BOUNDARY-BREAKING

President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech via video link from Beijing at the opening ceremony of the Fourth China International Import Expo on November 4.

With an exhibition area covering over 366，000 square meters， this years CIIE， running from November 5 to 10， attracted nearly 3，000 businesses from 127 countries and regions， and significantly contributed to boosting international trade and multilateralism amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. A high-level forum themed on the 20th anniversary of Chinas accession to the World Trade Organization， too， was held during the expo.

Aerobatic Show

Aircraft give an aerobatic performance at a public event hosted by the China Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in Anyang， Henan Province， on October 30.

Synthesized Protein

China has become the first nation in the world to successfully synthesize protein from carbon monoxide， and it has upgraded its industrial production capacity to 10，000 metric tons， the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences （CAAS） said on October 30.

The synthesized Clostridium autoethanogenum protein can gradually replace soy protein. This would be a huge benefit to China， which sources a great deal of its soybeans from other countries， the CAAS said.

Xue Min， a researcher with the CAASs Feedstuff Institute， said the production of 10 million tons of the new protein is equivalent to 28 million tons of imported soybeans and can reduce the emission of 250 million tons of carbon dioxide.

China is the biggest fodder producer and consumer in the world. Its lack of domestic soybeans， a source of feed protein， largely affects national food security.

Huang Qingsheng， the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs official in charge of fodder， said Chinese livestock consume 400 million tons of fodder every year. “The fodder contains 70 million tons of protein， of which 60 percent is sourced from imported soybeans，” Huang said.

Rental Housing

China has accelerated the development of governmentsubsidized rental housing as part of its efforts to better meet peoples housing needs.

According to data from the Ministry of Housing and UrbanRural Development， in the first nine months of 2021 in 40 cities across the country， construction of a total of 720，000 government-subsidized apartment units was completed. This accounts for 76.9 percent of this years set target of 936，000 units.

Subsidized rental housing is made up of low-cost and small apartments， built mainly to address the housing demand of new dwellers and young people in big cities.

“Developing subsidized rental housing is one of the priorities of housing development，” said a spokesperson for the housing ministry， adding that initial progress has been made and experience has been accumulated that can be replicated later.

Life Services

The National Development and Reform Commission has introduced a set of new measures to shore up the weak links in the countrys life services sector and improve peoples quality of life， in a document published on November 2.

The document puts forward 30 measures covering nine areas， including the promotion of services that help the elderly with their meals and other daily needs in major cities， and promoting private sector participation in urban childcare services. These services are expected to be available to over 80 percent of communities in China over the next five years.

The document stresses the importance of efforts to strengthen the supply of basic welfare services， increase the supply of inclusive life services and vigorously develop community services for the convenience of residents.

The document also pledges fiscal， financial and investment support， as well as improvements in coordination mechanisms to boost life services.

Judicial Integrity

Private contact has been banned between judges and lawyers， and between prosecutors and lawyers， according to newly introduced Chinese regulations aimed at better safeguarding judicial integrity and justice.

The directive was jointly issued by the Supreme Peoples Court （SPC）， the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate （SPP） and the Ministry of Justice.

Vowing greater efforts to monitor such malpractices， the document urges courts， procuratorates and relevant authorities to ensure the sound implementation of mechanisms guaranteeing the right of lawyers to practice law， and to create platforms facilitating open and transparent communications between judges and lawyers， and between prosecutors and lawyers.

Former public office holders who were dismissed by courts or procuratorates shall not be employed by law firms， according to another directive recently co-issued by the SPC， the SPP and the Ministry of Justice. The directive was released in order to control the employment of former judges and prosecutors as law firm staff.

New Line

Aerial photo taken on November 3 shows a self-driving monorail in Wuhu City， Anhui Province. The city officially unveiled its first monorail line that same day， amid efforts to develop a green transportation system in the city.

Sports Parks

According to new guidelines jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments on October 29， China will build or expand roughly 1，000 sports parks by 2025.

According to the guidelines， no less than 65 percent of the land area of each sports park should be vegetated. “These parks should be built in open， natural spaces where the sports facilities will not impact the natural environment，” said Ou Xiaoli， an official with the commission， during a press conference.

Real estate development and excessive commercialization will not be allowed in sports parks， and the sports facilities in the parks should meet the demands of all age groups.

Business Regulation

The Ministry of Public Security（MPS） has released a list of business areas that must be avoided by family members of police officers.

The negative list has delineated five areas in which police officers spouses， children and childrens spouses are banned from engaging.

The restricted sectors are those closely linked to the duties of police officers， or those that might interfere with the impartial enforcement of the law.

Police officers should not help their close relatives or related persons conduct businesses or gain profits， the MPS stated in the document.

Costume Exhibition

Traditional Chinese costumes take to the stage at the opening ceremony of a traditional Chinese costume exhibition at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology on November 3. The exhibition displayed over 60 artworks including clothing， paintings and sculptures created by teachers and students from the institution. It will run until November 15.

Security Review

Domestic entities that want to share data with entities abroad may be required to implement security review protocols and， on some occasions， will be subject to government review， according to a draft regulation released by the Cyberspace Administration of China （CAC） on October 29.

The draft regulation was released to solicit public opinion， the CAC statement said.

“An internal security review should go through the amount， range， variety and confidentiality of data to be shared overseas and assess the risks that such a move may pose to state and public interests， and legal rights and interests of individuals and organizations，” the document said.

Whether the data can be transmitted safely without damage and leakage should also be reviewed， it added.

