Dare in the Air

　　An air sports enthusiast performs during the opening of the 11th Air Sports Culture and Tourism Festival in Anyang， central China’s Henan Province， on June 3. The event attracted air sports fans from home and abroad.

Entrepreneurship And Innovation

　　A State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on June 5 decided on various measures to promote mass entrepreneurship and innovation.
　　The costs for mass entrepreneurship and innovation will be lowered by more streamlined administration. Tax incentives for research and development will be implemented faster.
　　Greater support will be given to building entrepreneurship and innovation platforms. The industrial use of the Internet will be promoted and its application accelerated in such areas as medicare， elderly care and education.
　　Financial institutions will be asked to reduce fi nancing rates and costs for small and micro fi rms. Venture capital investment in entrepreneurship and innovation will be encouraged.
　　The meeting stressed that ensuring an adequate supply of agricultural products was crucial to expanding consumption and maintaining economic stability.

Coordinated Growth

　　The Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform on June 3 released a list of major tasks to be completed within the year to push forward coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
　　The agenda contains 90 detailed tasks， of which 14 will relieve non-capital functions of Beijing， 19 are related to construction in Xiongan New Area and Beijing’s subsidiary administrative center in Tongzhou District， and 36 will promote breakthroughs in key sectors such as ecology， transportation， industry and public service.
　　According to the plan， Beijing will phase out over 300 general manufacturing companies， as well as relocate or upgrade 50 markets and 16 logistics centers in 2019.
　　Over 400 hectares of urban greenbelt will be added in Tongzhou， and construction of a theater， library and museum will begin.
　　The Beijing-Xiongan Expressway will begin construction， and an inter- city railway will be fi nished and put into use within the year.

Mom-Baby Health

　　Maternal healthcare has been improved by ensuring safer childbirth and providing better health conditions for newborns， according to a report released by the National Health Commission. 　　The report said services have been promoted to ensure the safety of infants and pregnant women. They include labor risk evaluation and special care for newborns and pregnant women in critical health condition.
　　Over 3，300 emergency treatment centers have been established for pregnant women in critical condition， and more than 3，000 such centers for newborns， a commission offi cial said.
　　Services such as labor analgesia—alleviating pain during labor—are being promoted and by 2018， a total of 26，000 midwife institutions had been set up.
　　To meet the need of new mothers， infrastructure such as nursing rooms at workplaces and in public spaces has been improved.

Less Smoking

　　The smoking incidence among Chinese aged 15 and above dropped to 26.6 percent in 2018 from 27.7 percent in 2015， according to a survey by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention released on May 31.
　　The incidence among men and women were 50.5 percent and 2.1 percent， respectively.
　　The incidence of non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke declined to 68.1 percent in 2018. Internet cafes， bars， nightclubs and restaurants have the most serious secondhand smoke exposure， the survey report said.
　　The proportion of smokers who quit the habit was 20.1 percent in 2018， almost unchanged from 2015.
　　The report indicated there were more young e-cigarette smokers. E-cigarette smokers aged between 15 and 24 had a 1.5-percent incidence. Around 45.4 percent of e-cigarettes were bought online.
　　China targets to reduce smoking among people aged 15 and above to 20 percent by 2030， according to the Healthy China 2030 health plan issued in 2016.

Science Training

　　A three-year campaign to improve the science literacy of China’s rural population kicked off in Beijing on May 30.
　　It was launched by the China Association for Science and Technology （CAST） and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
　　In three years， 4 million scientifi cally literate farmers will be trained. They will master modern agricultural technology and have certain business management capability.
　　The rural proportion of the scientifi cally literate population in 2018 was 4.93 percent， lower than the national average of 8.47 percent.
　　Improving rural people’s science literacy is key to rural revitalization and will promote science popularization， CAST Vice Chairman Huai Jinpeng said.

Getting Ready

　　A high school student in Hengyang County， central China’s Hunan Province， prepares for the national college entrance examination on June 4. The annual examination takes place on June 7-8 in most parts of the country.

