Peacekeepers Honored

General Commander Pu Yi of the 15th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon， and Brigadier General Pierre Liot de Nortbecourt， Chief of Staff of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon， salute each other at a medal-awarding ceremony in south Lebanon on March 8. All the 410 members of the Chinese contingent were awarded the UN Peace Medal of Honor for their excellent performance on duty.

Elderly Care Plan

China is targeting a multi-pillar， fairer and more sustainable social security system by 2020 to better meet the needs of the elderly， according to a plan released by the State Council， Chinas cabinet， on March 6.

It has set goals to ensure 90 percent residents are covered by basic old-age insurance and that basic medical insurance cover stays above 95 percent. Medical and rehabilitation services for the rural elderly will be strengthened.

By 2020， government-run nursing homes will account for at least 30 percent of all nursing beds for the elderly in China， and a longterm nursing insurance system will be considered.

Efforts will be made to supply more technology products tailored for the elderly and enrich their cultural life.

The number of people aged over 60 is estimated to reach 255 million， 17.8 percent of the total population， by 2020.

China had 220 million people aged over 60 at the end of 2015， accounting for 16.1 percent of its population. There were just 30.3 nursing home beds per 1，000 elderly people that year.

BeiDou Satellites

Six to eight BeiDou-3 satellites will be launched this year， according to a senior designer of Chinas homegrown BeiDou satellite navigation system.

It is part of a plan to put 35 BeiDou satellites into space to form an orbiting satellite network and offer worldwide navigation services by 2020， said Yang Yuanxi， deputy chief designer of the BeiDou system， on March 6.

Compared to earlier generation products， BeiDou-3 can cover a wider range and has a longer lifespan of 12 years. BeiDou， which is the Chinese name for the Big Dipper constellation， is designed to offer an alternative to GPS.

A government white paper published in December 2016 says China expects to provide basic services to limited clients in 2018 and expand to all clients with more accurate and reliable services through better ground and satellite-based systems by 2020.

China has already sent 22 BeiDou satellites into space.

Yang said the launches this year will feature two satellites on a single carrier rocket.

Tibet Housing

Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China will build 42，000 affordable houses this year to improve the housing conditions of more than 100，000 people， local authorities said on March 6.

The region will speed up reconstruction of urban shanty towns and expand renewal areas into key towns， border ports and old residential communities， Tibets Housing and Urban and Rural Construction Department said.

Tibet has been rolling out affordable housing schemes since 2006 in an effort to provide homes to people unable to buy them at market prices.

The region completed construction of 210，000 such statesubsidized or public housing projects between 2011 and 2015.

It has also invested 28 billion yuan （$4 billion） in affordable housing projects for 2.3 million farmers and herders since 2006.

Case Clearance

China has cleared and settled over 1，800 cases involving nearly 4，500 suspects who were placed in custody for more than three years without being charged， Supreme Peoples Procuratorate （SPP） sources said on March 4.

The number represents all the cases found in a nationwide rectifi cation campaign against prolonged custody in 2013， Yuan Qiguo， a senior SPP prosecutor， said in an online interview.

Among the suspects， more than 3，400 had been placed in custody for less than fi ve years， 926 for fi ve to eight years， and 82 for eight years or above.

“Prolonged custody without trial not only infringes upon the suspects litigation rights， but also tarnishes the judicial organs image and credibility and impairs social harmony and stability，” Yuan said.

Enhanced supervision of the duration of criminal custody in recent years has seen the number of suspects placed in custody for more than three years without being charged notably decrease， from 4，459 in 2013 to six by 2015， SPP fi gures show.

Yuan said procuratorates will continue to make efforts to prevent and settle new cases involving prolonged detention of suspects.

ID Theft

Police have busted a gang suspected of stealing more than 5 billion personal information items， the Ministry of Public Security （MPS） announced on March 7.

Police offi cers from 14 provinces and municipalities including Beijing worked together and detained 96 members of a gang who stole and sold personal information online.

The gang was found to have hacked into the servers of many companies since 2015， stealing user IDs， passwords and home addresses. They sold the information via online forums and instant chat services.

Some of the suspects also committed bank card fraud by using duplicate cards with stolen personal information.

Environmental Court

A special court for environmental cases has been established in northwest Chinas Qinghai Province to provide legal service for environmental protection work in the Sanjiangyuan area.

