TAMING THE RIVER

Members of the Armed Police Force reinforce the embankment of the Changjiang River in Poyang， a county in Jiangxi Province in east China， with sandbags on July 13. With the rising river about to overfl ow the embankment， the policemen joined the fl ood control operation to build a 1，500-meter-long and 1.5-meter-high barrier on it in the sweltering heat.

Faster Transit

Railway maintenance workers check track irregularities on the Golmud-Korla railway line in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， northwest China， on July 14.

Upon its scheduled operation on October 30， the 1，213-km Golmud-Korla railway line will shorten travel time between Korla in Xinjiang and Golmud in Qinghai Province in northwest China， from 26 hours to 12.

Wind Turbine

An offshore wind turbine with a capacity of 10 MW started operating on July 12 in Fujian Province in east China， according to Dongfang Electric Corporation （DEC）， the turbines manufacturer based in the southwestern city of Chengdu.

It is estimated that the wind energy converter， jointly developed by DEC and China Three Gorges Corporation， can produce 40 million kWh of clean energy every year at an average wind speed of 10 meters per second.

The annual power output can support the average electricity consumption of 20，000 households with an average of three members in a year. The turbine will reduce coal use by 13，000 tons and cut carbon dioxide emission by 35，000 tons.

According to DEC， the wind turbine has set a new record for unit capacity of offshore wind turbines in China and is expected to be put into mass production in the near future.

Rare Bird

The population of the relict gull， a rare bird species， has increased by over 1，000 this year in Uxin Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in north China， one of its main habitats.

May to July each year is the peak breeding season for the gulls. This year， over 1，000 baby birds were born in the banner， bringing the total population there to over 4，000， the forestry and grassland administration of Ordos， which administers the banner， said on July 14.

“Uxin Banner has seen an increasing number of the gulls in recent years with an improving environment and strengthened efforts to protect animals，” said Zhang Chengbo， deputy head of the wildlife protection and management station in Ordos.

Veteran Employment

Chinese authorities have issued a proposal calling on enterprises and fi nancial institutions to hire more veterans， according to Xinhua News Agency on July 14.

The proposal by fi ve departments including the Ministry of Veterans Affairs encourages stateowned and private enterprises and fi nancial institutions to set aside a certain number of posts for qualifi ed veterans in their prioritized recruitment plans.

The Ministry of Veterans Affairs said it will continue to cooperate with large enterprises in major sectors to explore ways of boosting employment of veterans.

Since late last year， the ministry has signed deals with a number of enterprises， including property developers China Vanke and Poly and e-commerce companies， to offer 81，000 jobs to veterans.

Vehicle Fleet

Special vehicle fl eets will be built for high-risk pre-hospital medical missions， such as transferring the novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19） patients， to reduce the risks of virus transmission and cross infection between patients and medics during transfer， according to a recent circular issued by the National Health Commission.

The special fl eets for COVID-19， formed by an assigned number of negative pressure ambulances and medical workers， will be fully responsible for transferring suspected， confi rmed and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases in the “wartime”response， said the circular on advancing the response capability for pre-hospital medical emergencies amid COVID-19 containment on a regular basis.

It stressed the training of coordinators of emergency medical centers and required more detailed inquiries of patients information ahead of dispatching ambulances.

Licensed Drivers

China now has 440 million licensed motor-vehicle drivers， with 7.28 million people obtaining their licenses in the first half of the year， the Ministry of Public Security said on July 14.

Most of the drivers are aged between 26 and 50， of which 150 million are between 26 and 35 years old and 170 million are from 36 to 50 years old， according to data released by the ministrys traff ci management bureau.

There are 14.24 million drivers over 60 years of age， accounting for 3.2 percent of the total number.

In the fi rst half of 2020， to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic and reduce the risk of virus transmission， many traffi c-related services have been handled online， the bureau said.

Consumer Demand

Students in China showed strong demand for digital， cosmetic， and tourism products after sitting the national college entrance exam， according to a latest report released by Chinas e-commerce platform Pinduoduo.

On July 9， the day that the national college entrance exam concluded in some parts of China， the sales volume of digital products on Pinduoduo increased by more than 210 percent over the previous day. Mobile phones， computers， smartwatches， game consoles and headphones were the top fi ve bestselling products， accounting for about 67 percent of total digital product sales.

Students also showed more interest in domestic brands compared with previous years. Orders of digital products from domestic brands such as Huawei， Xiaomi， and OPPO surpassed those from foreign brands such as Apple， Samsung， and Dell. There has also been a surge in 5G smartphone sales among Chinese students recently.

The report also showed that students indicated a huge demand for cosmetic products. From July 9 to 11， the search volumes of cosmetic products on Pinduoduo increased by nearly 300 percent， while sales volumes almost doubled.

Due to the impact of COVID-19， domestic travel has become the main choice for students. Data showed that tourism products in provinces including Yunnan， Hainan， and Sichuan increased signifi cantly after the national college entrance exam. Amusement parks such as Shanghai Disneyland were the most popular resorts for students.

Many provinces and cities in China have already carried out preferential measures to speed up the recovery of the domestic tourism market and make preparation for the forthcoming peak tourist season this summer.

Summer Heat

A passerby holds an umbrella as a shield from the sun in Tianhe District in Guangzhou， capital of Guangdong Province in south China， on July 13. The province issued the fi rst high temperature red alert that day， which means the citys highest temperature in 24 hours surpassed 39 degrees Celsius.

Live-Streaming Hosts

Chinas Internet and legal professionals have called for qualifi cation standards for the countrys growing team of live-streaming hosts， China Daily reported on July 14.

