Of Mice and Women

Of Mice and Women

Tourists pose for photos with Disney characters at the Shanghai Disney Resort on January 21， when performances and souvenirs to greet the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year were on display.

Housing Renovation

China exceeded the housing renovation target for rundown urban areas in 2018， the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） said on January 22.

Construction began on 6.27 million homes in dilapidated areas in 2018， accounting for 107.4 percent of the annual target， NDRC spokesperson Meng Wei said at a press conference.

A new three-year renovation plan to address housing in rundown urban areas has seen construction on 5.8 million units start by the end of 2018.

This is part of the governments efforts to improve the living conditions of people with housing diffi culties.

China started renovation of 6.09 million homes in shantytowns in 2017， exceeding its target of 6 million.

Demographic Boon

Demographic dividend still exists in China， and there is no need to overinterpret dipping population growth and birth rates， Chinas top statistics offi cial said on January 21.

Population on the mainland totaled 1.395 billion by the end of 2018， up 5.3 million and 3.81 thousandths year on year， data from the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） showed.

New births reached 15.23 million in 2018， with the birth rate dipping to 10.94 thousandths.

“Demographic data should be analyzed from a long-term perspective； the demographic structure changes with the development of the economy and society， which is a natural process，” Ning Jizhe， head of the NBS， said at a press conference.

Demographic dividend refers to the economic potential resulting from shifts in a populations age structure in terms of the working and non-working population.

Ning said China has a workforce pool of about 900 million people， with over 700 million of them employed， creating room for higher labor force participation rates.

The improving quality of the workforce， as well as about 8 million fresh college graduates each year， will help propel Chinas industrial upgrading and unleash innovation momentum in sustaining Chinas medium- and long-term steady economic expansion， Ning said.

Toilet Revolution

Authorities will press ahead with a toilet revolution in rural areas to provide standard and regulated facilities and improve rural residentsquality of life， according to a policy document.

Toilets in rural households in eastern regions and mid-western city outskirts should basically go through pollution-free renovations by 2020， with toilet waste to be effectively treated or utilized by 2022， according to guidelines released by the offi ce of the Central Rural Work Leading Group， the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and six other departments.

By 2020， about 85 percent of rural households in mid-western areas should have access to sanitary toilets， where conditions permit.

Sanitary toilets in remote and underdeveloped regions should be increased gradually by 2020 and markedly by 2022， according to the guidelines.

China launched the toilet revolution in 2015 to increase the quantity and sanitation of toilets at tourist sites. The campaign expanded to improve public toilets in cities and build better private toilets in rural areas.

Grain Reserves

China will strengthen regulation on grain circulation and strategic reserves in 2019， to promote the security of national grain supply and the ability to deal with emergencies.

“We will accelerate the establishment of an effi cient and modern system of grain circulation and a unifi ed system of national stockpile reserves，” said Zhang Wufeng， head of the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration， at a national meeting.

Zhang stressed that the administration will continue to assess the responsibility of provincial governors in ensuring grain security this year， while local governments should reinforce the assessment of the management of grain reserves and calculate the volume and quality of grain reserves.

Statistics showed enterprises nationwide purchased more than 360 million tons of grain in 2018 with no diffi culties for farmers selling grains in major areas.

Monkeys Cloned

Five monkeys have been cloned from a gene-edited macaque with circadian rhythm disorders in China， the fi rst time multiple monkeys have been cloned from a gene-edited monkey for biomedical research.

Scientists made the announcement on January 24， with two articles published in National Science Review， a top Chinese journal in English. The monkeys were cloned in Shanghai at the Institute of Neuroscience of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Researchers said the advance means that a population of customized gene-edited monkey models with uniform genetic background will be available for biomedical research.

Disorders of circadian rhythm are associated with many human diseases， including sleep disorders， depression， diabetes， cancer and neurodegenerative diseases， such as Alzheimers.

The cloned monkeys， closer to humans in physiology， make better models for research on disease pathogenesis and potential therapeutic treatments.

