The State Council announced its decision to cancel the requirement for special qualifications concerning workers in 62 professions， including artificial limb makers， and also its aim to cancel requirements for evaluations of online commercial agents and medical representatives.

The decision to cancel such qualifications and evaluation is an important part of the governments effort to abolish certain administrative approval items and improve its service to the public， the State Council said in a statement.

It also said that the country should further cancel professional qualifications or requirements in order to create a more favorable environment for professional talent and encourage innovation and mass entrepreneurship.

Qualifications for entering a profes- sion required by departments under the State Council — but without any legal basis — should be canceled. And the evaluation of professionals that the State Councils departments， national associations or institutes set up independently should also be canceled.

The central and local authorities should speed up the compilation of a national list of professions that require qualifications or evaluations， and any requirements not on the list will be unacceptable， the State Council said.

China Gets the 2022 Winter Olympics

The International Olympic Committee （IOC） has awarded Beijing the 2022 Winter Olympic Games， making the Chinese capital the first city in history to host both the Summer and Winter Games. But even as people across China celebrate， attention is already turning to the delivery of the games.

After years of planning and hard work， Beijing will host a winter Olympic Games.

“This is a very happy and encouraging event for China. We thank IOC for granting China the opportunity. Beijing is now the worlds only city to hold both summer and Winter Olympics. This is just a beginning for us. Next we will build our country， and present an extraordinary excellent winter sports event in 2022，”Vice-Premier Liu Yandong said.

The vote had been a close call - Beijing winning by 44 votes to 40. And emotions continued to run high in the Beijing bid team long after the announcement.

“I was so nervous. When he announced the result I was relieved. But also it was very emotional as well. I think it is a great honour for Beijing to have the opportunity，” Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games Bid ambassador Yang Yang said.

“It will be another boost for peoples passion to join the sports. The joy of life. Not only the summer games but also the winter games. Yeah we have a long journey about to take off，” Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games Bid ambassador Yao Ming said.

Capital Cuts Residency Permit Wait

New measures have been introduced that cut the minimum waiting time for foreigners seeking residence permits in Beijing by five days.

The measures were introduced on Saturday， according to the Exit-Entry Department of the municipal Public Security Bureau.

Previously， it took at least 15 working days to secure a residence permit， but under the new policy this has been reduced to 10， said Che Yan， director of the bureaus Administration Department.

Che didnt say whether all foreigners residence permit applications will be processed in 10 working days. But he said more staff members using improved technology will be handling this work.

“Well definitely cut the time that we hold foreigners passports，” he said.

The documents required for residence permit applicants，including passports， photographs and application forms-will not change， Che said. Neither will the fees.

A foreigner must submit an application to extend a permit 30 days before the old one expires. Changes to a foreign residents living or working details， such as marital status or phone number， must be updated with the bureau within 10 days， he said.

Liu Jiewei， a police officer responsible for handling foreigners visas， outlined those likely to benefit most from the new policy.

These are foreigners holding positions ranked from vice-president upward in overseas investment enterprises， or who are technology experts with companies at Beijings Zhongguancun Science Park， who are members of the government-backed 1，000 Talent Plan or the national Recruitment Program of Global Experts.

For example， Liu said foreign experts now have to renew their residence permits annually if they want to live in Beijing continually， but the new policy allows certain overseas experts to extend their permits by two to five years.

Foreign experts can obtain a multiple-visit or talent visa that may allow them to stay for not more than 180 days on each visit， Liu said.

“We will strictly verify qualifications for the program，” he said， adding that the bureau will rely heavily on documents provided by the Zhongguancun Science Park， a State-designated pilot zone for global talent.

Ada Jen， a government affairs manager at the International School of Beijing， said she is glad to see the changes and thinks they are “hugely convenient”for foreigners in Beijing to obtain longer stays and multiple-entry visas for work.

“Its great to hear that the police will shorten the time for which they keep our passports to issue residence permits， which can sometimes take a month and make it impossible for us to travel，” Jen said.

“The faster the police handle our applications， the more convenient it will be for us to work and live in Beijing，” she said.

China to Expand Medical Insurance for Major Illnesses

China will expand medical insurance to cover all critical illnesses for all urban and rural residents by the end of the year， the cabinet said on Sunday， the latest step in a plan to fix a healthcare sys- tem that has sparked public discontent.

