Green View

The International Garden Expo Park in Wuhan， capital of central Chinas Hubei Province.

The park will host the opening ceremony of the nine-month 10th China International Garden Expo on September 25. With a total area of 231.77 hectares， it is located in the core area of Zhanggong Embankment Park， with Changfeng Park and the former Jinkou refuse landfill as its main venues.

Easier Green Cards

A high-level meeting on September 15 decided to make it easier for foreigners in China to apply for permanent residence permits， or green cards， to attract more overseas professionals.

“Foreigners permanent residence applications will be managed in a reasonable， open and pragmatic manner，”said a statement released after the 16th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform chaired by President Xi Jinping.

According to a set of guidelines adopted at the meeting， foreign employees working in seven types of companies or institutions are currently eligible to apply for a green card. These include national labs， engineering research centers， state-accredited hitech companies technology centers and foreign-funded R&D centers.

Applicants must hold professional titles at or above associate professor or associate fellow and have been working in China for more than four years with sound tax records.

Candidates should file applications with the municipal-level public security department in the locale of their workplace.

Foreigners who hold green cards enjoy the same rights as Chinese citizens in areas such as investment， home purchases and education.

Medical Reform

Chinas cabinet， the State Council， issued guidelines on September 11 on a hierarchical medical treatment system to direct resources to grassroots health institutions.

According to the document， a system of different tiers of hospitals with clearly defined roles will be established by 2017. By that time， the country should also have a greater number of qualified general practitioners （GPs）. Local hospital standards are also expected to rise. To this end， local health institutions will create general health centers with a wide range of services and allow doctors to practice at different institutions. Meanwhile， the country will train more GPs until there is a ratio of one GP for every 3，000 to 5，000 residents. County hospitals will be improved until 90 percent of medical demand can be met at or below that level.

Patent Applications

China submitted 18，700 patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty （PCT） in the first eight months of this year， about a 20 percent increase over the same period last year.

Shen Changyu， head of the State Intellectual Property Office （SIPC）， attributed the increase to the governments strategy to boost innovation， saying that favorable policies have generated opportunities for inventors.

In recent years， the Chinese Government has reduced taxes， increased subsidies and cut red tape to encourage businesses and individuals to pursue innovation.

The PCT， concluded in 1970， is an international patent system that facilitates patent protection. By filing an application under the PCT， applicants can seek protection for their inventions in 148 countries around the world.

Search Service

Cloud Tibet， Chinas first Tibetan language search engine， is on course to be released in August of next year， the developer said on September 15.

Development team head Tselo said the basic architecture is complete and the company has made significant coretechnology development gains.

The search engine will help speed up IT， economic and social development in the Tibetan regions， he added.

A 100-member team from a Tibetan language research center in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest Chinas Qinghai Province has been tasked with developing the search engine.

The project was launched in April 2013 with the financial backing of 57 million yuan （$8.94 million）.

The search engine will also feature news， pictures， video and audio， Tselo said.

Leisure Games

The 2015 World Leisure Games opened in Laixi County on the outskirts of Qingdao in eastern Chinas Shandong Province on September 12.

Sponsored by the Italian-based World Leisure Organization， the event is held every five years with the aim to promote outdoor leisure activities among people of all ages around the world.

The 2015 Games， which ended on September 21， was the second time the World Leisure Organization hosted the event. The first games were held in Chuncheon， South Korea， in 2010.

This years games included competitions in 17 activities， including rock climbing， freestyle skating， street dance， e-sports， marathon， dragon boat， martial arts， chess and beach volleyball.

The World Leisure Summit and the World Leisure Expo and Leisure Culture and Arts Festival were also held at the games.

Cleaner Air

Particles responsible for much of Chinas air pollution decreased 17.4 percent during the first half of this year， according to official sources.

The adoption of a new environmental protection standard is responsible for a drop of PM 2.5 density， or particles measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter， in 161 cities， according to Wu Xiaoqing， Vice Minister of Environmental Protection， at a forum on environment and development on September 14.

The new standard was introduced in 2012 and is expected to be implemented nationwide by 2016. It adds PM 2.5 and Ozone to the list of pollutants that authorities monitor to determine a regions air quality.

Air， water and soil pollution will all be targeted in the ongoing anti-pollution campaign， Wu said.

Global Concerns

The second Global Brand Challenge Summit kicks off in Beijing on September 15 with academics， experts and youth discussing topics ranging from sustainable development and health to energy and education.

Life Science Breakthrough

Cloned， genetically modified （GM） cow Niu Niu and its calf at an experimentation base of Beijing University of Agriculture.

Niu Niu， is one of two clones born in 2012 with a gene inserted to increase the fat level of their muscle.

The birth of Niu Nius calf on August 28 implied major breakthroughs by demonstrating the reproductive capability of GM cattle， according to researchers.

Wetland Park

A state-level wetland park has been established in Chinas largest desert， Taklamakan， in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The park， located on the western edge of the Taklamakan， has been approved by the State Forestry Administration. It covers an area of around 5，818 hectares and consists of various types of wetlands， including rivers and marshes.

The park is close to the Yarkant River. The wetland resources formed by marshes， lakes and reservoirs on the banks of the river play an important role in the local climate.

However， the rivers water level has been shrunk， along with the wetland areas， due to an increase in human activities and unregulated water use since the 1980s， local officials said.

Xinjiang has a wetland area of around 4 million hectares， ranked fifth among provincial-level regions in China. Preserving and restoring the wetlands has become a priority for the local government.

Investment Boom

Foreign direct investment （FDI） into the Chinese mainland jumped 22 percent in August from a year earlier， settling at$8.71 billion， the Ministry of Commerce announced on September 16.

The growth accelerated from a 5.2-percent rise in July， as investments in the countrys hi-tech service industry saw a significant increase.

