Policy Digest

Action plan takes aim at ozone, air pollution

China is set to eliminate heavily polluted air, contain the increase of ozone concentrations and make significant progress in reducing diesel truck emissions by 2025.

An action plan issued by as many as 15 ministries and State-level authorities, including the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said the country will enhance scientific research to help simultaneously curb ozone concentrations and PM2.5 particulate matter, particulates with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, by 2025.

Local authorities should press ahead with efforts to reduce carbon emissions while tackling air pollution, the plan said, urging them to improve the industrial structure, energy consumption and modes of transportation.

The country will focus on promoting collaboration among cities and provinces in key areas to control air pollution. These areas include the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, the Yangtze River Delta and the plain along the Fenhe and Weihe rivers, which covers part of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces, the plan said.

The ministries asked provincial-level regions to come up with practical timetables and road maps, and to be sure to fully implement all measures designed to improve air quality.

System helps public learn about companies

The public can now look up information about companies by searching the State-owned assets watchdog's inquiry system.

People can log onto the system, which was launched on the website of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council earlier this month, and input a company's name or unified social credit code to see if it is subordinate to any central State-owned enterprises, the commission said.

They can also look up other basic information about the company, including its registered address, its largest central SOE stakeholder and the ratio of the share the SOE is holding.

The system helps the public better scrutinize the operations of central SOEs and increases transparency, the commission said, adding that it also serves as an important way to crack down on companies that falsely identify themselves as State-owned.

The commission advised people to heighten awareness if they fail to obtain information about the company about which they are inquiring in the system.

The system, which is currently in the middle of a trial run, will be upgraded to better meet the needs of the public, the commission said.

COVID-19 rules eased for some vessels

Five central government bodies, including the Ministry of Transport, issued a notice on Friday to optimize COVID-19 prevention measures for vessels planning to switch their operations from international to domestic waters.

According to the notice released on the ministry's website, the quarantine period for vessels to berth at ports of entry before they can operate domestically has been shortened from seven days to five days.

Also, the number of nucleic acid tests the crew must take during the quarantine period has been reduced from five to four, among other changes.

In another development, the public service department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism released updated prevention and control guidelines for public libraries and cultural centers on Friday.

The department stressed that local authorities must understand that the release of the new guidelines, which were last revised in November last year, does not mean they should relax their prevention and control efforts.