IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Battle tank for export displayed at air show

China North Industries Group Corp, commonly known as Norinco, the country's biggest developer of land armaments, expects the VT-5 tank to lure foreign military officers from developing nations at the 11th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition.

The state-owned defense giant said the VT-5 is the most advanced light-duty tank now available in the international market. For the armies of most developing nations, heavier main battle tanks, such as the US M1 Abrams and the German Leopard 2, are too expensive and "overqualified" for their basic needs, Lin Wei, a spokesman for Norinco, said during the air show, adding that they are often too heavy to operate on the roads and bridges of developing countries.

Four circuit courts to be established

China's central authority responsible for implementing reform has approved a plan to establish four more circuit courts, aiming to share the burden of case hearings in the national top court and to improve judicial efficiency. The plan, approved on Nov 1 during a meeting of the Leading Group for Overall Reform, led by President Xi Jinping, outlines proposals for new circuit courts in Chongqing municipality; Xi'an, Shaanxi province; Nanjing, Jiangsu province; and Zhengzhou, Henan province. The country now has two circuit courts - in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and Shenyang, Liaoning province - that were set up at the end of 2014 and began operating early last year.

Beijing, Kuala Lumpur to develop patrol ships

China and Malaysia have agreed to jointly develop and build a littoral mission vessel for the latter's naval forces, signifying deeper defense cooperation between the two nations. The deal, witnessed by Premier Li Keqiang and his Malaysian counterpart, Najib Razak, was signed on Nov 1 in Beijing. The first two vessels Malaysia purchases from China will be built in China, with two more built in Malaysia, according to Najib. Further Malaysian-built ships will be subject to government financing.

925 peacekeepers to be sent to Africa

China will dispatch 925 peacekeepers to South Sudan and the Darfur region of Sudan in December on a yearlong UN peacekeeping mission. A 700-member infantry battalion, the third batch to be deployed in Juba, capital of South Sudan, will depart in mid-December, and an engineering regiment consisting of 225 troops, the 13th batch to be sent to Darfur, will leave in late December.

Rising PMI level is signal of recovery

China's official Purchasing Managers' Index for the manufacturing sector hit its highest level in more than two years, higher than expectations, sending a signal of the country's economic recovery. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the PMI in October registered 51.2, the best performance since July 2014 and higher than 50.4 in September and August, and 49.8 a year ago. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector, while below 50 means contraction. The production subindex reached 53.3, compared with 52.8 in September. The new order subindex rose to 52.8 from 50.9 last month. The two indexes reached their highest levels this year, indicating faster growth of the supply and demand sides in the market.

Wuxi to build town to illustrate IoT

The city of Wuxi, in Jiangsu province, is to build an internet of things town, the first of its kind in China. According to a plan released on Nov 1 at the World Internet of Things Exposition, an entire IoT industrial chain will be developed in Hongshan, a township of about 60,000 people, including IoT research and development, production and innovative applications. Meanwhile, Hongshan will develop tourist attractions, along with urban and business areas, taking IoT development into consideration.

Shanghai singles are seeking their own kind

Nearly 80 percent of young, single people in Shanghai say they want their partners to have been born in the city, a survey showed. The survey of more than 1,800 people aged 18 to 40 in Shanghai also found that the number of "leftover men" - those still single in their 30s - is larger than that of "leftover women". According to the survey, 77.4 percent of the respondents born in Shanghai said they only wanted Shanghai natives as partners. People born in East, South and Southwest China, and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, are inclined to have partners born in South China, the survey found.

Handwriting found at emperor's tomb

Handwriting and symbols were recently discovered at the tomb of Emperor Liu He from the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24), as archaeologists began dismantling the outer coffin, according to the Nanchang Evening News. Liu He (92-59 BC), who was later given the title Haihunhou (the Marquis of Haihun), was the grandson of Emperor Wu, the greatest ruler of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), a prosperous period in Chinese history.

