CHINESE SWIMMER BREAKS ASIAN RECORD

　　Chinese swimmer Yang Junxuan broke the Asian record in the women’s 200-meter freestyle to win the title on March 6， with a time of 1 minute 54.70 seconds.
　　It was the first Asian record at the national swimming meet in Zhaoqing， Guangdong Province in south China.
　　Yang’s performance overtook the previous national record of 1：54.98， her own， created in January 2020. It was the first time a Chinese female swimmer had crossed the 1：55 barrier.
　　The 19-year-old born in Shandong Province in east China， who specializes in the 200-meter freestyle， won a silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta， Indonesia， and took the fifth place at the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju， the Republic of Korea.

GDP Target

　　Guancha.gmw.cn March 5
　　As the only major economy to grow in 2020 after a hard-won rebound from a pandemic-induced worldwide slump last year， China has set the growth target for 2021， aiming to expand the GDP by more than 6 percent.
　　It is not unreasonably high， underlining a prudent and practical approach. The economy has entered a period where the focus is on high quality and sustainable development.
　　The target is accompanied by a series of goals， including healthcare， public services， employment and consumption. Top priority has been given to stabilizing employment， ensuring people’s living standards and safeguarding their wellbeing.
　　Governments at all levels will practice fiscal frugality in the interests of the people. The Central Government will continue to tighten the belt， ensure continued increase in spending to meet the basic living needs， and help sustain and energize market entities.
　　The new dual-circulation model of development will expand domestic demand by tapping the potential of the domestic market and promote better alignment between consumption and investment， as well as boost further opening up of the economy and bolster ties with external markets.

Material Use

　　Lifeweek March 1
　　China announced its target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 at the UN General Assembly last year. It also plans to peak carbon emissions by 2030， an important part of its commitments to the Paris Climate Agreement.
　　To achieve these goals， the reform of energy use is a priority， but the material field cannot be ignored either.Greenhouse gases are emitted during the production and use of some materials， which is one of the main causes of climate change. The use of some of these materials is increasing because human society cannot do without economic growth， which has not been able to decouple from material use. 　　It is clear that the larger the economy becomes， the more difficult it is to decouple its growth from its material impact. This does not mean that the decoupling is unnecessary or impossible. On the contrary， decoupling wellbeing from material throughput is vital if societies are to deliver a more sustainable prosperity.
　　A credible decarbonization strategy in line with the targets outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement will thus need to go beyond the current energy efficiency and renewable energy policies by adopting a more comprehensive approach aimed at decoupling material use from economic growth.
　　However， technology improvements mainly comprise advancements in energy efficiency， process efficiency and in the supply chain processes. It is difficult to predict the extent to which these improvements will reduce material consumption in the future.

Development Philosophy

　　Economic Daily March 6
　　President Xi Jinping stressed full and faithful comprehension and implementation of the new development philosophy at a deliberation during the annual session of the National People’s Congress， the top legislature， on March 5.
　　The philosophy is based on innovative， coordinated， green， open and shared development to respond to changing conditions in a flexible and effective way.
　　China achieved an economic miracle in 2020 amid COVID-19 with the GDP growing 2.3 percent， exceeding 100 trillion yuan （$15.44 trillion） for the first time.
　　The 14th Five-Year Plan （2021-25） period is the first five-year phase in the initiative to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects， coming at a critical moment when socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era.
　　Policies and plans under the new development philosophy will tap into China’s market potential， create more demand， and forge more development opportunities for the world to achieve allwin results.

NPC DEPUTY HONORED AS ROLE MODEL

　　Laqini Bayika， a border patrolman in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China who died in January while rescuing a drowning child， was posthumously awarded the title “role model of the times” on March 3.
　　Born in a small village in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County， the only Tajik autonomous county in China， he was elected as a national lawmaker in 2018， the only Tajik deputy in the National People’s Congress（NPC） at that time. In 2020， he was awarded as “national model worker.” 　　On January 4， while taking part in a training course at a college in Kashgar， the 41-year-old saw a boy fall through the ice in a frozen lake and plunged in. He saved the child from drowning but could not come out of the freezing water.
　　His suggestions about improving local people’s wellbeing were presented at the NPC session this month.
　　“The right to subsistence and development is the primary basic human right. We can trace the roots of many of the problems， conflicts and crises in our world today to inadequate and unbalanced development.”
　　Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian at a press conference on March 9
　　“We will go all out to host a successful Winter Olympics and provide athletes from around the world a chance to realize their dreams. We are confident that the 2022 Winter Games will go on as scheduled.”
　　Yang Yang， Chair of the Athletes’ Committee， Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games， on March 4
　　“The Western governments and media claim that they support a ‘free media.’ But in reality， this is maintained only provided that views outside the policies of Western governments are considered marginal.”
　　John Ross， a senior fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies， Renmin University of China， commenting on the UK’s ban on Chinese broadcaster CGTN in an article published on the CGTN website on March 9
　　“China has been doing resource-related loans to African countries now for over 20 years. There is no one country which is as such indebted to China.”
　　Sourabh Gupta， a senior fellow at the Washington-based Institute for China-America Studies， refuting allegations of China’s so-called debt-trap diplomacy in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on March 8