Glittering Ice World

The 16th Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin， capital of Heilongjiang Province， kicks off on January 5. Covering 800，000 square meters， it is the largest ice-themed park in the world.

Environment Protection

China will offer more support for nongovernmental organizations （NGOs） to bring lawsuits against those who commit environmental violations， according to a judicial interpretation issued on January 6 by the Supreme Peoples Court （SPC）.

The SPC， together with the Ministry of Civil Affairs （MCA） and the Ministry of Environmental Protection （MEP）， also issued a circular to guarantee such litigation.

According to the judicial interpretation， which came into effect on January 7， an NGO that protects the public interest and carries out environmental protection activities qualifies for recognition as an “environmental protection NGO.”

As of late September 2014， China had more than 700 environmental protection NGOs.

The judicial interpretation said that court charges should be reduced in public non-profit environmental litigation and shall be paid by the defendant if the plaintiff wins the lawsuit.

Environmental protection NGOs can also sue violators across the country， regardless of their registration region， said the judicial interpretation.

Military Website

A website on military weapons procurement was officially launched on January 4.

Under the General Armament Department of the Peoples Liberation Army （PLA）， Weain.mil.cn provides information on the countrys weapon and armament needs， relevant policies， procurement notices， enterprise lists and technology.

Private enterprises， military armament-purchasing departments and military industry groups as well as personnel can register on the website for consultation and further information.

According to the PLA General Armament Department， the new platform was established to cement military and civilian integration and aims to accelerate steps in armament procurement system reform， break procurement barriers， improve competitiveness and promote efficiency.

Since 2014， a series of policies have been issued to improve military and civilian integration， market access， information exchange， supervision， and security.

In May 2014， the first military and civilian integration forum released around 200 items on weapons procurement， which attracted more than 100 private enterprises and led to the signing of scores of cooperation agreements.

New Tibetan Words

Nearly 1，500 new words and terms were given standardized Tibetan equivalents in 2014， the Tibetan Language Committee said on January 7.

Among the new terms are popular online phrases such as “lightning marriage，” referring to when a couple decides to wed soon after meeting. The term was changed from the Chinese shanhun transliterated into Dobdob Nyatri when written in standardized Tibetan.

New words related to politics and the economy， including “the new normal” and “the Silk Road economic belt，”have also been translated into Tibetan vocabulary， said Yezang， head of the agency for standardization of Tibetan terminology under the committee.

After being translated correctly， the new words can be widely used by translators， school teachers and government officials in Tibet， Yezang added.

Tibet began collecting and translating new vocabulary in 2002. As of 2014， a total of 9，000 emerging phrases and 60，000 technical terms were released after examination.

The move can help standardize the Tibetan language and keep it up to date with the changing times while promoting Tibetan culture， Yezang said.

Potato Cultivation

China is boosting potato acreage to transform the crop into the countrys fourth staple food after rice， wheat and corn， said Yu Xinrong， Vice Minister of agriculture， at a seminar on January 6. It is time for potatoes to become a staple food， given Chinas rapid urbanization， and they can diversify the dinner table， said Wan Baorui， Director of Chinas State Food and Nutrition Consultant Committee.

The potato has been grown for about 400 years in China and now covers 5 million hectares in China， according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Acreage will expand to 10 million hectares in the future to better safeguard the countrys grain supply， according to the ministry.

The country will see 50 billion kg of new food demand by 2020. China has a shortage of farmland and although it is hard to improve the yield efficiency of wheat and rice， it is comparatively easier to improve that of potatoes， according to the ministry.

The country has set a “red line”minimum of 120 million hectares of cultivated land， but pressure on arable land is still great， largely due to rapid urbanization.

Anti-Graft in 2014

After caging dozens of high-level“tigers” and swatting thousands of lowly“flies，” Chinas anti-graft campaign will continue to carry out strong measures to root out corruption， said a senior graft-buster on January 7.

Huang Shuxian， Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Commission for Discipline Inspection （CCDI）， said cases involving 68 high-level officials are under investigation or have been closed.

