All Set

Chinese President Xi Jinping， also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission， talks with athletes and coaches at a winter sports training base in Beijing， on January 4. On that day， he conducted a tour of inspection regarding preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. In addition to the winter sports training base， he also visited the National Speed Skating Oval， Main Media Center， Athletes Village， and the Games-time Operations Command Center.

The Beijing 2022 Games will unfold from February 4 to 20， followed by the Paralympic Winter Games from March 4 to 13.

Mars Image

Photo released on January 1 by the China National Space Administration （CNSA） shows the surface landscape of Mars taken by the Zhurong rover. On that same day， China released a group of new images of the red planet， taken by the Tianwen-1 probe. The probe， consisting of an orbiter， a lander and a rover， was launched on July 23， 2020.

New Yangtze Bridge

The construction of a new roadrail bridge over the Yangtze River， Chinas longest river， began in Anhui Province on January 4.

The 11.88-km bridge in the city of Tongling will have a sixlane expressway with a designed maximum speed of 100 km per hour on its upper deck， and four railway tracks on its lower deck.

Two of the tracks will be reserved for passenger trains with a designed maximum speed of 250 km per hour， and the other two will accommodate freight trains.

“The bridge， with a major span of 988 meters， is designed with a cable-stayed and suspension structure， with functional requirements and economic factors taken into account，” said Qiu Feng from the China Railway Major Bridge Reconnaissance & Design Institute Co. Ltd.， which is in charge of the design of the bridge.

Compared with singlestructure bridges， cable-stayed and suspension bridges have longer spans and are safer， allowing the smoother passage of high-speed trains.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2025.

Security Review

A newly revised Chinese regulation requires online platforms with more than 1 million users to undergo a cybersecurity review when they seek initial public offerings （IPOs） in overseas markets， Xinhua News Agency reported on January 4.

Operators of critical information infrastructure that purchase network products and services， as well as network platform operators that conduct dataprocessing activities， will undergo a security review if their activities affect or may affect national security， the regulation says.

Regulators will assess whether the public listing of a company may lead to key information infrastructure， core data， important data or a large amount of personal information being affected， controlled or maliciously used by foreign governments， according to the new rule.

According to a statement issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China （CAC）， if the IPO does not affect national security， it may proceed； if the IPO is found to affect national security， it will not be allowed.

The statement also noted that the move is intended to further ensure cyberspace and data security， and safeguard national security.

Reaffirming that opening up is Chinas basic state policy， the statement said that the country has always supported domestic enterprises in making reasonable use of overseas capital markets in accordance with laws and regulations.

The revision of the cyber- security review regulation was made by 13 central agencies， including the CAC， following the promulgation of the data security law.

A set of key elements in assessing national security risks were also specified in the revised regulation.

The revised regulation will enter into force on February 15， replacing the current 2020 version.

Air Quality Record

Beijing made a breakthrough in its air pollution control and the city reached the national air quality standard， local authorities said on January 4.

The citys average concentration of PM2.5 was 33 micrograms per cubic meter in 2021， the lowest level since records began in 2013， Yu Jianhua， Deputy Director of the Beijing municipal ecology and environment bureau， told a press briefing.

The PM2.5 reading is a gauge monitoring airborne particles of 2.5 microns or less in diameter， which can penetrate deep into peoples lungs.

The metropolis also saw its average ozone concentration decreasing to 149 micrograms per cubic meter in 2021， marking the first time the readings for PM2.5 and ozone of the city reached the level-II national standard simultaneously.

The average concentrations of PM10， nitrogen dioxide， and sulfur dioxide in Beijing were respectively 55， 26， and 3 micrograms per cubic meter last year， said Yu.

The city saw 288 days of good air quality last year， up by 112 days from 2013， and only eight days of heavy air pollution.

Frozen River

The frozen surface of the Yellow River in Shizuishan， Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region， on December 30， 2021. The section of the river began to freeze over on December 29， 2021， as temperatures dropped.

Soybean Plantation

Heilongjiang Province will increase its soybean planting area by about 666，667 hectares in 2022， local authorities said.

The soybean yield is expected to increase by 1.3 billion kg， according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

The decision aims to optimize the planting structure in the province， and enhance the supply of important agricultural products， the department said.

Heilongjiang is Chinas major soybean production base， ranking first in the country in terms of both planted area and output.

Nuclear Unit

Chinas second nuclear power unit using Hualong One， a domestically designed thirdgeneration nuclear reactor， has begun generating electricity， paving the way for commercial operation.

The No. 6 unit in the city of Fuqing， Fujian Province， began operation and was connected to the power grid at 10：35 p.m. on January 1， according to the China National Nuclear Corp. （CNNC）.

On-site staff confirmed that the unit was in good condition， and all the technical indicators met the design requirements.

