Li gets close look at China-made tractor

Premier Li Keqiang called on May 8 for further efforts to drive agricultural modernization and manufacturing upgrades amid China's economic transformation. Li, during his inspection tour in Central China's Henan province, visited an agricultural machinery manufacturing plant in Kaifeng and climbed aboard a newly made tractor developed using domestic technology. The premier had previously proposed developing high-powered tractors to achieve a technological breakthrough. Li also visited people living in a floodplain.

Better genetic quality of tigers is breeding target

Chinese researchers are using artificial breeding with captive-bred Siberian tigers to improve their genetic quality. There are about 1,000 Siberian tigers at the China Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Center, the world's largest for tigers in captivity, in Hailin, Heilongjiang province. Researchers aim for about 100 new born cubs each year. Researchers conduct DNA tests to select parents and prevent inbreeding, according to Liu Dan, chief engineer at the center's Siberian Tiger Park, adding that it is common for a mother tiger to give birth to three at a time. Researchers have also given the animals training for life in the wild.

Scholarships coming for Belt and Road

The Beijing municipal government will set up scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate students from Belt and Road countries to support studies in up to 100 programs at universities in the capital by 2020, China News Service reported on May 8. So far, 32 programs at Beijing universities have support, and a goal has been set of attracting 502 students in the 2017-18 academic year to a wide range of disciplines, including astronautics, railway operation, architecture, traditional Chinese medicine and finance.

High-speed rail test runs begin

The first high-speed railway in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region started test runs on May 7 to prepare for regular use by the end of July. The high-speed train ran at 250 to 275 km/h on a section of rail from Ulanqab to Hohhot during the May 7's trial, according to the Hohhot Railway Bureau. The section in Inner Mongolia is part of the high-speed railway linking Hohhot to Zhangjiakou in Hebei province, the co-host city of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Once the railway is operational, travel time between Ulanqab and Hohhot will be shortened to 35 minutes from the current one hour.

Painting restoration starts at monastery

Restoration of paintings on a prominent Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Gansu province began on May 3, local authorities said on May 8. The restoration work on paintings on timbers in four of the halls at Labrang Monastery is expected to be completed by the end of this year, according to Sonam Je, the monastery's relic protection manager. This is the first time the paintings have been restored since the monastery was built in 1709, Sonam Je says. Workers will repaint the damaged works using the original processes and materials.

New healthcare pricing policy has positive results

A move to scrap drug price markups has shown early signs of success in optimizing medical resources - particularly the work of specialists - and in lowering the costs of medicine for most patients, according to the Beijing health authority. The average drug cost for each outpatient visit during the past month has decreased by 9.6 percent compared with March, the Beijing Health and Family Planning Commission says. For inpatient care, the average drug cost for each hospitalization has fallen by nearly 18 percent, while the entire cost dropped by 4.1 percent compared with March.

Heavy rain abates, but more is forecast

The heavy rains that battered Guangdong province and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region over the weekend waned on May 8, but the cleanup was still underway. According to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, the cities of Guangzhou and Yulin were among the worst hit. Several cities in Guangdong reported flooding. No deaths or missing people were reported. Meteorologists were forecasting more rain in southern China. The drought relief headquarters has sent three working groups to Guangdong and Guangxi to help guide storm ravaged areas to restore production.

Officials removed after deadly gas leak at mine

Six government officials have been removed from their posts after a gas leak in Hunan province on May 7 killed 18 people, local authorities say. Five of the officials were from the county's work safety watchdog and coal industry service center. The leak occurred at around 11 am on May 7 at the Jilinqiao coal mine in Youxian county. According to a report by China Youth Daily, the gas leak was caused by emissions from an illegal metal recycling plant located in an abandoned mine tunnel adjacent to the Jilinqiao mine. Its shaft joined Jilinqiao, which allowed the poisonous gas to enter.

Zhang: Rules key to build Xiongan

Vice-Premier Zhang Gaolihas stressed the need for tight control of land, property development and neighboring areas, as well as protecting historical and cultural heritage and the environment, as the Xiongan New Area is developed. The government should plan ahead before taking action, especially when planning construction of the Xiongan New Area, Zhang said after an inspection trip to the area. Zhang inspected the region's transportation network and visited some residential property sales centers, historical heritage sites and the Baiyangdian wetland. He later chaired a meeting on the planning and construction of the new area.

Deep-space experiment conducted in Beijing lab

China started a yearlong experiment on May 10 using an airtight, advanced life-support system to house eight volunteers as away to help with the nation's goal of long-term manned deep-space exploration, the project's operator says. The Lunar Palace 365 experiment was launched at the Lunar Palace 1 bio-regenerative life-support laboratory at Beihang University in Beijing. The eight volunteers, all postgraduate students at the university, are divided into two teams of four and will undertake the experiment in three shifts-one team entered the lab on May 10 and will stay for 60 days before the second team takes over. They will live in the lab for 200 days before the first team completes the remaining 105 days, the university says.

