Flight Trials

A civilian aircraft lands on the airfield atop Nansha Islands Yongshu Reef on the South China Sea on January 6. It was one of the two test flights of civilian aircraft of the newly-built airfield on that day.

The Chinese Government used civilian aircraft to test whether the airfields facilities meet civil aviation standards， according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

PM2.5 in Beijing

Beijings average PM2.5 density in 2015 was more than double the official level targeted nationwide， an official said on January 4.

Despite the citys attempts to limit air pollution， the average PM2.5 reading stood at 80.6 micrograms per cubic meter， 1.3 times more than the national standard， Zhang Dawei， Director of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center（BMEMC）， said at a news conference.

Beijing only saw 186 days with air quality meeting the national standard， statistics from the BMEMC showed.

Air pollution was particularly severe in November and December 2015， with the capital shrouded in foul air for 22 days， 15 days more than the same period last year. During the period， average PM 2.5 density hit 239 micrograms per cubic meter， according to the BMEMC.

“Heavy air pollution mainly happens in autumn and winter， particularly in winter， when coal burning increases significantly，” said Zhang.

Average densities of sulfur dioxide， nitrogen dioxide and PM10 dropped 38.1 percent， 11.8 percent and 12.3 percent year on year， respectively.

Beijing frequently suffers from thick smog， cutting visibility and posing health hazards. Local government measures to trying to limit the problem have included restricting traffic and halting industrial production.

Investigated Officials

Sixty-four officials from Chinese state-owned enterprises （SOEs） administrated by central authorities had been investigated as of November 2015， the top anti-graft watchdog said on January 4.

The probed SOE executives are largely from firms in energy， communication， transportation and machine manufacturing， with 39 percent of the total number from energy enterprises， the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Commission for Discipline Inspection （CCDI） said in a statement.

Among the 64 officials， 56 percent were top leaders of the centrally administrated SOEs， according to the statement.

Anti-graft inspection teams were sent to SOEs by the central authority starting from 2013 and have covered all 55 centrally administrated SOEs in the past two years.

“The outstanding problems with SOEs include weakened Party leadership over the firms， abuse of power in exchange for illegal profit， personnel selection and promotion， as well as undesirable work and life styles，” it said.

Wang Tianpu， former General Manager of China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. （Sinopec Group）， who was put under investigation in April 2015， was found to have taken bribes， offered benefits in exchange for his own promotion， and embezzled public assets.

Food & Drug Safety

Chinese authorities have recently unveiled measures to facilitate coordination between administrative and judicial organs in handling food and drug safety cases.

A document to the effect was jointly issued by China Food and Drug Administration， the Ministry of Public Security， the Supreme Peoples Court， the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate as well as the Executive Office of the Food Safety Commission under the State Council， Chinas cabinet.

In the past problems such as ambiguous standards in case transferring or undefined responsibilities for different investigative authorities have hampered Chinas efforts to combat food and drug safety crimes.

Therefore， the package of measures have been drawn up， streamlining standards and procedures of work including the transferring of cases from administrative bodies to police， lead sharing and joint investigations of major cases.

According to the document， food and drug safety watchdogs， public security organs and judicial authorities at all levels need to establish a collaboration mechanism in sharing and publishing case information， and will hold regular joint meetings to discuss cases.

Authorities have also called for an online information platform that enables cases of suspected crimes to be transferred， heard and supervised via the Internet.

Innovation Index

The China Innovation Index （CII）， a barometer of innovation capability， rose 3.7 percent year on year in 2014 to 158.2 points， the statistics authority said on December 29， 2015.

The index comprises four subindices， which measure the countrys innovation environment， input， output and effects， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） said in a statement.

The sub-index for environment rose 3.3 percent last year， while that for innovation effects rose 2.8 percent. The sub-indices for input and output rose by 3 percent and 5.2 percent， respectively.

NBS statistician Zhang Peng said that the steady increase of the index shows Chinas new achievement in promoting innovation， amid the governments efforts to promote entrepreneurship and innovation.

Since early 2014， China has cut red tape and lowered entry requirements for enterprises， including lifting restrictions on minimum registered capital and cash ratios of registered funds.

Ice World

People enjoy themselves at the 32nd Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin， capital city of Heilongjiang Province， on January 5. The festival opened in Harbin on the day. The three-month long festival boasts more than 100 events， covering tourism， culture， trade， sports and fashion. More than 100 foreign artists were set to compete in the ice sculpture and LED lighting design competitions.

Internet in Tibet

More than 80 percent of villages in southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region have access to the Internet， according to the latest statistics.

At the end of December 2015， 4，208 villages had broadband， accounting for 80 percent of the total， up from 19.6 percent five years ago， said Chochi， head of the region- al telecommunications department.

