Suzhou Honored

Suzhou in east China was conferred with the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize for this year， standing out from 36 nominated cities worldwide， the nominating committee of the prize said on March 24.

The biennial prize aims to honor outstanding achievements and contributions to the creation of livable， vibrant and sustainable urban communities around the world. Spains Bilbao and the U.S. New York City won the prize in 2010 and 2012， respectively.

Anti-Graft Inspections

The top discipline watchdog of the Communist Party of China （CPC） on March 25 started a new round of inspections of officials to expose corruption nationwide.

Inspectors will be sent to the provincial-level regions of Beijing， Tianjin， Liaoning， Fujian， Shandong， Henan， Hainan， Gansu， Ningxia， Xinjiang， and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps， the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC said in a statement.

The commission will also send antigraft teams to the Ministry of Science and Technology， Fudan University and the China Oil and Foodstuffs Co.， it added.

The inspection aims to uncover harmful behavior by officials， including trading power for money， abusing power， and bribery， as well as adverse work practices such as formalism， bu- reaucracy， hedonism and extravagance. The CPC began routinely sending teams to oversee the performance of officials in 2003， and the practice was formally written into the Partys Constitution five years later.

Medical Reform

China will inject more funds and let the market play a bigger role in reforming its medical sector， according to an executive meeting of the State Council on March 25.

The country will work to establish a universal medical insurance system， speed up reform in public hospitals， and relax market entry requirements for the private sector to build health institutions in an orderly manner， said a statement issued after the meeting.

It was decided at the meeting that a national database will be set up to facilitate the reimbursement of medical costs for patients across different regions， and a public hospital reform program will be expanded to cover more than half of all county-level hospitals.

The scale of public hospitals， which provide 90 percent of Chinas medical services， will be controlled and medical resources will be optimized， according to the meeting.endprint

Non-public hospitals and public hospitals will be treated equally in terms of access to medical insurance programs and other qualifications.

The State Council has also announced that it will raise the percentage of shares that foreigners may own in medical joint ventures and improve welfare for rural doctors.

Eco-Promotion

China has established a special committee to take part in the Future Earth program and strengthen international cooperation in the building of an ecocivilization.

The Chinese National Committee for Future Earth （CNC-FE） was founded on March 21 in Beijing and is sponsored by the China Association for Science and Technology.

The CNC-FE aims to organize Chinese scientists to participate in the Future Earth （2014-23） project and make full use of international resources to boost Chinas technological level and policy making in the construction of an eco-civilization， said Qin Dahe， Chairman of the CNC-FE.

The committee is made up of more than 40 experts from the fields of natural science， engineering， social science， and media.

Under the Future Earth project， the CNC-FE will focus on major subjects of public and government concern， including atmospheric pollution， urbanizations impact on the environment， energy supply and natural disaster warning in Asia.

The Future Earth （2014-23） program was jointly launched by the International Council of Scientific Unions， the International Social Science Council and the United Nations. It aims to gather global resources to try to find solutions for the sustainable development of the Earth.

Educational Equality

China is eyeing a 10-percent increase in the number of students from impoverished rural areas attending the countrys top universities this year， according to a circular released by the Ministry of Education （MOE） on March 24.

The MOE said that the growth will be realized through expanding the three existing programs.

Under the first program， central government-affiliated universities and key universities at local levels will recruit 50，000 rural students， up from 30，000 last year.

This program will be carried out in 832 impoverished counties and 10 provinces with low rates of enrollment in key universities， said the circular.

Under the second program， MOEaffiliated universities and a handful of universities piloting discretionary enrollment should set aside 2 percent of their enrollment quota for students from underdeveloped regions.endprint

The third program will see leading universities at local levels offer more seats to rural students of the same jurisdiction.

The MOE also stressed transparency in information disclosure and stern qualification assessment of candidates during enrollment so as to guarantee justice and equality.

Locoweed Remedies

Chinese scientists said on March 24 that they have “tamed” wild poisonous plants on the Tibetan Plateau， an achievement that can help protect livestock and prevent desertification.

Researchers with Tibets Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences have developed both drugs against the effects of locoweed， a common name for any plant that produces swainsonine， a phytotoxin harmful to livestock.

Wang Baohai， a researcher with the Lhasa-based academy， said that the remedies included therapeutic liquid for oral administration and preventive pills based on Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine， respectively.

“According to clinical tests， the liquid can cure 95 percent of livestock poisoned by locoweed，” said Wang Jinglong， another expert with the academy. “China has granted it a national patent.”

The researchers have also discovered a comprehensive mechanism for locoweed prevention and treatment. They removed locoweed in a fenced area of grassland， where poisoned livestock can be isolated and recover.

Herdsmen call locoweed the enemy of grassland because livestock show symptoms of intoxication after eating the plant， which causes animal reproduction rates to drop or even death. Its rampant growth can also lead to grassland degradation.

Tough Competition

Candidates take part in the 2014 civil service exams in Nanjing， Jiangsu Province， on March 23. More than 240，000 examinees competed in the exams to qualify for around 6，480 provincial civil service posts.

Car Curb

Cars queue up to get licensed in Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province， on March 25， after the local government announced its decision to restrict issuance of new car licenses from the next day.

In a bid to ease traffic congestion and combat air pollution， Hangzhou will restrict the number of plates issued every year to 80，000. Eighty percent of the quota will be decided by lottery and the remaining 20 percent will be auctioned with a starting price of 10，000 yuan （$1，610） each.

Hangzhou had about 2.6 million motor vehicles registered by the end of February， with 276，000 added in 2013 alone.endprint

New Reform Measures

Rules on the implementation of the free trade account system that enables full convertibility of the Chinese currency and allows offshore financing in the China （Shanghai） Pilot Free Trade Zone（FTZ） will be rolled out before the end of June， an official said on March 25.

