Couples dance at a group wedding ceremony held at the gymnasium of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou， capital of east Chinas Zhejiang Province， on May 6. A total of 121 couples， all of whom are alumni of the university， attended the mass group wedding.

Circuit Court Cases

The six circuit courts of the Supreme Peoples Court （SPC） accepted 2，922 civil， administrative and criminal cases in the fi rst three months of this year， according to the SPC on May 7.

The cases accounted for 67.2 percent of the total cases of these types accepted by the SPC.

Of those accepted， 1，909 cases were concluded in the same period， accounting for 67.9 percent of the total of such SPC cases. The circuit courts handled 8，355 petitions， 78.9 percent of SPC petitions， the court said.

The SPC circuit courts are permanent trial courts set up to exercise power on behalf of the SPC. Circuit court judgments and decisions carry the same weight as those made by the SPC.

The six courts are located in Shenzhen， Shenyang， Nanjing， Zhengzhou， Chongqing and Xian.

Compared with the fi rst three months of 2017， courts across China accepted 627，000 more cases. The proportion of concluded cases compared to accepted cases rose by 4.02 percent year on year， the SPC said.

Since the beginning of the year， courts have been working to conclude cases， reduce protracted cases and improve trial quality and effi ciency nationwide， the SPC said.

Online Gambling Foiled

Chinese police have cracked a number of cases in which suspects were caught using online gaming platforms for gambling purposes， the Ministry of Public Security said on May 8.

In one case， police from Henan， Beijing and Guangxi captured 36 suspects involved in opening online casinos， freezing more than 65 million yuan （$10.2 million） in a joint operation in April.

In another case， police in Zhejiang， Chinas eastern coastal province， busted up an online gambling den in January， with 52 suspects arrested and 330 million yuan （$51.8 million） frozen， said the ministry.

“There are still a number of major cases under investigation，” the ministry noted.

It pledged a continuous crackdown on gambling in a bid to safeguard social and economic security.

Diversion Project

The middle route of the south-tonorth water diversion project has transferred a total of 5 billion cubic meters of water to Beijing since its inception.

Between 2008 and 2014， a section of the middle route sent about 1.6 billion cubic meters of water from Hebei Province to Beijing as part of an emergency water supply program.

Since December 2014 when the middle route started transferring water from the Danjiangkou Reservoir in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River， about 3.4 billion cubic meters have been transferred to Beijing.

Tap water plants received 3.5 billion cubic meters of the total， with the rest fl owing into reservoirs， emergency water sources， rivers and lakes.

The project has eased the pressure on water supply in the capital， improving the quality of life， according to its Beijing offi ce.

It is scheduled to increase water supply by bringing 1.5 billion cubic meters of water annually to Beijing by 2020， the offi ce said.

As the worlds largest water diversion project， it was designed to take water from the Yangtze to feed dry areas in the north through eastern， middle and western routes.

The middle route begins at the Danjiangkou Reservoir in central Chinas Hubei Province and runs across Henan and Hebei provinces before reaching Tianjin and Beijing.

Child Products

China will update national quality standards on child products， lighting， toys and home appliances， an industry group said on May 8.

Zhang Chonghe， head of the China Light Industry Association， said at an industry meeting that existing quality standards were too outdated to meet modern demands， adding that it needs restructuring and consumer upgrading.

In addition， some quality inspection agencies need to improve services and develop clearer market positions.

“With a focus on making quality standards more adaptive and safer，the association will make concrete efforts to keep them updated and in tune with global practices，” Zhang said.

In addition， the association aims to reach at least 95 percent of quality standards in home appliances， toys， clocks and watches to conform to global standards by the end of 2018， according to Zhang.

Illegal Diet Powder

Police in east Chinas Jiangsu Province have traced tons of bogus diet powder containing harmful chemical substances， after uncovering a counterfeiting food workshop.

The diet powder， claiming to contain L-Carnitine coffee， became a faddish diet product sold online. Police raided the drug-making workshop and arrested 12 suspects， seizing eight tons of fake diet powder.

On May 8， police in Huaian City warned consumers not to buy the diet product， saying that 10 tons of the powder produced by the gang had been distributed to the market.

The counterfeiting was discovered in 2017 after a buyer sent the powder to the Huaian Food and Drug Administration for examination. She had suffered toxic symptoms， including vomiting and dizziness， after taking the powder.

Tests showed that the diet ingredient L-Carnitine was not present， but instead coffee， mixed with Sibutramine Hydrochloride and Phenolphthalein， was the main ingredient.

