Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), presents the heads of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Science with the military flag in Beijing, capital of China, July 19, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on the country’s major military research and educational institutions to cultivate more talent for the armed forces, and to build world-class military research and educational institutions.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks while addressing heads of major military research and educational institutions Wednesday.

After presenting the heads of the three institutions with the military flag at a ceremony that marked the reshuffling of the institutions, Xi called the reshuffling a vital decision made by the CPC Central Committee and the CMC to realize the Chinese Dream and build a stronger army.

In order to build a world-leading first-class military research institution, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Science, as the leading force of scientific research in the military, should meet the new demands of military research and further combine military theories and technologies, he continued.

Xi further stressed that the National Defense University of the PLA is a significant base to cultivate talent for joint operations as well as PLA officers, and should push forward innovation in its education, research and management to become a top comprehensive college on unified command.

As for the National University of Defense Technology, it must follow the worldwide trends of the development of military science, and work harder to make key technological breakthroughs, in order to build a world-class institution of higher education, according to Xi.

Also on Wednesday, Xi attended a symposium with the current chief officers of military education, research and training institutions.

“It takes first-class military talent, theory, and science and technology to build the PLA into a world-leading military,” Xi said.

“Science and technology is the core fighting capacity in modern warfare,” he noted.

China must make greater efforts to build stronger armed forces and boost fighting capability through science and technology innovations to gain a competitive initiative, Xi said, stressing military education, research and training institutions must assume this responsibility.

Xi ordered the chief officers to stick to the correct political direction by safeguarding the authority and the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, conforming to the CPC Central Committee, and upholding CPC’s absolute leadership over the military.

In addition, he stressed efforts to ensure implementation of reform tasks, and improve capability and innovation in fostering military expertise and scientific research.

The president also urged the institutions to cultivate good work and fighting styles, be strict with their education and training, and promote the spirit of science and dedication.

The Chinese military authority has just reshuffled its military education institutions as part of an ongoing military reform in recent years to build a stronger military and boost real-combat capability.

As a result, there are now 43 military education institutions, including two — the National Defense University of PLA and the National University of Defense Technology — directly under the CMC, 35 specialized in specific armed services, and six of armed police forces.

A man is sitting at a sleeping capsule in Beijing. [File photo]

Authorities in Shanghai have shut down newly opened sleeping capsules in office buildings, citing fire hazards and other reasons.

Similar to capsule hotels in Japan, the sleeping capsules showed up in three office buildings in Shanghai and in buildings in several other cities. They are designed to offer white-collar workers a space to take a break, day or night.

The clampdown in Shanghai came after suspensions of the service in Beijing and Chengdu, Sichuan province.

“Sleeping capsules are usually in a narrow space, where injuries or even death can easily result if a fire breaks out,” said Li Min, an engineer in the firefighting division of Pudong New Area who helped inspect capsules in the New Shanghai International Tower on Monday.

“Smoke and poison gases can gather faster in these spaces. Sitting or lying down on the bed in the capsule could result in a relatively slow response to an emergency,” she said. “It contributes to the difficulty of a fire evacuation.”

Shanghai police also said the service was suspended because it did not get permission from fire departments or a license to run a hotel.

The capsules, developed by Beijing tech company Xiangshui Space, are equipped with electrical accessories including a lamp, fan and power sockets. People can get disposable bedding free, including sheets, pillowcases and blankets. Earplugs are also available.

Anyone can pay for a capsule by scanning its QR code. The capsules in Shanghai offer 24-hour service at 10 yuan (US$1.50) for every half-hour during peak hours (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and 6 yuan per half-hour at other times. The upper limit is 58 yuan per day.

Xiangshui Space’s website was out of service on Wednesday, citing “system upgrading”.

CEO Dai Jiangong told Beijing News on Wednesday that the company was “recalling” its products for an upgrade at the request of authorities in different cities. He was also quoted as saying that the company was not penalized.

The capsules were introduced as the sharing economy has boomed in China through products such as bicycles, umbrellas, chargers, cars and even basketballs.

In the case of the sleeping capsules, many netizens expressed concerns about hygiene, not fire hazards.

“I don’t think it would meet health standards if no one tidied it up after it was used,” one netizen wrote.

Another wrote, “High quality management is the prerequisite for the sharing business.”

Chinese cities have reported fewer days with “good air” in the first half (H1) of 2017, with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area suffering from higher density of key pollutants, official data showed.

The 338 cities monitored by the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) enjoyed good or excellent air quality on 74.1 percent of the days in H1, down 2.6 percentage points year on year, according to Liu Zhiquan, head of the environmental monitoring department at the MEP.

During the same period, the density of hazardous fine particle matter PM2.5 remained unchanged from a year ago while the density of PM 10 was down 2.2 percent.

Air quality in 13 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area was rated good or excellent on 50.7 percent of the days in H1, down 7.1 percentage points year on year. In June, the ratio was only 34.1 percent, 14.2 percentage points lower than a year ago.

The density of PM2.5 and PM10 in these regions also climbed 14.3 percent and 13.2 percent, respectively, indicating worsened air quality.

Of the country’s 74 major cities, Haikou in southern China’s Hainan Province had the best air quality while Handan in northern China’s Hebei Province was the most polluted, MEP data showed.

The worsened air quality came despite the government’s strengthened oversight of environmental violations.

In H1, China investigated and dealt with 17,169 violations of environmental protection laws and regulations, previous MEP data showed.

Over 610 million yuan (about 90.44 million U.S. dollars) in fines were issued in 503 cases where violators must pay daily fines until they address their wrongdoings, up 131 percent and 64 percent year on year respectively

Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday called for solid moves to advance reforms.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at the 37th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform, which he heads.

All localities should be devoted to delivering reforms, shouldering their due responsibilities and making concrete and pioneering efforts, Xi said.

The group called for green and sustainable development of agriculture. Relevant departments should properly deal with the relationship between green development and ecological protection, grain safety, and raising farmers’ income, according to a statement released after the meeting.

Agricultural development should be compatible with the environment and resources, and should stay coordinated with production and people’s livelihoods to achieve sustainable growth.

The group urged the establishment of a national technology transfer system, with a focus on strategic industries of far-reaching significance. Technology transfer should play a better role in upgrading technological innovation and boosting economic and social development, the statement said.

Reforms should be made to promote corporate governance structures in public cultural institutions to improve management and services, and to inject vitality into these institutions, according to the statement.

Boards of directors should be the main form of corporate governance structure in these institutions, such as libraries and museums.

Representatives of the industry, professionals and people from all walks of life would also be invited to participate in the management of these institutions, it said.

The conference stressed efforts to enhance and improve people-to-people communication with other countries, emphasizing confidence in the path, theories, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

In an effort to raise the professional level of civil servants, the appointment system should be introduced in recruiting personnel to posts with special expertise requirements, according to the statement.

To protect consumer interests and ensure good quality is the bottom line, it said. The group called for the establishment of a safety monitoring and quick response system for imports and exports.

The meeting highlighted the importance of ensuring good quality drugs and medical equipment. The drug approval system should be improved to enhance innovation and research capabilities of medical businesses.

Regarding the national park system, the group urged priority to be given to ecological protection.

Legal protection and oversight should be put into place to establish a natural reserve system of which the national parks play a major part.

Since the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee was held, a package of pilot reforms have been implemented. They are replicable and applicable, as a role model and a breakthrough in the comprehensive reform agenda.

Relevant departments should review the progress of the reform and correct the wrongdoing in a timely fashion.

To deal with difficult reform agenda, officials should push and track the reform progress in person. Pioneering efforts are needed to break major barriers and well implement the pilot reforms, the statement said.