SCIENTIFIC PIONEER PASSES AWAY

Zhou Yaohe， a renowned physical metallurgist and a pioneer in solidifi cation science in China passed away in Shanghai on July 30 at the age of 92.

Born in Beijing， Zhou graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Tsinghua University in 1950. He received his PhD from the Moscow State Institute of Steel and Alloy in 1957.

Zhou led the establishment of the foundry department for Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xian， capital of northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province， after returning to China.

He devoted himself to the research of the theory and techniques of foundry solidification and was elected a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1991 and a member of the Asia Pacific Academy of Materials in 1997. Zhou was employed by Shanghai Jiaotong University in 1996 and in recent years， was doing research into eco-materials.

High-Quality Food Products Needed

Peoples Daily July 29

By focusing on branding and standardizing production， Fenghua in east Chinas Zhejiang Province has seen local peaches selling at record prices this year. Since Chinese people hope to both eat well and eat their way into good health， the quality of agricultural products has become one of their major concerns.

Although China has plenty of ordinary products， peoples increasing demands are not fully satisfi ed due to the inadequate supply of high-quality non-staple products. After flocking to plant more profitable products， farmers have a lot to lose once bubbles burst and prices plummet.

China should deepen the agricultural supply-side structural reform to build a modern agricultural system and improve the quality of non-staple products. Relevant sectors should give more space to agricultural producers， turn to market-oriented management， standardize agricultural production and encourage producers through incentives. Strong regulations should be put in place to hold producers and suppliers accountable and traceable to boost consumers confidence. Domestic agricultural products should also be further branded to be more competitive.

China still has a long way to go in adjusting its agricultural structures. In view of this， relevant sectors need to help farmers get more access to markets and gain more steady benefi ts.

Theme Park or Real Estate Development？

Oriental Outlook July 26

Theme parks have taken off in China in recent years， but problems also abound in the sector. For instance， many theme park developers are using part of the land secured for building theme parks to build residential compounds which can generate huge profi ts in a short period of time. Land for building theme parks is sold at a lower price to developers because they are designed for public welfare. However， theme parks require heavy investment to build and take a long time to generate returns. Therefore， many developers resort to residential buildings to subsidize the development of theme parks. As a result， they pay less attention to the operation of theme parks， which hinders the development of the sector.

The problem has caught the governments attention， with five government departments including the National Development and Reform Commission issuing a guideline in March， regulating development of theme parks. The guideline requires local governments to fi rmly restrict the construction of residential compounds near theme parks and prohibit developers from bidding on land for building theme parks and residential buildings at the same time.

In addition， domestic theme parks also face problems such as weak cultural founda-tions and an incomplete industrial chain. For example， most large equipment for domestic theme parks is purchased from abroad as China lacks the technology to produce it.

In order to foster a more full-fledged value chain， the guideline requires theme parks to cooperate with other companies in creative design， tourism planning and development of by-products in order to form large industrial groups. Moreover， theme parks should make use of traditional Chinese culture and update their recreational programs regularly in order to increase their attractiveness.

Financial Support for Poverty Alleviation

Xinhua News Agency July 24

China needs to go all out and lift around 30 million of its impoverished people， mostly in rural areas， out of poverty in next three years.

The major poverty-mitigating is fundamental to fulfi ll its goal in building the nation into moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020.

Micro and small loans methods previously had successfully helped the poor in rural areas to get fi nancial support and trimmed the poverty rate， as well as helped to reform Chinas rural fi nancial system.

Thus in the future， China is set to continue using the same method to scale-down poverty.

For example， east Chinas Anhui Province had issued more than 27 billion yuan （$3.93 billion） of micro and small loans for poverty alleviation purposes by the end of June， with the number of people living in poverty in the province dropping from 6.8 million in 2012 to 1.2 million in 2017.

Similar fi nancial support methods have been rolled out in many other provinces and regions including Jiangxi， Hunan， Henan， Hubei， Sichuan and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

According to the State Council Leading Group Offi ce of Poverty Alleviation and Developments statistics， a total of 470 billion yuan （$69 billion） of small loans were distributed to nearly 19 million registered impoverished households around the country between late 2014 and May this year.

FORMER PUBLICITY OFFICIAL PROSECUTED

u Wei， the former deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee and former head of the Cyberspace Administration of China， has been prosecuted by the Ningbo Peoples Procuratorate in east Chinas Zhejiang Province.

The 58-year-old was charged with taking advantage of his various posts to seek benefits for others and accepting a large number of bribes， according to the Ningbo procuratorate.

Lu was expelled from the Party and dismissed from public offi ce in February.

He was deputy head of Xinhua News Agency from 2004 to 2011 and assumed the posts of publicity head of Beijing and deputy mayor of the capital city from 2011 to 2013. He led the Cyberspace Administration of China from 2013 to 2016 and was deputy head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee from 2014 to November 2017.

“The initiative will bring people closer so they can try to overcome difficulties together， including security issues.”

Sayed Hafizullah Ahmadi， Assistant Editor-in-Chief of the Afghanistan Times， commenting on the Belt and Road Initiative during a weeklong seminar on the Silk Road Economic Belt attended by senior editors and reporters from 18 nations in Beijing and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

“The Internet penetration rate of the education industry in China is much lower compared to other sectors such as e-commerce， news and wealth management， leaving it room to grow.”

Edwin Chen， an analyst with UBS Group AG， a global firm providing financial services to private， corporate and institutional clients， commenting on a UBS report that said Chinas online extracurricular education market is forecasted to expand greatly by 2025

“Foreign foods used to be consumed mainly by foreign expatriates， but now， they are being favored by many more Chinese people.”

Chen Weinian， purchasing director at Shanghais City Shop， an import gourmet supermarket chain， in a recent interview with China Daily， on Chinas changing consumption habits

“Current China-Africa cooperation has expanded from government assistance to enterprise investment and financing cooperation； from general merchandise trade to capacity cooperation and processing trade； and from project contracting to middle- and high-end industries.”

Leng Jing， a researcher at the Qingdao Academy of Social Sciences， east Chinas Shandong Province， in a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency