Workers at the construction site of the Xintian liquefied natural gas （LNG） project in Caofeidian District of Tangshan， Hebei Province， on July 10. The second phase of the project started recently. It is expected to be completed and put into trial operation in October 2024.

Green City

　　A photo of a park in Guiyang， capital of Guizhou Province， taken by a drone on July 12. Since 2015， the city has created a variety of parks， providing ample green leisure space for its residents.

Xinjiang White Paper

　　The State Council Information Office issued a white paper on the progress in protecting the rights of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on July 14.
　　The white paper， titled Respecting and Protecting the Rights of All Ethnic Groups in Xinjiang， said the Communist Party of China and the Chinese Government have upheld a people-centered approach to human rights protection and Xinjiang has made steady progress in this regard over the past 70-plus years.
　　“China has given priority to securing and improving people’s wellbeing， advanced various undertakings in Xinjiang， and shared the fruits of reform and development with people of all ethnic groups， so as to guarantee their equal rights to participation and development，” the document said.
　　It noted that the Chinese Government makes full use of its institutional strengths， pools the efforts of all sectors of society， and promotes the rapid development of all undertakings in Xinjiang.
　　While hailing the progress in human rights protection in Xinjiang， the white paper also condemned a number of foreign media outlets and politicians for spreading misrepresentations about Xinjiang.

Preventing Myopia

　　The prevalence of myopia or nearsightedness among Chinese preschoolers and young students was 52.7 percent in 2020， a health official said at a press conference on July 13.
　　It is a rise of 2.5 percentage points from 2019 but still 0.9 percentage point lower than 2018， Zenawdu Hasayn， an official with the disease control department of the National Health Commission， said， quoting a recent national survey.
　　The rise in myopia rates may be attributed to reduced outdoor activities due to the COVID-19 epidemic last year， the official said. 　　China conducted a nationwide survey from September to December 2020， covering more than 2.47 million students from 8，604 schools countrywide.
　　Myopia rates in primary school increased from 12.9 percent in the first grade to 59.6 percent in the sixth grade， said Zenawdu Hasayn. “On average， the myopia rate increased by 9.3 percentage points for each higher grade.”
　　Thus， Zenawdu Hasayn called for strengthened efforts to prevent myopia among students in kindergartens and primary schools.
　　The official also told the public to remain alert for high myopia levels， noting that 17.6 percent of high school students had high myopia.
　　However， progression into high myopia has slowed down. The prevalence of high myopia among junior middle school students and high school students logged a decrease of 0.5 percentage point in 2020 from that in 2018， concluded Zenawdu Hasayn.

Panda Protection

　　China’s protection of giant pandas will not be weakened despite the fact that the species is no longer listed as “endangered，”an official said on July 10.
　　Giant pandas are still firstclass key protected wild animals in China， according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration （NFGA）.
　　The national treasure has become a trending topic in China after an official of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said at a press conference recently that it has been downgraded from“endangered” to “vulnerable，” as the population of giant pandas living in the wild has reached 1，800.
　　The downgrade is a testimony to the achievements of our giant panda protection efforts and shows the recognition of the international community for China’s efforts in this area， the NFGA said.
　　Over the years， China has taken a raft of measures to strengthen the protection of wild animals， especially that of the giant panda. So far， the country has established 67 nature reserves for giant pandas， effectively protecting 53.8 percent of giant panda habitats and 66.8 percent of the species’ population.
　　The administration said that continued efforts will be made to strengthen the protection of giant pandas in accordance with domestic and international requirements.

Industrial Museum

　　A visitor visits the Chongqing Industrial Museum in Chongqing on July 13. The landmark was crafted from the ruins of a defunct steelwork site in homage to the city’s industrial heritage. Since its opening in September 2019， the site has attracted over 300，000 visitors.

Household Registration

　　A total of 6，045 people are expected to be granted Beijing’s hukou， or permanent residential status， this year.
　　The quota is basically the same as that of last year. In 2020， the municipal bureau of human resources and social security announced a group of 6，000 beneficiaries who gathered the most points among 122，852 applicants for a Beijing hukou.
　　Beijing’s residential status， much coveted by many nonnatives， is a crucial document entitling the holder to numerous social benefits， including in the fields of education and medical care.
　　Beijing adopted the pointbased household registration reform in 2018， which is a positive trial as it opens doors to nonnatives working in the city.

Lunar Samples

　　On July 12， about 17 grams of lunar samples brought back by the Chang’e-5 probe were delivered to 13 institutions， which had applied for research programs to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.
　　Liu Jizhong， Director of the center， said that this is the first batch of lunar samples delivered to research institutions. More samples will be released and delivered in the future as planned.
　　Liu said China is willing to promote international cooperation and invite foreign scientists for joint research on lunar samples.
　　The Chang’e-5 probe was launched on November 24， 2020. The return capsule carried back to Earth about 1，731 grams of moon samples.

Braving the Storm

　　A delivery man rides his scooter through Beijing’s downpour， en route to his next destination on July 12.

New Reactor

　　China started construction of the world’s first commercial small modular reactor （SMR） project on land in the country’s southern-most island province of Hainan on July 13.
　　The project is based at the Changjiang nuclear power plant and uses Linglong One （ACP100） technology. It was developed by the China National Nuclear Corp.
　　The multi-purpose， small modular pressurized water reactor is an impressive achievement in independent innovation after Hualong One， a domestically designed third-generation nuclear reactor.
　　The Linglong One reactor is designed for electricity generation， urban heating， urban cooling， industrial steam production， and seawater desalination.
　　It was the world’s first SMR approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2016.

