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A bird’s eye view of the East Lake Greenway in Wuhan， capital of central China’s Hubei Province.
The greenway， with a length of 28.7 km and bridging three main scenic spots in the East Lake， was opened to the public on December 28. Vehicles are not allowed.
It makes lakes， woods and hills more accessible for citizens in the region.
More Funding to Ethnic Areas
The Central Government allocated 4.6 billion yuan （$660 million） in 2016 for development in ethnic areas， an increase of 15 percent from 2015， the State Ethnic Affairs Commission said.
China’s ethnic areas consist of eight provincial-level regions including Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Tibet Autonomous Region.
In the first three quarters of 2016， the eight regions had higher major economic indicators than eastern provinces， the commission announced at a meeting.
Tibet and Guizhou were among the top three areas nationwide in terms of regional GDP growth.
While addressing the meeting， Vice Premier Liu Yandong called for better poverty relief efforts and public services in ethnic areas to safeguard ethnic solidarity and social stability.
Cleaner Energy
By the end of November 2016， 663 villages in Beijing had replaced coal with clean energy， the Beijing Municipal Commission of Rural Affairs said. Coal was replaced by electricity and natural gas in 574 and 89 of the villages respectively.
Commission official Li Wenchao said the reduction in the use of coal contributed a lot to controlling air pollution in the city， cutting about 3，400 tons of sulfur dioxide and 3，100 tons of nitric oxide emissions in 2016.
Beijing plans to replace coal with cleaner energy in 700 villages in 2017. Coal burning will be phased out in the capital’s Chaoyang， Daxing， Fangshan， Fengtai， Haidian， Shijingshan and Tongzhou districts in 2017.
Water Diversion Success
The south-to-north water diversion project has benefited more than 11 million people in Beijing， authorities said.
The project’s middle route has pumped 1.94 billion cubic meters of water into Beijing in the two years since it opened on December 27， 2014， according to the project bureau.
More than 1.3 billion cubic meters went to water supply companies in the municipality， 280 million cubic meters was stored in reservoirs， and the rest was used as groundwater， river and lake supplies in downtown areas， said office director Sun Guosheng. Currently， the project delivers about 3.4 million cubic meters of water to Beijing daily.
“The water diversion has relieved the pressure on Beijing’s water supply，” Sun said.
The middle route of the southto-north water diversion project carries water from the Danjiangkou reservoir in central China’s Hubei Province to Beijing and the provinces of Henan and Hebei.
The water transfer project was conceived in 1952. The State Council approved the project in December 2002 after almost half a century of debate.
Beijing is in dire need of water. Between 1999 and 2011， the city’s average annual precipitation was only 480 millimeters， and its per-capita water resources were only about 100 cubic meters， about one 20th of the national average and one 80th of the global average.
The diverted water， which supplies the city’s central areas and parts of its suburbs， increased the per-capita amount to 150 cubic meters， said Hu Bo from Beijing Water Authority.
It has also helped rein in excessive use of groundwater. Before the project’s opening， the groundwater level of Beijing dropped by around 1 meter per year.
Industry Associations
The industry associations and chambers， which traditionally have close relations with the government， will be given more independence but will come under stricter scrutiny.
Operational， financial and personnel affiliations between government departments and associations will gradually be cut back， according to a circular jointly released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs （MCA）， the National Development and Reform Commission， and eight other central government departments.
All such associations will gradually be converted into not-for-profit NGOs， subject to government and public supervision， the circular said.
The recruitment of government officials by industry associations will be closely monitored， as will be their conduct once they have been appointed， and remuneration for such roles will not be permitted.
The government will also record and rate the credibility of industry associations and punish malpractice in accordance with the law.
Cultural Services Legislation
Lawmakers adopted a new law to improve cultural services.
The National People’s Congress（NPC） Standing Committee approved the legislation after three readings. The law， which will go into effect on March 1， 2017， aims to carry forward the traditions of Chinese culture. Public cultural services must be people-oriented and “guided by socialist core values，” according to the law.
Governments at county level and above must improve community cultural service centers， build more of them and offer more products online.
Private funds will be invited to finance public cultural facilities.
Authorities in rural areas must provide more books， newspapers， magazines， opera performances， films， radio programs， online information， festivals and sporting activities to ensure equality of cultural services between urban and rural areas.
