A spring farming ceremony is held in the community of Khesum， in the city of Shannan in Tibet Autonomous Region， southwest China. This kind of ceremony dates back more than 1，600 years. According to the Tibetan calendar， March 16 marked the start of this year’s spring farming. Khesum Community， previously Khesum Village， was the first village in Tibet to launch social reforms to end the feudal serfdom system in 1959. By 2017， all residents of Khesum had risen out of poverty. The annual per-capita net income of the community reached 25，324 yuan （$3，900） in 2020， a more than 100-fold increase since 1978.

Better Connected

　　Two Miao actresses dressed in ethnic garments have their picture taken in front of a high-speed passenger train at the Shenzhen North Railway Station in Shenzhen， Guangdong Province in south China， on March 16. The train has the inscription “Romantic Season of Blossoms in Colorful Guizhou” to encourage Shenzhen residents to visit Guizhou and vice versa.

Green Growth

　　China unveiled a series of measures targeting industrial upgrades and green growth in 2021 on March 15， according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
　　The country will accelerate its applications of big data and other digitalized methods for the demand-side management of electricity and other utility consumption in a bid to improve energy efficiency.
　　Additionally， the new measures will cut carbon emissions across vital sectors and encourage companies in the industrial sector to beef up their efforts in retrofitting electrical equipment and informatization.
　　Furthermore， the nation will witness the cultivation of a batch of specialized outlets providing demand-side electricity management services for industrial businesses.
　　China emphasizes energy conservation management in key energy consumption enterprises as well as systematic optimization of energy in the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan（2021-25） for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 recently adopted during the annual session of China’s top legislature.

Rice Seeds

　　About 1，500 rice seeds have sprouted and grown leaves in a greenhouse in south China after returning from a journey to Moon last year， Xinhua reported on March 16. 　　The seeds were planted in the greenhouse of the National Engineering Research Center of Plant Space Breeding of South China Agricultural University， and are expected to be transplanted to fields by the end of March.
　　These seeds traveled more than 760，000 km to Moon last November， returning to Earth on December 17， 2020， after 23 days aboard the Chang’e-5 lunar probe.
　　The seeds were secondgeneration space-bred ones because their “parents” had also been space-bred.
　　Nevertheless， the experiment on the Chang’e-5 probe differs from previous tests. It was the first such experiment conducted within a deep space setting. The space flight time was longer， and the probe encountered some radiation both in the Van Allen Belts as well as from sunspot activity， according to Chen Zhiqiang， the center’s director.
　　Stronger hereditary effects are expected to be produced throughout this experiment， as a deep space environment is more similar to a real space extreme environment， according to Guo Tao， the center’s deputy director.
　　The space-bred rice is expected to be harvested at the end of June， Guo added.

Refracting Telescope

　　Chinese scientists are working to set up the world’s largest refracting telescope in Tibet Autonomous Region， southwest China， for the observation of stars and planets.
　　Construction of the optical telescope， boasting a 1-meter aperture， has already started in the regional capital of Lhasa， said Wang Junjie， deputy director of the regional department of science and technology.
　　Given its high altitude and clear skies， Tibet is considered one of the world’s best spots to observe celestial bodies.
　　A refracting telescope is an instrument that uses a combination of lenses to produce images of distant objects in space invisible to the naked human eye.
　　Scientists will use the refractor to carry out sky surveys， including monitoring near-Earth asteroids， Wang added.
　　The refractor will be installed on a planned regional planetarium， which is likely to start construction this year. It will be the world’s highest astronomical observatory.

Research Station

　　China has completed a wide array of feasibility studies regarding the fourth phase of its lunar exploration program. The nation is expected to build an international lunar research station on Moon’s south pole in the future， Xinhua reported on March 14.
　　In an interview with China Space News， Wu Weiren， chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program， said three missions are planned for the fourth phase of the lunar exploration program. The program includes the retrieval of lunar samples from the south pole by Chang’e-6， a detailed survey of the Moon’s south pole resources by Chang’e-7， and the testing of key technologies in preparation for the construction of the lunar research station by Chang’e-8. 　　“If the lunar research station project can be successfully implemented， China will be close to achieving manned landings on Moon，” Wu said.

Laying New Tracks

　　Advanced technology is used to lay the tracks of the ZhengzhouWanzhou High-Speed Railway in Chongqing Municipality in southwest China on March 17. The line connecting Zhengzhou， capital of Henan Province in central China， and Wanzhou District of Chongqing is scheduled to open at the end of 2021.

Family Doctors

　　China will increase services provided by contracted family doctors， allowing them to issue long-term prescriptions to the elderly and people with disabilities， according to the National Health Commission （NHC）， Xinhua reported on March 15.
　　Primary-level medical organizations and family doctors should play their parts in preventing myopia among children， said the NHC during a recent conference on the development of health policies at the grassroots level.
　　The commission has also vowed to help improve the ability of family doctors to diagnose and treat common and frequent illnesses， as well as their means to identify and treat infectious diseases.
　　Primary-level medical workers will receive more intensive training on the prevention and controlling of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.
　　China set up nearly 430，000 teams of family doctors last year who are responsible for medical services including disease prevention， treating common diseases， and rehabilitation therapy.

