Volunteers responsible for delivering supplies to residents under home quarantine pose for a group photo at a residential area in Liwan District of Guangzhou， capital of Guangdong Province， on June 1. Guangzhou has tightened anti-epidemic measures in parts of the city to curb recent COVID-19 cases. The city has imposed a strict lockdown on some areas. Residents have signed up to volunteer， delivering food， supplies and epidemic prevention materials to those who stay indoors.

Health Expo

　　A staff member demonstrates the process of organizing supplies inside a mobile emergency smart pharmacy at the Second Global Health Expo of Boao Forum for Asia in Qingdao， Shandong Province， on June 1.

Successful Docking

　　China’s cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-2， carrying supplies， equipment and propellant， successfully docked with Tianhe， the core module of China’s space station on May 30， according to the China Manned Space Agency （CMSA）.
　　The cargo spacecraft will replenish Tianhe’s propellant. Tests on space application project equipment will also be carried out as planned.
　　China launched its space station core module on April 29. The country plans to complete the verification of key technologies and the in-orbit construction of the space station through multiple launches within two years.

Stable Employment

　　Over the last five years， about 90 percent of graduates from China’s higher vocational schools were able to secure a job within six months of graduation， Xinhua News Agency reported on May 30.
　　The employment rate of vocational school graduates remained at a stable level in the past five years， and the average monthly pay they received half a year after graduation increased 7.37 percent between 2018 and 2019， China Education Daily reported， quoting the report compiled by the National Institute of Education Sciences.
　　Over 93 percent of the graduates said to be satisfied with the education they had received， the report said.
　　According to the report， most graduates found employment in the private sector and individual businesses， and their primary employers are in the education， construction， health and social work sectors.
　　The report said vocational education has also assisted in regional development. It read that close to 60 percent of graduates from higher vocational schools chose to work in the same locality as their alma mater， with 66 percent working for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Child Protection

　　Two newly revised laws took effect on June 1， International Children’s Day， providing Chinese minors with better protection， Xinhua reported on May 30.
　　Mechanisms to prevent on-campus bullying and sexual abuse are required to be established， as is a mechanism for mental health screening and early intervention.
　　Schools and kindergartens are required to report cases of serious bullying， child abuse or harassment to police and education authorities and take measures to protect the victims in a timely manner， according to the Law on the Protection of Minors， which was enacted in 1991 and revised last October.
　　Employers recruiting staff who will be in close contact with minors should check their applicants’backgrounds with both police and prosecutors， excluding those with records of sexual assault， abuse， human trafficking or violence.
　　Internet enterprises are forbidden from providing underage users with products and services that are known to be addictive.
　　Schools are also required to employ mental health staff on a full-time or part-time basis， and enhance their communication and cooperation with parents or guardians on the students’mental health.

Death Sentence Review

　　China has reinforced its human rights protection in death sentence review and tightened the conditions applicable to the death penalty in recent years， a top court official said on May 31.
　　Defendants who render significant commendable services shall generally be granted leniency and be exempt from the death sentence if possible， Li Xiao， a senior judge with the Supreme People’s Court （SPC）， told a press conference.
　　The death penalty shall not be applicable to defendants over the age of 75 unless they intentionally commit homicide or crimes with especially serious circumstances， Li added.
　　The top court has adhered to the highest standards and strictest conditions and has taken a fact-based approach in accordance with the law， she said.
　　During the death penalty review， the SPC also notes the opinions of the defendant’s lawyers as sufficiently as possible， as well as the supervisory results from the Supreme People’s Procuratorate regarding the case， Li said.

Heritage Day

　　China’s homegrown e-commerce giants will join forces to promote products of intangible cultural heritage on the country’s annual Cultural and Natural Heritage Day， which will fall on June 12 this year. 　　During the festival， major ecommerce platforms， including Alibaba， JD.com， as well as video-sharing platform Douyin（TikTok）， will roll out online sales promotions， such as live streaming sales， flash sales and group buying.
　　The shopping festival aims to help lock in the gains in the country’s poverty alleviation campaign， boost consumption and promote traditional culture.
　　Intangible cultural heritage has played an important role in China’s poverty alleviation efforts. More than 2，200 intangible cultural heritage workshops have been established nationwide since 2018， generating nearly half a million jobs.
　　China first started celebrating cultural heritage day on the second Saturday of June in 2006. In 2017， it was renamed Cultural and Natural Heritage Day.

Happy Children’s Day

　　Firefighters and their relatives visit a military culture park in Yinchuan， capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region， on May 30. The fire department of Xingqing District in Yinchuan organized the visit for firefighters and their children to welcome International Children’s Day on June 1.

Heavy Fine

　　China’s top market watchdog has imposed a maximum-level fine of 36.5 million yuan （$5.7 million） on 15 tutoring firms amid surging public complaints.
　　The 15 institutions， including New Oriental Education and Technology Group and Wall Street English， were fined for violations including misleading advertisements and pricing frauds， the State Administration for Market Regulation （SAMR） said on June 1.
　　Yuan Xilu， an official with the SAMR， noted that their malpractices had damaged the legitimate rights and interests of students and disrupted orderly market competition. The firms have been urged to rectify their problems， and recidivism will entail business suspension or license revocation， he added.
　　The tutoring industry should not develop for profiteering， Yuan said， adding that market regulators will construct a longterm mechanism of oversight and improve the code of conduct and supervision principles.
　　The first quarter of 2021 saw a significant rise in complaints about the tutoring industry， he said.

