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According to the results of the second national land survey released on December 30， 2013， China’s arable land totaled 135 million hectares at the end of 2012.
The total arable land area was larger than in the previous land survey. However， the actual available arable land was just slightly above the stipulated redline of 120 million hectares set by the government to ensure food security， after deducting land arranged for forest and pasture restoration or land deemed not suitable for farming because of pollution.
The second national land survey was conducted between 2007 and 2009， coming nearly a decade after the first one ended in 1996.
Spearhead of Reform
The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee made a decision to appoint President Xi Jinping to head a leading group for overall reform， on December 30， 2013.
The leading group will be in charge of “designing reform on an overall basis， arranging and coordinating reform， pushing forward reform as a whole， and supervising the implementation of reform plans，”according to a decision adopted at a political bureau meeting.
It will research and decide major guidelines， policies and schemes for systematic reforms in economic， political， cultural， social and environmental sectors as well as the Party system， the document said.
Xinjiang Attack
Eight terrorists died and one more was arrested during a bust on a group responsible for an “organized and premeditated terrorist attack”on December 30， 2013， according to sources with the Public Security Bureau of Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Nine terrorists attacked a police station while wielding knives in Shache County in Kashgar. They also threw explosives and set police cars on fire.
An initial probe showed that the gang， led by Usman Barat and Abdugheni Abdukhadir， had gathered to watch terrorist videos and promote religious extremist ideas since last August. They also raised funds as well as making and testing explosives for planned terrorist attacks， according to police sources.
Police reported no additional casualties. They confiscated 25 explosives and nine knives from the site.
Local social order has returned to normal， according to police.
Asset Supervision
China ordered strict enforcement of a regulation that requires officials to report their assets and their family members’ earnings. The Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee announced in a recently issued circular that authorities will enhance supervision that ensures officials’ assets reports are accurate.
A revised regulation issued in 2010 requires officials to report their marriage status， property， and their children’s and spouses’ earnings， overseas business dealings and other investment activities.
However， some corrupt officials have circumvented the regulation by transferring their illegal gains overseas， or to their spouses and children so that they can avoid punishment.
According to the new circular， officials who fail to report their assets will not be eligible for promotion. They may also face punishments ranging from reprimand to dismissal.
The circular also revealed that authorities will launch random checks of the authenticity and integrity of asset reports.
Electoral Fraud
On December 28， 2013， the legislature of central China’s Hunan Province announced that more than 500 local lawmakers had been disqualified， dismissed or had resigned over their roles in electoral fraud.
A total of 527 municipal lawmakers were present at the election of provincial lawmakers during the First Session of the 14th Hengyang Municipal People’s Congress on December 28， 2012 and January 3， 2013.
Investigation has shown that 56 lawmakers elected offered a total of 110 million yuan （$18 million） in bribes to 518 municipal lawmakers and an additional 68 staff.
The Hunan provincial legislature disqualified the 56 lawmakers while legislative bodies in Hengyang accepted the resignations of the 512 who took the bribes.
Another five provincial lawmakers who were not found to have offered bribes were still dismissed for“serious dereliction of duty.” Three municipal lawmakers who did not accept bribes resigned for the same reason.
Another six who took bribes had already been transferred outside of the city and were no longer at their posts.
Tong Mingqian， then Party chief of Hengyang in charge of the election， was removed from his new post as vice chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on December 21， 2013.
Space Trip
Chinese travelers will be able to take trips into space by the end of 2014 thanks to an agreement signed on December 27， 2013 in Beijing between a Chinese travel agency and the Netherlands-based space tourism firm Space Expedition Corp. Travelers will pay a minimum of 580，000 yuan （$95，000） to board the Lynx Mark I spacecraft produced by U.S. private aerospace company XCOR， said Zhang Yong， CEO of Dexo Travel， a Chinese travel agency focusing on high-end travelers. The Lynx Mark I spacecraft， which is expected to begin flights in the fourth quarter of this year， will take participants to a height of 60 km above Earth.
The spaceship arrives in outer space 60 minutes after takeoff and remains there for 20 minutes while the passenger enjoys the view， according to Zhang.
Online Extension
Expatriates can apply for resident permit extensions online as part of five new services， the Shanghai ExitEntry Administration revealed.
