Tackling Climate Change

Zhang Yong， Vice Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission， speaks at the opening ceremony of the Second China-U.S. Climate-Smart/Low-Carbon Cities Summit in Beijing on June 7. State Councilor Yang Jiechi and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry both made speeches during the summit， calling for more cooperation on low-carbon development. Senior representatives from over 50 Chinese and U.S. cities attended the event.

Family Doctors

China is planning to extend family doctor services to the entire population by 2020 and ensure more convenient health services for residents who have signed contracts with such doctors.

In 2016， 200 Chinese cities that are piloting public hospital reforms will introduce family doctor service contracts， according to a set of guidelines issued on June 6， which also encourage other regions to conduct similar pilot programs.

Priority groups include seniors， pregnant women， children， people with disabilities， patients with chronic diseases like hypertension， diabetes and tuberculosis， as well as those with severe mental disorders， says the document issued by the Medical Reform Office under the State Council， the National Health and Family Planning Commission and four other agencies.

By 2017， more than 30 percent of the entire population， including over 60 percent of the priority groups， will be able to enjoy contractual services from family doctors， it says.

Family doctors， including general practitioners registered with community-level health institutions， qualified doctors at township clinics and village doctors， will provide basic medical care and other health services for residents.

Innovative Finance

The Chinese Government has pledged to give more budget support for technological innovation. The government will simplify budgeting for research projects， increase incentives for researchers and relax the management of equipment purchases， said a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council， the countrys cabinet， on June 1.

In addition， research and development institutions will enjoy preferential treatment in land use.

Transparent Deals

Central-level government departments will release more information on government procurement for public scrutiny and make the bidding process fairer， said Li Baorong， head of the National Government Offices Administration， on June 3.

“With price and quality as two key factors， we will design a procurement credibility evaluation system for all suppliers，” Li said.

According to Li， enterprises found guilty of misconduct， such as conspiring with buyers to win bids， supplying inferior goods or breaking contracts， will be banned from competing for government procurement for a certain period of time.

Those who try to influence purchase decisions will also be struck off consultation lists.

“Government workers should maintain their integrity when defining purchase demands， organizing bids and supervising the implementation of contracts，” Li noted， adding that those who allowed mistakes during the procurement process will be held accountable.

According to Lis administration， central-level government departments spent 98.6 billion yuan （$15 billion） in government procurement between 2011 and 2015， saving nearly 14.9 billion yuan （$2.3 billion）—a 38.2-percent increase compared with the previous five-year period.

Li cited made-in-China products， privately owned firms， small and medium-sized enterprises， as well as underdeveloped and ethnic minority regions as key factors when making purchase choices.

Monitoring Headwaters

The air and water quality in the headwater areas of Chinas three major rivers is excellent， according to the latest monitoring results.

The water quality of the upper trunk streams and main tributaries of the Yangtze， Yellow and Lancang rivers reaches Level II or better standards， according to a fiveyear monitoring report released by the Environmental Protection Department of northwest Chinas Qinghai Province on June 3.

The Lancang River is known as the Mekong as it passes through Myanmar， Laos， Thailand， Cambodia and Viet Nam.

Fresh water quality at or above Level II standards in China means the water is drinkable without being treated. The conclusion was based on the results from 40 monitoring sections between 2011 and 2015，according to the Environmental Protection Department of Qinghai. The results also indicate that Chinas ecosystem protection project， which was launched in 2005， is effective. The three waterways are essential to Chinese and Asian aquatic ecosystems. Their headwaters are also highly vulnerable to global climate change.

Future Satellites

China will put five new satellites into space within around five years as part of the countrys fast-expanding space science program， a senior scientist said on June 1.

The five satellites， including a Sino-European joint mission， will focus on the observation of solar activities and their impact on Earths environment and space weather， analysis of water recycling and probes of black holes， according to Wu Ji， Director of the National Space Science Center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

“They are expected to make major breakthroughs in these fields，”Wu said.

Insurance for Orphans

More than 60，000 orphans were granted free health insurance on June 1. The children， including Tibetans from the plateau province of Qinghai， are the latest beneficiaries of a program launched in July 2009 by the Ministry of Civil Affairs （MCA） and the China Children Insurance Foundation （CCIF）.