GDP Expansion

　　The Chinese economy expanded 12.7 percent year on year in the first half of 2021 as recovery continued， data from the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） showed on July 15.
　　In the second quarter， the GDP grew 7.9 percent year on year， the data showed. On a quarterly basis， it increased 1.3 percent.
　　Other major economic indicators showed continued improvements across the board， with industrial output rising 15.9 percent and retail sales up 23 percent in the first half.
　　The surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5 percent in June， 0.7 percentage point lower than the same period last year.
　　In the six-month period， the per-capita disposable income increased 12.6 percent year on year in nominal terms to 17，642 yuan （$2，731）， basically keeping pace with the GDP increase.
　　In the first quarter， the GDP grew 18.3 percent year on year as strong domestic and foreign demands powered recovery from a low base in early 2020 when COVID-19 stalled the world’s second largest economy.
　　“Generally， the national economy has sustained a steady recovery in the first half，” the NBS said in a statement， but it cautioned over uncertainties stemming from the global spread of the pandemic and the unbalanced recovery domestically.
　　China aims for an economic expansion of over 6 percent in 2021. It also plans to create more than 11 million new urban jobs and expand domestic demand and effective investment， which are expected to put the economy firmly back to pre-pandemic vibrancy.
　　The World Bank forecast in June that China’s economic growth would reach 8.5 percent in 2021.

FDI Up

　　Paid-in foreign direct investment（FDI） into the Chinese mainland surged 28.7 percent year on year to 607.84 billion yuan， or $90.96 billion， in the first half of this year， the Ministry of Commerce（MOFCOM） said on July 14.
　　The value increased 27.1 percent from the same period of 2019.
　　Foreign investment in the service industry came in at 482.77 billion yuan （$74.58 billion）， up 33.4 percent， with that in the hi-tech service sector rising 42.7 percent.
　　Capital inflow from the countries along the Belt and Road routes， the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the EU expanded 49.6 percent， 50.7 percent and 10.3 percent， respectively.

E-Commerce Pilots

　　MOFCOM pledged to actively expand the integrated pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce to cultivate new competitive edges in foreign trade on July 12. 　　Some cities had submitted applications to the State Council for the establishment of such zones and MOFCOM will join relevant departments in carrying out related work， Ren Hongbin， Assistant Minister of Commerce， told a press conference.
　　The ministry also promised to formulate guidelines for the protection of cross-border ecommerce intellectual property rights， optimize the list of crossborder e-commerce retail imports， and facilitate the return and exchange management of cross-border e-commerce imports and exports.
　　Since 2015， the State Council has established 105 cross-border e-commerce pilot zones in five batches. The new business model has become a vibrant force driving China’s foreign trade growth. Its cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 1.69 trillion yuan （$260.9 billion） in 2020， up 31.1 percent year on year.
　　Over the past five years， China’s cross-border e-commerce trade value has grown nearly 10 times， according to Ren.

Bank Profits

　　Chinese commercial banks are likely to see their profits grow by around 3 percent in both the second and third quarters of 2021， the Bank of China Research Institute said in a recent report.
　　In the first half of the year， the profitability of the banking sector showed important signs of improvement， while asset quality remained stable， the report said.
　　Net profits of commercial banks in the first quarter rose 2.4 percent year on year to 614.3 billion yuan （$95.07 billion）， earlier data from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission showed.
　　The institute also predicted that the sector will present a better growth trend in profits and strong risk offset ability in the third quarter.
　　The business scale of the banks will maintain a relatively high growth rate in the third quarter， with credit resources of the banks further tilted toward areas such as sci-tech innovation and rural vitalization， according to the report.

Air-Passenger Volume

　　The civil aviation industry gradually recovered from the impact of COVID-19 in the first half of the year， data from the aviation regulator showed on July 9.
　　The industry reported 245 million passenger trips in the period， up 66.4 percent year on year， equivalent to 76.2 percent of the volume during the same period of 2019， according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
　　In the second quarter， passenger trips on domestic flights returned to the pre-pandemic level. 　　Air cargo volume rose 24.6 percent year on year to 3.743 million tons during the period， up 6.4 percent compared with the same period of 2019.
　　The aviation sector’s investment in fixed assets reached 43.5 billion yuan （$6.7 billion） in the six months， up 8.5 percent year on year， the administration said.

Training Platform

　　An online platform focusing on training people engaged in new professions has attracted more than 8 million users， according to data released by Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba Group.
　　The platform， jointly launched by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and Alibaba’s communication app DingTalk， aims to provide further training to professionals.
　　In July 2020， China gave official recognition to nine new professions， mostly in the public health sector and emerging industries. They included block chain technicians， online marketers， information-security testers， online-learning consultants and community health assistants， among others， according to a statement jointly issued by the ministry and other departments.
　　With new industries creating many new jobs， the country released the first batch of 13 new professions in April 2019 and the second group in March 2020.

Bond Holdings

　　Overseas investors increased their holdings of Chinese bonds in June， marking a rise in purchases for 31 consecutive months， official data showed.
　　As of the end of June， the total amount of yuan-denominated bonds owned by overseas institutions reached approximately 3.3 trillion yuan （$510.7 billion）， up 36.57 billion yuan （$5.6 billion） from a month earlier， according to China Central Depository and Clearing Co. Ltd.
　　In the first half of the year， overseas investors’ holdings of these bonds increased by over 450 billion yuan （$69.6 billion）， up 40.67 percent year on year.

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