 for his

performance in the movie Ocean Flame.

BASKETBALL STAR RETIRES？

Former NBA player Wang Zhizhi finished his last match on February 16 during the final round of the 2013-14 Chinese Basketball Association league. The 36-year-old veteran center started his career in the 1990s and became the first Chinese player to join the NBA in 2001 when he played for Dallas Mavericks. He also played for Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat before returning to China in 2006.

Sizing Up

Soldiers patrol the border between China and Kazakhstan on January 31.

A “significant” change in Chinese service peoples physiques has meant an increasingly urgent need to replace older， smaller military armaments， according to a newly released study.

A military research institute has found that the average Chinese soldier is 2 cm taller and their waistline 5 cm larger than 20 years ago.

Because of the changes in physiques， there is an urgent need for larger models of

military equipment， researchers said.endprint