Experts say black gold prices will fall on supply boost

Coal prices are predicted to fall slightly in the second half of this year, thanks to government efforts to ensure adequate supplies, industry insiders said.

IN BRIEF (Page 7)

Better world economy needs concerted cooperation

At the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou last year, the leaders of major industrialized and developing countries reached a consensus that they would play a leading role in pushing for more inclusive and sustainable global growth, further liberalize trade and investment, and strive to improve global governance.

More open govt spending

Commenting on the audit report submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the implementation of last year's central budget, Premier Li Keqiang said at a meeting of the State Council, China's Cabinet, on Wednesday: "What this year's audit has discovered are mainly the 'chronic problems' identified in previous years. So we should not only focus efforts on their rectification, but also try to set up a long-term mechanism to avoid their reoccurrence."

It might not be that smart, but stunt shows need for foresight

ROBIN LI, CEO of China's largest search engine Baidu, livestreamed himself traveling in what he claimed was his company's first driverless car on the Fifth Ring Road of Beijing on Wednesday. Southern Metropolis Daily comments:

Unwise to let foxes guard henhouses

A LIVE-IN NANNY IN SHENZHEN was found to have a history of mental illness after she attempted to wrestle the 7-month-old baby from her employer on June 29. Yanzhao Metropolis Daily commented on Thursday:

Smartphones cry out for too much of our attention

"THEY SAY I am their baby. But I think the smartphone is their baby, not me." This comment an 11-year-old girl wrote in her summer vacation diary was posted online by her mother, arousing heated debate. Hebnews.cn comments:

Cartoon

History and truth anathema to Abe's Japan

Editor's note: July 7 marks the 80th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which triggered the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) across the country. Three scholars share their views on several related issues with China Daily's Cui Shoufeng. Excerpts follow:

Protectionism won't lead Trump anywhere

US President Donald Trump has changed the United States' trade policy to resort to trade protectionism, which goes against globalization and trade liberalization. Trump has pulled the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement because he believes it could undermine the interests of American workers. The US president also wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and has threatened to withdraw his country from the World Trade Organization.

The mysterious lure of a failed bus project

Imagine a bus with an elevated passenger compartment that spans the width of two traffic lanes, with its undercarriage fitted with wheels riding along the edges of the two lanes to allow vehicles less than 2 meters high to pass underneath.

It's time US set its own house in order

The disappearance of Zhang Yingying, a visiting Chinese scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on June 9 has shocked many in China and the United States. As people watch closely the court trial of suspect Brendt Christensen, a serious question raised again is: How safe are US cities?