Job seekers interact with employers at a job fair during the 17th Conference on International Exchange of Professionals in Shenzhen， south China’s Guangdong Province， on April 14.
　　The event attracted some 4，000 agencies and organizations from more than 50 countries and regions， as well as more than 40，000 government representatives， experts and top-level professionals.
　　Protecting Riverheads
　　China plans to invest 900 million yuan （$134 million） this year to protect Sanjiangyuan， the cradle of the Yangtze， Yellow and Lancang rivers in Qinghai Province in the northwest.
　　The fund is to be used for wildlife protection and ecological restoration of grasslands， lakes and glaciers in the area on the QinghaiTibet Plateau， said the Qinghai Provincial Development and Reform Commission on April 15.
　　Between 2005 and 2018， China invested more than 18 billion yuan（$2.68 billion） in ecological protection in the region， one of the largest ecological investment projects over the past seven decades. The project covers 395，000 square km.
　　Li Xiaonan， Deputy Director of the commission and Director of the Administration Bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park， said the effort aimed to curb the deteriorating ecology and restore damaged ecological functions.
　　The program began in 2005 with 7.65 billion yuan （$1.14 billion） invested during the fi rst phase that lasted until 2013. The second phase started in 2014.
　　It has helped increase vegetation and expand water areas， sending more clean water downstream. With ecological improvements， herders can also spot more rare wildlife specimens， like snow leopards.
　　Sanjiangyuan has been suffering environmental deterioration since the 1970s due to climate change and human activity. The Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve was established in 2000， and the Sanjiangyuan National Park is scheduled to open in 2020.
　　Elderly Care
　　The State Council General Offi ce has released a regulation to improve elderly care services and meet the diverse needs of the aged.
　　The regulation， consisting of 28 measures， stresses the need to establish a supervision system for the services， deepen reform of public-funded institutions， and improve precise investment by the government.
　　It requires extending channels for investing and fi nancing， and expanding employment and entrepreneurship.
　　A system will be formed to recognize the skill of caregivers and provide them with more education and training opportunities， the document says. 　　The regulation asks all regions and departments involved to improve their related work systems. Enforcement of policies would be assessed by the government annually.
　　The regulation has made it clear that a long-term care and service system will be created while enabling public-funded institutions to play their due role， said Gao Xiaobing， Vice Minister of Civil Affairs， at a State Council news briefing on April 16.
　　In order to expand social capital in elderly care services， the document pledges to streamline the procedures for the establishment of elderly care institutions， he said.
　　The number of people in China aged 60 and above has reached 250 million.
　　Medicine Supply
　　The National Health Commission（NHC） will improve its mediation among different sectors to ensure suffi cient supply of essential medicines， said a senior health offi cial on April 16.
　　The NHC will try to monitor the market more closely， increase the supply of bulk drug substances and regulate pricing， said Zeng Yixin， NHC Vice Minister， at a press conference.
　　“Last year we saw shortages of some medicines， but only temporarily or regionally，” Zeng said. “The shortages were mostly caused by the structural imbalance between supply and demand， the monopoly of certain bulk drug substances or ineffi cient distribution.”
　　The health department will play a better role in coordinating among pharmaceutical fi rms， drug stores， hospitals and other regulatory agencies， he said.
　　In 2018， the government adopted a number of policies to ensure the supply of essential medicines， such as requiring pharmaceutical fi rms to report medicines they no longer produced and establishing a state catalogue for medicines in short supply.
　　Regulators also stepped up a crackdown on malpractice in the pharmaceutical market. In January， two pharmaceutical fi rms were fi ned 12.43 million yuan （$1.85 million） for monopolizing the supply of a bulk substance widely used in fl u medicines.
　　Ivory Seized
　　Customs seized 7.48 tons of smuggled ivory during an operation on March 30， the General Administration of Customs of China（GACC） said in a press release on April 15.
　　It is the largest seizure of smuggled elephant tusks by Chinese customs in recent years， the GACC said. An international ivory smuggling gang was busted during the operation.
　　So far this year， customs have seized 8.48 tons of ivory and ivory products and over 500 tons of endangered species in 182 smuggling cases involving 171 suspects， according to the press release. 　　Meanwhile， the police have strengthened efforts to crack down on the smuggling of endangered species. More than 200 items of smuggled ivory products and over 830 kg of other endangered species have been seized through border controls since 2018， said the Ministry of Public Security.
