China held a grand gathering on February 25 in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to mark the country’s accomplishments in poverty eradication and commend role models in that cause. Model poverty fighters posed for pictures after the gathering ended.
　　At the event， President Xi Jinping said the complete victory in eradicating absolute poverty was the starting point of a new endeavor to improve people’s wellbeing and realize common prosperity.

Spring Scenery

A high-speed train passes through rapeseed fields in Congjiang， a county in Guizhou Province in southwest China， on February 23.

Artificial Heart

A Chinese man was discharged from hospital after an artificial heart powered by China’s aerospace technology was implanted to replace his failed organ， Xinhua News Agency reported on February 24.
　　Called HeartCon， the medical device functions as a pump to deliver blood to the whole body， significantly alleviating the symptoms of heart failure.
　　“I feel much better. I couldn’t stand up before， but now I can live normally with the small device，” the 30-year-old patient surnamed Li said.
　　“As a lack of donors limits human organ transfers， the artificial heart will be a very promising cure to prolong lives of patients who are in advanced stages of heart failure，” An Qi， leader of the team and the hospital’s chief heart surgeon， said.
　　According to An， the artificial heart weighs only 180 grams. Implanting a HeartCon requires passing tiny wires through the patient’s abdomen to connect a controller and two external batteries. Each battery lasts for 10 hours.

Poverty Alleviation

Tax and fee cuts to facilitate poverty alleviation topped 102.2 billion yuan （$15.84 billion） last year， official data shows.
　　The amount increased from 74.2 billion yuan （$11.5 billion） in 2019， with average annual growth exceeding 30 percent since 2015， according to a statement released on the State Taxation Administration’s website on February 22.
　　The total sales revenue of more than 4，500 companies selling poverty alleviation products nationwide grew 32.9 percent year on year in 2020， the statement added.
　　The growth outpaced that seen in 2019 by 19.4 percentage points， indicating the success of efforts to reduce poverty through consumption.

Minors’ Protection

In 2020， constructive efforts were made in cracking down on crimes against minors while stressing victim protection and assistance， the Supreme People’s Procuratorate （SPP） said on February 22. 　　In the first 11 months of 2020， procurators approved the arrest of 34，700 individuals for committing crimes against minors and prosecuted 50，700， Shi Weizhong， a senior prosecutor with the SPP， said.
　　Also， prosecutors offered special care to minor victims in 4，338 cases， an increase of 2.6-fold from the previous year.
　　To minimize further mental and emotional harm to the victims caused by reliving the traumatic experience during investigations， procurators across the country had set up over 1，000 specialized centers handling everything from evidence collecting to counseling as of October 2020.
　　The SPP， together with other central authorities， released a trial policy last May. It requires people working for the government and those having close contact with minors in workplaces to report any real or potential acts harming minors to the police.
　　Within four months after the policy was implemented， close to 500 cases were reported and prosecuted， Shi said， adding that many major child abuse cases were spotted promptly thanks to doctors’ reporting.

Water Conservancy

The Ministry of Water Resources said major water conservancy projects have been accelerated with the investment in them exceeding 1 trillion yuan （$155 billion）.
　　Of the 172 planned major water conservancy projects， 36 have been completed， including the eastern and middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.
　　The major projects mainly concern flood control and disaster reduction， optimal allocation of water resources and water-saving irrigation. Water ecological protection and restoration， and intelligent water conservancy are also dominant themes.
　　Flood control storage is expected to increase by 9 billion cubic meters and the annual water supply capacity is expected to grow by 42 billion cubic meters， the ministry said.
　　This year， the ministry will continue to accelerate the construction of major water conservancy projects.

Lantern Riddle

Primary students in Huaibei， Anhui Province in central China， solve lantern riddles on February 23 at the event to celebrate the Lantern Festival， which fell on February 26 this year.

Nursing Homes

There were 38，000 nursing homes for the elderly by the end of 2020， an increase of over 37 percent since the end of 2015， a civil affairs press conference said on February 23.
　　They can provide 8.24 million beds for the elderly， a year-onyear growth of 7.3 percent and an increase of 22.5 percent since 2015， Li Jiheng， Minister of Civil Affairs， said at the conference. 　　During the 13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20） period， 5 billion yuan （$775 million） was invested in enhancing elderly care services in 203 areas across the nation. Policies were issued for four consecutive years to protect the rights of elders， according to Li. The number of people aged 60 and above reached 254 million by the end of 2019， accounting for 18.1 percent of the total population.

Drug Entry Port

Chongqing in southwest China has been approved as a port of entry for imported drugs， making it the only such entry port in west China and the fourth in the Chinese mainland following Beijing， Shanghai， and Guangzhou.
　　The permission was given by the National Medical Products Administration， a city official told a press conference.
　　Previously， imported drugs had to pass through the eastern ports and it could take up to 40 days or more for the consignments to arrive in Chongqing， Luo Li， deputy director of the municipal drug administration， said.
　　However， now the time is expected to shorten to around 15 days through the China-Europe freight train service， Luo added.

Beijing Wetlands

Beijing aims to restore 1，000 hectares of wetland this year， beefing up its environmental protection efforts， Xinhua News Agency reported on February 17.
　　The Chinese capital added 11，000 hectares of wetland in the past five years， raising its total wetland area to 58，700 hectares， according to the Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau.
　　Six wetland sanctuaries and 12 wetland parks have been constructed over the past five years， after the city incorporated wetland restoration into its afforestation drive to manage its natural environment in a more systematic way.
　　The city’s wetlands， which now cover 3.6 percent of its total landmass， consist of 27，900 hectares of natural wetland， including rivers， lakes and swamps， and another 30，800 hectares of artificial wetland.

