Rescue work is underway on June 18 in Changning County of Yibin City， southwest China’s Sichuan Province， after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck the area the day before.
　　Updated statistics on June 19 showed 13 people died and nearly 200 were injured. In total， about 243，880 people were affected， while more than 52，000 people relocated to safe areas. Over 20，000 houses collapsed or were severely damaged. More than 3，100 people including fi re fi ghters， police and volunteers have joined the search and rescue work.
　　Education Campaign
　　An education campaign for members of the Communist Party of China （CPC）， “Staying true to our founding mission，” has been carried out among Party members nationwide.
　　At the meeting to launch the campaign on May 31， President Xi Jinping， who is also General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee， reiterated the Party’s original aspiration and mission to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenate the Chinese nation.
　　On June 5， a training of the central guiding groups was held in Beijing， following which 34 groups were dispatched to units to carry out the thematic education.
　　The campaign was launched as the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China comes up in October.
　　The thematic education campaign especially targets offi cials at the county level and above. The aim is to improve their quality and solve problems.
　　Saving Energy
　　A nationwide activity on energysaving started on June 17， calling on the public to practice a green lifestyle. During the weeklong activity， local governments summarized the models and experience of energysaving projects .
　　A green high-effi ciency refrigeration action plan and the second international “best energysaving technology and best energysaving practice” list were unveiled at the launch ceremony.
　　The action plan aims to expand the market share of green， higheffi ciency refrigeration products to save annual power consumption by 100 billion kWh by 2022， with a long-term goal of saving 400 billion kWh annually by 2030.
　　During the 13th Five-Year Plan（2016-20） period， China’s energy consumption per unit of GDP has declined 11.35 percent. The total energy consumption in 2018 was 4.64 billion tons of standard coal， according to Zhang Yong， deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission.
　　China is the biggest producer， consumer and exporter of refrigeration products in the world. The annual production value of China’s refrigeration industry has reached 800 billion yuan （$116 billion）， creating 3 million job opportunities. 　　Drug Cases
　　The Chinese Police solved 70，000 cases related to drug smuggling， trade and traffi cking last year， a 31-percent decline from 2017， according to a report on China’s drug control situation issued by the China National Narcotics Control Commission on June 17.
　　Around 98，000 people suspected to be involved in these cases were arrested in 2018， a 14.8-percent drop from the previous year， the report showed.
　　A total of 41.8 tons of drugs were confi scated， 36.6 percent less than in 2017. More than 60 percent of the seized drugs were transported via land routes.
　　Maritime routes were being increasingly used in large-scale drug traffi cking cases， the report said， adding that the police solved fi ve large-scale sea traffi cking cases last year， each involving over 1 ton of drugs.
　　More foreigners entered the country with illicit drugs， with 1，268 foreign drug traffi ckers arrested in 2018.
　　Overseas Travel
　　China saw robust growth in international passenger air transport in May as more Chinese are traveling overseas.
　　China’s airlines served about 54.5 million passengers last month， up 8.7 percent year on year， 4.1 percentage points higher than April， data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China （CAAC） showed.
　　About 6 million passengers took international fl ights in May， up 18.7 percent from a year ago.
　　Passenger air transport totaled 268 million in the past f vie months，up 8.5 percent year on year， while the number of passengers taking international fl ights rose 16.5 percent， CAAC data showed.
　　Analysts attributed the robust growth of international air travel passengers partly to the booming outbound tourism market， as increasingly affl uent Chinese crave exotic cultures.
　　Colorful Fair


