Open to the Public

Visitors with members of the Bayi Aerobatics Team of the Peoples Liberation Army in Tianjin on November 8 during an open day event.

Prior to its 66th founding anniversary on November 11， the Air Force invited the public to visit military equipment displays and flight training at 18 camps in 14 provinces and municipalities.

Units including aviation forces， airborne forces， surface-to-air missile troops and radar troops were all involved.

Integrated Care

China will promote the integration of healthcare with elderly care to address its aging population， an official statement revealed.

These efforts should benefit millions of Chinese families and create numerous jobs. The statement was released after an executive meeting of the State Council， Chinas cabinet， on November 11.

A decision made at the meeting urged medical institutions to provide senior care agencies with convenience in making appointments. It also required cooperation between hospitals， communities and homebased senior care services.

The government encourages the private sector to run services that integrate healthcare with geriatric care and allows areas with abundant medical resources to transform some public hospitals into rehabilitation and elderly care centers， according to the statement.

It added that pilot projects integrating the two kinds of services should be carried out nationwide.

Floating Populations

The number of “floating people”—those who have left their places of origin to seek employment or education elsewhere—is expected to increase by 6 million annually in the next five years. This figure is set to hit 291 million by 2020， a government report said on November 11.

The report， which was released by the National Health and Family Planning Commission， said that China had 253 million floating people at the end of 2014. The number represents about one sixth of the countrys total population.

It also forecast that the floating population will increase at a lower rate than the previous five years， when the number grew by about 8 million every year.

According to the report， 55 percent of the floating people spent more than three years in the places where they currently lived and more than half of them showed an interest in settling down. It continued that nearly 90 percent of the married floating people， who were born after 1980， were living with their spouses， and more and more children and senior citizens have also been integrated into floating families.

Low-Income Homes

China has surpassed annual targets set for its affordable housing program in 2015， data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development showed on November 10.

The construction of 7.47 million affordable homes had already begun by the end of October， exceeding the 7.4 million units planned for the whole year.

At the end of October， construction of 6.88 million homes was“nearly completed，” with a total investment of 1.28 trillion yuan （$201.6 billion）， according to the ministry.

Approved in 1999， the affordable housing program is designed to cater to low-income families priced out of the market.

Over the past four years， more than 20 million affordable houses were completed across the country. The State Council， Chinas cabinet， announced a plan in September to build 18 million apartments in urban areas and renovate 10.6 million rural houses between 2015 and 2017.

Happiest Career

The career with the highest happiness ranking this year in China is freelancing， according to Insight China， a fortnightly Chinese magazine.

The 2015 Chinese Happiness Index survey was jointly conducted by the magazine and the media research lab of Tsinghua University.

Although 52.5 percent of respondents agreed that there was no direct correlation between wealth and happiness， money still tops the list of factors affecting peoples feeling of contentment. The survey showed that 91.8 percent hope they could have more time to spend with family and friends.

Thus， freelancers have good reasons to top this years ranking as the job offering the most happiness. More than 68 percent of O2O（online to offline） freelancers earn 5，000 yuan （$784） per month， with 9 percent earning more than 10，000 yuan （$1，580）， a report last year stated， adding that O2O freelancers continue to grow in the marketplace.

On the happiest job list， freelancing is followed by teacher， government official， artist， civil servant， tour guide， private entrepreneur， fitness coach， actor and business-starter.

IPR Cases

A Beijing court specializing in intellectual property rights （IPR）， Chinas first， has accepted around 8，000 cases since November last year， authorities announced on November 9.

Su Chi， head of the court， said at a press conference that the court has accepted 7，918 IPR-related cases and closed more than 3，200 over the past year. Most cases were administrative lawsuits.

To handle IPR conflicts， the court has cooperated with university law schools and invited academics and lawyers to discuss some legal questions together on a regular basis.

China has been working to protect and improve IPR. Two more IPR courts were set up in Guangzhou， Guangdong Province， and Shanghai last December to deal with crossregional civil and administrative lawsuits regarding patents， new plant varieties， integrated circuit layout design and technological knowledge. Chinese courts hear about 110，000 IPR cases annually and this number is expected to increase.

Panda Data

Genetic information on wild giant pandas living in southwest Chinas Sichuan Province are to be submitted for the first time， according to the provinces forestry department on November 10.