According to CNNC， every nuclear power unit using Hualong One has an installed capacity of 1.16 million kW. It is expected to generate nearly 10 billion kWh of electricity annually， equivalent to reduction of 3.12 million tons of standard coal consumption and 8.16 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Both the first Hualong One unit globally and the first unit overseas were put into commercial use in 2021， in Fuqing and Pakistan， respectively.

Underwater Highway Tunnel

A vehicle inside the Taihu Tunnel in Jiangsu Province， on December 30， 2021. The Taihu Tunnel， Chinas longest underwater highway tunnel， opened to traffic that day. The 10.79-km-long， 7.25-meter-tall tunnel runs under Taihu Lake， Chinas third-largest freshwater lake. It is part of the 43.9-km Changzhou-Wuxi Highway， which also opened to traffic that day.

The electronic information manufacturing industry maintained stable growth in the first 11 months of 2021， data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT） showed.

The added value of manufacturers with annual operating revenues of at least 20 million yuan （$3.1 million） expanded 16.2 percent year on year during the period. The growth rate went up 9 percentage points from the same period a year ago， the MIIT said.

The export delivery value of major enterprises increased 12.6 percent year on year， while fixed assets investment in the sector jumped 21.4 percent.

According to the MIIT data， the electronic information manufacturing sector raked in 679.7 billion yuan （$106.6 billion） in total profits， surging 29.8 percent year on year. Its operating revenue totaled 12.49 trillion yuan（$1.96 trillion）， up 14.7 percent year on year.

Futures Market

The futures market posted strong growth in both trading volume and turnover in 2021， according to data from the China Futures Association.

Total turnover surged 32.84 percent year on year to 581.2 trillion yuan （$91.24 trillion） in 2021， the data showed.

The trading volume also registered double-digit growth， up 22.13 percent year on year to over 7.5 billion lots.

In December 2021 alone， the trading turnover hit around 44.74 trillion yuan （$7.02 trillion）， down 18.76 percent from a year earlier. On a monthly basis， the figure fell 11.91 percent， the association said.

External Debt

Chinas outstanding foreign debt stood at approximately$2.7 trillion at the end of September 2021， data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange （SAFE） showed.

It was $16.7 billion， or 0.6 percent， higher than that seen at the end of June， according to the administration.

The volume of Chinas foreign debt maintained general stability and the structure improved in the third quarter of 2021， Wang Chunying， a spokesperson for SAFE， said.

The proportion of mediumand long-term debt was 47 percent， up 3 percentage points from the end of June， she said， stressing that the increase further enhanced structural stability.

Foreign investors increasing their holdings of yuandenominated bonds reflects the achievements of Chinas bond market opening up and investor confidence in Chinas economic outlook， Wang concluded.

Duty-Free Sales

Offshore duty-free sales in the island province of Hainan reached 60.2 billion yuan （$9.4 billion） in 2021， an increase of 84 percent year on year， the provincial department of commerce said.

The number of shoppers totaled nearly 9.7 million， with about 53.5 million items purchased， up 73 percent and 71 percent year on year， respectively.

Three more duty-free shops opened last year in Hainan， raising the total number to 10. The shops hosted more than 720 brands in a total shopping area of 220，000 square meters.

Since July 1， 2020， Hainan has raised its annual tax-free shopping quota from 30，000 yuan （$4，707） to 100，000 yuan（$15，690） per person. The dutyfree purchase limit for cosmetics has been raised from 12 items to 30.

The province has also rolled out a range of policies such as flexible pick-up services to provide a better experience for customers.

China released a master plan in June 2020 to transform Hainan into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic， the province has grown into an attractive shopping destination for domestic consumers.

Tibets GDP

Tibet Autonomous Regions GDP surpassed 200 billion yuan（$31.4 billion） in 2021， according to data from the regional government on January 4. It represented a year-on-year growth of roughly 7 percent.

Per-capita disposable income of rural residents went up 14 percent， while that of urban residents rose 13 percent.

The region added 52，000 urban jobs in the past year， with the surveyed urban unemployment rate staying below 5 percent.

The regional government set Tibets GDP growth target for this year at about 8 percent. The per-capita disposable income of urban and rural residents is expected to improve over 8 percent and 10 percent， respectively.

Car Rental Market

Chinas car rental market is about to enter a phase of rapid expansion， with its value estimated to top 150 billion yuan（$23.5 billion） by 2025， according to a report jointly issued by Boston Consulting Group and the research institute of eHi Car Services on January 4.

The car rental industry has achieved 30-fold growth over the past two decades， reaching nearly 90 billion yuan （$14 billion） by 2020， the report said.

It forecast that the market will see hastened development amid Chinas regular epidemic prevention and control measures， adding that the future will be driven by the evolution of new technologies.

NUMBERS

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