The State Council said 50 percent of the medical costs will be covered by insurance in a bid to “more effectively reduce the burden of medical expenses”， in a statement posted on the governments website.

President Xi Jinpings government has touted access to affordable healthcare as a key platform of his administration， underscoring the importance of meeting the needs of the nearly 1.4 billion people， many of whom have often complained of large out-of-pocket expenses due to low levels of insurance coverage.

Many people say the cost of serious illnesses such as cancer and diabetes can bankrupt households under the current system.

The aim of expanding health insurance was to “effectively alleviate poverty caused by illness” and to build a strong universal healthcare system， the State Council said.

Since 2009， China has spent 3 trillion yuan （$480 billion） on healthcare reform， but the system still struggles with a scarcity of doctors， attacks by patients on medical staff and a fragmented drug distribution and retail market.

Economists say it is crucial for China to improve the quality of its healthcare if it wishes to remake its economy and boost domestic consumption. They say a stronger safety net will encourage Chinese to spend more and save less.

Chinas healthcare spending is set to hit $1 trillion by 2020， up from $357 billion in 2011， according to McKinsey& Co， attracting a rapid inflow of money from private insurers， hospital operators and other investors.

Tianjin Port City in China Shaken by Massive Explosions

Huge explosions at a warehouse for dangerous materials in the northeastern Chinese port of Tianjin took place on Aug 12th. The explosions took place at a warehouse owned by Ruihai International Logistics located in Tianjins port area. The warehouse was storing hundreds of tunes of sodium cyanide， far more than legally allowed. Officials say 114 people died in the explosions. At least 6，000 people have been displaced. Some 17，000 homes damaged by the blasts and their shockwaves.

Deputy mayor He Shushan promised： “Once we find any actions that have violated the regulations and laws， we will resolutely punish them and give answers to the victims and people affected.”

Insurance claims resulting from their series of explosions at a chemical warehouse in Tianjin are likely to exceed $1 to$1.5 billion.High insurance penetration rate in the area could make the blasts one of the most costly catastrophe claims for the Chinese insurance sector in the past few years.

Fitch believes that claims from the blasts are likely to undermine the financial performance of some regional players and those property and casualty insurers with high risk accumulation in the affected areas.

The report said it is too early to determine the impact the incident will have on the credit strength of the Chinese insurance sector as a whole.

According to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission， non-life insurance premiums from Tianjin city amounted to 11 billion yuan （$1.7 billion） last year. Should insured losses come in at the high end of the initial $1-1.5 billion estimate， they would represent about 88 percent of total direct premiums paid in Tianjin or roughly 5.4 percent of aggregated shareholder capital for the six most active issuers at the end of last year.

PICC Property and Casualty Com- pany， Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Company of China， China Pacific Property Insurance， China Continent Property & Casualty Insurance， Sunshine Property & Casualty Insurance and Taiping General Insurance are the most active insurers in the region， accounting for more than 77 percent of the non-life segment as measured by direct premiums.

Claims from the blasts could be shared with both local and international reinsurers， which could mitigate direct impact on the Chinese insurance sector.

While insurers could recover a portion of their property claims from their reinsurers， their exposure， the amount of retention and the number of reinstatements under the catastrophe reinsurance program are likely to determine the degree of severity to which they are affected.

Fitch estimates that the overall risk ratios of major non-life players active in the Tianjin region range from 10 to 15 percent.

Chinese media have reported that more than 8，000 vehicles were destroyed by the explosions. Claims from motor insurance could impair insurers margins and capital if their reinsurance protection is marginal and the degree of risk accumulation within the affected region is significant.

Aside from motor excess of loss treaties， in which the reinsurers indemnify the ceding companies for losses that exceed a specified limit， it is common for Chinese insurers to use quota share reinsurance treaties to mitigate their solvency strain due to the strong growth in recent years from motor insurance.

The majority of claims will come from motor， cargo， liability and property insurance. However， medical and life insurance claims are also likely to be substantial.

Victims of death and injuries are covered by a government-supported accident insurance plan for the Tianjin region， in addition to their own medical and life insurance policies. Each injured person insured by the government plan can claim compensation of between 20，000 and 35，000 yuan， depending on the extent of injuries while compensation of 50，000 yuan will be paid in the event of death.