IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Xi greets Netanyahu at State Guesthouse

The establishment of a China-Israel comprehensive innovation partnership will bring more real benefits to the people of both countries, President Xi Jinping said on March 21 while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. The president called for enhancing political communication, strengthening cooperation at all levels and boosting mutual understanding and trust. The two countries should connect their development strategies, steadily push forward cooperation on major projects under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and focus on cooperation in such areas as scientific innovation, agriculture, medicine and clean energy, he said.

Hangzhou lures talent back from abroad

The appeal of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, to talent overseas grew in 2016, although Shanghai and Beijing remained the top globalized job markets on the Chinese mainland, according to a report based on data from professional connections website LinkedIn. The ratio between overseas Chinese who went to Hangzhou for work last year and those who left the city tops all mainland cities, according to the report. Hangzhou got a score of 99.25 for this indicator, while Shanghai was at 93.44 and Beijing got 77.38. Hangzhou also ranked third in offering the most desirable job opportunities, followed by Beijing and Shanghai.

Newborn numbers on rise in capital

About 100,000 more babies were born in Beijing hospitals last year compared with 2015, local authorities said on March 22. According to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, there were about 280,000 newborns in Beijing in 2016, an increase of 62 percent from 2015. About 30 percent of the newborns were not the first child in their families. Rates of maternal mortality, infant mortality and mortality among children under the age of 5 also dropped last year.

Premier to address trade in NZ, Australia

China said it is willing to work with Australia and New Zealand to push for an early agreement on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, as Premier Li Keqiang kicked off a visit to the two countries on March 22. The eight-day trip, the first by a Chinese premier in 11 years, will send a positive signal that China, Australia and New Zealand will promote the liberalization of trade and investment amid the rising trend of protectionism, according to Vice-Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang.

1,000-year-old pagoda undergoes renovation

A 1,000-year-old pagoda has started its biggest renovation project since 1949, local officials said on March 21. The nine-story octagonal structure, in the Wuhua Temple in Luoyang, Henan province, stands 37.2 meters tall and features carvings of buddhas and giants. According to the local annals, the pagoda was built during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), but some of the construction materials date back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The renovation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

New superbug could start epidemic

Chinese scientists have discovered a new drug-resistant strain of bacteria that can spread stealthily and has epidemic potential. The superbug is a strain of Salmonella typhimurium whose plasmid - mobile DNA that is easily copied and shared between bacteria - contains the MCR1.6 gene, a newly discovered variant of the drug-resistant MCR1 gene. This is the first time the MCR1.6 gene has been found in Salmonella, a common food-borne pathogen, and from a healthy carrier, according to Kan Biao, deputy director of the National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention.

China improves control of infectious diseases

China's capacity for preventing and controlling infectious diseases and for responding to emergency outbreaks has improved in the past eight years through a national project, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology. China has established a vast national network for monitoring infectious diseases that covers 12 core national labs, 91 key regional labs and more than 800 hospitals across the country, Qin Huaijin, head of science and technology at the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said on March 21.

Secret banks shut down in Guangdong

Police in Guangdong province cracked three major cases last month involving cross-border transactions through secret, private banks since launching an operation code-named Jufeng 2, which means Hurricane 2, last month. The cases involved a total of 33 billion yuan ($4.8 billion; 4.4 billion euros; 3.9 billion) and resulted in the detention of more than 30 suspects, according to Huang Shouying, director of the economic crimes unit of the provincial Public Security Department.

State councilor meets with Ethiopian PM

China hopes to make ties with Ethiopia a leading example of China-Africa and South-South cooperation, State Councilor Yang Jiechi said on March 20 at a meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in Addis Ababa. The meeting was part of an Africa trip that includes a stop in Guinea. Hailemariam praised China's role in international affairs and voiced appreciation for China's support and assistance to his country. Ethiopia welcomes more Chinese investment, he said.

Imported lobsters red-hot online

Seafood-savvy Chinese have shown an increasing appetite for imported lobster, especially through e-commerce purchases, thanks to the growth of middle-class consumers and their pursuit of high-quality lifestyles. Last year, China imported 14 million pounds (6.4 million kilograms) of lobster worth $108 million (100 million euros; 87 million) from the United States, a record for value as well as volume, according to The Associated Press.

