Xi urges coordinated efforts to deepen overall reform

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for more coordinated efforts to carry out reforms and review all existing major reform programs.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at the 36th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform, which he heads.

All departments and localities should be devoted to delivering reforms and should ensure all results are reviewed, according to a statement released after the meeting.

The group called for timely corrections to problems uncovered during inspections and any lax implementation of reforms should be addressed.

Departments and authorities should track reform implementation and assess overall outcomes, the statement said.

The meeting saw the passing of guidelines and plans including a pilot plan on establishing Qilian Mountains National Park, measures to improve people’s lives and a system to supervise natural resource exploitation.

The leading group stressed that mixed-ownership reform of state-owned enterprises (SOE) is important to overall SOE reform, vowing to complete the mixed-ownership reform by the end of this year.

Emphasizing the important roles of Chinese enterprises overseas and outbound investment in maintaining the security of China’s overseas interests, the group called for improved supervision and regulation of overseas investment.

It was decided at the meeting that China would open wider to foreign investors and continue innovation-driven development following two years of effective practice in free trade zones in Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian.




Payment by phone available on Beijing Subway

Commuters in Beijing are now able to use their mobile devices to access the Beijing Subway, reports the Beijing Youth Daily.

The phone payment program was started by Beijing Subway and bjsuperpass.com. The pilot system is currently being tested on the Fangshan Line on the Beijing Subway.

Online charging is also available for the phone payment system through an app, meaning riders won’t need to go to physical charging centers.

Nearly 160 different models of mobile phones are able to use the payment service. However, iPhones users are still not able to use the system.

The system also provides an overdraft, similar to the existing IC card system.

Payments can be made without the use of the internet. Mobile devices will have to be activated to make payments.




China starts emergency response for flood-stricken Hunan

China issued a grade-IV emergency response on Monday following rain, storms and flooding across central China’s Hunan Province, which have left six dead and one missing.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs and China National Commission for Disaster Reduction have sent teams to assist in disaster-hit areas.

Since June 22, Hunan has been battered by rain and floods.

By 8 a.m. Monday, six people had died, another one remained missing, and 11,000 had been evacuated to safer places, according to local government.

The disaster also damaged about 40,000 houses, and caused 3.27 billion yuan (479.3 million U.S. dollars) in direct economic losses.

A grade-IV response, the lowest in China’s emergency response system, requires a 24-hour alert, daily damage reports, and the allocation of money and relief materials within 48 hours.

Local disaster response and civil affairs authorities has allocated six million yuan to the disaster relief fund since the heavy rain and floods began.




China to launch Long March-5 Y2 in early July

China has set the window to launch its Long March-5 Y2 carrier rocket between July 2 and 5, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.

Carrying Shijian-18 communication satellite, the rocket was vertically transferred to the launch area at Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China’s Hainan Province on Monday.

Shijian-18 will test processes for the new Dongfanghong-5 satellites and carry out in-orbit experiments.

After arriving at the launch base on May 5, the rocket has undergone assembly and testing. This will be the second launch mission for the Long March-5, which debuted in Wenchang in November 2016.

During the mission, the rocket will further test its core technology, accumulate data and provide support ahead of the launch of the Chang’e-5 lunar probe in the second half of this year.

Fuelled by liquid hydrogen, kerosene and liquid oxygen, the Long March-5 can carry a payload of 25 tonnes into low Earth orbit and 14 tonnes in geostationary orbit, over 2.5 times the capacity of current Long March carrier rockets.




Panda cubs celebrate 1st birthday in Macao

Two panda cubs in China’s Macao Special Administrative Region celebrated their first birthday Sunday when they turned one year old.

Photo taken on June 25, 2017 shows mother panda “Xinxin” (R) and her cub “Kangkang” in Macao. [Photo/Xinhua] 

This is also the first time they have met the public together with their mother.

The twin brothers sat on the ground, eating their birthday cakes made of bamboos, while behind the glass windows, visitors watched them with joy and ecstasy.

Visitors sang songs and chanted Happy Birthday to Jianjian and Kangkang in Cantonese.

One of the panda care team members said Jianjian now weighs about 23 kg and Kangkang 22 kg. Kangkang, the younger brother, has gained much weight as he was only 53 grams at birth, he said.

The two are still in the baby stage and fed mainly on breast milk and milk powder. They are also starting to learn from their mother’s behavior such as picking up bamboos.

The brothers and their parents will meet the public in Macao every afternoon during the summer vacation.