11 students killed in school bus crash

Twelve people, including 11 kindergartners, were killed on May 9 when a school bus crashed and then burst into flames as it traveled through a tunnel in Weihai, Shandong province. All of the children were students at an international school in Weihai in Northeast China, local authorities said. Thirteen people were on the bus at the time of the accident, about 9 am, inside Taojiakuang tunnel in Huancui district of Weihai. Those killed were five South Korean children, six Chinese students and the bus driver, with the Chinese teacher on board badly burned.

Li: Help the poor, boost industries

Premier Li Keqiang says the key to boosting Central China's rise amid the country's economic transition is overcoming poverty and meeting people's most urgent demands while also using industrial innovation to attract investment and provide jobs. Li spoke on May 9 as he concluded a two-day visit to Henan province, in which he inspected several households along the Yellow River floodplain during rainy weather and visited Foxconn's production site in Zhengzhou.

Law clarified to fight info theft, fraud

Individuals who earned 5,000 yuan ($725; 665 euros; ￡560) or more by illegally selling others' personal information will face up to three years behind bars, according to a judicial interpretation jointly issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on May 9. Those who illegally obtain, sell or provide 500 pieces of data related to personal credit or property information could face a prison term of up to seven years, the new rule stipulates. The judicial interpretation, to take effect on June 1, is crucial to fighting the trafficking of personal data, and also a key way for the top court to combat telecom and online fraud, a senior judge says.

New missiles and weapons tested

China's military has conducted live-fire drills and weapons tests in the Bohai Sea, the Ministry of Defense said on May 9. In a brief statement, the ministry said the tests of new missiles and weapons were carried out by the People's Liberation Army's Rocket Force "in recent days" and were designed to raise operational capabilities to effectively deal with national security threats. No further details were provided.

Emissions inspections find 66% in violation

Of the 5,594 companies examined in the latest round of air pollution inspections, 66 percent failed to meet environmental standards, China's environmental authority announced on May 9. The findings came after a month of inspections in 28 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, which uncovered problems like excessive emissions and inadequate pollution control equipment.

Training ship sets off to South Africa

China's newest training vessel, the Yupeng, set off on its maiden voyage on May 9 from Dalian to South Africa. The 340 million yuan ($49 million; 45 million euros; ￡38 million), 199.8-meter vessel is China's most advanced cruise training ship. It has a carrying capacity of 30,000 metric tons and can be used for training, scientific research and shipping.

Rules take effect on military regulations

An order from President Xi Jinping, in his role as chairman of the Central Military Commission, took effect on May 8, laying out rules for the creation of military laws and regulations, as well as procedures for drafting standard documents. Xi signed the order recently requiring the military to implement a regulation governing rule-making in military affairs. The regulation standardizes the formulation of military laws and regulations.

Palace Museum plans web-only tickets

The Palace Museum in Beijing, the most visited museum in the world each year, plans to stop selling paper tickets from its box office, perhaps by later this year. Shan Jixiang, the museum's director, says an internet-based system will be set up to better coordinate the number of visitors for different hours of the day. The new plan is preliminarily scheduled to be launched in an "appropriate time after late October", but he says it still depends on whether conditions allow. Starting in July, the museum will gradually decrease the percentage of tickets available at physical box offices.

Bank: Stable yuan a boost to reserves

Forex reserves stood above $3 trillion for the third consecutive month in April, thanks to stabilizing expectations for the yuan's exchange rate, according to the nation's top currency regulator. Foreign exchange reserves stood near $3.03 trillion in March, up from about $3.01 trillion in the previous month, according to data from the People's Bank of China. More balanced and steady cross-border capital flows in China and appreciation of many other currencies pegged to dollars in the international market helped push up the forex reserves in April, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. .

Thailand to buy Chinese submarines

Thailand has signed an agreement to import Chinese-made attack submarines. China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, one of the Chinese Navy's biggest contractors, announced on its website on May 8 that the agreement to export the S26T submarinewas signed in Beijing by Admiral Luechai Ruddit, chief-of-staff of the Royal Thai Navy, and Xu Ziqiu, chairman of China Shipbuilding and Offshore International Co, the trade arm of CSIC. The deal marks a milestone in China's submarine exports, following a deal with Pakistan, CSIC said in a statement, without elaborating. Pakistan has purchased eight attack submarines from the shipbuilder and is awaiting delivery.

Master of mathematics dies at age 98

Wu Wenjun, one of China's top mathematicians, died in Beijing on May 7 at the age of 98, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Wu was presented with a National Top Science and Technology Award, the country's most prestigious award for scientists, in 2000 and in 2006 received the Shaw Prize, named after Hong Kong philanthropist Run Run Shaw. It is widely regarded as the Nobel Prize of the East. The CAS Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, where Wu worked as a researcher, published an obituary on its website.

Nation to boost online media

China will boost the development of online media by encouraging eligible websites to go public and create new mainstream media institutions and groups by 2020, according to a blueprint made public on May 7. Issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, China's Cabinet, the outline for the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) on cultural development and reform promotes a modern communication system.

(China Daily European Weekly 05/12/2017 page2)