The length of optical cable has doubled in five years to reach 114，000 km. About 1.87 million households， or 59 percent of the total， are now able to use the Internet， and the region will expand its 4G network in 2016， according to Chochi.

The plateau region is known as“the roof of the world” due to its average altitude of over 4，000 meters， and building telecommunications infrastructure there is therefore both difficult and costly.

Landing Site Named

The landing site of Chinas first moon lander Change-3 has been named Guanghan Gong or Moon Palace， more than two years after the spacecraft made a successful soft-landing on the moon in December 2013.

Together with three nearby impact craters， the name was approved by the International Astronomical Union （IAU）， Chinas State Administration of Science， Technology and Industry for National Defense announced on January 5.

In Chinese mythology， Change is the goddess of the moon while Guanghan Gong is the palace that houses Change and her pet Yutu， or Jade Rabbit.

A total of 22 lunar features have been given Chinese names. The first crater was named Zu Chongzhi after a famous Chinese mathematician in 1961. Li Chunlai， a member of the naming committee for lunar features， said the coordinates of Guanghan Gong， with a diameter of 154 meters， are 44.12 degrees north latitude and 19.51 degrees west longitude. The crater， along with other features， is included in the area covered by the lunar rover Yutu.

Monkey Stamps

A set of Bingshen Year special stamps for the Year of the Monkey.

China Post on January 5 officially issued the stamps， each with a face value of 1.2 yuan （$0.18）. The Chinese Year of the Monkey， or the lunar Bingshen Year， will begin on February 8.

TCM for HIV/AIDS

Around 12，800 people living with HIV/AIDS （PLWHA） in southwest Chinas Yunnan Province have benefited from a traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） project over the past decade， the local government said on January 5.

Jiang Xu， deputy head of the provinces TCM administration， said the pilot project， which was launched in June 2005， includes a combination of TCM and antiviral therapies as well as herbal remedies， which suppress the virus load and help the immune system.

After comparing data collected from 1，131 PLWHA before and after the TCM treatment， Jiang said more than 40 percent gained weight and 18 percent reported fewer colds.

“TCM treatment can strengthen the immune system and alleviate symptoms such as fever， cough and diarrhea，” said He Lisheng， head of Yunnan Academy of Chinese Medicine.

There were 575，000 PLWHA in China at the end of October last year. Of that number， 87，634 were living in Yunnan.

Freight Increases

The first Changan cargo train in 2016 is ready to set out from Xian， northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province， to Almaty in Kazakhstan on the evening of December 31， 2015.

Since being launched on November 28， 2013， a total of 142 trains have been put into service on the route， with total freight volume for exports reaching 202，000 tons.

Railway Investment

The China Railway Engineering Corp.（CREC） has signed an agreement to invest in a mega infrastructure project in Malaysia.

CREC entered a purchase agreement with its local partner to buy 60-percent equity in the Bandar Malaysia project from state investment firm 1MDB for 7.41 billion Ringgit （$1.72 billion） on December 29， 2015. The company will own 24 percent of the projects equity under the deal.

Located about 7 km from the Kuala Lumpur city center， Bandar Malaysia will serve as the terminal of the proposed high-speed railway between the Malaysian capital and Singapore. It will also serve as the citys central transport hub， linking to other rail lines and new highways.

CREC is one of the worlds largest engineering and construc- tion firms， and also owns a variety of businesses throughout various sectors including industrial manufacturing， real estate development， as well as resources and mineral products. It currently ranks 71st in the Fortune 500， with a turnover exceeding $100 billion per annum.

Liquidity Input

On January 5， Chinas central bank pumped the largest amount of liquidity since September 2015 into the financial system in an effort to ease cash pressure.

The Peoples Bank of China（PBOC） conducted seven-day reverse repurchase （repo） agreements worth 130 billion yuan （$19.83 billion）. When enacting the reverse repo， the central bank purchases securities from banks with an agreement to resell them to the banks in the future.

The reverse repo was priced to yield 2.25 percent， unchanged from the yield of a net injection in the previous week of 10 billion yuan（$1.53 billion） using reverse repos， according to a PBOC statement.

The move aims to ease a shortterm liquidity shortage， which was caused by drops in new yuan funds outstanding for foreign exchange.

New yuan funds outstanding for foreign exchange refer to the amount of yuan Chinese banks put into the domestic market when they acquire foreign currencies from individuals or companies. It is an important indicator of foreign capital flow in and out of China as well as domestic yuan liquidity.

At the end of November 2015， the figure of new yuan funds outstanding for foreign exchange fell by 315.8 billion yuan （$48.19 billion） from a month earlier， the second largest monthly drop on record， according to the latest data from the PBOC.

The indicator has been falling since the beginning of 2015， except for the month of October. In addition， the decrease reached 318.35 billion yuan （$48.58 billion） last August， the largest monthly drop in history.

