Decoding the Contactless Economy

　　People’s Tribune
　　Issue 18， 2020
　　The unexpected onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic has engendered profound changes to the development of human society. Amid the pandemic， the contactless economy， primarily demonstrated in various forms of online shopping， telemedicine， online teaching， online exhibitions， long-distance business operations， webinars， online entertainment， sales through live streaming， online recruitment， and contactless product delivery， have bloomed. These activities have been effective in promoting the prevention and control of the epidemic， while securing the livelihoods of the people， and the recovery of social and economic activities.
　　The contactless economy is essentially an evolution of the digital economy. As a special form of digital economy， the contactless economy is rising thanks to the sudden tremendous demand generated amid the COVID-19 epidemic.
　　At present， information technology has become the vital driving force behind the progress of the contactless economy. The contactless economy is powered by information technology and based on online platforms.
　　In retrospect， while promoting social production and bringing about changes to people’s daily life， every new way of trading empowered by cutting-edge technologies triggered social problems. The contactless economy could also lead to exploitation on consumers， and result in social problems including widening digital divide， emotional indifference， fear-based mindset， privacy violation， ethical responsibility issues， employment and income polarization， and employment exclusion.

Activating the Community of Social Governance

　　Insight China
　　Issue 18， 2020
　　The Communist Party of China（CPC） pledged to improve social governance at the primary level and put mechanisms in place to ensure public involvement in social governance at the fourth plenary session of its 19th Central Committee.
　　Building a “community of social governance” represents a path for primary-level governance.
　　The COVID-19 response is a campaign of the people， and also an occasion to review China’s capability of social governance. In this campaign， the CPC Central Committee led 1.4 billion Chinese people to fight the coronavirus. The strengths of the national governance system have been brought into play throughout the process.
　　Since its 18th National Congress， the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core has vigorously promoted reform and innovation in the field of social governance， and has made historic achievements in modernizing social governance in China. 　　At the fourth plenary session of its 19th Central Committee， the CPC leadership stressed that it is necessary to strengthen and innovate in social governance， improve the social governance system under which the CPC plays the leading role， the government is held accountable for specific matters， the role of democratic consultation is brought into full play， social coordination and public participation are promoted， and social governance is advanced with legal guarantee， and scientific and technological support. In this way， a community for social governance where everyone is held accountable， everyone fulfills their responsibilities， and everyone shares its fruits can be built.

Hainan： Towards a Free Port

　　People’s Weekly
　　Issue 11， 2020
　　Hainan ushers in a new milestone in its development in 2020.
　　On June 1， Chinese President Xi Jinping said that Hainan would be built into a free trade port of high quality and high standards.
　　On the same day， the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued a master plan for Hainan free trade port.
　　Li Guanghui， vice president of the Research Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce， said that many policies Hainan carries out are the freest in China. Internationally， the master plan was issued against the background of rising protectionism， unilateralism， and anti-globalization sentiment， as well as of ravaging COVID-19 pandemic. Taking Hainan as an important platform for openingup is to showcase China’s determination to further open its market to the outside world and continue to contribute to the world economy. Domestically， China is undergoing a new round of great development， reform， and adjustment. Under economic downturn pressure caused by the epidemic， it is necessary to further promote high-level opening-up and establish a new open economic system.
　　Zhao Xiaolei， president of the Free Trade Zone Research Institute of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics， noted that given the current situation of economic globalization and profound changes in the international economic and trade pattern， the construction of Hainan free trade port can demonstrate China’s adherence to all-round opening up， deepening reform， and actively participation in advancing healthy economic globalization.

Businesses Throng to Live Streaming Sales Pitches

　　Minsheng Weekly
　　Issue 13， 2020
　　Live streaming sales is a concept bred in the 4G epoch， and has been booming in the 5G era. 　　In this year’s mid-year shopping spree falling on June 18， live streaming sale pitches became the star of the festival.
　　Since the COVID-19 outbreak， many local governments have placed great expectations on the live streaming economy. They have endeavored to promote the integration of the e-commerce platforms with the specialized wholesale market and traditional trading enterprises， and developed a new business model in which sales pitches are moved online and products are delivered offline.
　　Amid the ongoing epidemic， live streaming sale pitches have given a boost to business recovery in many sectors， which is good for the entire economy.
　　However， some expressed their concerns with the new business model， which reportedly gives birth to a multi-billion market. Without timely regulation， the business is likely to expand in a chaotic manner and bring harm to itself eventually.
　　The view has been evidenced by problems over the past months， including fake products and fraudulent sales pitching.
　　In response to the problems， experts suggested that the government should create an enabling business environment for live streaming economy. They should improve rules， regulation systems， and services to promote the comprehensive， orderly， and healthy development of the industry.