Football Victory

Players of Chinas Guangzhou Evergrande celebrate at the awards ceremony of the 2015 Asian Football Confederation（AFC） Champions League in Guangzhou， Guangdong Province， on November 21. Evergrande claimed the title after a 1-0 aggregate win over Al Ahli from the United Arab Emirates in the two-game contest.

It was the second time for Evergrande to lift the trophy of the AFC Champions League in three years. The five-time Chinese Super League champions became the first Chinese team to win the honor in 2013.

Tighter Supervision

China will tighten supervision over the use of medical devices in connection with recently issued measures to be implemented next year， the countrys drug watchdog said on November 23.

Wang Shucai， Deputy Director of the Department of Medical Device Supervision at the China Food and Drug Administration （CFDA）， said that illegal purchases of medical instruments and poor maintenance have seriously affected the quality of treatment and patients health.

For the first time in October， the CFDA drafted a series of measures on the supervision and administration of the use of medical devices， which will take effect on February 2， 2016.

Wang said that food and drug administrations will monitor equip- ment use in hospitals and inspect companies making medical devices， as well as agencies providing maintenance and repair services.

Special attention will be given to high-risk medical instruments， he added.

Maritime Observation

An international maritime surveillance center will be built for Chinas homegrown Beidou Navigation Satellite System （BDS）， an alternative to U.S.-operated GPS， authorities with the Ministry of Transport said on November 24.

The surveillance center， located in north Chinas Tianjin， will monitor and assess the accuracy， operating situation and signal quality of the system and report results to users on the sea， ensuring a high-quality BDS service， according to Chai Jinzhu， an official with the ministrys North China Sea Maritime Insurance Center. Chais organization has been working on the construction and operation of the surveillance center.

The Beidou project was formally launched in 1994， some 20 years after the inception of GPS. The first Beidou satellite was launched in 2000.

By 2012， a regional network had already taken shape， and the BDS is already providing positioning， navigation， timing and short message services in China and several other Asian countries.

Sea Facilities

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on November 24 that China will build new civilian facilities on some islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

“This is aimed at fulfilling Chinas international responsibility and offer better public goods and services for countries in the region，” spokesman Hong Lei told a routine press briefing in Beijing on November 24.

He said that China will build necessary defense facilities on some islands， adding that the construction will be moderate and has nothing to do with militarization.

“The construction will not target any country nor impede navigation and overflight freedom enjoyed by other countries in accordance with international law，” Hong added.

China has built two lighthouses on South China Sea reefs， which ensure the safety of ships， and completed a land reclamation project on some of the Nansha Islands in June.

Soil Pollution

Heavy metal pollution still poses a glaring risk to Chinas environment， despite a drop in the discharge of five key heavy metal pollutants in 2014， the Ministry of Environmental Protection （MEP） said on November 19.

The discharge of five key heavy metal pollutants—lead， mercury， cadmium， chromium and metal arsenic—declined by 20.8 percent through 2014 compared to 2007， the MEP announced following an assessment at 28 provincial localities.

The discharge of heavy metal is still high due to the past three decades of rapid industrial expansion， according to a statement from the ministry.

Some regions even had a remarkably higher level of discharge in 2014 compared to 2007. Hebei， Sichuan， Shaanxi and Fujian provinces， as well as Inner Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions， for example， face the daunting task of controlling the pollution.

The MEP also named five cities for “exceedingly rapid growth” of heavy metal pollutant discharge， including Yantai in Shandong Province， Chenzhou， Loudi and Yueyang in Hunan Province， and Liangshan Prefecture in Sichuan Province.

The MEP said that it will review heavy metal pollution control next year and penalize localities that fail to meet the requirements.

Longer Living

The Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China plans to raise its average life expectancy by two years to 70 in five years， according to a meeting on the regions medical sector on November 21.

Local health officials said that medical services in rural areas will be greatly improved in order to achieve this goal.

The average life expectancy in Tibet was 68.2 years in 2013， up from 35.5 years before 1951， yet still eight years behind the inland populations， due to the high altitude and difficult access to medical services in the scarcely populated region.

Every village in Tibet now has a clinic and an average of two medical practitioners， thanks to a 4-billionyuan （$627 million） funding injection from the Central Government over the past five years.

Porpoise Population

The population of Chinas finless porpoises at a reserve in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River has increased from 22 to around 50 in the past five years， the provincial aquatic products bureau of central Chinas Hubei Province said on November 24.

