论文部分内容阅读
Students at a vocational school in Hefei， Anhui Province， stick cigarette butts to an antismoking poster at an event on May 30 to mark forthcoming World No Tobacco Day.
China has over 300 million smokers， more than any other nation， with more than 2 trillion cigarettes sold every year.
Chinese and international medical experts have warned that second-hand smoke is among the major health threats in China.
Cyber Cooperation
China reiterated on May 29 that it is against all Internet hacking attacks and hopes to conduct dialogues and cooperate with the United States on this matter under the principle of mutual respect and trust.
The remarks， made by Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang at a news briefing， came ahead of the summit between President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama on June 7 and 8—the first face-to-face communication between the two leaders since Xi assumed his post in March.
China has repeatedly been accused of being behind hacking activities. The latest accusation came from The Washington Post on May 29， which cited a U.S. Defense Science Board report as saying that Chinese hackers have gained access to designs of two dozen U.S. weapon systems.
Zheng said that China and the United States have agreed to set up a working team on cybersecurity issues under the framework of the China-U.S. Strategic Security Dialogue， and China is willing to conduct further talks and cooperation under the principle of mutual respect and trust.
Pension Insurance
Urban and rural pension insurance had covered 486 million Chinese people as of the end of April， an official with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on May 26.
As many as 133 million elderly people are receiving monthly pensions， according to Liu Conglong， Deputy Director of the ministry’s Rural Pension Department.
The government kicked off a rural pension pilot program in 2009 and announced a pilot social pension insurance program for urban residents in 2011.
With sponsorship from the government， rural residents over the age of 60 can receive monthly endowments that are proportionate to local income standards.
The payment for the insurance comprises two different parts： basic insurance， which is fully provided by the government， and the personal pension account， which is paid by rural residents themselves. Terror Asset Freeze
China is seeking public opinion on a draft of a regulation to cut off funding for terrorist activities.
Funds and assets used by terrorist groups and facilitators of terrorist activity should be frozen immediately after a list of such groups or people is confirmed by authorities， according to the draft released on May 24.
The document， jointly drafted by the People’s Bank of China（PBOC）， the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of State Security， will remain open to public discussion until June 23.
The draft rule is intended to put into practice a decision on strengthening counter-terrorism efforts adopted in October 2011 by urging improvements to the process of freezing terrorist-related assets， according to a PBOC statement.
Migrant Population
China had nearly 263 million migrant workers at the end of 2012， up 3.9 percent from the previous year， according to official data released on May 27.
The National Bureau of Statistics（NBS） reported that last year more than 163 million migrant workers sought jobs away from home lasting at least six months， marking a yearon-year increase of 3 percent. Most of these workers were from less developed central and western regions.
The per-capita monthly income of migrant workers stood at 2，300 yuan （$375） at the end of 2012. It rose 11.8 percent from the previous year， but the growth was 9.4 percentage points lower than in 2011， said the NBS.
The transportation and construction sectors offered higher salaries， while migrant workers with
jobs in the service， catering and manufacturing sectors earned less， according to the report.
The average age of Chinese migrant workers stood at 37 in 2012， and male workers made up 66 percent of the total.
The survey covered about 200，000 rural laborers in more than 7，500 villages around the country， said the NBS.
Remote Sensing
A satellite data receiving station was launched on May 24 enabling China to observe the South China Sea.
The Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth under the Chinese Academy of Sciences set up the station in Sanya， south China’s island province of Hainan.
China will be able to obtain satellite remote sensing data of the country’s southern territorial waters for civil use directly from its groundbased receiving facilities， according to a statement from the institute. The station has two sets of data receiving and transmission systems to communicate with more than 10 satellites.
A research center based at the Sanya station has also been launched， which will conduct scientific research in disaster monitoring， marine sciences and of the environment.
Boilers to Close
Beijing vowed to eliminate most coal-fired boilers in the city center by the end of 2015 to reduce pollution from fine particulate matter， especially during the heating season.
After reducing coal use by 700，000 metric tons last year， Beijing plans to cut another 1.4 million tons this year. According to a plan released by the city’s Environmental Protection Bureau and Commission of Development and Reform， Beijing will use no more than 21.5 million tons of coal in 2013.
Beijing still has a large number of coal-fired central heating boilers that produce large amounts of coal dust and noise during winter.
