Cave of Wonders

　　The world’s largest stone coral forest in the Snow Jade Cave in Fengdu County， Chongqing in southwest China， on November 9. It is the youngest karst cave to be discovered and developed in China.

Fewer Dropouts

　　The number of students dropping out of compulsory education in China’s impoverished areas has reduced signifi cantly， according to the Ministry of Education.
　　Data from the ministry showed the number of students who drop out of compulsory education， which covers primary and junior high school， in the 832 national-level impoverished counties decreased from 290，000 to 65，000 by the end of May.
　　To better address the issue， the ministry has organized three nationwide inspections to verify the number of dropouts and has set up an online database that records detailed information on them and is updated in real-time.
　　It is also providing more free online courses to rural schools， investing more funds in building and renovating rural schools， and making education plans based on the different situations of each student.
　　In 2018， the net enrollment rate of primary schools nationwide reached 99.95 percent.

IPR Protection

　　China’s Internet platforms are taking proactive measures to protect intellectual property rights （IPRs）， industry data showed.
　　WeChat， a popular social media platform， has removed over 150，000 articles suspected of copyright infringement since 2018， according to a recent report from Internet giant Tencent， the operator of the platform.
　　It dealt with more than 110，000 individual accounts violating the IPRs of business brands， while granting identifi cations of originality to more than 100 million articles on offi cial accounts from last year to the fi rst half of this year.
　　Meanwhile， e-commerce company JD.com fi led thousands of brands in its business qualifi cation system and intercepted several hundred thousand counterfeit goods on average each day through the use of artifi cial intelligence （AI） and big data.
　　Internet platforms’ incentives for IPR protection are enhanced as they gain benefi ts from their efforts， with better IPR protection leading to better platform operation， said Kong Xiangjun， a professor of intellectual property law at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
　　Industry observers think that since enterprises in the industry have reached a consensus on IPR protection， they can use hi-tech such as AI， big data and blockchain for the purpose， along with judicial and other methods.

Waste Sorting

　　A total of 237 cities at the prefectural level or above in China have adopted waste sorting schemes as the country continues to embrace a green lifestyle.
　　Waste sorting has been implemented in 53.9 percent of residential communities in the 46 cities required to carry out mandatory waste sorting by a 2017 nationwide plan， while 14 cities have seen more than 70 percent of neighborhoods following through on the practice， according to the Ministry of Housing and UrbanRural Development （MOHURD）.
　　Thirty cities have rolled out waste sorting regulations， and 16 more are mulling legislature on the matter.
　　MOHURD reclassifi ed residential waste from eight to 11 categories in a revised standard for waste sorting on November 15 and launched a mini app on smartphones to promote the new classifi cation.
　　China pledged to establish a basic system of laws and regulations on waste sorting by the end of 2020. This year， waste sorting has been promoted in all cities at the prefectural level or above after being piloted in 46 cities.

Seniors’ Homes

　　There were a total of 173，300 elderly care service institutions and facilities in China at the end of June， and over 140，000 were at the community level， an offi cial said on November 19.
　　Over half of the institutions nationwide are privately run， and in Shanghai and Beijing， private institutions account for over 80 percent of the total， said Li Banghua， a senior offi cial with the Ministry of Civil Affairs， at a symposium held on coping with an aging population.
　　China has also been working to improve the quality of senior care services while providing more funding. A special campaign launched in 2017 eliminated over 390，000 potential hazards in the country’s nursing homes.
　　Over 5 billion yuan （$712.26 million） in annual central government funding has been provided for the sector since 2016， said Li， adding that private investment has also been booming.
　　Efforts will be made to help transform the government’s role from an elderly care service provider to a supervisor to let the market play a decisive role.

Green Scene

　　Farmers pick tea leaves at a farm in Baisha Li Autonomous County， Hainan Province in south China， on November 18. The expanding local tea industry has helped to lift many households out of poverty.

Big Earth Data

　　A big Earth data system was launched at the First China Digital Earth Conference in Beijing on November 18.
　　The system， which was initiated by Chinese scientists， can provide global users with uniquely identifi -able and standardized big Earth data.
　　As an advanced tool for quantitative Earth research， the project incorporates research fi elds involving space science， information technology and Earth science.
　　The system has already been applied on the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the digital Belt and Road Initiative.
　　It can provide support in data storage， management and information exploring， while also building Earth data “beads” into a “necklace，” said Guo Huadong with the Chinese Academy of Sciences， adding that it will be a key platform to drive scientifi c discovery and decision support.

