Light the Lantern

A 9-meter-tall light installation featuring tigers， the Chinese zodiac animal for the upcoming lunar year， is illuminated as part of the annual lantern show at Yuyuan Garden， a historical tourist site in Shanghai. The lantern show runs from January 18 to February 28.

A Cute Pair

Children showcase a pair of ceramic mascots for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022， in Dehua， a county in Fujian Province， where these ceramic mascots are produced.

Scientific Advances

A list of the top 10 scientific advances in China in 2021 and another similar list for those in the world were unveiled in China. The entries were selected by members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering， Xinhua News Agency reported on January 19.

Among the scientific breakthroughs listed， Chinas progress in its first Sun-probing mission stands out. Also on the list is the countrys successful first Mars exploration mission. Other advances include progress in long-term stays onboard Chinas space station， research into synthesizing starch from carbon dioxide， research in lunar samples brought back by the Change-5 mission， the use of gene technologies in the domestication of wild rice， as well as the prevention and control of the agricultural pest， the tobacco whitefly.

Ranking first on the list of the worlds top 10 scientific advances is the development of the first living robots with the ability to reproduce. The millimeter-sized living machines， called Xenobots 3.0， are neither traditional robots nor a species of animal， but living， programmable organisms. Other notable advances include research on the accurate prediction of protein structures， a genetic engineering technique for treating genetic diseases， using human stem cells to grow sesame-seed-sized heart models， and the recreation of early structures of the human embryo from stem cells.

Cancer Screening

Chinas National Health Commission issued work plans on January 18 to increase womens access to governmentsubsidized screening services for cervical and breast cancers.

The scope of such programs will be expanded to include women aged 35 to 64 in both urban and rural areas， and will prioritize those living in rural areas or those from urban families living on subsistence allowances. The programs used to only cover women in rural areas.

By the end of 2025， the coverage of these cervical cancer screening services for eligible women will surpass 50 percent， while the coverage of breast cancer screening services will increase on an annual basis， according to the plans.

New Carp

Chinese biologists have bred a new variety of crucian carp that does not have intermuscular bones， making the popular freshwater fish easier to eat.

This new variety was bred through gene editing， carried out by a research group from the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute， Science and Technology Daily reported on January 18.

The crucian carp is famous for its tender and flavorful flesh but its intermuscular bones， which are too small to pick from the flesh， easily get caught in the throat and make industrial processing difficult.

The research group pinpointed the key gene that controls the development of intermuscular bones from over 1，600 related candidates， and used geneediting technology to produce the new variety.

In 2021， the group was able to cultivate a generation of the variety capable of passing its new genetic trait on to its offspring， while developing normally in all other aspects.

Comprehensive Bonded Zone

The first comprehensive bonded zone on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau began operation on January 16 in Xining， capital of Qinghai Province.

Two container trucks carrying precision equipment imported from Canada entered the Xining Comprehensive Bonded Zone on the morning of January 16 under the supervision of Xining Customs， marking the zones launch of operations.

Covering 92.4 hectares， the zone is so far home to five companies.

The establishment of the zone， ratified by the State Council in December 2019， is important for promoting the development of an open economy in Qinghai， local authorities said.

The province is located at the crossroads of the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor and the Silk Road Economic Belt， and serves as an important reserve of strategic resources and base of specialty agricultural products in China.

New Fleet

The 40th fleet of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army （PLA） Navy set out from a military port in the city of Zhanjiang， Guangdong Province， on January 15 to conduct an escort mission in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia.

The fleet is composed of the guided-missile destroyer Hohhot， the missile frigate Yueyang， and the supply ship Luomahu， with dozens of specialoperation soldiers and two helicopters on board.

In preparation for the mission， the fleet conducted training on the use of weapons， on counter-terrorism and anti-piracy， as well as on replenishment at sea.

The PLA Navy began conducting escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia in December 2008.

New Calves

A wild Asian elephant calf and its parent are seen at the Wild Elephant Valley in the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in Yunnan Province on January 6. Six new baby Asian elephants have recently been spotted in the park， indicating the endangered animals population is growing steadily.

Women and Childrens Welfare

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has issued two plans to promote the high-quality development of women and children through 180 welfare measures spanning 15 fields， local authorities said on January 14.

The plans aim to promote the coordinated development of women and children from urban and rural regions， and from different areas and groups， and protect the rights and interests of those with special difficulties， said Wang Lixia， deputy director of the regional working committee on children and women.

“These plans integrate the regions goals and objectives for the development of women and children with its overall economic and social planning，”Wang added.

In recent years， the rights of women and children in Xinjiang have been further protected， and their health conditions have continued to improve.

The maternal mortality rate in the region dropped from 39.45 per 100，000 in 2011 to 7.89 per 100，000 in 2020. By 2020， women in the regions urban areas accounted for 45.11 percent of the total newly employed.

Gender discrimination in the workplace has been largely eliminated in the region， with employment channels for women further expanded.

Back on Track

Residents of Xian， capital of Shaanxi Province， line up to buy food on January 17. Life is back on track in some parts of the city as the number of new locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases remained in the single digits for a sixth consecutive day on January 16.

