Rush Hours

Passengers at the Zhengzhou Railway Station in Zhengzhou， central Chinas Henan Province， on May 1. Road and railway transportation in the province saw rising traffi c on May 1， the last day of the International Workers Day holiday.

New Baidu Robot

Chinese Internet company Baidu has partnered with smart home appliance maker Zaijia.com to roll out a home assistant robot based on artifi cial intelligence （AI） on April 28.

The robot can chat with users and answer questions with high-level accuracy while offering security monitoring and entertainment services through a camera， a display screen and a sound box.

The new companion can be controlled by a smartphone. It can be used especially for entertaining children with songs and stories.

Baidu has been investing heavily in AI technology and applications. It acquired the smart home startup Raven Tech in February.

The Nasdaq-listed fi rm disclosed its fi rst quarter fi nancial performance on April 28， raking in revenue of 16.891 billion yuan （$2.454 billion）， up 6.8 percent year on year.

Baidus Vice Chairman， Group President and Chief Operating Offi cer Lu Qi attributed the performance to the focus on core business and AI-enabled new business initiatives， including AI cloud， fi nancial services and autonomous driving. All of them hold tremendous longterm potential， Lu said.

Besides Zaijia.com， Baidu has also established partnerships with smart device producers such as Haier， Midea and Lenovo.

Gutter Oil Control

The General Offi ce of the State Council released a guideline on May 1 to monitor and control the use of “gutter oil”—recycled oil from kitchen waste dredged from gutters behind restaurants and inedible animal oil.

According to the guideline， more methods will be mobilized to prevent use of the oil， including awards for whistleblowers.

Catering businesses will be urged to install cameras in kitchens， processing workshops and disposal workshops so that kitchen garbage can be traced.

A couple of restaurants in Shanghai have already answered the call， setting up live streaming video from their kitchens for customers to watch， showing their food safety.

Zhu Yi， an associate professor at China Agricultural University， said source control is crucial to eliminating the use of gutter oil. Only by comprehensive supervision and management can enforcers cut off the source of the oil. Merely punishing violators has had limited effect.

Zhu added that awarding and protecting whistleblowers who report the production， sale and use of the oil would help improve the management of smaller restaurants and oil producers， which are diff ciult to supervise.

Personal Info Fraud

Police caught over 4，200 suspects for theft of personal information in 2016， with over 1，800 cases solved， according to the Ministry of Public Security.

They also managed to track more than 30 billion stolen personal information items. Nearly 100 of the suspects were hackers.

The leakage of personal information is against the Civil Law， which states that the personal information of citizens shall be protected by law.

Leaking personal information has become a public nuisance and a crackdown is necessary， Wang Liming， a civil law expert with the China Law Society， said.

Suspects sent fraudulent messages to phone numbers obtained via websites that leaked the personal information of their customers.

Xu Yuyu， a high school graduate in Linyi in east Chinas Shandong Province， died of cardiac arrest in August 2016 after losing 9，900 yuan（$1，440） of her university tuition fees to telecom fraudsters.

The case aroused shock and anger， drawing attention to the need for protection of personal information.

Biotech Industries

China plans to build 10 to 20 professional biotechnology and medicine zones each with a total output value of 10 billion yuan （$1.4 billion） by 2020.

Zhang Zhaofeng， in charge of biological and medical technology at the Ministry of Science and Technology， said this at a meeting on social development and scitech innovation in Wuhan， Hubei Province， on April 28.

China has ranked second worldwide in the number of published papers and biotechnology patents for fi ve consecutive years， according to the ministry.

In 2015 alone， China witnessed the publication of more than 80，000 life science papers and applications for over 20，000 biotechnology patents.

More efforts are needed to boost the use of biological big data， protect biological resources and develop new vaccines and antibodies with independent intellectual property rights.

Jobs in Xinjiang

State-owned enterprises in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region will provide more than 10，000 jobs to poor residents in two southern prefectures.

Nearly 80，000 people in Kashgar and Hotan prefectures， which face pressure to eradicate poverty as part of a national campaign， have applied for the vacancies， according to the regional human resources and social security department.

The applicants， aged between 18 and 45， need to know Mandarin and have basic working skills.

The recruits will be trained. The fi rst 1，000 people have already been hired by a chemical company.

Enterprises that hire such workers will be paid 1，000 yuan （$145） per person.

A Spirited Approach

A visitor admires an artwork at an exhibition on contemporary womens spirit in Beijing on April 27.

