Emergency Evacuation

Rescuers help out a local resident who was trapped by a storm in Duchang County， Jiangxi Province， on June 19.

Heavy storms devastated 10 southern provinces including Zhejiang， Anhui， Jiangxi， and Hubei. Over 8 million people have been affected， with 42 losing their lives， 25 missing and around 460，000 evacuated as of June 22， according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Desertification Control

China has effectively contained desertification， with its desert land area shrinking continuously over the past decade， according to the State Forestry Administration.

The area of formerly productive land degrading into deserts has been contracting at an annual average of 2，424 square km for over 10 consecutive years， said Zhang Jianlong， head of the administration.

Expanding deserts are a global problem. It is estimated that one third of the earth is exposed to desertification， affecting millions of people worldwide.

China has spent decades curbing desertification through plans to rehabilitate 10 million hectares of desertified land in the next five years， turning more than half of the countrys reclaimable deserts into green land by 2020.

Those who destroy vegetation on desert land will be punished， and compensation mechanisms will be established to reward localities working toward combating desertification， said the administration.

Support on Poverty Reduction

The Chinese Government has allocated 1.6 billion yuan （$240 million） from the central budget to support projects in less developed regions， authorities said on June 20.

The funds will target less developed regions in 21 contiguous provincial regions， according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

County governments will have the power to choose what projects will receive the investment.

The move is designed to fight poverty through practical means， with priority given to agriculture and rural infrastructure， instead of merely distributing the funds to those in need.

China aims to lift 70 million people out of poverty by the end of 2020.

Chronic Disease Treatment

A nationwide health program to improve the treatment of chronic diseases in community health centers has been launched.

Under the program， health practitioners will receive training on the treatment of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases， diabetes and central nervous system diseases.

The program will cover 30，000 doctors in 8，500 community hospitals or clinics in 42 Chinese cities by 2020. It is expected to benefit 23 million patients.

The program is led by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association and the Community Health Association of China.

BDS White Paper

The Chinese Government on June 16 released a white paper elaborating on the development of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System （BDS）， which has been independently developed and operated by China.

According to the document， China has formulated a three-step strategy to develop the BDS， aiming to complete the deployment of 35 satellites by around 2020 to provide services to global users. The document was unveiled by the State Council Information Office.

In the first step， China will provide services to domestic users， and in the second， the system will expand its services to the AsiaPacific region. The second step was achieved by the end of 2012.

The BDS will provide all-time， all-weather and high-accuracy positioning， navigation and timing services to global users， according to the paper.

Gene Bank

A national gene bank built by Chinas gene research giant Beijing Genomics Institute （BGI） started a trial operation on June 18 in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Wang Jian， Chairman of the Shenzhen-headquartered company， said the gene bank has a collection of 10 million samples of biological resources.

The project is expected to boost research and business in the fields of health， agriculture， species diversity and environmental protection.

Approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2011， the facility is dedicated to storing and managing the countrys unique genetic resources and data， as well as biological information.

Wang said the company also plans to set up a national laboratory on genomics.

In addition， BGI announced on Sunday that it， along with several institutional investors， launched a startup incubator on the application of gene technology. The company promised to open its technology platform and data to members of the incubator.

Space Experiment

Four Chinese volunteers on June 17 started a 180-day living experiment in a sealed space capsule， which will test technologies that are designed to support Chinas deep-space exploration projects.

The volunteers—three men and one woman—will live in a sealed capsule in south Chinas Shenzhen City. Scientists hope the experiment will cast a light on how oxygen， water and food can be used and recycled under controlled conditions.

The project has been designed to test the “controlled ecological life support system，” which is inspired by technologies used on Chinas Shenzhou spacecraft.

The 1，340-cubic-meter sealed capsule， which has a floor space of 370 square meters， is divided into eight compartments， including the passenger compartment， resource compartment and greenhouse compartments.

Scientists have cultivated 25 kinds of plants in the capsule， including wheat， potatoes， sweet potatoes， soybeans， peanuts， lettuce， edible amaranth and pak choi. Strawberry， cherry， tomato and horseradish are also on the list.

The plants are part of a larger ecological treatment system that will help regenerate oxygen and water， reducing the teams dependency on outside supplies.

