Category: Foreign News

By Yu Jianbin from People’s Daily

A communications satellite ChinaSat-6C was sent into preset orbit from southwest China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center by a Long March-3B carrier rocket at 0:28 a.m. Beijing Time, March. 10.

It was the 300th mission of the Long March carrier rockets and an important historical moment for China’s aerospace development.

The first carrier rocket of the Long March family was launched on April 24, 1970, and the 100th rocket Long March-3A carrying the satellite SinoSat-3 was sent into space on June 1, 2007. It took China 37 years to complete the first 100 rocket launches and each year 2.7 launches on average took place.

The country’s 200th rocket launch took place on Dec. 7, 2014, as the Long March-4B carrier rocket was sent into space, carrying a China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite. It was seven and a half years for the country to complete the second 100 rocket launches. In this period, 13.3 launches on average took place per year.

The 300th launch, the latest one, is only less than five years from the 200th launch. In this period, 23.5 launches on average took place.

The cycle for every 100 launches has become shorter and shorter, which not only indicates that frequent launches of the Long March carrier rockets have become regular acts, but also reflect the rapid development of the country’s aerospace industry, science and technology, and comprehensive national strength.

The Long March carrier rockets, developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, are responsible for 96.4 percent of China’s launch missions.

Since the first flight in 1970, the rocket family has put 506 spacecraft into preset orbits, or 99.2 percent of the country’s total spacecraft in orbit.

The country has been upgrading the structure and carrying capacity of its launch vehicles over the years. From satellites, manned spacecraft to lunar probes and from active carrier rockets to the new-generation carrier rockets, China has led the world in lifting capability and orbit injection accuracy.

Statistics showed that China’s success rate of 300 launches stands at 96 percent. Compared with the first 50 launches, the success rate of the rest 250 is higher and more stable.

The Long March carrier rockets have put 225 spacecraft into orbit in the third 100 launches, pushing the success rate up to 97 percent, which is an extraordinary performance even in the world.

In 2018, China sent 37 rockets into space in a row, topping the world for the first time. The figure was also a global record for almost 20 years regarding the number of consecutive successful launches in a single year.

Reports confirmed that China is now proceeding smoothly as scheduled with the research and manufacturing of new-generation medium-lift launch vehicles, including Long March-6A, Long March-7A, and Long March-8.

Long March-5B, a new-generation carrier rocket with the biggest low-Earth orbit carrying capacity, is under test. It will send modules in orbit for building the country’s space station.

China has carried out a comprehensive debate on the implementation of the launch of a heavy-lift carrier rocket, which is expected to have a maiden flight by around 2030.

In the future, the country will innovate the way carrier rockets reach and leave space, as well as space transportation, through developing a reusable space transportation system and combining space transportation with space operations.

Source: People’s Daily Overseas Edition

China’s long-established brands, or “laozihao” in Chinese, have begun to revitalize their previous honor with the assistance of policy support, e-commerce platforms and innovative ideas, as many of them have been struggling amid a rapidly changing domestic market.

There are currently 1,128 time-honored brands that have obtained official recognition from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) of China, and the companies date back about 160 years on average. They engaged in 22 sectors including food, catering, handicraft and textile.

The time-honored brands represent a kind of reunion and companionship, said Zhang Chuan, producer of a documentary over the old brands, illustrating that for citizens in northern China’s Shanxi Province, it is almost a tradition to have sauced pork from LiuWei Zhai restaurant on their table in each festival and holiday.

On the table of Beijing residents, there would be Liubiju Pickles and Daoxiangcun Pastry, which are both traditional brands, he added.

Despite of their century-old history, reliable techniques and good reputation, many of the time-honored brands face a survival crisis since they have limited popularity, run in small-scale workshops and barely keep afloat.

In today’s world where the production and operation models have undergone dramatic changes, these old brands have been sticking to their traditions and trying hard to protect their brand image.

A shoemaker in Neiliansheng, a handmade cloth shoe brand created in 1853, needs about five days to finish a pair of shoes. To make a Hu Brush, one of the prestigious writing brush types in traditional Chinese writing and painting art, the workers in the Daiyuexuan, a famous old brand, have to pick up those qualified hair one by one in the lamplight.

About one year is required by the embroiderer to hand-make an exquisite cheongsam sold at the time-honored Ruifuxiang silk and fabrics shop.

These old brands represent not only the traditional craftsmanship and ingenuity, but also Chinese people’s business philosophy to keep with, or even run ahead of the times, said Zhang, in a belief that the core of these brands is Chinese people’s business spirit.