Better Ecology

　　The ecology and environment of China improved in 2018， accord- ing to a report by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on May 29.
　　Over 300 cities enjoyed good air quality on 79.3 percent of days in 2018， up 1.3 percentage points from a year earlier.
　　The concentration of fi ne particles in air declined 9.3 percent year on year to 39 micrograms per cubic meter.
　　Water quality also improved， with 6.7 percent of surface water sections identifi ed as the worst level， down 1.6 percentage points from the previous year.
　　The ministry also released a communiqué on marine ecology and environment. Inshore waters of good quality accounted for 74.6 percent， up 6.7 percentage points from the previous year.
　　However， heavy pollution was found in parts of Liaodong Bay and Bohai Bay in northeast China.

Public Libraries

　　Public libraries’ contents per capita in China roughly doubled between 2010 and 2018.
　　The number increased from 0.46 in 2010 to 0.74 in 2018， according to a communiqué released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on May 30.
　　In 2018， there were 3，176 public libraries， 10 more than in the previous year. More than 1.03 billion collection items were made available in public libraries in 2018， up 7 percent year on year. Total visits to public libraries increased to more than 820 million people， up 10.2 percent year on year.

Drugs Destroyed

　　Illegal drugs are readied for incineration in Chengmai County， south China’s Hainan Province， on June 3. Over 280 kg of drugs were destroyed that day.
　　This year marks the end of the three-year anti-drug campaign in Hainan. Over 1，000 suspects were arrested in 615 drug-related cases from January to mid-May.

After-School Classes

　　China will launch a new round of national campaign in after-school training institutions， targeting extracurricular programs that put students under too much pressure， the Ministry of Education said on June 4.
　　County-level education authorities nationwide will conduct a comprehensive examination of after- school institutions， while provincial and municipal education departments will carry out spot checks on off-campus institutions in key areas， the ministry said. 　　Meanwhile， the ministry will dispatch inspection teams to some provincial-level areas， and the examination should be completed by the end of June.
　　A number of after-school institutions were found to have taught courses that were too advanced， placing children under too much pressure and causing unnecessary competition among students.

Integrated Circuit

　　China has made progress in its integrated circuit industry and vowed to share opportunities with other nations， a senior offi cial said.
　　The industry maintained an annual growth rate of above 20 percent from 2012 to 2018， with sales reaching 653.2 billion yuan（$94.77 billion） last year， according to Wang Zhijun， Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology.
　　The country has seen progress in its chip design， manufacturing and test technologies， Wang said.
　　For example， he said the Kirin 980 mobile chip developed by HiSilicon， Huawei’s chipset subsidiary， is manufactured with cutting edge 7nm process technology.
　　Stressing the industry’s high level of globalization， Wang said recent U.S. moves had disrupted the order and international division of labor in the industry， reduced the effi ciency of resource allocation and hindered the industry’s stable development worldwide.
　　Looking ahead， China will be more integrated into the global ecosystem of the industry and seek further development in opening up， innovation and cooperation， Wang said.
　　It will continue improving its business environment， treating domestic and foreign investors equally and strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights to share with the world the opportunities provided by the Chinese market， he added.

Support for SMEs

　　China’s supportive fi nancial policies for small and micro enterprises have shown positive results， the country’s central bank governor said on May 30.
　　Yi Gang， Governor of the People’s Bank of China （PBC）， made the remarks at the 2019 Financial Street Annual Forum in Beijing.
　　By April， the loan balance of inclusive small and micro fi rms rose 20 percent year on year to about 10 trillion yuan （$1.14 trillion）， ch anneling fi nancial support to over 23 million small and micro enterprises， Yi said.
　　To better serve economic transformation and high-quality development， one of the key tasks is to improve credit support and direct fi nancing for small and micro fi rms， Yi said.
　　China started applying a relatively low reserve requirement ratio（RRR） for some small and mediumsized banks on May 15. About 1，000 county-level rural commercial banks will enjoy a favorable RRR of 8 percent， unleashing long-term capital of about 300 billion yuan（$43.4 billion）， he said. 　　In addition， the PBC will step up efforts to guarantee a 30-percent rise in the loan balance of inclusive small and micro fi rms， while reducing the fi rms’ comprehensive fi nancing credit cost by 1 percent.

City Connections

　　Workers construct the Fengrun section of the Beijing-Tangshan intercity railway in north China’s Hebei Province on June 2. The railway will be about 150 km long.

