Butter and Buddhas

People visit butter sculptures at the Taer Monastery in Huangzhong County of northwest Chinas Qinghai Province on February 22.

The monastery is the birth place of Tsongkhapa， founder of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism.

New Staple Food

China will further boost its potato production to make the tuber one of the nations staple foods， the Ministry of Agriculture （MOA） said on February 23.

By 2020， China will have more than 6.67 million hectares of potatoplanting areas， 30 percent of which can be processed into staple food， according to a document released by the MOA.

To achieve the goal， China will better plan the planting of potatoes by taking local resources into account， while diversifying staple foods based on market demand， improving support for staple food production， and modernizing food processing.

In terms of water and land usage， the potato industry will not interfere with growth of Chinas top three staple crops—rice， wheat and corn.

China is the worlds largest potato producer， with a planting area of around 5.6 million hectares.

Reservoir Expansion

The largest desert reservoir in Asia， the Hongyashan， in northwest Chinas Gansu Province， will expand its storage capacity by 49 percent to ease desertification in the region， local authorities said on February 19. The reservoir， located in the middle reaches of the Shiyang River， will have its capacity increased to 148 million cubic meters， according to the provincial water resources department.

The reservoir will transmit 27.2 million cubic meters of water every year to the Qingtu Lake to meet the local demand.

The height of the dams will be increased starting in February， and 117 hectares of trees will be planted by the reservoir to mitigate the wind and sand erosion， according to the department.

The expansion is imperative because the reservoir， built in 1958， has accumulated 33.18 million cubic meters of sediment， a third of its storage capacity.

The region is one of the major sources of sand storms in northwest China. The reservoir is vital to prevent the desertification of the locality.

Home Purchase Tax

China cut deed and business taxes for home purchases in most cities in an attempt to digest the property glut， an official statement said on February 19.

The Ministry of Finance said that houses above 90 square meters will be levied a deed tax at 1.5 percent of the house price for first-time buyers in all Chinese cities， down from the current 2 percent.

In terms of the second home purchase， tax rates will be 1 percent for those under 90 square meters and 2 percent for larger homes in cities excluding Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Previously， the rate was 3 percent， regardless of floor space.

In addition， sales of houses held for more than two years will be exempt from business tax everywhere except the above-mentioned metropolises， said the statement.

The tax adjustment will assist home sales and inventory reduction， and more support for the market can be expected， according to a research note from Minsheng Securities.

In early February， the central bank loosened rules on down payments for home purchases in cities with no restrictions and allowed lenders and local authorities to decide on their own deposit requirements.

The country has made destocking the property inventory one of this years major economic tasks， as an ailing housing market could derail the economy， which is growing at the slowest rate in a quarter of a century.

The new policy took effect on February 22.

Housing Facelift

Beijing will transform its run-down neighborhoods to benefit 35，000 families in 2016， authorities said on February 23.

The task will be carried out mainly in the capitals districts of Dongcheng， Xicheng， Chaoyang， Haidian， Fengtai and Shijingshan， where families will be relocated or see their homes renovated. Other work will be conducted in the sub-urbs， according to the Beijing Major Projects Construction Headquarters Office.

In January alone， Beijing has spent about 1 billion yuan （$153 million） on renovations， with 2，893 households having their homes renovated or moving into new ones.

Over the past four years， more than 20 million units of affordable housing have been built across the country， and 12 million more are under construction， with supportive funds for building these houses reaching 710 billion yuan （$109 billion）.

R&D Reward

China has created policies to encourage the countrys scientists to translate their research into commercial products.

The policies were laid out at the regular State Council executive meeting on February 17， which was presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.

According to the policies approved at the meeting， statesponsored research institutions and universities will generally have autonomy in transferring their scientific outcomes to enterprises or social organizations， without having to file applications.

All revenue generated from the work may be reserved by the research institutions or universities， which shall be used mainly for rewarding scientists， advancing research and industrial applications.

Reward money should constitute no less than 50 percent of the net income earned from transferring scientific outcomes to enterprises or other social organizations， as well as stock shares gained. Major contributing researchers should take no less than 50 percent of the total rewards.

The new policies also allow scientists and researchers to take parttime jobs in enterprises to convert their discoveries into products， and they may temporarily leave their posts to start their own businesses.

