THIS WEEK

“Legal professionals from both sides should join hands in promoting exchanges, communication and cooperation in order to fortify and deepen the legal basis for cross-Straits peaceful development and to contribute to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”

Wang Gang, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, calling on legal experts from the mainland and Taiwan to enhance cross-Straits exchanges when meeting with Taiwan legal professionals in Beijing on August 23

“The Chinese people who live there have contributed greatly to the social and economic development of the Far Eastern region, and their efforts have been recognized by local governments and the public. China hopes the host country will protect the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese people.”

Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo, speaking to Russian state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta in Moscow on August 20 in reference to the concerns of some Russians about the increasing number of Chinese immigrants, during his visit to Russia for the seventh round of strategic security talks between the two countries

“Curiosity is a much more complex vehicle than earlier Mars rovers. The testing and characterization activities during the initial weeks of the mission lay important groundwork for operating our precious national resource with appropriate care.”

Curiosity Project Manager Pete Theisinger, speaking at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, the United States, when Mars rover Curiosity made its first move on the Red Planet on August 22

ILLUSIVE EFFECT Visitors pose for a photo at a 3D exhibition in Beijing’s 798 Art Zone on August 18. More than 80 pieces of artworks created by South Korean artists are on display to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea

Administrative Reform

The State Council, China’s cabinet, has decided to remove or modify 314 administrative examination and approval items in order to further clear systematic obstacles to its social and economic development and curb corruption.

According to a statement released on August 22, 184 administrative approval items will be canceled, while the power to approve 117 items will be handed down to government departments at lower levels. Thirteen items will be merged into other items.

This round of reductions, the sixth of its kind since the reform of the administrative approval system kicked off in 2001, mainly covers investment and social projects, with a special focus on the real economy, small and microsized enterprises and private investment.

Figures from the State Council show that a total of 2,497 administrative approval items, including those in the sixth round, have been

rescinded or adjusted in the past 10 years, accounting for 69.3 percent of the total.

New Chapter

The China Arms Control and Disarmament Association (CACDA) held its third national congress in Beijing on August 23. Qu Xing, President of the China Institute of International Studies, was elected the association’s new president.

The CACDA organizes and coordinates research, seminars and workshops concerning issues of arms control, disarmament, nonproliferation and international security. Founded in August 2001, although it is officially designated an independent nongovermental organization, its activities and publications generally reflect the polices of the Chinese Government.

Thirty-five Chinese institutions comprise the association. Its 200-plus individual members include scientists and scholars working in the fields of weapons development and research, with retired diplomats and former defense officials providing additional expertise. In 2005, CACDA was granted special consultative status by the UN Economic and Social Council.

2012 Miss World

Yu Wenxia, a girl from northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, won the Miss World crown for 2012, defeating more than 100 other hopefuls from across the globe. It’s the second time a contestant from China has been awarded the title. Last year’s Miss World, Ivian Sarcos of Venezuela, handed over her crown to Yu at a glittering ceremony held on August 18 in Ordos, a mining city of north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Yu, 23, studied national vocal music at the School of Music at Harbin Normal University from 2008 to 2012. She took part in the Chinese Miss Tourism competition in 2010 and won first place. She said she never expected to win the Miss World crown and she hopes to become a music teacher.

Widening Wealth Gap

BIG DAY Muslims gather in Minning Mosque to celebrate Eid-Al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Yinchuan, northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on August 19, 2012

Households in rural China have seen incomes increase on average over the past three years, but the wealth gap in the vast countryside has almost reached a warning level, a top Chinese institute for rural studies said on August 21.

The cash income of rural households grew 14.13 percent from a year earlier to an average of 38,894.4 yuan ($6,123) last year, and the per-capita cash income in rural areas rose 11.95 percent to 9,260.6 yuan ($1,458), according to a survey by Central China Normal University’s Center for China Rural Studies.

The survey was launched in 2009 and covered more than 6,000 rural households across the country. The figures have not been adjusted to reflect inflation.