H7N9 Findings
A new report by 30 hospitals in seven Chinese provinces shows 90.1 percent of 111 H7N9 avian influenza patients developed coughs， while all exhibited symptoms of fever. Men and the elderly are more likely to be infected.
According to the report， published recently on the website of the New England Journal of Medicine， one of the world’s most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals， 76.6 percent of the studied patients were admitted to an intensive care unit while 27 percent died.
The median age of the patients was 61 years， and 42.3 percent were 65 years or older.
Research Performance
Research papers published by China-based authors in Naturebranded journals in 2012 increased by 35 percent on the 2011 figure， according to the Nature Publishing Index 2012 （NPI） China shows.
The report， published on May 29 as a supplement to Nature， shows that authors from institutions in China contributed 8.5 percent， or 303 papers， of all research papers published in Nature journals in 2012， up from 7.0 percent in 2011 and 5.3 percent in 2010. In 2000， just six articles published in Nature journals had co-authors from institutions in China.
The NPI also provides indicators that China， traditionally strong in physical sciences， is making gains in high quality life sciences research.
Pour Down
A fisherman catches floats against the rainstorm by the seaside in Yantai， east China’s Shandong Province， on May 27. Torrential rains battered many parts of China in late May. Thirty-four local monitoring stations reported record- breaking rainfall.
At least 50 mm fell in nine provinces in central and south China overnight， with some areas recording as much as 100 mm. Weather authorities said it is rare to see such strong rains in May.
Seed Expo
A visitor snaps a photo with her phone in a plantation area at the China Seed Expo 2013 on May 28， Nanning， capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The three-day event attracted over 500 domestic and foreign seed companies to showcase their latest products.
Surging Insurance
The gross revenue of China’s social insurance funds increased 20.2 percent year on year to 2.89 trillion yuan （$467 billion） in 2012， the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on May 27.
The gross expenditure of social insurance funds increased 22.9 percent from 2011 to reach 2.22 trillion yuan （$362.3 billion）， said the ministry.
China’s social insurance funds contain five parts， the basic endowment insurance for senior citizens， basic medical insurance， unemployment insurance， work-related injury insurance and maternity insurance.
By the end of last year， a total of 304.27 million working people， retirees and beneficiaries were covered by the basic endowment insurance for senior citizens， an increase of 20.36 million from a year earlier， said the ministry. Among them， 45.43 million were rural migrant workers， an increase of 4.03 million from 2011.
Solar Action Plan
China will take steps to defend its national interest if the EU were to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels and investigate wireless communications networks， said Zhong Shan， Chief International Trade Representative of China， on May 27 in Brussels.
Zhong led a government delegation to the EU headquarters to meet EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Jean Luc Demarty， Director General for Trade.
Zhong said the EU’s anti- dumping and countervailing duty investigation into Chinese solar panels and the looming action on wireless telecommunications networks would hurt the Chinese industries and workers concerned， and seriously sour the climate for bilateral trade and economic engagement.
Such practices of trade protectionism are not acceptable to China， and the amplification and escalation of trade disputes would serve neither party well， he said. The European Alliance for Affordable Solar Energy estimates that more than 200，000 jobs will be lost as a direct consequence of the European Commission’s punitive plans.
By the end of 2013， EU member states will vote to decide on the imposition of trade penalties.
Anti-Dumping Issue
China’s Ministry of Commerce（MOFCOM） announced on May 27 that it will levy provisional anti-dumping duties on pyridine imported from India and Japan.
After a preliminary investigation that began in September last year， the MOFCOM determined that Indian producers had sold pyridine in China at dumping margins ranging from 24.6 percent to 57.4 percent， and Japanese producers sold the product at a 47.9-percent dumping margin.
Starting from May 28， Chinese entities importing pyridine from the two countries will be required to pay deposits with Chinese customs calculated according to the dumping margins， said the MOFCOM.
Pyridine is an organic compound used as an important raw material and solvent in the production of pesticides， drugs， animal feed， food additives and other chemicals.
Financial Reform
China will steadily push forward market-oriented reform regarding its interest rates and exchange rates this year， according to a central bank report.
The People’s Bank of China， the country’s central bank， has pledged to further improve the issuance of credit to allow the financial sector to better serve the real economy， according to the report on China’s financial stability.