　　The police have also intensifi ed the hunt for fugitive smugglers overseas. So far this year， two fugitives involved in a high-profi le ivory smuggling case were arrested and repatriated from Nigeria， and in a separate case， another from Viet Nam was caught and repatriated after staying overseas for eight years.
　　In the past three years， the police have assisted customs authorities in capturing 18 fugitives suspected of smuggling elephant tusks and other endangered species， the ministry said.
　　China imposed a complete ban on ivory trade for commercial purposes on January 1， 2018， as part of its commitment to protecting wild animals.
　　Bright Eyes
　　A doctor cleans the eyes of a patient who had cataract surgery at a hospital in Hulun Buir City， north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， on April 11. As part of the Bright Journey free cataract surgery program under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative， 59 people from Mongolia and 73 from China’s Inner Mongolia had the surgery in the city on April 9-11.


　　Dust Monitor
　　Beijing has set up a surveillance network to monitor coarse particles in 1，020 sites to reduce 6.5 tons of dust per square km every month throughout 2019， local authorities said on April 16.
　　With the surveillance network， the environmental protection authority can monitor dust density in the city around the clock， according to the Beijing Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau.
　　Beijing has been making efforts to curb air pollution， including tightening supervision on car emissions， encouraging new-energy vehicles and shutting down polluting companies. Dust in Beijing comes mainly from construction， roads and barren land. Last year， the city reduced an average of 7.5 tons of dust per square km every month.
　　Online Authors
　　China had 8.62 million online authors as of 2018， a signifi cant increase from 4.8 million in 2015， according to a recent national conference on digital reading.
　　Among digital reading materials， original online works took up 79.8 percent last year， up from 69 percent three years ago， but Liu Shu， Vice President of Amazon China， said that e-book readers still love classic works. 　　An industry report released by the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association at the conference showed that the value of China’s digital reading market reached 25.4 billion yuan （$3.79 billion） last year， a 19.6-percent yearly growth.
　　About 432 million Chinese read digital publications on electronic devices during the year， averaging 12.4 digital publications per person and 71.3 minutes per read， the report said.
　　Over 66 percent of the report’s respondents were willing to pay for digital publications， up from 60.3 percent in 2016.
　　Back to The Wild
　　A spotted seal is released back into the sea in Dalian， northeast China’s Liaoning Province， on April 11. Twenty-four seal cubs， among the 100 that were poached in February， were released that day.


　　More on Board
　　With fi ve more companies’ applications accepted for listing by the Shanghai Stock Exchange on April 15， China has 77 companies applying to be listed on the new science and technology innovation board.
　　The companies have to go through a second stage of audit and inquiry before they can be listed on the sci-tech board. In the second stage， they must show they have complied with listing rules and that there are no fl aws in their fi nances.
　　The new sci-tech board， which will pilot a registration-based IPO system， focuses on companies in hi-tech and strategically emerging sectors such as new-generation information technology， advanced equipment， new materials and energy， environmental protection and biomedicine， according to the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
　　The launch of the new board has entered a “sprint” stage， with the technical system expected to be ready by the end of May， according to the exchange.
　　China designed the sci-tech innovation board to leverage fi nancial reform to boost the development of hi-tech sectors and advance economic transition.
　　Local Bonds
　　Local governments in China ramped up the issuance of bonds in the fi rst quarter of the year to ensure there was enough funding for major proj- ects and stabilize investment， offi cial data showed on April 16.
　　A total of 1.18 trillion yuan （$176.1 billion） of bonds were issued across the country during the JanuaryMarch period， according to statistics from the Ministry of Finance （MOF）.
　　In March alone， local government bond issuance totaled 624.5 billion yuan （$93.38 billion）， higher than the total of 364.2 billion yuan（$54.3 billion） in February. 　　Local governments’ bond issuance in the fi rst three months of 2019 came much earlier than past years， while the fi nancing costs went down remarkably， said Hao Lei， deputy head of the MOF’s Budget Department， at a press conference.
　　In March， central authorities put a ceiling on the amount of newly added local government debt for 2019 at 3.08 trillion yuan （$459 billion）.
　　Over 60 percent of the funds were used to fi nance projects under construction， including shantytown renovation， railways， roads， poverty relief， rural vitalization and other infrastructure projects， according to Hao.
　　Chinese authorities have pledged to control risks in local government bonds and implicit debt while using bond issuance to fi nance infrastructure projects and improve weak areas.