“We extract DNA from the spoor collected during field research， as it is almost impossible to get [an equal amount of] blood samples，” said Gu Xiaodong of the departments wildlife protection station.

“The process could be long， and repetitive work is unavoidable， but it is necessary for the filing，” Gu explained.

Eleven wild panda habitats in the province have been picked for the first round of collecting and analyzing.

From November 3 to 9， researchers followed over 100 monitoring routes in Wanglang National Natural Reserve， noting bamboo distribution and panda traces， including their spoor， for the preliminary information needed for the profile building.

Giant pandas are one of the worlds most endangered species. About 1，600 live in the wild， mostly in the mountains of Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces， while more than 300 live in captivity.

Cross-Border Apprehension

Criminal suspects involved in swindling activities in the telecom sector are escorted off the plane by the police upon their arrival in Beijing on November 10.

A total of 254 people from the Chinese mainland were brought back from Indonesia and Cambodia for their role in the fraudulent schemes， according to Chinas Ministry of Public Security.

The suspects are allegedly involved in more than 4，000 transnational cases， with victims coming from over 20 Chinese provinces and regions including Hong Kong， the ministry said in a press release.

New Year Celebration

People of the Miao ethnic group play lusheng， a reed-pipe wind instrument， during their new year celebration in Rongjiang County， southwest Chinas Guizhou Province， on November 7.

With a population of more than 9.4 million， the Miao people form one of the largest ethnic minorities in southwest China.

Music Supervision

The Ministry of Culture urged Internet companies to increase selfexamination of online music content. According to a circular issued by the ministry， online music providers should check the contents of the songs before posting them. Also， music information should be submitted to regulatory agencies at or above the provincial level for additional examination.

The ministry also called on cultural administrative organs at all levels to help companies train employees in conducting selfexamination， stating that authorities will conduct random inspections.

Furthermore， the ministry urged local cultural departments to deal with misconduct in line with laws and regulations， requesting that they blacklist violators to establish a system for assessing and managing companies compliance.

The circular will go into effect on January 1， 2016， and online music providers should begin submitting information on music examinations from April 1， 2016.

Foreign Trade Decline

Chinas foreign trade dropped 12.1 percent year on year to $323.2 billion in October， the eighth consecutive monthly decline.

Exports dropped 6.9 percent to$192.4 billion and imports plunged 18.8 percent to $130.8 billion， the General Administration of Customs said on November 8.

In the first 10 months， foreign trade dropped 8.5 percent year on year to $3.2 trillion. Exports totaled$1.9 trillion in the first 10 months， down 2.5 percent， and imports totaled $1.4 trillion， down 15.7 percent.

HSBC analyst Qu Hongbin attrib- uted the drops mainly to commodity prices and subdued external and internal demand， noting that exports to emerging markets have experienced a sudden decline. Qu expected more easing efforts in the fourth quarter to ramp up domestic demand and stabilize economic growth.

IPOs Relaunch

Chinas move to end a four-month long moratorium on initial public offerings （IPOs） has rekindled investors spirits as the countrys drive toward reform creates a healthier stock market.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission （CSRC） announced on November 6 that it will give 28 com- panies， whose listings were already approved but halted in July， the green light by the end of this year.

The CSRC also introduced significant changes to IPO procedures， allowing investors to subscribe without paying into escrow accounts in advance， giving more priority to information disclosure instead of pre-IPO approvals and simplifying procedures for smaller IPOs.

IPOs in China were suspended after the main market index plunged 30 percent from its June 12 peak， as a panic-triggered sell-off spiked a market bubble that was inflated partly by heavily leveraged trading. Authorities have since then cracked down on the use of leverage， which magnified both gains and losses， while pouring funds into the market and investigating “malicious” short selling.

“Similar actions have taken place eight times in the past. A restart to IPOs often points to investors gathering confidence again，” said Ping An Securities analyst Wei Wei.

This time， the IPO restoration came earlier than expected， showing regulators resolution and confidence in accelerating capital market reforms and their judgment that the market is now back to normal， Wei said.

The reforms announced on November 6 also prevented a new supply of shares from causing turbulence in the market， he explained.