Public services should cater to special groups such as minors， the elderly， people with disabilities and migrant workers. Local authorities must also ensure quality services in revolutionary bases， ethnic， border and impoverished areas.
The state will translate cultural products into minority languages in ethnic regions， and encourage ethnic cultural products and sports.
International cultural cooperation and exchanges should be expanded.
At a press briefing， Liu Binjie， head of the NPC Education， Science， Culture and Public Health Committee， said the top legislature will also draft a law on the cultural industry and another on libraries. It will also work on amending the laws on copyright and protection of cultural relics.
Second Child Survey
About 53.3 percent of one-child families interviewed do not want a second child， according to a survey released by the All-China Women’s Federation.
The survey， co-conducted with Beijing Normal University’s National Innovation Center for Assessment of Basic Education Quality， interviewed 10，000 families with children under 15 years in 10 provincial-level regions， including Beijing and Liaoning Province.
The key factor for most parents considering a second child is quality of public services， including kindergartens and schools， quality of baby products， the living environment and access to medical treatment， the survey said.
Other major considerations include whether the mother has the energy to cope with a second child， the family’s socio-economic status and whether someone is available to help look after the baby before it reaches the age to attend kindergarten， the survey said.
It also showed that over half of two-child families have issues with nurturing their second child， including how to establish and maintain close relations with the child and how to deal with problems between the two children. Due to financial constraints， a considerable number of families“neither dare nor want” to have a second child， said Chen Xiaoxia， head of the ACWF’s department for children.
Chen said families that have a second child have new demands for public services and need guidance in family education.
Since January 1， 2016， China is allowing married couples to have two children. This follows an earlier easing of the one-child policy in 2013 that allowed couples to have a second child if either parent was an only child.
The one-child policy was implemented in the late 1970s.
Fun on Ice
A dragon boat competition， organized by Heilongjiang Federation of Trade Union， in the icy Songhua River in Harbin， capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. Nineteen teams from all walks of life took part in the contest.
Satellites Launched
China launches a pair of 0.5-meter high-resolution remote sensing satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi Province on December 28.
The satellites， SuperView-1 01/02， blasted off at 11：23 a.m. Beijing time on the back of a Long March 2D rocket， according to the center.
They are able to provide commercial images at 0.5-meter resolution.
IPO Market Heats Up
China’s initial public offering （IPO） market did better in 2016 as its regulator accelerated approvals in the latter half of the year.
According to the Securities Times， the number of new listings reached 245 in 2016.
This is the third largest number in terms of newly listed companies， behind the 347 listings in 2010 and 277 in 2011.
In 2015， 219 companies raised 159 billion yuan （$23 billion） through IPOs on the Chinese mainland despite market volatility that put offerings on hold.
Under the current IPO system， new shares are subject to approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission， which controls both the timing and price. China is working on a registration-based IPO system that will allow bourses to take over IPO approval and clear the backlog of waiting companies.
Trade Remedy Probes
More Chinese products were the target of trade probes in 2016， partly due to rising trade protectionism， a commerce official said.
Twenty-seven countries or regions had initiated 117 trade remedy investigations targeting Chinese products as of December 21， up 34.5 percent year on year， Wang Hejun， an official at the Ministry of Commerce， told a conference. The investigations involved$13.98 billion worth of products， up 71.5 percent from a year earlier.
Wang partly attributed the increasing trade friction to rising trade protectionism amid weak global economic recovery.
The fundamental way for Chinese companies to reduce trade friction is to move up the value chain and make their products more competitive， he added.
China’s trade volume for the first 11 months dropped 1.2 percent from a year earlier to 21.8 trillion yuan（$3.16 trillion）， while trade surplus shrank 5.8 percent to 3.1 trillion yuan（$449.36 billion）， according to data from the General Administration of Customs.
Green Economy
Farmers take care of tea plants at a greenhouse in Daguozhuang Village， Zaozhuang City， in east China’s Shandong Province on December 27.
In recent years， the local government has made great efforts to develop greenhouse agriculture in Zaozhuang， and help farmers make more money during the once slack season.
New Private Banks
China’s banking regulator on December 27 gave approval to five new private banks， bringing the total number of private lenders to 16.
The five banks will be in Jiangsu， Jilin， Liaoning and Shandong provinces and Beijing， according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission （CBRC）.
Each of the banks will be cosponsored by at least two private capital providers.
