GATHERING FOR THE FUTURE

The Third Session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference （CPPCC） opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 21.

President Xi Jinping attended the opening of the political advisory bodys annual meeting. Wang Yang， Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee， delivered a work report.

The annual session of the National Peoples Congress， Chinas top legislature， began the following day.

Bumper Harvest

A farmer harvests wheat in a village in Sinan， a county in Guizhou Province in southwest China， on May 13.

Science Show

The Chinese Academy of Sciences（CAS） hosted its annual two-day science communication event on May 23 and 24 with a series of online activities. The 16th Public Science Day event included a virtual tour of CAS and audio-visual exhibitions.

Many research institutions under CAS set up online live broadcast rooms where people could visit observatory stations， botanical gardens， key laboratories and major science and technology infrastructures.

The Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research showcased ice core samples and a Denisovan fossil. The Denisovans are a subspecies regarded as one of the ancestors of humans. The fossil was found during scientifi c surveys in the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau region.

The Shenyang Institute of Automation displayed some deepsea vehicles such as the underwater glider Haiyi and the submersible Haidou， which had dived to depths of over 10，000 meters.

Olympic Charger

The largest electric vehicle charging station in Beijing came into service on May 15 in the underground parking lot of Wukesong Sports Center， the venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics ice hockey event.

Built by the State Grid Beijing Electric Power Company， the station has 200 charging points， which can charge around 1，300 vehicles a day to the maximum， the company said.

The new facility is to meet the rising demand for smart and green transportation.

This year， the company is expected to build more than 2，800 charging points in areas such as the citys sub-center in Tongzhou District and around other 2022 Winter Olympics competition venues.

Kids & Internet

Youngsters in China regard the Internet as a window to the world， according to a report on Internet use among minors in 2019.

Issued by the Chinese Communist Youth League Central Committee and the China Internet Network Information Center， the report is based on a survey of over 34，000 students from primary， middle and secondary vocational schools across the country.

About 67 percent of the respondents said the Internet is a channel to understand the world， while 66 percent said they study with its help.

It is also a platform for entertainment and relaxation， a tool in daily life and a place to make friends and express themselves.

LNG Project

China Oil & Gas Piping Network Corporation started building a new liquefi ed natural gas （LNG） terminal on May 16， the company said. Located in Longkou， a coastal city in Yantai， Shandong Province in east China， the new terminal is expected to handle 20 million tons of LNG and supply some 28 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year. The fi rst phase of the terminal is scheduled to be put into operation in 2023.

It is estimated that the project will help Shandong reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32 million tons per year.

It will also provide stable and clean natural gas for regions around the Bohai Sea and enhance the capacity of peak shaving， emergency storage and winter supply of natural gas.

Workers Safety

A Chinese health offi cial suggested measures to ensure occupational safety and construction workershealth at a press conference on May 17.

Fan Jingguang， an offi cial with the National Health Commission， urged closed-off management of construction sites， ventilation of enclosed workplaces and sanitation and disinfection in workers living quarters. Fan also recommended fl exible work shifts and staggered dining times， among specifi c measures to guard against the novel coronavirus disease.

Enterprises should provide workers with standard protective supplies as well as training sessions on occupational safety and health， he said.

He also highlighted measures to protect construction workers during hot summer days， including health checkups， shortened working hours and heatstroke prevention and fi rst aid plans.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics， more than 58 million people worked in the construction sector in 2018.

Yangtze Alligators

A nature reserve in Anhui Province in east China on May 20 released 32 Yangtze alligators， an endangered species also known as Chinese alligators， into the wild， with another 248 planned to be released later this year.

Bred in captivity， the reptiles were set free at different release points into the Anhui Chinese alligator national nature reserve.

Satellite trackers were attached to the tails of some of the alligators for future inspection and scientifi c monitoring.

Ma Chaoping， a breeder with the reserve， said these alligators are young adults aged about 10 years. Each of them weighs about 30 kg and are around 1.5 meters long.

Social Media Jobs

WeChat， Chinas popular multifunctional social media platform， created about 29.63 million job opportunities in 2019， a report showed.

A total of 26.01 million jobs were directly created by the platform， up 16 percent year on year， according to the report jointly released by WeChat and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology on May 14.

The messaging platform incorporates various tools including WeChat Offi cial Account， miniprograms and WeChat Pay， creating jobs related to technology development， product operation， digital content and management control.

It also benefi ts job-seekers with fl exible modes， multiple channels and a relatively low threshold for recruitment， offering a variety of job options.

The report highlighted the contribution of mini-programs in job creation， with the daily active accounts of mini-programs exceeding 400 million last year， which directly created 5.36 million job opportunities， surging 195 percent year on year.

Some 11.1 percent of mini-program developers and 14.5 percent of WeChat service providers offered new jobs to meet the demand spurt for online businesses amid the epi- demic， creating 597，000 jobs， it said.

Young people and college graduates are among the main groups who are employed through WeChat. The report showed that over half of the employees of 55.8 percent of entities on the platform are aged between 16 and 29， while more than half of the staff of 55 percent entities have a college degree.

