Podcasts about state administration

China fired off a sweeping package of robust countermeasures on Friday—including a 34 percent tariff hike and rare earth export controls—in response to the latest round of sweeping tariffs adopted by the administration of United States President Donald Trump.上周五，中国推出了一系列强有力的反制措施，包括提高34%的关税和稀土出口管制，以回应美国总统唐纳德·特朗普政府采取的最新一轮大规模关税。More forceful and precise counterstrikes are still in Beijing's pocket if Washington persists with its unilateral trade bullying, several sources confirmed to China Daily.据多位消息人士向《中国日报》证实，如果华盛顿方面继续单边贸易霸凌，北京方面仍有可能采取更强力、更精准的反击措施。As approved by the State Council, the country's Cabinet, China will impose an additional 34 percent tariff on all US-origin imports starting on April 10. Simultaneously, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs announced immediate export restrictions on seven key medium to heavy rare earth elements, as China Daily first reported on Thursday.经国务院批准，中国将从4月10日起对所有原产于美国的进口产品征收34%的额外关税。据《中国日报》周四率先报道，商务部和海关总署同时宣布立即对七种关键的中重稀土元素实施出口限制。These elements—samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium—are crucial elements for manufacturing key products used in semiconductor, defense, aerospace and green energy.这些元素——钐、钆、铽、镝、镥、钪和钇——是制造半导体、国防、航空航天和绿色能源所用关键产品的关键元素。Citing their dual-use nature in both military and civilian industries, a spokesman for the Commerce Ministry said: "Imposing export controls on them is a common international practice. As a responsible major country, China's decision to regulate these items reflects its consistent position of firmly safeguarding world peace and regional stability."商务部发言人表示，这些元素涉及军民两用领域，“实施出口管制是国际通行做法。中国作为负责任大国，决定对这些产品实施管制，体现了坚定维护世界和平和地区稳定的一贯立场。”Other measures include filing a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization over the US' "reciprocal tariffs", launching an industry competitiveness investigation and an anti-dumping investigation regarding imported medical CT tubes from the US and India, adding 16 US entities to the export control list and 11 US companies to the unreliable entity list, and canceling import qualifications for certain US companies.其他措施还包括就美国“对等关税”向世界贸易组织提起诉讼、启动产业竞争力调查以及对原产于美国和印度的进口医用CT射线管发起反倾销调查、将16家美国实体列入出口管制名单、将11家美国公司列入不可靠实体名单、取消部分美资企业的进口资格等。Tu Xinquan, dean of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said that such rapid, intensive and multi-pronged countermeasures are unprecedented in the world's history, proving that China will not sit back amid unilateral bullying tariffs.对外经济贸易大学中国世界贸易组织研究院院长屠新泉表示，如此迅速、密集、多管齐下的反制措施在世界历史上前所未有，表明中国不会坐视单边霸凌关税的威胁。"This isn't just tit-for-tat. These countermeasures, including both tariff and nontariff measures, aim to directly hit the weak spots of the US to make it feel the real pain," said Tu.“这不仅仅是针锋相对，这些包括关税和非关税措施的反制措施，都是要直击美国的薄弱环节，让其真正感受到痛点。”屠新泉说。Bai Ming, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said that China, as the world's second-largest economy, has taken the lead in resisting US trade protectionism.中国商务部国际贸易经济合作研究院研究员白明表示，中国作为世界第二大经济体，在抵制美国贸易保护主义方面走在了前列。"These countermeasures are not only to protect China's own interests, but also to safeguard the stable operation of the global trading system," he emphasized.“这些反制措施不仅是为了维护中国自身的利益，也是为了维护全球贸易体系的稳定运行。”他强调。The State Administration for Market Regulation, China's top market regulator, also announced on Friday night that it has launched an investigation into DuPont China, a subsidiary of the US company DuPont, for suspected monopolisticpractices in violation of China's Anti-Monopoly Law.中国国家市场监督管理总局周五晚间宣布，已对美国杜邦公司旗下的杜邦中国有限公司展开调查，理由是其涉嫌违反中国《反垄断法》的垄断行为。All of the moves came after China, a major trading partner of the US, was hit with a 34 percent so-called reciprocal tariff by the Trump administration on Wednesday, in addition to a 20 percent tariff imposed earlier this year.这一系列举措是在中国这一美国主要贸易伙伴遭到特朗普政府周三加征所谓34%的“对等关税”之后采取的，此前美国已在今年早些时候对中国加征了20%的关税。Further counterstrikes could include tightening export controls on more critical raw materials vital for US high-tech manufacturing, new energy transformation and defense projects, and further escalating the blocking of key technologies used in extracting and processing strategic minerals, said two sources close to the matter, who asked for anonymity.两位要求匿名的知情人士表示，进一步的反击措施可能包括加强对美国高科技制造、新能源转型和国防项目至关重要的原材料的出口管制，并进一步加大对战略矿产开采和加工关键技术的封锁。China accounts for at least 85 percent of rare earth refining, 77 percent of cobalt refining, 82 percent of tungsten production, 80 percent of antimony processing capacity, and 90 percent of the world's synthetic graphite production. These are all critical materials for defense, new energy batteries, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing.中国占全球稀土精炼产能的至少85%，钴精炼产能的77%，钨产量的82%，锑加工产能的80%，以及人造石墨产量的90%。这些都是国防、新能源电池、半导体和先进制造业的关键材料。Beyond nontariff measures, China could still adopt additional tariffs on certain US products, particularly agricultural goods. Having already imposed tariffs on key US farm products, China is weighing further increases, another source added.除了非关税措施外，中国还可能对某些美国产品，特别是农产品征收额外关税。另一位消息人士补充说，中国已经对美国主要农产品征收关税，并正在考虑进一步提高关税。Chen Wenling, former chief economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said, "China could follow the cases of countries like Canada and levy tariffs on US products in a high range of 250 percent to 390 percent according to different situations."中国国际经济交流中心前首席经济学家陈文玲表示：“中国可以效仿加拿大等国家的做法，根据不同情况对美国产品征收250%至390%的高额关税。”The latest tariff from the Trump administration is provoking a strong global reaction.特朗普政府的最新关税政策引发了全球强烈反应。International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned that the sweeping tariffs presented "a significant risk to the global outlook at a time of sluggish growth".国际货币基金组织总裁克里斯塔利娜·格奥尔基耶娃警告称，在经济增长乏力的背景下，这种大规模关税举措“给全球前景带来重大风险”。Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization, expressed deep concern on Thursday over the decline in global trade and the potential for an escalating tariff war sparked by US tariff measures. Iweala said in a statement that the US tariff measures will have "substantial implications for global trade and economic growth prospects".世界贸易组织总干事恩戈齐·奥孔乔-伊维拉周四对全球贸易下滑以及美国关税措施引发关税战升级的可能性表示深切担忧。伊维拉在一份声明中表示，美国关税措施将“对全球贸易和经济增长前景产生重大影响”。Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, has said that AmCham China is not in favor of widespread tariffs, and it advocates constructive dialogue and policy predictability to reduce volatility in trade relations.中国美国商会会长迈克尔·哈特表示，中国美国商会不赞成大规模征收关税，主张建设性对话和政策可预测性，以减少贸易关系的波动。Quoting a report from the chamber that more than half of its member companies said they plan to increase investments in China this year, he said that ensuring that businesses can operate competitively and with greater certainty benefits both countries' economies and supports global economic stability.他援引商会的一份报告称，超过一半的会员公司表示计划今年增加对华投资，他说，确保企业能够更具竞争力和确定性地运营，有利于两国经济，并支持全球经济稳定。Oliver Zipse, board chairman of BMW, said: "Economic growth thrives through opening, not closing. The increase of protectionist behavior will not create winners, but will result in a situation where everyone is going to lose prosperity. At BMW, we strongly oppose tariffs or other trade barriers."宝马集团董事长奥利弗·齐普策表示：“经济增长靠的是开放，而不是封闭。保护主义行为的增加不会创造赢家，而会导致所有人都失去繁荣。宝马坚决反对关税或其他贸易壁垒。”unilateraladj.单边的multi-prongedadj.多管齐下的tit-for-tat针锋相对monopolistic practicen.垄断行为trade barrier贸易壁垒

China will impose additional tariffs ranging from 10 to 15 percent on US products, and launch an anti-monopoly probe into Google Inc, as well as other trade measures amid growing trade tensions with the United States.随着中美贸易关系日益紧张，中国将对美国产品加征10%至15%的额外关税，并对谷歌公司启动反垄断调查，同时还将采取其他贸易措施。An additional 15 percent tariff will be imposed on coal and liquefied natural gas imports from the US, as well as an additional 10 percent tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement automobiles and pickup trucks, starting on Feb 10, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said on Tuesday.2月4日，国务院关税税则委员会表示，自2月10日起，中国将对从美国进口的煤炭、液化天然气加征15%的额外关税，对原油、农业机械、大排量汽车、皮卡加征10%的额外关税。The move followed the US announcement that it would impose an additional 10 percent tariff on goods imported from China.此举是在美国宣布将对从中国进口的商品加征10%的额外关税之后作出的。The Finance Ministry said the unilateral imposition of tariffs by the US seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization, fails to solve the US' own problems, and undermines normal economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.财政部表示，美方单边加征关税的做法严重违反世界贸易组织规则，不仅无益于解决自身问题，也对中美正常经贸合作造成破坏。"The additional tariffs announced by China will cast a shadow on a significant number of US companies. Once a US company withdraws from the Chinese market due to tariff pressures, the obstacles in terms of reestablishing a presence can be substantial," said Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.商务部国际贸易经济合作研究院高级研究员周密指出：“中国宣布加征额外关税将给大量美国公司带来阴影。一旦某个美国公司因关税压力而退出中国市场，它想重新进入市场将会面临巨大阻碍。”Zhou added that the attractiveness of the Chinese market remains a powerful draw for those US companies, prompting calls for Beijing and Washington to engage in open and constructive discussions and find a path forward that addresses the concerns of the businesses of both sides while upholding their respective economic interests.周密还表示，中国市场对这些美国公司来说仍然具有强大吸引力，这促使北京和华盛顿进行开放性和建设性讨论，找到一条既能解决双方企业关切又能维护各自经济利益的前进道路。US President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Monday that he planned to speak with the Chinese leadership in the next 24 hours about tariffs, and Trump also said the 10 percent planned tariffs were just "an opening salvo".2月3日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在接受《华尔街日报》采访时表示，他计划在未来24小时内与中国领导人就关税问题进行讨论，并称计划加征的10%关税只是“初步行动”。As trade tensions with the US escalate, China has filed a lawsuit with the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism to defend its legitimate rights and interests. China firmly opposes the US approach and urges the US to immediately correct its wrong practices, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday.随着中美贸易紧张局势的升级，中国为捍卫自身合法权益，已向世界贸易组织争端解决机制提起诉讼。2月4日，商务部表示，中方对美方做法坚决反对，敦促美方立即纠正错误做法。China has also announced a group of export control policies on key minerals. The Ministry of Commerce said that since Tuesday, it has added tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium-related items to the export control list.中国还宣布了一系列针对关键矿产的出口管制政策。商务部表示，自2月4日起，将钨、碲、铋、钼、铟相关物项纳入出口管制清单。The Commerce Ministry also put US clothing company PVH Corp and biotechnology company Illumina Inc on its unreliable entity list. China will take corresponding measures against the two companies in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.商务部还将美国服装公司PVH集团和生物技术公司因美纳公司列入不可靠实体清单，并表示将依据相关法律法规对这两家公司采取相应措施。"The two companies violate normal market trading principles, interrupt normal transactions with Chinese enterprises, take discriminatory measures against Chinese companies and seriously damage the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese firms," the ministry said in a statement.商务部在一份声明中表示：“这两家公司违反正常的市场交易原则，中断与中国企业的正常交易，对中国企业采取歧视性措施，严重损害中国企业合法权益。”The State Administration for Market Regulation, China's top market regulator, said on Tuesday that it has initiated an investigation into US tech giant Google Inc for suspected violations of China's Anti-Monopoly Law.2月4日，中国国家市场监督管理总局表示，已对美国科技巨头谷歌公司涉嫌违反《中华人民共和国反垄断法》展开立案调查。Luo Zhiheng, chief economist at Yuekai Securities, said China should resort to effective countermeasures against any tariff threats by the White House, while optimizing domestic policies and anchoring market expectations.粤开证券首席经济学家罗志恒表示，中国应针对白宫提出的任何关税威胁采取有效反制措施，同时优化国内政策、稳定市场预期。"Based on the experiences gained during the first Trump administration, China can utilize measures such as imposing additional tariffs and export controls to counter trade threats from the US," Luo said.罗志恒说：“参考特朗普第一任政府期间的经验，中国可以采取加征额外关税和出口管制等措施来应对美国的贸易威胁。”He added that China should continue to broaden the list of sanctioned goods and entities, and increase Beijing's negotiation leverage with Washington.他还表示，中国应继续扩大商品和实体清单制裁范围，并增加北京与华盛顿的谈判筹码。Given heightened global uncertainties, China should scale up the intensity of its fiscal and monetary policies, actively expand domestic demand to counter any potential downturns in external demand, and steadily push forward high-level opening-up, expand networks with trade partners and diversify its trade portfolios, Luo said.罗志恒认为，鉴于全球不确定性上升，中国应加大财政货币政策的力度，积极扩大内需以对冲外需可能的下滑，同时稳步推进高水平对外开放，扩大中国的贸易“朋友圈”，大力拓展对外贸易多元化。discriminatoryadj.歧视的，区别对待的

The State Administration for Market Regulation says the number of registered business entities in China rose over three percent to nearly 190 million by the end of 2024.

No one should question China's resolve to continue to promote high-quality opening-up through the rule of law. It is mainly thanks to the consistent legislative efforts China has made over the years to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of foreign enterprises that the country has turned itself into one of the world's top destinations for foreign direct investment.任何人都不应质疑中国继续用法治推进高质量开放的决心。中国发展成为全球外商直接投资首选地之一，得益于多年来中国不断通过立法维护在华外企合法权益。Those who want to use the antitrust probe the Chinese authorities have launched into US chipmaker Nvidia as a pretext to point an accusing finger at China for allegedly politicizing the business environment for foreign companies are not only turning a blind eye to the facts of the case, but also taking a double standard when it comes to antitrust scrutiny.那些想以中国当局对美国芯片企业英伟达发起反垄断调查为借口，指责中国涉嫌将外国公司的商业环境政治化的人，不仅无视了事实，还在反垄断调查上持双重标准。The investigation that China's top market regulator initiated on Monday into Nvidia for suspected monopolistic behaviors has caught a lot of media attention given the high-profile position the company holds as the world's leading chip producer and a key player driving the artificial intelligence revolution.12月9日，中国国家市场监管总局对英伟达涉嫌垄断行为的调查引起了媒体的广泛关注。英伟达作为全球芯片行业巨头，在推动全球AI革命中扮演着关键角色。While much of the Western media have portrayed the probe as a tactical move in the Sino-US trade war ahead of the new US administration taking office or tried to link it with what they hype up as intensified geopolitical rivalry focused on a battle for AI dominance between the two countries, the actual reason is more prosaic. According to the State Administration for Market Regulation, Nvidia is suspected of violating China's Anti-Monopoly Law, as well as the commitments it made in 2020 after it acquired Israeli chip manufacturer Mellanox Technologies in 2019.多家西方媒体报道称，在美国新政府上台前对英伟达展开调查，是中国对中美贸易战采取的一项战术性措施；还有媒体试图对此进行炒作，称调查与中美两国争夺AI发展主导权而导致地缘竞争日渐激烈有关。然而，真正原因很简单：据中国国家市场监管总局，英伟达涉嫌违反《反垄断法》及其于2020年完成收购以色列芯片企业迈络思科技时的承诺。The merger further strengthened Nvidia's market dominance in the semiconductor field, which might have the effect of excluding or restricting competition in the global and Chinese markets for GPU accelerator, dedicated network interconnection equipment and high-speed Ethernet adapter. Nvidia therefore submitted to China some measures to resolve the competition problems making clear commitments, including that it should continue to supply Nvidia GPU accelerators, Mellanox high-speed network interconnection equipment and related software and accessories to the Chinese market after the deal, based on "fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory principles". After that, China approved the transaction.英伟达收购迈络思，进一步巩固了英伟达在半导体行业的领导地位。此项集中对全球及中国GPU加速器、专用网络互联设备、高速以太网适配器市场，具有或可能具有排除、限制竞争效果。为此，英伟达提交了解决该交易带来竞争问题的措施，作出了明确承诺，其中就包括交易双方和集中后实体“应依据公平、合理、无歧视原则”向中国市场继续供应英伟达GPU加速器、迈络思高速网络互联设备和相关软件、配件。经评估，中国国家市场监管总局批准了该交易。Yet, Nvidia has stopped supplying a number of GPU accelerator products to China in recent years on the grounds of the US government's export controls. This action has infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of relevant Chinese enterprises. Therefore, it is not surprising that Nvidia is under investigation for allegedly violating antitrust laws. Article 46 of the Anti-Monopoly Law stipulates that antitrust enforcement agencies are authorized to investigate and take action against suspected monopolistic behaviors. Effectively implementing the conditions attached to the merger approval is both a proactive commitment from Nvidia and a legal obligation.但近年来，英伟达以美国政府不断扩大半导体出口管制为由，陆续停止了多款GPU加速器产品对中国的供应，侵害了中国相关企业合法权益。英伟达涉嫌违反《反垄断法》规定，对其立案调查也在意料之中。《反垄断法》第四十六条规定，反垄断执法机构依法对涉嫌垄断行为进行调查。有效执行审查决定附加的限制性条件，既是英伟达的主动承诺，也成为了其法定义务。In fact, Nvidia is also facing an antitrust investigation in the United States, as the Justice Department is looking into claims that Nvidia is potentially cornering the market and pressuring its customers to unfairly retain business. That includes allegations of Nvidia threatening to punish those who buy products from both itself and its competitors at the same time. The European Union's antitrust regulators are also investigating Nvidia for possible unfair sales practices.事实上，英伟达在美国也面临反垄断调查。美国司法部正对英伟达展开了反垄断调查，评估英伟达是否垄断市场，阻止客户使用竞品。有指控称，英伟达威胁客户，若同时从英伟达及其竞争对手购入商品，将受到惩罚。同时，欧盟反垄断监管机构也在调查英伟达可能存在的不公平销售行为。That Nvidia has so far responded in a low-key way—saying only "we are happy to answer any questions regulators may have about our business"—points to the confidence it has in China's legal environment. Actually, the company has taken China as one of its key global markets, with about 16 percent of its revenue coming from the country, second only to its US-generated revenue, according to data firm FactSet. Nvidia's Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang has called China "a very important market for the technology industry", and warned there would be "enormous damage" to the US companies if they were unable to trade with China.迄今，英伟达低调回应此次反垄断调查，表示：“我们很乐意回答监管机构对我们业务提出的任何疑问”，显示出对中国法治化营商环境的信心。实际上，英伟达已将中国视为其重要国际市场之一，据FactSet的数据显示，英伟达约16%的收入来自中国，仅次于美国。英伟达CEO黄仁勋曾表示，中国市场“对科技产业非常重要”，并警告称，若无法与中国贸易，美国企业将遭受“巨大损失”。China has made it one of its top priorities to attract and use foreign investment. That it attracted 1.13 trillion yuan ($158.7 billion) in foreign investment in 2023, the third-highest in history, as compared with 941.52 billion yuan in 2019, is an indication that the country still enjoys strong competitiveness in the global investment market.中国把吸引和利用外资作为政策重点之一。2023年，中国实际使用外资金额为1.13万亿元人民币（约1587亿美元），处于历史第三高，与2019年的9415.2亿元相比，表明中国在全球投资市场上仍享有强大竞争力。Contrary to any attempts to use the Nvidia investigation as a means to discredit China's efforts to create a level playing field for foreign businesses, the probe shows that China's business environment operates under the law. As it has affirmed on many occasions, the country will continue to develop a market-oriented, legalized and internationalized first-class business environment in which foreign companies can enter the Chinese market and share the country's development dividends.对英伟达展开反垄断调查，不仅不能抹煞中国为在华外企营造公平竞争环境的努力，反而凸显出中国法治化的营商环境。正如中国在各种场合多次重申的那样，中国将继续营造市场化、法治化、国际化一流营商环境，欢迎外企来华，共享中国发展红利。prosaicadj.乏味的;平淡无奇的hypen.（新闻媒体的）大肆宣传，炒作dividendn.红利，股息

US equity markets declined ahead of the latest inflation figures tonight AEST - Dow retreated for a fourth straight session, down -154-points or -0.35%. Nvidia Corp fell -2.69%, extending its two-day slide to over >5% after China's State Administration for Market Regulation said it was investigating the company over possible violations of the country's antimonopoly law, opening an investigation into the chipmaker in relation to the acquisition of Mellanox and some agreements made during the acquisition. Nvidia's revenue in China totalled US$13.5B in the past four quarters, accounting for ~12% of its global total, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Caterpillar Inc (-2.72%) and Merck & Co Inc (-2.69%) both fell over >2.5%. Boeing Co rallied +4.50% after the aerospace giant said it had restarted production of its 737 MAX jets. Production was paused for more than 12 weeks because of a seven-week labour strike that began in mid-September and settled in early November.

US equity markets declined ahead of the latest inflation figures tonight AEST - Dow retreated for a fourth straight session, down -154-points or -0.35%.  Nvidia Corp fell  -2.69%, extending its two-day slide to over >5% after China's State Administration for Market Regulation said it was investigating the company over possible violations of the country's antimonopoly law, opening an investigation into the chipmaker in relation to the acquisition of Mellanox and some agreements made during the acquisition. Nvidia's revenue in China totalled US$13.5B in the past four quarters, accounting for ~12% of its global total, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Caterpillar Inc (-2.72%) and Merck & Co Inc (-2.69%) both fell over >2.5%. Boeing Co rallied +4.50% after the aerospace giant said it had restarted production of its 737 MAX jets. Production was paused for more than 12 weeks because of a seven-week labour strike that began in mid-September and settled in early November.

US equity markets retreated, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq pulling back from record closing highs set last Friday (6 December) - Dow fell -241-points or -0.54%, with International Business Machines (IBM) Corp (down 3.38%) and Travelers Companies (-3.53%) both down over >3%.  Nvidia Corp fell  -2.55% after China's State Administration for Market Regulation said it was investigating the company over possible violations of the country's antimonopoly law, opening an investigation into the chipmaker in relation to the acquisition of Mellanox and some agreements made during the acquisition.

US equity markets retreated, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq pulling back from record closing highs set last Friday (6 December) - Dow fell -241-points or -0.54%, with International Business Machines (IBM) Corp (down 3.38%) and Travelers Companies (-3.53%) both down over >3%. Nvidia Corp fell -2.55% after China's State Administration for Market Regulation said it was investigating the company over possible violations of the country's antimonopoly law, opening an investigation into the chipmaker in relation to the acquisition of Mellanox and some agreements made during the acquisition.

China will implement a batch of policies, including those addressing financing and credit, to support small and micro-sized enterprises, platform firms and unicorns, so as to help them expand business and unleash vitality, it was announced on Monday at a conference by the State Council, the nation's Cabinet.10月14日，国新办举行新闻发布会，宣布中国将实施一系列融资信贷等政策，支持小微企业、平台企业和独角兽企业发展，帮助它们拓展市场、释放活力。Buoyed by such signals of support for the private sector, share prices rose in China on Monday. The CSI 300, an index of large companies traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen, closed 1.9 percent higher. The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's Nasdaq-style board of growing and emerging enterprises, gained 2.6 percent.受这些支持民营经济信号的提振，14日，中国股市上涨。沪深300指数收盘涨1.9%，追踪中国版纳斯达克成长型和新兴企业的创业板指涨2.6%。Luo Wen, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation, the country's top market regulator, said that the country will work to introduce innovative quality financing and credit enhancement policies to ease financing challenges for SMSEs.国家最高市场监管部门——国家市场监督管理总局局长罗文表示，中国将创新实施质量融资增信政策，帮助缓解小微企业融资困难问题。Under such policies, financial institutions will factor in a company's quality management and brand reputation when issuing loans. Together with equity, funds and bond-based financing tools, the country aims to generate a credit enhancement and financing quota of 300 billion yuan ($42 billion) each year, Luo said.罗文介绍，根据这些政策，金融机构在发放贷款时将考虑企业的质量管理和品牌信誉。股权、基金、债券等融资工具组合发力，国家每年可以实现质量融资增信授信额度3000亿元。Luo emphasized that the SAMR will roll out a guideline to guide platform operators to help merchants on the platform enhance brand awareness, increase market transactions and harness traffic.罗文强调，市场监管总局将出台指导意见，引导平台企业帮助其平台上的商户提升品牌知名度、增加市场交易量和利用流量。It will help businesses, especially new entrants, agricultural firms and some unique companies on the platform, to enhance their ability to utilize online traffic more efficiently and tap into larger audiences, he added.罗文补充，这将帮助企业商户提高流量利用效率、挖掘更多受众，尤其是对新入驻经营主体、农产品经营主体和特色经营主体。Beyond SMSE support, Wang Jiangping, vice-minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said the ministry will collaborate with the China Securities Regulatory Commission to launch the third batch of specialized boards for "little giant" companies in regional equity markets.工业和信息化部副部长王江平表示，除了扶持小微企业，工信部将联合证监会推出第三批区域性股权市场“专精特新”专板以支持“小巨人”企业。Little giant companies refer to small and medium-sized enterprises that typically specialize in niche sectors, command high market shares and boast strong innovative capacity. By the end of June this year, China had cultivated 12,000 such enterprises. 所谓“小巨人”企业，是指专注于细分领域、市场占有率高、创新能力强的中小型企业。截至今年6月底，中国已培育了1.2万家这样的企业。The ministry also plans to sign a strategic cooperation agreement with the Beijing Stock Exchange to further streamline financing channels for these firms, Wang said.王江平补充，工信部还计划与北交所签订战略合作协议，进一步畅通专精特新中小企业资本市场融资渠道。At the conference on Monday, Wang said that China is also placing a greater emphasis on developing unicorn companies — startups valued at over $1 billion — in emerging high-tech fields such as 6G and brain-computer interfaces.在14日的新闻发布会上，王江平表示，中国也将更加重视独角兽企业（即估值超过10亿美元的初创企业）在6G、脑机接口等新兴高科技领域的发展。He said a nationwide unified system will be established to coordinate the development of unicorn companies between the central government and provincial government levels.王江平补充，为推动支持我国独角兽企业发展，将建立全国统一、部省联动的独角兽企业培育体系。Unicorn companies will be supported in technological innovation, and will be encouraged and guided to address national strategic needs and master unique, proprietary technologies, Wang said, adding that more efforts will be made to increase financial backing for these unicorns, including support for public listings, mergers and acquisitions, to accelerate their growth.支持独角兽企业技术创新，鼓励和引导独角兽企业围绕国家战略需求开展技术攻关，掌握更多的“独门绝技”。加大对独角兽企业的金融支持，包括支持独角兽企业上市、并购、重组等。Despite China's growing unicorns, the country still lags behind the United States in terms of the overall number, according to the Hurun Research Institute. Last year, China had 340 unicorns while the US had 700.胡润研究院称，尽管中国的独角兽企业不断增加，但就总体数量而言，中国仍落后于美国。去年，中国有340家独角兽企业，而美国有700家。Wang Peng, a senior researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said that encouraging SMSEs, platform firms and unicorn companies are part of broader efforts to spur the private sector, which is of great significance to counter the current global economic slowdown. 北京市社会科学院高级研究员王鹏表示，鼓励支持小微企业、平台企业和独角兽企业是刺激民营经济发展的进一步努力，这对于应对当前全球经济下行具有重要意义。A report on private sector development by the State Council showed that private companies accounted for 92.3 percent of the country's total number of business entities in 2023, a significant increase from 79.4 percent in 2012.国务院关于民营经济发展情况的报告显示，2023年，民营企业占全国企业总数的92.3%，较2012年的79.4%有大幅提高。"The Chinese economy will continue gathering momentum if the private sector, including smaller businesses, remains sound. More importantly, private enterprises stood undoubtedly at the forefront of technological innovations and the digital economy in recent years, especially in fields like new energy, information, communication, biopharmaceuticals and AI," the senior researcher said.“如果包括小型企业在内的民营经济发展稳健，中国经济将继续保持良好发展势头。更重要的是，近年来，民营企业无疑站在了技术创新和数字经济的前沿，尤其是在新能源、信息、通信、生物制药和人工智能等领域。”资深研究员王鹏说。harnessv. 利用proprietaryadj. 独有的；专利的mergern. (企业)合并；并购acquisitionn. 收购

