A New Look

A boy gets his hair cut in Zhengzhou， Henan Province， on February 27.

It was the second day of the second month in the Chinese lunar calendar， known as the day when the “dragon raises its head.” It means the advent of spring after the winter hibernation. It is a tradition for Chinese to have their hair cut on this day.

Poverty Reduction

China beat its annual target by lifting 12.4 million people out of poverty in 2016， offi cial data showed on February 28.

“The progress was partly due to large fi nancial resources， over 230 billion yuan （$34.33 billion）， earmarked by the central and local budgets，” said Su Guoxia， spokesperson for the State Council Leading Group Offi ce of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

“More than 30 million poor people from over 900 counties benefi ted from these investments，”Su added.

Financial institutions also issued 818.1 billion yuan （$119 billion） in loans to aid the anti-poverty drive last year， and outstanding loans now total 2.49 trillion yuan （$362 billion）. About 8.01 million households have received micro-credit worth 283.3 billion yuan （$41 billion） altogether.

Su said more fi nancial resources would be added in 2017 to ensure the government meets its annual target of bringing 10 million people out of poverty.

China has vowed to eradicate poverty by 2020 and become a“moderately prosperous society.”

To meet this goal， 10 million people should become selfsuffi cient each year from 2016 to 2020.

By the end of 2016， there were 45 million impoverished people， many living in areas without roads， clean drinking water or power.

Judicial Progress

The effi ciency of Chinese courts has improved by 20 percent since 2013， the Supreme Peoples Court （SPC） said on February 27.

The SPC has released two white papers on judicial reform and court transparency from 2013 to 2016， recording progress made in fi elds including judicial accountability， trial mechanism and adjudicative power operation.

Over 26 million court docu- ments have been posted on China Judgment Online， the court document website， which has clocked up 6 billion hits by users from over 200 countries and regions.

From 2013 to 2016， courts nationwide overturned 34 cases， involving 54 people， deemed to be a miscarriage of justice.

To improve litigation， nearly all courts in China have established supporting systems， the SPC said.

The top court also pledged to improve how cases are fi led and legal aid accessed.

Student Aid

More than 90 million Chinese students received fi nancial support from the government in 2016， up 7.6 percent year on year， according to a report on February 28.

The report， released by the Ministry of Education， said China spent more than 168 billion yuan（$24.44 billion） in 2016， 12.85 billion yuan （$1.87 billion） more than in the previous year， helping students from pre-school up to university.

Students also enjoyed free tuition and compulsory education fees. Another 16.74 billion yuan（$2.44 billion） has been allocated to provide textbooks for 128 million students.

Tian Zuyin， Director of the National Center for Student Financial Aid， said China would improve funds for students in 2017 so that “no one will drop out of school because of fi nancial diffi culty.”

Disability Services

Efforts will be stepped up to prevent the occurrence of disabilities and improve rehabilitation services for the countrys 85 million people with disabilities， according to a regulation issued by the State Council， Chinas cabinet.

The regulation specifi es the responsibilities of governments at various levels and assigns them the leading role in disability prevention and improving rehabilitation services.

The government has promised fi nancial and material support to institutions that work with the disabled. Medical service for the disabled， particularly children under 6， impoverished people with disabilities and the severely disabled should be improved.

The regulation calls for a better system to collect and share information on the disabled.

Disability prevention should be incorporated into sectors such as disease prevention and control， maternal and child healthcare， as well as transportation and work safety.

Vulnerable regions， population groups， industries and organizations should be given priority in disability prevention.

The regulation will come into force on July 1.

Shanty Renovation

Six million substandard urban houses will be rebuilt this year， the top housing regulator announced on February 23.

The government will offer more fi nancial support to assist the purchase of existing homes rather than building new property， especially in small and medium-sized cities and counties， Chen Zhenggao， Minister of Housing and UrbanRural Development， said at a press conference.

About half of the residential renovation target was achieved last year thanks to fi nancial support to buy existing property， which helped reduce the housing inventory.

China committed to rebuilding 18 million houses from 2015 to 2017 and aims to “generally fi nish” the renovation across the country by the end of 2020.

Ethnic Festival

People dance to greet the Tibetan New Year， or Losar， at a community in Chengguan District in Lhasa， capital of southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region， on February 27.

Losar is the most ceremonious traditional festival among the Tibetan people.

