Rocketing Up

A Long March-3B/Yuanzheng-1 rocket carrying two new-generation satellites for the Beidou Navigation Satellite System （BDS） blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province on July 25.

The two satellites were the 18th and 19th for the BDS， Chinas homegrown navigation system. The successful launch marked another solid step in building Beidou into a navigation system with global coverage.

Confiscation From Graft

Chinas top anti-graft agency， the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection （CCDI） of the Communist Party of China （CPC）， has confiscated 20.1 billion yuan （$3.23 billion） while investigating graft cases.

The money was seized after November 2012， when a key CPC decision was made on fighting graft， according to Han Jinping of the CCDI.

The haul， which is generally the result of breaking Party and government rules， has been turned over to the national treasury.

Apart from money， the CCDIs confiscations also included gifts and property.

Economic losses amounting to 38.7 billion yuan （$6.14 billion） have also been retrieved. The losses were incurred when state assets were sold at a low price or enterprises received undue taxes breaks.

All-Inclusive Insurance

Chinas critical illness insurance will be expanded to cover the whole population by the end of 2015， a senior health official said on July 24.

The insurance currently covers 700 million participants， according to Liang Wannian， deputy head of an office in charge of medical reform under the State Council， Chinas cabinet. He also said that the system should be integrated with the entire healthcare infrastructure by 2017.

As of April， pilot critical illness insurance programs had been set up in 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland， 16 of which have covered all local residents.

When a patients medical bills far exceed basic medical insurance， they will receive reimbursements from the critical illness insurance scheme.

In 2014， the critical illness insurance helped 1.15 million patients in China， with its total fund reserve reaching 9.7 billion yuan （$1.56 billion）.

Parole Rules

Chinas top court is working to amend judicial documents to formulate stricter rules on the use of commutation， parole and temporary discharge for convicts serving prison sentences.

The new rules are expected to be released at the end of this year， Luo Zhiyong， a senior judge at the Supreme Peoples Court in charge of judiciary work supervision， told a press conference on July 30.

Problems in granting parole， commutation of sentences as well as temporary discharges for disease， pregnancy or other conditions， which shorten prisoners sentences， have drawn particular attention and criticism from the public in recent years.

The modifications will stipulate stricter requirements and procedures for commutation or parole decisions and will also shorten or limit the possible margin for commuted sentences， according to Luo.

Senior Survey

China will start a nationwide survey to assess the living conditions of the elderly and prepare data for measures to cope with an aging society.

About 40，000 survey takers are expected to visit households and make inquiries starting on August 1， said Wu Yushao， Deputy Director of the China National Committee on Aging （CNCA）， at a press briefing on July 28.

The questionnaires will touch on such aspects of senior citizens lives as medical services， housing and entertainment， according to the CNCA.

The survey is scheduled to cover a population of 224，000 in a month. Similar surveys have been taken every five years since the first in 2000.

The aging population is expanding rapidly in China. At the end of 2014， about 212 million people were aged over 60， 15.5 percent of the total population.

Waste Recycling

Six provincial-level regions have jointly launched a resource-recycling project to handle industrial waste in areas surrounding Beijing.

By 2017， 400 million tonnes of industrial solid waste will be disposed of annually after the implementation of the project. The project was co-initiated by Beijing， Tianjin， Hebei， Shanxi and Shandong provinces， as well as Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region.

Under the project， planners aim to develop an industry able to recycle 20 million tonnes of resources each year. Its output value is expected to reach 220 billion yuan （$35.44 billion） by 2017.

In 2014， 2.37 billion tonnes of bulky industrial solid waste was produced in Beijing and the five provincial-level regions surrounding it， taking up more than 70 percent of the countrys total.

Internet Population

The number of Chinas online population， the worlds largest， hit 668 million in June， with 594 million of those using mobile devices to go online.

Figures from China Internet Network Information Center showed that Chinas total Internet population rose by 18.9 million in January to June， while mobile Internet users grew by 36.8 million. Its reported that 88.9 percent of the online population access the Internet so via their mobile phones.