Analysts say decisive policy stance bodes well for investment inflow分析人士称，果断的政策立场是投资流入的好兆头The renminbi rallied to its strongest level in more than a year and Chinese equities continued their rebound on Wednesday, after a potent policy package lifted investors' confidence in the Chinese economy, which is expected to sail through headwinds.25日，人民币汇率升至一年多来的最高水平，中国股市继续反弹。此前，强有力的一揽子政策提振了投资者对中国经济的信心，预计中国经济将逆风前行。Economists, investment banks and asset managers said that policymakers' more decisive stance to shore up the economy, a global interest rate cut cycle, and low asset valuations have combined to make it a potentially good time to invest in Chinese financial assets, which are expected to attract more foreign inflow in the months ahead.经济学者、投资银行和资产管理公司表示，决策者在支撑经济方面采取的更为果断的立场、全球降息周期以及低资产估值等因素结合在一起，使得现在可能成为投资中国金融资产的好时机，预计未来几个月中国金融资产将吸引更多外资流入。However, they cautioned that the forecast may be contingent upon the implementation of further policy support to address economic challenges, with the most urgent priorities being additional fiscal spending to bolster domestic demand and direct funding to alleviate property sector woes.然而，他们提醒，这一预测可能取决于为应对经济挑战而实施的进一步政策支持，目前最紧迫的是增加财政支出以促进国内需求，并提供直接资金以缓解房地产行业的困境。On Wednesday, the renminbi, or Chinese yuan, rose to 6.9951 against the US dollar in the offshore market, up 158 basis points from the previous close and past the 7-per-dollar milestone for the first time in 16 months.25日，离岸人民币对美元汇率升至 6.9951，较前一交易日收盘价涨158个基点，16 个月来首次升破7.0元关口。Guan Tao, global chief economist at BOCI China, said that the renminbi's rally is attributable to both Tuesday's policy release, which strengthened investors' confidence in China's economy, and the US Federal Reserve's interest rate cut last week, which narrowed the yield spreads between US and Chinese bonds.中银证券全球首席经济学家管涛表示，人民币汇率上涨的原因在于24日发布的政策提振了投资者对中国经济的信心，以及美联储上周降息缩小了中美两国国债收益率利差。Looking ahead, Guan said the renminbi is likely to register two-way fluctuations against the dollar, with limited possibility of one-sided, drastic appreciation because uncertainties remain surrounding the Fed's pace of rate cuts, including that the Fed might even reconsider rate hikes if the US economy turns out to be overheated.展望未来，管涛认为，人民币对美元汇率可能会出现双向波动，单边大幅升值的可能性有限，因为美联储的降息步伐仍存在不确定性，如果美国经济过热，美联储甚至可能重新考虑加息。Moreover, the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, is expected to take measures to prevent any renminbi exchange rate overshooting if needed, and has accumulated rich experience in this regard, said Guan, who had served as head of the Balance of Payments Department at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.此外，曾任国家外汇管理局国际收支司司长的管涛表示，中国人民银行作为中国的中央银行，在这方面积累了丰富的经验，预计会在必要时采取措施防止人民币汇率超调。Guan added that in the base case scenario, in which the United States achieves a soft landing while the Fed continues rate cuts, foreign institutions may continue to boost holdings in renminbi-denominated bonds, especially treasury bonds.管涛补充，在美国实现软着陆而美联储继续降息的基本情况下，境外机构可能会继续增持人民币债券，尤其是国债。As of August, overseas institutions' holdings in China's interbank bond market had risen for 12 consecutive months, an increase in foreign holdings of as much as 1.34 trillion yuan ($190.7 billion), according to the PBOC's Shanghai head office.中国人民银行上海总部的数据显示，截至8月份，境外机构已连续12个月增持境内银行间市场债券，累计增持规模高达1.34万亿元人民币（1907亿美元）。Upbeat sentiment乐观的情绪The upbeat sentiment was seen in the A-share market as well. The Shanghai Composite Index went up 1.16 percent to Wednesday's close of 2,896.31 points, extending a jump of 4.15 percent on Tuesday, the biggest rise in about four years.A股市场也出现乐观情绪。上证综指25日收盘涨1.16%，报2896.31点，延续了24日4.15%的涨幅，创下约四年来的最大涨幅。"I believe that this may be a good time to revisit Chinese stocks," said David Chao, global market strategist for the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) at Invesco, a global investment management company.景顺亚太区（日本除外）全球市场策略师赵耀庭表示：“我认为现在可能是重新审视中国股票的好时机。”Chao said China has fired off a meaningful monetary stimulus salvo, which may potentially usher trillions of renminbi in liquidity if fully implemented, sending a strong signal that the government is responding to economic headwinds.赵耀庭认为，中国已经打响了有意义的货币刺激战，如果政策全面实施，可能会释放万亿元流动性，表明政府正在应对经济逆风的强烈信号。Major package一揽子政策On Tuesday, China's top financial regulators unveiled a set of measures that some analysts said might be the country's biggest monetary stimulus package following the pandemic.24日，中国最高金融监管机构公布了一系列措施，一些分析人士认为，这可能是疫情之后中国最大的货币刺激计划。This includes a 20 basis point reduction in the seven-day reverse repo rate, a key policy benchmark of interest rates, as well as a 50 basis point cut to rates on existing mortgages and another 50 basis point cut to the reserve requirement ratio, apart from other steps supportive of the property and stock markets.除了其他支持房地产和股票市场的措施外，该计划还包括将作为主要政策利率的7天期逆回购操作利率下调20个基点，将存量房贷利率下调50个基点，将存款准备金率再下调50个基点。The PBOC started to put the package into action by lowering the one-year medium-term lending facility rate, a policy rate, by 30 basis points to 2 percent on Wednesday.25日，中国人民银行将中期借贷便利利率下调30个基点至2%，开始推动一揽子政策落地实施。A Goldman Sachs report said on Wednesday that the latest stimulus package would be strong enough to catalyze a policy-induced rally in shares listed in Hong Kong and on the Chinese mainland, though it would be unlikely to "turn things around fundamentally".高盛25日的一份报告表示，最新的经济刺激计划足以催化中国香港和中国大陆上市股票的政策性反弹，但不太可能“从根本上扭转局面”。The report said a relending program unveiled on Tuesday will allow listed companies to borrow inexpensive money to shore up stock prices and boost investor sentiment, while the stock stabilization fund that is under policy study, if launched, might help fend off systemic risks in the stock market, as indicated by experiences in other markets.报告称，24日公布的再贷款政策将允许上市公司借入低成本资金，以支撑股价和提振投资者情绪，而正在进行政策研究的股票平准基金如果启动，将有助于抵御股市的系统性风险，其他市场的经验也表明了这一点。While the PBOC introduced two new policy tools aimed at boosting stock market liquidity, the China Securities Regulatory Commission released a guideline on Tuesday to encourage mergers and acquisitions and a draft rule to strengthen listed companies' market capitalization management.在央行推出两项旨在提高股市流动性的新政策工具的同时，中国证监会24日发布了鼓励并购的指导意见和加强上市公司市值管理的规定草案。Yet more could be done, with Goldman Sachs saying that "we would turn more aggressive on A shares when signs of property market stabilization emerge or policy momentum further strengthens".然而，还有更多事情可以做，高盛表示：“当房地产市场出现稳定迹象或政策势头进一步加强时，我们将对A股采取更积极的态度。”Ding Shuang, chief economist for Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered Bank, underlined the importance of beefing up fiscal support, as "monetary easing would be less effective without proactive fiscal policy".渣打银行大中华及北亚区首席经济师丁爽强调了加强财政支持的重要性，因为“如果没有积极的财政政策，宽松货币政策的效果将大打折扣”。It is likely that the government will increase bond issuance to accelerate government spending, Ding said, adding that investor sentiment could improve if policymakers decide to broaden the use of bond proceeds, especially to reduce home inventory.丁爽认为，政府很可能会增加债券发行以加速政府支出。如果决策者决定扩大债券收益的用途，特别是用于房地产去库存，那么投资者的情绪将会有所改善。Ding said that Standard Chartered Bank analysts retain the base case forecast that the renminbi will stay within the range of between 7 and 7.1 against the dollar by the end of the year.丁爽表示，渣打银行分析师维持基本预测，即人民币对美元汇率到今年年底将保持在7至7.1的区间内。bodev．预示；预言rallyv. 反弹，振作；重整；团结fluctuationn. 波动，涨落soft landing软着陆fiscal policy财政政策

This week on Sinica, I chat with Olivia Fu, who this spring completed her year at Schwarzman College and wrote her Capstone project — a research paper that is required of all Schwarzman Scholars — on the rise and fall of the Beijing hip-hop scene. We explore some of the parallels to Beijing's rock scene, and how many of the same factors that stifled rock in Beijing ultimately led to Beijing's relative decline as a hip-hop city. 3:16 – Olivia's background and connection to China, and what drew her to the Schwarzman Program and studying hip-hop6:13 – Olivia's Schwarzman mentor, Paul Pickowicz 7:47 – How Olivia dealt with censorship in her Capstone project 10:24 – The parallels and differences between the hip-hop and rock scenes in China12:27 – The dakou CDs and the origins of the hip-hop scene in China 17:03 – The influences of Japanese and Korean rap and hip-hop and Black American culture18:30 – The importance of studying Beijing hip-hop 23:05 – The spirit of Beijing and societal commentary in Beijing hip-hop 27:38 – The phenomenon of Rap of China 29:50 – The divergence of PG One and GAI, and the regulatory influence of the State Administration on Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television35:13 – Sinifying hip-hop 37:21 – What the burgeoning hip-hop scene in China was like in the early 2000s40:10 – Critiques of the Beijing dialect in rap and the Beijing rap style 45:16 – Iron Mic rap battles and Shanghai, and Chinese hip-hop's critique of the educational system 48:34 – Why Beijing rap declined 59:09 – What's next for Olivia See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What are the spatial factors influencing health inequalities within a socio-economically homogeneous country?Dana Hübelová, Alice Kozumplíková, and colleagues from Mendel University in Brno investigate health disparities across different regions of the Czech Republic. The team explore how economic conditions, social care access, and regional characteristics impact health, and why urban areas don't always have better health indicators than rural regions.Read the original research: doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-01996-2

China's top court is conducting research on livestreaming and other issues related to new purchasing habits to strengthen consumer protection by formulating relevant judicial documents, a senior judge said.一位高级法官表示，中国最高法院正在研究直播和其他与新购买习惯相关的问题，通过制定相关司法文件来加强对消费者的保护。"Our research focuses on livestreaming sales, tipping livestreaming hosts, online booking and personal information protection of consumers," Chen Yifang, chief judge of the Supreme People's Court's No 1 Adjudication Tribunal, told a news briefing on Tuesday.2024年4月9日，最高人民法院第一审判庭庭长陈宜芳在新闻发布会上表示:“我们的研究重点是直播带货、主播打赏、在线预订和消费者个人信息保护。”She said that the research, as well as the formulation of related legal documents and the disclosure of influential cases, are consistent with the country's newly revised regulations concerning consumers.她说，这项研究，以及相关法律文件的制定，以及有影响力的案例的披露，都与国家新修订的有关消费者的规定相一致。The regulations for the Implementation of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, unveiled by the State Council last month, will take effect on July 1.国务院于3月发布的《消费者权益保护法实施条例》将于7月1日起施行。With detailed provisions on obligations of business operators, the regulations respond to major concerns of consumers over the past few years, including those on livestreaming sales, prepaid consumption and personal data protection.该条例详细规定了经营者的义务，回应了过去几年消费者关注的主要问题，包括直播销售、预付费消费和个人数据保护。Chen said the top court is also optimizing adjudication rules related to prepaid consumption, such as how to terminate a contract, whether the refund needs to include interest, and consumer fraud, adding "our aim is to ensure business integrity and safeguard the legitimate rights of consumers."陈宜芳表示，最高法院也在优化与预付费消费相关的裁决规则，例如如何终止合同，退款是否需要包括利息，以及消费者欺诈，并补充说:“我们的目的是确保商业诚信，维护消费者的合法权益。”The country's top market regulator has pledged to tighten inspection of emerging businesses so that they can develop in a healthy manner.国家最高市场监管机构承诺加强对新兴企业的检查，以使它们能够健康发展。Kuang Xu, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation's law enforcement and inspection division, cited data from the past five years as showing that the market size of livestreaming sales increased by 10.5 times, but consumer complaints increased by 47.1 times, which was significantly higher than traditional e-commerce.国家市场监管总局执法稽查局局长况旭引用了过去五年的数据，显示直播销售的市场规模增长了10.5倍，但消费者投诉增加了47.1倍，明显高于传统电子商务。"Selling goods through livestreaming platforms has enriched and innovated our consumption patterns, but it has also made it more difficult for consumers to protect their rights and interests," he said, adding that it is essential to seek a balance in the development and norms of the business.他说:“通过直播平台销售商品丰富和创新了我们的消费模式，但也使消费者更难保护自己的权益。”他补充说，在商业发展和规范中寻求平衡至关重要。He welcomed the newly released regulations, as some provisions can also apply to emerging businesses such as livestreaming e-commerce.他对新发布的规定表示欢迎，因为一些规定也适用于直播电子商务等新兴业务。For example, the regulations stipulate that those who sell products or provide services through the internet, television or telephone must introduce their business content via the home page, video screen, voice call or catalog. The sales platforms also need to disclose to consumers the name, business address and contact information of sellers.例如，《条例》规定，通过互联网、电视或电话销售产品或提供服务的，必须通过主页、视频屏幕、语音呼叫或目录介绍其业务内容。销售平台还需要向消费者披露卖家的名称、营业地址和联系方式。"The provisions mean that operators engaged in livestreaming sales must inform consumers who are selling the products and what goods are being sold to ensure the transparency of the business information," Kuang said.况旭表示:“这些规定意味着，从事直播销售的运营商必须告知正在销售产品的消费者以及正在销售的商品，以确保商业信息的透明度。”The regulations also require livestreaming platforms to establish working systems to help solve consumption-related disputes, with notification of who operates the streaming rooms and who is responsible to consumers.该规定还要求直播平台建立工作制度，以帮助解决与消费相关的纠纷，并通知谁运营流媒体室，谁对消费者负责。Kuang added that the strict management of platforms will be conducive to standardizing livestreaming sales.况旭补充说，对平台的严格管理将有利于规范直播销售。e-commerce电子商务stipulate规定；保证

Authorities have moved to tighten oversight of the rapidly expanding semi-prepared food industry, ironing out definitions of precooked dishes and rolling out rules on the use of additives in the sector to ensure food safety.针对快速扩张的预制菜行业中国政府已采取行动，加强监管力度，明确了预制菜的定义，并推出了行业添加剂使用规则，以确保食品安全。Restaurants are also being encouraged to identify dishes on their menus that include semi-prepared ingredients, a move that experts say will help customers make informed decisions.还鼓励餐厅在菜单标明包含半成品食材的菜肴，专家表示此举将帮助顾客做出明智的决定。The reforms, led by the State Administration for Market Regulation, which oversees product quality and consumer rights, were outlined in a circular issued on Thursday by six government agencies.3月21日，六家政府机构发布通知，介绍了此次预制菜行业改革，此次改革由负责监督产品质量和消费者权利的国家市场监督管理总局牵头。Share prices of companies involved in the semi-prepared food sector fell by an average of 2 percent on the A-share market on Monday because of the strengthened oversight. Industry insiders said the rules were the first to clarify the definition of semi-prepared food and set out safety and quality standards for the multibillion yuan industry.3月25日，由于监管力度加强，A股市场半成品食品公司股价平均下跌2%。业内人士表示，该规定首次明确了半成品食品的定义，并为这个价值数十亿元的行业制定了安全和质量标准。China has more than 70,000 companies making food items that have undergone some preparation but are not fully cooked or ready to eat, according to Xinhua News Agency. Their output value topped 500 billion yuan ($69.4 million) last year and is on track to surpass 1 trillion yuan in a few years, it said.据新华社报道，中国有超过70,000家企业生产经过一定处理但尚未完全煮熟或即食的食品。去年其产值突破5000亿元，并有望在几年内突破1万亿元。The new rules differentiate between semi-prepared food — also known as prepackaged meals — and other food items, such as instant noodles, frozen dumplings and salads. They say semi-prepared food must be a dish that can be consumed after simple preparations such as heating or boiling.新规区将预制食品（也称为预包装食品）和其他食品做了区分，例如方便面、冷冻饺子和沙拉。他们说，预知食品必须是经过简单准备（例如加热或煮沸）后即可食用的菜肴。Experts said makers of frozen foods such as dumplings and hamburgers will no longer be regarded as being semi-prepared food businesses, and will be unable to ignore regulations in their own sector or enjoy preferential policies tailor-made for semi-prepared food makers. They said the generalization of the concept of semi-prepared food had previously created regulatory difficulties.专家表示，饺子、汉堡包等冷冻食品生产企业将不再被视为预制菜企业，要接受其真正所属行业的监管，不能享受针对预制菜生产企业的优惠政策。他们表示，此前预制菜概念的泛化造成了一定监管困难。Zhang Chunhui, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences' Institute of Food Science and Technology, told Xinhua the rules raised the threshold for manufacturers and separated semi-prepared food from other business models, such as those processing and packaging pre-cut uncooked vegetables and meat, or "central kitchens" that prepare and distribute food to satellite kitchens, restaurants, or cafeterias to reduce costs and ensure uniformity.中国农业科学院食品科学技术研究所研究员张春辉告诉新华社，该规定提高了生产企业的门槛，并将半成品食品与其他商业模式分开。后者包括负责加工和包装预切未加工蔬菜和肉类的企业，以及负责准备食物并将其分发到卫星厨房、餐馆和自助餐厅，以降低成本并保证菜品质量的“中央厨房”。In a media release issued on Monday, an unnamed official with the State Administration for Market Regulation said ready-to-eat foods that do not require heating or cooking, as well as cold dishes such as vegetables or fruit salads that can be consumed directly, are not considered semi-prepared dishes. The official said semi-prepared food is an emerging sector that has integrated agriculture, manufacturing and service industries and boasts a sprawling supply chain. It is significant in promoting the deep processing of agricultural products, transforming the food industry, consumer upgrading, entrepreneurship and employment.国家市场监管总局一位官员表示，不需要加热或烹饪的即食食品，以及可以直接食用的蔬菜、水果沙拉等冷菜，不属于预制菜。预制菜行业是集农业、制造业、服务业为一体的新兴产业，拥有庞大的供应链。这对于推动农产品深加工、食品产业转型、消费升级、创业就业具有重要意义。The circular also addressed rising food safety concerns in the sector, where poor quality raw materials and banned food additives are harder to spot after being processed. It said preservatives shall be prohibited in the making of semi-prepared food items, which shall be subject to strict storage conditions related to freezing, refrigeration and sterilization. The use of additives must be strictly controlled, along with the quality of other raw materials.因为劣质原材料和禁用食品添加剂在加工后更难被发现，所以预制菜行业的食品安全问题越来越得到人们的关注。针对这一问题，该通知也做出了相关规定：预制菜制作过程中不得使用防腐剂，应当遵守严格的冷冻、冷藏和灭菌等储存条件。添加剂的使用以及其他原材料的质量必须受到严格控制。The increased focus on food safety followed media reports on March 15 — World Consumer Rights Daythat companies in Anhui province, a stronghold of semi-prepared food makers, had used cheaper meat from the necks of pigs to make a precooked dish that should have contained pork belly. The companies involved have been shut down and their owners detained.3月15日世界消费者权益日，有媒体报道称，安徽省的一家大型预制菜企业使用更便宜的猪颈肉来代替五花肉制作梅菜扣肉预制菜。报道发出后，食品安全问题受到越来越多的关注。涉事公司已被关闭，其所有者被拘留。Semi-prepared food grew in popularity during COVID-19 pandemic, when white-collar employees worked from home and cooked for themselves. The products were also embraced by restaurants, but some consumers felt deceived when they learned the dishes they paid for were not cooked from scratch.在COVID-19大流行期间，白领员工居家办公并自己做饭，预制菜成为了一个热门选择，随后预制菜也受到了餐馆的青睐，被端上了餐厅饭桌上。但消费者在得知自己支付的菜肴并非新鲜烹制时，还是会感觉受到了欺骗。generalization of concept概念泛化semi-prepared food预制菜

One of the keys to China's global rise has been its strategy of deploying sovereign wealth on behalf of state power. Since President Xi Jinping took office in 2013, China has doubled down on financial statecraft, making shrewd investments with the sovereign funds it has built up by leveraging its foreign exchange reserves. Sovereign Funds tells the story of how the Communist Party of China (CPC) became a global financier of surpassing ambition. Dr. Liu offers a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the evolution of China's sovereign funds, including the China Investment Corporation, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and Central Huijin Investment. Dr. Liu shows how these institutions have become mechanisms not only for transforming low-reward foreign exchange reserves into investment capital but also for power projection. Sovereign funds are essential drivers of the national interest, shaping global markets, advancing the historic Belt and Road Initiative, and funneling state assets into strategic industries such as semiconductors, fintech, and artificial intelligence. In the era of President Xi, state-owned financial institutions have become gatekeepers of the Chinese economy. Political and personal relationships with prestigious sovereign funds have enabled Blackstone to flourish in China and have fueled the ascendance of private tech giants such as Alibaba, Ant Finance, and Didi. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Zongyuan Zoe Liu is Maurice R. Greenberg fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Her work focuses on international political economy, global financial markets, sovereign wealth funds, supply chains of critical minerals, development finance, emerging markets, energy and climate change policy, and East Asia-Middle East relations. Dr. Liu is the author of Can BRICS De-dollarize the Global Financial System? (Cambridge University Press) and Sovereign Funds: How the Communist Party of China Finances its Global Ambitions (Harvard University Press). Dr. Liu completed her Ph.D at the Edwin Reischauer fellow at School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining CFR, Dr. Liu was an instructional assistant professor at Texas A&M's Bush School of Government and Public Service in Washington, DC, where she taught courses on global economy, economic statecraft, and Chinese foreign policy.

Are you curious about issues related to competition and geopolitical concerns in the global semiconductor sector? In this episode, Barry Nigro and Alicia Downey talk to Arnold & Porter partner David Emanuelson, formerly in-house M&A counsel for Intel Corporation, about how the Chinese government's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) approaches merger clearance. Listen to this episode to learn about the geopolitical pressures on the semiconductor industry and what antitrust counsel can do to improve the chances of getting a deal cleared in China. With special guest: David Emanuelson, Arnold & Porter Related Links: David Emanuelson & Danielle Drory, "The Potential Chilling Effects of Lowering Standards for Tech M&A Enforcement," 34 Antitrust 14 (2020) Hosted by: Barry Nigro, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP and Alicia Downey, Downey Law LLC

Kia ora,Welcome to Thursday's Economy Watch where we follow the economic events and trends that affect Aotearoa/New Zealand.I'm David Chaston and this is the international edition from Interest.co.nz.And today we lead with news the Fitch downgrade has cast a pall over financial markets today, trumping any data. Equity markets are grumpy, bond yields are rising and the US dollar is rising.But first in the US, we get their July labour market details on Saturday NZT and today the precursor ADP Employment Report is out. That says private businesses hired +324,000 extra workers in July, following a downwardly revised +455,000 increase in June and surpassing market expectations of a +189,000 rise. Consensus analyst forecasts are for the US non-farm payrolls to rise +200,000 in July, so there seems to be upside there.Also rising were American total vehicle sales in July, up to an annualised rate of 15.7 mln. That is up from a 14 mln annual rate in July 2022. Of course, the American vehicle markets is far smaller than the Chinese one that ran at a 26.1 mln annual rate in June.But falling, and for a second successive week, were American mortgage applications, and it was a moderate -3% fall. The benchmark mortgage interest rate rose and back near its highest since November 2022. Rates near 7% really hurt the perception of house-buying affordability. The US home ownership rate was little-changed in Q2-2023 at about 66% although that is up from 63% in 2016 after for than a decade of previous falls.However the big news was that credit rating agency Fitch cut the US Federal Government one notch from AAA to AA+, echoing a move made more than a decade ago by S&P. Moody's still rates the US Aaa. Tax cuts and new spending initiatives coupled with multiple economic shocks have swelled budget deficits, Fitch said, while medium-term challenges related to rising entitlement costs remain largely unaddressed. The White House isn't happy. Nor the US Treasury.In China it is summer holidays and the senior leadership has decamped Beijing to the nearly beach resort area of Beidaihe. They probably won't re-emerge for two weeks or so, baring emergencies. Before they left, as we noted previously, they rattled off a list of support measures for their economy, a list that underwhelmed.Now they have followed that up with the National Development and Reform Commission saying they will boost loan access for private companies and extend other funding measures to small firms. Also, the central bank and others pledged to increase financial support to smaller firms in key supply chains. Then both the central bank and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said that banks will be "guided" to adjust existing mortgage rates lower to support the real estate market.It is a good time to leave this year because we should note that the Beijing flooding has turned out to be pretty severe, involving loss of life. Of course, the problems are wider than just the capital city.The UST 10yr yield will start today at 4.07% and up +2 bps from this time yesterday and a ten month high. The price of gold will start today at US$1937/oz and down -US$8 from yesterday.And oil prices are down -US$2 at just over US$79/bbl in the US. The international Brent price is now just over US$83/bbl.The Kiwi dollar starts today down nearly -½c to just on 60.9 USc. Against the Aussie however we are firmer at 93 AUc. Against the euro we are -¼c lower at 55.6 euro cents. That all means the TWI-5 has fallen another -30 bps to 69.5.The bitcoin price is higher today since this time yesterday and is now at US$29,131 and up +0.7%. Volatility over the past 24 hours has remained modest at just under +/- 1.9%.You can find links to the articles mentioned today in our show notes.You can get more news affecting the economy in New Zealand from interest.co.nz.Kia ora. I'm David Chaston. And we will do this again tomorrow.

The Chinese aren't taking their #eurodollar #dollar woes weakening yuan lying down #recession. But they aren't doing a whole lot meaningful about it, either. Why and why not? That's the (euro)dollar conundrum.Eurodollar University's Money & Macro AnalysisPBOC: Notice of the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Financial Supervision on Extending the Deadline of Relevant Policies for Financial Support to the Steady and Healthy Development of the Real Estate Markethttp://www.pbc.gov.cn/goutongjiaoliu/113456/113469/4987564/index.htmlPBOC Financial News: Under exchange rate fluctuations, cross-border capital flows still maintain a basic balance, and the long-term investment value of RMB assets is highlightedhttps://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI5MjE1ODM5Mw==&mid=2650304221&idx=1&sn=c340f49f6b7c79af978527b54da4588c&chksm=f409600bc37ee91d81ddc20fb91a9311a030918b8eaf3bc7c0ca913fbfc39e446d0bf4e9844e&mpshare=1&scene=1&srcid=07051Ipdhywo7Uszrm5t1JjO&sharer_sharetime=1688570086386&sharer_shareid=39b1682714627f7233e332548d9eeeae&exportkey=n_ChQIAhIQ9XMODdRsqNRK7rXOHlFIyRKZAgIE97dBBAEAAAAAAA9iK2lmv2oAAAAOpnltbLcz9gKNyK89dVj0xqpLmp%2BOOkCXGkYfc%2Buj56zqe3EaSHX7YiMHX7jwaGKj3%2BXi3JWFrCEbPE3UsWTmOJK%2BEVAoYCuh5pA7ICAfwKSKjV4AQ11CiEWdvegwRqwGQFLazoBS%2F%2FyiUhSwaF8pibmQwHB5jrhOeLxjmbghxE67FVl4bCXMMvf5%2Bo2iwPDH7hBAMK%2BBRVpADGHEpPIg%2BaPz1iIpv6zXU6blRZAahRN%2FyluyvJrQYriwjGagN1pZil89TPlXTqcS92K8LSuJd5XdRkWvgcuiCupIQRzXb5pBTfpdCcCxgECMrrbKEL5WQXs%2Bss%2FXqTV91pPmWXZs2L3j&acctmode=1&pass_ticket=pF7HUjJhpjMaKnMvCcR3jzCWS3v9bDFp78PBIsdD%2FOUroYIWKzETuTaXfGIavDEx&wx_header=0#rdTwitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_AIPhttps://www.eurodollar.universityhttps://www.marketsinsiderpro.comhttps://www.PortfolioShield.netRealClearMarkets Essays: https://bit.ly/38tL5a7THE EPISODESYouTube: https://bit.ly/310yisLVurbl: https://bit.ly/3rq4dPnApple: https://apple.co/3czMcWNDeezer: https://bit.ly/3ndoVPEiHeart: https://ihr.fm/31jq7cITuneIn: http://tun.in/pjT2ZCastro: https://bit.ly/30DMYzaGoogle: https://bit.ly/3e2Z48MReason: https://bit.ly/3lt5NiHSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3arP8mYPandora: https://pdora.co/2GQL3QgCastbox: https://bit.ly/3fJR5xQPodbean: https://bit.ly/2QpaDghStitcher: https://bit.ly/2C1M1GBPlayerFM: https://bit.ly/3piLtjVPodchaser: https://bit.ly/3oFCrwNPocketCast: https://pca.st/encarkdtSoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3l0yFfKListenNotes: https://bit.ly/38xY7pbAmazonMusic: https://amzn.to/2UpEk2PPodcastAddict: https://bit.ly/2V39XjrPodcastRepublic:https://bit.ly/3LH8JlVDISCLOSURESJeffrey Snider (The Promoter) is acting as a promoter for an investment advisory firm, Atlas Financial Advisors, Inc. (AFA). Jeffrey Snider is affiliated with AFA as a promoter only and is not in any way giving investment advice or recommendations on behalf of AFA. The Promoter is being compensated by a fee arrangement: The Promoter will receive compensation on a quarterly basis, based on the increase in account openings that can be reasonably attributed to the Promoter's activity. The Promoter will not be receiving a portion of any advisory fees. The Promoter has an incentive to recommend the Adviser because the Promoter is being compensated. The opinions expressed on this site and in these videos are those solely of Jeffrey Snider and Eurodollar University and do not represent those of AFA.

