CHINESE SCIENTIST WINS TOP AWARD

Chinese scientist Shen Shuzhong won the International Commission on Stratigraphy （ICS） Medal， becoming the fi rst Asian to win the fi elds highest award.

Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the relationships between the time and space of rocks and the varied processes that have formed and affected them.

Shen， a professor at Nanjing University and an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS）， was presented the medal and certificate by the ICS on July 4 at the Third International Congress on Stratigraphy in Milan， Italy. The prize， established in 2004 and awarded every four years to one person， honors high-quality research in stratigraphy by recognizing a single major achievement in advancing stratigraphy.

The 58-year-old academician is the fi fth recipient of the medal. Along with other researchers， Shen has demonstrated the simultaneity and instantaneity of the Permian mass extinction， concluding that the main reason behind it was dramatic changes of the ground surface environment caused by large-scale magmatic activities.

Born in 1961 in east Chinas Zhejiang Province， Shen holds a PhD degree from the China University of Mining and Technology. He was elected an academician of the CAS in 2015 and joined Nanjing University in 2018.

Home Service Industry

Qilu Evening News July 8

Recently， the State Council issued a guideline on improving the quality of the home service industry and expanding its scope， requiring each province to have at least one university offering home service-related majors.

Chinas home service industry has maintained an annual growth rate of 20 percent in recent years.

Although the industry is large in volume， its quality is not high due to， among other things， the mediocre quality of home service practitioners.

Many regard home services as too lowend to be a university major. Such views reflect traditional values where nurses are seen as inferior to university students. These wrong concepts have resulted in the low quality of home service practitioners. As a matter of fact， the home service industry requires comprehensive competence from its practitioners and setting up home service majors meets market needs.

It is also notable that most students who have received a diploma in home servicerelated majors participate in the management of home service companies. To attract more excellent talent to the home service industry， prejudice against the profession should be rejected and respect should be afforded to home service practitioners and their legal rights and interests should be protected. Only in this way will more students choose home service majors without the fear of being ridiculed.

Cartoon and Animation City

Oriental Outlook July 11

The China International Cartoon and Animation Festival， which has been held every year since 2005 in Hangzhou， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， has become an iconic cultural event.

Currently， cartoon and animation are a part of ordinary peoples lives in this city. Even real estate companies in Hangzhou use cartoon images for promotion.

With the rise of the industry in big cities such as Beijing， Shanghai and Hangzhou， it has become a new engine for promoting urban transformation and improving the competitiveness of the cultural and creative industry.

The development of the industry has not only boosted cultural consumption and created jobs， but also promoted the development of theme parks.

However， it also faces some challenges currently， such as an incomplete industrial chain and difficulties in attracting creative talent.

Whether a city can explore a sustainable model for developing the cartoon and animation industry tests its ability to mobilize resources.

The industry is centered on creativity. Only when a city is able to generate a favorable env ironment for creation can the industry be integrated into its development.

Quality Testers

Guangzhou Daily July 5

In Xiayi County of central Chinas Henan Province， a new profession which tests whether a watermelon is ripe has gained traction. These watermelon testers are able to tell whether a watermelon is ripe by looking at， touching it and knocking on the fruit， which brings them as much as 1，000 yuan（$145） per day.

The emergence of this new profession is a result of consumers higher requirement for watermelons. In order to guarantee their quality， watermelons that are small or not sweet enough will not be allowed to enter the market. However， since a watermelon cannot be cut open in order to test its quality， the profession of watermelon tester came into being.

As consumption continues to upgrade， not only have commodities changed， but also consumers awareness of quality. Whether its a watermelon or a mobile phone， peoples concern about quality is the same.

Similar professions have emerged in other fi elds. For instance， a hotel test sleeper provides suggestions to hotel operators on how to improve their services， while giving evaluations to customers for choosing a hotel.

Information asymmetry has been the root cause of consumer dissatisfaction. In order to avoid more ill-feelings， the testers job should be more professional and a third-party evaluation system should be established as soon as possible.

NEW DEVELOPMENT BANK CHIEF ECONOMIST

Li Daokui was appointed director general and chief economist of the New Development Bank （NDB）， a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS member states that is headquartered in Shanghai， on July 1.

Primarily， Li will be in charge of research and analysis for economic， financial， infrastructure and development issues across BRICS.

A leading Chinese economist in academic and policy research， Li has been a Mansfi eld Freeman chair professor of economics at Tsinghua University since 2006. He is also Director of the Academic Center for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking at Tsinghua University.

The BRICS countries—Brazil， Russia， India， China and South Africa—signed an agreement in July 2014 to set up the NDB， which went into operation in July 2015.

Born in Beijing in 1963， Li graduated with a bachelors degree from the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University in 1985. He received his PhD in economics from Harvard University in 1992.

“From the perspective of developing or emerging markets， multilateralism is the best system， since it allows countries that didnt have a voice in the rule-making process to come onto the stage.”

Rajat Kathuria， Director of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations， during the Eighth World Peace Forum， organized by Chinas Tsinghua University and held on July 8-9

“China is willing to encourage its enterprises to share their 5G innovation achievements with other nations in a bid to raise global telecommunication standards.”

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi while meeting the press with Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz in Warsaw on July 8

“ U.S. arms sales to Taiwan flagrantly violate international law， the basic norms governing international relations， the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang in response to U.S. planned sales of weapons worth $2.22 billion to Taiwan， on July 9

“Womens soccer is not just a sport， but also a powerful social cause that encourages girls and women to pursue their dreams and ambitions.”

Cai Yong， Chinese Football Association executive， praising payment and service platform Alipays 1-billion-yuan（$145-million） initiative to support womens soccer in China