The Sanjiangyuan environmental court， affi liated with the Yushu City Peoples Court， was approved by the Higher Peoples Court in Qinghai.

The court hired six people to handle environmental protection cases and civil lawsuits related to pollution prevention and environmental damage in the area.

Sanjiangyuan literally means“the source of three rivers，” referring to the Yangtze， Yellow， and Lancang（Mekong） rivers. The ecology in the area has degraded due to human activities such as overgrazing.

The environmental court is the fi rst such specialized judiciary organ in the province， Man Zhifang， Vice President of the Higher Peoples Court in Qinghai， said.

Planning began on a national park in the area last year， aimed to protect the headwaters of the three rivers. It is expected to offi cially open in 2020.

Childcare Services

Shanghai has launched pilot childcare services in a number of workplaces to encourage more families to have a second child， local authorities said on March 7.

About 80 percent of women of child-bearing age in Shanghai do not want a second child， according to a 2016 survey jointly conducted by the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions （SFTU） and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

Most of these respondents said there was “no one to help them take care of the child.”

The SFTU has established 12 childcare pilot centers in enterprises， industry parks， public institutions and government departments that meet requirements and have strong demand for such services.

By the end of 2017， the city is expected to have 50 such childcare centers， according to the SFTU.

Besides， the SFTU has set up 1，765 “moms huts” since 2013 to provide services for pregnant， postnatal and breastfeeding women.

Shanghai has 3.3 million working women.

Hands-On Learning

Rural women learn newborn care skills at a class in Delong Vocational School in Fucheng County， Hebei Province， on March 7. The class is part of a poverty alleviation program sponsored by the local government.

Coming of Age

A teacher awards a badge to a student at an adulthood ceremony in a high school in Hohhot， Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， on March 7. The event was organized for students who turn 18 in 2017.

Underwater Record

Chinas domestic underwater glider reached a depth of 6，329 meters during a mission in the Mariana Trench， breaking the previous record of 6，000 meters held by a U.S. vessel， according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS） on March 7.

Codenamed Haiyi， which means sea wings in Chinese， the underwater glider was developed by the Shenyang Institute of Automation under CAS， and will be used to monitor the deep-sea environment.

The Haiyi， carried by deep-sea submersible mother ship Tansuo-1， dived down 12 times and traveled over 130 km during its four-day mission， collecting high-resolution data for scientifi c research.

Wanda Tie-Up With UnionPay

Dalian Wanda Group Co.， one of Chinas largest business conglomerates， signed a strategic partnership with China UnionPay on March 2 as it speeds up efforts to integrate its offl ine and online resources.

According to the agreement， Wanda and its partner merchants will accept UnionPay QuickPass， a mobile payment service， and the two parties will jointly develop a UnionPay cardholder service system and applications that will be available at Wandas wide-ranging properties， including shopping malls， department stores， supermarkets and theme parks.

They will also jointly expand customer service channels， carry out marketing campaigns， and explore value-added services for consumers both at home and in overseas regions.

“The strategic cooperation with Wanda will explore new formats for commercial-fi nancial integration and boost consumption upgrading，”said Ge Huayong， Chairman of China UnionPay.

As part of the strategic cooperation， China UnionPays subsidiary， Shanghai Lianyin Investment Co. Ltd.， will acquire a stake in the Wanda Internet Technology Group.

Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin said joining hands with China UnionPay is a major step forward for Shanghai Ffan E-commerce Co. Ltd.， Wandas e-commerce platform and a subsidiary of Wanda Internet Technology Group.

“I expect Ffan E-commerce to be profi table next year and to see profi t exceeding 10 billion yuan （$1.45 billion） by 2020，” Wang said at Wanda Groups annual meeting in January.

The company will start a new round of fi nancing in the third quarter， Wang said on March 2.

Manufacturing Activity Expands

Chinas manufacturing sector expanded for the seventh month in a row in February， adding evidence that the worlds second largest economy is stabilizing amid an uncertain global outlook.

The manufacturing purchasing managers index （PMI） came in at 51.6 percent in February， 0.3 percentage points higher than that recorded in January， according to data released on March 1 by the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS）.

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

NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe said the reading has remained above 51 percent for fi ve months in a row now and pointed to a steady expansion of the manufacturing sector.

The sub-index for production was 53.7 percent， 0.6 percentage points higher than that recorded in January.

