Race on Ride

Riders perform at a horse race festival in Shangri-la， Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Diqing in southwest Chinas Yunnan Province， on June 9.

A total of 194 horses participated in the three-day ethnic traditional horse race festival.

Residents Permits

Chinese police provided about 746，000 unregistered citizens with household registration permits， a crucial document entitling them to social welfare， in the first five months of this year， according to the Ministry of Public Security.

In China， various social benefits such as medical insurance and access to basic education are based on household registration， or hukou， and are supposed to be in line with long-term places of work and residence.

The move to register unregistered citizens， which are estimated to amount to 13 million， or 1 percent of the entire population， was announced in December 2015. Between January and May， more than 1.09 million unregistered people were confirmed， according to a ministry statement on June 8.

They include orphans， the homeless， and those who have yet to apply for a permit or who have simply lost theirs. In addition， parents who violated the family planning policy often refrained from obtaining hukou for their children in order to avoid fines.

The ministry also revealed that police across the country have confiscated 3 million duplicated hukou and more than 1.7 million IDs that have duplicated numbers.

Last year， the ministry reported that some of the duplications were honest mistakes from manual errors or separated police management systems in the past， but others were the result of police officers illegally using professional privilege to seek benefits for their connections.

Human Rights Report

On June 14， the Chinese Government released a report reviewing the progress made on an action plan to improve human rights carried out from 2012 to 2015.

The National Human Rights Action Plan of China （2012-15）， announced in June 2012， was the second of its kind， following the first one from 2009 to 2010.

Major targets and tasks set by the plan had been fulfilled as scheduled by the end of 2015， said the report issued by the State Council Information Office.

About 48 percent of the binding targets and over 50 percent of the targets concerning peoples livelihoods had been met ahead of time or exceeded， thus realizing the comprehensive implementation of the plan， the report stated.

Record Keeping

China plans to speed up its establishment of a social record-keeping system， according to a recent guideline published by the State Council. The “social credibility rating” will contain information on wrongdoings or breaches of law and government rules and regulations by individuals or market entities. Such information will be recorded and shared across agencies and localities in a more effective manner. A universal mechanism for punishing recurrent transgressions and rewarding those who stick to the rules will help maintain market order and a sound social environment， said the document.

Preferences will be given to honest market entities， while behavior that sabotages market stability or social order， or endangers national or personal interests， will be dealt with in accordance with the law， it said.

More Zones for Innovation

The Chinese Government said on June 8 that it will accelerate the building of two more national-level development zones to encourage innovation， as the country seeks to stimulate growth.

The government approved the establishment of the two “national innovation demonstration zones”in Fujian Province and Anhui Province， respectively， according to a statement released after the State Councils executive meeting on June 8， chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.

The decision was made as similar zones， including Beijings Zhongguancun and Shanghais Zhangjiang hi-tech zone， have played an experimental and pioneering role in the nation， and those models need to be replicated across the country， said the statement.

The government vowed to cut red tape and provide better services to the development zones， making them serve the nations economic rebalancing drive more effectively.

A string of new measures was also announced to provide more finance for medical aid to residents in poverty-stricken areas.

Rural residents living in poverty will receive greater reimbursement when they are hospitalized and will be covered by the critical illness insurance， said the statement.

The government also vowed to build a health and medical data platform across the country， which aims to improve healthcare services and to be a key part of the countrys supply-side structural reform.

College Employment

The employment rate for Chinese college graduates remains stable， with more graduates employed by private enterprises， a recent survey shows.

The employment rate of college graduates in 2015 was 91.7 percent， a negligible change from 92.1 percent in 2014 and 91.4 percent in 2013， according to a survey by education research company MyCOS Institute released on June 12.

Breaking the numbers down， 92.2 percent of university graduates and 91.2 percent of graduates from junior colleges and higher vocational schools found jobs， said the survey.

It also showed that more graduates are starting their own businesses， with 3 percent registering as self-employed in 2015. Most graduates secured start-up funding from their parents， relatives， friends or personal savings.

Industries including education， medicine， the media， and information and communications hired more graduates， while construction and hardware manufacturing sectors employed fewer.

The survey also covered some 41，000 employees who graduated from college in 2012. Their average monthly income in 2015 was 5，696 yuan （$868）， 87 percent more than what they earned three years previously， according to MyCOS.

