International Exchange

A visitor looks at a Qing Dynasty（1644-1911） emperors ceremonial armor and helmet from the Palace Museum of China collection during the media day of the Exhibition“The Forbidden City： Inside the Court of Chinas Emperors” at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto， Canada， on March 5.

This six-month exhibition brings about 250 treasures of the Palace Museum， which were part of Chinese imperial life， to Canada for the first time， and also provides an opportunity for Canadians to learn about Chinas long and fascinating history and traditional culture.

Property Registration

The State Council， Chinas cabinet， on February 28 approved setting up a cross-ministry joint conference working on the establishment of a unified property registration system.

The conference will coordinate major issues concerning the establishment and implementation of a proposed property registration system.

Chaired by the Ministry of Land and Resources， the conference is intended to hammer out guiding principles and policy suggestions， and conduct research on the drafting of related laws and regulations. China aims to build a unified property registration system as part of its efforts to curb excessive speculation on the property market.

Corruption Blow

China investigated and punished 829 judges and other court staff for corruption in 2013， up 42.3 percent year on year， the Supreme Peoples Court（SPC）， the countrys highest judicial organ， announced on March 2.

Of the 829 court officials， 157 were transferred to judicial organs for prosecution， the SPC said in a statement.

The SPC revealed that 683 judges and court staff turned over illegal gains including cash， securities and payment documents， with a value of 3.32 million yuan （$543，000）， in 2013.

The authority will continue to maintain their “high-handed posture”in the fight against judicial corruption， according to the statement.

Aid for the Homeless

A total of 2，031 relief organizations have been set up to safeguard the basic interests and rights of the homeless， Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo announced on February 28.

In 2013， 2.35 million homeless people received help， including 159，000 juveniles， Li revealed at a press conference. “Pilot programs have also been launched in 20 regions to protect juveniles with a focus on family custody，” he added.endprint

According to Li， providing social relief to the homeless has been written into the social assistance regulation， which will come into effect on May 1. The regulation is the countrys first legal document to coordinate and regulate the fragmented social assistance system.

The regulation also calls for open， fair and timely help for the needy.

Map Control

China is looking to crack down on sales or uploads of classified maps on the Internet in an effort to curb geographic information leaks， authorities announced on February 28.

The campaign will focus on online trade in classified surveying and mapping results， and digital navigation maps without any confidential treatment， the National Administration of Surveying， Mapping and Geoinformation said in a statement.

People found illegally selling or providing classified maps will be harshly punished， while websites containing sensitive geographic information will be shut down， according to the statement.

The administration will also check maps providing tourist or traffic information to make sure they do not carry excessive commercial advertisements， it added.

Anti-Smog Aircraft

Tests of the first China-made parafoil aircraft in tackling recurring smog will be conducted later this month， its manufacturer announced on March 4.

The unmanned aerial vehicle（UAV）， which is equipped with gliding parachute， is manufactured by a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corp. of China and will perform its first test flights in airports or ports after discussion by industry experts.

The new plane has flexible wings with an aerodynamic structure， which affords ease of control as well as making it able to carry three times the cargo weight of common planes， according to Ma Yongsheng， CEO of the company.

It was also reported that China is considering building two outdoor facilities to help research smog.

On March 2， The Beijing News quoted He Hong， a researcher from the Research Center for EcoEnvironmental Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Sciences， as saying that the plan to build atmospheric simulation chambers has been submitted to the economic planning body for approval. He is in charge of the projects preparatory work.

The chambers， each with a volume of about 300 cubic meters， are part of a broader environmental project to be built in Beijings outer Huairou District to study the formation of smog and develop techniques for controlling it， according to He.endprint

Island Topography

Detailed topographic information and images of all Chinas islands have been collected using aerial remote sensing， a method allowing the capture of data from a distance.

The completion of the project marks the countrys first “systematic and comprehensive” move to collect surveillance information on the more than 10，500 islands within its territory， said the State Oceanic Administration（SOA） on February 28.

The surveillance plan， which was mapped out by the SOA in 2011， requires China Marine Surveillance to conduct remote sensing and collect data on all reachable islands every three years， and also stipulated that such efforts should focus on islands listed for development， rehabilitation and protection.

Barley Genome

Chinese scientists revealed on March 3 that they have sequenced the entire genome of highland barley， an achievement that can help cultivate better breeds of Tibets staple food and increase yields.

The genome-mapping project， which the scientists said has produced the worlds first genetic map of highland barley， was launched in 2012 by researchers with Tibets Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences and BGI Tech Solutions in Shenzhen， Guangdong Province.

Highland barley， known in Tibetan as ne， has been grown on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for nearly 4，000 years.

It makes up 70 percent of all cereal crops harvested in the autonomous region， home to the worlds leading barley production base as well as a center for barley diversity research.

Space Shuttle Bus

China is expected to launch an upper-stage aircraft this year that can be used as a “space shuttle bus”to propel payloads into space， according to sources with the countrys leading rocket research institute.

The Yuanzheng-1 （Expedition-1） upper-stage aircraft， which would be attached to a carrier rocket， can carry aircraft using its own power system after reaching an initial orbit， said Liang Xiaohong， an official with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology， on March 3.