Laser Industry

Workers test touchscreens at a quality testing workshop of Jiangsu Huake Chuangzhi Technology Co. Ltd. at Suqian Laser Industrial Park in Suqian， Jiangsu Province in east China， on May 13. There are over 50 laser-related companies in the park involved in laser cutting， laser marking and laser medical equipment. Local authorities have introduced measures to attract more laser industries and support the building of a complete industry chain in laser research and development， equipment manufacturing as well as processing and application.

Industrial Big Data

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT） has unveiled a guideline on expediting the development of the industrial big data sector to promote the countrys high-quality development on May 13.

A national industrial big data center will be established to gather data to support the monitoring and analysis of industries， so as to empower innovative corporate development and enhance industrial safety.

The guideline highlighted continued efforts to advance the development of the industrial Internet and realize the full connection of industrial equipment to enrich databases.

Industrial big data is an umbrella term referring to all the data generated during the whole life cycle of products and services in the industrial sector. Industrial enterprises create and utilize such data in their research and development， operation and management， and maintenance.

China also seeks to achieve more breakthroughs in key generic technologies. Artifi cial intelligence， blockchain and edge computing will be further deployed and integrated， according to the guideline.

The market scale of Chinas industrial big data sector is expected to surpass 34.61 billion yuan （$4.88 billion） in 2022， up from 14.69 billion yuan （$2.07 billion） in 2019， as the sector continues to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing industries， according to CCID Consulting， a fi rm affi liated with a think tank under the MIIT.

Logistics List

China has released a list of major domestic logistics companies that are capable of undertaking international transport business amid the novel coronavirus epidemic， according to a statement on the website of the MIIT on May 12.

The move is believed to help ensure smooth international delivery of goods and that the global supply chain is not disrupted due to the disease.

The list has 54 companies， including one shipping enterprise， two air cargo f rims， two courier companies， four comprehensive logistics fi rms， 35 road transport enterprises and 10 others mainly providing logistics services for the China-Europe freight trains.

The list contains well-known companies including SF Holding（Group） Co.， JD.com and Deppon Logistics Co.

Goose Base

A gaggle of geese at a breeding base in Taian County， Liaoning Province in northeast China， on May 13. Taian is promoting its goose industry by building local brands to raise local income.

Popeyes in China

U.S. fast-food chain Popeyes opened its fi rst fl agship restaurant on the Chinese mainland on May 15， sticking to its expansion plans in China despite the outbreak.

Located on Middle Huaihai Road in downtown Shanghai， the restaurant， with a total area of 470 square meters， can accommodate approximately 200 people.

In November 2019， Popeyes collaborated with commerce fi rms in Shanghai to bring its iconic products to the Chinese mainland.

After the fi rst store， Popeyes plans to open over 1，500 restaurants on the mainland over the next decade， according to the companys statement.

Raphael Coelho， CEO of Popeyes China， said that even though the opening of the fl agship restaurant was delayed due to the virus outbreak， the company remains positive about its long-term plans in the Chinese market.

“We are quite impressed and positive to see how China is reacting， and I tell my friends Shanghai is the safest place to be. We are very excited about the outlook of the market in China， and our plans dont change in the long run，” Coelho said.

Popeyes stated that it will continue to expand in the surrounding regions of Shanghai， with new restaurants planned in the Yangtze River Delta including Nanjing， Hangzhou and Suzhou before covering more cities including Beijing， Tianjin， Chengdu， Ningbo and Wuxi.

Fitch Ratings Entry

China has allowed Fitch Ratings to enter its credit rating market， as part of the latest efforts to open up its fi nancial market， the central bank said on May 14.

The operations offi ce of the Peoples Bank of China （PBC） has registered the U.S. fi rms wholly owned subsidiary， while the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors has accepted the registration of the subsidiary to conduct certain bond rating business in the interbank bond market， according to a PBC statement.

This makes Fitch Ratings the second foreign credit rating agency to enter the Chinese market. In 2019， S&P Global was the fi rst foreign company to be allowed to enter Chinas credit rating market.

Opening the credit rating sector is “an important part” of the countrys fi nancial opening up. The central bank said it will continue to push forward the sectors opening up and high-quality development.

The PBC also vowed to guide credit rating agencies to play a bigger role in defusing fi nancial risks and improving the fi nancing conditions of private and small businesses.

Artificial Illumination

Staff members work in an artifi cially illuminated dragon fruit orchard in Bacao Village， Zhenning Buyi and Miao Autonomous County， Guizhou Province in southwest China on May 15. By artifi cially enhancing photosynthesis， the growth of dragon fruit can be accelerated and yield increased.

Tourism Partnership

InterContinental Hotels Group （IHG） said it launched its fi rst online fl agship store on May 14， as part of the partnership with Chinas largest online travel agency Trip.com Group.

The online fl agship store allows customers to search， browse and book rooms from IHG hotels in China. Both companies will also cooperate in their membership systems.

“The partnership between two top players in the travel industry shows positive signs of lodging demand recovery in China in the postnovel coronavirus disease period，”said Jolyon Bulley， CEO of IHG Greater China.

More than 98 percent of IHG hotels in China had resumed operation as of May 14， while most IHG hotels under construction have also resumed work.