A survey began on November 19 in the Tianezhou National Nature Reserve to examine the finless porpoises DNA， blood， appearance and their activities， said Zhang Zhenhua， deputy director of the reserve. The survey is scheduled to be conducted every five years.

The increase of the population could be attributed to the improved environment， Zhang said.

Finless porpoises live in the Yangtze and two lakes fed by the busy waterway. Their population was about 1，040 in 2012， compared to over 1，800 in 2006， a decrease of nearly 14 percent each year， according to a survey in 2012 by the Ministry of Agriculture， the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

The Tianezhou reserve was established in 1992 for the protection of the porpoises in a 21-km trafficfree section of the river.

Mega Telescope

The feed cabin supporting system of Chinas single-aperture spherical telescope FAST is tested in Qiannan， southwest Chinas Guizhou Province， on November 21.

Construction of FAST began in March 2011 with an investment of 1.2 billion yuan （$188 million）. When it is completed in 2016， the 500-meter telescope will be the worlds largest， overtaking Puerto Ricos Arecibo Observatory， which is 300 meters in diameter.

It will also be 10 times more sensitive than the steerable 100-meter telescope near Bonn， Germany.

Beijing Airport

Beijings new international airport， which is currently under construction， will eventually be able to handle 100 million passengers annually， authorities said on November 20.

Before 2025， the airport will be able to handle 72 million passengers， 2 million tonnes of cargo and mail， and have four runways， according to a plan approved by the government last year.

It is planned to have seven runways.

Located in the suburban Daxing District， the airport is expected to meet the capitals rising demand for air travel and help balance development in Beijings southern and northern areas.

Its construction started late last year.

White Palace

Travelers visit the Palace Museum in Beijing in heavy snow on November 22.

Snowstorms hit a large part of north China on November 22， disrupting traffic and grounding flights in Beijing and neighboring regions.

Solo Living

China has more than 58 million oneperson households， accounting for more than 14 percent of the national total in 2013， according to a survey by China National Radio （CNR）.

The survey found that one out of four households in Shanghai and one out of five in Beijing had just one single dweller.

Factors like population migration， cross-city employment， a decrease of multi-generational families， and urbanization have led to the spike， said CNR.

More than half of seniors live alone or only with their spouses， a much higher portion than 20 years ago.

Meanwhile， the number of one-person households of young adults aged between 20 and 39 has reached nearly 20 million. Among solo-dwellers aged 20 to 54， men outnumber the women.

Uygur E-Commerce

An e-commerce platform in the Uygur language was launched in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on November 23， becoming the first of its kind in the country.

Owned by the Xinjiang Bayilan E-commerce Co.， Bayi Laoye joined Chinas enormous online-to-offline market using both Mandarin and Uygur languages on its website， offering shopping convenience for locals.

Apart from local specialties like walnuts and raisins， it sells everything from cosmetics to clothes.

“So far， there are more than 10 local enterprises on Bayi Laoye，” said Adli Ahat， Marketing Director of the Xinjiang Bayilan E-commerce Co. “And we have reached agreements with over 2，000 factories from across the country.”

The website promises that goods will be delivered directly from those factories to all major cities in Xinjiang within 48 hours. Bayi Laoye plans to build its own logistics system.

The online shopping platform aims to attract customers not only from China， but also people in Central Asia.

Easier Payment

A staff member from Ant Financial， the financial arm of Chinas e-commerce giant Alibaba， introduces face recognition technology at the 2015 China （Hangzhou） Internet Finance Exposition in Hangzhou， capital of east Chinas Zhejiang Province， on November 20. The technology will be used in online payment services provided by Alibaba.

The expo， which ran from November 20 to 22， attracted 67 financial institutions and Internet finance service providers to attend.

Relaxing Forex Market

The first batch of overseas central banks and similar institutions have been allowed to enter Chinas interbank foreign exchange （forex） market， the Peoples Bank of China（PBOC） said on November 25.

Seven such institutions have completed registration with the China Foreign Exchange Trading System， which signal their official access into the Chinese market， the PBOC said on its website.

“This will contribute to a greater openness of the Chinese foreign exchange market，” the PBOC said.

The institutions are the Hong Kong Monetary Authority， Reserve Bank of Australia， Hungarian National Bank， International Bank for Reconstruction and Development， International Development Association， World Bank Group Trust Funds， and GIC Private Ltd.

Those institutions can directly participate in the interbank forex market as foreign members， use existing interbank forex market members as their agents， or entrust the PBOC as their agent.

They will be allowed to conduct yuan and the foreign exchange trading of one or more traded forex products， including spots， forwards， swaps and options.

