MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Medical workers disinfect a ward at Xiaotangshan Hospital in Beijing on April 28. The hospital cleared all novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19） cases that day and ceased operation the next day.

Located in the citys northern suburb， the hospital was renovated and put into operation on March 16 for the screening and treatment of imported mild and common confirmed COVID-19 cases， suspected cases and those who need to be tested. In 2003， it was used to treat patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome in Beijing.

Environmentally Friendly

Fields covered with biodegradable plastics in Luonan， a county in Shaanxi Province in northwest China， on April 27. Multiple villages in the county have used biodegradable plastics for mulching crops such as pepper and tobacco leaf to protect the environment.

Netizen Population

The number of netizens in China had reached 904 million as of March， up 75.08 million from the end of 2018， according to a report on Chinas Internet development released on April 28.

Internet penetration in China had reached 64.5 percent， up 4.9 percentage points from the end of 2018， said the report issued by the China Internet Network Information Center.

The number of netizens accessing the Internet through mobile phones in China increased by 79.92 million from the end of 2018 to 897 million in this March， accounting for 99.3 percent of all netizens.

As of March， the size of Internet users in the countrys rural areas had reached 255 million or 28.2 percent of the total netizen population， up 33.08 million from the end of 2018， while the number of urban netizens had grown by 42 million from the end of 2018 to 649 million， accounting for 71.8 percent of the total.

Plateau Airport

A new airport began construction on April 26 on the Pamir Plateau in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China， which is expected to be the highest airport in the region after completion.

The Taxkorgan Airport， located at 3，252 meters above sea level in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County， involves a total investment of 1.63 billion yuan （$230 million）. It will be the fi rst super-high plateau airport in Xinjiang， according to Xinjiang Airport Group.

Super-high plateau airport is defi ned as an airport sitting at no less than 2，438 meters above sea level.

Equipped with a 3，800-meter runway， a 3，000-square-meter terminal and four aprons， the airport is designed to handle an annual throughput of 160，000 passengers and 400 tons of cargo and mail. It is scheduled to go into operation in June 2022.

At present， there are 15 superhigh plateau airports in use and two under construction in China， among which the Taxkorgan Airport ranks 14th in terms of altitude.

More Parks

A total of 40 new parks opened to the public free of charge in Beijing ahead of the fi ve-day Labor Day holiday starting on May 1.

The parks cover a total area of more than 2，600 hectares， according to the Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau on April 27.

Beijing is expected to open 106 parks and greenbelts in 2020， with the per capita public green space reaching 16.5 square meters by the end of this year， Gao Dawei， deputy chief of the bureau， said.

To avoid gatherings， all scenic spots in Beijing adopted a real-name booking system during the holiday， which required tourists to book in advance through various channels such as instant messaging tools， mobile phone apps and offi cial websites of the scenic spots， Zhou Weimin， an offi cial with Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism， told a press briefi ng on epidemic prevention and control on April 27.

As of April 27， 83 major tourist attractions in Beijing had resumed operations in an orderly manner， registering a reopening rate of 35 percent.

Health Laws

China is planning to formulate or revise a total of 17 health-related laws this year and next year to strengthen legal safeguards for public health， according to a report made public on April 27.

The report was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress （NPC）， Chinas top legislature， for deliberation at its legislative session， held from April 26 to 29.

After years of hard work， a public health legal system involving over 30 laws has been basically set up in China， said Shen Chunyao， Director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee， when delivering to lawmakers the report on legislation and law revision work to strengthen safeguards for public health.

But the novel coronavirus（COVID-19） epidemic has exposed some problems in legislation and indicated the need for systematic law revisions and improvements， Shen said.

The annual turnover of Suzhous bio-pharmaceutical industry has exceeded 170 billion yuan （$24 billion）， and the city has attracted more than 3，000 bio-pharmaceutical enterprises.

The number of newly approved drugs in the city accounted for 3.6 percent of the countrys total in 2019.

Online Concert

A symphony concert staged on the evening of April 25 at the Emperor Qinshihuangs Mausoleum Site Museum received more than 3 million views online.

Audiences enjoyed a blend of Western and Chinese melodies， along with an eyeful of the Terracotta Warriors that surround the tomb of the nations fi rst emperor Qinshihuang， which is located in Xian， Shaanxi Province in northwest China， via live-streaming platforms.

The concert was presented by the Xian Symphony Orchestra （XSO） with classical music ranging from Tchaikovskys String Quartet No. 1 in D Major， Op. 11 to the Chinese violin concerto The Butterfl y Lovers.

“We choose to play classical works so that the music and the national treasures add radiance to each other in this unique concert hall，” Qin Zhifeng， head of the XSO， said.

Discovered in 1974， the Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures buried with Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty （221-207 B.C.）， who unifi ed China for the fi rst time.

Ecological Attraction

Buffaloes graze on an island in the Jialing River in Nanchong City， Sichuan Province in southwest China， on April 29. During the period from April to October， hundreds of buffaloes swim across the river to eat grass on the island every morning and swim back from the island at dusk. Locals bank on the spectacle to develop tourism.

Tax Exemptions

China announced on April 26 to extend tax exemptions by an additional four years to further improve the inclusive fi nance service for smaller businesses.

The tax exemptions， which expired at the end of last year， will be extended to December 31， 2023， according to a statement jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration.

In order to boost policy support and encourage fi nancial institutions to step up fi nancial services， Chinese authorities decided in 2017 that fi nancial institutions will be exempt from value-added taxes （VAT） on income from interests for loans to small and micro-sized businesses and individually owned businesses.