Curbing Pollution

Three steel manufacturers in the east Chinas Shandong Province—Taishan Steel， Weifang Special Steel Group and Jinan Steel—have retained environmental technology firms KC Cottrell， POSCO ICT， J-E Tech， all from the Republic of Korea （ROK）， in respective deals totaling 81.99 million yuan （$12.51 million） in an effort to reduce pollution emissions.

The manufacturing of industrial products has been a major contributor to the suffocating levels of smog that often covers much of China during winter. The Chinese Government has been pushing for environmental protection as an alternative industry in order to maintain sustainable growth.

The concentration of heavy industry in Shandong means there is huge demand for environmental services， said Ge Weiyan， Deputy Director of the Shandong Environmental Protection Bureau. He added that the province is eying further cooperation with ROK firms for environmental protection.

Wandas Acquisition

Its been reported that Chinas real estate and investment conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group had reached a deal to acquire a majority stake in the U.S. movie studio Legendary Entertainment.

The deal， which could be announced soon， values Legendary Entertainment at $3 billion-4 billion.

Wanda will own just over half of Legendary， with studio founder and CEO Thomas Tull and key management figures owning smaller stakes.

Tull and his team are expected to remain in charge of the companys operations， and its reported that Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin had been holding talks with Tull since June 2015.

The deal marks another big step in Wandas push to become a global entertainment giant.

Wanda acquired AMC Entertainment， the second-largest cinema chain in the United States， for $2.6 billion in August 2012.

Egging on Growth

A worker collects eggs at the Furong Chicken Raising Cooperative in Bohu County， Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， on January 5.

Since being established in 2003， the cooperative has stuck to an operational model that integrates itself with the local chicken raising bases and farmers. Now， its annual output of eggs has almost hit 2，000 tons， with products widely sold to the rest of China.

Rural Modernization

China will speed up integrative development of primary， secondary and tertiary industries in rural regions to increase farmersincome and modernize agriculture， according to a set of guidelines released by the State Council on December 30， 2015.

China will accelerate agricultural restructuring， extend rural industrial chains， encourage cooperatives and family farms， bring in private capital， transform financial services， and improve infrastructure， according to the guidelines.

The document asked governments to strengthen financial and fiscal support and launch pilot programs to explore practical modes of operation.

Rural industries should be markedly improved by 2020， with complete industrial chains， coordinated urban-rural development and stronger competitiveness in agriculture， according to the guidelines.

Insurance Fund

A fund that mobilizes insurance company capital for infrastructure has been set up with an initial pool of 40 billion yuan （$6.1 billion）， Chinas insurance watchdog said on January 4.

The fund will be managed by the newly established China Insurance Investment Co. Ltd. with 1.2 billion yuan （$183 million） of registered capital. The company is composed of 46 corporate share- holders including 27 insurers， 15 insurance assets management firms and four private companies， according to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Among its first investments， the fund will help the China Merchants Steam Navigation Co. with overseas port projects. It will also support liquefied natural gas projects with Russia.

The fund was approved by the State Council， Chinas cabinet in July 2015， and is expected to ultimately reach 300 billion yuan （$45.78 billion）. It is designed to facilitate strategic projects such as housing renovation， urban infrastructure development， water conservation， as well as building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road （Belt and Road Initiative）. It can also invest in emerging industries， logistics， healthcare， information technology， environmental protection， as well as small and medium-sized enterprises.

Chinas PMI

Chinas factory activity picked up slightly in the last month of 2015 but remained in contraction as downward pressure persisted in the manufacturing sector， official data showed on December 30， 2015.

The manufacturing purchasing managers index （PMI） came in at 49.7 in December 2015， up from 49.6 in the previous month， according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. A reading above 50 indicates expansion， while anything under 50 represents a contraction.

The production sub-index was posted at 52.2 in the month， up from 51.9 in November 2015， showing an accelerated growth in production. In addition， the sub-index for new orders came at 50.2， back into expansion territory and up from 49.8 in the previous month， indicating that demand had improved slightly.

On the other hand， Chinas service sector activity rose in December 2015 for the second month running.

The PMI for the non-manufacturing sector jumped to 54.1 from 53.9 a month earlier.

Meanwhile， the sub-index for the construction industry fell to 57.1 from 58.9 in November 2015， whereas the sub-index for services rose to 53.3 from 52.6 in the previous month.

The new order sub-index for the entire non-manufacturing sector rose to 50.5 in December 2015 from the last months 50.1.

Working on The Railway

Workers toil at the construction site of the suburban rail transit line in Zhengzhou， capital of Henan Province， on December 31， 2015. The line runs 31.7 km and has 14 stations. It will link Zhengzhous ring road networks with its airport.