IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Kazakhstan deals reach new sectors

China signed deals with Kazakhstan on Dec 14 to expand traditional cooperation in energy, transportation, tourism and agriculture.

The agreements, signed after a meeting in Beijing between Premier Li Keqiang and his Kazakh counterpart, Karim Masimov, will facilitate more Chinese travelers to go on group tours to Kazakhstan and streamline procedures for business visas in both countries.

The two sides agreed on standardized customs and quarantine procedures for China to purchase wheat from Kazakhstan, and for Kazakhstan to import poultry from China.

State vows 'reasonable' economic growth rate

Chinese leaders pledged on Dec 14 to keep the country's economic growth rate within a "reasonable range" next year by stepping up supply-side reforms and pushing urbanization.

China is aiming for GDP growth of about 7 percent this year. At a meeting of the Party's top decision-making body, President Xi Jinping said the country needs an annual average growth of no less than 6.5 percent in the next five years to reach the target of doubling GDP and per capita income by 2020 from 2010 levels.

$10b fund launched with UAE

China and the United Arab Emirates agreed on Dec 14 to set up a major investment fund, reportedly worth $10 billion, to benefit the two countries and third parties.

President Xi Jinping and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, witnessed the signing of an agreenment on establishing the fund. During the preceding talks, Xi said China was ready to hold discussions with the UAE on exploring third-party cooperation in Africa.

Chinese NGO files lawsuit against VW

China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, a Beijing NGO, has filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen over the company's alleged cheating on emissions readings. It is the first public-interest lawsuit in China related to pollution from vehicle exhausts.

The foundation said it entered the case against the German automaker because it "produced the problematic vehicles for the pursuit of higher profits and circumvented Chinese laws, which has worsened the air pollution and affected public health and rights".

Organizing body for Winter Games set up

The Organizing Committee for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games was inaugurated on Dec 15. The committee is chaired by Beijing Party chief Guo Jinlong and has four executive presidents: Sports Minister Liu Peng, Beijing Mayor Wang Anshun, Hebei Governor Zhang Qingwei and China Disabled Persons' Federation Chairwoman Zhang Haidi. Setting up the committee marks the official start of the preparatory work.

China takes stake in European bank

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on Dec 14 that its board of governors had approved China as a new shareholder.

The bank was established in London in April 1991. China's membership is expected to boost its opportunities for bilateral cooperation with countries along routes part of the Belt and Road Initiative. China will be a contributor to the bank's capital base, which allows the bank to raise funds that ultimately become investments in projects.

China strongly opposes US arms sale to Taiwan

China's Vice-Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang on Dec 17 made solemn representations to the United States over its $1.83 billion arms sale package to Taiwan.

"China has decided to take necessary measures, including imposing sanctions against the companies involved in the arms sale," Zheng said.

The US State Department said Raytheon RTN.N and Lockheed Martin were the main contractors for weapons in the sales authorized on Dec 17.

Big cities luring talent despite drawbacks

China's first-tier cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou - are still the top choice for workers, according to human resources website Zhaopin.

Smaller cities trying to attract high-end talent are facing challenges both in recruiting and retention, the website's 2015 Best Employers list showed. About 70 percent of the top 100 employers are located in first-tier cities.

Experts prepare to open 'coffin of emperor'

Archaeologists began the process of opening a coffin in a tomb dating to the first century BC in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, on Dec 15. It is believed the be the final resting place of an emperor from the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24).

The tomb complex covers 40,000 square meters, and the main coffin chamber was opened in November.

Rare marble sphinx unearthed

A well-preserved marble sphinx has been unearthed in a tomb dating back more than 1,000 years, archaeologists said on Dec 15.

The delicately carved sphinx is 36 centimeters high, 21 cm long and 13 cm wide at its base. It has a human face with a bulge on the head and the body of a crouching lion.

The rare find was excavated in November along with eight other carvings at a tomb in Guyuan.

New anti-terror guidelines released

Nine anti-terrorism guidelines were announced by Chinese security chief Meng Jianzhu at an work conference in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The guidelines are aimed at coping with changes and trends in the fight against terrorism at home and abroad. China is closely integrating its efforts with the international battle against terrorism after an increasing number of domestic attacks were plotted overseas on the Internet.

Subsidies to help migrants buy homes

China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has said it is formulating a plan to help farmers and migrant workers buy homes in smaller cities, which have a rising stockpile of unsold homes. Measures will likely include preferential mortgage rates and tax breaks.

The authority is also considering including migrant workers in its housing provident fund, a low-mortgage rate provision program that was until recently designated for urban workers.

Six calves cloned in Henan

Six male Blonde d'Aquitane calves were cloned from a small piece of an adult male in Central China's Henan province, the most ever cloned by the nation in one go, Dahe Daily reported. The livestock, which have been reared at Henan Gold Cattle Agriculture Development Co Ltd in Xuchang, are now over a month old, nearly 1 meter tall, and plump and sturdy with wheat-yellow hair.

'Comfort women' memorial opens

Thousands of Chinese have visited the memorial dedicated to Chinese "comfort women" of World War II. The memorial, the first of its kind on the mainland, was opened to the public this month in Nanjing.

