A worker harvests citrus fruit in Cangwubang Village， central Chinas Hubei Province， on November 23. Local citrus fruit processing enterprises recently signed deals worth $98 million with foreign importers including those from Russia， Kazakhstan and Italy.

Readers Seminar

A seminar on the book Xi Jinping： The Governance of China was held in Madrid， Spain， on November 22， days before the scheduled visit to the country by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

A total of 200 guests， including senior offi cials from the two countries， attended the event and held an in-depth discussion about the book.

The book opens a window for audiences around the world to better understand Chinas achievements， said Wang Xiaohui， Executive Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC）.

The work gives a historical insight into China， expounds the purpose of Chinas reform and development and provides Chinese wisdom to solving global issues， said Wang， who is also vice director of the Policy Research Offi ce of the CPC Central Committee.

The book will help people better understand the key to Chinas success， Wang added.

Taiwan Local Elections

Taiwan held local elections on November 24. Among the 22 county and city chief posts， the Kuomintang Party won 15 seats， the Democratic Progressive Party landed six， and the rest to an independent candidate， according to the islands election affairs authority.

There were also elections to choose city councilors and village leaders.

Ko Wen-je， the independent candidate， won the mayoral election in Taipei with 3，200 more votes than Ting Shou-chung， a candidate from the Kuomintang.

Ting fi led a lawsuit to challenge the validity of the election in the early hours of November 25.

Tsai Ing-wen announced her resignation as the chair of the Democratic Progressive Party late on November 24.

Streaming Crackdown

Police in Beijing continue to tighten regulations on live streaming platforms. Since July this year， the city has closed 800，000 illegal accounts， according to the Beijing network security bureau.

Since 2015， live streaming has become one of the most soughtafter industries in China with a large number of startups pouring in. By the end of 2017， China had more than 300 live streaming platforms and over 422 million viewers， creating a total revenue of 30 billion yuan （$4.3 billion）.

To meet the citys requirements， some companies have set up divisions to assess the content. Live streaming hosts are asked to obey the rules， such as not to spread obscene content.

Wage Growth

In 2017， global wage growth dropped to its lowest rate since 2008， far below levels seen during the fi nancial crisis， the International Labor Organization （ILO） said on November 26. They noted that China defi ed the trend.

The Global Wage Report 2018/19 released on November 26 fi nds that in real terms （adjusted for price infl ation）， global wage growth declined to 1.8 percent in 2017 from 2.4 percent in 2016.

“We see a worrying trend of global wage growth，” ILO DirectorGeneral Guy Ryder said at a UN press conference， observing that the slow wage growth looks likely to continue in 2018.

The report says， “While wages have increased rapidly over the past decade in some countries， particularly in China， in many other countries average wages remain low and insuffi cient to adequately cover the needs of workers and their families.”

The latest ILO wage report based on data from 136 countries and regions found global wage growth has been weak， while the gender pay gap， at 20 percent globally， “remains unacceptably high，”said the ILO chief.

The report says， “If China， whose large population and rapid wage growth signif ciantly inf luence the global average， is excluded， global wage growth in real terms fell from 1.8 percent in 2016 to 1.1 percent in 2017.”

The report observes more robust growth in average wages in low- and middle-income economies but this varies wildly across different countries and regions. Overall， in low- and middle-income economies， an estimated 50 percent of all wage earners continue to work in the informal economy or in the gig economy.

Ryder described the “gender pay gap” as “one of the lasting injustices in work，” which he said the ILO has been seeking to address since it was founded in 1919.

The report fi nds that in advanced G20 countries， real wage growth declined from 0.9 percent in 2016 to 0.4 percent in 2017.

By contrast， in emerging and developing G20 countries， real wage growth fl uctuated between 4.9 percent in 2016 and 4.3 percent in 2017.

The ILO chief said that stagnating wages are an obstacle to economic growth and rising living standards and might explain recent political shifts.

Garbage Sorting

Authorities in Shanghai are asking for public opinions regarding a draft regulation concerning garbage classifi cation， China Daily reported on November 27.

The draft aims to regulate garbage sorting， dumping， collection， transportation and treatment.

Individuals or working units will be held responsible for the proper sorting and disposal of the garbage they produce， according to the draft.

