A SAFETY SHOT

A foreigner replies to a query about his medical history at a vaccination site in Hefei， capital of Anhui Province， on May 12. With the COVID-19 vaccination underway for foreign residents based on principles of voluntary application and informed consent， many people have voluntarily started getting the jabs and a large number have already received the two shots prescribed.

Shoal Industry

An aerial photo of the shoal comprehensive development demonstration zone in Dongtai， Jiangsu Province， on May 12. The zone has created a development model combining wind plus photovoltaic power generation and aquaculture for efficient use of shoal resources and ecological development.

Drug Control

China has become the first country to put all synthetic cannabisrelated substances on the list of controlled drugs， the office of the National Narcotics Control Commission said at a press conference on May 11.

Another 18 kinds of psychoactive substances have also been newly added to the list.

As of now， the list contains 188 kinds of new psychoactive substances， all fentanyl-related substances and all synthetic cannabis-related substances， the office said.

There are 297 known kinds of synthetic cannabis-related substances worldwide， among which 103 were found to be in use in China.

New Bureau

On May 13， China inaugurated a new national administration of disease prevention and control with five major functions， including formulating policies for the prevention and control of infectious diseases.

The establishment of the Beijing-based administration signals an expansion of the roles of disease prevention and control agencies from preventing and containing diseases to comprehensively safeguarding and promoting the health of the entire population， said an official statement.

Preventing Myopia

A five-year campaign has been launched to prevent myopia among young people， the Ministry of Education （MOE） said on May 11.

The government aims to reduce myopia in children and adolescents and improve the visual health of young Chinese by 2025， according to a work plan jointly released by 15 national agencies including the MOE.

Under the plan， the agencies will initiate special operations， such as reducing studentsacademic burden， limiting their exposure to digital appliances， and ensuring one hour of outdoor activities or physical exercise every day both during and after school. Also optical examinations will be conducted on all children and students to identify possible eyesight problems.

The MOE asked primary and junior middle schools not to rely heavily on digital gadgets in teaching and assigning homework， ordering a 30-percent cap on the total teaching time using electronic devices and calling for roughly all homework to be paper-based.

About 50.2 percent of children and teenagers suffered from myopia in 2019， a drop of 3.4 percentage points from the figure in 2018， an MOE survey showed.

Last year， 200 million students studied at home for months amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Myopia rates increased slightly in 2020， but remained lower than those in 2018.

Subway ‘Eyes

An autonomous subway operation system has been developed to enhance connectivity between trains， according to the Qingdao Metro Group in Shandong Province.

Through wireless communication， the system enables trains to acquire information such as the position and speed of the train ahead， as well as the state of the subway line.

“With the system， it is as if the trains have been equipped with brains and sharp eyes，” Luo Qingping， deputy chief engineer with Qingdao Metro， said.

The system can significantly reduce the impact of equipment failures in subway operations and help deal with emergencies such as fires， Fang Shaoxuan， an expert with the China Association of Metros， said.

The system was jointly developed by Qingdao Metro and other domestic firms.

Tourist Routes

Recently， 300 rural tour routes were launched for tourists to have a better idea about the achievements in the fight against poverty and aid rural vitalization， according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The new routes are among the efforts to enrich rural tourism services and prepare for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.

Featuring a combination of revolutionary history and lush ecological environments， they will provide a glimpse into poverty eradication and rural vitalization achievements.

A route in Xiadang， a township in Ningde in Fujian Province， for example， takes visitors through a remote hilly area. It has been receiving 200，000 tourists annually.

The first quarter of 2021 saw rural tourist sites receive a total of 984 million visitor arrivals， up by 5.2 percent from the same period in 2019， according to a rural tourism monitoring center.

The installation of AEDs can increase the success rate of saving people with heart attacks in public places. However， further training is required to improve the publics capability to use them in emergency scenarios.

The RCSC is promoting the use of a package， which includes the AED， first-aid kits and an instruction video. It has also asked to have trained personnel stationed in public areas.

Foreign Trade

The import and export volume of China expanded 28.5 percent year on year to 11.62 trillion yuan （$1.8 trillion） in the first four months of 2021， up 21.8 percent from the pre-epidemic level in 2019， data from the General Administration of Customs of China （GACC） showed on May 7.

Exports jumped 33.8 percent from a year earlier， while imports climbed 22.7 percent in yuan terms. Trade surplus increased 149.7 percent to 1.02 trillion yuan（$158 billion）.