Given the pressure and challenges the long-established brands face amid the rapidly-evolving business models and fierce competition, Chinese authorities have offered policy support to bring them new life, to preserve and improve traditional techniques, and to strengthen brand protection.

The country, at the beginning of 2017, listed the protection of those “laozihao” into a program on inheriting traditional Chinese culture. In February of the same year, the MOC and 15 other central authorities published a guideline to encourage the old brands to carry out reforms and innovations.

By bold and decisive transformation like opening stores on e-commerce platforms and launching online and offline marketing campaigns, some “laozihao” have found ways to restore their former glory.

Nearly 150 Chinese time-honored brands set their booths at a fair in the Palace Museum during the Spring Festival for the first time. The fair kicked off on January 28, and visitors can be free to visit with the entrance ticket of the Palace Museum.

After Daoxiangcun, the renowned bakery in Beijing, launched a new gift package of pastry to woo customers by cooperating with the Palace Museum, the product gained considerable popularity because of its delicate design.

Last August, Neiliansheng opened a store in Sanlitun shopping district of Beijing, making it the first century-old brand that set up a branch in this dynamic and stylish street. It is believed to signify old brands’ potential to regain vitality.

“Some old brands quit the market in 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century, but most of them survived thanks to their bravery and innovation spirits,” Zhang explained, adding that their non-stop efforts to innovate are one of the most valuable treasures they pass down from generation to generation.

By Jingyi from People’s Daily

“Plenty of facts like these are proof that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is not a “debt trap” that some countries may fall into, but an “economic pie” that benefits the local population; it is no “geopolitical tool”, but a great opportunity for shared development.” Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference on the sidelines of the national legislature annual session on March 8.

Six years since it was proposed, the BRI has become the largest platform for international cooperation and the most welcomed global public good.

“To date, 123 countries and 29 international organizations have signed BRI agreements with China. They have cast a vote of support and confidence in the BRI.” Wang Yi said.

Wang Yi introduced that thanks to the BRI, East Africa now has its first motorway, the Maldives has built its first inter-island bridge, Belarus is able to produce passenger vehicles, Kazakhstan is connected to the sea, Southeast Asia is constructing a high-speed railway, and the Eurasian continent is benefiting from the longest-distance freight train service.

“Signing up for the BRI has enabled countries to grow at a faster pace, improve their people’s lives and reap win-win outcomes.” Wang Yi said, adding that all new initiatives need time to mature, and China welcome constructive suggestions from our BRI partners to fully reflect the principle of consultation and cooperation for shared benefits.

As one of the most important diplomatic events at home, the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) will be held in Beijing in late April. The theme of BRF this year is “Belt and Road Cooperation: Shaping a Brighter Shared Future”.

Wang Yi introduced that the second BRF aims to bring about high-quality cooperation under the BRI. Chinese President Xi Jinping will give a keynote address at the opening ceremony and chair a leaders’ roundtable. There will also be a high-level meeting, thematic forums and a CEO conference.

“The number of foreign heads of state and government expected to attend will be much larger than that of the first BRF.” Wang Yi said, adding that there will be thousands of delegates from over 100 countries who attend the second BRF.

By Li Xinyi from People’s Daily

The scale of online education in China continues to expand as the government takes further efforts to promote technology integration in the education sphere.

China had over 200 million online education users as of the end of 2018. The figure rose 46.05 million from 2017, up nearly 30 percent, according to a report on the country’s internet development.

Around 96.5 percent of the total user accessed online education via mobile phones, up 63.3 percent compared with 2017, according to the 43 Statistical Report on the Internet Development in China released by China Internet Network Information Center on February 28. Applications such as WeChat have become important channels for Chinese students to get online education, said the report.

The prosperity of online education industry is indispensable from technological innovation. Faster broadband speeds, artificial intelligence and mobile internet technologies such as live streaming, have brought great changes to the industry.

Nowadays, “artificial intelligence plus education” has become the technological foundation for online education. Artificial intelligence technologies, such as intelligent homework correction, facial recognition, and personalized recommendation have been applied to the diverse scenarios of online education, offering more convenience to users. Voice recognition and cloud computing achieve a breakthrough, providing more realistic and lively learning experiences for students, as well as more diversified teaching content.

In the future, technology will further drive the development of online education and training. According to a white paper, the number of China’s online education users is estimated at 296 million with a market value of 433 billion yuan by 2020.

The Ministry of Education said in its development plan for 2019 that it will promote deep integration of information technology and education, and work to ensure that over 97 percent of Chinese primary and secondary schools have access to the internet with broadband speeds of above 100Mbps.

