Book Bars on the Beaches

Tourists read at a book bar in a scenic spot in Beidaihe， north Chinas Hebei Province， on August 25. Many such spots have been set up in the beach areas of Beidaihe District for tourists this year.

Steel Capacity Cap

North Chinas Hebei Province will cap its steel capacity at 200 million tons by 2020 in its fi ght against air pollution.

The total steel capacity in Hebei， Beijings neighbor and home to several of the countrys most polluted cities， was cut to 239 million tons in 2017 from its peak of 320 million tons in 2011. Local authorities plan to cut a further 10 million tons this year.

The provincial government said on August 27 it will also limit the capacity of cement， fl at glass， coal and coke by 2020.

An economic structure dominated by heavy industry is the major factor behind severe air pollution in Hebei.

The Central Government has ordered the closure or relocation of highly polluting companies in urban areas.

Hebei has set a target to reduce the average concentration of PM 2.5， a major atmospheric particulate matter， to 55 micrograms per cubic meter by 2020， 15 percent less than in 2017.

Hebei and several other regions around Beijing host major steelmakers， coal mines， aluminum producers and chemical plants. They are at the forefront of the countrys fi ght against air pollution.

E-Commerce Law

On August 27， Chinese legislators began reviewing the latest draft e-commerce law， which was submitted to the National Peoples Congress （NPC） Standing Committee for the fourth reading at a bimonthly session.

“The law is necessary to protect the legitimate interests of all ecommerce participants， regulate conduct， maintain market order and improve the sustainable and sound development of e-commerce，” Xu Hui， Vice Chairman of the NPC Constitution and Law Committee， read from a report to legislators.

Operators engaging in crossborder e-commerce should abide by laws and administrative regulations regarding import and export， according to the draft law.

E-commerce platform operators may face a penalty of 500，000 yuan （$73，327）， or up to 2 million yuan （$293，300） in serious cases， for failing to take necessary steps against intellectual property rights infringements by merchants on their platforms， the draft law stated.

It also said e-commerce operators should fulfi ll their obligations to protect the environment. The State Council， local governments at or above county-level， as well as related departments， should take measures to support and promote environmentally friendly packaging， storage and transportation in ecommerce.

China， the worlds largest ecommerce market， saw its online retail sales grow 32.2 percent year on year in 2017 to reach 7.18 trillion yuan （$1.05 trillion）.

The draft e-commerce law was fi rst reviewed by the NPC Standing Committee in December 2016， and further deliberated over in October 2017 and June 2018.

Hottest Summer

The national average temperature in China this summer reached 22 degrees Celsius， the highest since 1961， with 55 weather monitoring stations posting record high daily temperatures， a meteorological offi cial said on August 27.

Compared to normal years， the national average reading from early June to August 26 was 1 degree Celsius higher. The high temperatures also lasted longer， covered more areas and came with more extreme weather this year， Zhang Zuqiang， Director of the emergency relief and public service department of the China Meteorological Administration， said at a press conference.

In August， for example， Chinas national average temperature reached 22.2 degrees Celsius， 1.2 degrees Celsius higher than normal years. Some 93 weather stations reported extreme high temperatures particularly in Jilin， Liaoning， Sichuan， Hubei and Shandong provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Zhang said the lingering high temperatures in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were detrimental to the growth of crops.

In September， most regions of the country are expected to record an average temperature close to or higher than normal years， with normal or slightly heavier precipitation， which is conducive to the growth of autumn crops.

Singing in Nature

A choir performs in the Huanglong Cave scenic area during a chorus festival in Zhangjiajie， central Chinas Hunan Province， on August 25.

Passport Process Simplified

The State Immigration Administration （SIA） announced several measures on August 28 to simplify the process of issuing passports and travel documents to Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan.

Beginning on September 1， Chinese citizens will be able to apply for or renew passports and travel documents to Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan from anywhere， regardless of where their household registration is， the SIA statement said.

The processing time will be reduced to seven working days， according to the statement.

Tourists traveling to Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan in groups can also apply for travel permissions in places other than their household registration locality.

Since its founding in April， the SIA has launched several policies to facilitate cross-border travel， such as shortening the waiting time for citizens to cross the border and offering visa-free access to tourists from 59 countries to Hainan Province.

