Reaching the Right Level

Reaching the Right Level

An aerial view of the Three Gorges project in Zigui County， central Chinas Hubei Province， on October 28. The experimental impoundment of the Three Gorges reservoir this year neared completion as the water level rose to 174.43 meters on October 28.

Law Application

Chinas Supreme Peoples Court has established a mechanism to resolve differences in the application of laws to standardize their application and judgment criteria and uphold its judicial authority.

A guideline， which clarifi es the measures for implementing the mechanism， went into effect on October 28.

The new mechanism aims to prevent differences in law application among effective verdicts at the same level from the perspective of the trial mechanism in a timely manner， the apex court said in a statement.

The 12 articles in the guideline provide provisions on the organizational structure of difference resolution， initiating the resolution process， resolution procedures， as well as application of resolution results.

The top courts judicial committee is its leading and decisionmaking body to resolve such differences. The guideline says members of the committee shall discuss and decide on the fi nal settlement of differences in law application.

The top courts Trial Administration Offi ce， related departments and the China Institute of Applied Jurisprudence shall provide services and reference for the judicial committee to make related decisions and be responsible for implementing these decisions.

E-Commerce Training

Executives of 50 enterprises in Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China recently fi nished an ecommerce training program held in regional capital Lhasa.

The three-day training， which concluded on October 27， brought the latest model of e-commerce operation and promotion to Tibet， including live streaming on online marketplace Taobao and posting short videos on video-sharing platform TikTok.

Businesspeople took the training course and did exercises on Taobao and TikTok.

Acho， the sales leader of Zhuofanlin， a local brand that sells traditional handicrafts， said the new techniques will help them modernize and boost sales on Taobao.

The instructors came from the Ningbo Public Vocational Training Platform for Modern Service Industry and the Alibaba cross-border ecommerce talent incubation center.

Tibet has more than 30，000 e-commerce merchants as local companies embrace the information age.

There is no shortage of products on the plateau. Trendy business ideas and management can help those products reach more people， the citys federation of industry and commerce said.

TCM Services

All Chinese citizens will be able to access traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） services in their communities by 2022， according to a guideline recently released by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council， Chinas cabinet.

Efforts will be made to ensure all community health service centers and township clinics offer TCM services by 2022.

As of the end of 2018， 98.5 percent of community health service centers and 97 percent of township clinics nationwide had started providing TCM services， and over 60，000 TCM organizations had been established， according to the National Administration of TCM.

Besides efforts to develop TCM clinics and specialist hospitals， chain operations are being encouraged. TCM services are being urged to go online， building a database of medical records and prescriptions and developing online TCM hospitals affi liated to medical institutions.

Retired TCM doctors are also being encouraged to provide services at grassroots-level institutions. Training for rural doctors will be improved.

Career Planning

Over 87 percent of 700 college students and graduates interviewed think a clear career plan helps with job hunting， according to a recent survey conducted by China Youth Daily.

Liu Jia， a college student in east Chinas Jiangxi Province， did not realize the importance of planning her career in advance until she was going to graduate.

“The gap between me and students with a good career plan started to emerge when graduation day drew near，” said Liu. “Other students， who have experience in working for student associations or have received awards or done internships， already had several offers related to their majors， while I was left frustrated with my lackluster resume.”

Most respondents with a career plan have obtained certifi cates in their fi eld， completed internships to learn about the employment environment， and/or participated in activities to improve their curriculum vitae， according to the survey.

Around 64.88 percent of those surveyed think career planning can provide college students with an opportunity to avoid unsuitable job positions and adjust their jobhunting goals.

Rural Transport

Strengthening rural transport infrastructure is the key to boost rural industries， experts at a forum on rural vitalization and transport industry said on October 27.

The construction of rural transport infrastructure should be integrated with the development of various undertakings in the rural areas， according to Li Chunsheng， Vice Chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the National Peoples Congress.

Rural transport development has brought about major changes in the agricultural production chain， the ecological and environmental chains， as well as the value chain， and will speed up rural vitalization， Yin Chengjie， head of the Chinese Association of Agricultural Economics， said.

More efforts should be made to establish a mechanism for increasing fi nancial input and integrating funds for agriculture and transport so as to promote high-quality rural road construction， Chen Jiding， deputy head of the China Academy of Transportation Sciences， said.

