THIS WEEK

ANOTHER FIRST

China’s first sea-crossing high-speed railway under construction in Xiamen, Fujian Province, on August 30. Laying of the 277-km track was completed that morning.

The new railway, which links Fuzhou, the provincial capital, with the port city Xiamen, is dotted with three super bridges that allow it to run across bays. Scheduled to open in 2023 with a designed speed of 350 km per hour, it will boost connectivity among cities on the southeast coast.

Camping at Ocean Park

Visitors observe whale sharks in the early morning at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, on August 28. The theme park has launched a night camping activity in its whale shark hall.

Internet Users

As of June, the number of China’s netizens grew to approximately 1.05 billion, with Internet access coverage nationwide reaching 74.4 percent, according to a report released on August 30.

The weekly average time for Internet usage stood at 29.5 hours per person, with 99.6 percent accessing the Internet via mobile phones, said the report on China’s Internet development,released by the China Internet Network Information Center.By this June, 33.8 million Internet domain names had been registered in China and over 1.85 million 5G base stations had been deployed across the country.With improved Internet service infrastructure, the coverage of Internet access in rural areas climbed to 58.8 percent,up 1.2 percentage points from last December, according to the report.

As of June, the number of users of short video platforms had experienced the most notable growth, reaching 962 million, up 28 million from last December.The number of users of instant messaging, online news and livestreaming services stood at 1.03 billion, 788 million and 716 million respectively, the report said.

HPV Vaccine

A recent study has found that China’s first self-developed human papillomavirus (HPV)vaccine Cecolin can offer female adults full immunity against two types of HPV, Xinhua News Agency reported on August 30.A group of Chinese researchers analyzed data from 66-month follow-up visits as a part of the bivalent vaccine’s Phase 3 clinical trial and found that its efficacy against highgrade genital lesions, typical symptoms of cervical cancer,had reached 100 percent.

Furthermore, the E. coli-produced HPV 16/18 recombinant vaccine achieved a 97-percent efficacy against persistent HPV infections, according to the study published in thejournal.

Cecolin is jointly developed by Xiamen University and Xiamen Innovax, making China the third country in the world to attain an independent cervical cancer vaccine supply after the United States and the United Kingdom. It earned the World Health Organization prequalification in October 2021.

Assaulters Prosecuted

A public prosecution has been instituted against 28 suspects following a brutal attack on diners at a barbecue restaurant in Hebei Province, the provincial people’s procuratorate said in a statement on August 29.

The barbecue restaurant assault occurred on June 10 in the city of Tangshan, Hebei,resulting in injuries of four women. The case aroused widespread public concern.

The provincial authorities and the Ministry of Public Security requested a swift investigation into the case and severe punishment of the attackers according to the law, the statement said.

The public security departments and procuratorate found that the lead suspect, surnamed Chen, and other gangsters were suspected of committing criminal activities including illegal detention, affray, assault,running casinos and robbery.The gangsters committed crimes,oppressed residents, disrupted the local economic and social order, and caused adverse influence on society.

Meanwhile, the provincial Communist Party of China discipline inspection commission and supervision commission said on August 29 that they found corruption and a “protective umbrella” sheltering the gangsters.

Disciplinary investigations into 15 people involved in the case have been carried out.Among them, eight civil servants were initially found to be involved in violations of discipline and law, suspected abuse of power, and bribery.

Further investigation is underway.

Community Renovation

China has accelerated the renovation of old urban residential communities in an effort to improve people’s quality of life,Xinhua reported on August 28.

Some 44,300 old urban residential community renovation projects began in the first seven months of this year, data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development showed.

The number accounts for nearly 87 percent of the country’s annual goal of beginning the renovation of 51,000 old urban residential communities.

This year’s renovation projects are estimated to benefit 8.4 million households, according to the ministry.

Quantum Network

The city of Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, launched a quantum metropolitan area network (MAN)on August 26 that leads the country in scale, number of users and applications.