It calls for market-led steps to carry out innovation to make the country’s financial sector more diversified and efficient， while stepping up regulatory controls to guard against possible risks.
China will make solid moves to build a deposit insurance system to prevent systematic and regional financial risks， according to the report.
The central bank sets benchmark interest rates for the market and only allows them to float within the floor of lending rates and the ceiling of deposit rates. The central bank expanded the range twice in 2012.
Currently， banks can set deposit rates as high as 110 percent of the benchmark and offer loans at a 30-percent discount.
Offshore Yuan Bonds
Two major international lenders launched the first batch of offshore yuan-denominated bonds in Singapore on May 27， making the country the third offshore hub for such notes and consolidating its standing as an international financial center. Standard Chartered PLC announced that it had raised 1 billion yuan （$163.36 million） through the offshore bonds. The three-year senior unsecured issuance was priced with a coupon of 2.63 percent after generating more than 3 billion yuan（$487.81 million） in orders from 75 investors across Asia.
HSBC said it had issued 500 million yuan （$81.6 million） of twoyear fixed rate notes on the market， with yields of 2.25 percent. The funds will be used to finance the bank’s expansion of yuan-based lending assets， said Matthew Cannon， head of global markets at HSBC Singapore.
“We see this as another milestone for Singapore in the development of its status as an offshore yuan hub，” said Ray Ferguson， CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Singapore.
Guy Harvey Samuel， Group General Manager and CEO at HSBC Singapore， said apart from the historic bond issue， the bank has also completed a number of other yuan transactions for its customers in Singapore through the new yuanclearing facility.
According to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication （SWIFT）， in terms of the value of offshore yuan payments outside Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland， Singapore ranked second in April after the United Kingdom.
The yuan has become the 13th most-used currency overall with an all-time high market share of 0.74 percent， and payments denominated by the currency grew in value by 32.7 percent， in comparison with the average increase of just 5.1 percent across all currencies， according to the SWIFT.
Lucrative Caps
Staff produce bottle caps in a workshop of a processing company in Guhetao Village， Ganyu County， Jiangsu Province.
The village now has over 80 bottle cap manufacturing companies， with an annual output of over 900 million and 6，000 related jobs.
China has over 300 million smokers， more than any other nation， with more than 2 trillion cigarettes sold every year.
Chinese and international medical experts have warned that second-hand smoke is among the major health threats in China.
Cyber Cooperation
China reiterated on May 29 that it is against all Internet hacking attacks and hopes to conduct dialogues and cooperate with the United States on this matter under the principle of mutual respect and trust.
The remarks， made by Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang at a news briefing， came ahead of the summit between President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama on June 7 and 8—the first face-to-face communication between the two leaders since Xi assumed his post in March.
China has repeatedly been accused of being behind hacking activities. The latest accusation came from The Washington Post on May 29， which cited a U.S. Defense Science Board report as saying that Chinese hackers have gained access to designs of two dozen U.S. weapon systems.
Zheng said that China and the United States have agreed to set up a working team on cybersecurity issues under the framework of the China-U.S. Strategic Security Dialogue， and China is willing to conduct further talks and cooperation under the principle of mutual respect and trust.
Pension Insurance
Urban and rural pension insurance had covered 486 million Chinese people as of the end of April， an official with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on May 26.
As many as 133 million elderly people are receiving monthly pensions， according to Liu Conglong， Deputy Director of the ministry’s Rural Pension Department.
The government kicked off a rural pension pilot program in 2009 and announced a pilot social pension insurance program for urban residents in 2011.
With sponsorship from the government， rural residents over the age of 60 can receive monthly endowments that are proportionate to local income standards.
The payment for the insurance comprises two different parts： basic insurance， which is fully provided by the government， and the personal pension account， which is paid by rural residents themselves. Terror Asset Freeze
China is seeking public opinion on a draft of a regulation to cut off funding for terrorist activities.
Funds and assets used by terrorist groups and facilitators of terrorist activity should be frozen immediately after a list of such groups or people is confirmed by authorities， according to the draft released on May 24.
The document， jointly drafted by the People’s Bank of China（PBOC）， the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of State Security， will remain open to public discussion until June 23.
