THIS WEEK

SCHOOL’S IN

Faculty members hand masks to pupils at Yuquan School Attached to Capital Normal University in Beijing on June 27. Beijing’s primary and middle school students returned to class that day after more than 50 days of homeschooling due to a local COVID-19 resurgence.

Auto Exhibition

Visitors view a new energy vehicle at the 2022 Chongqing International Auto Exhibition in Chongqing Municipality on June 25. Over 1,000 vehicle models from more than 110 brands were on display at the exhibition.

Chinese Language Learning

More than 25 million people outside China were learning Chinese at the end of 2021, the Ministry of Education said at a press conference on June 28.

Chinese language learning was available in more than 180 countries and regions around the world at the end of 2021,according to the ministry.

The Chinese language has been incorporated into the national education systems of 76 countries, and nearly 200 million people have received Chinese language training, the ministry said.

CPC Membership Up

The number of Communist Party of China (CPC) members was about 96.71 million at the end of 2021, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee announced on June 29.

Membership was up 3.7 percent from the 2020 figure,and 15.9 percent more than the figure when the 18th CPC National Congress took place in late 2012, the department said in a report ahead of the 101st anniversary of the founding of the CPC on July 1.

Container Terminal

The first phase of China’s first sea-rail intermodal automated container terminal went into operation on June 28 in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.A ship loaded with goods from Indonesia became the first vessel to moor at the wharf in Qinzhou Port. It left for Southeast Asia with Chinamade goods, including auto parts, glass and chemicals, that same day.

The first phase of two 100,000-ton container berths was designed to handle 1.02 million standard containers per year.

The second phase of two 200,000-ton container berths is under construction. With a handling capacity of 1.6 million standard containers a year, it is expected to become operational in 2023.

The Beibu Gulf Port, including the ports of Qinzhou,Fangcheng and Beihai, serves as an important transit point in the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a trade and logistics passage jointly built by western Chinese provincial regions and Singapore. The corridor connects 14 provinciallevel regions in China with 316 ports in 107 countries and regions around the world.

The new container terminal was built to meet the transportation demand from the rapidly growing sea-rail intermodal service. The number of trains operating within the sea-rail intermodal service of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor surged from 178 in 2017 to 6,117 in 2021.

In the first five months of this year, imports and exports with Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership member countries via Qinzhou Port grew 28.6 percent year on year to 26.25 billion yuan ($3.9 billion).

Mars Probing Targets Met

The orbiter and rover of China’s-probe have both completed the targeted scientific exploration missions,the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced on June 29.

As of that day, the orbiter of-had been operating normally for 706 days. It had acquired medium-resolution image data covering the whole globe of Mars, with all of its scientific payloads being put to use in the global survey, the CNSA said.

By that day, the orbiter had circled Mars 1,344 times. For future missions, it will continue to conduct a whole-globe remote sensing survey and expand tech experiments, the CNSA said.

The-probe consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover known as. On May 15, 2021, the lander, carrying the rover, touched down on Mars, marking the first time China had landed a probe on the planet.

After two years of flight and exploration, the rover and orbiter have acquired 1,040 gigabytes of raw scientific data with their 13 onboard scientific payloads.

Coal Output

Shanxi Province, China’s major coal-producing region, plans to raise its annual coal output by 107 million tons to 1.3 billion tons in 2022, as it works to guarantee energy supply,Xinhua News Agency reported on June 28.

The province also seeks to increase coal production by a further 50 million tons in 2023, bringing its total annual production to 1.35 billion tons,according to a circular issued by the General Office of the Shanxi Provincial Government.

In the first five months of this year, major coal mining enterprises in Shanxi produced 528 million tons of raw coal.

The provincial government has ordered that detailed attention be paid to coal production safety, including the increase of work safety spending and the accelerated construction of smart coal mines.

COVID-19 Protocol

Under China’s newly-updated COVID-19 control protocol,close contacts and inbound travelers will be under medical observation in isolation at designated sites for seven days plus three days of at-home health monitoring.

This is a significant reduction compared with 14 days of medical observation in isolation at designated sites plus seven days of health monitoring at home stipulated by the previous edition of the protocol.

