Moscow Debut

China’s J-10 aerobatic planes prepare for an airshow at the MAKS-2013 International Aviation and Space Show in the city of Zhukovsky near Moscow， Russia， on August 27.

It marked the first overseas airshow for the Bayi Aerobatic Team of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force， which was established 51 years ago.

Based on China’s independently developed J-10 all-weather supersonic multi-role fighter， the J-10 aerobatic plane is refitted in part and re-coated to undertake airshow performances during foreign exchange activities.

Party Meeting

The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC） will be held in Beijing in November， the committee’s Political Bureau announced in a statement following a meeting on August 27.

During the forthcoming session， the Political Bureau will present reports of its work to the CPC Central Committee， with the session also involving discussions of major issues concerning comprehensive and deepened reforms， said the statement.

The August 27 meeting stressed that the Party must strengthen its confidence in regards to reform and head in the right direction， consolidate consensus， and make sure all efforts at reform are coordinated effectively.

The meeting also approved a 2013-17 plan for establishing and improving the system for the punishment and prevention of corruption.

Monitoring Network

China has built the rJpV6W8G+EGY3hNSOBJPWpUC/zTgDAqahlHGHr4kU4w=world’s largest network for reporting instances of infectious diseases and public health emergencies so as to ensure timely and accurate monitoring and treatment， a senior health official said on August 28.

All disease control and prevention centers， as well as 98 percent of medical institutions above county level as well as 94 percent of local health agencies have set up systems for real-time reporting on infectious diseases， said Li Bin， Minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Their reports are passed to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

It now takes only four hours for local agencies to detect epidemics and report them to the center， compared with the five days it took before the network was established， Li said.

To strengthen monitoring and early warning systems， 3，486 statelevel stations have been set up to monitor 28 infectious diseases， including cholera and flu as well as four disease carriers including mosquitoes， mice， flies and black beetles， she said.

Reporting on student absence due to sickness in middle and primary schools has also been enhanced in order to assist in the prevention of epidemic outbreaks.

Stations for the surveillance of infectious diseases for people entering and exiting the country have been built at 285 ports open to foreign countries and 168 healthcare centers for international travelers.

Ready for Launch

China’s Chang’e-3 lunar probe is scheduled to be launched at the end of this year for a moon landing mission， the State Administration of Science， Technology and Industry for National Defense said on August 28.“The Chang’e-3 has officially entered the launching stage， following the successful completion of its research and manufacture，” said a statement released by the administration.

The mission will see a Chinese space probe land on a celestial body for the first time.

The Chang’e-3 mission is part of the second phase of China’s lunar exploration program， which will include orbiting and then landing on the moon and then successfully returning to Earth. The mission follows the successful completion of the Chang’e-1 and Chang’e-2 missions， which included plotting a highresolution， full-coverage lunar map.

The Chang’e-3’s carrier rocket has successfully gone through its first tests. The launch pad， control and ground application systems are ready for the mission.

Lawyer Service

There are 1.6 lawyers on average for every 10，000 Chinese citizens， with Beijing having the most per capita and Tibet the least， according to an industry report released on August 27. The ratio of lawyers per 10，000 people is an important indicator of development in the legal industry， said the report released by the All China Lawyers Association.

As of 2012， China had had a total of 232，384 lawyers， with an average annual growth of 9.1 percent， while 26.6 percent of lawyers were women， it said.

According to the report， six provincial-level regions have less than one lawyer per 10，000 people， including Anhui， Qinghai， Gansu， Guizhou， Jiangxi and Tibet.

China has 19，361 law firms， increasing 6 percent annually on average.

Red Tape Cut

The CPC’s first campaign to cut regulatory red tape has seen the abolition of nearly 40 percent of intra-Party rules introduced by the central authority since 1978.

In the cleaning-up move initi- ated in June 2012， 300 of the 767 regulations or normative documents introduced by the central authority have been abolished or nullified， according to a CPC Central Committee circular made public on August 28.

Forty-two of the remaining 467 regulations still in effect will undergo revisions， it said.

Those abolished or nullified were deemed either inconsistent with the CPC Constitution and policies or the country’s Constitution and laws due to changes in the Party or national conditions， or were judged to overlap with others， according to the circular.

Under the plan， the Party’s disciplinary watchdog， the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection， various departments of the central authority and local Party committees have also been checking through more than 20，000 regulations and normative documents within their jurisdiction.

Border Control

A foreign ministry official said on August 27 that China is studying human biological identification technology that could be used to strengthen security and improve entry/exit management.

Cui Aimin， Deputy Director General of the Department of Consular Affairs （Center for Consular Assistance and Protection）， made the remarks while taking questions from reporters at a press briefing.

China’s top legislature reformed exit and entry law in July 2012， introducing a common international practice by which immigration authorities may collect fingerprints and other biodata from those who exit or enter Chinese territory.

The number of foreign nationals entering China has been increasing by 10 percent annually since 2000， according to the Ministry of Public Security.

China’s police authorities have collected fingerprints upon entry since 2005 to improve efficiency of immigration procedures and protect national security.

Island Monitoring

China’s sea island monitoring and surveillance system， which aims to provide information for islet protection， management， law enforcement and scientific research， has begun a trial run.