Notably， two of them will be headquartered in China’s northeastern region， a traditional industrial base bearing the brunt of the country’s economic slowdown.
The bank in Liaoning’s capital city of Shenyang will complete its preparations in six months and then file an operation application to the CBRC’s Liaoning office. It will provide financial services mainly to private enterprises and hi-tech industries.
In 2014， China approved a pilot scheme setting up five private banks to give private capital a bigger role in the country’s financial system.
The new private lenders are expected to boost financial support for smaller firms， as the state-owned lenders usually favor state-owned enterprises.
Data from the CBRC showed that total assets of the first batch of five private lenders reached 132.93 billion yuan （$19 billion） at the end of September. The non-performing loan ratio rose slightly to 0.54 percent.
E-Commerce Boom
China said on December 27 that it aims to expand e-commerce transactions to more than 38 trillion yuan （$5.5 trillion） by 2020， up from the 21.8 trillion yuan （$3.14 trillion） in 2015. By 2020， China’s online population will pass 1 billion， growing by 7.8 percent per year from 2015， according to a State Council five-year informatization plan.
Revenue of the information industry is expected to grow by an average of 8.9 percent each year from 2015 to hit 26.2 trillion yuan（$3.8 trillion） by 2020.
By then 90 percent of villages in poverty will be covered by Internet services， 12 percentage points higher than that in 2015.
Online retail sales are expected to expand from 3.9 trillion yuan（$564.5 billion） recorded in 2015 to 10 trillion yuan （$1.45 trillion） by 2020.
More Tax Reduction
Chinese businesses will see further tax reductions in 2017 as a result of the new value-added tax （VAT） system， an official said on December 27.
China’s VAT was introduced nationwide in May to replace business tax.
The new tax saved businesses 470 billion yuan （$68 billion） in the first 11 months of the year， on track to meet the government’s end-of-year target of 500 billion yuan （$72.34 billion）.
Speaking at a press conference jointly held by the State Administration of Taxation （SAT） and the Ministry of Finance， SAT head Wang Jun said three factors could lead to bigger reductions in 2017. The construction， property， finance and service sectors were not covered in the first four months of 2016； the taxation rules for real estate purchases will be changed； and there will be better management of tax policies， Wang explained.
Coal Liquefaction
Staff members work in the central control room of the coal-to-liquid project in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on December 28.
The facility， which went into production that day， is the world’s biggest. It is able to turn more than 20 million tons of coal to 4 million tons of oil products annually. China has rich coal resources but lacks oil and gas. Currently more than 60 percent of its oil is imported.
Service Trade Deficit
China saw a bigger foreign service trade deficit in November， the State Administration of Foreign Exchange（SAFE） said on December 27.
The deficit stood at $25.4 billion in November 2016， up from $20.9 billion in October and $23.3 billion in September， the SAFE data showed.
Income from trade in services was $23.7 billion in November， while expenditures totaled $49.1 billion.
Distinct from goods trade， trade in services refers to the sale and delivery of intangible products such as transportation， tourism， telecommu- nications， construction， advertising， computing and accounting. China’s service trade volume grew from $362.4 billion in 2010 to$713 billion in 2015， doubling the average international growth speed in the sector. The country is aiming to increase its service trade volume to over $1 trillion by 2020.
The State Council has pledged measures to improve the development of the service trade， including gradually opening up the finance， education， culture and medical sectors.
Flexible Car Loan Policy
China is considering a flexible loan policy for car purchases to encourage automobile consumption， a major driving force for economic growth.
The loan-to-value ratio of automobile purchases will be flexible and set according to macroeconomic and automobile industrial conditions， according to a draft decision released by the central bank and the top banking regulator on December 27.
Previously， consumers could borrow only up to 80 percent of the total car price from banks.
The move is being considered to promote automobile consumption as another key driving force of the Chinese economy， as the property market is expected to slow down in 2017 due to tightening policies.
Auto sales and output in China， the world’s biggest auto market， continued to expand during the first 11 months of 2016， hitting an all-time high.
From January to November， about 25 million cars were sold in China， up 14.1 percent year on year， according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Welcome to the Big World
Shanghai’s once most popular stage entertainment landmark， the Shanghai Dashijie， also known as the Big World， will be reopened in March 2017 to continue to display the city’s cultural heritage has after being closed for nearly a decade.
The Dashijie Entertainment Center was built in 1917 and long regarded by local people as the city’s most attractive entertainment venue.
