A Choice for the Future

Students and parents visit an enrollment consultation fair at Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xian， capital of northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province， on June 26. The results of the college entrance exam have been released and high school graduates across China are now in the crucial period of deciding which college or university they will apply for.

Product Quality

Chinese State Councilor Guo Shengkun said on June 24 that the Central Government will better implement the Product Quality Law to improve the manufacturing sector while answering legislators questions at a joint inquiry meeting.

The meeting， attended by top legislator Zhang Dejiang， is part of the regular bimonthly session of the National Peoples Congress （NPC） Standing Committee.

Legislators reviewed an inspection report on the enforcement of the Product Quality Law during a panel discussion on June 23.

The report said that a series of problems such as low-quality products and outdated standards remain， especially in rural areas and online purchases.

Guo said authorities would reform the supervision system and make sure that producers fulfi ll their responsibilities.

Offi cials from the General Administration of Quality Supervision， Inspection and Quarantine， Ministry of Industry and Information Technology， Ministry of Commerce， Ministry of Public Security， State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission also answered legislators questions during the inquiry.

Zhang Ping， Vice Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee， urged the administrative authorities to take concrete measures to address existing issues and provide timely feedback to the committee.

Internet Copyright

Chinas copyright industry has called for better protection of Internet copyright.

The demand came as an inspection team on the Copyright Law sent by the National Peoples Congress（NPC） Standing Committee was in Shanghai to check on implementation of the law.

Increasing forms and channels for copyright bred by digital expansion have complicated copyright authorization， said Gao Yunfei， President of Shanghai Century Publishing （Group） Co. Ltd.

New forms， such as digital publishing， should be taken into full consideration in the revision of the law， and more clauses should be added to deal with new technologies.

“Pirate websites infringements have become one of the biggest problems for Chinas Internet literature market，” Wu Wenhui， CEO of the China Reading Group， a leading digital reading platform， said.

Wu expects more government action， without which enterprises cannot develop.

Liu Binjie， Chairman of the Education， Science， Culture and Public Health Committee of the NPC， stressed the role of new technologies in improving monitoring.

The Copyright Law will be revised and amended to make it easier for infringed copyright holders to take legal action. Revision and amendment of the law will strengthen legal protection for intellectual property rights and culture， he continued.

In 2016， more than 15，000 fi lms and television works， as well as over 1.2 million audio works and 1.12 million graphic works were monitored by a platform to protect Internet copyright in Shanghai.

As of the end of 2016， the total value of the Internet copyright industry surpassed 560 billion yuan（$82.75 billion）.

New Destroyer

The Peoples Liberation Army （PLA） Navys new destroyer， a 10，000-ton domestically designed and produced vessel， was launched on June 28 at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai.

The destroyer is the fi rst of Chinas new generation of destroyers. It is equipped with new air defense， anti-missile， anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons.

The vessel marks a milestone in improving the PLA Navys armament system and building a strong and modern navy.

According to the plan， tests will be carried out on the vessel， including equipment operation， berthing and sailing.

School Bullying

Five students were put in administrative detention and fi ned after a video of them bullying a schoolmate went viral on the Internet.

In the video， the victim was standing in a toilet while the bullies forced him to touch excrement. School uniforms worn by the students indicated that the incident happened in a school in Beijings Yanqing District.

Police with the Yanqing District Branch of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau said on June 26 that the video was taken on June 22. The seven students involved in the case also extorted more than 100 yuan（$15） from the victim and physically abused him.

Of the seven bullies， two were exempted from punishment because they are under the age of 14， although their guardians were told to be stricter with them， police said.

Education authorities in Yanqing placed two of the students under surveillance， and gave demerits to the records of four. Another bully was given a warning. The parents of the seven students were summoned for talks with the authorities.

Agricultural Innovations

Chinese scientists have underlined the role of scientifi c and technological innovations in the development of agriculture.

China will provide more quality and green agricultural products through technological advances， Han Jun， Director of the Offi ce of the Central Rural Work Leading Group， said on June 25 at a forum held by the Chinese Academy of Sciences（CAS）.

He cited a project launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the CAS that was designed to tackle medium- and lowyield farmland and saline-alkali lands along the coast of the Bohai Sea.

“By improving grain varieties， soil and irrigation systems， the land will produce 5 billion kg more output by 2020，” Han said.

