A press conference in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region （SAR） on March 21 supporting a decision by the National Peoples Congress to improve the SARs electoral system.

The top legislature made the decision 10 days earlier to ensure Hong Kong is administered by people who love the country and the SAR. More than 2.38 million signatures were collected during a petition campaign.

Flower of Prosperity

Xu Fengqiu （right）， head of a painting and calligraphy studio， teaches peony-themed painting in Juye， a county in Heze， Shandong Province in east China， on March 20. Heze is noted as one of the origins of the peony flower in China. Peony-themed painting has become an income source for local farmers.

Fighting Erosion

Shanxi， a province on the Loess Plateau in north China， has treated more than 18，000 square km of land to battle water and soil erosion over the past five years， authorities said on March 23.

The province plans to treat another 366，667 hectares of land this year， according to the provincial administration of water resources.

The Loess Plateau used to be plagued by chronic soil erosion， resulting in ecological imbalance. Tens of millions of tons of mud and sand are washed into the Yellow River every year， making up most of the silt that gave the river its name.

Thanks to water and soil conservation efforts in recent years， such as afforestation projects， the amount of sand pouring into the Yellow River from the province dropped from some 400 million tons in the early 1950s to less than 20 million tons annually today.

The forest coverage rate rose to 23.18 percent in 2019， from 2.4 percent in the early 1950s.

New Guideline

The Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council on March 22 released a guideline on consolidating poverty alleviation outcomes and promoting rural vitalization.

These issues are significant to the creation of the new development paradigm of “dual circulation” in which domestic and overseas markets reinforce one another， with the domestic market serving as the mainstay， the guideline stated.

A transition period of five years has been set up following the eradication of absolute poverty， the document said.

The growth pace of farmersincome in areas that have shaken off poverty will be higher than the national level by 2025. The living conditions of the rural lowincome population will also be significantly enhanced by 2035.

A long-term mechanism for consolidating poverty alleviation outcomes will be established， including consistent support policies and dynamic monitoring， to prevent a return to poverty.

Vigorous measures to encourage product or service purchases from poverty-stricken areas will continue.

Climate Forecast

China has published the first issue of a climate prediction communique， the countrys first such product released to the public， Xinhua News Agency reported on March 23.

The communique includes monthly， seasonal and annual predictions of climate trends， offering climate information for economic activities and preventing meteorological disasters， Jia Xiaolong， an official with the National Climate Center （NCC）， said.

The public can search for prediction results and their real-time updates on the official websites of the NCC and local meteorological authorities， Jia said.

Climate forecasts used to be provided for the government to illuminate its decision-making process regarding disaster prevention and agricultural production. With improvements in prediction accuracy in recent years， China has now set up a mechanism for the projection of future climate change over various spans of time.

TB Morbidity

The morbidity rate of tuberculosis （TB） in China has fallen from 65 every 100，000 people to 58 per 100，000 between 2016 and 2020， the National Health Commission （NHC） said on March 23.

According to a statement by the NHC， during the 13th FiveYear Plan （2016-20） period， 3.7 million TB patients were reported and treated across the country， and in over 90 percent of the cases， the treatment has been proved successful.

In that period， China invested over 10 billion yuan （$1.54 billion） in special TB-related programs.

Additionally， a TB prevention and treatment system， which includes disease prevention and control institutions， special hospitals and community clinics， was also comprehensively improved.

Now Internet and artificial intelligence technologies are used to optimize patient management.

Back to Nature

Dai Chang （right） and Zhou Lei， staff members with the ifaw Beijing Raptor Rescue Center， release a buzzard in Beijing on March 20. A total of 5，386 raptors have been saved by the center from 2001 to late 2020， and over half of them have been released into the wild.

Water Usage

Chinas water-use efficiency has reached the global average after years of progress， an official with the Ministry of Water Resources（MWR） said on March 22.

The water usage per 10，000 yuan （$1，533） of GDP and the water usage per 10，000 yuan of industrial value-added stood at 60.8 and 38.4 cubic meters， respectively， in 2019， down 24 percent and 28 percent from that in 2015， MWR data show.

Meanwhile， the effective utilization coefficient of farmland water irrigation rose from 0.536 in 2015 to 0.559 in 2019.

“Chinas three main watersaving indexes have all hit their 2020 goals set by the national water-saving campaign. Chinas overall water-use efficiency has now reached the global average level，” Xu Wenhai， Director of MWRs National Office of Water Conservation， said.

MWR data also show that Chinas total water consumption remains generally stable even as the country develops by leaps and bounds.

“Despite marked progress in water conservation， there are still outstanding issues such as insufficient， unbalanced and unsustainable water conservation，” Xu said， noting the ample room for improvement in terms of water saving.

Nourishing Light

Chinese researchers have found how ultraviolet C （UVC） light treatment can boost the nutritional value of sweet cherries， Xinhua reported on March 21.

UVC radiation， present in sunlight， has a shorter wavelength than ultraviolet A or B light. The radiation is completely absorbed by the ozone layer and Earths atmosphere.

Artificial UVC light has been used for years to control postharvest diseases as it can effectively sanitize surfaces. UVC treatment can also delay the ripening process and extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables.

