Snow Day

Children attend the World Snow Day activity at a resort in Beijing on January 17.

Twenty ski resorts across China organized activities for World Snow Day， which is part of the international FIS Campaign Bring Children to the Snow. It is an annual snow festival for children and their families.

Online Fraud

China has seen increased online fraud， particularly in the field of peer-to-peer （P2P） lending， in the past year according to a new report published by online security company Liewang. The company handled 24，886 reports of online fraud， worth a total of 127 million yuan （$19 million） in 2015. Per-capita claims were 5，106 yuan （$774）， about 1.5 times the number in 2014， it said.

Around 37 million yuan （$5.6 million） of the claims were based on online finance fraud， while others were related to fake employment ads， gaming and fraudulent prize schemes， the company said.

P2P lending is done without a financial intermediary such as a bank， and the practice has grown quickly in China. Statistics show China has about 2，595 P2P platforms across the country， an increase of 1，020 compared with 2014.

Top Patent List

China handled more patent applications for inventions than any other country for the fifth year running in 2015， according to official data released on January 14.

According to figures from the State Intellectual Property Office（SIPO）， the country had over 1.1 million patent applications last year， up 18.7 percent year on year.

About 359，000 invention patents were authorized， 263，000 of which were granted to domestic applicants， 100，000 more than in 2014， said Gong Yalin， an official with the SIPO， at a press conference. Of all the invention patents authorized in 2015， 60.5 percent went to Chinese enterprises， an annual increase of 4.1 percentage points. Moreover， the SIP data showed that the number of patent applications filed by Chinese for inventions more than doubled in the past five years. Despite the overall increase in patent applications， China still lags behind foreign countries in some fields， including optics and engines， Gong said.

Attracting Talents

China attracted some 3 million foreign experts during the five-year period from 2011 to 2015， an official said in Beijing on January 19.

This is an increase of 30 percent from the 2006-10 period， said Zhang Jianguo， Director of the State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs， at a conference.

A total of 313 foreign experts have been invited to China since the country launched a recruitment program dubbed the “1，000 plan”in 2011. China has also relaxed its visa policies to attract more overseas talent.

The country will recruit more high-caliber talent to help economic and social development， stated Zhang.

Verified Living Buddhas in China

China launched an online system to check the authenticity of living Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism on January 18， as a growing number of fake Buddhas swindle money from believers.

The inquiry system can be found at the official website of the State Administration for Religious Affairs， www.sara.gov.cn， and www. tibet.cn. The first group of 870 verified living Buddhas was published on the day of the systems unveiling.

It is the first time information on the countrys religious leaders has been accessible via the Internet.

The system was put in place to counter fraudulency， which undermines the reputation of living Buddhas and Tibetan Buddhism.

Water Conservation

China will push forward water conservation projects over the next five years in order to boost investment and stabilize growth， Chen Lei， the Minister of Water Resources， recently told Xinhua News Agency.

Twenty major water projects are scheduled to start in 2016， and a total of 172 key water projects will be pushed forward in the coming five years， according to the minister.

In addition to saving water， these projects will boost employment， improve rural incomes， support local industries and stabilize economic growth， said Chen.

The minister also said that the new projects should welcome private investment and water must be made more affordable to farmers.

Some 238 billion yuan （$36 billion） was spent on water conservancy projects in poor areas from 2011 to 2015， government data showed. From 2011 to 2015， safe drinking water was provided to 247 million rural residents and 34.37 million students and teachers in the countryside.

China is still plagued by the un-even distribution of water resources， floods and droughts， and lags behind the global average for water resources per capita.

Health Levels Rise

Chinese residents now enjoy the same level of health， on average， as people in medium- and high-income countries， said Xiong Huang， Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the National Health and Family Planning Commission， at a press conference in Beijing on January 15.

Xiong revealed that the average life expectancy of Chinese is estimated to be one year more than in 2010， while the maternal mortality rate fell to 21.7 per 100，000 in 2014 from 30 per 100，000 in 2010， and infant mortality dropped to 8.9 per 1，000 in 2014 from 13.1 per 1，000 in 2010.

Xiong emphasized that China had realized the UN Millennium Development Goals （MDGs） ahead of schedule in terms of maternal mortality and infant mortality.

Additionally， Xiong said coverage of the medical insurance scheme stabilized at more than 95 percent of the total population.

Maiden Dive

Chinas unmanned submersible Qianlong 2 completed its first-ever dive as it entered the Southwest Indian Ocean， the China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association reported on January 14. The underwater robot was independently designed by Chinese scientists and can dive to a depth of 4，500 meters.