Before the reforms， investors had to freeze large sums of funds in escrow accounts ahead of IPO subscriptions. Under the new rules， they pay only after the allocation of the shares has been confirmed. （See page 40 for analysis）

Nuclear Deal

The China General Nuclear Power Group （CGN）， the countrys biggest nuclear power reactor operator， has signed an agreement to set up two nuclear reactors in Romania.

The memorandum of understanding， signed on November 9 between CGN and the Romanian state-owned nuclear company Nuclearelectrica SA， is for the third and fourth unit of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant. The agreement covers investment， funding， construction， operation and decommissioning， a CGN statement said.

CGN will also form a joint venture with Nuclearelectrica， and will be the only platform to work on nuclear projects in Romania， according to the statement.

Romania is looking to further develop its nuclear capabilities， which currently accounts for 18 percent of the countrys total power consumption.

Auto Boom

Workers assemble cars in Liuzhou， south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Automobile output in the city reached 1.88 million units in the first 10 months of the year， up 8 percent year on year.

Yuan-Swiss Franc Trading

Direct trading between the Chinese yuan and the Swiss franc in the inter-bank foreign exchange market have started on November 10.

The move will lower the trading costs for China and Switzerland， facilitate use of the two currencies in bilateral trade and investment and boost economic and financial cooperation between the two countries， according to an announcement released by the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

The central parity rate between the yuan and Swiss franc will be decided according to the average quotation of direct trading market makers before the market opens each working day， according to the announcement.

The Swiss franc is the 12th foreign currency that can be directly traded with the Chinese yuan in the inter-bank foreign exchange market.

Facilitating M&As

China will adjust the auditing process to support mergers and acquisitions（M&As） of listed firms， according to a statement by the China Securities Regulatory Commission （CSRC） on November 6. The new rule took effect on November 9.

The CSRC will audit the legal， financial and industrial conditions of the applicants based on their disclosed information and reduce the auditing time.

The CSRC will also organize auditing meetings of applicants in batches and improve the supervision of intermediary institutions such as accounting firms.

The M&A market has been quite active this year， with a total of 1919 M&A cases approved by the end of September， according to the CSRC.

A Cradle for Entrepreneurs

A spaceship model at an innovation park in Hohhot， capital of north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Since its launch in 2010， the innovation park， which is built for people that plan to start their own businesses after finishing overseas studies， has attracted 148 businesses.

Inflation Eases

Chinas consumer price index （CPI）， the main gauge of inflation， grew by 1.3 percent year-on-year in October， the National Bureau of Statistics（NBS） said on November 10.

The weaker-than-expected reading slowed from 1.6 percent in September and 2 percent in August. NBS statistician Yu Qiumei attributed the slowdown to falling pork and vegetable prices due to ample supplies. Food prices， which account for nearly one third of weighting in Chinas CPI， went down 1 percent from a month earlier.

As evidence of prolonged weakness in aggregate demand， the countrys producer price index （PPI）， which measures wholesale inflation， plunged 5.9 percent year on year in October， the 44th straight month of decline.

The figure will stay in negative territory in the foreseeable future as upstream industries are still battling overcapacity. Demand for industrial goods will also slow due to structural changes to the economy.

Insurer Purchase

Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group Co. is to buy the American life insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life Co.（FGL） for about $1.57 billion as part of its overseas expansion plans.

The Chinese firm will pay $26.8 for every Fidelity share. The acquisi- tion， when complete， will make Anbang one of the largest insurers by market share in fixed annuity products in the United States， according to the company. Financial holding company HRG Group Inc. is FGLs major stockholder.

“This transaction will bring value to customers of both Anbang and FGL，” Anbang said in a statement. It said that the acquisition is consistent with Anbangs investment strategy，“which is focused on globalization.”

The deal is pending regulatory approval and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016.

Anbang is known in the United States for its purchase of the Waldorf Astoria New York Hotel， which it bought for $2 billion. It has also been acquiring more insurance firms in Europe.

The company entered the Dutch insurance market earlier this year with its acquisition of VIVAT Verzekeringen， following its purchase of Belgiums Fidea Assurances last year.

Colorful Shoes

Xu Daiya （left）， a university graduate majoring in fine arts， hand draws on a shoe vamp in a shoe factory in Wuyuan County， east Chinas Jiangxi Province.