Starting on January 2， 2014， foreigners can submit an online ap- plication and then bring all required documents to the administration’s office in the Pudong New Area on the appointed date. Residence permits will be issued within one hour.
Satellite Tested
China’s high-definition Earth observation satellite， Gaofen-1， has been formally put into service， the State Administration of Science， Technology and Industry for National Defense （SASTIND） said on December 30， 2013.
The satellite has undergone eight months of in-orbit tests since it was launched into space on April 26， 2013. It not only met requirements， but outperformed what was expected when it sent back high-quality images， according to the SASTIND.
The satellite will provide assistance for geographic and resource surveys， environment and climate change monitoring， precision agriculture， disaster relief and city planning.
Gaofen-1 has given China selfsufficiency in obtaining more highresolution Earth observation data， and China’s use of remote-sensing satellites has entered a new phase， said Xu Dazhe， head of the SASTIND.
Gaofen-1 is the first in a series of satellites to be launched for highdefinition Earth observation by 2016. It is also the first low-orbit remotesensing satellite designed to be in use longer than five years.
Gaming Gaining Popularity
Game subscriptions in China hit 490 million in 2013， with sales topping 83.17 billion yuan （$13.6 billion）， according to the 2013 China Game Industry Annual Conference.
Client games are the most popular with a market share of 64.5 percent， followed by brows- er games， mobile games， social games and console games.
Mobile games also have grown sharply， with games on televisions， reader handles and wearable devices expected to be where market players will begin to focus their efforts in the near future.
Bridge Opens
Cars run on the newly opened Yangtze River Bridge in Maanshan， Anhui Province on December 31， 2013. Upon the completion of the bridge， the travel time between Hefei， capital of Anhui， and Shanghai will be shortened by an hour and the travel time between Hefei and Hangzhou， capital of Zhejiang Province， will be shortened by half an hour.
Government Debt
The National Audit Office （NAO） said on December 30， 2013 that governments at various levels in China had been liable for a total direct debt of 20.7 trillion yuan （$3.4 trillion） as of the end of June 2013. （See page 40）
The results came after a twomonth-long nationwide audit of government debt by the NAO in August and September of 2013.
In summary， the audit results showed that direct debt owned by the Central Government stood at 9.81 trillion yuan （$1.62 trillion） at the end of June 2013， while the remaining 10.89 trillion yuan （$1.8 trillion） was owned by local governments.
The debt guaranteed by the Central Government was 260 billion yuan （$42.98 billion）， while debt guaranteed by local governments totaled 2.67 trillion yuan （$441.4 billion）， according to the NAO.
Over the past year or so， the market has experienced anxiety over the scale of local government debt， as there has been no official update on it since mid-2011， when the NAO put the nationwide figure at around 10.7 trillion yuan （$1.77 trillion） for the end of 2010.
PMI Drop
China’s purchasing managers’ index（PMI） for the manufacturing sector dropped to 51 percent in December 2013， down from 51.4 percent in November， according to official data released on January 1.
December marked the first time since June 2013 that the manufacturing PMI had declined， according to a statement jointly released by the National Bureau of Statistics（NBS） and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing （CFLP）. An index above 50 indicates expansion while an index below 50 indicates contraction.
Zhao Qinghe， an economist from the NBS， said that the weaker momentum indicated by December’s PMI is due to seasonal factors. “The PMI figure still shows expansion in December， and it has remained above 50 for 15 consecutive months， which means the general industrial situation is stable，”said Zhao.
Chen Zhongtao， an analyst from the CFLP， said that during the process of accelerating structural rebalance and controlling overcapacity， the growth rate of manufacturing industries may continue to slow in the near future. “A key task for 2014’s macroeconomic policies is to expand domestic demand in order to stabilize overall growth， and to be careful about possible sharp contractions of exports since the international environment is complicated，” said Chen.
Supportive measures are also needed to help the growth of smallscale manufacturing businesses， which will strengthen entrepreneur confidence， he added.
Economic Census
China’s third national economic census entered its registration phase on January 1， after months of preparation， according to the NBS.
The census is designed to paint a wide economic picture of China’s fast-expanding secondary and tertiary industries and to compile a database covering all economic sectors， NBS Commissioner Ma Jiantang said.
The census will survey over 10 million companies and 60 million privately or individually owned businesses over the next three months.