The greenway， with a length of 28.7 km and bridging three main scenic spots in the East Lake， was opened to the public on December 28. Vehicles are not allowed.
It makes lakes， woods and hills more accessible for citizens in the region.
More Funding to Ethnic Areas
The Central Government allocated 4.6 billion yuan （$660 million） in 2016 for development in ethnic areas， an increase of 15 percent from 2015， the State Ethnic Affairs Commission said.
China’s ethnic areas consist of eight provincial-level regions including Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Tibet Autonomous Region.
In the first three quarters of 2016， the eight regions had higher major economic indicators than eastern provinces， the commission announced at a meeting.
Tibet and Guizhou were among the top three areas nationwide in terms of regional GDP growth.
While addressing the meeting， Vice Premier Liu Yandong called for better poverty relief efforts and public services in ethnic areas to safeguard ethnic solidarity and social stability.
Cleaner Energy
By the end of November 2016， 663 villages in Beijing had replaced coal with clean energy， the Beijing Municipal Commission of Rural Affairs said. Coal was replaced by electricity and natural gas in 574 and 89 of the villages respectively.
Commission official Li Wenchao said the reduction in the use of coal contributed a lot to controlling air pollution in the city， cutting about 3，400 tons of sulfur dioxide and 3，100 tons of nitric oxide emissions in 2016.
Beijing plans to replace coal with cleaner energy in 700 villages in 2017. Coal burning will be phased out in the capital’s Chaoyang， Daxing， Fangshan， Fengtai， Haidian， Shijingshan and Tongzhou districts in 2017.
Water Diversion Success
The south-to-north water diversion project has benefited more than 11 million people in Beijing， authorities said.
The project’s middle route has pumped 1.94 billion cubic meters of water into Beijing in the two years since it opened on December 27， 2014， according to the project bureau.
More than 1.3 billion cubic meters went to water supply companies in the municipality， 280 million cubic meters was stored in reservoirs， and the rest was used as groundwater， river and lake supplies in downtown areas， said office director Sun Guosheng. Currently， the project delivers about 3.4 million cubic meters of water to Beijing daily.
“The water diversion has relieved the pressure on Beijing’s water supply，” Sun said.
The middle route of the southto-north water diversion project carries water from the Danjiangkou reservoir in central China’s Hubei Province to Beijing and the provinces of Henan and Hebei.
The water transfer project was conceived in 1952. The State Council approved the project in December 2002 after almost half a century of debate.
Beijing is in dire need of water. Between 1999 and 2011， the city’s average annual precipitation was only 480 millimeters， and its per-capita water resources were only about 100 cubic meters， about one 20th of the national average and one 80th of the global average.
The diverted water， which supplies the city’s central areas and parts of its suburbs， increased the per-capita amount to 150 cubic meters， said Hu Bo from Beijing Water Authority.
It has also helped rein in excessive use of groundwater. Before the project’s opening， the groundwater level of Beijing dropped by around 1 meter per year.
Industry Associations
The industry associations and chambers， which traditionally have close relations with the government， will be given more independence but will come under stricter scrutiny.
Operational， financial and personnel affiliations between government departments and associations will gradually be cut back， according to a circular jointly released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs （MCA）， the National Development and Reform Commission， and eight other central government departments.
All such associations will gradually be converted into not-for-profit NGOs， subject to government and public supervision， the circular said.
The recruitment of government officials by industry associations will be closely monitored， as will be their conduct once they have been appointed， and remuneration for such roles will not be permitted.
The government will also record and rate the credibility of industry associations and punish malpractice in accordance with the law.
Cultural Services Legislation
Lawmakers adopted a new law to improve cultural services.
The National People’s Congress（NPC） Standing Committee approved the legislation after three readings. The law， which will go into effect on March 1， 2017， aims to carry forward the traditions of Chinese culture. Public cultural services must be people-oriented and “guided by socialist core values，” according to the law.
Governments at county level and above must improve community cultural service centers， build more of them and offer more products online.
Private funds will be invited to finance public cultural facilities.
Authorities in rural areas must provide more books， newspapers， magazines， opera performances， films， radio programs， online information， festivals and sporting activities to ensure equality of cultural services between urban and rural areas.
Public services should cater to special groups such as minors， the elderly， people with disabilities and migrant workers. Local authorities must also ensure quality services in revolutionary bases， ethnic， border and impoverished areas.