For the first eight months， FDI， which excludes investment in the financial sector， stood at $85.34 billion， up 9.2 percent from the same period last year， the ministry said.

Foreign investment in the service industry rose 20.1 percent， with the hitech service sector seeing a jump of 59.1 percent to $5.51 billion.

Hi-tech manufacturing attracted$6.57 billion of foreign investment in the first eight months， up 9.9 percent.

The ministry noted that the number of foreign businesses ending or reducing investment in China continued to drop， dispelling worries that foreign capital is moving out of the country due to growth uncertainties.

On the other side of the equation， outbound direct investment （ODI） from Chinese mainland in non-financial sectors totaled $13.5 billion in August， an increase of 7 percent year on year.

In the first eight months of the year， ODI from the Chinese mainland to countries along the China-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road amounted to $10.73 billion， surging 48.2 percent year on year. The major investment destinations include Singapore， Kazakhstan， Laos， Indonesia， Russia and Thailand.

From Trash to Treasure

Staff members of Shuntai New Energy Power Generation Co. Ltd. test solar panels in Xuzhou， east Chinas Jiangsu Province， on September 15.

The companys solar panels are located on discarded wetland， and the generated electricity is expected to be sold in the national grid as soon as December.

Breaking Taxi Monopolies

To help drivers earn more money， Hangzhou， capital of east Chinas Zhejiang Province， plans to scrap the governments portion of the management fees retroactively starting from January 1 this year， according to a draft guideline released on September 14. The already collected fees will be refunded to taxi drivers.

With taxi-hailing apps now challenging a long-established cartel in the taxi industry， cab drivers have been feeling the pressure of increasing fees and more competition. The city is planning to eliminate taxi franchise fees paid to the government as it seeks to break an oligopoly on the industry.

The new policy will mean a monthly average of 400 yuan （$63） deduction in fees for each taxi， said Lu Xiande， vice chief of the citys traffic management bureau. The government would also refund nearly 100 million yuan （$15.7 million） collected so far this year.

More Support Measures

The National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） on September 14 laid out fresh measures aimed to increase investment.

Xu Shaoshi， Minister of the NDRC told a press conference that funding for targeted projects would be increased and the commission would encourage more cooperation between government and private capital. More powers will be delegated to lower levels and the funding mechanism will be improved to push more capital into the real economy.

Xu stressed that considerable uncertainty still surrounds the economy. China is battling a property downturn， industrial overcapacity， sluggish demand and weak exports， which dragged growth down to 7 percent for the first half of the year. The government is pinning hopes on infrastructure investment to shore up growth.

In the first eight months， investment in infrastructure rose 18.4 percent year on year， contributing to 27.7 percent of the overall investment.

Innovative Zones

China aims to build a long-term mechanism that could spur innovation and drive economic growth.

The State Council has chosen eight regions， including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster， Shanghai， and Guangdong Province as pilot zones to carry out trials on innovation and reform.

Li Pumin， spokesman for the NDRC， told a news conference on September 15 that these regions have been asked to map out detailed proposals for innovation reform in the fourth quarter.

The regions have been tasked with building a long-term mechanism for promoting innovation and making breakthroughs in promoting fair competition， intellectual property， scientific achievement and financial innovation， Li said.

Experiments will be carried out in these regions in 2016， while the NDRC and the Ministry of Science and Technology will evaluate the performance. Successful measures will be duplicated or promoted nationwide， said Li.

Method of Release

Chinas central bank has tweaked the way it will assess banks reserve ratios and said the new methodology will help keep the financial system flowing if funding dries up.

The new compilation method—which will use average levels over a period instead of daily calculations—could help release liquidity in some situations and maintain stability in the money market， the Peoples Bank of China said on its website on September 11.

“The purpose of the averagebased method is mainly to improve the flexibility and convenience of liquidity management at financial institutions，”the central bank said. The new rules took effect on September 15.

“The change will help smooth out the volatility in the money market，” said Wan Zhao， a Shanghai-based analyst at China Merchants Bank Co. “As it now allows banks to edge around the requirements at certain points， it loosens the previous regulation. This is part of the broader financial reform that grants banks more flexibility.”

Gearing Up

A technician works on parts for engine gearboxes in Xianghe County， north Chinas Hebei Province， on September 12.

The county has actively developed auto parts industry over the past three decades. To date， it has nearly 20 such companies serving automakers in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster.

Undersea Cable

China Unicom， one of Chinas main telecom providers， is building the countrys first international undersea cable， the company said on September 13.

China Unicom is cooperating with Myanmars telecom operators to build the underwater cable， said Jiang Zhengxin， Vice General Manager of China United Telecommunications Corp.， parent of China Unicom， when attending the China-ASEAN Information Harbor Forum in Nanning， capital of south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The cable will carry information and data flow between China and the ASEAN （Association of Southeast Asian Nations）， he said.

A land cable between China and Myanmar is also under construction at a cost of $50 million， he added.

Insider Trading

Several senior executives from Chinas top securities broker CITIC Securities Co. Ltd. are being investigated for alleged insider trading and information leaks， the police announced on September 15.

Those under investigation include General Manager Cheng Boming； Yu Xinli， who is in charge of operations； and Wang Jinling， Vice Manager of the Information Technology Center of CITIC Securities.

The authorities have recently detained four executives from Chinas largest brokerage， CITIC Securities Co.， a staff member of the China Securities Regulatory Commission （CSRC） and a journalist from business magazine Caijing， in the latest moves to crack down on stock market violations.

CSRC spokesman Zhang Xiaojun told a press conference on September 11 that the authorities had launched 22 cases involving suspected market manipulation， insider trading， false information fabrication and dissemination. Seven of those cases involved suspected insider trading on the part of several securities market professionals.