Sand control workers walk toward a salix planting site in the Kubuqi Desert in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on April 1. They were part of a month-long local campaign to mitigate desertifi cation.
　　Narcotic Control
　　China will add fentanyl-related substances to a supplementary list of controlled narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances with nonmedical use starting May 1.
　　The decision was announced on April 1 in a joint statement by the Ministry of Public Security （MPS）， the National Health Commission and the National Medical Products Administration.
　　Fentanyl， a powerful synthetic opioid， and its analogs previously included in the list of controlled narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances， as well as related substances in the supplementary list， will remain controlled according to relevant regulations， the statement said.
　　Including all fentanyl-like substances on the control list is believed to provide a solid legal basis for the crackdown on fentanyl-related crimes， Liu Yuejin， Deputy Director of the China National Narcotic Control Commission and an offi cial with the MPS， said at a press conference.
　　It is also expected to effi ciently prevent large-scale fentanyl abuse， illicit fentanyl production and traffi cking and smuggling of the illegally manufactured products， he said.
　　“China holds a very clear-cut and fi rm position on the fi ght against drug crimes，” Liu said， adding that China had previously included 25 fentanyl analogs and two precursors into its list of controlled substances， though the country has seen no fentanyl abuse on a large scale.
　　China will promote cooperation and exchanges with other countries， jointly work to investigate smuggling cases， and put an end to international drug mafi as and their traffi cking networks， he said.
　　Autism Telemedicine
　　A telemedicine platform for people with autism， the fi rst of its kind in China， opened to public registration on April 2.
　　Registered patients with autism will be able to receive various services ranging from diagnosis and consultation to treatment， nursing and rehabilitation. Training by pediatricians， nurses， caregivers and educators and offl ine medical institutions are all included in China’s national telemedicine system.
　　The platform was jointly launched by the National Telemedicine and Connected Health Center， the Telemedicine Management and Training Center and the Primary-Care Telemedicine Development Directory Center under the National Health Commission and the Beijing Jingyi Rehabilitation Center for Autistic Children. 　　It also offers training and education programs in partnership with overseas rehabilitation institutions for domestic families with an autistic member.
　　April 2 marks World Autism Awareness Day， and the United Nations’ theme for this year was Assistive Technologies， Active Participation.
　　Autism affects more than 10 million people in China， 98.7 percent of which have no access to proper treatment provided by formal rehabilitation facilities， according to a report in People’s Daily.
　　Groundwater Ecosystem
　　China will strive to restore the functions of its groundwater ecosystem with enhanced water quality by 2035 in an effort to curb pollution.
　　The target will be achieved gradually， with the share of the groundwater with extremely poor quality in the entire system reduced to about 15 percent by 2020， according to an implementation plan released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and four other ministries.
　　The country will establish a system of standards and rules related to the protection and pollution treatment of groundwater and a national monitoring mechanism by 2025.
　　A detailed plan will be released before the end of 2020 to outline key tasks and steps for groundwater protection and pollution treatment for the 2021-25 period.
　　Pollution control is one of the country’s three critical battles in the bid to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020.
　　Production Safety
　　A new regulation took effect on April 1， standardizing China’s production safety emergency response， preparation and rescue systems.
　　According to the regulation， the State Council oversees national emergency response work while local governments at the county level and above are responsible for rescue operations for incidents in areas under their jurisdiction.
　　Governments at the county level and above and relevant production safety supervision authorities should formulate rescue plans for potential incidents and make them public. Production units should also create their own programs.
　　The regulation also specifi es the establishment of rescue teams， personnel training and the preparation of rescue equipment and facilities.
　　Elderly Care
　　China had 163，800 senior homes and elderly care facilities offering 7.46 million beds as of the end of 2018， according to latest statistics.
　　Civil affairs authorities have been implementing a raft of measures to accelerate the development of the elderly care service industry， including fully opening the elderly care market by 2020. 　　As of the end of 2018， 48 percent of the country’s elderly care institutions were privately owned.
　　China has also introduced pilot projects to reform public elderly care institutions， scaling up the home- and community-based senior care system， and integrating medical and nursing services for the elderly.
　　Community-based elderly care institutions were available in all cities and more than 50 percent of rural areas across China by the end of last year.
　　Honoring Heroes
　　Local residents pay tribute to people who were killed while fi ghting a forest fi re at a mourning ceremony in Xichang， southwest China’s Sichuan Province， on April 2. The fi re， that claimed 30 lives and engulfed 15 hectares of forest， was extinguished on April 2.