Police said these chemicals cause high blood pressure， a fast heartbeat， anorexia， insomnia， abnormal liver function and intestinal mucosal damage.

Rescue Mission

Wildlife protection workers attach a tracking device to a rescued baby crane in Nanchang， east Chinas Jiangxi Province， on May 4. The bird was found alone and unable to stand up near the Poyang Lake on April 24. It was sent to a provincial wildlife care and breeding center for recovery before being transferred to the Melmeg National Nature Reserve.

Ancient Tombs

More than 90 ancient cliff tombs， dating back to as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty （25-220）， have recently been found in southwest Chinas Sichuan Province， authorities said on May 7.

The excavation was carried out from July 2017 to March 2018 in Jintang County of Chengdu， when a real estate construction project was about to start near the site， according to the archaeological research institute of the city.

Over 400 burial items were unearthed， including pottery， porcelain， copper， silver and ironware. Among the pottery there were pots， axes and fi gurines of animals and people.

More than 30 tombs dated back to the period of Chenghan， a 43-year reign during the Jin Dynasty（265-420）.

Experts believe that the discovery will greatly contribute to the study of the politics， scientifi c development and religious beliefs of Chenghan， which lack suffi cient historical records.

Colorful Elegance

Women dressed in qipao perform during the opening ceremony of a cultural festival in Bozhou， east Chinas Anhui Province， on May 5. The event attracted more than 600 qipao lovers from home and abroad.

Quake Prediction

China has started the construction of a monitoring network in seismically active regions in an effort to explore earthquake prediction， researchers said on May 7.

According to the plan， 2，000 monitoring stations will be built in two years in Sichuan and Yunnan， two quake-prone provinces in southwest China， said scientists with the Institute of Care-life， a disasterreduction lab based in Chengdu， capital of Sichuan Province.

Sensors installed at monitoring stations will collect data on underground stress and energy 8-20 km below the earths surface， providing researchers with potential insights into earthquake forecasting， said Wang Tun， Director of the institute.

Following the construction of the network， researchers will continue to monitor the region for three years and expect to collect data on about 10 earthquakes in this period based on past quake frequency in the region.

The projects objective is to successfully predict earthquakes whose epicenters are less than 20 km deep， researchers said.

The fi rst monitoring station was established two days earlier in Wenchuan County， the epicenter of a devastating earthquake a decade ago.

Milder Inflation

Chinas consumer price index （CPI）， the main gauge of infl ation， rose 1.8 percent year on year in April， data from the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS） showed on May 10.

The growth of consumer infl ation in April was slower than expected， down by 0.3 percentage points from the previous month.

The slower growth of infl ation was mainly led by the steady decline of food prices， according to the NBS.

Food prices slipped 1.9 percent month on month and climbed only 0.7 percent year on year.

China aims to keep its annual CPI growth at around 3 percent this year， the same as the target for 2017.

Lian Ping， Chief Economist at Bank of Communications， said the economy is unlikely to experience high infl ation this year given that there has not been substantial rebound in demand， and the growth of credit supply has slowed.

Chinas producer price index （PPI）， which measures costs for goods at the factory gate， rose 3.4 percent year on year in April， according to the NBS.

It was up from a growth of 3.1 percent recorded in March， driven by growth in factory prices in the mining industry and raw material sector.

In the fi rst four months， PPI rose by 3.6 percent year on year， easing from the 3.7-percent growth in the fi rst quarter.

Preparing for Takeoff

Qingdao-Jiaodong International Airport pictured under construction in Shandong Province on May 9. The major structure of the airport has been completed and will be ready for checks by the end of the year.

ODI Grows

Chinas outbound direct investment（ODI）， including fi nancial and non- fi nancial sectors， registered rapid growth in the fi rst quarter， according to offi cial data.

All-industry ODI totaled $28.2 billion， up 16.2 percent year on year， according to data from the Ministry of Commerce （MOFCOM） and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Domestic investors made $25.5 billion of non-fi nancial ODI in 2，023 overseas enterprises in 140 countries and regions for January-March， up 24.1 percent from the same period last year.

Chinas ODI has seen rapid growth in recent years. However， noting an “irrational tendency” in outbound investment， authorities have set stricter rules and advised companies to make investment decisions more carefully.

In the fi rst three months of the year， no new ODI projects were reported in the real estate， sports or entertainment sectors， the MOFCOM said in a previous statement.

Trade Growth

Chinas trade in goods climbed 8.9 percent year on year to 9.11 trillion yuan （$1.43 trillion） in the fi rst four months of this year， partly due to the upturn in the global economy and solid domestic demand， offi cial data showed on May 8.