Lander Woke Up

Chinas first moon lander， the Change-3， awakened automatically on February 18 after “sleeping”during the lunar night， entering its 28th lunar day， Chinas State Administration of Science， Technology and Industry for National Defense （SASTIND） announced on February 19.

One lunar day lasts approximately 14 Earth days.

The spacecraft has stood the test of extreme low temperatures during 27 lunar nights since its successful soft landing on the moon in December 2013， according to a statement by SASTIND.

Although the moon lander has already exceeded its design life by 14 months， the astronomical telescope and other surveying devices it is carrying still work well.

The engineering and scientific data it has transmitted will pave the way for scientific research and future lunar probes， and the data is globally accessible， SASTIND said.

SASTIND also said that preparation for the countrys next lunar probe mission， the Change-5， is under way， and it is expected to be launched around 2017.

The Change-5 probe will be tasked with landing on the moon， collecting samples and returning to Earth.

Bright and Colorful

A monkey figure lantern attracts many visitors at a celebration for the traditional Lantern Festival in Fuzhou， Fujian Province， on February 19.

The Lantern Festival fell on February 22 this year. Traditionally， people eat sticky rice dumplings on this important family reunion day.

Themed Post

A themed post office is unveiled in FAW-Volkswagen， which located in Changchun， Jilin Province， on February 19.

Cooperatively created by FAW-Volkswagen and China Post， it is the first post office themed with the automobile industry in China.

Power Grid Upgrades

China will start a new round of electricity power grid upgrades in rural areas to ensure nationwide coverage of stable supply by 2020， according to a State Council notice released on February 22.

The upgrades are aimed at meeting both demand from agriculture and household consumption. The project will address problems like low voltage and insufficient supply.

The urban-rural gap remains big in China， with many villages still lacking reliable water and power supplies. By the end of 2017， all village wells should be powered from the grid.

An earlier State Council meeting pledged to spend more than 700 billion yuan （$107 billion） on rural power grid upgrades.

City Planning

On February 21， China issued a set of guidelines on urban development.

The document sets the basic principles， key tasks and targets for future urban development and management， aiming to ensure that cities are “orderly constructed， properly developed， and efficiently operated.”

At the end of 2015， 56.1 percent of the Chinese population lived in cities.

Urbanization in the past few decades has brought about significant social and economic changes in China， spawning problems including traffic jams， pollution and compromised public safety.

The guidelines said that China will limit cities from growing beyond the means of their natural resources and environment.

It also called on planners to differentiate cities through unique landscape modeling based on local characteristics.

Aside from the exterior of buildings， factors including resource and energy conservation as well as environmental protection should also be taken into account in the process of designing and constructing， according to the guidelines.

As part of efforts to provide low-income urban residents with affordable housing， China aims to complete the renovation of rundown urban areas and dilapidated housing by 2020.

Bustling and Rustling

A vendor in the China Commodity City in Yiwu， Zhejiang Province， talks with a Yemeni businessman on February 23， the first business day of the wholesale marketplace after the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.

Roughly 77 percent of commercial tenants in the market started operation on the day， while over 217，600 consumers came to buy commodities.

Capital Exports

China overtook Germany in net capital exports in 2015， according to a report on February 22 by the Ifo Institute for Economic Research， a German think tank.

According to Ifo， China looks set to become the new number one with net capital exports of $293 billion from an international perspective. Germany followed suit with exports of around $280 billion， meaning that German capital exports look set to fall below those of China for the first time since May 2010.

The report noted that Germanys net capital exports had actually hit a new record in 2015， which rose to 8.3 percent of its annual economic output for the year， following 7.3 percent in 2014.

According to the EU， a level of 6 percent is sustainable in the long term， which means that Germany remains by far the greatest lender of new funds on both sides of the Atlantic to the debt-afflicted countries.

“This development was driven by goods exports， which accounted for a surplus of 262 billion euros， also marking a new record，” the Munich-based think tank added. In addition， considering the low price of oil and the weak euro， Ifo predicted that Germanys current account surplus will continue to rise in 2016 and that it is once again very likely to be higher than 8 percent of its annual economic output.

Land Ban

China has banned local governments from borrowing from banks to finance land purchases and preparations for property development， an official statement said on February 23.