With eight core sites, 159 access sites and 1,147 km of optical fiber, the MAN allows encrypted transmission of data in the egovernment’s extranet, providing services to the government,banks and enterprises.

Online platforms, including one for processing governmentrelated information and another for the city’s big data services,have been launched on the quantum network. More platforms will be transferred to the network in the future.

Chen Rui, Director of Hefei’s data resources bureau, said that the city plans to launch more quantum-based security products by integrating the quantum MAN with other cutting-edge technologies, including the Internet of Things, big data and cloud computing.

E-Bicycle Safety Regulations

China will step up safety regulations throughout the industrial chain of electric bicycles (ebicycles) to reduce accidents.

More efforts will go into enhancing e-bicycle quality during production, strengthen law enforcement in its circulation and sales, standardize safety management for its daily use,and promote safety control in its dismantling and recycling, according to a plan released by the State Council production safety committee.

The country has about 300 million electric bicycles.However, due to the lack of effective regulation in the production, sales, use, charging and recycling of e-bicycles, recent years have seen a rise in fires and traffic accidents.

The plan also urged local governments to specify steps for implementation and roll out local management regulations regarding e-bicycles.

Pre-Expo

A staff member (second right) introduces products to visitors during a pre-expo supply-demand matchmaking activity for the food and agricultural products and medical equipment and healthcare products exhibition areas of the Fifth China International Import Expo in Shanghai, on August 30.

A Good Start

Students from a primary school in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, harvest sweet potatoes on August 31. Doing farm work has become a new way for students from the school to begin the new semester.

Certificates of Origin

Over 2.71 million certificates of origin were issued by Chinese authorities during the first seven months of the year, involving$233.31 billion, up 23.7 percent year on year, official data showed on August 29.

The figures indicate China has maintained steady foreign trade momentum, Sun Xiao,a spokesperson for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, told a press conference.

Certificates of origin are documents widely used in international trade transactions. They state that the products listed have met sufficient criteria to be considered as originating in a particular country. The issuance of these certificates is widely regarded as a barometer of foreign trade.

Some 70,200 certificates of origin were issued by Chinese authorities under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade agreement for over 15,000 enterprises,involving a total of $3.432 billion,Sun said.

Industrial Performance

China’s industrial performance has continued its recovery momentum, even though industrial profits have declined,the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) said on August 27.

Major industrial firms, each with annual business revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.92 million), saw their profits fall 1.1 percent year on year in the first seven months of 2022, to reach 4.89 trillion yuan ($707.6 billion),NBS data showed.

The combined revenues of these firms sustained faster growth during the period, rising 8.8 percent year on year to 76.57 trillion yuan ($11.1 trillion).

Sixteen out of 41 major industries saw growth in profits in the January-July period, and 14 of them reported growth of over 5 percent.

In July, the profits of the equipment manufacturing industry increased 6.8 percent year on year, up 2.7 percentage points compared with the growth registered in June and rebounding for three consecutive months.

Automobile manufacturing was one of the industries that saw the fastest profit growth, reporting a gain of 77.8 percent in July, up 30.1 percentage points from June.

China-U.S.Cooperation

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) signed an audit oversight cooperation agreement with the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) on August 26.

It is an all-win choice to promote cooperation in cross border audit oversight in accordance with the law and ensure unimpeded channels for companies to list overseas,which benefits the two countries’capital markets, issuers as well as global investors, according to one government source.

Currently, there are more than 30 Chinese audit firms that are registered with the PCAOB and qualified to provide audit services to more than 200 Chinese companies listed on the U.S. capital markets.

For more than a decade,the CSRC and the MOF have maintained communication and consultation with the PCAOB and other U.S. regulators, and they have tried various ways of cooperation.

The agreement emphasizes the principle of reciprocity as it is equally binding on both sides, the CSRC said, adding that the scope of cooperation includes assisting with the inspections and investigations of relevant audit firms undertaken by the authorities.

