IN BRIEF (Page 3)

Environment

Cleaner skies good for business

Governments and companies are increasingly taking advantage of the unscathed ecological environment in their regions to lure investment amid concerns pollution is taking its toll on health.

Unpolluted waters, premium air quality, a high percentage of forest coverage and even blue skies were major selling points when governments and enterprises tried to seek business opportunities in metropolises such as Shanghai.

This kind of promotion is attractive and effective, government officials and business leaders said, as smoggy weather has become the norm in a large swathe of China.

Shanghai was shrouded in a heavy haze blown from the north on Nov 7. As of 3 pm, the air quality index given by the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center had surged to 253, indicating serious pollution.

Anti-corruption

Cases of official misconduct uncovered

Disciplinary watchdogs nationwide have exposed scores of official misconduct cases, ranging from lavish dinners paid for with public funds to misuse of military vehicle license plates, which experts say shows the government is serious about rectifying long-neglected undesirable behavior.

A deputy-provincial-level official in Heilongjiang province was demoted and his membership in the Communist Party of China was put on yearlong probation after he was found responsible for the death of a person who accompanied him at a banquet, China Central Television reported on Saturday. Excessive drinking had led to the death.

Also punished during the government campaign in the province were 431 civil servants who were found in violation of government and Party regulations.

In April, the CPC launched a yearlong campaign to clean up undesirable work styles of formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance.

Inspectors in Heilongjiang have checked nearly 2,000 government departments and publicly funded organizations.

Culture

Expo highlights growing market

Nearly 120 billion yuan ($19.7 billion; 14.7 billion euros) of deals were signed at the China Beijing International Cultural and Creative Industry Expo.

Deals signed during the five-day expo, which ended on Nov 10 in Beijing, covered trading of cultural products, construction of industrial zones and project investments, according to the event's website.

China's cultural market is growing rapidly, according to a statement on the expo's website.

The event, jointly hosted by the Ministry of Culture, the General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, and the Beijing government, was the eighth annual expo.

More than 1.2 million people from 26 countries participated in the expo this year.

Museums look to innovation for future

Museums should no longer be thought of as reinforced concrete buildings housing inanimate objects in glass cases, but should instead focus on interacting with visitors and raising revenue, a seminar heard.

The seminar, Museums and Cultural and Creative Development Communication, was held at Beijing's Palace Museum on Nov 5.

Co-hosted by the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Chinese Museum Society, the seminar, which included international specialists, explored issues concerning the "cultural and creative industry chain".

The challenge facing museums is how to translate their offerings into a revenue stream, either through ticket sales or souvenirs.

Palace Museum looks to expand, preserve

The Palace Museum, housed in the Forbidden City in Beijing, will expand its exhibition area to alleviate the pressure of huge tourist number.

During the week-long National Day holiday, the museum attracted more than 710,000 visitors with the peak daily number reaching 175,000 on Oct 2, according to museum.

Shan Jixiang, director of the museum, said on Nov 13 he felt confident the facility could cope with more tourists in the future, with many projects under construction to meet that goal.

It plans to restore the ancient Internal Affairs Department, located in the western Palace Museum, and has received approval from the World Heritage Committee.

Some temporary buildings, garden houses and workplaces of research institutes will be gradually moved out of the key visiting area of the Palace Museum, Shan said.

Economy

Positive economic growth expected

China's stable economic development in October strengthened economists' expectations of a "happy ending" to the year, with industrial and service sectors progressing amid moderate inflation.

The National Bureau of Statistics reported on Nov 9 that October's industrial output reached 10.3 percent, compared with 10.2 percent in September. The increase was higher than the market had expected and was led by manufacturing, which increased 11.4 percent from a year earlier. Retail sales of consumer goods rose by 13.3 percent, the same rate as in September.

Fixed-asset investment, which has been the main reason behind the world's second-largest economy withstanding the global financial crisis, moderated slightly during the first 10 months to a growth rate of 20.1 percent, compared with 20.2 percent from January to September.

HSBC chief China economist Qu Hongbin said there was no signal hinting at an economic slowdown in the fourth quarter, which departed from earlier expectations.

Health

Close eye to be kept on trans fats consumption

Consumption of trans fats and their potential long-term health effects are to be monitored closely by China's health and food safety authorities, a senior expert said.

The move comes after the US Food and Drug Administration proposed banning artificial trans fats in processed foods ranging from cookies to frozen pizza, citing the risk of heart disease.

"China will not take similar action in the near future, given low-level consumption of trans fats among the public," Chen Junshi, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering at the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, told China Daily on Nov 8.

The current intake of trans fats among Chinese poses no tangible health risks, he said, citing the results of a regional study released in June.

Reform

Xi calls for political courage in reforms

The key to China's comprehensive reform is to solve practical problems, President Xi Jinping recently emphasized, and innovative plans and new measures are required to address conflicts and issues that have surfaced during the nation's development surge.

In a symposium in Beijing in September, Xi said the nation must pursue sustainable economic and social progress, which includes improving standards of living.

The symposium was held to field comments and suggestions from non-Communist parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and from people without any party affiliation on major issues concerning the nation's reforms, according to a statement by the Communist Party of China Central Committee on Nov 13.

Xi said reform cannot be achieved overnight and called for greater confidence, political courage and wisdom as well as more forceful measures to push forward the country's reforms.

During the symposium, Xi called for improved policies and overall planning at the highest level of government. He also urged further research into the feasibility of China's reform policies.

China daily - Xinhua

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/15/2013 page3)