The state will translate cultural products into minority languages in ethnic regions， and encourage ethnic cultural products and sports.
International cultural cooperation and exchanges should be expanded.
At a press briefing， Liu Binjie， head of the NPC Education， Science， Culture and Public Health Committee， said the top legislature will also draft a law on the cultural industry and another on libraries. It will also work on amending the laws on copyright and protection of cultural relics.
Second Child Survey
About 53.3 percent of one-child families interviewed do not want a second child， according to a survey released by the All-China Women’s Federation.
The survey， co-conducted with Beijing Normal University’s National Innovation Center for Assessment of Basic Education Quality， interviewed 10，000 families with children under 15 years in 10 provincial-level regions， including Beijing and Liaoning Province.
The key factor for most parents considering a second child is quality of public services， including kindergartens and schools， quality of baby products， the living environment and access to medical treatment， the survey said.
Other major considerations include whether the mother has the energy to cope with a second child， the family’s socio-economic status and whether someone is available to help look after the baby before it reaches the age to attend kindergarten， the survey said.
It also showed that over half of two-child families have issues with nurturing their second child， including how to establish and maintain close relations with the child and how to deal with problems between the two children. Due to financial constraints， a considerable number of families“neither dare nor want” to have a second child， said Chen Xiaoxia， head of the ACWF’s department for children.
Chen said families that have a second child have new demands for public services and need guidance in family education.
Since January 1， 2016， China is allowing married couples to have two children. This follows an earlier easing of the one-child policy in 2013 that allowed couples to have a second child if either parent was an only child.
The one-child policy was implemented in the late 1970s.
Fun on Ice
A dragon boat competition， organized by Heilongjiang Federation of Trade Union， in the icy Songhua River in Harbin， capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. Nineteen teams from all walks of life took part in the contest.
Satellites Launched
China launches a pair of 0.5-meter high-resolution remote sensing satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi Province on December 28.
The satellites， SuperView-1 01/02， blasted off at 11：23 a.m. Beijing time on the back of a Long March 2D rocket， according to the center.
They are able to provide commercial images at 0.5-meter resolution.
IPO Market Heats Up
China’s initial public offering （IPO） market did better in 2016 as its regulator accelerated approvals in the latter half of the year.
According to the Securities Times， the number of new listings reached 245 in 2016.
This is the third largest number in terms of newly listed companies， behind the 347 listings in 2010 and 277 in 2011.
In 2015， 219 companies raised 159 billion yuan （$23 billion） through IPOs on the Chinese mainland despite market volatility that put offerings on hold.
Under the current IPO system， new shares are subject to approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission， which controls both the timing and price. China is working on a registration-based IPO system that will allow bourses to take over IPO approval and clear the backlog of waiting companies.
Trade Remedy Probes
More Chinese products were the target of trade probes in 2016， partly due to rising trade protectionism， a commerce official said.
Twenty-seven countries or regions had initiated 117 trade remedy investigations targeting Chinese products as of December 21， up 34.5 percent year on year， Wang Hejun， an official at the Ministry of Commerce， told a conference. The investigations involved$13.98 billion worth of products， up 71.5 percent from a year earlier.
Wang partly attributed the increasing trade friction to rising trade protectionism amid weak global economic recovery.
The fundamental way for Chinese companies to reduce trade friction is to move up the value chain and make their products more competitive， he added.
China’s trade volume for the first 11 months dropped 1.2 percent from a year earlier to 21.8 trillion yuan（$3.16 trillion）， while trade surplus shrank 5.8 percent to 3.1 trillion yuan（$449.36 billion）， according to data from the General Administration of Customs.
Green Economy
Farmers take care of tea plants at a greenhouse in Daguozhuang Village， Zaozhuang City， in east China’s Shandong Province on December 27.
In recent years， the local government has made great efforts to develop greenhouse agriculture in Zaozhuang， and help farmers make more money during the once slack season.
New Private Banks
China’s banking regulator on December 27 gave approval to five new private banks， bringing the total number of private lenders to 16.
The five banks will be in Jiangsu， Jilin， Liaoning and Shandong provinces and Beijing， according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission （CBRC）.
Each of the banks will be cosponsored by at least two private capital providers.
Notably， two of them will be headquartered in China’s northeastern region， a traditional industrial base bearing the brunt of the country’s economic slowdown.