Intelligent Caregiver

A visitor interacts with a nursing robot during the 2017 China International Senior Care Expo in Beijing on February 25.

More than 200 companies in the senior care industry participated in the three-day event.

Lab Accreditation

Chinas fi rst high-level biosafety laboratory has been accredited and will be fully operational soon， the Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS） said on February 24.

The certifi cate was issued by the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment.

The lab in Wuhan， central Chinas Hubei Province， will be used to study Class 4 pathogens， the most virulent viruses that pose a high risk of aerosol transmission.

The lab will help China prevent and control infectious disease outbreaks and aid the research and development of antiviral drugs and vaccines， said Zhang Yaping， Vice President of CAS.

All the air from the lab will go through two advanced fi lters before being discharged. Solid and liquid waste will also be properly processed.

The lab has undergone a trial operation since it was completed in 2014. Some of the core research team have been trained in France and the United States.

Anti-Ivory Campaign

The amount of smuggled ivory tracked down in China fell 80 percent in 2016 from previous peak years， the State Forestry Administration （SFA） said on February 26.

Liu Dongsheng， deputy head of the SFA， made the remarks at the opening ceremony of a wildlife protection campaign. China will stop the commercial processing and sale of ivory by the end of this year. Last year， it imposed a three-year ban on ivory imports in an escalated fi ght against illegal trading in endangered wild animals and plants.

The number of illegal wildlife trade cases has been on the decline since last year， Liu said.

Meanwhile， the numbers of critically endangered species in China， including the giant panda， crested ibis， Yangtze alligator and Tibetan antelope， have been increasing steadily， he said.

Chinas newly revised law on wild animal protection took effect at the start of this year.

Home Prices Stable

The hot property market in major cities is stabilizing after authorities took measures to contain rising prices， according to an offi cial survey on February 22.

Of the 70 large and mediumsized cities surveyed， 45 saw prices for new residential housing climb month on month in January， down from 46 in December and 55 in November 2016， according to the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS）.

In Beijing， new residential house prices remained fl at month on month， while Shanghai prices fell 0.1 percent. Housing prices in Shenzhen， a southern metropolis neighboring Hong Kong， slid 0.5 percent.

Year on year， housing prices in the three cities have risen 24.7 percent， 23.8 percent and 18.2 percent， respectively.

According to the NBS， new residential housing prices in second-tier cities rose 0.1 percent on a monthly basis， retreating 0.1 percentage point from the growth seen in December.

Third-tier cities saw new residential house prices gain 0.4 percent month on month， the same as the increase in December 2016.

“Monthly growth in 15 fi rst-tier and major second-tier cities has slowed down and home prices have stabilized as local governmentstightening measures have taken effect，” NBS statistician Liu Jianwei said.

Since October last year， dozens of cities have announced measures， including purchase limits and tightened mortgage restrictions， to prevent prices from rising out of control.

The latest round of property restrictions came after two years of progressive policy easing， starting with the relaxation of purchase restrictions in 2014. The momentum was fueled by the governments pro-growth policies， including interest rate cuts and lower deposit requirements.

Working on a Railroad

Engineers conduct a quality inspection check on the Baoji-Lanzhou High-Speed Railway on March 1.

The 400-km railway， running from Baoji， Shaanxi Province， to Lanzhou， Gansu Province， is expected to be fi nished this year， cutting travel time from 5-8 hours to 3 hours.

Sino-German Trade Up

China overtook the United States and France as Germanys most important trading partner in 2016， data from Germanys Federal Statistics Offi ce showed on February 24.

The trade volume between Germany and China amounted to 170 billion euros （$180 billion） last year， according to the agency. Chinas General Administration of Customs said the volume in 2016 was up 2.6 percent from a year earlier.

Xue Rongjiu， Deputy Director of the Beijing-based China Society for WTO Studies， said he expected the Sino-German trade relationship to be strengthened if the U.S. administration pursued trade protectionism， shaking the confi dence of a majority of Chinese exporters.

China has been Germanys largest trading partner in Asia for years while Germany ranks as Chinas largest trading partner in the EU.

CCB in Indonesia

Chinas second largest lender by assets， China Construction Bank Corp.（CCB）， launched its Indonesia local brand CCB Indonesia on February 24， CCB Indonesia said in a statement.