The draft rule is intended to put into practice a decision on strengthening counter-terrorism efforts adopted in October 2011 by urging improvements to the process of freezing terrorist-related assets， according to a PBOC statement.
Migrant Population
China had nearly 263 million migrant workers at the end of 2012， up 3.9 percent from the previous year， according to official data released on May 27.
The National Bureau of Statistics（NBS） reported that last year more than 163 million migrant workers sought jobs away from home lasting at least six months， marking a yearon-year increase of 3 percent. Most of these workers were from less developed central and western regions.
The per-capita monthly income of migrant workers stood at 2，300 yuan （$375） at the end of 2012. It rose 11.8 percent from the previous year， but the growth was 9.4 percentage points lower than in 2011， said the NBS.
The transportation and construction sectors offered higher salaries， while migrant workers with
jobs in the service， catering and manufacturing sectors earned less， according to the report.
The average age of Chinese migrant workers stood at 37 in 2012， and male workers made up 66 percent of the total.
The survey covered about 200，000 rural laborers in more than 7，500 villages around the country， said the NBS.
Remote Sensing
A satellite data receiving station was launched on May 24 enabling China to observe the South China Sea.
The Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth under the Chinese Academy of Sciences set up the station in Sanya， south China’s island province of Hainan.
China will be able to obtain satellite remote sensing data of the country’s southern territorial waters for civil use directly from its groundbased receiving facilities， according to a statement from the institute. The station has two sets of data receiving and transmission systems to communicate with more than 10 satellites.
A research center based at the Sanya station has also been launched， which will conduct scientific research in disaster monitoring， marine sciences and of the environment.
Boilers to Close
Beijing vowed to eliminate most coal-fired boilers in the city center by the end of 2015 to reduce pollution from fine particulate matter， especially during the heating season.
After reducing coal use by 700，000 metric tons last year， Beijing plans to cut another 1.4 million tons this year. According to a plan released by the city’s Environmental Protection Bureau and Commission of Development and Reform， Beijing will use no more than 21.5 million tons of coal in 2013.
Beijing still has a large number of coal-fired central heating boilers that produce large amounts of coal dust and noise during winter.
H7N9 Findings
A new report by 30 hospitals in seven Chinese provinces shows 90.1 percent of 111 H7N9 avian influenza patients developed coughs， while all exhibited symptoms of fever. Men and the elderly are more likely to be infected.
According to the report， published recently on the website of the New England Journal of Medicine， one of the world’s most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals， 76.6 percent of the studied patients were admitted to an intensive care unit while 27 percent died.
The median age of the patients was 61 years， and 42.3 percent were 65 years or older.
Research Performance
Research papers published by China-based authors in Naturebranded journals in 2012 increased by 35 percent on the 2011 figure， according to the Nature Publishing Index 2012 （NPI） China shows.
The report， published on May 29 as a supplement to Nature， shows that authors from institutions in China contributed 8.5 percent， or 303 papers， of all research papers published in Nature journals in 2012， up from 7.0 percent in 2011 and 5.3 percent in 2010. In 2000， just six articles published in Nature journals had co-authors from institutions in China.
The NPI also provides indicators that China， traditionally strong in physical sciences， is making gains in high quality life sciences research.
Pour Down
A fisherman catches floats against the rainstorm by the seaside in Yantai， east China’s Shandong Province， on May 27. Torrential rains battered many parts of China in late May. Thirty-four local monitoring stations reported record- breaking rainfall.
At least 50 mm fell in nine provinces in central and south China overnight， with some areas recording as much as 100 mm. Weather authorities said it is rare to see such strong rains in May.
Seed Expo
A visitor snaps a photo with her phone in a plantation area at the China Seed Expo 2013 on May 28， Nanning， capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The three-day event attracted over 500 domestic and foreign seed companies to showcase their latest products.
Surging Insurance
The gross revenue of China’s social insurance funds increased 20.2 percent year on year to 2.89 trillion yuan （$467 billion） in 2012， the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on May 27.
The gross expenditure of social insurance funds increased 22.9 percent from 2011 to reach 2.22 trillion yuan （$362.3 billion）， said the ministry.
China’s social insurance funds contain five parts， the basic endowment insurance for senior citizens， basic medical insurance， unemployment insurance， work-related injury insurance and maternity insurance.