Opening Up

　　China will open up its manufacturing sector despite the rise of protectionism elsewhere in the world， a senior offi cial said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency.
　　Wang Zhijun， Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology， said that foreign investors are now allowed in aircraft， ship and other crucial equipment manufacturing according to the negative list for foreign investment revised in 2018.
　　A timetable for the opening up of the auto industry has been set， while restrictions on foreign investment in smelting rare earth and other mineral resources have been canceled， and ordinary manufacturing has been totally opened up， he said.
　　Wang said that China would fully implement the opening-up policy concerning aircraft， ships， automobiles， telecommunications and other sectors， revise and shorten the negative list for foreign investment in pilot free trade zones as well as the whole country， and broaden the areas in which foreign investment is encouraged.
　　The Chinese Government will also continue to cut red tape， delegate power， improve its business services and create a market environment that guarantees fair competition and equal treatment for Chinese and foreign enterprises， he said.

Cuisine of Culture

　　Tourists from Spain learn to make zongzi， pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in leaves， to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival， at a B&B in a village in Huzhou， east China’s Zhejiang Province， on June 2.
　　The Dragon Boat Festival， or the Duanwu Festival， is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar， which fell on June 7 this year.

Rule of Law

　　China’s top justice pledged to create a sound environment of the rule of law on May 30， to ensure equal， comprehensive and law-based protection of the property rights of private businesses as well as the legitimate rights and interests of the business owners. 　　Zhou Qiang， President of the Supreme People’s Court （SPC）， said at a symposium of entrepreneurs that the SPC will carry out a comprehensive check of current judicial interpretations and abolish those found to be discriminatory against private businesses.
　　He also pledged resolute protection in accordance with the law of the personal and property rights of private business owners， opposing the judiciary use of improper criminal procedures to intervene in business disputes.
　　He called for enhanced judicial protection of intellectual property rights to serve innovation-driven development as well as better results in the enforcement of judicial decisions and the correction of miscarriage of justice in relevant sectors.

Smart Logistics

　　China’s online retail giant JD.com launched the operation of its Asia No.1 smart logistics center on June 5， after trial runs in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.
　　With a fl oor space of nearly 300，000 square meters， the warehouse facility in Xi’an can sort half a million packages a day on average. It is one of the largest logistics centers in northwest China.
　　Smart technologies from automated sorting to unmanned warehousing were employed in the highly automated warehouse， said Shi Xingyi of JD Logistics.
　　“The small parcel sorting system increases effi ciency by more than tenfold on a single automatic sorting line，” Shi said， noting that the warehouse can handle up to a million items a day during peak time.
　　The logistics center is expected to solve problems and improve logistics capacity in northwest China. It will also cooperate with Asia No.1 centers in other Chinese cities to help handle the surging number of parcels in the country， the company said.
　　JD.com operates 23 Asia No.1 logistics centers nationwide， with plans to build new ones in more than 30 major cities across the country over the next fi ve years.

Submarine Power

　　The last piece of submarine cable is towed from a construction ship to an island in Zhoushan， east China’s Zhejiang Province， on June 2. The same day， a 500-kv cross-linked polyethylene submarine cable line was completed.

Creative Goods

　　The UN Conference on Trade and Development （UNCTAD） said on May 29 that one of its recent reports on the creative economy shows that China’s trade in creative goods and services is outstripping those of other countries and regions.
　　This makes it the “driving force behind a prosperous creative economy over the past 15 years，”said UNCTAD in a statement.
　　The report tracked the country’s performance in the trade of creative goods and services between 2002 and 2015 and found that China was the biggest single exporter and importer. In the same period， China’s trade in creative goods grew at an annual rate of 14 percent.
　　In 2002， China’s trade in creative goods amounted to $32 billion and by 2014 this fi gure had increased more than fi vefold， climbing to $191.4 billion.
　　There was a drop in 2015 when China recorded a $168.5-billion trade in creative goods， but comparatively the country has maintained the lion’s share of the trade in creative goods.
　　“China’s contribution to the global creative economy is both important and has driven more than a decade’s worth of growth in creative industries and services，” said UNCTAD creative economy head Marisa Henderson.