An individual who offends can be fi ned up to 200 yuan （$29） and work units which fail to follow the rules can be fi ned between 5，000 yuan （$719） and 50，000 yuan（$7，191）， the paper said.

The document also requires that garbage trucks be equipped with online monitoring systems and indicate the types of household waste they transport.

The regulation encourages the use of recycled to reduce the consumption of disposable supplies at government offi ces and institutions.

The document， submitted to the citys legislative body for a second review， will be further revised before being submitted to the Shanghai Municipal Peoples Congress early next year.

Playtime

Children play during a break at a primary school in Jinghong， Xishuangbanna， southwest Chinas Yunnan Province， on November 20. The school has 712 students， most of whom are from the Jinuo ethnic group. Jinuo is one of Chinas smallest ethnic groups with a population of just 20，000. In recent years， the local government has carried out measures to improve education for children in the region.

Going Interactive

A visitor tries a 3D interactive screen at the Chinese Museums， Relevant Products and Technologies Exposition in Fuzhou， capital of southeast Chinas Fujian Province， on November 23.

Legal aid

Legal aid institutions across China have handled about 6.34 million cases during the past fi ve years， helping 6.96 million people， the Ministry of Justice said on November 29.

Over the past fi ve years， legal aid institutions at all levels have helped 2.47 million migrant workers， 328，000 people with disabilities， 585，000 elderly people and 742，000 minors， the ministry said.

Twenty provinces in China have lowered the income standards for people to receive legal aid， said Liu Zhenyu， Vice Minister of Justice， adding that most provinces in the country have included cases concerning labor security， marriage， food and drugs， education and medical care into the scope of legal aid services.

“Migrant workers and people with disabilities are the focus of legal aid work，” Liu said， noting that the ministry has stepped up efforts to help them by improving the legal aid service mechanism.

Liu also called for solid efforts to provide legal aid for migrant workers at the end of the year， a period when dispute cases concerning the interests and rights of migrant workers appear frequently.

Financial Supervision

Authorities have outlined improvements to the supervision of fi nancial institutions that carry systemic importance to the health of the countrys fi nances.

The guidelines posted on November 27 aims to improve Chinas framework for supervising systemically important fi nancial institutions， prevent risks and maintain a prudent performance.

“[The guidelines] specify the policy orientation for supervision of systemically important fi nancial institutions， improve areas of weakness in supervision， give guidance to large institutions on prudent operations and forestall systemic fi nancial risks，” the Peoples Bank of China（PBC） said.

The guidelines also make clear the defi nition and scope of institu- tions， including those in the banking， securities and insurance sectors， as well as their evaluation procedure. The new strategies were jointly released by the PBC， the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Smart City

The Shanghai Municipal Government and Chinese tech giant Baidu signed a strategic cooperation agreement on November 27 to develop the citys artifi cial intelligence（AI） industry.

According to the agreement， a Baidu innovation center will be built to make Shanghai a major AI development center. Baidu will also help the authorities make a smart city. Shanghai has talent from home and abroad and is open to the world， which provides the ideal environment for the companys future development， said Robin Li， Chairman and CEO of Baidu.

“Baidu will increase its research and development investment， land new modes， applications and products in Shanghai to make bigger contributions to the AI industry development and mega-city management in Shanghai，” he said.

According to an AI industry development plan issued last year， Shanghai aims to build around 10 AI innovation platforms and 10 leading AI innovation companies by 2020， when the citys AI industry will be worth more than 100 billion yuan（$14.4 billion）.

Track Laying

Workers lay tracks on the Yarlung Zangbo River Bridge of the Lhasa-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway in Gonggar County of southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region on November 26. On the same day， Yarlung Zangbo River Bridge， the fi rst cross-river bridge of this section started its track laying.

Flower E-Commerce

E-commerce fl ower businesses fl ourished in China thanks to con- sumers rising demand for lifeenriching products and the upgrade of logistics， China Daily reported.

November， usually a slow period for fl orists in China， is now a peak season due to Singles Day online shopping spree on November 11. Shuyang County， one of the countrys biggest fl ower bases， in east Chinas Jiangsu Province saw over 7，000 online fl ower shops launching sales promotions on November 11， said the newspaper. Xingfu Huahai， a fl orist in Shuyang， reaped more than 10 million yuan （$1.44 million） in sales， after introducing over 150 varieties of fl owers from Japan， Singapore and the Republic of Korea， according to the local governments online statement.

