HOORAY FOR NURSES!

Two nurses prepare to conduct nucleic acid testing in Beijing on May 10， two days ahead of International Nurses Day （IND）. Every year， the world observes IND on May 12， the anniversary of Florence Nightingales birth， to mark the contributions that nurses make to society.

Railway Maintenance

Workers replace rails on the line between Datong in Shanxi Province and Qinhuangdao in Hebei Province on May 10. A 20-day overhaul of the railway is being carried out to ensure transportation efficiency and improve safety.

Rising Sea Level

Chinas sea levels reached their highest on record in 2021， according to a bulletin released by the Ministry of Natural Resources， Xinhua News Agency reported on May 9.

Over the past year， the sea levels overall were 84 mm higher than the average between 1993 and 2011， according to the report.

The rising sea level is largely due to global warming， which has led to the expansion of seawater， and the melting of glaciers and polar ice caps. In China， land subsidence also makes the land lower， and sea level seems higher， the report said.

Nursing Development Plan

China will have 5.5 million nurses by 2025， according to a new plan released by the National Health Commission， Xinhua reported on May 9.

There will be an average of 3.8 registered nurses for every 1，000 people by 2025， the development plan for nursing showed.

At the end of 2020， the number of registered nurses in China was over 4.7 million， up 45 percent from 2015. Over 70 percent of the countrys nurses have a junior college degree or above， said the document.

It added that the improvement of nursing is of great significance to improving peoples health and actively responding to the aging of the population.

Green Education

China is planning to increase public awareness of the green and lowcarbon development philosophy by promoting it in school education， Xinhua reported on May 7.

According to a work plan released by the Ministry of Education， educational institutions are to integrate the green development philosophy into their curriculums and carry out related educational activities.

The work plan also emphasized the need to establish and develop college majors related to low-carbon and green development， such as in energy storage and hydrogen energy.

It called for more efforts in cultivating professionals in such fields， including wind power， photovoltaic technologies， hydropower and nuclear energy.

Promoting Urbanization

China has vowed to boost the development of services and infrastructure in county seats to promote urbanization， according to the countrys top economic planner， the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC）.

A guideline， jointly released by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council on May 6， said that by 2025， the country will see a bevy of county seats improved， with more people from rural areas working and residing in them.

In the process， China will focus on cultivating competitive industries and improving public infrastructure and services in county seats， while making medical care， education and aged care more accessible in rural areas surrounding county seats.

The move is expected to help drive the development and modernization of rural areas， and expand domestic consumption and investment， while creating more jobs and improving the lives of residents in county seats， an official with the NDRC told Xinhua， expounding on the guideline.

By the end of 2021， China had 910 million permanent urban residents， of which 160 million were in county seats， official data shows. China aims to raise its urbanization rate to 65 percent during the 2021-25 period， according to the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development.

Public Interest Litigations

Chinas Supreme Peoples Court and Supreme Peoples Procuratorate have jointly issued a set of regulations to clarify the rules for handling public interest litigations concerning marine resources and environment.

These public interest litigations， which include both civil and administrative actions， shall be filed in specialized maritime courts， according to the document made public on May 11.

After finding acts detrimental to the marine ecology and resources， a procuratorate may inform the competent authority to bring a lawsuit， the document stated， adding that if the latter fails to do so， the procuratorate may file a civil public interest lawsuit at the maritime court.

Tallest Tree

A 76.8-meter Bhutan white pine in Medog County， Tibet Autonomous Region， on May 1. Chinese researchers have found the tree to be the tallest ever registered on the Chinese mainland， the forestry and grassland bureau in Medog said on May 9.

Live-Streaming Regulations

Chinese authorities have introduced a set of updated regulations for the live-streaming sector to safeguard the interests of minors.

The new rules， jointly issued by four central departments， including the National Radio and Television Administration and the Cyberspace Administration of China， were published on May 7.

Under the new rules， minors will not be able to buy virtual gifts for live-streamers with online platforms， and those under the age of 16 will be prohibited to perform as live-streamers.