Accordingly， various marine surveillance agencies will be interconnected， with information available to them updated promptly. In addition， law enforcement archives will be computerized， the State Oceanic Administration said on August 23.

The system will help boost islet management and law enforcement efficiency by sharing information across 124 marine surveillance agencies， and will be used to issue early warnings in the event of emergencies.

Language Standard

An official list standardizing the appearance of commonly used Chinese characters was published， the Ministry of Education revealed on August 27.

The 8，105 characters included in the list were chosen based on their frequency of use from hundreds of thousands of characters that have emerged since the beginnings of the Chinese writing system in ancient times， according to compilers.

It also includes a table for conversion between the simplified and traditional forms of these characters to facilitate Chinese language communications.

Renewable Storage Battery

Staff members work on the automatic assembly line for storage batteries at an industrial park in Changxing， east China’s Zhejiang Province， on August 28.

This particular line produces 5，000 batteries every day， with 56-percent less energy consumption and 80-percent less staff than traditional equivalents.

Tianneng Circular Economy Industrial Park collects discarded storage batteries and uses them to produce new versions.

Tax Convention

China on August 27 signed a multilateral convention by the G20 to combat tax evasion.

Wang Jun， Administrator of the State Administration of Taxation of China， signed the convention on behalf of the Chinese Government at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development （OECD） headquarters in Paris.

By signing the convention， China became the 56th signatory to the multilateral agreement designed to facilitate international cooperation among tax authorities and improve their ability to fight tax evasion.

This is the first multilateral tax instrument that has ever been signed by China.

Developed by the OECD and the Council of Europe in 1988， the convention on mutual administrative assistance in tax matters is the most comprehensive multilateral instru- ment available for tax cooperation and exchange of information.

Nuclear Generator

Dongfang Electrical Machinery Co. Ltd. （DFEM）， a major Chinese powergenerating equipment manufacturer， has completed construction of a 1，750-megawatt （mw） nuclear generator and started transporting it to a nuclear power plant in south China on August 24.

The 1，750-mw generator currently has the biggest per-unit installed capacity among nuclear generators in the world， according to the DFEM， which is based in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

The generator is being sent to the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in south China’s Guangdong Province from the company’s production base in Deyang， Sichuan.

DFEM will provide two such generators for the plant. It has produced 14 nuclear generators so far with a total installed capacity of 15，790 mw.

Auto Investment

German vehicle manufacturer Daimler AG is investing 2 billion euros （$2.67 billion） in its local joint venture with Beijing-based BAIC Motor Group， a fund infusion that will finance construction of the world’s largest Daimler production facility by 2015.

The German premium vehicle producer plans to more than double its annual capacity to 200，000 units by 2015， said Hubertus Troska， President and CEO of Daimler Greater China.

“China， which has already become the top global automotive market， will for sure become the biggest premium car market from a long-term perspective，” said Troska.

“If we want to be a successful leader in this important market， we need more locally produced vehicles.”

The company is opening 75 new dealerships this year in 36 new cities， 45 percent of which will be third- or fourth-tier cities. By the end of 2013， there will be 337 dealer outlets in 151 Chinese cities.

Alipay Backs Off

Alipay， China’s largest third-party e-payment provider， announced on August 27 it will discontinue its stillnascent offline-payment service， a move widely perceived as a capitulation to its state-backed rival， China UnionPay.

While the company declined to elaborate on its reasons， industry observers believe Alipay’s encroachment into the business of offline payments was eating away market share once firmly held by UnionPay， the country’s largest bankcard association.

“Due to certain widely known reasons， Alipay will stop all offline point-of-sale services，” the company said on its official micro-blog to announce the move.

In March， Alipay introduced its proprietary POS machine， which allowed couriers to track parcels and accept payments for online-ordered goods at the same time.

A small processing fee paid by consumers upon delivery was split with UnionPay， a banking consortium that runs the country’s interbank network， as well as the bank providing the card.

But Alipay failed to address concerns from UnionPay， which has tightened third-party payment policies since July.

In a recent board meeting， UnionPay had urged banks to complete all online transactions and clearing through its own channels， indicating that thirdparty payment enterprises cannot skirt UnionPay to complete bank transactions.

JV Shopping Mall

A Chinese-Finnish invested shopping and leisure center opened for business in St. Petersburg， Russia， on August 23， marking a new milestone for Chinese investment in Russia’s Baltic region.

The $187-million Pearl Plaza Shopping and Leisure Center is a joint venture between Chinese firm Shanghai Industrial Investment（Holding） Co. Ltd. and Finnish SRV Group. The 96，000-square-meter shopping center， which houses a supermarket， cinema and a range of other services and leisure activities， can accommodate 25，000 guests a day.

A group of Shanghai-based companies have also embarked on the Baltic Pearl project， a large-scale residential and business district in Russia’s second largest city.

The planned project includes more than 1 million square meters of residential housing， as well as a comprehensive range of commercial and community facilities. Once completed， the complex is expected to house over 30，000 St. Petersburg residents and provide a plethora of shopping opportunities.

A Pipe Breakthrough

A staff member of JM Eagle measures the diameter of a pipe in Langfang， north China’s Hebei Province. The pipe will be used in China’s south-to-north water diversion project.

JM Eagle， the world’s largest plastic and PVC pipe manufacturer， set up a production base in Langfang to produce super-large-diameter pipes， the first of its kind in China.