By the end of last year， a total of 304.27 million working people， retirees and beneficiaries were covered by the basic endowment insurance for senior citizens， an increase of 20.36 million from a year earlier， said the ministry. Among them， 45.43 million were rural migrant workers， an increase of 4.03 million from 2011.
Solar Action Plan
China will take steps to defend its national interest if the EU were to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels and investigate wireless communications networks， said Zhong Shan， Chief International Trade Representative of China， on May 27 in Brussels.
Zhong led a government delegation to the EU headquarters to meet EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Jean Luc Demarty， Director General for Trade.
Zhong said the EU’s anti- dumping and countervailing duty investigation into Chinese solar panels and the looming action on wireless telecommunications networks would hurt the Chinese industries and workers concerned， and seriously sour the climate for bilateral trade and economic engagement.
Such practices of trade protectionism are not acceptable to China， and the amplification and escalation of trade disputes would serve neither party well， he said. The European Alliance for Affordable Solar Energy estimates that more than 200，000 jobs will be lost as a direct consequence of the European Commission’s punitive plans.
By the end of 2013， EU member states will vote to decide on the imposition of trade penalties.
Anti-Dumping Issue
China’s Ministry of Commerce（MOFCOM） announced on May 27 that it will levy provisional anti-dumping duties on pyridine imported from India and Japan.
After a preliminary investigation that began in September last year， the MOFCOM determined that Indian producers had sold pyridine in China at dumping margins ranging from 24.6 percent to 57.4 percent， and Japanese producers sold the product at a 47.9-percent dumping margin.
Starting from May 28， Chinese entities importing pyridine from the two countries will be required to pay deposits with Chinese customs calculated according to the dumping margins， said the MOFCOM.
Pyridine is an organic compound used as an important raw material and solvent in the production of pesticides， drugs， animal feed， food additives and other chemicals.
Financial Reform
China will steadily push forward market-oriented reform regarding its interest rates and exchange rates this year， according to a central bank report.
The People’s Bank of China， the country’s central bank， has pledged to further improve the issuance of credit to allow the financial sector to better serve the real economy， according to the report on China’s financial stability.
It calls for market-led steps to carry out innovation to make the country’s financial sector more diversified and efficient， while stepping up regulatory controls to guard against possible risks.
China will make solid moves to build a deposit insurance system to prevent systematic and regional financial risks， according to the report.
The central bank sets benchmark interest rates for the market and only allows them to float within the floor of lending rates and the ceiling of deposit rates. The central bank expanded the range twice in 2012.
Currently， banks can set deposit rates as high as 110 percent of the benchmark and offer loans at a 30-percent discount.
Offshore Yuan Bonds
Two major international lenders launched the first batch of offshore yuan-denominated bonds in Singapore on May 27， making the country the third offshore hub for such notes and consolidating its standing as an international financial center. Standard Chartered PLC announced that it had raised 1 billion yuan （$163.36 million） through the offshore bonds. The three-year senior unsecured issuance was priced with a coupon of 2.63 percent after generating more than 3 billion yuan（$487.81 million） in orders from 75 investors across Asia.
HSBC said it had issued 500 million yuan （$81.6 million） of twoyear fixed rate notes on the market， with yields of 2.25 percent. The funds will be used to finance the bank’s expansion of yuan-based lending assets， said Matthew Cannon， head of global markets at HSBC Singapore.
“We see this as another milestone for Singapore in the development of its status as an offshore yuan hub，” said Ray Ferguson， CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Singapore.
Guy Harvey Samuel， Group General Manager and CEO at HSBC Singapore， said apart from the historic bond issue， the bank has also completed a number of other yuan transactions for its customers in Singapore through the new yuanclearing facility.
According to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication （SWIFT）， in terms of the value of offshore yuan payments outside Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland， Singapore ranked second in April after the United Kingdom.
The yuan has become the 13th most-used currency overall with an all-time high market share of 0.74 percent， and payments denominated by the currency grew in value by 32.7 percent， in comparison with the average increase of just 5.1 percent across all currencies， according to the SWIFT.
Lucrative Caps
Staff produce bottle caps in a workshop of a processing company in Guhetao Village， Ganyu County， Jiangsu Province.
The village now has over 80 bottle cap manufacturing companies， with an annual output of over 900 million and 6，000 related jobs.