Lost treasures found in riverbed

Archaeologists in Sichuan province have recovered what they believe is the lost treasure of Zhang Xianzhong, a rebel leader whose fleet was sunk almost 400 years ago. More than 10,000 relics, including gold, silver and bronze coins, jewelry, iron swords, spears, rings and hairpins, have been found in a section of the Minjiang River in Meishan's Pengshan district. The items offer evidence that the river was where Zhang's fleet of about 1,000 vessels was attacked and destroyed in 1646, according to the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.

Progress check set for 'river chief' system

China will conduct a thorough assessment of 31 provincial regions by the end of next year to ensure the new "river chief" system is on schedule, the water resources authority said on March 21. The central government introduced the system in December to appoint Party or government heads as river chiefs to clean up and protect water resources. So far, 22 provincial-level regions have begun setting up their systems and will complete them this year. The other nine are scheduled to complete theirs by the end of June 2018.

Tests find water quality improving

China met its targets for improving water quality in rivers and lakes last year, despite figures showing that conditions worsened in some regions, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on March 20. Of the 1,940 stations monitoring surface water quality nationwide, just over two-thirds reported quality within the top three levels of the nation's six-tier system in 2016, Zhang Bo, the ministry's director of water quality management, said at a news conference. That represents an increase of 1.8 percentage points year-on-year.

Law aims to guide film industry into golden era

China's new film industry law provides the regulation needed to help bring the fast-growing market into a golden era, according to industry insiders. The law, which took effect on March 1, clarifies punishments for fabrication of box office revenues, increases government investment in the industry and reduces taxes, among other provisions.

New method finds blood types faster

Nanomedicine researchers at the Southwest Hospital in Chongqing have developed a method to match a blood type within two minutes, according to a paper published in an international medical journal. The procedure may be suitable for use in emergencies and resource-limited areas, according to the findings, which were published by Science Translational Medicine.

Police report arrest of dinosaur egg bandit

Chinese police have arrested a man accused of stealing dozens of fossilized dinosaur eggs, authorities said on March 20. The man, surnamed Wang, allegedly stole 80 of the eggs from a collector in Tiantai county, Zhejiang province, on the night of Jan 9 with the help of three accomplices, according to the Heilongjiang police.

TCM experts help battle drug resistance

China has recruited a team of specialists in traditional Chinese medicine, including China's first Nobel laureate in medicine, Tu Youyou, to help find solutions to the rising threat posed by organisms resistant to antibiotics. The Chinese team, led by Wang Guoqiang, vice-minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, will look into how TCM can be used to help halt the progress of such organisms, according to Cao Hongxin, head of science and technology at the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

China leads Asia in digital transformation

Chinese companies have outperformed their Asian counterparts in digital transformation, according to a report by a leading software developer. About 91 percent of Chinese mainland respondents use the software development strategy DevOps, and about 88 percent use Agile - two of the most popular tools for helping companies upgrade their IT infrastructure. In other Asian countries, the average figures were 88 percent and 86 percent respectively, according to a report by CA Technologies.

Beijing urges restraint on Korean Peninsula

Beijing has again urged restraint and suggested that nations involved give serious consideration to its proposal for "dual suspensions" after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's seemingly failed missile launch on March 22. Describing the Korean Peninsula's tensions as pushed to the brink, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, in a news conference in Beijing, called for all parties involved to avoid taking actions that are provocative, risky or that may cause miscalculation.

Repairs to delay Beijing Capital Airport flights

The number of flights landing and taking off from Beijing Capital International Airport will be cut by more than 300 a day in April to allow for runway maintenance, officials said on March 22. The world's second- busiest airport will close one of its three runways between April 2 and April 29. About 40 percent of flights take off or land on this runway every day. The closure will reduce flights by about 20 percent and passengers by 10 to 15 percent, according to Sun Xiaoyi, deputy general manager of the airport's service promotion department.

(China Daily European Weekly 03/24/2017 page2)