Nearly 3 million statisticians will collect data related to enterprise ownership， staff size， financial status， production capacity and research and development activities during the census.
According to Ma， refusal to register accurate data， leaking of census data by census officials and institutions， and tampering with data will all be dealt with seriously. He added that data gathered during the census cannot be used as evidence for legal prosecution.
The final results will be released in the second half of 2014， according to the NBS. The census is conducted once every five years.
New Nuclear Plant
The first generating unit of the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Plant in south China’s Guangdong Province was connected to the power grid and began trial operations on December 31， 2013.
The plant， which cost an estimated 73.2 billion yuan （$12.1 billion）， is scheduled to start operations in a few months.
Construction of the first unit of the second nuclear power plant in Guangdong started in mid-December 2008. Its six units will generate 48 billion kWh of electricity within a year after go- ing into commercial operations around January 2019.
The Yangjiang plant will reduce coal consumption by 15.6 million tons of coal a year. It can also help cut emissions of carbon dioxide by 38.3 million tons and sulfur dioxide by 370，000 tons annually.
Prudent Policy
China should continue its current prudent monetary policy and maintain appropriate liquidity in 2014， the monetary policy committee advised the People’s Bank of China （PBC）， the country’s central bank， on December 31. The PBC should also keep money supply and total social financing growing at a reasonable pace， and optimize financing and credit structures， said the statement， which came after a regular quarterly meeting of the committee.
The central bank should embed reforms in its daily macroeconomic management and continue improving the efficiency of China’s financial market， it said.
More work should be done on interest rate liberalization， reforming the yuan exchange rate regime and keeping the yuan exchange rate stable at a reasonable and balanced level， it said.
The 15-member monetary policy committee， headed by central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan， is a consultative body for the forming of monetary policy by the PBC.
The committee is usually comprised of senior government officials from the finance ministry， statistics bureau and other financial regulators， as well as academics. It meets quarterly to make policy suggestions.
Railway Car Construction
Workers from CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles Co. Ltd. assemble subway vehicle components in Changchun， capital of northeast China’s Jilin Province.
In 2013， the company ranked No.1 in terms of orders for railway vehicles.
The total arable land area was larger than in the previous land survey. However， the actual available arable land was just slightly above the stipulated redline of 120 million hectares set by the government to ensure food security， after deducting land arranged for forest and pasture restoration or land deemed not suitable for farming because of pollution.
The second national land survey was conducted between 2007 and 2009， coming nearly a decade after the first one ended in 1996.
Spearhead of Reform
The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee made a decision to appoint President Xi Jinping to head a leading group for overall reform， on December 30， 2013.
The leading group will be in charge of “designing reform on an overall basis， arranging and coordinating reform， pushing forward reform as a whole， and supervising the implementation of reform plans，”according to a decision adopted at a political bureau meeting.
It will research and decide major guidelines， policies and schemes for systematic reforms in economic， political， cultural， social and environmental sectors as well as the Party system， the document said.
Xinjiang Attack
Eight terrorists died and one more was arrested during a bust on a group responsible for an “organized and premeditated terrorist attack”on December 30， 2013， according to sources with the Public Security Bureau of Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Nine terrorists attacked a police station while wielding knives in Shache County in Kashgar. They also threw explosives and set police cars on fire.
An initial probe showed that the gang， led by Usman Barat and Abdugheni Abdukhadir， had gathered to watch terrorist videos and promote religious extremist ideas since last August. They also raised funds as well as making and testing explosives for planned terrorist attacks， according to police sources.
Police reported no additional casualties. They confiscated 25 explosives and nine knives from the site.
Local social order has returned to normal， according to police.
Asset Supervision
China ordered strict enforcement of a regulation that requires officials to report their assets and their family members’ earnings. The Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee announced in a recently issued circular that authorities will enhance supervision that ensures officials’ assets reports are accurate.
A revised regulation issued in 2010 requires officials to report their marriage status， property， and their children’s and spouses’ earnings， overseas business dealings and other investment activities.
However， some corrupt officials have circumvented the regulation by transferring their illegal gains overseas， or to their spouses and children so that they can avoid punishment.
According to the new circular， officials who fail to report their assets will not be eligible for promotion. They may also face punishments ranging from reprimand to dismissal.