Brown Panda

　　The world’s only captive brown giant panda， nicknamed Qi Zai， met the public for the first time on May 28， during the trial operation of a science park in Shaanxi Province. 　　Covering an area of over 28 hectares， the science park is located in Zhouzhi County at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains. It aims to protect and popularize four rare local animal species， namely the giant panda， crested ibis， snub-nosed monkey and takin.

Aquatic Biodiversity

　　Staff workers release fries into water in Guiping City， Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， on May 28. Fish production and release can effectively supplement the fish population in the Pearl River basin， maintain aquatic biodiversity and improve the basin’s ecological environment.

Emission Control

　　Oil and gas enterprises have forged an alliance on methane emission control as part of China’s efforts to meet its target for becoming carbon neutral before 2060， Xinhua News Agency reported on May 30.
　　The alliance was jointly initiated by PetroChina， Sinopec and CNOOC， with the National Pipeline Network， Beijing Gas， China Resources Gas， and ENN Energy as its founding members.
　　It will focus on promoting technology and experience exchange， not only between alliance members but also with other domestic and overseas enterprises. Other priorities include bolstering research， formulating emission control standards， and pushing for the standardization and transparency of industry emission data.
　　Alliance members will incorporate improvement of methane emission control into their overall carbon emission reduction strategies.

REITs Launched

　　Sales of China’s first batch of nine public real estate investment trusts （REITs） kicked off on May 31. The REITs， aiming to raise over 30 billion yuan （$4.7 billion）， are expected to channel investment into infrastructure projects such as highways， industrial parks， warehousing and logistics， and sewage treatment.
　　The launch came after the China Securities Regulatory Commission approved their registration in mid-May.
　　In April 2020， China initiated a pilot scheme for infrastructure REITs to deepen supply-side structural reform in the financial sector and enhance the capital market’s capabilities in supporting the real economy.
　　As an important approach to realizing real estate securitization， REITs collect investors’ funds and hand them over to professional investment institutions for investment management.

RRR Rise

　　The People’s Bank of China（PBC）， the central bank， announced on May 31 that it will raise the reserve requirement ratio （RRR） for foreign currency deposits from the current 5 percent to 7 percent on June 15. 　　The move aims to strengthen the liquidity management of foreign currencies in financial institutions， it said in an online statement.
　　The PBC’s move will help absorb the excessive U.S. dollars in the domestic market and keep the yuan’s exchange rate stable， Ming Ming， chief analyst at CITIC Securities， told Yicai Global.
　　The Shanghai-based financial media service also quoted Guan Tao， chief economist at Bank of China Securities， as saying that the policy adjustment signals that the central bank will not allow the redback to appreciate too quickly， and will act decisively when necessary.

Taxation Simplified

　　Taxation authorities on May 31 announced a policy to simplify the declaration of multiple property and behavior taxes to improve the business climate.
　　From June 1， when declaring 10 kinds of these taxes， taxpayers no longer need to use separate forms， the State Taxation Administration said. They include real-estate tax， vehicle and vessel tax， resource tax， and environmental protection tax.
　　The reform is expected to improve efficiency in tax administration， and tax authorities will continue to introduce new reforms on tax services to facilitate high-quality economic and social development， Han Guorong， an official with the administration， said.

Inclusive Loans

　　Outstanding inclusive loans to micro and small businesses totaled 16.8 trillion yuan （$2.63 trillion） at the end of April， up 32.5 percent year on year， Zhu Zhaowen， an official with the PBC， told a press conference on May 28. These loans supported 36.27 million firms， up 28.9 percent year on year， as part of China’s targeted support for enterprises hard hit by COVID-19.
　　Since the beginning of 2021， the PBC has worked with relevant departments to strengthen financial support to sectors including foreign trade， culture and tourism， offline sales， accommodation and catering， and transport， Zhu said.
　　At the end of April， the yearon-year growth of inclusive loans to the sectors of culture， sports， entertainment， transport， warehousing and postal services all exceeded 10 percent， he added.

Futures Trading

　　The China Securities Regulatory Commission （CSRC） has given the green light to the trading of crude oil and palm oil options and approved the introduction of overseas investors in the trading.
　　Crude oil trading will be launched on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange on June 21， and Palm oil trading on the Dalian Commodity Exchange on June 18， according to a CSRC announcement on May 28. 　　Crude oil and palm oil are substantive bulk commodities. Since the listing of relevant futures contracts， the market has been generally stable， with extensive industrial customer participation， the CSRC said.
　　It also noted that introducing overseas investors in related listed options can help meet the tailored and refined risk management demand of domestic and overseas real economy entities. It also promotes the stable and healthy development of related industries.

Diversified Investment

　　State-owned enterprises （SOEs） received 197.1 billion yuan （$31 billion） in private investment through equity transfers in 2020， an increase of 13.4 percent from 2019， according to data from the Chinese State-Owned Property Exchanges Association.
　　The country has been optimizing the capital structure of SOEs via mixed-ownership reform， introducing private investors as stakeholders of the firms to enhance their operational efficiency.
　　A total of 5，523 equity transfer projects for SOE mixedownership reform were carried out from 2016 to 2020， with the transaction value totaling 1.05 trillion yuan （$164.8 billion）， according to the association.

Logistics Recovery

　　The performance of the logistics industry has largely returned to pre-pandemic levels thanks to steady growth continuing in April， the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said.
　　The value of social logistics reached 97.4 trillion yuan （$15.25 trillion） in the first four months of the year， up 20 percent year on year. The January-April growth rate in 2020 and 2021 averaged around 7.2 percent.
　　The combined revenue of the logistics sector amounted to 3.6 trillion yuan （$565.2 billion） in the period， jumping 34.3 percent year on year， according to the federation.

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