Fire Stunts

A folk artist performs fi re-breathing for tourists at the Hongya Valley scenic spot in north Chinas Hebei Province on December 22， 2018， the Winter Solstice， one of Chinas 24 Solar Terms. Various folk custom-themed activities were held on the day to celebrate.

Patent Award

The China National Intellectual Property Administration （CNIPA） announced the names of the recipients of the 20th China Patent Award， the nations top award for patents， on December 25， 2018.

Altogether 40 patents， including 30 for invention and utility models and 10 for industrial designs， won the gold.

As of the end of 2017， products and projects related to the 40 gold award winners had created 83.5 billion yuan （$12 billion） of sales revenue， 13.9 billion yuan （$2 billion） in profi t and 18.6 billion yuan （$2.7 billion） in exports.

More than 60 patents won the silver， which was introduced for the fi rst time to encourage more patent holders.

Shen Changyu， head of CNIPA， said China will continue to support higher-quality and high-value patents.

The China Patent Award is coorganized by CNIPA and the World Intellectual Property Organization. More than 6，000 patents have been honored since it was established in 1989.

Migrant Population

Chinas migrant population numbered 244.5 million in 2017， 820，000 less than in 2016， according to an annual report on migrants released by the National Health Commission.

Although the number of migrants—people who leave their hometown to seek employment or education elsewhere—has con- tinued to grow for decades， a slow decline started in 2015， the report said. While the number of elderly migrants has kept growing， the number of child migrants dropped in the past few years.

The moving population has generated demographic dividends during the past decades， as a large amount of surplus labor from rural areas moved into cities to create wealth for both their own families and society.

The report showed that more of the migrant population have shifted from the primary industry to the service sector since 1978.

In 1978， 70.5 percent of the migrant population worked in the primary industry， while only 12.2 percent were in the service industry. In 2016， 27.7 percent worked in the primary industry and 43.5 percent in the service sector.

With labor and resourceintensive industries moving from east China to central and west China in recent years， the migrant population has followed the same trend.

Maternal Mortality

The percentage of women dying in childbirth has decreased rapidly across China in the past two decades， according to a study by researchers from the West China Second University Hospital affi liated with Sichuan University.

The researchers collected data from the national Annual Report System on Maternal and Child Health and used data mining to analyze the maternal mortality ratios for over 2，800 counties between 1996 and 2015.

The results showed that in the past two decades， almost all counties had achieved an annual decline rate of 5.5 percent， a target set in the UN Millennium Development Goal.

China has seen a fast decline in the maternal mortality ratio from 108.7 per 100，000 live births in 1996 to 21.8 per 100，000 in 2015， with an annual decline of 8.5 percent.

The researchers also analyzed inequality in maternal mortality ratios at the county and provincial levels. The counties with lower maternal mortality rates were mainly concentrated in east and southeast China.

The study said maternal healthcare accessibility and quality in rural areas need to be improved by ensuring there are more trained midwives.

The study， published in medical journal The Lancet， will be helpful for other developing countries that are trying to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal for improving maternal health.

More Forests

China has seen desertifi cation decrease and forest coverage increase since 1978， thanks to the Three-North Afforestation Program， a report released by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration（NFGA） and the Chinese Academy of Sciences said on December 2， 2018.

Implemented in the northeast， north and northwest， the national program fi ghts soil erosion and damage caused by wind and sand by planting trees.

The area of forests grown to battle sand has increased by 154 percent in the past 40 years， contributing to the reduction of desertifi cation by around 15 percent.

Over the past 40 years， the program has increased forest area by 30.14 million hectares and raised the forest coverage rate from 5.05 percent to 13.57 percent in the regions it covers， NFGA deputy head Liu Dongsheng said.

“The desertifi ed area has signifi cantly declined since 2000 due to Three-North shelter forests and peoples increasing awareness of environmental protection，” Zhu Jiaojun， head of the Institute of Applied Ecology， said.

The program also plays a role in preventing sandstorms in the BeijingTianjin-Hebei region， Zhu said.

The duration of sandstorms per year dropped from 5.1 days in 1978 to 0.1 days in 2015.