This came after a recent crackdown led by the Cyberspace Administration of China， the countrys top Internet watchdog， found that 10 of 31 live-streaming platforms， including gaming site Douyu and video-sharing platform Bilibili， were spreading vulgar content.

Most platforms or operators are reluctant to deal with reports of such content because problematic hosts with many followers can help them attract views， “and views mean profit，” Wang Sixin， a professor specializing in Internet rules and laws at the Communication University of China， said.

China will speed up the development of high-standard farmland， cold-chain storage and logistics facilities for agricultural products and modern agricultural industrial parks.

Efforts will also be made to strengthen the protection of fauna and fl ora， improve the rural living environment， and enhance water supply and sewage treatment in rural areas， according to the document.

To prop up the investments， the country will enlarge the share of local government bonds used in agriculture and rural areas， increase supportive fi scal input， strengthen fi nancial services and encourage social capital to invest in these fi elds.

China will also beef up its support for agricultural fi rms in issuing stocks in public markets， according to the guideline.

Desert Highway

The construction site of the Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway in Zhongwei， Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China， on July 10. The 122.9-km Qingtongxia-Zhongwei section of the Wuhai-Maqin highway is under construction， of which an 18-km section going through the Tengger Desert is the fi rst desert highway in Ningxia and is expected to be fi nished in 2021.

Tax-Free Shopping

Visitors in Chinas island province of Hainan in the south spent 450 million yuan （$64.34 million） on offshore duty-free shopping from July 1 to 7， according to the General Administration of Customs.

During the period， the average daily tax exemption was 9.39 million yuan （$1.34 million）， up 58.2 percent from the average daily amount in the fi rst half of the year， the administration said.

Cosmetics， jewelry and watches were the most popular products， with their sales accounting for 77.3 percent of the total.

Starting from July 1， Hainan has increased its annual tax-free shopping quota from 30，000 yuan（$4，285） to 100，000 yuan （$14，283） per person each year.

The range of duty-free goods has also expanded from 38 categories to 45， while the previous taxfree limit of 8，000 yuan （$1，143） for a single product has been lifted.

China released a master plan in early June on building the southern island province into a globally infl uential free trade port.

The customs administration said individuals who resell or smuggle duty-free goods will have the action included in their personal credit report， in accordance with laws and regulations， and will not be allowed to purchase offshore duty-free goods for three years.

Zero Tolerance

Chinas fi nancial regulators will have“ zero tolerance” of illegal activities in the countrys capital market such as fraudulent securities issuance and fi nancial fraud， a key meeting said.

China should take multiple measures to enhance the enforcement of laws and regulations in the securities sector to maintain a healthy and stable capital market environment， according to a meeting of the fi nancial stability and development committee under the State Council on July 11.

Presided by Vice Premier Liu He， who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the fi nancial stability and development committee， the meeting pledged severe punishment for major capital market violations.

A number of fi nancial fraud cases have occurred as a result of the low cost of capital market violations， necessitating institutional improvements to curb such activities.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission will work together with other relevant departments to set up a team specifi cally tasked with cracking down on illegal activities in the capital market.

Auto Market Recovery

People visit the 17th China Changchun International Automobile Expo in Changchun， Jilin Province in northeast China， on July 13. Chinas auto market maintained its recovery momentum in June， with total output rising by 22.5 percent year on year and sales 11.6 percent， according to the data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Stake in Battery

Japanese automaker Honda will buy a one-percent stake in Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited （CATL）， Chinas largest lithium-ion battery maker， the two companies announced on July 10.

The companies said in a joint statement that they would jointly develop electric vehicle （EV） battery technologies， and expand discussions on battery recycling and reuse business.

Hondas fi rst model equipped with a CATL battery is scheduled to be launched in the Chinese market in 2022. This alliance will be further expanded to the global level with a stable EV battery supply in the future.

According to the statement， Honda will acquire the CATL shares through the non-public issuance of stocks to become a leading strategic partner of CATL. This will enable Honda to secure a stable supply of batteries.

Zhou Jia， President of CATL， said through the cooperation， the two companies would establish a stronger global partnership to deliver more competitive products and solutions for global electrifi cation.

Headquartered in Ningde， southeast Chinas Fujian Province， CATL has inked supply contracts with a slew of global car manufacturers including BMW， Volkswagen， Daimler， and Tesla.

5G Adoption

The Asia Pacifi c region is leading the worlds 5G adoption， said John Hoffman， CEO of Global System for Mobile Communications Association（GSMA） Ltd.， at the World Artifi cial Intelligence Conference （WAIC） 2020， which opened in Shanghai on July 9.

“We have seen that countries with more stable digital economies appear to have better resisted the impact of COVID-19 this year，” said Hoffman while delivering his speech at an online summit of the WAIC.

He said that the mobile industry， with 5.2 billion mobile subscribers， has contributed $4.1 trillion to global GDP.

There have been 79 commercial 5G network launches in 24 global markets.

Global operators are expected to invest around $1.1 trillion worldwide between this year and 2025， and roughly 80 percent of that will be in 5G networks， said Hoffman.

The GSMA leads the mobile industry globally， representing and uniting more than 750 mobile operators with almost 400 companies in the mobile ecosystem.

Mobile operators in the Asia Pacif ci region will invest almost $500 billion in their networks between now and 2025， with $370 billion of that in 5G， and there will be 1.1 billion 5G connections in the region by 2025， according to Hoffman.

Smart Fertilization

Technicians operate unmanned aerial vehicles to fertilize paddy fi elds in Huzhou， Zhejiang Province in east China， on July 10. Unmanned aerial vehicles are used to conduct fertilization work above more than 3，300 mu（220 hectares） of paddy fi elds recently.