President Xi Jinping visited the Taizicheng Station on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway in Zhangjiakou， Hebei Province in north China， on January 19.
　　The line， connecting Beijing and Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 co-host Zhangjiakou， began operation on December 30， 2019.
　　Xi also inspected the Zhangjiakou competition zone of Beijing 2022.

First Launch of the Year

　　A Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying the Tiantong 1-03 satellite blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province in southwest China on January 20， marking the country’s first space launch in this year. The satellite will set up a mobile network with ground facilities to deliver stable and reliable mobile communication services for users in China and its neighboring regions.

CPC Memorial Hall

　　The site of the first National Congress of the Communist Party of China （CPC） in Shanghai is slated to reopen after a bout of renovations in celebration of the Party’s centennial founding anniversary in July， Xinhua News Agency reported on January 19.
　　As part of the facelift， the century-old stone-gate house will have its walls cleaned and roof tiles and carved lintels restored， according to the municipal CPC committee.
　　A new exhibition hall was built in July 2020， adding 9，600 square meters of floor space.
　　The new hall will feature an exhibition area highlighting the early days of the CPC in Shanghai. The remaining space will be designated for lectures and used as an audience service center.
　　The restored memorial site is scheduled for a trial run in May prior to its official reopening before July.

Meteorology Work

　　China will optimize its meteorological observation and forecasting operations in the coming years， improving its meteorological capabilities to meet the most sophisticated global standards by 2035， Zhuang Guotai， head of the China Meteorological Administration， said on January 19.
　　Advances in meteorology during the 2016-20 period saw the number of people killed or missing due to weather-related disasters fall to fewer than 800 per year on average from around 1，300 per year during the 2011-15 period， Zhuang stated at a national meteorological conference. 　　China raised its level of meteorological modernization during the period by setting up an integrated observation system consisting of around 70，000 ground observation stations， 216 radars and seven satellites. The system covers all county-level regions.
　　During the 2016-20 period， steady progress was made in meteorological forecasting and informatization， widely adopting new technologies such as the Internet of Things， big data and artificial intelligence.
　　This year， China will start research and development of next-generation weather radars and smart ground observation stations， upgrade the warning systems for floods， geological disasters， and typhoons， and explore customized online meteorological services.

Longevity City

　　Rugao， a city in Jiangsu Province in east China renowned for its residents’ longevity， has registered a record number of 525 centenarians， according to local authorities， Xinhua News Agency reported on January 18.
　　As of January 1， the city had 16 centenarians aged 105 or above among its total population of some 1.4 million， its oldest citizen coming in at the highly respectable age of 109， the Rugao Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs stated.
　　Healthy eating and sleeping habits， as well as a favorable environment， are believed to have contributed to longevity in Rugao.
　　The municipal authorities attach great importance to elderly care services and have been working to upgrade the city’s home- and community-based care facilities for senior citizens in recent years.
　　China has witnessed a significant rise in people’s average life expectancy over the years， increasing from 76.34 years in 2015 to 77.3 years in 2019， according to statistics from the National Health Commission.

New Cargo Route

　　SF Airlines， China’s leading air cargo carrier， opened an international cargo route linking the city of Xi’an in Shaanxi Province in northwest China， and Tokyo， Japan， on January 16， the company announced.
　　The Xi’an-Tokyo route will use the B767-300 all-cargo freighter with one round-trip flight per week.
　　Since 2017， SF Airlines has launched multiple China-Japan routes such as the Wuxi-Osaka， Shanghai-Tokyo， and WuhanOsaka routes.
　　These provide efficient and stable transport services for the import and export business， cross-border e-commerce， and the delivery of anti-pandemic supplies.
　　Headquartered in Shenzhen， SF Airlines is the aviation branch of China’s delivery giant SF Express. It currently operates a fleet of 62 all-cargo freighters and has a global air cargo network of 77 destinations.

Waltz of Snowflakes

　　A child plays in the snow near the Bell and Drum Towers in Beijing on January 19.

Smart Devices

　　More Chinese consumers will be willing to pay for smart devices in 2021， Xinhua News Agency reported on January 17.
　　In the digital age， smart devices play a more prominent role in children’s study and the daily lives of the elderly， a report from global market research firm International Data Corp. read.
　　In 2021， more than 10 percent of children under the age of 14 and more than 30 percent of adults over the age of 60 will own at least one smart device， the report said.
　　An increasing number of Chinese consumers are accepting secondhand smart devices， especially those with low purchasing power.
　　The elderly and children often receive used smart devices from other members of their households. Several low-income groups also purchase recycled smart devices.

Frog Species

　　A new frog species was found in the city of Lishui， Zhejiang Province in east China， the Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment announced on January 19.
　　The species was named megophrys baishanzuensis after its origins of discovery， namely the Baishanzu National Park， during the Lishui biodiversity investigation in June 2020.
　　The result has been published in a recent research article in the journal ZooKeys.
　　The water quality of nearby rivulets and surrounding plants are particularly important to the survival of the species， Lei Jinsong， head of the bureau， said.
　　The city conducted a comprehensive biodiversity survey in Longquan， Qingyuan and Suichang under its jurisdiction in December 2019， as part of the overall efforts to forge harmony between human beings and nature.
　　In the one-year survey， 64 macrofungal species were first detected in China， while 263 were first discovered in Zhejiang.
　　The second phase of the investigation has already been launched， covering the remaining districts of Lishui.
　　China is promoting global cooperation on biodiversity conservation， with the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to be held in Kunming， capital of Yunnan Province in southwest China， this year.

