Macao Heat

Macao Heat

Tourists visit the Ruins of St. Pauls in Macao Special Administrative Region （SAR） on October 8. Visitors to Macao reached more than 980，000 during the National Day holiday from October 1 to 7， up 11.5 percent year on year， the SAR tourism offi ce said.

Caring for Seniors

China is capable of dealing with an aging population by providing more affordable and high-quality elderly care services and products， an offi cial said on October 8.

As the outcome of economic and social advancement， population aging is an irreversible trend and a crucial issue facing many countries， said Ou Xiaoli from the National Development and Reform Commission.

By the end of 2018， people aged 60 or above exceeded 249 million in China， accounting for 17.9 percent of the total population.

Offi cial estimates show the number is expected to peak at 487 million by 2050， or over a third of the total population.

Despite the challenges to labor force supply and economic growth， China remains confi dent about addressing the issue thanks to its sound economic fundamentals and human capital advantages， Ou said.

A slew of measures have been taken to boost the senior care industry including a special action plan this year to provide inclusive elderly care services for urban citizens at all income levels.

The plan is aimed at offering convenient， accessible and affordable services through providing enterprises with more policy and fi nancial support since their motivation to invest in this sector remains low due to high costs， long return cycles and low profi ts， Ou said.

Through the plan， the Central Government grants subsidies to elderly care programs while local governments provide enterprises in the industry with incentives in land， fi scal， taxation and recruitment policies. Some 64 cities have participated in the plan， which has received 1.4 billion yuan （$198 million） of central budgetary investment and has offered 70，000 new beds for senior citizens.

Mask Ban

Fourteen people were indicted on October 9 for wearing face masks during protests， after the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region （HKSAR） enacted an anti-mask law in an effort to curb escalating violence.

The West Kowloon MagistratesCourts held a trial against these suspects， the second group of violators arrested， who， along with 12 other people， were charged with participating in riots near Hennessy Road， Wan Chai， on October 6.

Under the Emergency Regulations Ordinance， the HKSAR Government put in place the Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation on October 4 as a deterrent to rioters， most of whom have used masks to conceal their identities. Two people were indicted for violating the new law on October 7.

China Interaction

Stories of Zhejiang， a documentary produced by China International Publishing Group， premiered in Beijing on October 9. It presents the story of Lord Michael Bates， a member of the UKs House of Lords， and his wife Li Xuelin， who spent a month walking from Hangzhou to Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province.

Bates， with his curiosity of and refl ections on topics such as targeted poverty reduction and the idea that“lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets，” and his wife stopped at villages in Zhejiang， the China-Europe railway departure station and an ancient tea plantation.

The documentary also presents his interactions with farmers， workers， entrepreneurs and artists， demonstrating their personal feelings about Chinas development during the past seven decades and the pursuit of a better life by the Chinese people.

Starting on October 13， the documentary will air on CNBC， the Wall Street Journal website， China Central Television and a number of new media outlets.

Medical Insurance

Chinese people who seek treatment in places where their medical insurance accounts are not registered are enjoying greater convenience in having their costs reimbursed.

A total of 3.18 million interprovincial medical bills have been settled since 2016， when the country began allowing patients to settle their medical bills in designated hospitals directly， irrespective of the locality， according to the National Healthcare Security Administration（NHSA）.

The policy is aimed at providing convenience， particularly for migrants and seniors who have relocated to stay with their children.

The number of interprovincial medical bills settled on the spot has increased rapidly. In 2018， it was 1.32 million， 6.3 times the 2017 fi gure， according to the NHSA.

From February to August， the fi gure was about 1.48 million.

By the end of August， a total of 21，824 designated hospitals nationwide provided on-the-spot settlement.

Free Examination

A member of a Chinese medical team participates in a free clinic in Casablanca， Morocco， on October 6. The team consisted of 12 doctors with different specialties.

Polar Science

Basic research in polar science will be fostered in China， particularly in six priority areas， according to an offi cial from the State Oceanic Administration （SOA） on October 8.

China organized more than 100 experts， who identifi ed six priority research areas in the coming fi ve to 10 years， to draw up plans on polar science research， said Qin Weijia， Director of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration affi liated to the SOA， during the China Symposium on Polar Science 2019.

The six priority research areas include polar ice sheet instability and sea level change， Arctic atmosphere-sea ice interactions and climate effects， geological features and resources， as well as how the Sun-Earth coupling interact with polar zones.

