Maiden Voyage

The MSC Gulsun docks at the Tianjin Port Pacifi c International Container Terminal in north Chinas Tianjin on July 8. The worlds largest container vessel by carrying capacity， it set sail from north Chinas port city of Tianjin on July 8， heading for northwestern Europe.

Afforestation Drive

Since the project of returning farmland to forest and grassland was launched in 1999， forests have increased by 33.5 million hectares， a forestry offi cial said on July 9.

The increased area accounts for 42.5 percent of Chinas artifi cial forests， Zhou Hongsheng， an offi cial with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration， told a press conference.

About 335，000 hectares of farmland has been returned to grassland， accounting for 2.2 percent of the total artifi cial grassland area.

Two rounds of returning farmland to forest and grassland have been completed， with an investment of more than 500 billion yuan（$72.63 billion）.

“The project has accelerated the process of national afforestation， and the forest coverage rates in the project areas have increased by an average of more than 4 percentage points，” Zhou said， adding that 32 million farming households benefi ted directly from subsidies of more than 9，800 yuan （$1，423） per household.

The project is also helping adjust the rural industrial structure， fostering eco-economic industries and opening up new avenues for the sustainable development of agriculture， Zhou said.

In the future， efforts will be made to include farmland in stateowned forest areas and in the core areas of nature reserves into the project， he added.

Rural Doctors

The National Health Commission said at a press conference on July 9 that efforts will be made to ensure that all rural areas in the country have doctors and healthcare institutions by the end of this year. The aim is to enable patients with common and chronic diseases to receive diagnosis and treatment at primary-level healthcare institutions in counties， townships and villages.

As of the end of June， around 14.35 million poor patients with serious and chronic diseases received basic treatment and health management services. Poor patients needed to pay only about 10 percent of their total medical fees on average.

The commission said it would take measures to improve healthcare institutions in rural areas， such as enabling access to telemedicine in county-level hospitals in all impoverished counties.

Online Charity

Chinese are increasingly ready to engage in charity as digital technologies make philanthropy easier and more fun， according to tech giant Tencent.

Tencent Foundation had received over 230 million donations worth about 5.4 billion yuan （$786 million） by May， it said in a report.

Established 12 years ago， the charitable foundation has witnessed increasing donations year after year， and more people donate more than once. The re-donation rate grew 9.78 percent year on year in the fi rst quarter of 2019.

Young people born between 1980 and 1999 make up the majority of the donors， while women donors outnumbered their male counterparts， accounting for 55 percent of the total.

Guangdong， Beijing， Jiangsu， Shanghai and Zhejiang were the fi ve top sources of donors.

Donations come in more interactive and social ways thanks to the development of mobile payments and social networking. For example， some companies donate money proportional to online records of walking. This attracted over 920 million participations and collected more than 990 million yuan （$144 million） by late June.

Production Safety

Improvements have been made in production safety with fewer accidents and casualties in the fi rst half of this year， according to the Ministry of Emergency Management （MEM）.

From January to June， the numbers of accidents and casualties nationwide decreased 19.8 percent and 18.9 percent， respectively， year on year， while the number and casualties of severe accidents also dropped 13.9 percent and 18.3 percent， respectively， from a year earlier.

Most areas and sectors saw stable production safety during the period and no severe or very severe accidents were reported during major public holidays.

The government will pay special attention to prevent severe production safety accidents， supervise key sectors and prioritize cracking down on the risks of hazardous chemicals， the MEM said.

A regulation on production safety emergency response was introduced in April. Special inspections were carried out for hazardous chemicals， mines and fi re safety.

National Parks

Ten pilot national parks have been created nationwide， covering an area of 220，000 square km in 12 provinces， according to forestry authorities.

Since the national park system was proposed in 2013， several pilot national parks have been established， their management system has been reformed and special management organizations have been formed， according to Tang Xiaoping， an offi cial with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

Ecological protection has been strengthened during the process， with efforts to construct an ecological corridor， removing alien species and greening bare mountains.