Exports rose 6.4 percent year on year to 4.81 trillion yuan （$754.08 billion） between January and April， while imports grew 11.7 percent to 4.3 trillion yuan （$674.13 billion）， according to the General Administration of Customs （GAC）.

The robust trade performance can be attributed to the steady recovery of the global economy and sustained domestic demand， said Huang Songping， GAC spokesperson.

Chinas trade grew in a more balanced manner， as the nation has been stepping up efforts to boost its imports， Huang said.

The trade surplus stood at 506.24 billion yuan （$79.37 billion） in the fi rst four months， which narrowed by 24.1 percent from the same period a year ago， data showed.

Alibaba Acquires Daraz

Chinas e-commerce giant Alibaba Group， acquired the entire share capital of Pakistans top， and South Asias largest， e-commerce platform Daraz Group， a statement said May 8.

According to the announcement released by Daraz， the purchase will make it a wholly owned component of Alibaba， operator of the popular Taobao and Tmall platforms.

“We are excited that Daraz will become a part of the Alibaba ecosystem，” said Alibabas CEO Zhang Yong， adding that “together with Daraz， we can now empower entrepreneurs to better serve con-sumers in the region through our technology and expertise.”

The Daraz Group， founded in Pakistan in 2012， is looking to expand its operations in Pakistan， Bangladesh， Myanmar， Sri Lanka and Nepal， that have a combined population of over 460 million， with 60 percent under the age of 35.

Daraz will continue to operate under its brand name after the transaction， the statement said.

The Pakistani company has 30，000 sellers and 500 brands on its platform， with 2 million products available to its 5 million customers with multiple payment options， including cash-on-delivery.

The acquisition comes almost two months after Alibaba bought a 45-percent share in Telenor Microfi nance Bank， a subsidiary of Norwegian telecom giant Telenor Group， for $184.5 million to develop mobile payments and digital fi nancial services in Pakistan.

The Alibaba Group signed a memorandum of understanding with the Pakistani Ministry of Commerce last year， which paved the way for the business giant to enter into the Pakistani market of over 207 million people.

Tapping into Local Strengths

A farmer picks black fungi in Sanzhou Village， Rongjiang County of southwest Chinas Guizhou Province， on May 8.

Since the beginning of this year， Rongjiang County has led farmers in restructuring the agricultural industry. Measures have been taken to increase local farmers income， which include setting up special cooperatives and guiding farmers to grow high-yielding crops.

Smartphone Slowdown

Chinas smartphone shipments continued to fall in April， industrial data showed on May 9.

Shipments of smartphones totaled 32.7 million in April， down by 15.3 percent year on year.

Total shipments of mobile phones reached 34.25 million in April， down by 16.7 percent year on year. The drop narrowed by 11.2 percentage points compared to March.

Fewer new mobile phone models were rolled out last month. Only 55 new mobile phones entered the market in April， down by 53.8 percent year on year.

Mobile phone shipments have dropped 23.7 percent year on year in the fi rst four months of 2018.

Analysts believe that the Chinese smartphone market will see a reshuffl e as smartphone consumption slows down since almost all Chinese people own at least one mobile phone.

Intelligent Farming

A feedlot is equipped with an automatic water supply system in Matou Town， Tancheng County， Shandong Province， on May 9.

In recent years， the county has promoted automatic chicken raising as a poverty relief program to increase farmers income.

Xiaomi IPO

Chinese mainland tech company Xiaomi has submitted its application for an initial public offering （IPO） in Hong Kong， expected to be the worlds biggest IPO since 2014.

According to a fi le sent to Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Limited， Xiaomi has enlisted CLSA， Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as joint sponsors for its listing.

The fi ling didnt disclose details about the size of its planned offering. However， Xiaomi said the company will use the proceeds received from the IPO to research and develop core products， including smartphones， smart TVs and laptops， as well as global expansion.

A valuation of at least $70 billion was generally accepted by sponsors， investment banks and potential investors， and its likely to surpass $100 billion in the short term， sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Chinese business media outlet Yicai.

It could be the biggest IPO since Alibaba Groups $25 billion debut in 2014， and might be the fi rst IPO after applications under dualclass share structure were started on April 30.

Xiaomi said its revenue for last year was 114.6 billion yuan （$17.96 billion）， compared with 6.84 billion yuan （$1.07 billion） in 2016 and 6.68 billion yuan （$1.05 billion） in 2015. However， the company posted a net loss of 43.9 billion yuan （$6.88 billion） in 2017， reversing its profi t trend from the previous year.