According to Huang， the cases involving some top-level officials have been transferred to judicial organs， while the cases of some others are still under investigation.

The campaign also made efforts in reducing corruption opportunities for discipline inspectors， prosecutors， and others tasked with fighting graft. Huang said 1，575 corrupt graft-busters were rooted out during the campaign.

China also sought international help in hunting those who fled the country， said Huang. China brought back more than 500 fugitive corrupt officials from overseas and recovered more than 3 billion yuan （$483 million） in 2014， he said， adding that China has inked deals with several countries to cooperate in the anti-corruption efforts， including the United States， Canada and Australia.

A total of 71，748 Chinese officials were punished in 2014 for violations of the CPCs anti-graft rules.

Since the anti-graft campaign started in 2012， China has finished regular inspections across 31 provinciallevel regions as well as in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. In 2014， special inspections have been carried out in 19 ministries， state-owned enterprises and institutions.

Homemade Aircraft

In a designers sketch， Chinas self-developed amphibious aircraft AG600 takes to the skies.

The first major part of AG600， the fuselage mid-section， was completed at the Aviation Industry Corp. of China （AVIC） Xian Aircraft Industry Co. in Xian， Shaanxi Province， on December 29， 2014.

The AG600， a multi-use amphibious aircraft， is expected to be used for forest firefighting and marine rescue missions.

Early Music Treasure

A cluster of musical instruments， believed the earliest in China， have been discovered in central Chinas Hubei Province.

Archaeologists found a broken se （a 25-stringed plucked instrument similar to the guzheng） and the frame of a bianzhong set （bronze chimes）， in tombs which could date back to more than 2，700 years ago.

The graveyard where the tombs are located covers more than one square km. Archaeologists also found 400 pieces of bronzeware， some pottery and 27 horse-drawn carts.

PMI Data

Chinese manufacturing activity waned slightly in December 2014， whereas activity in the service sector rose in the month， official data showed on January 1.

The manufacturing purchasing managers index （PMI）， a key measure of factory activity in China， posted a value of 50.1 in December， down from 50.3 in November， according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics（NBS） and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing （CFLP）.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion， while a reading below 50 represents contraction.

The slumping PMI showed the manufacturing sector does not have great upward momentum， though it is running stably， said Zhao Qinghe， a senior NBS statistician.

China is experiencing industrial restructuring， and prices of industrial products have been slumping， affecting the production and order sub-indices， Zhao said.

Deflation appears with signs of weak market demand， slumping industrial product prices and dropping profits， said Cai Jin， Vice Chairman of CFLP.

Chinas “new normal” of slower but higher quality growth will result in a moderate slowdown， but it does not mean the growth rate will continue to shrink for long； the growth rate will stabilize in the second quarter of 2015， Cai said.

Meanwhile， the PMI for the nonmanufacturing sector rebounded to 54.1 in December from 53.9 in the preceding month.

Zhao said the non-manufacturing sector has been improving since the country mapped a series of measures to boost the service sector and upgrade industries.

Wu Wei， an analyst with China Logistics Information Center， said the service sector has been running healthily and plays a more important role than ever in providing jobs.

Overseas Ambition

Huawei， one of top Chinese hi-tech brands， exhibited over 100 products at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show （CES） that opened on January 6 in Las Vegas.

The showcased products include Huaweis latest flagship smartphones， wearable devices， tablets， mobile-access devices， home-access devices， smart home devices， OTT （Over The Top） and vehicle-mounted modules.

The company also introduced the start of the Hilink era—its strategy to offer fully integrated mobile Internet solutions to consumers all around the world as part of its commitment to bringing the latest technology to consumers and creating extraordinary connected experiences for people everywhere.

“The year 2014 saw our greatest achievements to date. Our strategy of focusing on premium mid-to-high-end products has borne fruit， with year-onyear smartphone sales increasing by 30 percent to over $11.8 billion，” said Richard Yu， CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group.

Huaweis global influence has continued to grow as it became the first Chinese mainland company to successfully enter the London-based consultancy Interbrands Top 100 Global Brands of 2014， he added.