For those applicants aged between 16 and 18， the consent of their guardians is needed， according to the document.

It requires platforms to improve services for teenagers and stop offering services to minors after 10 p.m. to make sure children and teenagers have adequate sleep.

The document also calls for the establishment of an inter-agency coordination mechanism to carry out further supervision.

Successful Docking

Chinas cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-4， carrying supplies for the upcoming Shenzhou-14 crewed mission， successfully docked with the combination of the space station core module Tianhe and the Tianzhou-3 cargo craft on May 10， according to the China Manned Space Agency.

On April 20， the Tianzhou-3 cargo craft separated from the rear docking port of Tianhe and docked with its front docking port.

Following Tianzhou-4s docking， the two cargo crafts are docked at the two ends of the Tianhe core module to form a linear shape， waiting for the arrival of the Shenzhou-14 crew members.

Like previous cargo flights， Tianzhou-4 mainly carries three categories of supplies， including six-month living supplies for the Shenzhou-14 missions three astronauts， spare parts for space station maintenance， and space research equipment and sample materials.

Palace Museum Lockdown

Chinas Palace Museum， also known as the Forbidden City， would be temporarily closed from May 12， the museum said on May 11.

The move is based on Beijings current COVID-19 situation and aims to further reduce the risk of virus transmission caused by the movement of people.

The closure will last until further notice， the museum said. A total of 302 confirmed local COVID-19 cases were reported on the Chinese mainland on May 10， of which 24 were in Beijing， new data showed.

New Museum

A journalist takes photos during a media preview of the Hong Kong Palace Museum on May 10. Located in the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region， the museum is almost complete and is expected to open this summer.

Telescope in Antarctica

A small Chinese telescope array mounted in Antarctica has started operation to observe exoplanets or Earth-like planets， according to a news release by the Chinese Academy of Sciences on May 11.

The facility， consisting of four optical telescopes and a near-infrared one， has been installed at Chinas Zhongshan Station during the countrys 38th Antarctic scientific expedition.

Xuelong and Xuelong 2， Chinas two polar icebreakers， set off last November from Shanghai for the expedition and returned in April.

Antarctica is believed to be an advantageous site for astronomical surveys. China has already installed two Antarctic survey telescopes on the continent.

CPI and PPI

Chinas consumer price index （CPI）， a main gauge of inflation， rose 2.1 percent year on year in April， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） said on May 11.

On a monthly basis， the CPI inched up 0.4 percent partly due to the domestic resurgence of COVID-19 and the continuous rise of bulk commodity prices worldwide， according to Dong Lijuan， a senior statistician with the NBS.

Food prices went up 0.9 percent from the previous month， driving up the monthly consumer inflation by about 0.17 of a percentage point， according to the data.

Non-food prices rose 2.2 percent from a year earlier， the same growth recorded the previous month. The prices of gasoline， diesel and liquefied petroleum gas went up 29 percent， 31.7 percent and 26.9 percent year on year， respectively.

The countrys producer price index （PPI）， which measures costs for goods at the factory gate， went up 8 percent year on year in April， the NBS said.

Investment Catalog

The industry catalog of sectors encouraging foreign investment will be further expanded， according to a notice issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce on May 10.

The new list will add 238 more items， while up to 114 existing ones will be expanded.

The increase is particularly relevant to items related to manufacturing， producer services， and those in central and western regions of the country.

The sub-catalog of competitive industries in central and western regions encouraging foreign investment will introduce 188 new items， and expand 52.

New items added to the national-level sub-catalog will include component and part and equipment manufacturing. It will also add professional design， technical services， and development in the producer services sector.

Foreign Trade

Chinas imports and exports expanded 7.9 percent year on year to 12.58 trillion yuan （$1.87 trillion） in the first four months of 2022， official data showed on May 9.

In U.S. dollar terms， total foreign trade surged 10.1 percent year on year， according to the General Administration of Customs of China （GACC）.

Exports grew 10.3 percent year on year to 6.97 trillion yuan（$1.04 trillion）， while imports rose 5 percent to 5.61 trillion yuan （$834.2 billion）， leading to a trade surplus of 1.36 trillion yuan （$202.2 billion） during the January-April period.

