NEW FACE AMONG FORBES CHINA’S RICHEST

　　Zhong Shanshan， the founder of Nongfu Spring Co.， a bottled water company， is the third richest person with $53.7 billion in China’s 400 Richest 2020 by Forbes China， following Alibaba’s co-founder Jack Ma and Tencent founder Pony Ma.
　　Zhong， 66， worked as a construction worker， a newspaper reporter and a beverage sales agent before starting his own business. In 1996 he set up Nongfu Spring in Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province， east China. The company has grown into China’s largest packaged water supplier and one of the top 20 beverage companies in China today， holding the No.1 spot in market share. Zhong owns 84.4 percent of Nongfu’s shares. In September 2020， the company started trading on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

Recruitment Anxiety

　　Guancha.gmw.cn December 18， 2020
　　The annual recruitment season for university graduates has seen some written test questions trigger a debate on the Internet. For instance， a bank’s exam included questions on particle physics and astronomy， which have no relevance to the jobs. Also， women were frequently asked about their attitude toward marriage and having children though these are not indicators of their professional competence.
　　Of course， employers have the right to decide the content and forms of recruitment based on their talent needs for development， but it is irrational when the recruitment exam and future work have no connection.
　　It also worries people that this can affect graduate employment by creating invisible thresholds and providing an excuse for unreasonable recruitment criteria.
　　The number of college graduates will reach 9.09 million in 2021， exceeding 9 million for the first time. Moreover， the novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19） epidemic has also made the job scenario more severe.
　　The authorities and companies should work together to improve employment， creating more channels for job seekers to protect their interests and rights.

The Future Industry

　　Outlook Weekly December 21， 2020
　　Today， a new round of scientific and industrial revolution is underway in the world. Technology such as cloud computing， big data and artifi cial intelligence is being applied in increasing sectors. Also， quantum science， gene editing， aerospace and new materials are helping to make breakthroughs in technology and new businesses and models. This is the future industry. 　　To cultivate this industry， China should further develop the digital economy. Amid the epidemic control， new forms of business and new technologies have supported the resumption of work and production. It indicates that the digital economy has grown into an irresistible trend of a country’s progress in the era.
　　For its development， improvement and innovation of necessary technology is needed， and giving full play to Internet business models with the advantages of user scale and data resources. A new governance and supervision mechanism is also necessary.
　　Also， China’s advantage in new scenarios， such as unmanned payment， should be further exploited as key to future achievements. This needs entrepreneurs to explore more possibility to inject impetus into the industry’s development.
　　Concerning the ongoing revolution in science， technology and industry， China should take measures to promote the integration of a new generation of information technology and the real economy， with intelligent manufacturing as an important carrier.
　　The global manufacturing industry is facing a bottleneck in its future development， forcing countries to respond proactively. As a leading manufacturer， China needs to develop an advanced manufacturing industry， focusing on transformation and upgrading.

Global Confi dence

　　Economic Daily December 20， 2020
　　Since the outbreak of COVID-19， China has promoted business and civil service exchanges with other countries in line with strict epidemic prevention measures， according to the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Business and technical personnel from over 60 countries have come to China through a fast-track arrangement for travelers on essential and urgent business. That is a vital measure taken to support the resumption of production around the world.
　　Due to the pandemic， in March 2020 the government suspended issuing visas to foreigners and the residence permits of those who had gone out of China， as a temporary measure to combat the virus. However， at the same time， visa facilitation was provided for those who came to China for essential economic， trade， scientific and technological activities， and foreigners with urgent humanitarian needs.
　　In April 2020， a fast track was opened to build a new channel for countries with close economic and trade cooperation with China. The Foreign Ministry and the National Immigration Administration have also announced several measures to make entry and exit convenient for foreigners and support work and production resumption.

OLYMPIAN SWIMMER’S DOPE BAN OVERTURNED

　　Hopes of Chinese swimmer Sun Yang， a three-time Olympic champion， returning to the pool at the delayed Tokyo Olympics have been rekindled after his eightyear ban for a controversial doping violation by the Court of Arbitration for Sport （CAS） was overturned.
　　The Swiss Federal Tribunal upheld Sun’s appeal against the career-ending ban issued in February 2020 by the Switzerland-based CAS. The World Anti-Doping Agency， the party opposing Sun in the case， confirmed in a statement on December 23 that the tribunal had upheld a revision application fi led by Sun’s legal representatives and had set aside his eight-year suspension.
　　“History tells us that this will not be the last pandemic and pandemics are a fact of life. But with investment in public health， supported by an all-of-government， all-of-society， one health approach， we can ensure that our children and their children inherit a safer， more resilient and more sustainable world.”
　　Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus， Director General of the World Health Organization， in a video message marking the first International Day of Epidemic Preparedness on December 27， 2020
　　“With the right mix of supportive macroeconomic policies focused on strengthening social safety nets and further key reforms， China will secure the recovery and ensure balanced and high-quality growth， which will benefit China and the world.”
　　IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva， commenting on impact of China’s growth on recovery， in an interview with China Daily on December 28， 2020
　　“Hong Kong can help the internationalization of the renminbi， serve as a fund-raising platform for mainland businesses， provide asset management services， become an ideal platform for catastrophe bond issuance， and bolster the green finance in the （Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao） Greater Bay Area.”
　　Paul Chan， Financial Secretary of the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region， at a symposium organized by Jinan University in south China on December 27， 2020
　　“We want to learn poverty eradication from China and we recognize that the first thing we need， which the Belt and Road is about， is hard infrastructure， energy infrastructure.”
　　Zoon Ahmed Khan， research fellow with Tsinghua University’s Belt & Road Strategy Institute， speaking at 2021： China in the World， an event hosted by China International Publishing Group on December 24， 2020