Land of Twins

People pose for a group photo during an annual twin festival in Mojiang， a county in southwest Chinas Yunnan Province， on May 1. Twins， triplets， quadruplets and the like from home and abroad gathered to celebrate the three-day festival. Mojiang is known as “the land of twins” because it has more than 1，000 pairs of twins.

New Rules

New rules requiring online game players to register their real names with valid identity documents take effect in May.

According to a circular issued by the Ministry of Culture， online game operators are obliged to keep their users registration information for supervision.

The circular also asks operators to limit the time and maximum spending on online games for users below the age of 16.

Also from May， information on people who have defaulted on court orders will be kept on a blacklist for up to fi ve years， according to a judicial document issued by the Supreme Peoples Court.

Ancient Relics

More than 20 funeral artifacts were unearthed during the excavation of two 2，000-year-old tombs in central Chinas Hunan Province.

The tombs， thought to be from either the late Western Han （202 B.C.-A.D. 8） or early Eastern Han （25-220） dynasties， were discovered in November 2016 at a construction site in Huaihua city.

The larger tomb was equipped with a drainage ditch， an unusual feature of tombs in the area. Archaeologists found pottery utensils such as boxes， buckets， kettles and pots as well as copper coins and golden ornaments.

“From the size of the tomb and variety of artifacts， we think it could have belonged to a wealthy family，” Yang Zhiyong， Huaihua City Museum curator， said.

Pollution Control

Several Chinese enterprises were collectively fi ned about 264 million yuan （$38.3 million） for causing pollution， in the fi rst quarter of 2017.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection （MEP） and its sub-offi ces issued punishments in nearly 5，000 cases of violating environmental protection regulations and laws， up about 200 percent year on year.

Enterprises in 224 cases had to pay between 10，000 yuan （$1，450） and 100，000 yuan （$14，504） per day after exceeding the time limit for rectifi cation set by MEP.

A company dealing with waste in Sichuan Province was found to have polluted the soil with heavy metals after collecting and cutting batteries， and the case was transferred to local police for investigation.

In another case， a textile and dyeing plant in Zhejiang Province was found to have forged water quality monitoring data after discharging untreated waste water.

Tourism Boom

China saw a tourism boom during this years three-day May Day holiday （April 29-May 1）， off ciial data showed on May 1.

The tourism industry raked in 79.1 billion yuan （$11.5 billion） in revenue during the holiday， up 16.2 percent from a year earlier， according to data from the National Tourism Administration.

During the holiday， tourist destinations across China received 134 million tourists， a year-on-year increase of 14.4 percent.

The boom came as China tries to wean its economy off over-reliance on exports and heavy industries， and shift to a growth model that draws strength from consumption， innovation and the service sector.

The tourism industry is considered a growth driver as it boosts profi tability in sectors ranging from hotel and transportation to catering.

Industrial Park

The Guangzhou Automobile Group（GAC Group）， a major automobile manufacturer based in Guangdong Province， said it had begun constructing a large industrial park for new energy and intelligent connectivity vehicles， aiming to boost its business amid the booming domestic demand for environmentfriendly cars.

“Development of new energy vehicles connected with intelligent technology and unmanned vehicles will be an industrial trend in the next fi ve to 10 years. We will make great efforts to meet the market change，”Feng Xingya， General Manager of the GAC Group， said.

The Fortune 500-listed com- pany will develop the industrial park in Guangzhous Panyu district， which consists of manufacturing， core auto parts and leading technological research on new energy cars， Feng said.

“With the intelligent industrial park， we are aiming to become the industry leader in manufacturing new energy vehicles，” Feng said.

With an area of about 5 million square meters and an investment of more than 45 billion yuan （$6.52 billion）， the industrial park will feature smart manufacturing， innovative technology research and an ecological town.

Construction of the fi rst phase will be fi nished by the end of 2018， with a designed production capacity of 200，000 new energy vehicles a year， the company said.

“We will join hands with industrial leaders in the new energy vehicle sector to facilitate the industrial parks development，” Feng said.

The construction will be completed by the end of 2025.

Crafted Approach

Villagers make accessories in Zaoqiang County， Hebei Province， on May 1. In recent years， the county has been committed to helping low-income villagers engage in craft production.

Thriving Fund

Alibabas 4-year-old Yuebao has surpassed the JPMorgan U.S. Government Money Market Fund to become the worlds largest， according to the Financial Times.

With $165.6 billion under management， the Yuebao fund has grown rapidly， refl ecting the increasing importance and irreplaceable role of technology and e-commerce in China.

The Ant Financial Services Group， the payments affi liate of Alibaba， found a great deal of idle cash in customers accounts， which could be used for a fund. Yuebao was therefore born in 2013.