Imports and exports totaled 3.15 trillion yuan （$489 billion） in April alone. This marked a yearon-year increase of 26.6 percent and month-on-month growth of 4.2 percent.

In the month， trade surplus narrowed 12.4 percent from a year earlier， reaching 276.5 billion yuan （$42.9 billion）.

In the first four months， the Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained Chinas largest trading partner， followed by the EU and the U.S.， GACC data showed.

During the period， the growth rates of Chinas trade volume with the three trading partners stood at 27.6 percent， 32.1 percent and 50.3 percent， respectively.

Private enterprises accounted for 47.2 percent of the overall foreign trade volume in the January-April period， up 4.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Their imports and exports improved 40.8 percent， to 5.48 trillion yuan （$850 billion） during the period.

Logistics Growth

Logistics activities continued to pick up in April， according to data from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing（CFLP）.

The logistics performance index， which tracks business volumes， new orders， employment， inventory turnovers and equipment utility rates in the sector， came in at 57.3 percent in April， up 2.4 percentage points from March.

A reading above 50 percent indicates expansion， and below that mark， contraction.

The sub-index for equipment utility rates rose by 1.8 percentage points from March to 55 percent.

The sub-index for new orders stood at 56.1 percent， while that for business activity expectations was 62.1 percent， showing that logistics activities will continue to expand in the future.

Bulk Commodity

The China Bulk Merchandise Index， an instrument measuring the development of the domestic bulk commodity market， stood above the boom-or-bust line of 100 percent at 103.3 percent in April， according to the CFLP.

The index has risen for four consecutive months， indicating a stable and growing market， the federation added.

In April， the sub-index for bulk commodity supply rose 1.7 percentage points from March to 102.7 percent， while that for sales stood at 105.5 percent， up 1.9 percentage points from a month earlier.

The sub-index for bulk commodity inventory decreased to 99.1 percent， showcasing eased inventory pressure.

5G Factories

Hi-tech giant Huawei announced on May 8 its action plan to equip 1，000 smart factories with its 5GtoB solution to accelerate Chinas industrialization.

“After more than two years of research and development， 5GtoB has deciphered many breakpoints in technology and industrial ecology. We will cooperate with our partners across the industrial chain to light up 1，000 5G smart factories，” Ryan Ding， Huaweis executive director and President of its carrier business group， said.

Ding said earlier that building on its experience in connectivity， computing and industry digitalization， Huawei has worked with operators and other industry partners to develop the 5GtoB solution， a one-stop solution that covers sales， operations and services.

China has attached great importance to the development of its 5G Plus Industrial Internet strategy， which has been mentioned in the work report of the Central Government for four consecutive years.

According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology， the country has more than 1，100 5G Plus Industrial Internet projects under construction， covering 22 industries， including cement， automobiles， petrochemical， steel， mining and oil.

Forex Reserves

Chinas foreign exchange （forex） reserves expanded to $3.1982 trillion at the end of April. The total went up by $28.2 billion， or 0.89 percent， from the end of March， according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange （SAFE） on May 7.

SAFE spokesperson Wang Chunying said the foreign exchange transactions had functioned steadily， with a basically balanced supply and demand in the market.

Due to the development of COVID-19 vaccines and monetary policy expectations， as well as new macroeconomic data from major economies， the dollar index witnessed a decline across global financial markets， Wang said， adding that the financial asset prices of major economies were generally rising.

She attributed the growth of the forex reserves to the combined effects of currency translation and the change in asset prices.

Despite uncertainties in the international financial market amid the COVID-19 pandemic and an unbalanced global economic recovery， Chinas forex reserves remain generally stable as its economy has got off to a good start this year with new achievements in high-quality development and a more flexible yuan exchange rate， Wang said.

Cargo Service

The China-Europe freight train service will be upgraded to spur on the development of cross-border e-commerce， according to a three-year action plan released at the Fifth Silk Road International Exposition that opened in Xian， capital of Shaanxi Province， on May 11.

China will set up a green service mechanism for crossborder e-commerce firms via the China Railway Express（Changan）， with more new routes established to facilitate international cargo flows， the plan states.

New efforts will support countries intending to construct pavilions for e-commerce products in Xian， while overseas warehouses will be established in a bid to help reduce the costs for enterprises， according to the plan.

China will leverage its domestic advantages in the cross-border e-commerce sector， providing vendors abroad with outsourcing business， including agency operation， intelligent logistics and distribution， and post-sales services.

Talent training bases will be created both in Xian and abroad to cultivate more capacity in the field for countries along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative， the plan added.

NUMBERS