China will continue to push for greater market access for foreign investors as part of its ongoing efforts to expand high-level opening-up and build a unified national market, the Ministry of Commerce said on Monday.6月5日，商务部表示，为了推动高水平的对外开放，建设全国统一大市场，中国将持续放宽外资市场准入。Analysts said this signals the country's resolve to build a fully open market, deepen market-oriented reforms and remove barriers within the fragmented domestic market, which will stimulate market vitality and significantly boost market confidence, especially among foreign businesses.分析人士表示，这显示中国建立充分开放市场，深化市场化改革，破除分割国内市场障碍的决心。这将激发市场活力，显著提振市场信心，尤其是外资企业的信心。They said the country is dedicated to opening wider to the outside world, and they expect that more efforts will be made to expand opening-up in fields such as the modern services sector.他们表示，中国致力于扩大对外开放，并期待进一步扩大现代服务业等领域的开放。"The unified national market we are constructing will be a globally oriented and fully open market, which will undoubtedly provide a better environment and a bigger platform for various market entities, including foreign companies," Zhou Qiang, director of the ministry's department of market system development, said at a news briefing on Monday.6月5日，国新办举行建设全国统一大市场国务院政策例行吹风会，商务部市场体系建设司司长周强在发布会上表示：“我们建设的统一大市场是面向全球，充分开放的市场，必将为包括外资企业在内的各类经营主体提供更优环境和更大的舞台。”Zhou said that China will appropriately shorten the negative list for foreign investment to further cancel or relax restrictions on market access. It will align with high-standard international economic and trade rules to deepen reforms in relevant areas and steadily advance institutional opening-up.周强表示，中国将合理缩减外资准入负面清单，进一步取消或放宽外资准入限制。对照国际高标准经贸规则，深化相关领域改革，稳步推进制度型开放。More efforts will also be made to better serve foreign companies and create a world-class environment for foreign investment, he said.周强还表示，中国还将做出更多努力，更好地为外资企业服务，为外商投资者创造国际一流的营商环境。Zhu Jianqiao, director of the comprehensive planning department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, highlighted the role of fair competition in supporting the growth of the unified national market, saying that China will strengthen supervision and law enforcement against market intervention behaviors and consolidate the institutional and regulatory foundations for fair competition.国家市场监督管理总局综合规划司司长朱剑桥强调，公平竞争对全国统一大市场发展至关重要。朱剑桥表示，中国将加大对市场干预行为的监管执法，夯实平等参与市场竞争的制度规则基础。He said the country will accelerate the revision of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, promote the introduction of the regulation on fair competition review and optimize the registration system for enterprises moving from one region to another.朱剑桥表示，国家将加快推动《反不正当竞争法》修订，推动《公平竞争审查条例》加快出台，优化企业跨区域迁移登记注册制度。China's fresh efforts to court foreign investors and businesses came as the country is firmly accelerating the push for building a unified national market that is efficient, rules-based, open and encourages fair competition, which means the country will further integrate itself into the global economy and steadily deepen reforms and opening-up, analysts said.分析人士表示，中国坚定不移地加快建设高效、规范、开放、鼓励公平竞争的全国统一大市场，为外国投资者和外资企业实施新举措，这表明中国将进一步融入全球经济，稳步深化改革开放。Ye Yindan, a researcher at the Bank of China Research Institute, said that China aims to set up a unified market system, and bring an end to local protectionism, market segmentation and impediments restricting economic circulation as well as facilitate the smooth flow of goods, factors and resources.中国银行研究院研究员叶银丹表示，中国期望建立统一的市场体系，扫除地方保护、市场分割和制约经济流通的障碍，促进商品要素资源的顺畅流动。"Such a unified market will help foreign companies establish a unified system for production, operation and sales in China and reduce their costs resulting from differences in rules between regions, thus greatly enhancing the confidence of foreign investors," Ye said.叶银丹说：“统一的市场将有助于外国公司在中国建立统一的生产、经营和销售体系，降低因地区规则差异而产生的成本，从而显著地增强外国投资者的信心。”Cui Weijie, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, spoke highly of China's ongoing efforts on shortening negative lists for market entry and building a unified national market, saying those moves help create a modern market system that is open, transparent and encourages fair competition and benefit all market players.商务部国际贸易经济合作研究院副院长崔卫杰高度评价中国在缩减市场准入负面清单和建设全国统一大市场方面所作出的努力，他认为这些举措有助于建立公开透明的现代市场体系，鼓励公平竞争，惠及所有的市场主体。Sang Baichuan, dean of University of International Business and Economics' Institute of International Economy in Beijing, said he expects to see greater efforts in further opening the services sector and creating a better business environment for foreign investors.北京对外经济贸易大学国际经济研究院院长桑百川表示，他希望推动服务业进一步开放，为外国投资者创造更好的营商环境。Executives from both home and abroad hailed China's intensified efforts for optimizing the business environment, expressing strong optimism and confidence in the resilience of the Chinese economy.国内外高管称赞中国加大优化营商环境所作出的努力，对中国经济的韧性表现出强烈的乐观和信心。"China is a market that cannot be ignored. It cannot be missed as an outlet for most companies," said Denis Depoux, global managing director of consultancy Roland Berger.罗兰·贝格国际管理咨询公司全球管理委员会联系总裁戴璞表示：“对于大多数公司来说，中国是一个不容错过的市场。”"China is one of the leading supply chains in the global market," said Samson Khaou, executive vice-president of Dassault Systemes Asia-Pacific. "We believe that the growth of China will be sourced by domestic demand as well as global demand."达索系统亚太区执行副总裁许善淞说：“中国是全球市场领先的供应链之一。我们相信，中国经济的增长源于国内和国际的需求。”Qi Xiangdong, chairman of Chinese cybersecurity company Qi-Anxin Technology Group, said the company has benefited from an optimized business environment, adding that he expects to see more efforts to further spur market confidence and has strong confidence in the company's development this year.中国网络安全公司奇安信科技集团董事长齐向东表示，公司受益于营商环境的优化。他希望看到提振市场信心的更多举措，并对公司今年的发展充满信心。Unified英 /'ju:nifaid/美 /'ju:nifaid/adj. 统一的,Vitality英 /vaɪˈtæləti/美 /vaɪˈtæləti/n.活力Access英 /ˈækses/美 /ˈækses/n. 准入，经济学术语，指一国允许外国的货物、劳务、资本参与国内市场的程度

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/AnalyticThe $69 billion Xbox Activision deal buyout has reportedly been approved by China's regulatory body.According to DealReporter (via SeekingAlpha), China's State Administration for Market Regulation recently gave the deal its unconditional approval in a late-phase review, handing Microsoft and Activision another win on their volatile and uncertain path to closing the acquisition.The deal faced another significant setback last month when UK regulators formally moved to block, but soon after regained some momentum when it was approved by the European Union. Arguably its most significant hurdle will come later this year when the US Federal Trade Commission is set to begin hearings on its lawsuit seeking to stop the buyout due to anti-competition concerns.source: Microsoft's Activision deal has now reportedly been approved by China (yahoo.com)Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Learn how to be a Cross-Border Banker at a Big4 Chinese Bank: • How does an MBA in China help you? • How to fit into a Chinese government entity/ bank as a flexpat : • What are the challenges to work for Chinese or Italian organizations? • How do Chinese teams relate to an international working and leadership style? • How can you differentiate from Chinese bankers? • What kind of flexpats are searched for in China today? • How can you build trust with both Chinese and Italian customers? • How can you prepare for a job in your home country? Matteo Giovannini Matteo is a China-based finance professional with 15 years of work experience in FP&A and project financing in private and state-owned enterprises. Since 2015 he has been serving as a Senior Finance Manager at one of China's Big 4 State-Owned Banks. Prior to that, he spent 7 years in Italy as a Financial Controller working at one of Europe's largest communication groups and covering business operations in EMEA and LATAM. He currently serves as an International Committee Member of the Alumni UCSC Far East, as an Advisory Committee Member of the Beijing Global Talent Exchange Association, and as MBA Program Alumni Ambassador at Peking University. In 2019 he was awarded a Distinguished Foreign Expert by the State Administration of Foreign Experts (SAFEA). He has been living in China for a decade and he is a frequent contributor to major Chinese media outlets covering economy, finance, and global affairs. He holds an MBA from the National School of Development (NSD) at Peking University, an M.Sc. in Multimedia Management from IULM University of Milan, and a B.A. in Economics from the Catholic University of Milan (UCSC). He is a citizen of Italy and a Permanent Resident of China (Greencard). We recommend the following episodes to get more input on Cross-Border Sales, banking, and working for Chinese companies: 116 Cross-Border Sales Director 115 Cross-Border Investment Advisor 69 Investment Banking 113 Young China 99 Work for Chinese companies abroad 46 Lead Chinese teams

The Australian market extended last week's rally into this week with the key index closing the session 1.02% higher, boosted by a surge in materials and technology stocks.The best performing stock today was Nickel Industries (ASX:NIC) soared 6.7% after announcing an upgrade to its Hengjaya Mine Resource, increasing the resource from 2.4m tonnes to 3.7m tonnes of contained nickel metal. Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) also lifted just over 5% today. Other stocks that investors bought into today included Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN), with shares in the mining services giant soaring to a fresh record high of $74.20 today during the session. The a2 Milk Company (ASX:A2M) also lifted today following its New Zealand-based baby formula producer for the Chinese market, Synlait Milk (ASX:SM1), being granted renewal of its State Administration for Market Regulation licence to continue manufacturing the baby formula for China until 21 February 2023.Investors sharply sold out of Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) today despite the company announcing it has executed a letter of award with Zenith Energy (ASX:ZEN), one of Australia's leading independent power producers, to supply electricity to its Kathleen Valley Lithium project in Western Australia for a 15-year period. Other losing stocks today included Sims (ASX:SIM) and Lake Resources (ASX:LKE).The top traded stocks by Bell Direct clients today are Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS), Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) and Lake Resources (ASX:LKE).On the economic calendar for tomorrow, investors will gain an insight into just how confident both consumers and businesses are with current market and economic conditions, with Westpac Consumer Confidence data for September out in the morning followed an hour later by the release of NAB's Business Confidence data for August. US Core inflation data for August is also out later tomorrow night.

英语新闻∣不得向8岁以下未成年人销售盲盒The State Administration for Market Regulation, China's top market regulator, stipulated that businesses shall not sell blind boxes tojuvenilesunder 8 years old, as part of broader efforts to regulate the country's billion-dollar blind box industry.8月16日，国家市场监管总局发布《盲盒经营活动规范指引（试行）（征求意见稿）》（简称“指引”）。该指引规定，盲盒经营者不得向8周岁以下未成年人销售盲盒，以此规范上百亿市场规模的盲盒产业。A blind box is a popular way of packaging toys and other products to keep their contents hidden. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences estimated that the market size of China's trendy toys, mainly including blind boxes, is expected to hit 47.8 billion yuan ($7.06 billion) this year.盲盒是一种流行的包装玩具和其他产品的方式，因为没有任何样式提醒的，需购买者打开后才能知道其内容。据中国社会科学院估计，今年中国流行玩具（主要指盲盒）的市场规模预计将达到478亿元（70.6亿美元）。According to the guideline, which is open to public opinion on the SAMR's website on Tuesday, businesses can only sell blind boxes to those aged 8 and above after obtaining theconsentof their guardians.该指引规定，向8周岁及以上未成年人销售盲盒商品，应通过销售现场询问或者网络身份识别等方式，确认已取得相关监护人的同意。The guideline said companies shall notbid up prices and should reasonably determine prices of blind boxes based on production and operation costs as well as market supply and demand. Prices of blind box products should not have a big gap from that of non-blind box products of the same quality, it said.该指引规定，盲盒经营者应该依据生产经营成本和市场供求状况，合理确定盲盒价格。盲盒商品价格不应与同质同类非盲盒销售商品价格差距过大。"The guideline will effectively regulate prices based on the value of the blind boxes. Currently, prices of some blind boxes areinconsistentwith their value," said Chen Jianjie, a lawyer with Brighteous Law Firm.光明律师事务所的陈建杰（音）律师表示，“该指引将以盲盒价值为依据，有效规范价格。当前一些盲盒的价格与价值不相符。”In January, the China Consumers Association said that blind box consumption is expanding in a disorderly manner, from pets to air tickets, and increasing problems are also arising, including illegal sales, unknown probabilities and consumption addiction.今年1月，中国消费者协会表示，盲盒消费正在经历无序扩张，甚至宠物和机票都在以盲盒形式销售。“盲盒经济”的问题逐渐显现，包括非法销售、概率不透明和消费成瘾等。China Media Group reported a case in which a blind box was priced at 800 yuan but the actual cost was only about 30 yuan. Some consumers spend more than 10,000 yuan to buy blind boxes in order to get a limited-edition toy.据中央广播电视总台报道，一个成本只有30元左右的盲盒定价却高达800元。一些消费者为了得到限量版玩具，不惜花费1万元购买盲盒。"It will also prevent the sector from becoming a gambling tool thatinfringesupon consumer rights," Chen said.陈建杰律师表示，“该指引将防止该行业成为侵犯消费者权益的赌博工具。”As some business operators sold blind boxes with pets inside, the SAMR draft guideline also clarified that live animals, drugs, medical devices, special cosmetics and unmarked express parcels cannot be sold in the form of blind boxes.此外，征求意见稿提出，药品、医疗器械、特殊化妆品、有毒有害物品、易燃易爆物品、活体动物、食品等在使用条件、存储运输、检验检疫、监督管理等方面有严格要求的商品，不得以盲盒形式销售。Following the news, Pop Mart, Chinese mainland's leading blind box company, started with a slight drop but closed with a 3.3 percent increase in share price on the Hong Kong stock exchange.该指引发布后，中国内地领先的盲盒公司Pop Mart在香港证券交易所开盘小幅下跌，收盘时股价上涨3.3%。The company said in a statement that the draft guideline is of positive significance and can offer clear directions to companies to operate in astandardizedway, which helps the sector create a better business environment.该盲盒公司表示，该指引具有积极意义，既为规范企业的经营方式提供明确的方向，也助于为盲盒行业创造更好的商业环境。juvenile英[ˈdʒuːvənaɪl]美[ˈdʒuːvənl]n. 青少年consent英[kənˈsent]美[kənˈsent]n. 同意，许可bid up英[bid ʌp]美[bɪd ʌp]在拍卖中哄抬物价; 竞相出高价inconsistent英[ˌɪnkənˈsɪstənt]美[ˌɪnkənˈsɪstənt]adj. 不一致的，不调和的infringe英[ɪnˈfrɪndʒ]美[ɪnˈfrɪndʒ]vt.& vi. 违反（规章等）; 侵犯（某人的权利）standardized英['stændədaɪzd]美['stændədaɪzd]adj. 标准的，定型的

CyberPolitik: China’s Norm-game— Sapni G KIn the 8th edition of this newsletter, I had written about the draft "Internet Information Service Algorithmic Recommendation Management Provisions" released for comments by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). After a few months of deliberations, including their process of public consultation, the draft was finalised this month. The newly released “Internet Information Service Algorithmic Recommendation Management Provisions” lays down rules around the use of algorithmic recommendation technology in internet-based services. This includes a wide range of internet services ranging from social media platforms, gig work platforms, and e-commerce. It could also have potential ramifications on the much-hyped Metaverse and the generative algorithms used in these virtual spaces.A majority of the principles in the draft version are replicated in the provisions. It is interesting to note that the final version of the provisions has been issued jointly by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the competition watchdog State Administration for Market Regulation, and the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), where the latter is responsible for overall coordination. The new additions include a provision that bars providers from unreasonable use of algorithms to engage in monopolistic behaviour or restrict other providers, implying a heightened interest in antitrust action through the provisions.The changes also pertain to giving more attention to “algorithmic fake news”. A new Article 13 mandates licensing for algorithmic recommendation service providers operating in online news and prohibits algorithmic generation of fake news. The elderly have been identified as a new protected category by the provisions. Accordingly, covered providers are required to take special care while providing their services to the elderly. The earlier draft had a clear mandate against the use of discriminatory tags to classify users. However, the provisions have omitted the anti-discriminatory user tag clause. This peculiar change is worthy of attention, given the cons of the vagueness in language as against practices of recommendation algorithm providers to use discriminatory tags.The provisions are set to be effective from 1 March 2022. Its impact will be visible across services, including independent providers of recommendation algorithm services, who do not have a user-facing business model. Algorithm regulation is a policy issue that cannot be avoided for long. China’s efforts in this sphere can act as an international norm because of its first-mover advantage. The state overtures in these provisions should not guide the baseline for algorithmic regulation. This will be consequential to all players – states, businesses, civil society organisations, and users. Nuanced and informed thought must be employed as regulatory policy is formulated in this sphere, but it must pick up pace.  Matsyanyaaya #1: Why did China just release a National Standardisation Development outline?— Arjun Gargeyas(This section is adapted from the Takshashila Issue Paper on China’s Technical Standardisation Framework)China’s ‘Standards 2035’ project gained headlines in April 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. October 2021 saw the release of the National Standardisation Development (NSD) outline document as the first official document detailing China’s ambitions in the coming decade on technical standardisation processes. The NSD visualizes a standardised system that promotes high-tech innovation and “opening up” of the technology sector, while also leading to high-quality development. The core points covered in the document provide a glimpse into the Chinese state’s strategic approach towards technical standards.But the question is why is the Chinese government pulling out all the stops in the current political climate on its standardisation programme? An analysis of the outline document provides an insight into the State Council’s aspirations in the standard-setting domain and the current objectives of the national technical standardisation strategy. Some key takeaways from the document help us understand the timing and the necessity of the project for the Chinese state.Standards and Tech InnovationWith the development of critical and emerging technologies, there is a definitive need for the upskilling of technology ecosystems across the world. China feels the need to remain relevant and updated on the usage and creation of applications related to critical technologies. Significant investments in advancing emerging technologies remain one of China’s priorities. The Chinese government now is banking on technical standards to achieve technical competence and excellence in critical technologies which remain integral to the global economy in the coming decades. Gaining technical expertise would in turn help in influencing the standard-setting process allowing China to dictate the terms of technological innovation in certain critical technologies. China feels that it is the ripe time for them, as a technically adept state, to mutually support technological growth as well the ability of Chinese companies to set standards in the domain. Improving Industrial Standards’ Level Though a manufacturing powerhouse, China’s exports as a share of GDP have halved over the past decade. This has made the Chinese government understand the importance of establishing norms that govern the systems according to which goods are produced and the flow of these products or services. This is the critical aspect of technical standards which can provide better economic gains in the form of licenses and royalties for the already established manufacturing sector in the country. The Chinese government believes that the strategic and geopolitical game is no longer limited to market domination and is inherently influenced by system design and rulemaking. The standardisation process is essentially the aspect of making global rules according to which industries function. This can facilitate the country’s industrial transformation by acquiring the first-mover advantage in key sectors.A Base for ‘Green’ Development Climate goals remain integral to the country’s commitment to following certain sustainable development models. The reason for China’s focus on creating climate-specific standards for local companies to adhere to is in its pursuit to tap into the renewable energy sector. With a significant head start compared to other countries, China has successfully captured the renewable energy market being the global leader in solar, EV batteries, and nuclear power. The threat of climate change looms large which makes the renewable energy markets an economic opportunity for a country like China. Technical standards in the realm are just a way of controlling the extremely lucrative renewable energy markets. China sees the 2020s as an opportune time for driving a robust green energy infrastructure-led growth model which would eventually help them capture market space in the domain. Technical standards related to climate reinforce both China’s commitment towards ‘green development’ as well as use that development as leverage for geoeconomic gains.With different objectives in mind, the government’s recent ‘National Standardisation Development’ outline has officially kicked off the ambitious ‘Standards 2035’ project of China. It remains to be seen if they are actually successful in their attempt to control the global technical standards domain. Antriksh Matters: NATO’s Vision for Space— Aditya PareekThe North Atlantic Treaty Organisation(NATO) recently published its aptly titled “overarching space policy”. The most striking feature of the policy is its consistency with other familiar aspects of NATO. Below are some distilled highlights of the text:The policy declares that NATO doesn’t wish “to become an autonomous space actor”, meaning, it will be heavily reliant on the national space programmes of its constituent members. This mirrors the alliance’s stance in other domains and theatres, where the personnel and equipment used by NATO comes directly from the forces of its members. Another important point is the emphasis on the voluntary nature of capabilities that NATO members may provide for the alliance’s operations in space. Furthermore, the voluntary provision of these capabilities would be in line with the granting state’s “national laws, regulations and policies”.The policy declares that NATO wishes to serve as the platform for “political-military consultations” related to the alliance’s mandate on “relevant deterrence and defence related space developments”. The goal behind it being the facilitation of “information sharing” between the members so that NATO’s combined “situational awareness”, “decision making”, and “readiness and posture management” can be handled well. The point about ensuring that NATO’s concerns about space are relevant “across the spectrum of conflict” also signals that NATO wisely considers space to be just one part of wider strategic context. Another point to note is the stated intention to engage with other international fora and organisations on “the development of legal and behavioural norms”. This is doubtless a reference to various UN General Assembly resolutions, and a newly constituted Open Ended Working Group(OEWG) aimed at figuring out the rules of the road for responsible behaviour in outer space. It is interesting that the policy also insists NATO members should work towards developing a common understanding of concepts related to the role of space in crisis or conflict. Another focus of the policy is considering “ways to improve space resilience”. This would undoubtedly extend to satellites and other space objects that may provide ISR (Intelligence, Search and Reconnaissance) capabilities to members of the alliance. The policy states that the desired reliability which may enable this resilience would be achieved through “exploiting force multiplier redundancies”. Matsyanyaaya #2: Over thinking China’s foray into ‘Mind Control’ technologies— Ruturaj GowaikarCurrent AffairThe year 2021 didn’t end on a pleasant note for two dozen Chinese private technology companies and a dozen government research institutes. These entities were blacklisted and sanctioned by the US for alleged involvement in research related to mind control technologies. Notable among these is the Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS). As per US news reports these technologies were being developed with China’s ethnic minorities in mind but could also be easily deployed abroad. These sanctions are aimed at preventing any technology being developed in the US to be exported to these blacklisted Chinese entities as well as to restrict their funding.But none of the reports clearly mention what these technologies could be. Most of the private firms are involved in facial recognition and AI based research. These can be easily used for surveillance but lack any mind-control elements. The government research institutes seem to be involved primarily in biotechnology research. There are two possible explanations that might have led to the clubbing of these entities together into a black-list. And that could be the way research is planned and regulated in China.The broader philosophy of Civil-Military fusion in technology development, adopted by the PLA is part of a national strategy to leverage academic and commercial developments. And the creation of the CMC steering committee on Military Scientific Research handling both research related to biotechnology and brain-machine interface.The bogey of China possessing mind-control weapons was raised previously in 2019 and might be raised again for political reasons. There exists a lot of confusion regarding the nature of research involved in this domain. Recent developments are cause for us to consider the types of research in the field of neuroscience and their military applications.Neuroscience research or can be broadly classified into three areas.1) Assessment technologies(Imaging -fMRI, electrophysiological recordings, genetics)2) Interventional Technologiesi) Performance enhancementBetter sensory perception, control over sleep patterns, faster cognition etc(chemical/biological entities, Brain machine interfaces (BMI), brainStimulation, brain implants)ii) Performance degradationLoss of consciousness , sedation, hallucination, incoherence, paralysis,disorientation etc(chemical/biological entities, electromagnetic/energy )iii) Delivery systemsMicrobes, nanoprobes, direct contact3) Ethical dialogs and frameworksSide effects, dependency, dual use nature of technologiesInterventional technologies are the most sought after by the militaries of the world as they can be either used to improve the cognitive performance of one’s own soldiers or degrade the performance of the enemy. There are several challenges in both these sub-fields. The major one in the neuro-enhancement research is the possibility of dependence and withdrawal in case of chemical agents. And in the case of a cortical stimulation devices, there is the large time requirement to customise such a device for an individual operator. Efficient delivery mechanism remains a major challenge for neuro-degradation technology.The only confirmed product developed by China that can fall under the above classification so far is by the now black-listed AMMS. It is a chemical named Night Eagle that can suppress sleep for 72 hours. Various militaries have dabbled in such chemicals to give an edge to their armed forces. Others are likely to explore this field further.Our Reading Menu[Essay Collection] Getting the Multi-domain Challenge Right Edited by Brad Roberts from Center for Global Security Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.[Article] The remnants of diplomacy: how Moscow and Washington are fighting "Russian hackers" by Oleg Shakirov.[Article] The COVID-19 pandemic: territorial, political and governance dimensions of the crisis by Klaus Dodds. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hightechir.substack.com

Chinese tech giants including Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings were fined last Saturday for failing to report corporate acquisitions, adding to an anti-monopoly crackdown by the ruling Communist Party.The companies failed to report 43 acquisitions that occurred up to eight years ago under rules on “operating concentration,” according to the State Administration for Market Regulation. Each violation carried a penalty of 500,000 yuan ($80,000), it said.Beijing has launched anti-monopoly, data security and other crackdowns on tech companies since late 2020. The ruling party worries the companies have too much control over their industries and has warned them not to use their dominance to gouge consumers or block entry to new competitors.Other companies fined in the latest round of penalties include online retailers JD.com Inc. and Suning Ltd. and search engine operator Baidu Inc. The acquisitions dating back to 2013 included network technology, mapping and medical technology assets.The companies “failed to declare illegal implementation of operating concentration,” the regulator said on its website.Alibaba, the world's biggest e-commerce company by sales volume, was fined $2.8 billion in April for practices that regulators said suppressed competition. Meituan, a food delivery platform, was fined $534 million on Oct. 8.- AP

Chinese tech giants including Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings were fined last Saturday for failing to report corporate acquisitions, adding to an anti-monopoly crackdown by the ruling Communist Party.The companies failed to report 43 acquisitions that occurred up to eight years ago under rules on “operating concentration,” according to the State Administration for Market Regulation. Each violation carried a penalty of 500,000 yuan ($80,000), it said.Beijing has launched anti-monopoly, data security and other crackdowns on tech companies since late 2020. The ruling party worries the companies have too much control over their industries and has warned them not to use their dominance to gouge consumers or block entry to new competitors.Other companies fined in the latest round of penalties include online retailers JD.com Inc. and Suning Ltd. and search engine operator Baidu Inc. The acquisitions dating back to 2013 included network technology, mapping and medical technology assets.The companies “failed to declare illegal implementation of operating concentration,” the regulator said on its website.Alibaba, the world's biggest e-commerce company by sales volume, was fined $2.8 billion in April for practices that regulators said suppressed competition. Meituan, a food delivery platform, was fined $534 million on Oct. 8.- APSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since last year, a string of Chinese internet heavyweights, including Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent, JD and Suning.com, have been investigated or fined for alleged monopolistic behavior. On October 8th, 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), China's top market regulator, imposed a huge fine  on food delivery giant Meituan for its monopolistic behavior.  Big internet platform companies shall realize that they need to take more care of their business policies to avoid antitrust punishment. Let's check in details the Meituan case. Website: https://www.carlodandrea.it Twitter: https://twitter.com/DAndreaCarloD Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Carlo+Diego+d%27andrea&ref=nb_sb_noss

Companies fined in anti-monopoly efforts︱多家巨头违反《反垄断法》被罚China's top market regulator fined companies including Alibaba Group, Baidu Inc and Tencent Holdings Ltd for violating the Anti-Monopoly Law, which industry experts said on Sunday is a broader part of normalized antitrust efforts following the recent setup of the anti-monopoly bureau.近日，国家市场监督管理总局对阿里巴巴（中国）网络技术有限公司、百度在线网络技术（北京）有限公司和腾讯控股有限公司等违反《中华人民共和国反垄断法》的企业作出行政处罚决定。业内专家指出，《反垄断法》是继反垄断局挂牌后，深入推进常态化反垄断执法的重要部分。Specifically, these companies failed to declare the concentration of business operators according to law. Concentration of business operators means that a business operator obtains control over another in the same business, which may lead to monopoly.具体而言，受罚企业均构成未依法申报违法实施经营者集中。经营者集中，是指一个或多个个人或企业获得对其他企业全部或部分的控制权。若经济力量过度集中，则会导致垄断。On Saturday, the State Administration for Market Regulation imposed a 500,000 yuan ($78,000) fine for each of 43 cases that violated the Anti-Monopoly Law. None of these deals, however, had the effect of eliminating or restricting competition, the market regulation authority said on its website.11月20日，国家市场监督管理总局对43起违反《中华人民共和国反垄断法》的案件立案调查，对涉案企业分别处以50万元罚款。而市场监管总局在其网站上进一步表示，“评估认为上述案件不具有排除、限制竞争效果”。"Through a series of anti-monopoly efforts recently, the country's antitrust law enforcement has become more systematic and normalized. The nation has striven to draw a clear bottom line and set up a red light for all companies," said Wang Jian, an expert at the advisory group of the Anti-Monopoly Commission of the State Council, China's Cabinet, and a professor of law at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University.浙江理工大学法政学院教授、国务院反垄断委员会专家咨询组成员王健指出，最新出台的一系列反垄断举措，标志着国家反垄断执法变得愈发系统化、规范化；政府已划出清晰的法律底线，为所有公司亮起红灯。Of the 43 cases, 13 involved Tencent and its subsidiaries, including the tech company's acquisition of China Medonline Inc. Up to 12 cases were related to Alibaba and its subsidiaries, including its acquisition of the mapping company Amap and purchase of stakes in the food delivery company Ele.me.立案调查的43起案件中，13起涉及腾讯及其收购的，如中国医疗在线等多家子公司；12起涉及阿里巴巴及其收购或入股的多家子公司，其中就包括“高德地图”——高德软件控股有限公司和在线外卖平台饿了么。"The review takes the form of prior supervision for business activities that have or may have the effect of eliminating or restricting competition. It is an effective way to avoid restricting of competition in the market," said Zhong Gang, executive director of the Competition Law Research Institute at the East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai.华东政法大学竞争法研究中心钟刚介绍称，“对具有或可能具有排除、限制竞争效果的商业活动采取事先监督的审查形式，是避免垄断的有效途径”。"Asking companies to declare the concentration of business operators will help maintain a fair competition environment for all market entities, which ultimately will protect consumers' interests," he added.他补充说，要求企业申报经营者集中，有助于为所有市场主体维持公平竞争的环境，旨在保护消费者的利益。The move also came as China launched an anti-monopoly bureau on Thursday that is located in the same building as the State Administration for Market Regulation in Beijing. Gan Lin, currently vice-minister of the market regulation authority, was appointed to head the bureau.11月18日，国家反垄断局正式挂牌，与国家市场监管总局三里河办公区同楼。国家市场监管总局副局长甘霖成为国家反垄断局首任局长。"Such new changes reflect that the country is enriching in-house capabilities for greater enforcement and autonomy regarding antitrust matters," said Liu Xu, a research fellow at Tsinghua University's National Strategy Institute.清华大学国家战略研究院特约研究员刘旭表示，这些新变化均反映出国家正在强化内部能力，以充实反垄断执法力量，加强反垄断执法的自主性。"It is also part of China's broader efforts to align with antitrust law enforcement of the United States and Europe, both of which have a much larger antitrust workforce than that of China," Liu added.刘旭还补充道，当前欧盟委员会、美国联邦政府的反垄断执法人员都远多于国内，与美国和欧洲反垄断执法部门保持一致，也展现出中国对与中国市场有关的所有贸易伙伴国负责的态度。normalized英 [ˈnɔːməlaɪzd]；美[ˈnɔːrməlaɪzd] v. 正常化；常态化concentration of business operators英 [ˌkɒnsnˈtreɪʃn ɒv ˈbɪznəs ˈɒpəreɪtəz]；美[ˌkɑːnsnˈtreɪʃn əv ˈbɪznəs ˈɑpəˌreɪtərz]（法）经营者集中antitrust英 [ˌæntiˈtrʌst]；美[ˌæntiˈtrʌst] adj. 反垄断的subsidiary英 [səbˈsɪdiəri]；美[səbˈsɪdieri] adj. 次要的；附属的n. 子公司