The ministry also plans to build a mechanism to supervise the utilization of digital resources at schools and promote the building of “Internet Plus Education” platform. It will also roll out measures to open up and manage online resources, help more Chinese university launch their courses on platforms of internationally renowned massive open online courses (MOOC).

As online education industry continues to expand, some prominent issues have aroused concerns.

“Online education has met people’s need for personalized learning, but problems such as inconsistent education quality have set back the development of the industry,” said Hu Wei, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

Education regulations and policies should be enacted to improve the system of granting qualifications to online education services providers, increase the sector’s ability to discipline itself, and combine efforts from various management organizations to realize healthy and orderly development of the industry, Hu suggested.

Like Hu, many Chinese lawmakers and political advisors have contributed their wisdom to regulate online education during the sessions of the country’s top legislative body and top political advisory body being held in Beijing.

Source:Global Times

Facing harsh questions on issues including strained China-US relations, “debt trap” accusations and political influence through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi highlighted China’s diplomatic principles and stance on March 8, showing the country’s growing confidence in addressing complicated international situations.

At a press conference on the sidelines of the second session of the 13th National People’s Congress in Beijing, Wang briefed international media on China’s diplomacy in hot regional and world issues, including the trade war, Korean Peninsula denuclearization process and the Venezuelan crisis, among others.

Wang stressed that cooperation is the mainstream of China-US relations, and will not descend into confrontation. “Decoupling from China would mean decoupling from opportunities, from the future, and in a sense, even from the world.”

“Wang has made clear China’s fundamental diplomatic principles and stance, which will give international society a more objective, thorough and accurate understanding,” Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University’s Institute of International Relations said. “The predictability of China’s future moves has increased, which is conducive to avoiding misjudgment between each other.” He added.

Ruan Zongze, executive vice president of the China Institute of International Studies saidthat in 2019, China faces external challenges, including the prevailing unilateralism which complicates the international situation and has led to the trade war as well as hot regional issues, such as recent India-Pakistan tensions.

Ruan said under this backdrop, China should stick closely to multilateralism, which is also the core of our diplomacy. “China can also play a greater role in pushing forward dialogue to solve challenging regional issues,” he said.

The word “cooperation” was frequently used in Wang’s Friday speech and he also expressed China’s willingness to play a constructive role in the Korean Peninsula issue, India-Pakistan tensions, the South China Sea and Venezuela.

The key to solving the Peninsula issue, as Wang pointed out, is to work out a general roadmap for denuclearization and the establishment of a peace mechanism.

“We will give full support to North Korea in implementing the new national strategy, focusing on economic development and improving people’s livelihood and we will fully support North Korea in pursuing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and addressing its legitimate concerns in the process of denuclearization,” Wang said.

As for the BRI, Wang cited examples that show the benefits the BRI has brought to participating countries.

The BRI is not a “debt trap” but an “economic pie” that benefits the locals, he said.

The Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya has generated close to 50,000 jobs and increased economic growth by 1.5 percentage points. In Uzbekistan, Chinese workers and local people worked together to build a 19-kilometer tunnel in 900 days, allowing people in remote areas to travel by train across mountains in just 900 seconds, he added.

It’s not a “geopolitical tool,” but a great opportunity for shared development, Wang stressed.

“I felt a strong China responsibility from Wang’s speech. China has become an important driving force for other countries to realize economic development and prosperity through the BRI,” Li said.

Ruan said that the BRI is not perfect, but China and other countries are working together to improve it. “Accusations over the BRI won’t make China’s international environment deteriorate as the initiative is too popular.”

By Su Ning from People’s Daily

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area provides new and great opportunities and platforms for Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) to board on the fast train of national development and to seek better growth by breaking bottlenecks and broadening space, Chui Sai On, chief executive of the region said in an exclusive interview with People’s Daily.

The bay area will enable Macao to pursue a moderately diversified and sustainable economy, improve living environment and better people’s livelihood, he added when asked about the plan for developing the bay area.

His remarks also came as local residents are now active in contributing their suggestions after Chinese authorities recently unveiled the outline development plan for the area, with theaim to develop the region into “a role model of high-quality development.”

With 49 items related to Macao, the guideline charts a course for Macao to join in the construction of the bay area, Chui said, promising that the government of the Macao SAR will take active steps to implement the plan and put those strategic designs into effect.

“A working committee chaired by myself on the construction of the bay area was set up by the government of Macao SAR at the end of last year,” he said, adding that it will design, deploy and study on how Macao will integrate into the construction of the bay area in the short, medium and long run.