On Guard

Firefighters in Chengde， Hebei Province in north China， patrol the Imperial Summer Resort on February 23. The resort， built for the emperors of the Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）， is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

FTZ Investment

The free trade zone （FTZ） in Heilongjiang Province， northeast China， had attracted 196 projects with a total investment of 228.2 billion yuan （$35.3 billion） as of the end of 2020， according to official statistics.
　　Since its inauguration in August 2019， 7，378 enterprises had been established in the three areas of the FTZ， with one in the provincial capital of Harbin and the other two in the cities of Heihe and Suifenhe on the China-Russia border， by the end of 2020. 　　The FTZ has taken measures to attract investment， including promoting online registration， improving business environment and lowering operating costs for foreign trade enterprises， the provincial development and reform commission said.
　　The province’s total foreign trade reached 153.7 billion yuan（$23.8 billion） last year， with exports growing 3.2 percent year on year to 36.09 billion yuan（$5.6 billion）.

NUMBERS

Grain Security

Central authorities have reaffirmed the focus on ensuring grain security and protecting germplasm resources after unveiling an annual rural policy plan to facilitate agricultural modernization and advance rural vitalization.
　　Acknowledging the country’s agricultural achievements， Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian said at a press conference on February 22 that grain supply and demand remained in a tight balance， calling for more efforts to enhance grain production to cope with external uncertainties and rising crop demand in the long run.
　　The No.1 central document released a day earlier lists the targets and tasks concerning agriculture and rural areas for 2021 and a broader vision until 2025.
　　It urges retaining a red line of 120 million hectares of arable land and preventing the use of arable land for non-farming purposes.
　　Moreover， 6.7 million hectares of high-standard farmland with high and stable yield will be added this year， according to the document.
　　Official data showed China had 17 consecutive years of bumper harvests in grain production as of 2020， with grain output exceeding 650 billion kg for six years in a row.
　　The mechanization rate of farming and harvesting reached 71 percent while the amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides applied to crops dropped for four consecutive years， Tang said.
　　According to him， the government will promote supplyside structural reform in the agricultural sector by improving breeding， branding， and standardized agricultural production to offer a broader range of high-quality products to consumers.

RMB Payments

The Chinese currency renminbi（RMB）， or the yuan， has retained its spot as the fifth most attractive currency for global payments by value in January， the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication， a global provider of financial messaging services， said. 　　In January， the RMB’s share in global payments was 2.42 percent， up from 2.15 percent in the same period in 2019. Value of RMB payments increased 21.34 percent compared with December 2020， while in general payments in all currencies decreased 5.86 percent， it said.
　　Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the largest market for offshore RMB transactions， taking up 75.93 percent， followed by the economies of the United Kingdom， Singapore and the United States， according to the report.

GI Products

A total of 2，394 geographical indication （GI） products had been approved and 6，116 GI trademarks registered as of the end of January， according to the National Intellectual Property Administration （NIPA）.
　　More than 10，000 enterprises had received permission to use GIs by the end of January. Their total output value was 639.8 billion yuan （$99 billion） in 2020.
　　GI is a type of intellectual property that indicates the geographical origin， reputation and other characteristics of a product. It plays an important role in improving the added value of products， protecting consumer interests and preserving traditional cultural heritage.
　　China has rolled out measures for the use of GI and fostered the protection of GI， according to NIPA.

Oil Discovery

China National Offshore Oil Corp. （CNOOC） announced on February 22 that it has discovered a field in the Bohai Sea with estimated reserves of crude oil and natural gas totaling 100 million tons of oil equivalent.
　　Located at an average depth of 23.2 meters， it is known as Bozhong 13-2.
　　Drilled to a depth of 5，223 meters so far， the field’s exploratory well has encountered oil and gas pay zones with a thickness of 346 meters， the CNOOC said.
　　The average daily oil and gas output at the well is 300 tons and 150，000 cubic meters， respectively， according to the company’s assessment.
　　The discovery is a major breakthrough in exploration work in the Bohai Sea area and greatly expands the capacity for buried hill exploration， according to the CNOOC.

Tourism Recovery

A total of 4.1 billion domestic tourist trips are expected to be made in 2021， up 42 percent from 2020， according to a report released by the China Tourism Academy on February 22.
　　They are expected to generate 3.3 trillion yuan （$511 billion） in revenue， up 48 percent year on year， the report said.
　　Due to COVID-19， the number of domestic tourist trips saw a 52.1-percent year-on-year slump to approximately 2.88 billion last year， according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. 　　However， the sector is returning to normalcy after the epidemic was largely brought under control. During the Spring Festival holiday on February 11-17， the number of tourists traveling to and from many major tourist destinations exceeded or almost reached the levels of the same festival period in 2019.

Cutting Overcapacity

The northern province of Hebei， a leading producer of iron and steel in China， has made remarkable progress in reducing overcapacity amid an ongoing industrial upgrading， the provincial government said in its annual work report to the provincial legislature on February 19.
　　From 2016 to 2020， it reduced its crude steel production capacity by over 82 million tons. During the same period， the number of national-level hi-tech enterprises in Hebei increased from 1，628 to 9，400.
　　In the next five years， the province will accelerate efforts to boost innovation， aiming to nurture 100 leading tech firms with global competitiveness， according to the report.