China will accelerate reforms to encourage fair competition in the market, spur the vitality of smaller companies and offer private business owners greater tax incentives to give back to society, which is crucial for the country to achieve the goal of common prosperity, experts said.专家指出，加快改革步伐，促进公平竞争，激发中小企业发展活力，完善企业捐赠的税收优惠政策，对实现共同富裕的奋斗目标至关重要。Promoting common prosperity, a major component of the Chinese leadership's historic mission of achieving the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, was highlighted in the resolution adopted at the sixth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The four-day key Party meeting ended on Nov 11. 中国共产党第十九届中央委员会第六次全体会议通过的决议强调，促进共同富裕是实现中华民族伟大复兴历史使命的重要组成部分。会议为期四天，于11月11日胜利闭幕。The idea of building common prosperity will be the overarching theme that underlines the next phase of China's development and will be the strategic goal in the country's pursuit of high-quality growth in the new era, said Liu Xueliang, a senior researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 中国社会科学院经济研究所副研究员刘学良表示，实现共同富裕，是中国下一发展阶段的长远主题，也是新时代中国追求高质量增长的战略目标。Measures have been taken to better regulate monopolistic behavior, excessively high incomes and the abuse of market dominance by some companies, which jeopardize fair competition. Policymakers will continue to take measures to foster fair market practices, which is part of the broader objective of building common prosperity, Liu said.市场监管部门已经采取相应措施，加强反垄断监管，防止资本无序扩张、滥用市场支配地位、损害市场公平竞争的行为。刘学良表示，有关部门将继续采取措施维护公平竞争市场秩序，这也是实现共同富裕的重要一步。The State Council has appointed Gan Lin as the new head of the country's anti-monopoly bureau under the State Administration for Market Regulation, according to an announcement posted on the website of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Monday.11月15日，人力资源和社会保障部网站发布公告称，甘霖任国家反垄断局首任局长。The appointment is seen as the country's latest move to strengthen anti-monopoly regulation after several internet giants, including Alibaba and Tencent, were fined or investigated over their alleged monopolistic practices.此次反垄断局的人事任免是中国加强反垄断监管的最新举措。此前，阿里巴巴、腾讯等几家互联网巨头因涉嫌垄断，均被处以罚款，接受反垄断调查。Fostering fair market competition and ensuring equal market access for all enterprises is an important precondition for China to improve its market-based economy and to fully unleash the country's growth potential, which is in line with the country's overall objective of building common prosperity, said Yu Miaojie, deputy dean of Peking University's National School of Development.北京大学国家发展研究院副院长余淼杰指出，保障市场公平竞争，确保所有企业平等进入市场，是改善市场经济，释放增长潜能，实现共同富裕的重要前提。"It will help to ensure that all market entities, especially smaller firms, get equal development opportunities and help spur their vitality, which will contribute to achieving the goal of common prosperity as smaller firms are important job providers and wealth creators," Yu said. 余淼杰表示，保障市场公平竞争，能确保所有市场主体，特别是小企业都获得平等的发展机会，激发市场活力，从而促进共同富裕，因为小企业是非常重要的岗位提供者和财富创造者。 China's top leadership has vowed to deepen reforms and advance high-quality development to promote common prosperity. Han Wenxiu, an official with the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, said development is the top priority for China to promote common prosperity and China will foster an environment where people can enjoy equal opportunities, equal rights and fair rules amid the country's development.党和国家领导人立誓要深化改革，实现高质量发展，推动共同富裕。中央财经委员会办公室分管日常工作的副主任韩文秀表示，推动共同富裕，解决发展问题是第一位的，要保障人民在参与发展中机会公平、规则公平、权利公平。Han also said that for enterprises, promoting common prosperity means that they "manage their operations well", which includes running their business legally and honestly, paying taxes according to regulations and fulfilling social responsibilities.韩文秀还指出，推动共同富裕，需要企业“办好自己的事”，做到合法诚信经营，照章纳税，履行社会责任。Xu Hongcai, deputy director of the China Association of Policy Science's economic policy committee, said that the resolution adopted at the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee sent out the signal that China will solve development problems and narrow the wealth gap through promoting high-quality development, which requires further reforms to get rid of monopolies and unfair competition that prevents the market from playing a crucial and efficient role in resource allocation.中国政策科学研究会经济政策委员会副主任徐洪才表示，十九届六中全会通过的决议，传达出以高质量发展来解决发展问题、缩小贫富差距的信号。因而政府要进一步健全公平竞争法律制度体系，不断强化反垄断反不正当竞争监管执法，清除市场在资源配置中发挥关键作用时的阻碍。Han, from the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, also said that China encourages entrepreneurs to actively participate in charitable activities, adding that donations are voluntary and must not mean "killing the rich to help the poor".中央财经委员会办公室的韩文秀还介绍称，国家鼓励支持企业和企业家积极参与公益慈善事业。他也补充称，慈善捐赠是自愿行为，绝不能“杀富济贫”，“杀富致贫”，不能搞“逼捐”。Some experts said that China needs to further reform its tax policies, such as improving tax incentives for charitable donations and giving private business owners and wealthy individuals greater incentives to donate to charitable causes.部分专家还指出，国内的税收政策需要进一步改革，如提高慈善捐赠的税收激励，增加与完善企业和个人捐赠的税收优惠政策等。common prosperity英 [ˈkɒmən prɒˈsperəti]；美[ˈkɑːmən prɑːˈsperəti] 共同富裕tax incentive英 [tæks ɪnˈsɛntɪv]；美[tæks ɪnˈsɛntɪv] 税收激励；税务优惠overarching英[ˌəʊvərˈɑːtʃɪŋ]；美[ˌoʊvərˈɑːrtʃɪŋ] adj. 极其重要的；首要的；最高的；能涵盖的jeopardize英 [ˈdʒepədaɪz]；美[ˈdʒepərdaɪz] v. 伤及；损害 monopoly英 [məˈnɒpəli]；美[məˈnɑːpəli] n. 垄断；独占

Today’s Essential Eight items: Messaging for the 6th plenum #Metoo accusation against former Standing Committee member Zhang Gaoli Outbreak and growing restrictions Li Keqiang chairs a symposium at the State Administration for Market Regulation Kuailu scam boss finally arrested in the US

学科类校外培训如何收费？国家最新回应丨Fee standards to be set for tutoring coursesLocal governments should establish guidance fees for curriculum-based tutoring courses for primary and middle school students by the end of this year to reduce families' education expenses, as such training should be nonprofit, a notice issued on Monday said.周一发布的一份通知称，各地要于2021年底前出台义务教育阶段学科类校外培训收费政府指导价管理政策，以减少家庭教育费用，因为此类培训应属于非营利性机构。The notice, issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education and the State Administration for Market Regulation, said provincial development and reform commissions and education authorities will be responsible for setting specific fee standards for online and offline tutoring courses.国家发改委、教育部、国家市场监管总局下发的通知称，省级发改委和教育主管部门将负责制定线上和线下辅导课程的具体收费标准。They should be based on average course costs, local economic development conditions and families' financial capabilities, it said.通知表示，这些机构应以平均培训成本为基础，统筹考虑当地经济发展水平、学生家庭承受能力等因素，制定收费标准。The course fees charged by tutoring companies can, at most, be 10 percent higher than the standard and the tutoring companies should strictly reduce unreasonable operating costs.培训机构收取的课程费最多可比标准高10%，培训机构应严格控制不合理的运营成本。The average salary of people working for tutoring companies should not be considerably higher than for those working at public education institutions, the notice said, adding that companies' publicity expenditure should be capped at less than 3 percent of their sales revenue.通知称，培训机构人员的平均工资不得明显高于公立教育机构工作人员的平均工资，并补充说，公司的宣传支出应限制在销售收入的3%以下。Tutoring companies should, under no circumstance, increase course fees or charge other fees and local government authorities should hold violators accountable, it said.通知称，培训机构不可提高课程费或收取其他费用，违规者将被地方政府当局追究责任。A guideline issued recently by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council required curriculum-based tutoring institutions for primary and middle school students to register as nonprofit organizations to ensure the equality of compulsory education.中共中央办公厅、国务院办公厅近日发布指导意见，要求学科类校外培训机构登记为非营利性组织，以保证义务教育的公正性。They are not allowed to go public for financing, listed companies should not invest in them, and foreign capital is barred from such institutions, the guideline said.通知称，这些机构不得上市融资，上市公司不得投资，外资不得进入此类机构。In a separate development on Monday, the Ministry of Education issued a guideline setting out specific and strict requirements for the teaching materials used by tutoring institutions for primary and middle school students.在周一的另一项发展中，教育部发布了一项指导方针，对中小学生培训机构使用的教材提出了具体而严格的要求。It said the teaching materials should not exceed the national syllabus and must be of appropriate difficulty and length. They should also strictly implement the Party's education policies and reflect the correct political direction and core socialist values.通知中说到，教材不应超过国家教学大纲，难度和学习量要适当。还要严格执行党的教育方针，体现正确的政治方向和社会主义核心价值观。People compiling the teaching materials should firmly uphold the Party's leadership and socialism with Chinese characteristics. They should have at least three years of teaching experience and no criminal record or history of moral or credit failings.编撰教材的人要坚决拥护中国共产党的领导和中国特色社会主义制度。从事教育教学相关工作3年及以上，无失德、失信、违纪、违法等不良记录。Tutoring companies should verify all teaching materials and education authorities should set up expert teams to check the materials to guarantee their appropriateness and difficulty.培训机构应审核所有教材，教育部门应成立专家组对教材进行审核，为教材质量把关。Tutoring companies should keep a record of all teaching materials for three years and report information about the people compiling the materials to education authorities.培训机构应将所有教材保管三年，并将有关编写教材人员的信息报告给教育部门。Through annual examinations, special inspections and random checks, education authorities should verify the teaching materials and the suitability of tutoring company staff members in charge of their compilation.教育行政部门应当通过年度检查、专项检查、随机抽查，核实教材和培训机构人员是否适合编制。Education authorities will revoke the teaching permits of companies found to have seriously violated regulations regarding teaching materials.严重违反教材规定的机构一经发现，教育部门将吊销机构教学许可证。In a related question-and-answer session explaining the new guideline, an official with the ministry's department for supervision of after-school tutoring institutions, said the guideline applies to all teaching materials used by online and offline training companies in both curriculum-based and non-curriculum-based tutoring.教育部课外辅导机构监督司的一位官员在解释新政策的相关问答环节中表示，该指南适用于线上和线下培训机构在基于课程和非课程基础上的辅导中使用的所有教材。The regulation of teaching materials has become the key difficulty in regulating the after-school tutoring sector and there is an urgent need to improve related policies, the official said.这位负责人说，培训材料审核已成为规范课后辅导工作的重点难点，迫切需要完善相关政策。1.expenditure美 [ɪk'spendɪtʃər] 英 [ɪk'spendɪtʃə(r)]n.开支；费用；消费；消耗网络：支出；花费；经费2.cap美 [kæp] 英 [kæp]n.盖；制服帽；软帽；（大学师生在特别场合戴的）方帽v.用…覆盖顶部（或端部）；限额收取（或支出）；胜过；超过abbr.(=Common Agricultural Policy)(欧洲经济共同体)共同农业政策网络：封顶；上限；上限的3.revenue美 ['revənju] 英 ['revənjuː]n.收益；营业额；税务署网络：收入；税收；岁入4.compile美 [kəm'paɪl] 英 [kəm'paɪl]v.编制；搜集(资料)网络：编译；正在编译；编译阶段5.revoke美 [rɪ'voʊk] 英 [rɪ'vəʊk]v.取消；废除；使无效n.废弃；【牌】(不跟出同样花色的牌)犯规另出他牌网络：撤销；撤回；撤消

Last year, Tencent announced plans to merge Huya and Douyu, however, on July 10th, 2021, The State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) stated that it would block the merger on antitrust grounds. This is a substantial development, as it is the first time the Chinese government has blocked a merger in the tech sector for antitrust reasons, lets discuss it today! Website: https://www.carlodandrea.it Twitter: https://twitter.com/DAndreaCarloD Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Carlo+Diego+d%27andrea&ref=nb_sb_noss

China's State Administration for Market Regulation ordered Tencent to end its exclusive music licensing rights within 30 days including requirements for copyright holders to give the company better treatment than rivals. Google announced it will now designate a subset of APIs across the company as Google Enterprise APIs, which will be subject to strict guidelines about any change to them that would impact consumer software built around them. Sean Hollister at the Verge recently profiled how the YouTube channel Upscale is recreating classic video game cutscenes at high resolution. The channel does this using Topaz Video Enhance AI.Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, Roger Chang, Joe.Link to the Show Notes.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The first one: Suborbital reusable carrier.On July 16, the suborbital reusable carrier successfully took off and landed smoothly and horizontally after completing the flight according to the set procedure. On July 17, relevant news was released on the official social media account of  the State Administration of Defense Technology Industry. Yet, this video message has no video, but a blue background and a message page saying "suborbital reusable vehicle flight demonstration verification project has succeeded in its first flight."The second one is the 600 km/h high-speed maglev train.On July 20, China's 600 km/h high-speed maglev system, which was developed by CRRC and has completely independent intellectual property rights, was successfully rolled off the assembly line. The world's first high-speed maglev transportation system with a design speed of 600 kilometers per hour indicates that China has mastered the complete set of high-speed maglev technology and engineering capabilities.I set up and operate this channel alone, hoping to share the real China with the world as well as clarify misconceptions and lies against China. The continued development of China is the biggest game-changer in this century that affects all aspects of everyone's lives. Embrace the change and seize the opportunity.Creating original content is hard work, your support is what keeps me going. Please donate to this channel: https://paypal.me/ChinaExplained?locale.x=en_GB

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation ordered Tencent to end its exclusive music licensing rights within 30 days including requirements for copyright holders to give the company better treatment than rivals. Google announced it will now designate a subset of APIs across the company as Google Enterprise APIs, which will be subject to strict guidelines about any change to them that would impact consumer software built around them. Sean Hollister at the Verge recently profiled how the YouTube channel Upscale is recreating classic video game cutscenes at high resolution. The channel does this using Topaz Video Enhance AI. Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, Roger Chang, Joe, Amos. MP3 Download Using a Screen Reader? Click here Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org Follow us on Twitter Instgram YouTube and Twitch Please SUBSCRIBE HERE. Subscribe through Apple Podcasts. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you are willing to support the show or to give as little as 10 cents a day on Patreon, Thank you! Become a Patron! Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme! Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo! Thanks to our mods Jack_Shid and KAPT_Kipper on the subreddit Send to email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes To read the show notes in a separate page click here!

On Tuesday, Chinese technology stocks rose the most in nearly three weeks, as official approval for a Tencent Holdings Ltd. acquisition alleviated investor concerns about Beijing's recent regulatory crackdown. According to a statement on the State Administration for Market Regulation's website, Tencent's acquisition of search engine developer Sogou has been approved by China's anti-monopoly regulator. Tecent shares rose 3.76%, Alibaba rose 1.96%, Bidu rose 2.33% while the broader USA markets are down about 0.3%.

According to Reuters, Tesla (TSLA) will recall nearly 300,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in China for an online software update, citing the country's State Administration for Market Regulation. According to the news outlet, which cited the regulator, the cars have a function that can be accidentally activated by drivers, resulting in sudden acceleration. According to Reuters, the recall affects 249,855 China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, as well as 35,665 imported Model 3 sedans, and vehicle owners are not required to return their vehicles. Another important news about Tesla is its partership with CATL, a Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacter based in Ningde. CATL said in a stock exchange filing that it would supply battery cells to Tesla, which manufactures Model 3 sedans and Model Y SUVs in Shanghai, until December 2025. Tesla stocks rose 2.4% on Monday.

When does a big tech giant become too big? It's a question that seems to have been on the mind of officials within China's State Administration for Market Regulation of late. But why have Jack Ma's fintech subsidiary Ant Group and the food-delivery platform Meituan attracted the attention of the regulators recently? In this episode, Joe Cash talks to the CBBC's UK-based policy analyst Torsten Weller on the competition that is shaping up between China's state-owned banks and the private fintech companies to provide digital payments solutions, the tactics that the private tech firms use to compete with one another, and how China's big tech scene dwarfs what consumers in the UK are used to.

China has demonstrated to some of the country’s largest technology players that antitrust oversight isn’t limited to the State Administration for Market Regulation — the top competition enforcer. Recent events in the country show that, when needed, all regulatory agencies are prepared to pitch in. Also on today’s podcast: the Petroecuador bribery saga. The company wanted to recover money from a bribe payer; but a US judge baulked at granting the troubled Latin American oil company its restitution claim.

The A-list of China's tech industry was summoned before the country's powerful regulators on Tuesday for a dressing down over antitrust behaviour, just days after Alibaba was hit with a record $2.8 billion fine for acting like a monopoly.The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), along with the Cyberspace Administration (CAC) and the State Taxation Administration (STA), met with executives from 34 internet companies, such as Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance, the SAMR said in a statement.The meeting was aimed at requiring every company to heed the warning from the Alibaba case and stop anti-competitive and other illegal behaviours, the regulator said. "Internet platform companies must be in awe of and respect the rules," it added.Other companies attending included JD.com, Pinduoduo, Baidu, food delivery app Meituan, ride-hailing giant Didi, gaming company NetEase, streaming platform iQIYI and short-form video app Kuaishou.The regulators required the companies to conduct their own inspections within a month, rectify any shortcomings, and make a public statement of compliance. Officials will continue to track company behavior and any found guilty of breaching the rules will be subject to "heavy punishments," the SAMR said.On Wednesday, the regulator published statements of compliance from 12 companies, including Bytedance, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Meituan and Baidu. The companies all pledged to fix their antitrust practices and comply with the rules.Shares of the companies jumped in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Statements from the other companies are expected in the coming days.On Saturday, the SAMR slapped a fine of 18.28 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) on Jack Ma's Alibaba, accusing the online shopping company of implementing "exclusive dealing agreements" that prevented merchants from selling on rival platforms.Two days later, financial regulators ordered Ant Group, Ma's financial tech firm, to overhaul its operations and become a financial holding company supervised by the central bank. That means the Alibaba-affiliate will have to follow rules similar to those applied to traditional Chinese banks and scale down its aspirations to become a dominant force in the tech world.Beijing has been tightening the screws on China's tech champions in recent months, part of a regulatory crackdown that President Xi Jinping has described as one of the country's top priorities for 2021. Last month, Xi urged officials to step up their efforts to regulate online companies to maintain social stability.The regulators promised on Tuesday to crack down on a range of practices, such as abusing dominant market positions, setting artificially low prices to grab a bigger market share in "community group buying," using big data to charge consumers different prices, information leakage, and illegal tax-related activities.In particular, the companies must "take strict precautions against" five behaviours, including the disorderly expansion of capital, monopolizing the market, stifling technology innovation by competitors, abusing internet algorithms, and closing off their digital ecosystems to others.text by Laura He, CNN Business

Today on The Leaders' Brief - U.S. President Joe Biden's proposed federal budget, released last Friday, could be called a polar shift from his predecessor Donald Trump's fiscal approach. The Democrat President has earmarked a total of $769 billion for non-defence programs and focuses on several domestic issues such as public health programmes and aims to ramp up the fight against climate change. In fact, the proposed $1.5 trillion budget for 2022 increases funding for domestic programs by 16% at 3.3% of the country's GDP while increasing the military budget by a mere 1.7%. The plan is expected to be strongly debated in Congress. The United Kingdom's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has advised Britain to avoid using AstraZeneca shots for those aged below 30 over concerns of blood clotting at a time the country is preparing to ease lockdown restrictions. Wei Shen Lim, chair of the British health advisory board told a press briefing that based on available data and evidence, it was preferable for adults aged under 30 to be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca jab. He, however, pointed out that “We are advising a preference for one vaccine over another vaccine for a particular age group, really out of the utmost caution, rather than because we have any serious safety concerns”.  In the highest ever antitrust fine in the country, Chinese regulators have fined Alibaba Group Holding a record $2.75 billion for violating anti-monopoly rules and abusing its dominant market position. The Jack Ma owned corporation has seen its businesses being targeted by Chinese authorities on several occasions since October, last year, including a decision to freeze the planned $37 Billion public listing of Alibaba's fintech firm Ant Group, after the company had cleared almost every hurdle. China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) had launched an antitrust probe into Alibaba soon after the IPO was halted in December last year. About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

China's State Administration for Market Regulation has fined Alibaba Group over 18 billion yuan, roughly 2.8 billion U.S. dollars, for abusing its market dominant position.

Official data shows China attracted 520 billion U.S. dollars of foreign investment last year, up 81 percent from 2019. A report released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange shows that foreign direct investment, or FDI, into the Chinese mainland grew by 14 percent last year. China's securities market saw net inflows of overseas funds totaling 255 billion dollars, a surge of 73 percent. Meanwhile, net flows into Chinese bonds jumped by 86 percent to 190.5 billion dollars.

On this episode of On the Job With PORAC, PORAC President Brian Marvel and Vice President Damon Kurtz invite in Assemblymember Jim Cooper to hear updates on California legislation and his support for our state's law enforcement.   Assemblymember Jim Cooper's biography: Assemblymember Jim Cooper proudly represents California’s 9th Assembly district, which includes the cities of Sacramento, Elk Grove, Galt, and Lodi. Cooper currently serves on several committees, including: Public Employees Retirement and Social Security Committee, Governmental Organization Committee, and Insurance Committee. Cooper also serves as Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration and the Assembly Select Committee on Community Law Enforcement Relations and Responsibilities. Cooper has also served as the Assistant Majority Leader and Assistant Majority Whip under then Speaker of the Assembly Toni Atkins. Assemblymember Cooper has an extensive background in law enforcement and local government. Before joining the Assembly in 2014, Cooper served as a Captain in the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department for 30 years and spent 15 years as Elk Grove’s founding mayor and councilmember. He established solid governing values, balanced the city’s budget, and built a city from the ground up. Cooper has earned numerous awards, including the Bronze Star for Bravery for actions during the 1991 “Good Guys” hostage crisis. He also spent three years working as the Department’s spokesperson and spent nearly a decade working as an undercover narcotics officer and gang detective –investigating illegal activity to fight drug trafficking in Northern California. Community service is a significant part of Assemblymember Cooper’s life. He has served on the boards of the Boys & Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Sacramento Children’s Receiving Home. Cooper grew up in Sacramento and is a graduate of the West Point Leadership Academy and FBI National Academy. He earned a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Saint Mary’s College. Click Here to learn more about Assemblymember Jim Cooper.

Dr Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs gives an analysis of leaked documents published by Nepali media revealing that China made Nepal accept their Sinovac vaccine, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation's new anti-monopoly guidelines, reduced reliance on China as a production base, and more.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1973 World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab launched the first Davos Manifesto, a set of ethical principles. 50 years after its founding, the Forum has launched a new manifesto. The global economy has undergone a huge transformation in this time, with the rise of big tech, China, wage inequality and ethi cal companies.Thriller Premium is at it again covering Davos again this year, covering global insights into the impact Crypto & Bitcoin has on wider issues such as responding to Covid-19, restoring economic growth and advancing this new social contract.HighlightsResetting Digital Currencies (Option 1)COVID-19 has accelerated the long-term shift from cash, with an 8% increase in non-cash payments in the euro area in 2020. Meanwhile, central bank digital currencies are emerging, potentially transforming how people use money worldwide.What policies, practices and partnerships are needed to leverage the opportunities posed by the rise of digital currencies?This session is associated with the following projects and initiatives of the World Economic Forum: Digital Currency Governance Consortium, and Reimagining Regulation: Pathways to Digital Currency. Andrew Bailey Currently Executive Director Banking and Chief Cashier at the Bank of England. Appointed to current role in January 2004 and has several key responsibilities to fulfil. Member of the Governor's Executive Team, which is the bank's senior management group. Formerly, Research Officer at the London School of Economics, before joining the Bank of England in 1985. BA and PhD, Queens' College, Cambridge. Glenn H. HutchinsChairman, North Island and North Island Ventures; Co-Founder, Silver Lake. Director, AT&T, Virtu Financial and Digital Currency Group; Co-Chair, Brookings Institution and CARE; Member, Executive Committee, Boston Celtics Basketball Team and the Obama Foundation; Member of the Board, New York Presbyterian Hospital and the Center for American Progress. Member, Investment Board, Singapore's Government Investment Corporation. Formerly: Director and Chair, Audit and Risk Committee, Federal Reserve Bank of New York; served President Clinton during the transition and in the White House as a Special Adviser on Economic and Healthcare Policy. Former: Chairman of the Board, SunGard Data Systems and Instinet; Director, Nasdaq; Director, Harvard Management Company; Co-Chairman, Harvard University's capital campaign. Co-founded, with wife, the Hutchins Family Foundation which supports the construction of the Obama Presidential Center and has created the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University; the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution; and the Chronic Fatigue Initiative. Published essays on economic and public policy in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Fortune and Foreign Affairs. Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences. BA, Harvard College; MBA, Harvard Business School; JD, Harvard Law School. Strengthening the Financial and Monetary System (Option 1)Governments responded swiftly to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing fiscal and monetary support as well as adapting regulatory requirements to this new context. This Leadership Panel assesses the current health of the financial system, identifies potential emerging financial risks resulting from these historic interventions, and reflects on how industries and governments can work together to make key financial institutions more resilient in 2021. Yi GangGovernor, The People's Bank of China PhD in Economics. 1978-80, studies, Department of Economics, Peking University. 1980-86, studied Business Administration, Hamline University; then pursued Doctorate in Economics, University of Illinois. 1986-94, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, then Professor, Department of Economics, Indiana University. 1994, co-founded the China Center for Economic Rsearch (CCER) at Peking University, served as Deputy Director, Full Professor and PhD Adviser, economics. With the People's Bank of China: 1997-2002, Deputy Secretary-General, Monetary Policy Committee; 2002-03, Secretary-General, Monetary Policy Committee, and Deputy Director-General, Monetary Policy Department; October 2003, Director-General, Monetary Policy Department; July 2004, Member, CPC Committee; Assistant Governor; 2006-07, President, Operation Office, Secretary, CPC Operation Office Committee, and Director, Beijing Foreign Exchange Administration Office, State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE); December 2007, Deputy Governor and Member, CPC Committee; 2009-15, Administrator, SAFE, and Secretary, CPC SAFE Leadership Group; March 2016, Deputy Secretary, CPC Committee, and Deputy Governor; since March 2018, Governor. Deputy Director, Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs. Alternate Member, 19th CPC Central Committee. Representative, 18th and 19th CPC National Congress. Member, 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee. Mary Callahan ErdoesChief Executive Officer, Asset and Wealth Management, JP Morgan Mary Callahan Erdoes is Chief Executive Officer of JPMorgan Chase's Asset & Wealth Management line of business – one of the largest and most respected investment managers and private banks in the world, with more than $3 trillion in client assets and a 200-year-old legacy as a trusted fiduciary to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. Since joining the firm 20 years ago, Erdoes has held senior roles across Asset & Wealth Management before becoming its CEO in 2009 and joining the JPMorgan Chase Operating Committee, the firm's most senior management team. Erdoes serves on the boards of the U.S.-China Business Council and the Robin Hood Foundation of New York City. She is also a board member of Georgetown University, where she earned her Mathematics undergraduate degree, and serves on the Global Advisory Council of Harvard University, where she received her MBA. Erdoes lives in New York City with her husband and three daughters. Jes StaleyGroup Chief Executive Officer, Barclays Joined Barclays as Group Chief Executive on 1 December 2015. Has nearly four decades of extensive experience in banking and financial services. Worked for more than 30 years at J.P. Morgan, initially training as a commercial banker, and later advancing to the leadership of major businesses involving equities, private banking and asset management, and ultimately heading the company's Global Investment Bank. Most recently, served as Managing Partner at BlueMountain Capital. BA in Economics from Bowdoin College. Bitcoin use of Criminal Activity is subsiding. Bitcoin still seen as a bubble. The Federal Reserve, the United States' central bank, said today at the conclusion of its regular Federal Open Market Committee meeting that it would keep its key overnight interest rate near zero and make no change to its monthly bond purchases of at least $120 billion. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that there was “great uncertainty ahead.” CBDC's is all the Rage, much different from last year. Stable Coins will be the first step globally, governments are looking into or trialing their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which are essentially digital versions of a government's fiat currency. China is onboard with going Green by 2030 and will use it's monetary might to do so. Also looking to become a consumption driven economy very soon.References: FinExtra Davos 2021

China's State Administration for Market Regulation launches an antitrust investigation into Alibaba, Nuro receives the first California permit to operate commercial delivery service, and Square is reportedly in talks to buy Tidal. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

China's State Administration for Market Regulation has started an investigation into Alibaba Group for alleged monopoly conduct such as implementing an "exclusive dealing agreement."