About 1,600 articles and 680 photos are exhibited, most of them donated by victims or their families. The memorial is located at the site of the largest former "comfort station", or military brothel, which was operated by the Japanese army from 1937 until 1945. It is comprised of eight two-story buildings in Liji Alley and covers more than 3,000 square meters.

On Dec 13, Chinese leaders also held a memorial service for victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

Artifacts find way home from the United States

The United States has returned 22 cultural artifacts and a dinosaur fossil to China in a move meant to highlight the countries' cooperation in countering illegal trafficking of archaeological objects.

The artifacts included jade disks, bronze trays and other items that date back as far back as 1600 BC, while the dinosaur fossil was estimated to be about 120 million years old, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. The agency said the items were recovered in New York, Cleveland and Miami.

Credit ratings for food, drug producers planned

China's Food and Drug Admin-istration said on Dec 15 it will introduce a credit rating system for the food and drug industries. The authorities plan to collect information about credit standings of producers and sellers to prepare a database by the end of next year.

All enterprises in the food and drug industries will be rated A, B, C or D in accordance with a national standard. The rating of C refers to lack of creditworthiness, while D means an acute shortage of creditworthiness.

China, Russia sign missile defense deal

China and Russia have signed an agreement on the sale of Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile system, Dmitriy Shugaev, deputy CEO in charge of international affairs at Rostec, said on Dec 16.

China will be the first foreign user of the missile system. In addition, Russia is planning to use China's spacecraft equipment, he said.

According to Russian media, the S-400 is a new-generation air defense system capable of engaging any aerial target, including airplanes, helicopters, drones and cruise and tactical ballistic missiles. The system's 40N6 missile can destroy airborne targets up to 400 kilometers away.

Report: Layoffs may loom next year

The annual economic forecast from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences predicts that China's "invisible unemployment" will become more visible next year.

In contrast to outright layoffs, invisible unemployment is the practice by which profit-losing state-owned enterprises idle employees while giving them part of their wages. They do so due to pressure from employees as well as from authorities to prevent social unrest.

More SOEs in heavy industries will "inevitably" face restructuring and bankruptcy next year, and layoffs will increase, CASS said.

Mao's letter sells for $908,000

A letter from Mao Zedong appealing to the leader of the British Labour Party in 1937 for help against Japanese invaders sold for 605,000 pounds ($908,000; 834,000 euros) at an auction in London on Dec 15.

The letter, typed in English and signed by Mao, asks Clement Attlee, a future prime minister, to lend the support of his party to "any measures of practical assistance". It is dated Nov 1, 1937, and was written in Yan'an, northwestern China, where the Communist army was based after the 1934-35 Long March.

The buyer was a Chinese private collector, auction house Sotheby's said in a statement.

Advanced destroyers boost combat capability

The Chinese navy has commissioned three world-class guided missile destroyers, extensively improving the country's maritime combat capability.

The latest of the Type 052D destroyers, Hefei, was delivered to the South Sea Fleet of the People's Liberation Army Navy recently at a naval base in Sanya, Hainan province, authorities said.

The first destroyer, Kunming, was received by the navy in March last year, while the second, Changsha, went into active service in August.

China to spend $93b relocating 10m people

China will spend 600 billion yuan in the next five years to relocate about 10 million impoverished people, it was announced on Dec 15.

The investment at all government levels should match the determination of the central government in fighting poverty, said Su Guoxia, spokesperson for the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

Clean-energy projects get go-ahead

The Chinese government approved construction of two nuclear projects and one hydropower station on Dec 16.

The nuclear projects are both in coastal areas, one in Fangchenggang in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, which will use third-generation technology, and the other in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. The hydropower station is will be on Jinsha River on the border of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.

The approval will offer new incentives amid slowing economic growth, and help the country fulfill its commitment on climate change, authorities said.

Court moves to handle rise in marine disputes

China's Supreme People's Court plans to build a platform for judicial communication and a database of foreign marine laws, as the number of maritime disputes being heard has surged.

Ten Chinese marine courts have handled 30,819 cases this year, an increase of 43 percent year-on-year, of which 26,464 reached a conclusion, the top court said.

China launches first dark matter satellite

China's Dark Matter Particle Explorer Satellite was successfully launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province on Dec 17.

At 8:12 am, the carrier Long March 2-D rocket blasted off, sending the satellite - nicknamed Wukong, or the Monkey King - into the sun-synchronous orbit.

The Dark Matter Particle Explorer Satellite will be in service for three years to observe the direction, energy and electric charge of high-energy particles in space in search of dark matter.

New blacklist of unruly tourists released

China's national tourism watchdog released on Dec 16 its fourth online list of tourists who exhibited unruly behavior abroad.

It listed five names involved in three incidents: several Sichuan tourists who fought on a flight, a Shanghai tourist who beat a shop assistant in Japan, and a Hunan tourist who beat a local tour guide. The records will be preserved for one to three years, the China National Tourism Administration said.

China Daily - Xinhua

(China Daily European Weekly 12/18/2015 page2)