The account will help Chinese companies， especially those engaged in foreign trade， secure cheaper yuandenominated funding from offshore， where financing costs have been lower than that on the Chinese mainland.

“We hope to have the account in place by the end of the first half of this year，” said Dai Haibo， deputy director of the Shanghai FTZ administrative committee.

Chinas central bank previously eased restrictions on overseas investment by individuals by allowing those working in the zone to open an account for overseas investment.

Nearly six months after it was established last September， the Shanghai FTZ has launched pilot schemes to advance financial reforms. Key programs include easing the cross-border use of the Chinese yuan， liberalizing interest rates on foreign currency loans， and facilitating offshore financing and outbound investment.

Offshore RMB Trading

The Bank of England and the Peoples Bank of China （PBC） are to sign an agreement on renminbi clearing and settlement in London on March 31. A designated clearing bank will be named“soon，” the UK Treasury said on March 26.

The change will allow investors to cut the risk from making overseas payments in the Chinese currency. It also burnishes Londons position as the global center for foreign exchange trading as Chinas rise shifts international financial flows.

Historically， economic links between China and Europe have been centered on trade， but as Chinas wealth grows， and its authorities move to liberalize currency and capital markets， financial centers in Europe are targeting investment. The UK is determined to defend its role as the main offshore renminbi trading center outside Asia.

Slower Growth

China International Capital Corp. （CICC） expects the nations economic growth to slow to 7.3 percent in 2014 due to multiple downward factors.

The investment bank attributes the“weakened growth momentum” mainly to the restraining effects of economic restructuring and financial risk control on demand.

The figure was lower than the previous 7.6 percent forecast by the investment bank earlier this year.endprint

CICC also cut the economic growth forecast for the first quarter from the previous 7.8 percent to 7.3 percent.

In the short term， it is difficult for macroeconomic policies to strike a balance between readjusting the economy and maintaining growth， leading to persistent downward pressure on the growth of demand， according to its quarterly report.

As GDP growth is no longer its top priority， the government would not adopt full-scale monetary easing policies， said the report. The authoritiesdetermination to rein in financial risk will also dent investment， with the negative effects already emerging， said the report.

Plugged In Directly

Workers patrol to check the normal operation of Maliantai Power Station at Ningdong Energy and Chemical Industrial Base， northwest Chinas Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Since 2013， direct power trading between consumers and power generators has been promoted. By now， a total of 10 generators and 57 users have engaged in direct trading of electricity， accounting for roughly 10 percent of Ningxias total power consumption.

More Convenient Access

Shanghai Pudong New Areas approval process for foreign businesses has shortened to two days， following the governments call to streamline the administrative process and vitalize market forces.

Shanghais Pudong New Area will halve the approval period to two days for the establishment and adjustment

of projects backed by foreign capital， according to a report by Xinhua News Agency on March 26.

This will make Pudong， one of the countrys earliest reform testing-grounds， the fastest hub to provide market access to multinational companies.

The policy will also beat the record of a minimum four days for a company to receive business licenses in the China（Shanghai） Pilot Free Trade Zone， an initiative to open up the economy and attract foreign investment.

Overseas Venture

Chinas leading Internet company Tencent Holdings Ltd. announced a plan on March 26 to buy a 28-percent stake in South Koreas CJ Games Corp. at$500 million， making it the third-largest shareholder of CJ Games， a leading online and mobile games developer and publisher in South Korea.

Through the strategic partnership with Tencent， CJ Games is expected to enable its growth in the global mobile games market.

As part of the restructuring， CJ Games will acquire and merge Netmarble， a game distribution division of its parent firm CJ E&M， to maximize the synergies among distribution platforms and development via the creation of a consolidated corporation tentatively named CJ Netmarble.endprint

Martin Lau， President of Tencent， said in a statement that the partnership combines CJ Games unrivalled game development skills and mobile game line-up together with Tencents strong game publishing and operation capabilities in China.

The move is in line with Tencents extensive history in the gaming industry in China. Online games contributed to nearly half of Tencents revenue of 16.97 billion yuan （$2.73 billion） in the fourth quarter of 2013， according to the companys financial report.

Tower of Nutrition

Visitors tour around the Second Beijing Agricultural Carnival. More than 500 advanced agricultural varieties and 60 technologies are displayed at the event.

Rare Earth Dispute

The World Trade Organization （WTO） judged that some Chinese rawmaterial exporters had violated the global trade rules on export tariffs and quotas， according to a report released on March 26.

Chinas Ministry of Commerce reacted to the WTO ruling by saying that the ministry was evaluating the report and adopting measures in accordance with WTO dispute settlement protocols.

Rare earths are in great demand for their use in smartphones and other gadgets， and China is the biggest global supplier， providing over 90 percent of the worlds rare earth production. However， there have been concerns that mining rare earths results in severe environmental damage.

The WTO report was a response to accusations made in March 2012 by the United States， European Union and Japan， and the organization formed a dispute settlement panel in July 2012.

Alleviating Jams

Beijings neighboring Hebei Province is planning to step up development of Baoding， a local city， in preparation for the transfer of some functions from Beijing.

According to an urbanization document published on March 26， the province will enlarge the size of Baoding to be able to accommodate administrative organs， colleges and universities， research institutions， medical and nursing services transferring from Beijing.

With a hi-tech center and modern industrial bases to be built， Baoding will also develop the industries of high-end equipment manufacturing， new energy， energy-saving and environmental protection， and modern logistics as well as its airport economy from 2014 to 2020.

Another local city， Langfang， will also boost its service sector so as to serve as an ecological and recreational zone for Beijing， said the document.endprint