A Long March-3B carrier rocket bearing the last satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province， southwest China， at 9：43 a.m. on June 23.

The launch of the 55th satellite completes the in-orbit construction of Chinas largest space-based system and one of four global navigation networks， along with the United StatesGPS， Russias GLONASS and the EUs Galileo.

The new satellite will join the other satellites in providing users around the globe high-accuracy navigation， positioning and timing services， the China Satellite Navigation Offi ce said.

Saying Goodbye

Students from Wuhan University in Wuhan， Hubei Province in central China， take a selfi e at their graduation ceremony on June 20. Student representatives took part in the ceremony in the universitys playground with most of the graduates attending online as a precaution against the novel coronavirus.

China-Europe Trains

China-Europe trains have begun transporting international parcels between Europe and Wuhan， capital of Hubei Province， central China.

A freight train carrying domestic appliances， automobile parts and ornaments departed Wuhan over the weekend immediately before June 22. The train carried 10，710 parcels weighing 2.75 tons.

According to China Railway Wuhan Group Co. Ltd.， the shipment will take 13 days to reach Malaszewicze， Poland， before being dispatched to the United Kingdom， France and Germany.

With cheaper transportation costs， China-Europe freight trains are less likely to be affected by weather conditions and can transport more varieties of goods， allowing smooth exports of commodities such as electronic and cosmetic products.

Regular China-Europe freight trains will be launched to facilitate cross-border e-commerce businesses in Hubei.

Maglev Tests

Performance checks on Chinas domestically developed prototype magnetic-levitation train， with a designed top speed of 600 km per hour， began in Shanghai on June 21.

The prototype， which has only one car， can lay a technological basis for a forthcoming engineering prototype， according to CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co. Ltd.， a train maker headquartered in Qingdao， a coastal city in Shandong Province in east China.

Ding Sansan， head of the research and development （R&D） team and deputy chief engineer of the company， said preliminarily checks have found the vehicle stable， with all key technical indexes meeting the design requirements and expectations.

The company said R&D of a fi ve-car engineering prototype is going smoothly. It is scheduled to roll off the production line this year.

Testing Time

A total of 10.71 million students will sit for this years national college entrance exam on July 7 and 8， an increase of 400，000 over last year， the Ministry of Education said on June 19.

Over 7，000 exam sites will be set up across the country， including around 400，000 exam rooms， and 945，000 people will work as invigilators or service providers.

Wang Hui， an offi cial with the ministry， said it will be the largest organized event in the country since the novel coronavirus disease epidemic hit China.

Also known as the gaokao， it is deemed the most important event for Chinese students， selecting talent and changing the fate of children from poor families.

Trainer Aircraft

The domestically developed AG100 trainer aircraft made its maiden fl ight successfully on June 20， the Aviation Industry Corporation of China said.

The AG100， a new generation trainer aircraft， conducted its maiden fl ight at the Moganshan Airport in Deqing， a county in Zhejiang Province in east China.

According to the test pilots， during the 10-minute fl ight， the aircraft showed good maneuverability and stability， with all systems operating normally.

The AG100 was developed by Zhejiang China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Institute to meet the strong demand of the Chinese and global markets. Its design team has solicited opinions on the model from potential buyers.

The models strengths include cost-effectiveness， convenient operation and greater safety.

Tibet Bridge

The construction of a major bridge over the Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China concluded on June 20， marking the completion of all 120 bridges in the 435-km railway linking regional capital Lhasa and Nyingchi.

In early April， all the 47 tunnels on the railway were completed.

The 525.1-meter-long bridge at an altitude of 3，350 meters is the worlds highest concrete-fi lled steel tube arch railway bridge.

Notably， 75 percent of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway is bridges and tunnels， and it has a designed speed of 160 km per hour. It is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2021.

Submersible Named

China has named its new deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe， which means striver in Chinese.

An expert panel chose the name from a shortlist of 10， which were voted by nearly 100，000 web users during an online campaign by state broadcaster China Media Group.

The manned submersible for 10，000-meter deep-sea exploration recently completed tank experiments.