The insurance， which is covered by donations and lasts for at least 12 months， is for underprivileged children and MCA-registered orphans. More than 440，000 orphans have benefited from the program since its inception， according to Hu Heidi， CCIF Managing Director.

CCIF has already issued more than 1.2 million insurance contracts for orphans from 24 provinciallevel regions. Each child is insured for 100，000 yuan （$15，200） at a premium of 50 yuan （$7.59） per year to cover the cost of treating 12 critical diseases， including malignant tumors and conditions requiring organ or stem cell transplants.

Officially， China has more than 570，000 orphans. However， the actual number is believed to be much higher， as those living in remote areas or who have relocated to cities with migrant worker relatives may not be counted.

Exam Spirit

A student signs her name on a classmates school uniform at the Maotanchang High School in Luan City， Anhui Province， on June 4.

Nearly 20，000 students of the Maotanchang High School （including Jinan High School） took part in this years national college entrance exam， or gaokao， on June 7-9.

Colorful Sheep

Researchers in Urumqi， Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， have bred five sheep with different colors with the gene editing technique， known as CRISPR-Cas9.

According to Liu Mingjun， head of the research team， this is the first time that scientists have altered the coat colors of large animals via CRISPRCas9. Previous experiments on color alteration have been limited to mice.

With CRISPR-Cas9， consumers may purchase more wool products of various colors with no dye needed， and pet keepers can also order their pets with customized fur coloring， he said.

Lius team selected ASIP， a key gene affecting the color of sheep fleece， to edit for the desired colors.

CRISPR， short for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats， was chosen as the 2015 Breakthrough of the Year by the U.S. journal Science， as it acts as a type of molecular scissors able to selectively trim away unwanted genome parts and replace them with new DNA stretches. Cas9 is a specific kind of CRISPR-associated protein， with which genetic patterns can be altered by genome modification.

“The application to large animals indicates more strains of animals， not limited to livestock， will be developed via the approach， with different patterns not limited to coat colors，” Liu explained.

According to him， compared with traditional gene mutation approaches， in which researchers take decades to breed a new strain， gene editing is much more effective.

Group Yoga

Expectant mothers gather to practice yoga at a stadium in Hefei， Anhui Province， on June 5.

A total of 913 pregnant women participated in the activity， which was designed to improve their physical fitness.

Chinas PMI

The purchasing managers index（PMI） for the manufacturing sector came in at 50.1 in May， the same as in April， according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics（NBS） and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing on June 1.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion， while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.

NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe said that the countrys manufacturing activity maintained steady growth in May， partly due to the expansion of hi-tech and consumer goods manufacturing.

Hi-tech manufacturing PMI hit 50.8 and consumer goods manufacturing PMI stood at 51.5.

Meanwhile， business activity in Chinas non-manufacturing sector expanded at a slower pace in May.

The PMI for the non-manufacturing sector came in at 53.1 in May， down from 53.5 in April and 53.8 in March.

The non-manufacturing PMI tracks business activity in both the service sector and the construction industry. The service sector subindex was 52 in May， down 0.5 percentage points from April.

New RRR Rules

The latest adjustment to the calculation of the reserve requirement ratio（RRR） for banks by Chinas central bank will help smooth liquidity and facilitate the offshore yuan market， according to a research note.

The Peoples Bank of China announced on June 3 that as of July 15， the RRR calculation will be based on the average daily outstanding deposits， rather than the deposit level at the date of assessment.

Calculating the RRR on offshore yuan deposits held onshore will also be based on the average of such deposit holdings in the previous quarter， not just the holdings at the quarter-end.

China International Capital Corp. （CICC） said on June 4 in a note that the new refinement will help smooth liquidity because the RRR will be weakened as it is a potential source of liquidity shock.

The central bank started to monitor the average reserve holdings of banks last September but still assessed the adequacy relative to their outstanding deposits at the as- sessment date. Liquidity shocks may come when commercial banks fight to meet the reserve requirement when the assessment date nears.

In the future， this assessment will be made against the average deposits， meaning that the volatility of deposits will not affect the required reserve level for banks， but the average will， the CICC said.

“The move underlines the central banks cautious attitude toward liquidity management as it approaches the quarter-end，” it said.

The move will also facilitate the functioning of the offshore yuan market， the CICC said.

