Seizing Opportunities

　　A job fair for college graduates is held in Lhasa， southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region， on August 20. The number of college graduates in Tibet reached a record high of 23，616 in 2019， according to the local government.

Expanded Insurance

　　A total of 148 medicines have been newly included in China’s basic medical insurance， work-related injury insurance and childbirth insurance programs. The renewed list， which covers 2，643 drugs， was unveiled on August 20 and will take effect on January 1， 2020.
　　Among the 148 new additions are fi ve drugs for major disease treatment， 36 medications for chronic diseases such as diabetes and 38 drugs for children.
　　The drug list update marked a key step in improving people’s medical security and easing the fi nancial burden on the insured， said Xiong Xianjun， chief of the Medical Services Administration Department of the National Healthcare Security Administration. Meanwhile， 128 drugs， which are exclusive products of high clinical value but have relatively high prices， have been identifi ed following expert reviews as potential additions to the list， as negotiations with their manufacturers are pending.

Support for HKSAR Government

　　Overseas Chinese nationals held peaceful rallies around the world to call for an end to violence in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region （HKSAR）.
　　Hundreds of people rallied at Union Square in downtown San Francisco， California in the U.S.， on August 18， to express strong support for the HKSAR Government and Hong Kong police， and to oppose the violence committed by rioters in the Chinese SAR over the past period.
　　The participants， mostly young people including students， whitecollar workers and business owners， came from different parts of the Bay Area to express their patriotism and zero tolerance for violent protesters in Hong Kong.
　　Any attempt by some extremists in Hong Kong to promote so-called“Hong Kong independence” must be opposed， said Vivian Liu， a designer with a local wedding company.
　　“As Chinese nationals living outside of China， we have the obligation to come forward to support our country when people with ulterior motives are launching a smear campaign against China，” said Wang Zhonghan， a student at City College of San Francisco.
　　On the same day， despite bad weather， overseas Chinese in London， the UK， and Boston， the U.S.， also held rallies to voice their demand for peace and stability in Hong Kong.

Xiongan Plan

　　The compilation of a plan for tourism development up until 2035 in north China’s Xiongan New Area has been completed， according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
　　It has now been submitted to the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for approval， the ministry said in a statement.
　　Xiongan， aiming to become a millennium green city， was established in Hebei Province in 2017. It is located about 100 km southwest of Beijing.
　　The tourism industry will serve Xiongan in carrying out its tasks of relieving functions nonessential to Beijing’s role as the capital and helping coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region， according to the plan.
　　The government plans to build the area into a model for highquality tourism development， an international tourism destination in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and a world-famous tourism city.
　　Xiongan should be developed into a pilot zone to promote effective integration of culture and tourism， the reform of the tourism management system and the innovative development of eco-tourism， the statement said.

Upgraded Processor

　　China Electronics Technology Group Corp. （CETC）， a state-owned electronics manufacturer， unveiled an advanced neural network cognitive processor called Auk Core.
　　A neural network processor is a central processing unit that operates similar to neurons in the human brain to perform various computation tasks. With fully independent intellectual property rights， the Auk Core can provide functions including target detection and image classifi -cation for remote sensing and video imagery.
　　Compared to its previous generations， the processor has been manufactured with a high-speed and low-power design and can support various operating systems such as Windows and Linux. Its performance is comparable to that of top international competitors， according to the CETC.
　　Wang Ziwei， head of the project， said the processor can detect and identify objects at the sea surface and accomplish many more tasks under extreme external conditions.

A Night at the Museum

　　Visitors view exhibits at the new site of the Anhui Museum in Hefei， east China’s Anhui Province， on August 16. The museum stays open late every Friday between July 24 and August 30 to enrich people’s nightlife.

Probing Mysteries

　　Chinese archaeologists will launch a large-scale excavation at the prehistoric Sanxingdui Ruins in southwest China’s Sichuan Province before the end of 2019.
　　The new excavation project aims to discover more items from the lost civilization， such as sacrifi cing and worshipping sites and aristocratic tombs， according to Tang Fei， head of the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.
　　Tang said the upcoming excavation would involve more researchers from home and abroad， although he did not disclose the exact excavation area.
　　The Sanxingdui Ruins are located in the city of Guanghan， around 38 km from Chengdu， capital of Sichuan. They are believed to be remnants of the Shu Kingdom which can be dated back 2，600 to 4，800 years.
　　Listed among China’s top 10 archaeological fi ndings of the 20th century， the Sanxingdui Ruins， which sprawl over an area of 12 square km， show the diverse origins of the Chinese civilization.
　　The ruins were accidentally discovered by a farmer when he unearthed a bright piece of jade in 1929.
　　Two sacrifi cial pits fi lled with more than 1，000 national treasures， including gold masks， bronzeware， jade tablets， ivory and sacred trees were discovered in 1986 when workers were excavating clay for bricks.
　　In 1988， the ruins were given state-level protection.