Taller Children

Chinese children are on average much taller and stronger than they were four decades ago， with the height gap standing at 8 cm， a government survey showed on June 8.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission（NHFPC） surveyed 161，774 healthy children under 7 years old from nine cities and their suburbs in 2015. Health authorities have conducted the survey once every 10 years since 1975.

Taking children aged between 5 and 5.5 for example， the boys on average measure 113.6 cm， 8 cm taller than boys in 1975 and 1.7 cm taller than boys in 2005， while girls have an average height of 112.5 cm， 8.2 cm more than four decades ago and 1.8 cm more than 10 years ago， according to the 2015 survey results.

They also weigh 3.28 to 3.7 kg more than children four decades ago， the survey showed.

The physical development of the children surveyed surpassed the World Health Organizations child growth standards， according to the NHFPC.

The weight and height gaps between urban children and rural children have also narrowed， said the survey.

In 1975， urban boys aged 4 to 5 were on average 4-cm taller than their rural peers， but the gap was only 0.6 cm in 2015， while for girls of the same age， the difference dropped from 4.3 cm to 0.4 cm.

Blood Donation

A volunteer donates blood during a mobile donate drive in Hengshui City， north Chinas Hebei Province， on June 14， World Blood Donor Day.

The theme of this World Blood Donor Day is “Blood Connects Us All.”

Sutra Study

The Dunhuang Conference on Sutra Transmission and Translation kicks off on June 15 in Dunhuang， Gansu Province.

More than 100 experts and scholars from over 20 world-renowned universities and institutions attend the conference， which lasts for four days.

Box Office

Chinas box office is anticipated to surpass the United States in 2017 and claim the title of the worlds largest box office， according to a report by international accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers （PwC） on June 12.

The report forecasts that Chinas box office revenue will hit $10.3 billion next year， while the United States is expected to muster $10.14 billion.

With compounded average an- nual growth of 19.1 percent， Chinas box office takings are expected to reach $15.08 billion by 2020， the report said.

It also estimated a whopping$49.3 billion of box office earnings across the globe in 2020， with nearly one third of it to be generated in China.

Jiang Xiaoping， a PwC China partner， said the robust expansion of Chinas film industry is driving the global development.

According to predictions， revenue from advertising in the Chinese film industry will exceed $161 million by 2020， and the average ticket price will climb to $6.04 from $5.44 currently.

Helicopter Purchase

A Chinese consortium has ordered 100 H135 twin-engine helicopters from Airbus Helicopters and will build a final assembly line in Qingdao， east Chinas Shandong Province， Airbus said on June 13.

In a press release， Airbus said that the consortium is made up of China Aviation Supplies Holding Co.， Qingdao United General Aviation Industrial Development Co. and CITIC Offshore Helicopter Co. Ltd.

This fulfills a commitment to purchase 100 H135s made in 2015， the company said.

“With the further opening up of the Chinese skies and the increasing growth in the civil and parapublic segments， China is gearing up to be the biggest market for helicopters in years to come，” said Norbert Ducrot， head of Airbus Helicopters in the China and North Asia region.

The final assembly line is expected to start operations by 2018 and assemble 100 H135s over the next 10 years.

The H135 is popular in China for emergency medical services， law enforcement， firefighting and corporate transportation.

Cash Replenishment

Chinese car-hailing company Didi confirmed on June 13 that it had secured $600 million from China Life Insurance as part of its ongoing financing round that its president says will exceed $3.5 billion.

The investment is made through China Life Investment Holding Co. Ltd.， Didi said in a statement.

As its rival Uber announced the end of a funding round worth$3.5 billion earlier this month， Didis President Jean Liu said that the company is looking to surpass that amount in its current funding round， which also includes $1 billion from Apple.

This round of funding could result in the Chinese start-up being valued at over $25 billion， analysts say.

Didi said it will also work with China Life on insurance and other financial services and corporate car services. The two will also seek investment opportunities in transportation services both in China and abroad.

According to Didi， its platform has mobilized 15 million drivers to deliver rides for 300 million registered users， with daily orders reaching over 14 million.

Helping Hands

Robots work on a glass production line in Fuqing， Fujian Province， on June 14.

Since the beginning of this year， the inspection and quarantine authorities of Fujian have begun to provide customized services for major local enterprises， helping them apply for certificates of origin， tariff reductions and cutting and enhancing their competitiveness in overseas markets.

Foreign Investment

For the first five months， foreign direct investment （FDI）， which excludes investment in the financial sector， rose 3.8 percent year on year to $54.2 billion， with the growth decelerating from the 4.8 percent registered in the January-April period， the Ministry of Commerce said on June 12.