Episode Title: The Startup Life-How To B The Change Featuring Christopher Marquis(Award-Winning Professor at Cornell University) In this episode, we talk to Christopher Marquis(Award-Winning Professor at Cornell University)as we discuss his new book, advice on doing business in China, and how one student's question changed everything.  Purchase his book here Chris Marquis is the Samuel C. Johnson Professor in Sustainable Global Enterprise and Professor of Management at the Cornell University Johnson College of Business. Prior to joining Cornell, he worked for 10 years at Harvard Business School and has held visiting positions at Harvard Kennedy School, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Peking University, Fudan University, and Shanghai Jiaotong University. Marquis received a PhD in sociology and business administration from the University of Michigan. Marquis' current teaching and research is broadly focused on the two areas of social innovation and change and doing business in China. Under these themes he has examined entrepreneurship in China, the triple-bottom line and building sustainable businesses globally, and business competition in emerging markets. These research projects build on Marquis' earlier research on how business can have a positive impact on society and in particular how historical and geographical processes have shaped firms' and entrepreneurs' social and environmental strategies and activities. His latest book, Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism, focuses on the potential for stakeholder governance models to reform capitalism. Marquis's research has won a number of national and international awards, including the 2006 William H. Newman Award for best dissertation across the entire the Academy of Management, the 2006 Louis R. Pondy award for best dissertation in organizational theory from the Academy of Management, the 2003 James D. Thompson Award for best graduate student paper from the American Sociological Association, and the 2005 State Farm Doctoral Dissertation Award. He was a finalist for the 2010 and 2013 Aspen Institute Faculty Pioneer Award, a runner-up in the Academy of Management's Best Published Paper in Organization and Management Theory in 2009, and a finalist in the 2004 INFORMS/Organization Science Dissertation Proposal Competition. In 2018 he was given the International Educator Award, from China's State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs. Marquis has published in Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, American Sociological Review, Harvard Business Review, Organization Science, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Strategic Management Journal, as well as a number of edited collections. From 2014-2020 he was an Associate Editor at Administrative Science Quarterly and he has served as an elected member of the Executive Committee of the Organization and Management Theory Division of the Academy of Management and of the International Association of Chinese Management Research (IACMR). Before his academic career, Marquis worked for six years in the financial services industry, most recently as vice president and technology manager for a business unit of J.P. Morgan Chase. Written by: Dominic Lawson Avani Garde Executive Producers: Dominic Lawson and Kenda Lawson Music Credits: **Show Theme**  Behind Closed Doors - Otis McDonald  **Break Theme** Cielo - Huma-Huma  Build a new website:  www.funkymedia.agency/register 

Professor Wei Cui teaches at the Peter A. Allard School of Law. He also practiced tax law for over 10 years in both New York and Beijing, served as senior tax counsel for the China Investment Corporation and has served as a consultant to the United Nations, the Budgetary Affairs Commission of China’s National People’s Congress, and China’s Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation.Cui has been at the forefront of the effort to understand the opportunities and perils presented by the fast-moving effort to tax digital giants such as Facebook and Google. He explains how his focus on digital taxes grew out of a last-minute scramble to find a topic after a shift in the political winds rendered another moot. The result has been good for him and great for all of us as he has added much-needed light to a heated debate that at times has threatened to escalate into a trans-Atlantic trade war. Cui also discusses his controversial work on third-party information reporting. He has questioned the importance scholars and policymakers often place on information as a source of strength for tax systems in developed economies. He makes a compelling case that the link between the two has long been misunderstood.Our student quote by Aaron from College Station, Texas.ResourcesProfessor Cui’s bio.Dan Shaviro’s  blog post about Cui’s visit to the NYU Law Tax Policy and Public Finance Colloquium.The paper Cui presented at the Colloquium, The Digital Services Tax: A Conceptual DefenseCui’s paper questioning the value of information reporting.  Leandra Lederman’s response.The student quote is taken from John Marshall’s opinion in McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316, 431 (1819).

In this episode, we talk to Christopher Marquis(Award-Winning Professor at Cornell University)as we discuss his new book, advice on doing business in China, and how one student's question changed everything.  Purchase his book here Chris Marquis is the Samuel C. Johnson Professor in Sustainable Global Enterprise and Professor of Management at the Cornell University Johnson College of Business. Prior to joining Cornell, he worked for 10 years at Harvard Business School and has held visiting positions at Harvard Kennedy School, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Peking University, Fudan University, and Shanghai Jiaotong University. Marquis received a PhD in sociology and business administration from the University of Michigan. Marquis' current teaching and research is broadly focused on the two areas of social innovation and change and doing business in China. Under these themes he has examined entrepreneurship in China, the triple-bottom line and building sustainable businesses globally, and business competition in emerging markets. These research projects build on Marquis' earlier research on how business can have a positive impact on society and in particular how historical and geographical processes have shaped firms' and entrepreneurs' social and environmental strategies and activities. His latest book, Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism, focuses on the potential for stakeholder governance models to reform capitalism. Marquis's research has won a number of national and international awards, including the 2006 William H. Newman Award for best dissertation across the entire the Academy of Management, the 2006 Louis R. Pondy award for best dissertation in organizational theory from the Academy of Management, the 2003 James D. Thompson Award for best graduate student paper from the American Sociological Association, and the 2005 State Farm Doctoral Dissertation Award. He was a finalist for the 2010 and 2013 Aspen Institute Faculty Pioneer Award, a runner-up in the Academy of Management's Best Published Paper in Organization and Management Theory in 2009, and a finalist in the 2004 INFORMS/Organization Science Dissertation Proposal Competition. In 2018 he was given the International Educator Award, from China's State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs. Marquis has published in Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, American Sociological Review, Harvard Business Review, Organization Science, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Strategic Management Journal, as well as a number of edited collections. From 2014-2020 he was an Associate Editor at Administrative Science Quarterly and he has served as an elected member of the Executive Committee of the Organization and Management Theory Division of the Academy of Management and of the International Association of Chinese Management Research (IACMR). Before his academic career, Marquis worked for six years in the financial services industry, most recently as vice president and technology manager for a business unit of J.P. Morgan Chase. Visit our website TheStartupLifePodcast.com Follow The Startup Life Podcast Facebook Page Want gear from The Startup Life? Check out our gear! Check out other great podcasts from The Binge Podcast Network. Written by: Dominic Lawson Avani Garde Executive Producers: Dominic Lawson and Kenda Lawson Music Credits: **Show Theme**  Behind Closed Doors - Otis McDonald  **Break Theme** Cielo - Huma-Huma 

About Ben MengYu (Ben) Meng rejoined CalPERS in January 2019 as chief investment officer (CIO). He oversees an investment office of nearly 400 employees and manages investment portfolios of roughly $400 billion, including the Public Employees' Retirement Fund and affiliate funds.Yu, a U.S. citizen born in China, returned to CalPERS after more than three years as the deputy CIO at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the largest asset pool in the world with assets under management of over $3 trillion U.S. dollars.Prior to his time at SAFE, he served at CalPERS for seven years with his last role as the investment director of Asset Allocation. He also was a portfolio manager in fixed income.Before joining CalPERS in 2008, Yu worked at Barclays Global Investors as a senior portfolio manager, Lehman Brothers as a risk officer, and Morgan Stanley as a fixed-income trader.He also serves as a member of the Future of Finance Advisory Council (CFA Institute) and is an associate editor for the Journal of Investment Management.In 2014 Yu was the recipient of the Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Haas School of Business.He holds a master's degree in financial engineering from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and a doctorate in civil engineering from the University of California, Davis. About Amanda WhiteAmanda White is responsible for the content across all Conexus Financial's institutional media and events. In addition to being the editor of Top1000funds.com, she is responsible for directing the global bi-annual Fiduciary Investors Symposium which challenges global investors on investment best practice and aims to place the responsibilities of investors in wider societal, and political contexts.  She holds a Bachelor of Economics and a Masters of Art in Journalism and has been an investment journalist for more than 25 years. She is currently a fellow in the Finance Leaders Fellowship at the Aspen Institute. The two-year program seeks to develop the next generation of responsible, community-spirited leaders in the global finance industry.  What is the Fiduciary Investors series?The COVID-19 global health and economic crisis has highlighted the need for leadership and capital to be urgently targeted towards the vulnerabilities in the global economy.Through conversations with academics and asset owners, the Fiduciary Investors Podcast Series is a forward looking examination of the changing dynamics in the global economy, what a sustainable recovery looks like and how investors are positioning their portfolios.The much-loved events, the Fiduciary Investors Symposiums, act as an advocate for fiduciary capitalism and the power of asset owners to change the nature of the investment industry, including addressing principal/agent and fee problems, stabilising financial markets, and directing capital for the betterment of society and the environment. Like the event series, the podcast series, tackles the challenges long-term investors face in an environment of disruption,  and asks investors to think differently about how they make decisions and allocate capital. 

Assemblyman Jim Cooper shares his thoughts regarding calls for change in law enforcement and he speaks about the state budget, water and environmental issues in the Legislature.   Asm. Cooper is Chair of the Budget Subcommittee on State Administration and he serves on the Insurance Committee, Governmental Organization Committee and the Public Employees Retirement and Social Security Committee. Prior to becoming a member of the State Legislature, Assemblyman Cooper served as a captain in the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department and served as Elk Grove's founding mayor and as a council member.

Episode 43. March 27, 2020 CLP Topic Category: Vichy Republican Collaborators Who Is It In America That Is Responsible For Implementing the Trade Agreements With China? Note to visitors: Our podcast today is the Introduction to a much longer document that explains who it is in America that was responsible for implementing the trade deals with China. The other sections of the longer podcast are: The American Roots of Globalism The Link Between Globalism and American Crony Capitalism Civil Dissolution or Civil War? Irreconcilable Differences You can access this podcast, for free, for one week, at our website. You can subscribe to our entire archive of podcasts and text at our website for $30 per year.   Introduction: Our podcast today examines the argument made by Mike Slater, on the tv program, The First, that China is an enemy of the United States. Slater explains that the most recent Wu Virus is only the latest of three epidemics, in 20 years, unleashed on the world by the militaristic, repressive Communist regime in Beijing. The most charitable interpretation of this behavior by the Communists is that they are wildly incompetent to control the outbreaks of deadly diseases. The more accurate interpretation of the behavior, explained by Slater, is that they are an enemy of the U. S., intent on destroying the fabric of American society. Our podcast today adopts the second interpretation in order to examine what political and financial forces in America were responsible for forming the close ties between the two countries. We agree with the analysis of Curtis Ellis, in his article, China's Post-Virus Plan to Destroy America's Economy, where he states that, “The “respected voices” calling for America to lift the tariffs on China are simply swallowing Beijing's sophisticated propaganda. China means to use this crisis to destroy us…Moreover, Beijing sees an opportunity in the pandemic to reverse President Trump's call to move manufacturing out of China. China's State Administration of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND), stated: “China will get more opportunities, including in the reduction of pressure for the international industrial chain to transfer away from China . . . The global epidemic has provided opportunities for improving China's international position and countering anti-globalization.” We argue that, in the late 1980s, the 1500 member companies of the Business Roundtable were effective in perpetrating a fraud that China was just like any other country in terms of global trade. We argue that those same corporate actors continue, today, to coordinate their political strategy with special interest lobbying groups and crony capitalist elected representatives, who obtain personal financial benefits from passing legislation that have continued the re-authorization of the deals with China. The lobbyists for the Business Roundtable and U.S. Chamber of Commerce, wrote the draft legislation, in 1999, in order for the corporations to obtain huge profits from moving production to China, and then selling those cheap goods back to the American market. The main political representatives who voted initially to implement the deals, and then voted to re-authorize the deals, are a coalition of Democrats and Republicans, who obtained vast financial benefits from “tribute” paid by the corporations. The large corporations obtained an 80% cost saving in production of goods in China, and while a small portion of the savings showed up in cheaper goods, the vast majority went to the bottom line profits of the large corporations. Most of the profits earned from overseas production were never taxed in the U. S., and were never repatriated, in the form of capital investments, back into the U. S. domestic economy The U. S. corporate profits were reinvested in China, which empowered the successful Chinese economy, and allowed their national champion industries to become wildly profitable. Elected representatives at the state and Federal level worked together to advocate the public benefits of trade with China. For example, In North Carolina, Governor Hunt hosted an annual event, called the Emerging Issues Forum, to promote global trade. Governor Hunt created the Forum in October 1985 to provide a catalyst for the discussion and action needed to move the United States forward in the world economy. His political mantra was that North Carolina workers must be “competitive” with global workers. The second conference, in February 1987, drew 1,500 people to the McKimmon Center on the NC State University campus and featured speakers that included Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Paul Krugman, Thomas Friedman, Newt Gingrich, Hillary Clinton, Steve Forbes, Robert Rubin, Jay Rockefeller, Amory Lovins, Al Gore, and Paul Volcker. While President Trump has correctly ranted incessantly about the unfair trade deals, he never identifies the political or corporate actors, listed above, who are responsible for allowing the trade deals to be enacted. Citizens need to know who it was in America that engaged in a form of national economic sedition of collaborating with an enemy. The Wu Virus is helping the citizens understand the extent of the danger caused by trade with China, but the virus has not clarified who is responsible for the economic damage. Our podcast goes further to explain who these agents are that promoted the trade fraud with China. We argue that the economic chaos inflicted by the Wu Virus is only the most immediate consequence of trade with China. Less well known is the negative effect on U. S. labor markets that became overly dependent on service jobs. In 2000, prior to the trade deals with China,, about  17,000 American workers were employed the production of goods, primarily in manufacturing firms. In 2000, about 75,000 workers were employed in the service industries. In 2018, only 12,688 workers were employed in manufacturing and 129,000 workers, or 80% of the U. S. labor force, was employed in services. The services economy is commonly called the “gig” economy, that features low paying, unstable jobs, that offer no health benefits. In Governor Hunt's propaganda of the benefits of trade with China, required North Carolina workers to be “competitive” with China meant transferring North Carolina jobs from manufacturing to the gig economy. North Carolina's formerly diversified economy employed about 800,000 workers in manufacturing, before the trade deals. After the trade deals with China, out of a total state workforce of 5 million, about 400,000 workers were employed in manufacturing, and over 1 million were employed in the service sectors. The service industry is made up of restaurant workers and retail shops, and is the most vulnerable to mass layoffs from the Chinese disruption to the S. economy.   After the trade deals were implemented, the U. S. labor market and economy lacked diversification, and its occupational job structure looked just like the third world economies in Latin America and Africa. The relocation of medical supply chains by large global corporations also exposed another hidden consequence of trade with China. When the entire inter-industry manufacturing supply chains moved to China, local towns that relied on manufacturing jobs were devastated. Those local economies became overly dependent on service jobs, and on increased government welfare payments. More importantly, by moving the supply chains off shore, America's single most important competitive initial factor endowment of technological innovation was lost. Technological innovation, prior to the trade deals, used to occur in the metro regional manufacturing supply chains in 350 metro regions, as a result of tacit knowledge creation and diffusion among the small manufacturing firms. After the trade deals, the citizens discovered that innovation and product commercialization does not occur in the gig economy. Innovation occurs in the industrial supply chains, now located in China. We argue that the members of the Business Roundtable, and the establishment Republican Party knew, in advance, the economic damage that would be caused by moving the supply chains to China, but calculated that the benefits of their increased profits outweighed the social costs imposed upon American citizens. Part of their propaganda, at the time, was that there would be high paying, stable jobs in services that replaced the high paid manufacturing jobs. This was a lie, and the elites knew it was a lie, at the time that they used it to change the laws on trade with China. The dysfunctional American political system is accurately described by Angelo Codevilla, as the Ruling Class, who make decisions that are not connected to the will of the citizens. Secret decisions by the Ruling Class are the primary cause for the trade agreements with China. The American citizens were never informed about the globalist intent of the elites, or the permanent economic damage caused by the deals, until it was too late. We conclude that the problem of a dysfunctional crony capitalist system and the centralized Ruling Class elite tyranny in Washington cannot be fixed, under the existing Constitution. The ideology of globalism, in both the socialist Democrat and crony corporate Republican Party is too entrenched, and the unelected power of the deep state agents are too deeply embedded in the government apparatus to be dislodged by common citizens, through periodic elections. We conclude that nothing binds the globalist factions together in a common national mission with Trump's national sovereignty ideology. The global Democrat socialists will never voluntarily obey the unwritten American rule of law because they will never share the cultural belief that all persons, institutions, and entities are subject to the equal application of the law. The crony global corporate elites will never, willingly, give up their trans-national global trading privileges to share power with common citizens, in the current framework of the representative republic. The establishment Republicans, like Senator Burr, of North Carolina, derive too many financial benefits from collaborating with the Democrats and global corporations, to change the status quo of power, or the distribution of tribute. The solution for citizens is to follow the advice of Jefferson, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive to the ends for which it was created, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government. The best, non-violent, idea for dealing with the irreconcilable ideological differences is a civil dissolution of the nation and the implementation of a new government, based upon the framework of state sovereignty, under the provisions of Article I, Section 10, Clause 3, the state compact clause. I am Laurie Thomas Vass, and this is the copyrighted Citizen Liberty Party News Network podcast for March 27, 2020. Our podcast today is under the CLP topic category Vichy Republican Collaborators and is titled, Who Is It In America That Is Responsible For the Trade Agreements With China? The most recent podcast of the CLP News Network is available for free. The entire text and audio archive of our podcasts are available for subscription of $30 per year, at the CLP News Network.com.  

In this episode, the Middle Earth Podcast invites podcast hosts to talk about their favorite subject: themselves. Podcasting is rapidly becoming the next boom industry in China, with approximately 80 million daily downloads of podcasts and a projected audience of 486 million total. When it comes to putting a number on the industry, however, things get less clear. Some estimate that China’s podcast industry is worth upward of $7 billion, citing a report by China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television. However, this figure is likely somewhat off the mark — the $7 billion figure refers only to “pay for knowledge” programming, that is, educational shows that consumers pay for directly. A more comprehensive number that takes into account free content or podcasts supported by advertisements remains elusive. By comparison, podcasters based in the U.S. made an estimated $314 million in 2017, a number that is projected to double by 2020. Meanwhile, the U.S. “pay for knowledge” industry is estimated to have earned $12 billion in 2016, according to our peer podcast also available on the Sinica Network, TechBuzz China by Pandaily.   Featuring: Joshua Thomas Ogden-Davis: Writer, Podcaster | Ximalaya 喜马拉雅 Josh’s Weibo | Josh’s Ximalaya account | Josh’s WeChat: 与老外交朋友 | Josh’s Twitter   Kou Aizhe: Founder, Host | Story FM 故事FM Aizhe’s Weibo | Aizhe’s Twitter | Story FM’s website | Story FM’s WeChat: 故事FM   Yu Wanying: Founder, Host | Museelogue 博物志 Wanying’s Weibo | Wanying’s Instagram | Wanying’s Twitter | Museelogue’s website    And, as usual, your host, Aladin Farré. Aladin’s LinkedIn | Aladin’s Twitter    Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions. If you have a China-themed film project, please get in touch! Recommended watching and listening: Digitally China, a podcast about China’s tech innovation. Chinese Cooking Demystified, a YouTube cooking show. 日谈公园, a Chinese podcast about China’s culture today. 忽左忽右, another Chinese podcast about China’s culture today. Learning to listen: China’s billion-dollar podcast industry, on ChinaEconTalk, a Sinica Network podcast.     Answers to the episode quiz: Ximalaya claimed $100 million dollars of revenue in 2017. Cai Kangyong 蔡康永 earned 35 million RMB with his podcast Good Talk 好好说话. Zeng Pengyu 曾鹏宇 had his book content shamelessly stolen by the podcast Peaceful Goddess 平安娘娘.   

Tencent has shut down the Chinese test version of PUBG Mobile after failing to gain approval to monetize the popular multiplayer shooter. The battle royale game had been stuck in regulatory limbo for some time, with China's new State Administration of Press and Publication last year freezing approvals in an attempt to weed out games that didn't abide by the government's standards. #pubg #tencent #gaming #Pubgmobile Learn more... Reuters Article --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixel-sultan/support

Former Chairman of China Merchants Group and China Merchants Bank Qin Xiao presents his research on the new paradigm that the U.S.-China trade war represents and possible solutions to the conflict at the annual Forecast of China’s Economy for 2019, hosted by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and Peking University’s China Center for Economic Research, at the Citigroup Center on January 10, 2019. Qin Xiao, who received his Ph.D. in economics from Cambridge University, is a council member of the FSDC (Financial Services Development Council, HK) and guest professor at Tsinghua University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He served as chairman of China Merchants Group and China Merchants Bank; president and vice chairman of China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC); and chairman of CITIC Industrial Bank. He was a deputy to the Ninth National People’s Congress, a member of the 10th and 11th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and an advisor on the Foreign Currency Policy of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. He also served as chairman of APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) for 2001. His papers and books in economics, management, and social transformation have been published in China and abroad.

2017-04-10 Special EnglishThis is Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has called for deepening coordinated reform of medical services, health insurance, and the pharmaceutical industry.He made the remarks in an instruction to a national teleconference on health reform. Li urged breakthroughs in integrating services of medical institutions at different levels, abolishing all markups on pharmaceuticals and reforming modes of health insurance payment.He also stressed developing a nationwide health care database and improving the insurance system for severe diseases, among other priority areas.The premier said the reform results should be translated into the people&`&s well-being and sense of gain.At the meeting, Vice Premier Liu Yandong called for enhancing people&`&s access to high-quality medical resources and making family doctor services more available, starting from seniors and patients with chronic diseases.Liu is also head of the State Council&`&s health reform leading group. She highlighted overall reforms in public hospitals as well as improving drug distribution and pricing.This is Special English.China&`&s Ministry of Agriculture and the United Nations World Food Program have jointly announced the launch of a strategic plan in a bid to reduce hunger in China and other developing countries.The five-year plan lasts from 2017 to 2021. It aims to help realize the goal of ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture. This is one of the 17 goals raised by the United Nations for its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.By implementing the plan, China and the World Food Program hope to bring about several outcomes. These include reducing the stunting rate among Chinese children, providing smallholder farmers with better conditions and access to markets, as well as improving South-South cooperation between China and other countries.Officials say the plan will not only help people in remote and poor areas in China, but also serve as an example for other developing countries to reduce poverty and hunger. This will be a new starting point for cooperation between China and the UN agency.More than 30 million Chinese people were assisted by World Food Program projects from 1979 to 2005. For its part, China lifted 700 million people out of poverty over the past 30 years.You are listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.Chinese scientists are building the world&`&s largest multifunctional research platform for nano-science and nano-technology. The platform aims to help develop more powerful computers and more intelligent robots.The Vacuum Interconnected Nano-X Research Facility is based in Suzhou city in eastern China. The facility will integrate state-of-art capabilities in material growth, device fabrication and testing in one ultra-high vacuum environment.Scientists say they are exploring a new technology route of nano-scale devices production on the platform, which simulates the ultra-high vacuum environment of space.Nano-X has received initial funding of 320 million yuan, roughly 45 million U.S. dollars, and will eventually have a budget of 1.5 billion yuan.Construction of the first stage began in 2014 and is expected to be completed in 2018. It comprises 100-meter-long ultra-high vacuum pipelines connecting 30 pieces of equipment. Ultimately the facility will have ultra-high vacuum pipelines of around 500 meters, connecting more than 100 large pieces of equipment.Nano-X is designed as a complete system for materials growth, device fabrication and testing. All samples can be transferred accurately, quickly and smoothly in an ultra-high vacuum environment.This is Special English.The number of national high-tech industrial zones in China has increased to 156, with operating revenue hitting 28 trillion yuan, roughly 4 trillion U.S. dollars, last year.The high-tech zones accounted for 12 percent of China&`&s GDP last year and made up 18 percent of China&`&s total exports.Officials say the high-tech zones have become a major engine to China&`&s economic growth. Almost 4,300 spaces provided services for more than 120,000 enterprises last year, attracting investment of 6 billion yuan.Officials say high-tech zones should pay more attention to strategic emerging industries as well as scientific and technical industries; and enterprises, research institutes, universities and innovators will also be encouraged to collaborate on independent innovation.You are listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.China had 130 billion dollars worth of private start-ups by the end of last year, almost doubling the figure of the year before.An official with the Ministry of Science and Technology made the remarks while opening an institute for small and medium enterprise research in Tianjin recently.The official used the term "unicorn", rarely used by Chinese officials, which refers to young, unlisted companies with a market value of over 1 billion U.S. dollars, based on private funding sources.The private start-ups are spread over 16 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. The majority are innovation-driven tech businesses.A report published earlier this year said half of China&`&s private start-ups are in a downtown area of Beijing, which is home to China&`&s top three private start-ups worth over 10 billion U.S. dollars.One third of the private start-ups were born after 2014. They focus on four domains, namely e-commerce, culture and entertainment, Internet finance, and transportation.The official said a business environment, conductive policies, and good services are key to the growth of the private companies; and unicorns have become important engine in maintaining medium to high growth and to transforming industry.This is Special English.A guideline published by northwest China&`&s Guizhou Province is prioritizing poverty-relief efforts for ethnic groups in a bid to eradicate the problem by 2020. The provincial government will redouble efforts to raise living standards through infrastructure development, resettlement projects and the development of industries, in line with the objectives outlined in China&`&s Five-Year Plan spanning 2016 to 2020. The guideline has set a target of lifting all 77 minority villages out of poverty by the end of the decade. Areas inhabited by minority groups have many problems, including low levels of economic development, poor infrastructure, slow urbanization and a lack of cultural and public services. The cultures of some ethnic groups are in danger of shrinking and disappearing. Cultural heritage, folk handicrafts and art forms are also in danger of being lost. In 2015, the per capita GDP in autonomous ethnic areas was 50 percent lower than the national average. The provincial government has named 500 key villages as targets for protection and renovation. The programs will be launched to help people learn Mandarin Chinese in addition to their own ethnic languages. The province is one of China&`&s most ethnically diverse provinces, with 17 indigenous minority groups, eight of which have populations numbering less than 50,000 people.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to crienglish.com. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. Now the news continues.A draft plan outlining a greener Beijing has been unveiled so that the public will have an opportunity to make suggestions.The Beijing Planning and Land Resources Management Committee said experts led and participated in 38 areas of research to draft the plan, which covers 2016 to 2030. Opinion surveys have also been prepared for it.The forest coverage throughout the capital has more than tripled from 13 percent to 42 percent, since China launched a national tree-planting campaign in the early 1980s. The plan aims to reach more than 45 percent forest coverage by 2030. The plan would reduce the annual average concentration of PM2.5 in Beijing to 56 micrograms per cubic meter by 2020, and 35 micrograms per cubic meter by 2030. PM2.5 is fine particulate matter that is harmful to health.Officials say it can be challenging to bring the PM2.5 concentration down to 56 micrograms per cubic meter by 2020 considering the current situation. The average PM2.5 concentration in Beijing last year was 73 micrograms per cubic meter.This is Special English.China has vowed to respond to the call for establishing "safe havens" for cultural properties from regions in conflict. China&`&s cultural heritage protection watchdog, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said the move will allow China to offer temporary asylum for endangered cultural heritage.National-level museums and conservation institutions are encouraged to support international actions protecting such artifacts.China began considering taking action in December last year when an international conference was held in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, on safeguarding endangered cultural heritage items.Chinese enterprises are encouraged to donate more to international foundations involved in protecting cultural heritage.China will expand its cultural heritage conservation efforts beyond the nation&`&s borders and thus better serve China&`&s overall diplomacy. However, a timeline for the effort was not released, and the institution responsible for overseeing it has not been named.Such a network was first advocated by UNESCO to respond to the endangerment of cultural relics created by wars and other threats in recent years. Experts say it is an international responsibility to safeguard artifacts in danger; and it is clear that China will accept the responsibility. You are listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.Tibet plans to spend 30 billion yuan, roughly 4.3 billion U.S. dollars, improving people&`&s livelihoods this year.The money will be used on 33 projects, covering poverty alleviation, education, health and social welfare.According to the financial department, 9 billion yuan will be used on poverty alleviation projects, including one that aims to relocate at least 160,000 people to more habitable locations this year. By the end of 2017, Tibet expects to lift arond 130,000 residents out of poverty, and the per capita disposable income of people in poverty is expected to increase by 16 percent. Another 6 billion yuan will be invested in the development of border areas of the autonomous region. Annual subsidies to residents in these border areas will also be raised by 1,000 yuan, to between 2,500 and 2,700 yuan. A senior official of one of the border areas said his county&`&s share of the fund is at 500 million yuan. The money would be of great help to its development. The county borders Nepal. It is gearing up infrastructure construction for opening up a port. The money will fund projects for water, electricity and roads.This is Special English.A Chinese-made wearable robot that can help disabled people to walk is expected to enter the market in one to two years.The Fourier X1 was developed by Chinese technology startup Fourier Intelligence. The robot was unveiled to the public in Shanghai last month.The robot weighs 20 kilograms. It helps people who have suffered stroke or spinal cord injuries to walk more easily. The developer aimed to make the robot more affordable than foreign models currently on the market. The price of the robot is much lower than similar foreign models, which are sold for between 600,000 yuan, roughly 87,000 U.S. dollars, and 1 million yuan each. Currently, the company is testing the robot&`&s functions including sitting, standing, walking and climbing stairs. （全文见周六微信。）