Also, according to the ninth edition of the protocol released on June 28, individuals deemed to have had close contact with COVID-19 close contacts will face seven days of medical observation under home quarantine, instead of seven days of medical observation in isolation at designated sites.

Under the new protocol,China will mandate daily nucleic acid tests for individuals with direct contact with inbound travelers, goods and environments.

Sci-tech Talent

The age structure of China’s science and technology workers has shifted over the past decade, according to a report released on June 25.

The China Association for Science and Technology has released a report on the country’s sci-tech human resources development in Changsha,Hunan Province.

The report shows that scitech talent aged 39 and below accounted for 73.89 percent of all sci-tech personnel at the end of 2019, with 9.94 percent aged 50 and above.

The proportion of female sci-tech workers grew rapidly from about 33 percent in 2005 to approximately 40 percent in 2019, according to the report.

By the end of 2020, China had more than 112.34 million people working in the sci-tech field, the report noted.

Serving Seniors

Community workers serve senior citizens at a canteen for older people in Gulou District of Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province, on June 24.Since 2019, the city has been promoting community-based care for senior citizens by providing them with meal services and organizing lectures for them to enrich their lives.

Artworks Hit the Beach

Sand sculptures wow the crowds at the 23rd Zhoushan International Sand Sculpture Festival in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, on June 28.

Foreign Trade

Firms in the foreign trade sector reported improvements in new orders and operation costs in the second quarter of the year,according to a survey conducted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade(CCPIT).

During the period, 25.43 percent of surveyed firms saw quarteron-quarter growth in trade volume,and 19.98 percent and 22.65 percent respectively reported expansions in profits and new orders.

For 55.97 percent of respondents, the acceleration of export tax rebates played the biggest role in easing cash strains.

The survey results showed that foreign trade companies remain optimistic about their development prospects, with 26.22 percent expecting annual trade volume growth.

With a solid foundation,China’s foreign trade will further unleash its potential, and more supportive measures will be rolled out to stabilize the sector and promote its high-quality development, CCPIT spokesperson Feng Yaoxiang said at a press conference on June 29.

SOE Profits

State-owned enterprises (SOEs)reported increased revenue but decreased profits in the first five months of the year, due to a high comparison base last year and impacts of the pandemic, official data showed on June 28.

Their combined profits declined 6.5 percent year on year to 1.63 trillion yuan ($243.5 billion), according to the Ministry of Finance.

The SOEs raked in 30.88 trillion yuan ($4.6 trillion) in operating revenue, 9.2 percent higher than the same period last year.

Total profits of centrally administered SOEs rose 0.4 percent from a year earlier to 1.23 trillion yuan ($183.6 billion) in the period,and their operating revenue went up 11.2 percent to 17.5 trillion yuan($2.6 trillion).

At the end of May, the SOEs’ratio of liabilities to assets came in at 64.3 percent, up 0.1 percentage point year on year.

Private Enterprises

The number of Chinese private enterprises increased from 10.85 million in 2012 to 44.57 million last year, Su Wei, Deputy Secretary General of the National Development and Reform Commission, told a press conference on June 28.

Su attributed the growth to the improved business environment for the non-public sector, as the country has vigorously spurred the development of economic entities.

The private sector contributes more than 50 percent of tax revenue, more than 60 percent of GDP, and over 70 percent of technological innovations. It also provides more than 80 percent of urban employment and accounts for more than 90 percent of market entities in China.

Highlighting the cultivation of high-quality market entities as one of the future reform goals, Su said China will step up the structural reform of private enterprises, support and guide the well-regulated and healthy development of capital, and foster a batch of worldclass enterprises.

5G Services

China Broadnet, or the country’s fourth telecommunication operator after China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom,launched 5G services on June 27.

The service launch marked a breakthrough in the integrated development of national cable television networks and 5G.

With the launch of 5G services,China Broadnet vows to speed up the development of a newtype radio and TV communication network, a national cultural network, and a national, new-type infrastructure network.

China Broadnet was granted a 5G license for commercial use in 2019.

Law Amendment

The Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress,China’s top legislature, adopted an amendment to the Anti-Monopoly Law on June 24 in an effort to foster a fair, transparent and predictable environment for business operators.