Qin said China will enhance its innovation capability， pool strength and wisdom as well as promote international exchange and cooperation in polar research.

Co-organized by the Polar Research Institute of China and the Chinese Society of Oceanography， the symposium is an annual event for academic exchanges on polar science research.

Historic Footprints

Paleontologists announced in Beijing on October 8 that they had discovered a group of 100-millionyear-old fossils of dinosaur footprints in east Chinas Zhejiang Province.

Over 20 footprints， ranging from 22.7 to 82 cm in length， were discovered in a village in the city of Lanxi， according to Xing Lida， an associate professor at the China University of Geosciences （Beijing）. Experts estimate that the dinosaurs body length ranged from 3.8 to 14 meters.

The footprints are believed to date back to the Cretaceous Period， indicating that a large number of sauropods were active in the area， which was believed to be rich in water and grass at that time. Experts have inferred that there would have been carnivorous dinosaurs in symbiosis with these herbivorous dinosaurs， but no evidence has been found so far.

Xing and Martin Lockley， a professor at the University of Colorado， were among the authors of the study， which was published in Historical Biology.

Paleontologists are working with local authorities to better protect these rare footprints.

Shining Moment

A couple poses for a photo during celebrations for the Chongyang Festival in Dinghe Village in Hangzhou， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， on October 7. The festival， which falls on the ninth day of the ninth Chinese lunar month， is a day to pay respect to seniors.

Fun Way of Learning

By the end of August， there had been more than 54，000 users dubbed knowledge creators， with more than 10，000 followers each， on the short video sharing app Douyin， while more than 12.8 million short videos with informative content had been released on the platform， according to the company.

“Short video apps are becoming new learning platforms for Chinese people，” said Wang Yuping， deputy head of the China Research Institute for Science Popularization.

To facilitate systematic learning through short videos， the institute recently partnered with Douyin and its parent fi rm ByteDance to train the knowledge creators and encourage them to compile their videos into albums for better learning experiences.

New Natural Reserves

China National Petroleum Corporation （CNPC）， the countrys largest oil and gas producer and supplier， has explored new petroleum and gas reserves， the company said on September 29.

It discovered an oilfi eld with over 1 billion tons of reserves in northwest China， with newly added proven oil reserves of 358 million tons and expected reserves of 693 million tons， said CNPC.

A total of 640，000 tons of oil will be produced in the oilfi eld this year， and the annual output will reach 3 million tons in the near future， said Li Luguang， Vice President of PetroChina Company Limited， a subsidiary of CNPC.

Some 740.97 billion cubic meters of newly added proven shale gas reserves have been explored in southwest Chinas Sichuan Basin， bringing the verifi ed reserves to 1，061 billion cubic meters in the area.

The company plans to produce 7.7 billion cubic meters of shale gas this year and expand the output to over 10 billion cubic meters by the end of the year.

Li also noted that CNPC will encourage technological innovations and expand the exploration of unconventional energy resources such as shale gas， among others.

Double-Deck Bridge

Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge， the double-deck suspension bridge with the longest span and largest capacity in the world， opens to traffi c on October 8 in Wuhan， central Chinas Hubei Province. The bridge is 4.13 km long， with 12 lanes in both directions on the main bridge. On both sides of the upper deck of the bridge， there is a 2-meter-wide footpath， with eight rest and sightseeing areas.

Stainless Steel Futures

The trading of yuan-denominated stainless steel futures in China began on September 25， the fi rst of its kind worldwide targeting the material widely used in transportation， environmental protection and medical industries.

The listed futures at the Shanghai Futures Exchange （SHFE） were eight contracts to be delivered from February to September of 2020. Their benchmark prices were set at 15，585 yuan （$2，203） a ton.

On the fi rst day of trading， the futures settled a trading volume of 195，240 lots with a turnover of about 15.2 billion yuan （$2.15 billion）.

The most active ss2002 contract for February 2020 delivery edged down 10 yuan （$1.4） to close at 15，575 yuan （$2，186） per ton in daytime trading.

The launch of the stainless steel futures helps provide an open， continuous and transparent price signal and an effective risk management tool for companies in the industrial chain， said Jiang Yan， SHFE Chairman.

It will also help enhance the price-setting power of the worlds largest stainless steel producer and consumer in the global stainless steel market， Jiang said.

