IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Greece deal may 'open door to China'

Brussels and Athens reached a reform-for-bailout compromise on July 13 after weeks of negotiations, easing fears of a Greek exit from the eurozone, and renewing opportunities for deeper cooperation between Greece and China.

The deal has headed off the risk of fluctuations in global markets, according to Chinese and European observers who spoke of "modest optimism" over the deal to offer Greece a third bailout.

The European Union will offer 86 billion euros ($95 billion) of financing to develop the Greek economy over the next three years, but there was no provision for a debt reduction.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the breakthrough will enable his country to secure a "growth package" and restructure its debt. Several suspended privatization programs could also now be pushed forward, potentially benefiting Chinese bidders.

Premier Li: Economy regaining strength

The Chinese economy is regaining its strength and demonstrating great resilience, potential and flexibility, Premier Li Keqiang has said.

"The fundamentals of the economy are on course to improve," he said at an economic seminar on July 10, according to an official statement. "The potential growth rate of the economy can support growth of mid-to-high speed."

Li said in France this month that China can achieve its annual growth target of about 7 percent. On July 6, the National Bureau of Statistics said indicators in recent months suggested the economy had passed the worst point.

Economists who attended the seminar agreed that "in the first half of this year, with national policies taking effect, the Chinese economy has started to pick up steadily and positive factors are increasing", the statement said.

Beijing to focus on capital role

Beijing is to transfer industries and activities not related to its role as the nation's capital to its suburbs, neighboring Hebei province and Tianjin, the city's legislative body has announced. In addition, extensive measures will be taken to cap population growth in downtown areas.

The authority said there will be a greater focus on southeastern Tongzhou district as it emerges as the city's "subsidiary administrative center", and construction is expected to make "remarkable progress" by 2017.

The announcement was made on July 11 at the conclusion of a plenary session of the city's Party committee, at which leaders approved a road map to promote the regional integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

High-ranking judge in graft probe

A Supreme People's Court judge is under investigation for suspected disciplinary and law violations, the top disciplinary watchdog said on July 12.

Xi Xiaoming, vice-president of the court, faces allegations of severe breaches of law and Party discipline, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The accusations are common terms for graft, and the authority did not disclose further details.

The 61-year-old judge is the first official of one of the top judicial authorities - the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate - to be investigated since the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was elected in 2012.

Cancer registry to shed light on 'epidemic'

China has set up the world's largest cancer registry, covering 308 top hospitals and more than 300 million people, registry director Chen Wanqing said.

At least 3 million people develop cancer each year in China, and the registry is expected to expand to include 40 percent of the nation's population of 1.36 billion by 2020. It will register more medical institutions as they become qualified for cancer surveillance, Chen said.

"The more people the registry covers, the more precisely we will understand the rising epidemic," he said. "That will help experts and health authorities come up with evidence-based and more-targeted intervention programs."

In general, the registry collects information such as new cancer cases, deaths and courses of treatment to build up an overall national picture. Medical costs are not included.

Capital launches plan to clean air

Beijing is joining Langfang and Baoding in Hebei province in a three-year project to control air pollution, with funding of 460 million yuan ($74 million) for this year, the city's environmental authority said.

The focus of the project this year is reduction of coal consumption. Langfang and Baoding will share the funding from Beijing equally, the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said.

The two cities will phase out small boilers that consume large amounts of coal and emit high levels of pollution. For example, Baoding has opted to use its funding to close down 50 percent of the city's small boilers this year.

Beijing will finance the two cities' efforts through 2017.

Regional transport plan revealed

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has set ambitious goals for improving its integrated transportation network, with plans to extend high-speed railways and build more highways to aid regional growth.

In five years, 1,500 km of rail will operate in the region, giving it one of the world's highest regional concentrations of railroads, said Li Guoyong, inspector of infrastructure construction for the National Development and Reform Commission, the economic planner.

The three governments and China Railway Corp have together invested 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) to form a company to manage the increasing number of rail projects.

Long-term plans call for the company to build 27 intercity rails with a total length of 3,794 km, Xinhua News Agency reported on July 2. Work on those linking Beijing to Tangshan in Hebei and to Tianjin's Binhai district will start this year. Construction of another two links connecting Langfang and Zhuozhou, both in Hebei, and Beijing Capital International Airport and the city's planned new airport will begin by 2016, the company said.

(China Daily European Weekly 07/17/2015 page2)