The institute said in a report released on August 21 that the income growth was fueled by rising wages among farmers who have abandoned rural life to work as migrant laborers outside of their hometowns, mostly in cities.

Wages paid to the migrant laborers accounted for 65.7 percent of the total income of rural households, it said.

The Gini coefficient, an index reflecting the rich-poor gap, in rural China stood at 0.3949 last year, nearing the warning level of 0.4 set by the United Nations, the institute said.

Anti-Corruption Plan

China will implement a five-year plan for eliminating corruption after the upcoming national congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), top official He Guoqiang said on August 21.

He, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, expressed readiness to improve anti-corruption efforts, describing the improvements as a “dynamic and long-term strategic project.”

The 18th CPC National Congress will find new ways to prevent corruption both now and in the future, said He, who is also head of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

A sound system for punishing and curbing corruption is an important guarantee for the nation’s development. The formation of the new five-year plan should be based on the results of the previous plan, as well as past experience, He said.

Longer Life

China’s average life expectancy will increase to 77 years by 2020 from 74.83 years in 2010, according to an official forecast released on August 17.

Targets for improving life expectancy, as well as nine other key indicators of the country’s public health, including maternal and child mortality rates, were set in a strategic report issued by the Ministry of Health.

The report said that national healthcare input should amount to 6.5 to 7 percent of the GDP by 2020. The ratio stood at 4.98 percent in 2010, based on a 2-trillion-yuan ($315 billion) annual healthcare budget.

The report also highlighted efforts to narrow the healthcare gap between different regions by introducing dedicated action plans for poverty-stricken areas.

CLOSE FRIENDS Retired Chinese basketball star Yao Ming gets close with an African leopard in an animal orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya, on August 16, during his 10-day Africa visit for shooting an anti-poaching documentary

Cross-Straits Cable

The first undersea telecommunications cables linking the Chinese mainland and Taiwan started operating on August 21.

The two optical fiber cables, linking the city of Xiamen in southeast China’s Fujian Province and Kinmen Island, will serve as a cross-Straits “information highway,” said Wang Xiaochu, Board Chairman of China Telecom, the primary builder and operator of the line.

Wang said that the designed capacity of the Xiamen-Kinmen cables, which were completed on June 22, is about 100 times the current telecommunications volume between the two sides.

Prior to the launch of the direct lines, signals were sent via international cables after cross-Taiwan Straits telecommunications services were opened in 1993.

Emissions Trading

Shanghai launched a pilot carbon emission rights trading scheme on August 16 in a bid to encourage carbon emission reductions.

About 200 major local polluters, including industrial companies whose annual carbon dioxide emissions reach 20,000 tons and nonindustrial enterprises whose annual emissions total 10,000 tons, will take part in the trading, the city government said in a statement.

Each of the carbon market participants will get a free quota for a certain base carbon emission. Companies failing to meet emission cut targets will need to buy quota from those whose emission cuts exceed the targets.

“This is a landmark step China has made in building a domestic carbon emission trading market,” said Xie Zhenhua, Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planning agency.

China has pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 40 to 45 percent compared to 2005 levels by 2020.

HAPPY FESTIVAL Performers present a Tibetan opera show for Shoton Festival in Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, on August 20

MANUFACTURING SHOW A robotic arm is on display at the Eighth China (Tianjin) International Equipment Manufacturing Exposition in north China’s Tianjin Municipality on August 22. A total of 1,400 enterprises from more than 20 countries and regions attended the expo

Stock Incentive

The country’s securities regulator said on August 19 that it will launch the employee stock ownership plan for listed companies at a later time after further improving the draft regulation.

China Securities Regulatory Commission said that it is reviewing feedback on the draft regulation on the shareholding scheme, which was issued to solicit public opinion on August 5.

The plan, which allows listed firms to buy their own stocks on the secondary market through an assets management agency with a designated portion of their employees’ cash compensation, is aimed at allowing more staff to benefit from stock ownership.

Employees of listed companies can participate in the plan on a voluntary basis and be entitled to shares according to a distribution agreement.