Childbirth Guide

The China Family Planning Association will explore more services in childcare and early child development and help raise public willingness to have children.

Labor pa ins， high costs of child- care and education， and shortage of kindergartens are the main reasons stopping many Chinese couples from having babies， Wang Peian， deputy head of the association， said at a conference in Beijing on December 20， 2018.

China allowed married couples to have two children starting in 2016， ending its decades-long one-child policy. Twenty-eight cities established childbirth guidance centers in 2018 to provide convenient services for young couples and training for children under 3 years.

In 2017， 17.58 million babies were born in Chinese hospitals. About 51 percent of the newborns were not the fi rst child in their families， according to the National Health Commission.

Making Waves

Dancers in elegant costumes perform at an exhibition in Fuzhou， capital of southeast Chinas Fujian Province， on December 25， 2018.

Road Renovation

China has surpassed its target for renovating rural roads in 2018， Ministry of Transport spokesperson Wu Chungeng told a news conference on December 21， 2018.

The ministry built and renovated 250，000 km of rural highways in 2018， which is 50，000 km more than its plan for the year.

Bus services have been expanded to over 7，000 more villages， exceeding the annual target of 5，000.

Wu said 1，000 service facilities for crucial national and provincial highways have been built or renovated， administrative barriers reduced and online platforms established for obtaining licenses. The ministry will introduce more measures in 2019 to accelerate transport construction and improve peoples livelihood， Wu said.

Childrens Best Friend

Children are engrossed in a library in Changli Village， northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province， on December 22， 2018. The library， funded by donations and charity sales， opened to migrant children to provide them a better place to read and do their homework as well as extra-curricular activities.

Organized Crime

More than half of the people convicted of organized crime in 2018 face a minimum of fi ve years in prison， the Supreme Peoples Court said on December 24， 2018.

As of November 15， 2018， over 1，900 people were convicted for organized crime in more than 260 cases. Of them， over 1，000 received serious sentences ranging from fi ve years in jail to capital punishment. The proportion was higher than other types of criminal cases.

At a national meeting on fi ghting organized crime on December 24， 2018， Chief Justice Zhou Qiang told courts at all levels to show zero tolerance for organized crime and to crack down on alliances between criminal organizations and corrupt offi cials.

Supporting Smaller Enterprises

China will intensify its support for the development of the private sector， and small and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs） to boost the vitality of market entities and enhance their confi dence， an executive meeting of the State Council， Chinas cabinet， decided on December 24， 2018.

Premier Li Keqiang called for giving stronger support to private businesses and SMEs to ease their fi nancing woes and promote the integrated development of businesses of all sizes.

“To boost the private sector of the economy and micro and small businesses， it is crucial to create a level playing fi eld， especially in property protection and market access， for these businesses to compete in a law-based， neutral environment，” Li said.

Stronger innovation capacity will be supported. Catalogues of recommended products and services will be issued to help hi-tech SMEs gain better access to the market.

Deeper tax and fee cuts will be introduced； fi nancing services will be improved； and the required reserve ratio cuts targeting inclusive fi nance will be refi ned. The relending policy targeting small fi rms will be expanded to qualifi ed small and medium-sized banks and new-type Internet banking.

The permit processes for the listing and refi nancing of private fi rms will be accelerated. Asset manage- ment products and insurance funds will be employed in addressing the risks of equity-backed mortgages of listed private fi rms.

Li stressed the importance of keeping policies well-coordinated， consistent and creditworthy to provide businesses an enabling environment and anchor market expectations.

Weighty Port

Three ships are berthed at the Huanghua Port Coal Port Terminal in north Chinas Hebei Province on December 25， 2018， loading goods. More than 200 million tons of coal were shipped out of the port in 2018， a record high.

Tax Deductions

The State Council announced special individual income tax deductions on December 22， 2018， in order to lower the tax burden for those with certain expenditures.

These include childrens education， continuing education， health treatment for serious diseases， housing loan interest， rent and elderly care.

The new temporary measures will take effect along with the amended personal individual income tax law on January 1， 2019.

For childrens education， an amount of 1，000 yuan （$145） will be deducted every month from the parents taxable income for each childs education from preschool through doctoral education， including technical education.