Little Doc

A child visits a free medical experience museum for children in Shanghai on August 26， the day that the museum opened.

Air Quality Monitoring

China announced on August 26 the launch of a plan to better monitor and control smog in key regions through satellite remote sensing.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment said a grid network to monitor the density of PM 2.5 will gradually cover Beijing， Tianjin and 26 cities in nearby provinces， 11 cities on the Fenhe and Weihe river plains， as well as 41 cities on the Yangtze River Delta.

With technologies including remote sensing， authorities in the Beijing headquarters can discover environmental problems in faraway regions quickly and direct immediate action， according to Zhao Qunying， an offi cial in charge of environmental supervision at the ministry.

“This can improve the effi ciency of regulation and address the problem of inadequate enforcement personnel for the broad regions under scrutiny，” Zhao said.

Regions covered by the network will be divided into grid units of 9 square km. The units with relatively high density of PM 2.5 are listed as key areas to watch.

By October， Beijing， Tianjin and nearby cities will be included in the network. Cities on the Fenhe and Weihe river plains will be covered starting in October， while those in the Yangtze River Delta will be covered in February 2019， according to Zhao.

Expansion of Expressways

China added 8，130 km of expressways to its toll road network last year， an increase of 6.5 percent year on year， according to the Ministry of Transport.

The new additions put the countrys total length of feecollecting expressways at 132，638 km， or 81 percent of the toll roads in China， data from the ministry showed.

In 2017， 15，245 km of fi rst- and second-class toll roads became toll-free， marking a decrease of 33.5 percent year on year， according to the ministry.

The countrys toll roads registered a defi cit of 402.6 billion yuan（$59 billion） last year， down 2.8 percent year on year.

China is aiming to build and put 5，000 km of expressways into use this year.

The country categorizes its roads into fi ve tiers in terms of traffi c volume， with expressways being the top class.

Top Private Firms

On August 29， China unveiled the latest ranking of its 500 largest private enterprises， with telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei and e-commerce fi rm Suning atop the list.

The list， by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce， came at the 2018 Summit of China Top 500 Private Enterprises held in Shenyang， northeast Chinas Liaoning Province.

The revenues of the nine largest private fi rms all exceeded 300 billion yuan （$44 billion） in 2017. They include Huawei， Suning， Amer International， JD.com， Weiqiao Pioneering Group， Legend Holdings， Evergrande， Gome Holdings and Hengli Group.

Of the top 500 private companies， 61 fi rms saw their revenues surpass 100 billion yuan （$12.7 bil- lion） last year， 11 more than in 2016.

Eighteen of Chinas private fi rms also made the list of the worlds top 500 companies， compared with 17 in 2016.

Airport in the Sky

The Chongqing Wushan Airport under construction on August 29. Dubbed the most spectacular airport in the world， it is expected to be completed by the years end and operational in the fi rst half of 2019.

Financial Partnership

The UN Economic Commission for Africa （ECA） forged a partnership with Chinas leading fi ntech company Ant Financial in August to promote fi nancial inclusion on the continent.

ECA Executive Secretary Vera Songwe stressed the importance of digital fi nancial inclusion platforms for Africas future development and underscored the positive prospects of working in partnership with Ant Financial.

Ant Financial is an affi liate of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and a specialist in online fi nancial services.

Digital fi nancial inclusion platforms could help Africa realize the global sustainable development goals as well as the continental Agenda 2063， an ECA statement quoted Songwe as saying.

Noting tha t Ant Financial runs one of the worlds largest online payment platforms， valued at $150 billion， Songwe pointed out that Africa has an “opportunity to leapfrog technology for social， fi nancial and political inclusion” by working with the Chinese giant.

Ant Financial CEO Jing Xiandong said that the company serves over 650 million people on a daily basis and is recording tremendous success in efforts to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor in many countries such as India and the Philippines.

He said that he believes the company can replicate its success in Africa so that fi nancial inclusion can be enhanced on the continent.

Consumer Confidence

Chinas consumer confi dence remained high in the second quarter of the year， according to a research report by global measurement and data analytics company Nielsen.

The countrys Consumer Confi dence Index （CCI） stood at 113 points between April and June， down two points from the previous quarter， but still well above the baseline of 100 that demarcates optimism and pessimism.