Doping Crackdown

　　The Supreme People’s Court， China’s highest judicial authority， announced judicial interpretations on the application of the Criminal Law in handling doping-related cases on November 18， bringing longheralded criminal punishments for certain doping activities into law.
　　One of the focuses of the change in legislation is to crack down on those behind the scenes， rather than simply punishing athletes， according to China AntiDoping Agency CEO Chen Zhiyu.
　　The new interpretations， which will go into effect on January 1， 2020， criminalize activities such as the traffi cking and illegal business operation of banned substances， and forcing， organizing， luring or cheating minors or people with disabilities into using performance-enhancing drugs. The production and sale of banned drugs will also be subject to criminal punishments.
　　It is also stipulated that government offi cials could spend time behind bars if they abuse their power or are negligent in their managerial role of doping control.

A Snowy Home

　　Giant panda Mu Yun enjoys the snow outside the panda hall of a wildlife park in Changchun， Jilin Province in northeast China， on November 18.

Nature Reserves

　　China had 2，750 nature reserves at the end of September 2019， data from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration （NFGA） showed.
　　The reserves cover a total area of 1.47 million square km， accounting for 15 percent of the country’s landmass， according to a statement on the administration’s website. 　　They are home to 35 million hectares of natural forest and about 20 million hectares of natural wetland， protecting 90.5 percent of terrestrial ecosystem types， 85 percent of wild animal and plant types as well as 65 percent of higher plant communities.
　　More than 300 wild animals and 130 wild plants under the country’s key protection are preserved in the areas， enhancing the country’s biodiversity， the NFGA said.
　　Rare and endangered animals thrive in the reserves， with the number of wild crested ibis surging from seven to more than 2，000， gray snub-nosed monkey growing 1.5 times to more than 750 and Asian elephants rising from 170 to more than 230.
　　Dinghu Mountain， which lies in the southern province of Guangdong， was designated China’s fi rst nature reserve in 1956 in an effort to protect forests.

Econ omic Census

　　Results of China’s fourth national economic census were released on November 20， showing that the country’s economic structure continued to improve between 2013 and 2018.
　　At the end of 2018， the aggregate business capital in the secondary and tertiary industries reached 914.2 trillion yuan （$130.38 trillion）. The secondary industry， which includes industrial and construction enterprises， accounted for 19 percent of the total assets， while the tertiary industry， or the service sector， accounted for the remaining 81 percent.
　　There were 18.57 million corporations in the secondary and tertiary industries at the end of 2018， of which 98.8 percent were domestically funded companies， 0.6 percent were corporations with investment from Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan， and 0.6 percent were foreign-funded enterprises.
　　The secondary and tertiary industries employed a total of 383.24 million people at the end of 2018， up 7.6 percent from the end of 2013.
　　The economic census， launched every fi ve years， is one of China’s major censuses of national conditions. It covers all business entities involved in the secondary and tertiary industries. The fourth census started in late 2018.

Water Power

　　An aerial photo of the Yarkant River in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China on November 19.
　　The dam of the Aratax water conservation project， the largest of its kind in Xinjiang and also the most diffi cult， started to impound water from the river on November 18. The project will play a comprehensive role in fl ood control， irrigation and power generation.

Mainland-HK Pact

　　The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region（HKSAR） signed an agreement on November 21， easing the mainland market access requirements for Hong Kong enterprises and professionals.
　　The Agreement Concerning Amendment to the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement （CEPA） Agreement on Trade in Services was signed by Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Bingnan and Financial Secretary of HKSAR Paul Chan.
　　The new agreement updates the commitments on liberalization and facilitation of trade in services under the CEPA Agreement on Trade in Services implemented in June 2016， and lowers the mainland market access thresholds for Hong Kong enterprises and professionals， in response to the proposals of the Hong Kong business community for more participation in the development of the mainland market， the Trade and Industry Department of HKSAR said in a press release on November 21.
　　The amendment introduces new liberalization measures in a number of important services sectors such as fi nancial services， legal services， construction and related engineering services， testing and certifi cation， tele- vision， motion pictures and tourism. They include removing or relaxing restrictions on equity shareholding， capital requirements and business scope for the establishment of enterprises； lowering qualifi cation requirements for provision of services by Hong Kong professionals； and easing the quantitative and other restrictions for Hong Kong’s export of services to the mainland market. The new agreement will go into effect on June 1， 2020.