The Central Government has issued an outline on transport development， spelling out plans for forming a rural transport network and achieving poverty alleviation through transport facilitation.

Electric Result

Chinas fi rst self-developed four-seater electric aircraft， the RX4E， lands after its maiden fl ight in Shenyang， capital of Liaoning Province in northeast China， on October 28. Developed by Liaoning General Aviation Academy， the 1，200-kg aircraft has a range of 300 km and is capable of fl ying for about 90 minutes on a single fl ight.

Pollution Treatment

The comprehensive treatment of pollution in the Bohai Sea has improved via strengthened supervision and steady reform， an offi cial said on October 29.

By the end of September， the number of unqualifi ed fi fth-class water quality sites in the Bohai Sea coastal waters was down to two from 10 in June， Huo Chuanlin， an offi cial of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment， said at a press conference.

Thirteen coastal cities and districts along the Bohai Sea have begun detecting and handling sources of pollution at each of the estuaries in line with a work plan released by the ministry in February.

Prevention of environmental risks has been strengthened. Provinces and cities along the Bohai Sea addressed 1，900 cases of potential hazards and registered emergency response plans for more than 5，400 companies.

An action plan on comprehensive treatment of pollution in the Bohai Sea was released in December 2018， setting the goal for the proportion of sites with grade I and II water in the Bohai Sea coastal waters at around 73 percent by 2020.

Water quality in China has six grades， with the highest three grades suitable for human consumption.

The government earmarked more than 7 billion yuan （$1 billion） in pollution treatment in the Bohai Sea in 2019.

Putting Their Hearts in Art

Two students try their hand at crafts at a children creativity fair at the Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center in Nanning， Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China， on October 26.

Tax and Fee Cuts

Chinas tax and fee reductions have boosted the performance of public fi rms by continuously injecting impetus into them， China Securities Journal reported on October 28.

Companies in traditional cyclical industries such as power and nonferrous metals， manufacturing and consumer sectors have received more benefi ts from the cuts， said the report.

The Yunnan Aluminum Co. Ltd.， a leading enterprise in the industry， expected its net profi t for shareholders of the parent company in the fi rst three quarters to rise 163.25 percent to 291 million yuan （$41.1 million）.

The company has seized the opportunity from the stable domestic and international aluminum markets to expand its production and sales and effectively lower the purchasing costs of bulk raw materials， the report said.

“The benefi ts brought about by tax and fee cuts to listed companies are widespread，” said Fu Lichun， a senior analyst with Northeast Securities.

The cuts can improve the profi t margin of listed fi rms while expanding demand as consumers tax burden is lessened， Fu said.

Specifi cally， listed fi rms in the consumer industry will get more benefi ts due partly to the fact that demand for their products is more sensitive to tax and fee rollbacks， while traditional cyclical companies will directly benefi t from lower costs.

The tax breaks can also spur listed fi rms research and development（R&D） investment， as well as structural adjustment and transformation， the report said.

“With our tax burden eased， we can increase our investment in R&D and production， which is of great signifi cance to the companys sustainability，” said Lu Kunzhong， secretary of the board of Wuhan Raycus Fiber Laser Technologies Co. Ltd.

A Blossoming Life

A worker waters fl owers in the hall of an agricultural zone in Guan County， north Chinas Hebei Province， on October 27. In recent years， the county has improved the local agricultural structure and developed the fl ower industry， targeting markets in Beijing and Tianjin to improve farmers income.

Design Guideline

China released a four-year action plan on October 29 to strengthen its industrial design capabilities amid a shift from the Made in China model to Created in China.

Key targets for the 2019-22 period include developing an open design platform for equipment manufacturing and enhancing the design of special-purpose or special-environment equipment as well as key parts of high-end equipment， according to the plan unveiled by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and 12 other departments.

China aims to achieve breakthroughs in original design in such fi elds as high-grade numerical control machine tools， industrial robots and artifi cial intelligence during the period.

The country also seeks to improve the design capabilities of industries with competitive advantages including textiles， automobiles and heavy machinery， to facilitate industrial upgrading.