Chinese consumers used to buy fresh fl owers as gifts during festivals， but an increasing number of people now see fl owers as part of daily consumption habits， according to a report from the consulting company iResearch.

Flower sales on November 11 exploded as Chinese consumers are willing to spend more on luxury products， China Daily quoted the telecom industry expert Wang Guanxiong as saying.

The new industry trend， however， poses a challenge to the supply chain， Wang said.

The fl ower e-commerce business requires high-quality and speedy logistics， so any compromise in the supply chain would infl uence the business said Sun Honglei， a franchisee of the leading logistics company ZTO express.

Capital Support

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China （ICBC） has mapped out a three-year plan to boost capital support for private businesses in response to calls to ease the fi nancing diffi culties faced by private companies.

Within three years， ICBCs inclusive loans targeting small and micro-enterprises will surge more than 30 percent annually， with the net lending to private enterprises growing by no less than 200 billion yuan （$28.6 billion） annually.

The number of new privateenterprise clients will grow by 5，000 or higher each year， said ICBC President Gu Shu in an interview with Xinhua News Agency.

Financial institutions have been mobilized to optimize their credit services and enhance their risk control capabilities amid the nationwide efforts to ease the capital shortage of private fi rms.

China Construction Bank （CCB） has released 26 measures to further improve fi nancial services for private enterprises.

One measure is to raise a seed fund of 30 billion yuan （$4.3 billion） which is expected to leverage a scale of funding worth 300 billion yuan（$43.2 billion） to support the development of technological innovationbased enterprises.

While guarding against risks， CCB also plans to bring the outstanding loans for inclusive fi nance to 1 trillion yuan （$143.8 billion） in the next three years and keep the non-performing loan ratio within 3 percent.

Robotic Chain

A researcher in a technological company assembles robots in the robot incubation center of Tangshan Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone， north Chinas Hebei Province， on November 22. In recent years， the zone has used the robot industry as an important driving force of economic restructuring and developed an industrial chain to commercialize the products.

Wealth Management

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China （ICBC） and the Agricultural Bank of China （ABC）， both among Chinas largest lenders， announced on November 26 that they would establish subsidiaries focusing on wealth management.

The wealth management subsidiary of ICBC will be established with a registered capital of 16 billion yuan（$2.3 billion）， while ABC will have a registered capital of 12 billion yuan（$1.7 billion）， the two companies said in separate statements.

“The business scope of the subsidiaries include wealth management products to the general public as well as the private placement of wealth management products to eligible investors，” the statements said.

The move followed similar announcements earlier this month by another two of the countrys largest lenders， the Bank of China and the China Construction Bank. By setting up the subsidiary， ABC can realize the specialized operation of the wealth management business and better isolate risks， the bank said in the statement.

Smart Helmets

Workers wearing smart helmets talk at a building site in Xian， northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province， on November 23. The intelligent helmets with positioning function can provide data for managers about the location of workers.

Greater Access

With approval from the Chinese market regulator， a number of overseas fi nancial institutions are ready to expand their presence on the Chinese mainland.

German insurer Allianz Group has gained permission for the preparatory establishment of a foreign insurance holding company in China， according to a statement released on November 25 by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission （CBIRC）.

The company， Allianz （China） Insurance Holding Company Limited， will be Chinas fi rst-ever entirely foreign-owned insurance company， said the statement.

“Todays announcement also follows the positive long-term cooperation between China and Germany， allowing our Chinese and international clients to be able to enjoy Allianzs comprehensive fi nancial and risk management solutions and services， and benefi t from the continued growth and liberalization of Chinas fi nancial markets，” said Oliver Bate， Chairman and CEO of Allianz Group.

The approval follows a series of measures recently announced by the Chinese G overnment to further open up to and encourage investment from foreign fi nancial insurance institutions， the company noted.

The CBIRC also said that Hong Kongs Chiyu Banking Corporation Ltd. has been approved to set up a subsidiary bank in Shenzhen， south Chinas Guangdong Province.

The regulator said it has been working to implement measures aimed at the further opening up of Chinas banking and insurance sectors. In line with relevant laws and regulations， and under the premise of risk prevention， the CBIRC has accepted and approved many applications for market access， it said.