In the future， legislation of national parks will be sped up， clarifying the establishment standard and procedures and prioritizing the creation of national parks in areas conforming to the standard.

Under a plan released in 2017， a batch of national parks will be established and a unifi ed management system formed by 2020.

Summer Light Show

Visitors view the spectacle at a lantern show in Changchun， northeast Chinas Jilin Province， on July 8.

Patent Protection

Over 6，500 patent infringement cases were investigated in the fi rst half of 2019， according to the National Intellectual Property Administration（NIPA） on July 9.

A total of 238，000 invention patents were authorized in China in the fi rst half of 2019， up 9.9 percent year on year.

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. had 2，314 invention patents authorized， ranking fi rst on the Chinese mainland. SINOPEC ranked second with 1，595 authorized invention patents， and smartphone maker Oppo ranked third with 1，312.

By the end of June， China had 12.5 invention patents per 10，000 people， meeting the 13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20） target ahead of schedule， NIPA spokesperson Hu Wenhui said at a press conference.

In the fi rst half of the year， the number of foreign invention patent applications in China reached 78，000， up 8.6 percent year on year， with Japan， the United States and Germany ranking the top three. The number of foreign trademark applications reached 127，000， an increase of 15.4 percent year on year， Hu said.

The number of non-resident intellectual property （IP） right applications is a weathervane that refl ects a countrys IP protection level and business environment. The continued strong growth of foreign IP applications in China shows the confi dence of global innovation players in Chinas IP protection and business environment， NIPA offi cial Ge Shu said.

“Once you build a comfortable nest， the phoenix will come，” Ge quoted an ancient Chinese saying to indicate that China will foster a business environment that respects the value of knowledge.

Cooling Down

Children play in a water park in Bozhou， east Chinas Anhui Province， on July 7. People across China cool themselves down in various ways during the Xiaoshu， or the period of lesser heat， 11th of the 24 solar terms meaning the beginning of hot summer.

Penalty for Defaulters

A new guideline released by the China Securities Regulatory Commission for the recently launched science and technology innovation board highlights information disclosure and strengthens sanctions on credit defaulters.

Companies applying for listing on the new board will face tougher scrutiny while credit defaulters will be exposed. Companies blacklisted by other government departments or in other sectors will be fl agged during the examination.

Credit defaulters， including those registering with false information or violating information disclosure laws and regulations， will be placed on a blacklist circulated among various authorities and departments.

The blacklist will prevent them from applying for fi scal funds， serving as legal representatives and chief executives of their companies， receiving honorary titles and prizes， and boarding planes or trains.

The tougher punishment will help create a better market environment for the sci-tech innovation board， the commission said.

E-Sports IPO

DouYu International， a Chinese e-sports live streaming platform， announced the terms for its initial public offering （IPO） on the U.S. stock market on July 8.

It will offer over 67 million American Depositary Shares at a price range of $11.5 to $14 apiece， according to its prospectus fi led with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Founded in 2014 and based in Wuhan City in central Hubei Province， DouYu operates its platform both on computer and mobile apps. Users can watch interactive games and live-streamed entertainment.

The company said it will use the net proceeds to provide premium e-sports content， expand content genres， strengthen technologies and big data analytic capabilities and invest in marketing.

Chinas video game market is becoming increasingly e-sportsbased. E-sports gamers， as a percentage of the overall gamer population， have increased from 19.4 percent in 2015 to 51.3 percent in 2018 and are expected to reach 57.4 percent by 2023， according to consulting fi rm iResearch.

Borrowing Strengths

Robots operate on the production lines of a car company in Cangzhou， north Chinas Hebei Province， on July 6. The city has embraced industries relocating from Beijing and Tianjin and introducing their advanced technologies， giving the new economy a fresh impetus.

Forex Expansion

Chinas foreign exchange （forex） reserves expanded slightly to $3.11 trillion at the end of June， offi cial data showed on July 8.