　　Handicrafts at the Iranian booth during the Sixth China-Russia Expo in Harbin， northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province， on June 17.
　　Food Safety
　　A food safety publicity campaign， an annual event initiated in 2011 to enhance food safety awareness of people， kicked off on June 18.
　　Over 50 activities such as exhibitions and training will be organized during the campaign， which ends on June 30.
　　Supervision will be tightened with more random checks， and efforts will be increased to ensure food safety in baby formula， meals and food supplied on campuses， and health-promoting products， according to Xiao Yaqing， head of the State Administration for Market Regulation. 　　The government has stepped up developing standards， issuing regulations， imposing penalties and seeking accountability to ensure food safety.
　　More than 97 percent of China’s major produce will pass quality and food safety tests by 2020， while over 98 percent of food pass spot checks， the guideline said.
　　QR Platform
　　East China’s Jiangsu Province launched a traceability platform for agricultural products on June 18， according to the provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs.
　　By scanning QR codes on the products with their mobile phones， customers can get information about the products， including the production process and the producers. More than 3，800 agricultural producers in the province have registered with the platform.
　　“The platform can not only help customers trace products but also press the producers for lawabiding production，” Zhu Xinhua， deputy head of the provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs， said.
　　“More than 80 percent of the major agricultural producers in the province are expected to be included in the platform within a year，” Zhu added.
　　Tackling Terrorism
　　Chinese special operation force soldiers take part in a military training demonstration during the Great Wall-2019 International Forum on Counter-Terrorism in Beijing on June 18. The four-day event hosted by China’s armed police force was attended by representatives from the military and police forces of 31 countries， including France， Pakistan， Israel and Uzbekistan.


　　Science Literacy
　　A total of 1，000 rural primary schools across China will offer science and technology literacy courses to improve the scientifi c level of rural students， People’s Daily reported on June 19.
　　The project was launched on June 18 in Beijing at a seminar attended by nationwide science and education experts and scholars. It will spend 38 million yuan （$5.5 million） offering courses， textbooks and teaching aids to the primary schools in more than 20 provinciallevel regions， including Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang and Tibet autonomous regions.
　　The courses are mainly in artifi cial intelligence， intelligent manufacturing， aerospace， agricul- tural science and life science.
　　In addition， 100 eminent teachers will be hired to provide online training courses for rural teachers， the newspaper said.
　　The project is supported by the Ping An Insurance Group. 　　China’s scientifi cally literate population in the rural areas last year was 4.93 percent， lower than the national average of 8.47 percent.
　　Credit Files
　　China has established the world’s largest credit system with the largest amount of data and the widest coverage， said an offi cial with China’s central bank on June 14.
　　Zhu Hexin， Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China， said the country’s credit system has recorded information from 990 million individuals and 25.91 million enterprises and organizations cumulatively， making it the largest in the world.
　　The system creates credit fi les for almost all people and enterprises involved in credit activities nationwide in a uniform format， and its products and services are widely used in all aspects of the social economy， Zhu told a press conference.
　　The system is “irreplaceable in forestalling fi nancial risks and ensuring fi nancial stability” and is used extensively by fi nancial institutions in loan-related business， Zhu said， adding that commercial banks have embedded data from the system into their risk-management process.
　　China’s credit information index， an important indicator of the business environment， is ahead of some developed countries， according to a report from the World Bank.
　　China has put strong emphasis on building a social credit system since the State Council issued a guideline in 2014. It will step up building its social credit system by rolling out new market regulatory measures， according to an executive meeting of the State Council in midJune.
　　Sun on the Roof
　　An aerial photo of a residential compound in Quzhou， east China’s Zhejiang Province， with rooftop photovoltaic power generation devices taken on June 16. More than 800 families with the devices on their houses will get a combined total of over 500，000 yuan （$72，200） from the power generated per year.