The growth rates of Chinas trade value with its three leading trading partners—the Association of Southeast Asian Nations， the EU and the U.S.—stood at 7.2 percent， 6.8 percent and 8.7 percent， respectively.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products expanded 6.7 percent to account for 57.9 percent of the total， while exports of laborintensive products increased 9.2 percent， GACC data showed.

In April alone， the countrys foreign trade volume edged up 0.1 percent year on year to 3.16 trillion yuan （$469.9 billion）， with exports up 1.9 percent and imports dropping 2 percent.

Bioeconomy Plan

China will promote low-carbon growth and enhance its biosafety capacity against epidemics as it develops the bioeconomy， according to a plan spanning from 2021 to 2025. The plan was released by the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） on May 10.

The country will explore biomass resources to help boost sustainable development and resource conservation. It will reinforce prevention， control and treatment of biosafety risks like epidemics or animal and plant diseases.

The plan also outlines two other key areas to be developed through 2025. Innovation in medicine will be encouraged and the supply chain of high-end medical products improved to better protect peoples health， while bio-based breeding， fertilizers and pesticides will be employed in agriculture to safeguard grain security and enable healthier diets.

Healthcare， bio-agriculture， biofuel， bio-information are expected to be the four pillar industries of the bioeconomy， NDRC official Wang Xiang told a press conference.

The country will use genetic testing and other cutting-edge technologies to help prevent diseases， and expedite research and development of vaccines， Wang said.

Monetary Support

Efforts should be made to make good use of relending and rediscount policies to support agriculture as well as micro and small firms， and the amount of such relending should be increased in a timely manner， according to a report released by the Peoples Bank of China on May 9.

The central bank will better leverage inclusive loans for micro and small enterprises and boost the support for agriculture-related businesses and sectors hit hard by COVID-19， it added.

Special relending will be issued to support the clean and efficient use of coal， and support will be improved for large wind power and photovoltaic bases and for the renovation and upgrading of surrounding coal power plants.

The implementation of special relending for sci-tech innovation and inclusive senior care will also be boosted.

Bond Connect Market

The Bond Connect program saw vibrant trading in April， data released by Bond Connect Co. Ltd. showed.

The monthly trading volume under the program reached 591.1 billion yuan （$89.1 billion）， with an average daily turnover of 31.1 billion yuan （$4.6 billion）.

The program saw 6，506 trade tickets in the month.

Chinese government bonds and policy financial bonds were investors major focus， accounting for 51 percent and 32 percent of monthly trading volume， respectively.

The Bond Connect program， launched in July 2017， is a mutual market-access scheme that allows overseas investors to invest in the Chinese mainlands interbank bond market. By the end of April， it had 3，483 approved investors.

SOE Reform

Over 90 percent of the major tasks of a three-year action plan to reform local state-owned enterprises（SOEs） have been completed， according to a meeting held by the Leading Group for State-owned Enterprises Reform under the State Council on May 7.

The 2020-22 plan， which builds on decades of efforts to transform SOEs into competitive， modern enterprises， has led to all-out efforts by the localities concerned and numerous breakthroughs， it said.

The corporate governance reform of SOEs has essentially wrapped up， and the SOEs are practically no longer required to perform social functions.

Meanwhile， breakthroughs have been made in key areas including optimizing the marketoriented operation mechanism.

VAT Credit Refunds

Value-added tax （VAT） credit refunds reached 801.5 billion yuan（$119 billion） in April， according to data from the State Taxation Administration， released on May 10. The refunds benefited over 1.45 million taxpayers during this period.

To improve the cash flow of enterprises， promote consumptiondriven investment， and further improve the related system， China boosted its VAT credit refunds this year， with newly added credits fully refunded on a monthly basis starting from April 1.

The countrys total VAT credit refunds will reach approximately 1.5 trillion yuan （$223 billion） this year， with priority to be given to micro and small firms and the manufacturing industry.

NUMBERS

（$1=6.7 yuan as of May 12）