Racing to the Future

Racing to the Future

People admire a race car during the Second 2050 Conference in Hangzhou， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， on April 26. The conference， a platform for young tech enthusiasts to communicate and brainstorm on innovations， kicked off that day and lasted three days.

Development Plans

Chinese authorities are looking to renew regional development plans for the countrys less developed western and northeastern regions to bolster broader growth， according to a report by the China Securities Journal.

New guidelines on advancing western development in the new era are set to be released soon， which will focus more on environmental protection and implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative， said the paper.

Supply-side structural reform will be deepened， and technology innovation will be encouraged in the west to foster high-quality growth.

After China put forward the West Development Strategy in 1999， the countrys western regions have achieved remarkable progress.

Since 2012， they have sustained an average annual GDP growth rate of 8.9 percent， 1.8 percentage points higher than the national rate， suggesting a shrinking gap between the countrys east and west.

Industries such as construction and machinery will benefi t the most as infrastructure construction will remain a focus， the paper said， citing Xu Liying， an analyst with Lang Steel Information Research Center.

In recent years， the northeast， an old industrial base， has faced more diffi culties than the rest of the country as the region relies largely on heavy and chemical industries， energy resources， raw materials and a large number of state-owned enterprises.

The Central Government has already released measures to revitalize the region， but more efforts are needed to optimize industrial structure and improve the business environment to narrow the development gap with the rest of the country， said the paper.

Elderly Health

China will work to build a sound system of health services for the countrys senior citizens， according to the countrys top health offi cial on April 28.

Ma Xiaowei， head of the National Health Commission， said at a national conference on elderly affairs that the system that covers health education， disease prevention and fi tness， disease treatment and rehabilitation， as well as daily care， long-term services and hospice care for the elderly in both urban and rural areas.

The system needs to properly defi ne the target groups and providers of such services as well as the contents， Ma said. He added that fi nancial issues should also be considered.

As of the end of 2018， China has a population of 249 million aged 60 or above， and the number is expected to exceed 300 million in 2025， according to Ma.

Infectious Diseases

Multiple infectious diseases that can be prevented by vaccination， such as measles， have registered their lowest recorded incidences in China， according to data released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention （China CDC）.

Since the Hepatitis B vaccine for newborns became popular in China， the carrier rate among children under 5 has dropped from 9.7 percent in 1992 to 0.3 percent in 2014， and the number of infected children has shrunk by close to 30 million， the China CDC said at an event about prophylactic vaccination for children earlier this week.

The vaccinated population under the national immunization program is on the rise， while China had 157，100 vaccination centers nationwide in 2017， covering all urban and rural areas， according to the China CDC.

There were around 420，000 vaccinators across the country and more than 400 million doses of vaccines used each year within the program.

Gao Fu， Director of the China CDC， said health authorities have been strengthening the sound and standardized management on prophylactic vaccination and improving its security and effectiveness.

China has maintained an over 90 percent vaccination rate under its immunization program.

Family Doctors

The National Health Commission（NHC） has called for efforts to improve the quality of contracted family doctor services and enhance community-level medical services this year， according to an NHC circular.

Local health authorities are urged to help expand the coverage of contracted family doctor services while at the same time guarantee quality service.

Family doctors should take into consideration the overall health conditions of patients with multiple chronic diseases to provide diagnoses and treatments in an outpatient setting， so as to improve service effi ciency， according to the notice.

As a team， family doctors are urged to maintain close communication with the residents they serve in accordance with the contracts， and adjust health services to meet the needs of different people.

The circular also stressed continuous medical services， such as evaluation， health management and help with transfers to major hospitals， to impoverished patients with chronic diseases.

To reduce the inconvenience to patients with chronic diseases repeatedly commuting to and from medical institutions， family doctors are encouraged to give prescriptions that are valid for up to eight weeks， on the premise that it is safe， reasonable and effective.

The circular mandates that themed campaigns to boost contract signing and calling for more attention to contracted family doctor services are to be held at the upcoming World Family Doctor Day on May 19.