　　Last year， local authorities raised 4.17 trillion yuan （$621 billion） via bond issuance， down from 4.36 trillion yuan （$650 billion） in 2017， MOF data showed.
　　Smart Opening
　　A staff member works at a machinery component company in Jingxian County， north China’s Hebei Province， on April 16. In recent years， the county has stepped up efforts to develop equipment manufacturing for smart logistics to move up on the high-end industrial chain.


　　Regional Aviation
　　China has expanded the support range of regional airplane models from seven to 13， to facilitate industry growth and bring more benefi ts to passengers， according to civil aviation authorities on April 15.
　　The aircraft models include major ones such as the homedeveloped ARJ21-700 and MA60 and the imported CRJ-900， the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.
　　Passengers on regional air routes on these airplane models do not need to pay the civil aviation development fund， which is a government fund charged to air passengers and operators.
　　It is estimated the new fi scal support will benefi t about 5 million air passengers on regional fl ights annually， saving them about 240 million yuan （$35.8 million）.
　　Regional aviation plays a critical role in China’s civil aviation growth by connecting more and more second-tier cities and remote regions， especially in west China， which has a complex geographic environment.
　　Besides f sical support， China also pays great attention to improving aviation infrastructure. At the end of 2018， it had 235 civil airports， with the fi gure expected to reach 260 under the government’s 13th FiveYear Plan （2016-20）. 　　5G Contracts
　　Huawei had signed 40 contracts to build and operate the fi fthgeneration （5G） telecommunication infrastructure by April 15， the Chinese tech giant said on April 16， as it prepares for the commercial launch of the new technology.
　　Ken Hu， Deputy Chairman of Huawei， made the announcement at the company’s 2019 Global Analyst Summit at its headquarters in Shenzhen. “5G has come to us much faster than we had expected，”Hu said.
　　To date， more than 100，000 base stations have been built， four chipset providers have been established and 40 models of 5G smartphones have hit the market.
　　It is expected to take 5G three years （2019-22） to hit the milestone of 500 million global users. Huawei predicts that the number of 5G users around the world will hit 2.8 billion by 2025.
　　More than 700 partner representatives， analysts and reporters attended the annual event， which wrapped up on April 18.
　　Privately owned Huawei is a world-leading telecommunication solution provider and one of the world’s major smartphone brands.
　　Engine of Growth
　　A visitor takes a photo of a gasoline engine on the opening day of an international automobile exhibition in Shanghai on April 16. The show attracted over 1，000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions.


　　Boosting SMEs
　　A special fund established to support small and medium-sized enterprises（SMEs） has allocated more than 6 billion yuan （$894 million） in investment to SMEs since 2015.
　　The national fund has completed investment in 222 projects， mainly from emerging industries with strategic importance， said Wang Jiangping， Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology.
　　The country has adopted a number of measures to support the development of SMEs， with authori- ties releasing a guideline in early April.
　　The guideline calls for more attention to problems impeding SME growth， such as rising costs， fi nancing diffi culties and inadequate innovation capability.
　　China announced the fund， which has subscribed capital of 19.5 billion yuan （$2.9 billion）， on September 1， 2015.
　　Tourism Partnership
　　China’s biggest online travel agency Ctrip is seeking wider inroads into the Japanese tourism market by inking a partnership with a local railway operator.
　　Ctrip and East Japan Railway（JR-East） have agreed on a comprehensive strategic partnership to tap tourism resources in northeast Japan and woo more tourists into visiting the island nation. 　　As part of the cooperation， the digital transport JR East Pass will be promoted on Ctrip online platforms and JR East railway tickets will be available for purchase in advance to enable tourists to make travel plans ahead of time. The services will be accessible starting in May， according to Ctrip.
　　Japan is one of the most popular overseas travel destinations for Chinese tourists. Data from the Japanese tourism authority showed that Chinese people made 8.38 million trips to Japan in 2018， up 13.9 percent year on year.
　　Ctrip has been stepping up its presence in Japan in recent years. The company established a Japanese branch to better serve travelers in 2015. Last year， it launched Trip.com， an independent brand primarily serving clients in AsiaPacifi c markets， in Tokyo to offer travel-related services.
　　Music to Their Ears
　　Visitors enjoy a performance in Fangchenggang， south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， on April 16. The city is attracting tourists from home and abroad， with nearly 12.2 million visitors passing through Dongxing Port， which borders Viet Nam， in 2018， a record high.