Defined by the outline as one of the core cities in the cluster, Macao should play its role as a core engine and strengthen its radiating effect in leading the development of nearby regions, the chief executive said. This is not only an honor, but a major responsibility for Macao, he added.

Departments at all levels under the government of the special administrative region, according to Chui, will study on the outline and make sure an effective and high-quality implementation of the national strategy.

Macao will innovate on its cooperation with other cities in the cluster, said Chui, adding that based on the rich experience it has accumulated over the past 40 years from the collaboration with southern China’s Guangdong province, the special administrative region will beef up cooperation with other sister cities within the bay area by giving play to its advantages.

Such cooperation will be based on the principle of “one country, two systems” and put national interests first, said Chui.

The guideline has made clear that the cluster will base on the sound foundation of cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to explore a new model for coordinated growth and also serve as a model for closer collaboration between mainland cities and the two special administrative regions.

Chui pointed out that people’s interests will be prioritized when implementing the outline in a planned and step-by-step manner.

Those fields closely related to the livelihood will be given more weight, so as to enhancepeople’s sense of gaining, win more support from local residents and secure a good startfor the construction of the bay area, he elaborated.

Source: People’s daily

Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 8 called for more efforts to implement the rural revitalization strategy with the chief goal to modernize agriculture and rural areas.

“The top task for implementing the rural revitalization strategy is to ensure supply of important farm produce, grain in particular,” said Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

He made the remarks when joining deliberation with deputies from Henan Province at the second session of the 13th National People’s Congress, China’s national legislature.

Efforts should be made to promote the supply-side structural reform in the agricultural sector to achieve food security while building a modern and efficient agriculture, Xi added.

Xi also called for enhanced protection of agriculture ecological environment and prevention and treatment of pollution in rural areas.

Xi stressed strict penalties on crimes involving food safety so as to ensure safe farm produce for the public.

Efforts should be made to strengthen the leadership of grassroots Party units in the rural areas, Xi said, noting that the practices of rural residents’ self-governance should be further explored.

Xi also called for measures to promote two-way flow and equal exchange of factors, including human resources, lands and capital, between urban and rural areas.

“The task to eradicate extreme poverty must be fulfilled by 2020,” Xi stressed.

Implementation of the rural revitalization strategy and seeking progress in work related with agriculture, rural areas and farmers should be taken into consideration and promoted in the overall economic and social development, Xi said.
Li Keqiang, Wang Huning and Han Zheng — members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee — on March 8 also separately joined deliberation with NPC deputies.

Premier Li Keqiang stressed building a business environment that is fair and convenient for enterprises under all forms of ownership, when joining a deliberation with deputies from Hubei Province.

He called for efforts to fully carry out the reforms of tax and fee cuts and further stimulate the market vitality.

Wang Huning, a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, asked deputies from central China’s Hunan Province to take bigger steps in pushing forward high-quality development.

He also called for taking a people-centered approach to further live up to people’s new expectations for their cultural lives.

Joining the deliberation of the Beijing delegation, Vice Premier Han Zheng underlined deepening the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to further relieve Beijing of functions nonessential to its role as the capital.

Source: People’s Daily APP

Source: People’s Daily Online

With an increase in income and purchasing power, women are gradually becoming the leading force in China’s tourism consumption market. According to reports released by several Chinese tourism companies, tourism consumption is popularizing and diversifying, while female tourism consumption is rapidly developing a new market segment, supporting the emergence of the “female economy”.

Women make more than half of travel bookings

Data indicates that Chinese women are more passionate about traveling than men.

Airbnb said that more than half of current travel bookings are made by women, especially when it comes to outbound travel bookings.

The “2019 Female Travel Consumption Habits Report” released by travel booking portal lvmama.com showed that female users accounted for 61.3 percent of users who booked travel products on the platform in the past year, while the proportion of female users aged 25 to 40 accounted for 70 percent of that figure. Women in this age group are more economically independent and highly skilled with a good level of education,, and already have experience traveling, which make them the country’s leading force in regards to travel.

Short videos contribute to promoting destinations

Related survey results revealed that social media has a direct influence on female tourism consumption.

In the past year, short video content featuring short, fast, new and strange materials has continued to be popular. Social media influencers on TikTok and travel Vloggers have become important factors influencing the choices of female consumers. According to the data from lvmama.com, from 2018 to 2019, Sanya, Xiamen, Shanghai, Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi’an, Lijiang, Dali, Beijing and Hangzhou were the most popular destinations among female travelers.

Female travelers care more about food and accommodation

According to the report “Analysis on Female Dining Behavior” released by Ctrip, women are far more concerned about where they eat than men.