In its maiden voyage， the Qianlong 2 entered a mineral-rich area of the ocean and then remained underwater for about nine hours， having explored the areas landforms and hydrothermal sulfides and magnetism.

According to the association， the dive is part of a final test for the submersible to be put into practical use.

Most Geoparks

China now has more global geoparks than any other country in the world. Of the worlds 120 global geoparks listed by the Global Geoparks Network （GGN）， assisted by the UN Educational， Scientific and Cultural Organization （UNESCO）， 33 are in China， said Guan Fengjun， an official with the Ministry of Land and Resources， at a training program on geoparks management and development in Beijing.

A geopark is an area that protects geological heritage in a sustainable way， while maintaining the economic wellbeing of people in its vicinity. There are national geoparks and global geoparks， with the latter of international significance.

China launched a campaign to build national geoparks in the 1990s， and has issued a series of laws and regulations in the years that followed， effectively enhancing their quality and management. There are currently 189 national geoparks in the country， while another 52 have been approved for construction， according to Guan.

China is one of the founding members of the GGN， and began applying for recognition of its global geoparks in 2003.

Pandassadors

Zhang Zhihe （left）， head of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in the capital city of southwest Chinas Sichuan Province， and Agi Veres （right）， Country Director of the United Nations Development Program（UNDP） in China， attend the signing ceremony for a pair of twin pandas to become the UNDPs first ever animal goodwill ambassadors at the base on January 17. The cubs， born on September 16 last year， are both female. A global contest is underway to name them.

Awarded Teachers

Jack Ma （left）， Chairman of Chinas largest e-commerce business Alibaba Group， presents the trophy to a winner of the Jack Ma Rural Teachers Award in Sanya， a tourism resort in south Chinas Hainan Province， on January 17.

It is the first awarding ceremony of the Jack Ma Rural Teachers Award with 100 rural teachers from Yunnan， Guizhou and Sichuan provinces in southwest China， and northwest Chinas Shaanxi and Gansu provinces and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region each winning the award of 100，000 yuan （$15，246）.

Ebola Breakthrough

Chinese scientists have discovered how the Ebola virus enters cells and infects humans， marking a major breakthrough in the battle against the virus after the deadly outbreak in West Africa in March 2014.

The research， published by the scientific journal Cell， provides a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of Ebola， offering a new direction for drug development.

Based on the new discoveries， researchers will be able to develop small-molecule or polypeptide inhibitors targeting the fusion trigger， preventing Ebola entry at the very beginning， said Gao Fu， a researcher with the Institute of Microbiology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention， who led the research team.

WTO Ruling

The World Trade Organization （WTO） on January 19 confirmed its ruling that the EUs imposition of antidumping measures on certain iron or steel fasteners from China was illicit， ending a seven-year legal battle which saw Chinese exports of screws， nuts and bolts to the EU plummet.

Following the imposition of EU duties on the Chinese imports， China said in 2009 that strict rules regulating the implementation of antidumping measures had not been respected.

This saw the WTO rule in favor of Chinese claims against EU tariff policies in both 2010 and 2011， though China deemed subsequent EU compliance measures as insufficient.

This prompted China to return to the WTO to ask for the establishment of a compliance panel to decide whether or not the EU policies were legal under its framework.

Having appealed to the WTOs August 2015 decision that their policies were illegal， the EU also lost its compliance appellate body report appeal on January 18， giving reason to Chinas qualms toward the EUs trade policy.

Following the WTO ruling， the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on January 18 said that the antidumping measures had affected Chinese exports worth $1 billion and more than 100，000 jobs in China， resulting in huge economic losses for the industry.

The ministry urged the EU to respect the latest ruling， otherwise，“China reserves the rights to take further action under the WTO framework.”

Independent Innovation

A batch of railroad maintenance equipment made by CRCC High-Tech Equipment Corp. Ltd. is ready to be delivered. Since selling its first large railroad maintenance machine in 1989， the company had made more than 2，300 of such machines as of the end of 2015， grasping 80 percent of the Chinese market.

RRR for Foreign Banks

Chinas central bank decided to normalize the reserve requirements for deposits placed by overseas financial institutions at their branches in the country starting from January 25， according to a statement released by the Peoples Bank of China （PBOC） on January 18.

Overseas financial institutions do not include central banks and other similar agencies such as of- ficial reserve managers， international financial organizations and sovereign wealth funds.

The PBOC set the reserve requirement ratio （RRR） for such institutions at zero in December 2014， but the ratio will now be “normalized.”