The employee stock ownership plan, which will help increase the efficiency and comprehensive strength of a listed company, is a widely employed mechanism in mature securities markets. China had previously introduced plans that encouraged only senior executives to own stakes in listed companies.

Home Price Rebound

More Chinese cities saw home prices rise in July over June, as signs of warming have emerged in China’s property market after local governments relaxed property curbs in the wake of weakening economies.

In July, 50 cities—up from 25 in June—out of a statistical pool of 70 major cities, recorded higher new home prices than a month earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

Only nine cities saw declines in new home prices in July, down from 21 in June, while prices in 11 cities remained unchanged.

Encouraged by rising transactions in recent months, some developers have started to raise prices or cancel discounts.

“It’s still a little early to determine whether this momentum will be sustained,” said Mark Budden, China Area Leader at EC Harris, a leading global built asset consultancy.

Corporate Profits Down

China’s economic slowdown has impacted the country’s corporate profits, as listed companies’ profit growth largely contracted in the first half of the year.

As of August 17, 1,003 companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange or Shenzhen Stock Exchange posted a combined firsthalf net profit of 180.21 billion yuan ($28.38 billion), up 6.75 percent year on year,China Securities Journalreported.

The growth figure took a major tumble compared to that reported on the same day last year, as the semiannual net profits of all 1,096 listed companies in 2011 surged 36.14 percent from last year.

Industrial sectors such as steel, construction and building materials have fared the worst, affected by the tightening grip over the real estate industry and cooling investment enthusiasm.

Banking Malaise

China’s biggest banks still dominate the world’s top 10 in terms of market capitalization and are among the most profitable globally, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group.

But their falling valuation multiples suggest declining investor confidence in their future profitability.

Driven by rapid growth in credit spreads, the big four state-owned banks were among the world’s top banks, with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China maintaining the top spot.

Chinese banks had an average of 22 per-cent after-tax return on equity, second only to Indonesia.

However, Boston Consulting suggested that the high profitability of Chinese banks was unlikely to be continue indefinitely.

“Clearly there is a lack of faith in China’s economy, and in the level of hidden losses or likely potential losses,” said Ranu Dayal, a senior partner of Boston Consulting and coauthor of the report. “Better transparency will likely increase investor confidence, which should lead to an improvement in valuation,”said Dayal.

Wine Import Probe

A number of wine producers have applied to the Ministry of Commerce demanding investigations into European imports, now being accused of damaging the domestic wine market.

EU wine imports surged to 169,114 kiloliters, in 2011, from 35,944 kiloliters, in 2008, at an annual pace of 67.71 percent. In the past four years, its market share in China increased from 4.94 percent to 14.76 percent, Wang said.

The EU has provided various subsidies to the wine industry, putting Chinese makers at a disadvantage, said Wang Zuming, head of the wine division of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association.

The EU is the world’s largest wineproducing region. Its production capacity and export potential will only have a negative impact on winemakers in China, said Wang.

HOT POTATO A technician inspects potato seedlings in a laboratory in Dingbian County, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province on August 21. Dingbian has become the country’s main potato growing region

TV Host Questioned

Wang Gang, a Chinese actor who hosts an antique program on TV, incurred a wave of criticism recently for allegedly smashing authentic treasures. In the show, appraisers determine whether antiques brought by collectors are genuine or fake. Those deemed fake are then theatrically smashed by Wang, though some pieces were later claimed by a few appraisers to be real.

In May, the Capital Museum in Beijing put on an exhibition of around 40 genuine porcelains and more than 30 forgeries smashed into pieces by Wang in the program so that collectors could make a comparison between the genuine ones and forgeries. However, some collectors who attended the exhibition found that the forgeries were authentic artworks.

Producers of the program denied that Wang destroyed any authentic pieces. The Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Relics announced on August 21 that after careful examination, they found the porcelains broken by Wang were fakes.

READY TO GO The train for metro line 1 has its trial run on August 21 in Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. In response to the low temperature, thetrain is equipped with insulated doors and electric heaters under the seats