This is Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news.China has launched an experiment satellite "TK-1", from a satellite launch center in northwest China.The satellite, carried by the rocket "KT-2", blasted off from the launch center and it later entered its intended orbit."TK-1" is the first satellite independently developed by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. It will be used for remote sensing, telecommunications and experiments in minisatellite-based technologies.The "KT-2" rocket is one of the five carrier systems in the corporation&`&s commercial space plan. It features high carrying efficiency and adaptability.This is Special English. China will conduct nationwide safety checks on coal mines this year to prevent major accidents.The State Administration of Work Safety has said the examination will last from March until the end of the year. It covers both operational mines and those previously ordered to suspend production.Also checked will be collieries required to close as part of government plans to cut capacity but which are still operating.The move came after a string of tragic accidents. A gas explosion killed seven people and injured 11 in southwest China&`&s Guizhou Province earlier this year.The administration said coal mine safety was "complicated and grim".Around 60 percent of China&`&s coal mines are small collieries with production of less than 300,000 tonnes a year.Outdated equipment, lack of technicians and weak management at these mines were accountable for almost 80 percent of severe accidents in the mines.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.A United Nations spokesman has described the first Chinese strategy report on cyberspace cooperation as a very important one, saying "China has a big role to play" in the global cyberspace governance.The spokesman told Xinhua News Agency that the strategy is a very important report and China has a big role to play in it.China released its strategy on cyberspace cooperation titled "The International Strategy of Cooperation on Cyberspace". This is the first report China has released regarding the virtual domain. The report also attaches great importance to the leading role of the United Nations in promoting world cooperation on cyberspace.This is Special English. For the third year in a row, Washington D.C. has ranked first among the 50 largest U.S. metro areas in the 2016 Gallup Good Jobs ratings.According to a Gallup poll released recently, state capitals once again filled the top slots after Washington D.C. All of the top six metro areas on the list include state capitals, or the nation&`&s capital, and all have been in the top 10 rankings since Gallup began comparing the 50 most populous metro areas in 2014.The poll comes as pockets of the country continue to struggle to make ends meet, even nearly a decade after the 2007-2008 financial crisis.But for its part, Washington D.C. was not only able to avoid the sting of the recession, but is a place where jobs are plentiful, high-paying and easy to find. Many jobs are easily in the 100,000 U.S. dollars per year range.The past year had its share of positive economic news for the United States, including a rising stock market, low unemployment and a boost to Gallup&`&s job creation index.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.The Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS has marked Zero Discrimination Day with a "Make Some Noise" campaign, urging people to speak up against discrimination.A UN spokesperson said discrimination takes many forms, and can be based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or age. This year&`&s campaign puts particular focus on the need for zero discrimination in health-care settings.According to the United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS, people living with disabilities are nearly three times more likely to be denied health-care than other people.An executive director of the program said health-care settings should be safe and supportive environments. It is unacceptable that discrimination is inhibiting access to care today. Zero Discrimination Day highlights how everyone can be part of the transformation and take a stand for a fair and just society".Data from 50 countries shows that one in eight people living with HIV report being denied health care.This is Special English.Egypt&`&s recently-appointed first female governor has vowed to meet the aspirations and expectations of her people.Nadia Abdou told Chinese journalists that she had mixed feeling of responsibility and joy to become the first female governor in Egypt and the Arab world.She was appointed governor of Beheira province, around 130 kilometers north of the capital Cairo, after serving as deputy governor over the past three years.She sees the move as a step forward for greater women&`&s participation in the country&`&s political leadership.The governor said women&`&s participation in Egypt has become fairly acceptable, as an Egyptian woman has become a minister, an ambassador, a judge and finally a governor. In addition to this, Egyptian women are also highly represented in the parliament.She said her major challenge after taking office is to provide all necessary care and attention to women and children in order to prepare a generation that is able to endure the burdens and responsibilities of the future.This is Special English.The Mobile World Congress has closed following four days of exhibition, in which Chinese companies actively participated.Chinese firms led presentations on new devices and also launched new technologies. It was recognized through the Global Mobile Awards as Chinese company Huawei received three prizes.Among the so-called Oscars of the mobile phone industry, Huawei gained the award of the "Best Mobile Infrastructure", "Best Technology Enabler" and "Outstanding contribution for LTE Evolution to 5G", in the category of "Best Mobile Technology".Huawei was also part of the "Innovation City" this year in which it showed some of the latest innovations on 5G, drones, apart from launching new devices including smartphones and a smart watch.Visitors of the "Innovation City" could also learn the latest technology to protect the ocean environment, on security and automotive connectivity.The other Chinese companies hitting headlines this year included ZTE which presented the world&`&s first smartphone with a download speed of up to 1 Gigabyte per second, while OPPO and Meizu presented new technology on photography and record-breaking 20-minute full charging time for a 3,000 mAh cell respectively.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to crienglish.com. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. Now the news continues.An emergence of baseball-version of Yao Ming, former NBA basketball star, will help boost the popularity of the game in China.An official with Major League Baseball said "Go find us a baseball-version of Yao Ming, and that helps." Al Leiter, an analyst with Major League Basketball Network, made the remarks when answering questions by Xinhua at a briefing at Yankee Stadium in New York. The interview came on the sidelines of the upcoming World Baseball Classic, a global tournament jointly operated by Major League Basketball and the league&`&s Players Association.In his response, Chris Park, Major League Basketball Senior Vice President, said the game has witnessed a quite rapid growth, mainly in the grass root efforts, in the past decade in China. He said this tournament comes right as a reflection of progress has been made and can be showcased.China will be playing in Pool B. Other teams in the pool include Championship contender Japan, Cuba and Australia.The World Basketball Classic 2017 is the fourth installment of the tournament, following 2006, 2009 and 2013.This is Special English.Australian scientists say the brains of obese people could be "wired" to seek out fatty foods.Researchers from Monash University are investigating the messaging system between the brain and the body, with hopes of discovering the neurological cause of obesity.Associate Professor Zane Andrews from Monash said there is no question the brain is the key site regulating appetite and obesity. He said there are a number of genetic mutations that increase the risk of obesity, and the majority is located somewhere in the brain.Andrews said it is a control issue, but it&`&s not a willful conscious decision, because in obesity, the brain doesn&`&t perceive information correctly from the body. His focus was on brain cells responsible for sensing hunger that also influenced motivation and reward.Early results indicated that the brains of obese people were not sending messages to tell the body that they already have enough energy stored.Andrews&`& team has identified that part of the problem could form while the brain pathways are forming during childhood, with children who are rewarded for good behavior with sweet treats, forming an association between sugar and feeling good.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. An Argentine mother lost her four-year-old son in February last year to progeria, a rare condition that speeds up the aging process.When she was mourning her son, she found a novel way to channel her grief.In memory of her son Franco, the mother has opened a makeshift soup kitchen near her home to attend to the children of the poor and homeless families.She said she doesn&`&t want to cry for her son or become sad. She just wanted to look up at the sky and say that she missed him. In his memory, she is going to open a soup kitchen named after him.The soup kitchen is called "Franquito My Angel" and is located in a poor neighborhood of dirty streets and dilapidated houses in Moreno, a town some 50 kilometers west of Buenos Aires.Franquito is one of the numerous soup kitchens popping up across Argentina in solidarity with the country&`&s poor. Decked with photos of Franco, the kitchen offers a meal twice a week to more than 30 children.In Moreno alone, the number of kitchens to serve children from families experiencing economic difficulties increased from 45 in 2015 to 90 in June 2016.This is Special English.A Hong Kong comic series, Military Boxing, once drew China&`&s late Premier Zhou Enlai as a martial arts master. It sounds far-fetched, but Zhou really did learn a traditional Chinese form of boxing from kong fu master Han Muxia.When Zhou studied in Nankai University in Tianjin, Han was invited to give students martial arts classes. And according to Han&`&s memory, Zhou was the most industrious student of boxing and achieved a lot during the practice. Born in Tianjin in 1877, Han&`&s experience was adapted into a kung fu film in 1990. According to traditional martial arts theories, people who are good at Chinese internal boxing are not afraid of the cold.It is said Zhou had an excellent physical character thanks to his boxing practice. He only wore a woolen overcoat when he visited Moscow where people often wear heavy fur coats to protect them against the icy temperatures.This is the end of this edition of Special English. To freshen up your memory, I&`&m going to read one of the news items again at normal speed. Please listen carefully.This is the end of today&`&s program. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing, and I hope you can join us every day, to learn English and learn about the world.

2017-03-07 Special EnglishThis is Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news.Chinese president Xi Jinping says the city planning in Beijing and preparation for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games co-hosted by the city, are two important missions for Beijing in the present and near future.President Xi made the remarks during an inspection tour in Beijing recently.During the two-day inspection, Xi visited the site for Beijing&`&s new international airport, a sports center, the Capital Gymnasium and a forest park.While inspecting the construction site of Beijing&`&s new international airport terminal building, Xi Jinping said the new airport was a major landmark project of the capital, which should adopt the highest standards, best quality and the world&`&s most advanced management technology and experience.At the Wukesong sports center, venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics ice hockey event, the president urged efforts to learn from foreign experience while strengthening domestic development and technological innovation in terms of stadium planning, design and construction.This is Special English.Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, US President Donald Trump&`&s pick for Ambassador to China, has said that he would work to ensure the continued growth of US agricultural exports to China when he begins his new job, particularly reopening the Chinese market for American beef.He said the US-China relationship offers many opportunities to continue to grow agricultural exports" to China. Branstad made the remarks at the US Department of Agriculture&`&s annual Agricultural Outlook Forum. He said he looks forward to being an advocate for all agricultural exports in the new role.US agricultural exports to China have grown more than 200 percent over the past decade and China was the United States&`& second-largest international market in 2015.The governor said China has already imported more US soybeans than all the rest of the world combined, and the world&`&s second-largest economy has become a major importer of American pork as well. He noted that multi-billion dollar soybean contracts between the United States and China have become a commonplace.In terms of his priorities as US Ambassador to China, Branstad said he hoped China to reopen the market for American beef soon. China halted beef imports from the United States in 2003 to prevent the spread of mad cow disease.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.China will push international cooperation in the cartoon and game industry in countries along the Belt and Road.A cooperation and exchange program in the sector has been launched. That&`&s according to organizers of the China International Cartoon and Game Expo scheduled for July in Shanghai.The event will have a special Belt and Road hall to exhibit cartoon works from participating countries and boost commercial cooperation.China&`&s Ministry of Culture has made it a key task this year to strengthen cooperation in the cartoon and game sector along the Belt and Road.The Belt and Road Initiative was proposed by China in 2013. It aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road trade routes.The expo has been held annually in Shanghai since 2005. It is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Shanghai municipal government. This is Special English.The amount of smuggled ivory tracked down in China fell 80 percent last year from previous peak years.The State Forestry Administration made the announcement at the opening ceremony of a wildlife protection campaign, without specifying detailed numbers.China will stop commercial processing and sales of ivory by the end of this year. Last year, it imposed a three-year ban on ivory imports in an escalated fight against illegal trading of wild animals and plants.The number of illegal wildlife trade cases has been on the decline since last year.Meanwhile, the numbers of critically endangered species in China, including giant pandas, the crested ibis, the Yangtze alligators and the Tibetan antelope, have been increasing steadily.China&`&s newly-revised law on wild animal protection took effect at the start of this year, imposing harsher punishment on overkilling and illegal utilization of wild animals. You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing.The first international porcelain contest, "Chinese white", has been held in Dehua County in Fujian province.Porcelain made in Dehua county is famous for its shiny, snow-white color. It is as thin as paper and can produce the sound of chimes when tapped. As early as 650 years ago, Dehua porcelain had become one of the main export commodities sent to Europe through the Maritime Silk Road.The decision to hold the contest every other year was finalized at the first China-France Culture Forum in May last year. It aimed to provide a platform for artists from both countries to communicate and exchange ideas in the field of porcelain arts.Around a dozen artists have arrived at Dehua on March 1 for a seven-month visit where they will create porcelain artworks. The outstanding works will go on show in France in September.This is Special English.China will have many more museums in the coming years. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage said recently that it expects one museum to be available for every 250,000 people in the country by 2020. The plan is part of a comprehensive blueprint to nurture China&`&s protection of cultural heritage and improve public participation in the process. Chinese museums are also likely to see the total annual visitor number rise to 800 million from the current 700 million by that year.The administration also said that the first national survey of movable cultural relics will be completed by 2020, and a database containing identity tags for State-owned artifacts, will be established.According to the blueprint, cultural products worth at least 20 million yuan, roughly 3 million US dollars, will likely be sold in the future.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to crienglish.com. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. Now the news continues.A Chinese language proficiency competition for varsity students has been held in Bangladesh&`&s Dhaka University.Dozens of students applied to attend the competition from a number of leading institutions including Dhaka University, Bangladesh Open University, CRI-SMF Confucius Classroom and North-South University.Zhou Mingdong, director at Dhaka University Confucius Institute, told Xinhua News Agency that around 20 of the applicants were selected through initial processes to join the competition.The winners have been awarded prizes and certificates according to their individual results.Dhaka University Confucius Institute and the Institute of Modern Languages in Dhaka University organized the 2nd Chinese Poetry Recitation Competition and the 3rd Chinese Knowledge Contest.The events are aimed at further inspiring Bangladeshi students who are learning Chinese language and building further bridges of relationship between the people of the two countries through more cultural exchanges.All the contestants competed in two segments featuring speeches and artistic performances.This is Special English.A Columbia University study released recently said women who had infections early in pregnancy may be twice likely to have a child with autism.The research team leader Milada Mahic told NBC News that the mother&`&s immune response to HSV-2 could be disrupting fetal central nervous system development, raising the risk for autism.For instance, the Zika virus can infect a developing baby&`&s brain and some viruses may cause severe birth defects, including brain damage. The research was published in the journal mSphere, a U.S. journal that makes fundamental contributions to microbial sciences.However, some experts drew a different conclusion. Ian Lipkin, an infectious disease expert at Columbia University oversaw the research and believes that it&`&s actually the mother&`&s immune response that causes the damage.Lipkin said the chemicals made by inflammation cross the placenta and directly affect the developing brain of the fetus.Autism refers to a broad range of symptoms, including relatively mild social awkwardness of Asperger&`&s syndrome, profound mental retardation which debilitates repetitive behaviors and an inability to communicate. You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. More than 4 percent of the world&`&s population lives with depression, and women, youth and the elderly are the most prone to its disabling effects.The World Health Organization said an estimated 320 million people suffered depressive disorders in 2015, a rise of 18 percent in a decade, as people live longer.A report from the US agency said global economic losses exceed 1 trillion US dollars a year. The loss refers to lost productivity due to apathy or lack of energy that lead to an inability to function at work or cope with daily life.Depression is the single largest contributor to years of living with disability. It is the top cause of disability in the world today. That&`&s according to Dr. Dan Chisholm from the World Health Organization.He said depression is 1.5 times more common among women than men.A further 250 million people suffer anxiety disorders, including phobias, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive behavior and post-traumatic stress disorder.Some 80 percent of those stricken with mental illness live in low-and middle-income countries. This is Special English.Constant stress has been linked to various physical and mental health problems including hypertension, heart disease and insomnia. According to new research, days filled with stress may also increase your risk of becoming overweight.The research was led by Sarah Jackson, a research associate at the Institute of Epidemiology and Health at the University College London. The research results were published in the journal Obesity.For the study, researchers from the university followed over 2,500 men and women aged 54 and older for around four years.The researchers took a sample of hair from each participant to measure the levels of cortisol, a hormone which is released into the bloodstream in times of stress. If a person is under constant stress, the level of cortisol will be much higher.Previous research measured the levels of cortisol in blood or saliva, but these levels can also be affected by other factors, making them unreliable for research.The researchers also collected data on participants&`& weight and compared cortisol levels in the sample to body weight. The results showed that participants with higher cortisol levels tended to have larger waist circumferences.The research concluded that these results provide consistent evidence that long-term stress is associated with higher levels of obesity.Based on the conclusion, Jackson suggested that people should look for better ways to manage stress. This is Special English.New Zealand researchers say they have made a breakthrough in potential treatments for the debilitating Parkinson&`&s disease by identifying how it spreads in the brain.The University of Auckland scientists said they had the first strong evidence that the progressive neurodegenerative condition spread through pathological proteins, known as Lewy bodies, moving from cell to cell.Research leader, Associate Professor Maurice Curtis said in a statement that they have the first proof in cell culture of the mechanism controlling the spread.Curtis said the implication is that if there is a spread of the Lewy bodies in the brain, then the spread could be stopped early on.（全文见周日微信。）

2017-02-07 Special EnglishThis is Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news.The health authority in Beijing is studying the long-term impact of smog on people&`&s health, including the widespread concern that smog could be a cause of lung cancer.The Beijing News reports that the Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning in Beijing has begun to study the issue.The report said that current studies have confirmed that inhaling smog may lead to some acute diseases in people&`&s respiratory system. Long-term exposure to pollutants could cause chronic inflammation, hypo immunity and allergies. But the exact relationship of smog and lung cancer is not clear at the moment.The commission said it will take a decade or longer to collect data before the researchers can make clear the relationship between smog and people having a certain kind of disease.Based on previous studies on smog, the commission and the Beijing Center for Diseases Control and Prevention have issued a list of protective measures against smog. The measures urge people to stay indoors and wear masks outdoors on smoggy days.Smog has been a frequent issue in many Chinese cities in recent years.This is Special English.China has issued a plan on medical reform targets of the next five years.The plan covers diagnosis and treatment systems, hospital administration, medical security, medical supplies and regulatory system of the sector.A multi-tiered diagnosis and treatment system matching China&`&s conditions should be in place by 2020. The system aims to encourage patients to go to community clinics for initial diagnosis and treatment, instead of directly going to specialized hospitals.The plan also stressed a "streamlined and orderly" medical supply system.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. China&`&s central authority has issued a guideline on mobile Internet service management, calling for more efforts to develop the sector in a healthy manner.The guideline calls for increasing the use of mobile Internet service in sectors including transport, tourism, education and medical service, to better serve the public.It says mobile Internet service could play a big role in poverty relief, as it provides an efficient means to connect these regions with the outside world.The guideline also urges cultivating an orderly environment for the development of mobile Internet service.China will resolutely crack down on criminal activities including instigating overthrowing state power and inciting religious extremism through mobile Internet services. Promoting ethnic separatist ideology and instigating violence and terror will also be targeted.In addition, more efforts will be made to punish those involved in defamation, telecom fraud, infringement and illegal sale of others&`& personal information.It urges preventing and eliminating risks caused by the development of mobile Internet service to ensure security of network data, technology and apps.The guideline also called for more efforts to be made on strengthening intellectual property protection and boosting international exchange and cooperation in the sector.This is Special English.China has established cooperation ties in science and technology with 158 countries and regions in the world.According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, a total of 111 intergovernmental agreements on science and technology cooperation had been signed, and China had taken part in more than 200 intergovernmental organizations devoted to boosting such cooperation.A stable intergovernmental cooperation mechanism, which covers major countries, regions and international organizations, has taken shape, contributing to the improvement of the nation&`&s capability in science and technology.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. Land-space Technology Corporation, a private aerospace company based in Beijing, said it has secured a contract with Gomspace, a Danish company, to launch a series of satellites.The company says this is the first time for a private Chinese company to provide satellite launching services to the international market.According to the contract, Land-space will use its rocket to put Gomspace&`&s satellites into orbit next year.Land-space said his company could not have won recognition from the overseas client without decades of efforts by Chinese workers in the aerospace industry, which has been developing for 60 years.The total value of the global aerospace market could hit 485 billion U.S. dollars by 2020, with the market value in China alone reaching 800 billion yuan, roughly 116 billion U.S. dollars, during the 2016-2020 period.A scientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said the aerospace industry matters not only for space exploration, but also for economic and social development; and the civil aerospace industry has great potential and will grow very quickly.This is Special English.Chinese scientists say they have built a facility that can generate the world&`&s brightest extreme ultraviolet free electron laser.The facility in Dalian, a coastal city in northeast China, can generate 140 trillion photons per laser pulse in one picosecond.The Dalian Coherent Light Source facility was jointly built by scientists from Dalian and Shanghai, with a total investment of 140 million yuan, roughly 20 million U.S. dollars.The scientists say the flashes of light will illuminate new aspects of the microscopic world. The light sources are especially useful for sensitive detection of atoms, molecules and clusters.Brightness and pulse duration of the light source are key to such detection. The brighter the light source, the more clearly people can see the small number of atoms or molecules.The scientists say that since many physical, chemical and biological reactions happen on a time scale with a picosecond, people need high-speed "flashlights" to capture these moments to study the process.The technology will play a unique and important role in exploring the unknown material world and promoting technological progress.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That&`&s mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues.Renowned linguist Zhou Youguang has been remembered by Chinese Internet users since he passed away recently at age 111. Zhou is known for creating the pinyin, a system of Latin letters for reading standard Chinese. In 1955, Zhou was an economics professor at Fudan University in Shanghai. He was asked by the central government to join a national committee to develop an accessible alphabetic writing system.It took him and his colleagues three years to work out the system, which was adopted in 1958. Since then, the pinyin system has been used to greatly increase literacy levels across the country. It has also made it easier for foreigners to learn Chinese.Pinyin has also facilitated the use of Chinese characters on computer keyboards and cellphones. When users entered pinyin with a keyboard, they are given choices of relevant Chinese characters.This is Special English.Traveling abroad is becoming more and more popular among the Chinese people, who are also found to have spent more on travel then just shopping. Meanwhile, female tourists outnumbered male.According to one of the leading travel websites in China, bookings increased 34 percent last year compared to the previous year.Chinese tourists are traveling greater distances. The top 10 choices last year included Switzerland, the United States, Germany and Australia. For 2015, the top tourist destinations are Phuket in Thailand, Cheju in South Korea, Bali in Indonesia, and Hawaii in the United States.Last year, 62 percent of overseas travels were made by females, and the number of children doubled.The website says the number of tourists from China&`&s first-tier cities including Beijing and Shanghai are growing at a steady pace, while those from second and third-tier cities are booming.As more tourist destinations had become visa-free for China as of last year, the country has again ranked first-overall globally, in terms of the number of people traveling abroad, and for tourism spending.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing. A new gibbon species has been discovered in southwest China&`&s Yunnan Province.The new species is characterized by white eyebrows and is found mainly only in Yunnan Province.Their beards are completely black or brown instead of white as seen in other gibbon species. Chinese scientists began their research on the newly found gibbons in 2007, and a joint study by scientists from five other countries confirmed the discovery of the new species.The gibbons inhabit at altitudes of 500 to 2,000 meters. Their total number is no more than 200.Scientists suggest the new species should be categorized as endangered and need special conservation efforts.Gibbons and siamangs are small apes inhabiting southern, eastern and southeastern Asia. The new species increases the number of recognized living species of the animals to 20.This is Special English.China has 50,000 medical and health institutions that offer Traditional Chinese Medicine therapies.The State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine revealed that 40 percent of the population have access to Traditional Chinese Medicine at a local level.The administration said that in the first nine months of last year, the average fee for traditional Chinese medicine and the per capita in-patient cost at public traditional medicine hospitals were 11 percent and 24 percent lower than treatments offered by western medicine public hospitals.China&`&s top legislature last month adopted a law on Chinese medicine, with stricter control on the source of the medicine and qualification of doctors.This is Special English.Hong Kong actor and singer Andy Lau has been injured while filming a commercial in Thailand. Lau was riding a horse during the shoot, and fell off the horse when the animal lost control of itself. The horse stepped on Lau&`&s back, causing spinal fractures.The shoot was halted, and Lau was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He was then sent home on a medical plane to Hong Kong for further treatment.Lau&`&s public relations spokesperson said they will update everyone with any new developments on the matter.Lau was working at a scene in Khao Lak, a city three hours from the capital city of Bangkok. According to sources, there were several horses on set that day. The 56-year-old actor has enjoyed tremendous stardom in the Chinese speaking world since the 1990s. He has been hailed as one of the "Four Kings" of showbiz in Hong Kong. Lau has been working tirelessly in multiple genres, including acting and singing.This is the end of this edition of Special English. To freshen up your memory, I&`&m going to read one of the news items again at normal speed. Please listen carefully.This is the end of today&`&s program. I&`&m Ryan Price in Beijing, and I hope you can join us every day, to learn English and learn about the world.

This is Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.Work to remove air quality monitoring stations from local government control is almost complete. The move came after officials in northern China were accused of tampering with pollution data.The Ministry of Environmental Protection said the plan is to separate all 1,500 monitoring stations nationwide from provincial, city and county bureaus and place them under the operation of companies that will report directly to the central government.Preparation work to become independent has been completed at 92 percent of stations nationwide, while all stations in 18 areas, including Beijing, have transferred to third-party companies.The independent monitoring network will be expanded to cover water and soil by 2018; and China plans to build a comprehensive environmental monitoring and information sharing network by 2020.The network is intended to prevent inference from local authorities and guarantee authentic data.Three senior environmental protection officials in Xi&`&an in Shaanxi province have been detained on suspicion of altering monitoring data.The officials are accused of having a duplicate key made without authorization so they could gain access to air quality monitoring equipment. They are accused of masking the equipment with cotton yarn to filter the air and lower pollution data to avoid punitive actions.This is Special English.Departments and ministries under the State Council, China&`&s cabinet, have responded to a series of public concerns on issues including agricultural modernization and civil service examinations.The State Council recently issued a five-year plan for strategic agricultural modernization for the period spanning 2016 to 2020. The plan has clearly defined the importance of agricultural modernization.According to Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu, the sector has a solid basis for modernization and is entering a development stage. According to the plan, by 2020, food security will be effectively guaranteed and rural residents&`& livelihoodS will be improved. Civil service examination applications for central government organizations, and subordinate agencies, will be stopped in Oct next year. Although civil service posts are popular, there are still some posts that only a few, or even no, candidates apply for. The State Administration of Civil Service has recently issued an announcement to the public, which summarizes the posts attracting few, or no qualified, candidates. The administration reminds applicants to rationally choose posts. It also reminds applicants to avoid peak times of application, often, just days before the deadline, in order to boost their chances of acceptance. You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.Beijing&`&s transport authority has said that the city will limit the number of cars on the road to 6 million by 2020, as part of efforts to reduce traffic congestion.According to Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, the number of new license plates available to registered drivers, currently handled through a monthly lottery, will be reduced from the current 150,000 a year to 100,000 in 2018.The total number of cars on the road in Beijing was 5 million at the end of last year.The city has seen car numbers grow by 300 percent from 1998 to 2013, with many major roads plagued by severe congestion.Since 2004, the city has adopted a set of measures to solve the problem, including introducing a plate lottery, encouraging the use of public transport, and using traffic control based on license plate numbers. This is Special English.（全文见周六微信。）

This is Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.The world&`&s largest radio telescope has been put into use in a mountainous region of southwest China&`&s Guizhou Province.The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, is built to explore space and hunt for extraterrestrial life. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to scientists, engineers and builders on the launch.Located in a karst valley, construction of the project started in 2011, 17 years after it was proposed by Chinese astronomers. The whole project cost 1.2-billion-yuan, roughly 180 million U.S. dollars.The installation of the telescope&`&s main structure was finished in early July. It was a 4,500-panel reflector as large as 30 football pitches.In a recent trial observation, the telescope received a set of high-quality electromagnetic waves from a pulsar around 1,300 light-years away.Nobel laureate Joseph Taylor at Princeton University in the United States said the telescope will certainly generate enthusiasm, bring people into science, and make China important in the world of science.The astronomer was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1993 for discovering indirect proof of gravitational waves with the assistance of Puerto Rico&`&s Arecibo Observatory. The observatory is home to a radio telescope that is 350 meters in diameter.This is Special English.The National Tourism Administration has released ratings, listing the best and worst scenic spots, tourism agencies, tour guides and tourists during the national holiday week in early October. The ratings are part of new efforts by the administration to strengthen supervision and management of the tourism market and to improve services offered by scenic spots and their staff. It also aims to create a favorable environment for travelers during holidays.In the ratings, some attractions, including the Palace Museum in Beijing, were praised for their management and smooth operations. Other places, including the Three Gorges Tourism Zone in Hubei Province were credited for their contribution to the national "tourism toilet revolution" campaign. This is an initiative sponsored by the administration to renovate public toilets at tourism spots nationwide. Almost 600 million trips were logged during the weeklong holiday which started on October 1. The administration said that thanks to effective measures taken by the tourism departments at all levels, there were no serious disputes or accidents during the holiday. Beijing Zoo received 450,000 tourists during the holiday. Four visitors were each fined 50 yuan, roughly 7 U.S. dollars and 50 cents, for feeding animals. It was the first time the zoo has issued tickets to tourists for this reason.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.China has signed agreements on the mutual recognition of higher education degrees with 19 European Union member countries including France, Germany and Italy.The Ministry of Education made the announcement at a briefing of the China-EU education ministers&`& conference and an Education Policy Dialogue between China and European countries.The two meetings were held in Beijing on October 11, and focused on the mutual recognition of credits between higher learning institutions in China and the EU, as well as the balanced flow of students between the two parties.More than 300,000 Chinese students were studying in EU member countries as of the end of last year. The figure represents almost a quarter of all Chinese students abroad and an increase of 7 percent from 2014.More than 120,000 Chinese students went to study in the EU last year, almost a quarter of all students who went abroad last year. At the same time, more than 45,000 EU students came to China, accounting for 10 percent of all international students studying in China. Last year also saw more than 3,000 EU students receiving scholarships from the Chinese government, a rise of 12 percent from the previous year. This is Special English.China&`&s seventh Arctic expedition using the Chinese icebreaker Xuelong has returned to its research base in Shanghai after a 78-day mission.The Xuelong set out from Shanghai in July and has since traveled 13,000 nautical miles to explore marine areas including the Bering Sea and the Canada Basin.The team has traveled as far as 83 degrees north latitude, and for the first time explored the Mendeleev Ridge in the Arctic Ocean.Scientists studied marine meteorology, geology and chemistry, and surveyed seven ice stations, while the expedition smoothly completed all its scheduled tasks.The expedition team laid several observation buoys in the oceans and explored deep strata by creating an artificial seismic wave.The Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, was equipped with two helicopters, research support and emergency equipment during the expedition. The Ukraine-built vessel was first put into use in 1994 and can break ice that is 1.2 meters thick.This is Special English.China will further tighten the land management of villa construction.The Ministry of Land and Resources said that compared with previous regulations released as early as 2003, the new rules will target terraced houses, semi-detached houses, and garden houses. The previous regulations suspended the land supply of detached villas only.Analysts say the measure is going to make villas scarce in the future. The adoption of the universal second-child policy in China has continued to drive the demand of villa sales, but villa owners are reluctant to sell their property.Data shows that the market price of villas in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong province, has seen a more than 10 percent increase, especially in the outskirts of the city. However, villa sales in the city have seen a 20 percent drop in the first half of this year, compared to the same period last year. The Chinese authorities have urged the local governments across the country to make better use of construction land. Cities and towns should specify their land use objectives before the end of this year to ensure a 20 percent cut in construction land use per unit of GDP by 2020. You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That&`&s mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues.New rules requiring China&`&s e-commerce platforms to improve food safety management have come into effect as of this month.Third-party online supermarkets must take responsibility for poor-quality food products sold by stores registered on their platforms. The rules were formulated by the China Food and Drug Administration.Online platforms must establish a sound system to check vendors&`& qualifications and the quality of their products. Violators must be suspended from their operations in a timely manner.In another development, Chinese investigators in criminal cases will now be able to retrieve and freeze electronic data as evidence, as part of new regulations.The regulation allows courts and police authorities to retrieve electronic data, including that posted on websites, social networks and popular communication apps, by individuals and organizations implicated in criminal cases.Several other rules have also come into force, including one requiring professional test for drivers providing on-demand mobility services, and another one streamlining procedures for registering a new company. This is Special English.Online search giant Baidu is set to lose its top spot in China&`&s booming digital advertising market this year to its rival Alibaba Group.According to a report from London-based market research firm eMarketeer, E-commerce heavyweight Alibaba has so far notched up a 29 percent share of China&`&s digital ad market, equating to 12 billion U.S. dollars. eMarketer researches digital marketing, media and commerce.In previous forecasts, eMarketeer had predicted that Baidu, which uses search result listings to generate income from advertisers, would stay out in front. Last year, Baidu earned 28 percent of China&`&s digital advertising revenue, compared to Alibaba&`&s 25 percent.But eMarketeer has downgraded its outlook for Baidu this year as it has witnessed challenges in the past few months due to tighter government controls on search result advertising. Baidu&`&s digital ad revenue is expected to see sluggish growth this year. Meanwhile, Alibaba and Tencent will continue to surge ahead and report increases of 54 percent and 68 percent respectively.Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent are the top three firms in China&`&s internet industry. They are estimated to take a total of 60 percent in the country&`&s digital ad revenue of 42 billion this year.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.China&`&s television regulator is moving to curb overvaluing and over-emphasis on TV stars during the purchase and broadcast of TV dramas.A circular was made public recently by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. The circular banned broadcasters from nominating actors, defining the range of actors for selection, or fixing the price based on the stars involved when they purchase or broadcast TV dramas.The administration said they should also avoid over-hyping stars during promotion of TV shows, adding that the shows&`& ideological significance, artistic style, production quality and teamwork should be highlighted instead.The circular states that a few TV stations have been pricing TV dramas simply based on the stars involved, which led to an unreasonable composition in the budget and an imbalance in distribution; and the practice hampered the industry&`&s healthy and orderly development.The administration asked broadcasters to appraise TV dramas in a more comprehensive way with their quality as the core criterion.This is Special English.（全文见周六微信。）