Stable Investment

　　Foreign fi rms have not retreated on a large scale from China， a senior offi cial from the Ministry of Commerce said on November 18.
　　Though a few export-oriented and low value-added fi rms chose to relocate their production， their moves were driven by the market and should be regarded as normal， Zong Changqing， head of the Department of Foreign Investment Administration of the ministry， said at a press conference.
　　Most foreign-funded fi rms are upbeat about the prospects of investing in China and still view China as a target market， Zong said， citing reports from foreign commerce chambers and business associations.
　　Data from the ministry on November 18 showed that foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland expanded 6.6 percent year on year to 752.41 billion yuan （$107.4 billion） in the fi rst 10 months of the year， with over 33，400 new foreignfunded enterprises established. 　　The government will shorten the negative lists for market access for foreign investment across the country and in pilot free trade zones， and remove more restrictions on foreign investment， according to the ministry.

Industrial Fund

　　A national fund to promote the transformation and upgrading of China’s manufacturing industry was set up on November 18.
　　The fund， with a registered capital of 147.2 billion yuan （$21.02 billion）， will invest in new material， new-generation information technology and electronic equipment.
　　It has 20 stockholders， with the Ministry of Finance being the biggest， holding 15.29 percent of the stakes.
　　In October， the second national fund for the integrated circuit sector was registered. It has a subscribed capital contribution of 204.2 billion yuan （$29.1 billion）.
　　The government has released a slew of measures to quicken the upgrading of the manufacturing industry for high-quality growth.
　　A guideline to promote integrated development of the manufacturing industry and modern service industry and a four-year action plan to strengthen manufacturing design capabilities have been released.

Tunneling Victory

　　Workers celebrate the completion of the Altun Mountains tunnel on the Golmud-Korla Railway， connecting Golmud in Qinghai Province and Korla in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China， on November 19. The completion came after three and a half years of construction.

Green Finance

　　The development of green fi nance saw notable progress in 2018 with the high-quality growth of the economy providing impetus to the sector， according to a report issued by the People’s Bank of China （PBC） on November 19.
　　The market maintained steady expansion with product and service innovations springing up. Green bonds worth over 280 billion yuan（$40 billion） were issued， while outstanding green loans from banking institutions nationwide reached 8.23 trillion yuan （$1.17 trillion）， up 16 percent year on year.
　　New product and service models such as green funds， green insurance and green trust emerged， widening the fi nancing channels for related projects and lowering their fi nancing costs and risks.
　　The fast development of the sector has promoted high-quality development of the economy， replacing old growth drivers with new ones. It also contributes to pollution prevention and better energy utilization. 　　The PBC said it will strengthen theoretical research， formulate a system of standards， optimize the institutional environment and encourage product and service innovations to boost the sector’s commercial sustainability.

E-Sports Boom

　　China’s e-sports market was valued at more than 100 billion yuan （$14.2 billion） in the fi rst half of the year， a report in Economic Daily said on November 18.
　　The sector saw its sales revenue reach 51.32 billion yuan （$7.3 billion） in the period， with more than 440，000 practitioners in the industry.
　　After years of development， the sector has formed a complete industrial chain from game licensing to content production and dissemination， driving all-around development involving related industries such as contest operation， educational training and proprietary equipment research and development.
　　However， the boom has created a massive talent defi cit of 500，000 to 1 million people.
　　To address that， China has offi cially included e-sports among college majors and added e-sports specialists to the occupation register.
　　However， compared to the U.S. and advanced European countries， the Chinese e-sports industry is still in the primary stage and faces various problems， the report said.
　　More efforts should be made to ramp up management and support， especially on industry organization， contest systems and rules， it added.

Sustainable Farming

　　An exhibitor demonstrates a cultivation technique to visitors during the 17th China International Agricultural Trade Fair in Nanchang， Jiangxi Province in east China， on November 15. About 8，000 exhibitors attended the four-day event which concluded on November 18.

5G in Logistics

　　E-commerce giant JD.com will integrate 5G applications at its logistics centers nationwide， according to Wang Zhenhui， CEO of JD Logistics， its supply chain arm.
　　Wang said his company is exploring more than 10 application scenarios at its 5G-enabled logistics center in Beijing， which went into operation in November.
　　The applications， which include identity recognition， intelligent scheduling， vehicle-road coordination， digital inventory and autonomous driving， are expected to be integrated into the company’s logistics centers in other cities.
　　JD Logistics will also share the applications with domestic and global partners.