Zhao Qiguo， an academician at the CAS， underscored the role that functional agriculture can play in providing healthy food. Functional agriculture， in his opinion， refers to the practice of raising the content of functional substances such as selenium and zinc in agricultural products.

“By 2020， 80 to 100 functional agricultural products are expected to hit the market， providing more healthy food for us，” Zhao said.

According to Fang Jingyun， an academician at the CAS， grass-based livestock husbandry is an important way to produce green livestock food. This method features planting highquality grass and following new grassland management systems， as well as making the grass into quality fodder and feeding it to livestock.

Intelligence Law

Chinas top legislature on June 27 adopted a law on intelligence to safeguard national security and interests.

The National Intelligence Law was approved at the end of a bimonthly session of the National Peoples Congress （NPC） Standing Committee which concluded on June 27.

The 32 articles cover the general provisions， organization and duties of the intelligence authorities， and punishments for misconduct.

The law requires intelligence agencies and their staff to safeguard human rights and to protect the legal rights and interests of individuals and organizations.

Those who leak state secrets， commercial secrets or personal information will be held accountable.

The law provides legal support to the intelligence community， according to Zhang Dejiang， Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

Zhang urged agencies to implement the law and carry out their duties in accordance with the law.

The law entered into effect on June 28.

Evil Destroyed

Offi cers burn confi scated drugs in Mangshi， capital of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in southwest Chinas Yunnan Province， on June 26. A total of 5.635 tons of confi scated drugs were destroyed in the city on June 26， the 30th International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Traffi cking.

Sweet and Watery

A child eats watermelon during a watermelon competition in Xinghuaying Township of Kaifeng， central Chinas Henan Province， on June 27.

Curbing Housing Bubbles

The China Banking Regulatory Commission on June 23 reiterated its determination to contain property bubbles in some regions， Securities Daily reported.

Guo Shuqing， Chairman of the banking regulator， urged banks to carry out differentiated mortgage loan policies to reach this goal during a visit to the headquarters of Agricultural Bank of China in Beijing.

All of the 15 fi rst-tier and second-tier cities surveyed by the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） saw slower year-on-year price rises in May， and nine of them also saw month-on-month price declines or fl at prices.

New residential house prices in Shenzhen， a southern metropolis neighboring Hong Kong， fell 0.6 percent month on month in May， while house prices in Beijing and Shanghai remained fl at in May.

Some banks in Beijing have even raised mortgage rates further for fi rst-time home buyers， following tightened lending policies targeted at second-time home buyers and effective as of March 17. Currently， the down payment for second-time home buyers is at least 60 percent of their home price in Beijing and the interest rate is 20 percent above the benchmark.

Early in June， China Minsheng Bank and Bank of Beijing adjusted mortgage rates to 10 percent above the benchmark mortgage rates for fi rst-time home buyers in Beijing.

A report， titled 2017 Global Investment Survey， showed that 74 percent of Chinese investors have property， while the average property ownership in Asia， excluding Japan， is only 57 percent.

New Partnership Sealed

One of Australias largest natural gas producers， Santos， has launched a new strategic partnership with existing Chinese shareholders on June 27.

The two Chinese interests， ENN Group and Hony Capital， hold a combined 15.1-percent stake in Santos， and the new arrangement will see “mutual cooperation and assistance” from both sides to spur the growth-based strategy in Australia and Papua New Guinea currently being adopted by the gas giant.

Chairman of Santos Peter Coates was pleased to announce the partnership and said he looks forward to the formalization of what was already a “great relationship.”

“Hony became a major shareholder in 2015 and together with ENN has continued to support Santos through challenging times，”Coates said.

“We look forward to a closer relationship with Hony and ENN and their support for the continued growth of Santos for the benefi t of all shareholders.”

The founder and Chairman of ENN Wang Yusuo was excited about the new development， and said he fully supports the strong growth plans of the Australian gas producer.

“The strategic relationship will effectively link up the upstream engineering and procurement competence of Santos with Chinas fast growing downstream market of natural gas， and explore many opportunities for Santos to realize its full potential as a leading producer of gas and liquefi ed natural gas，”Wang said.

The new deal will see the door opened up for more opportunities in the burgeoning Chinese market for Santos， as well as the potential to engage in co-investment in expansion and acquisitions between the companies.

Green Among Greens

An aerial view of a photovoltaic power plant in Changxing County， Zhejiang Province， on June 27. Electricity generated by the plant has been connected to the state grid for sale.