　　Left-Behind Kids
　　The government secured guardianship for 780，000 previously unattended left-behind children in rural areas between 2013 and 2018 in the process of establishing a system for caring for and protecting the group， according to statistics released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The project has been ongoing since 2012.
　　Left-behind children are those whose parents are migrant workers in towns or cities， leaving them either unattended or in the care of relatives or neighbors.
　　Meanwhile， local governments helped more than 180，000 rural leftbehind children without household registration to get their documentation， and more than 18，000 dropouts returned to school.
　　China also launched a program to provide disabled orphans with accessible healthcare. It has offered free surgery and rehabilitation to 122，000 disabled orphans.
　　Online Archives Platform
　　A national online platform for archives will be built in China to make more documents available via the Internet， an archives offi cial said on March 29.
　　Li Minghua， head of the National Archives Administration， said at a national conference that the project will start later this year.
　　The long-term goal is to make the service network cover the general archives agencies at all levels nationwide， he said.
　　Li also called for more efforts in applying information technology in archive work so that more can be digitally produced and managed.
　　Contributions From All
　　Volunteers for the International Horticultural Exhibition clean up a road in Yanqing District of Beijing on March 29. A total of 20，000 volunteers will be recruited from 47 higher institutions， 60 companies and 16 districts to serve during the whole event.

　　Wildlife Crimes
　　Police authorities across China have intensifi ed the crackdown on wildlife crimes and strengthened the protection of endangered wild animals， according to China Police Daily.
　　A special campaign was recently launched in Shandong Province， which will run until the end of June. The police will carry out investigations in places such as restaurants and markets where illegal activity is likely to occur. Unlicensed hunting， acquisition and sale of migratory birds are the focus of the crackdown.
　　From January 2015 to December 2018， forestry police in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region handled a total of 73，000 cases with about 273，700 wild animals confi scated and a total of 71，000 people involved.
　　Since July 2018， four largescale transnational cases of illegal acquisition， transportation and sale of precious and endangered wildlife products were investigated in Guangxi， and 24 criminal suspects were arrested.
　　Holding a Stake
　　China’s top securities regulator has approved J.P. Morgan and Nomura to set up securities joint ventures.
　　Last year， the two companies applied to establish securities joint ventures， in which each will hold a 51-percent stake.
　　The move was part of the country’s efforts to expand the opening up of its securities sector， said the China Securities Regulatory Commission （CSRC） on March 29.
　　“CSRC will actively promote the opening up of the securities market， fi rmly implement each opening-up policy and continue to manage the review work regarding the setting up of securities joint ventures or changing their actual controllers according to laws and regulations in an effi cient way，” the commission said.
　　J.P. Morgan said the establishment of a majority-controlled securities company in China will further strengthen its onshore platform and offer a complete set of services and solutions to its clients both in China and globally.
　　Mark Leung， CEO of J.P. Morgan China， said it is “a major milestone”in the company’s long history in China.
　　“China is one of the largest and fastest growing markets in the world and represents one of the most exciting opportunities for many of our clients and our fi rm，”said Nicolas Aguzin， Chairman and CEO of J.P. Morgan Asia Pacifi c.
　　Calling it an important step in building up the company’s China business， Nomura Group CEO Koji Nagai said the new company will initially focus on the wealth management business. 　　Smart Fertilization
　　Farmers operate unmanned aerial vehicles to apply fertilizer in a wheat fi eld in a village in Gucheng County， north China’s Hebei Province， on April 4.