The service sector attracted $38.2 billion of FDI in the five months， 70.4 percent of the total.

FDI into the manufacturing sector declined 3.2 percent during the period to $15.5 billion， accounting for 28.8 percent of the total.

Among the 10 major investors， FDI from the United States surged 140.2 percent year on year in the first five months， while that from Britain soared 110 percent.

Investment from countries relating to the Belt and Road Initiative was up 1.3 percent to $3.1 billion during the period.

In May alone， FDI fell 1 percent year on year to $8.89 billion， compared to a 6-percent increase registered in April.

Price Indexes

Chinas consumer price index （CPI）， a main gauge of inflation， grew 2 percent year on year in May， official data showed on June 9.

The May data narrowed from the 2.3-percent growth rate registered in the previous three consecutive months， when the CPI remained at its highest level since July 2014， data from the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） showed. Chinas producer prices continued to fall in May， but the contraction narrowed from April in a sign of improved aggregate demand in the industrial sector.

The producer price index （PPI）， a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate， dropped 2.8 percent year on year in May， narrowing from a 3.4-percent drop in April and a 4.3-percent decline in March. The reading marked the 51st straight month of decline.

HSBC attributed the easing PPI contraction to extended gains for bulk commodity prices and increasing infrastructure and property investments during the period.

New Bank Approved

A new private lender backed by eight Chinese firms including smartphone maker Xiaomi has been approved by Chinas banking regulator， Xiaomi confirmed on June 13.

The bank， to be headquartered in Chengdu， capital of southwest Chinas Sichuan Province， has a registered capital of 3 billion yuan（$456 million）， and counts New Hope Group， a Xiaomi subsidiary called Yinmi， and Sichuan-based convenience store operator Hongqi as its biggest stakeholders， with 30 percent， 29.5 percent and 15 percent stakes， respectively， in the bank.

The new lender is evidence of further inroads by Chinese Internet firms into the countrys statedominated financial sector. The countrys banking regulator has sought to extend financial services to a broader range of companies and individuals that have been underserved by the countrys established， state-backed lenders.

The bank will extend financial services to young people and small companies， according to a press release by Xiaomi. Chinese Internet giants Tencent and Alibaba also launched their own lenders， WeBank and MYbank， respectively， last year， offering online-based financial services such as wealth management products and loans.

Tackling Zombie Companies

China will regulate dormant firms to ensure they either re-start operation or file for liquidation， according to an official statement released on June 13.

Dormant companies that have failed to submit annual operation reports or tax declarations for at least two consecutive years must do so or they will have their business licenses revoked， according to a statement jointly released by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the State Administration of Taxation.

The move will force nonperforming “zombie enterprises，”which waste resources， to shut down， as they distort the general economic picture， the statement said.

The two government agencies will warn dormant firms before taking any measures.

The reduction of overcapacity in sectors such as steel and coal is high on Chinas reform agenda this year and plans have been announced to shut down non-performing plants and reemploy laid-off workers.

Shopping Spree

Employees work hard at an intelligent logistics center of e-commerce company JD.com in Guan， Hebei Province， in preparation for the mid-year online shopping carnival day on June 18.

The Guan intelligent logistics center came into operation in April 2015. Its the largest and most advanced of its kind among JD.coms logistics centers.

More Stringent Measures

China has vowed more stringent oversight of its listed companies to protect investors and curb speculation in the stock market， the stock regulator said.

Authorities will enhance regulatory supervision of public companies listed on Chinas domestic A-share market by improving information disclosure and corporate governance， said Jiang Yang， Vice Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission （CSRC） at the 2016 Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai on June 13.

Regulators will strengthen supervision of activities related to listed firms major shareholders and asset restructuring， and urge listed firms to deliver returns to investors through organic growth， Jiang said.

He added that the authorities will roll out tougher regulations and enhance their monitoring of market activities to identify problems at an early stage， though he did not elaborate.

In May， the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses set time limits on trading suspension for listed firms subject to mergers and acquisitions， and private placements， in the latest move to strengthen their oversight of listed firms and foster a more value-driven investment sentiment in Chinas stock markets.

Trade Fair

Business people visit the Vietnamese Hall at the Fourth China-South Asia Expo held in Kunming， Yunnan Province， on June 12. The Expo attracted about 5，000 company exhibitors， half of which are from abroad.