Tencent ups stake in Pocket Gems

Hong Kong-listed Tencent Holdings Ltd has doubled down on game studio Pocket Gems Inc with a fresh $90 million investment, increasing its stake from roughly 20 percent since 2015 to 38 percent.

Forum a venue for partners to explore further cooperation

The two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, scheduled to start in Beijing on Sunday, will be an ideal occasion for the participants from around the world to not only contribute their views on how to accelerate win-win cooperation, but also to acquire a better understanding of China's intentions in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative.

Sow seeds for farming change

At a recent news briefing, Zeng Yande, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture, said that fruits, vegetables and tea grown in China now taste worse than before and also have a much lower economic return because of the overuse of chemical fertilizers.

Strike at all links in chains that profit from selling of personal info

AFTER THE SUPREME PEOPLE'S COURT and Supreme People's Procuratorate jointly issued a judicial interpretation on Tuesday on punishments for those guilty of stealing and selling people's personal information, the Ministry of Public Security also vowed to crack down on the illegal chains that have formed for the trading of personal information. An editorial on thepaper.cn comments:

'No gutter oil' campaign gets thumbs up

KOUBEI, A LOCAL SERVICES PLATFORM affiliated to Alibaba Group, is giving "No Gutter Oil" labels to restaurants that promise not to use substandard cooking oil and recommending them before their unlabeled rivals. Southern Metropolis Daily commented on Thursday:

Popularity of school workbooks stems from focus on exams

THE MINISTRY of Education has banned primary and middle schools from providing students with any drill-and-review workbooks. An article published in Shenzhen-based Jingbao Daily comments:

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China's growing role in global development

Despite the apparent tranquility of this year's spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, there are reasons to be concerned about the global economy. The United Kingdom's impending "hard" Brexit from the European Union and US President Donald Trump's anti-globalization agenda are creating economic uncertainty, and will continue to do so for some time.

Xiongan must test, and save, the waters

Xiongan New Area will be established in North China's Hebei province to help phase out the non-capital functions of Beijing. Spread across Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin counties in Baoding city, the new area also covers Baiyangdian, a major wetland in northern China, making the protection of the environment and water resources a necessity.

Winds of change in Manila bring welcome relief

The Philippines and the United States began their main annual military exercises on Monday on a low key and a limited scale. The 12-day "Balikatan", or "shoulder to shoulder", joint military drills could serve as a barometer of the decades-old alliance. Some media reports say the number of troops taking part in this year's drills is less than half that in 2015, and the focus is only on anti-terrorism and disaster-response operations - in sharp contrast to the drills held when Benigno Aquino III was the Philippine president.

New ROK leader may help untie peninsula's Gordian knot

Almost all of a sudden, the apparently imminent danger of a military showdown on the Korean Peninsula seems to have evaporated into thin air.

A symphony for all to play

Increasing attention is being paid to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative both at home and overseas, and there is a growing consensus that it should be a symphony played by all participants rather than a solo played by China alone.