If the data are collected from major IT infrastructure projects in China or the collector operates a data bank containing the personal information of 1 million individuals or more， the security review should be submitted to the CAC.

The document further read that the sharing of data with entities abroad， including the personal information of 100，000 individuals or more， would also be subject to CAC review.

Digital Cooperation

China has filed a formal application to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement， the Ministry of Commerce（MOFCOM） announced on November 1.

Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao sent the application to Damien OConnor， Minister for Trade and Export Growth of New Zealand， MOFCOM said in a statement. New Zealand is the depositary of the agreement.

The application is in line with Chinas direction of further deepening domestic reform and expanding high-level opening up， and will help the country strengthen its digital economy cooperation with other members and promote innovation and sustainable development under the new development paradigm， the ministry said.

Beijing Bourse

The China Securities Regulatory Commission （CSRC） published guidelines for initial public offerings and refinancing on and supervision for the newly announced Beijing Stock Exchange on October 30.

Along with related normative documents， these rules are set to become effective on November 15， according to a statement on the official website of the CSRC.

The securities regulator had solicited public opinion on the rules before their release. It has adopted all constructive opinions on protecting the rights and interests of small and medium investors， boosting listed companies operation capabilities and improving information disclosure， the statement further said.

China has decided to build the Beijing bourse as a primary platform for innovation-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises as the capital market evolves to meet the financing needs of various entities.

The number of companies in the selected layer of the National Equities Exchange and Quotations （NEEQ）， or the New Third Board， was 68 at the end of October， according to the NEEQ Co. Ltd.

All companies in the NEEQselected layer will become listed companies of the Beijing Stock Exchange when market trading starts， according to early announcements.

Bonds Inclusion

Chinas government bonds were officially included in the FTSE World Government Bond Index（WGBI） on October 29， according to the Peoples Bank of China.

The FTSE WGBI is the last of three major global bond indexes to include Chinese government bonds. The latest inclusion followed the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index in April 2019 and the Government Bond Index Emerging Markets suite of JP Morgan in February 2020.

China is currently the worlds second largest bond market， with a value of over 120 trillion yuan（$18.8 trillion）.

The latest data showed that global investors held 3.9 trillion yuan （$609.5 billion） worth of Chinese bonds as of late September.

Trade Surplus

The international goods and services trade surplus of China stood at nearly 300 billion yuan（$46.8 billion） in September， official data showed.

The countrys trade income amounted to approximately 2.1 trillion yuan （$328.2 billion）， and expenditure stood at some 1.8 trillion yuan （$281.3 billion）， according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Chinas goods trade income came in at 1.89 trillion yuan（$295.4 billion） with an expenditure of 1.52 trillion yuan （$237.5 billion）， leading to a surplus of nearly 370 billion yuan （$58.9 billion）， the data showed.

The trade in services saw a deficit of nearly 72.4 billion yuan（$11.3 billion）， with the sectors income and expenditure standing at 207.2 billion yuan （$32.3 billion） and 279.6 billion yuan（$43.7 billion）， respectively.

Transport Investment

Fixed assets investment in Chinas transport sector maintained stable growth in the first three quarters of the year， official data displayed.

In the January-September period， total investment exceeded 2.5 trillion yuan （$390.7 billion）， according to data from the Ministry of Transport.

The figure represented a 2-percent year-on-year increase and put the two-year average growth at 5.9 percent.

In breakdown， highway investment exceeded 1.8 trillion yuan （$281.3 billion）， increasing 4.9 percent from a year earlier.

Investment in inland waterways exceeded 50 billion yuan（$7.8 billion）， up 9.7 percent year on year， while coastal waterway investment surged 24.4 percent from a year earlier to over 54 billion yuan （$8.4 billion）， the data showed.

Private Economy

The private sector in China is robust， large and fast-growing， according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics （PIIE）.

There were nearly 20 million private-controlled firms in China as of late 2019， nearly four times the number of one decade ago， and 266，000 state-controlled firms， growing only marginally in quantity， plus almost 83 million individual businesses owned solely by one natural person， said an article published recently by PIIE， a Washington， D.C.-based think tank， citing Chinas statistics.

Private companies hit by regulatory tightening over the past year are simply a small portion of the countrys overall private sector， read the article entitled Is the Sky Really Falling for Private Firms in China？

The reining in of some of Chinas biggest Internet companies affects only a small share of its digital economy and total GDP， said another recent article by PIIE.

“Chinas large private sector is more than just Internet companies... In 2020， only 11 Internet companies were among the 500 largest private firms by revenue，”it concluded.

Hybrid Locomotive

The first China-developed hydrogen fuel cell hybrid locomotive embarked on its trial run on October 29 on a railway line for coal transport in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The hydrogen energy locomotive project was jointly launched by the Inner Mongolia subsidiary of the State Power Investment Corp. Ltd. （SPIC）， CRRC Datong Co. Ltd. and the Hydrogen Energy Co. Ltd. of SPIC.

Compared with traditional diesel locomotives， the newenergy locomotive is expected to cut carbon emissions by about 96，000 tons per year， running on the 627-km-long railway linking the Baiyinhua coal mine in Inner Mongolia with the Port of Jinzhou in Liaoning Province.

Li Lingtao， deputy chief engineer with CRRC Datong Co. Ltd.， said the hybrid locomotive has a design speed of 80 km per hour. It can run continuously for 24.5 hours when fully loaded and its maximum traction load on straight roads reaches 5，000 tons.

The locomotive comes with broad market prospects for usage in large factories， mines and ports. With the emission of water， it can realize zero pollution during operation， according to the developers.

NUMBERS