Financial Technology Laboratory

Bank of China （BOC）， one of the countrys big four state-owned lenders， and Tencent have established a joint fi nancial technology laboratory， said the lender in a statement on June 22.

The lab will work on cloud computing， big data， blockchain and artifi cial intelligence to promote fi nancial innovation such as fi nance in the cloud.

“After months of work， the two sides have made breakthroughs in the fi elds of cloud computing， big data and artifi cial intelligence applications， and set up a unifi ed platform of fi nancial big data，” said the statement.

The two companies will set up a cloud platform of fi nancial technology， improve risk control and raise effi ciency.

Chinas service sector is expected to play a bigger role in powering the economy as increasingly affl uent Chinese consumers demand more diverse and better-quality services.

Information Revelation

China will establish a platform for publicizing foreign investors information to improve services， said the Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM） in a statement on June 26.

The platform will publicize records of foreign investment， joint annual reports and credibility records of foreign investors， said the statement.

Government priorities will shift from foreign investment approval to regulation and supervision in a bid to create a better environment for foreign investors.

The platform will increase transparency and predictability of foreign investment management， according to the statement.

The ministry encourages pilot free trade zones and state-level economic development zones to take the lead in establishing the platform.

Foreign direct investment （FDI） into the Chinese mainland dropped 3.7 percent year on year in May to 54.7 billion yuan （$8 billion）， data from MOFCOM showed.

In the fi rst fi ve months， FDI infl ow was 0.7 percent lower than in the same period in 2016， said the ministry.

Aiming Higher

A staff member tends to vegetables grown with soilless technology in a modern agricultural demonstration park in Cangzhou City， Hebei Province， on June 27. In recent years， Cangzhou has been trying to gain a share of the high-end vegetable market of neighboring Beijing and Tianjin， to drive the income growth of its local farmers.

Shortened Negative List

China has this year signifi cantly trimmed its negative list， a list that spells out which sectors are closed or restricted for foreign investment in its pilot free trade zones （FTZs）.

Sun Jiwen， spokesperson for MOFCOM， said on June 22 that the number of items on the list stands at 95 this year， 27 fewer than in 2015.

In 2017， China has reduced restrictions on the mining， manufacturing， transportation， information， commercial service， fi nance， scientifi c research and culture sectors.

The ministry has also promoted transparency of the negative list to facilitate foreign investment， according to Sun.

The items on the negative list only apply in the FTZs—which have expanded from the fi rst one in Shanghai to the current 11 across the country.

In 2013， there were 190 items on the list and the number was reduced to 139 in 2014.

Lower Traveling Cost

This summer， traveling abroad will be much more cost-effi cient for travelers， with tickets pitched at lower prices than last summer-due to easier visa policies， increased fl ights， and price competition between numerous travel agencies， according to a report by Ctrip.com International Ltd.， Chinas leading online travel agency.

Ctrip said that in previous years， traveling during summer holidays often cost 30 to 40 percent more than the off-peak season. This year， the seasonal rise was about 10 to 20 percent， with an increasing capacity of fl ights and expanded tourist handling facilities at destinations.

During the summer holiday this year， a record 30 million Chinese mainland tourists are projected to travel overseas. It is estimated that their average spending while traveling will reach 7，000 yuan （$1，030）， up 6.8 percent year on year.

In addition， 35 percent of the outbound traveling will last more than a week.

“The requirements of Chinese consumers are constantly growing， and they are willing to spend more on traveling，” said Peng Liang， Public Relations Director of the vacation department at Ctrip.

“More people choose to go to farther destinations， take longer trips， and book more expensive hotels and traveling services.”

Ctrip said the average spending is equivalent to the average monthly wage of urban residents in China. Last year， monthly salaries in Chinas large and medium-sized cities ranged from 6，000 yuan （$885） to 8，000 yuan （$1，180）， with the highest average monthly salaries found in Beijing and Shanghai， at around 9，000 yuan （$1，327）.

Dai Bin， Director of the China Tourism Academy， said in the past tourists had limited traveling experiences， and it was easy for them to feel satisfi ed with services. Now， with Chinese people traveling much more frequently than before， they had much higher requirements of services in various destinations.

On Track for Completion

The Henan section of the Zhengzhou-Wanzhou high-speed railway sees the completion of work on June 27. The railway runs for 818 km， with a designed speed of 350 km per hour.