Lessons of successful distance learning project worth heeding

A DISTANCE LEARNING school started livestreaming the courses of the No 7 High School of Chengdu, a key middle school in Sichuan province, through the internet in classrooms of more than 200 middle schools in poverty-stricken areas in China from 2016. The efforts have made a big difference, as the number of students to obtain university offers through the national college entrance exams since the project was launched has increased dozens of times in some of the schools. Hebei.com.cn comments:

Reform, opening-up will only continue

THIS YEAR marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up, and it has provided a good opportunity to reflect on the crucial decisions that not only reshaped China, but also influenced the world. Xinhua News Agency comments:

Macron can improve ties with Beijing for tangible assistance

Editor's note: The ongoing yellow vest campaign, the largest protest since 1968 in France, has not only shaken the ruling foundation of the Emmanuel Macron administration, but also shed light on the complexity of France's needed reforms. Columnist Song Luzheng comments in a post published by Guancha.cn:

Cartoon

The right way for US to rebalance trade

The US-China trade dispute could reshape the world's economic and financial landscape. That's not how it looked as recently as May, when a bilateral trade deal was almost within reach. But the United States backed out at the eleventh hour, and tensions have since flared, with the US administration imposing tariffs on a wide range of Chinese exports, and China responding in kind.

Building a world safe for diversity

The 90-day ceasefire since Dec 1 in the "tariff war" between the United States and China provides a welcome opportunity to pause - and to think. Trade negotiators are focused on the search for a deal that will prevent a full-blown trade war. But the rest of us should be thinking about two larger questions: Where is the overall relationship between the two great nations heading? And what can the two sides do to avoid an outcome no one wants?

China and US have reached a crossroad in their relations

During the 40 years of reform and opening-up, Sino-US relations have made inconceivable progress. But with the rapid development of China, Sino-US relations have reached a crossroad. Perhaps they need structural changes.

Services set to boost growth

The deepening opening-up of the services sector, and rising investor sentiment in the stock market will aid China in achieving stable economic growth next year, analysts said.

Young leaders flock to domestic companies

Multinationals are continuing to lose out to local companies when it comes to securing high-quality professionals in China, especially amid domestic tech firms' surging success, according to the 2018 China Leadership Report.

Currency stability key goal of 2019 monetary policy

Sustaining domestic growth, with an added focus on currency stability and a robust financial system, will be the key goals of the nation's monetary policy for next year, a top central bank official said.

Mainland forges closer ties with HK and Macao under CEPA

The central government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government have inked an updated version of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangements (CEPA) - a step that would boost the trading of goods between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

IN BRIEF (Page 5)