In a new study， researchers from Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences treated sweet cherries with UVC. They found that the nutritional contents of flavonoids and anthocyanins increased during storage following the treatment.

The researchers also found that the UVC treatment increased some enzyme activities and gene expression of the phenylpropanoid pathway through which flavonoids and anthocyanins are synthesized.

The findings were published online in the journal Postharvest Biology and Technology.

Exciting Experience

Children get their first flight simulation experience with the help of a staff member at the Yulong Aviation Experience Center in Chongqing Municipality， southwest China， on March 20.

Digital Yuan

Pilots and testing of the digital yuan are making steady progress， according to Mu Changchun， head of the Digital Currency Research Institute at the Peoples Bank of China （PBC）， the central bank. Mu made the remarks while addressing a summit at the China Development Forum. The forum took place in Beijing on March 20-22.

Mu dismissed concerns of user privacy infringement， saying the digital currency has the highest level of privacy protection among existing payment tools.

The digital currency， although still in its pilot phase， will include more people in the rapidly developing digital era， making daily life easier and digital payments more secure， he said.

The digital yuan will be issued by the PBC and legally backed by the government as an alternative to paper money.

According to the outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan （2021-25） and the long-range objectives through 2035， China will steadily advance the research and development of digital currencies and actively participate in the formulation of international rules and technical standards on data security， digital currencies and data taxation.

“The use of cash will be reduced by at least 40 percent in the coming decade，” Zhu Min， Chair of the National Institute of Financial Research at Tsinghua University， said， adding that central bank-backed digital currencies will become more common globally.

E-Commerce Pilot

A pilot program for cross-border e-commerce retail imports will be expanded to all cities and regions that have pilot free trade zones （FTZs）， comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot zones， comprehensive bonded zones， demonstration zones for import promotion， or bonded logistics centers， according to a notice issued by six agencies， including the Ministry of Commerce on March 18.

Once verified to meet regulatory requirements， eligible cities and regions will be approved to run bonded import businesses via e-commerce.

China has so far established 21 FTZs and 105 comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot zones to promote higher-level opening up.

Green Bonds

The National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors issued a notice on March 19， clarifying the carbonneutral bonds mechanism in a bid to further support the low-carbon transition and green growth in China.

All funds raised via the carbon-neutral bonds should be used on construction， operations， acquisitions and interest payment of debts of clean energy， clean transport， sustainable buildings， low-carbon industrial renovation and other green projects， the document said.

The projects that receive investment via the carbonneutral bonds should comply with the catalogue of projects eligible for green bond support or international classifications of green industry and should focus on low-carbon development and emission reduction.

The notice includes specific provisions on the assessment and selection of projects， management of raised funds， and information disclosure during the validity of the bonds.

Enterprises are encouraged to issue carbon-neutral bonds，particularly medium- to longterm products， according to it.

The first batch of carbonneutral bonds worth 6.4 billion yuan （$983 million） were issued in the interbank bond market in February， with maturity of two or more years.

China has announced that it will strive to bring carbon dioxide emissions to a peak before 2030 and become carbon neutral before 2060 to tackle climate change.

Tax Relief

The Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration have announced an extension of the tax-relief policies launched last year in response to the COVID-19 fallout.

The extension aims to further support the prevention and control of the epidemic， while helping companies tide over difficulties and pursue growth， according to a circular released on March 23

Policies that support individual business owners and the movie industry， as well as those that involve personal income， will be extended to the end of the year. The policy that is related to donation tax will be extended to the end of March.

In 2020， China swiftly launched a series of preferential tax policies to counter the stresses of COVID-19. It emerged as the only major economy in the world that registered positive growth last year.

Xinjiang Investment

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China plans to invest more than 240 billion yuan （$36.8 billion） in 350 key projects this year， local authorities said on March 24.

Of all， 205 will have an investment of over 1.5 billion yuan （$230 million） each， accounting for 58.6 percent of the total， Zhang Yongliang， an official with the regional development and reform commission， said.

Projects in the culture and tourism sector are expected to see investment grow by more than 1.3 times from last year， as the region aims to attract more than 200 million tourists in 2021 and more than 400 million tourists in 2025.

Fixed assets investment improved 16.2 percent year on year in 2020， 13.6 percentage points above the national average， according to official data.

Capital Market

China will continue to open up its capital market and keep an open， supportive attitude toward the setup of institutions as well as the launch of businesses and products， Yi Huiman， Chair of the China Securities Regulatory Commission， said on March 20.

However， he also warned against large amounts of hot money running in and out， which would hurt the healthy development of the market and should be strictly regulated.

He also urged cooperation with U.S. regulators to properly address the issues concerning China concept stocks， as disagreements could be resolved only through negotiation.

Since China detailed nine measures to expand opening up in the capital market in 2019， vigorous policies have been rolled out to facilitate cross-border capital flows.

By the end of 2020， the country had seen three consecutive years of net foreign capital inflows， with overseas investorsholdings of A-share assets topping 3 trillion yuan （$460.8 billion）， according to Yi.

NUMBERS