The circular also revealed that authorities will launch random checks of the authenticity and integrity of asset reports.
Electoral Fraud
On December 28， 2013， the legislature of central China’s Hunan Province announced that more than 500 local lawmakers had been disqualified， dismissed or had resigned over their roles in electoral fraud.
A total of 527 municipal lawmakers were present at the election of provincial lawmakers during the First Session of the 14th Hengyang Municipal People’s Congress on December 28， 2012 and January 3， 2013.
Investigation has shown that 56 lawmakers elected offered a total of 110 million yuan （$18 million） in bribes to 518 municipal lawmakers and an additional 68 staff.
The Hunan provincial legislature disqualified the 56 lawmakers while legislative bodies in Hengyang accepted the resignations of the 512 who took the bribes.
Another five provincial lawmakers who were not found to have offered bribes were still dismissed for“serious dereliction of duty.” Three municipal lawmakers who did not accept bribes resigned for the same reason.
Another six who took bribes had already been transferred outside of the city and were no longer at their posts.
Tong Mingqian， then Party chief of Hengyang in charge of the election， was removed from his new post as vice chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on December 21， 2013.
Space Trip
Chinese travelers will be able to take trips into space by the end of 2014 thanks to an agreement signed on December 27， 2013 in Beijing between a Chinese travel agency and the Netherlands-based space tourism firm Space Expedition Corp. Travelers will pay a minimum of 580，000 yuan （$95，000） to board the Lynx Mark I spacecraft produced by U.S. private aerospace company XCOR， said Zhang Yong， CEO of Dexo Travel， a Chinese travel agency focusing on high-end travelers. The Lynx Mark I spacecraft， which is expected to begin flights in the fourth quarter of this year， will take participants to a height of 60 km above Earth.
The spaceship arrives in outer space 60 minutes after takeoff and remains there for 20 minutes while the passenger enjoys the view， according to Zhang.
Online Extension
Expatriates can apply for resident permit extensions online as part of five new services， the Shanghai ExitEntry Administration revealed.
Starting on January 2， 2014， foreigners can submit an online ap- plication and then bring all required documents to the administration’s office in the Pudong New Area on the appointed date. Residence permits will be issued within one hour.
Satellite Tested
China’s high-definition Earth observation satellite， Gaofen-1， has been formally put into service， the State Administration of Science， Technology and Industry for National Defense （SASTIND） said on December 30， 2013.
The satellite has undergone eight months of in-orbit tests since it was launched into space on April 26， 2013. It not only met requirements， but outperformed what was expected when it sent back high-quality images， according to the SASTIND.
The satellite will provide assistance for geographic and resource surveys， environment and climate change monitoring， precision agriculture， disaster relief and city planning.
Gaofen-1 has given China selfsufficiency in obtaining more highresolution Earth observation data， and China’s use of remote-sensing satellites has entered a new phase， said Xu Dazhe， head of the SASTIND.
Gaofen-1 is the first in a series of satellites to be launched for highdefinition Earth observation by 2016. It is also the first low-orbit remotesensing satellite designed to be in use longer than five years.
Gaming Gaining Popularity
Game subscriptions in China hit 490 million in 2013， with sales topping 83.17 billion yuan （$13.6 billion）， according to the 2013 China Game Industry Annual Conference.
Client games are the most popular with a market share of 64.5 percent， followed by brows- er games， mobile games， social games and console games.
Mobile games also have grown sharply， with games on televisions， reader handles and wearable devices expected to be where market players will begin to focus their efforts in the near future.
Bridge Opens
Cars run on the newly opened Yangtze River Bridge in Maanshan， Anhui Province on December 31， 2013. Upon the completion of the bridge， the travel time between Hefei， capital of Anhui， and Shanghai will be shortened by an hour and the travel time between Hefei and Hangzhou， capital of Zhejiang Province， will be shortened by half an hour.
Government Debt
The National Audit Office （NAO） said on December 30， 2013 that governments at various levels in China had been liable for a total direct debt of 20.7 trillion yuan （$3.4 trillion） as of the end of June 2013. （See page 40）
The results came after a twomonth-long nationwide audit of government debt by the NAO in August and September of 2013.
