SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPION

Chinese top swimmer Sun Yang won his third straight world championship title in the mens 400m freestyle on July 23 and his fi rst title in the 200m freestyle on July 25 at the 17th FINA World Championships held in Budapest， Hungary.

The 26-year-old was born in the city of Hangzhou in east Chinas Zhejiang Province and grew up in a sporting family. Both his father and mother were professional volleyball players.

Sun started his swimming career in 1999 and soon showed great talent. He claimed the gold in the 400m， 800m and 1500m freestyle before his 200m triumph. During the 2011 Shanghai World Championships， Sun broke the 1500m freestyle world record.

Sun became Chinas first male Olympic swimming champion at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is also an Olympic champion in 200m， 400m and 1500m freestyle.

War Against Foreign Garbage

Qianjiang Evening News July 21

China will ban imports of 24 types of solid waste， or foreign garbage， by the end of 2017 to fi ght against environmental degradation and pollution. China has notified the World Trade Organization of the ban， which covers waste plastics， unsorted scrap paper， discarded textiles， vanadium slag and other kinds of waste， the Ministry of Environmental Protection announced at a press conference on July 20.

In the past decades， some imported solid waste was useful as raw materials because China lacked production materials. With the economic and social development and peoples rising attention to environmental protection as well as public health， the fact that foreign garbage causes serious contamination to soil and water and threatens public health has become increasingly a matter of concern.

In recent years， China has handled several cases of foreign garbage being smuggled into the country. In June 2010， southwest Chinas Chongqing cracked down on a smuggling case involving 11 tons of electronics waste. This was evidence that solid waste was being transferred from developed coastal regions to inland regions. So far， China is still the largest solid waste importer， importing 56 percent of the worlds total annually. In 2013， Britain admitted that 12 million tons of so-called “green garbage” was shipped to developing countries like China， India and Indonesia.

China being a landfill for the worlds garbage doesnt match its development level or conform to the requirements of building a moderately prosperous society. Early in April， a reform plan on improving management of solid waste imports was adopted， a prelude to the announcement of the ban on foreign garbage. In order to seek green development， China should say no to foreign garbage.

Development of Characteristic Towns

China Newsweek July 24

Since the late 1970s， a number of small towns with commercial characteristics have emerged in east Chinas Zhejiang Province. These small towns are each focused on a certain industry such as the wholesale of small commodities， leather， timber and textiles. These industrial clusters created huge wealth in the past decades. The Central Government frequently mentions such small towns and has instructed local governments around the country to nurture some 1，000 characteristic towns in total by 2020. It is hoped these small towns will attract people， provide jobs for local peasants so that they need not migrate elsewhere for work， and relieve big cities of various urban problems.

So far， however， this strategy has not brought forth the expected results. In some places， local governments and property developers are even taking advantage of the concept of characteristic towns. Once real estate construction and speculation grows in these towns， the costs of housing and other commodities will rise significantly. Finally， other industries will be edged out by the real estate sector. In Zhejiang， every characteristic town is based on a certain industry. If a town has no real industry， its development plans will be rejected， regardless of how much property companies promise to invest. In some other cases， small towns are used by local governments to reach a certain GDP target， regardless of market rules. Gradually， a lot of towns that dont possess any special features have been labeled as characteristic towns in order to claim special subsidies from the Central Government.

Characteristic small towns are supposed to result from market competition， rather than policy design. We must respect the rule of small town development， instead of imposing a mandatory order on any province. The Central Government should transfer more power to local governments so that they can work out schemes suitable to local conditions. There should be more supportive services， instead of requirements on the development of characteristic towns.

Thumbs Up for Fast Food on Bullet Trains

Xinhua Daily Telegraph July 21

Recently， 27 major railway stations across China have launched a pilot food delivery service for high-speed trains. Passengers can order food from restaurants online to be delivered to their seat onboard.

Food supply services on trains have always been monopolized by the railway operator. However， dissatisfi ed passengers have long complained about the limited choice， not so good taste and relatively high price of food on trains. Some would rather eat instant noodles or buy other foods to take with them onboard. This fresh move， aimed at better serving and satisfying passengers， will introduce more food brands and diversify choice and is warmly welcomed by passengers.

It may infl uence the food business of the railway operator in the short term. But in the long run， it could greatly improve the service level， promote passengers satisfaction and help to build a good brand image for bullet trains. This is the railway operators fi rst step to open up its services to outside competition. Its expected that it will gradually open up more services in order to be more competitive.

NEW CHAIRMAN OF LEECO IN FOCUS

Sun Hongbin， Chairman of Sunac China Holdings， was elected as Chairman of LeEco Internet Information & Technology during a board meeting on July 21.

Sun agreed to pump 15 billion yuan （$2.18 billion） into LeEco in January， and the deal made Sunac LeEcos second largest shareholder. The founder of LeEco， Jia Yueting， resigned in early July because the company has been in a cash fl ow crisis since last year due to rapid expansion.

Sun has also drawn public attention for another transaction. On July 18， Sun spent 43.84 billion yuan （$6.51 billion） on buying 13 tourism property projects from real estate giant Wanda Group.

Sun was born in a small village in north Chinas Shanxi Province in 1963. At the age of 25， he began his career in Lenovo， Chinas pioneering computer company. He soon showed his extraordinary capability. Within two years， Sun was promoted to department manager in charge of 18 branches in China. However， his career was interrupted by a lawsuit. He was imprisoned after being convicted of embezzlement.

In 1994， released from prison， Sun established a property company in Tianjin. Over the past 23 years， the company has grown to be a property giant in tandem with Chinas booming real estate market. Now， Sun aims to surpass Wanda and become the top property company in China.

“If the trends continue [in terms of growth]， it would mean that some of the large emerging market economies， which ... are at risk of being underrepresented， will be better represented in the institution.”

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said at an event held by the Washington-based think tank Center for Global Development on July 24

“Our ability to tap into JDs advantages across logistics， big data， technology and customer services gives Wal-Mart a huge advantage in reaching Chinas rapidly expanding consumer class.”

Ben Hassing， Senior Vice President of e-commerce and technology at Wal-Mart China， said on July 25， when Wal-Mart and Chinas leading e-commerce retailer JD.com announced in Beijing that they will expand a strategic partnership to further integrate their platforms， supply chains and customer resources in China

“To protect the copyright of movies， TV series and news stories online， the battle will severely strike websites and other platforms， such as cloud storage and social media platforms， that spread unauthorized works.”

Yu Cike， Director of copyright management for the National Copyright Administration， said on July 25

“The overall debt risks remain under control， but regulatory bodies need to enhance coordination to deal with risks that have emerged in [certain] sectors， such as off-balance sheet activities.”

Li Yang， Director General of the National Institution for Finance and Development with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， said on July 25