In order to create an ideal donor monkey， researchers knocked out BMAL1， a core circadian regulatory transcription factor， using gene editing at the embryo stage.

They selected one of the geneedited monkeys with the most severe disease phenotypes as the donor and cloned fi ve monkeys by somatic cell nuclear transfer， the same method used in the case of Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua， the fi rst cloned monkeys born in China at the end of 2017.

Different from Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua， cloned by using fi -broblasts from an aborted fetus， the new clones were made using a geneedited young adult male monkey.

Slippery Fun A tourist whizzes down an ice slide in Harbin， capital of northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province， during the annual Harbin Ice and Snow Festival on January 20.

School Bus Safety

The Ministry of Education on January 18 issued a circular announcing intensifi ed investigation into and punishment for unregistered school buses and illegal school bus activities.

Primary and middle school students and preschoolers are banned from riding school buses that are not registered by authorities， the circular said.

School bus drivers will face severe punishment if found speeding， overloading or driving off designated routes. Unregistered school buses will be seized.

The circular ordered relevant departments to conduct a thorough investigation of students means of commuting and keep an account of the models and plate numbers of school buses on a long-term basis.

Monitoring of private and unqualifi ed kindergartens should be strengthened， and parents should be well informed， according to the circular.

More personnel should be dispatched to patrol the roads near schools and kindergartens at rush hour to ensure students safety， it said.

The circular also called on local governments to implement the Regulations on School Bus Safety Management， which was promulgated by the State Council in 2012 to reduce students traffi c risks.

Porcelain Pleasures

A craftsperson makes a celadon bowl at the Fenghuang Mountain Archaeological Site Park in Shangyu District of Shaoxing， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， on January 22. As the birthplace of celadon， Shangyu is reviving the local culture by protecting relics， promoting celadon arts and boosting tourism.

Globalization 4.0

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan called on countries to work together to shape the global architecture in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on January 23， with the vision to create a better future for all humanity.

While addressing the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2019， Wang said it is imperative to respect national sovereignty and refrain from seeking technological hegemony or interfering in other countries domestic affairs.

He called for efforts to uphold multilateralism and jointly build a system of rules for technology and a new international cooperation framework featuring peace， security， democracy， transparency， inclusive- ness and mutual benefi t so that all people can gain from technological innovation.

Pointing out that new technologies bring opportunities and also create risks and challenges， Wang said countries need to uphold the security of all humanity， improve the policy environment and promote social prosperity and stability.

“We need to explore the adoption of relevant rules and standards phase by phase， while leaving broad space for the dissemination and application of scientifi c discovery and technological innovation，” he said.

Wang also called for accommodating the interests of all countries in a balanced manner， especially those of emerging markets and developing countries.

“One should not ask the whole world to address only the security concerns or comply only with the standards of developed countries or individual countries，” he said.

Largest Investment

Global foreign direct investment（FDI） fl ows continued their slide in 2018， a UN agency said on January 21， while noting that China bucked that trend and was the largest investment recipient in the world.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development （UNCTAD） released its 2019 Investment Trends Monitor report， saying FDI should increase in 2019， but that underlying trends remain weak.

Global FDI fell 19 percent in 2018 to an estimated $1.2 trillion from $1.47 trillion in 2017， said the UNCTAD.

The third consecutive drop brings FDI fl ows back to the lowest point reached after the global fi nancial crisis in 2008， said James Zhan， UNCTADs Director of Investment and Enterprise.

“Regarding China， for the fi rst half of the year it was the largest investment recipient in the world，”Zhan said at a press conference in Geneva， Switzerland， on January 21.

Investment fl ows into China remained at a high level， with a stable， steady and modest increase， said Zhan， adding， “Each modest increase reached a new record level for Chinese investment infl ows.”

He also said the primary reasons that investment fl ows increased into China at a very high level were further liberalization， particularly in the service sector， along with the fi nancial sector， and intensifi ed efforts to promote investment in hitech industries.

Zhan cautioned that geopolitical risks “are all growing in a big way” in terms of the global investment climate in economic growth prospects， policy direction， and geopolitical， political and economic tensions.

