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Honored guests pose for a group photo before the opening ceremony of the China-CEEC Arts Cooperation Forum in Beijing on May 9. Nearly 300 artists and participants from Central and Eastern European countries （CEEC） attended the five-day event.
College Enrollment
Chinese universities will enroll about 60，000 candidates from povertystricken areas this year， according to a circular on May 5.
Issued by the Ministry of Education （MOE） and the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC）， it says that the arrangement is designed to promote equal access to higher education in both urban and rural areas.
The circular does not specify how the 60，000 candidates would be selected. Chinese students access college through a highly competitive entrance exam， the gaokao， and students from better-resourced families usually do better in the exam.
Another MOE circular prohibits junior high school teachers from meddling in students’ applications for senior high schools. Some schools or regions are said to try to prevent their top students from applying for schools in other school groups or regions.
More Court Cases
After case registration reform， the number of cases filed in Chinese courts has increased 28.4 percent year on year， the Supreme People’s Court （SPC） said on May 10.
Between May 1， 2015， when the changes came into force， and March 31 this year， over 14.2 million cases were filed， the SPC said at a seminar marking the first anniversary of the reform.
Courts now accept indictments and place cases on file on the spot， without examination.
Jing Hanchao， SPC Vice President， said at the seminar that the right to take action is better protected now and judicial procedures have become more transparent. “The difficulty in filing a case has become a thing of the past，” he added.
Civil cases have increased 25.4 percent， administrative cases 61 percent and criminal cases 58 percent， over the same period last year.
Green Passage
Health， police and transportation authorities have jointly established a “green passage” to ensure fast and safe transfers of donated human organs in China.
The move is aimed at shortening transportation time and reducing the damage or waste of donations to help patient survival rates. According to a circular， police will help ensure ambulances’ right of way when health authorities receive donations. Airlines should provide priority boarding services and allow planes carrying donated human organs to depart first. Health authorities transporting donations may buy tickets after boarding a train. The Red Cross will also provide help during the transportation process.
Many human organs， such as the liver， cannot be stored for longer than 12 hours； or they will become unusable or dysfunctional following a transplant.
China has a serious lack of human organs， though it ranks third globally in terms of the number of organs donated. Some patients have to wait for years for transplant surgery， and many don’t survive long enough to receive a transplant.
In 2015， 2，766 people donated major organs after death， almost double the number in 2014.
Previously， executed prisoners were a major source of organs. On January 1， 2015， China banned the harvesting of organs from prisoners.
Quake Alerts
Earthquake early warning systems in China are being improved to issue alerts five to 10 seconds after tremors occur， an official with the China Earthquake Networks Center （CENC） said on May 10.
“Fast early warning systems are being piloted in Beijing as well as Sichuan and Guangdong provinces with more monitoring stations，” Pan Huaiwen， head of CENC， said ahead of National Disaster Prevention and Relief Day on May 12.
“China’s national earthquake monitoring network， composed of the CENC， 32 regional monitoring centers and 1，098 observation stations， leads the world，” he noted. These centers can monitor quakes as slight as 1 magnitude， and preliminary monitoring results can be automatically released about 1 minute after a quake occurs. However， the ability to forecast earthquakes with exact precision is still weak， Pan admitted， adding that it is a global challenge.
“Forecasting strong quakes that may occur in 10 years and those of magnitude 6 in two years is comparatively accurate. Quakes imminent in three months can hardly be forecast，”Pan explained. China has predicted more than 30 short-term or imminent quakes， including a 7.3-magnitude one in Liaoning Province in 1975， helping reduce damage.
Credit Info
The credit reference system will be upgraded and more monitoring introduced， said Yang Ziqiang， Assistant Governor of the People’s Bank of China， the central bank.
More should be done to protect those who have shared their credit information， and guard against conflicts in sharing such information， Yang was quoted as saying by a bank statement on May 9. By the end of last year， China’s basic database of financial credit information covered 880 million individuals， including 380 million with loan records， and 21.2 million enterprises， including 5.77 million with loan records.
Novel Display
A bamboo bike at the exhibition of excellent works of the 2016 Design Intelligence Award （DIA） in Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province， on May 8.
The DIA is a platform established in 2015 for the evaluation， promotion and collaboration of design.
In Pregnancy
A 7-year-old pregnant finless porpoise named F9 swims in an aquarium at the Institute of Hydrobiology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan， Hubei Province， on May 10.