Rate Cut

The Peoples Bank of China（PBC） on January 17 lowered the interest rate of 700 billion yuan（$110 billion） worth of one-year medium-term lending facility（MLF） to financial institutions to 2.85 percent， compared with 2.95 percent on the previous operation.

The MLF tool was introduced in 2014 to help commercial and policy banks maintain liquidity by allowing them to borrow from the central bank using securities as collateral.

“The PBC will use multiple monetary policy tools to maintain liquidity at a reasonable and ample level， ensure stable credit growth， and guide financial institutions to increase the credit supply so as to ensure the money supply and social financing expansion will match the nominal economic growth rate，”Liu Guoqiang， Deputy Governor of the PBC， said at a press conference on January 18.

Transportation Plan

High-speed railways will stretch to a total length of 50，000 km in 2025， up from 38，000 km in 2020. The figure was revealed in a plan released by the State Council， which outlines major targets for transportation network development during the 14th Five-Year Plan （2021-25） period.

The country will have 165，000 km of railway in 2025， up from 146，000 km five years earlier； more than 270 civil airports， up from 241； 10，000 km of subway lines in cities， up from 6，600 km； 190，000 km of expressway， up from 161，000 km； and 18，500 km of high-level inland waterways， up from 16，100 km.

The transportation system will also be greener. Cities will see 72 percent of buses running on new energy， an improvement from 66.2 percent， and carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector will decrease by 5 percent.

According to the plan， the main goal is to achieve integrated development in 2025， with tangible breakthroughs in the intelligent and green transformation of the transportation system.

Charitable Trust

The charitable trust industry saw rapid growth in 2021， with its property size growing 32.48 percent from a year earlier， according to an industry report released on January 18.

A total of 227 charitable trusts were established last year， with the value of property covered reaching 571 million yuan（$90 million）， said the report， which was jointly released by the China Charity Alliance and the China Trustee Association.

By the end of last year， the countrys 773 registered charitable trusts together managed 3.94 billion yuan （$620 million）.

The number of trustees also maintained an uptrend， the report said.

Digital Yuan

Digital yuan transactions hit nearly 87.57 billion yuan （$13.78 billion） at the end of 2021， as China ramped up research and pilot use of the central bank digital currency， also known as digital currency electronic payment or e-CNY.

A total of 261 million personal wallets for the digital yuan had been opened， and the number of pilot scenarios had exceeded 8.08 million， Zou Lan， an official with the PBC， said at a press conference on January 18.

Zou said the central bank would continue promoting research and development of the digital fiat currency， and further increase its pilot use in retail business， government services and other scenarios.

Chinas studies of the central bank digital currency began in 2014， followed by research and development cooperation with commercial banks and Internet companies in 2017.

Exhibition Industry

The exhibition industry saw rapid expansion in 2021 despite severe challenges posed by COVID-19 to offline events across the world， according to a recent report from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Incomplete statistics showed 2，949 economic and trade exhibitions took place in China last year， jumping 48.6 percent year on year. They covered a total area of 92.99 million square meters， rising 27.2 percent from the previous year， the report said.

Shanghai Municipality and Guangdong Province remained the top two localities in terms of both number of exhibitions and area covered， with their respective exhibition areas exceeding 15 million square meters.

As the shift from offline to digital modes is accelerating， many Chinese exhibitions combined both online and offline activities to help domestic and overseas companies better expand international trade channels， the report concluded.

Listed Firms

As of the end of November 2021， there were 4，640 companies listed on Chinas A-share market， up 479 from the beginning of the year， according to a recent industry report from the China Association for Public Companies. The association forecasts that the number will top 5，000 in August this year.

The total value of listed companies also expanded steadily. The number of companies with a value of over 100 billion yuan（$15.74 billion） stood at 154， reaching a five-year high， the report said.

Ford Project

Ford Motor Co. opened a new design center in Shanghai on January 17， a move considered an important step in the U.S. automakers plan to increase investment in the Chinese market.

With world-class facilities， including a full-size clay model workshop， it is the only fullfunction automotive design center in downtown Shanghai.

The company said it will use the latest technology to create future products that cater to the demands of Chinese consumers and at the same time lead global trends.

The opening of this worldclass design center is the latest driver behind Ford Chinas continued brand transformation， according to Anning Chen， Group Vice President of Ford Motor Co. and President and CEO of Ford China.

Last year， Ford sold nearly 625，000 vehicles in China， up 3.7 percent year on year， with its Lincoln brand recording the best annual sales since entering the market.

Investment Record

China remains a highly attractive investment destination， with its technology startups drawing a record amount of venture funding last year， The Wall Street Journal reported on January 13.

In 2021， venture capital investors put $129 billion into more than 5，300 startups in the country， higher than the markets last record of around $115 billion in 2018， it said， citing data from Preqin， a platform for private equity and hedge fund data.

According to the report， unlike in previous years， when most Chinese tech funding went to startups in e-commerce， the bulk of investment in 2021 went to areas such as semiconductors， biotechnology and information technology.

NUMBERS

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