Media Watch

REAL ECONOMY REVIVAL South Reviews February 15

China used to awe the world with its two-digit GDP growth. Nowadays， in face of sluggish world economy， Chinas economic growth becomes slower， and thus， upgrading its economic structure has become urgent. The country is also making efforts to revive its real economy to this end.

South Reviews magazine looks at reasons both for Chinas “economic miracle” and its current problems. A series of incentive measures have been developed to boost Chinas development since reform and opening up. But over the years， the incentive measures are twisted. Investment in real economy is burdened by high costs of taxation and land. The current taxation system fails to impose taxes on peoples investment returns on Chinas A-shares market and real estates， but creates heavy burdens for entrepreneurs and ordinary salaried employees in the real economy as it levies taxes when commodities circulate rather than on businesses or individuals who make profits.

Such a system is destructive in the long run. For one thing， it undermines Chinas economy by destroying innovation and entrepreneurship. For another， it twists social value system， breaks down trust between different social strata and hard-reached consensus on reform.

ONE CARD TO RULE THEM ALL Peoples Daily February 7

By the end of this year， Chinese people will be able to use their social security cards across provinces， according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Currently， the use of social security cards is mostly confined to the provincial administration regions where they have been issued. However， with Chinas rapid urbanization and drastic flow of migrant workers into large cities， it is imperative to change the situation. Regional confinement has been putting a damper on social security cards functions.

Once the target is achieved， the card will not only enable people to have access to healthcare services or to withdraw pensions more easily， but also function as an identification card to simplify procedures for many other services. This achievement will be made through cooperation between different government departments.

Indeed， by coordinating the work of different departments， this project can also help reduce administrative costs. Like a key， the small social security card will open the door to immense improvement in peoples lives.

SECOND WIND FOR MUSEUMS Oriental Outlook February 9

With their number reaching 4，692 by the end of 2015， China is not short on museums. However， for many years， some of them have just been playing the role of warehouses. Though placing cultural relics in these museums is the safest way to preserve them， it failed to showcase their social and cultural value. Due to similar content and form， exhibitions held by museums attracted few visitors and failed to play an educational role.

A striking change taking place is the development of creative cultural products by museums. Prestigious museums like the Palace Museum and the National Museum of China have started to work with Internet platforms by authorizing intellectual property （IP） use and opening online shops selling creative cultural products. The year 2016 was considered as the starting point for activating Chinese museums IP.

Although IP authorization is still in its infancy and a lot more regulatory work needs to be done still， cooperation with other organizations through IP authorization is an important way to activate museums and promote culture.

QR WAR Caixin Weekly February 6

At present， China is the worlds largest mobile payment market. Mobile payment platforms provided by Chinas Internet giants， such as Alibabas Alipay and Tencents WeChat Payment， and traditional financial institution China UnionPay， Chinas largest bank card payment processor， are eyeing the lucrative market by introducing QR code payment services.

QR code payment services provided by Internet companies are more efficient than those provided by China UnionPay， because the former involves only three parties - payment service providers， banks and retailers， while the latter introduces a fourth party - China UnionPay. Nevertheless， the loopholes of the former payment services may lead to user information being leaked and an increased risk of telecom fraud.

The Peoples Bank of China， Chinas central bank， which supervises the payment industry， is coming up with measures to regulate the market. By the end of March， an online payment clearing platform supervised by the central bank will be established for third-party payment platforms. Third-party payment platforms will be required to link to either the new platform or China UnionPay， which will put an end to the current three-party system consisting of payment service providers， banks and retailers. Online payment market in China is about to undergo a major change.