NEW SPECIAL ENVOY ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

NEW SPECIAL ENVOY ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS

Senior diplomat Zhai Jun has been appointed Chinas new special envoy on Middle East affairs， Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang announced on September 2.

Zhai joined the Foreign Ministry in 1975 and was the ambassador to Libya from 1997 to 2000， assistant foreign minister from 2006 to 2009， and vice foreign minister from 2009 to 2014. For the past five years， he had been serving as ambassador to France and Monaco until his recent appointment.

At a daily press briefing， Geng said Zhai is an experienced diplomat who has been deeply engaged in Middle East affairs. “After taking office， he will establish close cooperative relations with relevant parties， actively promote peace and facilitate talks， and play a positive and constructive role in promoting the proper settlement of regional hotspot issues and regional peace and stability，” Geng said.

Better 5G Services

Beijing Youth Daily September 3

Thanks to its faster transmission， quicker response and wider connection， there are high expectations from 5G. After the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued 5G commercial licenses in June， 50 cities， including Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou and Shenzhen， began to be covered by the 5G network in the initial phase.

Building 5G base stations needs time， and the coverage can be expanded only gradually. Even in places that are already covered， the experience is far from satisfactory. Even outdoors， the 5G signals are patchy， while indoors， they almost disappear. The frequency of 5G is super high but the higher the frequency of electromagnetic waves， the shorter their wavelengths. As a result， they tend to disappear quickly. The 5G signal also tends to be blocked easily by barriers. If to receive the signals there needs to be indoor 5G micro base stations， then who will pay for these extra facilities？

Meanwhile， there is resistance from some residential communities to 5G base stations， as the residents fret about the prospects of radiation from these stations. Thus， there is still a lot of work to be done to address peoples fears， through measures such as regular reporting on the results of radiation monitoring.

To expand the coverage of 5G， telecom operators or local governments need to work out a unified schedule， with a view to cutting the cost for users， and more importantly， to improve the network. When users realize the merits of 5G， more people will begin to use it and thereby offer support for 5Gs further development.

When the Chips Are Down

Outlook Weekly September 2

Chinese attention was not steered to chips until the U.S. imposed a ban on U.S. companies selling critical components to Chinese telecom giant ZTE and later sanctions on Huawei. Faced with pressures and a sales ban by the U.S.， there are concerns about whether Chinas weak chip industry will be able to survive this crisis and catch up on advanced chip technology.

From smartphones to super computers， from home appliances to aircraft， and from satellites to missiles and nuclear power， chips are omnipresent. Chip manufacturing is among the most sophisticated technologies in the modern world， which is also a battlefield for global hi-tech competition.

As the worlds largest electronic product producer and consumer， China has a huge demand for chips， and chips are where the most sophisticated technologies lie. From emulation， China has gone to innovation， but it is still in an initial stage of development. Faced with sanctions by developed economies， Chinas chip industry faces the tough question of how to emerge from the dire situation.

China will never let chips become a stumbling block for its information technology development. As some experts have suggested， Chinas integrated circuit industry needs to develop an industrial chain from designing to manufacturing. But commanding core technologies is even more important.

The problem now is a shortage of chip talent. The competition over chips has been revealed as the competition over human resources. Therefore， the fundamental way to resolve the chip quandary lies in finding reliable personnel. Incentive mechanisms are needed to stabilize the current chip teams and encourage the participation of more. Universities and research institutes should also put more effort into training specialists.

A Sporting Chance for Sports

Peoples Daily August 27

Physical exercises are increasingly becoming a vogue among the Chinese， which is also boosting peoples sports-related consumption and even the sports industry itself.

To meet the public demand for physical exercises， there needs to be an adequate supply of sports facilities. However， there is a palpable gap between supply and demand. Frequent arguments between the elderly using public space to dance for fitness and young people wanting to play in the same place are one example of that gap. The fitness equipment in many residential communities is old， while gymnasiums and stadiums are often reserved for competitions.

Given this dire reality， its important to integrate the sports industry into the overall urban economy. The efficient supply of sports facilities depends on the market force. In recent years， sports projects are being combined with shopping malls and entertainment. Some disused factories and school campuses have been renovated to provide sports facilities， which is helping to address the problem of space shortage for sports.

Some commercial sports institutions are trying to operate large-scale stadiums and gyms by using the Internet， new media， artificial intelligence and other new technologies. These innovative practices are making physical exercises a better experience for more and more people. With the conditions improving， sports will better play its role in peoples life.

HISTORY-MAKING FIGHTER

Zhang Weili became Chinas first Ultimate Fighting Championship （UFC） champion at the main event during UFC Shenzhen on August 31.

The 30-year-old fighter from north Chinas Hebei Province produced a huge upset to knock out Brazilian Jessica Andrade.

Zhang entered the strawweight bout as an underdog against Andrade， who is tied with her compatriot Amanda Nunes for the most UFC wins （11） by a woman.

However， after a flurry of devastating knee kicks， elbows and punches， Andrade was floored in the 42nd second of the first round and the challenger was declared winner by technical knockout.

“Last year in Beijing， I vowed to become the first Chinese champion， and I did it！” said an elated Zhang.

UFC head Dana White declared Zhang “the most vicious woman on the planet right now” and said he is already planning the new champs next fight in the United States.

“The administration will roll out policies to facilitate programs such as education about nature as well as ice and snow-themed tours so that visitors can have more in-depth and diverse experiences in forest areas.”

Cheng Hong， an official with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration， on China speeding up its development of forest tourism at a press conference on August 28

“5G technologies will provide key infrastructure for the development of Chinas digital economy， and the combination of 5G with artificial intelligence， big data and other technologies will revolutionize the shape of the digital economy.”

Wang Zhiqin， deputy head of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology， at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2019， which closed on August 31 in Shanghai

“Over the past 35 years， teaching has become a better-paid and more respected occupation， with teachers pay jumping from the bottom of all industries before the 1980s to seventh place among the top 19 best-paid jobs in China.”

Ren Youqun， an official with the Ministry of Education， at a press conference on September 3 ahead of TeachersDay， which falls on September 10

“The students are being given a chance through this lab to sort some of the biggest threats to our natural resources.”

Bulitia Godrick， an academic and student affairs administrator at Maasai Mara University in Kenya， commenting on state-of-the-art lab equipment provided by the Chinese Academy of Sciences on September 5