Local governments must reduce the number of institutions responsible for land reserves， whittling down the many departments to just one， according to the statement， which was jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance， Ministry of Land and Resources， Peoples Bank of China and China Banking Regulatory Commission.

Land reserve institutions should no longer have financing， construction or land development arms， and these departments should be closed or turned into enterprises， it said. This task should be finished before the end of this year， according to the statement.

The statement clarified that local governments with large swathes of land should slow down or even stop adding new reserves to improve land use and cut debt pressure.

Red Tape Cut

The State Council， Chinas cabinet， has decided to abolish another 13 administrative approval procedures to reduce intervention in the economy.

The procedures released on February 23 involve finance and business qualification reviews.

The move will help revitalize the economy and boost growth， the State Council said in a statement.

Departments of the State Council have canceled or delegated 599 administrative approval procedures since March 2013， meeting the target to cut the number of red tape measures by one third within the five-year term of this government ahead of schedule.

Spring Farming

A farmer covers a potato land with plastic film in a village in Zoucheng， Shandong Province， on February 23.

CPI and PPI

Amid growing concerns over the“new mediocrity” of the global economy， Chinas latest economic data provides evidence that the worlds second largest economy is resilient and full of vigor and vitality.

Chinas consumer price index（CPI）， a main gauge of inflation， grew 1.8 percent year on year in January， up from a rise of 1.6 percent in December while hitting a fivemonth high， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） said in a statement on February 18.

Meanwhile， the producer price index （PPI）， which measures wholesale inflation， dropped for the 47th consecutive month to 5.3 percent in January， but the reading eased from the 5.9-percent contraction seen from August to December 2015， according to the NBS.

Many overseas economists have noted that despite existing challenges， there is still ample room for macroeconomic regulatory maneuvers for Chinese policymakers.

They also pointed out that weaker output of certain industries in China is a result of “necessary adjustment.”

Trade Friction

China will protect the legitimate rights of its tire makers， the Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM） said on February 20 in response to a recent trade probe by the United States.

On February 19， the U.S. Department of Commerce launched an anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation into tires for trucks and buses imported from China.

The decision was “groundless”and China has expressed serious concerns， according to a MOFCOM statement. Moreover， the charges were filed regardless of opposition from some key tire makers in the United States， and its domestic tire companies are earning a healthy profit， it said.

Since 2007， the United States has launched a number of trade remedy investigations against Chinese tire manufacturers， which have severely hindered exports and the industry， said MOFCOM.

The ministry also stressed that China has always been against any abuse of trade remedy measures， and hopes the United States can cautiously deal with the case to maintain healthy trade cooperation in related sectors between the two countries.

EV Factory

Chinese automaker Chery began work on a new plant capable of making 60，000 purely electric vehicles per year in east Chinas Anhui Province on February 23.

The 1.56-billion-yuan（$240-million） factory in Wuhu will produce electric vehicles with aluminum alloy frames.

The first phase of construction is set to be completed in September and will produce 10，000 electric cars each year. The first model of this production line will be a small SUV.

The second phase of construction is scheduled for completion by the end of next year.

Chery began selling electric cars in 2008. The company aims to boost its annual sales of new-energy vehicles to 200，000 units by 2020. The figure in 2015 was 14，000 units.

Mobile World Congress

Streams of people visit an exhibition booth of ZTE， a Chinese telecommunications equipment maker， at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona， Spain， on February 22.

New Partnership

Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Co. Ltd.， a diesel engine manufacturer based in Yulin， Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China， has decided to establish a 50-50 joint venture with MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH， a subsidiary of the Rolls-Royce Power Systems， for the production of MTU diesel engines in China.

The Chinese diesel engine maker and its German partner will invest 75 million yuan （$11.5 million） each in the project. Production is expected to start in 2017 with an annual output of 1，500 MTU Series 400 diesel engines.

The engines are compliant with China Tier 3 emission standards with power outputs ranging from 1，400 to 3，490 kW and are primarily aimed at the Chinese off-highway market， said Ulrich Dohle， President of MTU.

They will be particularly suited to applications in power generation as well as the oil and gas industry， he said.

The joint venture will provide new growth opportunities for the two companies in China and elsewhere in Asia.