Taxpayers with serious diseases will have their amount of out-ofpocket medical costs deducted from their taxable income each year.

In addition， taxpayers or their spouses who have fi rst home mortgage loans are allowed a deduction of 1，000 yuan per month from taxable income.

Housing rent deduction of up to 18，000 yuan （$2，613） each year will be granted to taxpayers who own no housing in the city where they work.

An amount of up to 2，000 yuan（$290） will be deducted every month from an only-childs taxable income for his or her parent who is over 60 years old.

Tariff Adjustment

China will lower or remove import and export duties on a number of items starting in 2019 as part of a tariff adjustment package announced on December 24， 2018， as the country further opens up its economy.

To expand imports， more than 700 products will be subjected to temporary import tariff rates starting January 1， 2019， with the duties on the raw materials for some medicines removed， the Ministry of Finance said in an online statement.

Export tariffs on products including chemical fertilizers and iron ore will be scrapped， it said.

China will also apply conventional tariffs on products from 23 countries and regions， including a further reduction in tariffs under free trade pacts between China and relevant countries， the ministry said.

The move aims to support the Belt and Road Initiative and the de-velopment of free trade areas， speed up Chinas economic and trade cooperation with relevant countries， and create favorable external conditions for the healthy and stable development of the economy in the long term， the ministry said.

Winding Roads

An aerial view of a mountain road in Xigaze， southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region， on August 12， 2018. The past fi ve years have seen Tibets transportation network take on a new look.

Foreign Investment Law

A draft law on foreign investment has been submitted to a bimonthly session of the National Peoples Congress （NPC） Standing Committee， which opened on December 23， 2018.

Once adopted， the unifi ed law will replace three existing laws， namely the laws on Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures， non-equity joint ventures and wholly foreignowned enterprises.

The current laws can hardly keep up with the changing economic situation， as China strives to build new institutions and open its economy. But the new law will guarantee Chinas opening up in the next phase and more effective utilization of foreign investment， analysts said.

Minister of Justice Fu Zhenghua said that the foreign investment legislation is on the working agenda of the NPC Standing Committee.

Necessary mechanisms on the facilitation， protection and management of foreign investment are written into the draft law， such as the pre-establishment national treatment and negative list management， equal supportive policies and equal participation in government procurement.

Operatic Opening

On December 25， actors from a folk art troupe in Jixi， east Chinas Anhui Province， perform Huiju opera， originally from the province， on the Hangzhou-Huangshan High-Speed Railway， which offi cially opened that day.

Tibetan Incubation Base

The fi rst entrepreneurship incubation base in southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region was established on December 25， 2018.

Jointly set up by the regional human resources and social security departments and the local branch of the China Mobile Communication Group Co. Ltd. in Lhasa， capital of the region， the incubation base has an investment of more than 30 million yuan （$4.36 million）.

It covers an area of over 5，200 square meters， which can accommodate 80 companies and aims to attract college graduates who are natives of Tibet， along with small and micro businesses with annual revenue of less than 1 million yuan（$145，000）.

It will mainly target projects including technology research and development， software development， cultural creativity， e-commerce projects and others.

Apart from free venues for startups， the base provides entrepreneurship training and policy counseling.

5G Supplier

Huawei remains “an important supplier” of access equipment in the 4G and 5G networks and the fi xed network of the UKs leading telecom service provider BT Group， a spokesperson of the British company told Xinhua on December 24， 2018.

BT is not only the largest mobile operator in the UK， but also the larg- est provider of consumer fi xed-line voice and broadband services in the country.

The company has worked with Huawei， Chinas leading provider of information and communications technology infrastructure and smart devices since 2005， said the spokesperson.

Some recent media reports claimed that Huaweis equipment will not be used within the heart of BTs 5G mobile network.

The BT spokesperson said that Huawei was not involved in vendor selection for its 5G mobile core， but is still a signifi cant equipment supplier for its 5G Radio Access Network.

BT said that it has not changed its position or policy toward Huawei， explaining that what has happened is that “journalists have reported on existing programs that we have in place.”

The core network is just a specif ci part of an entire mobile network， and is not the part that needs the most investment， Huawei also said in a statement provided to Xinhua.