Over the Bridge

Construction team members study the fi nal plans of the Oujiang Railway Bridge in east Chinas Zhejiang Province on January 18. The bridge is a crucial part of the railway line in Leqing Bay.

Auto Power

East Chinas Zhejiang Province is aiming to build a world-class automotive industry cluster by 2022 when its auto production is expected to exceed 3.5 million units.

New-energy vehicle production is expected to exceed 800，000 units by 2022， according to a four-year action plan on the development of Zhejiangs auto industry.

In 2022， the industrial output of the provinces auto industry is expected to reach 1 trillion yuan（$147 billion）， with 400 billion yuan（$58.95 billion） from automakers and 600 billion yuan （$88.43 billion） from parts suppliers.

The province will focus on four major automotive platforms， one in Hangzhou， two in Ningbo and one in Taizhou， with more efforts going toward new-energy vehicle facilities and global research and development headquarters， it said.

The authorities will push traditional gasoline-powered vehicle makers and parts suppliers to upgrade to connected cars and new energy vehicles.

Starting this year， local authorities will begin building testing grounds for intelligent vehicles in cities like Hangzhou and Ningbo.

Digitalized Aviation

Chinas civil aviation industry is accelerating its advance into the digital era， with major players signaling new international opportunities.

Already this year， China Southern Airlines has started online seat selection for all domestic fl ights and paperless e-boarding passes.

As well as being more convenient for passengers， it is a major step in responding to initiatives in environment-friendly travel.

Based in Guangzhou， south Chinas Guangdong Province， China Southern operates the largest fl eet in Asia and the third largest worldwide. In 2018， it recorded 139 million passenger fl ights.

“The global aviation industry is at a crucial point. It is transitioning from an increment-driven market to one in which greater value and opportunities are being extracted from the existing market. Digitalization presents a crucial opportunity for China，” said Yu Zhanfu， partner and Vice President of the Greater China at Roland Berger consultancy.

Rising costs and safety concerns are affecting the industry worldwide. Digitalization is seen as key to improving operational effi ciency， upgrading services and reshaping development modes.

Green Logistics

A worker handles goods in a warehouse in Beijing on January 23. The warehouse is located in the fi rst green railway logistics distribution base in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region， which aims to ease the traffi c in the regi on and reduce air pollution.

Global Payment

Chinese card payment giant China UnionPay extended its services to 174 countries and regions by the end of 2018.

Its mobile payment services are available in 46 foreign countries and regions， the company said in a statement.

UnionPay had record high network transactions in 2018， totaling 120.4 trillion yuan （$17.69 trillion）， up 28.1 percent year on year.

To date， the company has issued over 100 million cards in 50 foreign countries and regions， with those along the China-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road powering recent market growth.

Shopping With Benefits

Customers select goods at a newly opened duty-free shop in Haikou， capital of south Chinas Hainan Province， on January 19.

Two new duty-free shops， one in Haikou and another in Boao Town of Qionghai City， opened that day， bringing the total number of offshore duty-free shops on the popular island resort to four.

Office on Alsland

U.S. hi-tech fi rm IBM opened its new Shanghai offi ce on January 17.

Located on the Zhangjiang Artifi cial Intelligence （AI） Island， or the AIsland， of Zhangjiang Science City in Pudong New Area， the new Shanghai offi ce includes the companys China Research， the China Systems and the China Development labs， along with a client service center.

IBM is the fi rst company to settle on AIsland， and China is one of three countries where the corporation has settled all three of its R&D; centers.

The labs will not only provide customized solutions for the Chinese market but also support the companys global R&D; activities， according to Jeff Rhoda， General Manager of the IBM Greater China Group.

“We also look forward to supporting Shanghai in the development of the Yangtze River Economic Delta during a time of digital transformation，” said Rhoda.

“Everything from our Internet of Things solutions， environment management and blockchain to food safety and many other solutions can be found in our client center in Shanghai，” Rhoda added.

Pudong has seen great development of its AI industry in recent years， with more than 100 AI-related enterprises and organizations settling in the area.