Happy Harvest

　　Farmers showcase their koi fish harvest at a specialized fish farm in Anji， a county in Huzhou， Zhejiang Province in east China， on January 19. Local authorities are promoting distinctive agricultural industries to increase farmers’ income.

FDI Record

　　Paid-in foreign direct investment（FDI） into the Chinese mainland expanded 6.2 percent year on year to a record high of 999.98 billion yuan in 2020， the Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM） said on January 20.
　　In U.S. dollar terms， the inflow went up 4.5 percent year on year to $144.37 billion.
　　A total of 38，570 new overseas-funded enterprises were established last year.
　　The better-than-expected performance was mainly shored up by the service and hi-tech industries.
　　Foreign investment in the service sector came in at 776.8 billion yuan （$120 billion）， up 13.9 percent year on year and accounting for 77.7 percent of the total.
　　The hi-tech service industry registered a 28.5-percent increase from the year before， with research and development and design services surging 78.8 percent.
　　Major FDI sources also remained stable. The top 15 countries and regions saw their investment improve 6.4 percent year on year， making up 98 percent of the country’s total FDI.
　　Among the major investors were the Netherlands and Britain， whose investment rose 47.6 percent and 30.7 percent year on year， respectively.
　　Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease（COVID-19）， the FDI contracted in February and March 2020， but soon got back on its feet with a year-on-year growth of 11.8 percent in April and maintained an upward momentum till the year-end.

SOE Profits

　　The net profits of 97 centrally administered state-owned enterprises （SOEs） increased 2.1 percent year on year to 1.4 trillion yuan （$215.77 billion） last year， with around 80 percent of them reporting profit growth， the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council （SASAC） said on January 19.
　　Combined revenues of the companies reached 30.3 trillion yuan （$4.6 trillion）， down 2.2 percent year on year， Peng Huagang， spokesperson for SASAC， told a press conference.
　　Their fixed assets investment， excluding property projects， rose 1.9 percent year on year to 2.8 trillion yuan （$432 billion）， according to SASAC.

NUMBERS

IPR Service

　　Twenty-five service centers will be established to provide fast response to intellectual property right （IPR） issues， the China National Intellectual Property Administration （CNIPA） announced on January 19.
　　The administration recently approved three such centers in three counties. They will provide local industry clusters with faster IPR pre-review processes， confirmation and protection.
　　Some regions are undergoing industrial transformations， upgrading from labor-intensive to knowledge-intensive industries. Localized institutions can provide better services， it said.
　　By 2023， China will complete the establishment of a coordinated fast IPR protection system based on service centers at all levels， according to a plan released by the CNIPA last year.

Inclusive Loans

　　By the end of 2020， outstanding inclusive loans to small and micro businesses had topped 15 trillion yuan （$2.32 trillion）， up more than 30 percent from a year ago， the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said.
　　China has rolled out a set of measures to help these firms overcome difficulties caused by COVID-19， including encouraging financial institutions to provisionally defer loan repayments and increasing lending at concessional rates.
　　The interest rate of new inclusive loans to them was 5.88 percent in the first 11 months of 2020， down 0.82 percentage point from the 2019 level.

Regulation Upgrade

　　The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT） on January 15 started to solicit public feedback on a set of draft rules to strengthen regulation for the rare earth industry.
　　The new regulations cover regulatory responsibilities， project approval procedures and quota management， stressing supervision and management of the entire industrial chain of the precious ore.
　　The MIIT will establish a tracking system for rare earth products and enhance the closed-loop management of the industrial chain.

Cross-Border Trade

　　More than 10，000 Chinese enterprises moved to cross-border e-commerce hubs for foreign trade in 2020， according to MOFCOM on January 14.
　　Despite the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic， the volume of imports and exports on crossborder e-commerce platforms grew 31.1 percent year on year， Li Xingqian， an official with the ministry， said.
　　According to Li， the export volume through market procurement trade methods in China’s 31 pilot markets hit a record high of around $100 billion in 2020. 　　China launched the market procurement trade trial scheme in 14 regions in 2014. They are suitable for exports of a variety of products in small batches.
　　MOFCOM will work with related departments to increase maritime transport capacity， stabilize cargo freight， and enhance foreign trade competitiveness.

IoT Market

　　China will overtake the U.S. to become the world’s largest Internet of Things （IoT） market in 2024， data released by the global market research firm International Data Corp. （IDC） on January 12 showed.
　　Spending on the IoT in China is expected to reach around$300 billion by the time， with the compound annual growth rate standing at 13 percent in the next four years.
　　In 2024， the country will account for 26.7 percent of global investment in the sector， followed by the U.S. at 23.8 percent and West Europe at 23.4 percent， IDC data showed.
　　Among the 20 industries covered in the IDC’s report， manufacturing， government and consumer IoT spending will make up more than half of the total by 2024.

NEV Battery Sales

　　Sales of storage batteries to power new-energy vehicles （NEVs） rose 56.9 percent year on year to 12.2 gigawatt-hours in December 2020， according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
　　Some 6.5 gigawatt-hours of high-energy density lithium batteries were sold， up 9.3 percent and accounting for 53.2 percent of the total.
　　In the month， China’s NEV sales surged 49.5 percent year on year to 248，000 units， data from the association showed.