As one of the most endangered animals， the finless porpoise is mainly to be found in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River and the connecting Poyang and Dongting lakes. The current finless porpoise population， according to scientists， is less than 1，000.
Student Protection
Education authorities have launched a campaign to curb school bullying. The campaign will last until December and targets elementary， middle and secondary vocational schools nationwide， according to a circular issued by the Education Supervision Committee under the State Council， China’s cabinet.
The campaign will focus on legal and mental health education for students. Police and judicial staff will be invited to schools， sources with the Ministry of Education said on May 9.
The circular defines bullying as physical or verbal abuse， or online abuse.
Schools are asked to improve measures for preventing and handling bullying and establish an emergency plan for serious incidents.
They should operate a hotline to report bullying and report any crimes to the police.
Workplace Safety
China is mulling over delineating the government’s role in handling production-related accidents， according to a draft regulation issued by the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council on May 6.
The draft proposes that local governments and production safety watchdogs initiate their emergency response mechanisms upon receiving accident notifications， and report them to higher authorities.
They must also assess the damage， inform and evacuate organizations and people who might be affected， and cordon off accident sites. The authorities should comfort victims and their relatives and inform the public. The draft has been released for public feedback.
The State Administration of Work Safety said that workplace safety has improved in the first four months of this year， with the number of production accidents falling 14.4 percent year on year.
New Hospital
China’s first hospital founded by an insurance firm in cooperation with the local government opened on May 8， creating a new model for healthcare.
Approved by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission， the Sunshine Union Hospital is located in Weifang City in east China’s Shandong Province. The Sunshine Insurance Group invested 3 billion yuan （$461 million） to set it up.
Zhang Weigong， Chair of the insurance firm， said that the hospital will introduce commercial medical insurance for hospital fee payments， giving people better access to medical services.
Said to be on par with major hospitals in big Chinese cities such as Beijing and Tianjin， the new hospital can accommodate up to 2，000 inpatients.
It is part of the vision of a “healthy China” as laid out in the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20）.
Resource Tax Reform
Starting on July 1， China will expand the reform of resource taxes across the board， authorities announced on May 10.
A resource tax will be levied on most mineral products based on price rather than quantity， according to a statement jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation.
China introduced resource taxes in 1984， mainly targeting businesses in oil， natural gas and coal. Since 2010， it has experimented with taxes based on price instead of quantity for six mineral products—coal， gas， molybdenum， oil， rare earth and tungsten.
A pilot on water resource taxation in north China’s Hebei Province is expected to expand to wood， pasture and tidal flat.
Authorities will cut certain fees on minerals to reduce tax burdens， the statement said.
Emissions Reduced
China’s largest coal producer， Shenhua Group， has completed upgrades to its coal-fired power plants in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region that will dramatically reduce their emissions.
A milestone in China’s efforts to become more environmentfriendly， Shenhua’s upgrades will reduce dust， sulfur dioxides （SO2） and nitrogen oxide （NOX） emissions from the company’s 22 power units in the region to below 10， 35 and 50 milligrams per cubic meter， respectively. This is compared to the current national emission standards for the three substances of 20， 50 and 100 milligrams per cubic meter， respectively.
Following the change， annual dust， SO2 and NOX emissions at the Shenhua facilities in the BeijingTianjin-Hebei region are expected to decline 84 percent， 71 percent and 83 percent， respectively， Shenhua said in a statement on May 10.
The upgrades took Shenhua three years to finish and cost 2.35 billion yuan （$360 million）， which translates into an added cost of 0.01 yuan per kwh of electricity.
Shenhua said that it will upgrade its facilities across China so they all reach similarly low emission levels by the end of 2020， bringing its carbon emissions down to 835 grams per kwh of electricity produced from 892 grams in 2015.
Drawing on Local Resources
A technician inspects the quality of newly made pipa—a lute-like， stringed instrument—in a factory in Xuchang Village of Lankao County， Henan Province， on May 8.
The village is home to more than 40 musical instrument manufacturing companies， with total output exceeding 50，000 pieces every year.
Zombies Tackled
China is expected to soon release a detailed plan on “zombie companies” to reduce capacity in oversupplied industries.
“Zombie companies” are economically unviable businesses， usually in industries with severe overcapacity， kept alive only with aid from the government and banks.
The plan， which is being drafted by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology， will support banks in implementing differentiated credit policies to companies in different sectors， according to the China Securities News on May 10.