The amount increased by $18.2 billion， or 0.6 percent， from the end of May， according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange（SAFE）.

SAFE spokesperson Wang Chunying attributed the rise to various factors， including exchange rate fl uctuations and changes in asset prices.

The U.S. dollar index dropped more than 1.5 percent in June， leading to the appreciation of major nondollar currencies， Zhao Qingming， chief economist of the derivative institute of the China Financial Futures Exchange， said.

An increase in bond prices also contributed to the growth in forex reserves.

Meanwhile， gold reserves rose for a seventh straight month in June to 61.94 million ounces， up 330，000 ounces from May， according to a statement from the Peoples Bank of China. The reserves were valued at $87.27 billion at the end of June， compared with $79.83 billion at the end of May.

Despite mounting external uncertainties and volatility， the Chinese economy has maintained overall stability and run within a reasonable range so far this year， Wang said， stressing that the forex market has kept the basic balance between supply and demand.

Wang said more measures will be announced to advance allaround opening up， and increase the resilience and sustainability of the economy. This will provide a solid basis for the stability of forex reserves.

SOE Merger

China Silk Corp. will become part of the China Poly Group Corp. in the latest restructuring of stateowned enterprises （SOEs）. This is the second merger of centrallyadministered SOEs this year and is an important part of deepening SOE reform.

China Poly， founded in 1992 with business covering over 100 countries worldwide， said it would conduct restructuring and integration， and improve the effi ciency of resource allocation to ensure a smooth transfer of assets.

At present， it has 11 secondary subsidiaries and fi ve listed companies both on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong. Their business covers two thirds of the economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Established in 1946， China Silk has business in silk， petrochemicals， fashion magazines， estate management， new materials and foreign trade.

Zhou Lisha with a research institute of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council， said the Central Government has accelerated the pace of restructuring SOEs with similar industrial structure and products. It is practical for largescale central SOEs to merge with smaller ones to form a bigger group to compete with international rivals， Zhou added.

Flower Power

A farmer works in a fl ower fi eld in Xinba Town， northwest Chinas Gansu Province， on July 6. The town is undertaking large-scale fl ower and vegetable planting to improve local farmers income.

Apple Center

Apple opened its fi rst Design and Development Accelerator in China， a center to help developers implement the latest Apple technologies and distribute their apps to their global customer base， on July 9.

Located in Shanghais Pudong New District， the project aims to tap into the countrys growing innova- tion prowess and vast market.

Apple said the accelerator would serve as a hub for Chinese developers and provide one-on-one consultations with the Apple team， as well as lectures， seminars and experimental activities.

The Shanghai center will help developers improve their products， with the goal of benefi ting 5，000 person-times per year， Apples Vice President and Managing Director for the Greater China Region Isabel Ge Mahe said.

Chinese developers boast strong innovation capabilities， leading business models， excellent user experiences and growing ambitions to go global， Ge said.

Since the Apple App Store was launched in China in 2010， developers have earned over 200 billion yuan （$29 billion） through sales to customers around the world.

Shared Care

The staff of a shared home in Wuyuan County， east Chinas Jiangxi Province， arrange fl owers with a tourist on July 5. The county has developed shared homes of various types to promote tourism.

Regulation Revision

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has started soliciting public opinion on a revised regulation on scoring the fuel consumption of traditional passenger cars and new-energy vehicle（NEV） output for automakers and importers.

The revision will categorize methanol- and ether-fueled cars as traditional vehicles and push automakers to rev up NEV output from 2021 to 2023， according to a document released by the ministry on July 9.

To reduce energy consumption and expand NEV sales， tough regulations were imposed in April 2018 on passenger car makers and importers， who will get two separate scores on traditional vehicles energy effi ciency and NEV production.

If they fail to amass enough credit， their products may not be allowed on the road.

The number of new-energy passenger vehicles surged 65.9 percent year on year to 577，000 units during the January-June period， data from the China Passenger Car Association showed.