Meng Wanzhou， technology giant Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer， arrives in Shenzhen， Guangdong Province， on September 25， after having been detained in Canada illegally for nearly three years on a U.S. extradition request.
　　Meng did not plead guilty or pay any fines. She thanked all relevant departments for their support. “They have firmly safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese corporations and citizens，” Meng said.

Celebrating Harvest

Farmers dry peppers in Wuji， a township in Hengyang， Hunan Province， on September 22， ahead of the fourth Farmers’ Harvest Festival， which fell on September 23.

Cultural Expo

The Fifth China Silk Road（Dunhuang） International Cultural Expo and the 10th Dunhuang Tour-Silk Road International Tourism Festival kicked off on September 24 in Dunhuang， a major hub of the ancient Silk Road in Gansu Province. The three-day Expo and Festival featured summit conferences， cultural fora， exhibitions and art performances.
　　Zhang Xu， Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism， said at the opening ceremony that by holding these two events， China hopes to further strengthen both official and non-governmental cooperation on people-to-people exchanges between countries along the Belt and Road， so as to contribute to building a community of shared future.
　　More than 200 officials， diplomats and experts， representing countries and regions， as well as international organizations， attended the events online or in person. This year’s guest country of honor was the Republic of Korea.

Synthesized Starch

In a global first， Chinese scientists have developed an artificial method of synthesizing starch from carbon dioxide.
　　The study， conducted by the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences， was published in Science journal on September 24.
　　Many studies have been carried out globally on starch synthesis， but little progress had been made before.
　　The structure of the synthetic starch was proved to be the same as that of natural starch， according to Ma Yanhe， Director General of the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology， who is also the corresponding author of the study.
　　According to Ma， preliminary tests show that the new method is about 8.5 times more efficient in producing starch than conventional agriculture. 　　The current results show that the annual starch production of a bioreactor with the size of 1 cubic meter is theoretically equivalent to that of approximately 0.3 hectare of cornfield in China， without considering the energy input.

Vocational Training

China will promote the vocational training of migrant workers as part of its efforts to alleviate poverty， an official said on September 25.
　　According to Liu Xiaoshan of the National Administration for Rural Vitalization， 30.85 million migrant workers had been brought out of poverty by the end of August.
　　The expanded training will focus on skills for professions that are in urgent need of employees， Liu said， adding that the country will also sharpen these migrant workers’ skills for establishing their own businesses.
　　Liu also said that， in addition to providing training， the government will host various types of vocational skill competitions to help increase workers’ professional skills in order to increase their income.
　　Local governments should spare no efforts in helping poor workers secure jobs through measures such as launching online recruitment platforms and providing face-to-face guidance for jobseekers， he said.

Research Output

　　Beijing now ranks first in the world for research output relating to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals （SDGs）， according to data compiled between 2015 and 2020 by Nature science journal. The results were revealed in the Nature Index 2021 Science Cities， a Nature supplement released on September 25 at the ongoing 2021 Zhongguancun Forum， a national platform facilitating global exchanges and cooperation on hi-tech innovation.
　　The supplement explores SDG-related research output by leading science cities and metropolitan areas in the 82 selected natural sciences journals tracked by the Nature Index.
　　Beijing had the highest output related to SDG7 （affordable and clean energy） during the 2015-20 period， almost three times higher than that of the San Francisco Bay Area. The city also ranked first in research output related to SDG13 （climate action） and SDG14 （life below water） for the same period.
　　David Swinbanks， founder of the Nature Index， said these local priorities reflect the different local challenges each city is facing and actively responding to.

Art Performance

Artists perform at the closing gala of the Sixth Ethnic Minority Art Festival in Beijing on September 24. The festival， which lasted nearly one month， showcased the distinctive cultures of different ethnic groups through folk music and dance performances.

Higher Standards

Chinese authorities have issued guidelines on promoting fairer and better enrollment practices for high-level sports teams in higher education institutions.
　　The guidelines， jointly issued by the Ministry of Education and the General Administration of Sport （GAS）， propose higher academic standards and eligibility requirements for student athletes admitted to high-level university sports teams.
　　According to the guidelines， starting from 2024， only individuals listed as national toplevel or higher-level athletes will be eligible to apply for highlevel university sports teams. Additionally， starting from 2024， admission decisions will be based on academic performance in China’s college entrance exams and on unified national professional assessments organized by the GAS.

New Cub

A panda cub is seen at the Chongqing Zoo in Chongqing Municipality on September 23. A captive giant panda gave birth to a pigeon pair of cubs at the zoo on September 13， after a successful natural mating with a male panda at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in late April.

Rare Diseases

A project initiated by the Chinese Red Cross Foundation（CRCF） has invited experts and physicians to discuss methods of improving the diagnosis and treatment of patients with rare diseases.
　　As part of the project， experts have proposed utilizing medical insurance， medical assistance， commercial insurance， charity and other resources to establish mechanisms for ensuring the supply of affordable drugs targeting rare diseases. They also called for concerted efforts across disciplines to treat patients with rare diseases.
　　According to the CRCF， the project will also offer training for clinicians to help them better diagnose and treat rare diseases， according to the CRCF.
　　China has more than 20 million people with rare diseases who typically face misdiagnosis and have limited access to appropriate medication.
　　A slew of policies has been rolled out to better meet the needs of these patients， and an information system has also been launched by the National Health Commission to register the treatment of rare diseases.
　　A collection of drugs targeting rare diseases have benefited from the country’s value-added tax reduction policy， which aims to lower patient costs and boost the development of the pharmaceutical industry.

