US needs clearer strategy in fight against terrorism

US President Barack Obama delivered a rare televised primetime address to the American people detailing his administration's response to the threat of terrorism and the fight against the Islamic State group.

Smog alert puts health first

For the first time, Beijing issued a red alert on Monday warning people of severe smog in the coming days. This is also the first such red alert nationwide, and the capital has set a good example in this respect.

Discussions on retirement age help decision-making

IN A REPORT RELEASED on Wednesday, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences proposed the retirement age should be the same for men and women if the country follows its plan of progressively delayed retirement in the next two to three decades. However, in an online survey, 80 percent of respondents were against the idea. China.com.cn makes the following comments:

SOEs suffer most from industrial overcapacity

IN THE RUN-UP to the annual Central Economic Work Conference later this month, Premier Li Keqiang said that on the supply side, China should maintain structural tax reductions to boost services and advanced manufacturing, support small enterprises, and push forward entrepreneurship and innovation, while stimulating demand to realize the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20). Beijing Youth Daily singles out State-owned enterprises as the biggest challenge to structural change, and says priority should give to reforming SOEs:

University's poor PR causes needless fuss

CHINA UNIVERSITY of Political Science and Law recently announced that Deng Yaping, a well-known Chinese Olympic table tennis champion, had joined the faculty. This provoked a storm of criticism, with many saying she lacked qualifications for such a role and the university was simply trying to cash in on her fame. The Beijing News rebutted such accusations:

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How to supervise the power supervisors

More than 200 million yuan ($31.23 million) in cash, all covered in dust with some damaged, was found in Liu Xiangdong's house, former head of the disciplinary inspection team of Northern China's Shanxi province, according to some media reports. And that was only part of the booty, the reports said.

Better sex education will keep youth safe

Lack of proper sex education, particularly in schools, is having some serious effects on Chinese youngsters. Today, an increasing number of Chinese adolescents are engaging in premarital sex, in many cases without any knowledge of how to protect themselves from the negative consequences. As a result, teenage pregnancy and premarital abortion have become major public health issues.

Spreading Chinese culture in a smarter way

Confucius Institutes can be said to be a global phenomenon as they have spread across the world and established partnerships with prestigious universities. But they have also attracted criticism, with some commentators describing them as an arm of the Chinese government.

Developed countries should honor their climate pledges

The highly-anticipated climate talks in Paris are inching their way towards an "ambitious" agreement on the global carbon budget from 2020 onward. A deal is expected to be clinched on Friday, after two week's bargaining mainly between the world's poorest countries and the richest.

Blueprint for future of brotherhood with Africa

That President Xi Jinping pledged $60 billion in development aid for African countries took many by surprise. After all, it is triple the amount China promised at the last China-Africa cooperation summit, and comes at a time when the Chinese economy is slowing.