New Old Fashions

New Old Fashions

People watch a performance in an old street in Pingyao Town of Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province in east China， on November 23. The street， which offi cially opened that day after two years of renovation， fully retains the style of the 1970s and 1980s， with stores offering a variety of treats like traditional cakes and tea.

Guideline on IPR

The general offi ces of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee and the State Council have jointly issued a directive calling for intensifi ed protection of intellectual property rights （IPR）.

The document aims to implement decisions and plans set out by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on stepping up IPR protection and improving related systems and mechanisms.

“Strengthening IPR protection is the biggest incentive to boosting Chinas economic competitiveness，”read the document.

It also said China will make comprehensive use of law， technology and social governance policies to step up IPR protection.

According to the document， by 2022， China will strive to effectively curb IPR infringement and largely overcome challenges such as high costs， low compensation and diffi culties in providing evidence for safeguarding IPRs.

By 2025， social satisfaction with IPR protection in China will reach and maintain a high level.

Meanwhile， the country will strengthen penalties for infringements and counterfeiting， and improve the protection system for new business forms.

The document called for speeding up the introduction of a punitive compensation system for infringements on patents and copyrights， and strengthening the protection of trade secrets， confi dential business information and their source codes.

China will also step up international cooperation in IPR protection， facilitate communication between domestic and foreign rights holders， and provide support in overseas IPR disputes.

Greening Success

China has increased its forest area and reversed its land degradation， contributing to the protection of the global ecosystem and environment， a report said on November 22.

As global forest coverage remains stable with only a slight decline since the early 2000s， China has achieved remarkable results in afforestation and forest protection， a major contributor to maintaining the balance of global forest coverage， according to the Annual Report on Remote Sensing Monitoring of Global Ecosystem and Environment released by the National Remote Sensing Center.

Chinas total forest area has increased by almost 45 million hectares in the past 20 years， said Gao Zhihai， one of the reports authors.

Among the global arid and semi-arid regions， Asia has made the most progress in improving and restoring land from 2000 to 2018， accounting for more than 50 percent of the total， most notably in China and India， indicating that scientifi c policy guidance and actions can effectively reverse land degradation， the report said.

Better Housing

Steady progress has been made in Chinas housing renovation plan for dilapidated urban areas， fulfi lling the annual target for 2019 in the fi rst 10 months of the year， offi cial data showed.

The government plan called for the beginning of the renovation of 2.89 million homes.

Construction began on 3 million homes in shantytowns， surpassing the annual target by 3.8 percent， according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

During the January-October period， 1.03 trillion yuan （$147 billion） was invested in renovation projects， according to the ministry.

Shantytown transformation has been a priority for the government in recent years. China aims to renovate 15 million dilapidated homes from 2018 to 2020 to speed up its urbanization drive and improve peoples livelihood.

Scientists Honored

The Change-4 mission team received the only Team Gold Medal of the year from the Royal Aeronautical Society （RAeS） of the UK at its annual award ceremony held in London on November 25.

The medal is the fi rst award given to a team from China by the RAeS since its inception more than 150 years ago.

After the ceremony， Wu Weiren， chief designer of the Chinese lunar exploration program， said China welcomes more countries and organizations to work together to jointly contribute to humanitys efforts to further explore space and pursue scientifi c discovery. The Change-4 probe made the fi rst soft landing on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the Moon on January 3. The complete success of the mission created another milestone in the lunar exploration history of humanity.

Founded in 1866， the RAeS is one of the oldest aeronautical societies in the world. The annual awards are designed to honor outstanding teams and individuals worldwide in the fi eld of aerospace studies and exploration.

A Romantic Ritual

A group wedding in the Chinese traditional style is held in Qingdao， Shandong Province in east China， on November 24. Couples wearing traditional outfi ts enjoyed a festive and happy moment.

Education Aid

Project Hope has provided fi nancial assistance to 103，700 students from various ethnic groups in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China over the past 30 years， the regional youth development foundation said. It has also funded the building of 517 primary schools and kindergartens and one hospital， as well as the establishment of 2，480 projects teaching physical education， music， computer literacy and reading in village schools.

The project， which was launched in 1989 by the China Youth Development Foundation and the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China， helps children in poverty-stricken areas and offers them greater access to education.

Cross-Border Parcels

Parcels from China accounted for 38 percent of cross-border parcels worldwide， the countrys postal authorities said on November 26.

Chinas postal industry handled 350 billion yuan （$50 billion） worth of cross-border e-commerce transactions， said Ma Junsheng， head of the State Post Bureau.

“The postal network under the Universal Postal Union is the main channel for cross-border shipping of e-commerce items，” said Liu Aili， Chairman of China Post Group.

The post is becoming the go-to option for cross-border e-commerce logistics due to its wide coverage， low cost and expediency， according to the General Administration of Customs of China.

Data showed that the post was responsible for 70 percent of crossborder shipping of parcels globally in 2018.

International railways are the mainstay of Chinas cross-border land transport， delivering more than 10 million items to 24 countries across Europe， according to the China Post Group.

Transporting Gas

A vessel transporting liquefi ed natural gas （LNG） approaches a wharf at Caofeidian in Tangshan， Hebei Province in north China， on November 21. The receiving facilities at Caofeidian have unloaded 18.48 million tons of LNG since it went into operation in 2013， according to offi cial statistics.

Tighter Regulation

China has been cracking down on illegal transactions related to virtual currency trading， according to Economic Information Daily.