Forest Rehabilitation

　　After 20 years of conservation efforts， China’s natural forest area has increased by about 28.53 million hectares and the forest stock gained 3.78 billion cubic meters， a forestry offi cial said on August 21.
　　Natural forests， representing the lion’s share of the overall forest area， contributed signifi cantly to the increase in the overall forest coverage ratio， which almost doubled from 12 percent in 1980 to 22.96 percent as of the end of last year， said Li Shuming， Deputy Director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration （NFGA）， at a press conference.
　　Thanks to natural forests’enhanced capacity for water and soil retention， the sediment concentra- tion of the Yellow River monitored at a hydrometric station in central China’s Henan Province has plunged 90 percent from 2000 to 2016， he added.
　　According to the offi cial， commercial logging will be comprehensively banned for the forests to recuperate， while scientifi c measures will be adopted to curb degradation and boost the quality of the forests. 　　To supplement the timber shortage in the wake of natural forest protection， Li said wood substitutes will be used in the construction of buildings and railways， while artifi cial forests and timber imports will also be promoted.
　　China implemented a forest conservation program in several pilot areas in 1998. The fi rst phase of the program was from 2000 to 2010， and the second phase will run from 2011 to 2020.
　　“Our goals are to put all natural forests under protection and establish related systems of restoring natural forests by 2020，” said Jin Min， a senior offi cial with the NFGA.
　　By 2035， the area of China’s natural forests will remain stable at about 200 million hectares， to fulfi ll the objective of building a beautiful China， according to Jin.

Robot Staff

　　Mechanized receptionists are on display at the 2019 World Robot Conference in Daxing District of Beijing on August 20， the day the conference， themed Intelligent Ecosystem for a New Open Era， opened at the Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center.

Railway Exchange

　　A total of 35 offi cials from 11 countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative came to China to take part in a training on railway construction and management， according to local authorities.
　　Organized by the Ministry of Commerce， the three-week training was held in three Chinese cities： Chengdu， capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province， Hefei， capital of eastern province of Anhui， and Shanghai.
　　The offi cials were from railway or transport sectors of Burkina Faso， the Czech Republic， Laos， Mauritius， Mongolia， Mozambique， Sri Lanka， Sudan， Thailand， Uganda and Viet Nam. They fi nished the training and returned to their countries from Shanghai on August 14.
　　Gerard Constant Emmanuel Guigma， technical director of Burkina Faso’s transport department， said China has overcome complicated natural environments and built a strong railway network， which has attracted worldwide attention. He said he expects more cooperation with China in this fi eld.
　　“The training is a manifestation of mutual trust， cooperation and common development between China and other countries under the Belt and Road Initiative，” said Luo Zhaoxin， director of the international education and training center of China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co. Ltd.， one of the training agencies. 　　“We would like to work with offi cials from other countries to build a platform for exchanges and cooperation and promote the sustainable development of railway projects in their countries，” Luo added.

Country Road

　　A country road in Zaoqiang County， north China’s Hebei Province， under construction on August 15. Once the road is completed， it will promote the sale of agricultural products and accelerate the pace of rural revitalization.

Cutting Costs

　　The People’s Bank of China （PBC） unveiled a plan to improve and reform the country’s loan prime rate（LPR） mechanism on August 17， in its latest efforts to cut fi nancing costs for the real economy.
　　Introduced in 2013 and posted every trading day， the LPR functions is a market-based reference for lenders to set their loan interest rates.
　　Starting on August 20， the National Interbank Funding Center will disclose the new LPR at 9：30 a.m. on the 20th day of each month， according to a statement by the PBC.
　　In addition， the number of quotation banks will be expanded from 10 to 18， including national banks as well as urban commercial banks， rural commercial banks， foreigninvested banks and private banks， to improve the LPR’s representation.
　　An above-fi ve-year LPR will be available in addition to the current one-year LPR to serve as pricing references for new bank lending， the PBC said.
　　Banks should take the LPR as the major lending rate reference when issuing loans， the statement said.
　　The PBC plan came after the State Council decided on August 16 to take market-oriented reform measures to reduce real interest rates and ease fi nancing diffi culties.
　　To ensure that the new plan is well implemented， enterprises can report banks’ practices of setting an implicit interest rate fl oor to market regulators and self-disciplinary industrial bodies.