The listed bank， in which CCB holds a 60-percent stake， is the result of a merger between Indonesias PT Bank Windu Kentjana International Tbk and PT Bank Antardaerah last November.

Besides the small and mediumsized enterprises it previously focused on， CCB Indonesia will also develop corporate banking business with large local Indonesian and Chinese enterprises and fi nancial institutions.

The bank targets becoming the market maker of renminbi business in Indonesia and penetrating the countrys housing fi nance market. It has a banking network of 112 offi ces in major Indonesian cities.

“CCB Indonesia is committed to supporting the Indonesian economy， particularly in infrastructure fi nancing，” the statement said.

UAV Base in Jiangsu

China Eagle， a Beijing-based unmanned aerial vehicle （UAV） developer， will build the countrys largest production base for industrial drones. The production base in the Jingjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone in east Chinas Jiangsu Province is expected to produce its fi rst UAV in May.

Drones for industrial use have huge prospects in the civilian market. Their uses range from mapping and aerial inspection to unmanned cargo transport.

With an investment of 510 million yuan （$74 million）， China Eagles new base has an annual production capacity of 5，000 units. Its total output value is estimated at 3 billion yuan （$435.7 million） a year. China Eagle has independently developed a series of UAV products. It works with the State Oceanic Administration to produce drones for shore patrols.

Forex Market Supervision

Chinas foreign exchange regulator on February 27 said it had uncovered a number of illegal forex trade cases and vowed to step up market regulation this year.

Authorities discovered an underground bank conducting illegal forex transfers worth nearly 50 billion yuan （$7.3 billion）， according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange （SAFE）.

In other cases， companies were found to be evading forex controls by using fake receipts or fabricating trade deals. Many individuals were suspected of money laundering and transferring assets illegally， moving large amounts of money in small sums to avoid scrutiny.

SAFE pledged to get tough on illegal forex trade to maintain the balance of international payments， while promising to make policies more transparent and advance the opening up of the fi nancial market.

Delicious Way to Get Rich

Judges appraise strawberries at a contest held in Hohhot， Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， on March 1.

Hohhot has introduced new varieties of strawberry from Shandong， Liaoning and Shaanxi provinces， which provide a new channel for local farmers to escape poverty and become better off.

Transport Investment

China will spend at least 2.6 trillion yuan （$376.81 billion） on transport infrastructure projects this year， the Ministry of Transport showed said on February 27.

Minister of Transport Li Xiaopeng said at a press conference that during the 13th Five-year Plan（2016-20） period， 15 trillion yuan（$2.17 trillion） will be channeled to transport infrastructure projects， including 3.5 trillion yuan （$508.3 billion） on railways， 7.8 trillion yuan（$1.13 trillion） on roads and 500 billion yuan （$72.61 billion） on waterways.

Following the completion of these projects， China will have extended its railway network by 30，000 km， more than one third of which will be high-speed railways， added 320，000 km of roads and built more than 50 new civilian airports， Li said.

By 2020， China will have a modern transportation system that is safe， convenient， effi cient and green， he added.

China is also targeting 200，000 new energy buses by 2020， up from more than 160，000 at the end of 2016.

Green Hope

Farming in progress in Meilingang Village in Huzhou， Zhejiang Province， on March 1

Tire Dispute Settled

The latest U.S. ruling to remove heavy duties on truck and bus tires imported from China was “in line with the objective facts，” the Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM） said on February 23.

The U.S. International Trade Commission （ITC） determined on February 22 that the tires from China did not materially injure or threaten to damage the U.S. industry， and no anti-dumping or countervailing duties would be imposed on those products.

The decision followed a previ- ous ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce in January to slap anti-dumping duties of up to 22.57 percent and countervailing duties of up to 65.46 percent on certain China-made truck and bus tires.

Wang Hejun， head of the MOFCOMs Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau， appreciated the ITC ruling， describing it as “objective and fair.”

“We hope the two countries tire industries strengthen dialogue and communication， effectively manage and control trade disputes， and maintain an open and fair trade environment for the good of the people of China and the United States，” he said.

The two countries tire products were different and complementary and Chinese tires met the growing demand in the United States， Wang said.

U.S. imports of truck and bus tires from China were worth about$1.5 billion in 2015 but were affected last year by the trade investigation.

The case involved more than 100 exporters and 100，000 employees in China， and its result refl ected Chinese fi rms stronger awareness and capability of protecting their rights， Wang said.