NEW PRESIDENT OF JD.COM

　　Xu Lei， previously CEO of JD Retail， will take up the role of president of JD.com as the company’s founder Richard Liu will stay on as chairman and CEO， but is stepping back from day-to-day operations.
　　Xu joined the company in 2009. In the past three years， while acting as retail head of the company， Xu has led JD.com’s retail business to achieve high-quality growth. In the second quarter of 2021， JD Retail accounted for 90 percent of JD.com’s net revenue of 253.8 billion yuan （$39.3 billion）， according to company statistics.
　　In his new role， Xu is expected to take over the company’s day-to-day workings and lead the collaborative development of the various business units of JD.com. These changes will allow Liu to switch his focus to formulating the Chinese e-commerce giant’s long-term strategy.

Student Loan Aid

　　Guangming Daily September 6
　　A State Council executive meeting on September 1 decided to improve loan aid for students from families in financial difficulty.
　　Since the onset of this fall semester， the government has raised the annual maximum amount to 12，000 yuan （$1，857） for an undergraduate and a junior college student from 8，000 yuan （$1，238）. That of a postgraduate increases to 16，000 yuan （$2，476） from a previous 12，000 yuan. The loan interests accumulated during their studies will be subsidized by national finance.
　　Generally， students from schools included in the Double First Class Universities initiative， which will participate in the country’s construction plan of world-class universities and first-class disciplines， can obtain more access to the aid. Others， especially those private ones charging higher tuition fees， will receive less financial allocation from the government. The policy ensures that students from poorer families will get more support， which pushing forward more equality in the field of higher education.
　　In addition， the meeting also asked schools to increase efforts to provide more part-time jobs for students， thus creating more channels to relieve their financial burden.

A Positive Change

　　Lifeweek August 30

　　After capital enters the film and TV series industry， the amount of Internet traffic generated becomes the index to evaluate any work. To up viewer numbers， investors， including video platforms， always ask for the participation of stars with huge fan bases. 　　Sun Wenji， a senior producer， started to work in the online drama market in 2017. During talks with various video-sharing platforms， she found the overall market philosophy to be that including certain “toptier traffic Internet stars” in the cast will guarantee a hit show. So Sun and her team have to attract those influencers by offering them a wide range of good conditions， meaning more investment， higher profits and nicer interaction data. “This way， platforms， the market and the audience jointly push up the pay of stars with huge fan bases，” she said.
　　Nevertheless， a slew of recent scandals forced them to rethink the issue. For instance， Chinese-Canadian star Kris Wu was accused of rape and consequently arrested. As a result， one drama starring him， with an investment of 300 million yuan （$46.4 million）， cannot be released.
　　“The market finally saw that using those stars comes with uncertainties，” Chen Ziyang， an investor in the film and television industry， said. His team has not dabbled in the realm of online drama—dominated by stars with huge followings on social media.
　　Sun said they are increasingly detailing the terms of contract with celebrities， such as including how the companies will （or will not） be compensated during the production period if things go awry due to stars’ moral misbehavior.
　　“When the market stops focusing on Internet traffic and imposes stricter requirements on celebrities， we have more money and energy to create works of high quality，”she concluded.

Domestic Sports Brand

　　Economic Daily September 5
　　The curtain has closed on the Olympic Summer Games Tokyo 2020， but domestic sports brands are still riding the wave of the Olympic season to usher in a surge in sales. According to the e-commerce section of TikTok， sales of sporting goods rose over 360 percent year on year during the season， and domestic brands will continue to perform well.
　　For instance， Li-Ning achieved a net profit of over 1.9 billion yuan （$294 million） in the first six months of 2021， a year- on-year increase of more than 180 percent. Chinese consumers are more supportive of their local brands， compared to global ones， a recent report released by Adidas read.
　　Along with an enhanced fitness consciousness， many Chinese today have cultivated exercising habits and are more willing to spend money on their new healthy hobbies.
　　With improved quality， domestic brands provide increasingly cost-effective products to the market， establishing their influence among consumers. At the same time， Chinese shoppers have formed a more mature attitude toward consumption， especially the younger generations who no longer blindly pursue foreign brands.

ARMLESS SWIMMER BAGS FOUR GOLD MEDALS

　　Chinese para-swimmer Zheng Tao won four gold medals and broke his own 50-meter backstroke S5 world record by recording a time of 30.31 seconds at the Paralympic Summer Games Tokyo 2020.
　　Zheng， born in 1990， lost both his arms after getting electrocuted when he was a child. He took up swimming at the age of 13 and made his debut at the World Championships in the Netherlands six years later. Zheng has put a total of nine Paralympic medals to his name thus far， six of which are gold. His final medal also marked China’s 500th summer Paralympic gold since first participating in the games in New York City back in 1984.
　　His story has gone viral on the Internet， and social media users are impressed by his body strength， calling him a true inspiration.
　　“China and the U.S. cannot strengthen green and low-carbon cooperation without sound and stable bilateral economic and trade ties... Unilateralism and trade protectionism harm the interests of both sides and undermine global economic recovery.”
　　Wang Shouwen， Vice Minister of Commerce， at a seminar during the 21st China International Fair for Investment and Trade， on September 8
　　“When it comes to an issue of global health， the first priority has to be science and facts... However， given the opaque nature of the evaluations used in the decision-making of the U.S. intelligence community， the amount of consideration given to science is questionable.”
　　Mohamed Waheed Hassan， former President of the Maldives， in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on September 3
　　“BRICS countries need to develop their roles as regional leaders， aid neighboring nations and boost cooperation with regions like Europe to inject BRICS momentum into global economic development.”
　　Jin Xin， Secretary General of the China Council for the BRICS Think Tank Cooperation， at the 2021 BRICS Forum on Partnership on New Industrial Revolution on September 7
　　“Following the signing of the RCEP pact， China needs to identify new zero-tariff items and service trade opening-up sectors of ASEAN， explore ASEAN’s diversified market and make good use of the RCEP cumulative rules of origin.”
　　Wang Qin， a professor with Xiamen University， commenting on China-ASEAN cooperation in an article published on China Daily， on September 8