A platform between banks and companies will be established to better identify inquiries and provide effective financing services for companies， it said.
The plan is expected to be put on trial in around 20 cities nationwide later this year.
China will increase financial support to its industries as they are being encouraged to transform amid the country’s industrial upgrades， according to a set of guidelines jointly released by eight central government departments in February.
Developing emerging sectors and upgrading traditional ones will receive more support， and financial institutions will be encouraged to provide long-term loans for hi-tech firms， technical equipment manufacturers and some basic industries. However， the guidelines stipulate that loans to “zombie companies” that have suffered continual losses and are unable to pay back their debts will be slashed or withdrawn.
CPI and PPI
China’s consumer price index （CPI）， a main gauge of inflation， grew 2.3 percent year on year in April， unchanged from the previous two months， new data showed on May 10.
The growth rate remained at its highest level since July 2014 for a third month， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） said.
Food prices rose 7.4 percent year on year， which contributed most to the CPI increase last month. Vegetable prices surged 22.6 percent and meat prices grew 20.1 percent from a year earlier， respectively.
NBS statistician Yu Qiumei said that although vegetable prices dropped 12.5 percent from March， they were still much higher than a year earlier. Meanwhile， pork prices increased due to a shortage in supply.
On a month-on-month basis， the CPI dropped 0.2 percent in April， narrowing from a drop of 0.4 percent in March， the NBS said.
Meanwhile， producer prices continued to fall in April， but the decline was narrowing at a faster pace in a sign of improved aggregate demand.
The producer price index （PPI）， a measure of ex-factory prices of manufactured goods， fell 3.4 percent year on year， narrowing from a 4.3-percent drop in March and 4.9 percent in February.
The reading also marked the 50th straight month of declines as China’s economic growth slowdown and industrial overcapacity weighed on prices.
Minsheng Securities， a Beijingbased broker， attributed the easing contraction to a lower comparison last year and increasing infrastructure and property investments in the month， which drove up prices in certain upstream industries.
But with property investment growth unlikely to be maintained， the upward momentum will not continue for long， the company added. Month on month， producer prices in April edged up 0.7 percent.
Dumping Review
The Ministry of Commerce（MOFCOM） started an anti-dumping review on chloroprene rubber imported from Japan， the United States and the EU on May 10.
The review， which will last until May 9， 2017， is aimed at investigating whether or not China’s chloroprene rubber industry will suffer if antidumping duties end， according to a statement on the ministry’s website.
In May 2005， the MOFCOM imposed anti-dumping duties ranging from 2 percent to 151 percent on imported chloroprene rubber from Japan， the United States and the EU with a term of five years. The punitive duties were extended for another five years in 2011 and expired on May 9.
The anti-dumping measures will continue to be effective during the review， according to the statement.
Chloroprene rubber， commonly known as Neoprene， is mostly used to manufacture electrical cables and waterproof products.
Playing Catch-Up
Workers assemble electronic toilet seats in a factory in Nan’an， Fujian Province， on May 10.
In competition with foreign counterparts， Chinese sanitaryware companies strive to meet growing domestic demand by developing more innovative products.
Imports & Exports
China’s exports rose sharply， while imports fell by a wider margin in April month on month amid a weak recovery momentum.
Exports in yuan-denominated terms rose 4.1 percent over the same period of last year to 1.13 trillion yuan （$174 billion）， slower than the 18.7-percent jump in March， data from the General Administration of Customs showed on May 8.
Imports fell 5.7 percent year on year to 827.5 billion yuan （$127 billion）， falling for the 18th straight month and the drop widened from the 1.7-percent decrease in March.
But China’s trade surplus grew to 298 billion yuan （$45.77 billion） in April， up from 194.6 billion yuan（$29.89 billion） in March.
Year on year， foreign trade dipped 0.3 percent to 1.95 trillion yuan （$299.52 billion） last month and slipped 4.4 percent to 7.17 trillion yuan （$1.1 trillion） in the first four months of the year.
“The April exports data weakened significantly from March， but it improved from the first quarter’s performance. Imports continued to drop quickly， reflecting weak domestic demand， and the weakness may extend in the near future，”China International Capital Corp. said in a note.
“In the medium term， recovery in the world’s major economies will be weak and so will global trade，”the note added.
New Helper
Farmers use a seeder to sow corn in Ordos， Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， on May 9.