Services in Africa

By the end of 2020， seven Chinese banks had set up 15 branches in Africa， according to the China-Africa Economic and Trade Relationship Annual Report（2021） released on September 25.
　　A variety of services have been offered in Africa by Chinese financial institutions at all levels， including state-owned， policyoriented， and private banks.
　　By the end of 2020， China’s top banking and insurance regulator had signed memoranda of understanding on regulatory cooperation with seven African countries to promote information sharing， strengthen regulatory cooperation， and constantly optimize cross-border financial supervision， the report said.

Stable Growth

The electronic information manufacturing industry maintained stable growth in the first eight months of the year， data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT） showed.
　　The value-added output of electronic information manufacturers with annual operating revenues of at least 20 million yuan （$3.09 million） expanded 18 percent year on year. The growth rate went up 11 percentage points from the same period a year ago， MIIT said.
　　According to the MIIT data， the electronic information manufacturing sector raked in 413.9 billion yuan （$64 billion） in total profits in the first seven months， surging 43.2 percent year on year. Its operating revenues totaled 7.41 trillion yuan （$1.14 trillion） in the period， up 19.3 percent.

Top Firms

On September 25， the China Enterprise Confederation and the China Enterprise Directors Association jointly released their list of the top 500 Chinese enterprises for 2021. According to data used to compile the list， the combined operating revenues of the companies reached 89.83 trillion yuan （$13.89 trillion） in 2020， up 4.43 percent year on year. Their profits amounted to 4.07 trillion yuan （$629.6 billion）， up 4.59 percent compared to that of the companies on the 2020 list.
　　The State Grid Corp. of China topped the list， followed by the China National Petroleum Corp. and the China Petroleum and Chemical Corp.
　　The revenue threshold to make the list increased by 3.28 billion yuan （$507 million） from a year ago to 39.24 billion yuan（$6.07 billion）， the data showed.
　　The number of companies whose revenues exceeded 100 billion yuan （$15.47 billion） rose to 222， with eight of them reporting revenues of over 1 trillion yuan （$154.7 billion）.
　　This year’s list also showed an improved industrial structure， as more hi-tech and modern service companies such as communication equipment makers and logistics firms were included.

Aircraft Demand

The resilient Chinese aviation market will create new commercial aircraft demand valued at $1.47 trillion over the next 20 years， according to Boeing’s latest market forecast， released in Beijing on September 23. 　　China’s economic vitality and recovering air travel demand will enable the country’s airlines to purchase around 8，700 new aircraft over the 2021-40 period， according to the China forecast， which is part of Boeing’s 2021 Commercial Market Outlook.
　　The U.S. aircraft manufacturer’s annual long-term demand forecast for commercial airplanes and services showed that， over the coming 20 years， the Chinese market will receive some 6，500 single-aisle planes and 1，850 widebody aircraft.
　　“The rapid recovery of Chinese domestic air travel highlights the country’s eco-nomic vitality and resilience. Notably， the underlying demand from international long-haul travel and air freight transport will boost the widebody deliveries，” Richard Wynne， Managing Director of China Marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes， said.
　　The widebody deliveries， including passenger aircraft and freighters， account for 44 percent of the Chinese market demand by value， Wynne added.
　　Over the next 20 years， China is also expected to create a commercial aviation services market valued at around $1.8 trillion， the forecast showed.
　　China’s aviation sector has remained the world’s secondlargest in terms of passenger trips for 15 years.

BMW Investment

German carmaker BMW will invest a further 25 billion yuan（$3.87 billion） into its facilities in Shenyang， Liaoning Province. Oliver Zipse， Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG， made the announcement on September 24.
　　The new investment comes in addition to BMW’s total investment of over 64 billion yuan（$9.9 billion） in Shenyang since 2009， Zipse said.
　　Shenyang is home to one of BMW’s largest production bases and a massive research and development center of the carmaker.
　　BMW， which has had a presence in Shenyang for more than 18 years， has achieved fruitful results with its localization strategy. Its China joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. has been the city’s largest taxpayer for years.

SOE Profits

The combined profits of stateowned enterprises （SOEs） surged 75 percent year on year to over 3.12 trillion yuan （$483 billion） in the first eight months of this year， according to data released by the Ministry of Finance on September 24.
　　During the period， the SOEs saw their operating revenues up 24.9 percent to more than 47.4 trillion yuan （$7.33 trillion）.
　　Profits of the centrally administered SOEs increased 72.9 percent to 2.08 trillion yuan （$321.7 billion）， and their operating revenues totaled 26.62 trillion yuan （$4.11 trillion）， up 23.3 percent. 　　At the end of August， the debt-to-asset ratio of SOEs stood at 64.3 percent， down 0.2 percentage point from the level seen in the same period last year.

Green Bonds

The Agricultural Development Bank of China （ADBC） launched the country’s first carbon-neutral bonds on September 23.
　　The two-year bonds， worth 3.6 billion yuan （$556 million）， will be used to finance forest carbon sink projects including afforestation and reforestation. Greater financial support will be provided to promote the green development of agriculture， and efforts will be intensified to channel funds into the sector， the ADBC said.

Reform Plan

The People’s Bank of China（PBC）， the central bank， will reform the operation mode of its standing lending facility as part of efforts to better meet reasonable liquidity needs， Vice Governor Liu Guoqiang said on September 23.
　　According to Liu， the reform， which is referred to as empowering the whole process with electronic technology， will improve efficiency and better stabilize market expectations.
　　The PBC will also enhance the stability of liquidity in the banking system and maintain the smooth operation of money market interest rates， Liu said， adding that efforts should be made to guard against liquidity risks.

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