Forest Expansion

　　China’s forest resources have steadily increased over the years， with the country’s woodland and tree assets hitting 25.05 trillion yuan （$3.86 trillion） by 2018， the latest research shows， Xinhua reported on March 14.
　　This represents a rise of 17.66 percent compared with the numbers revealed in 2014， according to data jointly released by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration （NFGA） and the National Bureau of Statistics.
　　Such an improvement will contribute greatly to China’s carbon neutrality goal， said Peng Youdong， vice chief of the NFGA.
　　China has previously announced it will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
　　Over the years， China has taken solid steps to promote afforestation and to protect and restore its natural forests. China’s forest area currently stands at around 220 million hectares， while the total carbon storage of its forests has reached 9.186 billion tons. 　　China’s afforestation efforts have particularly helped increase forest carbon sinks， according to Peng. The country boasts the world’s largest area of planted forests， and more than 60 percent of its forests are young or half-mature with high carbon sequestration rates and great potential for carbon sink increase.

Tea Harvest

　　A farmer dries freshly harvested West Lake Longjing green tea leaves in Manjuelong， a village situated at the West Lake scenic site in Hangzhou， capital of Zhejiang Province in east China， on March 12.

Robust Growth

　　Major economic indicators greatly improved in the first two months of the year， according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） on March 15.
　　Retail sales of consumer goods， a major indicator of consumption growth， exceeded 6.97 trillion yuan （$1.07 trillion）， up 33.8 percent and 6.4 percent over the same period of 2020 and 2019， respectively.
　　The value-added industrial output went up 35.1 percent year on year， and 16.9 percent compared with that for January and February 2019.
　　Fixed assets investment surged 35 percent year on year to 4.52 trillion yuan （$694 billion）， which was 3.5 percent higher than two years ago.
　　Investment by private businesses expanded 36.4 percent year on year to 2.62 trillion yuan（$402 billion）.
　　Employment remained stable， with the surveyed urban unemployment rate standing at 5.5 percent in February， 0.7 percentage point lower year on year.
　　NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua attributed the sharp year-onyear increase in major economic indicators to sustained economic recovery， as well as a lower basis of comparison during the same period last year， when the economy was hit by COVID-19.

Big Data

　　China’s big data market will continue to expand in the coming years， driven by its economic development and digital transformation， according to a report from global market research firm International Data Corp. （IDC） on March 10.
　　The market was estimated to exceed $10 billion for the first time in 2020， up 15.9 percent year on year. Banking institutions， telecommunications companies and local governments accounted for 38 percent of the total spending last year， and these sectors will continue to lead in investment， the report said.
　　According to Wang Limeng， an analyst with IDC， fintech innovation and digital government construction will drive the steady growth of industry users’demand for big data. 　　By 2024， the market is expected to exceed $20 billion， an increase of 145 percent from 2019， according to the report.

More Airports

　　More than 30 civil aviation airports will be built by 2025， according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China （CAAC） on March 15.
　　At a press conference， CAAC official Zhang Qing said the plan was part of efforts to promote the high-quality development of civil aviation over the course of the 14th Five-Year Plan （2021-25）.
　　According to Zhang， China is stepping up the construction of major civil aviation infrastructure and， by 2025， its civil aviation airports will be able to handle 2 billion passengers per year.

Cash-Pooling Pilot

　　The monetary authorities announced on March 12 a pilot cash-pooling service will be launched for multinational companies that integrates domestic and foreign currency management to facilitate the use of cross-border capital.
　　According to the People’s Bank of China （PBC） and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange， the program will be launched in Beijing and southern economic powerhouse Shenzhen， Guangdong Province. It will serve large multinational companies with relatively high credit ratings.
　　The move aims to advance the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Beijing’s pilot free trade zone， support the building of a higher-level open economy， and improve the ability of financial services to serve the real economy， the PBC said in a statement.
　　The cash-pooling service will unify domestic and foreign currency management policies and allow multinationals to purchase foreign exchange at will within a certain limit， it said， noting that the purchased funds can be deposited into the domestic primary account for external payment.
　　The program will also implement two-way macro-prudential management to improve the autonomy and capital efficiency of cross-border financing on the basis of steady and prudent operation， further facilitate the transfer and use of funds， and enhance operational and postoperational oversight.
　　Based on the performance of the program， authorities will improve the management framework of services to strengthen cross-border trade and investment facilitation， create a better business environment and boost the sound development of foreign-related businesses， the PBC said.

Insurance Operation

　　The insurance sector maintained steady performance in 2020， with the solvency adequacy ratio remaining within an appropriate range， the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission （CBIRC） said. 　　The average comprehensive solvency ratio of the 178 insurers reviewed at a regulatory meeting stood at 246.3 percent at the end of 2020. Their average core solvency ratio hit 234.3 percent， the CBIRC said.
　　Specifically， the average comprehensive solvency ratio of life insurance， property insurance and reinsurance companies stood at 239.6 percent， 277.9 percent and 319.3 percent， respectively.
　　The solvency ratio is a key metric to measure an insurer’s ability to meet its debt and other obligations.

Energy Cooperation

　　Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd （Petronas） has signed a memorandum of understanding（MoU） with the China National Offshore Oil Corp. （CNOOC） to pursue cleaner energy solutions through closer collaboration.
　　In a statement made on March 15， Petronas said the MoU elevates the long-standing relationship between the two parties from primarily liquefied natural gas （LNG） and upstream projects toward a shared ambition in energy security and cleaner energy solutions.
　　It said the scope of collaboration opens up opportunities across Petronas’ integrated value chain and across the globe through which both parties will intensify collaboration in LNG， upstream exploration and development projects， refining， oilfield and engineering services， specialty chemicals and lubricants， as well as renewable energy.
　　In addition to LNG supply， Petronas and the CNOOC will also cooperate on promoting the use of natural gas as a cleaner marine fuel through LNG bunkering solutions， in support of the International Maritime Organization regulations on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships.
　　According to the statement， Petronas and the CNOOC will explore the establishment of a global bunkering supply network， leveraging both companies’ experience in this regard.

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