The data shows that the average cost of a meal for female users on a trip is 235.3 Chinese yuan, nearly 30 yuan higher than the average of 205.8 yuan among male users. Women are more willing to make restaurant bookings earlier, on average four days in advance, 2.9 days earlier than their male counterparts.

By Shang KaiyuanfromPeople’s Daily

Shanghai is building better and better business environment with upgraded measures, demonstrating its charm to foreign investors.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was one of the many that are amazed by the “Shanghai speed”. The US electric carmaker officially broke ground on its first overseas Gigafactoryin Shanghai’s Lingang Area on Jan. 7 this year, only six months after the company signed an agreement with the Shanghai municipal government in July 2018 to build the production base.

In the first month of 2019, Shanghai witnesseda robust growth in attracting foreign funds.
The number of new foreign-funded projects,contractual FDI, and the actual foreign capital utilizationof Shanghaiwere respectively up by 69.1 percent, 197.6 percent and 33.5 percent, according to a briefing on city’s business developmentheld on March 5. It indicated that Shanghai is still a desirable destination for foreign investors.
What makes the strong investment appeal of Shanghai is the business environment reform promoted by the metropolis.
Shanghai established a new mechanism that enables synergetic approval of enterprise affairsunder which 90 percent of enterprise approvals at municipal and district levels, as well as services will be done at one time, without the need for a second trip. The mechanism has cut 30.5 percent of service procedures and 52.8 percent of time needed.
In addition, Shanghai also optimized power access efficiency, enablingenterprises to access the power grid without any visit or approval procedure without cost. Such reform is hailed as a role model for the world by an official with the World Bank.
The World Bank Group’s Business Environment team believes thatShanghai’s reform measures on optimizing business environment have gone far beyond the assessment scope of the organization’s business environment report.The intensity and practical approaches of these measures have brought new ideas and enlightenment to the World Bank, the team noted.
This year, Shanghai is expected to witness further improvement of business environment. For instance, enterprises and individuals in the city will be ablego through all administrative formalities on an e-government platform.
In addition, Shanghai will also offer maximum convenience in starting businesses. It will only take three procedures in three to five days to set up a company in the city, while the process used to require four procedures and nine days.
Regarding construction license obtaining, the number of procedures required will be cut from 19 to 14. The general tax level will be lowered to about 65 percent.

By Yu Ronghua from People’s Daily

New technologies are contributing to the media coverage of China’s ongoing “two sessions”, the annual gathering of the National People’s Congress (NPC), and that of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), as the country sees greater demand to present higher-quality information contents to the public.

An innovative live broadcast was carried out by People’s Daily in front of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, in which new media technologies played a vital role.

At around 8:00 a.m., a virtual reality (VR) panoramic camera set on a tripod started working on the square in front of the Great Hall of the People, recording the entrance of NPC deputies and CPPCC members into the venue as the opening meeting of the second session of the 13th NPC was about to begin.

The real-time video collected by the camera was sent to the new media center of People’s Daily via 5G network, and then presented to hundreds of millions of Chinese internet users on the People’s Daily mobile application.

The amazing part of this broadcast was that the users of the app were able to watch real-time video from different angles and get an immersive experience as long as they revolve their phones at hand.

Such live outdoor VR broadcast was almost impossible due to limited speed of the mobile internet. However, 5G network, which has not been widely applied yet, became available at the Great Hall of the People and the Tiananmen Square, making the impossible possible.
Thanks to such innovative attempt of People’s Daily, Internet users could have better and more picturesque experiences.

In addition, People’s Daily also add augmented reality (AR) function to its video application to make news fresher. By scanning relevant photos of the “two sessions”on the newspaper in the app, users will be able to get more in-depth contents such as live information, annotations, and visual data.

Such innovative experience will help readers get more comprehensive and in-depth knowledge about the “two sessions”.

Apart from creating new experiences for users and readers, the new technologies and equipment are also making things easier for journalists.

The mobile phones of People’s Daily journalists are all equipped with voice-recognition software that can convert audio to text. It presents drafts with hardly any error soon after the interviews end, largely improving efficiency.

Besides, new experiences are being offered thanks to the new forms and ideas of media coverage.

The new media center of People’s Daily, through cooperation with a popular short video platform, launched an HTML5 webpage on which the users can make virtual video calls to 40 common Chinese people at different ages from different regions and occupations.

Through the virtual video calls, users can have an insight into these people’s lives and learn about their wishes. Such novel and interesting experiencehas successfully drawn attention from themassive internet users.