The move will not affect domestic yuan liquidity， the PBOC said in the statement.

Setting a normal RRR for overseas financial institutions will “help subdue the cyclical movement of cross-border yuan funds and guide overseas financial institutions in strengthening their management of yuan liquidity，” the statement said.

Industrial Upgrading

China should promote innovation and development in the processing trade to help the industry move up the global value chain by 2020， the State Council said January 18.

The country aims to improve value-added and technology in the sector and enhance its services and branding， the cabinet said in a document.

To realize this goal， authorities should stabilize the expectations of foreign investors and support them to invest in China to attract more advanced manufacturing and emerging industries， it said.

The processing sector， in which raw materials are imported to China and re-exported as finished products， accounts for over 30 percent of Chinas foreign trade. The industry has suffered as global demand sagged and Chinas economy slowed.

The State Council said that China should continue to develop and upgrade its processing trade in areas with existing advantages， such as textiles， shoes， furniture， plastic products and toys.

Housing Prices

Chinas real estate sector has seen further improvements in December 2015， with more major cities report-ing month-on-month rises in new home prices， according to the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） on January 18.

In the month， the 70 large and medium-sized cities surveyed had recorded an average year-on-year price increase of 7.7 percent for new homes and 7.6 percent for existing home prices， said Liu Jianwei， a senior statistician with the NBS. The growth rates were up 1.2 percentage points and 1.4 percentage points respectively from November.

Of the 70 cities， new home prices climbed month-on-month in 39， up from 33 in the previous month. Meanwhile， 27 reported month-onmonth price declines， level with last November， according to NBS data.

On a yearly basis， 21 cities posted new home price increases and 49 reported falls， the same as that of November.

Hi-tech Acquisition

The Aerospace Hi-Tech Holding Group Co. Ltd. of China announced on January 19 plans to acquire stakes in three firms for a combined 1.75 billion yuan （$267 million） to obtain a controlling share of two European electronics suppliers.

The Chinese aerospace products manufacturer will acquire the stakes of Hiwinglux and Navilight， which hold significant shares of All Circuits（AC）， as well as a 97-percent stake in IEE， through cash and by issuing stocks， it said.

IEE and AC are both leading European electronics suppliers. IEE specializes in auto safety sensing technology and AC leads in passenger identity recognition.

Aerospace Hi-tech， affiliated with the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp.， is a listed company on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Server JV

Qualcomm Inc. and the government of southwest Chinas Guizhou Province unveiled on January 17 a$280-million joint venture for the design， development and sale of advanced server technology.

Representatives of both sides signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Beijing and announced the formation of the Guizhou Huaxintong Semi-Conductor Technology Co. Ltd.， a joint venture with initial capital of 1.85 billion yuan（$280 million）.

Qualcomm will also establish an investment company in Guizhou that will serve as a vehicle for future investment in China.

The joint venture， cooperation agreement and formation of an investment company are important steps for Qualcomm as it deepens its cooperation and investment in China， said Derek Aberle， President of Qualcomm Inc.

Bridge Connected

The longest bridge on the railway linking Lianyungang and Yancheng of east Chinas Jiangsu Province is connected， marking major progress in the construction of the railway project. The 234-km line， an important section of the countrys coastal railway corridor， is expected to be put into operation in the second half of 2017.

U.S. Presence

The relationship between Chinese and U.S. economies continued to grow in 2015， with China surpassing Canada to become the United Stateslargest trading partner in November， the China General Chamber of Commerce-U.S.A. （CGCC） said on January 19.

More than 800，000 American jobs depend on goods and services sold to China， the CGCC said in the 2015 White Paper， in a notable sign that trade relations with China helped boost the U.S. economy and local jobs market.

Meanwhile， Chinese direct investment in the United States in 2015 is expected to have exceeded the$10 billion benchmark for the third year since 2013， totaling nearly $60 billion since 2000， said the CGCC， the largest non-profit organization representing Chinese enterprises in the United States.

By 2015， there were more than 2，000 Chinese firms settling in the United States with a total investment of nearly $60 billion， according to Zhu Hong， Minister for Commercial Affairs at the Chinese Embassy to the United States.

Chinese companies were benefiting from economic growth in the United States， the White Paper said， citing that 60 percent of respondents to the CGCC survey noted that their annual revenues increased in 2014.

Solar Expansion

A solar power station on the barrens at Nuyang County， central Chinas Henan Province， is connected to the electricity grid at the end of 2015. It consists of 120，000 solar panels and is expected to generate 33.56 million kilowatt-hours per year.