China will also accelerate the construction of an information system of contracted family doctor services， which can offer services like contract signing， consultation and making medical appointments， according to the circular.

Cheers

Workers in southwest Chinas Chongqing Municipality toast during a feast on April 27 to celebrate the International Workers Day.

Highest Highway Tunnel

The worlds highest highway tunnel was opened to traffi c on April 26 at an altitude of over 4，750 meters above sea level in southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region.

The two-way tunnel is over 5.7 km long， which is a part of the 400-km highway linking the regional capital of Lhasa with Nyingchi in the southeast of the autonomous region.

Construction of the tunnel started in 2015 on the 5，018-meterhigh Mila Mountain. The tunnel will help shorten the 18-km distance over the mountain to 5.7 km.

Gong Bin， a project manager of the Mila Mountain Tunnel of the China Railway No.2 Bureau， said that more than 10 technological breakthroughs have been made in the course of the construction， such as improving the survey accuracy of mountain tunnels in extremely cold weather and at high altitudes.

He said in addition to the cold and lack of oxygen， over 2，000 construction workers faced the challenges of transporting construction materials to the site while living there.

“We have worked here for more than four years， living in makeshift houses at the entrance to the tunnel，” said Xu Yong， an offi cial of the construction project.

He said the highway is an important channel to the eastern part of Tibet， which can help boost tourism， industrial development and provide convenience to local people.

Music Blossoms

Women play the guzheng， a traditional Chinese music instrument， under peach blossoms in a garden in Dunhuang， northwest Chinas Gansu Province， on April 25.

Rocket Contracts

Chinese private rocket company Land Space Technology has signed contracts with the UKs Open Cosmos and Italys D-Orbit， totaling over 100 million yuan （$14.8 million）. The Hangzhou-based company will seek cooperation with the two overseas launch service and mission management providers in the launch of CubSat， a miniaturized satellite for space research and in-orbit delivery， according to Land Space.

Land Spaces strength in technology and its strong team give Open Cosmos confi dence in cooperation， said Tristan Laurent， Vice President of Open Cosmos. Land Space manufactures liquidfuel rocket engines and low-cost commercial launch vehicles. It is also seeking business partners in the Middle East， North Africa and Europe. In 2020， Land Space plans to launch the Zhuque-2， a liquidfueled medium-lift carrier rocket.

With the Chinese Government encouraging the participation of private enterprises in the space industry， there are now more than 60 private companies in Chinas commercial space industry.

Golden Opportunities

Tourists take photos at an orange garden in Nanfeng County， east Chinas Jiangxi Province， on April 23. Through developing leisure tourism industries in local orange gardens， the county saw over 4 million tourists with a year-on-year increase of 10.28 percent.

BYDs New Base

Leading Chinese new energy vehicle（NEV） maker BYD will set up an industrial base for passenger vehicles and key components in Changzhou City in east Chinas Jiangsu Province.

BYD signed a cooperation agreement with the local government of Changzhou on April 25.

The 10-billion-yuan （$1.5 billion） base will produce 400，000 NEVs each year with the annual output worth 50 billion yuan （$7.5 billion）.

The company also plans to establish a research and development center in the city. BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu said the project will make the companys passenger car network complete in China along with its existing bases in Shenzhen， Xian and Changsha. Changzhou will benefi t from new job opportunities.

Ace Luxury Spender

China is set to be the engine of global luxury spending， with young consumers powering the strong growth， according to a report released by global consultancy McKinsey & Co. on April 26.

China delivered more than half the global growth in luxury spending from 2012 to 2018. The proportion is expected to reach 65 percent of the worlds additional spending by 2025， according to the 2019 McKinsey China luxury report.

Chinese consumers are forecast to almost double their current luxury spending to 1.2 trillion yuan （$178 billion） by 2025， accounting for 40 percent of the worlds spending.

The report said young Chinese consumers are reshaping global luxury. China has 16.9 million luxury consumers born in the 1980s and 1990s. They made up 71 percent of the countrys total luxury consumers and accounted for 79 percent of the total luxury spending in 2018.