Green Logistics

　　The logistics services in China have become more environmentally friendly as packages for express delivery are becoming more recyclable and transport greener， according to the State Post Bureau（SPB） on August 14.
　　By the end of June， 96 percent of courier deliveries were using digital waybills， while 45 percent of products sold on e-commerce platforms had given up secondary packaging， said Liu Jun， SPB Deputy Director.
　　China has also deployed waste sorting devices to nearly 10，000 courier service branches and built a number of green distribution centers to save land， energy and water resources， Liu said. 　　New-energy vehicles （NEVs） are also used widely in the courier sector， with the number reaching 20，000， according to Liu.
　　“We encourage the courier sector to use NEVs and vehicles meeting higher emissions standards and gradually raise the use of NEVs in express delivery，” he said.

IP Pledge Financing

　　China’s banking and intellectual property （IP） regulators have decided to jointly boost the use of IP as a fi nancing tool to support the development of innovative enterprises， said an offi cial statement on August 16.
　　Released by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission， it encouraged banks and insurers to grant greater support to the use of IP as a pledge for fi nancing.
　　Commercial banks are encouraged to establish separate credit programs and specifi c in-house performance appraisal and incentive mechanisms to support IP pledge fi nancing under the premise of having risks under control， said the statement.
　　A feasibility study can be advanced in the sphere of using IP assets， geographical indications and layout designs of integrated circuits as collateral for fi nancing， it said.
　　The commission also said it would tolerate a slightly higher bad loan ratio in the IP pledge fi nancing business of commercial banks， which have found major hindrances related to the evaluation， disposal and selloff of IP pledges.
　　Solutions given by the commission involve the training of IP pledge fi nancing specialists， the establishment of a sound in-house evaluation mechanism， the making of pledge registration， the strengthening of the dynamic management of collaterals and the tight monitoring of borrowers’ business operations.
　　The balance of IP pledge fi nancing of China’s banking institutions stood at 98.5 billion yuan （$14 billion） at the end of March， up 98 percent from the end of 2018， offi cial statistics showed.

Hardcore Technology

　　A boy plays with a smart robot at the 14th China Xi’an International Science and Technology Industry Expo in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province on August 15. The expo’s exhibitions included artifi cial intelligence， aerospace， biotechnology， optoelectronic chips and information technology.

New Gas Resources

　　Sinopec， China’s leading petroleum and petrochemical producer， has explored 92 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves in southwest China’s Sichuan Province， the company said on August 14. The newly verifi ed reserves are expected to produce 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year， equivalent to the annual gas consumption of 10 million households. 　　A total of 40.8 billion cubic meters of new gas reserves have been proven in the Yuanba gas fi eld in the province， which is China’s deepest gas fi eld in the marine sphere. Sinopec will further explore gas resources and submit 20 billion cubic meters of gas reserves this year. The company has so far proven 1.2 trillion cubic meters of reserves with an annual production capacity of 12 billion cubic meters in the gasrich Sichuan Basin， which accounts for nearly one fi fth of China’s total.

A Big Market

　　A shop assistant （left） shows jewelry to a customer at an Italian imported jewelry store in Qingtian County， east China’s Zhejiang Province， on August 20. With more than 300，000 overseas Chinese in over 100 countries and regions， Qingtian has great importing advantages and the local government has recently enhanced its support for import trade and commerce.

Private Banks

　　Private banking in China is likely to see a boom in the sector amid increasing policy support.
　　Related government agencies are developing policies to facilitate private banks’ healthy growth， according to a report by Economic Information Daily on August 19.
　　China gave the green light for private banks in 2014， but the growth of private banks stayed fl at in 2017 and 2018 amid the country’s fi nancial deleveraging campaign. Currently， there are 17 private banks across the country.
　　The 18th private bank is soon to be established， as the country’s banking regulator gave the goahead to a bank in east China’s Jiangxi Province in May.
　　A bank in central China’s Henan Province is seeking to get approval by the end of the year， while banks in regions like Shanxi Province are working on preparations， the report said.
　　China will reform and improve the structure of the fi nancial system and develop private and community banks to better serve the real economy， according to the government work report issued in March.
　　Only one of the 17 private banks is operating in the red. But most of them have reported limited capital supplementary tools， high debt costs and lack of proper corporate governance， according to the newspaper.
　　Earlier this year， the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said that enhanced regulatory measures will be taken to monitor private banks’ balance sheets and business operations to ensure they grow on an orderly track.