Central bank to remove 1 jiao coin series

One series of the 1 jiao coin (0.15 cent) is being removed from circulation starting on Nov 1, making the coin more valuable for collectors. People's Bank of China, the central bank, has called on banks nationwide to hand over all that series of 1 jiao coins, adding that no new ones are to be distributed. The coin, minted mainly from 1991 to 1999, is among the fourth series of renminbi coins. It is favored by collectors because of its design, which features a nonagon inside the edges on both sides of the coin.

China and Belgium sign extradition treaties

China and Belgium signed two treaties on the extradition and transfer of sentenced people on Oct 31, paving the way for further cooperation in Beijing's anti-corruption efforts. The treaties were among seven cooperative documents signed at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Xi affirms one-China policy as 'common will'

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Hung Hsiu-chu, the visiting chairwoman of Taiwan's Kuomintang party, and called for officials on both sides of the Taiwan Straits to remain committed to the one-China consensus. In talks with a delegation led by Hung at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov 1, Xi said ensuring national integrity and protecting the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation is the "common will of all Chinese people". Xi stressed the importance of the 1992 Consensus, essentially a commitment to the one-China policy, which delegates from both sides of the Straits agreed upon in November 1992.

Premier emphasizes fight against terror

China and Kyrgyzstan vowed on Nov 2 to fight terrorism, separatism and extremism through strengthened security cooperation as Premier Li Keqiang paid his first visit to China's Central Asian neighbor. In the capital, Bishkek, Li and Kyrgyz Prime Minister Sooronbay Jeenbekov signed a joint communique on bilateral cooperation in fields such as security, agriculture and production. The agreement is especially timely since the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan was attacked by a suicide car bomber on the morning of Aug 30. The attack injured three embassy personnel.

Stolen, smuggled relics banned from auctions

A new regulation that bans the auctioning of stolen, smuggled and looted cultural relics reinforces China's firm stance on preventing the loss of relics and retrieving those that have been illegally transported abroad. A regulation issued by the State Administration of Cultural Relics listed on its website the types of cultural objects that, if originally obtained illegally, cannot appear in sales. They include all types of artworks dating from before 1949, as well as documents and objects of historical importance and works of late-modern artists that are restricted by law from export. Also banned from auction are cultural relics recovered by the government and those that are collected or stored by governmental bodies or nongovernmental museums.

New rules will monitor officials

The Communist Party of China published two sets of disciplinary rules and norms for the conduct of all members on Nov 2, as it seeks to further beef up the supervision of senior officials. The two regulations, which were approved at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, include a new version of the norms for political life within the Party and a revised intra-Party supervision regulation. Both regulations made senior officials the key supervision target and stress strict Party governance and elimination of special privileges.

Fastest computer under development

China has started to build a prototype supercomputer system with an estimated peak performance of more than 1,000 quadrillion calculations per second, 10 times more than the current fastest computer, researchers said on Nov 2. The so-called exascale supercomputer, which is being developed by the National Research Center of Parallel Computer Engineering and Technology, will be installed at the National Supercomputing Center in Jinan, Shandong province.

Forum in Chengdu focuses on media

The 4th China-Australia Media Forum was held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Nov 2, involving officials from China and Australia as well as representatives from nearly 30 mainstream media outlets. The forum, co-hosted by China's State Council Information Office and Australian News Channel, focused on opportunities and challenges, and the media's role in promoting China-Australia relations. Attendees exchanged views on media cooperation and ensuring the healthy and stable development of relations between their countries.

China, ASEAN jointly go after fugitives

China and ASEAN members will set up a regional anti-corruption legal framework to facilitate the return of corrupt Chinese officials who are still at large in ASEAN areas and confiscate their ill-gotten assets, a senior anti-graft official said. China is in advanced negotiations with some ASEAN members, including Thailand and Laos, to sign bilateral anti-corruption agreements. China intends to start discussions with ASEAN countries to sign bilateral extradition treaties to bring more fugitives back to face trial.

(China Daily European Weekly 11/04/2016 page2)