The joint statement also said the VAT， which was already collected but eligible to be waived， can be deducted in subsequent months or refunded.

Information Consumption

The fast-expanding information consumption sector has played a vital role in countering the impact of the novel coronavirus （COVID-19） epidemic and advancing the stable development of Chinas economy during the epidemic period， according to an offi cial on April 25.

In the fi rst quarter of 2020， Chinas mobile data traffi c consumption soared 39.3 percent from the same period of last year， Li Ying， a senior offi cial with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology， told a press conference.

In March alone， the average household usage of mobile traffi c reached 9.5 GB， the highest level in almost a year， refl ecting the rapid growth of information consumption， Li added.

During the epidemic period， consumer demand for online medical and education services， as well as food delivery and new retail services， posted explosive growth.

Services such as audio and video conference meetings， telecommuting and cloud storage have accelerated enterprises efforts in work consumption， according to the offi cial.

Construction Resumption

A view of the construction site of the Xiangjiang bridge in Guizhou Province， southwest China， on April 26. With strict COVID-19 prevention and control measures， the construction of the 1，700-meter bridge has been resumed recently.

Medical Exports

New measures have been taken to strengthen quality control over exports of medical supplies and further regulate outbound procedures to better aid the global battle against the COVID-19 epidemic.

Authorities have stepped up supervision on exports of non-surgical face masks， which are required to meet the quality standards of either China or respective export destinations starting from April 26.

The Ministry of Commerce will confi rm the list of qualifi ed mask manufacturers， and the State Administration for Market Regulation will offer a list of substandard products and producers to provide a basis for customs authorities to clear exports.

Exporters of non-surgical face masks should fi le the joint declaration of the exporter and importer when going through customs clearance to make sure they are up to standards and will not be used for surgical purposes， according to the new policy.

Starting on April 26， businesses exporting products verifi ed or registered overseas， including COVID-19 testing kits， medical face masks， medical protective suits， ventilators and infrared thermometers， should provide an export declaration of medical supplies to customs authorities， which will then clear the products in accordance to the business lists.

IPO Pilot

China will pilot the registration system at ChiNext to deepen reform of the capital market， according to its top securities regulator.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission （CSRC） and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on April 27 proposed reform measures of ChiNext， Chinas NASDAQstyle board of growth enterprises， outlining the pilot adoption of a registration-based initial public offering system at ChiNext.

With information disclosure as its core， the registration system will improve the markets transparency and authenticity and allow investors to make their own value judgment， the CSRC said.

The reformed ChiNext will mainly serve growth-oriented innovative and start-up enterprises， support the innovation of mode， service and format， and promote the in-depth integration of traditional industries with new ones.

The move also included a series of specifi c rules in the areas of ongoing disclosure， corporate governance， equity-based incentives and reduction of holding stocks.

Meanwhile， it focused on intensifying the responsibilities of issuers and intermediary agencies as well as simplifying delisting procedures.

Port Vitality

Visitors and merchants exit the China-Kazakhstan Horgos Frontier International Cooperation Center in Horgos， Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China， on April 26. Since March， the land port at Horgos has seen a pickup in business activities as local enterprises accelerate production.

Tourism Recovery

The tourism market in China has gained momentum with short distance journeys taking the lead as companies jump on the livestreaming bandwagon.

Data from the fast-growing ecommerce platform Pinduoduo showed that booking for shortdistance trips， such as provincial tours and excursions， soared by 270 percent in April compared with March.

To offset the effects of the epidemic， tourist sites have teamed up with live-streaming platforms to attract online consumers in various ways， including virtual displays and interactive guides.

A live-streaming show of the Hibiscus Town， a village in Hunan Province， central China， with more than 2，000 years of history， was held on April 26 on the Pinduoduo， raking a total of 350，000 views and more than 6 billion interactions.

“Tourist live-streaming can help the digitalization of the sector，”said Jing Ming， a director with the Pinduoduo， noting that the trend will further optimize local industrial structure while leveraging the advantages of e-commerce.

Digitalization， together with capital， knowledge， innovation and other factors， is activating tr aditional culture and tourism resources， which forms new engines of the industry， Dai Bin， head of the China Tourism Academy， said.

Container Vessel

The HMM Algeciras of the ocean carrier HMM based in the Republic of Korea docks at Qingdao Port in Qingdao， Shandong Province in east China， on April 26. As the worlds largest container vessel with a 20-foot equivalent unit capacity of 24，000， it started the maiden voyage from the port that day.

Doubled Profit

A total of 94 listed companies in Chinas A-share market have seen their net profi t double in the fi rst quarter （Q1） this year despite the bite of COVID-19， the China Securities Journal reported.

As of April 26， 866 listed companies released their Q1 fi nancial performance reports and 344 reported higher profi ts， beating market expectations， the newspaper said， citing data from fi nancial information provider Wind Info.

While the epidemic put a damper on industries such as entertainment， auto parts and real estate， companies in the sectors of chemical products， computer applications， medical devices and food processing mostly gained because of the increasing orders.

Some burgeoning sectors， like online education， are expected to see a boom in the long term as they gained wide popularity when people were stranded at home to stem the spread of the virus.

As the epidemic is gradually contained in the country， the operation of most listed companies will be back to pre-outbreak levels， Fu Lichun， an analyst with Northeast Securities said， adding that companies related to new infrastructure and online services will have a positive outlook.