The 10，000-meter manned submersible project was launched in 2016 by scientists who previously developed the manned submersibles Jiaolong and Shenhai Yongshi（Deep Sea Warrior）.

According to media reports， the new submersible is expected to dive in the Mariana Trench after the fi nal experiments in Wuxi in Jiangsu Province， east China.

Dashing Debut

A panda plays in Jiuzhaigou Panda Park in Jiuzhaigou， a county in Sichuan Province in southwest China， on June 19. Four giant pandas relocated to the park from China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda last October offi cially met the public on June 16.

Yellow River Flood

The Yellow River， the second longest in China， has seen its fi rst fl ood this year due to continuous rainfall in the upper reaches， the Yellow River Conservancy Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources said on June 19.

After heavy rainfall recently， the amount of water fl owing per second through the Tangnaihe hydrologic station in Qinghai Province in northwest China has increased to 2，500 cubic meters， the commission said.

It launched a blue alert for fl oods and a level four emergency response， both the lowest rungs in Chinas four-tier alert and emergency response systems， at 9：00 a.m. on June 19.

It has also asked local governments along the Yellow River basin to continue monitoring the situation and enhance patrols on dams and fl ood control projects.

Remarkable Ring

A child observes the most anticipated celestial event of the year， an annular solar eclipse， using an astronomical telescope in Kunming， Yunnan Province in southwest China， on June 21. An annular eclipse is characterized by its stunning “ring of fi re” since its not a total eclipse and edges of the sun can still be seen around the moon. People who missed it this time will have to wait another 10 years to see the next one.

Fuel Futures

The Shanghai International Energy Exchange began trading low-sulfur fuel futures from June 22 with a benchmark price of 2，368 yuan（$334.9） per ton.

The exchange had conducted two drills on June 13 and 21， which included daily trading and settlement. The exercises found the overall process smooth and in line with expectations of a batch of contracts for monthly deliveries from January to June 2021.

During the trial trading on June 21， the daily turnover saw over 187，000 transactions and the value reached 4.93 billion yuan （$696 million）.

Low-sulfur oil is an important fuel for maritime transport. The launch will allow overseas investors to access the price signals， manage risks and advance steady operation of the sector.

Manufacturing Loans

The manufacturing sector saw a surge in new loans in the fi rst fi ve months of this year as fi nancial support strengthened amid the novel coronavirus epidemic， offi cial data showed.

From January to May， 1.4 trillion yuan （$197 billion） of new loans fl owed to Chinese manufacturers， up 10.1 percent year on year， the highest growth since 2014， according to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission （CBIRC）.

The CBIRC has asked banking and insurance institutions to deepen efforts to facilitate the upgrade of the manufacturing sector and help stabilize industrial and supply chains amid the epidemic， Ye Yanfei， an offi cial with the organization， said.

In the fi rst fi ve months， new loans to the manufacturing sector accounted for 11.3 percent of all new loans， 6.7 percentage points higher than the level at the beginning of the year.

By the end of the fi rst quarter， the non-performing loan ratio for the sector stood at 4.5 percent， fl at from the level at the beginning of the year.

Ye said arrangements to help small businesses pull through the epidemic， such as deferring loan repayments， have paid off.

By the end of May， outstanding inclusive loans to small and micro businesses issued by the banking sector amounted to 13.08 trillion yuan （$1.8 trillion）， up 27.56 percent year on year.

Toward High End

An employee is engaged in the workshop of a steel sheet enterprise in Qianan， Hebei Province in north China， on June 17. The city is focusing on making high-quality steel products with high value added to drive economic growth.

Auto Imports

More than 8，000 cars shipped from Dubai under a parallel import scheme have arrived in the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone since June 12， according to the local customs.

The scheme allows independent auto dealers to directly purchase vehicles from a foreign production base or auto dealer and sell them to Chinese customers at prices lower than those offered by authorized dealers.

The northern port city of Tianjin has sped up parallel auto imports， with the peak annual volume topping 120，000 units， about 80 percent of the countrys total.