Scientists will also monitor and observe how a hermetic environment affects physiological changes， biological rhythms， sleep patterns， and emotional well-being.

The Astronaut Center of China launched a call for volunteers in May last year， and selected eight people， including an alternative team， from 2，110 candidates.

Two of the volunteers are from the center.

More than a dozen Chinese and overseas institutions are involved in the experiment， including the Shenzhen-based Space Institute of Southern China， the Chinese Academy of Sciences， Harbin Institute of Technology， Harvard University and the German Aerospace Center.

Maiden Tour

Aircraft manufacturer giant Airbus announced on June 21 that the worlds newest airliner， the Airbus A350 XWB， would make its first demonstration tour of China between June 25 and July 2.

During the trip， a test aircraft is to fly to the Chinese cities of Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou， Haikou and Chengdu.

According to Airbus， the tour follows the A350s endorsement by China Eastern Airlines who ordered 20 A350-900 aircraft in April 2016. Air China also ordered 10 of the A350-900 planes.

China is one of the fastest growing markets for air transport， said Airbus.

The Chinese aviation industry has made important contributions to the development and construction of the A350 XWB. The Airbus （Beijing） Engineering Center and its partner， the Aviation Industry Corp. of China， participated in the programs development， involving specific design work for the airframe.

Some 5 percent of the airframes are manufactured in China. The A350 XWB is a symbol of strategic industrial cooperation between Airbus and Chinas aviation industry.

The aircraft seats 42 in the business class and 210 in the economy class. The flights will be operated by Airbus flight crews.

To date， Airbus has recorded some 800 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 42 customers worldwide， said Airbus.

Huge and Fast

The Sunway TaihuLight， a new Chinese supercomputer developed by the Chinese National Research Center of Parallel Computer Engineering & Technology， is named as the worlds fastest computer at the International Supercomputing Conference in Germany on June 20.

The National Supercomputing Center was also unveiled the same day in Wuxi， east Chinas Jiangsu Province， where the new-generation supercomputer is installed.

Translation Forum

The Eighth Asia-Pacific Translation and Interpreting Forum comes to a close in Xian， capital city of Shaanxi Province， on June 18.

More than 500 translation experts from 32 countries attended the two-day forum， which was first set up in 1995.

Wal-Marts New Alliance

JD.com， Chinas second largest e-commerce platform， partnered with global retail giant Wal-Mart with the latter trading its China online unit for JD.coms stakes， a strategic step expected to expand Wal-Marts reach to more Chinese customers. Under the deal， JD will take ownership of Wal-Mart Stores under the Yihaodian brand， website and app. JD will give a 5-percent equity stake to Wal-Mart， worth about $1.5 billion at JDs current valuation， the company announced on June 20. The deal is expected to give Wal-Mart access to JDs online traf- fic and bolster its presence in the extraordinarily lucrative， but increasingly competitive， online Chinese marketplace.

Wal-Marts retail warehouse chain， Sams Club， will open a flagship section in China on JD.com， and both companies will leverage their supply chains and broaden the range of imported goods to meet growing demands from increasingly affluent and quality-oriented Chinese consumers.

Yihaodian has a strong presence in east and south China， selling food and beverages， home goods and electronics.

JD has nearly 6，000 delivery and pickup stations in about 2，500 counties and districts across China， with a huge customer base and a same-day delivery network.

Direct Currency Trading

Direct trading between the Chinese yuan and South African rand on its inter-bank foreign exchange market started on June 20.

The move will lower exchange costs， facilitating the use of the two currencies in trade settlement and boosting bilateral investment， the China Foreign Exchange Trade System （CFETS） said in a statement.

The central parity rate between the yuan and the rand will be decided according to the average quotation of direct trading market makers before the market opens each working day， according to the CFETS.

In the spot foreign exchange market， the two currencies can fluctuate by up to 10 percent from the central parity rate each trading day， the CFETS said.

South African rand is the 11th foreign currency that can be directly traded with the yuan in Chinas interbank foreign exchange market.

China is South Africas largest trading partner. Their trade reached$46.05 billion in 2015， while China had $13 billion invested in South Africa at the end of last year.

Green Transportation

Workers maintain a closed transport corridor in Changxing， Zhejiang Province， on June 21.

The new type of transportation realizes the replacement of coal with electricity in transporting raw material for mining enterprises.