This is Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.President Xi Jinping has instructed the Chinese military&`&s rocket force to continue to build itself into a strong and modern rocket force. Xi is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission. He made the remarks during an inspection of the People&`&s Liberation Army&`&s Rocket Force, as he congratulated the first PLA Rocket Force Party congress. President Xi described the force as a "core of strategic deterrence, a strategic buttress to the country&`&s position as a major power, and a cornerstone on which to build national security." The PLA Rocket Force was established at the end of last year, part of a wider military structural reform drive. Xi conferred the military flag on the Rocket Force at its inauguration ceremony held in Beijing on Dec. 31, last year. The president said that amid the changing international situation and major challenges to national security, the Rocket Force has played an irreplaceable role in containing war threats, ensuring a secure and favorable strategic posture for China, as well as maintaining global strategic balance and stability. This is Special English.A multi-department circular on fighting telecom and Internet fraud has been issued, tightening preventive measures and ordering police to hunt down perpetrators.The circular made it obligatory for telephone accounts to be registered using real identity information. It was jointly issued by related government departments including the Supreme People&`&s Court, the Ministry of Public Security, and the People&`&s Bank of China.The circular said all telecom service providers must make sure that 100 percent of the country&`&s telephone accounts are registered under real identities by the end of this year and suspend the use of accounts without real identity registration.In the banking sector, the circular prolongs the period of time needed for money to be transferred from an account holder to another via ATM, or Automatic Teller Machine, to 24 hours. The new measure will go into effect on Dec 1.In telecom fraud, swindlers often trick victims into transferring money to their accounts via ATM. In some cases, money in transfer can be frozen if victims call the police in time.The circular aims to crack down on leaking and trade of personal information. It allows law enforcement to delete, monitor and block Trojan horse and other malicious software and personal information disseminated online.Websites or Internet accounts found to be at fault will be shut down, and perpetrators may be subject to criminal penalties.This is Special English.A trial program to test the issuance of a single, unified work permit for foreigners is expected to ease the burden of employment in Shanghai for highly skilled expats. Starting in October, the program will replace the current system under which two government entities have issuing authority.The trial was highlighted in a recently released notice about further deepening of measures to attract more foreign talent to speed up the development of the scientific and technological innovation hub.Until now, the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs has been responsible for issuing a certificate qualifying some individuals to work in China, while local labor bureaus issued their own work licenses to authorize others.In the pilot program, highly skilled applicants will not need to submit applications before entering the country, and only need to complete an online application after being recruited to work in Shanghai.Expats who have applied at least twice for a one-year work permit will be eligible for a five-year work permit, making the process more convenient for them.In July last year, 20 measures including 12 released by the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau reduced complexity for highly skilled overseas passport holders. Meanwhile, the length of an overseas talent residence permit was extended to 10 years, opening Shanghai&`&s door wider to the world.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.（全文见周六微信。）

This is Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news. Chinese scientists are working on a new type of aerospace vehicle that will allow passengers to travel in space without any pre-training and at much lower cost. China Central Television reports that scientists from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation have started work on the new vehicle integrating different kinds of engine technology. The vehicle will use different air-breathing engines, allowing it to operate as a normal plane in the atmosphere. It will take off and land at a normal airport, instead of at special launch pads. The viehcle will be reusable, and cost will be greatly reduced. Scientist from the corporation said they expect to master the key technology in around three to five years, and significantly improve the vehicle's capabilities during the application. The vehicle is expected to be used for suborbital flight and orbital insertion by 2030. The expeditions will be between dozens to hundreds of kilometers from the earth. Compared with spacecraft which use partially recovered carrier rockets, by integrating different engines, the new vehicle has many more advantages in maintenance and application. In early July, it was reported that several institutes of the corporation were coordinating efforts to study the new vehicle. An engineer at the corporation said that in around 10 years, passengers will not need special training to travel into space on the vehicle. This is Special English. Chinese scientists have defined a subset of a type of virus-specific cell that play a vital role in the control of viral replication in chronic viral infection. The discovery will possibly pave the way for new ways to treat chronic diseases including HIV/AIDS and cancer. According to research published online by Nature magazine, virus-specific cells, CD8 +T, appear to deplete during chronic viral infection. However, according to the research findings, the cells are able to control viral replication in both animal models and HIV infection. Researchers found a unique subset that offers higher anti-viral potential than previously known, thus, showing greater therapeutic potential. The research also identified an important regulator for the generation of this subset. The research was led by the Third Military Medical University in Chongqing Municipality, with a number of partner institutions. It began in early 2013 with government financial support. Current therapies can only contain viral replication, but cannot purge them completely in chronic diseases such as HIV. Chinese researchers will now use the findings to further research into immunotherapy in cancer and HIV. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. A genome project for newborns has been launched in Shanghai to aid the early identification and treatment of hereditary diseases. The project was jointly initiated by the Chinese Board of Genetic Counseling and the Children's Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai. It will carry out genetic testing on 100,000 newborn babies over the coming five years. The findings will be recorded in a database and a genetic testing standard for hereditary diseases will be developed, which will improve the identification and treatment of such conditions. Experts say early identification can help doctors make better treatment strategies and improve the patients' quality of life. In another development, the Chinese Board of Genetic Counseling and Reproductive Hospital, which is affiliated with Shandong University, jointly launched China's embryo genome project. An embryo genome database will improve research and understanding of the development of embryos and improve diagnostic rates. There are some 7,000 kinds of inherited diseases and China sees around 900,000 babies born with birth defects every year. This is Special English. Health experts are calling for sex education to be included in China's school curriculum. They say the lack of formal tuition, allied with misunderstandings and outdated ideas, is putting young people at risk of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. The topic has recently been at the center of a heated debate on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, after campaigners condemned a sex education textbook that claimed premarital sex has a "tremendously negative psychological and physical impact on girls". For thousands of years, sex could not be discussed openly in China. Even today, it is taboo in most of China's schools. According to Gou Ping, a professor of psychology at Chengdu University, sex education is a comprehensive definition and is a fully developed concept related to many other issues. The university is the higher learning institute in the country that offers sex education as a minor course. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Chinese firm FiberHome has developed a type of optical fiber that can transmit 400 terabytes of data per second, breaking the world record for the amount of data that can be transmitted using optic fibers. Such capacity can allow for simultaneous phone calls by almost 5 billion people and the transmission of 40,000 blue-ray high definition films in one second. The company is based in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei Province. The transmission of 400 terabytes of data is accomplished on multi-core mono-mode optical fiber, which can be simply understood as breaking down the fiber into multiple paths to enhance transmission capacity. Such expansion in transmission capacity is a welcoming development amid growing demand for high speed transmission of data for VR, the Internet of Things, cloud computing and other emerging technology. This is Special English. Consumers in China will be entitled to a full refund on unsatisfactory products purchased online, even if the packages have been unsealed. A draft regulation that protects buyers' rights has been released by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and is based on China's consumer protection law. Public opinion is being sought until Sept 5. The draft says businesses must provide refunds to consumers within seven days of receiving returned products. The draft says the returned goods must be intact. The rule does not apply to several types of goods including those that can pose hazards to personal safety or health after being opened, or perishable goods that are near their expiry dates. Under China's consumer rights protection law, consumers can return goods for up to seven days, and get a refund for items that fail quality standards. In the case of goods purchased online or by telephone or television, consumers can make returns within seven days and get a refund without specifying a reason for most products. The only exceptions are four types of goods, including those that are perishable and prone to spoilage, as well as videodiscs that have been opened. This is the first draft regulation in China that specifies clearly that goods bought online can be returned for a refund, even if the packages have been opened. The regulation was made because there have been a number of disputes in recent years involving businesses refusing to offer refunds for goods that they sold online, using the excuse that the packages have been opened. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That's mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues. Archeologists have discovered more than 1,000 cliff paintings dating back more than 1,000 years in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Experts say the paintings are surprisingly well preserved, and feature sheep, camels, elks, tigers, wolves and people hunting. The images are believed to have been engraved by the ancient tribal people 1,500 years ago. The new findings are among many found across the Yinshan Mountains and will greatly inform research into ancient nomadic people. More than 10,000 ancient cliff paintings have been discovered in the area. In 2012, 18 cliff paintings dating back more than 4,000 years were discovered in the same area. Among them, a picture of seven human faces has been interpreted as the seven stars in the "Plough" constellation. This is Special English. China's largest Siberian tiger breeding center has announced that more than 50 tiger cubs have been born in the park so far this year. Located in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the Siberian Tiger Park is home to more than 1,000 Siberian tigers. Scientists handpick certain tigers, using a DNA database, to breed the next generation every year. Chief engineer Liu Dan said the park has been controlling the tigers' population to around 1,000 in order to maintain the ecological balance. The peak season for the breeding of Siberian tigers is in May and June. The cubs will be sent to the semi-wild environment after living with their mothers for around 100 days to learn how to hunt. Siberian tigers are among the world's most endangered species. They mostly live in northeast China and eastern Russia. The Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger Park was established in 1986 for better protection of the species. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Chinese internet company LeEco is in talks with online video-streaming site Netflix for possible cooperation in content. Details will be announced in September, as the Beijing-based firm steps up efforts to expand its presence in the United States. Analysts say that the deal, if goes through, could also serve as a steppingstone for California-based Netflix to crack its China market, which it has been eyeing for a long time. China Daily reports that LeEco was looking for content partners in the United States, where it will launch its smartphones and Televisions this year. The deal with Netflix will be announced in September. The news came shortly after LeEco spent 2 billion U.S. dollars acquiring Vizio, a major U.S. television manufacturer. It is expected to give LeEco around 20 million big-screen users. The firm also purchased land in California as the center for its overseas operations. LeEco started as an online video-streaming site, but managed a rapid rise by selling internet-enabled devices that are bundled with video content. Since January, the company has intensified efforts to go global, listing the United States, India and Russia as its key overseas markets. This is Special English. （全文见周六微信。）

This is Special English. I am Sam Duckett in Beijing. Here is the news. China is open to space cooperation with all nations including the United States. The heavyweight of China's space program, China's first astronaut Yang Liwei, made the remark recently on the occasion of the anniversary of China's first satellite launch 46 years ago. Yang said China does not rule out cooperating with any country, including the United States. The senior astronaut said payload has been reserved in the Chinese space station for international projects and foreign astronauts. The space station is due to enter service around 2022. China marked its first Space Day, which was newly designated by the government to commemorate China's first satellite launch on April 24, 1970. Upon request, China will also train astronauts for other countries, and jointly train astronauts with the European space station. Yang said the future of space exploration lies in international cooperation, and it's true for China as well as for the United States. Citing security reasons, the United States Congress passed a law in 2011 to prohibit NASA from hosting Chinese visitors at its facilities or working with researchers affiliated to any Chinese government entity or enterprise. The ban remains in effect. The US-dominated International Space Station, which unsurprisingly blocks China, is scheduled to end its service in 2024. China's space station will be the only operational one in outer space, at least for a while. This is Special English. Five domestic airlines have agreed to tackle air rage by blacklisting passengers who misbehave. The five airlines, including Air China and China Southern, are the country&`&s major carriers. They will collectively keep records of those who are not behaved. Improper behaviors include attacking on check-in counters, forcibly occupying airplanes and fighting on board an airplane. Passenger records will be shared throughout the country's civil aviation and tourism industries. Those who are blacklisted will face penalties including being denied special seats, ticket discounts, or even service. However, an official from the Civil Aviation University of China said airlines do not have the right to limit passengers&`& travel rights. The official said that although air passenger blacklists have been adopted overseas, there is no legal provision for them in China, adding that this may lead to disputes. Others say that the provisions for the blacklist should be decided by a third party rather than just the airlines. It is the first time that a blacklist has covered most of the domestic civil aviation industry. The five airlines and their subsidiaries handle more than 80 percent of China&`&s air traffic. The decision comes after the China Air Transport Association adopted a new management policy to record uncivilized behavior by air passengers. You are listening to Special English. I am Sam Duckett in Beijing. The authorities are trying to restore public confidence in vaccines after a nationwide scandal struck fear into the hearts of parents. China banned drug wholesalers from selling vaccines, according to a decision publicized on the nation&`&s Vaccination Day, which fell on April 25th. The decision requires B-class, or non-compulsory, vaccines to be distributed in the same way as A-class, which are covered by the national compulsory immunization program. It also requires disease control departments, hospitals and clinics to keep records of purchases and received inventory. According to the decision, China will establish a system to track vaccines. Enterprises and user agencies must record circulation and use, so all vaccines can be tracked across their life cycle. The public were shocked and appalled in March when the news that improperly stored vaccines worth millions of dollars were sold nationwide. More than 300 officials implicated in cases concerning the event will be penalized. In the eastern city of Ningbo, the number of vaccinated children decreased by around one fourth from March 18 to 31. Local authorities are trying to quell public unease. This is Special English. Individuals and organizations that conduct medically inessential prenatal sex discernment or sex-selective abortions will be fined up to 30,000 yuan, roughly 4,600 U.S. dollars. Under a revised regulation taking effect recently, besides a fine, the government will confiscate the income from such screenings and abortions, which are illegal in China. Those who introduce expectant parents to take up illegal prenatal sex discernment and selective abortion will also face the same punishment. The regulation has been jointly issued by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the China Food and Drug Administration. The revision to the law aims to tackle China&`&s high gender imbalance, a direct result of pre-birth sex discernment and sex-selective abortions driven by cultural preference for boys. The birth sex ratio stood at almost 114 in 2015, much higher than a normal ratio between 103 and 107, though it has decreased from 121 in 2004. In China, legitimate reasons for a hospital conducting a sex-selective abortion include serious genetic disease or deadly threat to the mother's health. It requires at least three senior doctors with a genetics background and clinical experience to decide whether prenatal sex discernment is necessary. If an abortion is necessary, the hospital must report the case to the local health department. You are listening to Special English. I&`&m Sam Duckett in Beijing. The State Council has published its major health care reform tasks for the year, with a general practitioner pilot program, and reduced reliance on drug revenue for health centers. This year, 200 cities will trial GP practices, making the service available to 15 percent of urban citizens and 30 percent of key groups. According to the statement from the State Council, China's Cabinet, GPs will open their practices to residents, providing them with basic, consistent medical services. The plan is part of a tiered health system being rolled out across the country. To improve local-level medical institutions, the government will allow physicians in public hospitals to practice or establish their own practices. Another health reform task this year will be the establishment of a pricing mechanism for medicine to reduce the cost born by patients. Patients will be given the choice of buying drugs from hospitals or retail pharmacies. The public hospital reform will be further advanced, as 100 more cities will carry out pilot public hospital reform this year. According to the pilot reform, revenues of public hospitals will not rely on drugs but medical service charges. This is Special English. Chinese scientists are working on new projects inspired by the documented case of a man who was cured of AIDS. They hope eventually find a way to ensure that humans are born with immunity to the condition. Nine years ago, a 41-year-old man, who has since been dubbed the "Berlin patient", was close to death and in the advanced stages of both AIDS and leukemia. Doctors gave him a stem cell transplant from an HIV-resistant donor, and miraculously cured both conditions. The event made him arguably the first person ever to be cured of AIDS. The remarkable case shed light on CCR5, a receptor in humans that helps HIV enter cells. The bone-marrow transplant had changed the Berlin patient&`&s gene to a mutation called CCR5-delta32, which blocks HIV. With new gene technology now available, Chinese scientists have recently moved forward with attempts to modify the CCR5 gene in embryos, advancing their drive to ensure humans are born already immune to HIV. In the latest case, researchers from the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University used a gene editing technique to attempt to replace the CCR5 gene in 26 human embryos. The researchers tried to give the embryos the HIV-resistant mutation. Four embryos were successfully edited, while the other 22 cases failed to produce the desired results. You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Sam Duckett in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That&`&s mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues. Chinese science fiction writer Hao Jingfang was shortlisted for the Hugo Award for her book "Folding Beijing". According to Tsinghua University, where she is pursuing her doctorate, the news was posted on the official website of the World Science Fiction Convention. "Folding Beijing", one of five candidates, is listed under the "Best Novelette" category. Hao said on her Sina Weibo microblog that she is so excited to be shortlisted. The story was first published in a new electronic magazine. She didn&`&t expect to have this result. Hao graduated from the department of physics at Tsinghua University in 2006. The story follows the protagonist, Lao Dao, as he tries to navigate the complicated class barriers of a futuristic Beijing in order to send his daughter to school. She said she used to live in suburban Beijing. Near her apartment building there were noisy alleys, small restaurants and an open-air market. The experience inspired her to write the story. Hao said she regretted that the second volume of "The Three-Body Problem" by Liu Cixin, who won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel, was not shortlisted. Established in 1953, the Hugo Awards are given annually to the best works of science fiction or fantasy and are seen as the "highest honor bestowed in science fiction and fantasy writing. Fifth-three-year old Liu was the first writer in Asia to win the honor. This is Special English. A university in northwest China's Qinghai Province plans to offer international students Master&`&s degrees in traditional Tibetan medicine. Tibetan Medical College of Qinghai University has said that it planned to recruit five foreign postgraduates this autumn. The Master&`&s program will last three years, with students taught in both English and Tibetan. Established in 1987, the college is one of the two higher educational institutes in China which train traditional Tibetan medicine practitioners. The other is in Tibet. The college's honorary president said the school had exchange programs with universities in the United States, Russia, South Korea and Japan since 2007. So far, almost 100 overseas students have come for short-term training in Tibetan medicine. Traditional Tibetan medicine was also listed as optional course at University of Virginia medical school last July. The president said the core of development of Tibetan medicine lies in training. Helping it go global will be beneficial to more people. Tibetan medicine is at least 2,300 years old. It has absorbed the influences of traditional Chinese, Indian and Arab medicines and is mainly practiced in Tibet and the Himalayan region. Tibetan medicine uses herbs, minerals and sometimes insects and animal parts. It was put on the list of China's national intangible cultural heritage in 2006. You're listening to Special English. I&`&m Sam Duckett in Beijing. Disney's "The Jungle Book" continued to lead the box office in its second week after release. （全文见周六微信。）

This is Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news. President Xi Jinping has called for "more tolerance and patience" towards internet users and welcomed online criticism, "whether mild or fierce", as long as it arises from goodwill. Xi made the remarks at a rare high-profile meeting as the country's 700 million internet users get more say in social governance and public events. The president also urged speeding up legislation of a cyber-law, improving legal supervision and preventing risks caused by the internet. Xi said the government should take constructive advice from netizens, help those who are in difficulties and explain to those who don't understand the situation. Netizens' complaints should be addressed quickly, and incorrect online attitudes should be corrected. He added that government officials should get close to the people through the internet, listen to online public opinions and suggestions, and answer the public's concerns in a positive manner. The meeting was attended by entrepreneurs of internet giants including Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu, as well as experts on media research and officials of internet management. During the meeting, Xi talked with 10 representatives from colleges, companies and government departments and heard their suggestions on cybersecurity, core technology and public opinions. Noting China's large number of internet users, Xi said that cyberspace should be regulated to make it a clean place for netizens, especially adolescents. This is Special English. The latest results from experiments aboard China's SJ-10 recoverable satellite prove for the first time that early-stage mammal embryos can develop in space. China launched the country's first microgravity satellite, SJ-10, on April 6. The return capsule will stay in orbit for several more days before heading back to Earth. An orbital module has been used to carry out experiments. High-resolution photographs sent from SJ-10 show that mouse embryos continued to successfully develop throughout a 96-hour period. Duan Enkui is a professor at the Institute of Zoology affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the principal researcher involved with the experiment. Duan says the human race may still have a long way to go before they can colonize space but, before that, people have to work out whether it is possible for them to survive and reproduce in outer space like they do on Earth. He says the experiments have finally proven that the most crucial step in human reproduction, early embryo development, is possible in outer space. The first attempt to develop mammalian embryos in space was carried out by NASA's STS-80 Spacecraft in 1996. However, none of the 49 mouse embryos on board successfully developed. In 2006, China launched the recoverable satellite SJ-8, which carried four-cell embryos in its orbital module. Scientists successfully received high-resolution pictures of those embryos. However, none grew. This is Special English. Chinese scientists have wrapped up another scientific expedition to Antarctica as the country's icebreaker Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, returned to Shanghai. The 158-day expedition started in November last year. The icebreaker traveled 30,000 nautical miles carrying around 300 scientists. During the mission, China's first fixed-wing aircraft for polar flight, the Snow Eagle, completed flights totaling 80,000 kilometers in 260 hours. The aircraft conducted airborne remote sensing and transport tasks. Experts say China will develop a squadron of such fixed-wing aircraft and it will need to set up a professional Antarctic aviation team. The expedition team conducted marine environmental assessment in waters around the Antarctic Peninsula. They confirmed earlier speculation about the South Pole being home to the world's largest canyon. Many subglacial lakes and currents connected to the canyon, form a giant "wetland" beneath the Antarctic ice. The scientists also collected 630 meteorite fragments. China now has more than 12,000 meteorite fragments, trailing behind only Japan and the United States. Thirty-three members of the team remain in Antarctica for further research. You are listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. The Ministry of Environmental Protection has started an investigation into what caused around 500 students at Changzhou Foreign School in Jiangsu province to come down with a range of pollution-related illnesses. The school had relocated in September to a facility built on a toxic site. The spate of illnesses that had flared since then includes leukemia, dermatitis, eczema, bronchitis and blood abnormalities. According to the school, 641 students were examined recently by doctors, and 493 were diagnosed with various diseases and conditions. The local government confirmed that the new campus was built on a brownfield site that had housed three chemical factories. The plants had produced highly toxic chemicals. People who formerly worked in the factories said they had buried toxic chemicals near the plants to save time and money. They also spoke of discharging untreated wastewater into rivers. An environmental report showed that soil and nearby groundwater contained organic pollutants. Heavy-metal pollutants including mercury, lead and cadmium were also found. The concentrations of chlorobenzene in the groundwater and soil greatly exceeded normal levels. Experts specializing in environmental issues say the environmental assessment report that justified the construction of the new campus did not look for pesticides; and builders had used heavily polluted groundwater during the construction process. This is Special English. China's health authorities have stressed the important role of vaccination in disease control, urging the public to have their children vaccinated in a timely manner. Judging from queries received by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, some people are still confused or skeptical about vaccination in the wake of a scandal where a large quantity of improperly stored or expired vaccines was allegedly sold across the country from 2011 onwards. The commission says the immunization program is the most economic, effective and safest way of preventing, controlling and eradicating communicable diseases. And vaccination under the national immunization program has proved quite fruitful in the control of preventable diseases. Since China introduced the immunization program in 1978, the rate of hepatitis B in children aged below five has been greatly reduced, and incidences of encephalitis B and epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis hit historical lows. This is Special English. China is to build a database of overseas talent as part of a digital platform to match foreign experts with potential employers. The platform will include all legally employed foreign workers' nationalities, areas of expertise and industry, their employer and city of residence. It is the first big-data project of its kind in the country. Between 2011 and 2015, foreign experts paid more than 3 million visits to China, including short trips and longer-term employment. This is a 30 percent increase compared with the period from 2006 to 2010. The State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs say most expats work in eight provinces and cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang province in eastern China. The administration says that in the past, overseas talent introduction was led by government policies and talent projects. But that cannot react to market changes dynamically. Instead, the market should lead overseas talent recruitment, and the government should create a friendly environment for overseas talent including a simplified visa application process. It says the digital platform will also bridge the information gap between demand and supply. As China develops, emerging industries are springing up and are facing a shortage of overseas talent. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That's mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues. Foreign families, especially in the United States, are increasingly willing to adopt Chinese orphans with special needs. The Ministry of Civil Affairs says there were almost 3,000 intercountry adoptions of Chinese children in 2014, accounting for around 13 percent of the 23,000 Chinese children adopted. Of the foreign adoptions, 2,000 children went to families in the United States. Although no official statistics track how many of the adopted children had disabilities, experts believe they can see a pattern in the willingness of foreigners to adopt children with special needs. Ian Milligan is international lead of the Centre for Excellence for Looked-after Children, an organization based in Scotland. He says it comes from a combination of relative wealth, the state of development of healthcare and social services systems, mature attitudes and Christian values. Milligan says people with faith are more willing to adopt or foster children with special needs; and it seems that Christian families, or people in the Christian community, are more willing to take disabled children. The head of the Children's Research Institute of China, Tong Xiaojun, agreed. Tong says most children adopted by overseas families in recent years have special needs; and many overseas adoptions are done for philanthropic reasons. This is Special English. The mountains of Beijing have been crawling with new creatures in recent weeks, and locals aren't happy about the new additions to the food chain. More than 300 foxes and raccoon dogs were released in Beijing's Huairou District without authorization. The captive animals were reportedly set free by Buddhists as a way of showing benevolence and earning merit. The tradition has caused controversy in recent years after guinea pigs and venomous snakes were reportedly released into the wild, causing public panic. There were reports that the animals attacked chickens, causing complaints among locals. The local forestry bureau told the media that all the freed animals were arctic foxes, which are not a protected species in China. The foxes and raccoon dogs were all raised in captivity. Staff with the bureau said they have retrieved more than 100 foxes, many of them already dead, presumably from starvation as the animals were not equipped to survive in the wild. A similar incident was reported earlier in east China's Anhui Province. The recent cases have fueled online debate, with Internet users remaining divided on the issue. While many argue that the practice conforms to Buddhist belief, others say the practice disturbs the ecological balance and harms society. You are listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Reality shows with celebrity children are no longer allowed to be produced and broadcast on television. China's media regulator, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television announced the ban, saying reality shows must be strictly controlled. Following the announcement, some local TV stations have already canceled programs starring celebrities and their children, including the popular "Dad! Where Are We Going?" and "Dad Came Back". Last year, more than 100 entertainment programs were broadcast on TV nationwide, many of which were reality shows featuring children, generating over 10 billion yuan, roughly 1.6 billion U.S. dollars, in advertising revenue. （全文见周六微信。）

Most complaints made by Chinese consumers last year were about online shopping, a report from China's top legislative body said on Monday.中国最高立法机关于周一在一份报告中称，去年中国消费者的投诉大都是关于网上购物。The number of complaints and disputes related to shopping on the Internet rose sharply and the network has become a breeding ground for counterfeits, the report by a law enforcement team under the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress said.全国人民代表大会常务委员会执法检查组的一份报告称，与网上购物有关的投诉和争执的数量急剧增长，网络已经变成了滋生假冒产品的温床。In 2014, Chinese industrial and commercial authorities dealt with 78,000 complaints concerning online shopping, up 356.6 percent year-on-year.2014年，工商部处理了78,000件与网上购物相关的投诉，与去年同期相比增长了356.6%。Of the total of 20,135 cases taken on by consumer associations, 92.3 percent concerned online purchases, the report said. Yan Junqi, vice-chairwoman of the NPC Standing Committee, said: "Ignoring consumers' rights and selling counterfeits are very prominent in the online shopping industry."报告称，消费者协会总共受理案件20,135例，其中92.3%都是关于网上购物的。全国人大常委会副委员长严隽琪说：“网购产业中，无视消费者权利，出售假冒伪劣产品的现象十分严重。”She revealed that just 58.7 percent of products sold online were found to be authentic during a random inspection in 2014 by the State Administration of Industry and Commerce.她透露说，在2014年国家工商行政管理局的一次随机抽样检查中，网上出售的产品中只有58.7%是真实可信的。With the boom in complaints, the number of disputes caused by online purchases also went up, she said.严隽琪说，随着投诉量剧增，由网购造成的争端也越来越多。Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court has handled 107 such disputes since the revised Chinese Consumer Protection Law took effect on March 15 last year, she said. A typical example, from Anhui province's financial website, described how a woman surnamed Xu paid a 2,000 yuan ($316)deposit before she bought sanitary ware priced 1,000 yuan cheaper online than she could find elsewhere.严隽琪说，自去年3月15日修订后的《中华人民共和国消费者权益保护法》生效以来，北京市朝阳区人民法院已经处理了107起类似争端。安徽省的金融网站上有一个典型的例子：一位许姓女士在网上发现了一件卫生洁具，比别处卖得要便宜1000元，购买之前，她先付了2000元（316美元）订金。But when it was delivered, Xu found it was poor quality and she was told the deposit could not be repaid because it was a sale product.然而当货物送达时，许女士发现其质量极差，且许女士还被告知由于这件卫生洁具是特价商品，订金不予退还。Yan suggested that the Supreme People's Court should clarify the revised law by the end of this year and appealed to consumer associations to play their role.严隽琪建议，年底之前，最高人民法院应阐明修订后的法律，并呼吁消费者协会发挥好其作用。Qiu Baochang, head of the lawyers' group for the China Consumers' Association, said: "We are always overloaded with work since the revised law came into effect.中国消费者协会律师团团长邱宝昌说：“自修订后的法律生效以来，我们常常超负荷工作。”"We have asked officers to update their knowledge of the law and how the online industry works,including means of payment, to catch up with the pace at which e-commerce is developing."“我们已经要求相关办事人员更新其关于法律以及网购产业运作方式的知识，其中包括对支付方式的了解，以此来赶上电子商务发展的步伐。”