In summary， the audit results showed that direct debt owned by the Central Government stood at 9.81 trillion yuan （$1.62 trillion） at the end of June 2013， while the remaining 10.89 trillion yuan （$1.8 trillion） was owned by local governments.
The debt guaranteed by the Central Government was 260 billion yuan （$42.98 billion）， while debt guaranteed by local governments totaled 2.67 trillion yuan （$441.4 billion）， according to the NAO.
Over the past year or so， the market has experienced anxiety over the scale of local government debt， as there has been no official update on it since mid-2011， when the NAO put the nationwide figure at around 10.7 trillion yuan （$1.77 trillion） for the end of 2010.
PMI Drop
China’s purchasing managers’ index（PMI） for the manufacturing sector dropped to 51 percent in December 2013， down from 51.4 percent in November， according to official data released on January 1.
December marked the first time since June 2013 that the manufacturing PMI had declined， according to a statement jointly released by the National Bureau of Statistics（NBS） and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing （CFLP）. An index above 50 indicates expansion while an index below 50 indicates contraction.
Zhao Qinghe， an economist from the NBS， said that the weaker momentum indicated by December’s PMI is due to seasonal factors. “The PMI figure still shows expansion in December， and it has remained above 50 for 15 consecutive months， which means the general industrial situation is stable，”said Zhao.
Chen Zhongtao， an analyst from the CFLP， said that during the process of accelerating structural rebalance and controlling overcapacity， the growth rate of manufacturing industries may continue to slow in the near future. “A key task for 2014’s macroeconomic policies is to expand domestic demand in order to stabilize overall growth， and to be careful about possible sharp contractions of exports since the international environment is complicated，” said Chen.
Supportive measures are also needed to help the growth of smallscale manufacturing businesses， which will strengthen entrepreneur confidence， he added.
Economic Census
China’s third national economic census entered its registration phase on January 1， after months of preparation， according to the NBS.
The census is designed to paint a wide economic picture of China’s fast-expanding secondary and tertiary industries and to compile a database covering all economic sectors， NBS Commissioner Ma Jiantang said.
The census will survey over 10 million companies and 60 million privately or individually owned businesses over the next three months.
Nearly 3 million statisticians will collect data related to enterprise ownership， staff size， financial status， production capacity and research and development activities during the census.
According to Ma， refusal to register accurate data， leaking of census data by census officials and institutions， and tampering with data will all be dealt with seriously. He added that data gathered during the census cannot be used as evidence for legal prosecution.
The final results will be released in the second half of 2014， according to the NBS. The census is conducted once every five years.
New Nuclear Plant
The first generating unit of the Yangjiang Nuclear Power Plant in south China’s Guangdong Province was connected to the power grid and began trial operations on December 31， 2013.
The plant， which cost an estimated 73.2 billion yuan （$12.1 billion）， is scheduled to start operations in a few months.
Construction of the first unit of the second nuclear power plant in Guangdong started in mid-December 2008. Its six units will generate 48 billion kWh of electricity within a year after go- ing into commercial operations around January 2019.
The Yangjiang plant will reduce coal consumption by 15.6 million tons of coal a year. It can also help cut emissions of carbon dioxide by 38.3 million tons and sulfur dioxide by 370，000 tons annually.
Prudent Policy
China should continue its current prudent monetary policy and maintain appropriate liquidity in 2014， the monetary policy committee advised the People’s Bank of China （PBC）， the country’s central bank， on December 31. The PBC should also keep money supply and total social financing growing at a reasonable pace， and optimize financing and credit structures， said the statement， which came after a regular quarterly meeting of the committee.
The central bank should embed reforms in its daily macroeconomic management and continue improving the efficiency of China’s financial market， it said.
More work should be done on interest rate liberalization， reforming the yuan exchange rate regime and keeping the yuan exchange rate stable at a reasonable and balanced level， it said.
The 15-member monetary policy committee， headed by central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan， is a consultative body for the forming of monetary policy by the PBC.
The committee is usually comprised of senior government officials from the finance ministry， statistics bureau and other financial regulators， as well as academics. It meets quarterly to make policy suggestions.
Railway Car Construction
Workers from CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles Co. Ltd. assemble subway vehicle components in Changchun， capital of northeast China’s Jilin Province.
In 2013， the company ranked No.1 in terms of orders for railway vehicles.