The amendment makes it clear that China will formulate and implement competition rules compatible with the socialist market economy and improve a unified, open, competitive and orderly market system.

Built on previous practices and experiences, the amendment improves the design of relevant mechanisms, such as encouraging innovation while protecting fair market competition, stipulating the safe-harbor rule and increasing provisions on the protection of personal privacy and information.

The amendment will take effect on August 1.

Airbus Center

Airbus will establish the Airbus China Research Center in Suzhou,Jiangsu Province, to strengthen the company’s footprint and innovation partnerships in China, the company announced on June 24.Airbus and the Suzhou Industrial Park signed a framework agreement on the establishment of the center that day.

The center will carry out research work on advanced technologies, such as hydrogen energy infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and the aviation industry’s upgrading with digitalization and intelligence. It is due to start operations in 2023, the company said.

External Debt

China recorded $2.71 trillion of outstanding external debt denominated in domestic and foreign currencies at the end of March,down 1 percent from that at the end of 2021, according to official data released on June 24.

Outstanding external debt in domestic currency accounted for 45 percent of the total, flat from the end of 2021, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said.

In terms of maturity structure,the outstanding medium- and long-term external debt constituted 47 percent of the total, the same as that at the end of last year.

The primary indicators of the country’s external debt continue to be within the internationally recognized safety lines, and the risks of external debt are generally under control, Wang Chunying, deputy head of the administration, said.

Beijing Bourse IPOs

The Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE)embraced the listing of the 100th firm on June 24 as the newly established bourse attracts innovative smaller enterprises with its listing efficiency and smooth operation.The BSE started trading on November 15 last year. As part of China’s efforts to deepen capital market reform, the stock exchange is more inclusive for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)with lower listing thresholds,diverse evaluation standards and a shorter approval time.

About 76 percent of the 100 BSE-listed firms are SMEs, while over 80 percent are in strategic emerging sectors and advanced manufacturing.

These firms generally posted impressive financial performances in 2021. Investors had opened over 5 million BSE accounts by June 20.

The BSE adopts the registrationbased initial public offering (IPO)system, in line with the Nasdaqstyle sci-tech innovation board (also known as the STAR market on the Shanghai Stock Exchange) and the tech-heavy ChiNext market on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

According to the bourse, it took an average of 143 days for a project’s IPO auditing and approval on the BSE.

SPAIN Protesters in Madrid on June 26.Thousands of people gathered in a mass call for peace ahead of a NATO summit in the city on June 28-30

FINLAND People celebrate Midsummer Eve at Kaivopuisto Park in Helsinki on June 24. Midsummer Festival is one of Finland’s national holidays

ROMANIA An employee at the site of the Midia natural gas development project in the village of Vadu on the Black Sea coast on June 28. Its start of gas production is significant to the country’s goal of 90-percent self-sufficiency in natural gas supply,Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said

POLAND Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki addresses the opening ceremony of the 11th World Urban Forum, a premier global conference on sustainable urbanization,in Katowice on June 27

ZIMBABWE A woman takes a selfei in front of the new parliament building in Mount Hampden on June 29. The complex, fully funded by China as a gift to the southern African country,is now ready for operation

UNITED STATES Law enforcement members investigate a tractor trailer in San Antonio, Texas, on June 27. In a suspected case of human smuggling,the death toll of undocumented migrants found inside the abandoned 18-wheeler had risen to 53 as of June 29

GENIUS TRANSLATOR REGAINS SIGHT

Famous translator Jin Xiaoyu recently regained sight in his right eye following surgery.

Born in Tianjin, the 50-year-old had been blind in his right eye after an accident when he was only six. Jin was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder after dropping out of high school. To help control his condition, he has been undergoing regular treatment at a mental health facility every year since 1992.

It was in the early years of treatment that he started teaching himself German and Japanese; he first embarked on the translation of foreign books to Chinese in 2010. Over the past decade, he has translated 22 books from English, Japanese and German to more than 6 million Chinese characters. More than 10 of his translations, includingandby American author and cultural critic Greil Marcus, have been published.

June 29To maintain a healthy online environment, the Ministry of Public Security has recently launched a six-month campaign to crack down on netizens being paid to post comments on online forums and the businesses that support them.

