IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Entertainment

No curbs against foreign movies

China has not imposed any restrictions on the screening schedules of foreign films, and the entire process is market driven rather than government-controlled, a senior official said on the sidelines of the 18th Party Congress.

"There is no such thing as a domestic film protection month or restrictions on the screening of foreign films during certain periods, especially at the end of the year," said Tian Jin, deputy director of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

China overtook Japan during the first quarter of this year to be the second-largest film market in the world, in terms of box office takings, after the United States. During the first 10 months, domestic box office receipts reached 13.27 billion yuan ($2.11 billion; 1.67 billion euros), an increase of 40 percent on the same period last year. However, only 41.4 percent of that came from domestic films, Tian said.

Minerals

Overseas uranium hunt stepped up

The energy producer China National Nuclear Corp will expand the search for uranium in overseas markets such as Australia, Africa and Central Asia to cater to the growing demand for the raw material, its chairman said.

"We are not unduly worried over uranium reserves as we will enhance efforts to expand our resources, both at home and abroad," said Sun Qin, chairman of CNNC, which operates more than 40 percent of the nuclear installations in China.

According to Sun, the debt crisis in the eurozone nations provides an ideal opportunity for Chinese companies such as CNNC to expand their overseas mining operations.

"We expect that the domestic market will satisfy more than half of our demand, with the other half coming from overseas sources," Sun said. China imported 16,126 metric tons of uranium in 2011, down 6 percent from the previous year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Science

Manned spaceship launch soon

The manned spacecraft Shenzhou X may go into space in June 2013 with two male astronauts and one female astronaut, according to a leading space program official.

The crew is expected to rendezvous with the Tiangong 1 space lab module, said Niu Hongguang, deputy commander-in-chief of China's manned space program, without disclosing any further details.

Environment

Projects face greater checks

Steps will be taken to strengthen the risk assessment mechanism and reduce the number of incidents arising due to the environmental concerns over major projects.

China will increase transparency and public involvement in decisions regarding major projects with a potential environmental impact, according to Environmental Protection Minister Zhou Shengxian.

As China develops rapidly, it is experiencing environmental problems in a relatively short period that more developed economies had centuries to tackle, Zhou said. In 2012 alone, three violent protests against the construction of chemical projects near residential areas broke out in Shifang in the southwest, and the eastern cities of Qidong and Ningbo. All the projects were eventually scrapped.

Finance

More foreign companies using yuan

The renminbi is fast emerging as the currency of choice for trade settlements by foreign enterprises in China. The number of French companies opting for trade settlements in yuan showed a quarter-on-quarter growth of 30 percent during the second quarter.

The payment transfer company Western Union has also reported a sharp increase in the number of British organizations such as universities, law firms and pension funds opening yuan accounts.

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, allowed Chinese importers and exporters to use the yuan for trade settlements in March.

Society

Mystery of panda deaths

Wildlife experts in China have called for more measures to prevent and control the spread of disease among giant pandas, after a rise this year in the number dying for unusual or unknown reasons.

Globally, 13 pandas died in captivity this year, compared with four in 2011. This figure, however, does not include deaths of newborn cubs, said Zhang Zhihe, director of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Southwest China's Sichuan province. He added that the survival rate of newborn cubs has also dropped this year.

Zhang Hemin, director of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, said that like humans, pandas can suffer many diseases, and known causes of death for adult pandas include cardiovascular tumors and cerebral hemorrhages.

China Daily

(China Daily 11/16/2012 page2)