With subsidies from the government， agricultural mechanization in Inner Mongolia has experienced rapid expansion in recent years.
College Enrollment
Chinese universities will enroll about 60，000 candidates from povertystricken areas this year， according to a circular on May 5.
Issued by the Ministry of Education （MOE） and the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC）， it says that the arrangement is designed to promote equal access to higher education in both urban and rural areas.
The circular does not specify how the 60，000 candidates would be selected. Chinese students access college through a highly competitive entrance exam， the gaokao， and students from better-resourced families usually do better in the exam.
Another MOE circular prohibits junior high school teachers from meddling in students’ applications for senior high schools. Some schools or regions are said to try to prevent their top students from applying for schools in other school groups or regions.
More Court Cases
After case registration reform， the number of cases filed in Chinese courts has increased 28.4 percent year on year， the Supreme People’s Court （SPC） said on May 10.
Between May 1， 2015， when the changes came into force， and March 31 this year， over 14.2 million cases were filed， the SPC said at a seminar marking the first anniversary of the reform.
Courts now accept indictments and place cases on file on the spot， without examination.
Jing Hanchao， SPC Vice President， said at the seminar that the right to take action is better protected now and judicial procedures have become more transparent. “The difficulty in filing a case has become a thing of the past，” he added.
Civil cases have increased 25.4 percent， administrative cases 61 percent and criminal cases 58 percent， over the same period last year.
Green Passage
Health， police and transportation authorities have jointly established a “green passage” to ensure fast and safe transfers of donated human organs in China.
The move is aimed at shortening transportation time and reducing the damage or waste of donations to help patient survival rates. According to a circular， police will help ensure ambulances’ right of way when health authorities receive donations. Airlines should provide priority boarding services and allow planes carrying donated human organs to depart first. Health authorities transporting donations may buy tickets after boarding a train. The Red Cross will also provide help during the transportation process.
Many human organs， such as the liver， cannot be stored for longer than 12 hours； or they will become unusable or dysfunctional following a transplant.
China has a serious lack of human organs， though it ranks third globally in terms of the number of organs donated. Some patients have to wait for years for transplant surgery， and many don’t survive long enough to receive a transplant.
In 2015， 2，766 people donated major organs after death， almost double the number in 2014.
Previously， executed prisoners were a major source of organs. On January 1， 2015， China banned the harvesting of organs from prisoners.
Quake Alerts
Earthquake early warning systems in China are being improved to issue alerts five to 10 seconds after tremors occur， an official with the China Earthquake Networks Center （CENC） said on May 10.
“Fast early warning systems are being piloted in Beijing as well as Sichuan and Guangdong provinces with more monitoring stations，” Pan Huaiwen， head of CENC， said ahead of National Disaster Prevention and Relief Day on May 12.
“China’s national earthquake monitoring network， composed of the CENC， 32 regional monitoring centers and 1，098 observation stations， leads the world，” he noted. These centers can monitor quakes as slight as 1 magnitude， and preliminary monitoring results can be automatically released about 1 minute after a quake occurs. However， the ability to forecast earthquakes with exact precision is still weak， Pan admitted， adding that it is a global challenge.
“Forecasting strong quakes that may occur in 10 years and those of magnitude 6 in two years is comparatively accurate. Quakes imminent in three months can hardly be forecast，”Pan explained. China has predicted more than 30 short-term or imminent quakes， including a 7.3-magnitude one in Liaoning Province in 1975， helping reduce damage.
Credit Info
The credit reference system will be upgraded and more monitoring introduced， said Yang Ziqiang， Assistant Governor of the People’s Bank of China， the central bank.
More should be done to protect those who have shared their credit information， and guard against conflicts in sharing such information， Yang was quoted as saying by a bank statement on May 9. By the end of last year， China’s basic database of financial credit information covered 880 million individuals， including 380 million with loan records， and 21.2 million enterprises， including 5.77 million with loan records.
Novel Display
A bamboo bike at the exhibition of excellent works of the 2016 Design Intelligence Award （DIA） in Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province， on May 8.
The DIA is a platform established in 2015 for the evaluation， promotion and collaboration of design.
In Pregnancy
A 7-year-old pregnant finless porpoise named F9 swims in an aquarium at the Institute of Hydrobiology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan， Hubei Province， on May 10.
As one of the most endangered animals， the finless porpoise is mainly to be found in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River and the connecting Poyang and Dongting lakes. The current finless porpoise population， according to scientists， is less than 1，000.