Due to Yuebaos expansion， Tianhong Asset Management Co.， the co-founder of Yuebao， has become Chinas fi rst fund company whose assets under management have exceeded 1 trillion yuan （$145 billion）. Yuebaos custodian bank CITIC Bank has also become the largest fund custody institution.

Peter Alexander， managing director Z-Ben Advisors consultancy， said that Yuebao has so many individual accounts that they have the power to negotiate with banks. Since the duration is very short， they also have high liquidity.

“Yuebaos large scale of capital brings a challenge for investment， research and risk management，”Wang Dengfeng， a fund manager at Yuebao， said. “On one hand， the fund holders have diverse demands. On the other hand， huge assets bring bigger pressure.”

SOE Reform

China is screening a third batch of centrally administered state-owned enterprises （SOEs） for mixed ownership reform.

Civil aviation， telecommunication and military will be the key sectors to press ahead ownership reform， China Securities Journal reported on May 2.

About 18 SOEs， including China Eastern Airlines， China Unicom and Air China， have submitted their plan to introduce private shareholders among the 19 shortlisted. The National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） has greenlighted the fi rst batch of nine proposals.

“As the ownership pilot reform expands in scale and deepens at the next step， it will serve as a breakthrough to overhaul SOEs，” NDRC spokesperson Yang Pengcheng said.

The third batch will likely include oil and gas giants once the industrys reform plan is offi cially launched. Each ownership reform model has its own characteristics.

The move comes as China is seeking to accelerate SOE ownership reform and strengthen the micro foundation of the market economy， according to a statement released by the NDRC.

Also known as partial privatization， the mixed ownership reform would spur an increasing number of restructuring， initial public offerings， employee share-ownership and introduction of strategic investors， Deloitte noted in a report.

Fair Play

A consumer talks business at a stationery booth at the 121st China Import and Export Fair—Canton Fair—in Guangzhou on May 1.

Slower Expansion

Chinas manufacturing sector continued to expand in April， though at a slower pace， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） said on April 30.

The manufacturing purchasing managers index （PMI） came in at 51.2 in April， lower than the 51.8 recorded in March， according to NBS data.

The reading fell short of market expectations but still stayed above the boom-bust line of 50 for the ninth straight month.

The slower expansion was in part due to sluggish growth in both market demand and supply， NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said.

The non-manufacturing PMI came in at 54 in April， down from 55.1 in March.

The above-50 reading suggests the service sectors continuing strength though the growth pace has slowed， Zhao said.

The service sector， which accounted for more than half of Chinas GDP last year， slowed its growth pace in April.

The index for commercial activities in the service industry came in at 52.6， down from the 54.2 registered in March.

The index for new orders in the service sector fell below the boombust line of 50 to 49.7， indicating sluggish market demand.

A slower expansion in the manufacturing-related service sector was the main reason for the tepid growth， according to Zhao.

Time for Fun

Visitors look at recreational robots at the Global Mobile Internet Conference 2017 in Beijing on April 27.

GDP Growth

Of the 31 provinces， municipalities and autonomous regions that have released their GDP for the fi rst quarter， 22 saw their GDP exceed the national average growth rate of 6.9 percent， Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Four regions witnessed their GDP top more than 1 trillion yuan（$145 billion）. East Chinas Zhejiang Province， with a GDP of 1.06 trillion yuan （$153.7 billion）， was the newcomer to the 1-trillion-yuan（$145-billion） GDP club.

South Chinas Guangdong Province recorded 1.94 trillion yuan（$281.3 billion） in its GDP in the fi rst quarter and took the top spot. The GDP of Jiangsu and Shandong provinces reached 1.88 trillion yuan（$272.6 billion） and 1.67 trillion yuan（$242.2 billion）， ranking second and third respectively.

In the fi rst quarter， Tibet Autonomous Region， southwestern municipality Chongqing and Guizhou Province led the growth at the provincial level， posting growth rates of 11 percent， 10.5 percent and 10.2 percen t respectively.

In sharp contrast， the northeastern steel-making province of Liaoning recorded the lowest growth of 2.4 percent. Last year， the province saw its economy shrink by 2.5 percent. The local government admitted in January that a raft of economic data had been falsifi ed from 2011 to 2014 and vowed to eliminate the bubbles in statistics.

Chinas economy posted a forecast-beating growth rate in the fi rst quarter of 2017， with GDP up 6.9 percent from a year ago， according to NBS.

The reading， the quickest increase in 18 months， was above the full-year target of 6.5 percent and the 6.8-percent increase registered in the fourth quarter of 2016.