Some 186 million Internet users are rural residents， 27.9 percent of the total online population.

Online payments， shopping and travel booking services via mobile phones rose 26.9 percent， 14.5 percent and 25 percent， respectively.

New Hit

A spectator poses for photo with Huba， a monster in the film Monster Hunt， at a cinema in Shenyang， Liaoning Province， on July 26.

Live-action animation Monster Hunt has become the all-time highest-grossing Chinese film， raking in over 1.5 billion yuan （$242 million） in box office.

Victory Commemoration Logo

The Chinese Government has made public a logo for commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Chinese Peoples War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression （1937-45） and World War II.

The logo highlights a striking， dominant red number “70” in the center. Above the “70” five doves fly over and behind it the Great Wall spreads in the shape of letter “V.”

The “V” symbolizes victory and the unity of Chinese nation， according to the State Council Information Office. The five doves demonstrate the memory of history and the aspiration for peace， representing people from the five continents united and moving together toward a beautiful future after going through “bloods and fire.”

The doves also symbolize the Chinese people are flying to a future of great rejuvenation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China， according to the office.

New GM Rice

Scientists from China， Sweden and the United States have developed a highyielding rice that can reduce methane emissions， a major greenhouse gas blamed for global warming， from paddies.

The new rice， SUSIBA2 Rice， contains more starch while the root will discharge less nutrients that will later be turned into methane by microbes in the soil.

“It solves two major problems man- kind faces at one time： environmental degradation and the need for increased grain output，” said Wang Feng from the Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences who is also in the developing team.

Wang said that the rice can cut methane discharges by more than 90 percent during summer and more than half during autumn， as “the rice displays a greater emission reduction effect in high temperatures.”

Meanwhile， small-scale trials have also suggested an increased output. A single plant of the new breed has 300 more grains， with 10-percent more starch than other types of rice.

Crowdfunding Example

Chinas largest dark horse movie this summer， Monkey King： Hero Is Back amassed 700 million yuan （$112.7 million） in ticket sales as of July 28， beating Kung Fu Panda 2 as the top-grossing animated film in Chinese cinemas.

The films novel fundraising channel have impressed many Chinese moviegoers when Monkey King presented a long producer list that included 109 children， whose parents pooled their money to aid in the movies marketing.

More inspiring is the news that the parents， who have invested a total of 7 million yuan （$1.1 million）， will get more than 30 million yuan （$4.83 million） in return thanks to the films immense box office success.

Lu Wei， producer of the film， said he posted the crowdfunding bid on WeChat， a social networking app， in late 2014 when the film was near completion. The initiative attracted many parents who made donations ranging from several thousands to over 100，000 yuan （$16，100）.

“Their participation contributed greatly to the movie—they are not just funders but also enthusiastic promoters who actively advertised for the film，” he said.

Crowdfunding， which allows a project to raise funds from a large number of people via the Internet， has been a vogue in Chinas movie industry， with several blockbusters， including the Tiny Times franchise， rolling out such projects to pool funding and fan popularity.

Cutting a Figure

A worker examines ultra-high-voltage cables in an enterprise in Hejian， Hebei Province， on July 26.

After three decades of development， an industrial cluster of electric wire and cable production has taken shape in Hejian. Now， the city is home to more than 170 cable manufacturers， with a total production capacity worth 40 billion yuan （$6.4 billion）.

Bond Market

China welcomes central banks， financial institutions and sovereign wealth funds from around the world to invest in the countrys bond market， an unnamed official from the Peoples Bank of China（PBC） said on July 28.

Chinas interbank bond market was estimated at around 35.3 trillion yuan（$5.7 trillion） at the end of May.

According to Chinas new rules issued on July 14， foreign central banks， global financial institutions and sovereign wealth funds will only need to register with the PBC to trade bonds in the spot and forward markets， conduct interest rate swaps and trade forward rate agreements.

They will also be free to decide on the size of their investment.

The PBC official said that the move is aimed at speeding up the construction of a more transparent and open bond market to better play its role in resource allocation.