Trial Coffee Plantation

One will soon know if coffee crops can thrive on the roof of the world， as Tibet has begun experimenting with coffee growing.

Experts supervised locals as they planted 500 grams of coffee seeds from Yunnan Province in a 7-square-meter field in Tibets Zayu County， said Dawa Toinzhub， deputy head of the countys Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Bureau， on June 2.

The seedlings have grown well since being planted a month ago， the official said， and if the experiment is successful， coffee crops will be grown elsewhere in Tibet.

Zayu， located in the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau， has an average elevation of 2，300 meters. It boasts a mild climate featuring abundant rainfall and sunshine， which makes it suitable for coffee plants.

The trial plantation is being supervised by members of the Tibet Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry as well as their counterparts from Hainan and Yunnan—two coffee-producing provinces.

Crossing the Bridge

The last steel tower is installed in the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge on June 2. So far， the construction of the bridges seven towers has been finished.

SEC Probe Assisted

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is actively assisting an investigation launched by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission （SEC） and has provided all the requested information， according to Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma.

In an interview with Xinhua News Agency on June 2， Ma said he welcomed the SEC inquiry as it helps Alibabas operations and gives it more exposure.

Alibaba has no similar counterpart in the United States， and some American investors struggle to understand Alibabas business model， he said.

“The best way to settle questioning is through transparency and communication，” he said.

Many companies have been investigated by the SEC， and the process separates the wheat from the chaff， he said.

Alibaba has disclosed that the SEC early this year started to investigate its accounting practices， including consolidation policies and transaction data， for potential violations of federal securities laws.

The SEC， however， indicated that the inquiry did not imply any wrongdoing.

Ma also made his first statement a day after SoftBank announced the sale of a 4-percent stake in Alibaba.

Ma said SoftBank reduced its holdings to alleviate its debt， while Alibaba increased its own stakes as it was upbeat about its future.

“Alibaba has ample cash and is optimistic about its earnings in the future，” Ma said， adding that Alibaba would continue to raise its holdings if there was an opportunity and if it had sufficient funds.

Final Stage

Workers lay rails at the construction site of the Guangnan Station on the Nanning-Kunming High-Speed Railway on June 3.

The railway runs for 708 km and has a designed speed of 250 km per hour， with the Guangnan section being almost completed.

Semiconductor Joint Venture

U.S. semiconductor manufacturer Globalfoundries recently said that it had entered into a chip-making partnership with the Chongqing Municipal Government in southwest China.

The joint venture will utilize systems and processes used in Globalfoundries Singapore plant to produce 300-millimeter chips. Production will kick off next year.

Chongqing is one of the worlds largest manufacturing bases for computers， smartphones and other electronic devices， providing substantial demand for the joint venture.

“China is the fastest-growing semiconductor market in the world， with more than half of the worlds semiconductor demand and a growing ecosystem of fabless companies competing on a global scale，”Globalfoundries CEO Sanjay Jha said in a press release.

Semiconductors are one of several hi-tech industries for which the government is increasing support， as part of a wider effort to steer the vast manufacturing sector away from low-end to high value-added， techintensive production.

The Crop of the Year

Farmers put wheat into bags in Luoning County， Henan Province， on June 4. They are usually busy gathering wheat at this time of year.

Aviation Acquisition

AVIC International， a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corp. of China（AVIC）， said on June 2 that it had successfully completed the acquisition of AIM Altitude， a Britain-based aircraft cabin interior supplier.

The acquisition will facilitate research and development （R&D） and the manufacturing of aircraft cabins and interiors in the Chinese market， the company said.

With this acquisition， AVIC will directly enter the international payload industry， guide domestic industries in international competition， and improve the R&D， certification， designing and manufacturing of cabin payload products for civil aircraft.

Lai Weixuan， President of AVIC International， said his company regards Britain as an important destination for future cooperation and overseas investment.

AVIC International hopes the acquisition will be an opportunity to gradually deepen cooperation with its British counterparts， he added.

After the acquisition， AIM Altitude will continue its services for customers in Europe， the Middle East， the United States， China and the Asia-Pacific as a wholly owned subsidiary of AVIC International.

AVIC International will use its worldwide business network to help expand the global market for the existing products and services of AIM Altitude and fully support AIMs future sustainable development.