Despite the epidemic， Tianjins parallel import cars hit 19，800 units in the fi rst fi ve months of this year， with a total import value of 7.47 billion yuan （$1.05 billion）.

The customs of the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone has opened a green channel to facilitate customs clearance for parallel import autos as nearly 10，000 cars were expected to arrive by the end of June.

Parallel import car sales are also gaining momentum. Retail sales of such cars in China reached 10，830 units in May， up 18 percent year on year.

Financial Support

The CBIRC on June 18 pledged sustained efforts to spur faster economic recovery， and ensure stable employment and development of enterprises to cushion the impact of the epidemic.

Many enterprises， though hit hard by the epidemic， have promising business prospects and sound credit records， Guo Shuqing，Chairman of the CBIRC， said at the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai via video link.

The banks and the government should cooperate to forge rescue plans for the fi rms， he said， adding that the role of policy-based fi nance in counter-cyclical adjustments will be strengthened. This year， the loans arranged by policy banks will increase by nearly 1 trillion yuan（$141 billion） over last year， with a larger scale of bonds issuance and additional funds， he added.

To support the development of the capital market， the CBIRC is planning to add new institutional investors， increase the issuance of equity asset management products and encourage new asset management subsidiaries to invest more in securities. It will also support insurance companies to expand investment in the capital market， Guo said.

The authorities will not engage in a deluge of strong stimulus policies， let alone introduce mon- etization of the fi scal defi cits or negative interest rates， he added， saying that China cherishes the use of normal monetary and fi scal policies.

Reform and opening up of the fi nancial sector will be enhanced to create a market-oriented， law-based and internationalized business environment. Wider cooperation between Chinese and foreign institutions will be encouraged to deepen foreign participation in the Chinese market， Guo said.

Ensuring Supplies

A buyer selects tomatoes at a chain supermarket in Haidian District， Beijing， on June 17. Multiple dealers and supermarkets in Beijing have increased vegetable stocks to ensure supplies after the main wholesale market Xinfadi was closed on June 13 following the report of new novel coronavirus cases.

Foreign Trade Up

Foreign trade in Hunan Province in central China went up in the fi rst fi ve months of 2020， statistics from customs showed.

The trade volume from January to May totaled 172 billion yuan （$24.3 billion）， an increase of 21.1 percent over the same period last year.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has emerged as Hunans largest trade partner， followed by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region， the EU and the U.S.

According to customs data， mechanical and electrical goods and labor-intensive products were the primary export commodities. The import volume of mechanical and electrical products was relatively large， while bulk commodities such as iron ore， copper ore and soybean also grew in varying degrees.

Digital Economy

Chongqing Municip ality in southwest China plans to shore up its digital economy by fostering innovative enterprises and industrial clusters by 2022.

Chongqings digital economy is expected to reach 1 trillion yuan（$141.32 billion） by 2022， accounting for more than 40 percent of its GDP and contributing over 60 percent to the total GDP growth， according to the municipal government.

The plan highlights cultivating hundreds of innovative enterprises and 5，000 micro， small and medium fi rms as well as innovative teams in the digital economy sector by 2022.

The city will focus on industries related to integrated circuits， intelligent terminals， software and information service， artifi cial intelligence and blockchain， and create big industrial clusters.

Chongqing also plans to invest 398.3 billion yuan （$56.2 billion） between 2020 and 2022 in a series of new infrastructure projects to stimulate the integration of the digital economy with the real economy.

Chongqings digital economy is booming， with its added value surging 15.9 percent year on year in 2019.

Last October， China announced to build six national-level pilot zones for innovation and development of the digital economy. The pilot zones will be established in Xiongan New Area in Hebei Province， Chongqing Municipality， as well as Zhejiang， Fujian， Guangdong and Sichuan provinces.

A Prize Catch

A worker feeds fi sh in a demonstration farm in Tianjin on June 16. In recent years， more aquarium fi shes are being grown in Dabaizhuang Town， Baodi District， Tianjin， creating an industry where about 200 farmers are engaged directly and local fi shery companies have an outlet for their fi sh fry， feed and farming technology.