Student Protection
Education authorities have launched a campaign to curb school bullying. The campaign will last until December and targets elementary， middle and secondary vocational schools nationwide， according to a circular issued by the Education Supervision Committee under the State Council， China’s cabinet.
The campaign will focus on legal and mental health education for students. Police and judicial staff will be invited to schools， sources with the Ministry of Education said on May 9.
The circular defines bullying as physical or verbal abuse， or online abuse.
Schools are asked to improve measures for preventing and handling bullying and establish an emergency plan for serious incidents.
They should operate a hotline to report bullying and report any crimes to the police.
Workplace Safety
China is mulling over delineating the government’s role in handling production-related accidents， according to a draft regulation issued by the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council on May 6.
The draft proposes that local governments and production safety watchdogs initiate their emergency response mechanisms upon receiving accident notifications， and report them to higher authorities.
They must also assess the damage， inform and evacuate organizations and people who might be affected， and cordon off accident sites. The authorities should comfort victims and their relatives and inform the public. The draft has been released for public feedback.
The State Administration of Work Safety said that workplace safety has improved in the first four months of this year， with the number of production accidents falling 14.4 percent year on year.
New Hospital
China’s first hospital founded by an insurance firm in cooperation with the local government opened on May 8， creating a new model for healthcare.
Approved by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission， the Sunshine Union Hospital is located in Weifang City in east China’s Shandong Province. The Sunshine Insurance Group invested 3 billion yuan （$461 million） to set it up.
Zhang Weigong， Chair of the insurance firm， said that the hospital will introduce commercial medical insurance for hospital fee payments， giving people better access to medical services.
Said to be on par with major hospitals in big Chinese cities such as Beijing and Tianjin， the new hospital can accommodate up to 2，000 inpatients.
It is part of the vision of a “healthy China” as laid out in the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20）.
Resource Tax Reform
Starting on July 1， China will expand the reform of resource taxes across the board， authorities announced on May 10.
A resource tax will be levied on most mineral products based on price rather than quantity， according to a statement jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation.
China introduced resource taxes in 1984， mainly targeting businesses in oil， natural gas and coal. Since 2010， it has experimented with taxes based on price instead of quantity for six mineral products—coal， gas， molybdenum， oil， rare earth and tungsten.
A pilot on water resource taxation in north China’s Hebei Province is expected to expand to wood， pasture and tidal flat.
Authorities will cut certain fees on minerals to reduce tax burdens， the statement said.
Emissions Reduced
China’s largest coal producer， Shenhua Group， has completed upgrades to its coal-fired power plants in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region that will dramatically reduce their emissions.
A milestone in China’s efforts to become more environmentfriendly， Shenhua’s upgrades will reduce dust， sulfur dioxides （SO2） and nitrogen oxide （NOX） emissions from the company’s 22 power units in the region to below 10， 35 and 50 milligrams per cubic meter， respectively. This is compared to the current national emission standards for the three substances of 20， 50 and 100 milligrams per cubic meter， respectively.
Following the change， annual dust， SO2 and NOX emissions at the Shenhua facilities in the BeijingTianjin-Hebei region are expected to decline 84 percent， 71 percent and 83 percent， respectively， Shenhua said in a statement on May 10.
The upgrades took Shenhua three years to finish and cost 2.35 billion yuan （$360 million）， which translates into an added cost of 0.01 yuan per kwh of electricity.
Shenhua said that it will upgrade its facilities across China so they all reach similarly low emission levels by the end of 2020， bringing its carbon emissions down to 835 grams per kwh of electricity produced from 892 grams in 2015.
Drawing on Local Resources
A technician inspects the quality of newly made pipa—a lute-like， stringed instrument—in a factory in Xuchang Village of Lankao County， Henan Province， on May 8.
The village is home to more than 40 musical instrument manufacturing companies， with total output exceeding 50，000 pieces every year.
Zombies Tackled
China is expected to soon release a detailed plan on “zombie companies” to reduce capacity in oversupplied industries.
“Zombie companies” are economically unviable businesses， usually in industries with severe overcapacity， kept alive only with aid from the government and banks.
The plan， which is being drafted by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology， will support banks in implementing differentiated credit policies to companies in different sectors， according to the China Securities News on May 10.
A platform between banks and companies will be established to better identify inquiries and provide effective financing services for companies， it said.