China-ASEAN Trade

Trade and investment between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations （ASEAN） have grown as mutual political trust has fostered deeper integration， officials said on July 29.

The total volume of imports and exports between China and the ASEAN rose 1.6 percent year on year to reach $224 billion in January to June， accounting for 12 percent of Chinas total foreign trade， said Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Yan.

Gao made the remarks at a press briefing for the 12th China-ASEAN Expo， which will be held in south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region between September 18 and 21.

China-ASEAN bilateral trade reached $480 billion last year， up 8.23 percent from the previous year.

China has been ASEANs largest trading partner since 2009， and ASEAN has been Chinas third largest since 2010.

Duty-Free Shopping

Tmall.hk， an online shopping platform for overseas goods operated by Chinas e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group， launched an international dutyfree shopping platform on July 28.

Consumers with outbound air tickets can purchase duty-free goods via Tmall.hks website or mobile app and retrieve their items at designated duty-free shops using their payment confirmation text or barcode when they finish their overseas trips， said the company.

The Shilla Duty Free Shop of the Republic of Korea and Thailands King Power Duty Free Shop have signed agreements with Tmall.hk to sell their products via the platform.

Chinese consumers spent more than 1 trillion yuan （$163 billion） overseas last year， as the number of outbound travelers from China exceeded 100 million. Duty-free shops were a major source of purchases for Chinese travelers.

“We hope to create a new form of overseas shopping for Chinese people via this platform，” said Liu Peng， President of Tmall.hk.

He said that Tmall.hk is in negotiations with a number of foreign and domestic duty-free shops to allow shoppers buy products from more countries and regions.

Lotus Economy

Tourists enjoy the picturesque scenery of a lotus pond in Changxing County， Zhejiang Province， on July 26.

Scaling-Down Plan

Chinas property and entertainment giant Dalian Wanda Group has announced plans to scale down its traditional department stores and karaoke bars to focus on activity-driven businesses.

As e-commerce drives down popularity of brick-and-mortar department stores， Wanda is refurbishing its old properties in order to better meet market demand.

More than 40 department stores and 80 karaoke bars owned by Wanda will be closed， according to Securities Daily， which attributed the transformation to Wang Jianlin， founder and president of the group.

Wang was not available for comment， but sources with Wanda told Xinhua News Agency that the company plans to develop more dining halls， playgrounds， cinemas and other businesses that focus on visitors experiences at the mall while reducing the number of its department stores.

Power Capacity

China aims to eliminate 4.234 million kw of outdated power production capacity in 2015 to conserve energy and reduce emissions， the National Energy Administration （NEA） announced on July 28.

The national energy watchdog also asked eight centrally administered power generation firms to produce 89.74 million kw of energy-saving power and 40.93 million kw of environmentfriendly power this year.

China added 7.73 million kw of new photovoltaic （PV） power generation capacity in the first six months， with a total PV power generation of 19 billion kwh， equal to saving 2.5 million metric tonnes of standard coal equivalent and reducing 72，380 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions， according to the NEA.

Big Data

The driving force behind Chinas trade growth over the next decade lies in the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road and the development of renminbi-led crossborder clearing， said a CEO mapping out ambitious moves along the two programs routes.

“We aim to build Silk Road stations， a renminbi-led Visa-like cross-border payment system and a second Frankfurt Airport along the routes in Italy to help deliver growth，” Luo Feng， CEO of IZP Technologies Group， told China Dailys website.

The company operates e-commerce platforms Haixuan and Globebuy. Its online payment arm Globebill that has been licensed to set up a card organization in Europe. The Silk Road Belt and Road Initiative need its own clearing infrastructure， where overseas retailers can buy Chinese goods with their home currency or exchange directly for the Chinese currency， Luo said at the 15th Forum on Internet Media of China in Zhanjiang， Guangdong Province， on July 29.

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road in 2013 to enhance infrastructure connectivity among Eurasian countries and promote financial integration and cross-border trade.

Chinese enterprises invested more than $4.86 billion along the routes of the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road in January to May， according Chinas Ministry of Commerce.