Overseas Railways

The China Railway Group Ltd. （CREC） announced that one of its subsidiaries has won the Hungary-Serbia rail contract with another Chinese company and a Hungarian peer.

The consortium will jointly construct the 160-km Hungarian section of the 350-km railway linking the Serbian and Hungarian capitals together.

The project marks the Chinese rail companys first step in entering the European market and will help promote Chinese rail technology going abroad， an official with the CREC said on November 25.

The contract is estimated to be worth about 10 billion yuan （$1.57 billion）， among which the CREC and its Chinese peer， the international subsidiary of China Railway Corp. （CRC）， jointly hold an 85-percent share.

Airline Investment

Chinese conglomerate HNA Group is expanding its global footprint by acquiring a 23.7-percent stake in Azul Brazilian Airlines， the third largest carrier in Brazil， for $450 million. Following the stake deal， HNA will become the largest shareholder in Azul and also have a seat on the board of the Brazilian carrier. The two sides will cooperate on flights， new routes and frequent-flyer plans in the future， according to a statement from HNA. Azul has 145 aircraft flying to more than 100 destinations.

“With this transaction， Azul has become the highest-valued carrier in Brazil， at about 7 billion reais （$1.89 billion），” said David Neeleman， Azuls chief executive， who is also the founder of Jetblue， a major low-cost carrier in the United States.

Neeleman， who founded Azul in 2008， said the deal will benefit the carrier in various ways， such as improved capital flow， a continued renewal of its fleet， and better products and services for clients.

Tan Xiangdong， President of HNA， said HNA is working on expanding its business in the aviation sector and is investing in powerful companies globally.

The huge passenger flows between China and Brazil， which are strong trading partners， also played a significant role in facilitating the transaction， said the statement.

Taking Off

Chinese commercial drone maker DJIs staff member introduces its Phantom 3 drone to clients in Shenzhen， south Chinas Guangdong Province， on November 22.

Ubers Largest Market

China is likely to surpass the United States as Ubers largest market by the end of this year， the company said in Beijing on November 25.

The ride-sharing app will complete more daily trips for passengers in China than in the United States， Liu Zhen， head of strategy for Uber China， said on November 25.

The Southern Chinese metropolis Guangzhou， capital of Guangdong Province， currently completes the most number of daily trips among all cities in the world where Uber is available. Four other Chinese cities—Chengdu， capital of southwest Chinas Sichuan Province， Hangzhou， capital of east Chinas Zhejiang Province， Shanghai and Shenzhen in Guangdong—are also among Ubers top 10 cities worldwide.

Uber has been expanding aggressively in China this year in a bid to challenge domestic ride-hailing app Didi. The company officially launched its ride-sharing service UberPool across five Chinese cities on November 25 after a four-monthlong trial.

Chinas ride-hailing market has already seen intense competition among domestic players over taxi-hailing and ride-on-demand services since last year. Leading taxi-hailing apps Didi and Kuaidi merged earlier this year， ending a heavily subsidized campaign that saw each scrambling for drivers and passengers.

Uber has been using a local approach to challenge Didis dominance in the taxi-hailing market. Uber China was granted greater autonomy in decision-making in each city it operates in.

Liu also said that the company will expand its presence from 21 Chinese cities to 100 next year， including many in the west and northeast. This compares to 199 cities where Didi says its ride-on-demand services are available.

Chinese search engine provider Baidu has invested in Uber while the Internet conglomerate Tencent and e-commerce giant Alibaba both hold stakes in Didi.

Landing

An imported fire truck gets off a ship in Qingdao， east Chinas Shandong Province， on November 22. The truck is among the first batch of imported special-purpose vehicles in the Qingdao bonded port area.

Pro-Trade Measures

The General Administration of Customs （GAC） has rolled out 18 measures to buoy Chinas decreasing foreign trade， its spokesperson said on November 25.

Customs procedures have been streamlined， raising customsclearance efficiency by around 50 percent， said GAC spokesman Zhang Guangzhi during a news briefing.

Foreign trade fees have been lowered or eliminated to reduce enterprises financial burden， he said.

The GAC has also slashed six items subject to government approvals or review for trade-oriented manufacturers.

As the worlds largest goods trader， Chinas foreign trade is under heavy pressure this year due to an economic slowdown and a faltering global recovery.

GACs data showed that foreign trade dipped 8.1 percent year-onyear in the first 10 months of 2015， while the annual target is a 6-percent increase.

“It seems impossible to reverse the trend within this year. What we can do now is to narrow the decline，”said Bai Ming， a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.