So far， there have been 41 electric power replacement projects promoted in Changxing， reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 83，000 tons.

Jamaica Applied Chinese Loans

The Jamaican Government has decided to use Chinese concessional loans to upgrade the islands road network， Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said on June 16.

The arrangement has been finalized with the Export-Import Bank of China （China Exim Bank）， which will provide most of the funds. The road network will be constructed in the southeastern and southwestern parts of the country， the prime minister told a press conference in the Jamaica House.

Holness said that the projects will cost $384 million. The Jamaican Government will raise $57 million while the rest will be provided by the China Exim Bank as a loan.

The work in the southeastern end of the island will cover the construction of a toll-free four-lane highway and the renovation of some old roads， Holness said.

For the southwestern section， the prime minister said that the tolled road， Highway 2000， will be extended from May Pen， Clarendon Parish in the south to Mandeville， Manchester Parish in the Midwest of the country.

“This plan makes access， gives a better road， reduces cost and still achieves the objectives that we want，”he said.

Pipeline and Railway Built

The construction of a new oil pipeline and railway began on June 16 at the Qingdao Port in Shandong Province.

The pipeline， which will transport 30 million tons of oil annually， will start at the Dongjiakou Port area and link the cities of Qingdao， Weifang， Dongying and Binzhou in Shandong， according to Cheng Xinnong， President of the Qingdao Port Group.

Construction also began on a 15.78-km railway linking the Dongjiakous loading area with South Dongjiakou Railway Station， Cheng added.

Fueled by surging imports of crude oil by Chinas independent oil refineries， most of which are in Shandong， Qingdao Port reported unprecedented congestion this year.

Shandong imported 18.93 million tons of crude oil in the first five months of the year， a four-fold increase from last years 3.66 million tons， according to data published on the Qingdao Customs District website.

Tightening Scrutiny

Top securities regulator， the China Securities Regulatory Commission（CSRC）， has tightened scrutiny on initial public offerings （IPOs）， vowing to eliminate any unqualified new share issues by companies.

The move came after the CSRC announced the termination of its review of IPO applications for 17 companies.

The regulator said it will look into IPO fraud by companies that attempt to “whitewash” their financial accounts to gain regulatory approval and fail to disclose proper information to investors.

Analysts said the tightened scrutiny on IPOs underscored the regulators concerns about companies illegal fundraising activities and possible wrongdoings that would hurt investors interests.

The CSRC has delayed the launch of the much-anticipated registration-based IPO mechanism to replace the existing approvalbased scheme for new share sales.

On June 17， the CSRC also revised the rules for major asset restructuring by listed companies.

The regulator will ban listed companies from raising funds for asset restructuring and will extend the share lockup period for new shareholders to 24 months under the new rules.

Promising Industry

Craftswomen make pottery pots in a factory in Qujing， southwest Chinas Yunnan Province， on June 21.

Liaohu Community in Qujing is home to 85 ceramic enterprises， with a total output value reaching 170 million yuan （$25.8 million） in 2015.

Property Giants Acquisition

China Vanke， the mainlands biggest property company by sales， said it will acquire a unit of the Shenzhen Metro Group for 45.6 billion yuan（$6.9 billion） via a new share issue， making the state-owned subway operator its largest shareholder.

The final purchase price came at the lower end of the 40 billion yuan （$6.07 billion） to 60 billion yuan （$9.11 billion） target under a preliminary accord in March as Vankes management fought to retain control of the company in a battle with its major shareholder， the financial conglomerate Baoneng.

Vanke said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange that Shenzhen Metro will hold 20.65 percent of its enlarged issued share capital upon the deals completion， beating Baonengs 19.27 percent after dilution.

According to the deal， Vanke will issue Shenzhen Metro close to 2.9 billion A shares at 15.88 yuan（$2.41） each， representing a 35-percent discount to its last trading price of 24.43 yuan （$3.71） on December 18， 2015 in exchange for the SZMC Qianhai International Development Co.， which owns largescale projects atop metro facilities in Shenzhen.

An Interconnected Era

People visit the exhibition hall of the 2016 China Internet Conference， which opened in Beijing on June 21.

Based on the theme of a prospering cyber economy and building cyber power， the 15th China Internet Conference presents new business models and engines for participants.