Andy Zhao， President of Nielsen China， saw a resilient Chinese economy despite a more complex global economic situation.

“The structure and production effi ciency of the economy are steadily optimizing， and the transformation and upgrading of the economy continue to open new drivers for growth. That laid a solid foundation for high-quality economic development，” he said.

Nielsens CCI measures perceptions of local job prospects， personal fi nance and willingness to make purchases.

All three components of the CCI remained high in the second quarter， with local job prospects climbing seven points from 68 points in the same period last year.

The willingness to spend increased four points from 56 points a year earlier， while personal fi nance in the second quarter stood at 68 points.

In the fi rst seven months of the year， Chinas retail sales expanded 9.3 percent year on year， compared with 9.4-percent growth in the fi rst half， data showed.

Clean Power

The Xiongan New Area in north Chinas Hebei Province—a statelevel economic zone set up last year to reduce Beijings non-essential functions—is aiming to run on 100-percent clean power.

The area， located around 100 km southwest of Beijing， will see its energy mix optimized and act as a demonstration hub for clean heating in north China， said Guo Zhi， chief economist with the National Energy Administration， during an international clean heating exhibition in Xiongan on August 25.

Natural gas， together with biomass， geothermal and solar energy， will be encouraged in Xiongan， according to Xie Qiuye， head of the China Electric Power Planning and Engineering Institute.

China has vowed to have clean energy generate 50 percent of winter heating in its northern region by 2019. That would replace 74 million tons of coal equivalent a year. The percentage will increase to 70 percent by 2021， replacing 150 million tons of coal equivalent annually.

Some large state-owned enterprises have committed to supporting the construction in Xiongan.

Sinopec said that it will increase investment in geothermal energy in the area， while PetroChina and CNOOC have promised a plentiful supply of clean energy.

The State Grid Corp. has already established a subsidiary to facilitate grid-planning.

Xiongan will initially cover 100 square km and later incorporate other parts of Hebeis Xiongxian， Rongcheng and Anxin counties， eventually taking up 2，000 square km.

Picking the Wool

Customers peruse cashmere products at the 2018 China Sonid International Wool Festival in Sonid Right Banner， north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， on August 25. The event attracted over 70 exhibitors from both China and Mongolia.

ICBC Center

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China （ICBC） Yangon branch， the fi rst Chinese commercial bank to operate in Myanmar， has inaugurated its new center.

At the centers opening ceremony on August 24， Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Hong Liang expressed his hopes for the ICBC Yangon branch to become one of the most powerful and effi cient foreign banks in Myanmar， calling for the promotion of fi nancial and monetary cooperation between the two countries and the construction of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor.

Daw May Toe Win， Director General of the Foreign Exchange Management Department of the Central Bank of Myanmar， pledged to continue strengthening banking supervision by guiding foreign banks such as ICBC in the country to create a better regulatory environment for the development of Myanmars fi nancial industry.

He Biqing， CEO of the ICBC Yangon branch， said that the new ICBC center will bring new fi nancial service experience to customers.

Keeping It Cool

A villager harvests vegetables in Yaomo Village， Guyuan， northwest Chinas Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region， on August 27.

In recent years， the Guyuan local government has strived to develop the cultivation of cool-climate-adapted vegetables through a mechanism that combines planting bases， cooperatives and farmers.

Tea Exports

Southwest Chinas Guizhou Province has set itself the target of becoming the countrys largest tea exporter by 2020 by exporting 50，000 tons annually.

Combining the ecological advantages of high altitude， low latitude， and minimal sunshine and pollution， Guizhou was home to the countrys largest area of tea cultivation at the end of 2017 with 478，000 hectares.

The provinces agricultural commission unveiled plans on August 27 to support local tea companies to expand exports to the overseas markets.

Meanwhile， Guizhou encourages domestic and overseas tea trading fi rms to set up processing bases and workshops in the province so as to boost exports.

Finlays， a subsidiary of John Swire & Sons Ltd.， has started construction on a tea processing plant in the county of Sinan in the province， with an annual processing capacity of more than 20，000 tons.

Local authorities will launch quality inspections and seek to ensure that 33，300 hectares of tea plantation meet European standards.

In 2017， Guizhous tea output stood at 327，000 tons with exports reaching 2，852.6 tons.