The countrys fi nancial regulator has demanded all-around inspection and the solving of illegal actions involving speculation in virtual currency using the concept of blockchain， the newspaper said， quoting a source close to the Offi ce of the Leading Group for the Special Campaign Against Internet Financial Risks.

Payment institutions are re- quired to step up investigations and clean up the payment and settlement process， an offi cial circular said.

Trading venues of virtual currency will be overhauled， said announcements issued by Shanghai and Shenzhen， among other regions.

“Blockchain does not equal virtual currency， and the policies to crack down on virtual currency and initial coin offerings （ICOs） remain unchanged，” said the source. “The country will thoroughly curb various types of risks， which require immediate crackdown once they are found.”

The Chinese regulator has warned against the backsliding of illegal virtual currency trading activities， especially those in advertising blockchain innovation and application.

A long-term mechanism will be built to further overhaul virtual currency and ICOs and guard against the resurgence of illegal transactions. In 2017， China rolled out a string of regulation measures on virtual currency trading and has warned about the risks of related transactions.

New WeChat Service

Popular social media platform WeChat launched a project on November 26 to work with tourism authorities worldwide to digitalize services to tap Chinas growing outbound tourism market.

The platform has teamed up with partners to set up the Welcome with WeChat Alliance to leverage its ecosystem to help participants meet the diversifying demands of Chinese travelers abroad.

The alliance will support members in digitalizing their content and services， offer training on effective practices， and fi nance innovative solutions.

Li Zhaohui， China Director with the German National Tourist Board Beijing Offi ce， said social media is playing an important role in attracting tourists and hoped more Chinese tourists would be drawn to the European country after the service empowerment via the alliance.

WeChat， rolled out by tech giant Tencent in 2011， has become a popular platform in China for institutions， brands and other entities to engage with followers. The combined monthly active users of WeChat topped 1.15 billion by the end of September.

The launch of the alliance came after WeChat initiated WeChat Go， an open collaboration program to help global partners serve Chinese travelers， in 2016.

China is the worlds largest outbound tourism market， with some 150 million overseas trips made last year， up 14.7 percent compared to 2017.

Shipbuilding Giant

China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. and China State Shipbuilding Corp.Ltd. merged into one corporation in Beijing on November 26.

The reorganized corporation has 147 scientifi c research institutes， enterprises and listed companies with total assets of 790 billion yuan （$112.29 billion） and 310，000 employees.

It has the largest shipbuilding and repairing base in China and the most complete research and development capability in the fi eld of shipping， allowing its marine equipment to meet the requirements of international technical standards and safety conventions.

In recent years， Chinas shipbuilding industry has rapidly grown strong. Compared to the world-class shipbuilding powerhouses， however， Chinas research and manufacturing capabilities in the fi eld of hi-tech and high value-added ships are insuffi cient， while the industry has excess manufacturing capacity.

This reorganization will help speed up the elimination of low-end backward production capacity and optimize the industrial structure of Chinas shipbuilding industry， said Hao Peng， Minister of the StateOwned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

He said the move is also conducive to accelerating the development of Chinas hi-tech and high-value-added research and manufacturing capability， which can improve the strength of Chinas shipbuilding industry and its international competitiveness.

Sound of Excitement

Guests ring a ceremonial bell to start trading during e-commerce giant Alibaba Groups debut on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 26.

Alibaba is the fi rst overseas issuer to raise funds from the Hong Kong market through a secondary listing. It went public in New York City in 2014 with a record $25-billion initial public offering.

Sovereign Bond Sale

The Ministry of Finance （MOF） issued its biggest ever U.S. dollardenominated sovereign bonds in Hong Kong on November 26.

The $6-billion sovereign bonds came in four tranches， namely，$1.5-billion three-year bonds， $2-billion fi ve-year bonds， $2-billion 10-year bonds and $500-million 20-year bonds， the ministry said on its website.

The bonds scale and durations are reasonable and could help improve the yield curve of Chinas overseas U.S. dollar-denominated sovereign bonds， according to the MOF.

The bonds investors are diverse and from a wide range of regions， underscoring international investorsenhanced recognition of Chinas sovereign bonds.

The successful issuance refl ects Chinas commitment to seeking higher-level opening up and global investors confi dence in Chinas steady economic expansion， the MOF added.

Trade Feast

People visit the France Pavilion during the China Yiwu Imported Commodities Autumn Fair in Yiwu， Zhejiang Province in east China， on November 23. The event ran from November 13 to 27， with the participation of more than 400 enterprises from 57 countries and regions.

Digitalization Benefits

Digital technologies can be powerful tools in reducing poverty and injecting vitality in rural areas， a report jointly issued by the World Bank and Alibaba Group said.

The success of rural Chinas ecommerce development showed that digital technologies could not only benefi t high-income countries and urban areas， but also developing countries and rural regions under the right conditions， the report said.

It attributed rural Chinas e-commerce achievements to the countrys tremendous improvements in human capital， logistics and transport infrastructure.

With the implementation of evidence-based policies that support e-commerce development for poverty alleviation， other countries can learn from the China experience to help make the dream of a world without poverty a reality， said Martin Raiser， a World Bank offi cial.

The China experience shows that targeted support that lowers entry barriers and transaction costs， addresses information asymmetry and allows new entrants to participate in online markets can help launch e-commerce in less advantageous areas， the report said.

It also pointed out that ecommerce should be deployed with care as it is not suited for all locations， households or products.