The majority of these young consumers are fresh to the market， presenting both a tantalizing opportunity and an implicit imperative for brands to stay current， the report said.

“Consequently， opportunity abounds as brands seek to engage consumers in the worlds most lucrative and fastest-growing luxury market，” it said.

Copyright Campaign

Four government agencies have jointly launched the Sword Net 2019 campaign targeting copyright infringement on the Internet， especially “paraphrasing plagiarism” by so-called “we media” accounts—citizen journalism on social media， and illegal and irregular activities by image agencies.

The campaign launched on April 26 targets unauthorized reproduction of media outlets news products， plagiarizing， distorting and abridging media outlets news products by “we media.”

Illegal f liming and recording in cinemas， the spread of pirated f lim and television works via the Internet， and unauthorized distribution of products via smart devices and streaming media software are other targets.

Priority will be given to copyright protection in the picture market. Illegal distribution of others work with fake or false authorization will be checked.

Illegal activities by picture agencies， including abusing rights and improperly claiming rights， will be addressed to ensure enterprises reasonably and legitimately protect rights.

With the campaign， China will strengthen copyright law enforcement and supervision and respond to the challenges brought by 5G， artifi cial intelligence and other new technologies.

Injecting Impetus

A laboratory technician conducts experiments in a company targeting environmental protection in the innovation zone in Yanan， northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province， on April 26. Once focusing on the petroleum industry， the city has promoted new business modes and developed innovation and entrepreneurship platforms to drive industrial restructuring.

Smart Xinjiang

A 50-meter-tall machine， which is 22 meters wide and weighing over 800 kg， is being used to protect crops in Xinjiang. The machine ejects a fi lm over crops， which are then collected by an automated mechanical arm.

This sci-fi scene is a common sight in the state-of-the-art plastic fi lm factory in Urumqi， capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China.

The factory has an area of more than 60，000 square meters but only 80 workers. Owned by Xinjiang Rival Tech Co.， it still reported an output value of nearly 700 million yuan（$104 million） last year， thanks to the automation.

The value added of hi-tech manufacturing in Xinjiang rose by 32.1 percent year on year in 2018， according to offi cial data.

In the factory of Zhuolang Intelligent Machinery Co.， another Urumqi-based company， workers are busy assembling an intelligent spinning machine that can make different types of yarn with its over 550 computer-controlled spindles. Its mechanical arm can automatically fi x broken yarn.

The machines technology enables its spindles to rotate 180，000 times per minute， Wu Zhengchun， the companys general manager， said.

The spinning machines are sold across Xinjiang， one of Chinas major cotton production bases， as well as to India and countries in Central and West Asia.

Property Loans

Loans to Chinas real estate sector grew at a slower pace in the fi rst quarter as government purchase restrictions remained in place in major cities， data from the central bank showed on April 26.

By the end of March， fi nancial institutions had lent 40.52 trillion yuan （$6.02 trillion） to the property sector， up 18.7 percent year on year， according to a report from the Peoples Bank of China. The growth was 1.3 percentage points lower than the rate seen at the end of last year.

Outstanding loans for individual purchases went up 17.6 percent to 26.87 trillion yuan （$3.99 trillion）， retreating 0.2 percentage point from last year.

The data came amid continued government efforts to rein in property speculation， particularly in major cities. Local governments have passed or expanded restrictions on house purchases and increased minimum down payments required for mortgages.

Home prices in 70 major Chinese cities went up on average in March， with new house prices in fi rst-tier cities edging up 4.2 percent on a year-on-year basis. Those for second- and third-tier cities rose 12.2 percent and 11.4 percent， respectively.

The Central Economic Work Conference last December called for a long-term mechanism for sound development of the real estate market based on the principle“housing is for living in， not speculation.” Analysts said it set the tone for Chinas property market regulation this year.

E-Commerce Wings

A Tibetan e-commerce businessman （left） talks with the leader of an aid team from Hubei Province in Gyaca County， southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region， on April 26. With assistance of the team， the county has developed rural e-commerce in recent years， promoting local agricultural and dairy products to the market and gaining rising income.