Digital Museum

Digital Museum

A staff member introduces the Digital Palace Museum in Beijing on July 16. The museum launched seven digital products to transform cultural heritages into digital resources during a press conference on the same day.

Healthy China

The State Council issued a new guideline to implement the Healthy China initiative on July 15.

With a focus on disease prevention and health promotion， the guideline proposes 15 special campaigns to “intervene in health infl uencing factors， protect full-lifecycle health and prevent and control major diseases.”

An action plan for 2019-30 devised by a newly established State Council special committee was also made public， specifying the objectives and tasks of each campaign， as well as the responsibilities of different actors in the campaigns.

In 2016， the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council released the Healthy China 2030 blueprint， which covers areas such as public health services， environment management， the medical industry and food and drug safety.

Horticultural Drive

Beijings Yanqing District， a northern suburb， has stepped up efforts to promote the development of its modern horticultural industry as 11 research institutes and 33 companies related to the fi eld have settled down in the district， according to local authorities.

The district is hosting the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019， which opened to the public on April 29 and will last until October 7.

Five companies exhibiting their wares at the expo have recently based themselves in Yanqing， aiming to play a leading role in fi elds including research and development of soil matrix and germplasm resources.

Yanqing has established a series of policies to support enterprises to build a horticultural industry cluster.

It has also strengthened cooperation with universities and institutes to better utilize research achievements.

Tightened Oversight

The Ministry of Education will strengthen oversight of foreign teachers at afterschool training institutions after several foreign instructors were detained for alleged drug use earlier this month in Xuzhou， Jiangsu Province， a senior offi cial said.

Lu Yugang， Director of the Department of Basic Education of the ministry， said at a news conference on July 15 that training institutions that hire international teachers should follow relevant regulations for foreigners employed in China.

The teachers they hire should be registered with the education authorities， including their basic personal information， employment history， educational background， teaching credentials and other qualifi cations， Lu said.

In addition， training institutions should publish the information of all teachers， Chinese or foreign， and it should be made available for public perusal by students parents and other interested parties， he said.

“If they are found to have violated laws and regulations， the teachers at training institutions will be seriously punished according to law，” Lu said.

Green Packages

As China wages a war against garbage with a new waste sorting scheme， the postal authority has its eye on a major producer of waste： the express delivery industry.

By the end of this year， 95 percent of delivery packages are expected to use electronic waybills to reduce the use of paper， according to the State Post Bureau （SPB）.

The SPB also vowed to reduce over-packaging in e-commerce and increase the use of environmentallyfriendly packaging materials.

While the booming e-commerce industry has helped bring food and daily consumer goods to the doors of Chinese households， it has also generated a massive amount of packaging that is increasingly a threat to the environment.

Chinas express delivery sector handled 50.7 billion parcels in 2018， an increase of 26.6 percent year on year， according to the SPB.

To ease pressure on the environment， express delivery f rims are encouraged to recycle used boxes，reduce unnecessary packaging and use biodegradable packaging materials.

Such green packaging initiatives are expected to save the country 207 million disposable plastic bags each year， according to the SPB.

Summer Lotus

People sightsee at Daming Lake in the city of Jinan， east Chinas Shandong Province， on July 14.

Pairing Assistance

The seventh national meeting on pairing assistance to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region ended in the southern town of Hotan in the autonomous region on July 16， pledging the Central Governments comprehensive， targeted and longterm support to the border region.

Pairing assistance refers to a national strategy to channel fi nancial and personnel support to less developed regions.

China started to carry out the pairing assistance program in Xinjiang in 1997 when it sent cadres from developed regions to work there.

The latest round of pairing assistance， which started in 2010， involves ministries and 19 economically advanced provinces and municipalities to help Xinjiangs 14 prefectures and cities.

The program has created jobs， built homes， roads and other infrastructure， and provided locals with better access to education and medical services.

Statistics showed that in the past 10 years， nearly 120 billion yuan（$17.5 billion） has been poured into Xinjiang， and over 87，500 cadres， teachers， doctors， nurses and technicians have been dispatched. Cadres work for a minimum three-year tenure， while medical staff， teachers and technicians generally rotate every 18 months or less.

Western City Cluster

Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality have inked a working plan to push forward the development of the largest city cluster in west China， the government of Chongqing said on July 12.

The plan is aimed to develop the Chengdu-Chongqing city cluster consisting of 42 cities， districts and counties in Sichuan and Chongqing， covering 185，000 square meters， with a population of nearly 100 million.

A development plan for the city cluster was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in April 2016.

Sichuan and Chongqing will jointly set up an offi ce to carry out the cooperation involving six specifi c groups： strategic planning， infrastructure， industry， ecology and environment， opening up， and public service. The offi ce will strategize and implement specifi c cooperation projects， according to the plan.

Rescue and Relief

Rescuers carry relief materials off a boat in Aidong Township of Donglan County in Hechi， south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， on July 16.

Veteran Training

East Chinas Shandong Province kicked off its fi rst employment training program for veterans on July 15， as the province steps up efforts to offer them better services.

The program， to be concluded in mid-October， includes courses on fl ying drones， facilities cleaning and maintenance， legal services and ecommerce and is part of the efforts to support veterans to start their own businesses， according to Shandongs veteran affairs department.

Over 200 veterans are participating in the program with companies invited to provide technical support and guidance， said Yu Songyan， Vice Director of the department.

Shortly before the program， a job fair for veterans was held， attracting 1，107 companies along with 27，931 job opportunities.

China set up the Ministry of Veterans Affairs in March 2018 as authorities announced the goal to take more measures to help veterans with resettlement and employment.

Credit Regulation

The State Council， Chinas cabinet， announced a credit-based market regulation mechanism will be built to help manage market orders and improve the business environment.

It said in a guideline the mechanism will cover the whole life cycle of market entities as well as the regulation process.

Market entities are encouraged to make public promises for honest operation and make use of credit reports for their businesses.

Their credit performance will be recorded in a timely， accurate and comprehensive manner， while targeted regulatory measures will be taken on market entities with differ- ent credit levels.

Credit defaulters will be held accountable in line with specifi c regulations and laws.

More efforts will be made to enhance credit regulation information disclosure and improve regulation effi ciency by leveraging big data and other technologies， according to the guideline.

No Large-Scale Exit

Chinas manufacturing sector has not seen a large-scale foreign exit and the government is confi dent of attracting more foreign fi rms seeking long-term development， the top economic planner said on July 16.

“Most of those pulling out are mid- to low-end companies and the impact on Chinas economic growth， industry upgrading and employment is generally controllable，”Meng Wei， a spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC）， told a news conference.

Citing in-depth changes to the global industrial landscape and the upgrading of Chinas manufacturing industry， Meng said it was a normal phenomenon for some enterprises to set up factories abroad.

Some fi rms moved to lower costs as part of their international development strategy in market expansion， while a very small number of fi rms left to avoid the impact of Sino-U.S. trade friction， Meng said.

“To be clear， it is not easy for companies to relocate， and there are a number of factors to consider， including operating costs， industrial workers， supply chain support， transportation and even the manufacturing culture，” she said.

“We believe that with a series of policies and measures starting to take effect， the overwhelming majority of enterprises will stay in China for long-term development and more enterprises will come and invest in China，” she said.