The bank in Liaoning’s capital city of Shenyang will complete its preparations in six months and then file an operation application to the CBRC’s Liaoning office. It will provide financial services mainly to private enterprises and hi-tech industries.
In 2014， China approved a pilot scheme setting up five private banks to give private capital a bigger role in the country’s financial system.
The new private lenders are expected to boost financial support for smaller firms， as the state-owned lenders usually favor state-owned enterprises.
Data from the CBRC showed that total assets of the first batch of five private lenders reached 132.93 billion yuan （$19 billion） at the end of September. The non-performing loan ratio rose slightly to 0.54 percent.
E-Commerce Boom
China said on December 27 that it aims to expand e-commerce transactions to more than 38 trillion yuan （$5.5 trillion） by 2020， up from the 21.8 trillion yuan （$3.14 trillion） in 2015. By 2020， China’s online population will pass 1 billion， growing by 7.8 percent per year from 2015， according to a State Council five-year informatization plan.
Revenue of the information industry is expected to grow by an average of 8.9 percent each year from 2015 to hit 26.2 trillion yuan（$3.8 trillion） by 2020.
By then 90 percent of villages in poverty will be covered by Internet services， 12 percentage points higher than that in 2015.
Online retail sales are expected to expand from 3.9 trillion yuan（$564.5 billion） recorded in 2015 to 10 trillion yuan （$1.45 trillion） by 2020.
More Tax Reduction
Chinese businesses will see further tax reductions in 2017 as a result of the new value-added tax （VAT） system， an official said on December 27.
China’s VAT was introduced nationwide in May to replace business tax.
The new tax saved businesses 470 billion yuan （$68 billion） in the first 11 months of the year， on track to meet the government’s end-of-year target of 500 billion yuan （$72.34 billion）.
Speaking at a press conference jointly held by the State Administration of Taxation （SAT） and the Ministry of Finance， SAT head Wang Jun said three factors could lead to bigger reductions in 2017. The construction， property， finance and service sectors were not covered in the first four months of 2016； the taxation rules for real estate purchases will be changed； and there will be better management of tax policies， Wang explained.
Coal Liquefaction
Staff members work in the central control room of the coal-to-liquid project in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on December 28.
The facility， which went into production that day， is the world’s biggest. It is able to turn more than 20 million tons of coal to 4 million tons of oil products annually. China has rich coal resources but lacks oil and gas. Currently more than 60 percent of its oil is imported.
Service Trade Deficit
China saw a bigger foreign service trade deficit in November， the State Administration of Foreign Exchange（SAFE） said on December 27.
The deficit stood at $25.4 billion in November 2016， up from $20.9 billion in October and $23.3 billion in September， the SAFE data showed.
Income from trade in services was $23.7 billion in November， while expenditures totaled $49.1 billion.
Distinct from goods trade， trade in services refers to the sale and delivery of intangible products such as transportation， tourism， telecommu- nications， construction， advertising， computing and accounting. China’s service trade volume grew from $362.4 billion in 2010 to$713 billion in 2015， doubling the average international growth speed in the sector. The country is aiming to increase its service trade volume to over $1 trillion by 2020.
The State Council has pledged measures to improve the development of the service trade， including gradually opening up the finance， education， culture and medical sectors.
Flexible Car Loan Policy
China is considering a flexible loan policy for car purchases to encourage automobile consumption， a major driving force for economic growth.
The loan-to-value ratio of automobile purchases will be flexible and set according to macroeconomic and automobile industrial conditions， according to a draft decision released by the central bank and the top banking regulator on December 27.
Previously， consumers could borrow only up to 80 percent of the total car price from banks.
The move is being considered to promote automobile consumption as another key driving force of the Chinese economy， as the property market is expected to slow down in 2017 due to tightening policies.
Auto sales and output in China， the world’s biggest auto market， continued to expand during the first 11 months of 2016， hitting an all-time high.
From January to November， about 25 million cars were sold in China， up 14.1 percent year on year， according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
Welcome to the Big World
Shanghai’s once most popular stage entertainment landmark， the Shanghai Dashijie， also known as the Big World， will be reopened in March 2017 to continue to display the city’s cultural heritage has after being closed for nearly a decade.
The Dashijie Entertainment Center was built in 1917 and long regarded by local people as the city’s most attractive entertainment venue.