The agreement also stipulates that the two sides will communicate and coordinate in advance to plan for inspections and investigations, according to the commission.

The materials such as audit work papers that the U.S.regulator needs access to will be obtained by and transferred through the Chinese side. The Chinese side will also take part and assist in the interviews and testimonies of relevant personnel of audit firms requested by the U.S. side.

The agreement has made clear arrangements for the treatment and use of possible sensitive information during audit oversight cooperation, including procedures for processing personal information and other data categories, providing a feasible path for both sides to discharge their regulatory mandates while protecting relevant information.

Foreign Bank Inclusion

The People’s Bank of China (PBC)said on August 26 that Deutsche Bank (China) Co. Ltd. and Société Générale (China) Ltd. have been added to the list of financial institutions that can provide firms with low-cost loans through a supporting tool for carbon emission reduction.

The move demonstrates that China attaches great importance to green transformation, adheres to opening up, treats foreign financial institutions as equals and supports their development in the country, the central bank said.

The supporting tool was rolled out in November 2021 by the PBC and two other central government departments to provide low-cost loans for financial institutions and support them in giving loans to firms in key carbon-reduction fields.The PBC adopts “the system for direct funds,” which means financial institutions can apply for this low-cost funding from the central bank after the loans for carbon reductions are made.The PBC will provide financial institutions with funds equal to 60 percent of a loan’s principal at an annual interest rate of 1.75 percent through the tool.

Services Trade

China’s trade in services totaled 468.4 billion yuan ($68.39 billion) in July, official data showed.

Exports reached 204 billion yuan ($29.5 billion) last month,while imports were 264.4 billion yuan ($38.3 billion), resulting in a trade deficit of 60.4 billion yuan($8.7 billion), according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

In breakdown, transportation services stood out as the biggest contributor with 187.4 billion yuan ($27.1 billion) in trade volume.

Brand Value

The total value of the top 100 Chinese brands surpassed the$1-trillion threshold for the second consecutive year and reached $1.24 trillion in 2022,according to a report released by international market research firm Kantar on August 25.

The top 10 chart for 2022 saw Tencent, with a brand value of$204.4 billion, take the number one spot for the second year in succession. Retail giant Alibaba and liquor maker Kweichow Moutai ranked second and third, registering brand values of $137 billion and$108.5 billion, respectively.

Among this year’s highestranking newcomers, lifestylefocused social media platform Xiaohongshu, with a brand value of $6.6 billion, ranked 37th,while intelligent speech and AI technologies company iFLYTEK reaped $4.2 billion in brand value and secured the 53rd spot on the chart.

The level of awareness of Chinese brands in the overseas market has significantly increased over the past year, the report noted. Overall, overseas operations amounted to about 8.8 percent of the business of the top 100 Chinese brands.

A HISTORIC STRIKE

Hard-hitting striker Tang Kai won China’s first major men’s Mixed Martial Arts(MMA) world title in the ONE Championship’s featherweight division on August 26.

Tang dethroned former champion, Vietnamese-American Thanh Le, to claim the featherweight belt in the ONE Championship, a Singaporean combat sports promotion launched in 2011.

After five taxing rounds, the judges unanimously gave the fight to 26-year-old Tang. The MMA fighter is on a 10-bout winning streak and owns an impeccable 7-0 record since signing with the promotion in 2019.

Born in Shaoyang, Hunan Province, Tang started wrestling at a provincial sports school in 2008. After fighting his way to recognition, courtesy of his powerful strikes, clean takedowns and groundand-pound skills, he accumulated eight straight stoppage wins which earned him a contract with ONE Championship and lifted him to pro status.

Embracing greenery is now a fashion across Chinese cities. The Chinese Government plans to construct no less than 1,000 pocket parks in 2022, so that city dwellers can have more convenient access to public green areas.

Although the parks are small, they stand out thanks to their quantity and their unique features based on local cultural and natural environments.

In Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei Province, pocket parks not only help to improve community sanitation, but provide various sports facilities as well. In Quanzhou,Fujian Province, ancient architectural culture with local characteristics is used in the designing of such parks. Flowerbeds are made of old stone structural components. In Qingdao of Shandong Province, themes of pocket parks include music, flowers and the sea, making themselves landmarks of the city as well as offering a place for residents to relax and pick up some knowledge.

Plus, residents’ realistic demands must also be taken into consideration, together with each city’s culture, history and natural environment.

“The continuous expansion of BRICS membership balances global multilateral hegemonic powers, at both the economic and political levels.”

Fulufhelo Netswera, a professor at Durban University of Technology in South Africa, in a recent interview with

“Defense cooperation, especially drills, between relevant countries ought not to target any third party and should be conducive to regional peace and stability.”

Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference on August 25

This summer, the whole northern hemisphere is being scorched by extreme heat and drought. With accelerating global warming,the Earth is expected to be hit more frequently and severely by heat waves and extreme aridness in the coming years. How to cope with such an extreme climate is a hard question facing the whole world, including China.

This year’s drought is affecting a larger area than those hitting the country in 2006,2013 and 2019. The whole Yangtze River area is ravaged by the drought, which came early in the year and has lasted for a long time. Generally speaking, droughts befall this region during late July and early August, but this year, it arrived in early June. To make it worse, the drought was accompanied by the most severe heat waves since 1961.

Different from floods, droughts do not cause immediate damage on a large scale,but the destruction will be felt gradually. The negative impacts brought by the lack of rainfall on crops and plants will accumulate over time, and if this happens at a critical period of growth, the negative effects will multiply.

In the medium and long term, China will encounter more extensive and sudden attacks from extreme droughts. Given this new challenge, the outdated view that droughts will soon pass by must be replaced by preparations to fight a long-lasting war against them. There must be scientific guidance and programs to head off droughts, instead of always carrying out temporary or emergency measures.

For a couple of years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, businesses in certain areas have found it difficult to recruit staff, while many migrant workers can’t find work.

These two coexisting difficulties are an inevitable during sweeping industrial restructuring and upgrading. Strategic industries, advanced manufacturing and modern service sectors require a labor force with relatively high skills and technical knowledge. However, there is a huge gap between demand for and actual supply of technical workers in terms of quality and quantity, leading to the paradox facing both businesses and migrant workers.

To make a living, apart from going out to other cities and provinces for jobs, migrant workers can also try to find employment near home.For example, local governments may help to attract investments from economically developed regions to the hinterland, so that farmers won’t need to leave their home. Of course, vocational and technical training for migrant workers must follow up to equip them with the new skills required by emerging industries.

NEW PRESIDENT OF RUC

Lin Shangli, a political scientist, is the new president of Renmin University of China (RUC), replacing Liu Wei who retired.

Lin was born in Minhou, Fujian Province, in 1963. After graduating as an international politics major from Fudan University in Shanghai, he went on to teach at the school. He was promoted to professor at Fudan in 1997 and one year later obtained a Ph.D. in Law there. In 2011, he became vice president of the university.

Lin’s main research interests are political theory, comparative politics and Chinese politics, and he has published more than 10 books and 100 papers. He has been a visiting scholar at Keio University in Japan, Georgetown University in the U.S.,and Munich University in Germany.

Lin’s appointment breaks the 22-year-long practice of RUC presidents all having a background in economics.

“On behalf of the government of Pakistan, we want to thank and appreciate our iron-brother China for coming to our aid in this hour of difficulty and trial.”

Khurram Dastgir Khan, Pakistan’s Minister of Power,at a ceremony held at Karachi Airport in Pakistan on August 30, for the handover of Chinese aid for flood victims in Pakistan

“Living with COVID-19 doesn’t mean pretending the pandemic is over...Likewise, pretending a deadly virus is not circulating is a huge risk.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization Director General, to journalists on August 31