The plan is expected to be put on trial in around 20 cities nationwide later this year.
China will increase financial support to its industries as they are being encouraged to transform amid the country’s industrial upgrades， according to a set of guidelines jointly released by eight central government departments in February.
Developing emerging sectors and upgrading traditional ones will receive more support， and financial institutions will be encouraged to provide long-term loans for hi-tech firms， technical equipment manufacturers and some basic industries. However， the guidelines stipulate that loans to “zombie companies” that have suffered continual losses and are unable to pay back their debts will be slashed or withdrawn.
CPI and PPI
China’s consumer price index （CPI）， a main gauge of inflation， grew 2.3 percent year on year in April， unchanged from the previous two months， new data showed on May 10.
The growth rate remained at its highest level since July 2014 for a third month， the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） said.
Food prices rose 7.4 percent year on year， which contributed most to the CPI increase last month. Vegetable prices surged 22.6 percent and meat prices grew 20.1 percent from a year earlier， respectively.
NBS statistician Yu Qiumei said that although vegetable prices dropped 12.5 percent from March， they were still much higher than a year earlier. Meanwhile， pork prices increased due to a shortage in supply.
On a month-on-month basis， the CPI dropped 0.2 percent in April， narrowing from a drop of 0.4 percent in March， the NBS said.
Meanwhile， producer prices continued to fall in April， but the decline was narrowing at a faster pace in a sign of improved aggregate demand.
The producer price index （PPI）， a measure of ex-factory prices of manufactured goods， fell 3.4 percent year on year， narrowing from a 4.3-percent drop in March and 4.9 percent in February.
The reading also marked the 50th straight month of declines as China’s economic growth slowdown and industrial overcapacity weighed on prices.
Minsheng Securities， a Beijingbased broker， attributed the easing contraction to a lower comparison last year and increasing infrastructure and property investments in the month， which drove up prices in certain upstream industries.
But with property investment growth unlikely to be maintained， the upward momentum will not continue for long， the company added. Month on month， producer prices in April edged up 0.7 percent.
Dumping Review
The Ministry of Commerce（MOFCOM） started an anti-dumping review on chloroprene rubber imported from Japan， the United States and the EU on May 10.
The review， which will last until May 9， 2017， is aimed at investigating whether or not China’s chloroprene rubber industry will suffer if antidumping duties end， according to a statement on the ministry’s website.
In May 2005， the MOFCOM imposed anti-dumping duties ranging from 2 percent to 151 percent on imported chloroprene rubber from Japan， the United States and the EU with a term of five years. The punitive duties were extended for another five years in 2011 and expired on May 9.
The anti-dumping measures will continue to be effective during the review， according to the statement.
Chloroprene rubber， commonly known as Neoprene， is mostly used to manufacture electrical cables and waterproof products.
Playing Catch-Up
Workers assemble electronic toilet seats in a factory in Nan’an， Fujian Province， on May 10.
In competition with foreign counterparts， Chinese sanitaryware companies strive to meet growing domestic demand by developing more innovative products.
Imports & Exports
China’s exports rose sharply， while imports fell by a wider margin in April month on month amid a weak recovery momentum.
Exports in yuan-denominated terms rose 4.1 percent over the same period of last year to 1.13 trillion yuan （$174 billion）， slower than the 18.7-percent jump in March， data from the General Administration of Customs showed on May 8.
Imports fell 5.7 percent year on year to 827.5 billion yuan （$127 billion）， falling for the 18th straight month and the drop widened from the 1.7-percent decrease in March.
But China’s trade surplus grew to 298 billion yuan （$45.77 billion） in April， up from 194.6 billion yuan（$29.89 billion） in March.
Year on year， foreign trade dipped 0.3 percent to 1.95 trillion yuan （$299.52 billion） last month and slipped 4.4 percent to 7.17 trillion yuan （$1.1 trillion） in the first four months of the year.
“The April exports data weakened significantly from March， but it improved from the first quarter’s performance. Imports continued to drop quickly， reflecting weak domestic demand， and the weakness may extend in the near future，”China International Capital Corp. said in a note.
“In the medium term， recovery in the world’s major economies will be weak and so will global trade，”the note added.
New Helper
Farmers use a seeder to sow corn in Ordos， Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， on May 9.
With subsidies from the government， agricultural mechanization in Inner Mongolia has experienced rapid expansion in recent years.