The sub-index for new orders was up 0.2 percentage points to 53 percent.

Zhao attributed the acceleration in production and new orders to the recovery in market demand and robust production activities.

In addition， the sub-index for the equipment manufacturing sector expanded to a three-year high of 53.3 percent， 1.7 percentage points higher than the overall manufacturing industry.

Hi-Tech Farming

Seedlings are sown in water at a greenhouse in Xuanen County， central Chinas Hubei Province， on March 7. New technology has helped local farmers increase planting effi ciency in this mountainous area.

JD Beats Expectations

Chinas e-commerce giant JD.com has beat market expectations by recording a full-year of profi t for the fi rst time.

The Nasdaq-listed company announced its fi nancial results on February 7， reporting a net income of 1 billion yuan （$145 million） for 2016. Thats a dramatic turnaround from a 900-million-yuan （$130.29 million） loss in 2015.

However， based on accounting standards commonly used in the United States， the company saw a net loss of 3.5 billion yuan （$506.7 million）.

Thats still a big improvement on the 9.4-billion-yuan （$1.36 billion） loss in 2015， due to better-than-expected sales in the fourth quarter which pushed net revenue up 44 percent to 260.2 billion yuan （$37.67 billion）.

The results come as JD decided to spin off its fi nance arm for 14.3 billion yuan （$2.07 billion） and 40 percent of the future pre-tax profi t of JD Finance， setting the stage for its expansion in a head-to-head competition with rivals including Alibabas Ant Finance and Tencents WeChat Pay.

The spinoff will be completed by the middle of 2017， with an unclear amount of buyers apart from JD.coms CEO Richard Liu.

Tourism Infrastructure

China plans to boost its tourism sector by upgrading its infrastructure and giving the public easier access to travel information， a government document said on March 1.

The National Tourism Administration unveiled the plan in a development guideline for the tourism industry during the 2016-2020 period. It echoes the countrys national strategy to spur the service sector.

According to the document， by 2020， roads to the countrys major tourist attractions will be renovated to meet growing travel demand. Large tourist destinations will have easier internal transportation.

In the next four years， the country will add 20 inter-region bike lanes with a total length of 5，000 km to boost zero-emission travel.

Toilets at tourist sites have long had a nasty reputation. Visitors have complained of a toilet shortage， unhygienic conditions， and lack of sanitation workers.

To address the problem， the country aims to install and upgrade 100，000 restrooms. Toilets at major tourist sites will have stringent hygiene standards with environmentally friendly cleaning approaches at most facilities.

The document also outlines plans to build a more integrated information sharing system and provide visitors higher-quality services.

Chinas tourism revenue totaled about 4.69 trillion yuan （$689.7 billion） in 2016， up 13.6 percent year on year. Domestic tourists made 4.44 billion trips in 2016， an increase of 11 percent， offi cial data showed.

Tourism plays a key part in the worlds second largest economy as the country moves to build an economy driven by the service sector and consumer spending rather than trade and investment.

By 2020， the country will spend about 2 trillion yuan （$289.5 billion） in developing the tourism sector， according to the plan.

Trade Fair

People visit an iron pot exhibitor during the 27th East China Fair in Shanghai on March 2. It was the largest regional trade fair in China， lasting from March 1 to March 5.

Didi Gets Online Service License

Ride-sharing platform Didi Chuxing strengthened government recognition of its business by obtaining its fi rst local online operating license. The one-stop mobile transportation platform received the online car-hailing operating license from the government of Tianjin， where Didi is registered， meaning its online car-hailing service is legal in the city， the company announced on March 2.

Tianjin authorities also granted Didi formal accreditation of its carhailing services， which is recognized nationwide.

The Ministry of Transport decided in 2016 that car-hailing service operators need formal accreditation of online and off-line operating qualifi cations.

Other market players such as Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur and UCAR have also obtained offi cial online operating licenses and accreditation.

Didi said it will continue to work closely with other localities and expects to see signifi cant acceleration of the overall licensing process.

Didi offers online car-hailing services in over 400 cities and completes more than 20 million rides daily.

Reducing Charges

Salespeople in a phone store in Beijing are ready for customers， on March 6. As data services become a major source of revenue， Chinas mobile service operators will eliminate charges for domestic roaming and long-distance calls from October 1， according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.