　　Banks’ Liabilities
　　The net external liabilities of China’s banking sector stood at $181.2 billion at the end of 2018， shrinking from one year earlier， according to data from the forex regulator.
　　The fi gure was $281.2 billion at the end of 2017， according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange （SAFE）.
　　In breakdown， the country’s banks reported combined external fi nancial assets of $1.12 trillion at the end of last year， while their external liabilities totaled $1.3 trillion.
　　By December 2018， $831.5 billion of external fi nancial assets of Chinese banks were deposits and loans， while $136.5 billion were bond investments and $148.5 billion were other assets， including equities.
　　SAFE started publishing external fi nancial assets and liabilities banking data for the fi rst time in March 2016.
　　The data refl ects foreignrelated business operations in the banking industry as well as the global allocation of the sector’s assets and liabilities， which are important for improving statistical transparency and monitoring cross-border capital fl ows.
　　IP alliance
　　Over 130 brands have joined in ecommerce giant Alibaba Group’s anti-counterfeiting alliance， with the latest entries made by multinationals like Dyson and Coach， according to the company.
　　The members of the Alibaba Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance include brands from 16 countries and regions around the world.
　　The alliance helped in the closure of 524 production rackets， capture of 1，227 suspects and seizure of fakes valued at 3.6 billion yuan（$535 million） in 2018.
　　Zheng Junfang， chief platform governance offi cer of Alibaba， said the company has been intensifying its anti-counterfeiting efforts in recent years.
　　Lu Zhengmin， Vice Commissioner of the National Leading Group on the Fight Against IPR Infringement and Counterfeiting， said China is willing to step up anticounterfeiting work with the joined forces of business owners and authorities.
　　Formed in 2017， the alliance aims to improve the protection of intellectual property rights on Alibaba’s platforms and create a healthy environment for online purchases. 　　Members of the alliance collaborate to provide proactive online monitoring and protection， offl ine investigations and enforcement， industry law-enforcement workshops， litigation and public awareness campaigns.
　　Upstream Hydropower
　　The construction on the main structure of a large hydropower station on the Jinsha River， the upper section of the Yangtze River， started in southwest China on March 30.
　　The Yebatan Hydropower Station， approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2016， is located at the junction of Baiyu County in Sichuan Province and Konjo County in Tibet Autonomous Region.
　　It will be the largest hydropower station on the upper reaches of the Jinsha River upon completion.
　　With a total installed capacity of 2.24 GW， the power station will be able to generate 10.2 billion kWh of electricity per year.
　　The project is being undertaken by China Huadian Corp.， with a total investment of 33.4 billion yuan （$5 billion）.
　　Wei Yongxin of Huadian Jinsha River Upstream Hydropower Development Co. Ltd. said the power station’s fi rst generating unit is expected to be put into operation in 2025.
　　Wei added that the project will contribute to local infrastructure building and poverty alleviation.
　　Taxation Reform Launched
　　A staff member explains to a taxpayer about a new policy on value-added tax（VAT） reduction at a local tax bureau in Quanzhou， southeast China’s Fujian Province， on April 1.
　　Starting that day， companies that are subject to the 16-percent VAT rate on their taxable sales or imported goods enjoy a 13-percent VAT rate， while those who are subject to the 10-percent VAT rate only need to pay 9 percent.

　　Expanding New Routes
　　China’s indigenously developed ARJ21 regional jetliners have been used on four new routes， according to Chengdu Airlines on April 1.
　　During this year’s fl ight season starting on March 31， the four routes will connect Changsha， Jinan， Manzhouli， Weihai， Wudalianchi， Harbin， Chengdu， Guiyang and Quzhou， mostly second-tier cities.
　　To date， the ARJ21 airplanes have been used to connect more than 20 cities， according to Chengdu Airlines.
　　Developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China， the ARJ21 is China’s fi rst regional passenger jetliner.
　　It is designed with 78 to 90 seats and has a range of 3，700 km. It can fl y in alpine and plateau regions and is adaptive to various airport conditions. 　　The fi rst ARJ21 airplane was fi rst delivered to Chengdu Airlines in 2015. It conducted its fi rst commercial fl ight on June 28， 2016.
　　By the end of March， Chengdu Airlines had received 11 ARJ21 airplanes and used them to carry more than 318，000 passengers on 3，825 fl ights.
　　Powering Transformation
　　A villager arranges fungus bags in the gap between the solar panels in the Longshan Photovoltaic Power Station in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province on March 29. The station， fi nished in October 2018， has increased annual income of local households by 3，000 yuan （$446）.

　　Exploring U.S. Market
　　Gree， a leading appliances manufacturer in China， has announced plans to further expand in the U.S. market.
　　At a strategic planning event on March 29， Ouyang Jun， a senior overseas sales executive， said， “Since entering the United States at the end of 2015， the Gree-America commercial team has steadily expanded in the mainstream U.S. heating， ventilation and air conditioning （HVAC） market， making the ‘Made in China， Loved by the World’ concept a key part of the American HVAC market.”
　　In the next two to three years， the Gree-America commercial team’s goal is to set up a marketing network throughout the United States， according to Ouyang. At present， Gree’s marketing network covers 22 states.
　　Since entering the U.S. market， the Gree-America commercial team has overcome the differences in culture and in economic systems between the two countries， and has quickly tailored its sales methods and services， he said.
　　With the efforts of the team， Gree has won higher recognition and appreciation from the U.S. HVAC industry， he said.