China has witnessed a rapid growth in its stainless steel industry， with production reaching 26.7 million tons in 2018， accounting for over half of the global output. The country became a net stainless steel exporter in 2010， reversing its status as the worlds largest importer.

Su Weizhong， Deputy Secretary General of the China Iron and Steel Association， said the launch of the stainless steel futures will help create a fair and open pricing system and enhance Chinas infl uence in global price setting.

The new contracts will also implement a basket of risk-hedging tools for the whole steel industry. China has launched a number of futures in the past for ferrous metals and industrial materials， including steel rebar， hot-rolled coils， iron ore， coke and coking coal.

Logistics Boost

Six provincial-level regions have been designated pilot areas to reduce costs and increase effi ciency in logistics as China seeks to further boost the sectors growth.

Shanxi， Jiangsu， Zhejiang， Henan and Sichuan provinces and Chongqing Municipality will implement reform measures based on local conditions from September 2019 to August 2021， according to a document released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transportation.

China has the worlds largest logistics market， with a total volume of 283.1 trillion yuan （$39.6 trillion） in 2018. The ratio of total logistics expenses to GDP was 14.8 percent by the end of last year.

The total value of Chinas logistics in the January-August period grew 5.8 percent year on year to 188.6 trillion yuan （$26.5 trillion）， according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

In the fi rst eight months of the year， total logistics costs were 8.9 trillion yuan （$1.25 trillion）， up 7.8 percent year on year.

Golden Harvest

A villager shows the sorghum harvested in Zaoqiang County， north Chinas Hebei Province， on October 7. Since 2018， the county has adjusted its agricultural structure and promoted supply-chain reform by introducing high-quality sorghum and adopting a business model of villagers plus professional cooperatives plus enterprises to increase villagers production and income. The county has planted more than 133 hectares of sorghum.

Domestic Brands

Chinese consumers are showing a growing preference for domestic brands as the countrys steady economic growth lifts product and service appeal， a report showed.

Searches for domestic brands among total brand searches rose from 38 percent in 2009 to 70 percent in 2019， Chinese search engine giant Baidu said in a joint report with a research institute.

Consumer electronics posted the biggest rise in brand preference during this period， with an army of domestic fi rms like Huawei and Xiaomi gaining ground at home and abroad.

Searches for cultural and entertainment products rose 36 percent over the past decade， marked by the emergence of hit movies like The Wandering Earth.

Local apparel， automobile， cosmetics and food brands also piqued the growing interest of Chinese consumers， especially the younger generation， the report showed.

External Debt

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange （SAFE） said on September 27 that Chinas external debt struc- ture is continuing to be optimized.

Major indicators of the countrys external debt are within the internationally recognized safety line and the risk of external debt is generally controllable， said SAFE spokesperson Wang Chunying.

By the end of June， Chinas outstanding external debt stood at$1.99 trillion， up 1.3 percent or $26.3 billion from the end of March， SAFE data showed.

Chinas bond market has gained further recognition from international investors after the countrys yuan-denominated bonds were added to the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index starting on April 1， according to Wang.

Social Security Funds

Progress has been made in replenishing social security funds with state capital， Minister of Finance Liu Kun said on September 27 at a meeting on the topic.

So far， a total of 860.1 billion yuan （$121.6 billion） of state capital from 67 centrally-administered state-owned enterprises （SOEs） and central fi nancial institutions have been transferred to social security funds， Liu said.

At the local level， the pilot work of replenishment in Zhejiang and Yunnan provinces has been basically completed， with 15.8 billion yuan（$2.22 billion） and 18.5 billion yuan（$2.60 billion）， respectively， having been transferred by the end of 2018， according to Liu.

The meeting stressed that the transfer work should be carried out in a pragmatic and effi cient manner.

“The replenishment work will be basically fi nished by the end of next year，” Liu said， adding that relevant departments at all levels in all regions should push forward the work and complete the task as required.

The State Council issued the implementation program on replenishing social security funds with state capital in November 2017， deciding to pilot the measure in selected central and local SOEs.

Winter Games Connected

Staff members at China Railway Seventh Group Co. Ltd. check a bullet train at a maintenance station in Changping District of Beijing on October 7. The maintenance station was put into use as the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway started joint debugging. As a major project for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games， it is expected to be fi nished by the end of 2019.