　　Clean Energy
　　China has sped up the development of clean energy and stepped up gas exploration over the past fi ve years， a senior energy offi cial said on June 13.
　　Currently， clean energy sources account for 22.1 percent of total energy consumption， up from 14.5 percent fi ve years ago， said Zhang Jianhua， head of the National Energy Administration.
　　Coal consumption accounts for less than 60 percent of total energy use， Zhang said， adding that energy intensity has improved over the fi veyear period， with energy per unit of the GDP falling 20.3 percent. 　　The country has also stepped up oil and gas exploration to ensure energy security， he said.
　　It has sought to move away from coal and other fossil fuels to address pollution and foster economic development outside of heavy industry.
　　China has made breakthroughs in key nuclear power and unconventional oil and gas technologies as well as innovations in smart grids， electric vehicles and energy big data， Zhang said.
　　It will continue to boost the use of clean energy and expand international energy cooperation in the future， he added.
　　Liquidity Support
　　The central bank decided on June 14 to beef up liquidity support for small and medium-sized banks by increasing the re-discount and standing lending facility （SLF） quota.
　　The People’s Bank of China arranged a 200-billion-yuan （$29 billion） re-discount and 100-billionyuan （$14.4 billion） SLF quota for small and medium-sized banks to keep their liquidity suffi cient， it said in a statement.
　　Small and medium-sized banks can apply for the liquidity support by using qualifi ed bonds， interbank negotiable certifi cates of deposit and bills as collateral.
　　To maintain stable liquidity in the middle of the year， the central bank on June 14 pumped 100 billion yuan （$14.4 billion） into the fi nancial system at an interest rate of 2.85 percent.
　　Railway Reshuffle
　　The State Council has approved the restructuring of the China Railway Corporation and renamed it the China State Railway Group Co. Ltd. to make the company more marketoriented.
　　With a registered capital of nearly 1.74 trillion yuan （$252 billion）， the company is run by the Central Government while the Ministry of Finance performs investor’s duty on behalf of the State Council， according to a company statement released on June 18.
　　The group corporation with a board of directors is an authorized investment entity and can establish subsidiaries， branch companies and representative offi ces in line with business development needs， the statement said.
　　The move came after a series of institutional reforms were put into place since 2017 to improve the corporate governance of the country’s railway network.
　　Launched in 2013 after the Ministry of Railways was dissolved， the China Railway Corp. has been in the forefront of the country’s corporate reform with a goal to foster modern railway enterprises and separate government functions from business operations. 　　The inauguration of the new group corporation is conducive to enhancing capital utilization effi ciency， market competitiveness and risk-prevention capabilities in the local railway industry.
　　It is also expected to make stateowned railway fi rms more marketoriented and capable of providing better cargo and passenger transport services for the public.
　　Coming Through
　　A China-Europe freight train service extended southward to Viet Nam， from Fushan， Yantai City in east China’s Shandong Province， on June 18. It takes the freight less than 10 days to transport cargo to its destination.


　　Green Driving
　　China is leading the global electric car market with 1.2 million electric vehicles sold last year， accounting for 56 percent of total global sales， an industry expert said on June 17.
　　Neil Atkinson， International Energy Agency’s head of oil markets and industry division， presented the fi ndings in the agency’s report titled Oil 2019—Analysis and Forecasts to 2024 at an event held by Columbia University’s center on global energy policy.
　　Atkinson said policy decisions in China， particularly those to improve urban air quality， are supporting alternative fuels in the truck and bus sector， which includes taxis and delivery vehicles.
　　He added that the impact on the replacement of traditional liquid fuels by the introduction of liquefi ed natural gas trucks and electric buses is already being felt.
　　“This is a huge shift in China，”said Atkinson， noting that policy is driving major changes in the structure of vehicle fl eets in the country.
　　He said there are about 500，000 electric buses in China， compared to only several hundred in the U.S.
　　As for traditional fuel demand， the report showed a slowdown in the rate of growth in oil demand in China， which refl ects the rise of the consumer economy.
　　While the phenomenon may partly be due to short-term economic issues， Atkinson said， it is largely due to a long-term shift in the structure of China’s energy economy.
　　Innovative Prospects
　　An exhibitor tests the effect of a touch sensor on an artifi cial intelligence robot at the 2019 National Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship Exhibition in Beijing on June 13. The event aimed to show the supporting role of technology and innovation in social and economic development.

　　No Backdoors
　　Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei said on June 17 that there are “absolutely no backdoors”in Huawei’s equipment and the company is willing to sign nobackdoor agreements with other countries.
　　He also said issues of network security and information security should be viewed separately.
　　The network of human society must not be prone to problems as it connects 6.5 billion people and tens of millions of banks and countless enterprises. Thirty years of applications in 170 countries have proven that Huawei’s network， which serves 3 billion people， is secure， Ren said.
　　However， information security is another question， Ren said. He described Huawei as a provider of“pipelines” and “faucets，” saying operators and content providers must be responsible for contents“running in the pipelines.”
　　Ren made the remarks during a dialogue with U.S. futurist George Gilder and Nicholas Negroponte， co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab， at Huawei’s headquarters in Shenzhen.