This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. Here is the news. Premier Li Keqiang says college students are a fresh and dynamic force in pursuing China's strategy of innovation-driven development, and the education authority should better channel their talent. Li made the remarks in a written instruction on the first "Internet Plus" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition for College Students. The event has been held in Changchun, the capital of northeast China's Jilin Province. Li said the practical abilities of students should be improved, while those wanting to start their own businesses must be supported. Around 200,000 students from more than 1,800 colleges across China took part in the event. This is NEWS Plus Special English. Authorities have warned severe punishment for those caught cheating in the upcoming national civil servant exams. The State Administration of Civil Service says cheating is a criminal offense according to the revised Criminal Laws. Anyone found cheating in national exams faces sentences of up to three years in prison, custody and fine. In serious cases, the violators will be sentenced to four-to-seven years in prison. The national-level government agencies, their affiliated public institutions and local branches are planning to recruit 27,000 civil servants this year, up from around 22,000 last year. The number is going to be the highest in over a decade. （全文请浏览微信周日第三条。）

介绍: 全部文稿在周日微信第三条~迟到了的童鞋可以去历史信息里面找This is NEWS Plus Special English. I&`&m Liu Yan in Beijing. Here is the news.Observers in the United States say stronger anti-graft teamwork is good for China and the United States. They made the remarks following a US media report questioning the "Fox Hunt", China&`&s global manhunt for corrupt officials and economic criminal suspects.The New York Times story quoted unnamed US officials as saying that some Chinese law enforcement staff are "operating secretly" in the United States to pressure prominent expatriates to return home, and "most likely are entering on tourist or trade visas".One source close to the Ministry of Public Security told China Daily that the ministry is strict about police officers applying for official visas when they go overseas to hunt for Chinese corrupt officials.The source also said Chinese judicial authorities have actively and willingly provided evidence to their US counterparts and asked them to assist in repatriating and extraditing corrupt Chinese officials hiding in the U.S.This is NEWS Plus Special English.China has opened a center to receive and investigate public reports on violations of laws protecting cultural relics.Culture Minister Luo Shugang said at the launch ceremony that the center, which is under the administration of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, will be a hub to handle such reports from around the country.Luo called for efficient enforcement of the laws. The center&`&s staff must be "guardians" of China&`&s cultural heritage.The public can report to the center via a telephone hotline, the Administration&`&s website, regular mail, as well as email.This is NEWS Plus Special English.China&`&s first blacklist that bans almost 400 people from driving for life has been released by the Public Security Department in Jiangsu province, as part of a national campaign launched in July to crack down on traffic violations.The list also revokes the licenses of around 11,000 drivers who seriously violated traffic regulations and laws in the first seven months of this year.The drivers will also be banned from driving or applying for a license for at least two years.Under China&`&s Law on Road Traffic Safety, drivers violating the legislation can be banned from driving for two to 10 years, or for life.Traffic management authorities say the life bans were imposed to warn drivers to respect the law.Among the 387 drivers, 77 percent fled from hit-and-run crashes, and the rest drove while drunk.The names of the drivers banned for 10 years or more have been uploaded on the provincial Public Security Department website. The reasons for the bans have also been given.You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I&`&m Liu Yan in Beijing.Designers of the floral displays that will line Beijing&`&s centerpiece Chang&`&an Avenue for the 70th anniversary of the victory of the anti-Japanese aggression war are using 3D printing to build preparatory models of their creations.The floral arrays are being designed by computer and descriptions of different beds sent to 3D printers to produce miniature mock-ups. These models can be more accurate than traditional ways of modeling such as clay sculptures.With flowers on Chang&`&an Avenue a major fixture of public occasions in Beijing, the 3D printing technology was used for the first time ahead of last year&`&s National Day celebrations.In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War in early September, the avenue will be decorated with 25,000 square meters of flowers. They will remain in place for the National Day celebrations on Oct. 1, with gardeners taking care of them and replacing those with short blooming periods.This is NEWS Plus Special English.The 43rd World Skills Competition has closed in Brazil&`&s largest city Sao Paulo, with China scoring four gold medals in manufacturing, welding, hairdressing, and car painting.In addition to gold medals, competitors from the Chinese delegation also won 6 silver medals, 3 bronze medals and 12 Medals for Excellence.Chinese officials say the contestants demonstrated their potential; and though the Chinese team has advanced on some categories, no major breakthrough was seen yet. They expect to achieve better results in the future.The Albert Vidal Award, the highest individual almighty prize, was shared by the competitors of Britain, Brazil and South Korea.Simon Bartley, president of the Amsterdam-based World-Skills International, said China has gradually progressed in the biennial World Skills Competition, billed as the "Olympics of Skills". He said the Chinese delegation has skilled talents in one fourth of the competing fields, while performing above average in the other fields.It was the first time that the competition was held in Latin America, with the highest number of participants in its history. A total of almost 1,200 contestants from 59 countries and regions demonstrated their skills during the four-day competition.This is NEWS Plus Special English.Beijing was among the worst 10 cities in China for air quality in July, the first time this year the capital has dropped so low.Only 35 percent of days in the month met the national standard, putting the capital at 65th among the country&`&s 74 major cities.According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection&`&s monthly air quality report, most of the polluted days registered excessive ozone concentration.Excessive concentrations of ozone can cause respiratory tract irritation, damage to the body&`&s immune system and affect lung function. Health experts strongly suggest that people stay indoors around noon to avoid the worst of such pollution.The maximum concentration in eight hours surpassed the national standard by 58 percent, 13 percent higher than the maximum in June.The ministry report said six cities in Hebei province, which neighbors Beijing, were among the worst 10 in China for severe air pollution in July, of which the city of Xingtai was the most polluted.Except for the higher ozone concentration, the capital has seen a year-on-year decrease of other major air pollutants. Sulfur dioxide has dropped by 28 percent, and PM2.5, particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 2.5 microns, fell by 32 percent.Unlike excessive particulate matter in the air, which makes the days smoggy, excessive ozone concentration can occur under blue skies.You&`&re listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I&`&m Liu Yan in Beijing. You can access the program by logging onto NEWSPlusRadio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That&`&s mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues.The State Council, China&`&s Cabinet, has promised greater financial support and "scientific and steady" promotion of bilingual teaching so that education in ethnic regions achieves the national standard by the end of 2020.A cabinet document states that "education of ethnic minorities lags far behind the country&`&s average, it should be given a more prominent position".Stressing the educational rights of ethnic minorities and those living in ethnic regions, the document underscored the moral and social influence of education, as well as its role in ethnic unity and national stability.It says bilingual education should be promoted in a scientific and steady manner, it said, adding that teachers&`& ideological and political knowledge, and their professional and ethical skills should also be improved.According to the cabinet, teaching methods should be developed to help promote and implement "socialist core values", and efforts should be made to boost exchange and harmony among students of various ethnic groups.This is NEWS Plus Special English.Researchers from China and Russia have for the first time determined the population of the endangered Amur leopard, which lives along the border of the two countries.A joint operation this year found that at least 80 adult Amur leopards were living in the nature reserves and surrounding areas in northeast China, as well as the far east of Russia.The project was conducted by a Chinese team along with Beijing Normal University and a Russian leopard park.The border area is believed to be the only area in the world where Amur leopards, the world&`&s most endangered feline, live.The findings exceed previous estimations. Surveys in the early 21th century put the population at between 25 and 35.The team also discovered an isolated group of Siberian tigers, around 38, living in the border area.The findings show that the populations of Amur leopards and Siberian tigers are in a stage of rapid expansion thanks to the protective efforts by both countries.However, the experts noted that the two species were struggling to find enough suitable habitats. If there is not enough space to accommodate the rapidly growing populations, they will face a serious problem of lack of prey, which could lead to a collapse in population.You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I&`&m Liu Yan in Beijing.Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province in eastern China, has submitted its bid for the 2022 Asian Games.The Olympic Council of Asia, the sports-governing body of the region, will decide the host city of the 2022 games in Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan at its 34th congress on September 16.If Hangzhou wins, it will be the third time that the games are held in a Chinese city, after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.Beijing was selected to host the 2022 winter Olympic Games last month.

完整文稿看周日微信第三条，你懂的呦~ This is NEWS Plus Special English. I&`&m Liu Yan in Beijing. Here is the news.A total of 24 radio and television entities from countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road have signed a memorandum on broadcast cooperation.The countries include China, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan.Cooperation will feature visits by institution leaders, as well as program and personnel exchanges.China encourages media cooperation along the "Belt and Road", and called for the creation of a collaboration mechanism.China&`&s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television said audiences will be exposed to varied information and culture, and increase understanding through broadcasting cooperation.Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the "Belt and Road" Initiative aims to revive the ancient trade routes between Asia and Europe, break infrastructure bottlenecks and boost efficient allocation of resources. This is NEWS Plus Special English.China will hold photo exhibitions in more than 150 countries and regions throughout August and September to mark the 70th anniversary of its World War II victory on Sept. 3.More than 300 historical pictures will be on display in order to underline the oriental battleground&`&s contribution to the victory of the world anti-fascist war.The exhibitions will be translated into six languages.Meanwhile, between July 15 and September 15, the People&`&s Liberation Army will stage an exhibition on the important role the Communist Party of China played in the war. The exhibition will be held in the Military Museum of the Chinese People&`&s Revolution in Beijing.This year marks the 70 anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Japan signed its formal surrender on Sept. 2, 1945, and China celebrated its victory the following day.A major military parade will be held on Sept. 3 at Beijing&`&s Tian&`&anmen Square to commemorate the event.China&`&s silver screens and theater stages will be dominated by war stories about Japan&`&s invasion of China in the early half of last century.War-themed stage performances, including symphonies, concerts, traditional operas and puppet shows will be staged nationwide from this month. This is NEWS Plus Special English.The Ministry of Education has named and shamed university employees who had broken regulations relating to "righteous life and work styles".The ministry named staff from three universities involved in five cases concerning travel expenses paid for with public funds, fraudulent retiree compensation claims, and accepting financial gifts at weddings.In one case, faculties under Tongji University&`&s School of Economics and Management were found to have financed an overseas visit with public funds in 2013.Punishments were meted out to violators, including disciplinary warnings.A rule on bureaucracy, formalism and extravagance was introduced at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee at the end of 2012.You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I&`&m Liu Yan in Beijing.China&`&s first "Internet Plus" innovation and entrepreneurship contest for college students will take place between July and October.The Ministry of Education says the contest aims to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship and promote employment opportunities for college graduates.Applications are underway; and preliminary heats will be held between July and September, with the final in mid-October.Participants are encouraged to come up with ideas or programs related to the Internet; for example, how to combine the Internet with traditional industries, or using online platforms to provide public services.The contest will invite established entrepreneurs, investors, university teachers and higher education experts as judges to select around 300 teams and award funds for further developing their projects.This is NEWS Plus Special English.Wildlife advocates have cheered the removal of the Tibetan antelope from the endangered species list, but pledged to continue their protection efforts. Environment and animal protection authorities announced last month that the Tibetan antelope was no longer an endangered species.Thanks to effective protection efforts, there are now around 200,000 Tibetan antelopes in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau area, and the population is steadily climbing.Tibetan antelopes mainly live in western China, including Qinghai Province, and Xinjiang and Tibet autonomous regions, with the majority living in northern Tibet.Poachers in search of the animal&`&s pelts resulted in the sharp decline of the antelope population in the 1990s. By the beginning of 2000, only 70,000 of them were left.Shahtoosh, ultra-soft shawl made of yarn from the down fur of the animal, can fetch upward of 40,000 U.S. dollars each. On average, it takes the hide of three antelopes to create one Shahtoosh.In 1996 and 1997, a total of more than 840 kilograms of yarn were seized by two customs offices in Lhasa, the regional capital of Tibet.This is NEWS Plus Special English.Tusi Sites, the remains of an ancient political system adopted by the central authorities to govern ethnic minority regions in southwest China, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List.The World Heritage Committee made the decision at its annual meeting in Germany, in recognition of the "universal value" reflected in the Sites.The Tusi Sites are located separately in the mountainous areas of Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou provinces.Tusi means hereditary tribal headmen appointed by the central authorities to govern the often unruly ethnic minority regions in southwestern China.The committee said the system aimed at unifying national administration while simultaneously allowing ethnic minorities to retain their customs and way of life.The inscription of the Tusi Sites inz

完整文稿看周六微信第三条，你懂得This is NEWS Plus Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.An annual survey has found that food safety was the public&`&s top concern. In response to a list of "quality of life" issues including housing and the environment, 77 percent of respondents said food safety mattered most to them. In China, where food safety scandals are commonplace, the public have to be extra careful before every bite.Earlier last month, Premier Li Keqiang lauded the revised Food Safety Law and the "zero tolerance" stance on food safety issues.He advised that a tracking system, which records and monitors the whole food production process, should be established.China marked its Food Safety Promotion Week, which fell on the week starting on June 15th this year.During a visit in the southwestern Province of Guizhou, Chinese President Xi Jinping called at local food stores and supermarkets. He stopped at a grocery shop in a town near the provincial capital Guiyang, finding the food sold there was well within its expiry dates. This is NEWS Plus Special English.A newly developed diagnostic reagent can complete a test for MERS in just 15 minutes.Research on the reagent began late last year. The reagent was put together by scientists in Hong Kong and the coastal city of Xiamen. It will be used in virus screening if the disease ever breaks out in China.The new reagent is easier to use than traditional diagnostics. It is efficient and can be used for a large number of tests. A single technician can process more than 1,000 samples a day.First identified in 2012, MERS has recently reappeared in South Korea. As of mid-June, the disease has killed 24 people and infected 160 others.This is NEWS Plus Special English.Guests of TV programs will no longer be allowed to be employed as presenters. That&`&s according to a circular issued by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.The circular stipulates that TV shows, including news, commentaries and interview panels should not recruit guests in the role of supporting host.The circular says the role of guest and host in radio and TV programs should be clear-cut.It says TV hosts are responsible for the show, including guiding the audience and controlling the pace of the broadcast. Thus, it is unsuitable for guests to be hosts or presenters.The circular also called for more training for hosts and guests before the show is recorded.The regulation takes effect on July 1.TV stations hire famous actors and celebrities as guest hosts, especially for popular reality shows. The administration says this might result in improper remarks or mistakes during live broadcasts.TV hosts are required to have vocational qualifications. An inspection will be launched in the near future to check on the qualifications.You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.The Chinese government has spent 109 billion yuan, roughly 18 billion U.S. dollars, aiding people who can&`&t afford medical services during the past five years.Government spending on medical aid rose by an annual average of almost 14 percent during the period.According to the Ministry of Finance, the government will spend more in this area, while private donations are also encouraged.China established a national medical assistance system in 2008, allocating fund to help disadvantaged people purchase medical insurance and to subsidize healthcare not included in insurance programs.Last year, China spent 25 billion yuan on such subsidies, benefiting 100 million people.Currently, 63 percent of the funding comes from the central government, while local governments and donations contribute 32 percent and 5 percent respectively.In April, the State Council promised to expand medical assistance to cover more people and help pay more medical expenses.This is NEWS Plus Special English.China has promised better treatment for mental illness and to expand medical aid to more people with mental conditions, many of whom have been neglected until the troubled becomes troublemaker.China had 4 million severely mentally impaired people at the end of last year, with more than half of them living in poverty.The country has set a goal of more than 80 percent of people with severe mental illnesses "to be placed in management" by 2020, with treatment covering at least 80 percent of schizophrenia cases.A mental health working plan stipulates that accidents resulting from the mentally ill, especially those which are fatal, should drop considerably in the next five years. Those responsible for the accidents should receive timely treatment, in accordance with the law.Citing depression, autism and dementia as key targets, the document noted that depression treatment rate should rise by 50 percent by 2020. Financial support will be given to those suffering economic difficulties.To address a grave lack of mental health professionals, the plan encourages health institutes to set up psychology clinics and strengthen staff training, raising the projected number of doctors specializing in mental conditions to 40,000 by 2020.This is NEWS Plus Special English.Chinese engineers are developing laser radar equipment that can monitor and analyze air pollutants including PM2.5 particulate matter.A leader of the project has revealed that laser radar is a new monitoring and measurement tool in the environmental and meteorological fields, capable of monitoring airflow and particulate matter and other air pollutants.Song Yubin, a radar expert in Beijing, said the apparatus can monitor almost everything in the air that affects people&`&s health. Seeing the huge potential of China&`&s environmental protection market, Song and his team have decided to utilize their radar expertise to help cities tackle one of their biggest concerns, PM2.5. PM 2.5 refers to particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 micron

完整文稿看周六微信第三条，你懂得This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.A total of 9.4 million Chinese high school students have sat for the Gaokao, the annual national college entrance exam which fell on June the 7th to 9th this year as always.The test is often called a battle to determine a student's future, as the results can decide whether a student goes to college, back to school for another year, or starts a career.Because the stakes are high, cheating is a recurring problem.During the first day, two hours after the test began, media reports alleged a surrogate exam-taker in Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province in east China, have been detected.The provincial education department immediately investigated and apprehended the suspect in a high school exam room with the police in attendance, less than half an hour before the first test ended.The suspect admitted to being a stand in, and further investigations are under way.The Ministry of Education, meanwhile, says it has asked the public security ministry to oversee the investigation. Cheating in the Gaokao can amount to a punishable crime in serious cases.Though the scams will never disappear, the Gaokao has become a fairer game since last year with new rules being enforced. It was the biggest change since the exam was reintroduced in 1977.This is NEWS Plus Special English.As the rainy season arrives, local authorities in China have been urged to give more attention to protection and safety efforts.A government statement has called on local governments to carry out thorough safety inspections on reservoirs, building sites, roads, railways and tourist attractions. The joint notice has been issued by the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the State Administration of Work Safety.Priority should be given to formulating emergency plans, rescue and relief work, and the preparation of relief supplies.China's National Meteorological Center has issued a yellow alert for storms in southern China. China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue. This is NEWS Plus Special English.The National Health and Family Planning Commission has issued a manual on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, for health departments and hospitals.It contains a detailed introduction to the history of the disease, its symptoms, laboratory testing, preventative measures, treatment and care.Control measures at hospitals will be heightened and patients complaining of fever will be screened.The organization has promised to keep the public well informed and give timely warnings.China reported its first MERS patient a week ago in Guangdong Province, southern China. It is a traveler from South Korea.MERS is a respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus, similar to Sever Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. The first human case emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012. It has a fatality rate of 40 percent.There is no effective treatment for MERS and medical care just focuses on alleviating the symptoms.According to the manual, person-to-person transmission of MERS is limited.You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging onto NEWSPlusRadio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That's mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues.Chinese scientists and the European Space Agency have decided that their joint space satellite program will focus on an X-ray imaging satellite to study the Earth's magnetosphere.The project, known as SMILE, was selected from 13 proposals and is due to launch in 2021. It will study the effects of the Sun on the Earth's environment. The study aims at creating images of the interactions between solar winds and the Earth's magnetosphere with innovative X-ray and ultraviolet technology.Previously, the European Space Agency contributed to China's Double Star, similar satellite mission launched in 2003 to focus on the impact of the Sun on the Earth's environment.SMILE will be the first comprehensive collaboration between China and the European Space Agency with joint efforts in definition, implementation and data utilization. The next step will be a project feasibility study.This is NEWS Plus Special English.China and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization have signed a 50-million-US-dollar agreement to support developing countries in building sustainable food systems in the fight against extreme hunger and poverty.The effort is a new contribution to the FAO-China South-South Cooperation Trust Fund. It will support the exchanges of Chinese agricultural experts with countries in the southern globe, particularly in low-income food-deficient areas, over a period of five years.Chinese officials said that since 1990, China has successfully lifted 138 million of its people out of chronic hunger.China is the leading agricultural producer among the developing countries. It is ready to enhance cooperation with the FAO. The effort will not only benefit agricultural development, but also the poor and hungry people of the world.You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. A student in Shanghai Jiaotong University has made a cockroach move using the human mind.Li Guang-ye, a postgraduate student of the university, implanted live cockroaches with microelectrodes that stimulate certain nerves in the insects' antennae, allowing him to control the insect using a remote control.To achieve this, the controller needs to wear a portable wireless brain wave collecting device to ensure the controller's directional intention is recognized by a computer.Then the computer transfers the directional intention into controlling signal and sends it to the electronic backpack receiver on the back of the cockroach; then according to the commanding signal of the controller, the electronic backpack sends specific pulse to the nerve of the cockroach's antennae which has been implanted with a microelectrode.By virtue of the Bluetooth communication technology, the controller can form a wireless communication link between the computer and the electronic backpack through intrusive electrical nerve stimulation techniques. This enables the control of the cockroach by human beings.The invention won a second prize in a nationwide students' video contest earlier this year and will be displayed in one of the top-level technology conferences in China later in 2015.This is NEWS Plus Special English.Two grocery stores with unmanned checkouts have completed a one-day trial in Beijing and the eastern city of Hangzhou, with the intention of testing the integrity of customers.A QR code and guidance were placed in a cashier-free outlet belonging to the Vanguard supermarket chain in downtown Hangzhou.Customers assume the job of the cashier by scanning bar codes themselves. They have been able to pay via mobile phone or put cash in an honesty box.The grocery store sold products worth 16,700 yuan, roughly 2,700 U.S. dollars, but only received payment to the amount of 13,700 yuan from customers. In the Beijing outlet under AMPM, a convenience store chain, staff said some customers stole products or paid less. A Vanguard executive said cashier-free supermarkets reduce queuing time and are developing fast abroad. With an improved credit system, the Vanguard executive expects more cashier-free grocery stores to open in China.There are cashier-free stores in other parts of China including the northeastern province of Jilin and eastern province of Shandong.The trial was jointly run by the two store chains and Sesame Credit, a credit scoring service introduced by a financial affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba. This is NEWS Plus Special English.Twenty-six Chinese students studying in the United States have received an annual Chinese government award.The award-winning ceremony has been held at the Chinese Consulate General in Houston. Consul General Li Qiang-min handed out the National Scholarship for Outstanding Self-Financed Chinese Students Abroad.The recipients came from more than 10 colleges in the southern United States, and their majors covered physics, chemistry, biology, medicine and electronic engineering.The scholarship award was set up in 2003 by the China Scholarship Council to honor overseas Chinese students with outstanding academic accomplishments. It aims to encourage research excellence and to recognize the achievements among Chinese students abroad. The award consists a 6,000 U.S. dollar prize and a certificate.More than 4,000 overseas Chinese students have received the award. A total of 500 students received the award this year.You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging onto NEWSPlusRadio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That's mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues.The State Forestry Administration of China has published guidelines on protecting the country's desertified land.The guideline advised more than 1.2 million square kilometers of desertified land in China be closed off as a protection zone so as to control drifting sand and improve the environment.The guidelines will be effective from July this year to the end of 2020. The guidelines ban activities including cutting down trees, cultivating land, animal grazing, and misuse of water in the protected zones. Construction of railways and highways is forbidden. No immigrants should be settled in the zones.According to the guidelines, the protected areas should be important locations that have an impact on regional and national ecology and have suffered from frequent human activity.Desertified land, which is land that has become barren due to constant water shortages and excessive exploitation, makes up more than half of the total desert area in China.China had a desert area of around 2.6 million square kilometers, accounting for 27 percent of its total land mass.This is NEWS Plus Special English.China will launch a five-month campaign to regulate the online market and protect the rights and interests of online consumers and operators.The campaign will be effective from July to November, and will target fake and inferior commodities that have been widely complained about by consumers and dealers, as well as dishonest shopping websites.The State Administration for Industry and Commerce said the items being checked include electronic products, car accessories, clothing, electrical materials and other important commodities.The market regulator will strictly supervise the rules and standards of E-commerce platforms, make sure sales promotion rules are transparent to consumers, and market rules are well implemented.A real-name registration system will be established for online stores in an effort to combat illegal trade activity and fake shopping sites.China's online sales volume surged 50 percent year on year to reach almost 2.8 trillion yuan, roughly 450 billion U.S. dollars, last year, accounting for almost 10 percent of the country's total retail sales.This is NEWS Plus Special English.

每天关注微信第二条，有慢英学~As the rainy season arrives, local authorities in China have been urged to give more attention to protection and safety efforts.A government statement has called on local governments to carry out thorough safety inspections on reservoirs, building sites, roads, railways and tourist attractions. The joint notice has been issued by the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the State Administration of Work Safety.Priority should be given to formulating emergency plans, rescue and relief work, and the preparation of relief supplies.China&`&s National Meteorological Center has issued a yellow alert for storms in southern China. China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue.reservoir n. 水库State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters n. 国家防汛抗旱总指挥部按照《中华人民共和国防洪法》、《中华人民共和国防汛条例》、《中华人民共和国抗旱条例》和国务院“三定方案”的规定，国家防汛抗旱总指挥部在国务院领导下，负责领导组织全国的防汛抗旱工作。State Administration of Work Safety n. 国家安全生产监督管理总局是中华人民共和国国务院直属的正部级行政机构，主要负责安全生产、煤炭矿业安全工作的监察等工作。National Meteorological Center n. 中央气象台是天气预报、气候预测、气候变化研究、气象信息收集分发服务的国家中心。也是世界气象组织亚洲区域气象中心、核污染扩散紧急响应中心，成立于1950年3月1日。yellow alert n. 黄色预警信号预警信号分为台风、暴雨、高温、寒潮、大雾、雷雨大风、大风、沙尘暴、冰雹、雪灾、道路积冰等十一类。预警信号总体上分为四级（Ⅳ，Ⅲ，Ⅱ，Ⅰ级），按照灾害的严重性和紧急程度，颜色依次为蓝色、黄色、橙色和红色，同时以中英文标识，分别代表一般、较重、严重和特别严重。根据不同的灾种特征、预警能力等，确定不同灾种的预警分级及标准。

全部文稿请关注我们今天的微信：搜索英语环球 NEWSPlusThis is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.China has launched a nationwide campaign against surrogate pregnancy. The campaign started this month and will run to the end of the year. Surrogate motherhood is banned in China. The campaign will focus on identifying and punishing medical personnel and intermediary agencies that are involved in the surrogate motherhood business. Online, TV, radio and print media that carry surrogacy advertisements will also be checked. The authorities will step up supervision over the sale and circulation of assisted reproductive technology, drugs and medical equipment. Despite the ban in China, the wombs-for-rent business has thrived. Studies show that an estimated one in eight couples have fertility problems.China's health authorities say cracking down on illegal surrogacy is a long-term task, and the campaign will continue until it is effectively controlled. They have set up a special hotline: 12356. People can provide information on any medical personnel, intermediary, media organization or individual involved in the illegal practice.This is NEWS Plus Special English.Many great discoveries started with whimsical questions.When David Hu from the Georgia Institute of Technology saw a mosquito braving heavy rain to land on a man's face, the question that popped up in his mind was how do the pests survive an onslaught of raindrops, each more than 50 times the creature's own weight.Such thoughts may be fleeting for many, but Hu and his colleagues spent years solving this mystery. By observing mosquito-raindrop collisions with high-speed cameras, they discovered that the mosquito is protected by a strong exoskeleton and can perform a dive upon impact with raindrops to lighten its force.The study, believed to offer insight to the development of insect-sized flying robots, won Hu a Pineapple Science Prize for physics recently in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province.China's equivalent of Ig Nobel Prizes, the U.S. parody of the real Nobel, the Pineapple awards honor the curiosity behind amusing and amazing experiments. The fourth annual awards ceremony was co-hosted by Zhejiang Science Museum and Guokr.com, China's leading popular science website.Its mathematics prize this year went to Huang Jinzi and his team from New York University, whose mathematical models answered the long sought-after question from childhood: How many licks does it take to finish a lollipop?It was initially an experiment on how water currents dissolve solids, using hard candy as a subject, but the theory developed from the experiment was later used to answer the lollipop conundrum -- a lollipop with a diameter of 1 centimeter can be licked 1,000 times.The invention prize was awarded to Jia Wenzhao and his colleagues from the University of California, San Diego, who invented a sticky device that can generate electricity from sweat. With its help, you can get an extra second for your cellphone by several hours of sweaty exercise.Others on this year's prize list included proof that "loving one's own name makes one feel happier" for the psychology prize; and the "a monkey's face looks like its mother's" experiment for medicine and biology prize. A blogger also won a special prize for spending a year documenting a meat's rotting process.Launched in 2012 to honor imaginative research and to arouse public enthusiasm for science, the Pineapple Prize is so named because of the difficulty of peeling the fruit, its inexpensive price and popularity with ordinary people.This year, the list of winners was more international. Around one third of the recipients were from overseas.You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.Arrangements for Muslims in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region who wish to take part in State-organized visits to Mecca for the annual hajj pilgrimage are being enhanced by the local authorities.Aisha Imish, a senior religious leader in Baicheng in the south of the region, participated in one of the official trips in 2013.50-year-old Imish says the group was accompanied by a translator, a doctor, a chef and other staff members, and enjoyed life in Islam's most holy city, Mecca.All able-bodied Muslims who can afford to go on the hajj are required to do so at least once in their lifetime. This year's pilgrimage is expected to run from Sept 21 to 26.Last year, trips to Mecca were organized for 14,000 pilgrims from China, 3,200 of them came from Xinjiang.The region has more than 13 million Muslims, and has a long waiting list for the government-organized visits.The Xinjiang Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau says the quota is almost the same every year, far short of the number of applicants in the region.Applications are submitted to the State Administration of Religious Affairs. Applicants can see the waiting list on the administration's website and check how many people are ahead of them.This is NEWS Plus Special English.China's Supreme People's Court has announced that by 2020, all courts in China's ethnic minority areas will be staffed with judges capable of using both Mandarin and local ethnic languages.The Supreme People's Court and the State Ethnic Affairs Commission have jointly issued a circular on improving the education and training of bilingual judges for ethnic minority areas. They have pledged to train at least 1,500 bilingual judges as by 2020.The authorities will work to ensure that every court in such areas has no fewer than four judges with bilingual competence and legal expertise.China has 56 ethnic groups, and citizens of all ethnic groups have statutory right to use their own ethnic language in litigations according to the Constitution and law. You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.China's health regulator says hospitals offering medical