China’s 500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope （FAST） Tianyan is under maintenance in Guizhou Province on March 28. The world’s most sensitive radio telescope will have its observation time partially available to global scientists from August 1 onward， with online reservations having started on March 31， according to the National Astronomical Observatories of China.
　　After the collapse of the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico last December， FAST is now the leading radio telescope in the world. Located in a naturally deep and round karst depression in southwest China， it came into operation on January 11， 2020， and has since identified over 300 pulsars.

New Journey

A cargo train is ready to leave Changsha， Hunan Province， for Hanoi， the capital of Viet Nam， on March 31. On that day， a new freight train service linking Hunan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was launched.

TCM Center

China plans to build a major center at the national level focusing on the use of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in epidemic prevention and treatment， sources with the top economic planner said on March 29.
　　Sun Zhicheng， a senior official with the social development department of the National Development and Reform Commission， said at a press conference that the center will be tasked with building a talent pool， formulating technical protocols for epidemic prevention and treatment， conducting TCM therapy research and stockpiling relevant medical supplies.
　　The center is expected to ramp up the country’s capacity for rapid response， prevention， control， and treatment in the face of new or emerging infectious diseases and other major public health events by applying TCM， Sun said.

Dryland Research

A global dryland research project overseen by Chinese researchers will serve as a reference for sandstorm source control， according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS）.
　　The Global Dryland Ecosystem Program （GlobalDEP）， initiated by the CAS， published a series of research results on March 29， providing a roadmap for the research and management of global arid areas.
　　Fu Bojie， chief scientist of the project and academician at the CAS， said there is a lack of longterm monitoring data for dryland areas， especially those located in some developing countries.
　　Sandstorms are closely related to land degradation， Fu said， adding that the project will help restore the ecosystem and facilitate sandstorm source control. 　　Through this project， local and global researchers have jointly formulated standards for global observation and research on dryland areas， as well as carried out case studies of dryland ecosystem protection in different regions.
　　The project will collaborate with the United Nations Environment Program and the Alliance of International Science Organization in establishing a database for dryland ecosystem management.

Crime Crackdown

China has achieved significant results in its national crackdown on gang-related crime， with more than 3，600 mafia-like groups arrested over the past three years， 1.3 times the total of arrests made in the previous decade， Xinhua News Agency reported on March 28.
　　Additionally， a further 89，742 cases involving gang crime-related corruption and“protective umbrellas” that shield gangs were handled nationwide， according to official statistics.
　　In the past three years， Chinese courts have concluded 32，943 gang-related first instance cases， involving more than 220，000 suspects. A total of 53，405 defendants in connected cases were given sentences ranging from no less than fiveyear imprisonment to the death penalty.
　　Ever since China first launched its campaign targeting gang crime in 2018， the country has strived to fight this type of crime through a series of actions， including but not limited to the adoption of legal policies and the creation of a tip-off platform.
　　According to a poll conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics in the first half of 2020， 95.1 percent of the Chinese people are satisfied with the results of the country’s special campaign.

Back to Nature

　　Over 3，000 captive-bred sturgeons were released into the middle reaches of the Yangtze River on March 28 to revive the wild population of the endangered Chinese sturgeon and Dabry’s sturgeon.
　　The release of 2，020 Chinese sturgeons and 1，000 Dabry’s sturgeons took place in the city of Jingzhou， Hubei Province.
　　In recent years， China has stepped up efforts to rescue the Dabry’s sturgeon and other endangered fish species in the river， such as the Chinese sturgeon， Wei Qi of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences that jointly launched the event， said.
　　Dabry’s sturgeon， also known as the Yangtze sturgeon， has lost its natural ability to reproduce since 2000 due to overfishing and overcrowding on the river， among others. Nicknamed “aquatic pandas，”Chinese sturgeons are thought to have existed for more than 140 million years. The size of their population in the Yangtze， however， plummeted in the late 20th century due to intrusive human activity. 　　According to Wei， about 7 million captive-bred Chinese sturgeons have been released into the Yangtze River since 1983.

Memorial Hall

Tibet Autonomous Region on March 28 opened its first memorial hall on the historic movement to end serfdom 62 years ago.
　　On March 28， 1959， the Communist Party of China （CPC） led the people of Tibet to launch democratic reform， abolishing Tibet’s theocratic feudal serfdom.
　　In 2009， the regional legislature announced March 28 as the day to commemorate the emancipation of 1 million serfs.
　　The memorial hall displays both photos and items from the serfdom era， including torture instruments and ritual artifacts made from serfs’ bones and skin， as well as those recording the democratic reform and serfs’ new lives.
　　“We hope the display can help visitors better understand Tibet’s past and present， remember history and cherish today’s good life，” Li Hua， an employee at the hall， said.

New Cub

A breeder takes care of a baby sloth at the Hefei aquarium in Hefei， capital of Anhui Province， on March 30. The sloth， born on February 27 this year， was shown to the public after being reared privately for one month. It is the first naturally born sloth in an artificial feeding environment in Anhui.

Figure Skating

China secured five spots for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 after achieving good results at the Figure Skating World Championships， which concluded in Stockholm on March 27.
　　China’s PyeongChang Olympic runners-up Sui Wenjing and Han Cong took silver at the world championships， while Peng Cheng and Jin Yang came in fifth， both qualifying for the Beijing Games. China still has a chance to take one more spot in pairs at the 2021 Nebelhorn Trophy.
　　Chen Hongyi finished 21st in the women’s event， and Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu took 13th place in ice dance.
　　In the men’s competition， veteran Yan Han obtained 13th place， qualifying for Beijing 2022， while two-time world bronze medalist Jin Boyang failed to secure another spot， finishing in 22nd place.
　　The 10 Olympic places for the team event will be determined at the 2021-22 Grand Prix Series.

