Rear Admiral Chen Yueqi， Commander of Chinas fi rst aircraft carrier formation， recently appeared in an interview with state broadcaster China Central Television and spoke on the fl otillas latest cross-sea training and tests.

From December 20， 2016 to January 13， the formation—consisting of aircraft carrier Liaoning， a number of destroyers， J-15 carrier-based fighter jets and helicopters—sailed through the Bohai Sea， the Yellow Sea， the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Along the way， the vessels passed through the Miyako， Bashi and Taiwan straits， the Peoples Liberation Army （PLA） Navy said.

Drills simulated real combat as much as possible and achieved expected results， Chen said.

He is the second commander of the fleet， taking over the post from his predecessor Wang Hai in July 2015. Before the promotion， Chen was commander of a destroyer detachment in the South China Sea Fleet.

He holds a masters degree from the National Defense University of the PLA.

The Liaoning， Chinas first aircraft carrier， entered service in September 2012.

Improving Bike-Sharing Services

China Youth Daily March 21

While public bicycle systems established by local governments have failed to gain widespread adoption due to inconvenience of use， Internet-based bike-sharing services provided by private startups are gaining popularity across China.

Both kinds of service aim to promote green travel and offer an alternative to short-distance public transportation for urban commuters. But the private companies success demonstrates that they can respond well to public demand and satisfy consumers expectations with exciting products， while the government is often less effi cient in delivering similar services. Public services， therefore， need not necessarily be provided only by the government； they can also be offered by private enterprises， either through public-private partnerships or procurement of services from private operators.

Local governments could entrust their bicycle-sharing systems to private operators in order to ensure more fl exible and effi cient services. On the one hand， this could reduce the cost of private bike-sharing platforms through the provision of subsidies. On the other hand， it could shift local administrations focus to formulating standards for the sector and regulating the market to ensure its sustainable development.

Debt to the Environment

Caixin Weekly March 13

Hutuo River in north Chinas Hebei Province has been seriously polluted by leather factories which have thrived in the nearby region over the past several decades.

Due to their owners weak sense of environmental protection， many small factories， mostly in Xinji City and Wuji County of Shijiazhuang City， the provincial capital， discharged untreated waste water that contains heavy metals and organic pollutants into farmlands or rivers， greatly threatening local peoples health.

It was not until 1996 and 1997 that Xinji and Wuji respectively established waste water treatment facilities.

Subsequently， though， many unlicensed small workshops bored drainage channels underground to discharge waste water stealthily in violation of the law.

Moreover， understaffing of the local environmental authorities added to the challenges of supervision and law enforcement.

In actual fact， Shijiazhuangs situation represents a microcosm of the serious water pollution plaguing China.

According to a survey in north China conducted by the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences over a span of fi ve years starting from 2006， around 35 percent of the 6，000-plus underground water samples tested were polluted， and nearly 25 percent were contaminated by volatile organic compounds.

Repaying the environmental debt accrued through negligence during the past several decades rapid economic growth is an urgent matter. Even more importantly， though， is the need to prevent further buildup of such debt.

A New Form of Real Economy

Shenzhen Special Zone Daily March 20

As Chinas economy is shifting gears and transforming its growth drivers， various new business models have emerged. A new form of real economy， characterized by the fusion of new technologies with the traditional real economy， has thrived.

The real economy traditionally refers to tangible industries that generate goods and services and it undoubtedly should be the pillar of Chinas economy.

However， the real economy， as epitomized by manufacturing， faces sluggish growth. Moreover， many traditional industries are encountering unprecedented challenges in creating job opportunities for workers laid off in the process of cutting overcapacity and destocking.

Under such circumstances， the new real economy has become an emerging driver of growth. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics， the online retail sales volume increased by 26.2 percent year on year in 2016.

New business models allying traditional industries with the Internet have permeated every aspect of the economy and society and revolutionized production methods and logistics. For instance， the governments Internet Plus Education strategy has paved the way for the rapid growth of online education.

In a word， the new real economy is not designed to squeeze out or replace the traditional one， but rather to transform and upgrade it.

MAN SUBDUES POTENTIAL SKYJACKER

Cao Hongguo， a senior project manager， helped foil an alleged hijack attempt on Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET604 en route from Addis Ababa， Ethiopia， to Beijing on March 18.

Employed by Avic-International Project Engineering Co.， an affi liate of the Aviation Industry Corp. of China， 37-year-old Cao oversees a water supply project in Kenya. He was returning home to central Chinas Henan Province.

Upon hearing a stewardess yelling for help， Cao followed her to the front of the aircraft， where he saw a man pounding crazily on the cockpit door， trying to get in.

Cao immediately struck the man and tried to stop him. During the ensuing fracas， he received several injuries to his face. Two passengers and the captain joined the fi ght and， after 20 minutes of tremendous struggle， they together managed to subdue the man.

The flights 200-plus passengers and crew returned safely to Beijing， several hours behind schedule， after the Boeing 777 diverted to Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore， Pakistan， where the man was handed over to police.

“Private investors have less confidence in the manufacturing industry because the rate of return is relatively low.”

Luo Zhongwei， a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， calling for preferential policies to steer private capital into upgrading the manufacturing industry

“People should realize that more attacks have been foiled at the planning stage. We havent seen a significant drop in the number of attempted attacks.”

Li Wei， an anti-terrorism expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations， at a media event on March 20

“Its an experiment to integrate our Olympic program at the elite level with the mass fitness campaign at the grassroots.”

Du Zhaocai， Vice President of the Chinese Athletics Association， revealing on March 16 the associations plan to offer two spots on Chinas national team to qualified amateur runners for the marathon event of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo， Japan

“Although water quality has improved around the country， the improvement still fell far short of peoples expectations.”

Zhang Bo， an official with the Ministry of Environmental Protection， saying at a press conference on March 20 that the proportion of monitored surface water reaching a drinkable level rose by 1.8 percentage points to 67.8 percent in China in 2016， surpassing the 66.5-percent target