It will form industries and national standards for system， artifi cial intelligence and ecology designs， while developing a number of productive and professional design tools.

In terms of funding， the country will encourage private capital-based design industry funds to be established， qualifi ed design enterprises to go public for fi nancing， and banks and other fi nancial institutions to provide tailored services to design fi rms.

Investors Guide

China rolled out a guideline to make better use of foreign investment with a focus on safeguarding the national treatment of foreignfunded enterprises.

The guideline， which was adopted on October 16， put forward 20 policies to create a more fair， transparent and predictable business environment for foreign-invested enterprises， Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said on October 29.

According to Wang， China will continue to shorten the negative list for foreign investment access in the national and pilot free trade zones（FTZs）， and eliminate restrictions that are not on the negative list.

The country will optimize scientifi c and technological innovation services for foreign-invested enterprises， improve the construction of pilot FTZs and lower the cost of cross-border capital use to make it easier for foreigners to work in China.

It will also strengthen the standardization of the implementation of regulatory policies and make the formulation of regulatory documents more transparent.

China will give full play to the role of the judicial protection of intellectual property rights （IPR）， improve the IPR protection mechanism， support both domestic and foreign enterprises in their fair participation in standardization and ensure their equal participation in government procurement.

Opportunities Go Live

A live-streaming anchor promotes childrens clothes online in an e-commerce industrial zone in Zhili， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， on October 24. About 100 local enterprises producing childrens clothes have adopted live streaming to improve sales， with annual revenue totaling more than 1 billion yuan （$142 million） in recent years.

Consumption Centers

As consumption continues to be the main engine driving Chinas economic growth， the country is beginning to step up efforts to create a favorable environment to further unleash consumption potential.

“Hot areas in service consumption frequently emerge， and the innovation capability in sectors such as culture， education， tourism， sports， elderly care and home service is constantly improving，” said Chen Lifen， an offi cial with the Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM）.

A guideline issued by MOFCOM and other departments earlier in October stressed the development of a series of new platforms for international products and service consumption， and promoting new formats in cultural sectors， including the fashion and creative industries， to unlock the potential of service consumption.

In fi ve years， cities with potential will grow into international consumption centers， and become engines to help upgrade the industrial structure and boost economic growth， according to the guideline.

Building megacities into international consumption centers can better meet consumers demand for high-end international products， retaining domestic consumption and boosting consumption upgrading， said Wang Wei， Director of the Market Economy Research Institute of the Development Research Center under the State Council.

Huge consumption potential can also be unleashed from consumption backfl ow as Chinese citizens outbound tourism consumption topped the world in 2018 with spendings of $277.3 billion in foreign countries， up 5.2 percent year on year， according to the World Tourism Organization.

To win back overseas consumption， the country can leverage the duty-free store policies， and raise the quality of domestic products and services by aligning its own standards with international ones， said Guan Lixin， an offi cial with MOFCOM.

Reflection of Growth

Customers shop at a duty-free store in Haikou， south Chinas Hainan Province， on October 26. Through favorable policies on annual shopping quotas， tax-free consumption has expanded rapidly in Hainan， with product sales volume totaling 12.76 million in the fi rst three quarters of 2019， up 29.2 percent year on year.

SOE Opportunities

Chinas centrally administered state-owned enterprises （SOEs） are embracing opportunities in Hainan Province as the south China island builds a pilot free trade zone （FTZ）.

A total of 21 central SOEs have signed cooperation agreements to develop in Hainan， said Hao Peng， chief of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission （SASAC） of the State Council.

The China Tourism Group Corporation （CTGC） has moved its headquarters to Hainan， while other central SOEs， like the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation， have established their regional， international or settlement headquarters in the province， with a registered capital of 35 billion yuan（$4.95 billion）.

In addition， projects playing supportive roles in Hainan FTZ have been launched. An international energy trading center launched by China Huaneng Group Co. Ltd. and other enterprises is expected to be in operation in October. Haikou international tax-free city， a tourism shopping project with an investment of 12.8 billion yuan （$1.8 billion） from the CTGC， is moving forward smoothly， Hao said.

He said that the government will support central SOEs to invest and develop in Hainan FTZ， adding that the SASAC will provide them with more guidance and platforms for information exchange.