In Full Blossom

Tourists take photos during the 19th peach blossom festival in Nyingchi， Tibet Autonomous Region， on March 28.

Bond Inclusion

FTSE Russell， a global multi-asset index provider， confirmed on March 30 that Chinese government bonds are to be included in the FTSE World Government Bond Index （WGBI） at the end of October. 　　According to a statement by the company， China’s WGBI inclusion will occur over a period of 36 months to ensure an orderly transition for markets and investors.
　　“This confirmation is based on affirmation with members of the FTSE Russell advisory committees and other index users that ongoing reforms to the Chinese government bond market warrant inclusion in the WGBI，” the statement said.
　　Chris Woods， head of policy and governance at FTSE Russell， said， “We commend China on the great progress it has made in market reforms and look forward to the phased addition of Chinese government bonds to the WGBI.”
　　During the semi-annual index review in March， FTSE Russell added China A Shares to the FTSE Mandatory Provident Fund （MPF） Index Series， the core equity benchmarks used by the MPF industry， for the first time.
　　FTSE Russell is a wholly owned subsidiary of London Stock Exchange Group （LSEG） and is a unit of LSEG’s information services division.

CMIM Amendment

The amended Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization（CMIM） agreement， a regional financing deal， came into effect on March 31， according to the People’s Bank of China （PBC）， the central bank.
　　The CMIM agreement is jointly signed by member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations （ASEAN）， China， Japan and the Republic of Korea（ASEAN+3） and the Monetary Authority of China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
　　The amended agreement institutionalizes the use of members’ local currencies in addition to the U.S. dollar， for CMIM financing on a voluntary and demand-driven basis， the PBC said in a statement.
　　The amendment increases the International Monetary Fund de-linked portion from 30 percent to 40 percent of each member’s maximum arrangement amount， the statement said， adding that it also addressed other technical issues， including revisions related to the London Interbank Offered Rate reform.
　　The new deal serves to further enhance the CMIM， which is an essential part of the regional financial safety net of the ASEAN+3， making it more effective and operationally ready for member economies， according to the PBC.

SOE Profits

　　State-owned enterprises （SOEs） registered robust growth in the first two months of the year despite low base effects， the Ministry of Finance （MOF） said on March 30.
　　The combined profits of SOEs rose 150 percent year on year to 548.94 billion yuan（$83.92 billion） during the January-February period， MOF data showed. 　　The growth rate offsetting base effects came in at 10.2 percent. This refers to the two-year average growth rate based on the figure from the same period in 2019， due to a low comparison base last year， the ministry said.
　　SOEs saw their total revenue surge 33.7 percent year on year to over 10.19 trillion yuan （$1.5 trillion） in the two months， an 8.2-percent growth offsetting base effects.
　　SOEs’ debt-to-asset ratio came in at 64.3 percent at the end of February， flat with the level seen during the same period of last year.

Loan Demands

The overall loan demand index hit 77.5 percent in the first quarter of the year （Q1）， up 5.9 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2020 （Q4）， a report by the PBC showed.
　　The Q1 loan demand subindices for the sectors including manufacturing， infrastructure and wholesale and retail all rose from the Q4 levels， according to the PBC’s banker survey report.
　　It showed increased confidence among bankers in China’s economy in Q1， with their macroeconomic heat index reaching 42.4 percent， up 8.8 percentage points from the previous quarter.
　　Entrepreneurs also showed greater enthusiasm for China’s economic development， according to the PBC’s entrepreneur survey report.
　　In Q1， the entrepreneur macroeconomic heat index stood at 38.9 percent， up 4.5 percentage points from Q4 and up 26.5 percentage points from the same period last year， the report said.

CA Surplus

China reported a current account（CA） surplus of $274 billion in 2020 as the economy recovered amid effective epidemic control， according to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on March 26.
　　Trade in goods posted a surplus of $515 billion， while trade in services saw a deficit of $145.3 billion. The capital and financial account recorded a deficit of$105.8 billion.
　　By the end of 2020， China’s net external financial assets stood at $2.15 trillion.

Renewable Energy

The installed capacity of renewable energy power generation totaled 930 million kw by the end of 2020， accounting for 42.4 percent of the national total， Zhang Jianhua， head of the National Energy Administration， told a press conference on March 30.
　　China’s installed capacity of hydropower generation has ranked first globally for 16 consecutive years， while its installed capacity for wind and photovoltaic power generation has led the world for 11 and six consecutive years， respectively， Zhang said. 　　Last year， renewable energy use came in at 680 million tons of standard coal equivalent in the country. This helped reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide， sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide by about 1.79 billion tons， 864，000 tons and 798，000 tons， respectively.
　　Power generated by renewable energy sources hit 2.2 trillion kWh in China last year， accounting for 29.5 percent of the total electricity consumption， up 9.5 percentage points from 2012， he said.
　　Zhang added that more efforts will be made to accelerate wind and solar power generation， enhance hydropower generation according to local conditions and actively promote the orderly generation of nuclear power while ensuring safety.
　　Meanwhile， stricter energy consumption standards will be adopted to support and promote the use of non-fossil energy and change energy use in key sectors and areas， such as industry， construction and transport， he said.

NUMBERS