Yuanzheng-1， which will use liquid propellant， will be able to fulfill several missions while in space and operate as long as 6.5 hours in orbit， said Liang.

Yuanzheng-1 will play an important role in future space exploration as well as orbital transfer and clearing of space debris.

Safety at School

Students at Anwen Primary School in Panan County， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， are at an earthquake drill， on May 23， 2013.endprint

The Ministry of Education on March 3 asked schools and kindergartens to organize evacuation drills on a regular basis to ensure quick response to emergencies such as earth- quakes and fires.

Schools are advised to carry out at least one drill each month while kindergartens should do so every three months， according to a guideline issued by the ministry. It asked middle schools to finish each drill within two minutes and primary schools to do so within three minutes.

Market Driven

Two staff members assemble a business car at a production base of Beiqi Foton Motor Co. Ltd. in Weifang， east Chinas Shandong Province.

The production base had exported 8，554 units of business cars to 34 countries by the end of 2013.

PMI Data

Chinas purchasing managers index（PMI） for the manufacturing sector dropped to 50.2 percent in February， down from 50.5 percent for January， according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing （CFLP） on March 1. The index shows the manufacturing sector is expanding， but the rate of growth is slowing down， said Zhao Qinghe， a senior analyst with the NBS. A reading below 50 indi- cates contraction， while that above 50 signals expansion.

Zhao attributed the decline to the Spring Festival holiday， when most enterprises suspended production and workers went back home for the holiday.

The PMI for Chinas nonmanufacturing sector rebounded in February after dropping for three consecutive months. The index reached 55 percent in February， up 1.6 percentage points from January.

CFLP Vice Chairman Cai Jin attributed the rebound mainly to robust business activities after the Spring Festival holiday （January 31-February 6）.

FTA Talks

China， South Korea and Japan started the fourth round of negotiations on a trilateral free trade agreement（FTA） in Seoul on March 4.

The fresh round of negotiations， lasting from March 4 to 7， focused on modalities of tariff reduction， ways of opening service trade between the three countries and investment as well as certain areas and fields of the agreement， according to the Chinese delegation.

South Koreas Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick said although these talks may not always go smoothly， the negotiations are “moving toward an end.”

South Korean farmers previously opposed such an agreement， fearing that a free trade pact would flood the market with cheap produce.endprint

The three Asian countries talked about the trilateral FTAs modality such as how to make a draft of liberalization for goods at the third round of negotiation held in Tokyo in 2013.

China， South Korea and Japan have seen increasingly close economic and trade relations and have become important partners and markets to each other.

The FTA is expected to create one of the worlds largest markets， as combined gross domestic product of the three countries will account for 20 percent of world total and the combined imports and exports volume will account for 17.5 percent of global trade.

Coal Demand

Chinas coal consumption will peak in 2020 at about 4.7 billion tons， forecast Li Ruifeng， General Manager of the Coal Industry Planning and Design Research Institute on March 4.

Coal demand will grow by an average of 3.9 percent annually before 2020 and then decrease by about 0.43 percent annually， Li said.

He predicted that annual coal demand would drop to 4.56 billion tons in 2030.

Li advised coal producers to adjust investment strategies to cope with decreases in coal demand after 2020.

Chinas coal consumption witnessed a slower growth of 2.6 percent year on year to 3.61 billion tons in 2013， according to the China National Coal Association.

Walmart Backing Off

The worlds largest retailer， Walmart Stores， closed an outlet in southwest Chinas Chongqing Municipality on March 4.

A staff member， who declined to be named， said the closure was decided by Walmart China because the store had been losing money for a long time. Poor site selection has been given as a major reason for the stores slow trade.

Walmart entered Chongqing 10 years ago， and this was its first closure in the city.

Walmart China closed 10 stores nationwide in November and December last year.

The emergence of online shopping has been seen as an increasing challenge for firms like Walmart. Walmarts stores also face competition from local retailers. Chinese grocery retailer Yonghui Superstores has been in talks to rent the site that Walmart has vacated in Chongqing.

New Trading Model

No timetable has been set for the launch of the T+0 trading model， a tool to increase the vitality and liquidity of the capital market， according to a securities watchdog official.

T+0 means financial products can be bought and sold on the same day. “T” stands for the first letter of the word “trade.”

There are no legal barriers， but the trading model needs smooth coordination， said Wang Xian， deputy head of the China Securities Regulatory Commissions market department.

The model can stimulate the market and add fluidity， but can also cause frequent trading， market fluctuation， speculation and manipulation， Wang said.

Currently， T+1 is adopted for share trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses. T+1 means shares bought on one day can only be sold the next trading day at the earliest.

The Shanghai bourse in 1992 and the Shenzhen bourse in 1993 introduced T+0 models， but they shifted to T+1 in 1995 to guard against market risks.

Digging Deeper

Machines lay on the ground in Dingping Village of Suining， southwest Chinas Sichuan Province. The largest-ever natural gas reserve was recently discovered in the village.endprint