The past three years have seen more than 600 cases of paid posts, with 4,000 criminal suspects being arrested.However, because of the monetization of site traffic and fan followings, related crimes are becoming more prevalent.

Paid posters now rush to film reviewing websites to acclaim or condemn new films or TV series, they write false reviews on e-commerce platforms to trick potential consumers into ordering goods,and some even post illegal and harmful rumors online to cause social anxiety and insecurity.

This crackdown on paid posting signals the beginning of a zero tolerance to such disruptive behavior and the businesses and organizations behind them.

XINHUA

Tourists pose for photos in a lavender field in Huocheng County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on June 19

With the arrival of the summer holiday and the resumption of inter-provincial travel in most parts of China, the tourism sector is heating up.

In Anhui Province, east China,the local tourism sector manages to combine Red (revolutionary) culture,green natural resources and ancient porcelain kiln sites, treading a new path for villagers to increase their incomes. Shanxi Province has proposed to develop its tourism based on sports and sporting events, in a bid to promote the integration of sports, culture,Zhang Jun, China’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), at a UN Security Council briefing on June 28

“We urge NATO to learn its lessons,and not to use the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to stoke worldwide bloc confrontation or a new Cold War.”

Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, at a regular news briefing on June 28

“China firmly opposes all forms of official interaction with the Taiwan region by countries having diplomatic ties with China, including negotiating or concluding agreements with implications of sovereignty and of an official nature.”and tourism. In China’s southernmost Hainan Province, local tourism agencies provide services centering on themes like the ocean and coastal resources, tropical plants, geography and landforms, attracting hordes of students. Museums, planetariums and galleries in many places are teeming with visitors, particularly parents and their children.

Recurring COVID-19 cases pose challenges to the tourism industry.Businesses and individuals engaged in the supply side of tourism are trying hard to find ways to be profitable.

Attempts in different provinces to dig into their respective cultural,historical, natural and educational resources to present tourism programs that reflect their local characteristics are bearing fruits, inspiring new ways to cushion future blows that might befall the tourism industry.

This model is also creating new jobs. Particularly, culture and sciencerelated tourism programs demand support from professional research, so that textbook knowledge is effectively connected to the real business. A welldesigned tourism program based on smooth interaction among different sectors is key to attracting tourists.

Live-streaming in China is to undergo a systematic standardization. According to government documents, those who livestream highly professional content, such as stock trading, legal services or medical consultation must now be properly qualified to do so.

As live-streamed content has a high potential to impact consumers, the requirement aims to prevent “fake professionals”from misleading ignorant viewers. A system for verifying qualifications will mean that only truly qualified professionals will have access to online audiences. Also, the information quality can be better guaranteed and the live-streaming industry’s credit will go up.

The problem now is how to enforce the requirement. If the threshold is too high, this industry’s vitality will be impaired. Currently, some media platforms present an option for live-streamers to present professional qualifications. Will this become the main certification model?

Regardless of the details, the new requirement is not meant to sap the vitality of the live-streaming industry or to discourage the public from getting involved in it, but to standardize the streaming of professional content for the good of all viewers.

NEW MINISTER OF PUBLIC SECURITY

Wang Xiaohong was appointed Minister of Public Security on June 24, according to a decision adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature.

Wang, approaching 65, started his career in the public security system in Fujian Province in the late 1970s. Later, he worked for public security authorities in Henan Province and Beijing, respectively. In 2016, he became vice minister of public security.

Tragedy struck in Xiamen, Fujian, in 2013, when a Chinese citizen decided to take his own life in a murder-suicide by setting fire to a local city bus; Wang, then Vice Mayor and head of the Public Security Bureau of Xiamen, rushed to the scene. He handled the tragic incident with the utmost care, keeping the public informed in timely manner. His response gained him much public favor.

“China has donated a total of 14 million doses of vaccines to Ethiopia to fight the virus, restore the economy and protect people’s health.”

Lia Tadesse, Ethiopian Minister of Health, during the handover ceremony of China’s latest vaccine doses donation to the country on June 27

“Grave violations devastate children, families and communities...We must refuse to accept violations against children as an unavoidable outcome of war.”

Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund, in a press release on June 28