Founded in 1987 and headquartered in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen， Huawei replaced Ericsson in 2012 as the worlds largest telecommunications equipment maker. In 2014， Huaweis smartphone global shipment ranked third in the world.

A Stronger Port

The second-phase project of the Hefei Port in east Chinas Anhui Province begins operations on January 7， increasing the throughputs of the port to 600，000 containers per year.

Car Import in FTZ

On January 7， China （Shanghai） Pilot Free Trade Zone （FTZ） launched a pilot program on parallel imports of cars.

The program， green-lighted by a circular issued on January 7， will allow cars to be imported without getting authorization from carmakers and thus promise lower prices for Chinese buyers.

The Shanghai Commission of Commerce and the Shanghai FTZ Administrative Committee jointly issued the circular.

The circular has listed requirements for companies wishing to join the program， including those having engaged in car transaction for five years or more and reporting profits over the past three consecutive years.

The circular required participating companies to shoulder duties， including recall， after-sale service， repair guarantees and replacement or refunds for faulty products.

Cars imported through this channel must meet Chinas relevant quality and technical standards.

Gu Jun， deputy head of the Shanghai Commission of Commerce， said the pilot program would benefit the market competition and the pricing of cars.

Yuan Clearance

The state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China （ICBC） will conduct yuan clearing business in Bangkok， Thailand， the Peoples Bank of China， the nations central bank， said on January 6.

The authorization came after an agreement between the two central banks. On December 22， 2014， the two extended a currency swap agreement worth 70 billion yuan （$11.4 billion）.

The ICBC Thailand branch has been the largest Chinese bank in the country since it acquired ACL Bank in 2010.

Yuan clearing overseas has become a driving force behind the globalization of the currency. Clearing is now authorized in Hong Kong and Macao， as well as in Doha， Frankfurt， Kuala Lumpur， London， Luxembourg， Paris， Seoul， Singapore， Sydney and Toronto.

A founding member of ASEAN， Thailand is Chinas third largest trading partner in the regional grouping， with bilateral trade totaling over $71 billion in 2013.

Clean Energy Boom

A wind farm collects energy in Xuanhua County， Zhangjiakou， north Chinas Hebei Province， on January 2. The installed power generation capacity of wind power and solar power that were connected to the national grid totaled 120 million kilowatts in 2014.

Fuel Surcharges Cut

Chinese airlines cut fuel surcharges for domestic flights due to a decline in fuel prices on January 5.

Starting from January 5， major airlines， including Shandong Airlines and Xiamen Airlines， have reduced surcharges for domestic routes of 800 km or less to 10 yuan （$1.63） from the current 30 yuan （$4.83）. The surcharges for routes longer than 800 km will be cut to 30 yuan from 60 yuan （$9.66）.

This marks the fifth time Chinese airlines have cut fuel surcharges since September 2014， and prices are now at a five-year low.

China has cut the retail prices of gasoline and diesel 10 times since July 2014 in line with reductions in the prices of crude oil.

Credit Collection

Chinas central bank said on January 5 that it has told eight non-bank institutions that they should get ready to conduct personal credit information operations within six months. The companies include subsidiaries of Internet giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.

“A broad-based， market-oriented personal credit database is being developed in China with the participation of institutions outside the traditional banking sector，” the central bank said in a statement.

The move is aimed at promoting development of credit information and laying a stronger foundation for personal financial transactions.

According to the central bank， there had been 436 million credit cards in use in China as of September 30， 2014， compared with the countrys total population of 1.36 billion.

As many people do not have such cards， commercial banks can only provide limited information on their credit， which makes it difficult for these consumers to get loans， said Yang Tao， a researcher at the Institute of Finance and Banking at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

“Today， an increasing number of transactions and payments are done through e-commerce platforms and various terminals of third-party payment companies. They all leave traces of information to support credit evaluation by commercial banks，” said Yang.

Wu Qing， deputy director of banking research at the Development Research Center of the State Council， said that Internet companies such as Alibaba and Tencent are capable of rating personal credit based on big data analysis， which in turn will compensate for the weakness of commercial banks.